HAD ANOTHER ONE TONIGHT!!
I’m gonna call it a True Timeline. Where the day and night cycle progresses forward in time. Lets say, 45 minutes is a full day ingame, and you play for 8 hours, which would translate into about 10 days.
A baron has given you a quest to travel south to a monastery for medicine and then to deliver medicine to the sick baron.(assuming there is no quick travel) it would take 3 ingame days to reach the monastery and return back to the barons home.
The baron at the time of leaving, looks somewhat shaven, and a tad tired, but on your return, granted you haven’t ventured off fight some bandits, or rescue wenches, the baron looks defeated, haggard, and drained. his beard is no more a stubble and it seems he has lost some color in his face.
Something like that, but thats just short term.
essentially, what i want is for the game to progress the appearances and physical grow (or degrowth) of NPCs and the main character. A child you meet at the beginning of the game grows up to a teenager after you’ve been playing for awhile. you catch my drift im sure