Calendars

[Farling]

Originally Posted by Greebo

An easy integration of axial tilt

Lol at "easy"

[Greebo]

Originally Posted by Farling

Lol at "easy"

Yeah, I focussed on the user end, not on the actual dev work it will or might take to integrate this feature one day.

[Bidmaron]

To determine the length of a day, you need to know the axial tilt, the latitude of where you want to know the length of a day, and the calendar day you want to know the day length of.

To determine time of sunrise and sunset, you additionally need to know either the absolute longitude, or at least the relative longitude within the band for which the time zone applies (in fantasy world terms, there would have to be a location that is the standard to which regional times are defined). In a world without standards-setting bodies, this could be very chaotic, where a large, powerful realm might have its capital govern the time standard and every other location within the sway of this realm would have its time anchored to that. So, in the very east of such a realm (assuming counterclockwise rotation of the planet relative to the ecliptic), the sun might rise at 3AM (using an earth-like time scale), while it might rise at 12PM in the very west end (for a large realm, e.g.). Remember, even on earth, there are some locations that observe a daylight savings time and some that don't; locations where there are 30 minute time zones and hour time zones; and locations where time zones are widely distorted from a strictly longitudinal basis for the sake of convenience [usually so a small country does not need to have separate time zones].

Another common practice in fantasy cultures would be to reset your chronometer (mechanism would vary depending upon whether the chronometer is a sundial, hourglass, or mechanical device) to some standard reticle value when the sun first touches the horizon (or when the first cock crows, the first cricket chirps, or some other observable phenomenon).

And this all assumes there is only one sun in the system.

If Realmworks is attempting to capture such aspects within its calendar system, it is no wonder it is taking so long to develop.

[Greebo]

Yes, I know it is a rather complex topic, so I am hoping only for an approximating solution to be integrated someday.

My current work-around tool does do just that (from minute 6:00 onwards):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFvY...ature=youtu.be

Originally Posted by Greebo

It does almost all I want. But the tool

• exists outside of RW, so that I still cannot use the date snippets etc.
• needs a work-around to simulate different worlds with a common calendar (i.e. I set up the planet we play on and its moon as additional moons (of the campaigns homeworld, where the calendar system in use was developed), so that I can at least track the beginn of seasons and the moon phases (on the planet, where most of the atcual action takes place) ).

Hopefully, when the Custom Calendar feature finally arrives, it will work somewhat like this, including the settings for sunrise and sunset (on a variety of worlds) and weather.

And, I do not expect it to be integrated all at once, if those features ever get integrated at all.

But it is incredibly usefull dealing with spot/observe test modificators, nocturnal creatures, magic cycles, tracking of seasons (e.g. on different worlds) and the like.

And, this is the feature request / wish section, after all.

[Bidmaron]

Nice job on that, by the way. I'd love to see all of this in Realmworks, but I have my doubts....

[Greebo]

Originally Posted by Bidmaron

Nice job on that, by the way.

Just to be clear, my easily mistakable "my" only intended to say, that it is the tool I currently use.
I am by no means the author of that very fine tool.

Originally Posted by Bidmaron

I'd love to see all of this in Realmworks, but I have my doubts....

Yes, and yes.

[ruhar]

Originally Posted by daplunk

You can make your own quite easily. Not ideal but its a work around.

This is nice. Is it available to download and incorporate into our realms?

Originally Posted by Greebo

I did find a calendar tool I can use as workaround.

https://fantasy-calendar.com/

This is exactly what I need. Thanks for sharing.

[daplunk]

Originally Posted by ruhar

This is nice. Is it available to download and incorporate into our realms?

I've made a new version which can be downloaded from HERE.

[kbs666]

Keep in mind every campaign world won't have axial tilt.

The Known World from a Song of Fire and Ice does not have axial tilt in a way that can explain its seasons in any way that can be understood by humans for instance.

[ErinRigh]

Originally Posted by kbs666

Keep in mind every campaign world won't have axial tilt.

The Known World from a Song of Fire and Ice does not have axial tilt in a way that can explain its seasons in any way that can be understood by humans for instance.

Sure are wrong there. Ya know that metal thing they keep showing at the beginning of Game of Thrones? It's an Astrolab that hangs in the great library, they have focused on it in episode. I think that it is reasonable to say, It's axial tilt is likely variable (ie it wobbles) and that the "current" scholars in Westeros have no idea how it works, but to say that it can't be understood humans is a bit reaching IMO.