Calendars of Awesomeness
Tzuriel — Fri, 2008-11-28 19:24
Well, at Morbus behest, we move into a new forum here. So this is primarily concerned with creating a random calendar generator that would be ideal for all of us (or at least cool enough to be accepted as a stand-in until we have star trek technology and time). So start talking about the specs and we'll see if anyone more skilled than us makes it a reality!
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Ok, I'll start this out. I think the calendar should be able to replicate the real world. Like, if I made a fake city and wanted to run a game in it, the calendar should be able to do it in the real world without much fuss. I think it would be cool if we could randomly generate realistic weather patterns based upon astrological affects, region, etc. Things like, it's gonna snow today, you know? I think it'd also be cool, if we could get it down to percentages like in the real world, so then at any given time of the day you could roll the percentage dice to determine if it's, say, raining or just cloudy. It also needs to have long term generation skills, in that NPC could get his/her knowing when the moons would be full at the same time, other astrological events, etc.
That's my thoughts for now.
Ok.
While I do think it would be nifty, I don't think any calendar could generate weather patterns based on astrological effects. We have no idea what the effect of having multiple moons would have on an Earth-like ecosystem. Someone might hazard a guess based on scientific research, but it would take an enormous amount of work, and the algorthim would get more and more complex with each moon. I doubt the effort would pay off in terms of actual game play, though it might make an interesting article for a meteorological journal.
More practically, you could base the weather patterns on averages based on real-world seasonal weather per geographic location. Western and North-western European weather patterns would be a good starting point, since most campaigns take place in vaguely European locations and climates. At best, you might produce an almanac for routine knowledge of weather as it impacts common folk.
If you wanted an astronomical chart, that's another project altogether, and a worthy one as well. Astronomical charts can be produced with a little creativity and some basic drawing skills. Just take a real world astronomical chart for reference, draw a bunch of stars, and then play connect the dots to create constellations. Create a line for the sun's path, and whatever constellations the sun moves through respresent your game-world's zodiac.
Basic requirements for the calendar:
-Impute length and names of days, weeks, months, years and seasons
-infinitely extendable to both past and future
-sunlight/darkness hours per day
-phases for moon(s)
-solstice, equinox dates
-solar/lunar eclipses (could be tough)
-ability to impute important dates, events
-ability to impute extensive game log
-multi-user interface with security features so GM and players can track information without revealing private/secret info
A wonderful additional feature would be a food availability and scarcity list that ties seasons to diet. I know it's hard to imagine, given our modern state of endless summer at the grocery store, but people used to have to live on a lot less during the winter months, and gorge in the summertime. GMs rarely take this scarcity into account in their games. Maybe it's too mundane. But finding food in the depths of winter can be an adventure in itself. (FYI - The reason meat is a bigger staple of the European diet than in most other cultures, is because it was easier to find meat in the cold seasons) This idea is more in line with an almanac.
More thoughts? Keep'em coming!
Random, not to be too annoying- do you mean "input" when you write "impute"?
Zip:
I think either term works in the context.
impute
verb
1. To ascribe to: affix, assign, blame, fasten, fix, pin on, place. See give/take/reciprocity.
2. To regard as belonging to or resulting from another: accredit, ascribe, assign, attribute, charge, credit, lay1, refer. See give/take/reciprocity.
i.e.:
-"Affix" length and names of days, weeks, months, years and seasons
Damn. Reality, that dastardly serial killer, has struck down my dreams again. I'll get him someday.
Well, consider the weather patterns idea as optimal, for when we have star trek technology and can calculate the movement of the plates and such (which would be awesome). Otherwise, I agree with NPC. That sounds pretty cool, and really useful, though I think some basic astrological calculations as they tie in with the seasons and religions, etc., would be useful. More complex stuff, as NPC asserts, could be for a different system altogether. It would also be nice to randomly determine when there would be famines and other such disasters such as background for the real world, more thing to remind PCs that not everything focuses on them. Most disasters would be something the GM could basically just throw whenever, like volcanoes, tornadoes and earthquakes, but I think things like hurricanes and famines, more long term things, should be more random and so determined by this awesome calendar.
Anything else? Is reality stalking my dreams again?
RNPC, I stand corrected.