Nights are too long!
Nights are too short!
Nights are too bright!
Nights are too dark!
What about instead just letting players decide what day/night cycle in freeroam, and let them sort out what they want? Considering time of day carries no gameplay changes beside illumination, there’s no reason really to have night cycle enforced server-side.
All it takes is few gameplay options:
Night / Day Cycle:
- Always Noon - cycle locked at 12:00 PM illumination
- Day Only / No Nighttime - sun rises immediately as it sets
- Full Day/Night Cycle
- Night Only / No Daytime - opposite to Day Only, starts with dusk, and ends with dawn
- Always Midnight
Darkness levels:
- Bright: hardly darker than day, mostly just a color filter emulating movie nights so visibility is almost as good as in day
- Standard
- Natural Night: Brightness level of standard, but with color filters removed.
- True Darkness: Illumination reduced to realistic levels. Deep nights are pitch black without clear sky or light pollution.