Guild Wars 2

ArenaNet,

Two things about Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

The first is: please, implement a UTC-clock in the game. We currently have the options between “server time” and “local time”, this is not enough for international guilds. We have lot of people from various locations and to communicate, we use UTC. Why UTC and not server time ? Because it’s the worldwide standard, used everywhere, everyday.

The second is about your communication. You always communicate in terms of Pacific Standard Time (PST). Ok, you’re a Seattle-based company. But your audience is worldwide. Switching timezones is confusing, so usually people know their own time and UTC. Plus, currently you force people to know not 2, but 3 timezones: their own, UTC for the daily resets and timing and yours for communication. Don’t force your customers to use third-parties.

So please, consider your worldwide audience and use UTC more. It’s beneficial for you and for us.

Edit: tried to remove the Question tag as I accidentally had clicked it. Of course, it doesn’t work. Sorry for that guys.

You say everyone uses and knows UTC. I don’t think that is true. It may be wherever you are from, but I can’t say it is worldwide, as much as it maybe should be.

Many, many computers use Windows Vista or higher, and it comes with an automatic time zone converter, right in the corner. =)

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You say everyone uses and knows UTC. I don’t think that is true. It may be wherever you are from, but I can’t say it is worldwide, as much as it maybe should be.

Many, many computers use Windows Vista or higher, and it comes with an automatic time zone converter, right in the corner. =)

No, I don’t say everyone uses and knows UTC. Reread. What I said is that if people know two timezones in the world, it’s more likely to be theirs and UTC (except the US, but wake up, US isn’t the whole world… yet).

I use Windows 7, I just checked and I see no converter. Plus, if it existed (which is not the case on my system) it’d be a third party tool. ArenaNet should give straight information in UTC without us having to use a third party tool.

Fror.2163:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You say everyone uses and knows UTC. I don’t think that is true. It may be wherever you are from, but I can’t say it is worldwide, as much as it maybe should be.

Many, many computers use Windows Vista or higher, and it comes with an automatic time zone converter, right in the corner. =)

No, I don’t say everyone uses and knows UTC. Reread. What I said is that if people know more than two timezones in the world, it’s more likely to be theirs and UTC (except the US, but wake up, US isn’t the whole world… yet).

I use Windows 7, I just checked and I see no converter. Plus, if it existed (which is not the case on my system) it’d be a third party tool. ArenaNet should give straight information in UTC without us having to use a third party tool.

left click the time, click on change time and date, add clock.

Server time is their universal time.
It doesn’t matter what country you are in, everyone has the same server time displayed on the mini-map.
UTC isn’t used by everyone. I have never personally used it as a reference for anything. and don’t know anyone that does. Server time is the one time zone everyone in game uses. The 2 guilds I am in are both rather large and both use server time as the planner for events. Everyone also knows their own time. Its not hard for people to use server time as the reference point for their own time zone (its not hard to know when someone says something is going to happen at 2:00pm server when it is now 7:00am server time and know that it’s 7 hours away – totally regardless of whatever time it is in my house, right now as that does not matter).
Its more realistic for Anet to provide server time and have people reference it themselves than try to cater to the personalized needs of every person and/or guild.

Well, you did say this: ’ Because it’s the worldwide standard, used everywhere, everyday.’

That pretty much sounded like everyone (worldwide) used it, and to use it, you would have to know it.

As for the converter, just click your time in lower-left corner, and “change date and time”, then click ‘Additional Clocks’. Voila!

Strange, my windows 7 does have an automatic converter. must be an ultra deluxe version or something.

Timezones are timezones, they are just odd. I do think that the best solution is to use a guild website for things. I know that shivtr is very good on this part.In my old guild, whenever I planned an event, I just could give in my own time and it would aotumaticly display it for all members in the right (local) time if they where logged in.

Yargesh.4965:

Fror.2163:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You say everyone uses and knows UTC. I don’t think that is true. It may be wherever you are from, but I can’t say it is worldwide, as much as it maybe should be.

Many, many computers use Windows Vista or higher, and it comes with an automatic time zone converter, right in the corner. =)

No, I don’t say everyone uses and knows UTC. Reread. What I said is that if people know more than two timezones in the world, it’s more likely to be theirs and UTC (except the US, but wake up, US isn’t the whole world… yet).

I use Windows 7, I just checked and I see no converter. Plus, if it existed (which is not the case on my system) it’d be a third party tool. ArenaNet should give straight information in UTC without us having to use a third party tool.

left click the time, click on change time and date, add clock.

Oh yes, the greyed thing I cannot access ‘cause my system admin doesn’t allow me to? If it worked, it’d still be a third party tool. Same player, try again.

Fror.2163:

Yargesh.4965:

Fror.2163:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You say everyone uses and knows UTC. I don’t think that is true. It may be wherever you are from, but I can’t say it is worldwide, as much as it maybe should be.

Many, many computers use Windows Vista or higher, and it comes with an automatic time zone converter, right in the corner. =)

No, I don’t say everyone uses and knows UTC. Reread. What I said is that if people know more than two timezones in the world, it’s more likely to be theirs and UTC (except the US, but wake up, US isn’t the whole world… yet).

I use Windows 7, I just checked and I see no converter. Plus, if it existed (which is not the case on my system) it’d be a third party tool. ArenaNet should give straight information in UTC without us having to use a third party tool.

left click the time, click on change time and date, add clock.

Oh yes, the greyed thing I cannot access ‘cause my system admin doesn’t allow me to? If it worked, it’d still be a third party tool. Same player, try again.

your agressivness is stunning. Try to be a bit nicer if you want some symphtaty. It’s not our fault that your sys admin doesnt allow you this. Talk with your sys admin isntead of demanding a gamecompany to make changes only important to you.

(keep in mind, that that ‘third party tool’ would also change your ingame clock if you have it on local time.)

All announcements are presented in "server time " .

While I agree that it would be pleasant to have Devs include UTC (possibly in parenthesis) when they talk schedules, for the most part they’re speaking conversationally and that means referenced to their local time. Its the number they’re going to be looking for when they check their watches. But since that frame of reference is just about always Pacific Standard Time, the number to add or subtract to find your own casual, conversational, read-it-off-your-watch value doesn’t change that much.

(I’d also like to apologize to the entire world about Daylight Saving… it annoys me too.)

That’s a shame that you can’t play Guild Wars 2 at home, and only at work. But, on the other hand, it’s nice you have a job that allows you to play at work.

Unless, of course, you are saying your parents or your wife (or hubby) is the System Administrator. In that case, I guess you’d have to make nice with them. =)

mercury ranique.2170:

Fror.2163:

Yargesh.4965:

Fror.2163:

Inculpatus cedo.9234:

You say everyone uses and knows UTC. I don’t think that is true. It may be wherever you are from, but I can’t say it is worldwide, as much as it maybe should be.

Many, many computers use Windows Vista or higher, and it comes with an automatic time zone converter, right in the corner. =)

No, I don’t say everyone uses and knows UTC. Reread. What I said is that if people know more than two timezones in the world, it’s more likely to be theirs and UTC (except the US, but wake up, US isn’t the whole world… yet).

I use Windows 7, I just checked and I see no converter. Plus, if it existed (which is not the case on my system) it’d be a third party tool. ArenaNet should give straight information in UTC without us having to use a third party tool.

left click the time, click on change time and date, add clock.

Oh yes, the greyed thing I cannot access ‘cause my system admin doesn’t allow me to? If it worked, it’d still be a third party tool. Same player, try again.

your agressivness is stunning. Try to be a bit nicer if you want some symphtaty. It’s not our fault that your sys admin doesnt allow you this. Talk with your sys admin isntead of demanding a gamecompany to make changes only important to you.

I’ve said in the first post that this kind of third party apps should not be acceptable from a company that wants to deliver a worldwide product. I receive the same answer again and again. I’m the one oppressed when no one answers the topic in the orginal scope but reads half a line and presses “reply”. So please, stop with “my aggressiveness” and check the behavior of the other participants of this topic.

Plus, this topic is clearly not addressed to any of you, but to ArenaNet. So intrude if you want but don’t judge me when I ask something to someone and someone else without any authority comes and say “no”.

I never use UTC.

I see no advantages over just using server time.

I don’t really care whether I have to convert UTC to my local time or whether I have to convert the time in Seattle. Both just requires a quick Google search and I’m done.

I have never used UTC as a reference point for anything in my life. The only difference between UTC and PST is that some people are more familiar with UTC, whereas PST is more of a US thing.

As others pointed out, using UTC over server time doesn’t really make much sense, assuming that your guild is all on the same server. Also, I have to say that I find it a bit hilarious that you talk about the clock of your operating system as a third party software, when from the perspective of your PC, Guild Wars 2 is the third party software. Not to mention that since the game does not define its own time, the fact that it uses time at all means it is referencing third party software, especially with the capability of using local time in-game.

Fror.2163:

Plus, this topic is clearly not addressed to any of you, but to ArenaNet.

That’s not how these forums work.

This is an area for players to discuss elements of the game, by posting here you are implicitly asking everyone else to comment on it.

If you want to communicate directly with Anet, create a support ticket.

GrandmaFunk.3052:

Fror.2163:

Plus, this topic is clearly not addressed to any of you, but to ArenaNet.

That’s not how these forums work.

This is an area for players to discuss elements of the game, by posting here you are implicitly asking everyone else to comment on it.

If you want to communicate directly with Anet, create a support ticket.

Everytime I requested a feature, they asked me to post here. The suggestion forum is dead, this question is about GW2 in general, so… I’m posting exactly where it should be.

what about using GMT, a more global and known time scale.

@Fror,

I understand you problem here, my question to you is this. If your in game, have your game set to server time and all announcements use server time, wouldn’t it be just as easy for you to reference this compared to your local time.

I don’t understand the difference between using UTC over server time. The amount of time to figure out your local time from that would be the same. I can say, being in the US, and not having international correspondence that I do, I have never had a need to learn UTC. I have had to learn the 4 main timezones for the US and the conversions for those. So you have a large player base here in the US that would have no idea the UTC stuff. But server time is universal to everyone that plays the game. It doesn’t change. Annoucements are in this time, so how can you not use server time, since you can look at your clock and see your local time vs server time.

Fror.2163:

so… I’m posting exactly where it should be.

Then you’ll have to live with everybody else chiming in and not treat it like your personal correspondence with the dev team.

Isn’t Pacific Standard Time a part of UTC?

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Isn’t Pacific Standard Time a part of UTC?

Yeah it’s UTC-8 (according to a quick google search).
UTC is actually very interesting (map here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:World_Time_Zones_Map.png), clearly you can see the political influence, since not all countries actually use their UTC, or decide to use only 1 UTC.

No, ANet need to use military time.

I had never even heard of UTC before this topic…

(I also never noticed the server time in the mini map but that’s besides the point.)

SandraSolace.7682:

I had never even heard of UTC before this topic…

It’s mostly understandable, most people don’t get exposed to many things outside their own country. Since most countries have only a handful of time-zones they usually have their own vernacular (for example Pacific Time). However if people like me who play MMOs where there servers are located in a different continent (also in a different hemisphere), or whose had to stay up late or than once to catch a live sporting event would be all to familiar with how time is tracked.

baseking.7926:

No, ANet need to use military time.

What you don’t use military time? Seriously it’s super convenient, the whole AM/PM thing is so overrated.

24h UTC is the international standard for time in both scientific and non-scientific uses, that’s not really up for debate, it’s a fact.

I can’t think of a reason not to use it, unless most of your audience lives in Washington and California and it’s pretty safe to assume that is not the case.

sorudo.9054:

what about using GMT, a more global and known time scale.

For conventional uses GMT and UTC are roughly the same.

Meanwhile just set another clock...

Even if UTC is the international standard, most Americans don’t bother, since we’re all HST, PST, MST, CST, and EST. We just add or subtract X hours from Pacific, where Anet is located. It takes a lot of effort to figure out what -8 means.

Maybe Anet can put a countdown timer on the main page for lazy people like me. Like how they did for opening day.

GMT and UTC are not the same during summer, as GMT follows UK daylight saving while UTC does not.

No one has made any argument at all for UTC other than “um, other people use it”. Use a sundial, it will be exactly as arbitrary. Server time is implemented and very easy to understand. NOTHING can be simpler than server time because it just… exists… on a 24 hour standard earth rotation none the less. Call them “picas per afterlong” if “server hours” make you that upset.

Use server time. Guilds can be in only one game (I exist in different guilds in different games i am never in the same guild in other games).

Games are not required to use UTC and nor should they. The events are broadcasted at server time and every game I play only tells it at their server time which by the way is 90% of time PST (since a large amount of game companies have servers there).

It is up to the guild to keep track of the games they are playing and the times they are playing. UTC is not used by Canada nor is it used by the USA.

I doubt many people know UTC as much as you want to think they do. Also as a guild you should have a website.

Update your guilds website to include announcement times and server clocks for each game your guild plays. This will solve all your issues. If your international guild does not have this already it is your own fault and should fix that if you want to be a competitive guild.