Ad Hoc Writers
Ad Hoc, Ad Astra, Ad Draconus

World Builder Outline

From the AD HOC WRITERS
Copyright (C) 1990 & 1993, Ad Hoc Writers, Hayward, California
Revised May 11, 1992 and January 9, 1993

An outline to assist building of worlds, fictional or otherwise.

1. Physics - construct solar/planetary systems.
   1. Very general data on stars likely to have planets.
      
      

      	RELATIVE TO SOL
      CLASS	LIFE	MASS	LUMINOSITY
      B0	8 Myrs	17.0	30000.0
      B5	80 Myrs	6.3	1000.0
      A0	400 Myrs	3.2	100.0
      A5 (Sirius)	2 Gyrs	1.9	12.0
      F0	4 Gyrs	1.5	4.8
      (Earth took 4 Gyrs to bear life)
      F5	6 Gyrs	1.3	2.2
      G0	11 Gyrs	1.02	1.2
      G2 (Sol)	1.0	1.0	1.0
      G5	17 Gyrs	0.91	0.72
      K0	28 Gyrs	0.74	0.35
      K5	70 Gyrs	0.54	0.10

      
      
   2. Orbits.
      1. To find the year of a planet: ((P)**2) = (A**3)/M
         ["**" = "raised to the power of": A**3 = A cubed]
         Where:
         P = Period of revolution
         A = Semi-major axis of revolution
         M = Stellar mass
         (This is a VERY simplified formula assuming that the orbit is nearly circular and that the differences in mass between star and planet is large. Both are likely to be true for any human habitable world. The formulas should also work for planet/moon systems where the Earth-Luna distance can be set to 1.)
      2. Location of orbits (Bode's law). Begin with the innermost planet. Assign it a value of 3. The next planets are 6, 9, 12, etc. Add 4 to the planet number. Divide the number by 10. This gives the orbital distance from the sun in A.U.'s. I don't know if this works with other stars, but try setting your planet in the golden zone and then using that to determine the new "A.U.".
   3. Insolation (Irradiation) = (Stellar output)/(A**2)
2. Planet structure.
   1. Size:
      1. Type of sun(s).
      2. Atmosphere composition.
      3. Number (and size) of moon(s).
      4. Hydrosphere.
      5. Cycles:
         1. Carbon.
         2. Nitrogen.
         3. Water.
         4. Etc.
   2. Specific Motion:
      1. Length of Year.
      2. Seasons.
      3. Climate (see also (1), supra).
      4. Starmap (ie. navigation, constellations, etc.
   3. Land Masses:
      1. Migration patterns.
      2. Tectonics.
         1. Volcanoes.
         2. Earthquakes.
         3. Continental Drift.
      3. Structure of civilization (See Society Builder).
      4. Natural resources & ecosystems.
      5. Size.
   4. Hazards
      1. Logic (ie. could it exist as we know it?).
      2. Ecosystems.
         1. Why does it exist?
         2. What is it dependent on?
         3. Origins?
   5. Life.
      1. Indigenous races.
         1. How many?
         2. How old?
         3. Appearance.
      2. Evolution.
      3. Population density & distribution
      4. Food chains (ecosystems).
      5. Biosphere mechanics.
3. Ideal Worldbuilder Computer Program Modules
   1. General Physics.
      1. Calculate mass, radius, distance from sun,
      2. of year, etc.
   2. Database manager:
      1. Prompts for information.
      2. Allows access to coded, previously input info.
      3. Raw data on related topics of interest.
   3. Expository lump generator -- Collates and prints facts on world by area of user interest.
   4. Schematic - Bare essentials of world.
   5. Linkage to Society Builder.

Material for this outline contributed by Malcolm Easton, Clare Bell, Jim R. Van Scyoc, Raymond (Buzz) Nelson, Mark Kreighbaum, Gerald Perkins, Reba Leon.

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Copyright ©1996-2007 by Jim R. Van Scyoc