The Biggest Issue With Tsw's Lighting

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by eldomtom2, Mar 9, 2026 at 10:54 PM.

  1. eldomtom2

    eldomtom2 Well-Known Member

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    This is a screenshot I took on SEHS with the weather set to "light rain". As you can see, the area below the train is no darker than anywhere else. Shadows have practically been turned off. This is not realistic - all you have to do to confirm this is to look under a car when it's raining. The diffusion of light cloudy skies create is not this extreme.
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    Most non-clear weather displays this issue. I hope that this issue will be fixed at some point, though I'm not hopeful.
     
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  2. owenroser19

    owenroser19 Well-Known Member

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    It really is awful. I don’t know how seemingly most people think it looks amazing.
     
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  3. CK95

    CK95 Well-Known Member

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    To be fair I think the majority just think that relative to the lighting we had previously. I’m no fan of the current lighting but if you made me pick, it would be ToD4.
     
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  4. martschuffing

    martschuffing Well-Known Member

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    What is most unrealistic for me is having buildings in an urban or town where there's no light bleed at night onto the buildings and they are pitch black except for the lights from windows.
     
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  5. metrocore

    metrocore Member

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    I think an arguably bigger issue is the fact that it’s way too bright in just about any circumstance. Even on a clear day, the sky just looks totally white from the overexposure. And sunsets and sunrises are beautiful and dramatic but are way too saturated and look completely unnatural. I have to admit though, night lighting was done extremely well.

    I think the devs were afraid that shadows would make the game look too dark and unrealistic and instead opted for an equally unrealistic but objectively uglier solution. Which is definitely an improvement from the previous lighting system but is far from what I’d consider realistic or natural.
     

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