The shape of the routes for CEA1 and CEA2 could at times be described as a bit jagged. However with the help of a database of non-procedural systems created for me by CMDR Waterlubber of Simbad Regime and a spreadsheet tool I made for myself I have been able to do more focused searching of waypoints. This resulted in a relatively smoother line for CEA3. As such certain changes have been implemented to what each tier of our waypoints mean than what we had in the previous expeditions.
For those new to Celebration of Early Astronomy those tiers are:
- Basecamp
- Main
- Optionals
Below I will outline what each one means now with CEA3
Basecamp Waypoints
- Brief: Basecamp waypoints are the bookends of each leg of the expedition.
- EDSM: These are the waypoints that will be listed on our expedition’s EDSM page. (In the past Main waypoints were also listed, this has changed and only Basecamps will be listed now)
- Finalization: These are all finalized before the expedition even begins, they are all finalized as of this post.
- Reality: All Basecamp waypoints are based on real celestial objects. That means either the system is based on a real star or is within the confines of a real nebula or star cluster.
- Routing: The route between these waypoints should be quite sensible and smooth.
- Reachability: All basecamp waypoints should be reachable to a 35 Ly jump range ship as far as I am aware, at the very least with minor FSD Injection, but probably won’t even need that.
Main Waypoints
- Brief: Main Waypoint are along a fairly smooth route between basecamps, set in stone pre-expedition, and featuring sights based on real celestial objects. Basically they are more like how optionals used to be in CEA 1 and 2.
- EDSM: Main waypoints are not listed on the EDSM route. This is a change from the past.
- Finalization: Main waypoints are finalized prior to the expedition
- Reality: Main waypoints are all based on real celestial objects. That means either the system is based on a real star or is within the confines of a real nebula or star cluster.
- Routing: The route between these waypoints should be quite sensible and smooth.
- Reachability: All Main Waypoints should be reachable by a ship and not require a fleet carrier. I make no guarantees as to range minimums however.
Optional Waypoints
- Brief: Optionals are larger detours from the main line between basecamps, and are not always based on real celestial objects (but generally will be still). Unlike previous expeditions, these may experience changes throughout the expedition.
- EDSM: Optional waypoints are not listed on the EDSM route.
- Finalization: Optional waypoints are only finalized once the leg they are part of has begun. Additions to the list of Optionals for a particular leg may change up until the day the leg begins.
- Reality: While generally they will be, not all will be based on real celestial objects. There may be sites (such as Colonia for example) listed that are of significant interest, but “Not Based on Real Object” (NBORO) any Optional Waypoints like that will be prefixed in the waypoints list with (NBORO) to indicate this.
- Routing: Optional waypoints will be placed between main waypoints where sensible, however I can make no guarantee as to the sensibility or smoothness of the route between optional waypoints themselves. The order as listed in announcement may include some backtracking.
- Reachability: All Optional Waypoints should be reachable at least by carrier. If for some reason something gets on there that absolutely is not reachable at all let me know, but I make effort not to include such systems.
Waypoint List Releases
With the mention above about Optional Waypoints not being finalized until a leg begins you might be wondering how those are announced. The full list of waypoints for each leg, including Optionals will be released both in a post here on the official site, as well as with an announcement in the Discord server linking to that post.