Yes, two blog posts in a single day. This one was planned; the first one happened because it came up unexpectedly.
So, we're moving on with world design. This page is actually just details on what the various letters and numbers mean. And since I've only got these three so far (starports, size, and atmosphere) plus hydrographics, this will give me a starting point to describing the worlds I've got. As I mentioned last time, there are 47 worlds in my subsector. Now, let's see what all these numbers actually mean.
First, starports. As I suspected, an 'A' port is the best one. It carries refined fuel, can do annual maintenance on a ship, can construct starships and local vessels, and has a decent chance of having a naval base (8+ on 2D), and a small chance of having a scout base (10+). These are the hardcore stations, the Utopia Planitia of Traveller.
'B' ports are almost as good, but they can't build full starships, just the local ones, and they have a slightly higher chance of having a scout base (9+). Naval base is still 8+ here. This would be Deep Space Nine.
'C' ports can install things on a ship and do basic repairs, but they don't have a fuel refinery, so any fuel you pick up here is going to be low quality and have a chance to damage your ship's engines. They don't have naval bases, but have scout bases (with refined fuel, so they're hoarding it for themselves) on an 8+.
'D' ports suck. They can fix or build anything, only sell unrefined fuel (except to the scouts, if they have a base on a 7+), and are generally poor quality. However, they're still better than an 'E' port, which is just a bare spot on the planet without fuel, facilities, or bases. 'X' means there isn't even a flat piece to land on, or at least no one has ever tried to do so.
Alright, that's the ports. Size is straightforward; multiply the number by 1000, and you have the diameter of the planet in miles. '0' is, again, an asteroid or planetoid complex, and the table goes up to 'C', which is a 12,000-mile diameter planet. You can't roll that on 2D-2, but if you want a bigger planet, you can certainly change the modifier.
Moving on to atmosphere, this table comes with some notes, because it's not a straightforward 'this is how much air you have' table. There are different types of atmosphere, not all of them safe. No atmosphere or trace atmosphere (0 and 1, respectively) basically means you're in a vacuum, so wear your vacc suit or die. '2' and '3' mean a very thin atmosphere, so you need a breathing apparatus to survive. '4' and '5' are thin, '6' and '7' are standard, '8' and '9' are dense atmospheres. You can breathe these without any issues. However, '2', '4', '7' and '9' are also tainted, which means that you need filter masks to deal with the natural or artificial pollution in the atmosphere. That's an important point; maybe the air is just filthy, or there's a lot of industry on the planet that pumps out pollution to the point that you can't breathe normally.
The last three lines on the table are 'A' for Exotic, 'B' for Corrosive, and 'C' for Insidious. Exotic means you need an oxygen tank, but you don't need a protective suit to survive. A corrosive atmosphere means you do have to wear a protective suit, in addition to the air tanks. If you're in an insidious atmosphere, though, forget it; just leave, because your protective suit is going to be melted in 2-12 hours. A world like that would either be a self-contained industrial complex where workers could stay indoors safely, or a world with alien life that can handle that kind of atmosphere. That might be fun to work with; imagine an alien species that breathes normally in an atmosphere that can melt a space suit in half a day. That would be one tough metabolism.
So, now that I know what these things mean, I can take a look at the planets I've rolled up so far and see what I have. Looking at the list, I have six worlds with a standard, non-tainted atmosphere. One of them, at 0602, has an 'A' starport. Its planetary characteristics so far are A569, which means it has an 'A' port, is about 5000 miles in diameter, has a standard atmosphere, and is 90% covered in water. That's right, I've got an entire planet that is basically the South Pacific. I wonder what its population will be.
And that planet down in the bottom corner, all isolated? It's an E351, so it's got a breathable, thin atmosphere, is only 3000 miles in diameter, and only has 10% water. Oh, that should be a fun place to put something interesting.
So, that hub at the top center with all those 'A' ports? Here's what they look like:
0401 A88C
0403 A656
0404 D575
0502 A9E4
0504 C596
0505 C310
0601 B346
0602 A569
0603 A434
0703 C200
0705 C9A5
0802 A100
Experienced Traveller players will be able to recognize the characteristics of these worlds at a glance. For those of us who aren't experienced, at 0401 we've got a waterworld with a dense atmosphere, roughly the size of Earth. At 403 it's a thin atmosphere, 6000 miles in diameter, and about 60% water. 0502 is big, at 9000, and that atmosphere of 'E' doesn't show up on the table, so it becomes a 'C'. Insidious. We have a great starport on a planet that has the deadliest atmosphere possible. I'll put that starport in orbit.
Moving on, that 'B' port at 0601 has a thin, tainted atmosphere, and it's not that big at only 3000 miles. But 0602 is that South Pacific planet I mentioned; I think I'll call it New Fiji. The one at 0603 is small, with a very thin atmosphere, and the last one, at 0802, is a bare rock in space with an awesome starport. Which is odd, because it doesn't connect to anything except a 'C' at 0703, which is just a bigger rock in space with no atmosphere. What is going on at that 'A' port that it needs to be that advanced? That will be an interesting exploration to attempt.
What else is there? That pair of lonely planets at the bottom middle with no jump routes are interesting. At 0510 we have a C868, and at 0410 is an E624. But the most interesting worlds, to me, are the 'X' ports (as in, no starport at all). Here they are:
0206 X467
0308 X766
0609 X333
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