[Cosmographer | Cos3] Galactic map sectors as "pie slices"

glacialis · July 2017

Is it possible to draw sectors like this? I've got an elliptical galaxy that's divvied up by slicing it like a pie. In the attached image, the Core/Expanse/Verge/Unknown areas aren't as important, but it would be handy to have those too. Note that this was a very rough draft created to communicate a general idea, not indicative of target quality. :P

Dogtag · July 2017

Yes, you can.

Try this:

Draw the circles/ellipses or, at least, the inner circle.
Draw one of the lines, or "spokes", that mark one side of a sector, such as the top-most, "12 o'clock" line.
At this point you'll have one or more circles and a single line, perpendicular to the circle(s).
Right-click the Copy button and select the Circular Array option from the pop-up menu.
The Circular Array command (command line = CARY) copies an entity multiple times in a circle, around a designated point.
Select the line and then right-click and select Do It.
Follow the prompts in the command line, and press Enter or right-click after you enter each value.
- Number of spokes = 12 (this is the total number of spokes, including the one you already drew)
- Number of rings = 1
- Array center = the center of the small circle
- Copy origin = the center of the small circle (again)
- Angle between spokes = accept the default (CC3 calculates this based on the # of spokes. You can change it if you want to, though)

CC3+ will copy the line around the small circle similar to what you show in your example.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

Dogtag · July 2017

Note that if you use an ellipse, rather than a circle, you'll need to TRIM the lines to the ellipse.

Cheers,
~Dogtag

glacialis · July 2017

So...many..tools...I had no idea that Circular Array was a thing. Thank you very much Dogtag!

The borders are arbitrarily defined without respect to galactic geography. I don't think we'll be using anything but a roughly circular galaxy, but the TRIM tip is appreciated.

JimP · July 2017

Interesting idea. My ATU is on the over side of the glaxay from here. I used CC3 to make two large areas, approximately rectangular, and marked off columns and sectors on that, then marked off regions/empires, etc. on that. Using image maps, the person looking at them can click on an area, and then get redirected to a sector map, which is an image map and then you can get redirected to a sub-sector map. On that page are links to the planets mapped.

I've been over on the official Traveller forums, there are a number of mapping technics there, mine is just one of several.

You might want to drop in over there and see what the other mapping versions are. http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/

How many stars are you going to map ? I have done 1,200 and have covered less than half of all sectors I have made.

Here is my Galaxy arm section map. Green is all links done, yellow not all links done.

glacialis · July 2017

I'm creating maps for an international science fiction LARP. It takes place millennia in the future and in another galaxy, specifically a dwarf elliptical galaxy that's rather uniform in structure. What all of this means is that each chapter in each region/sector will have their own maps, and I'm trying to come up with a workable style for a galactic map. Sector maps, too, that would be wedge shaped.

JimP · July 2017

Ah, wedge shaped could be a problem... as Dogtag mentioned, Trim would have to be used. CC3, and most other mapping software I have used over the years, uses squares, rectangles, or circles.

I came up with this. Have you thought of sketching each sector on paper, scanning it, then importing into CC3+, then drawing that area in CC3+ ? Then adding worlds, etc. ?

You could use this to make a rectangular map, but only draw in the slice wedge. Or maybe have a bit over into the adjoining wedge slice to show what connects to the main part of the drawing.

Hopefully you wont run into the problems like a Mercator projection has.

JimP · July 2017

I must be very tired today, one of my 'hallmarks'.

A better idea.

Draw a rectangle in CC3 plus. Then draw two lines from one end to the other end so you have an isoslies triangle, flanked one on each side, a right triangle.

The right triangle is part of the adjoining slice... of course, it would look backwards, poining rimward instead coreward, but its only part of the slice not the entire thing.

glacialis · July 2017

Wedge-shaped maps aren't too much of a problem.

Those will be sector maps, and after using Circular Array as Dogtag suggested, I'll have wedges.

I don't think there will be hundreds of stars, because I doubt we'll have that many games. GMs will fill in some and I can add those easily enough.

JimP · July 2017

i say hundreds as most of my sector maps look like 'The Big Empty' so i have to add some more in, besides the xboat lanes, so it looks like there are inhabitants out there instead of 'One Giant Rift of Nothingness'.

glacialis · July 2017

I can always add stars and other features for flavor, but my goal is to map the star systems that represent our games.

JimP · July 2017

Okay.

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[Cosmographer | Cos3] Galactic map sectors as "pie slices"

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