I attack the darkness!

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:25 pm

This is a rant. Do not attempt to inject reason. Do not attempt to provide solutions. This is merely a rant.

Why do so damned many games have to be so freaking dark?

I'm sorry, Mr. Developer, Sir, but I live in a real house where people spend their time and interact with the world. That means I have things like 'windows' and 'light bulbs'. If you fill a room full of darkness, then have dark clad enemies standing in it, I am not going to be able to see them! Perhaps in Magic Game Wonder Land, where I have the option of boarding up all of my windows to create the perfect dark gaming environment, but not in reality!

In the last two hours, I have attempted to play Morrowind, Chrome, and Vampire. Every single one of them I have had to give up on. My living room is just too bright to see well enough to play them. This is with all of the window blinds shut, all the lights off, and an 18-inch glare shield all around the top and sides of my monitor. The only way I can play these things is to wait until night time, after the kids are in bed, and the lights are off. Know what? I rarely get to game during that time. Bah! I'm getting sick of hoping to find the muzzle flash before I die so I will know what general direction to spray in the next time I open that door.

You know, its funny. I've been in huge warehouses, narrow hallways, equipment rooms, closed down skyscrapers, empty business, and all sorts of places, and every one of them had decent lighting. Why do people seem to be under the absurd impressiont that sometime between now and warp drive, humanity is going to forget how to install a light fixture? Why is it that every lamp that is installed will be provided with 15-watt bulbs that serve to illumine nothing but the lamp's own shade?

Dark? Cool. Now make a game that people in real homes can play!

Tareeq · Post by **Tareeq** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:31 pm

Change gamma settings.

milo · Post by **milo** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:36 pm

You think you've got troubles? Apparently the visibility at Tareeq's house is so bad that he can't even read the first line of your post!

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 5:37 pm

Me, on the other hand, I wonder why the real world is so damned bright. I have 10 florescent tubes over my head right now. If I turn them off, the light through the window, on a rainy day is enough to work by. But of course then I'm a freak in my office with the lights off.

shaggydoug · Post by **shaggydoug** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:12 pm

I hear ya Blackhawk. The Doom 3 Demo did that to me so I won't buy the game.

- shaggy

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:15 pm

shaggydoug wrote:I hear ya Blackhawk. The Doom 3 Demo did that to me so I won't buy the game.

- shaggy

Doom3 is on entirely different level than Morrowind and Vampire. You could play Doom 3 in matte black coffin at the bottom of the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean and it wouldn't help. It's not poorly lit, it's unlit.

SlapBone · Post by **SlapBone** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:51 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:
shaggydoug wrote:I hear ya Blackhawk. The Doom 3 Demo did that to me so I won't buy the game.

- shaggy

Doom3 is on entirely different level than Morrowind and Vampire. You could play Doom 3 in matte black coffin at the bottom of the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean and it wouldn't help. It's not poorly lit, it's unlit.

Exactly...how could that game get so many good reviews based on graphics if you could never see a fu**ing thing?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:54 pm

Blackhawk wrote:This is a rant. Do not attempt to inject reason. Do not attempt to provide solutions. This is merely a rant.

Why do so damned many games have to be so freaking dark?

This has always pissed me off to no end, and it's probably the #1 reason for the decline in my gaming enthusiasm. Some game (like Morrowind) do provide gamma controls; others, however, do not and require the gamma to be boosted by the graphics card. I hate this: when switching out of the game to my email or anything else with a light background, my retinas get burned as if I was staring into the sun.

The main reason we have this problem is that code monkeys are actually troglodytes. I've been to many studios where everything is pitch dark: they've had to announce to the room that the media was here and they were about to turn on the lights.

My desk, however, faces windows. I do most of my gaming during the day, and when the game environment is too dark, I cannot see details at all and it pisses me off. The game winds up on the shelf all unplayed and unrecommended; its sequels and addons unbought.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:01 pm

The one saving grace for Morrowind was that it let you (with the help of the FPS optimizer) set seperate indoor and outdoor gamma.

With other games, cranking the gamma up to what becomes usable in a dark room means that everything will be washed out in the rest of the game. With something like Doom 3 or Thief:DS, that wasn't a problem - it was always dark, but with something like Chrome where you go back and forth from jungle to building, it is intolerable.

Dhruin · Post by **Dhruin** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:26 pm

Someone has been listening to the Dead Alewives.

Just ignore me if I'm on the wrong track.

bluefugue · Post by **bluefugue** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:33 pm

I just have a big black sheet hung over my window. If you can't beat the troglodytes, join 'em.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:46 pm

Change gamma settings.

Too many games lack gamma settings as others have noted. It seems to be a problem I've had for the last few machine generations.

The problem drives me up the wall.

Vinda-Lou · Post by **Vinda-Lou** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:25 pm

I think complaining about Doom3 being too dark is too overrated. Yes the game was dark, but come on - the graphics and lighting were pretty damn good. And the game was enjoyable. It didn't turn water to wine or lead to gold, but it's a fun game. The darkness is the atmosphere of the game - a beat up Mars base with power on the fritz and being taken over by hell. It gives the game a claustophobic feeling that IMHO fits the theme of the game. Beating this game up over it's darkness is so 2004.

Faldarian · Post by **Faldarian** » Fri Mar 04, 2005 10:26 pm

This is going to sound fanboyish, but I haven't had a problem with darkness in games since I got my ATI card. The gamma problems just don't exist when compared to how dark everything used to be on my Nvidia cards.

Even Doom 3 was fine; the only parts that were too dark to see were supposed to be (and really fairly rare).

I have a CRT monitor too, though; I've noticed on an LCD that everything seems a lot darker just because of the contrast differences.

Jeremy · Post by **Jeremy** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:17 pm

The only time where the darkness seemed a good thing was in the Thief games. You can't see anything onscreen during the day, forcing you to play it at night. Preferably you're playing one of the undead levels and with headphones on. In an empty house.

Or is it?

is_dead · Post by **is_dead** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:22 pm

I also find the over-use of of shadows and high contrast to be fake and annoying. Like, jeez, if you're in a well lit room, it isn't going to be totally dark just out of the line of sight of the light bulb. Under the desk and in the open closet aren't going to be pitch black.

Greg Wak · Post by **Greg Wak** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 1:43 pm

I also had no problems with D3. I also happen to be a troglodyte by nature and am fortunate enough to have my cmputer in a blacked out room. I can see where this is a legitimate problem as playing with any sunlight is difficult if not impossible.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 2:26 pm

And here I thought I was the only one with this problem. In addition to the above comments, I will add that in some games the gamma slider STILL doesn't turn it up enough (I'm talking to you, Vampire)

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 3:35 pm

I attack the darkness!

You are eaten by a grue.

CharlieDelta · Post by **CharlieDelta** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 7:09 pm

Faldarian wrote:This is going to sound fanboyish, but I haven't had a problem with darkness in games since I got my ATI card. The gamma problems just don't exist when compared to how dark everything used to be on my Nvidia cards.

Even Doom 3 was fine; the only parts that were too dark to see were supposed to be (and really fairly rare).

I have a CRT monitor too, though; I've noticed on an LCD that everything seems a lot darker just because of the contrast differences.

It's been just the opposite for me. Since I got my ATI card, EVERYTHING has been too dark. With my nVidia cards, some games I'd have to bump the gamma up a bit to be able to see. In other games, there were no direct controls for Gamma (AvP2 and Raven Shield, I'm looking at you

) But I could at least do it with Console settings. With my ATI card, everything up to and including the desktop was blacked out. Now, everytime I install a game, I have to boot it up in a test run first to see how dark it is so I can then exit back out to desktop and create a profile in ATI Tray Tools for each game .exe with custom brightness settings...and all of this in a third party app because the catalyst control center doesn't work for me.

Peacedog · Post by **Peacedog** » Sat Mar 05, 2005 7:23 pm

Since I got my ATI card, EVERYTHING has been too dark

It's been an nVidia problem for me. We should switch cards (well, probably not, since I'm using a Geforce 3 ti 200).

piecedoff · Post by **piecedoff** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:11 am

Some games are just designed (and made by) basement dwellers.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 12:39 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Why do people seem to be under the absurd impressiont that sometime between now and warp drive, humanity is going to forget how to install a light fixture? Why is it that every lamp that is installed will be provided with 15-watt bulbs that serve to illumine nothing but the lamp's own shade?

That deficit we're running today is still biting people in the ass in the future so people have to scrimp where they can...

BRING DOWN THE DEFICIT NOW SO MARINES CAN HAVE DUCT TAPE IN THE FUTURE! DO IT FOR OUR SOLDIERS OF TOMORROW!

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 3:13 pm

First time I read the title, I thought Blackhawk bought a big*** flashlight.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 8:12 pm

Kasey Chang wrote:First time I read the title, I thought Blackhawk bought a big*** flashlight.

Imagine Doom3 with such a flashlight.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 7:23 pm

This may seem pretty obvious, but I just bought a new LCD flat-screen monitor and it made all the difference.

Programmer · Post by **Programmer** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 3:13 pm

I once had a monitor with my Amiga 1200 that was so dim, it was just barely usable in a basement suite with the blinds shut and the brightness and contrast maxed right out. I feel bad now, but I eventually sold the system to a guy after demoing it in my basement, where it looked OK. He got it home, set it up in his bright bedroom, and could not read the screen. At all. He called me up and I professed ignorance and gave my condolences. I'm going to hell.

AttAdude · Post by **AttAdude** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 3:24 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote:
shaggydoug wrote:I hear ya Blackhawk. The Doom 3 Demo did that to me so I won't buy the game.

- shaggy

Doom3 is on entirely different level than Morrowind and Vampire. You could play Doom 3 in matte black coffin at the bottom of the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean and it wouldn't help. It's not poorly lit, it's unlit.

True, unless of course you are able to us a combination of video and monitor settings that make game so bright you dont have to use the flashlight. I never understood the bitching about doom 3 i did exactaly like i said above, in an effort to see if the complaint was valid. Then i realized the darkness is what made the game exciting and scary. At that point i just shook my head at half of the internet and went back to playing one hell of a game, the way it was ment to be played: In the dark.

Caine · Post by **Caine** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 5:33 pm

can i have a mountain dew?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Mar 08, 2005 6:10 pm

Caine wrote:can i have a mountain dew?

Geeze, it took you guys half a page!

Caine · Post by **Caine** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:15 pm

Blackhawk wrote:
Caine wrote:can i have a mountain dew?
Geeze, it took you guys half a page!

i only saw this yesterday.

for that, i think i'll go fire up summoner on the pc if i can find it.

deadzone · Post by **deadzone** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:20 pm

Anyone else giggling at the irony of BH's handle and the nature of his rant? hehehehehehe....? Maybe I am just weird....

Oh well, anyway, you should try playing a dark game with night blindness. Now that's impossible sir! I just don't even buy them anymore if they are dark.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:26 pm

Blackhawk wrote:
Caine wrote:can i have a mountain dew?
Geeze, it took you guys half a page!

Ok, I've looked twice. I don't get it.

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:56 pm

Sith Lord wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:
Caine wrote:can i have a mountain dew?
Geeze, it took you guys half a page!
Ok, I've looked twice. I don't get it.

Where's the cheetos? (top link)

Kratz · Post by **Kratz** » Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:56 pm

I had a friend who would rant and rave about movies like Alien and Blade Runner because they were dark 'What, are there no fucking LIGHTS in the future?'

He was funny.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:04 am

Freezer-TPF- wrote:Where's the cheetos? (top link)

I'm sure I'm being horribly dense, but I don't see anything on that summoner page that has to do with Cheetos, let alone Mountain Dew or dark games. I'm, if anything, even more confused than I was. Thanks for trying, though.

Edit: if by (top link) you meant ""Summoner Geeks," with graphics of summoner characters and sound from a Dead Alewives skit parodizing Dungeons and Dragons" it won't load for me. Gets stuck at "connecting." Is the reference in there somewhere?

Sith

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 12:12 am

Yes, it's from Summoner Geeks. That top link worked for me. Maybe try again or try the low quality version below it.

Caine · Post by **Caine** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:19 pm

in short, one of the players' turn is up, so he says he's attacking the monster. there are no monsters in the room, they say. so he blurts out "i'm attacking the darkness". it was funny back when the game came out.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 6:30 pm

It's all clear now (though it's never funny when it has to be explained). Thanks a bunch!

Sith

Kiam · Post by **Kiam** » Thu Mar 10, 2005 9:53 pm

Octopus Overlords

I attack the darkness!

I attack the darkness!

Re: I attack the darkness!

Re: I attack the darkness!