And that’s the tricky bit, isn’t it?
My suggestion is to not get too worried about precision/specifics and instead get a general layout (“this area is where all the power infrastructure is,” “this area is where all the crew lives,” etc.), and to more-or-less ignore the maps from the game.
The truth of the matter when it comes to video games or movies is that in most cases, practical layout is scrapped in favor of what suits the needs of the product. That’s how come most ships in Star Wars are apparently just coils of hallway with occasional rooms (see the Crucible for exhibit A).
Furthermore, based on my cursory examination of pictures of the exterior of the station, it seems to be far larger than the map would tend to suggest (note the hangar size and what appear to be rows of windows on the sides of the “wedges,” ten per “light section”).
Size estimates:
If each “light section” has ten floors and each floor is about 12 feet, each wedge is approximately 800 meters from bottom to top (taller than the One World Trade Center), not counting the spindly bits. Taking that measurement, the main “dish” appears to be about 2600 meters across from one hangar bay to the other, giving us an area (if I didn’t mess this up) of 5.3 kilometers.
If we take a “population density” of 8,000 (rather arbitrary) per square kilometer, then that’d be about 42,500 personnel. That’s the size estimate I’m going with as I try to parse what it might contain.
Population density is extremely hard to estimate for this because we basically have nothing truly corollary with which to compare it. We can’t really even compare it to a city because cities are built on the ground! Thus, I picked an estimate that’s high, but below New York City. Like I said, arbitrary.
Here are some suggestions of how to apportion the station:
- Power is in the center of the station. Various relays and junctions etc. carry the power to the rest of the station from the central reactors.
- Living quarters are in the various “wedges,” perhaps with each wedge assigned to a certain category or categories of people (e.g. temporary residents, crew, stationed soldiers, permanent residents, VIPs, etc.) with part of one (or parts of all) apportioned to more important people and correspondingly fancier, giving you the “penthouse” you mentioned.
- There seem to be four “slices” of the main body of the station.
- Each slice has an outer “observation band” with windows to the space outside. This acts like a beltway, providing a quick way to physically access distant destinations. There may even be some powered transportation (e.g. a monorail).
- The top and smallest slice is the command level. This is the nerve center of the station and houses the bridge as well as the various analyst rooms, conference rooms, etc. that help the station run smoothly while also providing places for military types to meet, plan, and coordinate according to the station’s role as a staging ground. The top slice also includes some of the “spire” things in the very center of the “donut.”
- The second slice houses the main reactor control center and accordingly a lot of supplemental maintenance areas, but is largely given over to commercial districts. A station this large will have a massive population, and an accordingly great need to support that population.
- The third slice is the general “living space,” encompassing entertainment, recreation, grocery stores, retail, etc.
- The fourth slice is by far the largest, and is administrated by the military. These are the supply depots, military factories, resupply docks, etc. Cavernous cargo bays are commonplace, and are frequently abuzz with activity as military vessels are loaded and unloaded, supplies are transferred, and troopships are equipped and loaded with soldiers.
- There are four main hangars for the reception of supply ships and military vessels, one of which has been given over to civilian traffic to keep the station supplied with food and other supplies not produced on board, at least not in quantities sufficient for the population (e.g. it may have some limited hydroponics, but even then it needs water). However, it still is equipped for military service and may have a store of starfighters on standby. The other three are exclusively reserved for military service except in emergencies.
It is worth noting that precisely because it is an artificial construct, stations will make much, much more efficient use of space than cities, which can sprawl out quite broadly. Thus, population density could be extremely, unthinkably high if everyone lives in small, tightly packed apartments. I have to make assumptions and arbitrary guesses, but when you get to this scale few will second-guess these numbers unless they’re as nerdy as I am.
