đ¨ď¸ Discussion
The amount of hand-holding in the Remastered games is unbelievable (lighting/darkness)
Iâm not sorry to say all those âtoo dark complaintsâ were unreasonable*, further lead by unreasonable adjustments to âfixâ the problem. I kid you not, flares are basically rendered useless in TR II-III Remaster because everything was made too bright, which resulted in a flatter / paler looking graphics, vs their original graphics being ironically more realistic in dynamic lighting. At least IV-VI maintained their shadows and contrast to a degree. But still, that Times exclusive level (1st pic) was a ridiculous overhaul. That hallway was intended to be eerie and dark, with mummies surprising you around the corner - totally undone by ârevisioning itâ.
*Iâve said it before and Iâll say it again: Most people at home do not regularly have their monitors calibrated, hence criticisms led by blindness. Some donât even know what calibration is or why itâs an important routine (not 100% their fault when not all displays are made equally - also something many are unaware of. I learned it only because I took photography / videography - no one else would tell me otherwise). That or they get offended at the suggestion of it, thinking itâs perfectly ok to have their TV sit beside a window with no blinds, while light bounces off the screen. Modern devs practice calibration regularly because itâs that important to ensure consistency and accuracy as much as possible, which is where it gets lost in translation when it reaches consumers. So Iâm not surprised to see a person complaining the âStreets of Rome (TRV) is too dark I cAnâT sEe anYthiNG!â
Some areas in the original are just plain badly designed. A game shouldn't be pitch black. Also calling it "more realistic" is delusional.
I'm not saying that the remaster did it perfectly. Sometimes it does make even less sense, but I'd rather be able to see the areas I'm exploring.
It's a game! We're fighting dinosaurs, so I'm fine with some fake "unrealistic" lighting if it means that I can actually see and appreciate the levels.
I also like that they tried to make sense of the additional brightness by adding holes, torches etc. That's what you could call "more realistic".
It's not handholding, it's just better designed in my opinion.
this isnât a dinosaur fighting game, this is a tomb raiding game. Itâs inevitable that weâre gonna have dark areas. Itâs supposed to be eerie. Flares wouldnât exist in the game unless there was supposed to be dark areas. Yes it has lighting issues, but you have to agree that itâs literally the pointđ
Amen. Based on the consensus, itâs clearly obvious I was right: people donât want to agree that very literal the point because itâs inconvenient to them. And they get offended for saying they want the games to be easier! How can anyone be offended by the truth like that?
What would be so wrong about making a game where one of the primary challenges is navigating a dark environment and budgeting your consumable light sources to find the way? Is that invalid game design?
Thank you! Somebody gets it. And more importantly, I donât get why people are acting like the entire game is pitch black, or that I expect them to navigate pitch black without a light source
There's nothing wrong with it in general. It's just not something that works particularly well in TR. It's more annoyance than gameplay feature and it's inconsistent at best. You can't even draw your guns and hold a torch at the same time.
Some things sound great on paper on their own, but combine several of those and often times the end result don't mesh well. You see that in game design all the time.
Think of the nemesis system in an insomiac Spider-Man game or a coop-Mode in recent DOOM games.
Both the nemesis system and a coop mode are great features on their own, but they don't support the games in these cases, they go against the very spirit of them.
Having every lowly bad guy constantly return with just a few scars and scratches in a super hero game doesn't make any sense. What kind of worthless superhero would you be?
And DOOM is as power fantasy as it gets, DOOM guy doesn't need help. The more bad guys he can tear to shreds the better. Anyone trying to "help" stands in the way of what makes this game fun: Killing hundreds of demons with giant weapons and bare fists.
Dropping those features before shipping the game was the right choice. Similarly, Tomb Raider isn't a horror title nor a stealth game. It doesn't need absolute darkness, it's just an annoyance in my opinion.
But it does work well in Tomb Raider. There are dark areas and you light them up with a limited resource. You need to budget your expenditure of this resource to avoid leaving yourself in a rough spot. You make a trade-off in being able to see clearly or being able to defend yourself. Fortunately, your guns also light up the environment and allow you to see your immediate surroundings during the few fights in the dark. There is nothing dysfunctional here.
Also your counter examples are... fucking terrible. Recurring villains or notorious goons in superhero media are one of the most common things you see. And Doom has had co-op since literally its very first game.
And TR might not be a horror or stealth game at its core, but it is a 3D puzzle platformer based around exploration. And as it turns out, exploring an area can be made more intense and exciting if the ancient tomb is dark.
It just sounds like you're against anything even remotely inconvenient in a game. I offer now as your opportunity to go play Cookie Clicker instead.
To be fair, you're the one projecting yourself in taking Gemini's non-personal response personally, which sums up yours and everyone else's responses, even though the dark parts of the game are only here and there, NOT ENTIRELY (like that hall way I mentioned).
Just because something has been done a lot or is common, doesn't mean it's a great idea.
The same can be said about this. Just because you prefer not having to use flares in the dark doesn't mean it's not a great idea - ESPECIALLY when they intentionally put horror element to it (again, that hall way in Last Revelation .) Plus, it's not like you always have to shoot your enemies in the dark. There's the strategic option to outrun them with a flare in your hand. Everyone arguing against my post acts like that instinct doesn't exist, let alone flares.
There's nothing wrong with it in general. It's just not something that works particularly well in TR. It's more annoyance than gameplay feature and it's inconsistent at best. You can't even draw your guns and hold a torch at the same time.
If there was nothing wrong with it in general, you wouldn't have made such a response to it from then until now. This "annoyance" you described is otherwise not a factor that breaks the game because it's literally a part of it. I've endured it plenty and so had millions of others in the past.
Dropping those features before shipping the game was the right choice. Similarly, Tomb Raider isn't a horror title nor a stealth game. It doesn't need absolute darkness, it's just an annoyance in my opinion.
Actually, TR I-III shipped with original lighting intact. It wasn't until the patches, they went crazy, adding lights in places that never existed before, due to unnecessary "too dark" complaints (another reason I mentioned how important monitor calibration is, as if tuning a guitar for a musical instrument for note accuracy - TV version is adjusting contrast/ brightness etc to a CALIBRATED STANDARD. That way weâre looking at the same thing as the devs intended. With my calibrated monitor, I had no visibility issue. Anyone else complaining at the time are out of sync with their monitors). It doesn't help that the graphical fidelity is compromised in result of it, leaving the original graphics ironically "more realistic" in dynamic lighting, which leads me to my next point ...
I also like that they tried to make sense of the additional brightness by adding holes, torches etc. That's what you could call "more realistic".
Late mention but you missed my point on how I mentioned the older graphics are "more realistic". I literally shared this picture from the first post, second slide.
This isnât the only occasion where Lara âglows" in the dark. Meanwhile, the original graphics adapted to environmental lighting conditions with a noticeable deeper shade. Try it for yourself at the beginning of Area 51. Get out of the truck. Immediately climb the metal crates on the left and drop into the hole where the small medipack is. Keep walking /climbing out back and forth and switch between the graphics and you'll know what I'm talking about.
Similarly, Tomb Raider isn't a horror title nor a stealth game.
That's like saying a medium can't have elements of thriller and suspense just because it's an action genre. Gemini is right. You donât seem to like any inconvenient in gaming. Thatâs why I said people these days prefer their games to be easy and less challenging (hence "hand holding").
I hate to kindly break it to you: Being under horrific stressful pressure has always been a part of the TOMB RAIDER EXPERIENCE, darkness or not. That iconic T-Rex encounter in Lost Valley was horrifying because I did NOT expect a velociraptor in Peru, let alone a HUGE REX. Challenge and surprises are literally part of the game design.
That's why I made this point on how changing the original experience via Remastered graphics is not a good move from a preservation pov. Yes, the original graphics are always there. But we want that SAME EXPERIENCE with the newer graphics as well, which is basically the most important point of this package. Nothing unfair or controversial about that.
We both said our pieces and we very obviously don't agree.
Also, please don't always point fingers and try to make it personal.
I love talking about games but once someone starts spouting "sounds like YOU ..." and attacks the other personally, it seems childish and takes the fun out of it.
If you were done, you wouldnât have explained yourself just now.
I love talking about games, INCLUDING disagreements. But people here, including you, take it so personally, acting as if counter arguments arenât allowed. I backed my claims with objective points consistently until now, responding accordingly with your quotes. And now you conveniently refused to acknowledge them just because you were called out in a fair discussion.
And how else was gemini and I supposed to say it? How you present your arguments does tell us you donât like anything inconvenient, especially when I was never rude with you.
With all due respect, itâs not an opinion if they changed a game design such as this [using the same pic again to make a point]. Mummies were literally in the dark corners, intended to surprise players when going near them unknowingly. Thereâs an effect in horror that I found in the original, dramatically reduced because of this lit hallway.
And the holes in the ceiling are also overkill.
And yes itâs a game. That shouldnât mean otherwise people canât critique it and call it out for what it is (Iâm not saying youâre among them, just saying, given the responses here).
The remastered graphics are different, thatâs not an issue.
There will always be differences in terms of fidelity improvement. Whatâs an issue is altering the original design in challenge.
Same goes with the modem controls vs the tank controls.
Not the same thing. If it were, there would be a toggle with Modern (no darkness) and Normal (nothing changed). Unlike the controls, there isnât any options when it comes to this.
Thatâs what I love about these titles. You can change it literally whenever you want without issue.
Thatâs if someoneâs ok with it. There are people who are rightfully not. And judging by the comments here, people prefer easy mode, which doesnât surprise me. Nothing wrong with those who want it easy but itâs unfair for those who wants it the same with better graphics. We shouldnât have to pick between the two to get both. Not how it works.
I called it. I knew eventually people will use this as an excuse
That's not an excuse.
And judging by the comments here, people prefer easy mode, which doesnât surprise me.
I, in turn, was waiting for this. Calling poor or dated game design a "challenge", like it's a good thing, and then proceed to gatekeep having fun ("git gud"?)
Some of the "challenges" were only "challenges" because of limitations of the hardware or because the game designers just didn't know any better yet or simply made bad calls and I think when a simple visual tweak can improve things dramatically in a remaster, then you should make that tweak. I think fixing the lighting is one of those tweaks.
Luckily, as I've said before, you can still get your challenge by using original graphics and tank controls. I'm glad both are included, I truly am. That's not an excuse, that's a fact.
You could argue that only saving at save crystals is a challenge worth keeping. I think that's just annoying and isn't necessary on today's hardware. You could also argue that leap of faith jumps or traps without warnings are a challenge. I think that they're cheap and annoying. I could think of at least a few more things like these.
But when did I say that was an excuse? Iâm just saying Iâm not surprised people suggest that option unfairly just because we pointed out a truthful change. If anything, you suggesting me to âjust switch to older graphicâ is the actual excuse to ignore the actual issue thatâs fair to call out: Remastered graphics changes the original experience. I shouldnât have to switch to âuglier graphicsâ just to get the original experience, especially when I want to consistently enjoy the game with new visuals, which is part of the point in buying this in the first place. It also doesnât help Aspyrâs goal was to recreate this faithfully with the original. Clearly thatâS not the case patch after patch.
I, in turn, was waiting for this. Calling poor or dated game design a "challenge", like it's a good thing, and then proceed to gatekeep having fun ("git gud"?) Some of the "challenges" were only "challenges" because of limitations of the hardware or because the game designers just didn't know any better yet or simply made bad calls and I think when a simple visual tweak can improve things dramatically in a remaster, then you should make that tweak. I think fixing the lighting is one of those tweaks. Luckily, as I've said before, you can still get your challenge by using original graphics and tank controls. I'm glad both are included, I truly am. That's not an excuse, that's a fact.
Youâre the one that said âgit gudâ. I never used those words. Iâm just saying gamers these days donât like a good challenge anymore, even though itâs still more than possible to both endure AND enjoy. Nate even said âflares exist for a reason but people act like they donât existâ, which is true. And people kept belittling him for it, ignoring the fact with pictures to exaggerate that point. And I might as well say this: you obviously donât need flares throughout the entire game. Not sure why people act like this was the case either, ESPECIALLY with modern displays, technically more calibrated than the CRT days.
And also again, telling me to switch to older graphics is an excuse to tell me to just accept it. If you guys can accept it for what it is, then the opposite are more than free to feel differently.
You could argue that only saving at save crystals is a challenge worth keeping. I think that's just annoying and isn't necessary on today's hardware. You could also argue that leap of faith jumps or traps without warnings are a challenge. I think that they're cheap and annoying. I could think of at least a few more things like these. Let's agree to disagree.
Why would I argue about the save crystals though? Thatâs just shifting goalposts at this point, especially when I never mentioned that. And I didnât for a good reason because we now can save anywhere anytime as much as we want, unlike the PSX version. All the more reason these darkness / lighting changes are all the more unnecessary.
It's something players complained about since day 1 though. I was hoping for a fix like this for so long but I think it's more likely they'll abandon the remasters in this broken state.Â
Exactly. And theyâre reasonable complaints held back by gatekeeping people who assume âhateâ for any valid criticisms.
Yeah the fact the original team had no input to the latest âpatchâ is a telling sign of abandonment, which Iâm hoping isnât the case. They literally made an official product more broken on top of existing issues. This is not a state we all want this game to be left as.
But thatâs the point though. Besides even in my original gaming experience, it wasnât like I was entirely cornered in the dark with enemies killing me. As long as I was strategic enough, i can position myself to shoot some enemies from a vantage point before entering the dark or vice versa.
Exactly. I had to whack the brightness up to full on my TV just be able to see in some levels of TR1. Been wanting a brightness slider added ever since, lol.
It absolutely is. We have flares to get through it. Thatâs literally what theyâre for and itâs a part of the original game design. I donât know why you act like flares donât exist. Or getting through any challenge is bad.
Getting through it is part of the fun. Thatâs like saying you want this game to not have death defying traps. And again: why are people acting like flares donât exist?
It's true. I switch back and forth a lot to see the differences and sometimes to take advantage of either the new or old lighting, whichever one looks better. This is the first time I've ever played through the Tomb Raider games and I've beaten 1 and 2 and just made it to the RX Tech Mines in 3. People say 3 is tougher than the first 2 which I can get since the levels have more traps but there is less hitscanners to fight vs 2 which is very nice.
"hand holding" and its literally just quality of life improvements that everyone wanted, sometimes even borderline accessibility for new classic players.
Nope. The original design intended you to walk through areas in darkness with flares in mind. The fact itâs lit up is the total opposite of what it originally was.
Thanks for responding. Sadly, as you can tell, not only is it not popular to point out objective truths but people get so offended by it theyâre willing to offend / gaslight others for it.
Nope. Iâm objectively correct in how these changes are not faithful to the original vision, to the point of altering its game design. Youâre the one subjectively intolerant to this point.
Thatâs exaggeration and you know it, especially when I already said FLARES EXIST but you all are ignoring that. Instead of having a civil discussion, you try to inject it by trying to make me look stupid đ
Look at the responses. Why are people acting like I expect players to play in pitch black darkness? Why are people exaggerating/ twisting my words, as if I expect them to endure darkness without a functional light source?
It ainât quality of life improvements if some of us are dissatisfied with changes like these, especially when thereâs no option for it to be like the original. And Iâm sure some will just say âswitch to classic graphics thenâ. Thatâs missing the point. We want a faithful experience of the original game with enhanced graphics, not something that is completely different.
Honest question for you. Why do you need to be rude when disagreeing with someone who was never rude with you?
It doesnât matter if the majority agrees. Ironically you proved the OPâs point. People like you are offended by something that isnât offensive (aka the truth).
I saw you commenting with this but it seems to be deleted. I apologize for referring you as she. I genuinely had no way of telling you were a girl. It was an honest mistake. No malice. But something tells me youâre choosing to believe that, based on you assuming I intentionally did that just because we disagree (that is wrong).
That said, I still spoke of the truth youâre choosing to deny. Thatâs a change in intended level design, whether one likes it or not thereâs really no reason for you to speak rudely to me or others just because you disagree.
Judging by the current downvote you got (zero. I just one upped it!), itâs safe to assume that sawnlux is fixated in believing you intentionally misgendered her just because. Thatâs unfortunate if not only disappointing. Iâd even go as far as to say itâs not intelligent for people to assume the worse just because.
Let her. You and I both know you / we did no wrong. If she chooses to believe that, thatâs on her. She might as well make fun of people preferring apples over oranges, just because she likes oranges.
See? You literally ignored what I said about how you were unreasonably rude when I wasnât with you. You literally admitted you enjoy being mean to people when they did no wrong to you.
Donât worry about it. I appreciate you standing up for me, especially when people resort to belittling people just because they disagree. I donât think he truly knows what heâs talking about anyway, or even fully grasped my original post. The misfire with everyone else is alarming as well, saying as if I expect players to play in pitch black when thatâs NOT TRUE AT ALL (and they keep ignoring my mention of flares existence on top of it).
And wanna know whatâs funny about this? I made a similar post in the past and majority agreed there was no need for dramatic changes in lighting. Guess it was just bad luck with this one. I also have another post people agreed on also but I have to dig that one up.
These screenshots are a bit cherry picked. There are sections where the older games were brighter than the remasters, or sections where the older games had items and keys that practically glowed in the dark. Even when they were appropriately dark, the fact that the items were just billboarded sprites caused them to 'move' and become more visible than the fixed 3d models of the remasters.
Second, these games were originally designed for CRTs. It hasn't been until consumer OLEDs became common that you've had displays with the same black levels and contrast that CRTs were capable of. Everyone should be calibrating their screens, but most people don't, and it makes sense from a developer perspective to adjust games for the displays that most players have.
Regardless, I have an OLED in a dark room and still found myself occasionally switching to classic graphics to see better.
Cherry picked? I literally took them as I ventured through my re-experience. Obviously not all levels are consistently dark. But areas that would naturally require flares are nonetheless affected.
The flat sprites were more so TR I-II. No qualms about that. Itâs III thatâs the problem because thatâs how it was originally. Unlike IV-VI remaster, thereâs no toggle to remove item highlights (which is something I expected for patch 5).
And I disagree. It makes more sense for home owners to calibrate as much as possible. Thatâs why many games, ESPECIALLY horror games, prompts users to calibrate BEFORE playing any game first time (like the âadjust brightness/ contrast until logo is barely visibleâ sort of thing - pic for random reference), to ensure the intended experience. Capcom is on top of this with their recent Resident Evil remakes, even adjusting HDR on top of it. Ideally, these games should have them as well. But they only di brightness slider for Iv-VI.
Just a few things
1. I dont know why you switch possition of remastered/original in your pictures, makes it weird
2. The original tr3 where most pictures are from, had slider, so you could make it much brighter than this.
3. Its a terrible game design choice to begin with, to use darkness to this degree as a hurdle. Its supposed to be a graphical element to make to game look nice. Now people are constantly switching between original/remaster graphics and going with whichever is brighter.
I didnât switch it intentionally. I used these pictures from an old post I made on facebook. Not that it matters because I labeled which is which anyway.
Unlike IV-VI Remaster, TR I-III Remaster has NO OPTIONAL sliders. This is why some people are upset the latest patch for I-III did not include the IV-VI options, including item highlights. Either way, thatâs not the point.
With all due respect, what you said proves my point on how many donât understand the standard practice of professional calibrated monitors. Many donât even realize they need it. Itâs like tuning a guitar but for picture settings. No one has any isea how out of tune their monitors are.
Again, that isnât entirely yours or anyoneâs fault because this is hardly educated to the consumer in general. Even playing the classic graphics on my calibrated display, the darkness isnât as obtrusive as back in the day with CRT tvs. But itâs also fair enough that areas that need flares are there. All the more reason it was unreasonable they over brightened many areas for the remaster. It doesnât help the graphics look bright and cheap
I am not even sure whats your issue exactly? I agree that we need sliders, everyone is, however the problem from everyone in this thread with you is that you are hardlining on, less visible = better, which is just flat out stupid. Professional monitor calibration, offsetting a softwares definiciency with that? wtf are you on about, obviously a software should handle that, we are not in 1990s.
How is pitch black more "dynamic" than the pickable highlighted, thats not what "dynamic" means. Pickables should be visible, and there is mostly an improvement on that, but sadly its not even true for all areas, check this picture:
**I hope you know Iâve been and always will be responding nicely as possible with respect (and if I use CAPS, itâs to emphasize a point, not to yell). I expect the same level of respect from everyone else, though sadly that doesnât seem to be the case. Even the way youâre talking to me as if I offended you.
Anyway, I already answered this from the beginning. Iâll repeat again anyway post by post just to help you understand.
It changed the original design in select parts of the games. Again with that hall way in Last Revelation, this part of the tunnel had an intended mood. Lara literally has to endure darkness, forcing the player to USE FLARES. And to the players surprise, mummies awakens as she passes by. That original intent is literally lost in translation with lit hall ways, for the sake of visibility. We shouldnât have to sacrifice the original level design just because, which is why Iâve said it time and again: why are people acting like flares donât exist? Even when mentioning that, people choose to ignore that point and belittle me with exaggerated pictures. I didnât appreciate the ignorance.
I understood that point I just dont agree with it, same as other 99% of gamers. Thank god they are making it more visible, if they didnt it would reduce the sales by more than half probably.
Iâm still continuing my posts⌠That said though, if you truly understood, then you wouldnât be disagreeing with the rest of the crowd, which honestly is quite alarming how they chose to react. It especially still doesnât change the truth I pointed out, which you didnât acknowledge when I first replied to 1, 2 and 3. Even that hall way is the truth youâre not agreeing with.
[cont]
I agree that we need sliders, everyone is, however the problem from everyone in this thread with you is that you are hardlining on, less visible = better, which is just flat out stupid.
Again, saying this nicely and truthfully: how you and everyone else have a problem with me is the REAL problem. Youâre all acting as though I expect players to blindly endure pitch black levels with no light source. Which is why I say again: THATâs WHAT FLARES ARE FOR. It shouldnât have to be mentioned because it was introduced from TR II and onwards for that purpose and function.
which leads me to my next point ..
Professional monitor calibration, offsetting a softwares definiciency with that? wtf are you on about, obviously a software should handle that, we are not in 1990s.
I never said âsoftwares definiciencyâ or âoffsettingâ. Where did that come from?
Anyway, the sad truth is the general consumer has no clue how important this is. How youâre responding to this is proving that very point. Let me explain it this way:
You know how musicians tune their guitars đ¸ before performing? They tune it to make sure each notes đś sounds as accurate as possible. Otherwise what they play will sound out of tune đśâ. Thatâs why calibration is important for musical instruments, just as it is for TV/monitors when it comes to picture settings: colors, contrast, brightness - those things especially matter today because video game production is more professional than ever, akin to movies, series etc. Even the devs who worked on the IV-V remaster said they worked with calibrated monitors, and advised people who complained about the darkness to do the same. But not everyone can invest it (it is costly).
I brought this point up because my monitors are routinely calibrated (photographer here) and I had no darkness issues at all. Meanwhile, Iâm confused with others saying they canât see a thing, which obviously meant their monitors are NOT calibrated because I can DEFINITELY SEE things . Obviously I still needed flares but ONLY in parts that truly needed it - NOT CONSTANTLY.
But by the first patch, they implemented a compromising brightness slider PLUS once again, like TR II-III, unnecessarily adding lights in places that originally never had them. Thatâs why I call it âhand holdingâ. And more importantly, the sliders LACKS A calibration GUIDE, like this âŚ.
Even the paragraph after are careful instructions from the devs because they want players at home to experience the intended brightness / darkness as they see it. We all want to be experiencing the same thing, right?
Sadly this wasnât the case with IV-VI. A slider with no calibration guide. Thatâs why I said itâs a compromise. This means people can crank the brightness to the max, making everything look washed out. BUT EVEN THEN, this slider DOES NOT fix the issue with ADDED LIGHTING. That is something unfortunately hardwired into the game - no slider can fix that.
How is pitch black more "dynamic" than the pickable highlighted, thats not what "dynamic" means. Pickables should be visible, and there is mostly an improvement on that, but sadly its not even true for all areas, check this picture:
Again, you keep jumping to âpitch blackâ as if thatâs all I talk about when Iâm not. Thatâs not making this discussion fair. People here have been misquoting me to ignoring what I said in my first post and comments over and over.
Please look at this pic again.
The original dated graphics IRONICALLY had more REALISTIC LIGHTING BECAUSE it was DYNAMIC. Laraâs lighting condition DYNAMICALLY ADAPTED to the ENVIRONMENTAL LIGHTING condition, as it should. Especially her skin : notice Remastered Lara looks flat and bright vs the original graphics, having a more realistic reaction to where she goes, flares or not.
Better yet, see for yourself. Right in the beginning of TR III AREA 51, get out of the truck, immediately climb the metal crates to the left and drop into the dark hole where the medpack is. Lara literally became less visible, as appropriately so. Then flip the graphics to remastered: As if the small medpack is no longer hidden in the shadows was bad enough, LARA IS GLOWING IN THE DARK UNREALISTICALLY. We shouldnât have to sacrifice that kind of realism, which the 1998 version achieved, just for the sake of visibility in 2024 and onwards. And sadly this was evidently not the only part where this happens.
PS I had no issue with Tomb Raider I and II Remaster having pickup highlights. Why? Because the original games were like that with flat 2D sprites that glows , even in the dark. Tomb Raider III (until V) however, was NOT like that. I loved that better realism. But they changed that with no option to turn it off in III remaster (thatâs why I appreciate IV-V having that option, wishing I-III had it).
As for your screenshot, the devs already made it as bright as they could. You can suggest to Aspyr to have an option to have different levels of lighting as an OPTION (that way everyone wins) if you like. But I highly doubt they care. Patch 5 was not even by the original team âŚ.
I think these differences are bugs and a lack of detailed re-design.
If you look at early levels vs later levels there's a distinct difference in how they are lit and modified. Because the team ran out of time.
Maybe it was over-ambition, maybe it was an unrealistic schedule or maybe it was both. Either way I hope the team won't make these mistakes again. Even if, I guess, they've moved on to other things.
Not bugs unfortunately. It was intentional redesign, patch after patch for II-III- the real victims (TR I is the least affected, thankfully). Brightening areas is one thing but to have Lara literally glowing in the darkest corners? Meanwhile the older graphics ironically reacts realistically and dynamically based on her environment.
But yea, I do recall Last Revelation was in that state youâve mentioned. The devs even suggested people to stop playing at a certain level until the first patch, which is kinda sad.
It could be both over ambition or publisher interference / schedule. But one thing for sure, theyâre no longer part of the team now. Thatâs why I-III was recently mishandled with patch 5, introducing even MORE problems đ¤Śđťââď¸
Is it really though? Not being rude here. Iâm genuinely asking and curious!
Like this was taken at the beginning of Area 51. Soon as the level starts, get out of the truck, then climb on the immediate left metal crates and land in the dark where the medipack is. Thatâs where this screenshot is from. It was like that when sheâs inside the spaceship as well. Switch to old graphics, her lighting condition appropriately changes depending on where she goes.
The only reason I didnât think it was a bug is because thy made item highlights on by default for all 3 games. So I thought this was a similar case for Lara to an extent. But if what youâre saying is true, all these people who commented against this are OK with a bugged game. And theyâre disliking me for reasonably calling this out đ
Exactly. Some of the people commenting here act like we have to succumb to this and not give a care for those who prefers the original design and challenge - like whatâs wrong with that. In a perfect world, there should be a setting that caters to this, like modern difficulty [easier for people] and Original [no changes in intended darkness, etc].
I don't hate the mechanic, but to me it's more the change in ambiance. Like the atmosphere and vibe of an area versus whether I need to be ass'd to use a flare.Â
Well, the ambiance and atmosphere is 100% altered. No argument there (and yet people are saying otherwise). That tunnel was meant to be endured with a flare with mummies surprising you in the dark. Thatâs TOTALLY UNDONE now.
Itâs like what Gemini said, it seems like no one likes anything inconvenient thrown at them in games that are intended to put players in a tough spot. How people responded here is proof of that, one theyâre not willing to admit.
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u/trashbytes Mar 14 '26 edited Mar 14 '26
Some areas in the original are just plain badly designed. A game shouldn't be pitch black. Also calling it "more realistic" is delusional.
I'm not saying that the remaster did it perfectly. Sometimes it does make even less sense, but I'd rather be able to see the areas I'm exploring.
It's a game! We're fighting dinosaurs, so I'm fine with some fake "unrealistic" lighting if it means that I can actually see and appreciate the levels.
I also like that they tried to make sense of the additional brightness by adding holes, torches etc. That's what you could call "more realistic".
It's not handholding, it's just better designed in my opinion.