Color in Path of Exile

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Erik wrote:

I've been keeping up to date on reading this thread and a lot of the feedback from here have been incorporated in the upcoming patch. I list the changes once it is done to get specific feedback on the changes.

Other than that I can mention that there is an on-going effort to make the game more visually easy to look at, reducing noise and making character and some monsters stand out more. I'm trying to do this while keeping the realistic and detailed look and I think its possible to combine the two properly.

Thanks for the update, really looking forward to seeing what you guys came up with. Hopefully you found a good balance. I will definitely let you know when I see the update though :)

My .02 -

I'm largely happy with the way things are. Mudflats, Terraces, the dungeons are all well done/I like a lot. I have no desire to see shiny, fire engine red apelings running around in PoE ala Fallen in Diablo2 - I like their current more subtle tones. I do like bright colors in some games, but not every game has to have ultra-vivid color schemes.

That said, I do think lighting/contrast (rather than color saturation) is definitely an issue in certain areas. Dungeons seem fine/good to me and at least for my eyes I have no trouble seeing my character or monsters vs background in those because of color (sometimes because of their tiny size perhaps, but not color).

BUT (there's always a but...), the big exception(s) for me are the outdoor Fellshrine Ruins and to a slightly lesser degree, Crossroads. The almost mono-color hazy/marbled pale green colors & textures combined with the washed out tree shadows is pretty terrible. The darker green, more jungle-y areas are a lot better, it's only the Fellshrine/Crossroads. (I don't know if this is one of the areas being altered by the new .9.3 version, just giving my version .9.2 input)

Here's some sample pics of what I mean: (dial-up warning:big pics)

PoE - Fellshrine Ruins with shadows turned on
PoE - Fellshrine Ruins with shadows turned off

(Your monitor settings may display these images a bit differently than my own PC, but hopefully the big difference is still noticeable to everyone.)

I'm guessing the zombies being so similar to the color of the ground was on purpose, for atmosphere...but it does make them very hard to see in the hazy shadows when you're running around in combat. Even the yellower skeletons become nearly invisble in the shadow. My current solution is to turn shadows off in those spots. heh.

Someone mentioned Titan Quest earlier in the thread...and I'd agree that that's a better comparison/example than Diablo2, which had very old tech. For instance, this screenshot from TQ showing a similarily mostly-green area in the game. TQ did have a focus on more vivid colors than PoE, but overall the basic color stuff wasn't too over the top. eg. it wasn't like WoW.

Also: regarding the starter area beach - living near San Francisco, I can say that a stormy/cloudy/foggy beach that consists of nothing but sand and driftwood/old crates should be rather bland and boring color wise. So unless PoE zombies shop at the GAP and like to wear bright red, blue and/or orange hoodies I don't find coloring that area up "sensible." *wink*
But yeah, I know this isn't reality, so perhaps at least some darker contrast (lighting stuff) would pump up/differentiate things and lessen much of that "hazy" look without changing the colors themselves very much.