I have a problem with the sand in Qalia

[Nosyd-V]

I have a problem with the sand in Qalia. I've had this since launch, but I'm getting a little fed up about it now. It's not all the time, just at midday when the sun is high in the sky and at it's brightest. The sand is way too over-powering, it's just too bright. I have tried everything to try and lower the brightness of it but nothing seems to work.

I have changed all settings in game I can think of.
I have swapped out different video drivers
I have changed settings on my monitor

nothing seems to work. Everything in the world looks fine and beautiful. It's just the sand is way too bright at mid day.

Is this a known fault or just affecting me? I have some screen shots I could post if it helps any.

My PC rigg:
Win XP 32BIT
ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE N-FORCE 4 SLI
HIS ATI Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ 3 TURBO SILENT Heatpipe 512MB GDDR3 (PCI-Express)
ATHLON 64 FX-57 1MB CACHE 939-PIN
2 x WESTERN DIGITAL RAPTOR 74GB SATA 10K RPM 8MB HD (Raid-0)
4 x 512MB DDR PC3200LL
X-FI SOUNDCARD

[Ysharros]

It's not just you. I'm sure it's not everyone, with the variations in monitors and cards, but it's been something people have mentioned since way back in beta. I get blinded by it too, but there isn't much to be done short of turning brightness settings down - and then other stuff or other times of day get too dark.

Of course, it's also pretty realistic in a way.

[Nil]

I guess I have this "problem", but it seems realistic to me. I felt it was intentional - it really is bright like that out in the desert.

Turning off HDR and Bloom will have a dramatic impact on how bright it is, though.

[Nosyd-V]

Maybe it is supposed to look that way. I know that it does hurt my eyes when it gets to midday and it is like that in real life.

I don't have HDR on, as it doesn't seem to do anything for me, except lose shadows in certain places. Don't have bloom either, as I don't like the way it looks. Is there a way of determining how much bloom is present? I also pray for the day that AA is turned on and working in game. I just hate those jagies.

I guess I'll just have to live with the bright sand effect and maybe look around for some cool shades for my Qaliathari Monk to wear.

[Nil]

Originally Posted by Nosyd-V

I don't have HDR on, as it doesn't seem to do anything for me, except lose shadows in certain places.

How odd. It makes a huge difference for me, especially with water and inside of caves - and we have the same card.

Does adjusting your gamma down help?

[Nosyd-V]

Originally Posted by Nil

How odd. It makes a huge difference for me, especially with water and inside of caves - and we have the same card.

Does adjusting your gamma down help?

What sort of effects should I be seeing with HDR on? Gamma doesn't effect the HDR but it helps with the bright sand, but only a little, too much and it makes other things look dull.

[Nil]

Originally Posted by Nosyd-V

What sort of effects should I be seeing with HDR on?

Gleaming metal, sky affects (such as the golden framing of clouds during a sunset), the sun reflecting off of water, etc. Alot of HDR is somewhat subtle, but it makes most things look more realistic (sometimes, it makes armor look a little bit like plastic).