How did you do this? Was it just a freehand draw?
New Subsector Style, Merx?
- Thread starter Kilgs
- Start date
How did you do this? Was it just a freehand draw?
spinwardpirate
SOC-13
Wow! Really nice. Speaking as a professional cartographer... I think the only thing I'd add would be a bar scale showing jump distances.
mbrinkhues
SOC-14 1K
Looks basically great but the planetary symbols come over a bit big making the whole look "stuffed". Can you use slightly smaller planets?
Okay. Wow, thanks to all.
I was inspired by the online Traveller tool that draws classic Traveller maps in real time from a script. With ranges from system hex up to the full map of the Imperium. I forget who does that. He's here on this forums. I looked at his maps and said okay I don't know how to draw maps from that script, so I decided to do it by hand.
I just used galactic 3.4 to randomly generate a sector, for my mongoose traveller game.
Here's the data: (Straight from Galactic) (Note I am still working on making the trade codes all Mongoose Traveller, since galactic and classic trade code gen doesn't include Ga(rden) for example. So there's some work on these to be proofed.
GALACTIC .DAT FILE FOLLOWS:
So I generated (Using Galactic) the Galactic .bmp of the Subsector.
Imported that into Paint Shop Pro, and removed the hex grid, leaving the planets with their names on the .bmp.
Okay then I roughly guesstimated the size of the world based on it's size code, but with a (call it) "fudge" so that the smaller places weren't a few pixels across and the larger ones weren't 2 hexes wide.
I then used my Paint Shop Pro plugin tool called Lunarcell:
http://www.flamingpear.com/lunarcell.html
This is a handy tool to generate planets.
Taking each world, I assessed roughly from my knowledge of Scouts, plus Grand Survey, the "Artist's Concept" of each world, based in hydrographics, population, if it was high population, and nice oceans and such then warm and cloudy...if low population, made it rocky and such desert.
Really, I wanted to use grand survey for every world, but after realizing the scope of what I wanted to do (2 Subsectors), One as a frontier / somewhat patrolled / Civilized a bit base subsector for trade, and the other a mostly lawless wild and wooly Deep Black for action / adventure. I figured handwave / Best Guess Mr. Sulu was "In the ballpark / Good enough" rather than taking the 3 months I'd need to make it "perfect."
So I messed with colors for each world, trying to make each look unique.
I took a while on each world pic and such till it looked okay, in large scale. Saved parameters as a file in case people ever decide in the campaign to go there.
For example, here's the pic of Zanbar, full size, my working planet pic:
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/Etarnon/Zanbarfromorbit.jpg
Then estimated the size via Trav UPP, let it draw the smaller (now reduced) size of the formerly larger planetary surface, copy as a square, paste as transparent into the subsector map, boom. Next world.
In the end I did a little 1 pixel brush work here and there, where the resize to small looked kind of pixellated or grainy. I put some stars in that way for Background, at the suggestion of my wife, whom I regularly bounce ideas off of.
Then I took a nice font, and replaced the world names from the .bmp generated by galactic, put in the Port class letters, and drew the outside of the adjacent Subsector boxes, centered the adjacent subsector names and used the "Earth" font for those other subsector names.
I drew the jump lines last. A simple line tool a few pix wide w/ anti-alias.
It was overall, meant to be Eye Candy, period, not for navigation.
This map is not for the long established traditional Traveller player. It's for people who want to look at something that doesn't have hexes on it, who have never heard of jump space till a few weeks ago.
In my group, I've got 7 players, only two of which have played Traveller, including me.
So to them it's D&D 3rd ed, but in Space, wha? Only it's not that, but hey, look, planets, and no hexes, so there 's a name and some pretty colors. That's more or less the philosophy.
For the other traveller guy I got a classic map generated with Galactic and the excellent Gal 2 CC script / warez, as a plugin for Campaign Cartographer 2, by Profantasy.
The Non-Eye candy map is here:
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/Etarnon/Freeport_Zanbar_Worlds.jpg
Freeport is on the left, and Zanbar Drift is on the right.
So yes, it is essentially all hand placed. Took me more than a few good few days of solid work.
Thanks for all your nice comments. Any suggestions to make it better? I'll do the scale on the update. I am still using this in the active campaign, I am taking GURPS Traveller Far Trader, and trying to figure out trade routes from the gravity model.
Once I do that, I'll have a series of trade routes for the main, secondary and feeder routes on that map.
I was inspired by the online Traveller tool that draws classic Traveller maps in real time from a script. With ranges from system hex up to the full map of the Imperium. I forget who does that. He's here on this forums. I looked at his maps and said okay I don't know how to draw maps from that script, so I decided to do it by hand.
I just used galactic 3.4 to randomly generate a sector, for my mongoose traveller game.
Here's the data: (Straight from Galactic) (Note I am still working on making the trade codes all Mongoose Traveller, since galactic and classic trade code gen doesn't include Ga(rden) for example. So there's some work on these to be proofed.
GALACTIC .DAT FILE FOLLOWS:
Code:
@SUB-SECTOR: Zanbar Drift SECTOR: Far Reaches
#
# Jump-routes
#
$2730 2632 0 1 4
$2730 2727 0 0 4
$2727 2725 0 0 4
$2725 2924 0 0 4
$2730 2429 -1 0 4
#--------1---------2---------3---------4---------5---------6---
#PlanetName Loc. UPP Code B Notes Z PBG Al LRX *
#---------- ---- --------- - --------------- - --- -- --- -
Stalar 2525 D66A672-9 S Ni Ri Wa 701 Or 77G
Taradandua 2623 D9B0368-9 S De Lo Ni 203 Or 060
Rowalos 2624 X300000-0 Ba Lo Ni Va 003 Na 040
Calrax 2625 C699360-7 S Lo Ni 601 Or 730
Metinash 2730 A568799-8 Ag Ri 212 Or 757
Zanbar 2725 A7669AA-B Hi 104 Or 79S
Wieq 2727 A766585-9 N Ag Ni 523 Or 791 m
Afrath 2627 X210000-0 Ba Lo Ni 001 Na 000
Arynir 3021 C573667-A N Ni 312 Or 14O
Necess 2921 D8A3310-8 S Fl Lo Ni 810 Or 090
Damarwen 2924 B77687B-9 N 711 Or 89H
Nacradas 2925 C548566-8 Ag Ni 703 Or 654
Groxyin 2926 X772000-0 Ba Lo Ni 033 Na 410
Larras 2927 D653575-8 S Ni Po 602 Or 63M
Dalimyor 2928 D885776-A S Ag Ri 202 Or 742
Hesmeh 2823 X8B5000-0 Ba Fl Lo Ni 002 Na 0B0
Obayal 3027 D411310-7 Ic Lo Ni 200 Or 04M
Lercel 3123 C453462-9 S Ni Po 400 Or 71D
Charisa 3126 X7B0000-0 Ba De Lo Ni 011 Na 030
Isnos 3127 X313000-0 Ba Ic Lo Ni 000 Na 010
Hadraam 3128 X8A8000-0 Ba Fl Lo Ni 013 Na 020
Tirle 3227 X140000-0 Ba De Lo Ni Po 003 Na 000
Zeen 3229 X223000-0 Ba Lo Ni Po 015 Na 020
Parata 3230 X674000-0 Ba Lo Ni 010 Na 010So I generated (Using Galactic) the Galactic .bmp of the Subsector.
Imported that into Paint Shop Pro, and removed the hex grid, leaving the planets with their names on the .bmp.
Okay then I roughly guesstimated the size of the world based on it's size code, but with a (call it) "fudge" so that the smaller places weren't a few pixels across and the larger ones weren't 2 hexes wide.
I then used my Paint Shop Pro plugin tool called Lunarcell:
http://www.flamingpear.com/lunarcell.html
This is a handy tool to generate planets.
Taking each world, I assessed roughly from my knowledge of Scouts, plus Grand Survey, the "Artist's Concept" of each world, based in hydrographics, population, if it was high population, and nice oceans and such then warm and cloudy...if low population, made it rocky and such desert.
Really, I wanted to use grand survey for every world, but after realizing the scope of what I wanted to do (2 Subsectors), One as a frontier / somewhat patrolled / Civilized a bit base subsector for trade, and the other a mostly lawless wild and wooly Deep Black for action / adventure. I figured handwave / Best Guess Mr. Sulu was "In the ballpark / Good enough" rather than taking the 3 months I'd need to make it "perfect."
So I messed with colors for each world, trying to make each look unique.
I took a while on each world pic and such till it looked okay, in large scale. Saved parameters as a file in case people ever decide in the campaign to go there.
For example, here's the pic of Zanbar, full size, my working planet pic:
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/Etarnon/Zanbarfromorbit.jpg
Then estimated the size via Trav UPP, let it draw the smaller (now reduced) size of the formerly larger planetary surface, copy as a square, paste as transparent into the subsector map, boom. Next world.
In the end I did a little 1 pixel brush work here and there, where the resize to small looked kind of pixellated or grainy. I put some stars in that way for Background, at the suggestion of my wife, whom I regularly bounce ideas off of.
Then I took a nice font, and replaced the world names from the .bmp generated by galactic, put in the Port class letters, and drew the outside of the adjacent Subsector boxes, centered the adjacent subsector names and used the "Earth" font for those other subsector names.
I drew the jump lines last. A simple line tool a few pix wide w/ anti-alias.
It was overall, meant to be Eye Candy, period, not for navigation.
This map is not for the long established traditional Traveller player. It's for people who want to look at something that doesn't have hexes on it, who have never heard of jump space till a few weeks ago.
In my group, I've got 7 players, only two of which have played Traveller, including me.
So to them it's D&D 3rd ed, but in Space, wha? Only it's not that, but hey, look, planets, and no hexes, so there 's a name and some pretty colors. That's more or less the philosophy.
For the other traveller guy I got a classic map generated with Galactic and the excellent Gal 2 CC script / warez, as a plugin for Campaign Cartographer 2, by Profantasy.
The Non-Eye candy map is here:
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/Etarnon/Freeport_Zanbar_Worlds.jpg
Freeport is on the left, and Zanbar Drift is on the right.
So yes, it is essentially all hand placed. Took me more than a few good few days of solid work.
Thanks for all your nice comments. Any suggestions to make it better? I'll do the scale on the update. I am still using this in the active campaign, I am taking GURPS Traveller Far Trader, and trying to figure out trade routes from the gravity model.
Once I do that, I'll have a series of trade routes for the main, secondary and feeder routes on that map.
Last edited:
jfetters
SOC-14 1K
These are definitely good for player handouts. Reminds me of the "candy" view at http://travellermap.com
Yes, thanks. That site is the thing that inspired me, only I didn't want to go with the square atlas of the imperium hexes.
Well, thanks again. Work and campaign proceeds.
It seems like people are interested (and the campaign needs it anyhow). I'll do the Freeport Sector like that also, as another sample. Will take some days. I'm going to Worldwide Game day on Saturday, and running Mongoose tomorrow night.
Well, thanks again. Work and campaign proceeds.
It seems like people are interested (and the campaign needs it anyhow). I'll do the Freeport Sector like that also, as another sample. Will take some days. I'm going to Worldwide Game day on Saturday, and running Mongoose tomorrow night.
Very nice!
I'm not sure about "square" tho - the squares should disappear if you zoom in far enough. And Candy style never renders hexes. Some day I'll make the Poster API accept stylesheets.
I'm not sure about "square" tho - the squares should disappear if you zoom in far enough. And Candy style never renders hexes. Some day I'll make the Poster API accept stylesheets.
