Hi all,
A couple of months ago, I wrote a perl script to generate solar systems for
every star within 15 parsecs of the Sun. I used a copy of the GZG
star-list
spreadsheet from Winchell Chung's web site, and started with the rules for
generating solar systems found in the GURPS Space, GURPS Traveller, and
Traveller 2300 game books. I learned some basic astronomy, just to backstop
some of the fuzziness found in the game books, and came up with a list of the
planets orbiting the stars. Of course, I made sure that every
non-M-class star has at least one planet that's capable of sustaining
human life, because it makes the games more fun when you can have enough
colony sites for everyone.:) A friend of mine has put the list up on his web
site:
http://wam.umd.edu/~ddr/
Planetary characteristics used in the list:
Orbit: Orbit number. Distance: From the star, measured in Astronomical Units
(Earth is 1.00 AU from the Sun). Type: Iceball, Rockball, Desert, Hostile,
Garden, Gas Giant, Asteroid Belt. Diameter: Planetary diameter, measured in
miles. Gravity: Planetary gravity, measured relative to Earth (Earth has 1.00
gravity). Pressure: Vacuum, Thin, Standard, Dense, Superdense. Water: None,
Rare, Ice, Oceans.%: Percentage of water on surface, noted where applicable.
Climate: None, Very Cold, Cold, Temperate, Hot, Very Hot. Tilt: Axial tilt of
planet in degrees. Moons: Number of moons orbiting planet.
You will note that some of the political affiliations are out of date --
I'm afraid I don't know who has claimed what, so I stayed with the political
affiliations listed in Winchell Chung's spreadsheet, and didn't go any further
than that.
If anyone finds a mistake, or would like to add something that I missed,
PLEASE let me know and I'll update the list. Any comments are welcome!
From: "Rick Rutherford" <Rick@esr.com>
> A couple of months ago, I wrote a perl script to generate solar
BRAVO SIR!
> Of course, I made sure that every
BD+38°2285 ? I know the OU claims useless systems, but this one's
supposed to be one of the good ones... I'm not sure I like a "garden world" on
every
non-M system, but what the heck, why not?
BTW GJ 1004 would be a typical OU claimed system, apart from the inhabited
ones.
GJ 1292 would be one of the very best of these "fixer-uppers". Anything
with a "garden world" on it is likely to be claimed by someone else OR claimed
by the OU but the good planet leased to someone else, the OU confining itself
to the rest of the system.
:) A friend of mine has put the list up on his web site:
> http://wam.umd.edu/~ddr/
Excellent site. I'd suggest that this list (or an improved one) be linked to
by
the GZGpedia and become not-Canon.
> You will note that some of the political affiliations are out of date
As you may have noticed, I've deliberately left out a lot of the details about
the planets. For example, I don't specify what make a "hostile" world
hostile -- it could have excessive radiation, a poisonous atmosphere, or
anything else that's hostile to unshielded Earthlike life. By the same token,
a "garden" world isn't necessarily the perfect place to land your spaceship &
take off your helmet... there can be any number of good reasons why a colony
hasn't been established on a "garden" world.
I know that some of the numbers are a little odd, such as the large
low-gravity world you mentioned. In my script, I generate a random
numbers for the size & density of a given planet, and use a formula (from
GURPS Space) to derive the gravity on the surface of the planet. So the large
low-gravity world must have had a very low density, but I don't mind
changing the results by hand afterwards.
I'd be happy to hash out any of the details in the list. If you make a list of
solar systems that you've colonized, I'll modify the list accordingly.
Unfortunately, the web site is temporary -- once all the details get
hammered out, I'd be happy to have the file hosted elsewhere on a more
permanent basis
Hello Rick,
> I know that some of the numbers are a little odd, such as the large
Have you had a chance to view GURPS FIRST IN? If you liked GURPS SPACE,
you will positively LOVE GURPS FIRST IN.
Yes, "First In" is the GURPS Traveller sourcebook that I used for reference
when I was writing my perl script (along with Traveller 2300 and GURPS Space).
I really like what Steve Jackson Games & Loren Weisman have done with the
Traveller universe in the GURPS Traveller sourcebooks. BTW, if you're a
Traveller fan, make sure you have copies of Far Trader, Star Mercs,
and Behind the Claw -- they're out of print.
Ill check it out... by lucky coincidence, however, Epsilon Eridani and Epsilon
Reticuli each have have 3 gas giants in the GZG star list.:)
Here's the URL: http://wam.umd.edu/~ddr
-- Rick Rutherford
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