Ditch the lens flares

[ChipStar65]

The lens flare usage in the new lighting structure is aesthetically ridiculous, physically inaccurate, and should be eliminated. Just because JJ Abrams is all hot to trot over them doesn't make them right.

From a practical standpoint they can obscure vision in both ship and SRV, sometimes severely.

From a physics standpoint they are completely out of place. Lens flares are a result of (duh!) lenses, specifically compound lenses that use a number of glass elements. They result from reflections arising in the multiple lens surfaces of such systems. They do not appear in simple single-lens systems like the human eye, nor when light passes though a layer of glass such as a canopy. Diffusion can occur in such instances but that is not the same as lens flare.

Lens flares are lens defects, and modern lenses seek to reduce the problem by using monolayer coatings that reduce the reflections. Pointing the lens system at a very bright light source such as a local sun overcomes this treatment, making the defect more obvious in such situations. They are not "cool effects."

In all cases, lens flare implies that the viewer is looking through a lens system, which completely contradicts the idea of viewing through a canopy. Get rid of the lens flares.

 

[Leadfoot]

I could be wrong here but isn't there an option to toggle that on/off in the Options/Graphics menu?

 

[metatheurgist]

You shoulda been around before some us shouted down the beta lens flares.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

I quite like the JJ Abrams effect.

But a toggle option would suffice.

 

[ChipStar65]

@ Leadfoot -- No Graphics option regarding lens flares, only Bloom and Blur. I have Bloom turned off, Blur doesn't bother me, not sure how it is applied, whether motion blur or focal blur (Depth of Field).

@ CMDR Cosmic -- No accounting for taste, but the fact remains that they are inaccurate and often interfere with visibility, so yes, if not removed entirely, at least a toggle option would be appreciated.

 

[ChipStar65]

PROPOSED NEW THREAD TITLE: Lens Flares Are Light Pollution, Nothing Else.

I wanted to rewrite the title of this thread for obvious reasons, three of which are seen below:

Flares mask the subtle details of the Universe, which I for one play the game to enjoy unsullied by truly bad art direction.

Flares can be strong enough to hide navigation data, which is patently ridiculous in a spaceflight sim.

Even the Camera Suite shows these gross, ugly smears! It's supposed to be a "god's eye" view for recording the beauty of the game, but it's been ruined by bad taste.

ED is a game about space travel, visiting far, strange locations with incredibly exotic vistas, yet FDevs have decided to introduce a cheesy theatrical effect that ruins those vistas as surely as light pollution does in a big city here on Earth. It's just shameful to smear such crud all over one of the very best features of the game, it's glorious visuals.

 

[CMDR Exorcist]

Bump. Please give us a toggle to turn this off. It's terrible for in-game photography.

-CMDR Ex

 

[thistle]

I like it.

 

[ChipStar65]

I like it.

All well and good, but a toggle will satisfy everyone.

 

[Morbad]

Add this to your GraphicsConfigurationOverride.xml:

    <LensFlares>
        <Low>
            <Enabled>false</Enabled>
        </Low>
        <Medium>
            <Enabled>false</Enabled>
        </Medium>
        <High>
            <Enabled>false</Enabled>
        </High>
    </LensFlares>

    <FX>
        <Low>
            <Item>
                <Feature>LensFlares</Feature>
                <QualitySetting>0</QualitySetting>
            </Item>
        </Low>
        <Medium>
            <Item>
                <Feature>LensFlares</Feature>
                <QualitySetting>0</QualitySetting>
            </Item>
        </Medium>
        <High>
            <Item>
                <Feature>LensFlares</Feature>
                <QualitySetting>0</QualitySetting>
            </Item>
        </High>
    </FX>

It should disable lens flares, irrespective of your FX quality setting.

 

[ChipStar65]

I will give that a shot, thanks, Morbad!

 

[Morbad]

I will give that a shot, thanks, Morbad!

I just stripped out some extraneous variables for the override, but the pre-edit stuff should work the same.

 

[ChipStar65]

I just stripped out some extraneous variables for the override, but the pre-edit stuff should work the same.

Unfortunately not, but I appreciate the effort.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

JJ Abrams disapproves.

 

[Morbad]

Unfortunately not, but I appreciate the effort.

It does work for me. Actually, works with nothing but the variable under <LensFlares> set to false.

Maybe the formatting of your override file is incorrect?

If you have nothing else in there, the entire file should look like this, assuming you are using the "high" preset for FX quality:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<GraphicsConfig>
    <LensFlares>
        <High>
            <Enabled>false</Enabled>
        </High>
    </LensFlares>
</GraphicsConfig>

 

[Hooplah]

The TV show Firefly and the ship Serenity never used sound in space to be accurate. ED uses a lot of sound in space being totally inaccurate. But it is a game and we love the sounds. Lens flares may also be inaccurate but being a game we love the awesome visual effects. NASA is trying to figure out how to get to a Mars manned mission while we playing ED exploring the galaxy go far beyond what NASA will achieve in our lifetime. It is not about lens flares. It is all about imagination. We don't need accuracy. We do need scientists with a love of considering the impossible might be possible. Star Trek the original TV series started this with some writers coming up with science that didn't exist to keep the episode cost down. Now there are scientists working on anti-matter, teleportation and folding time and space to travel to other systems. They may all fail but imagination started it all. That is the quality of humanity in it's best moments.

So don't worry about the lens flare. Our next Einstein might be currently playing Elite Dangerous. Enjoy the moment.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

So don't worry about the lens flare. Our next Einstein might be currently playing Elite Dangerous. Enjoy the moment.

As a matter of fact, I am. It helps me process relativistic quantum entanglement.

|φ ±i = 1 √ 2 (|00i ± |11i), |ψ ± i = 1 √ 2 (|01i ± |10i),

Now where did I put that other φ....

 

[Hooplah]

As a matter of fact, I am. It helps me process relativistic quantum entanglement.

|φ ±i = 1 √ 2 (|00i ± |11i), |ψ ± i = 1 √ 2 (|01i ± |10i),

Now where did I put that other φ....

Good grief. Do I have to get Klaatu here to help you with your math? He was shot the last time he visited Earth around 1951. He looked something like the actor Michael Rennie.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Good grief. Do I have to get Klaatu here to help you with your math? He was shot the last time he visited Earth around 1951. He looked something like the actor Michael Rennie.

Klaatu, barata, nictu!

 

[Hooplah]

Maybe something like this...

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6iF5sINVns