I like the idea of day/night as much as the next guy. But in reality what does it really add anyhow to be honest. I think Larian made the absolute right call on this given the quoted expense. I definitely MUCH rather they spend 30% of their budget (that would have otherwise gone to cycles) on more variety of in-game features and polish.
It was a business decision - and it is the right one.
Well, as mentioned in this thread day & night schedules can add several things to the game for everyone. Some examples include:
* Enhancements to realism for everyone - Beyond the obvious cosmetic changes in scenery, NPCs would react appropriately to changes both in the time of day, and also the weather (Larian gave an example of NPCs taking cover when it starts raining, rather than standing around oblivious in the middle of a downpour). I like the fact that in the evening hours I might find more of the town's population in the tavern (this was a behavior I was really fond of in Skyrim, actually).
* Enhancements to gameplay for certain classes or playstyles - it's easier to steal from market stalls during the dead of night, although extra security may be present. It's easier to rummage through homes and dwellings during the night when the population is sleeping, although doors that are normally open would likely be locked. Is there a period of time where most of the guards report to the messhall, leaving the training grounds more vulnerable to looting?
* Enhancements to combat for everyone - certain monsters or abilities may function worse or better depending on the time of day or changes in the weather. Fire-based mages would find themselves struggling during a rainstorm, undead may grow in strength at night, sneaking becomes more effective in a darker setting, extra encounters become available, etc.
If someone were to tell me a game has those features, I would personally be excited. On the other hand, if someone were to tell me the game provided me with the freedom to kill any NPC I wanted to, I would probably say
"Huh.. ok. Sounds a bit gratuitous to me." (to steal a phrase from an earlier poster).
So, in reality (compared to day & night schedules), what does
that level of freedom really add for me? Nothing. And yet, it had a big hand in costing us the day & night scheduling that I really wanted. So, bleh. I'd love to see a priority poll between these two features on the next game.
This is the day & night schedule video, by the way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtby4YGKlO8
