[ThesaurusRex]

I remember a while back I wanted to update the FS node map so I calculated each system's distance from our sun, well,  for the systems that do exists. Anyways, after I noticed that I got some really weird numbers. I then graphed each point on a 3d model, this however left me more confused than before. There was no orientation that would give me the same view as presented on this node map. Just as an example Deneb is 1400 light-years away from the sun while Sirius and Vega are 8.6 light-years and 25.3 light-years away from the sun respectively. But on this node map they look like they are both 8 to 10 light years away from each other. Before anyone asks if I considered a different orientation I have to remind them that I already did. Anyways, has anyone ever noticed the spatial inaccuracy of this node map before?

I  have looked at some other node maps on HL but they seem to be based off this old one.

[The E]

My (in-universe) guess is that, since the actual distances involved do not matter when using nodes, whoever made that map didn't bother trying to represent the actual real-life layout of the systems.

[Aardwolf]

My question is, where do those 4 off-the-sides paths go? Does Altair connect to Mirfak? Does Regulus connect to Adhara?

[General Battuta]

We had this huge debate about this once and concluded the lengths of the bars between systems do not represent real-world distances.

Trashman argued that they did, and that all the star systems had been renamed. That's Trashman for ya.

[Blue Lion]

Isn't that map a 2d "screenshot" of a 3d map?

[General Battuta]

It still doesn't work out.

[ThesaurusRex]

If this were just a map that represents connections rather than actual distances then it is very convoluted. Also from certain angles there would be systems in aligned as shown in the map, but then there would be other systems that seem reversed in position with the others leaving them in the wrong location.

Blue Lion, could you please post up your 3d map? I discarded mine and I don't care to remake it. Thanks.

[The E]

You're right, it is convoluted. Still, it does allow for all the "Shivan" systems to be neatly tucked away in the north-eastern corner. Maybe the length of the connection == travel time?

[ThesaurusRex]

There may be one logical explanation, this map was accurate in 2335 or 2367. But what are these years but arbitrary numbers? Perhaps they are not denoted by Anno Domini and don't go by the Julian or Gregorian calendars. Then these years could actually be a million years in the future.

[General Battuta]

No.

[ThesaurusRex]

No.

Good. I hoped that wouldn't be the case. But now we're back to square one.

[colecampbell666]

Why is he always against the grain? (TrashMan)

I think that the off-the-map lines go to unexplored systems.

[tinfoil]

You're right, it is convoluted. Still, it does allow for all the "Shivan" systems to be neatly tucked away in the north-eastern corner. Maybe the length of the connection == travel time?

Or, maybe the map was made by a video game company that didn't care about the distances because it looked nice!

[ThesaurusRex]

You're right, it is convoluted. Still, it does allow for all the "Shivan" systems to be neatly tucked away in the north-eastern corner. Maybe the length of the connection == travel time?

Or, maybe the map was made by a video game company that didn't care about the distances because it looked nice!

Bingo. That's probably the case. Maybe someone will be compelled to make a non-canon correction to the node map someday.

[Droid803]

Well, subspace has a different "geography" than normal space. If you put the distances realistically, it'd look really bad.

[NGTM-1R]

Droid's got it. Physical distance is meaningless in comparison to extradimensional weirdness distance, because that's how you travel.

[Scotty]

There's a book I read once that had something like this issue in it.  Some navy or other was using reaction drives to go to other stars, and completely ignoring jump nodes (called wormholes ).  It played merry hell with everyone until someone actually made a map based on real-space distances and locations.

All the map colors ended up twisted together like some preschooler's crayon drawing.  I would conjecture that the map presented is in no way actually to scale.  I wouldn't even be surprised if the stars aren't arranged in that order in realspace.

The book is Exodus, by Steve White and Shirley Meyer, in case anyone wanted to know.

[blackhole]

ITS A GAME.Really, why is everyone so surprised when they find glaring inconsistences in game universes? Games are designed to be fun and believable. Humans will believe anything that looks fine even if its grossly inaccurate, because most people don't really care.

[Scotty]

Why do you get surprised when we argue about it?

[Blue Lion]

You're not shocked that game designers fudged the numbers a bit but ARE shocked when gamers try to decipher it?