Day length and realism

[CosmicOsmo 1]

I know Rocket has mentioned technical reasons why changing the day length is impossible or hard, but setting that aside for a moment, I wanted to share my opinion on why a compressed day could actually enhance realism if it could be implement.

Obviously, it is realistic on the surface level for a day to last 24 hours. This is very simple.

However, it is realistic on a much deeper level for the day/night cycle to affect gameplay in a natural way. In a survival situation, people would choose to have reduced activity during the night, but would occasionally choose or be forced to become active during night, to take advantage of the cloak of darkness or to respond to interference by others. This is not currently happening in DayZ. What is more common is that people choose to switch servers during nighttime hours to always play in daylight. The ability to select the current position of the sun by stepping through a dimensional doorway into another server in not realistic.

If the length of a day were something like 5, 7, or 10 hours (ie. not something that cleanly divides into 24) and ALL servers were synchronized to the same cycle, then the following things would happen:

- People who can only regularly play for the same period each evening in their local time wouldn't always have to play at the same time of day in-game. They would get some variety, because the daylight cycle moves around relative to real-world time.

- People would get caught by the sun setting and/or rising during their operations (by surprise even, if they didn't/couldn't check the time, or become delayed).

- People would not be able to magically choose the time to suit their needs.

- People who wanted to plan some activities that required light or dark wouldn't have to wait as long to do so.

- The high rate of food and water consumption would be put in a more sensible context.

[glowfow@hotmail.com 55]

I completely agree with this! So far this is my only gripe with this game (apart from the bugs obviously, but that's just part of the development process).

[_triumph_ 1]

Seeing anything at night is just unrealistically bad. Everyone suffers from night blindness even with a full moon out. Solve that issue and playing at night without a torch becomes fun.

[The Burned Man 20]

Seeing anything at night is just unrealistically bad. Everyone suffers from night blindness even with a full moon out. Solve that issue and playing at night without a torch becomes fun.

The game is as bright as day with a full moon even without changing gamma settings.

Not using a torch or chemlight at night makes the night pointless.

This wasn't much of a problem the first weeks of the mod, why is it now?

[skyline 1]

Totally agree.

Survivors shouldn't be able to chose if they want play at night or at day. They should have to deal with both.

Also as you said, ALL servers should be synchronized to the database, so wherever server you log in, it will be the same time. People would not server jump to find a server with the time they like.

[Demorro 0]

I agree 100% There are many parts of the game that simply cannot be done at night without the right gear. It's the transition from day to night that provides tension, and the transition from night to day that provides relief.

Here's a thought, what if the game was more dangerous in the dark, (slightly increased zombie count, darkness, etc,) but had slightly better loot on average, that would create an incentive to play in the dark. Still don't want to be locked out of the game for a whole half of the day though because I can't see.

[masterjts 1]

I like it how it is. I enjoy night a bit more than day and it is much easier to get onto servers when people leave in disgust.

[misterzen (DayZ) 0]

Survivors shouldn't be able to chose if they want play at night or at day. They should have to deal with both.

I disagree, Skyline. There is something fundamentally wrong in what you said. You went to the extreme; it's one thing to comment on the number of people unnecessarily complaining about the dark, it's a completely other beast to claim that players/survivors should have no control of when they are playing.

I literally cannot see anything except for the stars in the sky when I log on at night, and I typically only have one or two flares..which will only get me so far in the utter blackness. Perhaps it's my gamma; I haven't checked, but until I find some NVGs, I'm not playing at night..and that is my choice.

[_triumph_ 1]

Seeing anything at night is just unrealistically bad. Everyone suffers from night blindness even with a full moon out. Solve that issue and playing at night without a torch becomes fun.

The game is as bright as day with a full moon even without changing gamma settings.

Not using a torch or chemlight at night makes the night pointless.

This wasn't much of a problem the first weeks of the mod' date=' why is it now?

[/quote']

Only time I could see anything in the dark was when I entered a server right at 4am game time and even that seemed a bit off.

Not having night vision, and I don't mean night vision goggles makes night time pointless which is why people keep hopping servers.

If I go inside a structure I should need a light or in a dark valley. But when I can't see anything crossing an open field its just strange and doesn't represent night vision well at all. It's not like my character is staring at a light and then going outside.

[dallas 5195]

Atm moon rises around 1AM. DayZ/ArmA has a real day night cycle, a real calendar year and a working lunar cycle. Just survive long enough for the moon to go full.

Any action in DayZ, comes with a risk, so does traveling at night. There are less players on servers at night, so start getting comfortable using flares, chemlights, flash light and ears.

[pauleh 1]

I wouldn't mind nights if the cycle was shorter, I have no problems playing at night if I know in a hour or two it will be dawn

[_triumph_ 1]

Atm moon rises around 1AM. DayZ/ArmA has a real day night cycle' date=' a real calendar year and a working lunar cycle. Just survive long enough for the moon to go full.

Any action in DayZ, comes with a risk, so does traveling at night. There are less players on servers at night, so start getting comfortable using flares, chemlights, flash light and ears.

[/quote']

Server switch or stare at a black screen for a couple hours? Not a hard choice.

[PzIV (DayZ) 1]

Atm moon rises around 1AM. DayZ/ArmA has a real day night cycle' date=' a real calendar year and a working lunar cycle. Just survive long enough for the moon to go full.

Any action in DayZ, comes with a risk, so does traveling at night. There are less players on servers at night, so start getting comfortable using flares, chemlights, flash light and ears.

[/quote']

Server switch or stare at a black screen for a couple hours? Not a hard choice.

If the only thing that changed was a moon that never went completely dark, I'd be 100% satisfied.

[dallas 5195]

If the only thing that changed was a moon that never went completely dark' date=' I'd be 100% satisfied.

[/quote']

That's not how the moon works. It's new or full and travels the rotating night sky, like the sun does at day. If you want to freeze the full moon on the sky, why stop there, let's stop time completely and lock the sun at zenith.

[Dylan(Pezix) 0]

This issue needs to die or be thrown together with the other threads too many night time issue threads to comment on. Look this game wasn't meant to be easy or nice or controllable, that is the point of the anti-game, it's cruel, it doesn't care if you want to play during the day or not. Rocket gave you flares so use them... I usually only hit night time on my work days also but you have to adapt to your surroundings, it's survival.

[Grey508 17]

This wasn't much of a problem the first weeks of the mod' date=' why is it now?

[/quote']

Because, in the first weeks of the mod, the moon was in a different phase. This weekend was the new moon, so it was as dark as it is going to get. In two weeks or so, it will be full moon again.

[CosmicOsmo 1]

This issue needs to die or be thrown together with the other threads too many night time issue threads to comment on. Look this game wasn't meant to be easy or nice or controllable' date=' that is the point of the anti-game, it's cruel, it doesn't care if you want to play during the day or not. Rocket gave you flares so use them... I usually only hit night time on my work days also but you have to adapt to your surroundings, it's survival.

[/quote']

I don't think you understood my OP. Right now everyone is avoiding night by switching servers. I want night to be an important, unavoidable part of gameplay.