Segmented Time Gradient(STG) - Constructed Universal Time

Oh the Timeline!

Something I have always dreaded was the inevitable point that is reached when trying to explain how old a constructed world or universe is.

The nebulous concept of how we calculate time here on earth is rather limited and riddled with issues when it comes to actual universality. The battle to reach a Universal Time was kind of crazy. Reading about it made my head spin. Always has.

"My power was off today so I picked up a pencil." 

So I decided to do something a little different. Well. A lot different.
I decided that I am outside the planet and all the galaxies when I go to create a universe from scratch... why do I have to plan out timeline from the vantage point of one planet? I dont!

The last time I grabbed a pencil...

My power was off today so I picked up a pencil. Yep. I took that pencil and I started creating a method to divide absurd amounts of time into usable blocks that I could then mostly ignore! That's the beauty of my mind though. I just needed to know that there was a real set of numbers, that is cross referenced with 4 different functions I created. Once I have this I know how old things were BEFORE the DAWN of TIME or whatever. It's never the real "Dawn of Time" either, its always some other observers VERSION of a beginning.

Well. Even though I'm sure it has its own problems, I love this method already. I can use this to assign new people blocks of time forward or backward in time and everything remains synchronous with whatever "Known Reconing" your different observers(cultures) may have.

I warn you. This may look like a bowl of spaghetti, but for me it is more like poetry. It means that I can go forward with ANY project and have a way to create a timeline with little to no effort.

SEGMENTED TIME GRADIENT (STG/h/v/f/u)
A Constructed Universal Time Measurement by Mightokondriac

STG: general reference for Segmented Time Gradient

SEE BELOW FOR CALCULATIONS AND SEGMENT LIST

*STGh:(or h:) Gradient Horizon*

Gradient Horizon starts with the beginning of SEGMENT 4.
Part 1 of SEG4 is considered the "Origin Range" (starting on: STGv: 83371120257233 +1) for World of Daes. As the most common time period(World of Daes), almost all references to STG will be routed through STGh, for ease.

This method acts as a standard year model where *year One of the Global Known Reckoning is STGh:1*

    _This does not mean that any currently living creature knows about the nature of Year One. It implies that there IS a reckoning of this time, regardless of whether the information survived in a form that could be handed down._
    
The number represented after the STGh moniker is a literal year unit of the 337,299 total year units in SEG4.
    *for example:* 
    STGh:4291 (s4:p3 - 291.1 years into p3 (or more accurately: .718 of 1 SEGUNIT in to p3 _(Part 3 of SEG4 consists of 500 year ranges. See below.)_
 

*STGv: (or v:) Verbose Year*

    This method skips all segmenting.

    A year signature from 1 to 83371120594532.

    _"Origin" of Daes occurs on 83371120257234._
 

*STGf: (or f:) Folded Range (SPU)*

    Folded Range is also interpreted as SEGEMENT:PART:UNIT
    Each SEGMENT is split into three PARTS. Each part consists of 666.6 units. Totalling 1999.8 units (rounded up to 2000 units for ease).
        Part 1 is expressed as {p}-, where {p} equals the SEGMENT number.
            note: "-" can be replaced with "1"
        Part 2 is expressed as {p}, where {p} equals the SEGMENT number with no modifier.
            note: " " can be replaced with "2"
        Part 3 is expressed as {p}+, where {p} equals the SEGMENT number.
            note: "+" can be replaced with "3"
        *Units of Parts / Examples*
            {p}:945 (this is incorrect, PARTS can never exceed 666.6 UNITS - see SEGUNITS)
            {p}+:666 -This would equate to the last UNIT(666) of the last PART(+) of SEGMENT {p}
        *for example:*
            f:4+:666 would equal (_a range of 500 years_)
                v:83371120594032 through v:83371120594532
                u:10000
                h:336799 through h:337299
            f:2-:371 would equal (_a range of 125,000 years_)
                v:83371045641000 to v:83371045766000
                u:4371
                h:null (Horizon only applies after SEG4)
             
*An alternate* to this, used below in the "STG Year Unit equations" simplifies the look and feel of the folding process.
        s{#}:p{#}
        s{#}:p{#}:u{#}
     
        *for example:*
        s3:p2:555 = Segment 3, Part 2, Unit 555.
            This is a 500 year range, starting at year 227,500(of the 333,500 total years in Part 2 of Segment 3.)
        s2:p2 = Segment 2, Part 2
            This is a 499,950Mill year range. Starting at year 666,666,001 and ending on year 1,166,616,001 of 1,332,266,000 total years in Segment 2.
         

*STGu: (or u:) Segment Units (SEGUNITS)*

There are 10,000 total SEGUNITS available. Each of the four SEGMENTS has 2000 units. Each of the three PARTS of a SEGMENT has 666.6 SEGUNITS.
       Units 8000 - 10,000 (SEG4) are the primary SEGUNITS of the current World of Daes Project.
       7/9/2015
    *for example*
        u:8471 (Segment 4({first number rnd down if odd} / 2 ), Unit 471)
        = yr 471(+0 {s4:p1(1unit=1yr) } of 337,299 total years in Segment 4
        VERBOSE DATE range: 83371120257704 to 83371120257704
        (Note: *it is the same number*. In all PARTS before and after "Origin Range"(SEG4 PART1), units are worth more than one(1) year. This method will normally produce a range of 5 or more years otherwise.)
     
        u:8944 (Segment 4, Unit 944)
    _(alt)_ u:8944*:4* (since p2 _(944 is >666.6 & <1333.2)_ is +5 yrs, we can specify which of those 5 years if we are not describing a range, but a specific year.)
        = yr 1387(+5 {s4:p2(1unit=5years) of 337,299 total years in Segment 4
        VERBOSE DATE range: 83371120258620 to 83371120258625
     

*STG Year Unit equations* 

            Unit 0- of time = 83,371,120,594,532 yrs ago
            10,000 total SEGUNITS
            *Each PART is worth 666.6 STG units.*
                p-(1) (0 - 666.66)
                p (2) (666.67 - 1333.32)
                p+(3) (1333.33 - 2000)
             
                *SEGMENT 0*
                s0:p1 X 125m yrs per STG unit   (83,333Tril)
                s0:p2 X 50m yrs per STG unit    (33,333Bill)
                s0:p3 X 5m yrs per STG unit   (3,333Bill)              
                *SEGMENT 1*
                s1:p1 x 1m yrs per STG unit     (666,666Mill)
                s1:p2 x 750k yrs per STG unit   (499,950Mill)
                s1:p3 x 250k yrs per STG unit   (166,650Mill)
                *SEGMENT 2*
                s2:p1 x 125k yrs per STG unit   (83,325Mill)
                s2:p2 x 50k yrs per STG unit    (33,330Mill)
                s2:p3 x 5k yrs per STG unit     (3,333Mill)
                *SEGMENT 3*
                s3:p1 x 1k yrs per STG unit     (666,600)
                s3:p2 x 500 yrs per STG unit    (333,300)
                s3:p3 x 5 yrs per STG unit      (3,333)
                *SEGMENT 4* _(gradient horizon)_ (v:83371120257233)
                s4:p1 x 1 yr per STG unit       (666.6)
                s4:p2 x 5 yrs per STG unit      (3,333)
                s4:p3 x 500 yr per STG unit     (333,300)


Yes my universe is very old. I made it this way on purpose, so that I could justify dilations of time that are more pronounced the further you get away from the primary scope, which is SEG4, a total of 337,299 years. That by itself is plenty for me to play with as far as Daes is concerned. With the segments already in place, It allows me to introduce new contributors to the mix with nice bite sized "Units" of time to work within.

(lets see if you know how to read this, hehe)

f:4- is a fixed block of time only I will be able to edit/add.
f:4 is mixed block that has some fixed and some open to edit/add
f:4+ is an open block for approved editors (666.6 total units worth 500 years each.)
Each unit will be opened as the previous one reaches a "functional capacity state". Multiple contributors can work on any open unit. Any further dissection of a unit is completely up to the contributing members of that unit.

I will be playing with the flexibility of this setup in the coming weeks. I think I should be able to plot this out in php and start seeing where it can go.

I haven't been able to find much on the internet about Constructed Universal Times besides Unix time. I'm looking for groups based around this if anyone knows anything! Otherwise I am going  to take this all the way to the hilt and create one myself.

Let me know what you think!


Mk-


Just a little teaser for another short series i'm writing called "Legendary Raiment: Tales of Brimd".
If you read this far you deserve something nice! Whew. No more numbers for now!

All content on this page is (c) 2015 Seth Irving

Working on RNGRPG tables!

Earlier this week I decided to throw a little bit of time into a Random RPG Generator of my own. I have seen a few models but because of the restrictions on how to present such a massive undertaking, most of them end up being just a population generator or a "how to win" RNG. This is not what I'm looking for.

"I realized how hard it is to imagine a universe that fundamentally different from our own..."

Photo Credit: NewScientist.com

I want to have a set of tables that I create to be "the module" where the Game Master and the players find out what kind of universe they live in, just before they start playing it. What this module will do is be a Wrapper, if you will, around any existing concept of a world/universe you already have.

So, of course, I started with "Universe Types". I have to admit I sat there for a while and tapped my fingers on the keys aimlessly. I realized how hard it is to imagine a universe that fundamentally different from our own without being a complete alphabet soup of errors and erroneous situations that would be impossible to work around, let alone try to play a game inside of.

I figured a way around this problem. I'm not going to spill the beans just yet, but when am -get ready to bust out your old games and see what insanity falls out. I will have several versions of this module, which will allow for even more detail in the alterations of the world. The primary module will be fairly generic, followed by more and more detailed ports to specific systems(Pathfinder(c), OSR, Warhammer(c), etc..), game types(p&p, board, card, etc...), and styles(2d/3d/virtual).

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great, random day!
MK-

Making a Random RPG Game (RNGRPG) - Lets try this!

I am going to start...

a randomized RPG, with a template to replicate the process.

What do i mean by this?

The structure of the game will have a spine that makes sense to a usable degree. This will be fixed to a certain degree. After that... everything will be random.

There are so many randomizers out there; The potential for the aggregate data is fairly confounding.

Starting this weekend I will begin drafting a concept that will allow me to load several pages on the internet at once, and start getting those random results. Magic Items is a great one but there are a million old programs made for OSR games; the results from these tend to be GREAT! Hilarious even! The best stuff in my opinion is random.

So on that note. I'm going to go do something completely different for several hours.

"...because I spit hot fire!" -Dylon

RNG Freestyle Prompting with Seventh Sanctum: Magic Item Generator

Welcome travellers!

Its been a busy week with all writing projects. I have had a chance to work on some game design projects that I am hyped about. It has been a long time since I have worked on a project that has had a cohesive throughput. This has really cracked my head open about how I actually make a World Design project happen. Not just for a game, but simply: What does it take to have "a world like ours". This process can be described and combed over but when all is said and done, randomness is really what describes a good shoreline... a good history... a good background... a good story arc. Sometimes the mere fact that it is random; gives you the right to open up your current paradigm and ponder it for a moment: "Can I make this part of the system without messing up the goal?".
It is easy to forget how to leap out of the dynamics of our Historical Framework when the events are being created by the story itself. It would be like the universe being created by the action of us walking through it. The scaffolding, as I like to call it, of creating a comprehensive Historical Framework is imperative to being able to insert any event into the current timeline without having to worry about it disrupting the structure future timeline events, even if the events are ridiculous(as we are about to explore). Obviously some of the process is the fact that I am taking a humorous "Magical Item" from a randomizer(Seventh Sanctum: Random Magic Item Generator) and turning it into a serious situation that a leaning-fantasy written work, or game could take and turn into a living breathing chronicle.

PLEASE USE ANY OF THESE IDEAS FOR YOUR PROJECTS!
I would love to hear about them too!
Lets write one of these together?! and split the profits on an eventual, high quality, rapidly designed story. Or keep it all for yourself and show me pictures of yourself in Maui holding one of the hard covers! I Love it! Lets do this!

Mnks Wrkshop Podcast - Stay Nerdy!

Introducing the Mnk's Wrkshop Podcast!
Its raw and unedited. I smoke cigarettes and bang the table while talking about my life as a recovering "pack member" and my movement toward rebuilding the nerd inside me.

In this podcast I will have a couple regular segments:
My involvement with Game Design(Mnkwrks)
My life as a nerd amongst wolves.

Both will have names eventually but I am keeping this very natural and trying not to get so bogged down with details that I end up wavering.

Thanks for listening - Stay Nerdy!
I can't figure out how to use google drive to host the mp3's. Everything on the internet about it is wrong. sooo.. download only for now.
Download Here

by the long road

Getting ready for some projects that have me really hyped. Some design work and some historical propagation takes the lion share of what I will be spending my time with. However, I will be dedicating more time to this feed.

I have recently taken part in some projects that have really galvanized my passion about RPG Design. I use the term RPG loosely becuase I do not want to limit the scope of the projects that I can apply my skills to. That being said, the depth of a small game module is always very enticing.

First things first though.

MNKWRKS is the Game Design and Consulting company I am developing to be the focal point of everything I am doing. There I will have a wide range of products and services available, including but not limited to:

• General Game Design
• You have an idea for a game. Lets get started!
• Map Design and Consulting
• For your book or game, whether you just need some help with an existing map or a complete world designed from scratch. 
• Historical Structure
• A good historical reference structure is critical to the longevity of a product or title. Only the antecedent aspects, of a "present day" that has been established prior, will be provided with this option.
• Entities and Populations
• Along with Historical Structure, a clear understanding of what races and families fill the world will have a critical influence on the direction and future of your project.
• Complete and Partial Lineages
• Going into the deeper aspects of "Historical Structure" and "Entities and Populations", a developed lineage allows breathing room for referencing ascendants of a particular character or bloodline.
• Complete and Partial Unique Languages
• Allow your characters and locations to be established in their own unique language, that you can use over and over again.
• Micro Story Injections
• A lot of data can get real bogged down sometimes, and it can bring the whole project to a crawl. A few of these stories will give your data some depth as you work on it. Several different types of Story can be chosen from, allowing you to tailor the content to fit into published work as "excerpts" and "teasers". 
• Active Brainstorming Sessions
• A live video/audio chat on Google Hangouts with me for a designated amount per hour based on what type of brainstorm you would like to achieve. I will have these options detailed on the website.
• Concept Art
• I will harvest the internet for concepts that are cohesive with your project. From these we can move forward and design Game Concepts around what has been gathered. This can also just be a consultation that is added on to any small scale project.
• I draw out concepts based on what we discuss and present them as a design project.
• Proof and Print-Ready Art
• I design concepts based on what we discuss and present them as a completed design project.
• Product Review
• Your product is reviewed, linked and an article is written that will be available here and featured on the MNKWRKS official website when it is complete.
• Project Scope Analysis
• The entirety of your project is analysed bring top to bottom to assess the scope potential of your project. Some of the best ideas for a publication or product can get lost in the sea of other projects out there. Define your products possibilities and lock it in.
• Product Field Assessment
• As a component to Project Scope Analysis, this Assessment takes a deeper look at your immediate product competition.
• Product Licence Compliance Consulting
• Make sure that your product is following all the Liscence agreements it may have to comply with. Don't battle delays and recursive design errors because of a misunderstanding of the law or the restrictions it may put on some of your material!

Find that happy place, and write a story about it! 

s-

Rebooting "World of Daes" Project

A couple years ago I reached out to the wider world for some help with this project (the +World of Daes project) that I've been working of for about a dozen years or more. As it turned out, there were some people interested. However it failed miserably. I failed to understand that _I_ didn't even know what I was trying to say. In my head it all made sense. On "paper" it really was just a jumble of barely connected gibberish.

I had to resolve the problem of "How do I explain my project to others!?". It remained elusive to me until my life changed completely. This was due to the fact that my entire life had to be refined down to the most efficient and simple method to get acceptable results. Entire shopping lists reduced to 1 or 2 items really makes you think about how to do it, and remain sane!

I recently re-discovered that I am a complete insufferable nerd. I love to do some of the nerdiest stuff around. I don't think its nerdy at all; exactly why its the nerdiest. I am trying to embrace it to the fullest. The World of Daes Collaborative Project is something I feel very passionate about. Its not about making a World to make a world, or to RP/Game through tiny bits of it, or to write a story or two about... Its about creating a canvas for any story that can every be told about this planet called Daes, from the beginning of time.

- World of Daes is a Collaborative Project -Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike *CC BY-NC-SA on all content unless otherwise noted.