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Request: Option to turn off Lens Flare

pyrealpyreal Member, Warrior of Old, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
In today's Ranger showcase I noticed Lens Flare, and I personally feel it detracts from the game. Aesthetically and beyond.

Lens flare is caused by light scattering in the physical lens of a camera.
It is sometimes added to digital scenes in movies for a more authentic 'cinema' feel, but this is a game that should endeavor to suspend disbelief, not make us feel we're watching a movie.

I would like to kindly request an option to turn it off.

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Comments

  • CROW3CROW3 Member, Alpha Two
    Doesn’t look like a lens flare to me, just looks like a bright morning sun.
    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • SongRuneSongRune Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    CROW3 wrote: »
    Doesn’t look like a lens flare to me, just looks like a bright morning sun.

    You're so used to seeing images of the sun that way though. The hazy aura can be attributed to mist of some form, but those pentagonal splotches mid-screen have no other explanation.

    As for the OP, I agree. If nothing else, because it ruins the visibility of a gorgeous world (and situational awareness, as well).
  • pyrealpyreal Member, Warrior of Old, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited October 2022
    CROW3 wrote: »
    Doesn’t look like a lens flare to me, just looks like a bright morning sun.

    Do you notice the two large polygons on either side of the character?

    If you go to that section of the stream you will notice they only appear when the sun is visible beyond the trees, and they shift about with character movement. It is a lens flare 'feature'.
    3sqwlhsc2mhd.jpg
  • CROW3CROW3 Member, Alpha Two
    edited October 2022
    Oh, based on first glance of the image I thought those were rocks. I thought he was focusing on the light diffusion on the left.

    I’ll wait to see what survives to testing. This kind of reminds me of games that add water droplets to the screen when your third-person toon is swimming. If it’s done well, it’s subtle, much more than that, is just too much.
    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • pyrealpyreal Member, Warrior of Old, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    CROW3 wrote: »
    Oh, based on first glance of the image I thought those were rocks. I thought he was focusing on the light diffusion on the left.

    I’ll wait to see what survives to testing. This kind of reminds me of games that add water droplets to the screen when your third-person toon is swimming. If it’s done well, it’s subtle, much more than that, is just too much.

    I spent 32 seconds of my life in Paint 3D to make this plain.. and you're indifferent? Outrageous.
  • CROW3CROW3 Member, Alpha Two
    Blame the mojitos.
    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • I also hope we have an option to turn that off. I don't like lens flares and turn them off in games whenever I can. I find having them turned off I get a more natural looking environment and can get lost in the game easier without them.
  • LinikerLiniker Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited October 2022
    NO. This adds to the gameplay, making your positioning important, if you stand somewhere with the sun shinning on your eyes you should have a hard time seeing. I hope they Don't allow it to be switched off otherwise it will be the "meta" - same for not being able to reduce foliage in settings.
    img]
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  • SongRuneSongRune Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Liniker wrote: »
    NO. This adds to the gameplay, making your positioning important, if you stand somewhere with the sun shinning on your eyes you should have a hard time seeing. I hope they Don't allow it to be switched off otherwise it will be the "meta" - same for not being able to reduce foliage in settings.

    I agree. Just do it the way it works for human eyes, instead of the way it works for video camera lenses. Get rid of lens flare.
  • George_BlackGeorge_Black Member, Intrepid Pack, Alpha Two
    Just like they said that you wont be able to tone down the grass volume, dont expect to turn down the sun glare.

    I like its beauty and its strategic importance.
  • I'm sorry... am I missing something? Everyone bringing up strategic importance of sun glare in a tab target MMO?... Sun glare has literally never done anything strategic in an MMO when you can just target something...
    <--- Am confused.
  • CroakerRPGCroakerRPG Member, Alpha Two
    Taaku wrote: »
    I'm sorry... am I missing something? Everyone bringing up strategic importance of sun glare in a tab target MMO?... Sun glare has literally never done anything strategic in an MMO when you can just target something...
    <--- Am confused.

    You running around just hitting Tab everywhere you go?

    Give me a Perception roll and give it Advantage, I guess.
    https://twitch.tv/croakerrpg
    I want to play a fun game
  • GetDatGreg wrote: »
    You running around just hitting Tab everywhere you go?
    Whenever I am pvping, carrying loot / supplies / caravans, whatever the case. When it matters. Yes.
    Whenever it doesn't matter, then no... cuz... it doesn't matter. :p
    GetDatGreg wrote: »
    Give me a Perception roll and give it Advantage, I guess.
    NAT 20 BABY! I spot you a mile away hiding crouched in those bushes! :D
  • Taleof2CitiesTaleof2Cities Member, Alpha Two
    edited October 2022
    Taaku wrote: »
    I'm sorry... am I missing something? Everyone bringing up strategic importance of sun glare in a tab target MMO?... Sun glare has literally never done anything strategic in an MMO when you can just target something...
    <--- Am confused.

    Your opinions on tab targeting have been heard, @Taaku ... but keep them in that thread.
  • SongRuneSongRune Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited October 2022
    Just like they said that you wont be able to tone down the grass volume, dont expect to turn down the sun glare.

    I like its beauty and its strategic importance.

    Agreed. They definitely shouldn't. It needs to be sun glare, though, not lens flare (which refers to a style of visual effect, not a level of intensity).

    Lens flare and sun glare are different things!

    So far nobody in this thread has actually disagreed. Everyone who's meant "lens flare" has wanted it gone. Everyone who's meant "sun glare" has wanted to keep it. Gotta keep in mind that they aren't the same thing.

    Sun glare, no lens flare. Thanks Intrepid!
  • George_BlackGeorge_Black Member, Intrepid Pack, Alpha Two
    edited October 2022
    Taaku wrote: »
    I'm sorry... am I missing something? Everyone bringing up strategic importance of sun glare in a tab target MMO?... Sun glare has literally never done anything strategic in an MMO when you can just target something...
    <--- Am confused.

    Well I can place you to face the sun, knowing that you cant see my character model very well.

    A person like you is going to unload all your abilities, sure as you know that you cant miss with your tab targeting.
    But you wont see me casting my short duration selfbuff which may boost my def, which would lead to your complete waste of MP and you just put all your abilities on CD.

    Again if I have you face the sun, you wont see me sending a stunning projectile. You wont block or dodge. You will get stunned.

    Seeing the enemy character model at all times is important. If you have the option to turn off the glare you have the advantage. I dont see them making it optional.

    And by judging how keen they are on weather and aesthetics, I dont see them making any adjustments.

    PS. I prefer action to tab. But that's irrelevant.
  • BaSkA_9x2BaSkA_9x2 Member, Alpha Two
    Agree with the OP. I don't really care what it is, as long as I'm able to turn off all those effects, we're good. I only want to see the enemies and what skills they're using.
    🎶Galo é Galo o resto é bosta🎶
  • pyrealpyreal Member, Warrior of Old, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Liniker wrote: »
    NO. This adds to the gameplay, making your positioning important, if you stand somewhere with the sun shinning on your eyes you should have a hard time seeing. I hope they Don't allow it to be switched off otherwise it will be the "meta" - same for not being able to reduce foliage in settings.

    Do you even know what lens flare is? Its light scattering inside of a camera lens.
    Its not reproducing actual 'sun in someone's eye', its reproducing 'i'm a shooting a movie and the sun was in view'.

    The brightness of the sun should obscure, not the shortcomings of optical technology reproduced.
  • LinikerLiniker Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    pyreal wrote: »
    Do you even know what lens flare is? Its light scattering inside of a camera lens.
    Its not reproducing actual 'sun in someone's eye', its reproducing 'i'm a shooting a movie and the sun was in view'.

    The brightness of the sun should obscure, not the shortcomings of optical technology reproduced.

    No shit Sherlock. Don't care, No camera effects that interact with visibility and give you a disadvantage should be allowed to be turned off.
    img]
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  • pyrealpyreal Member, Warrior of Old, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited October 2022
    Liniker wrote: »
    pyreal wrote: »
    Do you even know what lens flare is? Its light scattering inside of a camera lens.
    Its not reproducing actual 'sun in someone's eye', its reproducing 'i'm a shooting a movie and the sun was in view'.

    The brightness of the sun should obscure, not the shortcomings of optical technology reproduced.

    No shit Sherlock. Don't care, No camera effects that interact with visibility and give you a disadvantage should be allowed to be turned off.

    Then it ought to be removed altogether. I'm a genius!

    You can either call for one action and be shouted down by the mob, or offer something different and let the mob demand what you really want.
  • DiamahtDiamaht Member, Braver of Worlds, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Agreed, it's a bit much. A bright sun is fine but the corresponding "world haze" it produces in video games is not enjoyable. I'd also like the ability to tone down the "God Rays" and Bloom.
  • Mag7spyMag7spy Member, Alpha Two
    I agree there should be causes where some stuff can be turned off, this is also alpha so people shouldn't be looking at things like this is the final product...

    They aren't going to do game design balance with effects more than likely involving their maps. So if some effective was too much and people couldn't do anything about it and it simply made a siege not competitive, clearly that is going to be adjusted.

    Example being if do to sun light and flare it made it hard to be hit while you could kill half the nodes defense siege that you need to be adjusted. Else people would be yelling no forums about issues with effects.

    I get people are passionate, but if you refuse to look at things from a design perspective you are not going to be in the right... Grass not being turned off and such is fine as then design wise people would set it low and it would lose its amount of strength (as long as it being as it is won't bog down computer and stop 30% of people from playing the game).
  • Mag7spyMag7spy Member, Alpha Two
    Art is very beautiful though love unreal engine :). Need to stop slacking and get some other stuff done so i can put together a scene in it.
  • SapiverenusSapiverenus Member
    edited October 2022
    My idea of handling vision is to have the center 1/4 of the screen match the literal Field of View for the person sitting an appropriate distance away, such as 8 degrees FOV (from 32 FoV scaling?)

    Monitors are about 32 degrees of a person's FoV. . . this would make the center 1/4 look like a window into the game.

    then the screen scaling to the edge of the monitor until it's 200 degrees FOV in-game; stretching more and lowering resolution while increasing the visibility of low-light areas and moving objects, as it reaches the edge of the screen.

    Objects at the center often look far away with FoV scaling. This would solve it. It would mirror the eye more, the center would be higher definition with less processing power involved; and natural light/ lens effects make more sense then too.
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