Guide 04 · The city clock
How time works
Solano grows faster than the real world, but the game tells you clearly when a date is part of the story and when a real deadline matters.
Know this first
One real day is one Solano month
Story dates and real deadlines are different
Missing a day does not break your life
A faster life
One real day moves Solano forward by one game month. Solano's calendar begins on 1 January 2086, and story dates use the same day, month and year throughout the game.
Appointments, birthdays, elections and other dated events use the Solano calendar. Open Diary in your Pocket to see them together instead of searching every part of the game.
A displayed Solano date is exact. A waiting time or response deadline printed as real time is also exact, but it belongs to the player rather than the character's calendar.
Two kinds of deadline
- A Solano date tells you when something happens in your character’s life.
- A real deadline tells you how long you personally have to answer another player or confirm a choice.
- The page should say which kind it means whenever waiting could matter.
Some choices take real time to finish
A shift, journey or other large choice may make your character busy for a stated number of real minutes. The game shows the finish time near your character. You can still read messages and browse information, but another large choice may have to wait.
Do not press the same action again because the result has not appeared. Return to Now after the finish time. If it still shows as waiting, refresh once and then use Help in your Pocket rather than paying or committing twice.
What changes while you are away
Regular costs, work, care and city events can move forward. When you return, results explain the changes that matter instead of asking you to remember where you left off.
Hunger can also change with real time. Check how your character feels before starting demanding work, especially after a long break.
You do not lose a streak or have to buy more time because you missed a day. A missed diary reminder may close an opportunity, but it does not secretly remove money or punish your whole account.
Plan one return, not every month
Before leaving, look at Now and your Diary. Choose one result or event you care about and remember its real waiting time. You do not need to plan a full game year.
When you come back, read completed results before making new commitments. That prevents the common mistake of spending money to solve a need that has already been handled while you were away.