Sun light and lighting on objects

[smoe]

I would like to note the backwardness of object lighting when looking towards the sun. I noticed when looking at (or near) the sun objects such as ground, sky, and cockpit panels get brighter, unfortunately, I believe this is the opposite of real life. When looking at the sun (in real life, not in the game) objects will appear to get darker because our iris (iris is spelled non-plural because of the game's Cyclops vision which is another can-of-worms) closes and makes objects appear darker, not brighter. This may explain complaints about the sun because of the very un-natural/opposite simulated lighting effects.

I came to this conclusion while driving in my car into the sunset. I was driving up a hill, looking into the sun, with a cop approaching from the opposite direction. I looked down at my speedometer and couldn't see the gauges because they were too dark to see, do to the position of the sun.

n another note a couple of reasons why the sun should be so dimmer in this flight sim.:

1. During WWII most pilots were in their 20's and had good eye vision and function, however, most pilots in this game are far older. At age 40 most (if not all) people start to develop night blindness, meaning their irises will close fast but take much longer to open than a younger individual. This has been studied for older night time driving safety performance for long time, even before dirt was around. Since WWII pilots were young we need to simulate the game's lighting to give older gamers' eyes a break.

2. WWII pilots had their thumb to block the sun; last I checked that option is not available.

3. WWII pilots had sunglasses; I don’t believe this option is around either.

[Bear76]

Ya, good luck with that

[Tarstar]

Maybe back that up with smoe facts.. 

[whipster22]

or how about you were sun glass were the AH sun is in your eyes

[Blooz]

I noticed this too when running supplies.

When the sun is low on the horizon and you drive toward it and look back, the trees are dark. The side toward the sun should be lighted.

If I remember right, the buildings looked right. It was the trees that were dark that looked strange.

I figured that since I don't have all the fancy graphics and shadows enabled maybe that was the cause of the odd lighting and I didn't report it.

[crazyivan]

Ya, good luck with that

You shut your mouth meow! gotta get me some cheap sunglasses.

[TEShaw]

Maybe back that up with smoe facts.. 

Well, you could start with something as obvious as Chuck Yeager's autobiography; where he mentions (more than once) obscuring the sun with his little finger and seeing the glint of the German cockpits 20 miles away.

[Gryffin]

I agree and noticed this especially with the trees in the game. When the sun is behind the trees they look lighter, which intuitively feels backwards to me.

For example, if the sun is just rising over the eastern horizon and you are flying north, the trees on your right should look darker (since you are looking at the unlit side of the trees) and the trees on the left should look lighter (since you are looking at the lit side of the trees). However in the game currently it is the opposite.

[Krusty]

So when you're driving and the sun gets in your eyes you can suddenly see cars coming at you better because they're darker?

No, what you get is your entire vision is hard to focus, you have a bright light in your eyes and its painful many times. Things get "lost" in the light. I had a nasty commute for a while, every morning into the rising sun, every evening into the setting sun. I wouldn't say it's exactly like AH has it, but I don't agree with how you described it either. I think overall the end result is more realistic with AH: You can't see things because there's a bloody huge light burning your eyes.

P.S. Blocking the sun with a free hand helps ease the pain of your eyes, but depending on the angle and the glare, you still have a very hard time making out the lane stripes on the road in front of you, oncoming traffic, etc.

It was NOT a cure-all to block the sun with your "thumb" as many tales recount in WW2.

[Die Hard]

While models and textures have been modernized quite nicely over the years, the lighting is one of the weakest parts of the GFX implementation in AH. Well... lighting and sound really. They're still in the 1990s. Hopefully that will change; they seem to be working on that.

[FiLtH]

   You can use the view options to move the cockpit framework to block the sun for you. The only lighting issue I have is how dark things are that arent in direct sunlight. Such as the opposite side of the plane that the sun isnt hitting. It seems too dark to me. Always has.

[mensa180]

So when you're driving and the sun gets in your eyes you can suddenly see cars coming at you better because they're darker?

That isn't what he's saying at all, or at least not how I understood it.

[W7LPNRICK]

Pretty weird when the sun shines through a tall mountain and blinds you. 

[dedalos]

That isn't what he's saying at all, or at least not how I understood it.

Yes, but you are "mensa" and he is, well, "crusty"