However, this notion of time poses some problems. Considering real life time or server time as the LegacyWorlds time doesn’t make much sense, since the game is supposed to take place in a relatively distant future. However we can’t only rely on a fictional time indication: it is important to inform players about real-life time so that they can infer what to do and when. Therefore we intend to use a dual time system, using both the real-life, “server” time and a fictional LegacyWorlds time.

As stated earlier defining such a time flow allows the recording of events as they occur. Several types of events can be considered. The first set consists in actual in-game events. These events can be unique in the game’s history, such as the first ship in space or the first colonised planet. Others can be recurring events such as random events, alliance creation or disbanding, etc. The second set consists in stories written by the administration team which add depth to the game universe. Of course these stories shouldn’t logically affect any game parameter (we can’t have a story about piracy in an area of space if no-one there sees their income decrease) and they should be impossible to check on by players (we can’t talk of a pest on a planet occupied by a player since he wouldn’t see any pest on the planet). These events can also be used to inform players about changes in rules. The last set consists in players’ requests. Each player can submit a story to be added, story which is reviewed before publication.

The transmission of information recorded in the news system is then fed to players through the Intergalactic News Service. This service can be considered as available in several forms (news on one of the game pages, RSS feeds, etc.) and is backed up as an archive which can be browsed.

What do you think of this idea of an Intergalactic News Service?

What kind of events do you think could be recorded and fed as news?

One issue we have considered is the recording and display of information regarding wars. This is difficult to do since we have no automatic means to know when battles are part of a given war or not. Moreover providing unbiased information regarding wars is difficult (usually each side reports its own perspective) and might not be welcome (stating side A hasn’t lost much so far is intelligence one might not want to see displayed). How do you think this could be managed?