Talk:Present Day

Avernum 4 takes place in 855 IE and Avernum 5 will likely take place several years later. I'd suggest moving forward Present Day again, to at least 860 IE. --Drakey 12:56, 29 January 2006 (CST)

Redefining Present Day

I suppose it is a good idea to take into account Avernum 4, but we also need to get some fixed point. BoA already placed us into 855 IE, so leaving behind the older 843 bit is fine.

Avernum 5 is not in the works, but Jeff Vogel has made clear he will make it. It will likely take place years after A4. The point is that if we don't fix the setting at some point, we'll never be entirely sure of what has happened and what hasn't yet.

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I suggest that we tie some specific year to our current time, and after that count the years of Ermarian in real time - this has the advantage that the era eventually changes, but it does so at a slow and steady pace we can keep up with (and easily translate). None of this business with going into wardrobes and finding a thousand years have passed since you last visited a few weeks ago. :P

But I guess that is more a personal viewpoint that I can't really back up...

Arancaytar | Send Reply! --- That is not dead which can eternal lie... 07:34, 8 May 2006 (CDT)

How did BoA already give us 855? I was under the impression that A4 gave us 855. Now that I look, I can't find anything specific from either one, although 855 fits A4 well (several decades after E-A war, but lots of E1 folk still full of energy) --- Slarty 08:30, 8 May 2006 (CDT)

When you enter a BoA scenario, the engine sets the year at 855, and increments one year per scenario thereafter. It's a very spurious concept, but an argument could be made for adhering to it. Arancaytar | Send Reply! --- That is not dead which can eternal lie... 09:14, 8 May 2006 (CDT)

I vote no. Aside from the fact that many scenarios are set before (or long after) 855, it causes problems with A4 if it pushes A4 any later. We know A4 is "several decades" after the E-A War. But A4 is full of characters who were around (and not kids) in A1, in 817. Even in 855, this already suggests that Avernum is bursting with the elderly, and the elderly who participate in heavy physical labor, no less. Julio, for example, must be about 70. Mairwen, who is an active military commander, must be at least 60. The same goes for Yong-Mi, Tor Gunston, Elspeth, Rita Cskany, Kelner... that's not too absurd, but 70-year-old commanders and 80-year-old vintners is pushing things. IMHO. --- Slarty 11:55, 8 May 2006 (CDT)

I think we decided that the Skylark Vale incidents and Za-Khazi Run both occurred around the 843-845 time period. --Drakey 15:43, 8 May 2006 (CDT)

Elderly problem

How do we avoid the elderly problem? Do we assume Ermarian lifespans are longer, that these people just happen to have similar names, or that A4 occurs earlier than that? Arancaytar | Send Reply! --- That is not dead which can eternal lie... 01:12, 11 May 2006 (CDT)

Lifespans definitely can't be longer, the way people talk about age. I think we accomodate it by not moving any game later in time than is really necessary. A4 can't be set much earlier than 855, really, from the time that's passed since the E-A war. One explanation: we know a lot of people died in Exile from health problems, especially early. The ones who didn't were hardy, determined folk, likely to keep working longer than most.

To be fair, Jeff has given it some thought. With the sole exception of Julio -- whose age is a rather obscure fact to begin with -- any human who we know was probably born before say 795 is either dead (Micah, Erika, Patrick, Linda, Mahdavi), or magically preserved (Solberg, Rone, X), or missing (Aimee, Aydin, etc). --- Slarty 09:02, 11 May 2006 (CDT)

Clever - long lifespans through natural selection (statistically, I don't know how sound it is, but it is an explanation). I think it can stand well on that ground then; the lifespans so far are just longer than usual, not unnatural. Hopefully Jeff will put in the effort of making a new cast in A5 and we won't see the same old doters a few more decades later. ^_^ Arancaytar | Send Reply! --- That is not dead which can eternal lie... 05:17, 12 May 2006 (CDT)

Present Day after Avernum 6

I'm guessing A6 about a few years (5?) after A5 which makes the present day date awkward. 880 IE now?