Improving contrast...

[BigR]

For the last year or so I have been having real problems seeing planes against the ground. This is on different monitors and graphics cards. Most of the time I just cant make out a plane against the ground. If I am bnzing somebody, I usually am just guessing where they are based on the icon. In real life I would have depth perception and other cues that would help me compensate, but here its extremely difficult for me. I have played with gamma settings and other monitor settings, but i cannot get this to improve. I was just wondering if anyone here has had the same issue and what they did about it? My eye sight is generally very good, and I do not have trouble in any other game.

[Gman]

First thing I would do is try turning the ground detail off, including the bump mapping.  All of it in the details tab on the left side of the clipboard.

Then see if picking up the silhoette of the target planes is any easier.  If it isn't, it has to be a color/shade/brightness/contrast/etc issue, and not a clutter one, or one caused by darkness created by the clutter and ground detail graphics.

I play around a lot with monitor settings, and my home theater PC I check in on AH now and then throughout the day was really, really dark as you describe.  I just cranked up the contrast, gamma, and brightness, and played with various combinations, until I found one I liked.  It would display TV shows and films so darkly at first, that many parts were just unseeable throughout playback, if it was dark, it was just a murky black hole.  Jacking those 3 settings up in nVidia control panel fixed it.  Now I don't know if that relates to your specific problem seeing planes/targets, but it's as good a comparison I can relate to you with. 

Like I said, try turning off all the ground graphics, and see what happens.  Also, do you notice any difference on maps where the terrain/ground is a different shade, or is it just universal all the time while in game, regardless of map?

[Bizman]

Another thing to try especially since you don't suffer from this in other games is to decrease FOV in the Video Settings. AH2 uses quite a large FOV compared to many other games, which has its pros and cons. On the pro side you have a wider view, helping you the enemy coming from the side. On the con side your target is smaller. Try something between 75 and 90 to find what's suitable for you.

Also notice that your monitor has brightness and contrast settings of its own, plus a bunch of other settings. Try to get the best of them using some calibration tool like http://www.displaycalibration.com/. Windows7 also has a built in Display Calibration Tool, instructions here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-IN/windows7/Calibrate-your-display

[Randy1]

I feel your pain.  I have the same problem that can be much worse on some maps.  I have gotten it much better.

I would suggest you start my setting your video card to default and your monitor to it's default setting.  Make sure your video card 3-d setting are per AH.  Set the AH to default video. Set FOV to 90-100 if your auto setting is 106.


Start with the monitor. You will concentrate your efforts there.  If it is a TV/Monitor watch for auto controlled setting like auto contrast and turn that off.   Watch for energy saving setting and turn those off.  Now as G-man posted start cranking up those bright, contrast and sharp controls.  Go higher settings then go backwards turning them down.  Watch all the icons on your desktop.  Try to get all icons very clear and sharp to the smallest detail.  This will take some times as you have to go back and forth with setting until you hit the magic combo.

[BigR]

Thanks for the tips guys...i have tried most of your suggestions already...i guess i just need to keep trying till i find the magic combo. It might just be my eyes slowly going bad. Getting older sucks haha. Thanks again!!

[Bizman]

It might just be my eyes slowly going bad. Getting older sucks haha. Thanks again!!

I know, despite still being able to see the last line of the optician's chart I have to use +1 to +1.5 reading glasses. Sometimes when I feel tired I use them while playing, too. Worth trying, they only cost a couple of bucks anyway.

Another fact is that people don't blink their eyes often enough while sitting at the monitor. Combined with the overall dryness typical for wintertime your eyes may just need some extra moisture like artificial tears. Done that, too.

Last but not least, many gamers like to play in the dark, probably for immersion by hiding their stuff on the desk. That's not good for eyes, though. If you find yourself looking more often at other stuff than your monitor, either the game is boring or it's time to clean your desk!  For good lighting ergonomics read http://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/irritated.htm and/or http://www.healthycomputing.com/office/setup/lighting/, they're worth the five minutes of reading.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Perhaps I'm the master of the obvious but a better monitor with a higher contrast will help incredibly. A quality IPS or VA screen with a high contrast rating will make a difference.

[BigR]

Perhaps I'm the master of the obvious but a better monitor with a higher contrast will help incredibly. A quality IPS or VA screen with a high contrast rating will make a difference.

I just bought this Acer a few months ago... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009642&cm_re=acer_144hz-_-24-009-642-_-Product

If you want to buy me a newer, better, bigger monitor, that would be awesome!! 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I just bought this Acer a few months ago... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009642&cm_re=acer_144hz-_-24-009-642-_-Product

If you want to buy me a newer, better, bigger monitor, that would be awesome!! 

Unfortunately when speed comes to play, contrast suffers. The cheaper 144hz screens use a TN panel which lacks in color depth and contrast. Recently the first IPS 144hz screen was announced but it costs over 500 bucks.

[Randy1]

...i guess i just need to keep trying till i find the magic combo. It might just be my eyes slowly going bad. Getting older sucks haha. Thanks again!!

   Getting older is your best option. 
 It took me about a month to get mine right.  Still lost an La7 near the ground last night but those little buggers are hard to see anyways.

[BigR]

Unfortunately when speed comes to play, contrast suffers. The cheaper 144hz screens use a TN panel which lacks in color depth and contrast. Recently the first IPS 144hz screen was announced but it costs over 500 bucks.

My last monitor was IPS...had the same issues with it, and it ghosted a lot during heavy action. I use it on my Mac now...great for that purpose, but not so much for gaming. The Acer is awesome in just about any game, but the other games I play are different so there is never an instance when i have problems seeing a target/enemy besides AH. I just found out about SweetFX so I am starting to use that to see if it can help.

[Drane]

 Was just going to mention SweetFX. I like it.