Will caves/mines ever be dark again?

[linkfanpc]

I liked slowly creeping about caves with a torch. Will that ever make a comeback? Or is it gone forever because it's easy to make pointless via custom clients, like cartography?

I also liked not getting a minimap in them, but i don't really miss it.

[Granger]

The suggestion to have the server do light checks to still allow movement in dark sections (possibly with a chance to stumble in case you run/sprint in pitch black) but disable interation with unlit objects (do not send them to the client and ignore requests to operate them in case the client sends commands on them anyways) has been made several times.

IMHO it would be a good idea, others didn't like it as this would break certain exploits (so these voices should not be taken seriously)...

[Sevenless]

Yeah if we want darkness as a mechanic, we need server side enforcement. Otherwise it'll always be completely stepped around by custom clients.

[Gensokyo]

I'm pretty certain the server side part is obvious, just use the old light overlay and only render 3x3 (circle) tiles around the player or something.

[Granger]

just use the old light overlay and only render 3x3 (circle) tiles around the player or something.

In legacy the client could still interact with objects that went out of render range, so the server would not only have to remove them from the clients render list but also enforce interaction with them as being impossible.

[Massa]

The suggestion to have the server do light checks to still allow movement in dark sections (possibly with a chance to stumble in case you run/sprint in pitch black) but disable interation with unlit objects (do not send them to the client and ignore requests to operate them in case the client sends commands on them anyways) has been made several times.

IMHO it would be a good idea, others didn't like it as this would break certain exploits (so these voices should not be taken seriously)...

it's just

annoying

it's just a not very cute hassle

[loftar]

The suggestion to have the server do light checks to still allow movement in dark sections (possibly with a chance to stumble in case you run/sprint in pitch black) but disable interation with unlit objects (do not send them to the client and ignore requests to operate them in case the client sends commands on them anyways) has been made several times.

IMHO it would be a good idea, others didn't like it as this would break certain exploits (so these voices should not be taken seriously)...

The problem with this is that, for it to look good graphically, objects would still have to be sent to the client before they are fully lit, so that they can be revealed smoothly at the edge of the light, and if that is the case, then it would still be beneficial to remove the light mask (for dat split-second MLG twitch advantage), so not much would seem to be gained from it in the end.

[ekzarh]

The problem with this is that, for it to look good graphically, objects would still have to be sent to the client before they are fully lit, so that they can be revealed smoothly at the edge of the light, and if that is the case, then it would still be beneficial to remove the light mask (for dat split-second MLG twitch advantage), so not much would seem to be gained from it in the end.

It may be harsh performance-wise but for any iteminteract request you can just do light source check and distance check on the server. I suppose you do the distance check anyway to determine if character has to walk to object or start interacting rightaway (to avoid remote usage). So the only thing added is checking the light source in vicinity

[loftar]

It may be harsh performance-wise but for any iteminteract request you can just do light source check and distance check on the server. I suppose you do the distance check anyway to determine if character has to walk to object or start interacting rightaway (to avoid remote usage). So the only thing added is checking the light source in vicinity

I must admit I don't really understand how this relates to anything I wrote. I was commenting on the intrinsic limitations on such mechanics, not on implementation difficulties.

[Sevenless]

It may be harsh performance-wise but for any iteminteract request you can just do light source check and distance check on the server. I suppose you do the distance check anyway to determine if character has to walk to object or start interacting rightaway (to avoid remote usage). So the only thing added is checking the light source in vicinity

I must admit I don't really understand how this relates to anything I wrote. I was commenting on the intrinsic limitations on such mechanics, not on implementation difficulties.

I think the argument was that if you implement interaction limitations, light would be a requirement whether or not you use custom lighting. This would at least make the equipment requirements for working in caves similar between artificially lit and not.