Time in Darkwood elapses much faster than in real life.
- During the day (from 08:00 to 20:00), one in-game hour equals to 90 seconds of real-life time, for a total of 1080 seconds(18 minutes) from morning to night.
- During the night (from 20:00 to 08:00), one in-game hour lasts about 22.5 real-life seconds, totalling 270 seconds(4.5 minutes).
- An entire in-game day last for 22.5 minutes in real life (assuming no time freeze).
Using a Watch will help you keep track of the in-game time in Darkwood.
Generally in this Fandom, time in arabic numerals is in reference to real life instead of the game.
Phases
The break of dawn - marked by a crescendo string music and a red light scheme - begins at 06:00. Dusk begins at 18:00 and night begins at 20:00.
At dusk, 18:33, the player receives a request to return to the hideout, as it is getting dark. If the player is not taking shelter in a hideout with a lit Oven at night, several Floor Gores will spawn and hunt the player down. The skill Runner can be used to hurry to the hideout if it is too far.
Upon dying at any time between 19:30 and 8:00 (only if permadeath is turned off) the Protagonist awakes again by the Oven at 08:00 without having gained any reputation with the current trader, being either the Trader or The Three.
Time Freeze
Time Freeze is an event in Darkwood that takes place after surviving a night. It takes place at exactly 08:00. The enemy corpses from last night will vanish alongside their loot. Generally, there is a Status Effect indicating time freeze.
During the time freeze, the passage of time is completely stopped until the player leaves the boundaries of the fence around their hideout. This provides an excellent opportunity to repair any damaged structures, craft items, or cook without worry. While the time freeze is active, a running generator does not consume fuel. Time freeze also halts the decay of items like Odd-Looking Mushroom, Odd Meat and Odd-Looking, Glowing Mushroom sold by the Trader and The Three. However, it does not prevent items like Flashlight, Military Flashlight, Torch and Lantern from running out of durability.
After the first night in the game, The Wolfman will spawn in the oven room of the hideout to make a deal with the player. Every sequential morning, either the Trader or The Three will appear in the hideout, depending on the player's progression through the game.
Time is also frozen in Event Locations, such as The Village, Doctor's House and Bunker Entrance. However, there is no time freeze status effect shown, active generators in these areas will still deplete fuel and some Hallucinogens will turn into Rotten Mushrooms once their rot period ends as usual.
Trivia
- In Alpha 6.0, the first time freeze was also accompanied by a box of mushrooms with a note in the player's hideout. This box was removed in Alpha 7.0.
- If one enters the Forest Village via the hole from the Silent Forest Hideout during hideout time freeze, time will continue if came back to the hideout, despite technically still being in 08:00.
Bugs & Glitches
- If the player is outside the Time Freeze zone just after the night ends, exit to the main menu and reload the save file, time will be permanently frozen.