Communication Route Generation

[Flynn]

Good morning, All,

I've been kicking around the idea of creating an application that will analyze a sector file and create plausible suggestions for communication routes. However, before I can undertake such a task, I'll need to develop a method by which UWP data could be analyzed and each world rated for its likelihood as a communications route candidate.

In CT, there was a table in which the Referee could look at all the worlds within 4 parsecs and roll a D6, comparing it to some number based on distance and starport. This determined if a communication route existed between the worlds. I don't think this method is enough, though.

I would like to create a system, inspired by GT's Far Trader, that rates a world as a communication potential based on relevant factors. I think the major factors are:

Starport
Tech Level
Population

Then I could analyze each sector for worlds with a communication rating of X or higher, and create routes between them.

My current thoughts are something along these lines:

A world's interstellar communication rating (ICR) is determined by adding Pop and TL together, then dividing the result by two. Starports add to the ICR as follows:

Starport A: +2
Starport B: +0
Starport C: -2
Starport D: -4
Starport E or X: ICR=0

Major routes of communication exist between worlds with an ICR of 10 or higher. (This assumes that a TL12, Pop 8, Starport B world is the minimum for being a good hub for interstellar communication.)

Minor routes occur for an ICR of 7.5 or higher. (This assumes that a TL9, Pop 6, Starport B world would reflect the minimum requirements for a good world to have on a minor communication route along the frontier.)

Thoughts?

-Flynn

 

[robject]

Sounds similar to my quick-and-dirty traffic indices:

Starport A or B: +1, Starport E or less: -1
High pop: +1. Low pop: -1
Rich: +1, Poor: -1
Industrial: +1, Agricultural: +1
TL A+: +1, TL 6-: -1
Naval base: +1
Capital: +1
Barren world: -1
etc etc

In your case, you could use starport, TL, the presence of an Imperial Way Station, the presence of an existing communication line, and whether or not it's a capital world to establish your index.

With my traffic routes, I compared pairs of indices to determine traffic. You could also compare pairs of indices to a threshold.

Your idea sounds good. I've been thinking about algorithmically determining X-Boat routes, which appears to be rather tricky.

 

[tjoneslo]

Originally posted by robject:
Your idea sounds good. I've been thinking about algorithmically determining X-Boat routes, which appears to be rather tricky.

It's not difficult, just compute intensive. You need to go through all the stars, finding the Xboat route ends. Then go through the list a second time and connect them.

 

[Flynn]

Okay, so do we want to nail something specific down?

Do you think the average of TL and Pop is good as the basis, or should I simply go with Pop as the root for the ICR, and modify by TL just like I do with Starport?

Going with the above, a Capitol should have a minimum of a +2 bonus to it.

It looks like it might be good to add Trade Code modifiers as well, although I should keep them smallish, if I do. Otherwise, I'll need to adjust my ranges pretty quick.

Once I have the basics of calculating the ICR, I can analyze a number of sectors and print out the ICRs generated, to get an idea as to what might look good for ranges.

-Flynn

 

[Flynn]

A more formal presentation,
Flynn

* * * * *
Base ICR
Base ICR (Interstellar Communication Rating) equals the average of a world's TL and Pop. (i.e. (TL+Pop)/2 )

ICR Modifiers
</font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Starport Type:
A +2
B +0
C -2
D -4
E ICR=0
X ICR=0

Bases Present (use highest if multiple present):
Scout +2
Naval +2
Trade +2
Military +1

Trade Codes:
Non-agricultural (Na) +1
Industrial +1
Non-industrial (Ni) +1
Rich +1
Poor -1
Barren ICR=0
Capital +2
Exile/Prison World -4
Preserve/Reserve -2</pre>[/QUOTE]

 

[savage]

Well I like. Looks nice and straight forward.


Savage

 

[Wayne]

Nice and simple.

Very elegant.

 

[Flynn]

Calculating Communication Routes

Within a specific allegiance, worlds that are four parsecs apart (or less, if the maximum TL is below 13) of a sufficiently high enough ICR are linked by communication routes.

Major Routes: These exist between worlds in which both partners possess an ICR of 11 or higher. (Increased from above due to more modifiers.)

Minor Routes: These exist between worlds in which both partners possess an ICR of 8 or higher. (Increased from above due to more modifiers.)

Will need to see the impact on a map before I can nail these ranges down for certain, though.

Thanks,
Flynn

 

[Wayne]

Flynn

What is the distinction between Major and Minor Routes.

Would I be in the ballpark to assume that Major Routes send data daily, Minor Routes weekly, and all others when ever someone is going that way?

Or do you have some other distinction for them?

 

[Flynn]

Something akin to that, yes. The distinction is based on the amount of traffic. I haven't set the numbers in stone because I want to finalize the method before I test it out. So, any thoughts on the above proposal would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Flynn

 

[Malenfant]

Just brainstorming...

What population do you think would be able to support a Major route? I'd guess that a pop of at least 8 (hundreds of millions) would be required for it. I can't see a major route being sustainable with a smaller population, though a Minor route may be OK for pop 7+ (or at worst, pop 6-7).

This is the thing with population... because it's a logarithmic scale, a population between 0-5 (a few hundred thousand people) simply isn't worth a trade route. I couldn't see any worlds in that pop range having a trade/XBoat route going to/through it.

Or at least, the low pop worlds wouldn't have a low pop for long. I'd imagine it's like a small town being connected to a trans-continental highway that is being built, because of its location - I'd guess that the population would probably grow rapidly after that and flatten out after a while.

(but then, I know little about this sort of thing. Hopefully something I say makes sense

)

 

[Flynn]

Malenfant,

I agree with the concept that you are presenting. I also think that Starport and TL are also vital.

Just making sure I have an idea of some rules, and seeing if anyone else has already solved this issue.

Thanks,
Flynn

 

[robject]

Originally posted by tjoneslo:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by robject:
Your idea sounds good. I've been thinking about algorithmically determining X-Boat routes, which appears to be rather tricky.

It's not difficult, just compute intensive. You need to go through all the stars, finding the Xboat route ends. Then go through the list a second time and connect them. </font>[/QUOTE]It's not even that intensive, because for any given star there's only a 4-parsec radius to connect a route "end" to.

Deciding on the map-walking algorithm is the hard part.

The first pass determines likely connection points on the edges of the sector, then consecutive passes work their way inward perhaps?