Jump to content

Dupes in the Dark?


Recommended Posts

So I noticed when you click on the LIGHT overlay, it says   "Gray area = Dupes can not see in this area".    The entire screen is basically gray/dark  except where there are lights and shinebugs.    Roll over and it says "Pitch Black" even.

So the amusing question is,  how do these dupes exactly do anything in the dark if they can't see.    They don't appear to  be carrying Flashlights.

How do they even know the Décor of the room is amazing and charming or great  if they can't even see it.   And the reverse is true for negative décor.   If they can't see,  how can they claim the airflow tiles = negative décor or the debris on the floor is ugly. 

Link to comment
https://forums.kleientertainment.com/forums/topic/104595-dupes-in-the-dark/
Share on other sites

The prevailing theory on the subject is that in the earlier iterations of the game, the intention was to force the player to provide light for the Dupes to be able to perform work.  As far as I am aware, light has never had any actual effect beyond being a requirement for Bristle Berry growth, and later it's absence for Dusk Caps.  It would seem to have been an abandoned mechanic.

I wouldn't necessarily mind revisiting the idea, but it would require some pretty substantial changes to the way light currently works, as well as new technologies to facilitate it.  Could potentially make Shine Bugs much more relevant, though, if it were to be pursued.

The fact that my Dupes are running around in pitch black rooms 95% of the time has bugged me pretty much from the beginning, but I also tend to forget that everything's pitch black for long stretches of time because the map looks well lit to me.

If light actually mattered to Dupes beyond a minor decor buff I think they'd need some non-electrical ways of making light. You really can't wire the entire asteroid for electricity until pretty late in the game, particularly when hamster wheels are your only source of electricity. Not to mention that miners would need some source of portable light.

At this point it seems highly unlikely Klei will ever revisit this. A time or two I've thought about doing a run where I make a concerted effort to keep my entire colony lit, not just the bristle berry farms and the Great Hall. Making a house rule would be rough, though. What parts would qualify as "really should be lit" and which wouldn't?

It's quite simple: Dupes are artificial humans that are engineered to not only be smaller (they only weight 30kg and need 1000 kcal, the average human is more than twice than that, this is apparent) but also have, no, not night or infrared vision but limited X-ray vision which works through natural resources and can even work around corners!

 

Well, seriously though...

2 hours ago, PhailRaptor said:

Could potentially make Shine Bugs much more relevant, though, if it were to be pursued.

Shine Bugs are too random to be viable, rooms would need to be quite small to work with a lure to the point where one might as well use a floor lamp.

 

What I'd suggest to implement (be)fore a "Darkness all inclusive" DLC-Mod is...

 

Spoiler
  • 100% workspeed when brightly lit, gradually falling to 0% when pitch black and "not gonna go there"
  • Mining helmets with Mining lights for Mining dupes, light works for digging only
  • Non-electrical lights that require fuel
  • Light tiles that automatically connect with each other and provide a faint light (2-3 W per tile)
  • Wall lights, to stick on the side of tiles
  • Lights wall to build instead of dry walls, similar concept to Light tiles
  • Atmosuits that provide light and also need to be charged
  • Making tame Shine Bugs be able to stick to dupes (better become part of the sprite), I want to see duplicants feed them when themself eat
  • Area Scanner building that clears fog of war and highlights chosen resources
  • Pitch black areas are only faintly visible
  • Magma that actually provides light
  • Adaptive Glass tiles which does not let too much sun shine through
  • Dupes that can not sleep with light on and dupes that can not sleep with lights off

and, well, possibly some merit, besides feeding Shine Bugs by hand

Maybe glow in the dark torches?

New element needed !!  And they can craft it! 

In Craft the World, they have various torch types.    And putting up light is part of the game mechanics.   Dark areas will have great chance of spider webs and bugs spawning from those locations.    

Another games like  StarBound  and Dig or Die needs light as well.  Maybe Shine bug could have some more use- like poop glow in the dark materials ?  Or maybe their egg shells has some glowing properties.

Simply Shine Bug lanterns. 

Considering How Darkness is a big game mechanics for Don't Starve.  I'm surprised this game hasn't done much about it.

I too think the older, darker art style looked really cool, but the developers said during a recent stream that they abandoned the idea a long time ago because it made it difficult to gasses.

 

4 hours ago, Gus Smedstad said:

If light actually mattered to Dupes beyond a minor decor buff I think they'd need some non-electrical ways of making light. You really can't wire the entire asteroid for electricity until pretty late in the game, particularly when hamster wheels are your only source of electricity. Not to mention that miners would need some source of portable light.

Once upon a time, the miners' laser drill was a source of light (according to the Light Overlay).

10 hours ago, PhailRaptor said:

The prevailing theory on the subject is that in the earlier iterations of the game, the intention was to force the player to provide light for the Dupes to be able to perform work.

Look how darker the game used to be. Those plans for lighting to be a complex mechanic seem to fit much better the old art. Maybe it's gone forever :(

 

oxygennotincluded light.jpg

1 hour ago, Junksteel said:

Look how darker the game used to be. Those plans for lighting to be a complex mechanic seem to fit much better the old art. Maybe it's gone forever :(

It is gone (most likely) forever. It was explained on the last live stream by klei.

The reason for the change was that the different gases could not be as easily distinguished with the old lightning.

Off topic, but since we're all looking at old pics of the game, I want to point out that all the dupes used to wear red.  Red shirts, to be exact.  Klei didn't hide their expectations that lots and lots of dupes were going to die in this game, did they?

For me the easiest sollution and even super cool one would be add plants similar to the ones we have in dont starve " the light bulbs" from the caves. We could plant and grow them hopefully easily and just put the pots and plant them for light like worts. Light would need some buff effects as i and some ppl on the forum already suggested and some debuff maybe, slow down things, chance to build become broken idk.

I always make it a rule in my games to put lights everywhere so the duplicants can see. Especially when you have a basement area at the bottom of the base where the mushrooms are growing in darkness. It feels just right lol.

I make up a lot of my own rules for 'realism' and extra fun.

1 hour ago, natanstarke said:

For me the easiest sollution and even super cool one would be add plants similar to the ones we have in dont starve " the light bulbs" from the caves. We could plant and grow them hopefully easily and just put the pots and plant them for light like worts. Light would need some buff effects as i and some ppl on the forum already suggested and some debuff maybe, slow down things, chance to build become broken idk.

glowing mushrooms would be cool. Those exist in real life.

glowing mushrooms.jpg

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Please be aware that the content of this thread may be outdated and no longer applicable.

×
  • Create New...