FSX Too Dark at Night?

[Guest Iceberg]

If you've read some of my other posts, you know that I'm relatively new to FSX but not to FS in general. In my last post about ATC saying, "decimal" I mentioned that I was flying IFR from KLAX to KSFO. Well, I did that flight at night and was surprised at the complete "black-ness" of the night. There was some reflection of the moon off the ocean, but the airport was completely black. Only a few AI aircraft that were taxiing were lit up. Is this typical?I could see my taxi lights (I was flying the default Lear 45) on the ground and the taxiway lights and the taxi signs, but everything else was very dark...much darker than FS9. Is there a fix for this? or is this a common issue?--James

[McCrash 3]

I usually see a lot of lights and aircraft.How do you usually set the weather?

[badderjet 181]

Hmmm I've just had my last night flight (r/w) last night to be precise, and I find it surprisingly dark at night ;) maybe that also depends on where on earth you are, if there is moon etc but even unlit areas on the airport are obviously pretty much black lol... Like runways, taxiways etc. *Not* counting the lights but rather the actual surfaces. You will obviously also not see the horizon very well/not at all. Then again this is maybe very subjective. I should re-check in the sim first, but if it's dark, it might be quite realistic. :) Otherwise it could also be your monitor settings... are you running a CRT by chance?

[Guest jshyluk]

I think its a bit of a mix of too much dark and a need to either recalibrate your monitor or your video card. FSX is darker than FS9, which I think is an improvement, but there isn't enough ambient light reflection when you are close up, and the lights are not bright enough when you are far away. Still, it's not difficult to adjust things a bit with your graphics card. Look to adjust your "gamma", which is the control that tells your computer how many dark pixels versus how many light pixels to show at any one time.Jeff ShylukAssistant Managing EditorSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

[perigee 0]

The real world at night is usually very dark. In fact, flight sim can look the most realistic at night since you can't see much detail besides the lights. The airport I'm based out of (real world) is surrounded by several miles of trees... no lights. Landing there at night is like descending into a dark black hole with runway lights floating in the center.

[Guest DreamFleet]

I agree with you there.Let me also add: In theory, if flying at night you should do it with the room lights off. That might yield an improvement.Regards,http://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...R_FORUM_LOU.jpg

[Guest Iceberg]

I'm starting to get that impression. I was used to FS9 and it was easy to do plane-spotting at night in that sim. This one it is nigh on impossible at KLAX or KSFO (two airports I visited last night).--James

[Guest Iceberg]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was just thinking that maybe there should be some ambient light that would illuminate jets. Also, general question: Is it normal for the Lear 45 at night to be pitch black? Is there a way to simulate cabin or cockpit lights from the outside views? Isn't there a way to illuminate the outside of the Lear 45's tail? Like with commercial jets illuminating their tail?I will try and post a picture tonight, but it also looks like my landing lights, from the outside view, look quite dark and not as bright as the AI lights when they are landing.--James

[badderjet 181]

>The airport I'm based out of (real world) is surrounded by>several miles of trees... no lights. Landing there at night>is like descending into a dark black hole with runway lights>floating in the center.Great, what airport is that and how do you land there then, at night? *:-*Cheers, :-beerchugEtienne :-wave

[timers15 11]

Nah,FS9 is too light at night. :)

[ppo 67]

I love to fly at night with FS9 and FSX. Here's what I do to get the most out of flying at night:1. shut off the ambient lights (in the room);2. assign keyboard shortcuts for "Brightness" of your monitor: one shortcut for "reduce brightness" and another one for " increase brightness". These shortcuts are available from the video drivers: ATI or NVIDIA.3. when night flying in FS, adjust brightness carefully to "just see enough" but not too bright.I used that procedure with a CRT also, but with LCD'S it is a must.Pierre

[perigee 0]

Sorry, my post was slightly confusing. :) I meant there's not much lighting around around the airport because its surrounded by all trees, which makes the radius around the airport look pitch black for several miles. The airport itself has runway lights, taxiway lights, a beacon, papis, etc. What I meant was, these lights look like they're floating in the middle of a huge black abyss.

[Great Ozzie 101]

I'm another one having quite a blast with night flying and FSX...I do the same thing with the room I'm in... shut off all lights, but I leave the monitor settings as is. I've been doing night carrier landings by modifying the Carrier Practice mission. I really have to focus on the HUD after launch to ignore the "star field" because it can be quite disorienting, but wow! What fun!The mod to the Carrier Practice mission I've done are: setting the time/date to 11pm 8 Jan 08 (New Moon) and the Wx theme to "clear skies". Also, I dumped fuel to 3600lbs (setting Bingo level to like 300lbs) as this is plenty for 5 circuits at MIL power with a couple bolters thrown in, and I seem to be at the "right" gross weight to hit "On Speed" with the AOA Indexer and the LSO with a ~600 to 700 odd fpm decent rate.Btw, am I the only one not getting Number of Landings recorded for this mission (modified or not) or is this a "known issue"?Rob O.

[badderjet 181]

>Sorry, my post was slightly confusing. :) Oh no, it certainly wasn't (just reread it), my bad it's just my dumbness, sort of didn't read the very last part of your post *:-*:-smoochThat's great then, I bet that's quite an amazing experience to land there. Still, for that reaon I'd really love to know where that is if you don't mind :-hahCheers! :-beerchugEtienne :-wave

[David Roch 1,953]

>I love to fly at night with FS9 and FSX. Here's what I do to>get the most out of flying at night:>1. shut off the ambient lights (in the room);>2. assign keyboard shortcuts for "Brightness" of your monitor:>one shortcut for "reduce brightness" and another one for ">increase brightness". These shortcuts are available from the>video drivers: ATI or NVIDIA.>3. when night flying in FS, adjust brightness carefully to>"just see enough" but not too bright.>I used that procedure with a CRT also, but with LCD'S it is a>must.>PierreHi Pierre,That's a very smart idea but I can't find these shortcuts on Nvidia Control Panel.How do you get them?Thanks