Difference between revisions of "Spoiler-Free Star Map"

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(advise to change the key bindings rather than the keyboard layout)
(Melnorme has revealed lots of helpful information and corrected grammar and spelling errors)
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These are a map of the Ur-Quan universe, with names. They are basically a screen capture of the in-game starmap, but with all the star clusters' and individual stars' names added. Thus, they make your life much easier when someone tells you "The ship is coming from the direction of Pollux" or "You should visit the Normae star cluster". Rather than having to cursor-hunt for the star across the whole map, you can just look on these charts!
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These four charts comprise a map of the Ur-Quan universe, with various features named. It's basically a screen capture of the in-game starmap, but the names of all the star clusters, and those of some individual stars, have been added. This will make it  easier for you when an NPC tells you "The ship is coming from the direction of Pollux" or "You should visit the Normae star cluster". Rather than having to cursor-hunt for the star across the whole map, you can just look on these charts!
  
 
Remember, though, that as of version 0.5.0, you can hit the '/'-key whenever you're on the starmap to search for a star's name. If the '/' key is inconveniently placed on your keyboard, you may want to [[The Ur-Quan Masters Technical FAQ#How do I change my keys?|change your key bindings]].
 
Remember, though, that as of version 0.5.0, you can hit the '/'-key whenever you're on the starmap to search for a star's name. If the '/' key is inconveniently placed on your keyboard, you may want to [[The Ur-Quan Masters Technical FAQ#How do I change my keys?|change your key bindings]].
  
The charts are on a gray, not black, background so that you can print them out and write notes on them.
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The charts are also on a gray, not black, background so that you can print them out and write notes on them. Any individual chart enlarged to 150% in size will fit on a standard piece of North American Letter-size paper when the margins are reduced to zero. Just be sure you are enlarging the picture from its full size, not the 87% reduced size. The filename of the chart on the upper left is "Uqm-starmap-nameslarge-NW.PNG", with "NW" standing for "northwest". As is conventional, the other charts have filenames of the same form, but with the cardinal direction letters replaced, in clockwise order, by NE, SE, and SW. This is to help you put the sheets back together if you print out the sheets separately.
  
All of the screenshots and information on them come from a new game, 10 seconds in; there are no spoilers and nothing you don't know when you start the game.
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All of the screenshots and information on them come from a new game, ten seconds into it. There are no spoilers revealed in this map and nothing you wouldn't know when you start the game.
  
A text list of stars and their coordintes can be found at [[Star Coordinates]].   
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The stars are of different colors. Some are depicted as dots, some are crosses, and some are squares with crosses in them. The significance of these distinctions you will have to find out for yourself.
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The geometric "Origin", or co-ordinate 0.0 : 0.0, is at the lower left of the chart at the lower left. The vertical and horizontal lines which subdivide the map are 50 units of distance apart, so the center of the four charts is at 500.0 : 500.0. You start at Sol, located at co-ordinates 175.2 : 145.0. That's three-and-a-half squares to the right of the Origin, and nearly three squares up. Each unit of fuel, regardless of the number of engines in your spaceship, will enable you to travel 10 units of distance. (More engines merely make you travel faster.) Thus, to travel from Sol to the aforementioned center of the charts, you would need about 48 units of fuel, plus another 48 to return, without accounting for any fighting, evading, escaping into a star system, or stopping for resource accumulation you would do on the way. This example is to help you gauge if you've taken on too big a journey for your gas tank.
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However, each individual star is not named. For example, the name "Centauri" below and to the left of Sol, your starting location, stands for the five stars Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon Centauri. Thus, you will still have to add detail to be able to cross off whichever stars you have visited, for example. And here's an astronomical note which might help you: "Alpha" is supposed to be the brightest star in any constellation, followed by "Beta," etc.
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A text list of stars and their co-ordinates can be found at [[Star Coordinates]].   
  
 
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Revision as of 01:34, 6 May 2006

This page is guaranteed to be spoiler free. It is safe for you to read this page even if you have not completed playing The Ur-Quan Masters. Links you follow from this page do not share this guarantee unless they also include this text.


These four charts comprise a map of the Ur-Quan universe, with various features named. It's basically a screen capture of the in-game starmap, but the names of all the star clusters, and those of some individual stars, have been added. This will make it easier for you when an NPC tells you "The ship is coming from the direction of Pollux" or "You should visit the Normae star cluster". Rather than having to cursor-hunt for the star across the whole map, you can just look on these charts!

Remember, though, that as of version 0.5.0, you can hit the '/'-key whenever you're on the starmap to search for a star's name. If the '/' key is inconveniently placed on your keyboard, you may want to change your key bindings.

The charts are also on a gray, not black, background so that you can print them out and write notes on them. Any individual chart enlarged to 150% in size will fit on a standard piece of North American Letter-size paper when the margins are reduced to zero. Just be sure you are enlarging the picture from its full size, not the 87% reduced size. The filename of the chart on the upper left is "Uqm-starmap-nameslarge-NW.PNG", with "NW" standing for "northwest". As is conventional, the other charts have filenames of the same form, but with the cardinal direction letters replaced, in clockwise order, by NE, SE, and SW. This is to help you put the sheets back together if you print out the sheets separately.

All of the screenshots and information on them come from a new game, ten seconds into it. There are no spoilers revealed in this map and nothing you wouldn't know when you start the game.

The stars are of different colors. Some are depicted as dots, some are crosses, and some are squares with crosses in them. The significance of these distinctions you will have to find out for yourself.

The geometric "Origin", or co-ordinate 0.0 : 0.0, is at the lower left of the chart at the lower left. The vertical and horizontal lines which subdivide the map are 50 units of distance apart, so the center of the four charts is at 500.0 : 500.0. You start at Sol, located at co-ordinates 175.2 : 145.0. That's three-and-a-half squares to the right of the Origin, and nearly three squares up. Each unit of fuel, regardless of the number of engines in your spaceship, will enable you to travel 10 units of distance. (More engines merely make you travel faster.) Thus, to travel from Sol to the aforementioned center of the charts, you would need about 48 units of fuel, plus another 48 to return, without accounting for any fighting, evading, escaping into a star system, or stopping for resource accumulation you would do on the way. This example is to help you gauge if you've taken on too big a journey for your gas tank.

However, each individual star is not named. For example, the name "Centauri" below and to the left of Sol, your starting location, stands for the five stars Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon Centauri. Thus, you will still have to add detail to be able to cross off whichever stars you have visited, for example. And here's an astronomical note which might help you: "Alpha" is supposed to be the brightest star in any constellation, followed by "Beta," etc.

A text list of stars and their co-ordinates can be found at Star Coordinates.

Map NW Map NE
Map SW Map SE