Stardate
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In the Star Trek universe it is necessary to have a dating system. The calendar system that is used on Earth is not suitable, however, as it based on Earth specific time units (i.e. the Earth year is the time taken for Earth to orbit its sun). As such the stardate system is used so that all vessels and starbases, which are not bound by the environmental contraints of a setting sun, can have a common frame of reference. Stardates are used in Star Trek as a Federation-wide common system for the measurement of time, much in the same way we use the Gregorian calendar system today (January, February, March etc). It is not necessary to understand the theory behind how a common stardate system would really be calculated (even in the Star Trek series' the numbers were arbitrarily selected between a series start value and end value), however it is important that you understand how we decide stardates in this group. You will be glad to hear that the our stardate system is very simple indeed. Our stardates are of the following format:
Where:
The current REAL date is simply the current date of the month in two-digit terms. For example, if today is the 3rd day of the month, then you would use 03. If today were the 22nd day of the month, you would use 22. The current REAL month is a two digit number representing the real month. So, for example, November would then be 11. The IN CHARACTER year roughly places our sim within the timeframe of recent movies and Star Trek shows. Our In Character game is set 377 years in the future, so you can calculate the IC year by adding 377 to the current real year. As the current year is 2008, then the IC year is 2385. Adding all of these parts together gives you your stardate. As you can see, once you understand the principle behind it all, finding a stardate is very simple. If you are still unsure of the system, or have any questions about it, contact your captain for another explanation. And, keep in mind that you can always find the current stardate on the main page of our website. Stardate to real date equivalents
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