Hi guys,
I've created an interactive map of the Inner Sphere in 3025 (If you don't know what those words mean, you've come to the right place - I'll explain them at the bottom of this post). Special thanks go out to @Wraith_81, who helped with editing and cleaning up the system data.
First of all, here's the link to the application: Go to the map
You can use your internet browser to view the map (hint for your viewing pleasure: Hit the F11 key to put your browser into fullscreen mode). It runs best in Chrome, but other browsers should work ok too. I should note that the map is not designed to be used with phones.
Instead of giving you a full list of the map's features, I made a short video (no sound). Check it out:
More recently, I added the option to enter, save and load custom user data (i.e. your own information) for each star system. The video below explains how to do that. I was very tired, so please excuse my somewhat slurred speech.
Following the video's instructions, you can import these cool user-made data files (download / save as file, then import to map):
- List of known 'Mech factories 3025 (by Tuhalu from the old forums, not sure if he's on here)
- List of lost designs and factories 3025 (by Tuhalu)
That should set you up to use the map. Here's some further info, in Q&A format:
Q: What is the Inner Sphere?
The Inner Sphere is the human-inhabited part of space in the science fiction universe of BattleTech. It is described to be a spherical region centered around the Sol system and extending roughly 500 light years outwards in all directions, containing somewhere between 2000 - 3000 star systems (depending on whether formerly inhabited and periphery worlds are included).
Since all available depictions show a two-dimensional starmap despite the "sphere" moniker, the consensus is to regard the Inner Sphere as essentially 2D (accompanied by the fluff explanation that all maps are simply 2D projections of 3D space).
Q: What is so special about the year 3025?
The BattleTech universe is rich in history, and there are many interesting eras to explore. However, the quintessential era (at least to old-school table top players from the 80s and 90s like yours truly) is the time of the late Succession Wars, characterized by technological decline ("LosTech") and the Macchiavellian politics of the five Successor States and their feudal lords.
The year 3025 marks the end of the Third Succession War and sees the five major powers locked in a stalemate, exhausted after centuries of war. Despite an uneasy cease-fire between the combatants, there are plenty of localized conflicts for the domination of single planets, not to forget the ongoing struggles with bandits and minor states in the periphery. The Successor States, burned out as they are, are trying to conserve their military assets and oftentimes employ mercenary companies to fight their battles.
In contrast to previous wars which were fought with giant armies and countless anonymous soldiers, combat in this era is much more up close and personal. This is due to BattleMechs ruling the battlefield - 30-foot-tall robots, highly mobile, heavily armored and armed to the teeth. If controlled by a skilled pilot, a BattleMech is the equivalent of an entire company of lesser machines or infantry. Convential wisdom says that the best way to combat a BattleMech is another BattleMech, which means that most battles consist of a limited number of Mechs fighting each other to decide the outcome of an entire conflict.
See also:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Succession_Wars_(History)
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Successor_States
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/BattleMech
Q: How did you make this?
I scraped all planetary systems and their 3025 political affiliations off sarna.net using a custom script. Me and @Wraith_81 later reviewed the data and corrected a bunch of systems' coordinates and affiliations. I then used HTML, SVG, Javascript and the D3 library to visualize the data.
Q: Yeah, but ... how exactly did you make this?
The project is open source and it's on github. If you want the nuts and bolts, you should check out the sources.
Q: My MechWarrior RPG group meets in a cave with no wi-fi. Is there a way to use the map offline?
Yes. If you need help setting it up locally or on your own webserver, I can probably jump-start you. Just ask.
Q: I have a suggestion - can you implement feature X?
Maybe so! We had a good discussion going on on the old forums, and I've been able to implement quite a few good ideas that other forumites came up with. My time is somewhat limited though, so don't be mad if I don't get around to it - no disrespect to anyone's ideas intended, I assure you.
Q: A system seems to be missing, or it's there but at the wrong spot - what gives?
As mentioned before, we are using the planetary system list from Sarna.net, which we've corrected ever so slightly. Obviously, our list can still contain errors, and we'll be glad to check on them and correct them with your help.
The folks over at Sarna have done a tremendous job assembling all this data, seeing that there's no (canonical) source for all Inner Sphere and periphery systems and their coordinates, just a bunch of partially contradictory source maps, and some prose info on possible jump connections (indicating a distance of <= 30 LY between two systems). Working on this has certainly given me a new appreciation for what Sarna's contributors have created. We're just standing on the shoulders of giants as they say.
