24 hour clock

[Ablamar]

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?FN=wow-general&T=42433&P=3

We do like the real world, 24-hour clock system and while things can always change in a Beta Testing environment, this looks like it's going to remain.

-AND-

We are planning to have many different time zone specific servers for people to choose from.

~Kat :)

====
Good to see that Blizzard doesn't listen to playes with a job and a real family life. /sarcasm

First it was mentioned that the game had nothing different between day and night but after reading a lot of beta reports it turns out that the game does. Pyrewood is one of the best examples where it is even a matter of difference in level.

And being able to choose a different time zone server doesn't even solve the issue at all. Future players from other MMOs have been playing together for a long time and there are many among them from different timezones. So there is always someone who is giving in when it comes to the timezone. And it still doesn't solve anything when it comes to not being able to get through all content.

There are enough players who just don't have the ability to get up just for the game to experience something. It is a game and not work. You should be able to experience everything without it having to turn into work.

There is absolutely no advantage to the 24 hour system but it being cool.

I am really disappointed that Blizzard is keeping this feature. It shows that they don't care about the casual gamers as much as they have said.

[Havard]

If this truly is the case, then it does indeed suck.

[Tyran_Harasvelg]

meh, still basicly a cosmetic change, and should be balenced mob and quest wise during beta.

[Mallow]

I am really disappointed that Blizzard is keeping this feature. It shows that they don't care about the casual gamers as much as they have said.

I am a casual gamer and I love this system?

I think you should have worded it like this, Ablamar:

"I am really dissappointed that Blizzard is keeping this feature. I BELIEVE it shows that they don't care about the casual gamers as much as they have said."

There, now you sound like a REAl casual gamer - with a casual opinion - instead of some ominiscient gaming-guru who thinks he/she knows what is best for the rest of us.

[Simbuk]

When your main problem is with the wording of a post, it's time to consider whether it's worth wasting the bandwidth to reply.

It's a given that 99% of posts in forums like these are opinion pieces. Everyone knows this. There's no need to go through your posts like a speechwriter just to make sure the political correctness police are satisfied. If speaking with authority offends you then frankly you either need to grow thicker skin or get off the Net.

All that said, I like variety...so I'm not very happy with the idea of a 24 hour per day clock myself. Something a little staggered but even like 6 to 8 hours per day would be preferable.

[Morphina]

12, 16, 20 real time hours in one gaming day would do the trick too.

But since beta testers stated that night was not really dark (aka Everquest) and one could see everything verry well, 24 hour days are not that bad, upto my opinion. And I like the fact that there will be different contrent at night in some areas. just make it all short summer knights, lasting from 10 pm till 6 am.

that would do the trick.

[Ablamar]

Thanks for that reply Simbuk, I appreciate it. I am not about to proof read the things I post every time because it may make me come out as a gaming guru or someone who is speaking for everyone out there. It is just a mere generalization. It never has to mean that everyone thinks and feels that way. All it is, is an opinion of me and I am pretty sure I am not the only one feeling that way. I am not saying that everyone does feel that way.

Just look at that one thread where this comes from. There are more people in beta against this. Most people replying after Kat are against it. Not many people do reply however, but that is probably because they are actually playing/testing the game. The only one who constantly does reply is SoulessDragon, but I think he only lives for giving stupid replies.

[Vred]

When your main problem is with the wording of a post, it's time to consider whether it's worth wasting the bandwidth to reply.


Did you consider if it was worth wasting the bandwith to reply, when your main problem is that Mallow suggested that Ablamar should have worded his post differently?

[Ablamar]

Can we please talk about the subject at hand instead of bashing every poster? There is no need to make Worldofwar.net another battlenet forum. Please let this be the last post as a response to nitpicking or whatnot. And let's just talk about this game in a normal matter without bashing everyone.

[Xinhuan]

My opinion: I am indifferent to the 24-hour clock system. It has no bearing on me whatsoever, and I feel that all the people saying that "they will miss content" and "they will miss the night-scenery" is overstating it.

Think about it. There are supposedly 2000-3000 quests in the game. How many quests are tied to the 24-hour clock? Pyrewood? 1 quest. Missing out on 1 quest is called "missing out on content"? Even if it is 2 or 3, or 5, it's still relatively insignificant.

Now, the other argument about graphics and night-time scenery is also overstating it. A person can always make exceptions to his schedule once in a while so that he can experience something new (applies to real life as well). Simply saying "I can only play from X to Y everyday" is a reason, but not a perfect one. If you can see the sunrise every 2 or 3 days, it wouldn't be special anymore, compared to the one time you actually see it should you put the effort in.

If you are a casual gamer, by such a definition, a casual gamer already misses out on much content, typically the ones restricted to the higher level ones. If Blizzard hosts a special world event, saying the Dark Portal is going to open on X hour of the day on a particular date, are you not going to attempt to make exceptions to your schedule?

The immersion reason is also overstated. How much more immersion can there be for a 24 hour clock compared to a 23 hour one? It would probably feel the same to most players. The argument about logging in at daytime to see it is nighttime killing immersion isn't even valid.

Conclusion. I am indifferent. Both sides have their reasons, but both sides are arguing too vehemently, and overstating all their reasons.

[Kashya]

I've never played the game so I don't have enough information to form an opinion as to whether the 24 hour clock system will be good or bad for my particular playstyle...

It does seem like people that play the same time every day will miss some content but I can't imagine a company like Blizzard will let that happen... only time will tell... :)

[DeadSquirrel]

I'm going to be casual, and I adore this idea.

I may mostly see daytime or night time.... but when I've finally got time during the weekend, I can maybe wake up a bit earlier and experience my first ever sunrise in WoW.

Or if a quest needs you to play a certain part of it when it's 4am your time. Then you can just plan ahead, and have a few friends log on the next saturday morning, get together while you're all still groggy... finish that quest, and go back to bed with a huge smile on your face.

It adds a whole new dynamism to the game.
And if you simply can't wake up at 4am... then don't take the quest.
If you feel "ignored" or "abandonned" just because some quests don't fit you, then don't play WoW.
Some quests will require high end guilds to finish them, some require to be a certain class, others a certain level, and some will require a certain timeframe.

[Kashya]

I'm going to be casual, and I adore this idea.


It adds a whole new dynamism to the game.
And if you simply can't wake up at 4am... then don't take the quest.
If you feel "ignored" or "abandonned" just because some quests don't fit you, then don't play WoW.



I disagree... I don't think a certain group of players should be unable to complete certain content just because they can't play at certain times of the day...

I'm not saying this will happen in WoW though... I believe Blizzard will come through with a viable solution to this (real or imaginary) problem... :)

[wakiki]

I hate this idea as well. I will probably be playing at the same time each day.

Even if they have the time zones, it will still cut the variety of what you see in half. There are four different general areas:

Kalimdor(Day)
Kalimdor(Night)
Azeroth(Day)
Azeroth(Night)

Even with the time zones, it still limits what I can see. For instance, I might want to see Kalimdor suring both day and night. Not so with the 24-hour system. Also, depending on what server my guild plays on, I might never be able to see a sunrise. I always thought sunrise on the Barrens and Thunder Bluff would be awesome, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. The chances of me being able to see that will be very slim.

Furthermore, it's extremely unrealistic for the time zone to be set in 24 hours. The entire realm is supposed to be quite large. Doesn't this mean it would take more than one day to walk across it? I heard that it takes about 18 real-time hours to cross the continent. With the 24=24 time system, this means it takes 18 hours to walk across Kalimdor? Is this a joke? How far can a person walk in 18 hours through rugged terrain? A little over 20 miles? So, from the southern tip of Kalimdor to the island of Teldrassil = about 20 miles? Ridiculous.

I think they should make days four hours and nights four hours. That way, the continents would feel bigger. Also, that means that in a more than four hour play session, you will get to see a sunrise or sunset. Also, eight hours for a full day divides evenly into 24, so it wouldn't be confusing.

[DeadSquirrel]

I think they should make days four hours and nights four hours. That way, the continents would feel bigger. Also, that means that in a more than four hour play session, you will get to see a sunrise or sunset. Also, eight hours for a full day divides evenly into 24, so it wouldn't be confusing.

EverQuest has this system... the thing is, after a few nights and days, people take them for granted.
Oh.. it's daytime.. 4hours later... oh, it's nighttime....
Or when you need to do a quest during night time, and it's day time... well you go afk a couple hours and go watch tv while you wait... yay?

The arguments used against this idea, is that you want to experience Night and Day.
Well, the first day you may experience them... seeing a WoW sunset and sunrise for the first time.... but after a few weeks of playing, you'll stop "experiencing" them.
Daytime and nighttime will fly by without you even noticing.... and having to wait for nighttime quests or creatures will be more of a delay then anything else.

With a 24/hour cycle, Day time or Night time will actually mean something to you. And this, even months after playing WoW.

So up to you to choose....
either experience night and day immediately the first few days only.
Or have nighttime or daytime be a true experience every now and then, for years to come.

[wakiki]

Hmmm, that's a good point. I had never really thought about it that way before. I guess that after a while people would start ignoring them. However, there are things like that that happen in every game. When I was initially playing Warcraft III, in the Thrall tutorial quests, I kept staring at the waterfalls and the plants and zooming in - I thought it was awesome. Now, I just pass right over that stuff.

However, with the 24-hour system, I might never see something. Perhaps they should make it a 12 hour system(6hour day/6 hour night) to make it feel important, yet not make it impossible to see certain things. This way, I probably wouldn't see them every day, so I wouldn't take them for granted.

Heh, this is one of the many instances where the fact that I have only played a little of UO skews my views a little. :uhhuh:

[DeadSquirrel]

I guess that after a while people would start ignoring them. However, there are things like that that happen in every game.

Yup, it happens everywhere and all the time. Which is a bit sad. Some games have such wonderfull features, and yet I take them for granted after a few play sessions.
That's what I love about this system, Blizzard is at least trying to do something about it.

However, with the 24-hour system, I might never see something. Perhaps they should make it a 12 hour system(6hour day/6 hour night) to make it feel important, yet not make it impossible to see certain things. This way, I probably wouldn't see them every day, so I wouldn't take them for granted.
If you want to see something at night, you just need to stay up late on WoW during the weekend.
And it's not the fact that "you may never see it" that counts,
what counts is the fact that "you could see it!".
Just like dragons... as a casual player, you may never see one... but who knows and who cares?
What counts is that "you could see one, one day....", and you could anticipate that day, try your best to see one.... and when you finally see your first dragon... that day will mark your memory.

Imagine if you had dragons fill the newbie fields... ok... you would have the "priviledge" of seeing a dragon, those majestic and beautifull creatures, on your very first day... you would have the certitude of seeing a dragon... ok... then what? You're going to be crossing this dragon field every day... pretty quick, your "dragons" are going to become just another mob.

Ya, the relation is a bit exagerated, but it's to prove my point ;).
I rather see nighttime very rarely, and have it mean something to me.
Then see it everyday, but not having me care one bit about it.

[FenixStryk4]

The idea of a 24 hour day in-game is flawed by the fact that you'll be playing at the same time every day, if you're a casual gamer.

What I'd suggest to appease both casual gamers and hardcore gamers is to make the day a 23 hour day.

So while each day is still very similar to our current days on Earth, and even though you'll be only 1 hour ahead, it still adds the realism that some people desire.

[Simbuk]

If you want to see something at night, you just need to stay up late on WoW during the weekend.
We're talking about a game here. A vehicle for fun. It'll be more fun for me if I can enjoy a little variety in the game's atmosphere without having to concern myself with scheduling.

And it's not the fact that "you may never see it" that counts
I disagree. I don't want the vast majority of my playtime to become the same old same old. Playing in unrelenting daylight or darkness would get boring, and boredom isn't fun.

Just like dragons... as a casual player, you may never see one... but who knows and who cares?
Lots of people. Dragons are fun, even if they're seen only rarely.

Ya, the relation is a bit exagerated, but it's to prove my point.
A bit too exaggerated to be useful. The transition of day to night to day is something that everyone playing this has experienced thousands of times already. There's no need to make what's already common rare or special.

I rather see nighttime very rarely, and have it mean something to me.
Then see it everyday, but not having me care one bit about it.
It would mean more to me for night and day to be more dramatically different but cycle more frequently.

Perhaps I'm biased because over the last five years I've become accustomed to a game day lasting 72 minutes. But it works. Now I'm not suggesting 72 minute days for WoW, but 24 hours is quite a departure. And I don't feel that "immersion" is a sufficiently compelling argument to counter the sheer dullness of a 24 hour clock.

[DaemonJosh]

I have a job, I have a family. So do many people who will be playing this game. That pretty much rules out any 9-5 play during weekdays. And at weekends, I generally have better things to do in the day than play videogames. Perhaps that makes me some sort of vicious monster.

The vast majority of my play is after 9pm in the evening. This would mean nearly all my WoW experience would be at night. Surely the developers, having created a rich and detailed world, would want as many players as possible to experience this world in both night and day? As for the argument that I should schedule in time to play during the day; that it should be a some sort of special treat for me to do so, I disagree.

When a game is forcing me to decide the time of day at which I play, making me put aside family/work commitments at specific times in order to experience large amounts of content (even if only aesthetic), that's something that annoys me.

From the reactions I'm seeing, this is a feature that has really annoyed a great many players and potential players and needs to be addressed, not dismissed offhand. "Immersion" is all well and good, but how terrifically exciting is it really to look out your window and say "Goodness gracious, lawks a lordy, it is both daytime in real life AND IN THE GAME I AM PLAYING!" (Whoops like a gibbon until head explodes in stunned amazement)?

Make it a 23-hour clock if you like long days. Anyway, who says that this fantasy world has to have an identical rotation speed to planet earth? And what about the extra hours each year that contribute to leap-years?

[Wickedly_Evil]

My schedule is whacky, so a 24 hour shecdule doesn't bother me. I would much rather see a 12 hour day instead of 24. . Personally I think 72 minutes is too short, just as 24 hrs is too long. I'd even be happy with 23 hours so that there is a subtle shift. If you need the night/day cycle in the game to match the real world then I don't think there will ever be a game to satisfy you with enough immersion.

I don't really like the idea that if I play every night from 6 pm to 1 am I'll see the sunset, maybe the stars come out and then know it's time for me to quit playing. Seeing the exact same thing every day at the same time is kind of boring when you stop to think about it. I'd like some variation in the time of day when I'm playing.

On the otherhand I'm sure some people are hoping to plan their schedule around night in game so they can shadowmeld at will.......

[muteownz]

i like this idea. real time is pretty cool. i dont see why you are all so concerned about seeing a game sunrise... thats just funny. lol. i can play during the day or night. i'm weird like that i sometimes sleep all night. or all day. if a sunrise really matters that much to you. one day.. go to sleep early. set ur alarm. wake up. get on wow. and see that sunrise you so crave. and tell yourself. was it worth it? anyways its their game. let them make it how they want it. its not going to satisfy everyone.

- joe

[Xinhuan]

I have a feeling nobody read my reply... (one of the first few).

Also, everybody is just overstating their arguments... and repeating them.

[Owmyeye]

I'm impartial to the cosmetics side, night or day doesn't matter much to me. In games like EQ some races could barely see at night, but in WoW it seems anyone can see 'normal' at anytime, so no probs there.

My only concerns are with the time based content. Say i'm an herbalist and the plant i need can only be harvested at a certain time, or a quest mob is time based (ie werewolves), then i'm basically forced to skip that particular recipe/quest/timed merchant/etc. Some say just get up at 4 am on the weekend to do the content, but i bet alot of east coast people have my schedule, so at 4 am Saturday morning there's going to be 300 people standing around this bush waiting to harvest. Great. Or i can play on a differant server, which means it's night in game as it's daylight outside, which kills the immersion feel.

Cosmetically i don't mind, but i'm just hoping once live i don't have to skip too much content without calling my boss with "i can't make it in today, i gotta get some Morning Lotus petals", which may in fact lead to me being unemployed so i can play WoW anytime i want, but not the direction i'm intent on.

[muteownz]

well maybe thats something u just cant do then? what about maybe people that are up all night like myself wana do things at night time. i myself like the idea of undead chars so i'll probably play one of those types. and i'd rather play at night time. so i would have to play around your schedule now? and how is that fair.

[Simbuk]

I have a feeling nobody read my reply... (one of the first few).

I'm sure everyone read your post scolding people for actually having a firm opinion. Wishy washy posts tend not to generate much in the way of replies.

[Thalassicus]

I can only play past 8:00, so it's eternal night for me :\

I hope they consider a 21-hour clock for some servers.

[Farstrand]

A while back, for about the fiftenth time this was discussed someone pointed out the perfect system.

7 days of RL = 10 Days of WoW. Or a 16.8 h clock or something like that.
And Make the weeks in WoW be ten days long.

Easy and simple :thumbsup:

[Bartleby]

It seems to reason that a 12 hour clock would work well. You'd spend 5 RT hours in day, 5 hours in night plus two for dusk and dawn. Between that and the timezone idea, anyone should be able to easily find a server that suits their individual and group needs, while still making the game feel immersive.

[Etra]

Yeah yeah...I know, I'm just posting my opinion on the second page of a topic where theres probably already an argument or something. But yeah well ;P

I'm not liking this feature of the game. Mainly because people are saying night is basically day but not as bright. I'm an evening -> night-time gamer (and I generally like the dark aspects of night in games). But with night not really being night...this 24 hour clock thing seems pointless.

Blizzard seems to be trying to split people up by timezone with this feature--another bad thing I hate about it. Maybe making the clock 20 hours would be better? Especially for quests. There's no way I would skip school during the weekday, or miss work (even though...I don't work XD) just do to one quest during the daytime (if the quest NPC only appears during the day).

[red.13]

First of all - somehow I like the idea of 24h. Of course the question is: How much we want to help casual players? or How much we want to make a demanding game? Majority of players are 'casuals', so if Blizz wants to be good for them, they will make a switching time that each time. a player will log in, he will see: Monday - Day Tuesday - Night and so on... Gathering what I've said. they should divide day into odd parts: 3, 5, 7, 9(oviously I didn't write '1') - so that you would have day/night every: 8, 4.8, 3.42, 2.66 hour. You can, of course, make change every 10h so you should slice whole day into 2.4 pieces and that looks a bit strange, however it's possible to make.

Assume that you -player- play every day from 19:00(7 PM) - 22:00(10 PM). You can't change it, so every time you would come and see day/night, assuming that we use 24h clock. But, if we change the clock and divide it into 10h pieces than see what it would look like:

// I'm writing, using normal time - no PM and/or AM, but I think you will understand...
//I also assume that the first time set would be D(day), but, as well, it could be night(N); * - time you play

1-10 D
11-20 N *
21-6 D *
7-16 N
17-2 D *
3-13 N
14-23 D *
24-9 N
10-19 D *
20-5 N *
6-15 D
16-1 N *
2-11 D
12-21 N*
22-7 D*
8-17 N
18-3 D*
................

So you will play during: Night-Day, Day, Day, Day-Night, Night, Night-Day, Day....
That will make the game more unpredictable and casual gamers will find much joy in it. That's why it's good, but it will take a few good aspects from the game:

- ambience (when you play in your dark room, at night and your NE shadowmeld in between the trees when suddenly...AHHHHH....that was only a squirrel :))
- demand (no one will care to stay at home and not go to school/word - it's stupid example; you will wait impatiently for the weekend, so that you could play in the morning) - maybe I'm a hard-core player, but i like it
- it's more realistic (It's becoming a life for me, he he he...)


I know, that most people won't accept it, but I would like to see 24h clock. That's why i think it should be 23h/22h(I prefer 23h of course - it won't destroy the realism so much and it'll allow casual players to feel the game, even if it won't satisfy them completely)per WoW-day comparing to normal earth-day.

[wakiki]

Well, it would be better to keep it simple. The day / night system shouldn't be too confusing. I think it should divide evenly into 24. So, 1,2,3,4,6,8, or 12 would all work. I myself would like to see 8(4 day/ 4 night) or 12(6/6). I want to be able to log on and know what time of day it is beforehand(without having to calculate it) :lol:

As for day/night being taken for granted, perhaps they can simply make it a dramatic difference. So, night would be really dark. They could decrease the visibilty at night.

In fact, this would offer alot of new game ideas. For instance, you could equipe certain items, like lanterns, that can be made by Blacksmiths and Engineers, in order to see better. And, you could have night-vision potions that would increase visibilty. They could add tradeskills for this. And they could add a spell that increases visibilty.

Basically, if they make night a big deal, then they can add lots of features. This would work whether the system is 24 or not. However, if they did added these skills/items in, then night time would never be taken for granted, so they could make it 8 or 12 hours.

[Morphina]

Well, it would be better to keep it simple. The day / night system shouldn't be too confusing. I think it should divide evenly into 24. So, 1,2,3,4,6,8, or 12 would all work. I myself would like to see 8(4 day/ 4 night) or 12(6/6). I want to be able to log on and know what time of day it is beforehand(without having to calculate it) :lol:


As for balance, make that 12 hours day a midsummer night with 8 hours of day and 4 hours of night. Much more fun that way. 6/6 is to much night for me.

[wakiki]

Makes sense to me :) They could even vary it by what time of year it is, but not more than half night though.

[j00callme]

Hmm looks like I'm gonna be a nocturnal player, most of my free time is after 10pm. So I guess I'll just be a night elf :lol:


Not sure how well I like the 24 hour idea, but I don't really want to make an opinion until I actually play the game.

[Xinhuan]

I'm sure everyone read your post scolding people for actually having a firm opinion. Wishy washy posts tend not to generate much in the way of replies.

I'm sorry Simbuk, but I do have a firm opinion if you re-read my post: I am indifferent to this issue, and I believe everyone is just overstating their points (and over and over again).

Indifferent does not mean wishywashy, nor does it mean a non-firm opinion.

[Moichi]

After reading through this thread and considering the arguments I´d say the 23hour-option is the best compromise to satisfy all gamers to a certain degree.
The whole content will sooner or later be avaible to the casual player, and there´s no need to recalcualte the daytime everytime you log on, since it´s just getting darker/brighter a little earlier than the day before.
For the power-gamers a 23h-day should be realistic enough.
Sounds good to me.

[Zeth]

I can see how it would be cool and nice to have a 24-hour clock. But I dont like people missing content. As a member of a guild that has members all over europe and us, some of us will always be playing at night time and some at day time. That will cause you to miss alot of the game. I just hope that blizzard has a better reason for keeping it than its cool.

[RingoStar]

I think the 24 hr system will add "realism" to the game and I am 100% behind this idea!

[wakiki]

Lol guys. 23-hour system doesn't always mean it's "close" or "realistic." After 12 Warcraft days(276 real time hours, or 11.5 real days) it will be exactly reversed(12 hours off). Meaning that it wil be daytime outside and night in the game, which defeats the whole point of the system(no more realism). If that's the case, just go with a 48-hour system(24 hours of day and 24 of night) so that people can play alternating, rather than 12 days of daytime then 12 days of night time.

Also, the 23 hour system is confusing. It doesn't divide evenly into seven days, and if you play sporadically, you will never know what time it wil be when you log on.

[Moichi]

Meaning that it wil be daytime outside and night in the game, which defeats the whole point of the system(no more realism).
Hmmmm, good point, haven´t thought of that.
Ok, let´s see what Blizz comes up with... :innocent:

[red.13]

When I though about it, I think there should be a full-24h time. Recently I admired 23h time, but after some time I realised that it would be too much confusing, because: 24-23 = 1h, so every day the time will be pushed 1h forward, that's why you will have:
[Real time - earth] [WoW time] - 24:00-1:00, 24:00-2:00...24-10 :) - You sit in front of your machine at midnight and you see there is a bright morning in WoW - too much confusion. I know I'm a bit too envolved in the game, but 24h time would make a game really demanding(no getting back form school/work and playing day/night - you will have to wait till end of the week, to play whole day and then go to bed). It will be also realy realistic - if it's night now(in this reality) my NE will shadowmeld in the trees...

[SoleSteeler]

I was uneasy about the 24 hr clock when I first heard about it

I absolutely love it though, nothing better than playing through the day for a week, then one night I get to play at night and seeing the night sky ~_~

I dont know what this 'pyrewood' quest is, never heard of it. Alls I know is i've played through the alliance zones from 1-28, and the horde lands from 1-24 and i've never felt any inconvienience of the 24 hr clock, if there's a time quest then it's definately very rare

and you shouldn't have worry if you can't do all quests anyways...

[red.13]

if there's a time quest then it's definately very rare
and you shouldn't have worry if you can't do all quests anyways...


I agree, even if you couldn't take a quest since it was i.e. day-quest, thats not the most important thing. In the reply you get AWESOME realism. Believe me you will like it.

[Bartleby]

I guess I just don't see what the debate is all about. Bliz said they're going to provide different timezones, so you can play at about any time of day (or night) you prefer. What's the down side to all this? In fact aside from a possibly more immersive feel what's the upside to this?

[wakiki]

It's good to have you back, Sole :)
I suppose I will take his word for it that the system is good. I suppose I will just have to see once I get it.

[niteshade6]

As many know, this has been discussed to death in the past. At this point the only opinions I really care about are from people who have actualy played the game. Last time this was brought up most (though not 100%) of the beta testers had no problem with the 24 hour cycle and never felt in any way inconvenienced even if they could only play at a certain time.

[IG-88]

Okay, to help with this confusion...

Pyrewood.

Pyrewood is a medium sized town that has aggressive "elite" Human mobs during the day, and at around 8:30ish, they become Worgen, (werewolves). Moonrage or something.

I was there today for about a half hour before they turned, and about an hour after they turned, and I didn't see any difference in difficulty, (other than the intimidation factor of fighting a white wolfen in a broken down sleepy-hollow-esque town). They didn't gain levels or anything, they just changed. In fact, I think they're easier as Worgen, since the archers that sit off the paths become melee instead, which allows groups to control them better.

I was hesitant of the 24 hour clock too, but I love it now. The night isn't dark enough to inhibit anything at all, (which is perfect). But it certainly changes the mood. So for all the people saying they won't get certain things because of when they play... *rasberry* Don't worry about it. At most, you'll lose a bit of the artistic flair or ambiance, that's all.

[I hope the server is back up]

IG-88

[Malyn]

The 24-hour clock is such a HUGE mistake. I am going to hate it for so many reasons that I can't even list them all here.

The 24-hour clock prevents casual players (who have full-time jobs, family, or other obligations) from getting as much out of the WoW game as the hard-core gamers who eat, sleep and breathe WoW, and that's a terrible approach to a game that is, just by it's genre, a MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER game. Basically, all Blizzard is telling their gamers is that you will only get the best experience if you play 18 hours a day (and therefore get to see both day and night).

I am to be punished because I have a full-time job and other obligations that limit my game-play to maybe 12 hours during the week? I play more on the weekends, but not that much more (I do, after all, have a real life that involves experiencing fresh air, sunshine, and the company of real live friends). I hate the fact that I'm going to be punished yet still have to pay the same amount as people who play 24-7.

[Farstrand]

I hate the fact that I'm going to be punished yet still have to pay the same amount as people who play 24-7.

This is an approch that really bugs me.
(I'm sorry I used you as an example but it's quite common)

I'm being punished!

No one ever says

They are being rewarded

Couldn't it be that they need to add some things in the game that some Hardcore playing lifeless youth can do more than the things the Casual gamer can? Why should everything be the way so Casual gamers can experience it by playing 1-2 h a day. Hmmmm I never gotten this line of thinking, but then again I'm a casual gamer, and addicted too starting over (and that combination is really a curse)

I still thinks the idea of 1week RL = 1 Week WoW but that the weeks in game are tendays long. That way weekly happenings happen at the same time RL and IG every week and so on. And the Days are long enough to not flash by, but the casual players get to play a different time in game every day. Easy and simple really. And solves some problems whith 23-h days (as Clan gatherings and such will be much easier to do whith the in game time.and so on)

Well I just wanted to say that.

[Simbuk]

I'm sorry Simbuk, but I do have a firm opinion if you re-read my post: I am indifferent to this issue, and I believe everyone is just overstating their points (and over and over again).
Oh the irony.


Indifferent does not mean wishywashy, nor does it mean a non-firm opinion.
Keep telling yourself that. You're "firmly indifferent." You're empowered with apathy. You're emphatically bland. You go! :lol:

Dude you're missing the point. Nobody cares that you don't care. It's a boring opinion to profess. That's why you're arguing semantics with me instead of the mechanics of WoW's day/night system.

[Pietoro]

Hm. As long as being stuck in a certain timeslot (day or night) doesn't mean I'll miss out on anything, I don't mind it. Not being able to see 'daylight graphics' doesn't equal 'missing content', to me anyway. Its just lighting.

[Simbuk]

Its just lighting.

I dunno about that. Lighting is known to carry a profound psychological impact.

Ever get on a work schedule during the winter where you barely see the sun for months? I have, and I can tell you it wasn't a pleasant experience.

[Pietoro]

Yes, but hasn't it been said that the difference between night and day in WoW is barely negligible, anyway?

[Xinhuan]

The 24-hour clock prevents casual players (who have full-time jobs, family, or other obligations) from getting as much out of the WoW game as the hard-core gamers who eat, sleep and breathe WoW, and that's a terrible approach to a game that is, just by it's genre, a MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER game. Basically, all Blizzard is telling their gamers is that you will only get the best experience if you play 18 hours a day (and therefore get to see both day and night).

Your argument is flawed. You are saying that a player who plays 2 hours a day should get as mch experience out of WoW as one who plays 18 hours. It is obvious that the player who puts in more time, will get rewarded more. This is true for any game for any genre.

[Xinhuan]

Oh the irony.

Keep telling yourself that. You're "firmly indifferent." You're empowered with apathy. You're emphatically bland. You go! :lol:

Dude you're missing the point. Nobody cares that you don't care. It's a boring opinion to profess. That's why you're arguing semantics with me instead of the mechanics of WoW's day/night system.

I did argue for both sides. I pointed out why I liked it, I also pointed out why I did not like it. So my conclusion is I am indifferent. Saying that I am wishy washy is saying I tend to swing to one side and then the other. I don't do that. I stand firmly in the middle, and neither party is going to swing me to either side.

[Booms]

What I don't like about the idea of a 24 hour clock is that, as people have stated before, for those who only have a specific timeslot during which they can play WoW they won't be able to see all the game in all of its forms.

I think that if Blizzard went with an 8 hour clock it would be much better. You still have a somewhat long day, and since there will be three WoW days in one actual day it will be much easier to play during both the day and the night of WoW-land. Not to mention 8 hours coincides with the Rest System.

[Simbuk]

I did argue for both sides.

Saying that I am wishy washy is saying I tend to swing to one side and then the other. I don't do that.

:scratch:

/Gives up

:bow:

[wakiki]

Yes, but hasn't it been said that the difference between night and day in WoW is barely negligible, anyway?


Isn't this a bad thing? I would rather have short night and day that mean something rather than long night and day that mean nothing :scratch:

[Bartleby]

Bliz said you could log in to different time zone servers so you can pick the time of day or night you want to play in game. As such, I don't see why this is controversial.

[Xinhuan]

It's controversial because no matter which server you pick, you end up getting stuck with "that part of the day".

[Malyn]

Couldn't it be that they need to add some things in the game that some Hardcore playing lifeless youth can do more than the things the Casual gamer can? Why should everything be the way so Casual gamers can experience it by playing 1-2 h a day. Hmmmm I never gotten this line of thinking, but then again I'm a casual gamer, and addicted too starting over (and that combination is really a curse)
No need to apologize...mine is just an opinion after all.

As to your argument, I agree that on the flip side it seems to cater toward the more hard-core, eat-sleep-breathe WoW gamer, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I would think that the goal for any MMORPG is to give the largest amount of its gamers the fullest experience possible. While there are many hard-core gamers out there whose lifestyle allows them 12-16 hours each and every day to play the game, I would anticipate the the majority of WoW gamers will not be that way. Shortening the day-night cycle to even so much as 12 hours is still 10+ times longer than any MMORPG out there, and would allow both the casual and hardcore gamer alike to get the full experience out of the game.

There's no way that Blizzard can make every single gamer 100% happy, but I think on this issue (and many other debated issues, namely Rest State and PvP) it's better practice to provide a product that caters to the majority rather than a minority.

[Archanix]

Anyone who said 23 is dead on I think. Even if you go 23 hour and 30 minutes in a WoW day it will still be perfect. That way the time will slowly rotate from day to night real time so you can do it all whenever your turn comes around. Making a 24 hour cycle will ruin alot of spawn camping and quest mobs cause they will be taken everytime you get on with someone already camping it. Sorry about all the EQ lingo :o\ 5 years of NOT questing in EVERquest :rant: can do that to ya.

Archanix

[Vectom]

The solution for the casual players could be to start the 24h server system by night in-game, while it is afternoon IRL. Then the powergamers would get what they wanted and casuals which mostly play in the evenings will enjoy both too :D

[DeadSquirrel]

The whole point of having a 24 hour clock, is to have it reproduce the real life hours.
If you have a 23hour 30minute clock, the parallel between the game hours and the life hours is busted.

Here's a solution to keep the 24hour, while still attendnig to some of the people's complaints:

The World of Warcraft is subject to a few natural phenomenas.
-Certain days, an eclipse will throw the world into darkness.
-And WoW's full moon is so bright that it shines like a new sun.

In other words,
while most of the time, the cycle day/night reproduces real life's day/night.
There will be some times where you log into the world at noon, and realise it's nighttime... you look up and see an eclipse.

Such eclipses and full moons could easily be triggered by GMs I guess....
but then... those who really want to whine, will whine about not being able to see eclipses or fullmoons due to their restricted game timeframe.

Other then making certain night/day contents available at during the day/night. Special things could happen during these fullmoons and eclipses. Certains special quests.. or certain special mobs could only appear during these times.

A shaman quest could be "Sacrifice a human virgin when the moon is full."
Then you wait for a full moon, and go kill a few players in the PvP zones! (there's bound to be a virgin among them :lol: )

[Galron Kincaid]

assorted flame blather

Why have you returned, insignificant Troll?

Come on, go away now.

[muteownz]

The 24-hour clock is such a HUGE mistake. I am going to hate it for so many reasons that I can't even list them all here.

The 24-hour clock prevents casual players (who have full-time jobs, family, or other obligations) from getting as much out of the WoW game as the hard-core gamers who eat, sleep and breathe WoW, and that's a terrible approach to a game that is, just by it's genre, a MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER game. Basically, all Blizzard is telling their gamers is that you will only get the best experience if you play 18 hours a day (and therefore get to see both day and night).

I am to be punished because I have a full-time job and other obligations that limit my game-play to maybe 12 hours during the week? I play more on the weekends, but not that much more (I do, after all, have a real life that involves experiencing fresh air, sunshine, and the company of real live friends). I hate the fact that I'm going to be punished yet still have to pay the same amount as people who play 24-7.

hmmm ok. if you have a job.. and kids.. i dont think you should be playing a game. even if you do enjoy laying back and playing a game i mean yeah who doesnt but who would blizzard want to please more. the gamer that plays all the time. or the gamer that plays every so often. how stupid is it gonna be if its dead noon in vegas and its night time in this game. or its 2am and i'm playing in daylight. thats pretty dumb. 23hr time would just get weird. everyday its an hr later. blah

[Thalassicus]

I have been discussing the system with friends testing the game, here is what we have so far. Is there anything we have missed, or that you would like to point out or suggest?


The Problem:
With any clock cycle that is a divisor of 24, if you play at same time every day, you will always see the same time ingame. This is especially disadvantageous for players that can only log on during certain times of day, such as 8 to 11 pm. Such a player would never be able to experience all times of the gaming world without changing their lifestyle. It also limits the dynamic content that can be added to the game dependent on time, since most players would never be able to participate in a quests like an attack in the early hours of dawn.

The Proposal:
A slightly different, 22-hour day in the world of Azeroth. This could be implemented on just some of the servers, so the players who prefer a 24-hour system can play on the servers they enjoy.

Advantages:

- Would allow the time of day to cycle throughout the course of a month, due to the slight offset. This would allow everyone to experience all times of day, whatever time they log on.

- The day cycle would still be almost as long as real-time, allowing a realistic, gradual transition from day to night.

- Would allow for the inclusion of much more time-dependent content, such as monsters vulnerable only at night, or raids on enemy encampments at dawn.


Common points of mention:


"I like the day taking a long time to change from day to night, it gives it a sense of realism."
A clock only a few hours shorter would still take a realistically long time to shift from day to night, just like a 24-hour cycle.


"I don't want 3 hours going by while I talk to someone"
"My spells would only be available for 30 seconds, then not available again"
"Why should it take a week to fight through one dungeon"
This supports not having an very short cycle like many RPG's, such as a 2- or 3-hour day. Nothing so extreme is being proposed, only one that is very slightly different from 24.


"The difference between day and night in the game is minimal."
Visually, there is a big difference in the game:

Day:
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/images/screens/all/ss023.jpg

Night:
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/images/screens/all/ss017.jpg


"Day and night have no impact on gameplay."
There is content in the game that is dependent on the time of day, such as NPC's that turn into werewolves at night, and monsters that are vulnerable only at certain times of day. Blizzard could include even more of this content if it was available to all players in the game, regardless of their playing time.


"I like being able to tell what time it is in real life by looking at the time in the game."
Place a clock on your desk, and you can tell the time of day at a glance.


"No-one really cares."
Out of the four thousand visitors of WorldofWar.net, here is the poll on the 24-hour cycle:

What do you think of a 24 hour day cycle in WoW?
Make 1 WoW day less than 24 real hours.....-59.6%
I love this idea ........................................30.2%
I don't care............................................-7.7%
Make 1 WoW day more than 24 real hours....-2.5%
Total Votes: 4355

Polls of course are not a perfect indicator, but interest is definitely there. Nor does the whole system has to change, all that is asked is for some servers to have a dynamic clock cycle.


"I like having day and night outside match up to in the game."
Guilds with members from all over the world will be playing on a single server, so it's impossible to have the time match up. If a server has dusk at 6pm Pacific Standard Time, it will be already dark for someone on the east coast, or noon for a member in Australia.


"Have the in-game time synchronized with your system computer clock."
This would exclude time-dependent content entirely, since different members in a single party would see different times of day. It would also make it meaningless to mention a beautiful sunset, if the other person is seeing high noon.


"Have different real-world time zone servers, and people can pick which time of day they want to play on."
World-wide guilds would not be able to pick a server in such a manner, since everyone would like to see a different time of day. And whatever server you choose, that will always be the same time when you log on. If you pick a server that's daytime when you play, you would never see night, or if you choose one at dusk, you will never see dawn.


"With ingame time zones, you could travel to the other continent and see the other time of day."
However it is set up, you would still always see Kalimdor at dusk, or Azeroth at dawn, and it would be that way whenever you play. You would not be able to be in Kalimdor at a specific time during your normal hours, whereas a real person in that world could.


"A 24-hour system makes scheduling easier for guilds and friends."
One very easy solution would be a pull-up, ingame calendar that converts from any time and day from any time-zone (including Azeroth) to any other time in the world. This could be combined with the ingame mailing system, and would actually make planning events much easier for guild masters and friends.

Say your guild wants to attack a powerful boss while he's vulnerable at 2am, Azeroth time, while he sleeps. With the 24-hour system, this would require everyone to be up at 2am, which is not feasible for most players. However, with a cycling clock, the guild master can simply pull up the calendar, enter the desired in-game time, and the time members can be available (such as 9pm EST). The calendar can find the first upcoming date when both 9pm EST and 2am Azeroth coincide, and give that back to the Guild Master. He can then send off an e-mail to every member in the guild, and they would receive that time automatically adjusted for their particular time-zone, such as 6pm Pacific Standard. Everyone would meet online at that time, and would be able to stomp the boss together.


"Why 22 hours?"
The easiest idea is a 23-hour system, one hour shorter. This takes almost a month to cycle through, however, so it would make scheduling difficult. 22 hours would be two hours offset each day, allowing any given time to be matched to within 1 hour, and cycles through in half the time.

[Thalassicus]

[ double post ]

[Malyn]

The whole point of having a 24 hour clock, is to have it reproduce the real life hours.
I'm sorry, but I hate this answer. 24-hour clock being cool because it's just like real life?? If I wanted a RL gaming experience, I'd go do some virtual reality game. This is a FANTASY game. Fantasy, meaning NOT actual. Meaning NOT real. Use the window or a clock to see what time it is or if it's dark outside people. You don't need a fantasy game to provide that for you.

And besides, the 24-hour clock isn't real anyway. What happens when it's wintertime and there are 8 hours of daylight and 16 hours of darkness? Or in the summer when there are 16 hours of daylight and 8 of darkness? The 24-hour clock will just be the same, monotonous 12 on 12 off deal? People might think it's cool in the beginning, but after a month it will cease to hold any splendor whatsoever.

[DeadSquirrel]

I'm sorry, but I hate this answer. 24-hour clock being cool because it's just like real life?? If I wanted a RL gaming experience, I'd go do some virtual reality game. This is a FANTASY game. Fantasy, meaning NOT actual. Meaning NOT real. Use the window or a clock to see what time it is or if it's dark outside people. You don't need a fantasy game to provide that for you.

And besides, the 24-hour clock isn't real anyway. What happens when it's wintertime and there are 8 hours of daylight and 16 hours of darkness? Or in the summer when there are 16 hours of daylight and 8 of darkness? The 24-hour clock will just be the same, monotonous 12 on 12 off deal? People might think it's cool in the beginning, but after a month it will cease to hold any splendor whatsoever.

You understood me wrong ;),
it's not that "its just like real life"... why would people be playing with orcs and taurens if they wanted a game that's just like real life? :p

What I meant was that it's parralel to your real life hours. When you log in, you can expect what time it will be ingame. Instead of logging in and hoping it's night time... only to be disappointed that it's morning ingame, and you gotta wait 8hours before it's night.


I'll take an EverQuest example. There was a forest in EverQuest (forgot the name).. that was very dangerous at night time, and extremely safe during the day. (it was pretty much the only night/day experience in the game).

-If you wanted to cross the forest in EverQuest, you would go afk 1 or 2 hours, waiting for daytime. Now that's downtime.... and hardly any fun.

-In WoW, say there's a similar forest. If you need to cross the forest, you'll try to log in when it's daytime. During the weekend, or in the morning before going to work... or who knows what. But it will be an event you'll be looking forward to. Finally... crossing that dangerous forest....
Or you could take your chances and risk it during the night.

The simple idea of crossing a forest is completely altered between EQ and WoW.
In EQ you go "gdi, gotta wait a few hours" then go afk.
In WoW, planify your next playtime at the right hour, then go "Yes! finally made it across!"

In EQ day and night is just downtime,
in WoW day/night can become obstacles. And games are all about defeating obstacles.

[wakiki]

In WoW, say there's a similar forest. If you need to cross the forest, you'll try to log in when it's daytime. During the weekend, or in the morning before going to work... or who knows what. But it will be an event you'll be looking forward to. Finally... crossing that dangerous forest....


Or maybe....you are unable to get up at the right time, to cross that dangerous forest. You really really want to see whats in the other side of the forest, but you can never get there. You end up waiting for two months before you get to see whats on the other side. Two months of downtime vs. 1 or 2 hours.

the 12 or 8 hour system might not solve this problem, but its twice and thrice as likely to, respectively.

[DeadSquirrel]

Or maybe....you are unable to get up at the right time, to cross that dangerous forest. You really really want to see whats in the other side of the forest, but you can never get there. You end up waiting for two months before you get to see whats on the other side. Two months of downtime vs. 1 or 2 hours.

the 12 or 8 hour system might not solve this problem, but its twice and thrice as likely to, respectively.

Someone that does not have the time to play 1 hour on weekends or vacation, shouldn't really be planning in playing a MMORPG.
And it's not 2 months of downtime.... when you log in during the night, you know you wont be crossing the forest.. so you log in with something else to do, in mind.


And a 12 or 8 hour system won't solve the problem at ALL.
People who dont have time to play during the weekend, or during the day, are the sort that only play 2-3hours max per day. Same time every day.....
They'll also keep seeing day or night.. and they'll continue whining.

The only system that could have everyone experience day and night... is a system with around 1hour day and 1 hour night.... or even less...
Which would completely annihilate any pleasure in day and night after the first few days of playing.

[Thalassicus]

And it's not 2 months of downtime.... when you log in during the night, you know you wont be crossing the forest.. so you log in with something else to do, in mind.

A 22-hour system would accomplish that as well, see the second to last point in our post above :music:

Not only would it allow casual players to experience all the events in the game, it would also avoid trivializing the day/night experience. And since they can plan ahead for when they want to cross the forest, they wouldn't have to wait two hours when they log on for day to come. After all, in real life it takes time to plan such things, like finding a route that is safe to travel, and getting food and supplies ready for the journey. Either they can cross immediatly and risk the unplanned trip, or prepare for it and cross by day, all during thier normal playing hours. If they have free time during the day, they can cross right away, just like the 24-hour system! Both sides win :wave:

[Xinhuan]

That's not true Thalassicus. The supporters of 24-hour clock like it simply because it mimics real life clock/hours. By having it offset 1 or 2 hours everyday, it is no longer realistic, nor can you accurately plan ahead your schedule. These players would end up wondering... "If I log in now, what time would it be in game, day or night?" instead of "If I log in now, it will be exactly 7 pm in game and I can do whatever quest 7 pm is suitable".

(Note that I am supporting neither side.)

[CKaz]

I have been discussing the system with friends testing the game, here is what we have so far. Is there anything we have missed, or that you would like to point out or suggest?

Good write-up. I'm actually a fan of a smaller scale (say 9hr day) but what you suggest sounds pretty good. I'm not sure why Blizzard has simply ignored the poll and the casual gamer here. There obviously is a BIG graphic difference in the game per those pictures. And leaving in 24hrs while not implementing time zones?

This certainly isn't as big an issue to me as to how they treat real RvR combat (whether it be on their own servers or not) but it is another case where I wonder where their head might be at. *shrug*

CKaz

[DeadSquirrel]

Don't look at those pictures for reference. They were taken in different areas.

The areas in WoW all have a distinctive feeling to them, and day and night alter them very slightly.
In the undead area for example, its always going to be dark and spooky... wether its day or night.

As for the desert surrounding Oggrimar, it seems to have a permanent Orangeish feeling ot it, as if it had a permanent sun-set. At night it would just be a bit darker....

Compare day/night images from the same area, to get a good idea of the differences.

[Thalassicus]

Compare day/night images from the same area
I would do so, but I do not have the beta, so I must rely on what I see at friend's houses and in the hundreds of screenshots that are available. Everything I see points to a drastic difference between day and night, no matter where you are.

More examples of night across many regions:

http://www.blizzard.com/wow/ScreenShot.aspx?ImageIndex=166&Set=0
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/ScreenShot.aspx?ImageIndex=163&Set=0
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/ScreenShot.aspx?ImageIndex=137&Set=0
http://www.blizzard.com/wow/ScreenShot.aspx?ImageIndex=115&Set=0


The supporters of 24-hour clock like it simply because it mimics real life clock/hours. By having it offset 1 or 2 hours everyday, it is no longer realistic, nor can you accurately plan ahead your schedule.

If you read the point I refer to, you would realize it would be extremely easy to plan ahead your schedule with a simple in-game calender. It would even be easier than a 24-hour system without one for international guilds and friends. I also addressed multiple points concerning realism in the post. Which do you like to discuss further, or is there another I should add? One of the major disadvantages of a 24-hour system is that it is inherently unrealistic for the casual gamer, since real people in Azeroth could do things at any time they wish. The real world does not wake up at 6pm and go to sleep at 10pm. How many people would be able to participate in a 5am dawn raid under the 24-hour system?

Besides, the solution is simple: have two types of server rulesets, one for each system. Can anyone honestly say you want deny people that option?

[wakiki]

And a 12 or 8 hour system won't solve the problem at ALL.
People who dont have time to play during the weekend, or during the day, are the sort that only play 2-3hours max per day. Same time every day.....
They'll also keep seeing day or night.. and they'll continue whining.


Here's the idea: let's say we have the eight-hour system going, and you play for a four hours. This means you are almost guaranteed to see a little bit of day or a little bit of night(unless you happen to log on right at sunrise or sunset - which is cool by itself anyway). If people play two hours, then they stand a 50% chance of not seeing the change, however, they could simply log on two hours earlier, rather than having to log on six hours earlier, which might not fit into their schedule. In other words, the solution that you have been proposing - to play at an earlier time - would be far more viable with the eight-hour system.

[Thalassicus]

And thank you CKaz, it's honestly nice to see some support. It seems so many people are set in thier decision regarding this issue that they are unwilling to listen to some careful, thought-out discussion to reach a compromise. From considering all the points of view it seems that a dynamic offset system would work, since it keeps the sense of realism that many enjoy, while also providing access to all events in the game. In the end all that's needed is having different rulesets available :)

[Malyn]

You understood me wrong ;),
it's not that "its just like real life"... why would people be playing with orcs and taurens if they wanted a game that's just like real life? :p

What I meant was that it's parralel to your real life hours. When you log in, you can expect what time it will be ingame. Instead of logging in and hoping it's night time... only to be disappointed that it's morning ingame, and you gotta wait 8hours before it's night.
Ahh okay I see the point you were making. My apologies for misinterpreting. :lady:

[Diminished]

I like the 24 hour clock...

It's immersive and let's you know when you've been playing to long :]

[Aidonicus]

I think the 24 hour clock will make it easier for Blizzard at least to plan events and such and for that reason I don't really care should it stay this way.

If there were many quests / events / etc. that took part at a time of day that I couldn't manage to play I would feel like I missed out, however I thought Blizzard said that they would have different time zones for different servers. In that case, I could have another character on that server to experience the content I was missing out on.

It would be more of a problem if the game felt like it was lacking content because I couldn't access quests etc. that were available only a certain times that I could not log on.

[devin]

would somone give me a link of a description of the 24hour clock plz?

[Xinhuan]

Devin, there isn't any link to a "description" of the 24 hr clock. It is merely the time system in the Warcraft world, which is currently set to follow the real Earth time, so 1 Warcraft day is equal to 1 Earth day, i.e 24 hours.

[wakiki]

Just out of curiosity, have any of you guys played Utopia?

[Simbuk]

I'll take an EverQuest example. There was a forest in EverQuest (forgot the name).. that was very dangerous at night time, and extremely safe during the day. (it was pretty much the only night/day experience in the game).

-If you wanted to cross the forest in EverQuest, you would go afk 1 or 2 hours, waiting for daytime. Now that's downtime.... and hardly any fun.
You're referring to Kithicor Wood, just south of Rivervale. Since a complete day in EQ lasts only 72 minutes, you wouldn't need to wait more than 36 minutes for the undead to get out of your way even if you chose not to use the safe routes through the zone, catch a teleport, travel through alternative zones, or make use of any of a variety of special class abilities simplifying travel (like Spirit of Wolf). There'd certainly never be any reason to go afk for an hour or two, even before the age of the PoK book.


-In WoW, say there's a similar forest. If you need to cross the forest, you'll try to log in when it's daytime. During the weekend, or in the morning before going to work... or who knows what. But it will be an event you'll be looking forward to. Finally... crossing that dangerous forest....

You're projecting. To me, 36 minutes (in the very worst case) is a considerably more bearable time to wait than several days to a week.


In EQ you go "gdi, gotta wait a few hours" then go afk.

As I explained above, that simply doesn't happen. EQ does have numerous timesinks, many of which border on ludicrous, but the day/night cycle doesn't really qualify as one of them.


In WoW, planify your next playtime at the right hour, then go "Yes! finally made it across!"

I felt a similar rush the first time I crossed Kithicor at night at level 5, and many times thereafter. In the circumstance you suggest, I'd likely just be glad that the annoying wait was over--hardly rewarding.


In EQ day and night is just downtime,
in WoW day/night can become obstacles. And games are all about defeating obstacles.
Actually games of this type are mainly about having fun. Obstacles requiring nothing but massive amounts of waiting aren't fun. Trust me, I've done enough waiting in EQ to know.

[Xinhuan]

Just out of curiosity, have any of you guys played Utopia?

I dont play Utopia (tried it), but I play Earth:2025. I just retired from leading a 140 member clan a few days ago there.

[TheCynic]

First it was mentioned that the game had nothing different between day and night but after reading a lot of beta reports it turns out that the game does. Pyrewood is one of the best examples where it is even a matter of difference in level.

There are enough players who just don't have the ability to get up just for the game to experience something. It is a game and not work. You should be able to experience everything without it having to turn into work.

There is absolutely no advantage to the 24 hour system but it being cool.

This does indeed suck. There is absolutely no reason to have it at a 1:1 ratio. It will simply ruin it for those who CANNOT play during the day...they will be forced to play in a world of perpetual darkness. And quite frankly, there is more detail in the day. Giving one customer a better deal than another, when both are paying the same is just flat out wrong.


I like variety...so I'm not very happy with the idea of a 24 hour per day clock myself. Something a little staggered but even like 6 to 8 hours per day would be preferable.
/Agree 100%

[Gauzz]

Anything but a 1:1 ratio would be good. Variety is good. There are a lot of us that do have to play at set times because of real life matters. We shouldn't have to adjust our real life situations or what have you JUST to see night/day time, or to complete a quest.

I used to play DAoC about a year ago and one of the things that I liked was the slight advantage trying to hunt down another party during the night could make. I like the idea of looking at it this way, "Ok, I have one hour before it's (specific time) I'll kill this, do that, grab some food..etc." Then you have this, "Ok, I want to go see that thing my in-game friends have been wanting to show me that only happens during the (specific time.) I'll have to see if I can get off work early, or get that day off next week, or skip my plans on the weekend. Hope someone will be on at that time." Did I exaggerate on that? Honestly, no. Sure, you could probably get someone else to help you or what have you, but it's too much for so little.

We shouldn't have to schedule our time to meet the game's just because it's "not the right time of day," is a joke. Scheduling OUR time for other in-game events such as Raids or guild meetings, or anything else having to do with other people's schedule, THAT, is understandable.

People talk about how having it at a 1:1 ratio would help immerse you more into the game. In all honesty, it won't. You will get to a point when the time, be it night or day, just doesn't matter at all. Especially when you hit the level cap and the time of day only affects a quest. At least in DAoC I was able to experience the differences that night and day made when I was able to play for a few hours. Time in that game made a significant difference to quests, hunting, xp'ing, raids of all kinds, and it just has an effect to so many things as it rightfully should. You have to be more cautious when doing anything at night in DAoC. If WoW stays with real time, and keeps with the idea of things having to be a bit harder at night, then I feel sorry for a lot of people with set play times. But hey, that should make them better players if they should do something during the day when it's "safer." :lol:

This is all just my opinion. No matter what Blizzard decides to do, I will still play this game. (laughs) Something that will nock some of you people that are "immersing" yourself in the game will be someone complaining about how they never saw whatever time of day related topic due to the 1:1 ratio. I wouldn't do it. I never bring up anything non-game related into the game while I'm playing. So, I would only talk about WoW while playing, WoW. Unless it's in /tells. That is my way of trying to immerse myself into the game.

But hey, this is still beta and nothing is final. People are still going to play this just as I am no matter how it turns out. I look forward to meeting everyone and more so to killing all others on opposite factions. :yep:


~Gauzz

[merlin(bob)]

have you guys forgotten about weekend's you know there no work on those day for most so why can't you just play at day/night time then? it's not that hard reallly just change your schule and it's not that big of deal if you get stuck where you can only plan in day/night just deal it. As a casual gamer usually misses out on stuff in most games.

for me i luv this idead cause on weekends ill be on alll day seeing both day and night. but for mon-fri i will see only day, see i just deal with it so should you.

[Owmyeye]

I personally don't really mind whether it's day, night, sunset, anything cosmetic related to 24 hour day. I just don't like the idea of set timed quests with this system. I've read about a few, like requiring you to kill a guy at 6pm, no sooner, no later, so on any given day there's several groups of people waiting around. Now 6pm doesn't bother me, but say i get another quest that requires me to play at 6am, well that's when i'm at work. So i have to wait until Saturday to do this quest, but now guess what, i arrive and there's already twelve groups there ahead of me. Who would've thought other people besides me worked during the week, so had to do 6am quests during the weekend?

I hear "just skip that quest", but say i've already did the nine quests leading up to this one, now i'm sol. And isn't the whole idea of the rest system that all players should have access to all content, not only those players that can play 24/7 ? So in the least, make certain time required kills be instanced, so on the weekend i can finally finish the quest, and not have to wait six months because someone always beats me to him on Saturday morning, and the npc doesn't repop for 24 hours.

I know this is confusing to some gamers, but i shouldn't have to change my schedule to experience the content. Say i call in sick to work today to do this 6am quest, what happens when i get a 10 am quest next week, a 8am quest the next week, and two 6am quests the next week? Maybe richers can afford to only work one day a week, but i got bills that require me to actually go to work when i'm supposed to, thus i can't adapt my schedule without getting fired. Job > games , at least for the average non-lottery winner. Give me a million and i'll play WoW 24/7 as well, but currently i'm restricted by reality.