Dear Tim,
Kalmany is on an indefinite hiatus – I’ve not touched the code or updated anything properly in about a month. And I’m currently not planning on anything soon for now. I suppose after six months I’ve hit my peak interest and it’s hard to grab any inspiration for the next steps. Will I drop it? Oh no, no, the site is still running and elections are still happening (though I feel they’ll start breaking soon as the relationships update will start taking full effect soon), and you can still browse and watch. It just means I’m not actively updating right now.
It’s a shame but I’ll be honest, I’m one man – I haven’t got a financial responsibility in this project and I’ve not made any promises about where it will end up. It was to develop some skills in coding, infrastructure, and build something cool. And so far I’ve achieved that.
However, that’s not to say it’s dropped. I’m just waiting for the inspiration to take me for the next levels. After all, I’ve still got various ideas and features to implement:
Refactoring
I’ve used CamelCase in my python. Python suggests snake_case. This is a minor thing, but I could do with standardising my functions further, splitting the modules that makes up the interaction with my backend, and then make my scripts more fundamentally accessible (or obscure depending). Especially to help standardise.
And that’s just python. The database could perhaps do with a revisit on its design, with tables separated out in a more functional manner – separating read-only, manually updated, and auto-updated tables. And creating views for my more commonly used information collections.
The API is also written in SQL that could do with views or some form of standardisation that means I could call procedures instead of building in the SQL to the API code.
The frontend…actually doesn’t need much refactoring, I think that’s fine.
Geography and Weather
Inspired by Civilisation, I think developing a system to track Kalmany’s geography and locations would be interesting. I do like weather systems and creating a system that can provide weather reports would be fun as well. Trouble is, that’s whole other branch of development that’d need time to simulate and test the tools for.
Graphical Representations
I’ve got charts! But imagine the representations I could make with animations or integrated graphics – I had an idea to provide a pixel-art CCTV footage of the assembly as it occurs. I think such a thing would be possible but a challenge.
Engagement
Ah user engagement – the heart of any website. Many ideas I’ve had include campaign donations, candidate promotions, referendums, being able to say that a policy of a candidate is favoured. This would need some form on internal currency to help provide some method of control and feedback loops on influence. What’s the point of affecting politics if it doesn’t affect you?
Corporations & Stock
A very interesting idea to help influence Kalmany would be corporations existing and influencing the politics – a true to nature concept of capitalism. Trading on the Kalmany Stock Exchange would make things curious when related to politics. What policies could I introduce that have and impact on companies?
Monuments
Monuments currently exist but have little affect other than a spot of colour. The true intention would them to affect the world around them, but the code is limited in that respect.
True Citizen Simulation
Ah, a glorious addition would be granular simulation of citizens. Combining all effects above, have citizens run through state machines, take actions based off these variables, and have the country run a full on simulation. What outcomes could occur from a zombie being in the rain, hungry, and feeling neglected?
It might mean that kalmany-beetroot needs a full rewrite to achieve all these (hopefully not) but for now I just need the right frame of mind and the right inspiration. Something to fuel these endeavours. I’m on no deadline, I have no obligation. In the meantime I’ll just meddle with the other things I have going on: D&D, a novel, meddling with 2D Game Development, conlanging, music, maths, you know the usual.
Anywho, hope you’re okay. I’ve not heard from you either in a while. Did the Purple Monkey Gang finally catch up with you? What was with the government announcement that you’re public enemy #3 in Myanmar? Why did a woman named Hannah Kant need your toilet last week? Why did she then take the actual toilet, plumbing included? What was in the package that was labelled ‘Unfragile’? Why are there a lot of lightning storms occurring over the Mediterranean, near where you went to see a man about dog? I’ve many questions.
Yours,
Stan
WoodenSocks 