Astro Empires »
The Macropedia Terradoma is under final edit before publication. Read the blog to learn about the progress of first novel set in the Imperium.

Universal Astro Profile

This site belongs to Merovech, formerly of Ceti; now resident of Epsilon.

  One difficult task in Astro Empires is capturing the details of a base and reporting those details in an easy to read format. To remedy this, a 10-character code was developed called the Universal Astro Profile (UAP). The idea for the profile derives from the role-playing game, Traveller, which solved the problem of universal description of characters, vehicles and places using a series of universal profiles.

The Code Explained

The basic format of the code is 0APPB-0BBB0 . In this notation, '0' is decimal, 'A' is a letter, 'P' is a specific code, and 'B' is Base 34.

0SlotWhich orbit the base is in.
ATypeThe astro type. See table below for mapping between astro type and code.
PProductionThe largest unit type it can produce, in two-letter code. See table below for mapping.
PCapacity
BOccupation ValueHourly revenue from occupation in tens of credits (dekacredits).
- 
0P-RingsNumber of P-Rings on the base.
BShieldsD-Shields [0-9] or P-Shields [A-J].
BTurretsPhoton [0-9] or Disrupter [A-J] Turrets.
BCommand CentersNumber of Command Centers.
0Jump GatesNumber of jump gates.

Explanation of Base34 and codes is offered below. However, a translation of the code may help explain it until I figure out how to explain it myself. The following is an astro entry: 5KHC4-1ABA3 Based on this entry, we know the following:

From reviewing the attributes of the UAP, you may notice this helps quickly note value of the base and its inherent defenses.

Astro Type Codes

A AsteroidO Oceanic
C CratersR Radioactive
D AridT Tundra
E EarthlyW Magma
G GaiaV Volcanic
K RockyX Toxic
L GlacialY Crystaloid
M Metallic

What is Base34?

Base 34 is an extension of Base16 which lets us use a single digit as much as possible. Here is a mapping between Base34 and decimal.

00H17
11J18
22K19
33L20
44M21
55N22
66P23
77Q24
88R25
99S26
A10T27
B11U28
C12V29
D13W30
E14X31
F15Y32
G16Z33

Color Coding

The Census uses color coding for key defense values. The color code is based on the best-practices in base defenses learned from the older galaxies. Specifically, UAP color coding assumes the following defenses as ideal—and are colored green in the UAP:

A minimal acceptable value is also present, and colored blue. Any other value is colored red.