Focused Discussion: DARKNESS

[Cedrych Skye]

Darkness doesn't mean much when you have people adjusting the gamma on their screen to make it as bright as day. What's the point of making it that dark when people do everything they can to ignore it completely.

People wouldn't need to turn up the gamma to have a reasonable experience with the game if there were viable tools to illuminate the darkness. As a solo player running around farming resources for crafting, I'm not gonna drop a ground torch every thirty seconds as I run around. Staring at a red circle on the ground at night and maybe a blue circle (if I have my character selected) is not an enjoyable experience. Nor is it conducive to anyone who might want to stream the game.

 

[Roger_Dabbit]

• DARKNESS. Does it matter to you?
• IMMERSION How to make Darkness a meaningful experience?
• TORCHES AND LIGHT SOURCES How to ensure that torches and ground torches and other light source in the game are a meaningful aspect of your adventure.
• COMFORT How and when Darkness become an uncomfortable experience (eyes sight and /or moral)? How to ensure making it something fun, enjoyable and part of the adventure

Thank you for your participation.

• DARKNESS. - Yes. Of course it matters! It's key to immersion. But too oppressive visually or mechanically, and folks will just turn the gamma up.
• IMMERSION - Have enemy types that change behavior in darkness. Have injured enemies attempt to scurry out of the light so it's harder to track where they're fleeing. Have encounters where the light is the only thing keeping the players from being swarmed and devoured without hope. Have hidden runes that react to light that open a magically locked door (like the way Skyrim used the dragon claw door puzzles). Things like that.
• TORCHES AND LIGHT SOURCES - For darkness to be an actual mechanic that isn't bypassed by tricky graphics settings, you need a system where players can equip a light source that doesn't impede their ability to counter threats. Something like waist-mounted candle lanterns. I get the ground torch thing, and maybe that can be used for encounter strategies involving the aforementioned enemies that react to light, but be careful not to make the system cumbersome as that will only ensure players try to avoid it.
• COMFORT - How to ensure making it something fun, enjoyable and part of the adventure As I said above: the mechanic should complement and provide depth, *without* being cumbersome. That is very key.

 

[Kittik]

People wouldn't need to turn up the gamma to have a reasonable experience with the game if there were viable tools to illuminate the darkness. As a solo player running around farming resources for crafting, I'm not gonna drop a ground torch every thirty seconds as I run around. Staring at a red circle on the ground at night and maybe a blue circle (if I have my character selected) is not an enjoyable experience. Nor is it conducive to anyone who might want to stream the game.

Completely agree.

 

[innosa]

The only change I agree is make the ground torches last longer. Maybe make it that you can re-pick them up and they're on a duration before consumed. Duration only continues when placed on the ground. There can be equipment that become valuable for their means to illuminate the dark like a candle attached to a shield or sword.

 

[Netochkanezvanova]

EA Characters: Mina/Anidahl
TORCHES AND LIGHT SOURCES: Slightly off-topic but this is the best place to mention. There's been some discussion of small personal campsites. I wanted to suggest the requirements for those campsites: I think it would be interesting if you were made to rely on the harvesters for gathering your ingredients for making personal campsites. You could have the prospector have to forge for flint, the woodsman to provide the logs, the skinner to get animal fats (which could be applied to the fire to increase its duration). I think these specific items should be either somewhat rare or they should be useful in crafting so that the player has to make a sacrifice between using the items for crafting or personal campfires. I also think this will give a nice incentive to others who are not into harvesting to utilize the skill, which may have an interesting effect on the economy and trade.

 

[Slapshot1188]

Darkness seemed to last too long. It's a fantasy world so we have the option to tweak day/night cycles.
Darkness is a bad thing for a new player to log into. Many will rage quit after 30 minutes of darkness.
Torches should ne wielded in off hand and still allow me to swing a sword and/or the torch as a weapon. Maybe this is a mechanic and I just didn't pick up on it.

Also, can players start with a compass? Not knowing direction can be exponentially more difficult in darkness.

 

[Aeldar]

A couple of months after started playing the game I found that my monitor was set to "HDMI black level: Low". It was likely a setting I played around with a few years ago... At night the game was PITCH BLACK for me.

When I changed that setting to "HDMI black level: Normal" the night was dark but possible to see something at least. When getting a new monitor a few weeks ago the darkness level is similar to the "HDMI black level: normal" and feels like a good level to me.

 

[Asbo]

I have another burning question, excuse the pun!

How is it our hand held torch and shop bought lantern can burn until eternity with no cost or downtime, yet the torches we place in the ground to fight around go out within minutes. Why not have it so we can place our torch in the ground rather than hold it all the time and get the same effect rather than having to use mats to make something you already gave us for FREE?

You could restrict it so only one torch can be placed in a set area. This would resolve the light situation better than the current system we are having to manage on top of other things. This would go some way to addressing the darkness and having to use an extra slot for torches too. This would mean you guys can scratch this one off and move onto more pressing issues, job done.

 

[MrDDT]

I think ground torches are already restricted to the # in an area too.

 

[Asbo]

I think ground torches are already restricted to the # in an area too.

Yup they are but was just reiterating it so as to avoid anyone thinking they could abuse it.

 

[MrDDT]

I love this idea. I've stated a lot of issues with ground torches already, in another post, this would solve all those issues.