Come back when the counter opens

The bakery and station supplier serve from 06:00 to 22:00. The school canteen serves from 08:00 to 17:00. Walk up after closing and the panel gives the next opening time and a countdown. Your bread, money and unfinished deliveries stay yours. G still eats food in your bag.

A paid batch finishing after the bakery closes

Watch in HD. This is a sixteen-second recording of the mock simulation, with 480 rendered frames. Preparation buys one loaf and advances the complete city to three seconds before closing. The player starts a batch before 22:00, receives its ordinary pay after closing, then eats the carried loaf. The preparation is not shown, and the export does not measure live frame rate.

The same rule at every counter

Declare hours=[6,22] on a market. Opening is included; closing is excluded. hours=[22,6] serves overnight. Opening must be at least zero and below 24; closing can be zero through 24. Both are finite numbers and must differ. Omit hours for service all day. [0,24] also covers the whole day.

The world must declare daylight(cycle_s=...,start_hour=...). Hours derive from saved simulation time, using the same day arithmetic as lighting. Pausing stops both; reduced motion freezes the sky while business hours keep advancing. R, travel and streamed scenery do not reset a business day. Reload resumes the saved time with no offline trading, work or travel.

Action	After closing
Buy or sell	Wait for service; no money or goods move
Start a production job	Wait for service, for both player and staff
Finish a committed job	Finish and receive its reserved pay normally
Collect a shipment	Wait at its source; no cargo or pay is reserved before pickup
Deliver committed cargo	Keep cargo and escrow until the receiver opens, or cancel
Eat owned food, cancel a task or perform local repairs	Keep using the existing rules

A courier already on the way can arrive after closing. It waits at the connected approach, then retries the same transaction when service opens. The wait, cargo, reservations, paused routine and position survive saves. A hungry customer skips closed shops. If closing happens before arrival, they return without buying or claiming a seat; no free food or refund is created.

These are counter hours. Staff stay at their current authored locations; there are no work shifts, wages for idle time, queues, appointment slots or weekly calendars in this feature. Repair services use their existing finite stores and pay; closing a shop does not switch off street maintenance.

A bakery and an overnight supplier

This complete example begins at 21:30 with a two-minute day. The bakery closes at 22:00 and its supplier opens for the night. They use the same recipe, food and courier rules as an all-day business. This short clock makes boundaries quick to inspect; the live city uses ten minutes.

dream

dream 2;
material blue(style=toon,colors=[#537eaa,#3c5f87]);
material skin(style=toon,colors=[#c59774,#a97655]);
object pedestrian(label="Pedestrian"){
  measure(kind=person,axis=y,meters=1.8);
  body(interaction=decor,radius=4,height=18);
  part torso(shape=capsule,material=blue,at=[0,11,0],size=[5,6,4]);
  part head(shape=sphere,material=skin,at=[0,16,0],size=[4,4,4]);
  part nose(shape=sphere,material=skin,at=[2,16,0],size=[1,1,1]);
  repeat legs(index=i,count=2){
    joint leg(at=[0,8,i*3-1.5],motion=swing(axis=z,deg=18,hz=.6,phase_deg=i*180)){
      part shin(shape=capsule,material=blue,at=[0,-4,0],size=[2,8,2]);
    }
  }
}
behavior welcome(start=waiting){
  state waiting(action=idle){on talk(event=interact,to=hello,radius=55,familiar=false);on again(event=interact,to=returning,radius=55,familiar=true);}
  state hello(action=idle,face=player,say="Hello. Welcome to the neighborhood."){
    on ask(event=interact,to=about,radius=55);
    on finish(event=after,to=waiting,seconds=6);
  }
  state returning(action=idle,face=player,say="Good to see you again."){
    on finish(event=after,to=waiting,seconds=6);
  }
  state about(action=idle,face=player,say="I like walking by the river. See you around."){
    on finish(event=after,to=waiting,seconds=6);
  }
}
place neighbor(object=pedestrian,at=[580,710],role=npc,behavior=welcome);
world(size=[4000,2400],spawn=[525,609],heading_deg=0);
daylight(cycle_s=120,start_hour=21.5);
road circuit(width=118,points=[[300,590],[660,590],[810,500],[810,220],[660,130],[300,130],[150,220],[150,500]]);

checkpoint start(at=[480,612.5],dir=[1,0],width=100);
checkpoint east(at=[828.75,360],dir=[0,-1],width=100);
checkpoint north(at=[480,107.5],dir=[-1,0],width=100);
checkpoint west(at=[131.25,360],dir=[0,1],width=100);

place customer(object=pedestrian,at=[760,730],role=npc,behavior=welcome);
place depot_keeper(object=pedestrian,at=[1120,970],role=npc,behavior=welcome);
place helper(object=pedestrian,at=[620,730],role=npc,behavior=welcome);
street access(width=60,sidewalk=24,points=[[400,590],[400,850]]);
street main(width=60,sidewalk=24,points=[[400,850],[1400,850]]);
crossing main_cross(street=main,at=[900,850],width=20);
surface depot_yard(color=#b2aa96,points=[[1080,884],[1260,884],[1260,1020],[1080,1020]]);
surface plaza(color=#b2aa96,points=[[530,680],[820,680],[820,816],[530,816]]);
economy(){
 good bread(label="Bread",food=45);
 good flour(label="Flour");
 good vegetables(label="Vegetables",food=20);
 good lunch(label="Packed lunch",food=65);
 account pocket(actor=player,credits=20,capacity=8,satiety=65,drain_s=.05);
 account baker(actor=neighbor,credits=0,capacity=4,satiety=65,drain_s=.05,shop=true,works=[pack_lunch,bake]);
 meal bakery_break(good=lunch,markets=[corner],on=plaza,eat_s=4);
 account regular(actor=customer,credits=20,capacity=4,satiety=25,drain_s=.05,meal=bakery_break);
 account supply_helper(actor=helper,credits=0,capacity=4,satiety=65,drain_s=.05,deliveries=[flour_run]);
 market corner(label="Corner bakery",actor=neighbor,credits=100,radius=70,hours=[6,22]){
  lot bread_shelf(good=bread,quantity=8,limit=16,price=5);
  lot flour_sack(good=flour,quantity=6,limit=8);
  lot vegetables_box(good=vegetables,quantity=4,limit=8,price=2);
  lot lunch_counter(good=lunch,quantity=0,limit=4,price=8);
 }
 market depot(label="Station supplies",actor=depot_keeper,credits=0,radius=70,hours=[22,6]){lot flour_store(good=flour,quantity=12,limit=12);}
 delivery flour_run(label="Bring flour",from=depot,to=corner,good=flour,quantity=2,pay=4,capacity=1,on=plaza,grounds=[depot_yard]);
 work bake(label="Bake bread",market=corner,input=flour,take=1,output=bread,make=2,seconds=2,pay=3,effort=6,capacity=1,target=4);
 work pack_lunch(label="Pack lunch",market=corner,output=lunch,make=1,seconds=2,pay=3,effort=6,capacity=1,target=2){
  ingredient(good=bread,take=1);
  ingredient(good=vegetables,take=1);
 }
}

Run npm run -s dream -- check docs/examples/market-hours.dream. Removing daylight, using equal endpoints or supplying an invalid hour fails acceptance. Hours do not add actors, physics bodies, navigation nodes or render geometry.

Keep the day you already played

The r62 update retains save format 12 and moves simulation semantics to version 19. Its registered r61 projection removes only counter hours. Existing positions, seats, meals, jobs, needs, stock, money, history and both clocks stay exact. The original slot is retained. Changing any unrelated accepted rule still requires its own migration. Saving and compatibility.

Hours can now connect to physical staff shifts. Hours alone still require no travel; an assigned counter owner must actually return before service.