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

[Astarica]

If day/night and weather is implemented in an immersive way that means during random times of the day it is much harder to see anything. See EQ when you actually can't see in the nIght if you didn't have night vision. That's why in WoW your visibility is just as good at the night as day, but of course then you've to ask why have a night cycle if you see exactly as well in the night as day?

 

Similarly stuff like rain/snow actually obscured vision significantly in EQ so you'd probably walk into your doom and die because you can't see well (especially if it was in night), and that wasn't very fun, so we end up with modern weather where you see exactly as well in the rain as clear sky. And then the same question comes up again, why have weather if it has no effect?

[oJebuso]

If day/night and weather is implemented in an immersive way that means during random times of the day it is much harder to see anything. See EQ when you actually can't see in the nIght if you didn't have night vision. That's why in WoW your visibility is just as good at the night as day, but of course then you've to ask why have a night cycle if you see exactly as well in the night as day?

 

Similarly stuff like rain/snow actually obscured vision significantly in EQ so you'd probably walk into your doom and die because you can't see well (especially if it was in night), and that wasn't very fun, so we end up with modern weather where you see exactly as well in the rain as clear sky. And then the same question comes up again, why have weather if it has no effect?

 

Immersion. It's still WAY better than static, never changing environments.

[Arlon_Nabarlly]

COME THEM TO LIFE!!!

 

Nice quote for a necro of well over one year.

 

Agreed, I lol'd

 

I would love to see a day/night cycle, but with the following caveats:

- Visibility is no inhibited by it.

- Lore is followed as far as how many suns and/or moons a planet has.

- I don't know if lore covers how long a planet's day/night cycle is, but planets should not all be on the same cycle. Some planets should have much longer days/nights than others.

[Omisri]

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.

 

I did that after I scrounged enough credits to take a shuttle... One way ticket, mind.

 

Night time with creatures 50 or so levels above me and not enough creds or a ship to get back. Had to re-roll at the time LOL

[Drebs]

If day/night and weather is implemented in an immersive way that means during random times of the day it is much harder to see anything. See EQ when you actually can't see in the nIght if you didn't have night vision. That's why in WoW your visibility is just as good at the night as day, but of course then you've to ask why have a night cycle if you see exactly as well in the night as day?

 

Similarly stuff like rain/snow actually obscured vision significantly in EQ so you'd probably walk into your doom and die because you can't see well (especially if it was in night), and that wasn't very fun, so we end up with modern weather where you see exactly as well in the rain as clear sky. And then the same question comes up again, why have weather if it has no effect?

 

So don't follow the EQ model. Got it.

 

The atmospheres in WoW may be subtle, but they're reinforced with audio and other effects. Crickets in the evening, the balance of lights/darks shifting to favor artificial sources. You have no trouble seeing mobs or the terrain, but the atmosphere of the different times of day is really nice.

[PurpleLynx]

GUYS THIS ISN'T WOW

 

wow is the only place day and night cycles exist

 

slightly unrelated, but this is the funniest attempt at shadows i have ever seen

http://i.imgur.com/JIHgK.jpg

 

Actually, LOTRO has day/night and dynamic weather. I do think this game would rock with it, but at the same time, that weather screws not only with my graphics, but can reduce visibility to almost nothing, and in some of the worlds in this game that can be deadly. Imagine Coruscant with a rainstorm that drops visibility to mininum, and you are on speeder...woops didnt see that ledge..dead

[CosmicKat]

Day/night cycles? So what if MMO's have had them since Darksun Online back in the 50's?

 

They had access to the blazing computing power of 386's! Next thing you'll be asking for monster AI of the caliber of Amiga games! Sorcery I tell you.

[Arlon_Nabarlly]

Day/night cycles? So what if MMO's have had them since Darksun Online back in the 50's?

 

They had access to the blazing computing power of 386's! Next thing you'll be asking for monster AI of the caliber of Amiga games! Sorcery I tell you.

 

The 50s, psh. WoW was coded by T-Rexs. That's why their hands are like that (carpal tunnel)

Edited April 29, 2013 by Arlon_Nabarlly

[Glowrod]

As we still dont have a search function in the forums, i apolagise if this topic has been answered before.

 

Dynamic weather systems and night/day cycles add a unique layer of immersion to an otherwise static gameworld. Should bioware be putting their efforts to better use in other features or should these 2 systems be eventually implemented?

 

That's one serious point this game is missing. One of my favorite scenes from the movies is when Luke is standing at the doorway to his house on Tatooine at sunset, looking out over the desert... But in this game, the sun's aways up.

[Blackavaar]

Guys, it's easy to program a day/night cycle when it's just one planet, one world. In Star Wars it's more than one world. They would have to program different day/night cycles for every one and then there's the matter of worlds without a day/night cycle. Drommund Kaas for instance, is always dark on one side because it is in a geosynchronous orbit with its sun. The other side of the planet is unlivable.

 

And the devs said they wanted to really push it with the art for the landscapes, so they baked in the texture and shadow effects to allow for sharper more stable imagery.

 

Now let this corpse rest in peace, please.

 

Edited April 29, 2013 by Blackavaar

[Ansalem]

Guys, it's easy to program a day/night cycle when it's just one planet, one world. In Star Wars it's more than one world. They would have to program different day/night cycles for every one and then there's the matter of worlds without a day/night cycle. Drommund Kaas for instance, is always dark on one side because it is in a geosynchronous orbit with its sun. The other side of the planet is unlivable.

 

And the devs said they wanted to really push it with the art for the landscapes, so they baked in the texture and shadow effects to allow for sharper more stable imagery.

 

Now let this corpse rest in peace, please.

 

 

so its beyond the devs abilities at bioware...got it.

[SolsticeDreams]

The generation that largely cares for 'Fluff" and things that bring a MMO together as a community is sadly no longer a voice, compared to today's generation of mmo gamers who would care less about "Fluff" and rather want a linear-straight forward one.

 

"Just remember folks, to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times"

[kirorx]

Guys, it's easy to program a day/night cycle when it's just one planet, one world. In Star Wars it's more than one world. They would have to program different day/night cycles for every one and then there's the matter of worlds without a day/night cycle. Drommund Kaas for instance, is always dark on one side because it is in a geosynchronous orbit with its sun. The other side of the planet is unlivable.

 

And the devs said they wanted to really push it with the art for the landscapes, so they baked in the texture and shadow effects to allow for sharper more stable imagery.

 

Now let this corpse rest in peace, please.

 

 

I don't think the different planet thing can be the issue

 

This is not the first starwars mmo, just the first one without a day night cycle, so it has been done already

 

This is probably an engine issue, the same reason we don't have chat bubbles, larger mission log spaces and countless other fluff stuff we will never see

[kirorx]

The generation that largely cares for 'Fluff" and things that bring a MMO together as a community is sadly no longer a voice, compared to today's generation of mmo gamers who would care less about "Fluff" and rather want a linear-straight forward one.

 

"Just remember folks, to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times"

 

QFT

 

You can be on the bus or you can get off the bus, either way this what it is

[Blackavaar]

I don't think the different planet thing can be the issue

 

This is not the first starwars mmo, just the first one without a day night cycle, so it has been done already

 

This is probably an engine issue, the same reason we don't have chat bubbles, larger mission log spaces and countless other fluff stuff we will never see

 

SWG did day/night cycles, yes. But it was done halfhearted. Day and night were the same for every planet.

Sorry, but if you're doing a sci-fi game with multiple planets that have their own geology and chronology they should be done separately. Short of that it's best to just not do it.

 

And again it doesn't matter anyway. It's not getting done. The shadows and textures are hard baked into the graphics and BioWare is not about to redo the artwork for the whole game just to add this. Even if they did, those that want it would not be satisfied. They would ask for it to be more like this game here or that game over there and this thread would go on and on and on regardless.

 

Edited April 30, 2013 by Blackavaar

[Ultramecha]

Depending on what side you play on imp or pub. Some planets environments are in the day like for the pubs and those same planets are nighttime environments for imps. So theres ur day night cycle just switch sides depending on what time it is.

[Darth_Moonshadow]

Different planets means different rotations and weather patterns. Would be impossible to do.

[Ultramecha]

Different planets means different rotations and weather patterns. Would be impossible to do.

 

Wouldn't be impossible but it would take forever to develop. Then people would complain about performance issues.

[Eitetsu]

I must say, the idea of weather and day/night cycles is intriguing. Imagine a moonlit night on Hoth, when all the wampas are out hunting. Wow. Or sandstorms on Tatooine that slow you down. And so on. It was my understanding that Bioware likes to portray realistic, living worlds. Hopefully this is somewhere down the list. Perhaps with the first "real" expansion we'll see some development in this area.

[supafreak]

Each planet is supposed ot have its own feel. Dynamtic weather and day/night would screw that up. they are big on story, and stories can be altered big time based on background. Imagine the scene with Romeo and Juliet talking in the middle of the day with people bustling everywhere instead of a starry night under the moon

[Eitetsu]

Each planet is supposed ot have its own feel. Dynamtic weather and day/night would screw that up. they are big on story, and stories can be altered big time based on background. Imagine the scene with Romeo and Juliet talking in the middle of the day with people bustling everywhere instead of a starry night under the moon

There is no such scene in ToR that I can remember. And minor dialogues that take place as you progress across a planet are just that. Minor. Major dialogues all take place in a set, controlled location--usually indoors at that, where weather or day\night wouldn't matter.

 

All I see is excuses.

 

Also, don't you find it contradicting to say that each planet is supposed to be unique, and that dynamic (unique) weather, atmospherics, and day\night would ruin that in the same breath? Hmm.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Eitetsu

[Lord_Karsk]

Well it's bioware, static lifeless worlds that never change is their trademark.Not to mention they dont even

know what the word immersion means. I mean this is the guys who launched a rail shooter in almost 2012 in a star wars MMO that made every gaming site go lol really ?. I mean this is a game were you cant sit in cantinas, no minigames so players can have fun and no chat bubbles, all thing every other game launch with. Patetic yes.

[Retsopmi]

Leave the day and night cycles to RL.

 

They aren't required in a game, and honestly always get turned off by the majority of players. It's always just wasted money.

[Nigredo]

Different planets means different rotations and weather patterns. Would be impossible to do.

 

not impossible, not practical maybe..but doable

[Darth_Moonshadow]

not impossible, not practical maybe..but doable

 

Not really. You'd travel from Korriban at noon and arrive at Hoth in the dead of night, possibly during a Blizzard. Not all planets have the same day/night cycle. So the game would have to constantly remember different times to raise a sun, set suns, activate rainfall on Coruscant at 3:45 while implementing a blistering heatwave of Tatooine at 2: 37.

 

I'm uncertain that we possess the technology to do that.

 

The Japanese might have it, but they're inventing video game urinals, and we're not tearing them away from that clearly more important project.