Day/Night cycle

[vibe 26]

I'm wondering why I can't find many suggestion threads suggesting a change to day/night cycle.

Now I'm a totally new player, but I only have time to play at evenings/night (EU) and I'm kind of bothered that I'm therefore "forced" to play at night all the time.

I haven't tried joining NA servers but I reckon it's way laggy.

So why not change the time it takes for day/night to cycle or keep the 24h cycle time the same but have each day have different time when night appears. Or just make nights shorter.

[robertstuartmarshall 1]

The idea of having shorter day or night cycles is a gargantuan no for me, I love the long nights and days. I LOVE REAL TIME!!!

... but I do see where you are coming from, and the idea of different servers being set to different times is a good one.

Just to make sure I made myself clear though, NO SHORTER DAY OR NIGHT! :)

[Dirag 1]

Maybe there could be servers with different cycles so you can choose between night and day. Like a server that takes the opposite of the time of day. For instance EU server 1, day time (realtime) EU server 2, night time (opposite of realtime).

[mrsherenai 64]

You can join servers in other time zones. For me(german) US servers work well but on australian I get kicked for ping :D.

[skurcey 11]

I would like to see more options/configuration for server (and a dayz launcher) with like a configurable time compression. 10 hours of night isnt fun :(

[dallas 5195]

I really hate joining the server in the afternoon, looking at the watch on my wall and thinking **** only a couple of hours daylight left, then again I also really love it.

[[iogc] b.a. 22]

First off, great mod, well done!

I know that the day night cycle will not be changed and I understand why but it would be good if we could get some servers in the UK/EU that were 12 or 8 hrs behind. I only get to play after 20:00 GMT so it means EVERY time I play on a low ping server it's dark. I like playing in the dark sometimes but it seems a waste of such a good environment to never see it in the light! Playing on a server in USA for me means high pings which affects everyone else, not just me.

Sorry, missed this thread when I posted a new one, please deleted the other one!!

[Spiff (DayZ) 0]

It's interesting reading about other peoples play styles, because I actually prefer to play at night. I feel more hidden and safer. Also isn't it harder for zombies to see you at night?

[jefw123 1]

Rocket - Please do not change the day/night cycle. I love it the way it is :P So much more immersion! It wouldn't feel right if in the game it was daylight and outside it was dark :D

Great mod so far! If zombies can just be tweaked a little that would be even better!

[n7snk 13]

i'm for the fast cycle anyway.

[enduin 4]

I do like the realistic time scale, but at the same time I see it as being a hindrance in the future. Its going to be a barrier for a lot of people in setting up a community on a specific server because no one wants to just play at the same time every day, since most people have limited time in real life to play the game.

I think the if the game allowed for servers to run on 2x or 3x real life time that would be great. Even at 3x normal speed an hour in game would last 20 minutes real time. It would still take a full 8 hours for a day to cycle through. So day and night just wouldnt pass by in a flash and would still be sufficiently long. But they would still pass by fast enough so that players could experience all hours of the day in game and develop a server specific community that they meet up in and invest in.

This will become especially important when Rocket and crew introduce more features that allow players to alter and customize the world, like reinforcing buildings and setting up bases and what not. People shouldnt have to play the game all day from early morning till late at night in order to experience a full days cycle in game. Nor should have be forced to jump from server to server.

[shemashko 2]

Roadflares, chemlights, and flashlights will shed light and hope when the earth is glum and dark. The only consequence is other men will flock to enlightenment OOOOOOO.

I prefer it just the way it is, I understand that the light sources is a big giveaway to your position, but hey you gotta take chances sometime.

[Sgt.Spam 42]

BUMP!

I too would like to see the day/night cycles compressed into a smaller window between day and night. As it stands right now, I play in the evenings (in real time), which means it's always night in game.

Night time in the game is fun in limited doses but can get old and annoying seeing it every time I play. The game world looks good and landmarks help with navigation, but running through the forest with a chemlight isn't that exciting after about fifteen minutes.

Thanks again to the mod team for trying something different, I will not be surprised if someone offers you guys a job ala Counterstrike and Valve.

[Krogan 0]

I just bought Arma II CO today wanting to play this mod really badly but I am really worried now that this might make it impossible for me to enjoy. Imo a game should never totally mimic real life as it has to remember that its a game. Day/Night cycle is one of those mechanics that should reflex that, a day of playing a game is about 3 hours so in those 3 hours the game should progress and in game day, that seems totally reasonable and logical to me anyway.

That my character lives in a world that is dark 100% of the time is hardly logical or realistic imo and that is a HUGE immersion breaker for me.

[Aryaa 5]

The idea of having shorter day or night cycles is a gargantuan no for me' date=' I love the long nights and days. I LOVE REAL TIME!!!

... but I do see where you are coming from, and the idea of different servers being set to different times is a good one.

Just to make sure I made myself clear though, NO SHORTER DAY OR NIGHT! :)

[/quote']

The thing about the nights, are that they are PITCH FUCKIN BLACK. Cant see shit all without NVG or raising Gamma/brightness. Even with Gamma and Brightness you still dont see shit other than white surfaces and things.

In reality, out in the woods, you can still see the enviroment.

I ran through the woods yesterday and couldnt see shit, and there were zombies around it, I couldnt see them at all.

[saz 3]

Well since there is no source of light except the stars this is what happens.

So use chemlights, flares or a flashlight. Like you are supposed to if you can't see. But if you think it is still too dark just wait a few days, the moon will be back the 27th.

[silentbob17 0]

There is no reason not to implement a server-set variable time-scale. Players can then connect to the server with the time-scale that they prefer, since there is clearly and naturally a split in preference.

The devs could limit the amount of options if they don't want to open right up; maybe 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, would be the only settings available.

Others have already commented on the fact that this is a game that players could never be expected to play for 24+ hours at a time. So it's counter-intuitive to have the servers run on such an inconvenient scale. Not to mention the fact that you have to eat/drink every 2 hours or at least something that feels outrageously short... so those mechanics are already set to an accelerated time scale in order to accommodate shorter play-sessions... can't humans last 3 days without water and a week without food?

[Aryaa 5]

Well since there is no source of light except the stars this is what happens.

So use chemlights' date=' flares or a flashlight. Like you are supposed to if you can't see. But if you think it is still too dark just wait a few days, the moon will be back the 27th.

[/quote']

There is no moonlight either, its dumb as hell.

Also, why the fuck should we WAIT in order to play a game?

Flares = attracts zombies and players.

Chemlights = attracts players.

Flashlight = attracts everything and you have no fucking weapon then.

Dumb suggestions are dumb.

They should be able to tweak the ambient light during nights, since rocket is with BI they should be able to do this, so nights arent Pitchblack. Cause reality isnt pitchblack.

[saz 3]

Chemlights can be really hard to see at a distance especially red.

Flares should be thrown so that you see the target location in the throw but not when the flare has landed.

The flashlight should never be turned on longer then 2 seconds at a time unless you use the Military Flashlight since it is hard to see at a distance.

Since it is night you probably dont need to have a weapon in hand. It takes what? 4 seconds to change to a primary weapon even faster if you change to a secondary.

The only time you actually need light is when you are in a town or in combat. A town raid should take no longer then 5-10 minuets so you should be able to escape before otherplayers arrive.

[Aryaa 5]

Chemlights can be really hard to see at a distance especially red.

Flares should be thrown so that you see the target location in the throw but not when the flare has landed.

The flashlight should never be turned on longer then 2 seconds at a time unless you use the Military Flashlight since it is hard to see at a distance.

Since it is night you probably dont need to have a weapon in hand. It takes what? 4 seconds to change to a primary weapon even faster if you change to a secondary.

The only time you actually need light is when you are in a town or in combat. A town raid should take no longer then 5-10 minuets so you should be able to escape before otherplayers arrive.

Go to the NW/NE Airfield or any airfield for that matter, go into the hangars, you cant see jack shit at all, not the loot unless there are shiny bright empty cans. EVEN when you turn up gamma and brightness to wopping 2000000000

Also you dont have any defense when using CZ as primary.

[saz 3]

Use a lightsource then.

Well then you have made the wrong choice to use that weapon at night.

[grey_sun 1]

i agree that there should be a change in the cycle, or perhaps only on certain servers. I do enjoy the "long nights", my buddy and i played from 11pm to 6am once and almost made it to see the sun come up, which is fucking awesome. However some people may only get the chance to play at the same time during the day and don't want to switch servers cause then they'll lose their stuff. This also could lead to people only ever playing day.

With a shorter cycle it could force these people to play in the dark if they wish to continue playing on their chosen server. Also it would provide more entertainment I think as most of the time people don't see the transition from day to night.

As for joining other servers. I've joined servers all over the world and have never had any lag problems.

[Aryaa 5]

Use a lightsource then.

Well then you have made the wrong choice to use that weapon at night.

You sound like an extremist fanboy.

Its not my fucking choice that there are rarely ever any weapons spawning on the server I play on.

Also night shouldnt be as fucking dark, you should be able to navigate and see shit around you. Also theres aloooot of people who WORK and thus can only play during ingame evening/night i.e. pitchblackness.

[saz 3]

Use a lightsource then.

Well then you have made the wrong choice to use that weapon at night.

You sound like an extremist fanboy.

Its not my fucking choice that there are rarely ever any weapons spawning on the server I play on.

Also night shouldnt be as fucking dark' date=' you should be able to navigate and see shit around you. Also theres aloooot of people who WORK and thus can only play during ingame evening/night i.e. pitchblackness.

[/quote']

How is it fanboyism to just say how it is.

The fact is I like the dark night since it seems like not many people know how to navigate and fight in it, which increases the chance of survival for me.

Also from all the info that you have given it sounds like you dont use the means that are at your dissposal. Well except using the gamma exploit.

Hopefully more servers with inverted days will be created so that people who don't want to experince night can just join another server.

[_TheAlexO 0]

I am fine with the 24 hour day/night cycle, but the night is just too dark. I live in the middle of nowhere IRL, and standing outside with every single nearby light turned off, I can see decently enough once my eyes have adjusted.

In DayZ on the other hand, there is absolutely no light out. Can't see an inch in front of me. Can only see the stars.. Only bad thing about the 24 hour cycle is me and my friend can usually only play at night because of work or whatever. Can't play on servers across the pond due to lag.

Still, an amazing mod. Having a ridiculous amount of fun with it.