Changes to Lighting

puxorb

L69: Emoticon
aa
Dec 15, 2013
531
798
Here am I, whining again.

In all seriousness, I do think this deserves to be addressed, even if nothing can be done to change it (other than bugging Valve until they change it). I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

About a month ago I was showing a friend of mine Team Fortress 2. We were talking about games development and I explained that I had actually designed a level. When he loaded up the game I found the lighting to be odd; almost washed out in a way. I just figured that he was not running on the highest visual settings, so I took a look at it when I got home on my own machine.

It turns out that color correction and other lighting effects have been reduced/removed.
JfikRD5.png

The before picture was taken in mid 2014. Notice the ceiling is darker and the wood beams are not as orange tinted as they used to be. Also notice the bloom on the lights is not as bright as it used to be.

umBJp1f.png

Take a look at the covered bridge. The fence and buildings on the left side of the screen are very dark as well. The lighting on the gun even seems different.


Here's where it gets a little personal. I don't want to come across as arrogant, but I was really proud of the lighting in gorge_event. It was inspired by lakeside_event and was really special to me. I spent the last 2 weeks before the event, 6+ hours a day, just working on lighting.

cGjMPyh.png

Before, there was a dark contrast to every crack and crevice. Now this is gone, and the map appears as if everything is hazy. The windows no longer have the glowing look I was going for. The fence doesn't pop as it used to.

8PQV8hh.png

The before shot was taken while I was building the map still, so it doesn't have the wood flooring. Take a look at the wooden beams and the ceiling though. Notice how they have changed.

FUiAuaB.png

This one has the biggest change. The picture was taken before a lot of the pumpkins were added into the map. Look at the contrast on the arch and floor and compare that to the after screenshot. Also, notice the barrels on the right wall.


I have also noticed this big change on Hellstone and GhostFort.
Is this a problem that only I am having or has Valve actually changed the lighting? If so, it is very sad and only adds to the list of issues I have with the game now. Sorry if it seems like I was nitpicking, I worked very hard on that map, as I'm sure others have worked on theirs. Its sad seeing your own work corrupted as well as many maps that had an interesting look.
 

iiboharz

eternally tired
aa
Nov 5, 2014
857
1,291
I don't see any reason for them to remove colour correction, it's such a minor but powerful post-processing thing and it really brought maps to life.
 

Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
Dumb question, but is color correction turned on in your settings? It could've turned off for some reason that's best explained with just the words "Team Fortress 2".
 

Another Bad Pun

In the shadows, he saw four eyes lit by fire
aa
Jan 15, 2011
801
1,844
I was actually thinking about this earlier today, and I think it's a move by Valve to make TF2 more competitive. CSGO made the exact same changes around 2014.
I also think it's a mistake. TF2 is one of the prettiest source games out there, and compared to CSGO I see no gameplay benefits from doing this.
 

puxorb

L69: Emoticon
aa
Dec 15, 2013
531
798
I think the sad thing is that the tweaks to CS:GO made it look amazing honestly, while this is more of a disappointment. I wish I had taken more screenshots of my favorite maps before the update came out.

Dumb question, but is color correction turned on in your settings? It could've turned off for some reason that's best explained with just the words "Team Fortress 2".

I have checked this several times. I've validated files and even reinstalled the game.
 

Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
I checked it myself on cp_glassworks, which I know for a fact has color correction in it (as @Crash pointed out in his video changelog, unless he changed it back or something). I got to a spot on the map where enabling color correction would definitely show up, typed mat_colorcorrection 1, nothing. Then I typed mat_colorcorrection 0, also nothing. I switched back and forth between the lot, and nothing changed.

So yes, something is preventing color correction from working properly, if at all. You can email Valve and write them about it, or poke Jill on this forum. Maybe he'll respond.
 
Last edited:

puxorb

L69: Emoticon
aa
Dec 15, 2013
531
798
Your map had way too much color correction anyway. The beams in shadow were literally black, as you can see in those screenshots. I agree it shouldn't have been removed, but your color correction was over the top.

People either loved it or hated it.
On my 99% SRGB color accurate IPS monitor they don't appear completely black, but a nice array of really dark hues. But the main reason I did it was because I loved how the grey wood texture inside the BLU spawn looked.
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
I think the sad thing is that the tweaks to CS:GO made it look amazing honestly, while this is more of a disappointment. I wish I had taken more screenshots of my favorite maps before the update came out.
What did they do to CS:GO? I haven't been paying attention to anything between the beta and the Nuke redo.
 

Hyperion

L16: Grid Member
aa
Jun 8, 2015
840
659
Those "before" pictures look like they have fog everywhere that removes all the contrast and saturation
 

Joshenkstone

L5: Dapper Member
Oct 24, 2015
208
184
So does anyone have the courage to poke @TheJIll on this thread? no? me neither.

Edit: damned why doesn't poking him work.
 

Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
So does anyone have the courage to poke @TheJIll on this thread? no? me neither.

Edit: damned why doesn't poking him work.
@The Jill someone wanted to poke you about color correction not working.

It's with a space in between The and Jill.
 

Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
Emailing would also still be the better option here. They actually listen nowadays.
 

Hyperion

L16: Grid Member
aa
Jun 8, 2015
840
659
When we are at it they could also make so that tf_logic_koth doesn't break multistage
 
Jul 26, 2015
694
819
When we are at it they could also make so that tf_logic_koth doesn't break multistage

In my experience it wasn't the koth logic that broke it but rather having the points be neutral. But let's stay on topic here.

In all honesty I didn't know what color correction did until I saw this thread. But I do agree that it looked better before. I can't see what reason valve would have to remove it, if it was intentional.
 

worMatty

Repacking Evangelist
aa
Jul 22, 2014
1,257
999
I'm inclined to agree with you, puxorb. The before images seem to have slightly more contrast in them. The images of your map do look more punchy and colourful. It's one of those things that makes someone think a map looks good, but they can't put their finger on why.

I think colour correction stopped working around the time Egan's Watergate was released officially but I may be misassociating past events. I doubt the TF team would disable colour correction on purpose and I would very much like to see it come back!
 

Frosty Scales

L2: Junior Member
Mar 22, 2015
93
30
Color correction seems to have been broken for a while. I did a lot trying to get it to work for a gimmick map, and came to the (now clearly incorrect) conclusion that it was just my graphics card/driver acting up. Anyways, I really hope Valve fixes this soon. Has anyone emailed them about this yet?
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
Emailing would also still be the better option here. They actually listen nowadays.
Whom do you recommend emailing? I've sent several emails to "TF Team" via the form on their site and never gotten a response, and they don't publicly list any of their addresses anymore.