Classic Darkness bug reports & feedback

[BlankDiploma]

Hi all,

The Classic Nighttime lighting rework is going live with the next patch. This thread will serve as the main place for feedback and bug reports.


What is changing?

• Advanced Lighting will be forced on for all clients.
• Nighttime and unlit indoor zones will be dramatically darker for races without Infravision and Ultravision.
• Ultravision will have a significantly stronger blue tint in dark areas.
• The intensity of dynamic light sources has been reduced due to player feedback. (EC tunnel is still very bright when crowded, but should be less like staring into the sun.)
• Stars have been removed from all night skies.
• Day/night cycles have been restored to foggy outdoor zones.

What is the intent behind these changes?

The restoration of "extreme darkness" as a significant game mechanic, as it was in classic Everquest. Any race without access to Infra or Ultra-vision should find it difficult (or impossible) to navigate dark areas without the aid of a light source.


What kind of feedback is useful?

The p1999 team is mostly looking for quantitative feedback. We understand that forcing Advanced Lighting on will be an unpopular decision with a minority of players, but we believe that the advantages (truly dark nights) outweigh the disadvantages (some people think it looks kinda poopy.)

Examples of good feedback:

• Lighting appears glitchy in <area> as <race> with <equipped item>.
• My framerate tanks in <some circumstance>.
• Ultravision functions improperly in <zone>.

Examples of feedback that is unlikely to change anybody's mind:

• I hate advanced lighting! It sucks!
• Advanced lighting isn't classic!
• It's too dark in Toxxulia and I don't like it!

Please note that feedback about crappy framerates has been heard loud and clear and we are actively working on a resolution. It is not expected that people should have to suffer poor performance due to this change. However, users with exceptionally old hardware may be beyond our ability to help.

Thank you in advance for helping test on the Green beta server! The more eyes we can get on this, the quicker we can address issues that crop up.