Buildings & Attractions Building Colors and Lighting Too Dull

[RadicalEdward2]

Your Feature Request / Idea
Disclaimer:

Spoiler

I don't see why the request section was set up like a ticket system (in reference to the lack of the preview and formatting options). Because of this, I formatted this entire request in the 'normal' section of the forum and ported it over when it was done.

This is the first in a series of posts that I will be making as further elaborations of footnotes from my Extensive Feedback thread.

While I understand that the color scheme for the guest/operation buildings were based on those used in Masarani's Jurassic World, I couldn't help but notice how dreary and depressing they all looked (especially at night).

To support this point, here is a pair of Before/After images I made to show how visually appealing the buildings and lighting could look at night.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

​

Some of the lighting choices seem almost needlessly muted almost to the point that its unattractive. The second example (with the hotel lighting) is proof of this.
At some point, a standard "primary" and "secondary" color option for buildings would be nice. Maybe even the option to customize the exteriors of some structures to break away from the repetitiveness of the designs.

I'm probably not the only one that thinks that the colors for the basic Fast Food building looks almost like a Planet Coaster asset (with the sky blue hue). This is a bit of a nit-pick but, at some point, some improvement for the visuals of the buildings would be greatly appreciated.

On thing that some of you might have noticed is that I also changed the contrast for the night sky.
I did this intentionally because the current night sky is too bright (even if it is trying to emulate the lighting from the first film somehow).

Personally, I think the horizon is far too bright and it should instead try to emulate the look of an actual island or coastal area at night.

The further away from the island it is, the darker the fog should be. I'm not saying that is should be pitch black but, the horizon should not look like Cinderella.

 

[DBlac]

I do agree with the general sentiment here, i particularly enjoy the colouring and saturation on the building signs in one of the first examples, particularly i love the colourized fast food sign, makes it stand out so much more. I dont like the brownness of the rest of it, but in general id agree that a little bit more colour would absolutely help things. Vivid colours in such a tropical environment work wonders and generally, too much of the buildings are simply kind of bland and forgettable. Specifically it makes sense visually because currently things look too sterile and futuristic, like we're in a science lab. But the truth is these places would be trying to use marketing tricks and nothing is older and more reliable than bright colours. Hell your recolour of that fast food sign makes me actually want to eat there and wonder what's inside, whereas i genuinely completely ignore the current normal blue one with disinterest.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

I do agree with the general sentiment here, i particularly enjoy the colouring and saturation on the building signs in one of the first examples, particularly i love the colourized fast food sign, makes it stand out so much more. I dont like the brownness of the rest of it, but in general id agree that a little bit more colour would absolutely help things. Vivid colours in such a tropical environment work wonders and generally, too much of the buildings are simply kind of bland and forgettable. Specifically it makes sense visually because currently things look too sterile and futuristic, like we're in a science lab. But the truth is these places would be trying to use marketing tricks and nothing is older and more reliable than bright colours. Hell your recolour of that fast food sign makes me actually want to eat there and wonder what's inside, whereas i genuinely completely ignore the current normal blue one with disinterest.

I get your sentiment that the brown looks weird. My reason for the use of brown was because its a color often used by companies to make food serving establishments more enticing. Think McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Its a color that the mind automatically associates with food. It might look weird but, the more you think about it, it will make sense.

The blue that they use right now is more of a color that one would associate with pharmacies or restrooms. It's not really eye catching nor is it really appealing when compared to its surroundings.
Also, there's no lights inside.

The fact that everything on it is light blue and white makes it look all the more unfinished; as though the color scheme was a placeholder until better textures were compiled. Also, there's no signage on the building either.

 

[DBlac]

No i agree that different colours would be needed, but that can probably be handled through better materials for one. Either way, if they take your suggestion, i'm sure tehy will be able to look at real life counterparts for many of these things for inspiration, while just buffing the contrast of some of the others.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

No i agree that different colours would be needed, but that can probably be handled through better materials for one. Either way, if they take your suggestion, i'm sure tehy will be able to look at real life counterparts for many of these things for inspiration, while just buffing the contrast of some of the others.

We can only hope so.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

Here's some new examples of how the night lighting could be improved.
Keep in mind, I took these screenshots in Ansel and for those of you that are not entirely familiar with it, you can emulate the 'night' color effects if you mess around with them long enough during the Day.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

THIS is how a morning/night lighting effect should look.
Considering how bright they made the horizon, they'd be better off just relabeling it as 'Morning' if we're being completely honest.
Fun Fact: Early morning sunrises are actually pink. Not orange.​

 

[DBlac]

It definately looks more vivid and interesting. Having had a similar problem in my studio's own project, due to Unity's utterly garbage way of handling lights, i find things like colour correction and contrast really help with this, but obviously changing the colour of some lights and a few materials here and there would need to be done here too. I would really prefer this more vivid, striking and characteristic look, rather than the sort of sterile one the game has now. I can live with how it looks now but yeah.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

It definately looks more vivid and interesting. Having had a similar problem in my studio's own project, due to Unity's utterly garbage way of handling lights, i find things like colour correction and contrast really help with this, but obviously changing the colour of some lights and a few materials here and there would need to be done here too. I would really prefer this more vivid, striking and characteristic look, rather than the sort of sterile one the game has now. I can live with how it looks now but yeah.

I've considered taking up learning to use Unity so I can get into level designing professionally. My claim to small-time fame being invited to Copenhagen for Reto-Moto's Heroes & Generals Summit for my contributions to their game. But yeah I can see how that could be a problem. It might just be a matter of having the patience to make things work since games like Cities: Skylines actually use Unity.

On the topic of vivid lighting, one thing I actually noticed when taking a second look at the shots I posted is how cold the color of the building lights look. They look so unwelcoming.
The warmer orange-y effect is what would really sell the look of the parks buildings as a place for guests; something I learned from my internship with Disney a few years ago

 

[DBlac]

I've considered taking up learning to use Unity so I can get into level designing professionally. My claim to small-time fame being invited to Copenhagen for Reto-Moto's Heroes & Generals Summit for my contributions to their game. But yeah I can see how that could be a problem. It might just be a matter of having the patience to make things work since games like Cities: Skylines actually use Unity.

On the topic of vivid lighting, one thing I actually noticed when taking a second look at the shots I posted is how cold the color of the building lights look. They look so unwelcoming.
The warmer orange-y effect is what would really sell the look of the parks buildings as a place for guests; something I learned from my internship with Disney a few years ago

Yes, Unity definitely requires... patience. The problem with Unity is that you constantly have to fight it on most grounds because it is a generally dysfunctional engine that still lacks basic functionality, like goddamn nested prefabs which it's only getting... soon. Can't wait to move to Unreal after this game. Either way.

Yes, all lights just seem cold and monotone, they add no contrast and that's a real problem for the look of the park. Its less of a problem in daylight, where only some of the buildings look dull because of the predominantly blue and white palette, but at night it gets worse with all the cold and unwelcoming lights.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

Yes, Unity definitely requires... patience. The problem with Unity is that you constantly have to fight it on most grounds because it is a generally dysfunctional engine that still lacks basic functionality, like goddamn nested prefabs which it's only getting... soon. Can't wait to move to Unreal after this game. Either way.

Yes, all lights just seem cold and monotone, they add no contrast and that's a real problem for the look of the park. Its less of a problem in daylight, where only some of the buildings look dull because of the predominantly blue and white palette, but at night it gets worse with all the cold and unwelcoming lights.

Yeah. Unreal is definitely the way to go but, it equally requires as much patience when it comes to map making. I'm currently watching a 70+ part tutorial for map making for Renegade X so I can add some Unreal UDK knowledge to my resume.

As for the colors, yeah, I agree that the Day lighting is passable. One thing I caught last night is that the time of day effects are actually just a change of skybox, changes to the color levels, and turning on the light fixtures. While those all might seem fine, there's one crucial point worth noting...

...the shadow positions never change from Day to Dusk to Night.
They're all in the exact same position when you change the lighting settings.​

One place you can catch this is a certain shady section of Sorna's southeast area (near the path leading to the west area). I place structures and paddocks there, you'll notice that the area never gets illuminated at any time of day.

While I do have my gripes about the Night color choices, I think we can all agree that the Dusk is obnoxiously orange. If they ever do implement a dynamic lighting system for a 'fake' day to night transition option in the menu, I hope they do something about the orange because its just way too much orange.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

Well, they fixed the artificial lighting and it looks soooo much better ♥

 

[RadicalEdward2]

Edit: I can't edit previous posts so now I have to make a multi-post...

One thing I will say though is that they need to decrease the brightness of the sky (for all times of day) because I can't even see the horizon since its so bright or decrease the bloom of the horizon.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

aaaand I still can't edit posts so now here's another update...

The lighting is still somewhat dull and cold. It only looks nice at certain times of day because the color effects are global (the later it gets, the more washed out the colors get).

 

[Lora Craft69]

aaaand I still can't edit posts so now here's another update...

The lighting is still somewhat dull and cold. It only looks nice at certain times of day because the color effects are global (the later it gets, the more washed out the colors get).

Editing posts in the Ideas & Feature Requests Forums has been revoked.
Due to too many people editing their OP and adding several extra ideas and/or even wishlists.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

Editing posts in the Ideas & Feature Requests Forums has been revoked.
Due to too many people editing their OP and adding several extra ideas and/or even wishlists.

what not disable editing for starting posts or add a window that they can edit their post/replies before having the right revoked?
Cause now its going to inevitably reach a point where there will be an influx in posts simply because users can't edit their previous ones.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

what not disable editing for starting posts or add a window that they can edit their post/replies before having the right revoked?
Cause now its going to inevitably reach a point where there will be an influx in posts simply because users can't edit their previous ones.

*why not

 

[Lora Craft69]

what not disable editing for starting posts or add a window that they can edit their post/replies before having the right revoked?
Cause now its going to inevitably reach a point where there will be an influx in posts simply because users can't edit their previous ones.

The Ideas & Feature Requests forum are meant for asking only one idea per thread.
Therefore we don't allow editing anymore + the fact that we are more strict with enforcing this rule now makes it more easy in the future for the developers to look at what idea the community likes.

It will lead to more posts but at the same time we will not see a single idea in a OP turn into a wishlist anymore.

 

[RadicalEdward2]

The Ideas & Feature Requests forum are meant for asking only one idea per thread.
Therefore we don't allow editing anymore + the fact that we are more strict with enforcing this rule now makes it more easy in the future for the developers to look at what idea the community likes.

It will lead to more posts but at the same time we will not see a single idea in a OP turn into a wishlist anymore.

Wasn't the Wish List post supposed to be locked weeks ago?
When it comes to ideas, there should be a vetting process to weed out the simplistic posts ("add aquariums and guns and birds please", etc) from the ones that are actually constructive.
With how many pages there are on the wish list, there can't possibly still be someone in the office combing through it. Is there?

Also, I don't see how the one idea rule applies to being able to fix spelling errors and revising stuff in posts for clarifications.
Was there even an incident that warranted this new rule of 'no editing'?
To be completely honest, even if there was an issue with someone editing their post(s) to win in arguments or debates, I would assume that the job of the moderators would be to stamp that out once they saw that it was getting out of hand (locking the threads when they devolve into bickering and 'you can't prove I said that' types of nonsense).

And if threads do devolve into wishlist threads, then lock them. Simple as that.
Which makes me wonder...what does the concept of people turning their posts into wish lists have even the slightest bit to do with taking away the ability to edit their posts?
With that logic, its like banning roads in order to decrease the number of potholes (ergo: an unnecessary and unorthodox solution that only made matters worse without even fixing anything).

Long story short, the decision is somewhat counter-intuitive and currently penalizes the many over the actions of the few.
It doesn't help that the posting process for new threads is already watered down enough as it is. I actually type up new posts in the 'create a new thread' page in the regular forum section just so I can get a better idea of how to actually format my posts (since idea requests somehow lacks the Advanced interface with aligning, urls, imgs, etc).

If the decision is ever rolled back, I would strongly suggest going back to the 25-30 minute grace period for OPs to be able to fix their posts so their spelling/grammatical errors aren't immortalized.