[gurps] Random System: Feldon I

[Thomas Thrien]

Captain Joy schrieb:
> Here's my 2nd randomly generated solar system for the list.  I've
> included many of the changes that were requested.  If there were any
> requested changes that I didn't implement, please feel free to remind
> me what they were.  Criticisms and comments for improvement in general
> are solicited.  Note that in this system, I include a listing for
> every major moon.
> [...]
> 4    Feldon IV    1.113    Gas Giant (Medium)    66719    0.99   
> 1.51    :     0.04    823.8 days    21.29    7 moonlets
>     Feldon IVa        Standard (Ice)    3615    5.54    0.46    Very
> Dense: CO2, N2                1 RVM, -295 °F
>     Feldon IVb        Small (Ice)    3588    2.16    0.18    Highly
> Toxic N2 CH4                0 Aff, -287 °F
>     Feldon IVc        Tiny (Ice)    687    2.45    0.04   
> Vacuum:                 -1 RVM, -317 °F
Really nice!!

Please excuse, but even it is already quite useful and really nice, I
have again something to note. Although there is no real standard defined
for it, you will find in most cases (let's say, in Science Fiction
literature) that planets are numbered by there orbits, with the
innermost with number I and so on. I know that there often some
inconsistencies for our own solar system according the asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter (one will name Jupiter as Sol V, ignoring the
belt, others have it as Sol VI and the belt as Sol V). Now after this
introduction: my issues are the moonlets you list, for example for
Feldon IV. I assume this planet has 10 satellites in total, with IVa,
IVb and IVc as major moons. Refering to my introduction, there are now
two options for the moonlets: you have ignored them for counting the
moons and their orbits may lay between the orbits of the major moons, or
all the moonlets will occupy only outer orbits (from d to k - ignoring i
or j because of the risk to mix them up). If you use your generated
system just as "settlement" ground, it does not really matter, which
option is taken, but if you want to play around a bit with ships flying
from one moon to another, it would be helpful to know all the orbits.

This does not mean that you have to change your generator again, it just
means that you should add a short explanation how you count the moons.

Another thing I would like to suggest is to add a UWP. I know that this
is the GURPS forum and not a Traveller forum, but I found this quick and
short notation always helpful, and I use it even in pure GURPS games, at
least for my own reference. A Traveller UWP consist of a code letter for
the starport of the system and 7 hexadecimal digits describing the main
world of the system (but also secondary worlds), in terms of size,
hydrographic percentage, atmosphere type, number of inhabitants,
political system, law level ("control rating") and tech level in this
sequence. As your generator only (or mainly) deals with the astronomic
facts, the first place and the last four would remain empty, resulting
in a code like this for Feldon I: -410----. But, please, this is just my
suggestion.

Another suggestion of this type is to add the km value for the miles and
°C or Kelvin for the °F temperatures. But I understand, that this may
cause a lot of problems with the formatting, in order to get the table
fitting on one page.

Nevertheless, great work already!

Regards

-- 
Thomas Thrien
Obermarkstraße 3
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Tel. +49 231 7285456
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