Night time in video games : V

» Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:46 am

Every game I've played that had night time would just make everything a darker color, but you were still able to see just as well as day.

I fully understand why this makes sense for a video game, but wouldn't it be a lot more fun to treat night time as something you would naturally want to avoid? Camp out or tread extra carefully.

Or even better, something you want to use as an advantage with night vision and get the upper hand on NPCS. Torches would also see a much better use!

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:14 am

I Agree!!!! :tops:

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:45 pm

I agree. Having night actually being DARK, would be a wonderful immersion. I remember in EQ it was pretty dark at night too. It's a shame more games don't follow this.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:07 am

I'd love for darker nights, assuming NPCs didn't suddenly get ultraviolet eyesight as soon as you engaged them, and could see your character as soon as you left sneak mode just as good as during day.

It's a shame really, given AI in quite a lot of games simply knows where the PC is and don't have to struggle with seeing through the eternal darkness of the night.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:47 pm

I'd love for darker nights, assuming NPCs didn't suddenly get ultraviolet eyesight as soon as you engaged them, and could see your character as soon as you left sneak mode just as good as during day.

It's a shame really, given AI in quite a lot of games simply knows where the PC is and don't have to struggle with seeing through the eternal darkness of the night.

I agree, I think the lighting technology and NPC AI is what prevented this portion of gameplay from happening.

I'm not a programmer but I would assume they could shrink the NPC vision to match the players average view distance during the specific time (day / dusk / night) and have exceptions for people with torches, racials, or spells.

I think day / night would be a great feature for both roleplayers and gameplay alike.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:53 pm

Just being actually forced to use a torch or a light spell (both utterly useless in Oblivion) would be a huuuuge plus for me.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:39 am

Agreed.

I enjoy playing stealthy characters whenever I can, and the gross lack of darkness in many games bugs the Hell outta me.

Luckily, I play TES and Fallout on PC, so there are mods available to remedy the problem. If the lightning in Skyrim isn't quite what I'm hoping for, I'm sure a mod will pop up pretty quickly to make it more realistic.

So it's not a hude deal for me.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:37 pm

:spotted owl: And have owls steal our helments!!!

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:06 pm

It would make fighting dragons at night time a bit more complicated to say the least. And it would make their presence at night all the more pressing....

Just imagine walking through a wooded forest, and in the air you hear all knowing sound of roaring. But you can't find its source... You just know it's coming for you though.

» Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:58 am

Not just night but caves as well. Having torches or using magic was almost pointless. Darker shadows and nights when appropriate would be nice.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:33 pm

I suppose you can always just turn the brightness down on your PC or TV

» Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:23 am

It would make fighting dragons at night time a bit more complicated to say the least. And it would make their presence at night all the more pressing....

Just imagine walking through a wooded forest, and in the air you hear all knowing sound of roaring. But you can't find its source... You just know it's coming for you though.

That would be the case with almost everything, I would think.

Being humans, all of us have a natural fear of the dark, and even common game sounds can be creepy as hell if you're not positive where and what it is!

If you played Daggerfall, they did a sound randomizer in dungeons that would scare the hell out of you...

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:48 am

It would be cool if there was nocternal animals/monsters. Also sleeping creatures (only at night) you could sneak past, but if you mess it up they could backstab you for extra damage.
As for lighting it would be cool if it depended on if the moon was full or half. Clouds would make it darker and think of hw cool a dragon fight would be if it was only iluminated by lightning strikes, or when it shot fire at you!

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:48 pm

Usually I have the gamma set low. Most games I have look great at night. I've spent days getting my tv just right for this affect. I hate when the dark looks washed out. One way I do this is by turning all the extra options on my tv off, especially dynamic contrast.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:38 am

It would be cool if there was nocternal animals/monsters. Also sleeping creatures (only at night) you could sneak past, but if you mess it up they could backstab you for extra damage.
As for lighting it would be cool if it depended on if the moon was full or half. Clouds would make it darker and think of hw cool a dragon fight would be if it was only iluminated by lightning strikes, or when it shot fire at you!

I agree with the clouds. Moon lit nights would be a lighter version, and cloudy / rainy nights would be much darker!

I wonder how difficult this would be, but eitherway this game is so late into production that I'm sure it's too late.

» Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:59 am

I agree. Having night actually being DARK, would be a wonderful immersion. I remember in EQ it was pretty dark at night too. It's a shame more games don't follow this.

I Think that's why they added the "Brightness Slider"

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:44 pm

I agree with th OP, too. On a full moon starry night it could be lighter, but it should be DARK on other nights. Having to use a torch would be so scary!

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:49 pm

I Think that's why they added the "Brightness Slider"

True and it helps for playing games during the day when there's glare on the screen but doesn't matter as much while playing at night when in caverns, dungeons, other not well lit areas and at night in-game. Daytime scenes are better during the day more often compared to night time. More due to where my monitor is positioned on my desk.

EDIT: It's why I do enjoy Nighteye or even in New Vegas where the area gets brighter to you falling in certain times of night. What about moon cycles?

» Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:31 am

There is always a "Darker Nights" mod released within a very short time. The games are SO much better with them.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:06 am

That's a good point.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:59 pm

For all those saying "brightness slider"....

:facepalm:

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:14 am

On the PC version of OB, the was a mod called Darker Nights which made it pitch black. Frightening to hear a shrill in the distance yet not be able to see it.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:03 pm

I wish it was as you describe. Something... dangerous. In a forest at night you should only see what your torch o spell could illuminate. I used mods in Oblivion, for that.

What we know is that Night are beauuuutiful.

» Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:47 pm

Anyone played Amnesia: The Dark Descent? I loved the fact that when you were in the dark your eyes had to adapt in order for you to see things clearer. Altough this would apply more indoors it would still be pretty awesome if you left a bright room and suddenly stood in the dark outside.

» Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:50 am

Just being actually forced to use a torch or a light spell (both utterly useless in Oblivion) would be a huuuuge plus for me.

So did you ever explore any caves or anything? I couldn't use my shield underground simply because I needed the torch. I also had warriors with a light spell simply cause it was useful lol.