T5SS: Analyzing the UWP data

[DonM]

Over the decades, there have been a number of folks brave enough to wade into the raw UWPs and generate data analyzing the sectors and the Imperium as a whole.

I'd like to use some of those tools to make sure that the T5SS data actually maps back to Marc's vision for Charted Space. Mostly because I have a very deep suspicion that the canon data probably doesn't, largely because of the haphazard way it was generated and manipulated over three decades.

So can folks point me to the crunchiest tools and analysis?

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Any can be used. The main issue how store your data before you can play with it.
For my purposes, I created a Microsoft Access 2003 database. I wrote an import script to take the data from TravellerMap and autoload it up into tables. That is the hard part. I cannot automate the import of each sector file from TravellerMap so it is click on the sector get the map data and manually save to a text file. But once that is done, I wrote an import script from all the text files to the Access tables, parsing out each element including separate tables for subsector allegiances and so on other tables.

I also loaded following other data. I know the history and validity (i.e. Sunbane for example or Hard Times vs TNE vs 1248 vs ATU, etc.) of the data sources. Still, I use them for comparison:

GURPS ISW - I have the PDF and copied their GURPS4 format data.

T4 First Survey - I have the PDF. Took me over two months to line up the data from the lousy scan. Took another month to clean up the values. Not their validity, more in the idea fixing a zero for population, but the scan had an "O". Stuff like that.

TNE - Data from Traveller Navigator (I know how extract data from the .HLP and other files)

Other junk/data from the Missouri Archives Website (like the DGP data)

I still have to get the GURPS3 ATU data (Rim of Fire, et al)

My tables are indexed by Sector X, Sector Y, Imperial Year to make records unique. So my allegiance table can handle different names for allegiance codes over different years.

My actual UWP tables are indexed by Sector X, Sector Y, Imperial Year, and Hex for uniqueness. This allows comparison of UWP across the years and data sources. Now that I have a had a copy of T5 for only the last four months, I have been rewriting the tables to take into account the Extensions. Thus my questions on other threads.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

But once all of that horrible mess is stored, you can find bits and pieces to convert over T5SS data and have other time periods conform conform to the T5SS format and to other formats as well.

Example 1:
You want to make some IY-9000 data to reflect the early expansion of the Vilani. And you want it in GURPS 4 ISW Format so you can use the Vilani world/outpost generation system.

Get Planet Names from the IY0 First Survey data, as they are closer to the time period and you can make some educated valid guesses by writng queries as to which names do not conform to the Vilani Language word generation tables.

Get the particulars for T5SS Size, Atmosphere, Hydrographics and Resources to convert to GURPS4 World Type, Diameter, Atmosphere, Hyd%, and RVM. From there you can compute AFF (Affinity) to see worlds most likely to have been first colonized by the Vilani.

Example 2:
Just how important was Terra back during the early Interstellar Wars? For that matter the rest of Kushuggi Sector (now known as Solomani Rim )
Get the GURPS4 ISW data for Starport, Population, Government, Control Level, Tech Level, convert to T5SS values. Compute Trade Codes per T5SS. From there Importance can be assigned.

 

[tjoneslo]

https://github.com/makhidkarun/traveller_pyroute

This is my tool, under active development, reads the T5 SS sector files from Traveller Map (which I have downloaded). And I will update to supply any required or requested features. This is what generated the RU calculations from the other thread. Also generates the trade routes for GT:FT (though that takes a long time).