Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

[Admiral50]

Been playing Red Dead and am getting annoyed at how short the cycle is. I go out first thing in the morning to do a quest or two and before I know it, it's dark again.

I think I remember the same frustration in GTA, Oblivion and Zelda games.

Why can't devs make the cycle longer? Or at least give some sort of option?

[Trevelyan]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

I remember in borderlands it would go day to night lightning fast, and the night gameplay was terrible in that game imo.

[bcruise]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

None worse than the two N64 Zelda games, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Seriously, I think day and night are no longer than 10 minutes or so. Of course, it wasn't really a complaint back then seeing as it probably hadn't been done in 3D up to that point.

It was made even worse in Majora's by the fact that the ENTIRE GAME is timed. You basically get 3 days before the world ends, and the 3 days reset (along with most of what you've done) anytime you play the Song of Time. Thus forcing you to rush like crazy outside of the four dungeon levels (where time slows a bit) and not really be able to appreciate the game, IMO.

[Guffers]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

Its about 45 minutes in GTA IV isn't it? It honestly felt about right for me. Although I can understand the frustration in Red Dead Redemption, as in my mind I really want to feel the harshness of the sun and the terrain in that game. They did a wonderful job of evoking the dust and the heat of the outback and I want it to last if I'm out on an adventure.

[Valdarez]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

Been playing Red Dead and am getting annoyed at how short the cycle is. I go out first thing in the morning to do a quest or two and before I know it, it's dark again.

I think I remember the same frustration in GTA, Oblivion and Zelda games.

Why can't devs make the cycle longer? Or at least give some sort of option?

I actually liked the cycles in Red Dead Redemption. What I didn't like was how often it was dark when joining online sessions. For whatever reason 90% of the time I joined it was either night time or cloudy and raining. Made for a fairly dark experience overall.

[HealyMonster]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

Its about 45 minutes in GTA IV isn't it? It honestly felt about right for me. Although I can understand the frustration in Red Dead Redemption, as in my mind I really want to feel the harshness of the sun and the terrain in that game. They did a wonderful job of evoking the dust and the heat of the outback and I want it to last if I'm out on an adventure.

I did the math for RDR it was like 30 real life minutes for a whole in game day from sunrise to sunrise so darkness prob lasted a good 12 minutes, then you would have a good 18-20 minutes of sunshine.

GTA IV seems pretty close but i haven't done any math in that one.

[canes21]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

GTA IV is 48 minutes. Each in game minutes is 2 seconds.

[mgoblue]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

I'm fine with RDR, especially since some stuff you can only do at night and some during the day...it'd get annoying if I had to kill tons of time just to be able to hunt what I need or do a certain mission.

[MC Fatigue]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

They're fine in RDR. You have to realize that game world is supposed to represent a HUGE portion of land, but it obviously has to be scaled down. The point of day/night cycle being shorter to to accommodate for that.

In fact, I'd say it's perhaps a little long if you can travel from Blackwater to Escasomething in less than one day.

[Blzer]

Re: Is it just me or are Day/Night cycles too short in games?

I fear that GT5's cycle will be too short as well when I watched one of the racing clips while the sun was setting. On one stretch of road it went from sundown to stars in the sky.