Guide to space map making

[raxo2222]

Earth should be bordering edge of map, that is no space zones sandwiching it.
Alternative designs may be risky, as this border order should be maintained: (those terrains are primary ones)
Earth (Earth Mapcategory)
Orbit (Cislunar Mapcategory)
Cislunar Space (Cislunar Mapcategory)
Inner Solar System (Solar System Mapcategory)
Outer Solar System (Solar System Mapcategory)
Transneptunian Space (Solar System Mapcategory)
Transtellar Space (Interstellar/Galactic Mapcategory)
Orion Arm (Milky Way/Galactic Mapcategory)
Milky Way (Milky Way/Galactic Mapcategory)
Local Group (Universal Mapcategory)
Virgo Supercluster (Universal Mapcategory)
Observable Universe (Universal Mapcategory)
Unobservable Universe (Distant Mapcategory)
Hyperspace (Hyperspace Mapcategory, this zone is completely optional, as those tiles can be spawned/created by units).

Green Moon/Mars, Hyperspace, Branespace, Distant Past/Future are all terraforming terrains - no need to place them in scenario, as you can generate those terrains with units.

Spoiler Space Mapcategories, terrains, features and resources :

Zone 0 - Earth
Earth Mapcategory

Spoiler :

Earth is place, where all action is contained until Advanced Rocketry is researched (its almost exactly midgame).
This tech is where you are preparing for space exploration - setting up necessary infrastructure.
Era and half later in beginning of Nanotech is where you start actual colonization.
Space Shuttles, Heavy Rockets, Supply Ships and Construction Ships are very important units here.
Space Shuttles - to make Space Stations (built in Orbit terrain)
Heavy Rockets - to upgrade Space Stations (to level 3), they can be turned to cislunar/lunar/planetary settlers on LVL3 space station.
Construction Ships - to build Lunar Base/Outpost - improvements necessary to create cities on Moon.
They are used for lots of early Lunar and Martian improvements.
Supply Ships - to give four different normally unbuildable buildings to lunar colonies.
There is Lunar Bulldozer unit too - it is used to build lunar mines and simple routes so you can get Lunar resources. Supply Ship can upgrade to it.

Water tiles must border Orbit terrain on earth side as space terrains are counted as land - and as continent.
Tunnels can be built to connect Space to Earth after getting certain tech.

It should be separated from Cislunar zone with three tiles thick Orbit:
1. Orbit is needed for Space Station improvements - initially you use them as Heavy Rocket -> Cislunar/Lunar/Planetary Settler upgrade spots.
2. It prevents cislunar cities from working on Earth tiles.
3. It shutdowns trade, and religion/corporation spread between Earth and space colonies until Astrogation Constellation tech - this one unlocks unit, that can place route on Orbit terrain enabling trade between Earth and rest of space.

Zone 1 - LEO to Moon
Cislunar, Lunar Mapcategories
Cislunar - Orbit, Cislunar Space
Lunar - Lunar terrains

Spoiler 100 km to 500 000 km from Earth :

Primary Terrain: Cislunar Space
Secondary Terrains: Orbit, Lunar Dome/Mare/Highland/Regolith/Rille
Features: Small/Medium/Large Craters (all Lunar terrains)
Resources: Carbon Dioxide Ice, Helium3, Iron/Bauxite/Titanium Ore

Resources shouldn't be placed in Craters, as you can't build improvements on it.
CO2 Ice - Lunar Highland
Helium 3 - Lunar Regolith/Rille/Mare
Iron/Bauxite/Titanum Ore - Lunar Dome/Highland

Zone 2 - Inner Solar System
Solar System, Martian, Venusian, Jovian Mapcategories
Solar System - All terrains except Martian/Venusian
Martian - Martian terrains
Venusian - Venusian terrains
Jovian - Mercury, Asteroid Survace

Spoiler 500 millions km :

Primary Terrain: Inner Solar System
Secondary Terrains: Sun, Mercury, Venus/Venus Lowlands/Venus Highlands, Martian Ice/Permafrost/Desert/Dunes/Barren/Plains/Rocky, Asteroid Surface
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): Asteroids
Resources: Metallic Asteroid, Organic Volatiles, Extraterrestrial Microbes, Martian Blueberries

Metallic Asteroid/Organic Volatiles - Asteroid Surface (T), Asteroids (F)
Extraterresial Microbes/Martian Blueberries - all Martian terrains

Asteroid Belt should be placed on Inner/Outer Solar System border.
Asteroid Surface Terrain and Asteroids Feature should be used (4 tiles thick on average - two tiles on each side).

Zone 3 - Outer Solar System
Solar System, Jovian, Titanic Mapcategories
Solar System - All terrains except Titan and Methane Lake
Jovian - All terrains except Outer Solar System, Titan and Methane Lake
Titanic - Titan, Methane Lake

Spoiler 4500 millions km :

Primary Terrain: Outer Solar System
Secondary Terrains: Asteroid Surface, Jupiter (Ganymede/Callisto/Europa + Subsurface Ocean/Io + Lava Ocean), Saturn (Enceladus, Titan + Methane Ocean), Uranus (Umbriel), Neptune (Triton), Kuiper Belt Object
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): Asteroids, Planetary Ring, Small Moon
Resources: Metallic Asteroid, Organic Volatiles, Extraterrestrial Microbes

Metallic Asteroid/Organic Volatiles - Asteroid Surface (T), Asteroids (F)
Extraterrestrial Microbes - Europa, Enceladus, Titan (terrains)

Pluto should be placed somewhere on Outer Solar System and Transneptunian Space border.
Kuiper Belt Object (4x4 square or something like that, two tiles on each side) terrain should be used.

Zone 4 - Transneptunian Space
Solar System, Jovian Mapcategories
Solar System - Transneptunian Space
Jovian - Kuiper Belt Object

Spoiler 300 000 millions km :

Primary Terrain: Transneptunian Space
Secondary Terrains: Kuiper Belt Object
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): Sednoid, Oort Cloud
Resources: Metallic Asteroid, Organic Volatiles

Metallic Asteroid/Organic Volatiles - Kuiper Belt Object (T), Oort Clout (F)

Oort Cloud should be placed between Transneptunian and Transtellar zones.
Oort cloud could be 4 tiles thick on average - two tiles on each side.

Zone 5 - Nearby Stars
Interstellar, Plasma, Galactic Mapcategories
Interstellar - Transtellar Space
Plasma - Red Dwarf, Sunlike Star, Red Giant
Galactic - All terrains

Spoiler 100 light years :

Primary Terrain: Transtellar Space
Secondary Terrains: Red Dwarf, Sunlike Star, Red Giant
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): Oort Cloud, Brown Dwarf, Rogue Planet, White Dwarf, Carbon Planet, Chthonian Planet, Desert, Planet, Hot Jupiter, Mini Neptune, Super Earth, Ocean Planet
Resources: Metallic Asteroid, Organic Volatiles, Abandoned Civilization, Xenofauna, Xenoflora

Metallic Asteroid, Organic Volatiles - Oort Cloud (F)
Abandoned Civilization, Xenofauna, Xenoflora - Mini Neptune, Super Earth, Desert Planet, Ocean Planet (features)

Technically you can have two types of colonies just like in Cislunar/Inner Solar System/Outer Solar System zones:
Cities placed in Transtellar space have different buildings compared to ones placed on Star terrains (different mapcategories).
You could make those "middle of nowhere" spots by placing Brown Dwarf and Rogue Planet features close to Oort Cloud feature.

Zone 6 - Orion Arm
Galactic, Milky Way Mapcategories
All terrains have those two mapcategories

Spoiler 5 thousands light years :

Primary Terrain: Orion Arm
Secondary Terrains: Neutron Star, Nebula, Star Cluster
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): White Dwarf, Black Hole, Blue Dwarf, Blue Supergiant
Resources: Abandoned Civilization, Xenofauna, Xenoflora

Abandoned Civilization, Xenofauna, Xenoflora - Orion Arm, Star Cluster (terrains)

Zone 7 - Galaxy
Galactic, Milky Way Mapcategories
All terrains have those two mapcategories

Spoiler 100 thousands light years :

Primary Terrain: Milky Way
Secondary Terrains: Neutron Star, Nebula, Star Cluster, Galactic Core
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): White Dwarf, Black Hole, Blue Dwarf, Blue Supergiant.
Supermassive Black Hole - placed only on Galactic Core terrain

Resources: Abandoned Civilization, Xenofauna, Xenoflora
Abandoned Civilization, Xenofauna, Xenoflora - Star Cluster, Milky Way (terrains)

Zone 8 - Local Galaxies
Universal Mapcategory

Spoiler 10 millions light years :

Primary Terrain: Local Group
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): Dwarf Galaxy, Galaxy
Resources: Abandoned Megastructure - Local Group (T)

Zone 9 - Virgo Supercluster
Universal Mapcategory

Spoiler 110 millions light years :

Primary Terrain: Virgo Supercluster
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): Dwarf Galaxy, Galaxy
Resources: Abandoned Megastructure - Virgo Supercluster (T)

Zone 10 - Universe
Universal Mapcategory

Spoiler 93 000 millions light years :

Primary Terrain: Observable Universe
Secondary Terrains: Intergalactic Void
Features (all placed on Primary Terrain): Quasar
Resources: Abandoned Megastructure, Exotic Lifeforms

Abandoned Megastructure - Observable Universe (T)
Exotic Lifeforms - Observable Universe, Intergalactic Void (terrains)

Zone 11 - Unobservable Universe
Distant Mapcategory

Spoiler Unknown size :

Primary Terrain: Distant Cosmos
Resources: Abandoned Megastructure, Exotic Lifeforms (Distant Cosmos)

Zone 12 - Hyperspace (no need to include it, as it can be artificially generated in Universe/Unobservable Universe zones)
Hyperspace Mapcategory

Spoiler :

Primary Terrain: Hyperspace
Secondary Terrains: Branespace, Distant Past/Future
Resources: Quantonium Crystal (Hyperspace)

Spoiler Building mapcategory stats :

We have this many buildings requiring mapcategory of tile, that city is settled on.
EARTH - 5315
SUBTERRANEAN - 0
AQUATIC - 0 (those two mapcategories are currently unused by buildings and units).
CISLUNAR - 79
LUNAR - 62
SOLAR_SYSTEM - 161
MARTIAN - 79
VENUSIAN - 50
JOVIAN - 11, this mapcategory isn't mandatory (no difference between settling at or on terrain of this category), but you benefit from being near terrain of this mapcategory.
TITANIC - 28
INTERSTELLAR - 59
PLASMA - 156
GALACTIC - 36
MILKY_WAY - 153
UNIVERSAL - 122
DISTANT - 63
HYPERSPACE - 67
Some buildings have more than one map category (functions like OR terrain group of city tile).
You will get different buildings if you settle on (assuming well defined space zones):
Cislunar Space or Moon.
Outside of Mars/Venus or Mars/Venus
Outside of Titan or on Titan
Interstellar Space or Red Dwarf, Red Giant, Sun-like Star

Spoiler Colonization Milestones :

===ATOMIC===
X080 - Advanced Rocketry - Founding of NASA
X081 - Satellites - First satellite launched
X085 - Space Stations - Space Station LVL 1 improvement (Orbit terrain)

===INFORMATION===
X091 - Space Tourism - Space Station LVL 2 improvement (Orbit terrain)
X094 - Lunar Bases - Lunar Outpost improvement (Lunar cities are founded on it)
X096 - Asteroid Mining - Space Station LVL 3 improvement (Orbit terrain), Heavy Rockets can be upgraded to Cislunar/Lunar/Planetary Settlers

===NANOTECH===
X100 - Advanced Environmental Systems - Cislunar colonies
X101 - Lunar Colonization - Lunar colonies
X102 - Planetary Colonization - Martian/Venusian colonies

===TRANSHUMAN===
X111 - Deep Space Colonies - Solar System colonies (except Titan/beyond Pluto)
X114 - Astrogation Constellation - Earth can freely trade with space colonies (route can be placed on Orbit)
X115 - Abyss Colonization - Titan colonies
X121 - Solar Ordnance - Transneptunian colonies

===GALACTIC===
X124 - Interstellar Travel - Flight to nearby stars
X129 - Interstellar Colonization - Nearby Stars colonies.
X132 - Advanced Seedships - Orion Arm colonies
X134 - Transtangible Neutrino Accelerators - Milky Way colonies

===COSMIC===
X138 - Space Creasing - Local Group colonies
X141 - Intergroup Travel - Virgo Supercluster colonies
X145 - Intercluster Travel - Universe colonies

===TRANSCEDENT===
X149 - Horizon Breaking - Unobservable Universe colonies (part of same universe)
X149 - Dualflux Quantum Temporal Rift - Hyperspace colonies, can create Hyperspace terrain
X149 - String Manipulation - can create Branespace terrain
X152 - Time Reversal - can create Distant Past/Future terrains
X154 - Multiverse Traversal - latest space unit (multiverse reward), represents colonizing separate universes
X156 - Manifold Colonization - colonizing structures beyond dimensions
X158 - Macroverse Traversal - colonizing multimultiverses
X160 - Simulation Analysis - colonizing of whatever is outside of simulation