How many planets per system do you really need?

[szurkey]

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.

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.

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.

[szurkey]

I see your point... but keep in mind that limiting the number of planets is incompatible with some of the more interesting rules. GG5.06 _requires_ all of the planets for each of the different race types. Without outer planets you make it harder to make hidden raiding bases, outer system tripwires, remote facilities, etc.

True, but you can have more systems with which to do so. System defense boats can be a real pain in Fifth Frontier War, and that game has much less star system detail than I am suggesting.

But what you are saying does reduce the complexity of systems. If you are going to do that and are using StMP movement (3rdR or later) then you might as well do away without system
position and record everything in StMP distances.

The ideas of using the Traveller Sub Sector Generator is for open space maps, where wormholes rarely occur and shorten distance, ala Honor Harrington universe. As for tracking everything in StMP, that does work.