July 2024: Begin Log

Entry 001 // 09.7.2024

We're trying something new, folks! Starting a dev log for Astra Planeta is something that I've been debating since WorldEmber. I already have a habit of posting notable things up on my Tumblr and I do a lot of worldbuilding in real time in my Discord server, so it feels a bit redundant. But a dev blog could also be a good mental organizational tool, and encourage me to stick to my plans (or at least remind me to finish big tasks). As you've no doubt noticed, I opted to try it out! So here's the plan: at the beginning of each month, I'll write up a post to set out some things I want to get done in the next month and reflect on what I got done the previous month. Rinse and repeat each month!

June was very busy for me in other ways, so I didn't accomplish a whole lot and finished even less. The first week or so of July turned out to be similarly busy, but for the rest of the month I think I'll have more time to work on ASP. July is also Summer Camp! I've never participated before since prompted worldbuilding has never been my strong suit, but I'm gonna give it a try this year. Big community events like this are apparently a great way to get more eyes on my work, and my positive experiences with WE23 and WAWA24 have me optimistic about SC24!

Completed Missions

• Overhauled Planets and Life as part of my goal of reworking all the primer articles
• Overhauled Artificial Intellect, including changing the title
• Went through the entire site and changed the name of the Coalition of Spacefaring Civilizations (formerly the United Spacefaring Sophonts Coalition, or USSC) and United Nations Aerospace Commission (formerly the United Nations Aerospace Coalition); this was done for simplicity and clarity
• Added a new section in Human regarding the species’ reproduction and development

Incomplete Missions

• The star map overhaul is still ongoing: view this month’s progress
  • added several stars around and beyond the 20-light year boundary
  • added the Stromgren spheres of Sirius B and 40 Eridani B as background elements
  • added the Local Interstellar Cloud and G Cloud as background elements
  • established a more effective universal designation system for substars to avoid crowding the map with WISE and 2MASS numbers
  • reworked the multiple-star system markers for consistency
• In preparation for the upload of the overhauled map to WA I have begun revising all the map pins
• Overhaul of Sapience is ongoing; all that remains now is to revise the content of the last two sections
• A complete physiological redesign of the ziirpu is underway
• Started three new draft articles, one of which is for a significant location and will be featuring special guest art!

Looking Ahead

• I am hoping to complete at least a few Summer Camp prompts this month; ideally the 8 needed to reach Copper
• Progress will continue on the star map overhaul, though it may be slower this month with other things happening
• I would also like to make some progress on updating the human timeline here on WA to reflect accumulated changes in the planning document
• The overhaul of Sapience will be completed this month
• I am planning to experiment with variables in order to add a fun new section to planet article sidebars