#Climate Seasons in the Overworld

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grim pike
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I found myself getting bored after I found a path I liked to harvest in OW. Just had an idea for how to spice it up. 3 month seasons for each region. Seasons as in a period of time distinguished by special climate conditions... like here on earth: summer, fall, winter, spring.

Think about it. Plants could grow and die. Caves could collapse. The acid water could have revealed a new layer underneath. The weather outside could drastically change.

I kinda like it when DOTA maps change with the season and I feel like it would be really immersive if it had an impact on the actual environment you are exploring. It's also a way to keep the maps fresh in a logical way.

grim pike
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Climate Seasons in the Overworld

opaque galleon
# grim pike I found myself getting bored after I found a path I liked to harvest in OW. Just...

We would obviously have to create a special illuvium calendar. Considering there are 7 regions it would be a mountain of work but maybe there's a simplified way. Things like a snow effect that covers a general landscape in snow (assuming that's easy to implement). Day night cycles having different timing depending on season. And a slightly different look and feel for plants given the current season. Larger in spring, missing some leaves in autumn

weary obsidian
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I could see this being valuable eventually, but I generally dislike when games do cycles for the sake of cycles (or just for the aesthetic).

I'll go more in depth on what I mean by that.

There are games that employ day/night or seasonal cycles as a part of gameplay. Certain plants, or enemies, or collectibles are only available in a certain phase of the cycle. Some examples of games that do this reasonably well:
Witcher 3 (certain mobs only around at specific times of day, or quests only available at specific times of day to control ambience)
Ocarina of Time: Certain collectibles only available at day/night.
Don't Starve: Your gameplay experience entirely revolves around day/night as a gathering/survival cycle.
Oracle of Seasons/Ages (Old GBC games): Seasons or Time periods are a core part of puzzle solving.

The Overworld could certainly include seasons (because they are pretty), but I think including compelling systems that accompany the prettiness is what actually makes people care about things like seasons or day/night. Having certain small side areas only accessible in certain seasons, a small chance to capture a seasonally skinned Illuvial or certain plants that are available seasonally (this last one is dubious in a game like Illuvium IMO).

At any rate, it could be super cool, and aesthetically it would be pretty nice, but I'd hope that some part of gameplay changed to make people actually care about seasons. I don't think the aesthetic differences are compelling enough to justify the development time, in my mind.

grim pike