Maps

From Elite Wiki
Vector Map by ClymAngus (Galaxy 1)
Marcoose's Map (Galaxy 1)
Dr Beeb's Map (Galaxy 1)
Captain Solo's Map of Galaxy 1
Phkb's Galaxy Map (Galaxy 1)
Maaarcooose's Interactive Map shows tweaked galaxy seeds
Phantorgorth's Interactive Map: showing galaxy 1 slightly tilted in 3D

Maps & Spreadsheets of The Eight Galaxies

Static Maps

These depict the 8 galaxies of the Vanilla game

The Vector Maps

By ClymAngus. This excellent piece of digital art adds routes and regions to every Galaxy Sector. Vector Map -- print version -- US Mirror

  • BB Discussion Thread is here (2009-13). These maps standardised the naming of many of the regions.
  • Fons et Origo Presti70 seems to have kicked the whole thing off back in 2009. First regions outside the Old Worlds, too! He eventually teamed up with ClymAngus to produce the very first version of the above.
  • Printing it out (2014)

These were adapted by Spara as an artistic backdrop for his SothisTC station.

Marcooose's Maps

And see his interactive map, beneath

Dr Beeb's Maps

Galactic charts with each system's government [colour of outer shell] and economy {colour of inner disk} and technology level (size of disk) indicated. The one Technology-Level-15 system is indicated by a pink [Corporate State] 5-pointed star. Technology-Level-12 Multi-Governments are indicated by the yellow-bordered [Multi-Government] red {Rich Industrial} squares. The Lave system (#7) is the green-bordered [Dictatorship] green {Rich Agricultural} diamond. See DrBeeb

Solo's Maps

By CaptSolo - see the bottom of that page: he has different regions and regional names from Clym Angus's.

Phkb's Maps

Opens in your web browser, very swoosh, you can make notes on it! By Phkb (2017) - you need a browser which supports HTML 5.0 or better.

Interactive Maps

These work from the Galaxy Seeds and generate maps for them, so as well as the 8 galaxies of the Vanilla game, one can create other galaxies too.

See Galaxy Seeds for more detail and PhantorGorth's examples.

Maaarcooose's Interactive Map

Phantorgorth's Interactive Map

  • By PhantorGorth. Oolite Interactive Map. You can change the galaxy seed and generate a different galaxy. A 3D non-gameable version is available. Now on version 0.8.1 (19 August 2023).

Spreadsheets

Galaxies Spreadsheet

By Phantorgorth. See here - it is in OpenDocument format.

Trading Spreadsheet

By Ifnfan (based on the spreadsheet by PhantorGorth). A related spreadsheet showing useful trading routes is also available for download.

In-game maps & mapping

The F6 and F7 screens are dynamic - they react to the changes imposed by OXPs such as the Strangers World suite which reclassifies much of the astronomy, affecting eg. star colour and planet size. And the politics, TL, species etc are all altered by such OXPs as Ionics.

  • GalCop Galactic Registry allows searching the map when docked for TL/Government/Economy type etc. (F4 interface). This too is dynamic.
  • Bugs, glorious Bugs puts a bug on the F7 page each time you inspect an insect-dominated system (by Another_Commander, c. 2018?)

Managing the F6 screen maps: Astrogation

  • Route Planner OXP by Alnivel (2022). Add-on for ANA: recalculates the route to your final destination at each stop, deviations thus being included.
  • The earlier versions of BGS included BGS-XMapping which gave more functionality to the F6 screen maps.

Managing the F6 screen maps: Exploration

  • Explorers' Club OXP marks on your F6 map which systems you have visited or not visited. It also marks regions.
  • Zero Map removes information from the F6 maps for would-be explorers!
  • Here be Dragons clobbers F6 maps - and F7 system information too!

Related

More than just oxp's

OXPs doing other things but which also use/affect the maps

Is there stuff missing from the Maps?

To make spacing affordable, basic models tended to be spartan, utilitarian creatures. Manufacturers made their profits on development and expansion, as well as from areas like Quirium tariffs. The market for inter-system jumpers was a second generation one. The first generation had been epitomised by the Starseekers and Founds that left old Earth in the 25th century in Earth time. The second generation of ships were available with fly-by-wire systems for jump.

Hood had the GalCop Galaxy One approved plateau of systems already installed in his navigation units when he had bought his Cobra. Once GalCop had reconnoitered Galaxy One and began to colonise throughout the 14 systems, they realised that by using the available knowledge of the galaxy they could introduce a bespoke jump map of GalCop worlds. It had been an important phase in GalCop history. Drives with the kick but not the brains reduced the expensive navigational processing equipment needed to plot and control jumps. There were numerous associated benefits. Nearly all spacers were now limited to activity inside GalCop boundaries which conveniently reduced interaction with other planetary federations or general over-expansion which GalCop might be unable to consolidate. Planets that were not designated as inter-system reception worlds were left off the jump map, as were a number of 'secret systems' and systems which were still undergoing monitoring and exploration under GalCop's after-the-fact conscience policies.

(Imprint, Chapter 6)

This was first flagged up in 1991 in Imprint which came as the later introductory novel with Elite (see quote above). The syncretist school of Lore-meisters took up the idea and argued that there must be other systems in The Eight which have been left off the charts as they belong to the Empire or the Federation from the Frontier family of games. Others have also played with the idea. And there are a couple of mission OXPs out there which include uncharted systems.

There is no definite line on this (unless you want to syncretise Elite/Oolite with Frontier! Then the missing stuff is becomes necessary).

F6 & F7 issues

As regards the appearance of systems on the maps - the extent to which they look like their descriptions on the F7 page - see Guide to Ambience OXPs.

Summary

  • In the view of this author the most useful "map" is phkb's GalCop Galactic Registry which allows searches for feline anarchies of TL6+!
  • The most beautiful map as regards this author's aesthetic sensibilities is Clym Angus's offering (planning for a large-scale printout for a wall hanging!).
  • Phantorgorth's interactive map is the most useful one for analysing galaxy seeds.

Links

Galaxy Guide

The wiki's Galaxy Guide has individual pages on each solar system as well as details of each sector (maps, regions, trade routes etc):

Planet List

The wiki's Planet List has pages listing all solar systems in each galaxy with a brief analysis of types.

Classic Elite Planet List

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