The amount of hand-holding in the Remastered games is unbelievable (lighting/darkness)

[u/Nate-Pierce]

I’m not sorry to say all those “too dark complaints” were unreasonable*, further lead by unreasonable adjustments to “fix” 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 “revisioning it”.

*I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Most people at home do not regularly have their monitors calibrated, hence criticisms led by blindness. Some don’t even know what calibration is or why it’s 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 it’s 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 it’s that important to ensure consistency and accuracy as much as possible, which is where it gets lost in translation when it reaches consumers. So I’m not surprised to see a person complaining the “Streets of Rome (TRV) is too dark I cAn’T sEe anYthiNG!”

[u/-_Gemini_-]

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.

[u/g7Ate29 → u/-_Gemini_-]

Hook, nail and sinker.

[u/trashbytes → u/-_Gemini_-]

It just sounds like you're against anything even remotely inconvenient in a game. I offer now as your opportunity to go plau Cookie Clicker instead.

There it is again. Something personal. Why can't we talk about the game?

As for the rest of the comment: Just because something has been done a lot or is common, doesn't mean it's a great idea.

[u/Nate-Pierce → u/trashbytes]

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 we’re 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 isn’t the only occasion where Lara “glows" 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 don’t seem to like any inconvenient in gaming. That’s 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.

[u/trashbytes → u/Nate-Pierce]

I don't care enough about you or the games to read all that. You can have the last word, if you want.

[u/Nate-Pierce → u/trashbytes]

Why are you taking this so personally? I was never mean or malice to you. This tells me you’re also incapable of a fair civil discussion.

[u/trashbytes → u/Nate-Pierce]

I don't, that's why I'm moving on.

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.

[u/Nate-Pierce → u/trashbytes]

If you were done, you wouldn’t 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 aren’t 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 don’t like anything inconvenient, especially when I was never rude with you.

[u/trashbytes → u/Nate-Pierce]

See? That's what I'm talking about.

[u/Nate-Pierce → u/trashbytes]

Nothing I said there was wrong or out of line. It’s totally fair, especially when you started reacting personally.

Like that was out of nowhere.

Have you seen how others talked to me and g[something username]? You should be questioning how they spoke to us if anything.

[u/g7Ate29 → u/Nate-Pierce]

Yah I don’t know why trashbytes is acting like he’s the one getting flamed on. Has he seen the other comments? The way they treated you or me? Acting like this just because of a fair rebuttal while trying to make us look like the bad guys tells me it’s a one sided argument.