Service Outage Resolved

Not that anyone was checking the map to notice, but after a server reconfiguration some of the code was failing. The server admins have fixed the issue, so the map is working again. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;322886 explains what was going on. Ω

Mobile (for fun)

Out on the road, and desperate to answer a question about Charted Space on your Web-enabled phone or PDA?

No, I didn't think so. But because it was easy, try out Traveller Map Mobile. Ω

Fixed cache-control headers for images

If you use IE you may have noticed that when zooming in then back out the map image tiles would re-load from the server (that is, it'd be slow). Firefox (or another Mozilla-derived browser) were zippy. I was generating the HTTP headers incorrectly which caused IE (compliant) to re-request the images each time.

FYI, the fix was in the ASP.NET code for Tile.aspx:

Response.Cache.SetCacheability( HttpCacheability.Public ); // was doing this
Response.Cache.SetExpires( DateTime.Now.AddDays( 1 ) ); // was doing this
Response.Cache.SetValidUntilExpires( true ); // wasn't doing this

I was also misinterpreting the meaning of Response.Cache.VaryByParams (which populates the HTTP "Vary:" header). I was interpreting the semantics as "re-request if these params are different" rather than correct semantics: "re-request even if these params are the same". So I removed calls to that, and everything appears happier now.

So what does that mean? In IE, try zooming all the way in to 64 pixels/parsec then out to 1/32 pixels/parsec, using the mouse wheel. Then, once all the tiles are cached, you can repeat the zoom in/zoom out without waiting for the images to re-load. Makes a great demo! Ω

Blog is live!

If you’re reading this, you can tell that I’ve moved the changelog from the Traveller Map site to a blog. Sorry about the “type the characters in the image” thing (HIP/CAPTCHA) – within one minute of setting up the blog I had spam. I’d rather have a HIP test than make everyone register to post.

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Traveller Galaxy vs. the Milky Way

If you zoom out far enough in the map, you'll see Marc Miller's depiction of the Traveller galaxy (c/o The Core Route Projects). You might want to compare that with this recent depiction of the Milky Way, using the most up-to-date data: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/sig/sig05-010.shtml Ω

Fixed Search Display in Opera

I think I've fixed the search display in Opera. IE handles dynamic heights just fine, but Mozilla and Opera need special work. Mozilla needs to have the height calculated by script. That works in Opera too, but some layout calculations are done asynchronously so it needed a little more working around.

Also, Opera doesn't like xml elements for data islands, so the default search wasn't working.

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Mouse Wheel in Mozilla

The mouse wheel should now work for zooming in Mozilla/Firefox; this uses the "DOMMouseScroll" event. I'm not sure if Safari implements this. Anyone out there want to be my volunteer Mac test buddy? (I can’t quite justify springing for a new box just to test this page.)

Also, I tossed in Alt+Double-click to zoom out.

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Added Content: Solomani and Aslan

With the help of an awesome tool by John G. Wood I've reconstructed the dotmaps for "missing" sectors in Aslan space (far spin-rimward) from DGP's Solomani and Aslan, plus the sector Theron.

Note that the worlds outside of known domains are marked as "Na", but otherwise are randomly generated, which is bogus - there shouldn't be a lot of class A starports in the middle of nowhere. But at least the dotmaps are now salvaged!

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New Feature: Animation

Added animation between search points - feedback appreciated. Refactored script code. Control panel now updates when a permalink is followed or the page is refreshed. Ω

Rendering Change: Labels for Rifts

Added labels for the Great and Lesser Rifts. You're on your own for Windhorn and Delphi, though. Ω

Content Fix: Added Home (Aldebaran 1009)

Added Home (Aldebaran 1009), capital of the Solomani Confederacy. Thanks to Marty Carungay. Not called out as a capital yet; I'm still pondering that - and the spellings. Ω

Performance: Server Resource Caching (or: don't reinvent the wheel)

Switched from caching resources using HttpApplicationState to System.Web.Caching.Cache. The previous "cache" mechanism effectively kept everything in memory, which made IIS/ASP.NET think there was a memory leak and recycle the app domain on a regular basis. The server should be much happier. In concrete terms, the map should generally be more responsive now. Ω

New Feature: Permalinks

Added Permalink to the bottom of the frame. This records the view state (location, zoom, and options) so you can bookmark a particular location or send it to a friend. Ω

New Feature: Zoom with Mouse Wheel

Mouse wheel can be used to zoom in/out (IE only).

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New Features: Searching & Double-click to Zoom

Implemented searching by world name.

Double-clicking now zooms in (up to 64 pixels/parsec).

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Bug Fix: Tile Generation

Added call to Response.End() - was accidentally streaming out HTML as a suffix to each image. Ω

Performance: Tiles are now 256x256

Changed tile size from 150x150 to 256x256; appears to degrade server perf slightly, but should reduce the number of connections and thus improve latency of updates. Need to test. Ω

Updated Content: Capital and Reference

Patched data for Core sector; had Sylea and Aadkhien (historical names) instead of Capital and Reference (this map is nominally CT-era). Ω

Rendering Change: Dotmap shown at 4 pixels/parsec

Show "dotmap" at 4 pixels/parsec. I'm now satisfied with how the various zoom levels are shown. Ω

New Feature: Double-click to center

You can now double-click to center the map on a point. Ω

Implementation Details for Galactic Structure

Re-implemented the Galactic Arms/Rifts & Intergalactic Rifts; looks the same but I'm happier now. You can now zoom out to see the entire galaxy (1/32 pixels/parsec). Ω

Bug Fix: Dragging

Fixed dragging when Galactic Directions are not shown. Ω

Rendering Change: Galactic Structure

Added Galactic Arms/Rifts & Intergalactic Rift to the pseudo-random stars; if you explore out far enough you'll run out of stars. Ω

Added Content: Zhodani Core Route

Added the Zhodani Core Route - 167 sectors leading to the edge of the Galactic Core developed by Clifford Linehan, from The Core Route Projects. Ω

What this site looked like in 1985

Added some images of v0.1 of the map, circa 1985 Charted Space and Sector Map. Ω

Rendering Change: Delphi Rift

The Delphi Rift is now rendered at large scales. Ω

Updated Content: Atlas of the Imperium

Replaced the quadrangle from Spinward Marches to Spica with CT-era data from the Map of Traveller Charted Space (the previous data was MT-era) Ω

Added Content: Chtierabl and Zdiedeiant

Added the Chtierabl and Zdiedeiant sectors with BeRKA's data from The Core Route Projects. Ω

Updated Content: Extolian and Ktiin'gzat

Updated the Extolian and Ktiin'gzat sectors with Leroy W. L. Guatney's data, from his Federation Development Agency. Ω

Updated Content: Foreven and Leonidae

Updated the Foreven and Leonidae sectors with data from BeRKA's Zhodani Base. Ω

Added/Updated Content: Rim-Trailing Sectors

Added/updated the data for the Phlask, Drakken, Lorspane, Darret, Ataurre, Muarne, and Lancask sectors with Bari Z. Stafford Sr.'s data from The Core Route Projects. Ω

Added Content: Coreward Sector

Added data from John G. Wood's Underdeveloped Sectors (many sectors in Vargr, Zhodani and K'kree space Coreward of the Imperium). Ω

Added Content: Trailing Sectors

Added data from BeRKA's Zhodani Base for the Darret, Drakken, Extolian, Leonidae, Lorspane, Phlask and Ktiin'gzat sectors (Trailing of the Imperium). Ω

Added Content: Far Frontiers Sector

Added Far Frontiers sector data from The Traveller Atlas. Ω

Performance: Tile Generation

Minor performance improvements in tile generation code. Ω

Compatibility Fix: Dragging in Safari 1.3

Fixed dragging in Safari 1.3. Ω

Compatibility Fix: Form Controls

Removed styles on form controls, to improve cross-platform usability. Ω

Rendering Changes

Show "dotmap" at 8 pixels/parsec (in addition to pseudo-random stars).

Show sector capitals (Cx) in red.

Include subsector and sector capitals (Cp and Cx) at 32 pixels/parsec.

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Content Fix: Diaspora Sector

Replaced Diaspora sector data with file from Map of Traveller Charted Space; previous file was corrupt in rows 38-40. (Darn - I thought I'd discovered a rift!) Ω

New Sector Data

Added sector data beyond the Imperium from Map of Traveller Charted Space at Traveller Central; mostly derived from the Core Archive. Ω

Compatibility Fix: Dragging in NN 7.2

Fixed dragging in Netscape Navigator 7.2 Ω