Environmental/Audiovisual cues to warn of approaching temporal storm (not just text chat warning)

[eMander]

I feel a more diagetic early warning for temporal storms would be more immersive, not to mention harder to miss, than a message in the text chat.

One potential way it could happen would be a momentary ripple and/or color change in the sky with an accompanying sound effect, which starts happening about a day before the storm, and increases in frequency until the actual event.

[Michael Gates]

There's the related problem where the server sends that text notification, and the client doesn't switch to showing the correct tab, so you have no chance to see it at all. It's probably the same issue that causes prospecting results not to show up, only you know the prospecting SHOULD have said something so you poke the tabs.

Anyway, yeah, a real in-game effect would be more.. effective.

[EmeraldKittn]

I agree. Too many times have I simple left the info tab on after prospecting, and then getting completely caught off-guard, in the middle of no-where.

Edited January 31, 2025 by EmeraldKittn

[VictorShadow]

Could have some special effect or glowing/growing happen to temporal rifts just before the big storm happens. Could have rifts have a particle effect which looks like the rust world is leaking out (could look like water pouring down on the surface or go the opposite direction with it pouring up into the atmosphere).

Alternately you could have Dave (the thunder god/giant giraffe in the rust world) let out some sort of warning alarm or become semi-visible ahead of the storm (Though this depends on where the future chapters plan to go with Dave (I personally hope based on how the big bird is treated that Dave will be passive or even friendly or at least as friendly as a skyscraper sized construct can be)

Edited January 31, 2025 by VictorShadow

[Maelstrom]

14 hours ago, eMander said:

I feel a more diagetic early warning for temporal storms would be more immersive, not to mention harder to miss, than a message in the text chat.

One potential way it could happen would be a momentary ripple and/or color change in the sky with an accompanying sound effect, which starts happening about a day before the storm, and increases in frequency until the actual event.

It should also have some kind of visual when people are underground, like cave diving or mining.  So it has to be designed for short visual distances of 5 blocks or less but also for longer distances when running about the countryside.

I'd like there to be a variety of visual queues.  Maybe a brief warping of the world followed by a brief drop in personal temporal stability similar to standing in a rift for a few seconds but no rift is nearby; stuff like that.

 

5 hours ago, VictorShadow said:

I personally hope based on how the big bird is treated that Dave will be passive or even friendly or at least as friendly as a skyscraper sized construct can be

We'll see.  It's no longer shown on the homepage but once upon a time the website said the game [story] is based on Lovecraftian themes.  Read some Lovecraft and find out what likely direction Sir Dave may be headed.  The devs working on the story sure do have an excellent implementation of Lovecraft in this game.

[eMander]

7 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

It should also have some kind of visual when people are underground, like cave diving or mining.  So it has to be designed for short visual distances of 5 blocks or less but also for longer distances when running about the countryside.

I'd like there to be a variety of visual queues.  Maybe a brief warping of the world followed by a brief drop in personal temporal stability similar to standing in a rift for a few seconds but no rift is nearby; stuff like that.

Good idea. Perhaps outside you can see the approaching storm on the horizon, and every so often, it sends out a sort of pulse of distortion, which quickly radiates to where you are. You wouldn't be able to see the approaching storm from underground, but would still experience the pulses.

Could also be that at first, even when outside, you only experience the pulses, but as the storm gets closer, you begin to see it on the horizon.

Maybe the storm, as it appears in the distance, would have a similar visual effect as the rifts, but stretched out to cover a whole side of the horizon.

[Maelstrom]

Unlike rain and other physical weather, temporal storms are global.  Trust me as I've run thousands of blocks during a temporal storm, so you wouldn't see it approaching like a physical rainstorm.  Given that it is a time based phenomena, it would "approach" in time rather than space and that approach would be odd temporal events before the storm hits.

[eMander]

Ahh, that makes sense.

[idiomcritter]

just now thinking or reflecting on the movie matrix where neo sees a scene repeat, which is an indicator that something is up...

As a storm arises to a certain peak, the beginnings could be momentary glitches that flash the rot world, that would be amazing :blink:

[Thorfinn]

8 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

Maybe a brief warping of the world followed by a brief drop in personal temporal stability similar to standing in a rift for a few seconds

Since that's what a low personal TS does, I'd think just the warping would be fine. Doesn't even have to be brief. It can slowly get worse as the storm approaches. You still have several minutes before things go nuts.

[7embre]

9 hours ago, Thorfinn said:

Since that's what a low personal TS does, I'd think just the warping would be fine. Doesn't even have to be brief. It can slowly get worse as the storm approaches. You still have several minutes before things go nuts.

Plus, it won't work for people using accessibility features, thus turning off warping effects.

[Thorfinn]

Had a response that went way too long, but the TLDR is I'd rather just wait to see what the devs come up with. The console is almost certainly going away in final release, so it's going to be something different. Making it a popup like lore is going to upset the immersion types, making it immersive is going to upset those who need accessibility features. 

Nothing is going to satisfy all parties. 

[EDIT]

Well, nothing except changing the gear in the HUD to sepia at the 8 hour mark. But even that probably has its detractors.  

Edited February 1, 2025 by Thorfinn

[Ven]

+1