At 02:46 PM 12/2/98 -0800, Los wrote:
>Tony Christney wrote:
>
>> If you want to use Nyrath's data as a starting point, you may want to
>> reconsider these coordinates. They put Rot Hafen right between
>> the IF, LLAR and NAC on the other side of the inner colonies from the
>> rest of NSL space... Ships would be open to ambush from those three,
>> plus the OU, RH, PAU, and IC before they would arrive in NSL space...
>>
>> I would suggest changing the "y" coordinate to +3.2986
>
>While you have a valid point, we are talking about space here not about
>walking through a mountain pass or Jungle. How are enemy ships going to
>know where my jump points are, they could be anywhere in open space. I
>would also point at that earth bound colonization often had no set
>"master plan" rationalization to it also. Look at Africa or islands in
>the Pacific. People grabbed at wherever they alnded, then carved out
>niches for themsleves where ever they were.

I feel that you may be comparing apples to, say, iron ore. While it 
may be true about secret jump points, etc. you can't argue that if 
this place were attacked (which it clearly is), the logistics of 
resupply would be a nightmare! We're talking over 20ly from NSL 
space. Of course, its your story (and a good one, I might add).

It really depends on whether or not FTL travel time is proportional 
to the distance from your starting point to your destination.

To use your example of African "colonization", the powers would land
and claim the whole continent as their own. Then they would typically 
explore until they found others who had done the same. Where they met 
is where their areas of influence ended. Occasionally wars would be 
fought to decide the boundaries, and the side that won usually 
was at a strategic advantage due to their configurations of power in 
the area, and their ability to resupply.
 
[snip]
>I picked LTT1583 becuase it's an actual place.Is there an actual star
at
>thecoordinates you have given?

Probably not. I just put a '+' where you had a '-'. Sorry, but I don't
have a star survey data set handy. I was just trying to put it 
somewhere a little closer to NSL space.

>If we were talking about a Universe where there are jump points ala
>starfire that's one thing. but I've always found drawing boundry lines
>in space to be kind of funny.

You mean kinda like drawing "lines in the sand"? Personally, I would 
try to think of them as "volumes of influence". Basically they would 
be areas in which a power would be at a strategic advantage over its
neighbours due to shorter supply lines.

In any event, I was just trying to give you a suggestion to think 
about. I'll put Rot Hafen wherever you want it. Period.

>Los
>
Later,

       Tony Christney
       acc@questercorp.com

  "If the end user has to worry about how the program was 
   written then there is something wrong with that program"
				  -Bjarne Stroustrup