An open letter to Rockstar: please slow down the fast in game clock and please patch the day, night and weather transitions!

[Merle Travis]

A PETITION IS UP, PLEASE SIGN UP EVERYBODY

 

This is a game that prides itself on immersion, which is why its odd the games day and night cycle is so fast. Sunsets, sunrises and other weather changes are hard to enjoy when time is going by this fast. Almost everyone I have talked to are disappointed with a mere 48 minutes for day and night. It seems to be roughly the same as GTA V, 1 hour = 2 minutes, but with faster sunsets and nights for some reason so it sometimes ends up being only 30 minutes! That fast does not fit this games pace, it does not blend well with the atmosphere and hinders immersion. As someone said, contemplating the wide open plains and vistas, from the golden late afternoon sun, as the sun *slowly* sets turning from yellow, to orange to red to scattering purple colour on the clouds, that was one of the most artful and atmospheric things in RDR1. But not in RDR 2, they just fly by and are over in an instant. I measured it and sunsets only last around 10-15 seconds. The hours during night is even faster, like 1 minute so 1 night is like 5-7 minutes. The clock is so fast there is no real need to sleep to skip time. If you go out hunting at midnight, ride somewhere, set up camp and sit by the fire, its already morning. You go in a shop in the morning and buy and sell some things for a while, you go out its already evening. Why though, when the game is so gorgeous and tries to pace it self so differently than GTA? This game is meant to be enjoyed with patience...feels very rushed to have sunsets and other dynamic weather changes happen that fast. Its like they designed the game for the average player to play for half an hour or so. Only no one does that in this game because of the size of the world and the amount of things you can do. Rockstar, if you are reading this, please patch this and let us enjoy weather changes and sunsets and sunrises! At the very least please add a time slider setting in the menu for single player. I don't really see what the problem would be to add an option, they could still have missions happen at fixed times, online mode that is coming wouldn't be affected neither since they could make an option just for single player.

 

Rockstar ought to address this, because as it is now, the fast cycle affects the weather badly too - weather changes are very obvious and hectic, clouds and the moon or storms fly by in just a matter of minutes even seconds sometimes. The sky does some very strange things when you observe it in that I am wondering whether it is a bug or was intended this way. I have had lighting changes from one second to another like someone turned a lamp off. The fast cycle also makes it hard for the player to feel that they managed to do what they wanted during a day or a night. It would not only be more realistic but much more enjoyable with a time cycle setting for single player that would let you chose cycle length, all the way up to realistic passage of time. Anyone who wouldn't like to change the cycle of 48 minutes could simply keep the option off. 

 

Skyrim modders managed to mod time with very little effort in that game, and in GTA V modders did it pretty easily for the PC version. Going by the GTA V mod there seems to be a universal clock that everything runs according to and it is very probable it is the same in Red Dead 2, which makes it easy to modify. NPCs are probably locked to a world clock and since this is Rockstar we are talking about, they probably have coded it well enough that the clock can be modified and NPC schedules will be adjusted accordingly.  So it should not be that hard for Rockstar to at least add this as an optional feature for single player. They wouldn't lose any daily deducted money either from online since they can keep the faster day cycle in the online mode. And even if they dont slow it down, they must patch the fast sunsets and lighting and weather changes, they are not enjoyable when they are this buggy!

 

With that said, lets make this happen together folks! Lets write to Rockstar and request an option for a slower day and night cycle and fix the sunsets and weather changes: 

 

Link to Petition

 

Link to RDR 2 supportpage (click bug report)

 

Link to Rockstar mouthoff

 

Link to Rockstar Twitter

 

Since this thread has gotten traction, I'd advise anyone writing Rockstar to link to this thread in their message as well. Please reach out to them on Twitter and Facebook and other social outlets, its our only chance and its more likely they take notice on social media and their own channels. Just remember to be nice about it and explain the problem and hopefully they will take notice.

 

Edited November 28, 2018 by Merle Travis

[Penicuikscotland2010]

Yeah kind of. The sunsets go extremely fast. I wish they kept the time cycle consistent. A patch could sort this out i would think.

[roe]

Yes! I think overall this is my biggest complaint about the game. There's just no need for it to be so quick, especially given how the game tries to pace itself so deliberately.

I really hope it's something that they can patch in or at least add some kind of cheat code or option to slow it.

Ideally I'd love it if it just worked in real time. That way we could enjoy the landscapes perfectly and then if you want to play at night or a different time of day, there are the sleeping options to get to whatever time of day you want.

[volta2001]

It definitely feels too quick, especially after playing theHunter for a ton of hours 

[TiberiusMcQueen]

Yeah, it should be at least twice as long as it is. Such a quick cycle just feels out of place in this game.

[Lock n' Stock]

I can't help but feel like the day/night cycle does go a little quick. Does kill the immersion somewhat.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Lock n' Stock

[elfoam]

You have to remember in online all your living fees will be deducted daily so they faster they make it the better. This game has to pay their wages for the next few years remember, it's not going to come cheap.

[Merle Travis]

On 10/28/2018 at 2:58 AM, elfoam said:

You have to remember in online all your living fees will be deducted daily so they faster they make it the better. This game has to pay their wages for the next few years remember, it's not going to come cheap.

Yeah I get that, but why not put an option slider for passage of time in single player menu? It wouldn’t have to affect online mode, they could easily keep that setting out of online. The missions still take place at fix points in time so it wouldnt mess up the game either. To have that option would make the single player so much more enjoyable.

Edited October 31, 2018 by Merle Travis

[TheSantader25]

I'm fine with 48 minutes but it feels quicker than that. Is it perhaps like 36 minutes? 

Edited October 28, 2018 by TheSantader25

[Gangsta Braze]

Lol y’all always crying about something 

[TheSantader25]

I doubt they can fix this though. The NPCs, weather and Wildlife are made to adapt with this cycle. If they change it the whole game could go to sh*t. 

[oCrapaCreeper]

1 hour ago, Gangsta Braze said:

Lol y’all always crying about something 

It’s a valid complaint. Sunrises and sunsets last for literally a few seconds and the transitions are jarring.

[volta2001]

ya this is actually getting really irritating. i want to go on long night hunts, but by the time i get to where i want to go its 5am. and the camping system places you in random places it seems like. come on nowww. theres no day/night cheat either from what ive seen. there should be random beds in cabins you can sleep in 

Edited October 28, 2018 by volta2001

[Jabalous]

1 hour ago, TheSantader25 said:

I doubt they can fix this though. The NPCs, weather and Wildlife are made to adapt with this cycle. If they change it the whole game could go to sh*t. 

I imagine the life cycle goes in parallel with the day/night cycle. I don't know how it's designed and programmed, but I think they can do it while keeping everything consistent. I agree with the OP about the short day-night cycle. 

Edited October 28, 2018 by Jabalous

[Rockstar Vienna]

Yeah, noticed that too. RDR2's atmosphere is amazing but idk what happened there... Played a lot of AC Odyssey before RDR2 came out and I think that cycle is perfect. The weather change is also pretty fast but not as bad as the quick sunrise/sunset. 

[volta2001]

with the extremely slow pace this game thrives at, you'd think they would move away from their "it's always worked for us" mindset. I really hope they add an option to adjust this. its the biggest immersion breaker for me.  

[Jabalous]

It's not an immersion breaker for me, but it's distracting in a world that's almost consistent everywhere else. I cannot seem to be able to catch up with sunrises and sunsets for enough time. I believe Rockstar should look into modifying the cycle, or maybe give players pre-determined settings to choose between short, medium and long cycles. If enough players demand it, they might consider it. I remember the cycle in Redemption was longer and had a more consistent transition. 

[White Shark]

Agreed 100%. I've never liked the fast time cycle in GTA, and especially in this game when everything is a much slower pace of life, the day to night goes so fast. I'd like it that every 10 minutes in game is 1 minute real life. So 6 minutes real life = hour in game. You can always sleep in game if you want to pass time quick for certain activities.

5 hours ago, Gangsta Braze said:

Lol y’all always crying about something 

You all*

[Lonely-Martin]

To be fair, I enjoy both day and night and haven't really noticed. But that is because I'm still in awe and learning bits too, plus I'm not the biggest picture taker. (Hoping to take more snaps but keep forgetting to push the button until the photo-op has gone, lol).

 

Won't object to a longer cycle though. I do like my spells on things and when I want to do day things or night, be nice to be sure it's still evening when I go on the piss and play cards. Pictures too of course, knowing I've plenty of time to soak it in and take snaps it will only help.

 

Better yet, an option in there to set the game to a certain time. Probably best for after story, but just a thought.

[Jabalous]

I've already submitted a request on Rockstar's Support page and filed it under Bugs, and I also linked to this topic. I encourage everyone who'd like to have it modified, or to be given options to modify it, to submit a request. This is a serious matter for a game that's based on atmosphere and world consistency. There's no issue in trying, even if they eventually do nothing about it.

 

Let your voice be heard! 

[roe]

27 minutes ago, Jabalous said:

I've already submitted a request on Rockstar's Support page and filed it under Bugs, and I also linked to this topic. I encourage everyone who'd like to have it modified, or to be given options to modify it, to submit a request. This is a serious matter for a game that's based on atmosphere and world consistency. There's no issue in trying, even if they eventually do nothing about it.

 

Let your voice be heard! 

Not a bad idea and I've done the same.  I don't think I've ever tried to contact a developer about anything in a game before but I genuinely feel passionately about this. 

Let's hope someone relevant is at least aware of how frustrating this is and can maybe help get it fixed.

[The Algerian]

Couldn't agree more, each time night falls, I'm really confused, it looks like a cutscene's happening.

Not only that, I spent hours looking for the first treasure (only to realize it was in a spot I already looked 10x), and night always got in the way.

[CrimsonFolo]

I noticed that there was a storm and within a min, it went away and the clouds literally dissipated into thin air. I wanted a bit more time to experience the weather and look at it properly

[oCrapaCreeper]

28 minutes ago, The FoolYT said:

I noticed that there was a storm and within a min, it went away and the clouds literally dissipated into thin air. I wanted a bit more time to experience the weather and look at it properly

Yeah, that happens a lot. I think it happens if you’re riding to different areas, since the weather changes depending on location.

[Merle Travis]

7 hours ago, TheSantader25 said:

I doubt they can fix this though. The NPCs, weather and Wildlife are made to adapt with this cycle. If they change it the whole game could go to sh*t. 

Well, this is Rockstar so they will have coded this game well, meaning there will be a universal time clock that all NPCs and animals adjust to, and if you modify that setting, the NPCs and animals adjust to that. That is pretty standard in game development, and this is Rockstar. They will have made it tweakable without breaking the whole game.

2 hours ago, Jabalous said:

It's not an immersion breaker for me, but it's distracting in a world that's almost consistent everywhere else. I cannot seem to be able to catch up with sunrises and sunsets for enough time. I believe Rockstar should look into modifying the cycle, or maybe give players pre-determined settings to choose between short, medium and long cycles. If enough players demand it, they might consider it. I remember the cycle in Redemption was longer and had a more consistent transition. 

Completely agree with your post friend. Be sure to write them on their support page, only the fans of the game can make this happen!

42 minutes ago, The FoolYT said:

I noticed that there was a storm and within a min, it went away and the clouds literally dissipated into thin air. I wanted a bit more time to experience the weather and look at it properly

This so much. The weather moves extremely quickly, one second its blue sky, the next all of a sudden clouds teleport into the sky its really immersion breaking.

[Cyper]

I agree.

 

There should be a timescale slider in options menu giving folks the option to choose from a few different timescales, such sa Very slow, Slow, Default, Fast, Very Fast.

[Merle Travis]

On 10/28/2018 at 3:01 PM, Cyper said:

I agree.

 

There should be a timescale slider in options menu giving folks the option to choose from a few different timescales, such sa Very slow, Slow, Default, Fast, Very Fast.

Well said friend. Please take the time to write Rockstar on their support page or on Rockstar Twitter too, its the only chance we have of making it happen.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Merle Travis

[djb204]

I think the duration of the day/night cycle is intended by design. Take riding from Valentine to Saint Denis for example, this is suppose to be a great distance crossing States/regions. So the day/night cycle duration is suppose to represent that. We shouldn’t be able to travel from one city to the next within 15 in game minutes. The duration is suppose to represent the scale of the map that Rockstar is attempting to capture.

 

I agree the sun and moon fly across the sky at a crazy speed. I’ve witnessed the moon travel across the sky while I was I a forest. All I saw were these light rays shining through the trees as traveled above me. I thought it was a UFO or something until I got in the clear and saw the moon. It does move fast but I get what they were “TRYING” to do.

[Algonquin Assassin]

I was watching the in game clock and it appears to be calibrated to skip every 5 minutes in game so say it's 1:30pm a second or so later it'll be 1.35. I get the illusion of creating scale when travelling, but I have to admit it's immersion breaking when you're browsing through a catalogue in the afternooon, come back out of the store and it's almost midnight. 

[Crm114]

Only time I noticed it is with the sunsets they last 5 seconds. Marybe they can slow down that part. I'm up for slowing the clock down overall as well but nothing drastic.