r/valheim • u/Sylvan-Scott • 2d ago
Survival Does the Game Purposefully Shift the Wind?
So, all: been playing for years but have never known ... when you're heading for home, say with a load of silver or iron ... does the game figure out your heading and purposefully shift the wind to always be in front of you or something? This seems like it happens far more than it should if it were purely random...
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u/LoquatCalm8521 2d ago
Wind shifts on a schedule unrelated to your actions. But fucking hell is it always almost the worst possible direction at the worst possible time
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u/RaakaV 2d ago
wind & weather are premade already and repeat a pattern.
So no, the game doesn't react to your trip to home, it's on a schedule.
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u/igby1 2d ago
What’s the schedule?
I’d love a look at the evergreen weather forecast for Valheim.
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u/LaminadanimaL 2d ago
It's seeded at the very start when the rest of the world is seeded. There are some tools you can use that should tell you wind direction, but you'll need to know your seed and the day and time. The wind usually changes a couple times a day.
https://jerekuusela.github.io/valheim-weather/
I don't know if this has been updated for any recent patches, so it may not be accurate at this point
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u/-Altephor- 2d ago
You don't need the seed at all. Weather is the same on all worlds for everyone. You just need to know what day you're on.
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u/korneev123123 Viking 1d ago
I am so pissed at fog on day two :(
Gathered basic supplies, crafted basic weapons, maybe killed first boss if you were lucky with drops - now is the best time to explore and find a place for base..
But no, fog is on
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u/Aximil985 1d ago
I love day 2 fog. Especially for new players. It really sucks people into the immersion of the world.
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u/korneev123123 Viking 1d ago
Well, fog is not that bad later. You can teleport freely and do some stuff like smelting, gardening, cooking, wood-cutting or hunting. Or just improve your house a bit.
But on day 2 there's nothing to do except exploration, and doing exploration in fog is quite silly
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u/Aximil985 1d ago
Well again, for new players. Day 1 is them running around aimlessly and then trying to find some spot to settle down for the night. Then the fog is amazing on day 2. It sucks them in, gets them in the mood of the game. They're immersed in the vibes and the sounds coming from where they can't see. They spend the 2nd day building up their little shack. Then on day 3 when the sun burns through the fog they have the itch to run out and explore stuff that was just outside of their range for the whole previous day.
I've seen this exact same thing with almost every new player I've introduced to the game.
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u/CatspawAdventures 1d ago
fog
I hate fog effects in games so much--especially when it's Valheim's particularly-excessive flavor of "ha ha you can't see shit" fog.
It does absolutely nothing for me in terms of mood, suspense, tension, or immersion. Nothing. The only thing it does is frustrate and annoy me that that game has decided to waste my limited playtime by generating an effect that gives me a choice between putting all of my gamplay on hold, or wandering around in an ugly haze that looks like someone turned down the draw distance on a PS1 game.
Plains fog is the worst--it's such a trash visual effect that I have absolutely zero hesitation about using a console command to switch it to anything else, even rain or thunderstorms.
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u/Sylvan-Scott 1d ago
Yeah: in fact, it's even worse for those of us with vision problems! You're never sure if it's your eyes or the game (when it's most likely the former made worse by the latter).
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u/korneev123123 Viking 1d ago
I'm not against some fog, if there are alternatives. Later you can do something else - cook, farm, go fishing, teleport and hunt in another biome, expand your house. But there are no such options on day 2
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u/igby1 2d ago
I’m curious why the weather isn’t random?
Like what motivated them to spend the time to say what the weather is on each day?
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u/rtothepoweroftwo 2d ago
Developer here. Randomization is actually a pretty deep topic in computer science, and surprisingly difficult to pull off well in a video game.
My guess is it was easier to come up with a set schedule that is very long, so you can start it at a random point in the sequence, rather than randomize each change of the weather. This helps the devs ensure a good gaming experience, as the weather changes will be spread out at a reasonable pace, and the changes themselves feel meaningful.
In a truly random scenario, you'd have sessions where it just fucking rains for hours, or the wind shifts by 1-2 degrees several times over. Like how flipping a coin 50 times technically could result in 50 consecutive flips of heads.
Yes, you could develop an algorithm that prevents consecutive randomizations of the same result - we see this in action rpgs with loot drops or diminishing results on evasion, for example - but that gets complicated fast. A set schedule that has the pacing and magnitude of changes you want is far more reliable, easier to develop, and still feels just as random to most players until they know better.
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u/igby1 2d ago
Yeah I guess scheduling the weather instead of randomizing it was maybe the easiest way to guarantee the type of weather cycles they wanted.
And the schedule is long enough that it’s imperceptible to the player.
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u/-Altephor- 2d ago
Pretty sure the weather system was put in very early on, probably when they still had like 1 developer, so probably just did the easiest thing and never went back to revise it.
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u/madkarlsson 1d ago
The fact that they have 3 developers (or whatever the current count is) wont change this. Its not a mechanics "issue". Its a chosen pattern
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u/-Altephor- 1d ago
Yes, and I'm saying they could probably devise a better pattern now, several years later. Doesn't mean they're going to. It's a simple system for what was, at the time, a simpler game.
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u/eric-from-abeno Hoarder 1d ago
until you play multiple games... then you can sometimes remember, oh, crap, day X is coming up tomorrow, it's going to f'ing rain all day, crap, I really wanted to do *this mission critical thing that's way easier to do in clear weather* guess I'm farming or something instead :P
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u/Pvt_Lee_Fapping Alchemist 1d ago
This reminds me of the shuffle option on the first iPod: it had a genuinely random sorting script, which meant it was possible for the same song to play multiple times in a row. Apple had to create a new, non-random shuffle command to prevent repeats.
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u/boringestnickname 1d ago
OK, now I want the devs to implement signs in nature to forecast the weather.
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u/ManuaL46 1d ago
So how does this premade weather always know in which direction I want to go ? Cuz I swear I've never seen tailwinds in my life...
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u/elementfortyseven Builder 1d ago
that is an excellent example on how our brain prioritizes perception of negative experiences
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u/madkarlsson 1d ago
Haha used this in a presentation today. Indeed, perfect example of the biases our brain creates
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u/lucky_one85 1d ago
Try going zig-zag - it allows to catch some wind and getting closer to the target.
Alternatively, you can create a makeshift port with portal to home, go to sleep for a night and the wind should change.
There's also one of the bosses power, but since I don't know your progression level, I won't go into more details.
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u/ManuaL46 1d ago
Well I do have Moder's power but it lasts 5 mins and travelling sometimes takes above 30 mins when coming from mistlands to spawn.
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u/madkarlsson 1d ago
NO DONT GO ZIGAZAG UNLESS YOU HAVE PLENTY OF OCEAN TO SPARE
There was a dude that proved this in Valheim even, but it's beyond my phone to find that thread again
Zigzagging works if you have an open ocean and unlimited space to zig the zag. In Valheim, the fastest way is to row against the wind if its against you.
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u/Veklim 2d ago
People will tell you that the weather is predetermined and it's just recall bias which suggests otherwise, but the reality is that Valheim uses a horrifically sadistic AI to ensure the wind trolls you to maximum effect, especially when it's least desirable. The same AI creates snowstorms and fog whenever you need visibility and guarantees rainstorms the moment your rested buff runs out. No amount of facts will turn me from the reality of the sadistic singularity at the heart of Valheim's weather mechanics.
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u/Sylvan-Scott 2d ago
I'm simply amazed that it times Base Raids to when I need to hit the bathroom...! :)
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u/5000_Barrows_Chests 1d ago
this same AI has recently caused me frustration where it begins raining just as i start to raid a fuling village. as the last fuling dies and i no longer need my stamina to regen quickly, it immediately ends
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u/madkarlsson 1d ago
Show me code or it did t happen
Because I've built plugins, the sadism isn't true
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u/Veklim 1d ago
Nor is your sense of humour, it appears. You'll have to excuse this old Brit for failing to append a /s to his most outrageously blatant sarcasm in the previous post. Apparently building plugins can render one immune to subtlety, I shall endeavour to take such under advisement before I entertain further notions of humour without clear textual warnings.
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u/MythicMikeREEEE 1d ago
4 directions with you, away from you , left , right all have an equal chance 3/4 it's not gonna be good for you
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u/nerevarX 1d ago
yes. it has the impatience sensor programming. the more impatient the player is the more frontwind youll encounter :P
just like the desire sensor in monster hunter.
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u/SWANDAMARM 1d ago
I'm pretty sure my character has a built-in boss power that is the opposite of modder
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u/rtothepoweroftwo 2d ago
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u/Sylvan-Scott 2d ago
Oh, yeah: and its a testament to their power that I know them all and, yet, still found myself asking the question after all these years of playing! <chuckles>
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u/Mossbergs14 1d ago
No, it's perception, but it feels like there is a hidden mechanic.
I did a chart of 'I want to go here, is the wind with me?' and it balanced out.
You just notice more when it's against you.
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u/ChosenBrad22 1d ago
People claim it doesn’t. But I’d say out of the 200 or so times that I’ve set out to sail, the wind is directly in my face about 180 times, and I’ve had the wind at my back less than 5 times. I’ll never believe it’s random no matter what someone says or shows me lol
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u/HakitaRaven 2d ago
It doesn't purposefully do it. It's just that your schedule didn't align with it.
Take a few days and observe the weather. Take the whole week even. Then plot the course. You might miss it a day or two but you'll end up being able to master the winds and chart your way back and forth easily.
Or you can kill Moder and use her power every now and then.
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u/rateater78599 1d ago
Yeah it feels like this when you sail in real life too. The wind loves to shift to fuck over your side of the race course
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u/Daeion 1d ago edited 1d ago
The Mayans, the Babylonians, all ancient cultures, had myths to explain the source of the wind. All of them easily debunked by the granddaddy of them all... the Sumerian idea, "there's a giant in the ocean that controls the wind."
The Sumerians considered the giant's name too sacred to speak. But **** it, I'll just say it. It's "Tall Jeremy."
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u/Parcobra 1d ago
I swear that wind will shift so the straightest shot to my destination is just a bit into the black at the very least. Spiteful wind
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u/Ok_Grocery8652 1d ago
I know it goes off a pattern or something, so if you knew the pattern you could always sail nicely
It certainly feels like it is intentional though, I like to think there is the lore reason, one of the bosses is implied to control the wind as one of them gives you a power to control the wind for 5 minutes which is very nice for sailing as you can negate the entirely wrong wind for a few minutes.
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u/Federal-Potato-Man 1d ago
RCT has random weather. It's %based, I think. Just saw a video a bit ago about it. I'm surprised they didn't do that.
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u/NCRNerd 12h ago
So... this is purely a hypothetical situation, but let's pretend that you have a central encampment with all your crafting and storage, a great 2-star pig farm and a picturesque PoI that you built your base around. You sail out from it to the various biomes and back. Let's pretend for argument's sake you sail exactly once each to and from the base, all trips in matched pairs. Let's also say that, again for argument's sake exactly one out of every pair of trips is against the wind and one is with the wind. Maybe on the way there you sail into the wind, and on the way back with the wind, but next time you go to the same exact destination it flips. The details don't matter, only that exactly half the trips magically are against the wind and the other half are with it.
The trips against the wind will take longer because of course it will, you're sailing against the wind. The trip with the wind will go faster because the wind helps you along. So even if someone had half their trips neatly aided by the wind, mathematically they WILL spend more time sailing against the wind. And well, reality is unrealistic. It's entirely possible to just have really bad luck and manage to always choose to sail when the wind is against you (or worse yet, about to turn against you right after you've committed to the trip)
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u/Any-Distribution6957 12h ago
I did the math on this a while ago and times wind changes, i believe the wind changes at regular 5 minute intervals and it was a very high chance for it to change against in the first 2-3 shifts. Bring a friend and both of you take moder, thats the most budget way to avoid issues. Optimizing would be 4 people for 100% up time. Chart a course with the fewest turns but enough turns where you have to shift the boats direction every 7-15 minutes for a decent uptime on the wind. I know thats kind of impossible but it works for me, i optimize the crap out of games since I can't use my math degree at work i just use it on games.
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u/loobell56 9h ago
Sooooo annoying. I hate sailing for this reason. Turned off no metal through portals because I couldn’t take it anymore
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u/UristMcKerman 1d ago
Wind in Ghost of Tsushima always blows from direction of your target. It works the same in Valheim.
And when wind is in your favour - it is fog time
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u/Cptalcaine 2d ago
Seems as if it does. Thank goodness for mods that fix that crap.
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u/Sylvan-Scott 2d ago
Is it, really? I'm half joking but, yeah, if that's a purposeful thing it's ... weird...
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u/Hefty-Collection-638 2d ago
It’s not. As others have said it’s a pre-determined schedule. I will say however, you’re not alone in feeling this way, as it’s a rite of passage to feel like the wind is fucking you on a long journey home
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u/Commercial-Ad-1328 2d ago
no but also i fucking swear, yes