Time: Where is it?

**Red Harvest** · 08-26-2004, 04:46

The map is nice and the graphics look great, but will there be a time of day/night for the start of battles? Will it vary with season (and weather?) I tried running the demo battle for a long time but never saw any change of the time of day. It isn't the biggest issue by a long shot, but I thought we might actually get nightfall/sunrise etc. All I see is that glow on the horizon. A lot of battles essentially stopped at nightfall (unless it was some sort of night time sneak attack--usually small scale.) Again, not a big deal, just an observation/question.

**Aelwyn** · 08-26-2004, 04:56

You can change the time that you fight in the demo...but I think your question is more, will there be a progression of time during a battle. Supposedly that was the idea, but its not in the demo I don't think. Again one of the many unanswered questions we'll have to wait to see.

**Red Harvest** · 08-27-2004, 06:14

Now that I've played with the modding I can confirm that time is there. The Sun and Moon are also available (could probably use a bit of artistic touch up to make them crisper--but hey it is cosmetic.) The moon shows phases from what I can tell. It also seems to have some sort of star map built in. I clearly recognized Cassiopeia, the Great Square of Pegasus, Ursa Major, and some others and they appeared to be properly aligned for the time of year and night (just a rough check.) Night on the snow was not very dark, but that is realistic with starlight.

I also set the duration timer (appears to be in 3 minute increments.)

Glad to see these touches are indeed going to be in the full game!

Liked the info about ambushes and general's skill having some impact on success/failure (in a preview somewhere.)

**Dramicus** · 08-27-2004, 15:12

Actually, I think the time progression is in the demo, I played one of the mods which starts the romans waaay on the other side of the river at trebia. I ended fighting a really long battle with over 5 organized attacks by the romans and at one point I was zoomed in looking at my unbreakable phalanx and suddenly realized that everything was darker and that the sky looked as if it was turning yellow, ever so slightly just like dusk was approaching... Maybe I might have been seeing things but it sure looked like dusk was approaching, the shadows of the units were also stretched across the ground...