StarMap Service

Timo's StarMap Service
Why?
After I had seen the VPMAP.BMP starmap of the Echo Cluster - a marvelous piece of art rendered by Trevor Fuson I felt I was missing something. I didn't know whether the known map utils could use custom made starmaps to print a full scale starmap. (I.e. a map where 1 LY is represented by 1 pixel.) So I decided to write a small application that could do this for me.

This application actually consists of two parts: the first is a small util written in C++ that will convert the XYPLAN.DAT to a file with coordinates. The second part is a set of macro's for a Macintosh application that will load this coordinates file and convert it to a starmap.
The source code for this first util is available here. Unless you have a Macintosh and this application the macro's will be quite useless to you. The util itself has been ported to DOS and is now available for download here.


An example
The size of the standard Echo Cluster map is 2105 x 2077 pixels, or 74 x 74 cm, or 29 x 29 inch.
Its coordinates file looks like this. The map itself is in GIF format 56 kB. Here are some examples of the default starmap:

Marker: | colour | shape      | 
---------------------------------------------------
        | red    | crosses    | view it or get it by FTP
        | black  | dots       |    -       get it by FTP
        | red    | plusses    |    -       get it by FTP
        | blue   | dots/square|    -       get it by
FTP

[By FTP should be faster.]


My StarMap Service
Okay, this is the deal. You will:

  1. answer the questions on this form to specify your wishes (markers, colours and formats) and send the answers to me at <[email protected]>.
  2. send me your uuencode XYPLAN.DAT. or PLANETXY.DAT
    (You don't have to send me the default starmap - I already have it as you might imagine.)
I will then:
  1. use the file to create a coordinates file/a starmap/both
  2. return the coordinates file to you by email
  3. put the starmap on our local FTP server where you can fetch it by anonymous FTP.
  4. inform you by email about the address of the server and the filename of your map.
That's all.


What's next...
Whatever you want to do with the map I don't care. Use it for whatever you like. Please read the disclaimer below for details.


General data 

Fileformat:         GIF, 4 bit colour 
Filesize:           56 kB for standard 2000 x 2000 LY map 
Font:               Times, 7 points for tags, 24 points for rest 
Colours:            background - white
                    planets - custom
                    text, markers and axis - black
                    grid - lightblue

Disclaimer
  1. The process of creating a map is highly automated and will not be checked by me nor do I intend to do this in the future. I do however have an almost religious belief in these maps - if you don't you should check the map yourself with the coordinates file and your very own XYPLAN.DAT/PLANETXY.DAT file.
  2. The tags with the planetary ID's are placed very close to the planet to prevent overlapping tags/planets. This could however still happen when some planets are _very_ close together. I won't correct this - see above. Manual editing of such a large map is a real pain.
  3. This service is not intended to be used every turn when you've discovered a new (small) area of your blind starmap. I do will remain the right to refuse any submission for whatever reason I like or don't like.
  4. All maps will have an extra unlabeled 'planet' in the exact center of the map. This 'planet' will in most cases disappear in the grid. This is unevitable as computers start counting at zero and not at one.
  5. If you don't like the colour of the planets, try editing the colour palette before asking me for a new map.
  6. When you're using a custom starmap please give a copy of the map to the other players. I hate doing things twice.

Timo

[Escape]