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Thread: [Illustrator] Hoffer's Wake

  1. #1

    Default [Illustrator] Hoffer's Wake

    This is a map of the starting star system from the video game Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos. The style is similar to the in game navigation system, though I used simpler geometric shapes instead of object silhouettes.

    I'm starting up a Traveller game soon, and I decided to rip off the video game rather than generate my own environment at first. Plus, there doesn't seem to be a map of Hoffer's Wake out there anywhere, so hopefully fans of the game will find it useful.

    I plan to make additional detail maps of the various planetary orbits over the next week or so, as well as deckplans of select asteroid bases and space stations, and ground maps of settled moons and planets.

    At the moment, the scale is wildly inaccurate. I haven't decided yet if I want to spend the time to actually survey the system or just disclaim any pretentions toward accurate scaling.

    Oh, and since I intend to eventually display this to my players via MapTool on my television, it's been designed to HDTV standards.
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    Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
    http://www.bryanray.name

  2. #2
    Publisher Facebook Connected bartmoss's Avatar
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    Looks nice. Not knowing the background I find the "to Coyote" line irritating. Also, one tiny suggestion: Add the stars' spectral class to the info in the upper left corner. Other than that, I got nothing.

  3. #3
    Community Leader Facebook Connected Ascension's Avatar
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    You know some sticklers will come by and say "dude, your scale is way off". So if you decide to forgo that then put the disclaimer on there nice and big.
    If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
    -J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)


    My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps

  4. #4

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    Well, if I don't fix it, I'll take it off entirely.

    bart: Any particular reason you think the stars' spectral classes are important enough to list there? I can't think of any effect they'd have on gameplay, but maybe I'm overlooking something. The rest of that information is standard Traveller data.

    As for the "to Coyote" line, I'm not sold on it myself. The reasoning is that there is only one system, Coyote, within range of a typical jump drive. The line indicates the direction of that star, and the endpoint at Blackeye indicates the presence of a Lagrange point that can be used to make the journey. Actually, there's another near Alexander that will go on the map that I prepare for the IWar community, unless I just take them off entirely.

    One other tweak I think it needs is to differentiate the background of the callout a little bit. I'll probably also put the obscured lines back in, but reduce their opacity even further where they go underneath.
    Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
    http://www.bryanray.name

  5. #5

    Wip

    When I got to looking at the distances on the map, I realized that I needed a logarithmic scale. I took out the jump route indicator, which not only reduces confusion but also leaves me a bit more flexibility if I decide not to use the rest of the Badlands Cluster as published. The type on the scale is a bit too tiny, considering the superscript, but I haven't decided if I want to increase the resolution or bump up the type size.
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    Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
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  6. #6
    Publisher Facebook Connected bartmoss's Avatar
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    3nfd version is much better.
    The spectral class etc - well I figured, that's the main thing that describes a star, right? what size and what color is it? So if you have an info box, that should probbaly be part of it. The basic traveller Universal world profile is nice for what it was designed back in the 70s, but it's really too simplistic once you deal with one system.

  7. #7

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    Hmmm… I think whoever set this game up didn't do the math. The most generous numbers show the orbital period of Griffon being a little more than half a day and the surface temperature of the planet being, at a minimum, 1300 degrees C. There are numerous space stations orbiting Griffon, which given those conditions, I just don't find very likely. I'll finish out the map as it is for the I-War fans, but then do some adjustments for my Traveller version.
    Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
    http://www.bryanray.name

  8. #8

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    Alright, I think this is as far as I'm going to take this one. I've got the style fairly well nailed down, and I want to get moving on other charts.
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    Bryan Ray, visual effects artist
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  10. #10
    Guild Expert Greason Wolfe's Avatar
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    Yes indeed, that looks mighty fine to me, Mid. As ravs said, clean and easy to follow, and you probably made the right call in saying that you weren't going to take it any further as there really doesn't seem to be any need to take it further.

    GW
    GW

    One's worth is not measured by stature, alone. By heart and honor is One's true value weighed.

    Current Non-challenge WIP : Beyond Sosnasib
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