Why aren't the darkside of planets dark anymore?

[Fliposide]

Hi all,
I think this has been mentioned before but I cant find the thread

I am sure you have all noticed that for quite a while when you approach the darkside of the planet things look great one half illuminated the other cloaked in darkness.
However as soon as you enter the darkside (either on the planet or in orbit) the darkness fades to an almost overcast day light level with no shadows.
I am sure this was changed to enhance the VR gameplay (so you can see) but it really is unrealistic and adds no atmosphere ingame having to rely on ships lights.

Is this something that can be changed via a setting and I have missed it completely?

Running a GTX980 and using DK2

Thanks

CMDR Fliposide

 

[Spyro Jance]

It's the same reason why we don't get blinded looking at stars - the cockpit automatically adjusts to the available level of light. If you ever get you cockpit smashed, you can see the "real" light levels.

 

[Knightshark]

If you ever get you cockpit smashed, you can see the "real" light levels.

Really?

 

[Spyro Jance]

Actually, I think I may be wrong.
I thought I'd read something about this in the forums, but I've just done a search and not been able to find anything.

 

[[VR] Frank_G]

Its an ambient light level, calculated of the galaxy backdrop. Currently it is not working properly as stated by Frontier and delivering a too bright result. The lighting system will get a serious overhaul, either by adjusting the calculation routine or the Cobra engine - i guess with the planned bugfix and overhaul run after 2.4 is out. The ambient light getting a bit brighter during descent is wanted though, to prevent players ending up in total darkness, which would make maneuvering on the dark side of planets simply impossible... you wont even be able to spot a mountain...

My too cents would be, leaving it totally dark and adding a light amplification system to the ship, including night-vision, thermo-optics and zoom, displayed on a small holo-screen, that can be activated via the menus - together with landing lights and a more powerful headlight for ground level operation. Maybe

 

[ebbrell]

I have posted on this subject before. We want it real, this game is a sim after all and not an arcade game. so it should be really dark and maybe have moon light like we do in earth. It depends on the position of the moon obviously.

I want and wish I had to depend on instruments and lights for landing in dark areas.
I did the entire ruins mission without needing to turn lights on once.

Seems silly. pls pls make it realistic

 

[ebbrell]

What's the point of dark covert paint when people can see you. an SRV should be able to sneak off in silent mode making it hard for a greifer ships to attack

 

[verminstar]

Is it so dark that people cant see whats going on in cartoons? No...this is similar in that the game needs to cater to seven year olds with cartoon expectations ^

Hey look on the bright side...(no pun intended)...at least what ye can see aint beige anymore ^

Maybe I should just stop commenting...feels wrong kicking someone when they down somehow ^

 

[dogbite]

I doubt this sim's main user base is made up of that many 7 year olds that do more than mess around a bit. Lighting options such as those Frank mentions would be ideal. The types of things that we see on military choppers in real life during night missions. After all, if we can buy a flashlight that will light up your neighborhood there doesn't seem to be any reason not to simulate it in ED. Except for the coding work needed to do it properly that is. What ever comes to pass, I hope they do it right. ED has quite a few lighting issues that need a better treatment. imo

 

[Cliché]

I just popped into the game for the first time since 2.3 dropped. I flew around a bit and was happy to see dark deep space and I couldn't really spot any banding. This may have been fixed before, but I don't really remember. Then I flew around a dark side of a planet and it lit up like a 40W light bulb. It was so depressing - I'm really shocked that they haven't fixed this yet. It used to be so fun (and scary) to land on a pitch black planet and drive around in the SRV and hope you don't fall into a canyon (I'd skidded the front wheels off a ledge more than once).

I think I may just park it again for another month or two until I see what's coming with 2.4 and after. [blah]

 

[CylonSurfer]

Then I flew around a dark side of a planet and it lit up like a 40W light bulb. It was so depressing - I'm really shocked that they haven't fixed this yet. It used to be so fun (and scary) to land on a pitch black planet and drive around in the SRV and hope you don't fall into a canyon (I'd skidded the front wheels off a ledge more than once).

I think I may just park it again for another month or two until I see what's coming with 2.4 and after. [blah]

Yup I hate it also. The darkside of a planet should be pitch black, I mean what is the point of the SRV light settings if you never need to use full beam?

 

[VR andysonofbob]

Yup I hate it also. The darkside of a planet should be pitch black, I mean what is the point of the SRV light settings if you never need to use full beam?

Yup

It's also proper jarring when the planet's colour shifts until it finds the correct colour to match the ambient light.

 

[JoshuaReeves]

I would love to be driving along in my SRV in VR, pitch black, wondering if im about to go flying off a cliff. It would also give a use for high beams and make the cities seem more welcoming, being surrounded by darkness. I understand it might make flying more difficult, so maybe keep it like it is when flying, then bring it down when in your SRV. Lore wise, the SRV could lack the tech needed to enhance the image.

 

[CylonSurfer]

It should look like this:

But instead is a high contrast mess.

 

[Cliché]

If you're on the dark side of a moon, but facing the light side of its planet, it can be quite bright. Even the Milky-way or nearby nebula or distant suns can give you some ambient light. But in some dark places in the galaxy, on the dark side of everything, it can get pitch black. This is the way it used to be, and I sure hope the go back to it sometime soon.

The danger of flying in the dark can be minimized by going slow and paying attention to your sensors and HUD, but some type of visual aid, as Frank suggests, would be a nice touch. But it is possible, and quite exciting, to fly in total darkness, as I used to do it. At least if you have your gamma turned way down, you should be able to experience the black.

 

[Fliposide]

I am glad I am not the only one who is not happy with it then. I miss flying through asteroid fields on the dark side of the planet, but it would be nice to be able to upgrade the the light too then

Also I only play in VR, does this occur without using VR? Looking at screenshots and videos from the community it appears to be what we want i.e. dark.

 

[CylonSurfer]

I am glad I am not the only one who is not happy with it then. I miss flying through asteroid fields on the dark side of the planet, but it would be nice to be able to upgrade the the light too then

Also I only play in VR, does this occur without using VR? Looking at screenshots and videos from the community it appears to be what we want i.e. dark.

No idea - I have never fired Elite up without VR and never plan to

 

[Roybe]

Just a question...have you tried to calibrate your gamma setting on the video card? I was always complaining about my output in D3 being much different than my wifes...and finally realized my gamma setting was the problem.

Also...make sure, with an nvidia card you have set the Output dynamic range to 'full'..under the display/change resolution option in the Nvidia control panel...and reset it every time you update your drivers! Without this setting, the output will be 'chopped' of the darker blacks and whiter whites...because of televisions being used rather than monitors.

 

[StiTch]

The ambient light getting a bit brighter during descent is wanted though, to prevent players ending up in total darkness, which would make maneuvering on the dark side of planets simply impossible... you wont even be able to spot a mountain...

My too cents would be, leaving it totally dark and adding a light amplification system to the ship, including night-vision, thermo-optics and zoom, displayed on a small holo-screen, that can be activated via the menus - together with landing lights and a more powerful headlight for ground level operation. Maybe

Basically this.

I could ridicule the lighting on the dark side of planets in ED until the end of time itself, and still be able to ridicule it some more. It'd be nice to get that pitch-black "what in the name of mercy is actually going on down there" level of lighting, but improve the lights on the spacecraft to something a little more potent than I could reproduce using a glow in the dark t-shirt stuck to the front of my ship.

 

[JetsonRING]

Hi all,
I think this has been mentioned before but I cant find the thread
I am sure you have all noticed that for quite a while when you approach the darkside of the planet things look great one half illuminated the other cloaked in darkness.
However as soon as you enter the darkside (either on the planet or in orbit) the darkness fades to an almost overcast day light level with no shadows.
I am sure this was changed to enhance the VR gameplay (so you can see) but it really is unrealistic and adds no atmosphere ingame having to rely on ships lights.
Is this something that can be changed via a setting and I have missed it completely?
Running a GTX980 and using DK2
Thanks
CMDR Fliposide

You will notice, as you approach the dark side of a planetary body that light levels start out very dark, then lighten considerably as one dives lower toward the ground on the dark side of a planet. There are a couple of reasons for this:

(1) As a previous poster noted, the canopy automatically adjusts for different light levels and when the CMDR dives into the shadow of a planet it takes a few seconds for the canopy to clear up and allow more light into the bridge.
(2) IRL our eyes would adjust to the sudden darkness but since it is a video game that adaptation to lower light levels must be modeled.
(3) The dark side of a planet is usually not really "dark" but lit by reflection, the same way our own moon reflectively lights the dark side of the earth but it looks dark when you suddenly come in out of the light, the same way a room can look dark when you first enter from outside if it is sunny outside even though there is plenty of (low) light in the room to see by once your eyes adjust. o7