Topic: been working on a spreadsheet for determining galactic info

[bubonicone]

Reason im doing this is a detailed system has yet to be introduced. Anyone want me to post the spreadsheet for review. or should i just pass till i compleate it.
ive got the steps color coded and have it condensed too 3-4 spreadsheet pages.

[bubonicone]

is posting the information in pdf form (waiting for them to ok it)

[bubonicone]

Reason im doing this is a detailed system has yet to be introduced.

ok now that ive posted some of my work in progress any suggestions


[/size]SUGGESTIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!

[pyrotech]

Hello,

I've only had a few minutes to review your spreadsheet, but so far I do have one suggestion.

It is very dense, that is good for printing and minimizing space.   Unfortunately it is poor for flow, and intimidating to someone trying to interpret.  I might recommend offering a second worksheet with the tables spread out a bit in sequential(ish) order to aid the user to know what steps to work next.  Once a user has done it a few times the denser format may be more convenient and the user could switch to the other worksheet.

Once I've had a bit more time to study this and grock how it works I may be able to provide further feedback.

Thanks

-Pyrotech

[bubonicone]

ok I noted pyrotech's point and have worked on it included is the new format in a much more user friendly format




oh yes its in both open office and office 2010 format if anyone wants it in 97-2003 format i can provide that also


but frankly guess yall arent that interested in this kinda work since only one person has even said a word.


probably cause you cant see my work and your not willing to download anything....
because i cant figure out how to put a pic up in here that actually shows you cant see it.
ah well guess ill get it finished and put it up on a website
then yall can complain as much as ya want since once im done im done!

[NicholasHMCaldwell]

I've looked at the spreadsheet and can't figure out how it is meant to work. The pdf version suggests that there is something quite good going on.

Best wishes,
Nicholas

[bubonicone]

Getting help on something is a pain in th rear on microsoft/open office web boards trying to do an overlay with arrows pointing from info to boxes but its alot harder than it looks. you know what an idea per page too make it easier to understand is probably advised i guess! each revision makes it more and more work, kinda figured it'll end up really complicated.

[bubonicone]

Ok think people if you look at this you'll be pleasantly surprised at this time!!!!!!
base work is 50-60% finished
new to update
added
worksheets for each section finished
provided step-by-step for each part (there will be A LOT OF PARTS!)
provided versions of certain rules (mainly location of stars in quadrant/sections)
flow of rules with steps that should be taken and the order in which I suggest they be taken in
provided most of the rules for determining planet size/gravity and a few others (still working on the rules for volcanology/Meteor in-fall and meteorology)
I've added the most comprehensive portion to date rules to determine what I am calling BPHr or basic planetary habitability ratio
a 2 part index number that affects several other pieces of the puzzle
how to formulate, what bonuses and penalties from what
but the best piece of this is the color gridded planet type and planet atmosphere (the 2 portions of bphr)
and finally an indebt table on determining atmospheric gases percentage
and an indebt table on determining hydrology of planet
including amount of liquid versus amount of ice; size and numbers of large and small continents and major and minor island chains & archipelago's and rules to determine number of oceans and seas (both these have information as to how much each will use out of the possible land/liquid mass of the planets surface) and finally if the planet has H2O(water) the likely hood of heavy salt or light salt oceans/seas and the amount of fresh water one can find.
on to what is coming in future updates....
will be including rules for non standard atmospheres of both dangerous and deadly gases (not here yet)
will be including rules for uninhabitable rock planets
will be including rules for moons (including the ultra rare tide locked sister planets!)
will be including rules for gas giants and ice planets
will be including a basic set of rules for special stars/nebulas and the likes
will be including rules for asteroid belts (formation is covered under multi-suns and riptide on outer rock planets)
 and more as I think up what should be included......
 
anyway if you haven't looked yet maybe when the admins ok these attachments
check out the pdf (this has undergone major repair (no longer a section of 5 empty pages) most is 2 empties now and am working desperately to get rid of them)

[VladD]

This looks like something good that needs to be made in a system generating spread sheet

[bubonicone]

This looks like something good that needs to be made in a system generating spread sheet

LOL the spreadsheets are a constant work in progress and since I don't have the time or the inclination to figure out HOW to run those kinds of formulas. Is a bit leery of attempting such a monumental task...............................
 if someone could help or point me to a place I could get some real help for excel or open office (don't say micro...... or the open office folks as those forums are about as responsive as dead people.)
oh 2 other tidbits
I am adding in those section separators as I've figured those out the +[ thingy's
and additionally I'm going to be attempting to do a step by step tutorial word file to add into it

[Thom @ ICE]

I can make an excel version using your tables to auto-generate most of the stuff, but it won't necessarily be pretty... 
I'm not really a pretty excel kind of guy - just functional.

[bubonicone]

I can make an excel version using your tables to auto-generate most of the stuff, but it won't necessarily be pretty... 
I'm not really a pretty excel kind of guy - just functional.

like I said I am more interested in getting it up and posted but if you feel like doing that it would definitely be appreciated. pretty lol if you think what I've got done so far is pretty then I must be blind as its functional over pretty!

[VladD]

It has pretty colors!!!! 

Why not combine that with Arakish's spreadsheets (if he concurs) on anomalies and such? Generating star systems is probably a very useful thing for SF GMs.

[bubonicone]

It has pretty colors!!!! 

is a reason for those colors it makes it easier to follow, provides clear identification among other things LOL.
I suppose I could drop the colors but the help would be all the less effective as its the only way I could figure out a specific way to do some kind of flow. I guess if I must I will place a version of the sheet without the coloring except in specific locations that require it. I guarantee that the end result will be less effective as my skill with excel is well pretty cruddy (i.e. look at first and the most recent version and consider I've gone thru version 1.1 to 2.3 that's 12 different versions after the original!) and since I've gotten almost no help in designing its a pretty good that I can point out I THINK I'M DOING PRETTY WELL! even if nobody else does or will look....
 
biggest complaints
read post but wont download or even comment ---- 233 views and a total of what more downloads  of the busted original version than the much more consistant  2.3........... and LOL 4 independent individual posts!
hate being defensive and all yet    don't ya think I have a little bit of right to be?
and since its outta the kindness of my own heart (is doing most of the work at my job where I sit for 5 hours and walk around a blasted empty smelly dangerous building the rest of the time some might say the sake of sanity is more the POINT!)
if I could figure out the insert picture I bet I would get more responses but it is screwy and I still cant figure out how to do it (doesn't work even if I enter it correctly LOL)
 

[pyrotech]

This has steadily been getting easier and easier to follow.  So you are making good progress.

One little nitpick.  I'm not super up on astronomy and the galactic structure, but to me a quadrant should be 1/4 of something.  In your charts you define a quadrant as being 1/64 of something.  I would probably rename section to Quadrant and Quadrant to Section.  Using these definitions that would mean a Galaxy would have almost 37,000 potential star locations.  This is far less than reality (by a factor of almost 10 million) but we can assume that really most of the stars out there are going to be uninteresting - and 37,000 is a sufficiently large number so as not to matter in an actual game.  No one is going to ever be able to meaningfully use 37,000 stars in a game.

And I wouldn't get too worried about the small number of responders.  This isn't a really high volume section of the forums and some topics get more responses than others.  Posts dense with information such as this one tend to get fewer than others - just take a look at a few of my posts here.  Don't let that discourage you from contributing.  Besides, three of the four people who responded to this are very well respected members of the Forum.

Thanks,

-Pyrotech

[naphta23]

Thank you very much for the spreadsheet!
Unfortunately it is too complex for me to understand.

Where am I supposed to enter the dice results?