Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

Manual input is a no go. I can get a similar effect by parsing the locations in different ways, such as doing every 3n system, then 3n+1, then 3n+2. I'm not sure how much it would improve SE5's WP placement though; will have to experiment.

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

So no spelling out our names in the stars then? But my megamegalomania needs a fix!

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

Ok, for the "flower/web" type setup, it can be made decent-looking at smaller sizes. However, for the "spindly" type (the last image, where each arm is totally separate), there is not much to be done to make it appear good at lower system numbers. They tend to work out ok at medium map sizes though.

Keep in mind that the "arms" are essentially an artifact of the parameters fed to the logarithmic spiral function and how SE5 tends to place WP lines. If you look back at the very first image, you can see how there are in fact 4 separate spiral lines coming out of the center of the map. The latter quadrant images do not have WP line connections that are in any way related to the actual spirals; the WP line "arms" are actually cross-cutting through the spiral lines.

<hr>

This is essentially how the locations are calculated (in python), with the uniqueness and outside-the-map checking coming after the calculations:

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
# first attempt, where spirals get connected as WP lines
param_first = {'a': 2,
'b': 0.1,
'c': math.pi / 8,
'phase_list': [0, math.pi / 2, math.pi, 3 * math.pi / 2]
}

# Flower/web type
param_flower = {'a': 1,
'b': 0.1,
'c': 1,
'phase_list': [0, math.pi / 2, math.pi, 3 * math.pi / 2]
}

# discrete spindly arms
param_spindly = {'a': 1.85,
'b': 0.1,
'c': 1,
'phase_list': [0, math.pi / 2, math.pi, 3 * math.pi / 2]
}

param = param_flower

# Make the difference between t0 and t1 decrease as t gets larger
t_vals = [3]
for j in range(1, 50):
t_vals.append(t_vals[j-1] + (100 - t_vals[j-1]) * 0.01)

for phase in param['phase_list']:
for t in t_vals:
t0 = t
t1 = t * param['c']

x = round(param['a'] * math.exp(param['b'] * t0) * math.cos(t1 + phase) +
map_center['x'])
y = round(param['a'] * math.exp(param['b'] * t0) * math.sin(t1 + phase) +
map_center['y'])
</pre><hr />

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

Hmm... if I stick to 2 engineered arms, I can make them actually have some thickness.

Large:
http://fqm5.spaceempires.net/img/spiral_2_thick_l.jpg

Medium:
http://fqm5.spaceempires.net/img/spiral_2_thick_m.jpg

Due to the bulge in the center, the small often doesn't get much in the way of an arm. C'est la vie.

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

I think they're good, especially the large one. Would it be possible to thin out the center without messing up the WP lines? Would be neat if the arms went even further 'around' the center.

Even if that doesn't work, they're still cool as they are. Looks like a broken web.

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

I like almost all of them. The shapes give a lot more versitility to the galaxies you can create. Awesome job all around Fyron.

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

Spiral galaxies exhibit a dense cluster of stars in the middle, which is what I was seeking to implement.

I thinned out the cluster a lot from the original setup I was testing, so that the smaller quadrants would have less in there and more in the arms, while the larger quadrants would still have a dense cluster. There are only 13 fixed system positions in the center; the rest are generated by the spirals themselves. Here is an example of the Small quadrant:

http://fqm5.spaceempires.net/img/spiral_2_thick_s.jpg

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

Is it possible to make a 255-system spiral quadrant?

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

Probably not. 255 systems is a massive jumble of systems on SE5's tiny map.

Re: FQM Quadrant Shapes
 

I think you already have that in the grid galaxy with 255 systems it looks like the board from the game show "Consentration" before they turn squares over { did I just date myself ? }