Arena:Weather

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Terrain map. Index: White: Generic northern. Brown: Mountainous. Orange: desert. Light green: grassland. Dark green: forest. Yellow: swamp.

Weather in Arena is a simulation of how the atmosphere changes from one state to another. Arena uses weather effects to enhance the gameplay experience by creating a more believable world with a semi-dynamic cycle of weather. Various regions might experience weather such as snow and rain, and an overcast or clear sky may occur. Based on various factors such as geographic location, season, and time of day, the weather frequency changes.

There are seven main weather types: sunny, overcast, rain, thunderstorm, fog and thick fog and snow. Soft breezes or strong wind are not really observed ingame as one of the weather types but is mentioned in some welcoming messages when buildings are entered. See here for a list of such messages.

Mechanics

Weather is dependent on a couple of observable and hidden underlying mechanics in the game. Geographic locations and the seasons are the most obvious shifts, though there are additional hidden calculations that have an impact. Generally, weather is rather static and changes very quickly from one day, or more likely, season, to another. To take Hammerfell as an example, the southern parts seem to experience ninety days or three months of rain during winter, but the rain stops as soon as the player steps into an inn and rests until the next day in spring. There are some odd limitations due to the hard- and software used around 1994 which seems to prevent fog during dusk, the night and finally dawn. This effect starts to be noticeable around 5:45 and lasts until around 6:15. Another point to bring up is that the fog will remain inactive for as long the player doesn't go through a loading door such as a city gate.

Effects on Gameplay

Some aspects of gameplay are changed based on the current weather in the game. Fog greatly limits the player's vision, and thunderstorms have frequent thunderclaps and rumbles alongside the lightning flashes. Snow and rain do not affect the gameplay as much as the other weather types, though if the player attempts to travel to another settlement while these weather types are active their travel time will be increased, up to double the normal travel time. The time estimates do not accurately reflect the actual time and are randomized to a degree.

Music that plays during the daytime (between 6:15 am to 5:45 pm) might also change during different weather. For example, the northern regions of Skyrim and High Rock will have a jaunty tune somewhat invoking a commercial Christmas atmosphere with airy bells playing on occasion, while in others, such as Black Marsh and Hammerfell, the music is different in tone and tempo. Some regions will feature NPCs that are dressed in different clothing more suited for either warmer or colder weather but this doesn't affect all NPCs. Stationary NPCs will never wear different clothing. Note that there can be some differences within the same province. South Hammerfell has residents that remain in their common attire no matter the season.