I think their are powerful arguments for all sides of the question here. Ultimately, however, I don't think there is a satisfactory answer out there when you look directly at the year speed, because no matter how fast or slow it is, its going to feel totally out of your control. I feel like the best answer is to shift away from time being so massive of a concept as a whole. We should meet a middle ground for people.
The majority of people who do not like the way years move are primarily focused on the supposed 'expiration date' forcibly set on characters. This is probably the biggest source of the psychological impact, that you are not accomplishing enough with the time you have. That your job or life is preventing you from finding fulfillment in your character.
+ Remove age nerfs or mitigate their impact. Raise the natural lifespan of magi. (just an idea to go with my thoughts)
We are playing in a magical fantasy world. In a lot of magical fantasy worlds, magic sustains an individual with longevity, more then just a 'healthy' body. Also in a lot of fantasy worlds, there are many characters who operate well into the later years of their lives.
If players want to stick with one character forever, then let them. If they want to hop to a new character every couple months, that's also okay.
My own resolution might not be enough, or the best of ideas, but I think any suggestion regarding this topic should be focused on peeling people's eyes away from the concept of year speed & time as a whole. The only time a player should really be paying attention to it is when they're waiting for the date their character's descendants might spawn in.
tl;dr
there is no satisfactory answer with year speed. if we want ppl to stop looking at the clock, then start by making it less important mechanically
The majority of people who do not like the way years move are primarily focused on the supposed 'expiration date' forcibly set on characters. This is probably the biggest source of the psychological impact, that you are not accomplishing enough with the time you have. That your job or life is preventing you from finding fulfillment in your character.
+ Remove age nerfs or mitigate their impact. Raise the natural lifespan of magi. (just an idea to go with my thoughts)
We are playing in a magical fantasy world. In a lot of magical fantasy worlds, magic sustains an individual with longevity, more then just a 'healthy' body. Also in a lot of fantasy worlds, there are many characters who operate well into the later years of their lives.
If players want to stick with one character forever, then let them. If they want to hop to a new character every couple months, that's also okay.
My own resolution might not be enough, or the best of ideas, but I think any suggestion regarding this topic should be focused on peeling people's eyes away from the concept of year speed & time as a whole. The only time a player should really be paying attention to it is when they're waiting for the date their character's descendants might spawn in.
tl;dr
there is no satisfactory answer with year speed. if we want ppl to stop looking at the clock, then start by making it less important mechanically