Making Traveller Subsector Maps with the Awesome Poster Maker

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For Subsector Maps, use the awesome Poster Maker from The Traveller Map.

By entering data in the proper format you can create lovely, colored subsector (and sector) maps.

Here’s a sample of one I made:


To make it:

1) Go to the linked Poster Maker Page from the awesome The Traveller Map.

2) Use the Header line and the dotted lines I’ve pasted below. (You can also get the header by selecting a subsector from the stored Traveller Map and copying the header from that.)

3) Enter your data, system by system, like the example below. Note that you have to enter the data under each heading, space by space. So, four hex numbers, and then a space, and then the name of the system, and them add spaces (NOT TABS) until you get to the UWP spaces, enter the UWP spaces. (Not every column needs to be entered (for example, Stellar can be left blank) but you must have spaces under for each “column” of space, and dashes where you see dashes.)

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4) You can get a good handle on what the columns/codes mean and what features are available by looking at the Data Categories on this page.

5) You can make Space Lanes using this tool. (The default will be green. If you go inside the coding, you can change the colors up.)

6) When printing it out, you can make it color on black, color on white, black and white, a draft version that looks like the rough notes of the original notes from GDW’s Spinward Marches, and the old FASA. (If you’re only doing one subsector, select subsector A and that will produce that data as the sole subsector).

Like I said, it’s pretty awesome.

As an example of formatting, here is the Data and the Metadata I used in Poster Maker to create the subsector pictured above:

The Data

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The Metadata

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15 thoughts on “Making Traveller Subsector Maps with the Awesome Poster Maker”

    • You’re welcome!
      I’m no expert. But it took me so time and false starts to figure some things out. I thought I’d type up what I learned.
      Hope it helps people!

      Reply ↓

  2. Thanks for the worked example. I’d gotten as far as being able to get a normal map done but the routes or space lanes eluded me. In fact it was searching for details on the original space lanes that led me to your blog in the first place. And yes poster maker is awesome. More so with the clear example.

    Reply ↓

  6. Hi
    I think on your Subsector data ,for systems with a PBG of 111 your Worlds should be 3. The Main world, the Belt, and the GG.That is if I read the info right ?

    Reply ↓

      • Hi
        On the list of planets you listed Mirza in the PBG column as 111 and under W (worlds) you have a 2. If you look at the data categories link you posted . It looks like you should add the main world (Mirza),the belt, and the Gas Giant to get the number of worlds. I might have it wrong but that’s the way it looks to me.

    • Ah, okay. I think I know what you’re saying.

      You are correct that the World number should be three as listed.

      But if we look at the wording of the Category, we find this:

      “The number of “worlds” in the system. This is given as a decimal integer, and will always be at least 1 (the main world) plus the number of planetoid belts (see PBG) plus the number of gas giants (see PBG) but will include other planets orbiting the star(s) in the system.”

      This means that there are probably (often!) more worlds in each system beyond even the three listed in the above.

      So here’s a thing to keep in mind: listing for the number of worlds in a system is from later editions of Traveller.

      It wasn’t a concern for the original Traveller rules (Books 1-3) because all that mattered was:
      1. What is the Main World?
      2. Is there a Gas Giant.

      How many worlds are there total in each system? That’s something Traveller Book 6: Scouts concerned itself with. I’m not worried about it. If I want to add other worlds to a system, I certainly can. But in the original rules, all that mattered was the Main, settled world, the only one of any real interest or value.

      For my needs a lot of those Data columns are just place holders and are data for items I’m not concerned about.

      It is my strong belief that Traveller becomes more and more uselessly complicated in many ways as the game line developed. This is one of those ways. I believe there will be enough to keep everyone busy by focusing on the Main Worlds. Calculating out all the other worlds in a system when they probably won’t come into play doesn’t make much sense to me.

      So, yes, you are correct! But on the other hand, I don’t care what the number is in the Worlds column since I assume there are more worlds in each system. I simply am not worried about them.

      Reply ↓

      • Hi
        I was racking my brain trying to find where you found the belt info from the “77” rules 🙂 It’s good to know that those numbers are just place markers. I agree with you ,it’s easy to add belts and/or other worlds if the storyline needs them. It’s been a blast dusting off the LBBs and going back to the basics. I may stray into the realm of Proto-Traveller for an item in a scenario but with the rest I’m going books 1-3 “77” rules. Your blog has been really helpful ,keep up the good work.

      • Thanks so much!

        And yes, many of the useful tools developed for Traveller have a decades of rules and setting development layered upon them. I simply ignore them and use them for what I want!

  7. Several routes in premade Sectors on the Travellermap.com site had some kind of offset value called Endoffset (i think that was what it was called….. any idea what that is?

    Reply ↓

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