It seems like such a standard thing to have in any sort of open world game, especially this generation, yet I've noticed some sorta B-tier games that don't bother, and it seems weird. I'm sure it takes a bit more effort to make sure you've implemented some decent lighting effects so that shadows look right and whatever, but it's still always jarring when I realize a big explorable world I'm in just has this magical sun that never sets. Examples:

• Driver: San Francisco. Big explorable city, yet it is always day, even though the plot of the game must take place over the course of several days, if not weeks. The story is incredibly vague about the passage of time.
• The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. 3D Zelda games, starting with Ocarina of Time, have had day/night cycles. But not the DS ones! I know the DS has to work hard to display games with 3D graphics, but really? The sun never sets on this giant expanse of sea?
• Shit, I had other examples, but now that I'm home, I have forgotten them

Who's gonna say that Zelda's open world? It has a degree of non-linearity, sure, but I'm not sure it entirely counts as open world. Or maybe I'm confusing it with sandbox just a tad.

@BisonHero:

It didn't until you mentioned it and made me think about it. Jerk.

With games like Zelda, who says there has to be a night time? It could be a fictional place with a day night cycle like Alaska's.

I don't know. Sometimes I forget about day/night cycles in games. Like when I was playing Far Cry 3 at one point I remember thinking "does it turn to night in this game?" I'm not sure about it now, does it turn night in Far Cry 3? I think it does.

If there's no night time i'm not interested.

I remember when i used to play WoW and for months i never saw anything other than night time. A whole new world appeared before my eyes when i changed job and saw day time.

@Video_Game_King said:

Who's gonna say that Zelda's open world? It has a degree of non-linearity, sure, but I'm not sure it entirely counts as open world. Or maybe I'm confusing it with sandbox just a tad.

Yeah, Zelda definitely isn't a sandbox and does occasionally gate your access to some areas, but I'd consider it open world. Open worldness exists as a spectrum, without any clear demarcation points. Zelda isn't at the extreme end of the spectrum like Far Cry 3 or Skyrim or something, but it's certainly much more of an open world game than Fire Emblem or Uncharted or New Super Mario Bros. or Gears of War.

But yeah, the very first one is probably the only one that is like 100% an open world game.

@JasonR86 said:

@BisonHero:

It didn't until you mentioned it and made me think about it. Jerk.

I think open world racing games are more likely to skimp on having a day/night cycle, because I guess it's hard to do headlights AND keep your framerate up. Or something.

@BisonHero said:

@JasonR86 said:

@BisonHero:

It didn't until you mentioned it and made me think about it. Jerk.

I think open world racing games are more likely to skimp on having a day/night cycle, because I guess it's hard to do headlights AND keep your framerate up. Or something.

Maybe. I don't know though. I've only played two open-world racing games, Forza Horizon and Burnout Paradise, and Forza had a day/night cycle and Burnout patched one in.

I like how inFamous 2 changed the weather based on where you were in the main story so you could play some side missions in the day or at night. To not include one at all in this day and age when Jak and Daxter was able to do it over ten years ago is a damn shame.

Doesn't bother me in Dark Souls. Some night areas and some day areas work fine.

Kinda bummed me out when I noticed Saints Row 3 had no day/night cycle, so you didn't get the feeling of you doing crazy destruction from dusk till dawn like in SR2.

Playing Ocarina of Time right now and it's really bugging me how quick day and night change, by the time i'd get out of Kokiri Forest to reach Hyrule it would be night time with the gate up and I'd have to wait, thank god you get the sun song shortly after arriving at Kakariko Village.

No, it doesn't. Unless there's really a good reason for it, and it looks visually interesting.

But if there's any time requirements for missions, and it becomes a game of waiting, it's pretty bad.

If it's just a visual bonus and maybe a way to change up the environment, and some enemies/the amount traffic/pedestrians, then it's fine.

Not really. I don't really care about night/day cycle unless it adds to the experience.

Nier doesn't have one but it's explained why in the fiction

not really an open world game but ya know

so I guess if it's explained?

It probably should, but the truth of the matter is that I really hate navigating in the dark so I'm not terribly disappointed if it just stays daytime.

@Vextroid said:

Kinda bummed me out when I noticed Saints Row 3 had no day/night cycle, so you didn't get the feeling of you doing crazy destruction from dusk till dawn like in SR2.

Haven't played SR3 in a while, but theres really no day/night cycle? Do the missions control the time of day? I remember playing missions both during the day and at night.

I'm not going to lie, I think Dragon's Dogma would probably be a better game if it didn't have a day/night cycle and didn't force me to take out that stupid lantern in order to see more than 5 feet in front of me, though I guess by the postgame everything is dark and crappy during the day anyways.

Though really, I think it's pretty rare for any game of that genre to not have a day/night cycle. Arena had that, for crying out loud. Other than the examples you gave, I think it's pretty standard.

@WilliamHenry: I think it also changes when you save, but that's it.

@Vextroid said:

Kinda bummed me out when I noticed Saints Row 3 had no day/night cycle, so you didn't get the feeling of you doing crazy destruction from dusk till dawn like in SR2.

Haven't played SR3 in a while, but theres really no day/night cycle? Do the missions control the time of day? I remember playing missions both during the day and at night.

Not at all.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@WilliamHenry

@Vextroid said:

Kinda bummed me out when I noticed Saints Row 3 had no day/night cycle, so you didn't get the feeling of you doing crazy destruction from dusk till dawn like in SR2.

Haven't played SR3 in a while, but theres really no day/night cycle? Do the missions control the time of day? I remember playing missions both during the day and at night.

I'm pretty certain it has a day/night cycle.

It randomly changes whenever you do missions and possibly activities.

It's fun to see the dynamics of the game change when there's a proper cycle.