Lit The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion

DESB Means Dark Empire Sourcebook, Right?

 

Correct. The Dark Empire Sourcebook is one of the true gems of the old Legends EU. Chalk full of TONS of sourcebook information, plus it very neatly tied together the early events of the post-Endor Galactic Civil War, the rise of the New Republic, the Thrawn Campaign, and the aftermath. IMO, alongside the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook & Imperial Sourcebook, these represent the Holy Trinity of WEG Sourcebooks.

--Adm. Nick

 

I think I own the book, I just haven't read it yet but I going to star reading it now thanks

 

This quote from the 1996 reference book The Secrets Of Shadows Of the Empire made me smile. Steve Perry says:

"When I was hired on to the Shadows Project, one of the first questions I asked Allan Kausch was if someone had made a map of all the planets in the Star Wars universe. He just laughed. There's no way; there's too many planets."

 

Finally got around to reading this book and very much enjoyed it. The best part is the written description of the events between the Battle of Endor and the death of Thrawn. Basically the Empire fragments after Endor as warlords claim their own slices of the galaxy. The Rebel Alliance / New Republic is happy to isolate these warlords and make use of diplomacy and calculated military action to increase their territory and make gains towards Coruscant. The New Republic continues to make gains until Thrawn is finally able to re-organize the Imperial war-machine. It makes so much sense, much more so than what they've given us with the new canon and how the Empire disappears within a year, with the New Republic having a fully functioning galactic government set up soon after Endor, and the First Order being able to gain strength so quickly while remaining relatively hidden.

 

The biggest difference that sticks out to me is the fully-functioning New Republic Senate of canon mere months after Endor vs Legends' tiny New Republic Provisional Council for the first few years with a full NR Senate not forming until 7 ABY.

 

I do wish the new canon had placed a bit more time between Endor and Jakku and would focus a bit more on Warlords. (I love that "heroes work together while villains are selfish and fight and betray each other" motif).

But keep in mind a lot of that Endor-Thrawn story-line didn't always mesh so well together. Lots of the details for the Road to Coruscant came later on from the X-wing series and from this book. As thematic as the warlords were, many only came about because different writers wanted different "warlord of the week" villains. And of course there was the part where the New Republic Alliance of Free Planets faced not one, but * two * alien invasions, which arguably doesn't fit into the narrative quite as well.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that books like this come along, do some fleshing out, and add more details. It's solid world building. I'm just saying that it only "makes so much sense" because we've had time to add details and iron out continuity wrinkles.

 

double post please ignore

 

Yeah, the spackle/glue required to make the various layers of EU continuity make even the faintest lick of sense to a sympathetic reader was ... let's just say considerable.

 

And you did such a wonderful job!!

 

Thank you so much for having done so.

Now for all the Corellian Sector systems to be back and I can die happy and write knowing that my Sacorria, as well as Vagran and Aurea are things again.

 

(double post - board lag)

 

To quote Pablo Hidalgo, "we use the same map."

 

Thank you.

YESSSSS, THE WAY IS CLEAR FOR AUTHORITARIANS/EXTREME LEFT, HIPSTERS AND HIPPIES!IN SPACE.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I took things too far. And I'm loving it.

 

Did we ever get information on the Eternal Empire's borders (esp. in relation to the Sith Empire and Chiss Ascendancy)? I'm not that far in SWTOR; anyone who's up to date know?

 

I guess that was my point. I've never read such a concise, well written description of galactic events during that era. The way they were able to mesh the EU together to describe how the Empire fractured and how the Rebel Alliance morphed into the Alliance of Free Planets and then the New Republic just really made a lot of sense, with all the stories coexisting in a logical and believable way as part of the overall story. The overall narrative is more believable then what I've seen so far from the new canon, but that COULD change as they flesh things out. Of course the new canon is at a disadvantage, as you can assume that a lot of the good plots and ideas were used by the EU and they probably don't want to directly copy events from Legends.

 

How would you handle instances where canon places a planet in a diiferent area of the galaxy than Legends did?

 

Oh I agree they did an amazing job of making everything cohesive. I just thought it was unfair to compare a relatively new continuity that's still being developed and written to a continuity that's had the benefit of 40 years of hindsight and retcon glue.

 

double post

 

I can't recall a new-canon placement that's an overwritten a Legends one. Though it's entirely possible I'm forgetting something.

Still, overwrites happened occasionally within Legends -- Rodia, for instance. If so, the new would overwrite the old unless it was a stray reference and probably just a mistake. All subject to LFL signoff, of course.

 

IIRC Kesh was a dumb mistake on my part, while Scipio got placed as a stray reference and it turned out the CW writers had something bigger in mind for it which dictated its placement elsewhere. Mistakes will happen; SG oversight ought to help with cases like the latter. Even if the help is suggesting waiting for some more chips to fall. Often a good idea!

At any rate, there will be mistakes and overwrites from time to time. But I'd be surprised if they went from exception to rule. To go back to Pablo, "we use the same map."

 

Whoa. I don't even know of these two. Looks like I lack the nerd cred for this thread.

 

Luke's route to Ahch-To : starting point = Balamak?

Yellow line = Luke's route added by R2-D2 on the map in TFA or a well-known Jedi pilgrimage route?

 

It doesn't look like there's a planet in that exact spot on any of the maps (though some nearby), so presumably a new location yet to be revealed.