OCE vs NA DAY/NIGHT CYCLE – Devs Want Your Feedback

[Serhiy-3463047 (Serhiy)]

On the latest WoW Forever podcast, the devs talked about OCE players being stuck at night in game because they share a region with NA. They asked the community what we’d prefer, so let’s give them clear feedback.

The options they mentioned:

A) OCE servers run on Australian time. OCE players get day and night that match their real time. But if you group with an NA player, your sky switches to their time while you’re grouped, so you could go from noon to midnight instantly.

B) A shorter cycle for everyone (around 20-23 hours). It shifts a bit every day, so everyone eventually sees every part of the day, no matter where they live.

C) Keep it as it is. Real-time cycle based on NA time.

They also mentioned holiday event timing, since start and end times hit OCE at awkward hours.

To keep this easy for the devs to read, please reply like this:

• Region (NA / OCE)
• Option (A / B / C)
• One or two lines on why

Let’s keep it short and on topic so the feedback actually gets read.

[Ame-1955167 (Ame)]

Haven’t gotten to that segment in the podcast yet, so need some clarification before I answer: did they suggest option A just for OCE players? Does that mean EST players will still be subject to a PST clock?

[Serhiy-3463047 (Serhiy)]

Yes, option A was only about OCE. They said there’s hardware in Australia, so those servers could run on Australian time. The catch is that grouping with someone on NA servers would switch your day/night to theirs instantly.

They didn’t talk about different NA time zones at all, so as far as I know, the NA clock stays the way it is now. If EST vs PST matters to you, it’s worth mentioning in your reply, especially if you’d prefer option B, since a shifting cycle would fix that too.

[Jkitz-1469958 (Jkitz)]

OCE (A)

Please give us our own timezone, whatever concessions we have to make are nothing compared to playing in perpetual darkness.

[Vexander-1453295 (Vexander)]

I mean, it’d be fantastic if day/night cycles could just be 12 hours on all servers so we get to enjoy day and night.

[Lautrec-2994104 (Lautrec)]

Separate NA and OCE. The idea that 90% of the NA realms should spend weeks in playing in the dark so that the 100k aussie players get to see the sun for a while is completely ridiculous, total non starter.

24 hour cycle stays the same and OCE gets their own region.

[Boatermilk-22899 (Boatermilk)]

I want it to cycle a couple times a day, not a lot though

[DeuceBane-555941 (DeuceBane)]

B. I am US east coast and I will basically see the same daylight almost all the time. Let me experience hours of night time too

The longer day/night cycle is what is immersive, not 1:1 matching time.

The 1:1 matching only happens for the subset of players that are in the right time zone.

Make the day night cycel not line up with the real day perfectly but keep it long

[DrunkPunk-3390652 (DrunkPunk)]

I would prefer A or C. Not a fan of B at all. I like how the cycle matches my day/night, adjusting that would feel pretty bad. A or C seem like the least disruptive since I’ll never group with OCE players.

[teacake-3152697 (teacake)]

B (shortened cycle).

It’s not just AU this affects; east coast of NA doesn’t get to see nighttime in game.

[thrakhath-1753823 (thrakhath)]

A variant of B: Azeroth has a longer day than earth, 28+ hours.

But either way, B seems clearly the answer to me. It’s less immersion breaking, everyone gets to see different times, and it’s cool. One more quirk of Azeroth.

[NightTrace-3162700 (NightTrace)]

Option B (but even less of a cycle).

[DeuceBane-555941 (DeuceBane)]

@Shokan-bloodsail-buccaneers

Separate NA and OCE. The idea that 90% of the NA realms should spend weeks in playing in the dark so that the 100k aussie players get to see the sun for a while is completely ridiculous, total non starter.

24 hour cycle stays the same and OCE gets their own region.

IMO its equally a non starter that east coast players get shafted badly for this tiny “ooooh ahhh” beneift of the west coast

1:1 matching time isnt even really immersive IMO it breaks immersion to tell me the sun is going down IRL right now in my opinion

but the bigger issue is that even east coasters are not gonna get to experience night in a proper balance

[JellyBean-3469234 (JellyBean)]

NA - (B)

I’m central time in NA and was so excited for the lighting and weather changes, but I’ll never get to see nighttime unless I play in the middle of the night.

[thrakhath-1753823 (thrakhath)]

Not actually endorsing this, but what would people think about really short cycles, like 1-2 hour days?

[Serhiy-3463047 (Serhiy)]

• Region: NA
• Option: A
• Why: I want the cycle to match real time, and OCE players deserve that too. The instant switch when grouping with NA doesn’t bother me much, since you’d mostly be with your own community anyway. If A doesn’t work out, B would be my second choice.

[NightTrace-3162700 (NightTrace)]

I personally think a 4-6 hour cycle is ideal.

[Auzali-3482150 (Auzali)]

Region: NA
Option: B

everyone should get the opportunity to experience the full day/night cycle regardless if they log in at the same play time everyday

[Ame-1955167 (Ame)]

Region: NA

Option A: OCE gets their own day/night cycle

A shorter day/night cycle, even if it’s only 20-23 hours, will shaft everyone eventually. I’d rather it be consistent like the real world, but I want OCE players to also be able to play during Azeroth day time.

[PlasticRat-10732 (PlasticRat)]

Totally happy with A). Might even add some fun to things. If I normally only get to play at night it might be cool to group with someone and see day for a change.