Worked on additions to my auto-save char script today and noticed a problem with Timers in Combat I already suspected to exist earlier (related to my 'StandStill' mod that sets reaction priorities in combat, using a timer), but I never tested.
Now, timers (always speaking of local timers in char scripts) work fine in peace but in combat they bug out. While 30 seconds in peace are exactly 30 seconds, they seem to pass faster (or get cut or the timer gets ended before its time) when characters start/end(?) turn in combat. As long as one player is in active turn time passes as usual. When he ends turn and other characters start/end turn something happens, but I didn't find a rule for the effect on time (my time based auto-saves, 30 seconds interval, documented the breaking time continuum, and I shuddered).
For testing purposes I scripted a permanent timer for each main player character that plays an effect on the character every 15 seconds. I started the timers at different times, so the characters played their effect asynchronously.
Out of combat this worked fine. But when combat started and characters began to start and end turns, the 15 seconds rule got skipped and they played their effects in shorter intervals (random seeming but probably somehow related to start/end turn points). And after a while they started to play their effect synchronously (without regarding the 15 seconds rule) and never stopped staying in line. - It seems as if the timers were suddenly ended (not stopped) at the same time (so the characters played their effects at the same time), but I didn't find a rule for when this is supposed to happen.
Then I tested with a permanent timer that plays an effect every 100 seconds. After a longer while of starting and ending turns the timer was ended before 100 seconds were over, but significantly earlier than a 300 seconds timer I used after that.
I've no idea who's to be consulted here: a programmer, a physicist, or a doctor.
At least I can say: I hope you are aware of that and it gets/is already fixed, at least for D:OS 2. I also remind of the DelayReaction problematic in combat that delays reaction for the whole combat and not for the given time, what causes some unreasonable behaviour of enemies in combat.
