YARS:Fixing anomalous stars....

Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 11:09:48 -0500
From: CyHiggin@aol.com
Subject: YARS:Fixing anomalous stars....

Fixing anomalous stars in sector listings
or, What do I do with this white dwarf?
------------------------------------

    A very long time ago, several Traveller players noticed that 
the standard sector files had some, well, "peculiar" (read:  
stupid) combinations of worlds and stars.  Rich, Agricultural 
worlds with 2 white dwarfs for suns, for example.  Worlds 
described in old Classic Traveller adventures as hot, desert 
worlds were found to have M9 V cinders for suns...  and so on.  

    Some time back (last month), Harold Hale proposed that, while 
visiting Viral destruction on your favorite systems, Referees 
take the time to fix some of those weird world-star combos.  He 
outlined some thumbrules* for doing so that would change things 
to better match observed stellar frequencies, and make sense, 
too.  I said, "Great!", clipped and filed the article, and 
continued with Christmas planning.  

    Since I like to write programs for the fun of it, and I find 
rolling dice for n-thousand worlds really, really tedious, I 
decided to write Yet Another Rexx Script to do the job, to be 
called SUNFIX.CMD.  

Howard Hale's algorithm
------------------------

    While you're destroying interstellar civilization at the 
local level, you may also want to take the time to correct 
anomalous stellar data.  All class "D" stars which are primaries 
(particularly with a main world that is even marginally 
habitable) should be changed to class "V"; all class "VI" stars 
should be "V" stars; all K5 through M9 class "IV" should be 
changed to class "V".  

** why: There are no class VI stars; ditto for K5 thru M9 IV
stars.

    Also, check to see if the main world and the star it circles 
are compatible.  For example, it is next to impossible to have an 
"Earth-like" planet circling around a M6 V star.  Geo Gelinas 
came up with a table to convert imcompatible mainworld-star 
combinations.  All M4 V, M5 V, M6 V, M7V, M8 V, and M9V stars 
that have a habitable planet (one with atmosphere type 4-9 or 
D-F), should be converted using the table.  Systems containing a 
M3 V star should be examined on an individual basis for 
conversion (a world circling such a star would be a *very* chilly 
place indeed...if you intend the world to be like Star Wars' 
iceplanet Hoth or some cold, barren desert it should work "as 
is", but if you had something a bit "balmier" in mind, change the 
star).  

          DIE         STELLAR
          ROLL          CLASS
            1              K
            2              K
            3              K
            4              G
            5              G
            6              F

    Now that you've fixed the primaries, look at the companions.  
I decided that Harold's method of going back and forth counting 
white dwarfs and adjusting the count was too much of a hassle for 
a one-pass program; I assigned a flat 33% chance that an existing
M type "D" white dwarf would remain a white dwarf, albeit changed 
in spectral class, or turn into a 'V'.  Use the following table 
to assign the new spectral class.

TABLE 1  (Use D20)                      TABLE 2  (Use D6)
DIE         STELLAR                     DIE         STELLAR
ROLL        CLASS                       ROLL        CLASS
1           Re-roll on Table 2          1-2         O
2-8         A                           3-4         B 
9-10        F                           5-6         A
11-12       G                   
13-19       K                           TABLE 3  (Use D6)
20          Re-roll on Table 3          DIE         STELLAR
                                        ROLL        CLASS
                                        1-3         K
                                        4-6         M

** why change spectral class?  The universe isn't old enough for 
there to be very many M white dwarfs, and they'd be in Population
II clusters, not the Population I areas where Traveller is set.

   Make sure you note all changes in stellar data (for primaries and
companions) on the 1117 or 1129 stats as well.

   The result will be stellar data that not only reflects the Universe accordi
ng
to the TNE stellar generation rules, but also to some degree the Real
Universe (or what we currently know about it).

Stellar distribution information, courtesy of Edward Swatschek:
----------------------------------------------------------
        %
   ------
   M   70
   K   15
   G   10
   F    4
   A    1

Some other useful stats:

Steller density: 80 systems per 1000 cubic parsecs (average separation of
1.4 parsecs).

Of the closest 26 star systems,
    65% solitary (17)
    17% binary (8)
     4% trinary (1)

Of those 36 stars,
    92% main sequence (33)
     8% white dwarf (3)

    Two of the three white dwarfs (DA) were part of binary 
systems, and circled the two most luminous stars (Sirius and 
Procyon).  The final one is a solitary DG.  

--------------------------------------------------------
* thumbrules : become "heuristics" when writing papers on A.I.

                                                   -- Cynthia