Better ways to tell time

[keltobin]

I keep missing making enough food for guests before the evening ends and I was thinking about sundials or some other way to keep better track of time in the game. I know when I was in Scotland there were some gorgeous old sundials (although they were possibly more from the 16th or 17th century). Perhaps a sundial or water clock could be a late stage building project that would unlock a UI clock?

[Rane]

There's a little bit of that with the tree shadows, and I think at certain times of the year, you can hear the birds cawing in the evening. But I am on board with the idea of building a sundial that causes a lil UI clock to show up.... and if you crate up the sundial to move it or something, the ui clock goes away X D

(also tbh, just like... make as much food as you can have the ice jugs to store... when I have 12 folk, I try to have 24 stew... just so there's enough food to stay ahead of the curve. dazzle your guests with your opulent pantry! look at how prosperous we are! X D)

[Lone Lycan (aka. Ippiki Ookami)]

i still find it a bit odd we know exactly when gramps and granny will kick the bucket.. to the second, weeks in advance... and yet we don't know the current time of day..

should just go ahead and put at least the current in-game hh:mm in the UI somewhere

[Rane]

Eh... I don't know, tbh. It feels more in-character to not have a Specific Clock, you know? Like, I wouldn't mind something akin to that Minecraft Clock, that just has the little dial that goes around and you kinda know 'ok about 1/3 of the day is over', or 'ok Time Off is getting pretty close,' but like... HH:MM isn't really very 1300s.

(Then again, I had one of the Dokucraft mods when I was playing Minecraft, so maybe referring to it as a 'minecraft clock' isn't going to be an accurate mental image for most...)

[Rane]

As You Like It, 3.ii, truncated

CORIN
And how like you this shepherd’s life, Master
Touchstone?

TOUCHSTONE
Truly, shepherd, in respect of itself, it is a
good life; but in respect that it is a shepherd’s life, it
is naught. In respect that it is solitary, I like it very
well; but in respect that it is private, it is a very vile
life. Now in respect it is in the fields, it pleaseth me
well; but in respect it is not in the court, it is
tedious. As it is a spare life, look you, it fits my
humor well; but as there is no more plenty in it, it
goes much against my stomach. Hast any philosophy
in thee, shepherd?

CORIN
No more but that I know the more one sickens,
the worse at ease he is, and that he that wants
money, means, and content is without three good
friends; that the property of rain is to wet, and fire
to burn; that good pasture makes fat sheep; and that
a great cause of the night is lack of the sun; that he
that hath learned no wit by nature nor art may
complain of good breeding or comes of a very dull
kindred.

TOUCHSTONE
Such a one is a natural philosopher. [...]

CORIN Sir, I am a true laborer. I earn that I eat, get that
I wear, owe no man hate, envy no man’s happiness,
glad of other men’s good, content with my harm,
and the greatest of my pride is to see my ewes graze
and my lambs suck.

[Minxell]

I usually keep track of time in the game by listening to the music. It seems to change around daylight and then again around evening.

[sbhink805]

I came up with this idea as well, it could be decoration but be nice if it gave you an idea of the time of day.

[Chai]

Meh, I'm a simple gamer. Sunrise , Morning, , Daytime, Mid-day, & Evening(Sunset) would suit me. (OFC one could be greedy and ask for afternoon as well ...)
I only ask for Mid-day so I can stop adding to the Today's Chores list LoL

[dissent]

You can make a sundial. Find a nice open area on your map and build a single tile of wall there. Now watch the top left corner for changes in the day phase: night->sunrise, sunrise->morning, daytime->evening, evening->sunset. At the moment each transition happens, put down a stockpile tile to mark where the edge of the shadow thrown by the single wall tile lands. Forbid the stockpile so that it isn't used. You can also use different stockpile colours to denote the various shifts.

Here is mine:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2912823934

Gold = night to sunrise
Purple = sunrise to morning
Green = daytime to evening
Red = evening to sunset

It's not exact, of course, because the shadow might fall somewhere in the middle of the stockpile tile rather than precisely at the edge. But it's close enough. On this setup, I know that evening falls just after the shadow has passed the left-hand edge of the green tile, and that sunrise will happen just before the shadow reaches the right-hand edge of the gold tile.

Also note that shadows reverse during the sunrise->morning period. In this case, the shadow during sunrise moved well to the left of the purple tile, then vanished entirely, then reappeared and started moving right before being at the right-hand edge of the purple tile when morning arrived.

The same happens during the sunset->night transition. In this case, the shadow moves to the right during sunset, then stops, then moves back to the left. At the moment that night falls, the shadow is roughly where the green tile (daytime->evening) lies.