Too Dark

[Dorok]

When playing my second character, I played a bit with brightness setting in game, or my monitor.

I realized I was playing with a bit too much brightness, which was generating colors a bit like washed. And it destroy a bit the look of areas in game.

I tried stick with Normal setup in game, and monitor a bit bright so white is white not a bit pale yellow.

Ok but many areas are a lot too dark, this is really wrong. The minimum would be at least a lot more light source, but more reasonable would be to give up have a base so dark for so many areas.

[Irrelevant]

Hm I think it's dark in dark places and bright in bright places I'm okay with this because it makes sence ^^.

[Dorok]

If it was my first videogame I could wonder, but it's not and there's clearly a wrong design choice here.

I'll check some let's play, pretty sure none would admit show such dark video,it would be amateurish.

[darkrage]

.

[snakeking]

In this case i also say that the graphic is a bit to dark in my opinion.
This happen after a update before that update it where fine.
The game is self is a good good ACRPG but the graphics need some work. i not have some thing agains dark area's like in the Outward game but in that game you can use a source or item that create more light in a area and in this game is that just lesser to do that.

[Dorok]

Sure character light source is minimal and very short range. With games for which character direction is constantly mastered by the player, a directional light source can add spice, with Diablo like controls it wouldn't work at all. With a better player light source with a longer range and just a circle not directional, it would help, but I believe that it would solve only partially the problem.

Some areas in game show that dark can work very well, I would quote as example:
- Ruined Era Corrupted lake, sort of at night with full moon light base, and with an extra effort on mood.
- Ruined Era The surface, again on a similar basis of full moon light base so not fully dark. The point here is an extra work on details exploits at its best the graphic look base, full moon light and void. Too bad it is like one corridor so very linear.
- There are other areas exploiting the same base, not fully as well than The Surface, but quite non linear and still looking very good even if a bit less because less work on details et least in some parts. There's for example, The Forsaken Trail, The Wasteland, Shattered Valley, Courtyard. For a totally great work of game tourism value, those areas looking very good but on base of a similar style would need distinctive elements giving them a unique look. Courtyard is close to achieve it but not fully. Corrupted Lake definitely achieves it fully, and even if overall the game abuse of small areas connected by bridges, and Corrupted Lake is an example, this map exploit it well to achieve a very distinctive look, exploit fully void sea, and add some cool panoramic on other parts of the area (not fake never reached) and overall looks quite great.
- The End of Time, looks great but it's just a hub, that said all hubs should look great because you go back to them more often, and Council Chambers is plain ugly and pointlessly dark, but I suppose it's just unfinished work.

All those examples aren't full dark example, as all use a sort of light base that is like full moon.

The game has a few true dark areas still looking great or close, I would quote:
- The Sheltered Wood. It's a full example of blind exploration because of dark abuse, but on another side the area is close to achieve something great thanks to some good tricks well used. Many bridges show (for once) great looking panoramic. The area exploit different light source colors, green, blue, and orange/yellow, great but this should be reinforced. There's a great work on light and shadows in many parts of the area, this really add to the look.

I think there's a few more, not based on full moon light, quite dark, and looking very good or close. But right now I can't remind. On another side, there's plenty very dark areas just looking wrong or at least average. Some example:
- The abandoned Tunnel, and Last Refuge. I can't say they look really ugly, but in my opinion such area is the typical example of dark area that needs a lot more work on details, lights and even shadows if possible. It would worth test it with a stronger player light source having a longer range, but I doubt it would really fix the problem.
- Welryn Catacombs and Welryn Storeroom benefit of much better looking base textures for walls and ground, it does help a lot their look in a very dark context. But at end but are so much fully dark for not achieving much. The cause is they feel repetitive because of a serious lack of work on details and even lights. It's not even that they look bad, not at all, but at end the tourism values is very weak. That's also something not well done overall in the game, have in areas some very distinctive place looking great but also very different and having the potential to trigger a wow.

I could list more examples of areas abusing of dark and some really looking ugly or close, but examples above give an idea of good looking examples, bad looking examples, and suggestions to fix or really exploit well the game abuse of dark.

EDIT:
About light and dark usage, one of the first area you can access only at start of game, is a weird example of a common problem in the game. It's the area with a part a bit like wood, perhaps the 4rth. The main light source is certainly supposed to be a sort of sun, but in most parts it's just shadows, perhaps because of supposed huge trees hiding the sun. The result is still looking bad, with everything in shadow of day light, and not light and shadow use. At en extreme border of the area, there's finally some light, and then some light and shadow game, it looks very cool, but have it just on border is ridiculous, the whole idea of huge tree hiding sun light need a total rework.

[Slava I1ov]

I have not gone so far, I do not remember the names, but I have 23 lvl. Most of the time, mobs are not very visible, and sometimes not at all. Only the contours when you hover the pointer over them or when pillbox damage.

[Azazel]

check your gamma. that sounds very different than my play experience and sounds like something you can change in userland. my default is visible in ways yours is not. though it is intended to be some kind of atmospheric lighting, harder to see in caves etc this seems like a default setting just landed funky with your monitor or video card

[Dorok]

I haven't played last versions, but didn't played versions that old either.

That it is intended doesn't make it necessarily a good design choice. In a post higher I quote that very dark with light sources well used can be great and look great and play very well.

But there's area just weird, too dark, lack of light source work, looking bad because all of that. For not seeing well enough enemies, I'm not sure. The game was fer to be proper on that, in all areas. Perhaps not it's fixed/tuned.

[hypersot]

I use a high quality monitor, intended for graphic design, and I can confirm that the game's dark colours are totally wrong as they are very similar to each other (don't know how else to say it in English).

Using maxed bright in settings and also a very high bright setting in my monitor and still -sometimes- have trouble distinguish where one object ends and another begins.

Unfortunately, the same colour-choice is on their website too. It's a multi-layer of darknesses :)

[Dorok]

It's not the only game I played. The problem can hardly be my monitor, this game is the only one with such dark problem.

Perhaps it's been fixed, I didn't played last versions.

[kingchris43]

Originally posted by Dorok:

If it was my first videogame I could wonder, but it's not and there's clearly a wrong design choice here.

I'll check some let's play, pretty sure none would admit show such dark video,it would be amateurish.

some maps are definitely way too dark on my PC too. the rest are fine.
don't have any problem with any other game.