Lit The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion

Yeah, the game is majorly N-canon. But I agree that the plot-unrelated parts can be sandwiched into canon. All the alien and droid enemies, for example, could easily be added. The shape-changing Vaders... are better left unexplained. Though, I think that the Force trick Vader uses in Marvel to make Luke think he's fighting Vader, when he's actually fighting Baron Tagge, fits the bill nicely...

Also, Kessel's appearance in the game works very well in continuity, surprisingly. Besides some temple ruins, which are straight out of Egypt (Sith? ), the planet is rocky and mountainous, with a reddish sky. This fits with the red Kessel in Rogue Squadron 3D.

And Iskalon is true to it's Marvel depiction---it's all underwater. Well, except for a small ledge in the beginning. There are some underwater structures in the background, which look kind of like the United States Capitol building.

 

are there actualyl Iskalonians on Iskalon?

 

No, just a bunch of fish and other sea creatures.

 

Thanks blackmyron and jsarek. It's interesting because (as it sounds like you are aware) the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook says:

and later

It looks like WEG finally dropped the ball by placing Tierfon in Sumitra. Treat them as two names for the same sector? The easiest solution I guess, although I don't particularly like it...

 

Yes, the Star Wars Sourcebook gives us a whole section on the Tierfon Rebel Outpost, which is "the fighter outpost on Tierfon."

And I just noticed this - SWSB goes on to say "The Alliance established this outpost to house ships which patrol the outer Sumitra sector . . ."

Given the SWSB quote above, looks like the other way around, actually.

I don't see much choice in the matter, unless maybe Tierfon isn't actually in Tierfon sector (equally unappealing).

 

Some early WEG products have a similar issue - in Riders of the Maelstrom, Albarrio Sector is also called Aris Sector - which are the names of the system and planet of the capital, respectively.
I guess as a "gut feeling", I'd cite that 'slang' usage of sector names may generate alterate names (as a fictional example, a reference to 'Naboo sector' in a novel or gamebook we can assume is shorthand for the 'sector that Naboo is in' and know that it's 'Chommell Sector').
My personal preference would be Sumitra, but for "NPOV" it's probably best to present the case for each (at least until the SW Atlas comes out! )

...unless a certain author who sometimes posts here can give us an unofficial 'off-the-record' answer?

 

I was just going to use Aris/Albarrio as an example! (I did some tidyup on htem on the Wookieepedia last night). Another alternate name example is the Atrivis sector which contains Generis; the Generis sector is later named in another story.

And speaking of Atrivis sector, I've just nominated it as a Featured article on the Wookieepedia. I've put some carto notes in the BTS that may be of interest with regard to other planets that could be in the sector.

~ Eyrezer

 

Thanks Sinrebirth. I have plans to do a few more, but they are more work than a simple character article, that is for sure.

 

Hmmm, wouldn't it be neat if Iskalon was one of the 70 highlighted worlds? It was a reoccuring locale in Marvel, its in a game, and its just a neat place. I always liked the idea of the mixed-species school. And I've always found it odd that of the WOTC-named species, one of them wasn't the purple seahorse people, who actually havea named character....

And the intriguing question is, who brought all the school-species TO Iskalon? Species preservation doesn't seem the style of the Rakata, so I'd nix them. While species relocation is a big deal, it doesn't necessarily require the same level of technology as making a star system, so not necessarily the Architects. In fact, even the Old Republic undertook to relocate species (Episode II, the backstory of Spiners, etc.) But why relocate so MANY species to a single world? And di the movers organize the school society, or did it develop on its own? What we've been told just raises more questions, and I would love to see the backstory further explored.

One thing I really hope the 70 highlights will do is explore the further history of worlds; it would be nice to see how prequel-era worlds develop into the Rebellion, New Republic, GFFA, and Legacy-Empire eras. For example, going back to my interest-of-the-moment, was Iskalon ever reintegrated, willingly or by force, into the Galactic community? Without allegiance or military, how did they maintain independence? What happened to Kiro?

 

Eyrezer, great job. The article covers all the bases...

Cilghal, hopefully the historical maps in the Atlas will answer some of those questions. (IIRC, though, SW Gamer 1 said that Iskalon had been settled by various aquatic species that fled their homeworlds).

Question for the cartophiles: does anyone know what reference put Vjun in Auril Sector? Wookiepedia refers to the placement, but I couldn't find the source (and the DH map puts Vjun at a significant distance away).

 

Will the planet where the New Academy for Space Pilots and the moon that Luke destroys with zukonium rays (from The Maverick Moon) be named and placed in the upcoming atlas?

 

Plans to place Ord Mynock?

 

Howdy fellow cartographers, been busting my behind on a crash project that's just ended, so will try to get back to ATLAS stuff and questions in the next couple of days. Sorry to be scarce.

Funny that "The Maverick Moon" would be mentioned -- that was my five-year-old's favorite Star Wars book for a while (before he even saw A NEW HOPE, which is all he's seen so far), so I had to get it into the ATLAS somehow. So yes, you'll find the story referenced -- but no, at present there's no identification of the planet where Luke takes his odd detour from serving the Rebellion. Still, I looked for a place to do this and haven't given up on the idea -- maybe I can get it accomplished during rewrites, or in some ATLAS tie-in, should Dan and I get opportunities to do any.

 

More Yoda Stories info. Sorry I've been kind of slow with this. Jason, if there's some sort of due date that you'd need all the Yoda Stories planet info by, just let me know and I'll try and speed this up.

Today's planet: Tozeer, a lovely desert world.

---

[ul]
[li][b]Yoda:[/b] "There you are! Once again your Rebel friends are in trouble... this time it is THREEPIO. While operating as an undercover agent in the desert wastes of Tozeer, he was captured by Sand People. Dismantled him and scattered the parts they have! Tread carefully! Jawas have scrounged at least one of the pieces. They are the only ones on Tozeer who can put him back together again..."
[b]Yoda:[/b] "Find THREEPIO's PARTS and put him back together!"[/li]

[li]Evidently, part of being a Jedi is proving oneself to be superior to all the king's horses and all the king's men...[/li]

[li]Tozeer is a desert planet, as Yoda mentioned. There are Jawas and Sand People, plus the usual crop of Imperials and people with odd fetch quests.[/li]

[li]You know the drill by now. Luke wanders around playing delivery boy until he has the items he needs for the Final Puzzle.[/li]

[li]In this case, the items in include: 1 Jawa (whole, live) and 1 Droid Head (whole, C-3PO series.)[/li]

[li]Luke obtains C-3PO's Head after he assaults a hill-fortress occupied by Sand People. The Jawa he finds under a crate in some building. (In this case, at least. This might change from game to game.)[/li]

[li]Deep in the wastes, Luke finds a lone sandcrawler. Jawas![/li]

[li][b]Luke:[/b] "Open up in there!"
[b]Jawa:[/b] "Nebabba oodabba! Only Jawa enter sand crawler!"[/li]

[li]Luke's probably getting a good workout of his [i]Speak Jawa Trade Language[/i] skill. The little buggers won't let him in... until he presents his own Jawa, that is.[/li]

[li][b]Luke's Jawa:[/b] "Ooteenee! Nagab! Open up for Jawa brother!"
[Door opens]
[b]Luke's Jawa:[/b] "Nagagga bab! Thank you for bringing me home in safety! Now in we go!"[/li]

[li]The inside isn't quite as exciting as the version in Super Star Wars, but, well, it's a sandcrawler. There are plenty of Jawas and droids (medical droids, R5s, LINs, Treadwells, MSEs, etc.) running around. Luke has to find his own way around.[/li]

[li]Today's most popular Jawa quote: [i]"...gababba..."[/i] [/li]

[li]After wandering around a number of rooms and passages, Luke finally finds a Jawa in front of an impressive looking machine.[/li]

[li][b]Jawa:[/b] "Yagabba! I understand you want to restore your protocol droid, C-3P0. [sic] You came to the right place!"
[b]Luke: [/b] "I've brought his HEAD. You've already got his BODY, I believe."
[b]Jawa:[/b] "Enib oonag! Let's get started. Place the droid's HEAD in the machine..."
[b]Jawa:[/b] "Jababanab! place your droid's head in the machine, if you want my help."
[Luke puts the head down]
[b]Jawa:[/b] "Now I need the body."
[b]Luke:[/b] "You've already got his body. You STOLE it! Where are you hiding it???"
[b]Jawa:[/b] "We get so many droids, I lose track. It must be somewhere in the crawler. Look around."
[b]Jawa:[/b] "Ewalla! Without both parts, your droid is scrap. Better start looking!"[/li]

[li]Yeah, I'm sure Luke hates scavenger hunts by now.[/li]

[li]He also hates locked doors. Fortunately, he finds his little Jawa buddy from earlier and convinces him to unlock it. (In other versions of the level, he may use a Treadwell to unlock it.) He makes his way to a conspicuous chest, which contains the rest of Threepio's body. Luke takes the body back to the machine and puts it next to the head. Both parts enter the machine and...[/li]

[li][b]Jawa:[/b] "Now, it's just a matter of PAYMENT, and the droid is yours!"
[b]Luke:[/b] "Hey hey hey! What payment? What are you talking about???"
[b]Jawa:[/b] "You think we work for free? The price to repair the protocol droid is 5,000 CREDITS."
[b]Luke:[/b] "He isn't worth 5,000 CREDITS. And anyway, he belongs to me. Hand him over!"

 

So yes, you'll find the story referenced --

That's way cool!!!!! It's so much better when fan(wo)men write these reference books!!! I guess it's too soon to tell if there will be original illustrations in the book (I do not mean charts and stuff, but illustrations depicting certain events on certain worlds...)

 

You just made my day.

TC

 

Mine, too. This strange but fun little book has been in S-canon limbo far too long.

 

Howdy all, finally catching up.

Re Tierfon, I have it in Sumitra sector. I like Blackmyron's slang idea. There are plenty of real-world analogues, of course -- "How will Rome/Moscow/Washington/Beijing react?" when the situation under discussion is far from the city being used as shorthand. That said, Dan and I have also given a great deal of thought to reconciling the millions of WEG-style sectors with the 1,000-odd prequel sectors. So there might be a fix for the apparent discrepancy there.

Eyrezer, that's awesome work re Atrivis Sector. I feel your pain -- a lot of similar work has gone into the ATLAS. Atrivis has tentatively been mapped, along with a number of other ORT sectors, as part of the map of the Pentastar Alignment and neighboring areas. This map isn't official yet and may change a lot both in style and information contained (heck, it might not even make the cut), but I will say it's one of my favorites, and one of the most satisfying parts of the ATLAS to have worked on.

Senator C., sorry, but as currently set out Iskalon isn't one of the featured star systems. (Though it would be cool to give it its due somehow.) Our first rule of attacking that section was to take care of all the canon systems (a definition we took to include movies, deleted scenes, scripts and novels), then the major EU systems. Which filled up that section pretty quickly -- and there may well be changes to spotlight some prominent Clone Wars systems.

Ord Mynock will be placed, if current plan holds.

Blackmyron, I don't have Vjun in the Auril sector.

RF, thanks for the nifty write-up on Tozeer. Very much appreciate your efforts, and the scripts are quite entertaining.

Must return to tackling Galactic Population. Nice to be back ATLASing!

 

Thanks for the heads-up, Jason. I think that the "Auril Sector" reference may come from a joke add in one of the Dark Horse comics spoofing the typical comic book ads with a "send your credits to: Vjun, Auril Sector"...

 

I was wondering if you guys were going to tackle that. The one trillion figure that's been given for Coruscant in the past is absurdly low.

 

A map of Atrivis and the Pentastar Alignment is worth any wait

I will be interested in reading the write-ups of the prequel worlds. Right now I'm thinking we need a Wildlife of Star Wars Volume Two to cover Geonosis, Kamino, and all the Episode III worlds

 

I am still hoping for a Galactic Alliance map.

Other than that, my biggest wish is the one that is probably the least likely.

A galaxy map set in 137 ABY.

--Adm. Nick