Thanks Kacey!
So I was shutting down my computer last night, and started wondering about why there's two measuring rings on the compass and two dials, while they can't move independently. So either I just attributed that to "it was made that way to look nice"... Or I could think of a second measure to be taken with the same compass, and redesign the damn thing entirely. Which is what I did, naturally.
So here's the new compass, introducing a new concept to the map! In this world, there's a so-called spatiodynamic field that changes over time and depending on where you are. Basically what it does is this: the field stretches and contracts space in such a way that travel time increases or decreases, sometimes drastically. The effect can be compared to a strong yet imperceptible wind pushing you along or holding you back. It's generally much stronger on the open sea than it is on land, where it's barely perceptible at all, even during major field surges.It changes constantly but slowly, which has led to most major ports publishing daily plots (similar to wind rose plots) based on reports from recently arrived ships. Some are even beginning to forecast field changes, but these are still very rudimentary.
------------ WARNING, GEEK TALK COMING! ------------
To calibrate the spatiodynamic sensors, a measuring station has been erected in the heartland of the southern continent, as far away from oceans as possible. the field still changes here, but so minutely that for most practical applications it can be considered constant. This constant is then used as the base value in sensors, and is set to 36. The scale is logarithmic: every 18 point increase reflects a doubling of the travel distance. So the formula would be 2^((SD-36)/18 = distance multiplier
The inner ring on the Mihorian Compass now indicates the strength of the field in the direction you're pointing it at. Which is why it's generally hand-held, or mounted on a rotating ring in the steering cabin of ocean faring ships. That way the field strength can be measured in all directions.
As you can see the scale goes from zero to LXXII (72). So in theory the compass should be able to measure multipliers between 0.25 and 4.0, although actual measurements have never been close to that extreme. The highest and lowest values ever recorded were LXVII/III (67.6, resulting in 3.4 times the normal distance) and VIII/IV (8.8, resulting in just 0.35 times the normal distance).
------------ END OF THE GEEKY FREAKY BIT ------------
Alright, enough of that already! Here's the new compass in two flavours:
the silver ring variant
full rotating compass - silver rings.png
the minimalist variant
full rotating compass - minimalist.png
By the way, the dials on this compass indicate a course of 51° west (yes, they go counterclockwise for some crazy reason), and a field strength of IV/I, which means distance in that direction is contracted by a factor 0.29. So that's really good!
Also, they don't use the normal system of 4 cardinal directions. They only have 3, the names of which I still have to invent
Reply With Quote