Ambient Night Lighting in OR Dark as the inside of a crows Axx
#1
Posted 13 February 2020 - 06:49 AM
Mostly it is so dark you can`t see anything, not even which way your train is facing, no ground, just the feintest outline of the rail tops. It is very hard to operate in these conditions. I often have to open the dispatcher window to see where I am
Just occasionally, OR presents a most attractive night scene, a kind of moonlight. How Can this be made the preferred view?
I`m not alone here. Of my 2 esteemed route WIP collaborators, 1 refuses to run at night ; the other has cleverly modded OR to run night activities in daylight.
So is it possible to have lighter nights? I don`t see anything in the manual or here on ET.
Thanks, Rick
#2
Posted 13 February 2020 - 07:32 AM
I don't think I have ever had the pleasure of moonlight in OR, just the grim all encompassing total darkness. So yes something a little bit easier to handle would be much appreciated. (Not too sure if those people into real world weather would want to add moonrise and moonset and phases of the moon to that... ) Is there a card for this on Trello?
#3
Posted 13 February 2020 - 07:46 AM
darwins, on 13 February 2020 - 07:32 AM, said:
I don't think I have ever had the pleasure of moonlight in OR, just the grim all encompassing total darkness. So yes something a little bit easier to handle would be much appreciated. (Not too sure if those people into real world weather would want to add moonrise and moonset and phases of the moon to that... ) Is there a card for this on Trello?
Hi Folks,
I can't drive at night - - - until - - - we have more than a single light source available in ORTS... Passing another train that doesn't have a light cone - or - street lights that don't light anything - sucks all the enjoyment out of it for me...
I think I recall a post that mentioned we are stuck in this night limbo due to backward compatibility...
That said - I think ReShade could lighten the nights ???
I did try the replacement night skies over at TS and they improve the look of the stars greatly...
Regards,
Scott
#4
Posted 13 February 2020 - 11:02 AM
Radius() -- The radius of a full sphere of light centered on the location of the headlight.
Angle() -- The angle of the cone that constrains the above sphere so it appears as a headlight beam.
Speaking of North American locomotives, the radius could be a considerable distance, perhaps as much as 2km. For game purposes that's to far but 800m? 1000m? Sure. WRT the Angle(), a normal lens in a North American locomotive produces a cone that is 4-5 degrees wide. Offhand I don't recall whether Angle() is meant to be the full distance or only one side, probably full.
My point here is if you change these two values per the above information you will "see" a lot
Please let me know how it goes for you.
#5
Posted 13 February 2020 - 01:12 PM
No, I `m talking about the general light level in the dark. I think there ought to be enough light to see a little, not the near total darkness in OR most times. As I say, sometimes there is enough light, so this can`t be a msts compatibility issue. About 1 run in 5 you get what I call the "moonlight" effect where you can see the terrain and other trains, and it is pleasant , if perhaps a little too bright.
So what governs total darkness or "moonlight" darkness in OR ? I guess this is hard - coded then?
Thanks, Rick
#6
Posted 13 February 2020 - 01:27 PM
Thanks
#7
Posted 14 February 2020 - 04:00 AM
Yeah - played around in the night when I got in - my ambient seems pretty darn bright and I can see everything pretty well without lights...
This was with the "Brightness" slider set at 120% in the ORTS settings - which is what I use for my ReShade profile...
Regards,
Scott
#8
Posted 14 February 2020 - 05:58 AM
scottb613, on 14 February 2020 - 04:00 AM, said:
Yeah - played around in the night when I got in - my ambient seems pretty darn bright and I can see everything pretty well without lights...
This was with the "Brightness" slider set at 120% in the ORTS settings - which is what I use for my ReShade profile...
Regards,
Scott
The 'Brightness' slider should only apply to daytime. Is this not correct?.
My monitor was set slightly brighter than I remember when using MSTS. On video control panel, I have now set gamma to 0.95( from 1.0 ) and brightness to 0.47(from 0.50 ).
This also helps my night time cab textures, which always appeared 'washed out' IMO!
Thanks
#9
Posted 14 February 2020 - 10:01 AM
#10
Posted 14 February 2020 - 10:47 AM
rickloader, on 14 February 2020 - 10:01 AM, said:
There are some calibration monitor programs out there that cater for correction of LCD monitors. In the past, I made a lot of night time cabs with my 21" CRT monitor. When I got my LCD monitor, they were too bright or 'washed out'. The setting I have use above for OR is my calibrated setting for everything. It's amazing how a slight adjustment can make a huge difference.
With MSTS, the user had complete control how dark the routes got. Moonlight, clouds, etc made a quite a bit of difference at night.
My only very little gripe with OR at night is the forest regions, they are too bright compared to static objects which use the same textures.
( Apologies if this has already been address in the recent OR versions ).
Thanks