What was Bioware´s rationale on not implementing Day/Night and Weather cycles?

[Ituhata]

I've had it rain on me a few times, whether that's planned or dynamic is lost on me, and I don't really care which it is.

 

To me, you're on many different worlds with their own time cycle, so its never occurred to me that I'm on Tatooine at night during the daytime. And so, its not even remotely an issue from where I stand.

Edited January 4, 2012 by Ituhata

[Berethos]

Because they spent most of their cash on voice acting because they are banking on it keeping customers?

 

 

 

WoW has a great story, not our fault you are too damn lazy to read and have to have it read for you.

 

It only has a good story if you are Horde. You're a plot device or a pop culture reference if you are Alliance.

[AndiusTheGreat]

I don't care much about weather either way, but I HATE night in MMORGs.

 

Arbitrarily part of the time I'm supposed to walk around half-blind. Blech. Double Blech.

 

That depends on how the implement night. So far all the night areas in this game haven't obscured visibility at all. The only games I've seen where you really lost the ability to see as well at night were Darkfall and Wurm Online, where the Darkness is actually supposed to add something new. In Darkfall added confusion in battle and a better time for ambushes. In Wurm the game is partially a survival simulation. It makes you need to stick to camp more for the light of your campfire or lamps. It also creates a need for lanterns and torches.

 

In a tab target game like TOR, I am sure they will make the dark more of a blackening of the sky then a true loss of light.

 

Anyway one thing people demanding weather effects right away need to remember, is most MMORPGs happen on a single planet and have complete creative authority over the universe where they take place.

 

In TOR they need to consider. Do certain weather patterns like rain, lightening, wind, etc. even happen on certain planets? Is the night/day cycle 24 hours or 2-3 years? Are there other weather effects we aren't used to like dust or acid storms?

 

Weather in TOR, if done right, would be a very complicated thing.

[veevito]

The most iconic scene in Episode IV that Lucasarts even uses as the basis for its logo is a man watching a sunset, based on Luke watching the suns set on Tatooine.

 

Sadly, the devs thought including such iconic star wars moments wasn't worth their time.

 

Absolutely.

 

It would be incredibly awesome if everytime I logged into Tatooine it was something other than blinding high noon.

 

It just gives life to a game.

[Tocaseven]

every planet has 3 suns , problem solved.

[Goretzu]

That depends on how the implement night. So far all the night areas in this game haven't obscured visibility at all. The only games I've seen where you really lost the ability to see as well at night were Darkfall and Wurm Online, where the Darkness is actually supposed to add something new.

 

 

 

If you ever played Everquest 1 in the early days as a non-elf, then you'd know darkness.... and genuine fear.

 

 

(well at least until someone told you that you could boost the alpha settings at night)

 

 

Still the only MMO I've played where lightsource were genuine valuble and sellable.

[hidy]

Spent to much money on voice acting and not on more important things imo.

 

This.

[tmpearson]

It seems BioWare spent all of their time and resources on the over-hyped, repetitive and disappointing voice acting.

 

We apparently don't need immersion. The weather wont be visible in the voice acting scenes anyway so to hell with that.

[AlejandroTeresa]

Just watch the video:

 

 

Simply beautiful and immersing. Non static planets will bring life to SWTOR and will make questing less boring.

 

It would be great to implement day/night cycles and weather changes

 

 

PD: I dont understand why they didnt include this in the game. Didnt they see the boring of the planets?? COME THEM TO LIFE!!!

Edited April 29, 2013 by AlejandroTeresa

[JPryde]

COME THEM TO LIFE!!!

Nice quote for a necro of well over one year.

[BJWyler]

Just watch the video:

 

 

Simply beautiful and immersing. Non static planets will bring life to SWTOR and will make questing less boring.

 

It would be great to implement day/night cycles and weather changes

 

 

PD: I dont understand why they didnt include this in the game. Didnt they see the boring of the planets?? COME THEM TO LIFE!!!

 

 

 

Thread necro much?. For some players it adds immersion; for others it breaks it or feels like a waste of time. Contrary to popular belief, things like this are not standard in games. If it serves a purpose for the game as designed, then fine, otherwise it is just wasted fluff. It is not needed for this game.

Edited April 29, 2013 by BJWyler

[AlejandroTeresa]

Its true that this topic It isnt essential for game dev. but Its something to implement in time, not now, maybe not just tomorrow, but someday will be interesting.

 

From my point of view, and like I said before, brings LIFE to the game and dynamism making It more enjoyable.

 

Im sadly to say that I feel a bit bored to see the planets ALLWAYS with the same look or feature, and Im not the only one with the same thought.

 

Anyway, Its just a suggestion to consider in a future

 

[Kubernetic]

I think the main thing is that a lot of us players intentionally log out of games when it's dark and you can't see anything, or visibility is reduced.

 

That's not a good practice for a game developer, turning your game into a situation where various "windows of time" occur where players don't like playing the game.

 

The engine can handle it, it'd be more than fine putting it in, but there are some playability and QoL issues that come into being.

 

Some weather does exist, such as rains on Dromund Kaas, snowstorms on Hoth. It just doesn't happen randomly, because again, the game is tuned for a certain "feel" that usually persists throughout. In many respects, this is the same as Star Wars canon.

[macumba]

well I would have loved tatooine @night. next SW game maybe :/

[Andryah]

OK... for necro sake I guess. .....

 

There is no day/night for sure. If there was.. I would want the ability to turn it off. I have never liked it, and do not find it immersive when it changes every 30 minutes. That's faux day/night.

 

There are some limited weather cycles on some planets.. so I don't understand why people pretend there is no weather in this game. What we have is noticable, but not intrusive. If there were more.. I would want to turn it off.

Edited April 29, 2013 by Andryah

[Omisri]

I got to see it in SWG so it doesn't matter much to me

 

Think the reason why this would be a massive job for the dev team is because (iirc) the shadows from the landscape were baked onto the textures (to improve performance no doubt)

[Syas]

Like EQ? They had that one zone since original (next to freehold pass, can't remember the name) that had regular level 12 stuff spawn during the day, but high level undead (35+ as I recall) at night. You had to be careful when you went through there. If at day, you could run right down the path, but at night you were better hugging the walls.

Kithicor Woods

[Soxbadger]

Or the werewolf that only spawned at night

 

I miss day/night cycles.

[Shingara]

I got to see it in SWG so it doesn't matter much to me

 

Think the reason why this would be a massive job for the dev team is because (iirc) the shadows from the landscape were baked onto the textures (to improve performance no doubt)

 

Ye i remember night time on dathmir on swg with my little torch that only i could see over my char. My god that was dark.

Edited April 29, 2013 by Shingara

[kirorx]

It's not that kind of game

 

It's day and night because that is what time it is in the storyline

 

Story telling is the main focus of SWTOR

[Drebs]

Honestly, I think atmospheric effects are even more important than weather and time of day for creating immersion. Imagine dust storms on Tatooine, or a white-out blizzard on Hoth. Dusty air and smoke on Corellia. I think these are the things that would help breathe life into the planets and add to the sense that the environment itself is a dangerous thing.

[Drebs]

Backward MMOrpg system.

 

Are you implying that SWTOR is an RPGMMO?

 

That makes sense I guess.

[chuixupu]

Neeecromancy

 

Yeah I'd like day and night cycles, really. But I'm guessing it's another one of those "the engine just can't handle it without decreasing performance" issues. It's more complex programming than you might think, it isn't just a matter of the sky getting darker and the sun moving in the sky, everything in the entire world needs to be constantly updating it's shadow positioning and color. It might be possible, still, but maybe not worth all the time and effort, at the probably cost of performance issues for them.

[Tatile]

Are you implying that SWTOR is an RPGMMO?

 

That makes sense I guess.

 

Yeah, single-layer storyline and then SURPRISE Group Content!

 

Also, it was probably too hard. You'd have to code in different types of rain for Kaas City, like mizzle. No one likes mizzle. And spitting. And then, light showers, cats and dogs, the list goes on.

[oJebuso]

MMORPG's are supposed to be about immersion. It baffles me to this day why there is no day/night cycle or weather effects.

 

90% of MMO's have these features. If lighting and setting is forced for the cutscenes, force it inside phase and leave the rest of the planet on a day/night cycle. It honestly wouldn't bother me.

Edited April 29, 2013 by oJebuso