Visual Contrast and Tone in play

[Ketobor]

Alright, so I like this game. I enjoy the combat, and I feel the updates have been slowly improving it.

I only ever play Arena mode.



Seeing things in the standard game is a chore. The visuals all blur together, and are dark with low contrast. The game is straining on my eyes, and something of an ordeal. This might be atmospheric in a simpler game, but in this game I need to be watching the very specific movements of my character and enemies. Slight placements of feet, where arms are exactly.

The goals of dark brooding atmosphere and refined physics combat are at odds.

Likewise, if I want to play this game for the combat, hoards of zombie-like enemies with high potential damage to long term health, really detract from enjoying the combat on a pure level. It seems to be a common issue in the game, that it has interesting mechanics that do not match with the tone in the campaign game that well.

At this point there is little to no solution here, but I would be remiss if I didn't at least bring it up. It might be *because* find the the combat interesting that the visuals become a chore, but that doesn't feel like a healthy place for the game to be.

 

[Greenbrog]

Arena getting a complete overhaul and becoming a legitimate stand alone game mode next patch. Story mode certainly won't be for everyone.

 

[-Tim-]

I understand that you like this game mostly for the combat, many do. But I really don't understand any other point you may be trying to make here. The dungeon is dark, yes, but using a torch solves that problem and should make it easy to see your character's movement. The lighting and atmosphere is usually regarded as one of the strong points of the story mode. You may want to adjust your room light or your screen settings if you really experience too much eye strain.

Likewise, if I want to play this game for the combat, hoards of zombie-like enemies with high potential damage to long term health, really detract from enjoying the combat on a pure level. It seems to be a common issue in the game, that it has interesting mechanics that do not match with the tone in the campaign game that well.

This paragraph makes no sense to me. If you want to play this game for the combat, you should welcome those hoards of zombies with open arms. Yes, they can do a lot of damage (that happens in combat), but that is quickly nullified by getting stronger armour quite early on. Or just fighting well, of course. Permanent damage can be

Spoiler

healed by healing salves.

It may be important to realise that the arena and the story mode invite very different playstyles. Story mode plays more like a survival horror, especially early on. If you want to take risks, the fights can get really intense and satisfying.

 

[Ketobor]

I have a feeling that this game has attracted something of an insular group of followers.

Marginal changes to lightning do not make a fundamentally low-lighting low-contrast set of visuals easy to see. If the response is that I should manually change the settings on my hardware to be able to get by, when basically every other game I play does not have this problem, that might be an issue.

I contend survival horror is well at-odds with engaging combat, especially in the area of lighting.



As for the second part.

Survival-horror doesn't invite risk taking. It *punishes* risk taking with a large series of relatively conservative encounters that you just don't want to screw up. This means fighting by taking risks or experimenting is *punished* because of the long-term damage you take.

The very nature of the main mode of the game punishes all but the most conservative of play, and it doesn't punish it by adding 'challenge' like a worse weapon does. It punishes it by adding repetition upon failure, often fairly tedious repetition



I watch people playing this game, and I see that they rarely do anything interesting in combat. In streams at least, players mostly just wait for a well timed swing when the enemy is vulnerable. This doesn't really make use of what the engine has to offer, but is the behavior that is most rewarded. When I fight, I often spin around an enemy at high speed, dodging their attack at point blank to attack their side, attack with spit-second timings to be first and try to get optimal hits, tackle the enemy with my movements or slam them to the ground.

None of these behaviors I do are rewarded during normal gameplay, they are all risky. That can be satisfying in arena mode, where risk doesn't mean losing a half hour of work, but in the story, the risk is too great and the loss to disappointing even if you succeed, it might cost you a crippling amount of health.


I don't expect any of this to change, mind you, but I wanted to voice these concerns at least once.

 

[Greenbrog]

I hear what you're saying. But the better players will actually fight add you describe, just smaller margins of error. And went shouldn't you be punished for high risk taking, the fighting is founded in realism. I personally boxed like you described and sometimes it got me hot really hard even hurt, this game shouldn't be differant. Thinking you can fight like that isn't realistic, you are not a god. Unlike other games.

 

[Tyon]

The first 3 levels aren't really meant for combat, it's more just kitting your character out with gear. If you've played the 4th level, all the enemies will attack you on sight, and you would have had to fight them if it wasn't for that "obstacle". In the first 3 levels, players often only use simple attacks because that's the safest tactic, you don't really need to do complicated movements to take out the undead. There will probably be much more advanced enemies that are less clumsy and make you utilize more advanced tactics.

I'm fairly neutral on the lighting, I personally like it and think it adds greatly to the mood of the dungeon, but I also think lighting in some areas is somewhat inconsistent and the lights themselves don't seem to be that strong. Although, I think it makes sense that the lighting isn't exactly "perfect" in such an ancient and run down place.

 

[Elaxter]

I didn't know Exanima was a survival horror game.

 

[Holy.Death]

Marginal changes to lightning do not make a fundamentally low-lighting low-contrast set of visuals easy to see. If the response is that I should manually change the settings on my hardware to be able to get by, when basically every other game I play does not have this problem, that might be an issue.

I contend survival horror is well at-odds with engaging combat, especially in the area of lighting.

I can agree that darkness can be annoying (especially for players who use shield or two-handers) and there should be a way to let us navigate this aspect better (like allowing us to hold a torch and two-handed weapon while not in combat, a way to switch weapons/torch without the need to go to the inventory screen, etc.) in context of combat. (Yes, there is a helmet, but this is a half-solution in my opinion.)

However I don't really have the problem with contrast and tone straining my eyes. I also don't have blur. Could it be so because I play on high(est) details and on a big screen (1920x1080)?

Survival-horror doesn't invite risk taking. It *punishes* risk taking with a large series of relatively conservative encounters that you just don't want to screw up. This means fighting by taking risks or experimenting is *punished* because of the long-term damage you take.

The very nature of the main mode of the game punishes all but the most conservative of play, and it doesn't punish it by adding 'challenge' like a worse weapon does. It punishes it by adding repetition upon failure, often fairly tedious repetition

Past level 1 you have an ability to set a checkpoint (and you have checkpoint once you reach each level), so there is less fear of losing your entire progress.

As for the risk taking: it's up to you. I don't have problems taking on all enemies in the game (save for the big guy). Once you get enough armor (or are really good with a shield) you shouldn't have problems with surviving. On the other hand I did die a couple of times due to how combat is done and that's why I like it. Combat should be risky and there should be a risk-management involved. Otherwise there would be no tension that I get when I am low on health.

I watch people playing this game, and I see that they rarely do anything interesting in combat. In streams at least, players mostly just wait for a well timed swing when the enemy is vulnerable. This doesn't really make use of what the engine has to offer, but is the behavior that is most rewarded. When I fight, I often spin around an enemy at high speed, dodging their attack at point blank to attack their side, attack with spit-second timings to be first and try to get optimal hits, tackle the enemy with my movements or slam them to the ground.

None of these behaviors I do are rewarded during normal gameplay, they are all risky. That can be satisfying in arena mode, where risk doesn't mean losing a half hour of work, but in the story, the risk is too great and the loss to disappointing even if you succeed, it might cost you a crippling amount of health.

I don't see why people should be taking more risky maneuvers in combat.

That's exactly the opposite of what you should be doing if you want to stay alive and if that's what you're doing, then no surprise you're dying easily to enemies or have health problems and complain about number of enemies in the story mode. To be honest with good enough armor you can still take more risky actions and don't get permanently damaged for it. You sound like you simply don't reach that level (these items) and that's why you think there is a problem.

I am playing this game for combat. I enjoy this aspect the most (at least until we see more RPG aspects, although I think Sui Generis will be that game, not Exanima, because Exanima is more of a dungeon crawler than an RPG in my opinion) and I kind of fail to see your point. Do you want combat to be less deadly? Have less enemies around in story mode?

 

[Sneil]

On the low contrast and blurry lighting. I straight up don't have this problem. Lighting contrast is quite high for me. Dark areas are nice and black/dark and the lit areas, say holding a torch, are very bright and contrast the darkness quite well. Can you take a screenshot? Maybe it's your monitor where the issue lies?

 

[burgzaza]

For me, Lighning contrast is one of the best thing for the ambience, along with sounds and musics. Seing an undead emerge from total darkness when you are not ready to fight is great tense moments, and it's part of the gameplay : you should not consider fighting in extreme dark places without being prepared.