Very simple mod idea. Some dungeons are quite good, but the majority it feels like daylight. Even if you're in a cave. And it's 1am.

It would be basically just lowering the ambient light level of the cells, and also removing any sourceless lights.
And I would add torches to a levelled list or two (I'd be sure to note which ones of course).

Thoughts? I'm not done playing yet so I'd probably do it on a per-dungeon visited basis so as not to ruin my gaming experience, but if anyone else wants to beat me to the punch...

Really? I find the dungeons to be too dark. So dark in fact that I add Khajit Night Eye spells to all my characters. Lol >.<

The first one most people go through, Bleak Falls Barrow, was pretty well lit for an ancient tomb. Some dungeons are just right while some dungeons are absurdly well-lit. It makes playing a low-level sneak need to keep relying on their bow when they should have the option to backstab.

I use Fortify Sneak enchants on my armor and have no problem sneaking in any conditions =P

I'm hoping that wrinklyninja, Arthmoor, et al. will work on an All Natural for Skyrim that will solve all my lighting worries.

All Natural is one of the mods I can't play Oblivion without. >.<.

Yes me too that mod was great but I don't think that affected dungeons just houses and stuff, it was wrinklyninja's Cava Obscura mod that darkened the dungeons. I hope he will remake that for Skyrim too.

It had a Darker Nights compatiable version which basically made things pitch black in Dungeons and outside at night.

I think a "Darker Dungeons" or "Cava Obscura" type mod is definitely called for. The lack of shadow or contrast in certain areas, as a result of the Realistic Light Attenuation tm effect (look at the sun, then at the ground, then at the sun again) makes things feel flat and 2D and it really made me nauseous after a while. I've been using Himmelsrand's Shader Suite to help correct it, but a real fix would be way better.

Here are a couple of shots from inside a dungeon with graphics on default High settings. I didn't turn off shadows or anything, there simply wasn't a light source in the scene to cast any.

http://i.imgur.com/kPNva.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/WOivl.jpg

A Darker Dungeons/Cava Obscura mod is a relatively simple job once the CK comes out. I'm sure it will be one of the first to be done.

Now, I would really hope for an All Natural soon too.

Well yes for a Cava Obscura port and a real lights port.

The weather though - I'm hoping to see a port or weather mod made by Xepha who made Dynamic Weather for Fallout 3. I use All Natural for certain with Oblivion, but Xepha did great stuff as well.

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There is going to be a problem with a darker dungeons/cava obscura mod - all the damn candles and hanging light sources in the dungeons - they are everywhere. It is odd to because not only are they there but so is ambient light bulbs. So I guess the undead just adore scented candles or something. Someone or something would be spending a lot of time making sure they are lit. And they are in deep dungeons too with no humanoids around at all.

I'm for removing lots of them.

Or better an extinguish the lights version of real lights that removes some and allows for others to be extinguished.

Impossible to 'port' this kind of thing. Literally all that needs doing is going through every single interior cell in the CS and changing the ambient light value(s). Will probably also need to delete all "fake" lights if Skyrim even has any (probably).

But you're Psymon so I believe you know all that.

Err - yeah I know - well port the name?

I guess I was just talking about porting the project idea and using lazy language.

But yeah the fake lights are still there and the ambient light is still bright - never need a torch at all. But I guess they thought they could get away with the fake lights by placing candles everywhere - yet no concern over thinking who the hell lights all these candles and relights and so on.

The candles are going to be an obstacle I bet - maybe just extinguishing them or most of them?

Also in these dungeons what is with the giant urns with smoldering ... stuff ... ash like lava by the looks of it. Who keeps that going. Do the dead prefer both scented candles and barbeque?

Divayth Fyr lit all of the torches/fire pits/candles with his super magic during his adventurous days and all of Tamriel's lights have been permalit ever since.

It would be neat to see some of the Cairn puzzles get linked to lights, so maybe the room lights up (with nice looking ambient torchlight, I mean) once a puzzle is completed.

But that's a bit more involved than setting all the ambient light settings to 1 (not 0, this is a cava obscura philosophy port after all!), makes me think it would never ever get realized in the vanilla dungeons. It would be nice since we have shadows now if lights in general became more a part of the game experience.

I want Divayth Fyr to show up again

Well, looks like there is plenty of interest in lowering ambient values and removing fake (sourceless) lights. If it's not already done a week after CS release I'll do it myself

Well... the thing is, it's a lot of gorram work. Changing every interior cell by hand, with... [insert obscene number here] cells in the game is daunting. Very doable, but not as someone's weekend project :/

It is incredibly tedious but an initial release that just lowers ambient values would be pretty simple and would probably take an hour or two at the most.

Removing 'fake' lights is simple enough as well, you just look at where they are placed by checking their references and then go and remove them. You don't have to go looking for them or otherwise know where they already are.

I agree it would be one of my first mods installed if someone can do, plus I hope if someone do makes also all the torches in the dungeons pickable or better , according on the quest or who lives there make them off and let the player to turn them on ...

I don't get why there are candles and stuff burning in an ancient dungeon anyway. Are they magic candles that never go out?

I could accept non burning candles which you can lit with a torch or flame spell or perhaps even just by using them, and then they burn down after a while just like the torches do. I liked my dark dungeons, it made them scary and entering one was always exciting.

This has always been the ES way. Generally dungeons have some kind of sentient occupants, be they skeletons or bandits or whoever, who I like to think keep things burning
But yeah, dungeon full of wolves it'd be a bit silly...

Maybe I just need better enchants... does this work on elder dragons after you have attacked them in daylight?

Hoping to see more use of dynamic shadows in dungeons, too often it's just ambient lighting without any shadows.

I am sure that this will be done and it is really needed as it will add more drama and atmosphere to the game , but should also pair with a mod that adds torches in shops ...

the problem is that the later the CK comes out the more dungeons I will have explored thus making this mod arriving pretty late for beeing usefull ....

Oooh!

Going to go look that mod up right now!
Things are too bright in the world