Will day ever end, will the weather ever change?

LOL!


it' funny 'cuz it's true

Adding a lightsorce that moves is not as simple as you might think. Things would look wonky if the world was not designed for it. Many objects in the game would have to be adjusted to absorb and reflect light differently. Some textures would have to be redone so that faked shadows and highlights were removed. Don't expect bioware to do this, ever. It is a design choice that was made early on. It is way to much work to go back now and change it.

honestly, im never on a planet long enough to enjoy weather effects even if there were weather effects.

i agree though, it would be nice, it would make the planets more dynamic.

They must be using an obscure engine then, most have it as a feature? Or so I'm told..

The Hero Engine can do it, at least the current finished version.

It would be nice to see day/night and some rain once and a while. I remember in SWG how sometimes if we was talking outside in a group and it would start to rain we'd all run for cover lol! As if we was really getting wet!! Funny thinking about it now.

It does make a difference to the game. That's just the way I feel anyway.

And any good storyteller will tell you that things like that are all added to set the tone for that point in the story. Weather does set the mood, but random effects do not. There was a reason a sandstorm appeared on Tat in Ep1; there was a reason why we watched night fall on Hoth in Ep5; there was also a reason we saw nary a drop of rain the whole time we were on the forest moon of Endor in Ep6 - even though that moon clearly gets it quite often. The reason all those effects and "mood-generators" were (or were not present) in those scenes was because it advanced or was (wasn't in the case of absence) to the story the scene was trying to tell at the time. Time cycles and changing weather events are completely unnecessary to the stories being told for each character on each planet they visit. Again, time and money better spent creating more of the story then unnecessary scenery - the old saying goes, some times less is more.

And that may make complete sense in a Sandbox game like SWG was where player reaction and interaction drives the content. It's makes less sense in a themepark oriented game where storytelling is the driving factor.

The bottom line is, when I go to my favorite themepark the changes I want to see are the addition of more rides and attactions. That's why I am going there, to enjoy the "content" they have built at the park. Would changing all the paint colors on the building and putting flashy designs in the pavement enhance the "atmosphere" at the park - for some, no doubt it will. But when it comes down to making a decision where the choice comes between adding "atmosphere" and adding "content", then the latter wins out every time for me at the themepark.

BJ

I totally agree with you about how weather sets the mood, but random effects do not, but you're also wrong. I played WoW and LOTRO and many of my favorite quests were tied to specific weather or daytime effects. For example, one quest could only be done when it was dark and foggy, others could only be done during daylight hours, etc. I think Taris would be a great place for that - Rakghouls could be scarce during the day, but come out in swarms at night. As others have said, it's probably too late now, but it has been done in other games before, and quite well.

Sorta agree, but not for performance issues as those can be fixed, and obviously ignored and not be applied.

Its more of a lack of lore information, not to mention how each systems time zones would work. Think about it you could be in a bright world during its morning hours then travel to a dark one during night. Not to mention the fact how long a day is to a planet.

It could take weeks.

Finally its the atmosphere of the world your playing in that would be more closely effected during game time. Wouldn't make sense to see bright lights of laser beams being shot out every night.

If you want to see a well implimented day/night cycle try planetside 2. It's probably THE best ever done. But it only works so well because they use a very good lighting and shadow system (even the clouds cast ground shadows).

But then PS2 is pushing the boundries of modern technology, while EA are to scared to take any risks with their MMOs.