What timescale do people use? Options

[Renee]

What timescale do you folks prefer in your various games? and why? I will answer first, since I am the first one to ask. (duh)

I jumped from 30 to 10 when I first started Oblivion, because I wanted something closer to Earth, but not too close. And I enjoyed the feeling of finally being able to see days & nights stretch out. PC gamers grew up with changing timescale, I assume, but for me (as a console gamer for nearly 30 years) just that one facet alone made a huge difference.

I did the same thing in Fallout 3 recently, when I began my first PC game. And this feels right, since Fallout games are supposed to actually be on Earth. But.....

BUT (and this is a rather BIG BUT), recently in Oblivion I switched from 10 to 20. I know, shocking right? ... It's because after playing Arena and now Daggerfall, in which it's supposed to take a long time to get from Point A to Point B, I want my Cyrodiil experience to feel 'larger' than it is.

For instance: walking from (let's say) Cheydinhal to Aleswell...it'd go from morning to maybe early afternoon with timescale of 10, and by the time we get to the Imperial City it's still not even dark yet. But with timescale at 20, now the sky's getting dark by the time we're at Aleswell (especially factoring in all the random moments, combat and such), giving me a feeling like the party should rest for the night.

Silly thread, but I'm curious about you all..

This post has been edited by Renee: Oct 12 2016, 02:00 AM

[Acadian]

Decrepit, not sure about pondering inconsistencies, but I certainly share your keen interest in the details of travel. Here are a couple excerpts from Buffy's fanfic stylesheet relating to travel in TES IV:

Land Travel. Land = 30-50 mi btwn cities, 7.5-12 hours travel at 4 mph. Note: Cyrodiil = 225 mi across at widest point. League = ~3 miles (English Medieval) based on how far one can walk in an hour. {or ~1.5 miles (Roman Empire)}.

Water Travel. It is about 300 miles from the IC to Anvil by ship. At about 6 mph, this equals 50 hours of sailing. Port stops at Bravil, Leyawiin, two stops in Elsweyr (Duncori Walk and Senchal), four ports in Valenwood (Haven, Southpoint, Greenheart, Woodhearth, one stop in Summerset Isle (Skywatch) at about 6 hours per stop add almost another 50 hours. This makes for roughly a four day trip IC-Anvil. IC-Leyawiin=20 hrs. The Imperial Trading Company operates six ships from the IC to Anvil: Nymph of the Niben, Mara’s Tear, The Black Swan, The Peony Princess (Buffy’s fave), The Dragon’s Tongue, and Barenziah’s Breeze. The East Empire Trading Company runs ships from Anvil northward. Shipping between Solitude and Windhelm = 2 days with a brief stop in Dawnstar.