Permit-Locked Regions

Restricted Volumes & Route Planning Hazards

Cartographic Overlay

Signal Summary

Not every visible star is reachable. Permit locks can apply to single systems or broad regions, turning apparent route options into blocked nodes.

For a route planner, restricted space behaves like terrain. It does not change distance, but it changes which edges are legal to traverse.

PermitsRestrictedRouting

Key Concepts

System permit - A single named system requires access before it can be entered.

Region lock - A larger volume of space is inaccessible, often for narrative or future-content reasons.

Route failure - A path may look geometrically valid but still fail when locked nodes are excluded.

Detour planning - Commanders route around blocked volumes by finding bridge systems along the boundary.

Field Notes

Permit locks are a good reason to keep route errors explanatory instead of simply returning no path.

Restricted regions can make nearby visible stars misleading: distance alone is not reachability.

A future galaxy map layer could mark lock boundaries or warn when a route approaches them.

Reference

Signal	Value	Use
Reachable	Unlocked node	Can participate in ordinary route plotting.
Blocked	Permit node	Visible but excluded unless access is known.
Workaround	Boundary detour	Skirt the locked volume through accessible neighbours.