[freeciv-data] Re: [Freeciv-Dev] new generalized calendars

["Bobby D. Bryant" <bdbryant@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 2002.08.27 07:37:48 -0600 Raimar Falke wrote:

> Where are the modpack authors?

Present!

If we are strictly discussing calendar issues, all I've _really_ been 
requesting is arbitrary start and end dates for the game and an 
arbitrary definition of the number and length of the "epochs" that 
control the "calendar length" of each game turn.

For the epochs it is sufficient for my needs to be able to say when the 
epoch starts and how "long" the turns are during that epoch.  The end 
of the epoch is implicit in the beginning of the following one, so all 
I really need is a list of the epoch's start dates and turn lengths, 
plus an end-of-game date to mark the end of the last epoch.

The overall start and end dates need to be completely arbitrary, so we 
can set entire games in the distant past or the distant future.  They 
should probably also support arbitrary string substitutions for the 
conventional "BC" and "AD", since those two won't be appropriate for 
lots of imaginable modpacks.  I.e., you should support dates over both 
negative and positive integers (skipping zero!), and allow 
specification of one string to tag the negative dates and another to 
tag the positive dates.

Notice also the stylistic difference between "221 AD" and "AD 221".  
It's purely cosmetic, but if you are going to be working on support for 
the tag strings anyway, you may want to support the fore/aft option 
while you're at it.  (The question is whether it should be specified by 
the modpack or by a player preference.)

Tying innovations in the calendar is OK by me, and someone else might 
have a use for that arrangement, but isn't something I need for my 
modpack, nor any others that I have ever thought about.

Thanks,
Bobby Bryant
Austin, Texas