In the Alpha, Duskwood was absolutely DARK and you needed to get a special torch in order to navigate the zone.
Should they develop this to fruition?
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the Kilâjaeden darkness phase was poorly received. an entire zone with heavy fog doesnt exist but thick fog was locally done before, in various places. typically Kvaldir areas.
they were ⌠not fun.
Oh. The more you know! I didnât play past week 1 Cata so I had no idea they did something like this 
Thinking more about it⌠theres a torch/darkness mechanic in Vault of the Wardens before - and during - last boss. it was better than most.
you could throw the torch too and light up an area iirc.
Iâm pretty sure OG vanilla was darker overall at night, regardless of zone.
Iâm grinding in Barrens right now and itâs as bright as day time, just with a night sky.
Kind of lame.
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The final release of vanilla is basically 8h sunset in a lot of zones
Iâm not complaining it looks great.
I want every zone to be a rainy day at two in the afternoon.
Forever.
Dark zones bite.
That was night time everywhere in Alpha wow, the glowy stuff really helped. Problem is people who only play nights would QQ.
Checked the actual 1.12 client vs the âclassicâ and there is a very slight difference but its not much.
Ill try older clients later when I have some time to set up a test bench server for older clients.
In the vid below, the vanilla artist team talks about some of their design decisions, reasoning, and strategies.
From min 50-51 they talk about day and night settings - however the whole vid gives great insights into why the game turned out so amazing. Year and years of iteration by a great team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfLXdhkv6UE
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I could go for something like that. Be one heck of an experience!
OG vanilla, sooooo good.
one thing that pisses me off about âClassic being on this WoD+ clientâ is that we dont have the moon walk.
And before some fanboy can gaslight you and say some BS about how it was a server bug, no, its a client side thing that I can confirm is client side because works on literally any test bench server long as you use any pre 6.X client.
WTB moonwalk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoqCwBQWIMgIn before someone tries to gaslight us on the âsecurity benefitsâ and âanti cheatingâ benefits of the modern wow game clientâŚ
So far the cheating eliminating functions are less flexed than a 3rd rate Soviet gulag server that legit cracks down on cheating within moments of a wall clip.
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Yea I think they should. You had to have a torch lit to see in there.
Yes it was. We had day and night for each and every zone and night time got as dark as it does in real life. And at the same time periods as real life too. I remember that. That was cool. Not sure why they took that out.
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It was a pretty big complaint during the beta and launch of Classic in 2019
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On the one hand, darkness can be really atmosphereic and engaging! On the other, I just donât think thatâs really WoWâs vibe. You have a day/night cycle but it doesnât really hinder visibility.
With that said, this is an interesting concept. What do you think of it being explored within the confines of an instanced dungeon as a specific mechanic for that area?
I was trying to remember this. The best I could come up with was âSome Legion dungeon that Maeiv was involved in somehow maybe?â
Itâs a bit unnerving how bright The Barrens is right now at nearly one in the morning.
It just looks weird.
Unrealistic sure, but unnerving? You shouldnât find it unnerving only because thatâs just how itâs been for almost 20 years. Thatâs what Iâm getting at, itâs WoWâs style. Thatâs why Iâm saying it shouldnât really change in the world, thatâs just what weâve come to expect, but an instanced dungeon is the perfect place to explore those mechanics.
I played a beta for an MMO game somewhere in the 2006 to 2008 time frame that Iâve long since forgotten the name of. It was back when everybody was trying to make the new WoW and it wasnât very good in general. It had a day/night cycle that was sped up and the night was very dark. I actually found it pretty off-putting.
I think I like what WoW has done, giving you a day/night cycle that makes the world feel more alive, but not so dark that it hinders your ability to play.
By the way, if you feel the Barrens is too bright, maybe try adjusting your Digital Vibrance setting? I raised up a bit for better visibility in shooter games I donât play anymore but I liked what it did to WoWâs colours so I kept it. It does have a tendency to make some zones (lookinâ at you, Durotar) excessively bright and glowy during the day.
Anyway, you can try changing this setting to lower it, or play with your own brightness/contrast setting, if you want a less unnerving experience for your own personal enjoyment.
They tried to make that zone lore accurate. That is one of my fav zones. It used to mirror the one up north for a bit as well.
I think the nights were supposed to be dark as an original concept.
Makes sense why there are so many literal torch off hands as quest rewards.
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WoW originally had weather (e.g., snow in dun morogh, rain in ashenvale), time periods (night/day), etc. But people were crying about it so they removed it. One of the earliest dilutions of the game world to try to satisfy whiners and âcasualsâ.
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