How do you light dungeons?

[WCG]

OK, I stumbled across this game yesterday and gave the demo a try. Everything was fine until I had to explore that underground wine cellar. Stumbling around in the dark is not fun, and even with a torch, I couldn't see anything. Maybe it would be possible at night, with all the lights in the house off, but that's not how I play. And I'm not going to redesign my house to play a computer game (well,... not this one anyway ).

I like to support independent game developers, and I'm always looking for turn-based RPG's (though I'd much prefer a party-based game, since I enjoy the strategy involved in selecting, equipping, and operating a small group of characters). But I'm afraid that this is a deal-breaker for me. Squinting into a dark scene, trying to tell what's there, is not my idea of a good time.

So,... are there any workarounds? Is there any way to GREATLY increase the light given off by torches? Is it possible to use a spell - constantly, when underground - to provide significantly more light than a torch provides? Or maybe that "Cat's Eyes" spell? Does that make everything appear as if it were in the sunlight, AND can it be cast continually while your character explores a dungeon? (I've just barely started to check out the game, so of course I'm willing to start a new character, if I can get a spell that will do the trick, early enough to matter.)

Any suggestions? I don't normally use cheats, but in this case, I'd make an exception. After all, it's either find a solution or give up the game as a lost cause. And as I say, I really like to support independent game developers, especially the few who still do turn-based RPG's.

Thanks,

Bill

[BasiliskWrangler]

We discovered too late in development that some monitors are just too dim (or low in contrast) to properly display the dungeon light as we intended.

My suggestion to you would be to try adjusting your monitor brightness/contrast, or if you have a fancy OS-based control panel with your video card you might be able to adjust brightness through that before starting the game.

Also, you can combine light sources- so a torch plus "Gravedigger's Flame" can amplify the light. Also, lanterns can be bought later in the game that provide more light than torches.

I always like to point out when we have learned from our mistakes, so Book II does feature an in-game gamma adjuster and we have increased the contrast of the default torch light (just a bit) to help make those dark dungeons easier to see on dim monitors. I don't have any guess at this time if these updates will be patched into Book I, but it is in the "possibly" list.

[WCG]

OK. Thanks for the quick reply!

I did check my monitor first thing, but it's already set at 100% brightness. The contrast is high, too, but not at the highest setting.

I may try combining light sources, then. I'll restart and emphasize magic, and see what happens.

Bill

[Unclever title]

Cat's eyes is actually pretty pathetic at lighting up a room. On it's own it's not quite as good as a torch but it does double the range of torchlight (though only the torch in your hand) and the spell Gravedigger's flame. Doesn't do much for lanterns though least I don't remember it helping them much. Cat's eyes combined with Gravedigger's flame lights up most of the screen, but it does cast a red hue on everything making some objects more difficult to differentiate from the surroundings, at least with my eyes that is.

A suggestion for Book II is to rework Cat's eyes so that it increases the range of all torches/light sources as this would be more realistic to the spell description. Heh, would be funny if it came with a mild blinding effect in daylight, but then again it's not nightvision just enhanced vision.

[WCG]

Cat's eyes is actually pretty pathetic at lighting up a room. On it's own it's not quite as good as a torch but it does double the range of torchlight (though only the torch in your hand)...

Well, I started a new character (an archer/priest-type) and picked up Cat's Eyes right away. But when I cast it, I couldn't see any difference at all. Admittedly, I wasn't holding a torch, because I wanted to see what the spell would do on its own. And it wasn't pitch black, though still pretty dark. But from that experiment, I assumed that Cat's Eyes didn't actually change the light level, but only affected the internal calculations of attacks.

So, I was quite disappointed in my experiment. I thought about starting over again, this time with an archer/mage character, but that makes much less sense, so I'd almost decided just to wait for Book II. I suppose now I'd better go back and test it WITH a torch, huh? If it really does 'double the range of torchlight,' that might be enough to get me by.

Thanks!

Bill

[Dragonlady]

Use Gravediggers Flame, Cat's eyes and See Preditor (or whatever it is called) all at the same time, either spell or potion. Should light up quite an area but it still won't make it as bright as daylight. That's the point. Your supposed to be afraid of the dark and shadows.

I've also found, when using my laptop instead of Mac G4, that I can tilt the screen a bit and see pretty much everything. I sometimes miss a lever or barrel or chest but usually not.

[Unclever title]

Thanks!

Bill

Glad to help.

I found during the real world day the dungeons are pretty much pitch black and then cats eyes pretty much won't have any visual change. Accursed sunlight!

[WCG]

Should light up quite an area but it still won't make it as bright as daylight. That's the point. Your supposed to be afraid of the dark and shadows.

Sure, but the problem is not with my character. It's me, the player, who's having the problem.

When my first character explored the wine cellar, he didn't have any trouble surviving. It just that it was no fun for me, since I couldn't see anything. (In much of the area, I just navigated using the mini-map.) And when I got to the second lever, which presumably opened a grate somewhere, I couldn't see anything, so I didn't know if the grate was even in that area (maybe it's reached by some other path, which would be fine, if I could actually see what was in the wine cellar).

Maybe it's my eyes or maybe it's just my monitor. But either way, I'm sure that's not the only dark part of the game. So unless there's a workaround, it's just not for me. I'll test Cat's Eyes again, this time with a torch, but if that doesn't work, I'll probably just wait for Book II.

Thanks,

Bill

[crazybecky]

I have never had this problem. I really think it is either your eyes or your monitor. For me, a torch is plenty bright (Cat's eyes is actually kind of dim.) Maybe....get a new monitor? Or, have your cataracts fixed?

No offense. (Supposed to be funny.) (Maybe not funny?)

[WCG]

Maybe....get a new monitor? Or, have your cataracts fixed?

Heh, heh. I'm 57. Just wait until you get there! My eyes definitely aren't what they used to be.

But my monitor is a ViewSonic 19" widescreen. It's a very fine monitor, though it might not suit this particular game, I suppose.

Still, I don't think I'll get a new monitor OR new eyes, just so I can play this particular game. If it was ALL games,... that would be different.

Bill