Night time is too dark, lights have flat batteries...game is too dark in general

[Griffith500]

I can't beleive what this world is coming to, really. People complaining that a video game isn't EXACTLY like real life. It's a fricking video game. Enjoy it for what it is and stfu, already. Thinking back to what games were like 10, 15, and even 20 years ago, it's come a long, long way. Instead of griping that "it's too dark, I can't see the road 100 feet in front of my car driving 150 mph", just enjoy the game. The graphics are incredible from my point of veiw. I think PD has done a great job.

I appreciate the sentiment, but most of the time "griping" on the internet is just typical "setting the world to rights" - i.e. we're idealising. In an ideal world, PD would have had unlimited budget to make a game that perfectly simulates real-world lighting, and also to make a new display device for the best effect. I agree wholeheartedly that the graphics in GT5 are a tremendous achievement, compromises and flaws included.

Thinking back 10 - 20 years ago shows that there's no harm in wishing for more detail, more fidelity, because it'll probably get here in time. I guess we're just planning ahead, if I were to be kind. On the other hand, we're just wasting time... Then again, this sort of discussion must serve as a great feedback / pre-production guideline (after interpretation) for developers nowadays.

Now, sure, there are people who really do complain, but that might just be personal issues, or just the difficulty of expressing one's self through a textual medium.

 

[istealteevees]

Man, the Toscana Tarmac challenge on the Grand Tour is scary. Not only do you have a car that likes to spin out, you can't see anything and the terrain is all hilly, so even if your lights did do something, you wouldn't see much anyways.

Exactly, i remember turning on the driving line because it was so dark the corners were tight but the line drew out where to go, without it it'll be terrible

 

[usuhaia08]

For all complainers (although I admit the lighting could be a bit better, such as the low/high beams inconsistency), have you ever driven on a pitch black road (not a highway) at around 100 miles/h or more? You can't see a 🤬, scary to say the least.

Now pick a car on GT5, drive at around 60 miles/h at Nurb, are you still complaining?

Let's put everything in context, we are racing on GT5 at high speed, we will never behave on the real road as we do in this game, high speed driving on a pitch black real road, accident 100% guaranteed.

Driving at night at Nurb is an unbelievable experience, for me one of the top GT5's features.

Just my thoughts. Respectfully.

 

[Smuttysy]

No moon and, except for Toscana, not a single star in the sky. Just feels completely unnatural at night to me.

 

[another_jakhole]

No moon and, except for Toscana, not a single star in the sky. Just feels completely unnatural at night to me.

Look up pictures of the Nurburgring/Sarthe at night. And Tokyo if you don't know why those tracks don't have visible stars at night.

 

[Crumpet]

I don't find it too dark. Plus, the darker it is, the more stealth passes I can do.

 

[Slurm]

The most annoying thing is how you can change the E.V., but only in A-spec /online. In B-spec or replays you're stuck with whatever you last used. AUUUGHHHHH!!

I usually use -1 or -0.8e.v. for sunny tracks and about +1 for night tracks. I welcome options but I find it a little annoying that the e.v. has to be changed so much. Why can't it just have an option to change gradually with nightfall, because NOBODY in their right mind would want a negative ev at night on this game.

edit - in fact, could we have an option to tone down the dynamic range so it at least nearly falls between our tv's black and white? I would turn this on and keep it on.

 

[Ryan81]

Interesting topic. I was driving back home yesterday around 10 at night through a small country road and let me tell you, they've got it pretty much nailed. Visibility really is drastically reduced and even at 25-30mph, if you're not sure where the bends are etc, it can be really disconcerting.
Any lights that are even slightly further away don't make much of a difference.

 

[yzfmike]

I don't find it too dark. Plus, the darker it is, the more stealth passes I can do.

👍👍

 

[Short Bus]

Interesting topic. I was driving back home yesterday around 10 at night through a small country road and let me tell you, they've got it pretty much nailed.

I disagree, but then again... the headlights on my car are above average.

Given that, the amount of light produced should be relative to the age of the car. I can drive as fast as I want down a curvy backroad with my modern car's adaptive HIDs, not so much in the older cars I've owned.

 

[Ryan81]

I disagree, but then again... the headlights on my car are above average.

Given that, the amount of light produced should be relative to the age of the car. I can drive as fast as I want down a curvy backroad with my modern car's adaptive HIDs, not so much in the older cars I've owned.

Yeah, I've only got a Corsa so perhaps that's why 👍

 

[Short Bus]

Y'know.... it would be a really nice detail if they adjusted the headlights based on the technology on the car itself.

 

[Cucobr]

The one only problem that I had with night is the event with Lamboghini... There is no way to do without the line guide.

 

[Machate-man]

The only explanation I have is that the lights are (foolishly) pointing upwards at a slight angle therefore not illuminating the road. However, the lack of light on everything else seems just

 

[Crumpet]

Daylight can be very attractive though, anyone else love the surge of blinding light when leaving the tunnel at Eiger?

 

[Short Bus]

Daylight can be very attractive though, anyone else love the surge of blinding light when leaving the tunnel at Eiger?

That's a neat effect, but I'm not really sure how realistic it is.... it's not like you're in that tunnel for long enough for your eyes to actually adjust to the darkness to the point that the increase in light is blinding on the other end.

 

[Griffith500]

That's a neat effect, but I'm not really sure how realistic it is.... it's not like you're in that tunnel for long enough for your eyes to actually adjust to the darkness to the point that the increase in light is blinding on the other end.

Indeed, it might have to really be the other way around: being "blinded" on entry to the tunnel, because it's darker in there, especially on a sunny day.

The range and speed with which the HDR lighting adjusts needs tweaking, i.e. it should make use of two scalars representing the two main adjustments our eyes make.
The first being the rapid adjustment due to the iris, which of course is limited in its absolute range, with the second, much slower adjustment due to the retina itself accounting for the larger changes in available light over time. The latter being the mechanism that lets you "adjust to the dark". Loitering in the tunnel for a while, and then heading for the exit might cause you to be blinded in the manner in which you are in the game. How you account for squinting is another matter, though, given the interesting visual effect it introduces

We're still stuck with these crippling displays, though, which means putting up with compressed tone ranges and subdued colours for practicality ("brighter" shadows, not being "blinded" unnecessarily), or life-like instantaneous tone and colour with ridiculous swings in "exposure" level to account for the naturally large range. Options would let everyone find their own middle ground.

 

[Watt2159]

I can see perfectly at night......maybe your cars brights aren't on?

 

[Boxout]

Night time is too dark

Sorry i had to.

 

[Short Bus]

Indeed, it might have to really be the other way around: being "blinded" on entry to the tunnel, because it's darker in there, especially on a sunny day.
<snip>

huh, I hadn't thought about it that way.... great point.

 

[guillermo968]

It works. i don't have problems with the lack of "night light" considering that most of that job is made thanks to our brains and eyes. and i believe that is something more complicated to simulate

 

[WSG OG]

Good practice for when we get a proper mountain pass and then it really is gonna be too dark.

 

[witham]

Have you ever tried driving 150 mph at night?

I've driven 60 on dark country roads with my high beams on, with nice headlights, and it's pretty hard to see. At 150 you outdrive your lights pretty darn easily.

I think it's realistic for the lights that these cars have, but we need to be able to upgrade the lights to make it easier to drive at speed in the dark.

This comment made me laugh so much, maybe he is driving a delorean.

Ok, I just had to register an account on GTPlanet to comment on this one.
At 150mph you are going faster than the lightbeams coming out from the front of your car at roughly 3 x 10^8 m/s?
Some darn twisted logic there.

exactly what I was thinking!

 

[Mavryk]

I appreciate the sentiment, but most of the time "griping" on the internet is just typical "setting the world to rights" - i.e. we're idealising. In an ideal world, PD would have had unlimited budget to make a game that perfectly simulates real-world lighting, and also to make a new display device for the best effect. I agree wholeheartedly that the graphics in GT5 are a tremendous achievement, compromises and flaws included.

Thinking back 10 - 20 years ago shows that there's no harm in wishing for more detail, more fidelity, because it'll probably get here in time. I guess we're just planning ahead, if I were to be kind. On the other hand, we're just wasting time... Then again, this sort of discussion must serve as a great feedback / pre-production guideline (after interpretation) for developers nowadays.

Now, sure, there are people who really do complain, but that might just be personal issues, or just the difficulty of expressing one's self through a textual medium.

I agree with what you're saying here, to a point. If PD plans on making this a "realistic" game, all the players have to keep one very important thing in mind, and as of yet, I haven't seen ANYONE mention this in any thread so far (not saying it hasn't been posted tho).

Wipeouts. Let's say you're driving down a dark road at night and you can't see s***, and you're thinking, "why that hell can't PD get their act together and fix this problem". Then you suddenly have a massive wipeout. Car rolls 8 times after slamming into the wall at 150+ mph. Realistically you're dead, end of story, game over.

Still want a trulely realistic game? I, for one am happy with how the game is, "flaws" and all.

 

[Mavryk]

That's a neat effect, but I'm not really sure how realistic it is.... it's not like you're in that tunnel for long enough for your eyes to actually adjust to the darkness to the point that the increase in light is blinding on the other end.

Driven through tunnels my entire life where I live and in every one the lighting is designed the same way, age of the tunnel not a factor either. The lights at the end of the tuinnel are brightest during the day to reduce that glare exiting the tunnel. The longer the tunnel, the mnore you actually notice that lighting change throughout.

I can't see how that lighting can be a factor in this game because you're wipping through it at mach5. no time for you're eyes to adjust.