You are estimating the threat level of quarantined zones that have been abandoned to the infection. One of the main variables behind a zone's threat level is its EIT (Effective Infection Time). Planning a strike date to reclaim a quarantined zone requires this number. The EIT follows these rules.
- The EIT is a function of two dates: the infection date and the strike date.
- All years are given in A.Z. (After Zombie).
- A month counts toward the EIT only after its last day has passed, so the month of the strike date never counts.
- The first calendar year of the infection counts as 1/2 EIT.
- If the end of that year is not reached, each month counts for a share of the 1/2 EIT. A zone infected in January of the first year spreads 1/2 EIT over 12 months, so one month is (1/2)/12≈0.0417 EIT. A zone infected in March of the first year spreads 1/2 EIT over 10 months, so one month is (1/2)/10=0.0500 EIT.
- If the end of that year is reached, the year counts as the full 1/2 EIT no matter which month the infection started. A zone infected in February of 15 A.Z. counts as exactly 1/2 EIT once December 15 A.Z. has passed, and a zone infected in December of that same year counts as 1/2 EIT too.
- Every following year counts as 1 EIT. Starting from January, each calendar month is worth 1/12≈0.0833 EIT.
- Zones infected in the same month share the same EIT for any given strike date, so only the month and the year are given.
The number of months in a year and their order are the same as in the Gregorian calendar we use today.