Planet Creation Guide

One of the most interesting features of Timestreams is the capability for regular players to each create their own unique planets.

While there are a few simple rules and guidelines, the details of your planet are all up to you and limited only by your imagination. This page will be filled with advice to help you along your way.

Planet Regulations
At this point, each non-staff member may only have one planet each. Think carefully about what sort of planet you wish to create. If you change your mind down the road, we will let you destroy your planet via nearby supernova or black hole; however, if we see you are doing this multiple times, we will take away your planet priveleges completely.

The most loyal and experienced members of Timestreams may eventually be rewarded with a second planet.

Your planet cannot disrupt the galaxy around it. In the same way that you cannot create an infinitely powerful character, you cannot create an infinitely influential planet. Please do not create a planet so large that it's impossible for ships to escape its gravitational field.

Your planet should have some degree of coherence and consistency. If we think that you have too many elements randomly thrown together, you will be asked to tone it down, simply for the sake of the roleplay. Remember that in the Timestreams world, planets are more like individual countries or even cities; you'll be better off with one predominant theme so that your planet is identifiable.

As inhabiting a gas giant would be costly and ineffective, if even possible, please limit yourself to making on terrestial planets.

Points to consider
The rest of the guide will be filled with points you may want to consider when designing your planet. You don't have to include all of them; they are merely suggestions.

Physical Features
The physical and cultural sides of a planet are undeniably intertwined. Besides surface geography, there are many physical features of planets that are key to understanding them.

Gravity
Does your planet have a surface gravity that's lighter or heavier than Earth gravity? Creatures on a high gravity planet would probably be low to the ground; they'd be shorter and sturdier than Earth creatures, and probably have more legs. A centipede-type creature would be ideal for a high gravity planet. They would probably also develop armor, to protect them from the weather -- gettin hit by rain on a very high gravity planet would be like getting hit with a golf ball! On low gravity planets, the creatures would be tall and thin, and perhaps wispy or floating. When creatures move into an environment with higher gravity then they are used to, the risk doing serious damage to their bodies.

Atmosphere
The color of the sky and the surface temperature are both related to the atmospheric thickness. Earth has a moderately thick atmosphere, with a light blue sky and a temperate climate. A world with a thicker atmosphere would have a purple or red sky, and it would be warmer. A thinner atmosphere would result in cooler temperatures and a darker sky. A sky polluted with toxins might appear yellow or green; if there are metals floating through the air, it might shimmer. The sky will take on the color of whatever particles are floating in it, especially if it's thin.

Water Availability
How common is water on your planet? Is most of the surface covered with desert? Tropical rainforest? Temperate grassland? Open ocean? If there's not a lot of water, it would become a valuable commodity. Creatures would evolve some way to store it in their bodies. If the surface has too much ocean, though, you'd probably find mostly aquatic life.

Light Availability
What kind of sunlight does your planet get? A brightly lit planet would also be hot, whereas a dark one would be cold. Take, for example, a desert; the some conditions that produce a traditional desert in bright light would produce arctic tundra in low light. On a darker planet, creatures would evolve some way to keep warm and some kind of night vision, or improved senses so that they don't have to see with their eyes. On a bright planet, they'd evolve some way to keep cool, or to use the sunlight -- perhaps there would be more cold-blooded animals.

Orbit and Rotation
How long is one day? How long is one year? It all depends on how fast the planet rotates and orbits around its sun. Your planet could also be tidal locked, meaning one half of the planet will always be light and one half will always be dark.

Suns and Moons
Most habitable planets will be part of either a single-star systems, like Earth, or binary star systems, like Alpha Centauri AB. In other words, you'll probably either have one or two suns in the sky. You can, however, have multiple moons. A large planet with high gravity will have several; a smaller planet with low gravity may not have a moon at all, or have a very small one.

Native Flora and Fauna
The plants and animals that inhabit your planet will have evolved over time to suit their environment. Prey animals will adapt to blend into the environment around them. Predator animals will develop in response to them.

Plants on Earth usually use chlorophyll, which emits green light, but plants on other planets might use another pigment in its place. The fruits will tend to be colors opposite the color of the leaves on the color wheel. For example, most fruits on Earth are red, because red is opposite green; on a planet with orange plants, however, most fruits would be blue. The plants will generally not be the same color as the sky.

You are allowed to populate your planet with unintelligent animals without making wiki pages for them, but you have to make pages for any species that could become player characters.

Culture and Society
Aside from the geographical and biological features of your planet, you should have a section on its culture and society. There are several things that could be included here.

Government
In Timestreams, planets are often treated more like countries or even cities than we treat planets today; it's natural for the world to feel smaller when methods of travel are faster. So, it's acceptable for your planet to fall under a single government. Conversely, your planet can be divided into multiple countries if you wish; this is especially plausible if the planet isn't as technologically advanced.

History
Even if your planet isn't currently inhabited, there might be a history from past civilizations. There could be ruins, artifacts, and legends of long ago. If there is an active society on your planet, you should also think about recent history. What events led them to the point they're at right now?

Daily Life
How do the people on your planet live day-to-day? Their culture will probably be greatly influenced by their species and their environment. If they live on a desert planet, their culture might revolve around the preservation of water; perhaps water is their currency, like gold was on Earth at one time. How do they live? What foods do they eat? What routines do they follow every day?

On Earth, you could say that we live in groups of relatives, and these family groups live huddled together in permanent settlements of varying sizes; we clear the land and build our homes out of wood, metal, and concrete; we eat three large meals a day, generally consisting of farmed meat and produce; we purchase things using money, and for many this is a central point of life; some keep other animals as pets; and most work in occupations chosen by them eight hours a day, five days out of a seven day week, to get the money needed to continue their lifestyle. This is a basic outline of modern human life on earth -- as you can see, there's a lot more you could say!

Religion
One of the most influential factors of culture is religion. There will always be some people inclined to religion; the people that need to believe in something greater than themselves to cope and to rationalize things they don't understand. For some, science can act almost as a religion. For others, merely a vague concept of fate or a belief in luck or karma. But in every culture, at least one organized religion will form. The exact type of religion is influenced by the environment; for example, in the desert planet mentioned earlier, they might worship water or rain. Religion will strive to explain the mysteries of the world. There is one central question that nearly every religion addresses: What is there after death? How can I ensure my afterlife is good? Remember that not everyone is religious, and there will even be some that will capitalize on it (ie, "If you buy this book it'll tell you how to get to heaven").

Housing
Where do people live? Do they more often live in cities, or in sparse villages, or are they nomadic? Do they live with their immediate family, or with all of their relatives, or alone, or in some other group? What are their homes made of?

Economic Life
Do people in your planet get to choose their occupation, or is it assigned to them? Do they have to be educated, and to what degree? What kind of jobs are available? Are there big divisions between the rich and the poor? Is there a rigid class system, or is it flexible? Can people make more money by working hard? How long do they work every day, and do they ever retire? Do they get days off?

Values
All cultures have some values that they consider to be of utmost importance. In come societies, intellect is prized; in others, strength or bravery in battle may be at the forefront. The values that are prioritized will depend upon the needs of the society.

Art, Literature, Architecture
Art can play a huge role in culture, both creating and defining it. What kinds of art do they make on this planet? Even the earliest humans were painting on cave walls; art was one of the biggest factors separating Homo Sapiens from the other hominids of the time. That said, the inhabitants of your planet may not be human -- what would a society with no art be like?