Scale

Scale or scales may refer to:

Common meanings

Places

Mathematics

Science

Scale length (string instruments)

When referring to stringed instruments, the scale length (often simply called the "scale") is considered to be the maximum vibrating length of the strings to produce sound, and determines the range of tones that string is capable of producing under a given tension. In the classical community, it may be called simply "string length." On instruments in which strings are not "stopped" or divided in length (typically by frets, the player's fingers, or other mechanism), such as the piano, it is the actual length of string between the nut and the bridge.

String instruments produce sound through the vibration of their strings. The range of tones these strings can produce is determined by three primary factors: the mass of the string (related to its thickness as well as other aspects of its construction: density of the metal/alloy etc.), the tension placed upon it, and the instrument's scale length.

On many, but not all, instruments, the strings are at least roughly the same length, so the instrument's scale can be expressed as a single length measurement, as for example in the case of the violin or guitar. On other instruments, the strings are of different lengths according to their pitch, as for example in the case of the harp or piano.

Scale (map)

The scale of a map is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground. This simple concept is complicated by the curvature of the Earth's surface, which forces scale to vary across a map. Because of this variation, the concept of scale becomes meaningful in two distinct ways. The first way is the ratio of the size of the generating globe to the size of the Earth. The generating globe is a conceptual model to which the Earth is shrunk and from which the map is projected.

The ratio of the Earth's size to the generating globe's size is called the nominal scale (= principal scale = representative fraction). Many maps state the nominal scale and may even display a bar scale (sometimes merely called a 'scale') to represent it. The second distinct concept of scale applies to the variation in scale across a map. It is the ratio of the mapped point's scale to the nominal scale. In this case 'scale' means the scale factor (= point scale = particular scale).

Dungeon Keeper

Dungeon Keeper is a strategy video game developed by Bullfrog Productions and released by Electronic Arts in July 1997 for the PC. The player builds and manage a dungeon while protecting it from invading 'hero' characters intent on stealing the player's accumulated treasures and killing various monsters.

Gameplay

The player uses a mouse, represented in-game as a hand, to interact with a bar on the left-hand side of the screen, allowing them to select which rooms to build and which spells to cast. The player can also use the hand to pick up creatures and objects in the dungeon and carry them around, allowing for tactics such as gathering an assault force and dropping off the creatures en masse once a foothold has been established. The hand also allows the player to "slap" objects and thereby interact with them: creatures will hurry up when slapped, some traps will be triggered and prisoners in the Torture Chamber can be tortured.

The main game view is in isometric perspective; this view can be zoomed and rotated. The player also has the option of possessing one of their creatures, and seeing the dungeon from that creature's first-person perspective, as well as using their attacks and abilities. The map is divided into a grid of rectangles, most of which are invisible. A smaller part of the map is shown as a minimap in the top left corner of the screen.