Greetings medievalists!
Time to continue our previous talk.
Another important addition to the temperature overhaul is the day & night cycle. If you check it now, you’ll notice that sunrise and sunset always occur at the same time, regardless of the season. Sunrise usually occurs sometimes around 4AM (great time for pretty screenshots), while sunset happens around 8PM (also, great time for pretty screenshots). While that is a good enough solution, it ain’t… interesting. In reality, days are longer during the summer and shorter in winter. While Going Medieval is not a 100% realistic game (hauling bear pets say hi), we try to take real elements and gamify them in a sensible way. So, that is what we did.
In the summertime, the sun will rise around 4AM and go down around 9PM. During the winter season, sunrise will occur around 8AM, and sunset around 3PM. This also means that the angle of the sun will also be different depending on the season, so things that received enough light during the summer, might not receive enough of it during the winter. All of this should put heavier emphasis on the summer/winter difference.
We’ll also introduce the diffuse sunlight effect. Let’s put it this way: you make a closed room with no windows. It’s cold, it’s dark, so you put a couple of torches in it to light things up. Sure, the room is warmer, but you can’t place a plant in there and expect it to grow. This is due to the room space being marked as “Inside”. But, in the upcoming update, you’ll be able to place a window and now anything around that window will ‘embrace’ diffuse sunlight. This means that you’ll be able to cultivate plants in rooms, even in some caves, as long as sunlight can reach it and it isn’t too cold. Close to reality, right?
In Update #9, you’ll be able to plant flora anywhere, and it will grow… as long as there is sunlight there. There is another catch, there is a chance that once the growing period is over, the plant becomes stunted. Stunted plants are smaller in appearance and will yield less. The chance of being stunted increases depending on how much sunlight a plant receives. When it comes to trees, beyond sunlight, the amount of other trees nearby also increases stunted chances.
We’ll introduce another structure type in order to help sunlight reach your room. Can you guess what it is? You’ll get your answer in MMT #37 next week, along with other interesting tidbits that are coming in the update #9. Until then…
Stay medieval!