GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

[Stray Cat]

Has anyone ever mapped out GATEWAY? Or found any maps of space stations or moon bases online? I'm running a scenario this weekend which involves such environs, but I am coming up with nothing. Does anyone else wish that the various bases written up in sourcebooks included plans or maps? Heck, if I had my preference, the maps and plans coupled with the descriptions would suffice; I could come up with the stats. What I loved most about Champions Battlegrounds were the maps of the various locales.

 

Here is a suggestion or two. My preference would be to include the maps in the sourcebook obviously. But a compromising suggestion would be to include maps in Digital Hero. (Or is this already being done? I seem to recall a floorplan of the Bayview Blimp in one of the articles I recently purchased.)

 

Oh well, enough constructive criticism. If anyone else has considered a lunar base but had a hard time tracking down plans, I found that an Antarctic research facility like the one in this link: New South Pole Station could be modified with little work.

 

Cat

[CBikle]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

FGU had an old V&V module that included a space station. Also the old Mayfair JLA sourcebook had the floorplans for the JLA satellite.

[Stray Cat]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Thanks CBikle, for the info. I'll see if I can't track down one or the other.

[Blue Jogger]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Realize that a space station can get quite twisted, because either of the following is true.

 

1) You have gravity plating and you can make "up" change through out the ship. Perhaps making corridors twice as high and putting another floor on the ceiling. Although, it is common to have artifical gravity in comic books, they usually make "down" match the Earth which makes for a boring space station. You can also decide if gravity always work or if it can be turned off or increased.

 

2) You produce your simulated gravity by spinning the station, and up is towards the center. Realize as you get towards the center, the centripetal force eventually goes down to zero.

 

3) There is no gravity. While in RL, being weightless for long times can cause serious problems, in comic books, this isn't a problem until years pass. The space shuttle has proven that scientists will not enforce an "up" or "down" when it isn't neccessary, and will use every wall and ceiling as floor space.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Cat,

 

First off, thanks for the link. I'm a nut for maps and immediately printed that off.

 

Second, thanks for the plug on the Bayside Blimp.

 

As to the meat of your post, DC Heroes had a module, Siege, that contained maps of the JLA satellite base. I'm not positive, but I thinkTraveller had a space station in at least one module. And I know there's a set of blueprints done of the Next Gen Enterprise that could be twisted or borrowed from to fit a space station. But AFAIK nothing official from DOJ on GATEWAY.

 

According to the text in the UNTIL sourcebook, the station has artificial gravity, and since it is bought with a Bulky OIF, I'd say it's the sci-fi variety rather than from rotation. Of course, you could decide differently in your world.

 

Given the size (8,000 hexes!), I doubt you'll see GATEWAY drawn out, though that would be way cool if they did. If you can get your hands on one or more of the previously mentioned maps, I'd just borrow bits and pieces for key areas (bridge, docking bay, etc.) where the players are likely to go, and wing the rest.

[BoloOfEarth]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

I know it doesn't help with your problem, but just for sh*ts and giggles, here's a ship I mapped out for a Haymaker! article I wrote.

 

(Edited to change from BMP files to GIF to save space.)

[Stray Cat]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Realize that a space station can get quite twisted, because either of the following is true.

 

1) You have gravity plating and you can make "up" change through out the ship. Perhaps making corridors twice as high and putting another floor on the ceiling. Although, it is common to have artifical gravity in comic books, they usually make "down" match the Earth which makes for a boring space station. You can also decide if gravity always work or if it can be turned off or increased.

 

2) You produce your simulated gravity by spinning the station, and up is towards the center. Realize as you get towards the center, the centripetal force eventually goes down to zero.

 

3) There is no gravity. While in RL, being weightless for long times can cause serious problems, in comic books, this isn't a problem until years pass. The space shuttle has proven that scientists will not enforce an "up" or "down" when it isn't neccessary, and will use every wall and ceiling as floor space.

 

Thanks for the input! I did manage to actually read about GATEWAY last night. A friend let me borrow his UNTIL book until (npi) I can get the game store this weekend. GATEWAY does have artifical gravity, and I think for the sake of laziness and sanity I will go ahead and have the boring "Earth is down" approach. I'm sure for the sake of experimentation there are null-gravity zones.

 

Although... any number of villains, once aboard GATEWAY could wreak tons of damage by manipulating the gravity controls....

 

Cat

[Stray Cat]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Cat,

 

First off, thanks for the link. I'm a nut for maps and immediately printed that off.

 

Second, thanks for the plug on the Bayside Blimp.

 

As to the meat of your post, DC Heroes had a module, Siege, that contained maps of the JLA satellite base. I'm not positive, but I thinkTraveller had a space station in at least one module. And I know there's a set of blueprints done of the Next Gen Enterprise that could be twisted or borrowed from to fit a space station. But AFAIK nothing official from DOJ on GATEWAY.

 

According to the text in the UNTIL sourcebook, the station has artificial gravity, and since it is bought with a Bulky OIF, I'd say it's the sci-fi variety rather than from rotation. Of course, you could decide differently in your world.

 

Given the size (8,000 hexes!), I doubt you'll see GATEWAY drawn out, though that would be way cool if they did. If you can get your hands on one or more of the previously mentioned maps, I'd just borrow bits and pieces for key areas (bridge, docking bay, etc.) where the players are likely to go, and wing the rest.

 

I'm a map nut too! And I loved the Bayside Blimp! The sneak peek of DH articles on the HERO home page are nifty, and the blimp article is what got me to purchase Digital Hero credits. I haven't used the blimp yet, but it's only a matter of time. I think that's an awesome venue for a knockdown dragout, not to mention its exotic locale for various role-play situations.

 

And you're right about GATEWAY. That is huge! Thanks for the advice. I've got to get busy whipping out some sample areas where interaction is likely to occur.

 

Thanks for Liberty too. I plan on using that. If not in the upcoming adventure, somewhere. Thanks again!

 

Cat

[Blue Jogger]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

8,000 hexes for a space station isn't that much.

 

That's just 10 floors of 800 hexes. Half of that is corridors, rooms filled with machines, the giant axle that runs through the middle, etc. That leaves 400 hexes for living space. If a standard room is say roughly three hexes (because triangle rooms are cool), then that's roughly 16 rooms/floor, although some might be doubled (two triangles) or quad-sized (a big triangle formed from four smaller ones).

 

One of the floors (the bottom one) is probably just the cargo hold.

 

One of the floors (the upper most one) is probably reserved for observation, libraries, and other recreational activities. You might have your main bridge up here.

 

OR

16 floors of 500 hexes, leaving up to 10 smaller rooms (swap out a few for double and quad-sized ones)

This is better since cutting off elevators and blocking stairs makes for entire sections of the space station cut off from other parts of the space station. Great if you want to make your heroes climb up and down stairs.

 

You also get to decide to place your "floors" directly under each other. Or instead have sections. So the main level might have 6 outer sections seperated by corridors to an inner section. And the other sections are above and below the inner section. (Hub and spoke design)

[Stray Cat]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Spelled out that way, Blue Jogger, makes it sond feasible enough for me to do in the future. Thanks for the breakdowns that I was too lazy to contemplate!

 

Cat

[Rapier]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Spelled out that way' date=' Blue Jogger, makes it sond feasible enough for me to do in the future. Thanks for the breakdowns that I was too lazy to contemplate! [/quote']

One thing to keep in mind. What kind of space station do you envision it being? A realistic one (ala Mir)? A realistic space station is going to be cramped, cold, dreary and every available inch of space is going to have as many possible uses as ...well... possible. All construction materials had to be lifted into space. I don't have the link anymore, but I read an article that listed the costs of building a space station (including transport for materials). It was STAGGERING. Total cost to get a microwave into space was like $50 for the microwave and like $14,000 in transport (Shipping and Handling, and you thought UPS could get expensive). While this is very realistic, most of us have a problem visualising this. Its also fairly anticlimactic. "THIS is what they've been making such a big deal about? You could fit this whole module in the bathroom of my first apartment!"

 

The other way to go, and the one I would push for, is to go the Start Trek/Star Wars/Pop Culture route. On a piece of printer paper draw a rough space stationy looking shape. Chances are its going to look something like a pencil stuck through the hole of a donut. Now that you have your basic outline build the station just as if it was an underground lair/base with the same shape. Well, an underground layer with a landing bay, gravity generators etc.

 

Don't worry about realism, go for cinematism. I think the players are probably going to enjoy it more, anyway...and it will be a lot easier on you.

[Stray Cat]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

Excellent advice all around! Thanks guys!

[zornwil]

Re: GATEWAY, the UNTIL space station

 

I know it doesn't help with your problem' date=' but just for sh*ts and giggles, here's a ship I mapped out for a [i']Haymaker![/i] article I wrote.

 

(Edited to change from BMP files to GIF to save space.)

Hey, cool, thank you! Will rep as soon as I can!