I'm going to stop arguing because it's clear you just aren't getting my point, which is details like actual light year-distance are only preserved in a mapping system if it's relevant to the purpose of the map. Faster then light travel (and this is the key point here) doesn't use real space and travel between the stars requires an existing tunnel. The only relevant information for a map of the universe intended for navigational purposes then would be systems and node connections, with length possibly indicating longer travel time (perhaps that has something to do with relative stability of the node, it's age, etc).
WRONG!
It's not irrelevant. I for once like to know the exact stellar location of every system, since it's handy to know in what region of space it's located or if shivan space is next door (possible unstable jump nodes).
You assume that's how a map would be made. Why not use a real map and have travel times represented with a number?...That's assuming travel times differ in any significant way. If they don't then there's no point in having lines of different length at all unless it's actual stellar distance.
You have yet to prove that a "real coordinate" nodemap would be any less usefull than the one you propose.
My point is that I don't have to, and that the burden of simplicity in explanation rests on my side.
As for the fictional aspect of the setting, it's far easier to believe that Volition looked up a bunch of cool stars/used familiar stars and didn't bother too much with researching what type they were/how the system should appear. We're already giving them fictional license to generate planets, moons, etc, so why would we expect them to get the details of each celestial body 100% accurate? But considering they're using real star names, it's WAY more likely they're intended to represent the real world counterparts, rather then identically named and arbitrarily repositioned dopplegangers.
Or they just wanted to use cool sounding names.. they only used some star names that exist in RL. And they used a lot that don't. How does that fit into your reality plan?
Even if if they represent real world counterparts, who said they are in the same location? (since a lot of other things aren't accurately represented)
FS universe is not our universe anyway.
It says to me that Volition wanted to use familiar systems mixed in with entirely fictional ones, as a basis for universe creation that lets the viewer bring their own knowledge of the stars with them (to a certain extent). Think of it as background color that helps flesh out a setting, while not requiring any more work then entirely made up names would. This way we have a sense of familiarity right from the start.
I never once argued that Volition placed or even
intended stars to occupy their positions in the real universe: I argued that they didn't
intentionally place them in the
wrong coordinates to create a mirror universe. Which seems simpler?
1. Volition uses familiar names to create a setting and doesn't bother spacing them accurately because apart from the names 99.99999% of the audience wouldn't know they weren't in the right space.
2. Volition takes familiar names, but deliberately sets them up in positions that conflict with their real life counterparts, in order to create a subtly altered universe that nobody is going to notice anyways except ultra nerds who spend years poring over the in-game fiction.
Is it really so hard for you to believe Volition just didn't bother getting their positions right, rather then intentionally getting them wrong?
But how many gamers would know offhand whether the star in each system is accurate?
How many would know if the location is accurate? [V] didn't bother with it, they didn't go after accuracy since they were making their OWN universe, so hanging so desperatly to our real universe regarding stellar cartography makes little sense.
There are no star maps ever presented in any canon Freespace materials, and node maps are
maps of nodes, not maps of the universe itself and everything in it. Saying that Volition didn't bother with accuracy and then assuming that the result was intentionally different from the real universe is far less likely then "Volition didn't bother about accuracy in positioning."
Once again: Occam's Razor suggests Volition intended systems to correspond with their real life counterparts, but didn't put the effort into recreating them with 100% accuracy. We know that travel time along a jump node's path isn't instantaneous. It's not unreasonable to assume that longer lines between systems indicates longer travel time. Therefore given the distances on the node map don't correspond to distance in real life, two explanations present themselves. 1) The node map is itself inaccurate, or 2) The node map isn't measuring distance.
Pardon me if I prefer an elegant explanation that doesn't involve a deliberate plan to place stars in odd positions and that let's [V] off the hook for not doing extensive research.
