Day/Night Cycle Skybox

[rarianrakista]

Can we have one? I want to hunt Rakghouls at night.

[alike]

I think adding Day/Night cycle isn't an easy job to. In a 3d environment you need light sources to light up all the ares. In order to make all that turn dark you will need to code all those light sources to fade up and down. Another way is to make one light source, which would be a sun, and have that move over the horizon and cast shadows and light over the game world. The last one isn't something one can add to game without changing a whole load of stuff in the game engine.

[Bielduwyn]

According to the book "The Art and Making of The Old Republic" this was decided very early on that they wouldn't have day/night cycles when they were presented with a strong piece of concept art of the sun looming ominously over the top of the Sith Academy of Korriban. They wanted to make sure that anyone arriving on Korriban at any time could get that experience, see that looming sun.

 

So I doubt they're ever going to change it, and I respect that decision.

[Thargrim]

At some point I would indeed, like to see day/night cycles added to this game. The planets currently feel too sterile, static and unliving.

[Zombull]

I think day/night cycles and weather effects would help bring the planets to life.

[marshalleck]

Bioware don't do day/night cycles.

[Elmillia]

It would be virtually impossible to do it realistically. Not all planets in the galaxy operate on a 24 hour basis. And it wouldnt sync up to real time either.

[Chromiie]

It would be virtually impossible to do it realistically. Not all planets in the galaxy operate on a 24 hour basis. And it wouldnt sync up to real time either.

 

You know what else isn't realistic? 24 hour day time. Oh how the npcs on Tatooine must hate it.

[LordChucks]

It would be virtually impossible to do it realistically. Not all planets in the galaxy operate on a 24 hour basis. And it wouldnt sync up to real time either.

 

All the better, have the cycles last for different lengths and run at different times on different planets. If I leave one planet at night it would see much more "alien" for the next planet to be day, or dusk, or anything else randomly. Going from night to night to night on each planet at the same time is almost as stale as the current setup of never-changing timeframes. Currently the planets feel more like "levels" in a singleplayer game, looking exactly the same each time you return there. Day/night, and weather effects too, would go a long way to helping the atmosphere.

 

As for how we all still use the same time units, just say that all ingame clocks run at Coruscant Standard Time and use a unified galactic calendar regardless of local planetary cycles. Pretty much how they explain it in the books.

 

Like others, I recall how it was explained that for atmospheric/story purposes they chose specific times of day, and I find that reaosn lacking. Having played up through Voss so far (as a JK, SW, BH, and Trooper) I have never encountered any scene which was make/break because of the time of day and atmosphere. Perhaps the closest I can think of was once on Tattooine for my JK when he fought a lone enemy on a cliffside peninsula, but sacrificing the liveliness and visual diversity of actual cycles for that single scene was waaaaaay too heavy a price to pay. And it would have been a fascinating scene at night too now that I think about it. Maybe the other classes have some exceptional scenes, but I am yet to be convinced it was the right decision to make.

[lrgshadow]

expect the ppl who have long shifts, actually who have jobs at all, won't ever see the sun in game.

[Elmillia]

You know what else isn't realistic? 24 hour day time. Oh how the npcs on Tatooine must hate it.

 

Oh man, 2 suns, all day and never any night. Ouch.

 

I dont know if they can do it without increasing the load on the servers and such.

[Elmillia]

expect the ppl who have long shifts, actually who have jobs at all, won't ever see the sun in game.

 

Not every planet would be day time at the same time if the OPs suggestion goes though. And as i said, not all planets share the same rotation lengh. A day might be 20 hours on Balmorra with 10 day, 10 night and might be 36 hours on Tatooine with 26 day, 10 night.

 

I havent actually checked wookipedia. just some rough numbers.

[Thargrim]

Oh man, 2 suns, all day and never any night. Ouch.

 

I dont know if they can do it without increasing the load on the servers and such.

 

If you ever watched the prequels...Tatooine does indeed have night. The suns are close together in the sky, its not like they are on opposite sides of the planet.

Edited January 21, 2012 by Thargrim

[Elmillia]

If you ever watched the prequels...Tatooine does indeed have night. The suns are close together in the sky, its not like they are on opposite sides of the planet.

 

Yes. We're going to ignore the prequels. A new hope had night too on Tatooine. That wasnt what my comment refered to.

[Bielduwyn]

I'll restate that the lack of day/night cycles was a stylistic decision rather than a technical one.

 

That said, Tatooine would be a special case, since the twin suns affect each other with their gravity and are in a constant waltz of sorts, each day/night cycle would be absolutely unique because of it. Might be a bit of a bother to simulate. =p

[Raigirin]

All the better, have the cycles last for different lengths and run at different times on different planets. If I leave one planet at night it would see much more "alien" for the next planet to be day, or dusk, or anything else randomly. Going from night to night to night on each planet at the same time is almost as stale as the current setup of never-changing timeframes. Currently the planets feel more like "levels" in a singleplayer game, looking exactly the same each time you return there. Day/night, and weather effects too, would go a long way to helping the atmosphere.

 

As for how we all still use the same time units, just say that all ingame clocks run at Coruscant Standard Time and use a unified galactic calendar regardless of local planetary cycles. Pretty much how they explain it in the books.

 

Like others, I recall how it was explained that for atmospheric/story purposes they chose specific times of day, and I find that reaosn lacking. Having played up through Voss so far (as a JK, SW, BH, and Trooper) I have never encountered any scene which was make/break because of the time of day and atmosphere. Perhaps the closest I can think of was once on Tattooine for my JK when he fought a lone enemy on a cliffside peninsula, but sacrificing the liveliness and visual diversity of actual cycles for that single scene was waaaaaay too heavy a price to pay. And it would have been a fascinating scene at night too now that I think about it. Maybe the other classes have some exceptional scenes, but I am yet to be convinced it was the right decision to make.

 

 

I must say that to begin with, when I heard people ask for day/night cycles on each individual planet I was against it, much for the same reasons as Bioware have stated. But you do make a really compelling argument and you have sold the idea to me

 

I was a fan of the strong visual concept including the chosen time of day, the planets looked beautiful but yes some them always felt a little static.

After reading your post however I believe that day/night cycles will indeed improve the planets and I don't see any reason as to why the developers still can't have a strong artistic and creative input in the visual design. Each planet could for example have different night/day cycles and imagine the amazing and alien night skies that we could be spectators too. Furthermore the developers could , if the really want to, even choose the time of day (or night) that you land on a planet, when you visit it the first time, in order to convey the atmosphere in the strongest possible way.

 

However all this is no small development feat and I understand why Bioware chose not to include day/night cycles, as it requires a lot of texture work, perhaps even changes to the 3D models, new ambient score etc. etc.

 

That being said it would be amazing to see.

[GorZie]

According to the book "The Art and Making of The Old Republic" this was decided very early on that they wouldn't have day/night cycles when they were presented with a strong piece of concept art of the sun looming ominously over the top of the Sith Academy of Korriban. They wanted to make sure that anyone arriving on Korriban at any time could get that experience, see that looming sun.

 

So I doubt they're ever going to change it, and I respect that decision.

 

 

I do respect your opinion on that but, I don't think this is the truth. I have my doubts that the engine is actually capable of that. I would love to have cycles!

 

But I doubt we will get them.

[Zandog]

60 minute cycles would be kinda neat but I don't see this happening if your in the dark. Even with a moon lit glow, people are going to get ticked.

[nullifier]

According to the book "The Art and Making of The Old Republic" this was decided very early on that they wouldn't have day/night cycles when they were presented with a strong piece of concept art of the sun looming ominously over the top of the Sith Academy of Korriban. They wanted to make sure that anyone arriving on Korriban at any time could get that experience, see that looming sun.

 

So I doubt they're ever going to change it, and I respect that decision.

 

well theres the thing for me the sense of wonder comes from being at the right place at the right time and taking it in.. not oh that's what it looked like the last time I played.

[Chromiie]

I do respect your opinion on that but, I don't think this is the truth. I have my doubts that the engine is actually capable of that. I would love to have cycles!

 

But I doubt we will get them.

 

Actually it can and frankly that demo looks more a live than the planets in TOR.

 

[gannonmoss]

Can we have one? I want to hunt Rakghouls at night.

 

Nope they want the environments to make artistic and lore statements. They want Korriban, Balmorra, Hoth etc. to have that 'look' that you will always remember. Not gonna happen chief.

 

Also as a side note: Who cares?

[Offended]

Actually it can and frankly that demo looks more a live than the planets in TOR.

 

 

If swtor was like that, i might still be playing.

 

but it looks like garbage, so i dont.

[Saiaku]

In a game, real day/night cycle lasting 24 hours is outrageous.

 

More like day/night = 4 - 5 hours each.

[Chromiie]

In a game, real day/night cycle lasting 24 hours is outrageous.

 

More like day/night = 4 - 5 hours each.

 

Doesn't matter because

 

1. Planets don't all have 24 hour days

2. Bioware is too lazy

[Velikoth]

Bump for what its worth, Day/Night cycle is something I seriously miss. For me and undoubtedly many other players, Day/Night cycles aid immersion immensely and that is what makes a game awesome to play and what will make customers likely to stay.

 

I and many others left that other MMO because there was a huge lack of immersion. BioWare made a big difference with the beautifully designed questing/storylines and conversations and options, which has always been a strong signature point of BioWare's games.

 

A lot of people however claim that BioWare want players to experience zones in a certain way that can only be attained at a certain time of day, the solution to this being to simply leave out day/night cycles. Very very understandable, too - I remember playing games such as Mass Effect which only ever had one time of day per zone, and it was cool because some epic scenes in that game could only be achieved at a certain level of light etc.

However, SW:TOR is not a singleplayer game - true, it maintains many elements of a singplayer RPG (namely, the conversation options and effect on the storyline) which is an amazing thing for an MMO to have! I'm sure many of us remember the monotonous plod of WoW that made us gather hooves or ears or whatever for hours on end, to run back to the NPC and be greeted by a friendly 'Hello!' then leave with a 'For the Alliance.'. But that other MMO had something SW:TOR is missing, something that made me (at least) stay for many years - something that gave a lot of RP dynamics, something that wasn't in-your-face but provided a sweet and subtle edge, something that compensated for the outdoor experience many of us lacked (dont deny it guys).

 

Weather.

Night Time.

Sunrises and sunsets.

 

I miss the days where I'd be able to stand on the battlements and watch the sun set above the harbor. I miss the days leading my death squad through the barren wasteland, tracking down unwary enemy players in the dead of night. I miss riding through the rainy forest, racing to defend my people or attack the enemy.

There's a huge element of immersion that just doesn't exist in SW:TOR, and its something I truly believe would reap many benefits across the board. It takes Google 0.31 seconds to find over 300,000 results for a simple 'swtor day night' query, and there are all the same - 'Why is this not here?' 'Why did BioWare let us down with this?'. Theres even a result "5 Things that would make TOR better", and believe it or not, among them is Day/Night cycles (here is the link to the article).

 

Day/Night cycles have been a cornerstone of immersion in many MMO's dating back to the early days, to the late 90s when Ultima first shone the light on to the MMO scene. In every MMO I've played (with the exception of RuneScape) there has been a Day/Night cycle of some form or another. I hate doing this, but I have no choice but to compare something amazing like SWTOR to something mundane like Runescape purely over the issue of immersion. I honestly hope BioWare will reconsider their stance on environmental cycles, because frankly, immersion is often the difference between customers and no customers.