Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback [suggestion] day and night cycle for better immersion

Hi!*

Remember when Sarevok murdered our foster father and we had to rush and find our revenge? Or when Irenicus kidnapped our sister so We had to find them as well? In each of this situations I had a feeling that the haste is important. One of the factors was, of course, passing time.

Now We have a freaking tadpole in our heads and even though everybody is keep saying that the time is important I don’t feel it. At the end of first chapter I don’t even know how many days have passed. Two? Six? Fourteen? Nobody cares. And the haste was never that important – tadpole could change us into Mind Flayers within days or hours.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t need to have disadvantages because a player wants to spend a little more time on exploring and such. Especially on main story, but “laziness” should somehow effect a story. We had this at first and second Baldur’s Gate. Minsc would get mad when a player chooses not to rescue Dynaheir or Boo. There is an opportunity for it in Baldur’s Gate 3 as well (Gale eating habits is perfect for it).

What is more a lack of night is killing an immersion. There are certain races which daylight or sunlight affects. For example Drows, Duergars or Vampires – We even can play as some of them and the daylight do not disturb us at all.
Moreover absence of day/night cycle is taking away some of gameplay options. Why would anyone sneak (daylight is affecting) and steal something during a day when it should be easier during a night? Or make a frontal attack at Druid Grove/Goblin Camp when We could sneak inside and ambush them from inside?
Last but not least I fear that the lack of day/night cycle might affect story possibilities. In first or second Baldur’s Gate We had quests that can only be triggered during specific time of the day – for example ghosts in Cemetery District. I think that benefit gameplay and immersion and I want that in Baldur’s Gate 3 as well.

At the end I want to establish that I don’t need a certain individual day routine (but it would be great), but somehow I want to feel that time is passing – during my gameplay I had situations when one of characters said that they were tired, but I had a feeling that I just started a day and they didn’t had any effect of tiredness as well.

It would be great if You, community and gamedevs, somehow reply to my appeal, because I would love to discuss with You this and weather affects too. Remember that weather conditions should affect gameplay as well!

*sorry for my rusty English!

Much as I’d love this, I don’t like our chances. They’ve already stated it would be too much work because of NPC activity cycles. And watching the Panel From Hell 2, they had to manually go in and adjust the lighting to make some cinematics look closer to evening so it doesn’t look like they have a dynamic system at all.

The issue of day/night cycle and weather has been raised many times in the forums but apparently Larian said it’s impossible due to co-op play. I have no idea why that’s the case but regardless it seems we will have to traverse the Sword Coast in permanent sunlight which is utterly immersion breaking for me personally. The people working on the game interviewed in the Panel From Hell live stream talked about creating a living world...sort of laughable that the world we traverse has no weather and no night time.

For anyone who ever played Warriors of the Eternal Sun on the Sega Megadrive/Genesis you’ll be familiar with playing a DnD game where the sun never sets.

Oh if it’s anything like DOS then sun will set or weather will change as you walk into a certain region and change back as you walk out. A bit like the swamp in BG3 Act 1, but more so.

Ironically, BG3 is the only big CRPG that I recall that don't have a D/N cycle.

Larian prefers to spend time and resources in speaking to animals/dead to make the game more like DOS.

Guys.

The reason there's no Day/Night cycle is because the day/night cycle is tied into the resting system. Because you're supposed to have to rest in order to progress since your long-rest-recharge abilities are supposed to be important.

There's a reason its called the 'five minute adventuring day'. The fact that the game currently doesn't force you to rest often to keep your abilities charged is a balancing issue.

Whatever the reasons, I think it's counter to the concepts of a role-playing game to divest players of the option to rest during the day should they wish (think Frodo, Sam, Gollum travelling in Mordor-I'm talking the books here, the films didn't include this). The idea that rogues can only sneak around during the day is laughable. As is forcing all party interactions to only happen at base camp. I thought RPGs were about freedom (within certain parameters) but all I see are decisions being forced on us that deprive the players of small things that add immensely to the sensation of travelling a living, immersive world. Anyway, I realise I'm speaking into the abyss here so I'll shut up.

Having a day cycle would only reinforce this.

I understand that resting is essential for story progression. But I think that a player should be able to choose rather he prefers to sleep at night or during a day. And there are mechanics in DnD 5e to do "force" player to rest often (apart from recharging abilities) - exhaustion for example. I think that lack of day and night cycle is making it a five day adventure game.

We can rest easily, use all our abilities within first fight and go to camp again. Even in all this happens in Underdark for example. I think this is ridiculous. I used to play DnD 5e and I had to sparingly use abilities and during the BG3 gameplay I had a feeling that this does not matter at all - that is a five minute a day adventure.

In two first Baldur's Gates We had dream sequences as well and some quests progressed only after a nap too. And I think that nobody missed them. Althought there was a day/night cycle and weather conditions.

I mean, this would be an even stronger argument in favor of trashing this half-assed current system and go back to having proper passage of time and a serviceable day/night cycle.

Incidentally, i started a thread about this very same topic sometime ago: https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=94314&Number=728467#Post728467

Not really a particularly popular one that most people actually cared about, admittedly, but still...