planet VII

The SystemName.txt file has all the possible names for star systems. If you modified the maximum number of systems you need to add additional names to this file.

This isn't a bug, it is simply a case of having more systems then available in the systemname.txt file.

Not a bug. The "stock" System names file contains about 75 names or so. In a large universe game, you may have up to 225 systems and only 75 names to go with them. So a few systems end up with blank names. It's easy to add names to the systemnames file located in the DATA subfolder. But that will not correct the issue in your current game. One other thing to watch out for is duplicating names in the file. It's interesting to have your home world in "alpha centauri" and suddenly discover a different "alpha centauri" system.

I've seen some files here to expand the number of names in the systemnames file. But didn't go looking for them yet.

Directive 721: Cover your own a$$ first. Solo

Hi there,
when using large galaxies, if the total number of systems being used is over 100 and up to 255. this may be greater than the max number of system names in your system names list (about 110 names)
this lack of names will then cause any additional system names required to come up blank?

This can easly be fixed by increasing the number of names in the system names file to a total of 255 names or more.

Hope this helps

I've replaced my System name file a while ago even though I don't play 255 system games anymore.

And if you're lazy, just grab that file from the Balance mod. It's got enough names for any legit galaxy size in there.

255 systems? Whenever i generate a map when i start a new game they are dinky. I'd be impressed if there were over 100 systems in them. I find the diamond style map has the most, but even then its still a dinky number!

So how do you get such big maps? In my dinky ones everyone is so close together empires die early on

I like using real-world names in my system name file.

For big maps just find the max number of systems in the settings.txt file and change it to any number you want. The hard coded max is 255.

In a "quick start" game, you usually get a medium sized universe with 50-75 systems, I think. It's been so long ago that I modified the file that I've forgotten the original numbers.

In the "settings" file, there are 6 lines dealing with game sizes.

// Maximum number of systems is 255 //
Small universe minimum = 25
Small universe maximum = 45
Medium universe minimum = 50
Medium universe maximum = 75
Large universe minimum = 70
Large universe maximum = 100
(These numbers are off the top of my head as I'm at work.)

With your new "Systemnames" file in place, you can change these numbers. Heck, you can even make them all the same, I think. But don't do that. The "quick start" game does not add all that many races and it will take a long time to find anybody in a really huge universe. By which time, they've become powerful all by themselves. And you're limited to 200 ships maximum in a "quick start" game. (I wish this was changable to the size of the universe. Sys_max(200, number of systems * 20) or some such.

Anyway, that's the brief explanation to larger universes in a "quick start" game. All numbers presented in this explanation are subject to validation by people who can actually look up the numbers.

Directive 721: Cover your own a$$ first. Solo