Season Length?

KnightPixie

Are season rotations still being tweaked? The last thing I had heard was that seasons would last one Earth week each. Does the design team feel comfortable with one week seasons? Would they consider maybe something on the longer end like 1-2 Earth months per season? To go through a game year (all four seasons) in less than 1 Earth month seems really strange/quick. With lengthening seasons it also may drive players to save certain resources if they knew they will have a longer drought before being able to obtain those resources/farmables again.

I'm curious what others thought about the short length of seasons?

JeszeEnbee

I also think its too short, but I'd be happy with 2 weeks per season instead. I think everyone is gonna feel slightly different on this though so its hard to say who's opinion is better.

KnightPixie

burningtuxedo wrote: »

I also think its too short, but I'd be happy with 2 weeks per season instead. I think everyone is gonna feel slightly different on this though so its hard to say who's opinion is better.

True, it is very subjective, but I've only ever come from games that match real world seasons as a 1:1. Days and weeks in game may be a lot faster, but seasons always mapped to Summer in Summer and Winter in Winter. So it feels really strange to go to "Well, Summer only lasts 1week now". Most likely I think 2-5 weeks would probably be a sweet spot for season length where seasons can be enjoyed multiple times a year, but they aren't seemly rushed/forced through.

daxiongmao87

I also didn't really like that seasons only last 1 week. 2 weeks would be better.

Personally one season per month would be nice, but that deviates too much from the 1 week rotation I'm sure many wouldn't agree.

Not a huge deal, but as someone who may play once or twice a week due to life stuffs, seeing each season once or twice In a row would be kinda weird.

JeszeEnbee

It will also depend on how much the gameplay interacts with seasons, if someone likes farming for example I think it would be less engaging for the seasons to be really long because they are just growing the same kinds of crops for months at a time. Seasons changing could also bring about unique mobs or gatherables that only show up in that season something else I think favors the seasons changing more frequently to provide that variety.

On the other end though its less immersive to have the season be so short and also if they are short a player might not get to experience what that season has to offer before it changes due to time constraints. There is a sweet spot somewhere I am sure like you mentioned.

Vhaeyne

I am going to have to feel it. FFXI had a really short like 3-4 day season. It was only noticeable if you were waiting for the right weather for something. If I still had a feel for the seasons in FFXI then extended them to a week might feel unbearable. It may feel just right in AoC.

As far as seeds and harvesting goes. Having the market prices flux on seasonal times weekly sounds good to me. My bet is that you will stock pile enough seeds every season for the next season. Like the farmers of old.

KnightPixie

Vhaeyne wrote: »

I am going to have to feel it. FFXI had a really short like 3-4 day season. It was only noticeable if you were waiting for the right weather for something. If I still had a feel for the seasons in FFXI then extended them to a week might feel unbearable. It may feel just right in AoC.

As far as seeds and harvesting goes. Having the market prices flux on seasonal times weekly sounds good to me. My bet is that you will stock pile enough seeds every season for the next season. Like the farmers of old.

From what it sounds like AoC game is that there will be some areas that may always be desert or always be snowy, but for others plant life will die off in the fall, it will snow in winter, new growth in spring, and ??? in summer. I can't ever recall FFXI being like that. They had super short years (a little over 2weeks) but the effects seemed so muted; they were non memorable to me.
I think AoC will be like if say Sarutabaruta or Ronfaur started getting a build up of snowfall and then it suddenly melted away in the span of a week and then repeated again every real month. Or like if it's impossible to grow certain plants in Windy for a week. That to me would have been super disrupting.

EmoNagger

1 week is perfect, if certain resource is locked behind on summer only and I missed it, I got to wait 3 weeks for it.

Sendbackup

Personally I agree with it being 2 weeks per season

Skeletor8

I think that having them be 1 week is not too bad, let's say I only pay a subscription for one month, then I get to experience all the seasons of it. In the other hand, having them be longer, like 2 weeks, would make it easier to adapt and understand better what to do in each season,

Vhaeyne

KnightPixie wrote: »

From what it sounds like AoC game is that there will be some areas that may always be desert or always be snowy, but for others plant life will die off in the fall, it will snow in winter, new growth in spring, and ??? in summer. I can't ever recall FFXI being like that. They had super short years (a little over 2weeks) but the effects seemed so muted; they were non memorable to me.
I think AoC will be like if say Sarutabaruta or Ronfaur started getting a build up of snowfall and then it suddenly melted away in the span of a week and then repeated again every real month. Or like if it's impossible to grow certain plants in Windy for a week. That to me would have been super disrupting.

I remember having pots in my house. I can't remember seasons playing a role in FFXI. You are right though. I did not even think about it, but location could be huge when it comes to growing. There are a lot of variables here the more I think about this. Some plants might grow faster, or need more attention to grow. There might be different grades of fertilizers? Crop rotating? It could be a very complex system.

Wiki does not give a high amount of detail on these questions: https://ashesofcreation.wiki/Farming

CaptnChuck

I feel like 1 week is too short if you want seasons to actually impact players on the server. On the other hand, 3 weeks is too long as it causes visual dampening. Imagine being in winter for 3 weeks, it gets really boring.

I think each season lasting for 15 days is probably the right amount as it will both, impact the player's playstyle significantly, and it won't not bore players visually.

Warth

This decision should be based on whats the best from a game design perspective. Deciding something like that "based on the feeling" that 1, 2 or 3 weeks might be best is stupid.

How much of the world is affected by it, how does it impact herbs, farming, crop roatations, how does it impact other aspects of the player's life. Can certain potions only be made for herbs that grow in spring? Will this create a market, where certain herbs can only be utilized within certain seasons? Will it solely affect quality?

All these factors are important. We don't have any information though. Basing it on "feelings" of a weeks being too short or not is arbitrary and would result in horrible game design decisions.

KnightPixie

Warth wrote: »

This decision should be based on whats the best from a game design perspective. Deciding something like that "based on the feeling" that 1, 2 or 3 weeks might be best is stupid.

How much of the world is affected by it, how does it impact herbs, farming, crop roatations, how does it impact other aspects of the player's life. Can certain potions only be made for herbs that grow in spring? Will this create a market, where certain herbs can only be utilized within certain seasons? Will it solely affect quality?

All these factors are important. We don't have any information though. Basing it on "feelings" of a weeks being too short or not is arbitrary and would result in horrible game design decisions.

I agree that the decision should be best for the design system, however I was simply curious as to others opinions felt on this.

For example if you can only play on the weekends (due to hectic job or school schedule or similar) and you log in and it's summer being all hot and tropical or something. Maybe a relative visits the next week. The next time you log in and it's in game winter with snow all over the place. If I log into the next game session and it suddenly turned from summer to winter that would seem very strange considering I'd only been gone a real life week (two technically since I'd only be on the weekends).

EMT

1 week is fine. When you are actually in the game and going on your fourth month you will probably be used to it by then.

Marcet

I would like 1 month per season, one week is soo small... you would feel like nothing happened, you cant save up things for other seasons to sell it for more.. nah.. minimum 2 weeks.