The Castle Doctrine Forums

largestherb

Member

From: england

Registered: 2013-05-27

Posts: 381

brightness 'cheating'?!

so for many years it has been possible to gain an advantage in online games in darkened places by cranking up your gamma/brightness (counter strike.. quake.. umm i am sure many more!), this is nothing new and i guess is really debatable as to whether you consider it cheating or not - it can definitely give you an advantage.. but, the other person can probably do it to.. so is it unfair? hmm.

anyhow, i was playing tcd on the laptop yesterday and i noticed.. i couldn't see in the dark as much as i was used to (specifically, i couldn't see a doggie-trap lurking around the corner that i have been able to see on my PC many times) and it got me to wondering..

i think this screenshot is a good example and i am going to ask everyone to play a little game.. (if you recognise this as your house, don't worry, your house doesn't look like this any more )

the game.. recreate on castledraft what you can see in this picture as if you were playing the game. if you jump up and down tilting the monitor, go for it. i am just curious as to what others experience. i will draw what i can see on my main pc monitor as well as the little laptop display~

it is quite extreme.. here is my PC http://castledraft.com/editor/b7H8kp
and here is my laptop.. http://castledraft.com/editor/DQzwdE - with a LOT of squinting!

i will definitely point out that i do not have any crazy brightness settings on my monitor, it is an .. ASUS M-something 220 bought many moons ago. brightness is the same level as when i first turned it on, windows brightness is just whatever it defaults to. i do run f.lux but it is 2pm and nowhere near sunset, so that shouldn't be affecting anything - regular daylight setting right now.

this is just curiosity on my part, something i never really thought about until i opened the game on my laptop and was looking at a trap i already knew.. but i am shocked at the difference.. changes how you play quite a bit when vision is so limited!

Last edited by largestherb (2013-09-10 06:28:00)

Negative

Member

Registered: 2013-09-05

Posts: 7

Re: brightness 'cheating'?!

Ha! That was my house.  I didn't know you could see through walls so easily.  I will have to place my family better next time .  I'm on a PC and I can barely see what you see on your laptop.

largestherb

Member

From: england

Registered: 2013-05-27

Posts: 381

Re: brightness 'cheating'?!

forgot i could do this too.. scary how much you can see here

see, that dog by the family i cannot see, even though he is really clear here. i guess because he is brown?

Last edited by largestherb (2013-09-10 09:27:38)

ukuko

Member

Registered: 2013-04-06

Posts: 334

Re: brightness 'cheating'?!

I see this

http://castledraft.com/editor/pkikVd

colorfusion

Member

Registered: 2013-04-02

Posts: 537

Re: brightness 'cheating'?!

I see:
http://castledraft.com/editor/4OAMGR

Didn't realise how much was actually still there but darkened.

joshwithguitar

Member

Registered: 2013-07-28

Posts: 538

Re: brightness 'cheating'?!

I've never really understood why you can see through walls in the first place. Has Jason stated his reasons for this? It is both counter-intuitive and encourages boring single hallway house designs.

jasonrohrer

Administrator

Registered: 2013-04-01

Posts: 1,235

Re: brightness 'cheating'?!

It's a simple consequence of the SWEET smooth shading algorithm.  I mean, it looks awesome, right?

So, it could have a much harder edge than it does.  It could stop right at walls.  But then it looks bad.  Or at least not swirling and mysterious like it looks right now.

Yes, this is one rare case where I'm putting looks above gameplay function.  BUT... it's a case where it's worth it.  And, it effectively redefines gameplay function.  It's a game where you squint into darkness sometimes.

I mean, even that blown-out screenshot looks pretty cool.  This is a very discrete game in every other aspect (turn based, etc.), but then there's this one very squishy, analog aspect to it.  Look at the curves in that blown-out screenshot!  This is a game that shouldn't have curves in it.  But it does.

And thematically?  Well, you can hear through the walls a bit... or tap on the walls to see if they are one layer thick, or you have a slight sixth sense. 

Like, I'm sitting here typing, and I can hear what's going on in the kitchen on the other end of the house!  I can tell how many people are in there and everything.... like, who's awake in the house and who is still sleeping.

I think a squishier vision field more closely matches our mental experience of a space.  Even if some of that metal experience is just baseless extrapolation.