Darkness

Alpha-2 Winstead node at night.

You guys will probably notice that the nighttime is significantly darker than when you guys last saw our nighttime update. We saw feedback from the community that bringing in the field of vision through the lighting in the environment was something you guys wanted to see; and that's what we have adjusted a bit. – Steven Sharif

Darkness as an environmental obstacle is being considered as part of the game mechanics.

• The developers are requesting feedback on the intensity of illumination and darkness that will be present in Alpha-2.

In more survival oriented games you're expected to have really dark night times because you utilize instruments like torches and lights that can be present, but when you think about an MMORPG and you think about the types of player numbers and player count you're expected to have in certain locations and dungeons, you need to be able to accommodate those types of visibility lines and those mechanics around that large multiplayer environment. So when you guys are giving feedback think about whether or not you want the outside night time to really be very dark, or if you want that to be reserved for specific locations in game, like certain dungeons and towers where we can utilize mechanics like different types of lighting mechanisms in order to facilitate that more dark feel. – Steven Sharif

Day/night cycle

Alpha-2 day/night cycle.

Day and night cycles in Ashes of Creation are actually over the course of a few hours. – Steven Sharif

There is a day/night cycle in Ashes of Creation.

• Day and night cycles occur over the course of a few hours.
  • Fifteen IRL minutes may equate to one hour in game time but this is subject to change.
  • Day and night cycle tied to server time will be tested in Alpha-2.

The day night cycle is tied to server time, yes. So there is a number of hours that exist between each of the cycles. That's something that we'll be fine-tuning of course during Alpha 2 as well, but it is intended for players to interact with certain systems even based on in-game time as well. – Steven Sharif

• The developers requested feedback on the intensity of illumination and darkness that will be present in Alpha-2.
  • Based on feedback the developers increased the nighttime darkness.

• Some resources are only gatherable at specific times of the day or night.

• NPCs and mobs may be awake or have varying behaviors at different times of the day. This might also influence abilities and/or buff/debuff vulnerabilities.
  • Different monsters will spawn at different times.
  • Different emissive effects may be more prevalent on night creatures.

Certain creatures will react differently. Certain spawns react differently during night times and different day/night cycles. Those might also influence things like abilities and/or buff/debuff vulnerabilities. You'll have to find out based on the type of creature you're experiencing. – Steven Sharif

• Constellations and moons rotate and change throughout the night.

Seasonal changes

Right now we're getting some rain which will usher in springtime and so you'll see all the flora that's growing up right now out of the ground. – Brian Gans

Seasons change on a regular basis, but may also be triggered or elongated by certain events.

• Each season will be approximately one or two IRL weeks long.

They might last longer if you don't deal with the dragon, or if you keep that relic active, but these on a cycle on a cyclical perspective as a normal season transition might be exist within a one week timeframe right and then it transitions over a period of hours. – Steven Sharif

• The final duration of seasonal cycles is subject to testing during Alpha-2.

The weather systems, the season systems, that's going to be a obvious point of testing for Alpha 2 of course. We're going to play around with the different cycles and and times and how they impact the economy, the rotation of resources, the movement of goods: all of those things play into the purpose- one of the purposes of having seasonal systems. So that is something that we are going to play with during our Alpha 2 testing and will land on what feels both most comfortable- is visually appealing, but also has the impact on the economy that we desire to see on the design side. – Steven Sharif

• Environmental seasons are not to be confused with PvP seasons, which last for six months.

In Ashes of Creation the world will change on a regular basis. Zones will progress in a seasonal cycle, which will alter the very nature of the environment around you. Snow may block pathways that are accessible in warmer months, spring may encourage creatures otherwise unseen to come to the surface, and fall might be the only time that certain crops thrive. This cycle can then take in the state of the world’s Nodes and shift depending on their progression.

See also

• Environments
• Underrealm