# inZOI's experimental characters had to keep up with the simulation clock

> A character that can write its own thoughts still lives inside a game that can run at five times normal speed.

Published 2026-11-08

Canonical: https://machines-on-machines.anth.us/posts/smart-zoi-simulation-clock/

Life simulation players can speed up the clock rather than watch a character sleep. For inZOI's experimental Smart Zoi feature, that familiar control affected what the system could do. Krafton's March 2025 guide said the feature temporarily disabled creating journal entries and editing schedules while playback ran at five times normal speed or faster.

::image{
  src="assets/smart-zoi-simulation-clock/zoi2.png"
  layout="inline"
  alt="An inZOI settings screen highlights controls for the experimental Smart Zoi feature."
  caption="KRAFTON’s inZOI settings show Smart Zoi as an experimental feature. The agent’s decisions have to fit the pace of the simulation."
  credit="KRAFTON / inZOI Studio."
}

[Image source](https://playinzoi.com/en/news/8419)

The guide also warned that new schedule entries could fail when a Zoi went to bed late, and that inner thoughts could disappear quickly during conversations. It described Smart Zoi as an opt-in experiment with high hardware requirements and an English-only text prompt at that stage.

Those are launch-era observations, not a list of current limitations. They give a concrete example of where generated character behavior meets rules players already rely on, including the ability to change how quickly the rest of the world moves.

[Read the source](https://playinzoi.com/en/news/8419).
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