Is the GalMap intentionally wrong?

[Garand1987]

I’ve been reading through the official Elite novels and have been taking a little time to try and visit the places mentioned in them. I’m doing so, I’ve noticed that the GalMap gets it wrong... a lot. Even in its own descriptions.
Just in the two examples from yesterday, CD-73 253 is supposed to have Tarlak in it, the trash planet. Even in game it’s described as “best known as home to the trash world Tarlak.” However, upon arrival you’d probably notice that Tarlak is missing, there isn’t any planets at all actually. So did they forget for six-ish years to put it in? It would seem not. Because when I went to LTT 2771 where smugglers junction is supposed to be (it’s not) there’s Tarlak! It’s about 40ly from where both the GalMap and the Novel says it should be.
Also, when reading the novels we are told that Soontill is a Brown Dwarf system, and that Soontill sits 2 AU from the star in a fog. And that it’s location is where the lines between Delta Phoenicis and Grandmort cross the line through Lanaest, Brohman and Delta Phoenicis. However, in the game, “Soontill” is located in the opposite direction of this, and it’s a red dwarf system not a brown, and Soontill 1 is only 18ls from the star, not 998 like it’s supposed to be.
So are we being purposefully mislead? Are we to believe that either Garry or the Pilots Federation are intentionally mislabeling systems to hide something or has FDEV messed up their own lore and just not bothered to fix it for over half a decade?

 

[Mangal Oemie]

Disconnect between lore and Stellar Forge?

 

[VR SenseiMatty]

Disconnect between lore and Stellar Forge?

Many system in the bubble are handcrafted so stellarforge is out of discussion

 

[Garand1987]

Disconnect between lore and Stellar Forge?

Perhaps but a lot of the bubble systems, especially ones tied to lore are hand crafted. The authors were also given info on these systems by FDEV before the lore was written so it would be right (according to the authors) so I’d imagine that FDEV would have known ahead of time that the systems were possible as described and they’d place them where they said they would. Which makes me think perhaps there’s something that we haven’t been told. Maybe the Pilots Federation or other groups have intentionally misled us (oh you’re looking for my pirate hideout? Well here’s a trash planet instead. Seems like something a pirate would do) or they’re mistakes by FDEV which haven’t been addressed. Would be nice to get an answer eitherway but that seems to be hard to acquire.

 

[Sapyx]

Tarlak: it would seem to be a mix-up there, in the system description for CD-73 253. There are a lot of old "wrong" system descriptions tht were put into the game at the start, only to be over-ridden by later developments. Many systems around the old Gamma Pill, for example, state that the system is an "Independent democracy" or "communist", when no such faction is present - the system description predates the concept of factions and factional control changes of a system.

If Robinson Station in the CD-73 253 system is "orbiting nothing", then maybe the nothing it's orbiting is an invisible comet, and maybe that coment could be the "Tarlak" referred to in the system description. But that wouldn't explain why another in-game planet in another system was named "Tarlak".

Soontill: it's my understanding that the novel describing the Soontill system is "old lore" and thus subject to retconning. Soontill Relics have made it into the game, as has the "Soontill system", but the parameters for the Soontill system itself are "wrong".

As for "fixing it": sorry, but no can do. Not easily, anyway. System descriptions can be re-written easily. Planets can be renamed easily. New outer planets can be added to the "ends" of a star system fairly easily. Adding new inner planets is much harder. Wholesale editing of entire star systems, harder again. And creating new stars or "moving" stars to different locations (which would actuall involve "destroying" a star system and "creating" a brand new one exactly like the old one but in a new location), hardest of all.

 

[The_Lorenzo_12]

It's sad the way they've missed the opportunity with books. If there were special locations mentioned throughout the novels, they could direct people's attention to certain spots where they hid something interesting. Then people would be way more interested in the books themselves to find these "special" locations, thus upping book sales and revenue

 

[VR jefranklin18]

The only ED book needed is a manual...

And the Gazetteer that came with FE2

In fairness, there are a couple of the books that are not too bad; but the majority are pretty forgettable.

 

[Valorin]

I'd bug report that... As far as I know the novels are canon and locations in the game should match the ones in the book.