Feedback - Too dark at night?

[GOPHUR]

We have adjusted up the light values at night time for both clear and coudy/rainy days.

We'd like your impressions. Our goal is to make it playable without needing to adjust the monitor but still have a different experience than day time.

Screenshots welcome.

[speed]

Thank you so much! We will post for sure,much appreciated effort.

S!

Speed

[jwilly]

It's a fact that a large majority of computer users don't realize that there is so wide a range of video-card-and-monitor brightness, even among new equipment of different brands, and especially when comparing new equipment against equipment that's a couple of years old.

That variation makes relatively little difference when the scene being rendered is bright anyway. The viewers just adjust.

It makes a huge difference, though, when the scene being rendered is of an environment that realistically is less bright. Differences in video-card-and-monitor brightness are hugely more noticeable when rendering a less-bright image.

There are also differences in human low-light vision sensitivity.

CRS can't control video brightness, and how individuals perceive "just right" or "too dark". There's no feedback path to them for how bright the image is that a viewer actually sees. Nor can they universally control gamma, brightness and contrast settings.

The only way the game can move toward realistic environments is if players are willing to set up their video systems sensibly. Killer has said several times over the years: whatever time of day and environment the game is modeling, adjust your monitor so you can see well enough to play.

CRS can do a lot of things to make the game better, but they can't visit every player's home to adjust their monitor.

But, they do pay attention to their customers. See this Gophur beta-testing post for the latest adjustments.

Edited April 21, 2010 by jwilly

[barkas]

Night can be as dark as a bears arse for all I care, I would like the days to be a little bit brighter.

[oneskunk]

Since you're not having any evening hours for the beta this week, is this something I can test offline?

FWIW I enjoy the darker nights and darker cloudy days.

[dekard]

f11 cycles time

[frantish]

I wonder if information on calibrating/setting of monitor in the settings panel would be usefull?

Some types of display are brighter at night then others.

[lure]

I've noticed later games, well at least on PS3, sometimes have a gamma/brightness test-screen where you get a test pattern where you're asked to adjust your settings until you can barely see some dark pattern on some slightly darker background... "Heavy Rain" on PS3 have this. It's probably a good way to help users to set up their screen to a setting that the developers expects you to run the game with.

Edit:

Took a quick photo of the gamma adjustment screen in PS3 "Heavy Rain".

Edited April 21, 2010 by lure

[GOPHUR]

Isn't night time meant to be dark?

I agree, but in WWII they had flares, search lights, etc. We don't have any of that.

Yeah but playing in the dark is not really fun for most.

We've lightened this up in .36. Please update the feedback.

[khbigjoe]

Yeah but playing in the dark is not really fun for most.

We've lightened this up in .36. Please update the feedback.

If anyone has layed arma2, the night time seems very realistic..but its easier to play with night vision, lights etc of course. Still was realy immsersive the first time I played it

So there needs to be a balence..would be fun occasionally to be quite dark so we can utilise the extra cover (cloud cover, rain)..then on clear nights (most of the time I guess?) we have the moonlight to make it decent light and playable similar to how we have it now...still have to look harder for enemy but not impossible to see.

[jw]

night is not the prob, its the overcast and rainy days, and yes calibrating my moniter did help a lot, seems much better now GOPHUR, thanks for looking into it.

[Tandel]

does the f11 thing work in beta as well Gophur?

[eigenman]

NVIDIA control panel has a calibration tool.

[snailtrail]

It is pretty bright out there now. I can accept that as it feels like a full moon. The problem is the lack of dark shadows to hide in. Inside buildings is bright, alleys are bright, forests are bright,ect.

Is it possible to make it darker when it rains but keep the current light levels when overcast but not raining?

[dekard]

does the f11 thing work in beta as well Gophur?

only in 'offline' mode.

[Tandel]

yeah thats what i thought..

got a chance to get on beta today. thought id give my impressions.

midnight - looked more like it should be dawn/dusk. a tweek in the right direction, but maybe to much of a tweak.

in a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 be brightest and 10 being darkest, i feel midnight should be right at a 9. i would rate todays at about a 6. darken it 2 or 3 and it would be just right.

i dont know how you guys do the lighting, but like someone said above, its all universal no matter where your at. its literally like the trees, buildings, etc are emitting the light instead of just the sun/moon.

what it causes are effects like scale 2 sunlight at midday outside, then you run inside and its still scale 2 instead of say scale 3 or 4. (lightbulbs dont emmit as much light as the sun) and where the suns rays enter the building are not shown at all.. its basically universal light if that makes sense.

[makrel]

My impressions after playing with lighting in offline Beta 1.31.1.36...

Callibrated my monitor with Nvidia calibration, went into offline, set time to 00.00, set .rain to cloudy and rain, spawned in and set 3 infantry in an open field and backed up 50 meters.

You can see the result in the picture.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

My conclusion: I would have no issue playing with lighting like this - but the issue is that most users will turn up gamma until they could actually see the infantry in front. And so would I... Because playing without being able to see other players while they could see me would be a total no-go...

So I would advise turning lighting up even more until we could get more light sources in game.

[romzburg]

My impressions after playing with lighting in offline Beta 1.31.1.36...

Callibrated my monitor with Nvidia calibration, went into offline, set time to 00.00, set .rain to cloudy and rain, spawned in and set 3 infantry in an open field and backed up 50 meters.

You can see the result in the picture.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

My conclusion: I would have no issue playing with lighting like this - but the issue is that most users will turn up gamma until they could actually see the infantry in front. And so would I... Because playing without being able to see other players while they could see me would be a total no-go...

So I would advise turning lighting up even more until we could get more light sources in game.

I can see those infantry. They don't stick out obviously, but I'd have no trouble playing that game. If they were moving I'd have no trouble whatsoever. If they were the same distance, but crouched in a bush, I wouldn't see them, unless they moved too much while I was looking right at them.

I think that's just perfect.

__________________

Ya know, at first Romsburg, you rubbed me the wrong way and I wasn't a fan. But over the past 12 months, you have really grown on me. You're precise, well spoken and although you are sometimes a little harsh, you are most often correct and in proper context with your responses.

indeed he's one of the few voices of common sense on these forums

I can't say [any]thing else [than] that the ban was justified considering that you have an 'impressive' TOS history....

The only thing worse than being talked about is *not* being talked about.

[GOPHUR]

I think the night sky looks too dawnish, gonna mess with this some more.

[GOPHUR]

Since you're not having any evening hours for the beta this week, is this something I can test offline?

FWIW I enjoy the darker nights and darker cloudy days.

Yup. F11 to change the time, think f12 makes time faster too.

.rain to change the rain state.

[GOPHUR]

night is not the prob' date=' its the overcast and rainy days, and yes calibrating my moniter did help a lot, seems much better now GOPHUR, thanks for looking into it.[/quote']

I'm actually gonna calibrate mine now. Good call.

[statue1]

Romsburgs SS looks awfull on my monitor, had to crank up gamma to see Inf. In beta yesterday it looked better but still had to tweek gamma a little, when I do that the game becomes monocromatic, and not much fun to play. wierd because 1.30 is just perfect for me.

[romzburg]

Romsburgs SS looks awfull on my monitor' date=' had to crank up gamma to see Inf. In beta yesterday it looked better but still had to tweek gamma a little, when I do that the game becomes monocromatic, and not much fun to play. wierd because 1.30 is just perfect for me.[/quote']

"Makrel"'s screen shot, not mine.

________________

Ya know, at first Romsburg, you rubbed me the wrong way and I wasn't a fan. But over the past 12 months, you have really grown on me. You're precise, well spoken and although you are sometimes a little harsh, you are most often correct and in proper context with your responses.

indeed he's one of the few voices of common sense on these forums

I can't say [any]thing else [than] that the ban was justified considering that you have an 'impressive' TOS history....

The only thing worse than being talked about is *not* being talked about.

[statue1]

LOL, sorry I miss credited you.

[jw]

I can see those infantry. They don't stick out obviously, but I'd have no trouble playing that game. If they were moving I'd have no trouble whatsoever. If they were the same distance, but crouched in a bush, I wouldn't see them, unless they moved too much while I was looking right at them.

I think that's just perfect.

__________________

just perfect? if that looks "just perfect" to you, you sir are in denial