Tag name：nightsky

Goodgulf's telescope (now)

First published 11th April 2016 (Last Modified 12th January 2023)

Through Goodgulf's telescope:





Notes

This is the "now" version, also available is the "game date" version

The output of the javascript largely matches that of my BBC BASIC program and that of my java program.

Given the restructuring and the change of language, I feel this is pretty good. It's worth noting that the planet positions do not correct for either perturbations or the speed of light!

However the algorithm for the moons is a indirect copy of the BBC BASIC code and must be wrong. I KNOW the algorithm is rubbish because, for example, it does not correct for parallax between the centre of the planet and the surface. This is quite a significant factor given Senemora's orbit at 24,137 miles and the surface of the planet is probably at 8,000 miles or so.

The drawback with rewriting the algorithm to be more accurate is that it will, of necessity, change the behaviour!

Last updated: January 12, 2023 at 9:07 am

Character Sheet Plugin details

First published 17th January 2015 (Last Modified 12th January 2023)

Description

This plugin adds a new post type for linrodeth characters (called 'Characters' in the user interface). In support of this, the plugin provides:

  • The new post type (note, revisions of the character sheet are preserved, so old versions can be viewed (though not in that friendly a format))
  • Two options (accessed either from the 'Settings' link on the plugin itself, or from the 'Settings' admin menu). The two options allow the preamble text shown when a character sheet is viewed and the preamble text shown when a character is editted. You can also change the default genre and the default date (game date) used by the character sheets.
  • A widget that will list the recently added character sheets - this is managed from the 'Widgets submenu of the 'Appearance' admin menu. You can change the title shown by the widget and how many recent characters it will display.
  • It adds a new shortcode that allows links to characters to be added to posts and pages. It can also be used to generate tables of characters. Examples of use:
    [linchar /]
    Show a link to the first character sheet found in the database
    [linchar type="table" /]
    Show a table listing all the character sheets found in the database
    [linchar name="Dermot Foulkes" /]
    Show a link to a specific character sheet. Note that the name is that used on the character sheet NOT the title of the character sheet
    [linchar player="David" type="table" /]
    Show a table listing all the character sheets with the given player name (NOT the author of the character sheet)
    [linchar genre="Linrodeth" type="table" /]
    Show a table listing all the characters for the specified genre
    [linchar author="djvines" type="table" /]
    Show a table listing all the characters authored by a specified author
    [linchar type="table" orderby="name" /]
    Show a table of all characters ordered by the character name
    [linchar genre="Linrodeth" type="table" orderby="date" /]
    Show a table of all characters for a specific genre ordered by the last modification time of the character sheet
    [linchar name="Dermot Foulkes" type="link" text="Dermot" /]

    All the tables include a button and tick boxes that allows the generation of a single PDF that includes the attribute and skill table pages of the selected characters

    Show a link to a specific character sheet with the text of the link specified.
    [linchar name="Dermot Foulkes" type="link"]Embedded Dermot[/linchar]
    Show a link to a specific character sheet with the text of the link specified by enclosing the text with the shortcode

  • In addition there's a shortcode to add a sandpit for character creation experimentation. This allows for a new character to edited but not saved. The characters can be loaded/saved from the browser via the import and export buttons, but cannot be saved onto the website directly.
    [lincharSandpit /]
  • It also adds a shortcode to display the night sky. Examples of use:
    [linsky time="now" showbuttons="true"]
    Show the night sky as it is "now" and include the buttons to allow the time to be changed
    [linsky time="gamedate"]
    Show the night sky as it is at 11pm on the game date chosen on the settings page

Change Log

3.244.0 - 23 February 2023

Use the browser's small viewport units

3.243.0 - 13 February 2023

Adjust margins for headers in the skill sidebar when editing characters

3.238.0 - 22 January 2023

Improve (slightly) the appearance when viewing the character. Check if the edit button are there before trying to set their 'onclick' functions.

3.226.0 - 12 January 2023

Fix minor error in the php for the character sandpit

3.215.0 - 30 August 2022

  • Tekumel Bows are Short Bows not Long Bows
  • Add a smidgen of extra guttering to the skill table
  • On the character listing table add option to select characters and create a single pdf with all their skill tables

3.214.0 - 24 July 2022

Increase the size of the margin used on the left and top of each page in the PDF. This should (I hope) address the clipping issues

3.200.0 - 22 May 2022

  • Adjust width of genre button
  • Improve Handling of Tekumel Languages and Religions
  • Add a 'Copy Previous Skills' button
  • Support (completely optional) gender field
  • Link the post title with the name of the character (typing in one updates the other as well)

Note: This version does not address the reported issue of clipping when printing. I'm not sure how to proceed on that one since it should be the job of the PDF viewer to correctly scale the document for the printer.

3.198.0 - 11 May 2022

Get the buttons on the view character to inherit style rather than getting the theme's default

3.182.0 - 10 March 2022

  • Add a gutter for Performance Difference heading so that the table looks better
  • Limit stats to a maximum of 20 (it was possible to get a stat as high as 20.9)
  • Add Traveller as a genre
  • Moved some skills between categories

3.165.0 - 11 September 2021

  • Add a shortcode for a sandpit character sheet
  • Bump up the vertical size of the character sheet pane to 75% (from 68%) of the available vertical size
  • When changing genres ensure the character has a minimum age by changing the birthday if necessary

3.164.0 - 10 September 2021

Rename files using accented characters - sadly 7zip (and hence my build process) ends up mangling these 🙁

3.163.0 - 10 September 2021

  • Add more Tekumel skills
  • Restore added skills and fix the skill addition (which got renamed to 'Other Skills' 🙂
  • Split languages and religions in their own skill section

3.161.0 - 09 September 2021

Fix update detection logic

3.159.0 - 09 September 2021

  • Add Tekumel genre
  • Make the skill sections into expandable sections (they are now initially collapsed)

3.157.0 - 21 July 2021

Fix updating logic!

3.153.0 - 21 July 2021

  • Common up the plugin logic with my other plugins

3.102.0 - 21 March 2021

  • Fix saving of edited characters on WordPress 5.7
  • Allow use of the block editor

    Note that despite allowing use of the Gutenberg block editor, the editor of the character sheet actually replaces the entire post text with the character sheet, so any other blocks will be discarded!

3.76.0 - 28 January 2021

  • Add support for self-hosted update notification

3.75.0 - 27 January 2021

  • Goodgulf's telescope now uses the correct game date and for the "11pm game date" button.

3.73.0 - 07 January 2021

  • Minor adjustment to the widget (added a space between the character name and the timestamp - also made the timestamp actually the update date!)

3.39.0 - 27 January 2020

  • Add option to unlock birthday and attributes

3.38.0 - 19 July 2019

  • Support Torchwood as a genre.

3.35.0 - 22 December 2018

  • Change the now version of Goodgulf's telescope to use the browser's time rather than the server's time. This allows the page not to change when using static site generation.

3.26.0 - 01 January 2018

  • Support a game date per genre rather than a single game date for a site
  • Indicate that the plugin will not support the Project Gutenberg style of post editing - at least not at this time

3.11.0 - 05 December 2017

  • Change to version numbering structure (the major version number indicates the numbering scheme in operation)
  • Correct the placement of @charset declarations in the stylesheet

2.0.0.20170728-0830 - 28 July 2017

  • Make the movement table vary based on Agility (rather than being fixed)
  • Add note for area and multiple hit weapons if used by the character.

2.0.0.20170717-1729 - 17 July 2017

  • Default language for new character is now that of the character's genre rather than Athionic.
  • Allow unlisted Intrigue skills

2.0.0.20160808-1454 - 08 August 2016

  • The plugin modifies searches so that all post types are included. This is now fixed so that it only affects the search, tag and category pages and not every query (including those on widgets on those pages)
  • A zero width space is used after the '/' character in the buttons for skills to improve word wrapping on the buttons

2.0.0.20160219-1028 - 19 February 2016

  • Character export on linrodeth characters is exporting the entire character array, not just the current character
  • Update compatible wordpress version to 4.4.2

2.0.0.20160105-1700 - 05 January 2016

  • Correct inheritance used for construction of the widget to the current (PHP7 supporting) idiom
  • Change the size of the box used for viewing and editing to 67% of the height of the viewport - this is much friendly for various display sizes and seems to help chrome on mobile devices to render the box correctly

2.0.0.20151103-1328 - 03 November 2015

  • Add modifier for extra opponents

2.0.0.20151017-1159 - 17 October 2015

  • Add documentation for the shortcodes (no functional changes)

2.0.0.20150906-0822 - 22 August 2015

  • Get the PDF to show the correct value for will

2.0.0.20150720-1423 - 20 July 2015

  • Skill plus/minus buttons now work
  • Skill list now appears in the correct place (rather than being underlaid beneath the rest of the page text

2.0.0.20150426-1426 - 26 April 2015

  • Performance issues on waylands resolved (conflict with the Infinite SEO plugin resolved)
  • Multiple character sheets can be added to a single page (e.g. search or tag results)
  • Excerpts now generated if not overridden by a manual excerpt.
  • Summary pages added to PDF
  • Player name added to slug at the bottom of each PDF page

2.0.0.20150119-1114 - 19 January 2015

  • Update metadata

2.0.0.20150116-1034 - 16 January 2015

  • Added support to display the night sky

1.9.0.20150107-1800 - 07 January 2015

  • Stopped the newSkills growing on each edit

0.9.9 - 23 September 2014

  • Fix date display (particularly for Luna Romana).

0.9.8.1 - 08 July 2014

  • Minor bug fix to the performance tables (there was a long tail to the left of the table, now removed).

0.9.8 - 02 July 2014

  • Changing the birthdate moves all periods along (shrinking the last period).
  • Added (simple, combat-related) Equipment page.
  • Added printing.

Version - 0.9.7 - 08 June 2014

  • Refactoring the javascript code.
  • Only increment the version number/edit date of the character on save or upload.

0.9.6 - 07 June 2014

  • Fix game date display when changing genres (or loading old characters with a non-Linrodeth genre).
  • Hide the JSON panel by default.
  • Allow editing of the attributes (disabled by default).
  • Allow the addition of unknown skills.

0.9.5 - 06 June 2014

  • Upload button added - note this POSTs to process.php to the host that delivered the page.
  • Fixed bug when the last period becomes shorter than 13 months (tried to disable buttons that didn't exist!).

0.9.4 - 05 June 2014

  • Correctly disable ip adjust buttons.
  • Birthday locked once the stats are locked.
  • Genre locked once the stats are locked.
  • Added a stats reroll button (rather than forcing the user to page reload!). Obviously this disappears when the stats are locked.
  • Played with the layout a little - Still can't get the button to vertically fill their cell - this seems to be a CSS rendering limitation.
  • Locking the character would break adding a period.
  • Trying to change dates with a period with more than one interest caused a break.
  • Set the value of the name to that in the JSON.
  • Added Herbalism.
  • Fixed bug: When the title was updated, the next change would cause the Stats tab to reappear.
  • Disabled the -date buttons for a period when the period is already too short to allow the period to shrink by that much.

0.9.3 - 04 June 2014

  • Added a schema version to the JSON to allow smooth upgrading of old characters for program updates.
  • Added a rules version to the JSON to hopefully allow upgrading of old characters when there are rules changes.
  • Added a character version and last edit date.
  • Changing interest points changed to <, > buttons instead of pull-down.
  • Periods now show the age range rather than the dates (the dates are available as tooltips on those ages).
  • Added a character description field.
  • Added a game date to the Stats panel, which anchors the end date of the last period.
  • Added the ability to lock the stats - once locked the only way to unlock it is via the JSON.

0.9.2 - unreleased

  • Changing the genre now updates the childhood fluency fields.
  • Added contemporary fluencies and literacies - no other contemporary skills at this time.
  • Added Math.floor to the morale calculation AND fixed the logic for the wound points (previously treated as having a con in the range 0-4!)).

0.9.1 - 03 June 2014

  • textarea (except for the JSON update) no longer need (or have) submit buttons.
  • A stat of 21.0 is now impossible (20.9 is still possible, if unlikely at 1 in 10,000).
  • Used Math.floor instead of Math.round(x-0.5).
  • Added Save and Load JSON buttons (These are local to the browser).
  • Added a Genre pull down.
  • Added a statement on the rule set used.

The information on this page was retrieved by Plugin Information Version 3.263.0.

Linrodeth

First published 4th January 2015 (Last Modified 11th September 2021)

I've several pages about various aspects of the Linrodeth Universe including:

There's also errata for 21 Years of The Chronicle. These have all been fixed in the pages linked by the index, but not in the PDF or ODT documents.

I also have characters that I play in the Linrodeth Universe:

Character Genre Player Author Last Update
Brother Cedric Linrodeth dave David 22nd May 2022 at 9:57 pm
Giotto Mortovelli Linrodeth Dave David 22nd May 2022 at 9:57 pm
Matthew Dixon Linrodeth dave David 22nd May 2022 at 9:57 pm
Goodgulf Linrodeth Dave David 22nd May 2022 at 9:58 pm
Jack Upney Linrodeth dave David 22nd May 2022 at 9:58 pm
Hadrim Thorold Linrodeth Dave David 22nd May 2022 at 9:58 pm
Dermot Foulkes Linrodeth dave David 22nd May 2022 at 9:58 pm

(also there's some other characters too, including:)

Character Genre Player Author Last Update
Imprudentius Luna Romana Dave David 21st March 2021 at 2:40 pm

Character Genre Player Author Last Update
Thomas Pyecroft Torchwood dave David 16th May 2022 at 1:31 pm

Character Genre Player Author Last Update
Mu'on Lazhato Tekumel Dave David 30th August 2022 at 8:41 am

The plugin used for the character sheets is Linrodeth Character Sheet Version 3.244.0, you can play in the Character Sandpit to experiment with new characters.

Last updated: September 11, 2021 at 18:36 pm

Goodgulf's telescope

First published 22nd May 2000 (Last Modified 12th January 2023)

Through Goodgulf's telescope:





Notes

This is the "game date" version, also available is the "now" version

The output of the javascript largely matches that of my BBC BASIC program and that of my java program.

Given the restructuring and the change of language, I feel this is pretty good. It's worth noting that the planet positions do not correct for either perturbations or the speed of light!

However the algorithm for the moons is a indirect copy of the BBC BASIC code and must be wrong. I KNOW the algorithm is rubbish because, for example, it does not correct for parallax between the centre of the planet and the surface. This is quite a significant factor given Senemora's orbit at 24,137 miles and the surface of the planet is probably at 8,000 miles or so.

The drawback with rewriting the algorithm to be more accurate is that it will, of necessity, change the behaviour!

Last updated: January 12, 2023 at 9:06 am

Planets

First published 22nd May 2000 (Last Modified 12th January 2023)

There are many things which can be seen in the sky, clouds, birds, and of course the sun, the two moons, and the stars.

This article discuss these latter objects. The last, the stars can be divided into two groups. The first of these groups, the fixed stars, are, on the whole, uninteresting. The exception is Polaris, the pole star. This is the navigator's friend, known to sailors and guides alike as it always occupies the same location in the sky. It is easily recognised as it is part of a group of three brights stars which are grouped closely together and in a straight line. The direction of this group of stars can usually be safely taken as the direction of north.

The second class of stars is the planets or 'wandering stars'. These can be further subdivided into two groups :- those which always stay near the sun, and those which can wander across all the sky.

The first, Psykomena (the observer of folly) is the fastest moving, but is always close to the sun, thus committing the ultimate folly of assuming that folly only occurs during the day!

The second planet is Alderoth (observer of recovery and health) can be seen further from the sun than Psykomena and shows that for good health, a regular regimen of sleep is required.

The third planet, Panurgio (observer of Vitality and Wit), can be seen still further from the sun, but still shows that a quick mind also requires a regular regimen of sleep.

The next planet, Erosina (observer of love and enjoyment), can be seen yet further from the sun, and can often be seen in the late evenings.

Genhelia (observer of birth and growth) is never far behind Erosina, often reaching the same position in the sky in a matter of days. Genhelia can be distinguished from Erosina by its distinctive blue-green colour.

The second group of planets begins with Psykelia (observer of luck and fortune). Psykelia is the quickest of those planets which do not stay near the sun, thus visibly demonstrating that luck is fickle and cannot be relied upon.

The next is Letophoro (observer of malady and death) is difficult to observe, but also wanders across the entire sky watching death occur at any time.

Adamasto (observer of conflict and war) is next. It too wanders far from the sun, and suffers from a striking orange-red colour as befits its nature. Adamasto shows that the causes of war can occur at any time, but also take time to build, as Adamasto only wanders slowly.

The slowest and last wanderer is Celeno (observer of slowness and dullness). Celeno only moves slowly relative to the fixed stars, but is able travel all around the sky in time, thus showing slow and careful will get you there! (The fastest moving planet, Psykomena, never moves far from the sun, whereas Celeno, the slowest, is the planet most often further from the sun in the sky)

The two most obvious features in the night sky, however, are the two moons, Sisamora and Senemora (These can, of course, be seen during the day, but are not the most obvious daytime features!). Sisamora (observer of good) is the larger of the two. Sisamora changes Phase in a thirty and seven-sixteenths of a day cycle. When Sisamora is full (Around the beginning/end of each month and, of course, during festival days), it can be seen brightly shining. However, it is recorded that it is occasionally suffers during these occasions from strange redness and indeed blackening.

The second moon, Senemora (observer of evil) is harder to describe. Senemora also follows a sequence of phases, but follows its cycle in a matter of hours, (21 hours and 13 minutes to be precise!). However its movement across the sky is most fickle. Whereas all the other moons, planets and even the sun, rise in the west and set in the east (within 18 hours indeed), Senemora usually rises in the east and sets in the west 3 or 4 days later! In addition, senemora is both eager to rise (often rising in the east several hours early then being forced to set in the east within a few hours) and relucant to set (often rising again in the west, and then setting again within a matter of a few hours)!

The last object in the sky is, of course, the sun. It too, dislikes the winter and is in the sky for less than eight hours on Midwinter Day, while on Midsummer Day it is in the sky for over sixteen hours.

Last updated: January 12, 2023 at 9:13 am