The darkness

[Morphic]

Anyone else loving seeing fighting at night? Its so nice and dark. I hope they dont make it any lighter whatsoever. Gives it such a wonderful effect of the fighting.

[GreatMazinkaise]

Anyone else loving seeing fighting at night? Its so nice and dark. I hope they dont make it any lighter whatsoever. Gives it such a wonderful effect of the fighting.

I like it, but I'm hoping that they put some actual lighting inside the bases... the whole AMP station looked like it was on reserve power the entirety of E3.

[Vanu Techpriest]

I'll probably have to turn my gamma up. Some of the video's I saw looked pitch black but I'll have to wait and see how it looks in-game.

[TheInferno]

It was pitch black! That was the point :)

Rather than turning up gamma, invest in a flashlight for your rifle, or an IR scope.

[I SandRock]

Meh im skeptical of night. Players will do everything to get an advantage, so if turning up your gamma helps then that's what everyone will do and because everyone does it so will i ;)

[TheInferno]

I won't. I'll be shining my flashlight in your eyes and blinding you ala BF3 since your gamma is so high! :D

(note, I don't mean that flashlights should usually blind people, I just think it'd be an effective anti-gamma tactic)

[Knightwyvern]

Love how dark it was at night, though I could understand the degree of it differing from continent to continent for some more diverse gameplay.

If I got purely what I wanted, I'd have them keep it just as dark as it was at E3.

Meh im skeptical of night. Players will do everything to get an advantage, so if turning up your gamma helps then that's what everyone will do and because everyone does it so will i

I'll just use a nifty IR sight :)

[KTNApollo]

Infared sights and flashlights will be better than turning up gamma I think.

[CutterJohn]

I play in a well lit room, which destroys the contrast of any night visuals, making it impossible to see.

If pumping my gamma doesn't work, I'll just go to a different continent for the duration.

[Zebasiz]

I loved the night footage. It's just beautiful with the tracer fire and explosions in the distance. I can't wait to see it in person.

Having lighting inside the base would be nice. Hopefully other bases will have invested in some floresent lighting. I think that would even make an interesting dynamic. Imagin being inside the base looking out. Since it's so bright n there and dark outside you have zero night vision and can't see anyone. While the attackers can see you just fine. If done right I think it could work without being unfair for the defenders.

And just think about when the weather system is up! :eek: You could have an overcast night that is FULLY pitch black. While a cloudless night with the moon(s?) would be brighter. It would make each night a bit unique.
Oh imagine if the clouds cast shadows? Being sneaky and walking in the shadow of a cloud at night as it moves so you arn't seen. =3

[Resolve]

I play in a well lit room, which destroys the contrast of any night visuals, making it impossible to see.

If pumping my gamma doesn't work, I'll just go to a different continent for the duration.

dim your lights or turn them off? ...

[Knightwyvern]

dim your lights or turn them off? ...

Considering that those are ridiculously simple solutions and I'm relatively sure CutterJohn isn't a Hamster.. I think that there is a good reason why he plays games this way. ;)

[IMMentat]

Agreed, it looked gorgeous.

Could use a few stadium lamps here and there and maybe a spotlight or 5 around the bigger bases/towers for players to use (ground and air, think WW2 PoW prisons and London Blitz movies), for atmosphere as well as giving pilots/sneaky types that (OH SHI#!) moment.

[Landtank]

Agreed, it looked gorgeous.

Could use a few stadium lamps here and there and maybe a spotlight or 5 around the bigger bases/towers for players to use (ground and air, think WW2 PoW prisons and London Blitz movies), for atmosphere as well as giving pilots/sneaky types that (OH SHI#!) moment.

I agree, there should definitely be spot lights to keep the base relatively lit up. Not so much that the effect of night is lost, but the courtyards of the bases should have some sort of lighting.

[Shigins]

if someone wants to turn their gamma up on me ill just set some tanks on fire near me so they get over exposed... nah if done correctly gamma increase won't help that much depends how they coded the nighttime.

[Smokingrabbit]

I was unsure how the anounced night time would play out. After seeing it in action at E3 I am excited to play at night. I kept hoping someone would use the ir scope at night but sadly didnt see it. I am currious how it will effect the large scale battle plans. will the dedicated air cav move on to other continents? Will we see outfits that excel in this new environment? how will weather look at night? Experimenting with differant loadouts for night fighting is somthing I am really looking forward to. Do I use my heavy with close range or my infil with ir scoped sniper? Wonder how the meta game will evolve around this.

[Landtank]

I was unsure how the anounced night time would play out. After seeing it in action at E3 I am excited to play at night. I kept hoping someone would use the ir scope at night but sadly didnt see it. I am currious how it will effect the large scale battle plans. will the dedicated air cav move on to other continents? Will we see outfits that excel in this new environment? how will weather look at night? Experimenting with differant loadouts for night fighting is somthing I am really looking forward to. Do I use my heavy with close range or my infil with ir scoped sniper? Wonder how the meta game will evolve around this.

Being a dedicated Air Cav I know that I will either invest in a nightvision cert, or some sort of infrared if they have it. If they don't, then I'll have to tough it out cause I'm not missing night combat for anything!

[Notser]

Very refreshing to see a game embrace a day/night cycle and require players to play according to the time of day. Find that too many games are scared to make the player change how they play, will look forward to all the nighttime accessories that they give us for all the vehicles/weapons.

[Raffj]

I love the look of night right now. Complete utter darkness right until the gunfire starts and the sky lights up with Tracers and lasers. I also think that bases are lit well enough right now. I feel like if the bases were very well lit outside it would defeat half the point of the night being so dark considering a large amount of combat will take place in and around bases.

[Landtank]

The idea of a spotlight on aircraft would also be awesome, I know its been mentioned before but that would look utterly incredible, and it would serve a gameplay purpose.

[Toppopia]

I hope that turning up brightness does nothing to help you see, so it should turn pitch black into a grey but it won't let you see better, since some games do try to do night time, then you just turn up brightness and it doesn't matter, so hopefully they make it so everyone is on a level playing field, even if you do turn up brightness.

[Rhophi]

I hope that turning up brightness does nothing to help you see, so it should turn pitch black into a grey but it won't let you see better, since some games do try to do night time, then you just turn up brightness and it doesn't matter, so hopefully they make it so everyone is on a level playing field, even if you do turn up brightness.

I think anyone who tries to increase the gamma will be seriously screwed over by someone who runs at them with a flashlight, so i don't really see any advantage that could be had.

[Atheosim]

I think the darkness is fine, but I want the inside of the facilities to actually have functional lightning.

[Fanglord]

The darkness is one of the most interesting additions, just hope they don't nerf it. Would really take away the usefulness of night aiding equipment; an to those gamma upperers, why spoil the fun for yourself.

[Vanu Techpriest]

I don't have a problem with night being dark and I think the tracers look awesome but I still want to be able to make out enemy silhouettes. I wont be pumping up the gamma so much that it's just as bright as day but I'm not trying to play Silent Hill either.

[Vorgan]

I think the darkness is fine, but I want the inside of the facilities to actually have functional lightning.

This, completely agree. Functional lighting indoors would perfectly complement the awesome nights. The combat we've seen hasn't given a clear image of what it'll be like during a night fight at a base with deeper interior sections though...very interested to see how this'll all play out in a tech facility or a biolab (especially biolabs).

[Shiftfaced]

I've heard about flashlights and seen infrared but not much about actual night vision. Is that going to be in the game?

[Revelator]

Not to go all science-babble on everyone, and I am in no way a scientist, but shouldn't a moon that size reflect a lot of ambient light on to the planet?

[commiedic]

I love night time play. It closes and opens doors via different tactics that couldn't be done during the day.

Also I like it being really dark outside of the base, but I think it should be pretty bright inside the base since it seemed that it should be lit up like NYC. Outside the base though... very dark is better. They should also implement different moon phases like in ArmA 2. Full moon phases are brighter than new moon. =P

[Landtank]

Not to go all science-babble on everyone, and I am in no way a scientist, but shouldn't a moon that size reflect a lot of ambient light on to the planet?

Could be that the surface isn't made up of the same stuff our moon is made up of, could be a much less reflective substance or something.

I am le brainstorming hurr

[CutterJohn]

Considering that those are ridiculously simple solutions and I'm relatively sure CutterJohn isn't a Hamster.. I think that there is a good reason why he plays games this way. ;)

Backlit screens in darkness give me a headache. And during the day, well.. I can try to turn the sun off, but.. I don't think it will work.

And, from a personal perspective.. 'I can't see' is not compelling gameplay. It just means I can't see. Also the trifling fact that night vision is ubiquitous in many armies today. It seems.. odd.. that somehow the capability is lost in the future.

[Hamma]

I think night play will be among the most awesome things in PlanetSide 2. :D

[xcel]

I don't like it that much. I would prefer to see my enemies. When beta comes I might change my opinion. I definitely hate it when it comes to watching other people play though.

[Chinchy]

hmmm I always thought the Amp station looked like a big night club. I was ready to throw on my bell bottom pants and my hightops to go disco all night long on the top of the amp station. :P

[JHendy]

Backlit screens in darkness give me a headache. And during the day, well.. I can try to turn the sun off, but.. I don't think it will work.

And, from a personal perspective.. 'I can't see' is not compelling gameplay. It just means I can't see. Also the trifling fact that night vision is ubiquitous in many armies today. It seems.. odd.. that somehow the capability is lost in the future.

Having to adapt the way you play to fit the game's ever-changing environments is, in my book, quite compelling.

If I can use the night's darkness to leverage a real advantage against other players then I'm all for it.

Each to his own, though.

Roll on beta.

[laelgon]

I think night time combat is going to be amazing. The weapon effects look better during the night than day in my opinion. My only worry is that my computer won't be able to handle it. Just hope that the developers are going to go crazy over optimization and make sure we have enough control over settings to make it playable on most systems without giving advantage to turning off certain settings.

[Synapse]

I think anyone who tries to increase the gamma will be seriously screwed over by someone who runs at them with a flashlight, so i don't really see any advantage that could be had.

Except using the flashlight would give you away to anyone not putting their gamma up.

Better that the devs just fix it.

I will add this to my thread of beta test items.
http://www.planetside-universe.com/showthread.php?t=42316

[Haro]

I dunno, I kinda like the darker interiors. Firstly, it's one of the few places I see flashlights being useful without being sniper-bait, but it also just looked so cool, with dim glows of banners and computer terminals. Maybe if they incorporate generators, generator damage can put lights on emergency settings?

Other than that, night fighting looks amazing. Very few games have ever done darkness remotely well, and I think it's going to be one of the many things that just makes PS2 stand out all the more.

Lots of exciting possibilities with night fighting. I think taking on a base stealthily at night, with black armor, snipers, and Light Assault scaling battlements is just going to be BAD ASS.

[GreatMazinkaise]

I dunno, I kinda like the darker interiors. Firstly, it's one of the few places I see flashlights being useful without being sniper-bait, but it also just looked so cool, with dim glows of banners and computer terminals. Maybe if they incorporate generators, generator damage can put lights on emergency settings?

I fully expect this with fully lit interiors... the more stuff you can attach to generators the better (multiple generators).

[SztEltviz]

Not to go all science-babble on everyone, and I am in no way a scientist, but shouldn't a moon that size reflect a lot of ambient light on to the planet?

Could be that the surface isn't made up of the same stuff our moon is made up of, could be a much less reflective substance or something.

I am le brainstorming hurr

Wiki (Moonlight): The Moon's albedo is 0.136,[3] meaning only 13.6% of sunlight incident on the Moon is reflected.
(Moon) It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually very dark, with a similar reflectance to coal.

[Bags]

I love it.

[JoeDragon]

I plan on specializing myself as an anti-air ground based unit. (Utilizing ground to air weapons etc.) Nighttime will be the best time for doing this I assume due to being much harder to spot from the air. I personally can't wait to light up the night with my fireworks. :evil:

[Cuross]

Haha, I am looking forward to night fights like crazy! Any reason to invest in night vision and anything else is perfect haha. Though, I wonder if they'll have some kind of "radar" sensing that allows you to "see" when you're flying an aircraft or driving a tank so you don't have to use night vision in them.

As far as the people who will increase their gamma? Woe be unto them when they get to the first huge explosive battle :P All those bright lights are gonna take up the entire screen for a long time haha.

And even the Earth reflects a large part of sunlight onto the moon, I think that it should be said that with the various moons floating around this planet, typically the night would be at least as bright as earth on a moonlit night, possibly more and possibly less, depending on the position of the Sun :P

[Jikkan]

I love the variety of gameplay a full day/night cycle provides and I welcome the different tactics and adjustments that will most likely have to be adopted because of it.

Turning your gamma up or adjusting your screen should not allow you to bypass the design decision of having a full day/night cycle. I hope they are able to prevent that from happening.

[Mechzz]

Wiki (Moonlight): The Moon's albedo is 0.136,[3] meaning only 13.6% of sunlight incident on the Moon is reflected.
(Moon) It is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun, although its surface is actually very dark, with a similar reflectance to coal.

There are several moons orbiting Auraxis, and Higby has said that some nights will be darker than others depending on how many moons are "up". Night fighting will be awesome!

[Nasher]

They just need to scatter some bright flood lights around bases, so that turning up gamma makes it so you can't see anything when looking towards them :)

[Jonny]

Loving the darkness of night. I think they might have different moon phases so some nights are lighter than others which I like, its good to have that variation.

Night fighting looking amazing at the moment!