Lit The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion

For all intents and purposes, FFG's RPG (excepting the TFA Beginner game) is Legends, incorporating bits and pieces of the NEU.

Of course, the punchline is that the same book they have the finding of an ancient wreck from the 'mythological' war.
It is just how the licensee is being treated - they can't add canon, they don't get inside information, they can't contradict the NEU... it's reasons like this that FFG evidently abandoned plans to make a full TFA RPG setting. I mean, why bother? Either let them go or let them join the little 'One Canon' club - stop leaving a licensee in limbo.

On the flip side, the absurdity of the lockdown on 'new' information in the Lothal entry was over the top. They couldn't provide orbital data? Really?

 

"Stop leaving a licensee in limbo."
You said it right!

 

Or FFG really wanted to include Lothal in their Nexus of Power book, and weren't willing (or didn't think it was important) to wait until Story Group had developed those ideas for the primary narrative story involving Lothal.

There doesn't have to be a Bad Guy or a victim in this, you know. The FFG books are really, really great for what they are designed to do.

 

Based on what?

 

Somehow I doubt that "orbital data" is going to play a compelling role in in the "primary narrative story".

Look, StoryGroup made a big deal about the whole "one canon" nonsense from day one, and then essentially pretended KOTOR and FFG didn't exist. It's not about 'Bad Guys' - they should either be invited to the big boys' table, or allowed to do their own thing. That's all.

 

They've been doing a nice job of keeping up with news to keep people informed from the beginning. A few examples:
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-fantasy-flight-games-preview-february-2015
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-fantasy-flight-games-preview-may-2015
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-fantasy-flight-games-preview-june-2015
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-fantasy-flight-games-preview-july-2015
http://www.starwars.com/news/fantasy-flight-games-preview-august-2015
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-fantasy-flight-games-preview-september-2015
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-fantasy-flight-games-preview-december-2015
http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-fantasy-flight-games-preview-january-2016

 

That's because it's an official product. That's not the same as it being canon. Basically, FFG is now in the lower tier Lucas used to have the EU in. Intersecting with "their (the SG's) world" just like the EU intersected with "his (George's) world".

 

You're completely missing the point. As Vidian was wont to say, "Forget The Old Way".

FFG is not a creator of canon. Period. At any tier. Wasn't intended to be. It's purpose is as a sandbox allowing game players to explore and craft their own authentic Star Wars stories, to EXPLAIN and EXPLORE the world revealed in the narrative stories, not to establish new bounds.

Listen, WEG started expanding the world and story because no one else was, and TV and Movie creative teams and productions weren't being bound to their whims.

RPG game materials no longer need to fit the Establishing Canon mode, because they aren't attempting to be Canonical Stories. They are as advertised: Source books for crafting Role Playing campaigns and world of player-created stories that will never be canonical. They try to be as consistent as possible with the Canonical world with the bounds they set, but likely won't be establishing anything new, apart from perhaps some really awesome illustrations of some unique items or characters that would not likely be better left to a film's art department for a feature or television series.

WEG served a double purpose - expanding the story AND providing gaming resources. FFG is now fully investing in one purpose - providing great background material and resources for dynamic roleplaying experiences that attempt, as much as possible, to DRAW from sources deemed as consistent with the established canon as possible. This isn't a flaw - it's their whole Mission.

WEG -had- to create, because nothing WAS there. This isn't the case anymore. FFG produces game sourcebooks, not narrative works that establish bounds others are required to follow - the definition of canon being used by SG. Do they try extremely diligently to be consistent with canon and as authentic as much as is possible? Absolutely. But not designed to be seen as a source that establishes it.

They are game manuals and idea prompters, not new sources of narrative bounds.

When it comes down to it, it was designed for people who play the game and want resources for an immersive experience - not for Canon fan encyclopedia listings of minutia.

The complaints seem to be coming from those who think the product is something different than the creators of the product itself ever advertised it as, or feel it should be, most likely based on the very different circumstances WEG was building in.

 

I've been playing with the most recent version of a canon map to get a sense of the extent of the New Republic's borders in the new canon. Granted this is just a first stab, but it is interesting.



A few notes:

• I circled in yellow only worlds that are confirmed in canon to be NR members, are extremely likely to be NR members due to their Rebel affiliations, or world's with close diplomatic ties to the NR (think Ryloth in Bloodlines)
• The first trend I see if that the Slice seems to be solidly NR, with spillover into the galactic south where the Hydian Way hits key NR worlds like Sullust or Naboo.
• The galactic north and galactic southwest seem to be devoid of NR members, or at least containing very few of them.

We know that the unaligned "borderlands" regions exists in the Trans-Hydian region, plus we know Hutt Space is in total disarray and potentially fragmented into multiple little fiefdoms and powers. It seems to me that the best chances we'll have of seeing secondary or even minor regional powers outside of the New Republic or First Order will be in these regions that seem to be much less tied to the central government. Heck, the galactic northeast is ripe for a quasi-Seppie state.

It works well from a storytelling standpoint, as we have both a stable chunk of the Galaxy at peace under the New Republic AND plenty of other regions where we've got grounds for great stories with intrigue and conflict between ROTJ and TFA.

--Adm. Nick

 

This really should go over to the RPG thread. Continuing the conversation there.

 

Have there been any given reason to why it was decided that Mez planet (whatever it was called) lay far away from Hosnian Prime when the impression you get from the movie is that it is very near it?

 

You only get that impression because of the whole confusing firing sequence scene that implies they're in the same star system (along, for that matter, with Starkiller Base). Once we had the handwave for why that's not the case there's no reason for them to be close by, and since Hosnian is a Core World while Takodana has a fringer hang-out, it makes more sense that they're not.

 

my impression was that they fired into hyperspace/similar and then the beam reappeared close to Hosnian followed by it splitting.

What I remember of TFA so was it never stated that Takodana was a fringe world or that Hosnian was core world, the handwave just makes it more confusing.

 

The beam's already began to split as it passes Kylo's ship:



though it may not have split very far.

The destruction shot:




may be a case of "the beams are radiating from a common point in Starkiller's system" rather than "single beam splits as it enters the Hosnian system".

Does anyone have any good shots of "Finn/Han looking up at the destroyed system"? It shows the destroyed planets surprisingly far apart when you think how far away Takodama is. It's not a case of Han looking into some kind of telescope to see it, after all. The space-warping effects of the beam as described in a Pablo tweet a while back, might explain it - when the system's destroyed, the image is effectively magnified and projected across the galaxy.

 

I don't see it in that shot but I believe you on your word.

 

You didn't get that sense about the planet with skyscrapers that was the capital of the Republic and the planet with nothing but one castle filled with smugglers?

...Okay then.

 

I think it's a very good chance that this is an occasion of artistic licence for the sake of clearer storytelling than a hint at facts of the facts of GFFA astronomy and/or technology.
see also:

 

It's easier to see here.

Thing is, it was explained in the book. It was done to explain JJ's obsession with showing characters looking up at something happening in another star system, like in ST'09.

 

So, it has planetary engines like Zonama Sekot?

 

Too many complications on the whole Starkiller base and the planet destroying cannon that can shoot across the galaxy. Should have gone with a Galaxy Gun type weapon that fired hyperspace capable projectiles that could tear a planet apart like Concord Dawn or Praxis in the Star Trek movie.

 

It's the bottom edge - there is a very thin beam already separate from the main one.


Another example of what the splitting looks like

 

If determining the borders is the goal, I think it might also be a good idea to have a second map identifying all the planets with Centrist leanings in the Bloodline period, as opposed to Populist planets; circle the Centrists in red and the Populists in blue or something. It just might provide some measure of insight.

What I'm getting the sense of is that the general shape of the Trans-Hydian Borderlands in NuCanon isn't really that different from the same in Legends in, say, the Thrawn period.

 

I thought of that, but very few confirmed Centrist worlds are on this map, so it wouldn't show much. In addition, regardless of how the First Order manipulated some Centrist senators, it isn't clear if these worlds actually became part of the First Order.

Let's not forget that in Before the Awakening, Poe Dameron looks at a galaxy map and it is solidly blue (NR space), with only a small patch of red beyond the borderlands representing First Order Space.

Based on the location of Starkiller Base, I can only assume that the area of the New Territories from old canon that house the original eight sector Imperial Remnant is probably more or less the extent of their official territory in the Known Galaxy as of TFA.

As more info is available, I'll update it! I'd love to see a canon map on the old Essential Atlas map, but that map still shows too many non-canon worlds to make it a worthwhile exercise.

--Adm. Nick