There is no single, official map of the Macross universe, which would show various political entities, fleets, their destinations, etc.
However, most recent Macross series and movies show at the beginning of first episode or such a short animated map, showing how different colonization fleets have left Earth and their progression. Even at high resolution, however, some details are not clear, and the maps quickly zoom in on the region involving the main one or two fleets featured in the story, leaving the details and fates of others unclear. Further, the animations are distorting time to some degree, ex. they show fleets launching from Eden colony nearly instantly, while presumably years if not decades would be needed to build them up.
Resources (timeframes of map shown in various episodes):
- Macross Plus: no map
- Macross 7: no map
- Macross Frontier, Episode 1: 00:24-00:36 (roughly the same as the following movie one)
- Macross Frontier Movie 1: The False Songstress: 02:01-02:10
- Macross Delta, Episode 1: 00:32-00:43
Links to other maps, screenshots, etc. They have some annotations and discussions but keep in mind they are fan-made ones.
- Several screencaptures from Macross Frontier in one forum discussion [1] and another annotated map from F [2] (if you know what thread/forum discussion that map appears in please link it)
- And one from Macross Delta (if you know what thread/forum discussion it appears in please link it): [3]
Analysis of the Macross Frontier animated map:
The year 2012 shows the following fleets launched from Earth:
- SDF-02 Super Dimensional Fortress Megaroad-01
- SDF-03 Super Dimensional Fortress Megaroad-02
- SDF-05 Super Dimensional Fortress Megaroad-04
- SDF-07 Super Dimensional Fortress Megaroad-06
- SDF-10 Super Dimensional Fortress Megaroad-09
- SDF-14 Super Dimensional Fortress Megaroad-13
- SDF-01 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross01
- SDF-03 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross03
- SDF-05 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross05
- SF-07 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross07
- SDF-25 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier M-Frontier
Notes:
- missing Megaroads (3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13). According to the timeline and story of Macross 7 Megaroad-13 should have roughly preceded Macross 7 to its general destination (part of the galaxy).
- it is clear not all of them were launched in 2012, some like Macross-7 or M-Frontier were clearly launched much later. In fact, the year 2012, according to the timeline, corresponds only to the launch of SDF-2 Megaroad-01.
- SDF-XX fleet (?) numbers can be reused. SDF-01 for example can apply to New-Macross-class Macross 1 launched in 2030, but also original SDF-01 Macross. Even on that one animation SDF03 can refer to Megaroad-02 and New-Macross Class Macross 3.
- a total of eleven fleets are shown here
The animation changes focus from Earth following Megaroad-04 which is shown to reach a new planet, unnamed at first but later identified as Eden, still with the year 2012 attached to it. Year then switches to 2013 and a number of fleets launch from Eden instantly:
- SDF-06 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross06
- SDF-09 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross09
- SDF-11 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross11
- SDF-15 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross15
- SDF-17 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross17 (two of them!)
- SDF-19 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross19
- SDF-20 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross20
- SDF-21 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier M-Galaxy
- SDF-23 New-Macross Class Aircraft Carrier Macross23
Notes:
- while Eden was indeed colonized in 2013 by Megaroad-04, it is again unlikely that all those fleets (or any of them) were launched in 2013. M-Galaxy, for example, was launched in 2031.
- Macross-17 clearly is used for two fleets that seem to split (?) shortly after launch
- We can now count missing New-Macross ships that should have been shown: 02, 04, 08, 09, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 and later. According to New Macross-class Macross 09 was briefly mention in audiodrama so it should exist.
- M-Frontier and M-Galaxy are the only ones given codenames
- a total of 11 fleets are shown (counting split Macross 17 twice)
The animation than zooms in on M-Frontier and M-Galaxy closing in on one another.
Analysis:
- half of the ships are not shown for whatever reasons, assuming they were launched at all.
- Macross 5 and 7 are shown departing roughly in the same direction, which makes sense as they would make contact later (Macross 7 story). Later their path is obscured and seems to take them beyond the animation.
- Megaroad-01 seems to veer back towards Earth and then stop. It is passed by in a relative vicinity by Macross-23.
Analysis of the Macross Delta animated map:
- The map shows various fleet (most labels are difficult to make out) leaving Earth (no date given), Two fleets are marked with special colors (orange - labelled Ragna and pink - labelled Windermere). Near the end of the animation the date 2067 AD appears.
Notes:
- the labels of the other fleets are mostly illegible and when readable, they are cryptic, like NAH-2194 and UTT2-5125. Comparing the labels with identical one on earth, it seems that those are planet names, through only Earth, Ragna and Windemere are identified (Eden is not). The numbers above the (code)name seem to be some form of coordinates - Earth is 0.00000 and numbers of all other fleets are constantly changing as they keep moving.
- Some (roughly, seven) are shown to come to sudden halt with a red x and their labels disappears, presumably indicating destruction (or at least, contact lost), others just stop suggesting colonization (for those the label does not change, through there is no name changes from codename to planet name).
- a total of 19 fleets are shown
Analysis:
- Macross Delta map seems much less informative then Macross Frontier