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I'm wondering...is it me? Seems like in all the add-on routes in MSTS -- but NOT the default routes -- everything seems so damn DARK!!! I'm talking views from out of the cab, views of trains passing, etc. I was just running a Sandpatch activity (WB piggyback) which is supposed to be at 10 in the morning.....and having trouble seeing the road ahead due to relative darkness. So I switched to a default route (NEC) and everything seems okay.I've noticed this relative darkness on other routes, particularly Cajon, as it's one of my favorites and I tend to run on it a lot.Now -- before anyone suggests my monitor is on the fritz -- no, I don't think so, as every other program I use is bright as bright can be.Are there any settings within MSTS than can be changed to make the screen brighter so I can see what's gonna get run over by my locomotives???

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Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS [View All], shoskins, 08:18 PM, Mar-25-03, (0) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, baldwin, Mar-26-03, 09:43 AM, (1) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, heffed, Mar-26-03, 10:31 AM, (2) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, CRSD40, Mar-26-03, 01:23 PM, (3) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, calr, Mar-26-03, 02:00 PM, (4) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, HighGround, Mar-26-03, 03:22 PM, (5) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, calr, Mar-26-03, 04:13 PM, (6) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, shoskins, Mar-26-03, 05:19 PM, (7) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, calr, Mar-26-03, 05:57 PM, (8) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, Hawk, Mar-26-03, 06:38 PM, (9) RE: Darkness.....of EVERYTHING in MSTS, HighGround, Mar-26-03, 11:28 PM, (10)

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Cant say as I have noticed anything, Sandpatch is darker that Cajon, but the darkness is relative to time and season. Cajon for me is OK, as are other addons.I dont think there are any buttons or sliders in MSTS for that sort of thing, but Route-Riter has some environmental control buttons whereby you can make sure that the game environment(sunrise/set time) is correct for the route. This may help.mervyn@madasafish.com

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I've noticed that it really depends on the textures used. If most of the grass/ground textures are dark, the whole thing appears dark. The grass MSTS default textures are a bit too dayglow in my opinion anyway.I don't notice it as bad as you say though. It's still definitely daylight and I can always see where I'm going. I don't have Sandpatch, but I do have Cajon. I don't find it overly dark.-Jeff

Union Pacific is my drug.

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Well, keep in mind that most of the main on Sandpatch is surrounded by trees.

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Kyle Norek, Milepost 76 on the NS Buffalo Line
MSN Messenger: crsd40@hotmail.com

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I have noticed this on my Columbia Gorge route. When I have been running it for screen shots, I have to set the time for 11 AM to 1 PM. 12 noon causes the shadows to disappear. Setting any earlier or later results in too many shadows and is too dark. On factor that I have to contend with is that my route is set in a large canyon or gorge. There is very little flat terrain. It is almost all hills and water. FS2002 has the problem even worse but nobody has come up with a solution. I turn up the brightness on my monitor!Cal Rasmussen
Beaverton, OR
cal.rasmussen@verizon.netColumbia Gorge Route (Phase 1 track completed, building roads, buildings, planting trees.)

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I encountered this problem too, and I went through a period of gloom until I remembered that the condition had begun after I switched-in a lot of anti-aliasing. I swithched-out the anti-aliasing, and "voila", the lights came on all over the (MSTS) world!!The tracks didn't look as good, but at least I could see what the heck was going on!

HighGround

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Are you referring to the anti-alias setting for the video card or anti-aliasing in MSTS?Cal Rasmussen
Beaverton, OR
cal.rasmussen@verizon.netColumbia Gorge Route (Phase 1 track completed, building roads, buildings, planting trees.)

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Okay, I have heard people mention this "anti-aliasing" before. I haven't the foggiest....Exactly HOW would I turn off the "anti-aliasing" in MSTS???Thanks for the help....

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I think anti-aliasing in MSTS requires a command-line switch.Cal Rasmussen
Beaverton, OR
cal.rasmussen@verizon.netColumbia Gorge Route (Phase 1 track completed, building roads, buildings, planting trees.)

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I could be wrong here, but I think anti-aliasing is off, by default, in the sim.
I think you have to use a command line, or your video card settings, to turn it on.
Hawk"Some caught a plane, some rode the train.
Head for sunshine, leave the rain."

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Yep, that's *my* understanding of it, too. It's off, unless you fire it up via the command line. But as for the anti-aliasing for your video card, you'll have to go into your Display settings to make any changes. Take note of what you do, so that you can reverse the procedure should you not like the results. (And please note that I'm no expert on this, I'm just someone who's done this and had good results with this problem!)Right-click on your desktop to get the context menu and then left-click on Properties. At the top right, left-click on the Settings tab. Somewhere near the bottom (Note: I'm using WinXP) left-click on Advanced.Look for a tab that says something like "Direct 3D" and left-click on it. *IF* anti-aliasing is off, there should be some "Application Preferences" boxes that are checked, and the sliders and Samples boxes should be greyed-out. But . . . if that's not the case, then click on the "Application Preferences" boxes, click OK, etc on your way out. Start-up MSTS and see how things are.Hope it helps you.

HighGround

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