Distance unit
A distance unit is the small map unit used for positions, ranges, and travel distances in Galactic Empire. Classic GE calls it a parsec in player-facing text; ge-next generally calls the same unit a subsector. The change is terminology, not a change to the game's coordinate scale. A sector is 10,000 distance units wide and 10,000 high in both versions.
Coordinates and measurement
Within a sector, a ship's X and Y position is usually displayed from about 0 to 9999. Internally, one sector spans 1.0 on each coordinate axis. Moving 1,000 distance units along an axis changes that internal coordinate by 0.1; crossing a sector boundary changes the sector number while the underlying position continues smoothly.
Scans and navigation calculate straight-line distance between the underlying positions and multiply it by 10,000 for display. Thus the centers of adjacent sectors are 10,000 units apart, but two ships on opposite sides of the same sector boundary can be very close together. Diagonal distance uses both the X and Y differences. A planet 250 units away is within orbit-command range; a scan's range or a weapon's reach is stated in the same units. See Coordinate system for the full map convention.
Why not an astronomical parsec?
The classic label makes for a rather compressed galaxy. At steady warp 1, the movement formula advances a ship 1000 / 65000 of a sector per movement update, or about 153.85 game distance units. Movement runs on a one-second callback that processes each ship every third pass, so that is nominally one move every three seconds. If warp 1 is read as light speed, a ship covers about 1.62 billion game units in a year. A real astronomical parsec is about 3.26 light-years, so it would contain roughly 5.28 billion classic GE "parsecs". Each game "parsec" would be only about 5,850 km across, not an interstellar distance. That mismatch is why ge-next calls these units subsectors instead. This is an illustrative comparison based on the game's stated speed, not a physical conversion specified by its code.
See also
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