DayNightWeatherController

A high-performance Rust uMod/Oxide plugin that intelligently controls day/night behavior and weather while minimizing risk to vanilla event timing.

Overview

DayNightWeatherController was built to solve a common Rust server problem:

• Many PvP servers want always day and clear visibility
• Many PvE servers want custom day/night lengths and atmospheric weather
• Many vanilla-style servers want to keep the environment untouched but still give staff local time override tools

Instead of using one blunt method for every scenario, this plugin automatically chooses the safest runtime strategy based on your config.

Key Features

• Always Day / Always Night
• Custom day/night durations
• Vanilla passthrough mode
• Clear, Overcast, Rain, Storm, Fog, or Vanilla weather
• Automatic runtime strategy selection
• Low-risk visual override mode for PvP-style setups
• Admin local override tools
• Automatic config migration / merge support
• Unload cleanup for local overrides, weather, and time progression
• Lightweight design suitable for high-population servers

Runtime Strategy System

This plugin automatically selects one of three internal strategies:

1) LocalVisualOverride

Used for the safest PvP-friendly cases:

• DAY + Clear
• DAY + Overcast
• NIGHT + Clear
• NIGHT + Overcast

What it does:

• Keeps real server time progressing
• Applies a local visual override to players
• Helps preserve vanilla event timing
• Avoids unnecessary world-time manipulation

2) TrueWorldControl

Used when the server actually needs shared world-state control:

• CUSTOM day/night cycles
• DAY/NIGHT paired with Rain, Storm, or Fog
• any configuration that requires a real shared atmosphere

What it does:

• Controls the actual environment
• Applies shared weather to all players
• Uses controlled time progression logic

3) NoControl

Used when environment control is effectively disabled:

• VANILLA + Vanilla

What it does:

• Leaves time and weather alone
• Still allows staff tools if they have permission

Why this plugin is safer than older time plugins

Older time plugins often relied on:

• hard time jumps
• frozen world time
• aggressive clock rewriting

That can cause problems with vanilla behavior and event timing.

This plugin instead:

• prefers local visual override whenever appropriate
• uses true world control only when needed
• uses lightweight timers
• avoids unnecessary brute-force world manipulation

Commands

These commands are permission protected.

Command	Description
/day	Set local time to day
/night	Set local time to night
/time <0-24>	Set a custom local hour
/realtime	Return to the actual server time
/resettime	Alias for /realtime
/envstatus	Show current runtime strategy, time mode, weather mode, and server hour

Permission

daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride

Example permission grants:

oxide.grant group admin daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride
oxide.grant group moderator daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride

Configuration

{
  "EnvironmentControl": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "TimeControl": {
    "Mode (1=DAY, 2=NIGHT, 3=CUSTOM, 4=VANILLA)": 1,
    "DayLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 115,
    "NightLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 5,
    "LockedHour (DAY/NIGHT Only, Recommended Day=12.0, Night=0.0)": 13.0
  },
  "WeatherControl": {
    "Mode (Clear, Overcast, Rain, Storm, Fog, Vanilla)": "Clear"
  },
  "Permissions": {
    "UseAdminOverridePermission": "daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride"
  }
}

Config Options

EnvironmentControl

Setting	Description
Enabled	Enables or disables environment control logic

TimeControl

Setting	Description
Mode	1=DAY, 2=NIGHT, 3=CUSTOM, 4=VANILLA
DayLengthMinutes	Used only in CUSTOM mode
NightLengthMinutes	Used only in CUSTOM mode
LockedHour	Used only in DAY and NIGHT style locking

WeatherControl

Mode	Description
Clear	Constant clear weather
Overcast	Constant overcast weather
Rain	Constant rain
Storm	Constant storm weather
Fog	Constant fog
Vanilla	Rust controls weather naturally

Permissions

Setting	Description
UseAdminOverridePermission	Permission required to use admin override commands

Time Mode Reference

Rust uses a 24-hour floating time system.

Hour	Lighting	Description
0.0	Night	Midnight, darkest part of night
1.0	Night	Moonlit night
2.0	Night	Dark night
3.0	Night	Dark night
4.0	Night	Pre-dawn
5.0	Dawn	First dim light
6.0	Sunrise	Sun begins rising
7.0	Morning	Daylight
8.0	Morning	Bright
9.0	Day	Full daylight
10.0	Day	Bright daylight
11.0	Day	Late morning
12.0	Day	Peak daylight
13.0	Day	Afternoon
14.0	Day	Afternoon
15.0	Day	Afternoon
16.0	Day	Late afternoon
17.0	Evening	Pre-sunset
18.0	Sunset	Sun setting
19.0	Dusk	Light fading
20.0	Nightfall	Darkening
21.0	Night	Moon visible
22.0	Night	Dark night
23.0	Night	Late night

Recommended LockedHour values

Scenario	Value
Always Day	12.0
Always Night	0.0
Sunrise	6.0
Sunset	18.0
Dawn atmosphere	5.0
Dusk atmosphere	19.0

Example Configurations

PvP Safe Day Mode

{
  "EnvironmentControl": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "TimeControl": {
    "Mode (1=DAY, 2=NIGHT, 3=CUSTOM, 4=VANILLA)": 1,
    "DayLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 115,
    "NightLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 5,
    "LockedHour (DAY/NIGHT Only, Recommended Day=12.0, Night=0.0)": 12.0
  },
  "WeatherControl": {
    "Mode (Clear, Overcast, Rain, Storm, Fog, Vanilla)": "Clear"
  },
  "Permissions": {
    "UseAdminOverridePermission": "daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride"
  }
}

PvP Overcast Day Mode

{
  "EnvironmentControl": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "TimeControl": {
    "Mode (1=DAY, 2=NIGHT, 3=CUSTOM, 4=VANILLA)": 1,
    "DayLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 115,
    "NightLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 5,
    "LockedHour (DAY/NIGHT Only, Recommended Day=12.0, Night=0.0)": 12.0
  },
  "WeatherControl": {
    "Mode (Clear, Overcast, Rain, Storm, Fog, Vanilla)": "Overcast"
  },
  "Permissions": {
    "UseAdminOverridePermission": "daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride"
  }
}

Custom Cycle with Vanilla Weather

{
  "EnvironmentControl": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "TimeControl": {
    "Mode (1=DAY, 2=NIGHT, 3=CUSTOM, 4=VANILLA)": 3,
    "DayLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 115,
    "NightLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 5,
    "LockedHour (DAY/NIGHT Only, Recommended Day=12.0, Night=0.0)": 12.0
  },
  "WeatherControl": {
    "Mode (Clear, Overcast, Rain, Storm, Fog, Vanilla)": "Vanilla"
  },
  "Permissions": {
    "UseAdminOverridePermission": "daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride"
  }
}

Storm Day Server

{
  "EnvironmentControl": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "TimeControl": {
    "Mode (1=DAY, 2=NIGHT, 3=CUSTOM, 4=VANILLA)": 1,
    "DayLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 115,
    "NightLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 5,
    "LockedHour (DAY/NIGHT Only, Recommended Day=12.0, Night=0.0)": 12.0
  },
  "WeatherControl": {
    "Mode (Clear, Overcast, Rain, Storm, Fog, Vanilla)": "Storm"
  },
  "Permissions": {
    "UseAdminOverridePermission": "daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride"
  }
}

Vanilla Server with Staff Tools

{
  "EnvironmentControl": {
    "Enabled": true
  },
  "TimeControl": {
    "Mode (1=DAY, 2=NIGHT, 3=CUSTOM, 4=VANILLA)": 4,
    "DayLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 115,
    "NightLengthMinutes (Custom Only)": 5,
    "LockedHour (DAY/NIGHT Only, Recommended Day=12.0, Night=0.0)": 12.0
  },
  "WeatherControl": {
    "Mode (Clear, Overcast, Rain, Storm, Fog, Vanilla)": "Vanilla"
  },
  "Permissions": {
    "UseAdminOverridePermission": "daynightweathercontroller.adminoverride"
  }
}

Notes

• DAY/NIGHT + Clear/Overcast is the lowest-risk path and is recommended for PvP servers.
• CUSTOM mode and non-clear global weather use true world control.
• VANILLA + Vanilla leaves the environment untouched.
• The plugin automatically migrates older config formats to the current format.
• On unload, the plugin clears local visual overrides and restores vanilla progression/weather.

Installation

1. Place DayNightWeatherController.cs in your server's oxide/plugins folder.
2. Load or reload the plugin.
3. Edit the generated config in oxide/config/DayNightWeatherController.json.
4. Grant the admin override permission to the groups or users you want to use local staff commands.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE.