MMO Virtualization

One of the things I wish I saw more of in MMOs was the concept of environmental reality. I see a few games taking very subtle stabs at this through some weak dynamic weather patterns and day/night cycles...But I'm interested in a bit more realism. I'd love to see a world with changing seasons. I'm not talking about the proverbial zone in a winter setting, or a dessert setting etc. I'm talking about one zone that moves through a seasonal cycle. One of my very first criticisms of EQ2 was that the world weather was static. Every day in WillowWood was bright and sunny. (Note - The rain in EQ2 and LOTRO is a start, but where are the clouds it is falling from?) We do get some seasonal scenery during Frostfell, but what about leaves on trees changing colors during fall. Snow accumulations? Might be neat to have certain quests only available during special weather events etc. I recognize that this would require some good design to prevent virtual environmental disasters from preventing people questing for days or weeks at a time. If you are stuck inside due to the weather, the last thing you want is your MMO of choice to prevent you from finishing your quest due to 6 foot snowdrifts. I guess I'm looking for something to make the world a bit more immersive while avoiding the pitfall of trying to do too much (i.e. virtual reality or a life simulator). How about wear patterns in terrain when players continually traverse through an area (user created paths). These areas would self heal as the players moved on to other locations in search of new quests. Just some thoughts...