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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MerakSpielman" data-source="post: 6895406" data-attributes="member: 7464">UPDATE:I found an awesome program. It's a universe simulation called Space Engine. You can google and download it, it's free.It's amazing to zoom around in. It's populated all the real data we have available, and the rest of the universe is filled in procedurally.Once you figure out how to use the controls (not as easy as I expected), you can do and find some amazing things.At this point, I'm using it to generate systems for my NEW campaign. I accelerate to the max speed, and zip around the universe.I pick a galaxy at random.I fly into the galaxy, and pick a star at random.I do a search for nearby systems (20 light years or so) and find an interesting one that supports life (because dead systems are boring, and there will be plenty of dead worlds in all these systems if I want them).I goto that system, and explore it manually, making sure it's interesting. I really like binary systems -- or even 3- or 4- star systems. I REALLY like systems with black holes, but they're hard to find, especially ones with life in the same system.I also like systems with lots of planets and moons. My setting might only have 44 known/explored systems, but when the players realize this means hundreds of planets and thousands of moons, they'll start to get a feeling for the scope of the universe, and why even the "explored" systems have so many surprises in store.Once I decide it's a good candidate, I bookmark it.I'm looking into ways to display this in the game room, on a wall or something, so when the players take a Hyperlane to a new system, or land on a new planet, I can actually show it to them.I'm finding this a LOT more interesting and fun than using the random system generator tables in the book. The systems are more varied, and include things like two sets of binary stars (each with a system of planets) orbiting a barycenter, that the book's generator will never produce.</blockquote>

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