Just a quick update for those who may not have been checking out SE.net's forum on this mod project:
We've got a working map done with 341 systems. All warp points and planet locations are working fine. One of the key aspects of the map is that it is possible to land (ie shuttle over) to ANY planet whether it is colonized or not!! But a word of warning, you have to get REALLY close to do so
A lot of the smaller items have been taken care of and we are now working on components. The components aspect will be pretty grand as well, but that part has only just been started.
More to follow!