Guild Wars 2

Would you be so kind to improve your day/night cycle ?

1. Night could be really more nocturnal compared to current state.
2. There is no game clock.
3. The most important – one location has a day, another location has a night ?
Why ? Is this intended ? Cycle should be synchronized on all zones ( and I’m not talking about jumping from overflow ).

Definitely agree with 3, i have noticed that a lot.

I definitely agree.

Odona.8402:

2. There is no game clock.
.

Yes there is its in the options menu. You can even set it to server or local time .

A more definitive day/night would be nice, maybe alternating 2-3 times a day. So those that always play at night aren’t always stuck in night.

Night should be darker too, for sure. Scarier with more ambient night life sounds etc.

Dortmunder.9572:

A more definitive day/night would be nice, maybe alternating 2-3 times a day. So those that always play at night aren’t always stuck in night.

Night should be darker too, for sure. Scarier with more ambient night life sounds etc.

I am a big fan of really dark nights in games. Gives you a more of an edgy and immersion feel to the game.

Adine.2184:

Odona.8402:

2. There is no game clock.
.

Yes there is its in the options menu. You can even set it to server or local time .

That server clock is a real time too , just a different time zone than mine.

To be honest I haven’t really noticed the cycle. I think it should be synchronized with the actual global cycle. I have played games that have that and i loved it. I do agree the day/night cycle does need to be more definitive.

Adine.2184:

Odona.8402:

2. There is no game clock.
.

Yes there is its in the options menu. You can even set it to server or local time .

Pretty sure they mean in-game time, so you know what time of day it is in the GW2 universe itself.

Yes , I meant in-game time clock , a time synchronized to day/night cycle

I always laugh when I go from one zone to a neighboring one and it changes from sunny to pitch black. Reminds me of those old mystery science theater episodes and begs a jab at the continuity staff.

Night could be ALOT more dangerous.

Agreed. I love this game but the day/night cycle is among the worst I’ve ever seen. At the very least give us a clock that tracks the games day/night cycle.

Personally though; I say set the cycle to 24 Hours. In WoW usually just before I log out for the night (or if me and my girl were bored since we had to suffer through long distance at times) I/we would go to my favourite city and just wonder about and enjoy the city at night for about 15-30 minutes.

A 24 Hour cycle adds a major and relaxing immersion factor that really turns a game world from just another virtual space, to a home away from home.

Cohesive day/night cycles between zones and servers would be nice. However the frequency of the day/night cycle as-is is good, as a casual gamer can experience day and night events in a single sitting without spending all day and night online in real life.

Making Night time more dangerous would be fun. Maybe for higher level areas though. Not for beginners. Also maybe more weather effects in areas? It only seems to rain in very certain locations for me.

To steal from a different game, Seiken Densetsu 3 had different enemies spawn depending on day or night. Typically, the night enemies were more dangerous. For example, the day-time enemies may be cute rabbit things that do standard damage, but night could have zombies with poison-damage attached to their attacks.

To adapt, perhaps certain enemies would be more common is our nights. For example, days could be standard battles against wildlife/etc, but at night the `evil faction’ (eg Nightmare Court, Inquest, etc) is out in more force. Risen could be more common at night too. Perhaps night-time enemies that require different tactics (eg they use more condition damage, making purification the night-time defence, opposed to daytime’s armour defence).

Well I think “the Giant” boss outside the Black Citadel zone always spawns and attacks at night. At least it has always attacked at night for me.

It would be nice to have a bigger difference between night and day than the color of the sky…
I mean only being able to see a couple feet away, hold torches for better lighting, maybe even your abilities would change because of that, hidden enemies, different events, that sort of thing

one location day – another night – make something with this…

I totally agree with basically all suggestions in this thread. I would love the immersion of having more differentiated nights and days.

Agreed. Day/Night should actually feel like day and night.

Daecollo.9578:

Night could be ALOT more dangerous.

Cuz more Creepers spawn at night!

At the very most, we should get a clock that can track the day/night of the in-game cycle.

As far as the cycles themselves, I believe Anet has said themselves that certain events only startup at night and some during the day… having a 24 hour night/day cycle like we have would kill the ability to do content for certain people who may not be able to play during the day or the night.

Besides, Alot of the awesomeness that would be the Sylvari glow would be lost if you couldn’t see it for over half the day

I agree the cycle is not visible enough. Having events that spawn only at night is very nice, but they’re too few to allow night to really have an impact on gameplay. It would be really nice if at least night was darker (not like in Dragon’s Dogma where it becomes mandatory to use torches, fire spells and anything that can do light because that would impact gameplay). It would also be good to make sure that underwater environment are subject to the light variation. Going underwater in Lion’s Arch at night it looks like it is still day down there.
Maybe an impact on mob spawns would be welcome too.

But the thing that disappoints me the most is that the sun (and the moon) never go around the sky like they should. I can understand that having a constantly moving light source would probably be awful for graphics optimization, but I can’t help but wonder “why should it be constantly in the west ?”
Tyria is constantly like it is late in the afternoon and that feels a bit depressing to be honest.
Sunsets and sunrises are particularily disappoiting. The sun just goes up or down perfectly vertically and so does the moon. At one moment they cross and neither of them have their glowing effect on. It’s… well. Let’s just say that I was hoping to see wonderful skies, orange sunsets and pink sunrises, but the way the sun and the moon are handled just ruins it all.
While I don’t ask for a perfectly calculated simulation of all astral objects I was hoping to be able to look at the sky and see that we must be nearing noon and night is still a long time from then.

At the moment the day nigh/cycle feels rather useless except for the very few night events. There is no difference in the general gameplay, it’s not necesarily noticeable if you don’t pay attention to the sky, and even aesthetically the fake sunsets and sunrises ruin the wonderful work done by the artists on the skybox.

It definitely needs more love

Completely agree! Especially regarding point 3.

I AGREE.

I like how some of the jump puzzles have completely dark areas that require a torch.

Real night time should require you to carry a torch!!!

Please implement real night time where it is very very dark and dangerous!!!

This would add a whole new dynamic to PVE and PVP!!!

image entering sPVP and WvW during the night time…. with epic night-time sieges in the pitch dark!!!

AWESOME

With the inclusion of the torch (a weapon that every class should be able to at least hold) night should be WAAAAAAY darker. That would make all the glowing effects look brilliant and really make you think about walking around without a torch equipped, or at least in the pack.

Boo to 24hr cycle. I almost exclusively play at night and I would hate to be forced to play my entire game in the dark.

Oh and I almost forgot…FLAMING ARROWS IN SIEGES!

LEGION.5834:

With the inclusion of the torch (a weapon that every class should be able to at least hold) night should be WAAAAAAY darker. That would make all the glowing effects look brilliant and really make you think about walking around without a torch equipped, or at least in the pack.

Boo to 24hr cycle. I almost exclusively play at night and I would hate to be forced to play my entire game in the dark.

Oh and I almost forgot…FLAMING ARROWS IN SIEGES!

Day/ Night cycle should something like 4 hours day/4 hours night… so everyone can get to enjoy both

Visual difference between day and night, agreed. Some areas can be pitch black (requiring torches), while other not much different from the present.

However what I like most is having mechanical difference between day and night, different mobs or at least more night-time-esque mobs (zombies and stuff) and less fluffy bunny rabbits.

You’ve all probably seen my lengthy posts about this, and weather. I totally agree that this game should have the confidence to do a proper night mode.

Let the NPC’s go to bed. Let the lights and fire create depth an mood. Let the fuzzy animals go to bed and the creepy, night predators roam the landscape.

At the very least, have a day/night cycle that feels somewhat based in reality. Use that fancy game engine and throw some long shadows and some great sunset/sun rises in there.

Crazylegsmurphy.6430:

You’ve all probably seen my lengthy posts about this, and weather. I totally agree that this game should have the confidence to do a proper night mode.

Let the NPC’s go to bed. Let the lights and fire create depth an mood. Let the fuzzy animals go to bed and the creepy, night predators roam the landscape.

At the very least, have a day/night cycle that feels somewhat based in reality. Use that fancy game engine and throw some long shadows and some great sunset/sun rises in there.

I agree, why hasn’t ArenaNet done this?

The jumping puzzles that have pure darkness are awesome! I wish that type of gameplay can be transitioned to all PvE and PvP enviroments.

Rounder,

I think it’s because ANet feels that to implement a proper night cycle would mean that they risk pissing off players who just want to rush though the game. Think about it for a moment. Currently, night mode is basically just eye candy. It really serves no real purpose.

NPC’s are out doing what they do, animals and birds go about their business, and the same creatures plaster the landscape at all times a day. This means that players never have to wait, nor do they have to deal with the environment.

It means that everything is available all the time. This is great for those who want to rush through the game, but disappointing for those who want a long lasting, immersive environment that creates depth and mood.

Personally, I have no issues at all waiting for night to fall so I can set out, torch I. Hand to hunt down creatures lumbering around in the dark. I have no problem diving into near pitch black waters, with only the glow of a waterproof lantern to illuminate my surroundings as I track down creatures that only come out at night.

I personally love the idea of feeling nervous about being caught in the dark where the undead or ghosts come out. And the thought of my guild, torches in hand, slowly navigating our way in the snow to a cave where a huge nocturnal troll lives to be super exciting.

This MMO has the potential to do such great things if the just take some chances.

I personally do like having darker nights, dungeons, ect.. in the games I play aswell. The problem though I think would be from those that have vision problems being actually able to see what they are doing and of course not everyone likes not being able to see everything clearly in the game they are playing. Another problem with darker areas would be in transitioning from a darker place to a lighter place and back constantly would put more eye strain on those playing. I do think that they did it aesthetically enough that it looks good as is however.

Crazylegsmurphy.6430:

Rounder,

I think it’s because ANet feels that to implement a proper night cycle would mean that they risk pissing off players who just want to rush though the game. Think about it for a moment. Currently, night mode is basically just eye candy. It really serves no real purpose.

NPC’s are out doing what they do, animals and birds go about their business, and the same creatures plaster the landscape at all times a day. This means that players never have to wait, nor do they have to deal with the environment.

It means that everything is available all the time. This is great for those who want to rush through the game, but disappointing for those who want a long lasting, immersive environment that creates depth and mood.

Personally, I have no issues at all waiting for night to fall so I can set out, torch I. Hand to hunt down creatures lumbering around in the dark. I have no problem diving into near pitch black waters, with only the glow of a waterproof lantern to illuminate my surroundings as I track down creatures that only come out at night.

I personally love the idea of feeling nervous about being caught in the dark where the undead or ghosts come out. And the thought of my guild, torches in hand, slowly navigating our way in the snow to a cave where a huge nocturnal troll lives to be super exciting.

This MMO has the potential to do such great things if the just take some chances.

Hmm this post…you bring excellent ideas my friend! I’d love to see some of that.

The night should really be darker.. it would be nice to have special events happening at night, such as wolves hunting prey in the forest, more undead haunting the ruins etc.

I would also like a Game clock. This is something competitors have achieved as well.

I also want to say, If I remember right, in Everquest 1, during night in some of the areas you needed a torch to see better. Not sure why they couldn’t add something similar to this game…IMMERSION.

Yup, I’ve noticed this as well.

There should be a standard, or non-standard I suppose, day night cycle that it uniform across all zones in the game.

Crazylegsmurphy.6430:

Rounder,

I think it’s because ANet feels that to implement a proper night cycle would mean that they risk pissing off players who just want to rush though the game. Think about it for a moment. Currently, night mode is basically just eye candy. It really serves no real purpose.

NPC’s are out doing what they do, animals and birds go about their business, and the same creatures plaster the landscape at all times a day. This means that players never have to wait, nor do they have to deal with the environment.

It means that everything is available all the time. This is great for those who want to rush through the game, but disappointing for those who want a long lasting, immersive environment that creates depth and mood.

Personally, I have no issues at all waiting for night to fall so I can set out, torch I. Hand to hunt down creatures lumbering around in the dark. I have no problem diving into near pitch black waters, with only the glow of a waterproof lantern to illuminate my surroundings as I track down creatures that only come out at night.

I personally love the idea of feeling nervous about being caught in the dark where the undead or ghosts come out. And the thought of my guild, torches in hand, slowly navigating our way in the snow to a cave where a huge nocturnal troll lives to be super exciting.

This MMO has the potential to do such great things if the just take some chances.

Very well written my friend.

I hope ArenaNet sees your post and understands the possibility of immersion this game could offer.

Thanks.

Tyria has a strange sun.

The day-night cycle now is 2 hours, which is fine imo. But i agree with point 3, the time should be the same across zones.

Not only day/night cycles but also weather effects can bring maps more “life”.

-Such as blizzards and sandstorms(more for crystal desert) that limit visibility making you wana take your time. During blizzards more ice elemenetals appear in random locations of the storm and same for sandstorms.

-In large fields such as maybe queensdale, a tornado storm can randomly appear thats slow moving but ofc you want to avoid not getting smacked by it.

-lightning would be hard to implement since randomly striking lightning can really hurt afk’ers and just overall annoy ppl.

-With day/nite, there could be fog in the morning around water which ofc limits visibability for a short time and unique mob appearances for night time for events or just hunting. The darkness shouldn’t be too extreme or ppl will just adjust the brightness on the screen and itll be more of a burden so just something thats dark enough is fine.

-Volcanos and deserts can have heat waves that make visibility sometimes blurry and mirages with destroyers around random places.

-More rain :/ some zones always rain others never see it. Chance for some water based enemy to appear randomly or just for the effect.

Basically adding weather and day cycles adds a whole new gameplay of the same zones which will make the game last that much longer. Forget about the people who wana rush this game through its an mmo not some 1 player rpg.

i second the motion for adding random weather.

It would be awesome to see some snowfall in Queensdale

Rounder.6703:

i second the motion for adding random weather.

It would be awesome to see some snowfall in Queensdale

Well not snowfall in queensdale, lol. The weather would be for zones thats appropriate for them. So shiverpeaks would see snow queensdale more tornados and rain. Possibly lightning but like I said, hard to add something that just zaps players all around without being annoying.

Synchronized day and night cycles also get my vote, I will not usually leave overflows unless I am grouped, because that is usually guaranteed to be in different stage of the cycle than the main server… when moving from zone to zone it is not as noticeable for me but if I pay attention to it then it does annoy me.

NinjaEd.3946:

Rounder.6703:

i second the motion for adding random weather.

It would be awesome to see some snowfall in Queensdale

Well not snowfall in queensdale, lol. The weather would be for zones thats appropriate for them. So shiverpeaks would see snow queensdale more tornados and rain. Possibly lightning but like I said, hard to add something that just zaps players all around without being annoying.

Random weather is random bro.

Blizzard in Queensdale, moonsoon in Holbrek.

Also have random events like meteor showers, asteroid impacts, solar storms, gamma ray bursts, supernova, and other cellestial events.

Achilles.3128:

Personally though; I say set the cycle to 24 Hours. In WoW usually just before I log out for the night (or if me and my girl were bored since we had to suffer through long distance at times) I/we would go to my favourite city and just wonder about and enjoy the city at night for about 15-30 minutes.

A 24 Hour cycle adds a major and relaxing immersion factor that really turns a game world from just another virtual space, to a home away from home.

I totally agree with this. Unfortunately, most people don’t. I tested the water by suggesting this before, and got shot down by the majority, who complained they’d never see the day.

Elydian.1763:

Achilles.3128:

Personally though; I say set the cycle to 24 Hours. In WoW usually just before I log out for the night (or if me and my girl were bored since we had to suffer through long distance at times) I/we would go to my favourite city and just wonder about and enjoy the city at night for about 15-30 minutes.

A 24 Hour cycle adds a major and relaxing immersion factor that really turns a game world from just another virtual space, to a home away from home.

I totally agree with this. Unfortunately, most people don’t. I tested the water by suggesting this before, and got shot down by the majority, who complained they’d never see the day.

Never!

Burn Heretic!

Tyria has 4 suns which explains why it is day in some zones, night in others.

So is ArenaNet ever going to stop by the suggestion forum and see this post and realize many players want this?

I feel like we are talking to a brick wall in the suggestion forum, LOL.

A handful of players posting on the forums is not “many”

And you can be fairly sure, since these threads are moderated, that ANet staff do read them.

I’m not saying they will or won’t implement this kind of thing, but generally, it’s easier for a company simply to not respond to suggestions they don’t want to implement.

Personally, I’m happy with the way things are. I don’t want to have to carry a torch to do my gaming during the night period. I could stand to go a little darker, sure, but not too much.

I’d only accept that NPCs went “to bed” if alternative content of the same difficult was available in its place. Unlike some people, I don’t always have the time to wait around 2 hours for the next day cycle to do the event, or talk to the NPC I want to talk to. Are we removing merchants, armor repair, karma vendors as well?

Replacing them with “night time” versions of themselves? What would be the point. Sounds like a whole lotta work for precious little gain.