Night Time Way too Dark

[Athenian]

I think the night time light setting is way too dark.

Its very difficult to even interface with the game map, its like playing hunt the pixel if you want to select anything.

[Hatsune_Neko]

will change once wearable lanterns are added.

[Berzerker Jay]

I for one welcome the darkness.

[Hatsune_Neko]

I for one welcome the darkness.

i do as well
very realistic
reminds me of A14 patch on 7D2D, cant see jack until i take out my torch.
I love it!

[dada]

The nature of night is low light.
Darkness is, unfortunately, barely used in games, as they are a visualy focused medium.
But isn't darkness actually a visual element, due to its contrast to light, the lack of visibillity, mysterious and dangerous unknown, rest for the eyes, beauty of the rare remaining visibiles(?),.. aso?

The difficult interaction with the environment in darkness is a problem, but it should not be solved by a dimmed daylightmap, imo.

If you use F7 to blend out the bright UI you're able to see better, unfortunatly without UI.

So, i would suggest to dynamically adjust the UI brightness to the worlds brightness to lower the contrast between both and to improve the perception in but also the feel of darkness in the gameworld.

But this needs a adaption of AI perception as well.

[Mattk50]

I love darkness as a mechanic in games it but has to be done properly or it is self defeating. For example, AI right now seems to be able to see perfectly fine unless the player is stealthing at night, and even if they are made so they can't see you as well at night, it doesn't matter because its not "the player" that is seeing and can't see, it should be "the characters".

Its a hard problem to solve in a game like kenshi, but the issue is that whether you see other NPCs is based on your camera position rather than your character's view distance or some sort of fog of war. It creates an uneven sight mechanic which makes darkness fit really weirdly into the problem.

[LostSaint6689]

The darkness does cause me to use the map to navigate because I cant see or stay still and wait it out (cooking and what not) until morning. I really enjoy the darkness. Seeing the nomads walking around with torches is pretty cool and I can't wait for mobile lighting options.

[swillo]

Right now the darkness is annoying but realistic, but I'm also waiting for portal lights.
But it will also be better when I can build a campfire.

[Rommel459]

I agree with the OP, within a certain set of circumstances, my first night was pitch black, i couldn't see anything, I was playing windowed mode, after a few tests/changes i found that the night was a lot less dark on fullscreen, with some graphics changes(made later to counter some crashing issues)

But that first night on windowed mode was like the sun was on the other side of a black hole.

[BoogieMan]

I was coming to make a post about this. I think it is just a little too dark. Some is cool for atmosphere, but it's still a game and it shouldn't impede play. I can't find any brightness setting, and it is undoubtedly is a little different for everyone depending on you video card, monitor, and light levels in the room your PC is in.

It is easier when you are somewhere that isn't as hilly and you can move the camera so you can see the sky/horizon. The point of reference makes it easier to know what is going on. But if you're in hilly and mountainous areas where you have to more focus downwards towards the ground, you can't see much of anything. It's also easier when you're down low on your people and up close, but sometimes you have to pan out to get a feel of your location and look for enemies. That's really where it becomes an issue in my opinion.

There will always be people who like barely being able to see, and others who like the ambience but want gameplay to take precedence. So maybe a slider that controls night brightness would be a good compromise.


I do know that unless it's very cloudy at night, I can often see better in real life at night than I can in Kenshi And the skies of... (what is the planet in Kenshi called?) is clear and full of stars, although I don't recall seeing a moon. I overall like the nights in Kenshi a lot, but I admit I get a little frustrated when I zoom out.

[Berzerker Jay]

Okay, think about it for a second. We are talking about the impediments in seeing where we are going while barreling through the wilderness in the darkest hours of night at full speed.

I think the system can be improved, but I don't think pretending it isn't dark is that improvement.

This makes travel at night as dangerous as it would be. If you don't have a light you won't see anything coming, though there should be more sounds to show proximity and movement around us. So what do you do? You set up camp by building the new bed and campfire, maybe have someone keep watch. It's realistic, and though it ends the non-stop, multi-day marathons across the map...I have to admit I kind of like the idea of travel being a challenge. I believe I remember reading that rest may eventually factor in on how our characters perform, so stopping at night to camp will be a good idea.

Kenshi is supposed to be a dangerous world where you live by your sword. You should be a bit reckless for running off into the darkness instead of waiting for morning like a sane swordsman.

[Berzerker Jay]

I think the biggest improvement is in having NPC's affected by the low-light conditions, as well. This could be as easy as having their view distance reflect the ambient light the target is in, much the same as it's detected for stealth.

Another improvement, in my opinion, might be to bring in a race that has night-vision. Then these characters would gain value as nocturnal scouts. Their other stats could reflect that. The part of me that likes to see challenge and complication in good games thinks low health or some other form of combat susceptibility might be a good balance. Nothing like getting caught out in the dark when the character who you were depending on for eyes is KO'd....

[LillyanaKabal]

Unless there is a gleaming full moon out, then yea. Night is usually dark.

[BoogieMan]

Unless there is a gleaming full moon out, then yea. Night is usually dark.

I don't see anyone debating that. Some just think it's too dark and it is a game and not real life. People want some reality in games until it starts to venture into tedium or just not being a fun mechanic.

[LillyanaKabal]

Unless there is a gleaming full moon out, then yea. Night is usually dark.

I don't see anyone debating that. Some just think it's too dark and it is a game and not real life. People want some reality in games until it starts to venture into tedium or just not being a fun mechanic.

But people still get hungry in the game. So, it strikes me as having your cake and eating it. Because you are hungry.

[Mattk50]

as of this update unconcious (Sleeping?) characters dont use as much food, so setting up camp and resting could be a decent cost saving measure. At least it would be if you didnt consume so many fabrics.

[dada]

Unless there is a gleaming full moon out, then yea. Night is usually dark.

I don't see anyone debating that. Some just think it's too dark and it is a game and not real life. People want some reality in games until it starts to venture into tedium or just not being a fun mechanic.

Yes, it seems to be a standard phrase. but what is fun? For one it's fun to have full power all the time, for another it's fun being challenged by facing problems to solve, circumstances to overcome or immerse in gameworld, atmosphere and character. So, where lies the scope of this game?

[BoogieMan]

Unless there is a gleaming full moon out, then yea. Night is usually dark.

I don't see anyone debating that. Some just think it's too dark and it is a game and not real life. People want some reality in games until it starts to venture into tedium or just not being a fun mechanic.

But people still get hungry in the game. So, it strikes me as having your cake and eating it. Because you are hungry.

No. Some people thought it was just too dark. It has to do without seeing and playing the game. Not with hunger. Not with any other completely unrelated aspects. Not with anything else. Quite simple. It was a legitimate issue for some players who wanted to see better.

[Rices]

nighttime far to bright?
time for a New topic!

[Berzerker Jay]

From what I can tell the sun goes down around 11pm and comes up around 5am. That amounts to six minutes of game-time if one should put their speed on full.

Being able to see is kind of boring. I send my squaddies out for a couple days at a time and barely watch them while they're mining, because I know I'll see anything coming from a mile away, no matter how dark it is.

It just doesn't make sense that I can see perfectly and clearly that there are approaching dogs in the forest far away, even though Kenshi's world -- from what I understand -- has no moon.

I literally mistook the afternoon for midnight today.