southwestforests wrote:Q: How many planets per system do you really need?
Another question to ask first, is how many star systems are you going to have? If you are only going to have a half dozen or fewer star systems, than you have the ability to have much more detail than StarFire. If you going to have five hundred star systems, than you to keep it more manageable, you need less detail than StarFire.
southwestforests wrote:A1: How many does it take to advance the plot?
See above. If you have lots of systems, not very many per system. Probably just the most important features. Habitable worlds & moons, asteroid belts. If you are refueling off of gas giants, ala Traveller, than you want gas giants as well.
southwestforests wrote:A2: How many does it take to do that and have stunning visuals?
Stunning visuals are great in the Expanse seasons 1 to 3. They only have one star system, and only really go into Earth, Mars, Ceres, Eros, the belt, and two of the Jovian moons.