Images
time-machine
An object, rebuilt as any year might have made it.
<!-- Generated by apps/docs/scripts/gen-tools.mjs. Do not edit here: the words live in apps/web/src/lib/tools/time-machine.tool.json (agent, hint) and packages/shared/src/tools/setting-hints.ts. --> On the rail as **time-machine**. ## When to use it Imagining what an object would have looked like in other eras, as options and new ideas: several readings at once, each rebuilt the way that time could actually have made it. ## When to reach for something else It needs a real picture, and each reading is a different kind of picture, so one specific change of one picture to one named period (her as a 1920s photograph) is Image Gen's edit, not Time Machine. ## How to use it 1. Drop a picture onto the card's **Reference** slot, from the board or your computer. 2. Set **Year**, **Readings** on the card. 3. Press **Run**. Each result lands on the board as its own item. ## On the card | Control | What it does | Choices | | - | - | - | | Reference | The picture the tool works from. Drop one from the board or your computer. | One picture | | Year | The year your picture is remade in, anywhere from 3300 BCE to 4099. The card names the period and the style of the year you land on, and both shape every reading. | 3300 BCE to 4099 | | Readings | How many pictures one run brings back: 3, 4 or 6. Each reading is meant to be a different kind of picture from that year, such as a painting of it, the material it was made of, or the sign that sold it. | 3, 4 or 6 | | Run | Starts the run. The number on it is what this run costs in credits, worked out before you press. | | | ×1 | Runs the card several times in a row with the same settings. | 1 to 99 | ## The years on the dial The dial runs through ten periods. As you drag it, the card shows the period and the style of the year you land on. | Period | Years | Styles on the dial | | - | - | - | | Early bronze age | 3300 BCE to 2001 BCE | First writing, Early dynastic Egypt, Old Kingdom, First intermediate | | Bronze age | 2000 BCE to 1201 BCE | Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom | | Iron age | 1200 BCE to 551 BCE | Greek dark ages, Geometric period, Archaic Greece | | Classical antiquity | 550 BCE to 499 | Classical Greece, Hellenistic age, Roman empire, Late antiquity | | Middle ages | 500 to 1499 | Early middle ages, Viking age, High middle ages, Late middle ages | | Modern period | 1500 to 2026 | Renaissance, Baroque, Late Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, Victorian era, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Mid-century modern, Space age, Postmodern, Internet age, Smartphone era | | Future | 2027 to 2149 | Near future, 22nd century | | Surreal future | 2150 to 2499 | 23rd century, 24th century, 25th century | | Alien future | 2500 to 3199 | Mid 3rd millennium, Late 3rd millennium, 4th millennium | | Insane future glitches | 3200 to 4099 | Late 4th millennium, 5th millennium | ## Settings These sit behind the settings button on the card. | Setting | What it does | Choices | | - | - | - | | Quality | The overall finish level. Higher looks better but costs more and is slower. | Low, Medium, High | | Size | Output resolution. Large (2K) renders sharper cells at a higher credit cost. | Standard, Large, 4K |On the rail as time-machine.
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”Imagining what an object would have looked like in other eras, as options and new ideas: several readings at once, each rebuilt the way that time could actually have made it.
When to reach for something else
Section titled “When to reach for something else”It needs a real picture, and each reading is a different kind of picture, so one specific change of one picture to one named period (her as a 1920s photograph) is Image Gen’s edit, not Time Machine.
How to use it
Section titled “How to use it”- Drop a picture onto the card’s Reference slot, from the board or your computer.
- Set Year, Readings on the card.
- Press Run. Each result lands on the board as its own item.
On the card
Section titled “On the card”| Control | What it does | Choices |
|---|---|---|
| Reference | The picture the tool works from. Drop one from the board or your computer. | One picture |
| Year | The year your picture is remade in, anywhere from 3300 BCE to 4099. The card names the period and the style of the year you land on, and both shape every reading. | 3300 BCE to 4099 |
| Readings | How many pictures one run brings back: 3, 4 or 6. Each reading is meant to be a different kind of picture from that year, such as a painting of it, the material it was made of, or the sign that sold it. | 3, 4 or 6 |
| Run | Starts the run. The number on it is what this run costs in credits, worked out before you press. | |
| ×1 | Runs the card several times in a row with the same settings. | 1 to 99 |
The years on the dial
Section titled “The years on the dial”The dial runs through ten periods. As you drag it, the card shows the period and the style of the year you land on.
| Period | Years | Styles on the dial |
|---|---|---|
| Early bronze age | 3300 BCE to 2001 BCE | First writing, Early dynastic Egypt, Old Kingdom, First intermediate |
| Bronze age | 2000 BCE to 1201 BCE | Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom |
| Iron age | 1200 BCE to 551 BCE | Greek dark ages, Geometric period, Archaic Greece |
| Classical antiquity | 550 BCE to 499 | Classical Greece, Hellenistic age, Roman empire, Late antiquity |
| Middle ages | 500 to 1499 | Early middle ages, Viking age, High middle ages, Late middle ages |
| Modern period | 1500 to 2026 | Renaissance, Baroque, Late Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, Victorian era, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Mid-century modern, Space age, Postmodern, Internet age, Smartphone era |
| Future | 2027 to 2149 | Near future, 22nd century |
| Surreal future | 2150 to 2499 | 23rd century, 24th century, 25th century |
| Alien future | 2500 to 3199 | Mid 3rd millennium, Late 3rd millennium, 4th millennium |
| Insane future glitches | 3200 to 4099 | Late 4th millennium, 5th millennium |
Settings
Section titled “Settings”These sit behind the settings button on the card.
| Setting | What it does | Choices |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | The overall finish level. Higher looks better but costs more and is slower. | Low, Medium, High |
| Size | Output resolution. Large (2K) renders sharper cells at a higher credit cost. | Standard, Large, 4K |