The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

User avatar
Phaseknox
Posts: 1760
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:20 pm

The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

Played: Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Finished (playing): Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Playing: ?

I stopped playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider, not because I wasn't enjoying it but because I got tired of looking at nearly pitch black crypts and tombs where I could barely make out the graphics. It's difficult to play and enjoy a game when you basically can't see it.

Since I first got my new TV and PS4 over two years ago I've always noticed that the screen brightness would change in different areas of the games that I was playing. It would go brighter in some places, and darker in others. I figured that it was a TV setting (which it was) that I could change, but no matter what settings that I changed it still did it. So even though I found it somewhat annoying, I accepted it. It was more noticeable in some games than others, and it was never too extreme one way or the other. However, it was still a noticeable annoyance that I experienced in almost every game that I've played over the past two years.

Basically, there were a lot of times in the games that I was playing that the lighting in them didn't look right due to the brightness of the TV changing. It made the graphics look worse when things got brighter or darker, because the lighting in them is made to look a certain way based on brightness and that's altered when the overall brightness keeps changing. This of course made me enjoy the games a little less at times when the graphics weren't looking as consistently good throughout due to the constant brightness changes.

However, recently when playing Dying Light it went from being a minor annoyance to an actual problem where I could barely see the game. The game has a day/night cycle, and when it turned dark at night I could barely see the graphics. This was part of the reason why I wasn't enjoying it that much, because (like I said earlier) it's difficult to play and enjoy a game when you basically can't see it.

As you know I've been playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and it became almost unplayable at times when I was in a crypt or tomb because the brightness would turn so dark that the screen would become pitch black. I had to go into the game settings and turn the brightness all the way up just to barely make out the graphics. Since I was enjoying the game I put up with this for a while, but it got to the point where it was completely taking away from the enjoyment of the game so I had to figure out what was causing this to happen.

I went to Google and typed in the problem, and instantly saw something about dynamic contrast. I knew that my TV had that because I had it set to high thinking that it made the picture more bright and vivid, but it turns out that it causes the brightness of the TV to change based on the image being displayed. I turned it off, and lo and behold my TV didn't change the brightness in my games anymore. I sure would have liked to have known this over two years ago.

Since a lot of Shadow of the Tomb Raider was dark while I was playing it, I decided to start it over so that I could experience it the right way. But when I did I couldn't really get back into it since I had just played it for over ten hours, so I'm going to wait and play it again another time. However, I decided to play Tomb Raider (2013) just to check it out and compare it to Shadow of the Tomb Raider since I haven't played it for over five years. One of the first things that I noticed is that on the brightness setting screen it says to turn off dynamic contrast on your TV. Doh!

I don't know what I'm going to play now, maybe Dying Light since the brightness issue was a big reason why I wasn't enjoying it that much. While I had a few other issues with it as well, I think that they were magnified by the game looking really dark especially at night.

Games coming out next week:
Code: Realize - Wintertide Miracles
Crackdown 3
Descent
Dragons: Dawn of New Riders
Far Cry: New Dawn
Jump Force
Metro Exodus
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1304
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

Phaseknox wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 2:10 pm I went to Google and typed in the problem, and instantly saw something about dynamic contrast. I knew that my TV had that because I had it set to high thinking that it made the picture more bright and vivid, but it turns out that it causes the brightness of the TV to change based on the image being displayed. I turned it off, and lo and behold my TV didn't change the brightness in my games anymore. I sure would have liked to have known this over two years ago.
If only google had existed a couple years ago...

Image

:P

I'm still loving Fran Bow. Such a dark, yet charming game.
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
Phaseknox
Posts: 1760
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:20 pm

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by Phaseknox »

isthatallyougot wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 3:17 pmIf only google had existed a couple years ago...
Very funny. So who is izzy the 2nd?
User avatar
jfissel
Posts: 719
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:18 pm
Location: Ohio

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by jfissel »

Finished: Nothing

Now Playing: Assassin's Creed: Origins

Added to Backlog: Nothing

Current Backlog: 33 games

Wow, that's a lot of games coming out this week. Meanwhile, I'm still plowing through Origins trying to uncover the map and complete all side stuff - there's a lot of it, for sure!
Image
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1304
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

Phaseknox wrote: Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:20 pm Very funny. So who is izzy the 2nd?
The site wouldn't let me login, even though I've always used auto-login here, or manually login with my credentials or reset my password or anything, so I thought my only alternative was to be reborn from the ashes as my own child. :P (It let me reset my password after I made a new id, so izzy the 2nd shall forever remain the poster with a single post. :P)
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
argyle
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:28 pm

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by argyle »

isthatallyougot wrote: Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:36 am The site wouldn't let me login, even though I've always used auto-login here, or manually login with my credentials or reset my password or anything, so I thought my only alternative was to be reborn from the ashes as my own child. :P (It let me reset my password after I made a new id, so izzy the 2nd shall forever remain the poster with a single post. :P)
I got DG to take a look at your account when I saw your Izzy the 2nd message. I figured he would have messaged you to let you know he had fixed it, but I guess he prefers to work from the shadows. :P

Games added: Super Meat Boy

Last week: Finished Nex Machina, Finished (with) KH3, played Adventure Pals & Rise of the Tomb Raider + a few fighting games w/ DG

This week: Should finish Adventure Pals, play more TR, and iunno what else

KH3 just isn't for me. The lore is dense, and there are a TON of constant cut scenes. Combat is OK, but not enough to carry me through the game when I have no investment in anything else. I got such a good deal on the set tho that I should at least break even once it sells, and I'm keeping the Steelbook for my collection. :P

Nex Machina is a fun & very pretty twin stick shooter from Housemarque. My one complaint is that the screen often gets so busy you can't tell what's a projectile & what isn't. But I'd say it's still definitely worth a playthrough especially given how short it is, even tho it isn't their best work IMO.

Decided to pop in Tomb Raider, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It isn't groundbreaking, and it has some things about it that are super "game-y" - ie, even tho every bad guy so far has been armed I didn't get a gun until she decided to pick up a revolver next to an already dead body in a cutscene. :P But that's nothing I'll really hold against it. It has just the right mix of linear & openness that I'm in the mood for right now. One question for anyone else that's played the PS4 version tho (so, probably anyone else who's played it here) - why do I have all of the outfits and, as soon as I got a gun, apparently all of the guns too? Is that something to do with it being the "anniversary" edition? Just seems...odd.
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

Image
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1304
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

argyle wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 4:15 am I got DG to take a look at your account when I saw your Izzy the 2nd message. I figured he would have messaged you to let you know he had fixed it, but I guess he prefers to work from the shadows. :P
He did message me. He is a rare unicorn, but not that rare, I guess. :P He asked me to try resetting my password again, and it worked this time. I don't know why I was having issues before. Must be getting Alzheimer's. :P

I'm hoping to finish up Fran Bow this week and finally plan to start Dark Souls III. I don't know why I've waited so long, but I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll start it up by the weekend.
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
argyle
Posts: 827
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:28 pm

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by argyle »

isthatallyougot wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 9:21 am I'm hoping to finish up Fran Bow this week and finally plan to start Dark Souls III. I don't know why I've waited so long, but I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll start it up by the weekend.
You still haven't played Bloodborne either, have you? That's the one I'm anxious to hear your opinion on.

Speaking of From, I'm really looking forward to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
2bP4pJr4wVimqCWjYimXJe2cnCgnA9KZUCKcwQ1Wijw.gif
2bP4pJr4wVimqCWjYimXJe2cnCgnA9KZUCKcwQ1Wijw.gif (4.9 MiB) Viewed 8932 times
"When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed
if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I
became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the
desire to be very grown up.” ― C.S. Lewis

Image
User avatar
isthatallyougot
Posts: 1304
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by isthatallyougot »

argyle wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 11:36 am You still haven't played Bloodborne either, have you? That's the one I'm anxious to hear your opinion on.

Speaking of From, I'm really looking forward to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

2bP4pJr4wVimqCWjYimXJe2cnCgnA9KZUCKcwQ1Wijw.gif
No I haven't played Bloodborne yet. It has been in my backlog too long as well. (I think it was even offered on PS+, wasn't it? Anyway, I've got it either way.) With Souls being my all-time favorite gaming franchise, I sure do have a funny way of showing it, don't I. :P I really do meander through gaming. (and life) Sometimes I can understand my ex's frustration with me. :P

I'm also looking forward to Shadows Die Twice. I'm pretty sure it will be great - to me, at least.
Image

Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
User avatar
jfissel
Posts: 719
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2018 3:18 pm
Location: Ohio

Re: The Backlog Check-in Vol. 58: 2/9/19: Crackdown 3/Far Cry: New Dawn/Metro Exodus Edition

Post by jfissel »

argyle wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 4:15 am Decided to pop in Tomb Raider, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It isn't groundbreaking, and it has some things about it that are super "game-y" - ie, even tho every bad guy so far has been armed I didn't get a gun until she decided to pick up a revolver next to an already dead body in a cutscene. :P But that's nothing I'll really hold against it. It has just the right mix of linear & openness that I'm in the mood for right now. One question for anyone else that's played the PS4 version tho (so, probably anyone else who's played it here) - why do I have all of the outfits and, as soon as I got a gun, apparently all of the guns too? Is that something to do with it being the "anniversary" edition? Just seems...odd.
I just looked at the box and you get 12 outfits and 7 weapons with the 20 Year Celebration edition of Rise. Not sure if that's "all of the guns", but it sure is a decent amount.
Image
Post Reply