Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Long rest and missable events?

I actually have a longer post I'm writing on the handling of time and distance in these games, but the short version is that if the passage of time is not consistent, then it is not acceptable to surprise the player with a case of time passing where the outcome is not obviously plausible and foreseeable.

And the passing of time in these games is almost never consistent. Just consider that you're plot-wise on a very unforgiving timer (at least that's the state of your knowledge), but if you follow that timer's logic, you'll end up meeting the Githyanki patrol at level 2 or 3 and you'll be killed. Time in these games is made to not matter because that often gets in a way of an enjoyable game on a much more fundmental level than "I'm missing a minor quest". We want to follow the plot, but we also want to explore. Both are intrinstic parts of an enjoyable game of this kind. And they do not mix well if the plot is on a timer, and that's why time in these games almost never really matters. That being the case, any case of timed events feels artificial and forced unless it is very much obvious that things don't make sense without it.

So, local time passing in a world where it globally does not pass should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. And it should not be necessary unless it is necessary by some event logic within the game world. Which means the fact that time is locally passing can be communicated with in-game events. And it should be communicated in every case. Because for reasons stated above, the default assumption in these games is that time passing does not matter.

The alternative is that it matters globally and consistently. I think that is desirable, but it would require that the game simulates its whole world all the time. It could be done, even with a game the size of BG3, but it would be a great deal of additional work. Also, the requirements of exploration and plot must be brought into accord. So no more plots that start with "you absolutely must do this ASAP". That is quite possible. BG1 did not have this problem, for instance, but it is a limitation on the kind of plot you might not want.