FR: Time

[Shizzle]

I must say the current time system is very confusing, especially when it comes to what year it is. But I understand that the difference in time scale will always make things difficult, though.

However, couldn't it somewhere say what date it is? Like where it says 'Spring', change it to 'Spring, in the 5th year of Dwilight'?

(If that's to plain, you could even have realms decide when their calendar starts, as in 'Spring, in the 12th year after the Fall of the Kepler Stronghold'. But that's more than I'm asking for)

[Anaris]

Tom has always been quite clear that BM time is, essentially, real time.  Processes such as aging, crop growing, and progression of seasons do not run at the same speed as they do in our world, but time does.

[Bael]

Tom has always been quite clear that BM time is, essentially, real time.  Processes such as aging, crop growing, and progression of seasons do not run at the same speed as they do in our world, but time does.

Sure...a day in BM is a day in RL. But according to everything that occurs in BM, a year would more logically be shorter than our years, and be four seasons in length.

[Anaris]

A year in BM is a year in RL.

Did you actually read what I said?

[Bael]

A year in BM is a year in RL.

Did you actually read what I said?

Yes. What I understood it to mean is that one of our (days/weeks) is equivalent to those in BM, as these the timespans mentioned in-game. I suppose if this is extended to years, it would make referencing characters (as per the creation/deletion family board) easier. Totally out of context within the game, but who am I to argue?

[Bedwyr]

Tim, lighten up a bit.  Years aren't that clear-cut.

Bael: Days, weeks, months, hours, and seasons are all set game times.  Years are somewhat interesting, given character ages and the fact that Tom is set against an official BM calendar.  This has not stopped people from making up their own, as you can see from the Dwilight timeline page.  All of my characters (and quite a number of others I know) use a "year" to refer to one turn of the four seasons.  This seems to roughly correspond to how long it takes to age without getting wounded or the like, and makes a certain amount of sense.  At some point Jenred's going to try to get a specific calendar used on the Far East based on that and dated from some important event.

[Anaris]

All Tom has ever said on the subject is that BM time is real time. Period.

Aging, seasons, and harvests happen faster in BM than in real world, but that doesn't change that time flows the same. Days, weeks, months, and years.

[Shizzle]

Well, yes. The timescale is fine the way it is. I would just like a place where it is clearly shown :/ Like "We're in the 3rd cycle of 2011". That would still leave room for interpretation, would it not?

[loren]

Clearly it is the 93rd BM year.  Doesn't anyone keep up with how old Gregor is?!

I did use his age when creating the Relak Family tree.  It held up fairly well against the second generations start times with ages, and was internally consistent against other characters' age for a long while.  I think he might be aging a bit faster than most other people though.  Lots of serious/critical wounds when he does get one.  And being a Duke for freaking ever.

[Shizzle]

Clearly it is the 93rd BM year.  Doesn't anyone keep up with how old Gregor is?!

I did use his age when creating the Relak Family tree.  It held up fairly well against the second generations start times with ages, and was internally consistent against other characters' age for a long while.  I think he might be aging a bit faster than most other people though.  Lots of serious/critical wounds when he does get one.  And being a Duke for freaking ever.

Do you have a 93yo character?  :o (how many hours do you get then?)

[Shenron]

Do you have a 93yo character?  :o (how many hours do you get then?)

Gregor was like 60 when I joined BM for the first time....  :o

[loren]

Gregor was like 60 when I joined BM for the first time....  :o

Yep, and a 72 year old.  93 gets 5 hours 72 gets 6.  Traveling is a big pain in the ass.

[Shizzle]

Yep, and a 72 year old.  93 gets 5 hours 72 gets 6.  Traveling is a big pain in the ass.

Holy cow. Did anyone ever go under 5 hours? I suppose you need to be over 100 years old? Or is BM just not around for long enough?

[Indirik]

I think Gregor is the oldest character in the game. If he hasn't gotten under 5 hours, then no one has.

[Ramiel]

Actually, a year is not a year. For who's year is the correct year? A year being 365.25*24 hours is a purely earth thing, and even then is not necessarily the true one (well it is but) as other earth cultures have different year-periods etc.

A year though, I would think, came about as a noting that all four seasons had passed. I think even for the ancients it was more as a 'I wish we knew when to next plant our next crops' rather than 'its a set number of hours'. Ergo wouldnt it be rather more like a year is when all four seasons have passed and the fifth (first) season is beginning (again)?