Civilization grading system

[Ender]

Can someone post the rules for grading a civilization, or a chart if one existists?

[NecronLord]

Yeah, this would be useful, anyone?

[septesix]

there's a Organization Chart Project at SB.com

http://kier.3dfrontier.com/forums/showt ... adid=15018


You are certinly going to disagree about this chart. So feel free to respond to it. It's not something set in stone. There are changes constantly made to it.[/url]

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Can someone post the rules for grading a civilization, or a chart if one existists?

Apart from the basic Type I, Type II, Type III civilizations?
Quick review of this:
Type I -- Controls all the resources and energy of a single planet. No civilization on Earth comes close to this.

Type II -- Controls the energy output and resources of an entire solar system.

Type III -- Controls the energy output and resources of an entire galaxy

However, one might say: "This is waaaaaaaaaay too broad." I agree. In my spare time, I've generated the following system:

I needed one for my own writing, as I have a number of civilizations interacting.

The Normalized Scale of Civilizations:

Technology - The ability of a civilization to engineer technical items to improve either quality of life, scientific understanding, or military interest.

TQ: Quality of Life, Scientific Understanding.
0-9 - Basic knowledge of local plants. Strong
superstitions and talismans used for a variety of things. Strictly hunter-gatherers utilizing wood, bone or stone points.
10-20 - The Agricultural Revolution. A civilization here can plant and harvest crops. This requires the development of metal implements (bronze or iron.) Medical sciences still mostly undeveloped.
20-30 - Domestication of Animals. A civilization here has learned to control both animals and plants. This enables the creation of large habitations and sophisticated means of commerce. Tools here are typically metal and more common than in earlier levels. Medical sciences may have rudimentary basis in reality.
30-40 - Basic Literacy. A civilization here has developed relatively inexpensive semi-permanent or permanent means of information storage.
40-50 - Basic Industry. Civilizations at this level have learned to harness mechanical and thermal energy to easily produce items and materials. A breakthrough in public literacy and medicine with a firm foundation in reality are found here as well.
50-60 - Fundamentals of Electronics. Civilizations here have found the means to communicate information rapidly and inexpensively. Because of this, medicine, agriculture, and industry modernize rapidly.
60-70 - Fundamentals of the Space Age. Civilizations here have enough technological basis to step out into space. More potent civilizations at this level even venture out to nearby asteroids or satellites.
70-80 - Advanced Industry. Industrial components get smaller and more reliable. New materials can be built to either expand a civilization's reach deeper into it's planetary system, or solve it's problems at home. Many civilizations can harness the power of nuclear fusion. Some civilizations become interstellar at this point.
80-90 - Advanced Computing. Computers are sophisticated enough to rival biological intelligence. With this computing ability scientific and medical advancement accelerates.
90-100 - Advanced Space Age. The culmination of the first 89 levels of TQ. Civilizations here can easily go interstellar. This is about as high as most civilizations can go.
100-200 - Breaking the Light Barrier. Advances here permit a civilization to circumvent the lightspeed barrier. Civilizations here develop more exotic power technologies and communications. Civilizations here might achieve intragalactic travel at higher levels.
200-400 - Galactic Politics. Civilizations here are easily intragalactic. Exotic power technologies are inexpensive and widely available. Industrial sciences usually reach their maximum here.
400-900 - Awakening to Zero Point. Energy from 'weird' sources. Civilizations here are almost at the apex of all technological advances. Some may be looking toward higher-order existance.
900-1000 - Transcendence. Civilizations here are usually very old. All technology and knowledge have advanced to the point where a species could actually transcend and end the organic era. (Transcend being defined here as "being so bored with traditional existance that they either kill themselves, or try something completely different.")

Amalagated Scoring:
A civilization does not develop evenly in all areas. To produce an amalagated score, one simply takes the average of a civilization's levels in the following areas:
- Medicine
- Industry
- Science
- Exploration
Additionally, to give a sense of balance, stepping points are awarded to species that reach development 'tiers'.
0-50 in five steps -- 0.2 points per step.
50-100 in five steps -- 2 point per step.
100-200 in five steps -- 20 point per step.
200-400 in five steps -- 200 points per step.
400-900 in five steps -- 2000 points per step.
900-1000 in five steps -- 20,000 points per step.

Example: United States, 1865. - Step: 0.8
Medicine: 38
Industry: 42
Science: 51
Exploration: 40 Amalagated Score: 42
(* Here, we merely looked at the amalagated score and counted up the points. They're less than fifty, so we award 0.2 points for every ten points they score on the amalagated score.)

Example: United States, 1943 - Step: 3
Medicine: 55
Industry: 57
Science: 61
Exploration: 57 Amalagated Score: 57
(* Here, we see that the U.S. breaks 60 in it's science score. This is due to them being able to produce an atomic bomb and nuclear reactors. Notice that we now have a step of 3. That is the 1 step point for having completed the first five steps (0-50, 10 pts./step) and 1 step point for almost completing the first of the next five steps. Oddly enough our current amalagated score is only 63.)

Example: EA, 2260 (Babylon 5) - Step: 10
Medicine: 95
Industry: 88
Science: 95
Exploration: 95 Amalagated Score: 93
(* Here, we see a civilization that has almost completed the second "tier" (see above.))

Example: United Federation of Planets, 2360 - Step: 91
Medicine: 200
Industry: 140
Science: 160
Exploration: 200 Amalagated Score: 175
(* It's hard to judge anything from ST because the writers can't write anything that has even a semblance of consistency. However, it seems that medical science and exploration have far outstripped this civilization's industrial or physical science developments.)

Example: Galactic Empire -- Step: 1111
Medicine: 400
Industry: 500
Science: 400
Exploration: 400 Amalagated Score: 425
(* Here we see a very old, very sophisticated civilization. Though it's score is only 2.5 times that of the UFP's, it's the stepping that counts. The GE's stepping is at 1111, which is more than 12X greater!)

[Rathark]

I posted this on my "Fictional Starship" thread last week. The power estimates are only rough.

Type I Civilization (uses the resources of an entire planet, including sunlight on the surface): 4 * 10e17 watts (I believe this is 10,000 times today's output)

Type II Civilization (uses the power output of an entire sun, probably with a Dyson Sphere, Dyson Cloud or interlocking Ringworlds): 4 * 10e26 watts

Type III Civilization (uses the power output of the entire galaxy, including all the black holes): 4 * 10e37 watts

Type Omega Civilization (uses the power output of the entire material universe): 10e50 watts

Of course, tapping the energy of hyperspace could make these projections obsolete


Sources: Various, notably the theories of Freeman J. Dyson, some bloke named Kardeshev and "Colonizing the Galaxy in 8 Easy Steps" by Marshal T. Savage. There's also a book called "The Limits of Possibility" or somesuch.

[SirNitram]

Well dammit, how does Netheril fit?

Territory: One planet.

Technology Base: Early Iron Age.

Magic Base: Can trascend mortal form.

Known to violate Conservation of Energy on a daily basis, because the stupid bastards use the Elemental Plane Of Fire for their kitchen stoves, the Elemental Plane Of Water for clean water, and the Plane Of Dust to stow their dead.

I suppose they count as Trascendant.. I mean, one of them was a God for a few minutes, and the survivors trascended into freak shadowbeings...

[Jadeite]

Well dammit, how does Netheril fit?

Territory: One planet.

Technology Base: Early Iron Age.

Magic Base: Can trascend mortal form.

Known to violate Conservation of Energy on a daily basis, because the stupid bastards use the Elemental Plane Of Fire for their kitchen stoves, the Elemental Plane Of Water for clean water, and the Plane Of Dust to stow their dead.

I suppose they count as Trascendant.. I mean, one of them was a God for a few minutes, and the survivors trascended into freak shadowbeings...

They only controlled a region of Toril, and dont forget about the flying cities.

[SirNitram]

Well dammit, how does Netheril fit?

Territory: One planet.

Technology Base: Early Iron Age.

Magic Base: Can trascend mortal form.

Known to violate Conservation of Energy on a daily basis, because the stupid bastards use the Elemental Plane Of Fire for their kitchen stoves, the Elemental Plane Of Water for clean water, and the Plane Of Dust to stow their dead.

I suppose they count as Trascendant.. I mean, one of them was a God for a few minutes, and the survivors trascended into freak shadowbeings...

They only controlled a region of Toril, and dont forget about the flying cities.

Well, yes, but they still held a great deal of power. And sadly, I don't know how to work out how much energy you use suspending a mountain in the air for a few thousand years.

[NecronLord]

Yes you do, you just can't be bothered, admit it!

[SirNitram]

Yes you do, you just can't be bothered, admit it!

Don't make me come over there, kiddo.