Serebrov Beacon
- Thread starter cnschulz
- Start date
What, pray tell, is a "metaphorical beacon"? 
Er, one of those shining beacons of hope, all alone in the night... that sort of thing. Why exactly an obscure system out in the boondocks should signify that I don't know!
They are using some very confusing terminology. Anyone from EDSM or the galactic mapping project care to explain what the word "beacon" signifies?
Nice reference, have some rep for it!
In this case, it's a bit odd too, as there's already a Serebrov Crossing, and I don't really see why the beacon system would be special to merit a separate POI. Perhaps if it were the farthest along the southern Meridian at one time, but it wasn't.
No, it's not just for Children of Raxxla. Go to EDSM -> Galactic Mapping -> Galactic Map, click on the options and enable beacons. You will see them scattered all over the galaxy. I doubt they are real beacons so it's a case of the "metaphorical beacon" Jackie mentioned. Why the term "beacon"? What does it signify?
Hello there
The 'Beacon' POI category is reserved for systems of special navigational importance:
- galactic limits - eg. 'Magellans Star', furthest system east of Sol inside the continuous galaxy
- galactic meridians - eg. 'Pernicious', furthest reached east of sol along the zero-coordinate-line
- galactic records - eg. 'Sepositus Beacon', furthest from Sag A*, the centre of the galaxy
- navigational aids - eg. 'Barnards Loop', most important marker for visual orientation in the vicinity of the Bubble, or 'The Sublustris Beacon' which can be used by ships doing the Ronceavaux Crossing.
Ideally a 'Beacon' POI should be a system or feature that can be targeted in the GalMap or observed outside your ship from a very long distance, and thus help in spatial orientation and navigation.
Galactic limits and records help define the furthest outline of the galaxy ("How far east, does it go?", "Where is the furthest system from Sol?").
Galactic meridians helps define the coordinate grid and ´compas rose´ of the galaxy ("If I want to set a course directly south of Sol, what system should I target?")
Navigtional aids are more ambigous and something we will be revising from time to time.
Hope this clarifies things
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EDIT: I should add that some of the beacons currently on the map are a relic from the old days of the fixed image 2D maps - these systems where added to help give an impression of distance from Sol. With the inclusion of the radial grid overlay in the interactive map (which indicate such distance) some of these systems have become less usefull for navigational purposes. In general it is the aim of the mapping team to limit the number of beacons to those of real use, so the question raised here might indicate that an overhaul of current beacons are due
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Hello there
The 'Beacon' POI category is reserved for systems of special navigational importance:
- galactic limits - eg. 'Magellans Star', furthest system east of Sol inside the continuous galaxy
- galactic meridians - eg. 'Pernicious', furthest reached east of sol along the zero-coordinate-line
- galactic records - eg. 'Sepositus Beacon', furthest from Sag A*, the centre of the galaxy
- navigational aids - eg. 'Barnards Loop', most important marker for visual orientation in the vicinity of the Bubble, or 'The Sublustris Beacon' which can be used by ships doing the Ronceavaux Crossing.
Ideally a 'Beacon' POI should be a system or feature that can be targeted in the GalMap or observed outside your ship from a very long distance, and thus help in spatial orientation and navigation.
Hope this clarifies things
Indeed, it clarifies things, thank you! One could argue however that galactic limits, meridians, and records do not adhere to the definition of something that can be observed from far away. Yes, I know you used the word "ideally" but really those are POIs not beacons. Anyway, I'm nit picking. I have my answer, thank you!
Beacons are a relic from the old 2d maps which I originally used as distance markers (before the radial overlay). On the old maps the beacon label would be accompanied in brackets by the systems distance in light years from Sol, this helped players gauge distances out to those locations. They've sort of morphed into what Corbin describes above these days now though as the old reason to include them became obsolete.