Why is it Sometimes Darker at Night and Can this be Fixed?

[KonstantinMMRR]

I have noticed that sometimes at night, I am able to see quite well, similar to when there is a full moon. Other, times, it is difficult to see. I cannot figure out any reason for the change. The locomotive lights also change sporadically so that at times, they are very bright, and at other times, they are too dull to see well. Is there anything that can be done about this? I enjoy running at night, but only when I can see, such as during a full moon and when the locomotive lights are bright.

Thank you
Dean

 

[mezzoprezzo]

Sometimes a darker nightime sky type can create an illusion of a darker landscape, or when a darker patch of cloud passes overhead.

Internal cab views can sometimes give a darker rendering of the landscape through the glass of some locos. The external views should be brighter though.

Time of day setting will affect the darkness, changing more rapidly at dawn and dusk. Try playing with the Time of Day setting in Surveyor to alter the lighting. If that's the cause you can re-set the start time for your Driver session in Startup Options in Surveyor.

If none of the above is the culprit it could be a possible graphics problem on your system, particularly with the sporadic changes you reported with loco lights. If so, someone else may be able to advise on that one.

 

[llebrez]

There is quite a bit to be written about this. Trainz officially goes "night time" at about 6:20 PM. At that time the lights at lamp post and some buildings turn ON. You can adjust the dusk time in environment turning the time wheel, but that 6:20 PM is set and you can't change. In the morning, lights go OFF at around 5: something AM. So far so good. But loco headlights follow another time table. You can turn lights ON and OFF any time during the day (most locos). But they don't illuminate anything until it is night time, loco time. Then, during the day you enter a tunnel and because it is daytime, even if lights are ON, you don't illuminate anything! Another perhaps related problem is that some tracks get to be illuminated at night by the headlights, while others are dark; Why? Further, this problem applies also to some buildings: Some reflect the headlights and others remind dark. As per being to be able to see at night, or seen too much, I solve the problem playing with the gamma control, but it is not an exact science.

 

[trev999]

It is generally darker at night because the earth rotates, so hiding the sun. When there are clouds in the sky at night it can seem darker than when the sky is clear. If there is a moon then it is often easier to see at night, provided that it is not hidden by clouds.

By the same token it is usually cooler at night and warmer in the daytime, due to the heat of the sun's radiation. When the sun heats up the surface of the land, water vapour is drawn up into the air and clouds form. Often this vapour condenses into water droplets and, due to their increased mass, they fall to earth and form puddles. This phenomenon is called "rain".

Can it be fixed? Not if you remain on this planet. Artificial lighting can help but is not the complete solution.

There are surely other questions that you may want to know the answers to, so post any questions here.