Weather Effects in Games...

[JimmieDoogan]

Why do games have such a hard time emulating such things? The clouds in games never move, when it rains, you can't see the water hitting the ground. The snow doesn't fall then pile up on the ground, nor does ice form anywhere. When will they get this right? It seems as though the Xbox could be capable of showing us these things, but will a developer ever bring them to light?

I am sure there could be a way to allow the weather to even play an integral part in the gameplay (how you play). Morrowind does LOOK cool though. I'd gotten lost on top of a mountain for a while due to a majorly messed up dust storm. MAN there was crap flying everywhere. I had to find a place to get out of the weather because I couldn't see where I was going, so I holed up in a cave. Something like this is what I speak of yet, even that doesn't truly convey the message.

I want my character to be walking around, and as it gets cold he has to make camp. In the morning it could be very icy around and I'd have to watch my step as I walked. Around cliffs and what not, where as the day before it was just windy. The rain could actually touch the ground instead of falling through it (like it does on MGS2). It could form puddles of water on a dirt road as you walk down it. Avalances, floods, tornado's volcano's, the WHOLE speal.

Mind you it seems such things would only really be a factor in RPG's and RTS games but I'm sure they could be applied accross the boards. What do yall think?