Post by Razortooth on Jul 15, 2010 3:15:19 GMT -5
For those of you wondering what good those things I keep mentioning called the wet and dry seasons are, how long they last, and what good they're for, this is where you need to be.
As you've probably noticed, each continent in both the Jurassic and Cretaceous are either in the wet or the dry seasons. Since each year in game is one month in life, one season will take up half a year in game, or two weeks to be precise. So if you don't like the season in the area your character is in, just wait two weeks and it will change.
Now I know I probably don't need to explain this, but I'm bored and have nothing better to do, and it's more than just when the rains come and when they stop. The middle part of the dry season is usually mating season for most animals in a monsoonal (two season) environment. That way the babys can develop inside the womb or the egg and and be ready to be born in the wet season. It's a sort of biological clock that animals of been on for thousands of generations, and since general animal behaviour like this doesn't change over time, dinosaurs more about 100% sure to be on this same routine.
Also, if your character's habitat is in a seasonal flood plain, the seasons can affect your habitat DRAMATICALLY. During the wet season the water level can rise by several hundred meters (or feet for us on the standard system) and in the dry season it can shrivel to just a few meters across (again, feet for us on standard).
Another thing it affects is migration patterns as well. Animals from drier habitats such as deserts and in some cases forests will sometimes migrate out of those habitats in search of water and food (which in a herbivores case is affected by rainfall). Areas that aren't really impacted heavily during the dry season are habitats such as rain forests, swamps, mangrove swamps, estuarries, deserts, and in most cases forests (might be some rare cases though).
On the opposite end of that, there are a few climates that aren't really that heavily impacted by the wet season, such as deserts, and swamps of both kinds. Deserts aren't accustomed to getting much water, and usually due to the surrounding geography, not much water will get into them. There is a lot of water moving through any kind of swamp, and the land acts is sort of a natural sponge, so the water either gets spread out evenly in the already standing water or just soaks into the soil.
As I said, each season for each continent in each period will last for two weeks (the equivilant of 6 months) until it changes to the opposite. Either like it or not, it's nature, and it's also the site rules. But it has it's advantages.
On a flood plain, with the rising and falling of the rivers and other bodies of water it allows for predators to scavenge aquatic animals that have been washed ashore by the receeding water level. Also the dry season is when the highest number of animals will be dying off either due to starvation, thirst or just general poor health, so it's a carnivores paradise almost.
A herbivore has it made in the wet season in a lot of habitats when plant growth is pretty much booming. Also aquatic and water-side plants are plentiful then too. And just so no one is complaining about having an unfair edge, there is 6 months of each.
I think that about covers it as far as the seasons go, if I can think of anything else that I forgot I'll add it. If you have any questions PM me, or if you can think of something I forgot I won't have any trouble posting it.
As you've probably noticed, each continent in both the Jurassic and Cretaceous are either in the wet or the dry seasons. Since each year in game is one month in life, one season will take up half a year in game, or two weeks to be precise. So if you don't like the season in the area your character is in, just wait two weeks and it will change.
Now I know I probably don't need to explain this, but I'm bored and have nothing better to do, and it's more than just when the rains come and when they stop. The middle part of the dry season is usually mating season for most animals in a monsoonal (two season) environment. That way the babys can develop inside the womb or the egg and and be ready to be born in the wet season. It's a sort of biological clock that animals of been on for thousands of generations, and since general animal behaviour like this doesn't change over time, dinosaurs more about 100% sure to be on this same routine.
Also, if your character's habitat is in a seasonal flood plain, the seasons can affect your habitat DRAMATICALLY. During the wet season the water level can rise by several hundred meters (or feet for us on the standard system) and in the dry season it can shrivel to just a few meters across (again, feet for us on standard).
Another thing it affects is migration patterns as well. Animals from drier habitats such as deserts and in some cases forests will sometimes migrate out of those habitats in search of water and food (which in a herbivores case is affected by rainfall). Areas that aren't really impacted heavily during the dry season are habitats such as rain forests, swamps, mangrove swamps, estuarries, deserts, and in most cases forests (might be some rare cases though).
On the opposite end of that, there are a few climates that aren't really that heavily impacted by the wet season, such as deserts, and swamps of both kinds. Deserts aren't accustomed to getting much water, and usually due to the surrounding geography, not much water will get into them. There is a lot of water moving through any kind of swamp, and the land acts is sort of a natural sponge, so the water either gets spread out evenly in the already standing water or just soaks into the soil.
As I said, each season for each continent in each period will last for two weeks (the equivilant of 6 months) until it changes to the opposite. Either like it or not, it's nature, and it's also the site rules. But it has it's advantages.
On a flood plain, with the rising and falling of the rivers and other bodies of water it allows for predators to scavenge aquatic animals that have been washed ashore by the receeding water level. Also the dry season is when the highest number of animals will be dying off either due to starvation, thirst or just general poor health, so it's a carnivores paradise almost.
A herbivore has it made in the wet season in a lot of habitats when plant growth is pretty much booming. Also aquatic and water-side plants are plentiful then too. And just so no one is complaining about having an unfair edge, there is 6 months of each.
I think that about covers it as far as the seasons go, if I can think of anything else that I forgot I'll add it. If you have any questions PM me, or if you can think of something I forgot I won't have any trouble posting it.