When you asked if people thought given your circumstances you will end up with decent smoke the first thing I thought was you mentioned; “that pretty amber color” and I thought, going by my likes and dislikes and tastes that stuff would be harvested way too late if it was that color and while it might still be too early when you have to harvest at least it will not be way too late.
You harvest when you see; “that pretty amber color” because you seem to get most of what you like the most or perceive to be the best that way so it is right for you. Using your scale or yardstick of good or proper or correct your mindset is things will not be good, but just how bad can I expect.
Anyone like you who is in love with; “that pretty amber color” will give you’re their opinion on how much change you might expect and offer their condolences for your loss. They, like you, will see it as a loss.
For someone like myself who does his best to avoid amber colored trichomes as much as possible, unless it is just due to plant genetics and they are that way right from the start and not a result of a slow natural progression and there is no avoiding them, I would almost, if there were just a bit more time, see it as something of a blessing in disguise, a stroke of good luck, a thank god for small blessings situation.
The point is depending on what trichome color camp someone hails from their basic responses will more or less be similar in nature.
The very best I could say to suggest, is something I am positive you already are more than well aware of is, the bottom, the restful/relaxing possibly as far as couch-lock effects will be lessened from what you expected, wanted and evidently like the most. Whatever degree of head-high the genetics carry will be increased over what you expected and possibly over what you wanted and like the most. The head-high portion while increased will likely be clearer than otherwise too. The length/duration of the high/stone will be decreased, likely more in the head-high portion than in the stone portion but still some in both.
You might say thank you very much for telling me what I already know Captain Obvious but that is the best I can do. I know of no way to attribute a percentage amount or intensity amount/scale or any sort of timeframe to any of what can be expected. Like I said, the very best I can do is describe what to expect, which again I am positive you already thought about all of it, and possibly more, a great deal by now and say I hope a little luck is with you and things turn out at least a little closer to what you could consider to be better than it appears likely to be the case.
After doing my doom and gloom thing I will mention one thing that will not get you your beloved; “pretty amber color” but it might still help make your final results better than they otherwise would be. It will depend on how willing you are to test or gamble or experiment and of course if you will be willing to fully research things so they would be done right, and then of course assuming that funding would not cause an issue, and most importantly that it is not something you are already doing …. you could add additional lighting in the proper UV ranges.
While like to many other things about growing there are two basic theories as to it in the end the final results justify using the additional UV lighting or not.
It has been proven that in nature plants that grow in equatorial regions and at high altitude where they receive increased levels of UV lighting will have an increased rate of resin production, and of course there is an increase in everything within the resin and that also of course includes cannabinoids.
If there is validity to increased levels of UV lighting applied indoors also causes increased production of resin/cannabnoids, if you add the proper spectrum range UV lighting you could increase cannabinoid production in the shortened amount of time you have remaining.
The THC itself might not hit maximum potency levels by harvest but there could be an increase in the amount of less potent THC in the trichomes so through volume overall actual potency levels, though not length/duration levels of high/stone, might actually come half-close to balancing out. That might sound like it makes no sense in the world, but it actually does.
It appears from your beloved trichome color that you go for that ‘couch-lock’ effect and the lighting will not get you your beloved amber, but if ‘couch-lock’ is what you want along with the rest of the cannabinoids being produced at an increased level will be CBD and CBD is relaxing, calming, easing and if in high enough percentages, flat out glue-gunning your butt to your couch strong.
There are two reasons people shoot for amber trichomes. One is to maximize the ‘couch-lock’ effects. THC is traded off/lost for increased levels of CBN which has/causes effects closer to that of CBD than anything else, so to a CBD lover it is almost like more CBD, so they accept the tradeoff in lost THC.
The only other reason to wait for amber trichomes is if someone was wrongly informed that they almost always or always equate to maximum levels of THC and the grower’s aim is to reach what they incorrectly believe will give them maximum levels of THC, so they go amber.
Anyway beloved amber will not be had, but increased levels of CBD will be found and also though not created largely from THC oxidation even CBNs will be increased along with any and all other cannabinoids and all else found in and that makes up resin.
If only there were a bit more time to play with I would suggest doing the 72-hours of darkness thing just previous to harvest. While it is all strain/genetic dependent research has shown that some strains will see an increase in levels of THC of up to 30% in plants that received 72-hours of darkness just prior to harvest.
Again not a way to fully maximize the potency of all the THC, but a way to increase the amount of the less potent THC on the plant. Like the additional UV lighting it or both might be a way to somewhat make up in volume what will not exist due to full maturity in what would be a lesser amount, if the additional lighting and or extended period of darkness work as some claims state are common or the norm when done/performed.
Another add that would help a bit, if not already being used, would be CO2. Again it will not shave time off maturing or make days and weeks longer so plants have more time but if adding CO2 will fit/work with your system and budget, go for it. Using it will get you more out of all that you will be able to at best get. That will not give you all/everything you want, but it is still a plus so that makes it an option.
Depending on what limitations you may face, including faith in any or all of the options, if you use one or some or all the options you will not pull a rabbit out of your hat but you will pull a squirrel or a gopher or something more out of your hat than you had expected and would not have found had you not experimented or altered or added or supplemented in some way or ways.
Times like these almost forces you to think quickly and be imaginative and be flexible and in doing so learn more. When you find yourself in situations like this, with all you know you have riding on it, if there is something or some things that might help make a bad situation into one that is at least decent if not outright acceptable, times like this is when you try anything and everything that you are not in some way limited from doing, including dancing counterclockwise around a bonfire at midnight under a full moon while naked and you sacrifice a rooster while listening to Bee Gee song played in reverse, that is precisely what you do.