David Ross ("Zimriel"), 21 April - 7 May 2008
This is the sequel to the previous essay on Starflight 1's atlas. If you wish to play these games, again, I suggest to go find a copy first.
Starflight's sequel used the same fractal method as did the original. Quite often it used the same data as well, which means that some geographies are duplicates of geographies in SF1. I noted in the earlier project that type 33 in SF2 bears the same fractal code as type 49 in SF1. Types 44, 45, 47, 48, 51-55 and 57-59 are also the same between the two games.
A "Starflight 2 Atlas" is still possible, but cannot be taken seriously for duplicate types. My thought was that SF1 should take precedence, unless text in SF2 has made that impossible (as with type 49 SF1 = Hooplah SF2; and type 58, Arth in one and Elthesh in the other). Therefore the geographies of the Ch-Q-Tss-T (44), Aeoruiiaeo (45), Nga-Seng-Kler (47), Teeelveee (48), Djaboon (51), Nelsons (52), Nathracch (53), three of the four Leghk ruins (54, 55, 57), one of the two Ancient ruins (59) remain mysteries.
| 18-Tandelou Eshvey |
19-Tandelou Eshvara |
20-Dweenle 1 |
21-Dweenle 2 |
22-Dweenle 3 |
23-G'Aeresch |
| 24-Ng'Kher'Arla |
25-Humna Humna 3 |
26-Draffa Bastii |
27-Humna Humna 4 |
28-Humna Humna 1 |
29-Humna Humna 6 |
| 30-Humna Humna 7 |
31-Humna Humna 5 |
32-Humna Humna 2 |
33-Hooplah |
34-Leghk |
35-Bemfblunk |
| 36-Shyneum |
37-Umanu |
38-Umanu homeworld |
39-Lowar homeworld |
40-Dershetche |
41-Xxr |
| 42-Chichifa |
43-Mbe |
46-Nga-Seng-Diul |
49-Lieu Vadish |
50-Tarn |
56-Guardian Key |
| 58-Elthesh |
60-Ancients p4 |
Much is the same as before, except that we don't have quite as much text dumped from SF2 as we do for SF1. I am a bit more dependent on the XLS here than I was before (excepting type 56).
Molten planet type 37 is not actually molten. The world in question has a liquid water hydrosphere and oxygenated atmosphere as we do. However its arctic is "temperate" while its equator is "searing". I take its "molten" status to refer to a thin crust; the equatorial "ocean" would then be an open pit of superheated fluid... stuff. Type 34 is truly molten, with no hydrosphere, but is waterlogged enough to support abundant plantlife (someplace) which oxygenates the air. Given that, one should keep an open mind about planet type 40 and the Dershetche.
Almost all of these worlds are inhabited and so tagged by Humna Humna; type 60 is presumably known to them as well. If the ancient Dweenle riddle can be credited, then type 56's co-ordinate system was set by the Leghk who, by co-incidence, set their latitudinal zero at the equator as we do. But the riddle also relies on a prime meridian which we have no possible way of knowing for that obscured planet.
Again, I cheated. Doubly so in that I started out by comparing fractal codes and checking that the codes were handled the same.
I set up the outermost planet of 34,74 to mimic these maps by replacing offset $1BF1F with the planet type code. (Omitting codes I already knew all about from SF1.) Having saved this file, I ran the game so as to create a dummy crewman and then assign him to every station and then name his ship (this was a bit easier in SF2). I went over to that other system and set out to land on the altered planet. Did the same ol' thing as before.
21 April 2008, started. 7 May, Elthesh.
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