Day/Night Cycle

 'Do you have a suggestion? Discuss this topic on the forums !' A day/night cycle is typical for the online text game genre, and in most cases, it's either limited to aesthetic appeal only, or determines whether shops are open or not. For now, Tohm focuses on the aesthetics, but the tentative plan is to also integrate the cycle into combat (relative power for schools of magic, difficulty of landing ranged attacks) and the types of opponents players may encounter (also, some areas may be totally safe during the day but dangerous after nightfall).

Balancing Verbosity and Detail
Time notifications have the potential to be distracting and annoying when they arrive too often. After settling on the length of a game day in real time, we decided that Tohm would only notify players four times per game day - at the beginning of sunrise and its completion, and at the beginning and end of sunset. This gives players a warning when there will soon be a change in case it's important to their situation, and lets them know exactly when the change has officially taken place. To avoid giving players a feeling of repetition, builders may write time notifications which vary with location, weather, and season (see below).

Realism
Players only notice the pasage of time in locations where they can see the outdoors. When deep underground in a cave or in a room without exterior doors or windows, players may lose track of the passage of time.

Variation by Region
Region-specific time notifications mean that as time progresses, players can get messages unique to their immediate surroundings. For example, the sun might gleam off of a tall tower in the forest, or warm the cobblestone walkway underfoot in the city.

Intersections with Weather and Season
Messages concerning the passage of time may also take into consideration the current season (maybe the sun feels hotter during the summer) and the current weather (the moon shines brightly only when the sky is clear).