The Night Is Dark And Full Of Lanterns

SBFord · March 2016

The Night Is Dark And Full Of Lanterns

There are few massively multiplayer games that can invoke a sense of trepidation when the sun sets and the night creeps in. For many years darkness is a thing that developers seem to have bypassed, as yet another obstacle players of the genre shouldn’t have to deal with. Having grown used to my eyes seeing as clearly at night as they do in the day, it’s with huge relief that Black Desert Online finally brings back a lack of vision.

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Sovrath · March 2016

I wish more games had a true night. Dragon's Dogma also has a very black night when "bad things" come out and it's great.

cheyane · March 2016

I was blind as a bat in Everquest on my Erudite enchanter than I changed races with a spell and I could see.

toolak · March 2016

I'm sure the griefers and exploiters will find an add on or find a setting to adjust to let them see just fine at night. Go watch some gameplay of MWO. In the maps that are dark and or vision impairing plenty of ppl have tweaks to let them see just as if it were a day game mode without having to rely on night vision or thermal vision.

DXSins · March 2016

toolak said:

I'm sure the griefers and exploiters will find an add on or find a setting to adjust to let them see just fine at night. Go watch some gameplay of MWO. In the maps that are dark and or vision impairing plenty of ppl have tweaks to let them see just as if it were a day game mode without having to rely on night vision or thermal vision.

Well if its the same as CBT1.. all they did was turn up default contrast from 0% to 20%.... turning it back to normal default 0% or even -20% gave a much better experience. No serious player is going to play like that if/when they know its just a setting change... guess its nice every now and then.

fed79 · March 2016

Spent $30 and started playing last week. It's a good game but I fear some decisions have been made that smack of being overly greedy and pushing the game into pay2win.
Examples : 1) a shop costume that reduces visibility in pvp situations giving user and advantage, 2) pets brought through store that give advtanges to purchasers
I don't care about the customization options and how the dye system is RNG but the pay2win aspect of the two examples above really bothers me and though it was nice to get a taste, I don't think this game will last with large population into the future. Unlike Asian customers, Western ones value fairness more.

PottedPlant22 · March 2016

DMKano said:

I dont use any lantern at night - the nights are bright enough to see everything just fine. You can easily tweak contrast setting so you are not a beacon of "please kill me" in PvP.

EQ1 vanilla had brutally dark nights if you were one of the non dark vision races like humans.

This isn't accurate. There is true darkness (like being in caves, residences, etc) where no light exists. Changing monitor settings will not improve your 'vision' inside the game.

PottedPlant22 · March 2016

fed79 said:

Spent $30 and started playing last week. It's a good game but I fear some decisions have been made that smack of being overly greedy and pushing the game into pay2win.

Examples : 1) a shop costume that reduces visibility in pvp situations giving user and advantage, 2) pets brought through store that give advtanges to purchasers

I don't care about the customization options and how the dye system is RNG but the pay2win aspect of the two examples above really bothers me and though it was nice to get a taste, I don't think this game will last with large population into the future. Unlike Asian customers, Western ones value fairness more.

While I don't necessarily agree with the pet thing because I don't see the advantage overwhelming. I will say that I too am concerned about the monetary investment this game will require in the long run. I was told that overseas the game was F2P. That model is concerning to have in a B2P game. I know that it was worse before and they are listening to the customer base. Apparently the cash shop was MORE expensive during Beta. I find that kind of funny because I think the cash shop is really pricey right now.

tw1386 · March 2016

Wow, if you think that is pay 2 win ... You clearly haven't played the game and are just repeating bs about the ghillie suit and pets that auto loot lol

Lethality · March 2016

DMKano said:

PottedPlant22 said:

DMKano said:

I dont use any lantern at night - the nights are bright enough to see everything just fine. You can easily tweak contrast setting so you are not a beacon of "please kill me" in PvP.

EQ1 vanilla had brutally dark nights if you were one of the non dark vision races like humans.

This isn't accurate. There is true darkness (like being in caves, residences, etc) where no light exists. Changing monitor settings will not improve your 'vision' inside the game.

There is no true darkness outoors, which is what I was taking about.

There actually is... it's much darker than the Korean version normally, but when a thunderstorm sets in at night, it is pure dark except for lightning flashes.

That said, I've seen it less since launch than I did in the beta. I hope they haven't scaled it back.

PersistentWorld · March 2016

Lethality said:

DMKano said:

PottedPlant22 said:

DMKano said:

I dont use any lantern at night - the nights are bright enough to see everything just fine. You can easily tweak contrast setting so you are not a beacon of "please kill me" in PvP.

EQ1 vanilla had brutally dark nights if you were one of the non dark vision races like humans.

This isn't accurate. There is true darkness (like being in caves, residences, etc) where no light exists. Changing monitor settings will not improve your 'vision' inside the game.

There is no true darkness outoors, which is what I was taking about.

There actually is... it's much darker than the Korean version normally, but when a thunderstorm sets in at night, it is pure dark except for lightning flashes.

That said, I've seen it less since launch than I did in the beta. I hope they haven't scaled it back.

They definitely haven't scaled it back. Those screenshots here were taken straight from the game client and haven't been adjusted in any way. It's very, very dark. I'm also not sure adjusting your monitor settings would make any difference...

Amathe · March 2016

I love things like this. Great article.

khameleon · March 2016

This is the best MMORPG out right now and in the near future. Great game!!!

PurplePoloPlayer · March 2016

This gives me flashbacks of having your 'nooblight' on in DAoC.

kinkyJalepeno · March 2016

Lethality said:

DMKano said:

PottedPlant22 said:

DMKano said:

I dont use any lantern at night - the nights are bright enough to see everything just fine. You can easily tweak contrast setting so you are not a beacon of "please kill me" in PvP.

EQ1 vanilla had brutally dark nights if you were one of the non dark vision races like humans.

This isn't accurate. There is true darkness (like being in caves, residences, etc) where no light exists. Changing monitor settings will not improve your 'vision' inside the game.

There is no true darkness outoors, which is what I was taking about.

There actually is... it's much darker than the Korean version normally, but when a thunderstorm sets in at night, it is pure dark except for lightning flashes.

That said, I've seen it less since launch than I did in the beta. I hope they haven't scaled it back.

They did scale it back - It used to be darker, a lot darker so you couldnt gamma anything.

DAS1337 · March 2016

I think there's a huge difference between true night (near pitch black) and typical games today. They are on their own separate ends of the light spectrum. True night discourages people from playing all together, most people. And that's not a good game mechanic when a large portion of your players refuse to play. And typical night time has no real meaning, other than to simulate that there is a day/night cycle (sprt of). For a game to truly succeed, they need to strike a balance. It has to be dark enough to limit visibility, even more so inside buildings and caves. But not too dark to force most players out of the experience. There also needs to be a legitimate reason to risk, or sacrifice a level of comfortability, to go out into the dark. Actual game mechanics, such as more nasty creatures, zombies, better loot, treasure chests, crafting stations, PvP raiding. I think certain classes or skill lines should offer night vision as well, as I believe there needs to be an alternative that SOME people can use, if they have spec'd their character a certain way. Whether by racial trait or by spell. Or even torch. Though, I've played several games where people very rarely would use a torch, because it acted like a 'come kill me' beacon. So yeah, the immersion factor is great, but in every game I've ever played, a true night is always a hindrance to the general player. And it's generally a bad idea to create game systems that most people just don't like.

Reizla · March 2016

I'm very happy with the pitch black night *NOT*, but I'm glad they incorporated it. Only problem through is that so far I haven't been able to find a lamp for my 4-wheel wagon and I doubt there's even one in-game...

Kiryi · March 2016

I've been enjoying the day/night patterns of the game. Sometimes the dawn or sunset halts me in my tracks and I admire the artistry that I see. I've taken lots of screenshots of the fireflies & moon at night.
In CBT2, I got caught in the middle of a field during dark night, and while admiring it, was grateful that it really isn't that long. Maybe 15-20 min?

PersistentWorld · March 2016

DAS1337 said:

I think there's a huge difference between true night (near pitch black) and typical games today. They are on their own separate ends of the light spectrum. True night discourages people from playing all together, most people. And that's not a good game mechanic when a large portion of your players refuse to play. And typical night time has no real meaning, other than to simulate that there is a day/night cycle (sprt of). For a game to truly succeed, they need to strike a balance. It has to be dark enough to limit visibility, even more so inside buildings and caves. But not too dark to force most players out of the experience. There also needs to be a legitimate reason to risk, or sacrifice a level of comfortability, to go out into the dark. Actual game mechanics, such as more nasty creatures, zombies, better loot, treasure chests, crafting stations, PvP raiding. I think certain classes or skill lines should offer night vision as well, as I believe there needs to be an alternative that SOME people can use, if they have spec'd their character a certain way. Whether by racial trait or by spell. Or even torch. Though, I've played several games where people very rarely would use a torch, because it acted like a 'come kill me' beacon. So yeah, the immersion factor is great, but in every game I've ever played, a true night is always a hindrance to the general player. And it's generally a bad idea to create game systems that most people just don't like.

Great post. Honestly, I think it's down to the individual. I really love the immersion of very dark nights. While it can be frustrating, I think what it offers in terms of players needing to adapt and play differently during those hours is a good thing. Some locations in BDO are darker than others (such as in woods) and that's a brilliant compromise. You can still see, but it's so much darker than any typical game in the genre.

klash2def · March 2016

DAS1337 said:

I think there's a huge difference between true night (near pitch black) and typical games today. They are on their own separate ends of the light spectrum. True night discourages people from playing all together, most people. And that's not a good game mechanic when a large portion of your players refuse to play. And typical night time has no real meaning, other than to simulate that there is a day/night cycle (sprt of). For a game to truly succeed, they need to strike a balance. It has to be dark enough to limit visibility, even more so inside buildings and caves. But not too dark to force most players out of the experience. There also needs to be a legitimate reason to risk, or sacrifice a level of comfortability, to go out into the dark. Actual game mechanics, such as more nasty creatures, zombies, better loot, treasure chests, crafting stations, PvP raiding. I think certain classes or skill lines should offer night vision as well, as I believe there needs to be an alternative that SOME people can use, if they have spec'd their character a certain way. Whether by racial trait or by spell. Or even torch. Though, I've played several games where people very rarely would use a torch, because it acted like a 'come kill me' beacon. So yeah, the immersion factor is great, but in every game I've ever played, a true night is always a hindrance to the general player. And it's generally a bad idea to create game systems that most people just don't like.

Most people like the dark nights in BDO and also I see people grouping up more at night because the creatures get way stronger.. so it encourages people to work together actually.

Angier2758 · March 2016

tw1386 said:

Wow, if you think that is pay 2 win ... You clearly haven't played the game and are just repeating bs about the ghillie suit and pets that auto loot lol

I'm still surprised this community is okay with gender / aged locked classes. Few years ago that routine would get the game laughed off this site.

URMAKER · March 2016

didn't read thru all the comments(in case i repeat stuff previously mentioned) but alot of the npc characters are gone at night as in closing up shop for the night. also the weather affects crafting as well. i've also read on some weapons that it keeps you from losing ap at night..or maybe accuracy cant remember so going by that weather also affects combat. its nice to see the day/night cycle and weather actually have an effect.

kamenryder · March 2016

Is the pvp open world and limitless? I mean a la Age of Wushu for example. I was hoping for something with similar dinamics.

HJ-Navarre · March 2016

I love the dark nights in BDO. It is turning out to be an epic MMO. I am having lots of fun playing. Recommended.

senadin · March 2016

I need to try this game! This is one aspect i have been clamoring for ages! I am also glad that it will be implemented in Pantheon as well. IF anyone has a key.... would be appreciated to send it my way!

Impmon · March 2016

Everquest did this in the 90's its nothing new.

If your race didn't have night vision in some form you were blind at night and required a lantern or torch in your inventory at all times. Most people obtained greater light stones from wisps that never wore out like torches.

My troll shadowknight had infravision which gave living objects a reddish hue, dark elves had ultravision which allowed them to see at night. My friend played a human and quit because he couldn't see anything and got lost at night.
Black Desert Online looks like a guildwars 2 clone.

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