Aeon Timeline 3 - wow.

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Posted by Amontillado
Sep 30, 2021 at 02:39 AM

Aeon 3 was released today, and I hope it really is what it looks like on a quick glance.

You get a spreadsheet view. That appears to allow quick event entry.

Events can be seen on a timeline, of course - or in a mind map (or ten different mind maps, as many different perspectives as you want), a narrative view which I think is something like a corkboard, or at least like the Writer’s Blocks system, and there’s a relationships view which is like swimlanes showing interconnections.

On first view, I’m impressed.

Posted by MadaboutDana
Sep 30, 2021 at 07:52 AM

Does look pretty good, but having downloaded the trial version, I’m a bit underwhelmed by the sheer complexity of the details for each entry.

There must be more user-friendly ways of doing that.

Posted by Amontillado
Sep 30, 2021 at 06:14 PM

I haven’t yet had time for a deep dive, and had the same first impression you got. It’s complex.

After a few minutes, it seems to be just stuff you can add to events as needed. I think it’s like flying a 747. Lots of bells and whistles in the cockpit, but it boils down to the same thrust, drag, lift, and gravity as a little Cessna.

This post shares some thoughts about what you observed: https://timeline.app/blog/planning-fiction-from-scratch/

From that post, “Aeon Timeline offers a lot of flexibility, which can be great when you are knee-deep in a project and keen to untangle your latest plot hole, but not so useful when you are just starting out and a little lost about where to begin.”

I feel his pain. Striking a balance between power and usability is tough.

Most of that article is devoted to using what you need, and ignoring the rest.

I think I’m willing to dive in and see how it works out. I like timelines, and all those features will be a little like the complexity of a Scrivener compile. I’ll get to them as I need them.

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