Babylon 5 map creation: The Hyperspace issue

Norlion · #1 June 20th, 2005, 12:46 AM

From the Galactic Guide and other sources I easily have enough information to make a B5 map of almost any size. I am in the process of doing so now.

Question: What about Hyperspace.

There are Hyperspace systems in the B5 mod. There are several options on how to implement them.

1. Don't: Hyperspace is now a fun happy place with no evil monsters.

2. A hyperspace system between every two normal systems. Space the jump-points between the two systems at various distances to represent distances in hyperspace.
2a. You could also connect other routes in Hyperspace via other jumpoints.

3. Several interconnected Hyperspace systems that contain all the jump points.

Suicide Junkie · #2 June 20th, 2005, 01:22 AM

I made an FTL map with hyperspace systems.

Took me 12 hours of work starting from a small randomly generated map to add all the warppoints.

But it does look nice when done.
With the hyperspace systems all set together in the middle, and warp lines radiating outwards to all the normal systems, you get a really cool 3D effect.

However, because of the massive interconnection between systems (12 warppoints out to hyperspace and back for each system), the pathing routines totally choke.
Your ships can thusly only follow line of sight orders in the system they are in.

To travel to a distant planet, if you gave an order to just move there, the ship would sit and do nothing.
Instead, you'd have to tell it to move to the warppoint in this system, warp, move to the next warppoint, warp, and so on.

Atrocities · #3 June 20th, 2005, 04:20 AM

The choke bug. -- ooops he mentioned it.. never mind.

Kana · #4 June 21st, 2005, 01:22 AM

I'm sure someone has come up with this idea...but...it seems so simple...In B5 if I remember correctly there are two types of ways to travel via hyperspace...1) Ship generated hyper-jump drive, and 2) a stationary hyper-jump gate...

Can't you just give an engine type component the ability to open and close wp's, and not have any wp's on the map. Different engines will of course allow you to go different distances...for ships without these drive, or one big enough to get certain places, then a static base, with a gate wp opener could be utilized...unless you want to have battle or encounters in hyperspace...I dont really see a need for it...

Kana

narf poit chez BOOM · #5 June 21st, 2005, 01:36 AM

People would have to close the warp-point behind them.

Kamog · #6 June 21st, 2005, 04:14 AM

Another map for hyperspace would be fun, with encounters and battles taking place in there, adding another level of strategies and exploration. And yet another level for third space or quasi-space after researching or discovering a high level in astrophysics would be wonderful too.

EaX · #7 June 22nd, 2005, 01:56 AM

Hi! i've been lurking here for some time, and i've finally found something to post, i don't know if it will be helpfull anyway....., maybe some of you would like to use the JPG (see attached file) to make a map for the MOD, by the way i've extrated this file from the Babylon Project MOD, for freespace 2

dogscoff · #8 June 22nd, 2005, 04:05 AM

Eax: Woo, pretty.

I know se5 has no plans to implement alternative FTL methods, but it would be nice if it were able to handle quasi-alt-FTL projects like this more comfortably. ways SE5 could help:

- moddable limit on warp points per system.
- auto-closing warp points.
- Stellar manipulation allowed from bases.
- improved routing code, able to handle complex maps.
- "slow" warp points, that take a moddable amount of movement points to traverse.

Any betas know if any of these things are likely to be in se5?

Suicide Junkie · #9 June 22nd, 2005, 07:48 AM

With just openers and closers, the warppoints would end up going direcly from system to system with no hyperspace, and no time delays.
Also, you always come out on the closest sector to the system you openend the warppoint from.

Norlion · #10 June 23rd, 2005, 01:49 PM

http://www.norlion.com/b5/main.html

I have a number of B5 maps there including that 2258 one. I haven't stuck the Mongoose one there yet.

I think Hyperspace would make the game very interesting. You could take a fleet from Centauri Prime and go all the way to Sol without going back to realspace. The EA would have to stick fleets in Hyperspace and real space to stop you. It makes defense much harder.