Lost Treasures of Skyrim - please remove bright flashes from scrying

Magrat

For anyone sensitive to bright and/or flashing lights scrying is bad! Epilepsy, Migraines etc. The event looks amazing and the rewards are super amazing - so we're going to want to scry a lot but it literally makes some people ill. Can you switch off the bright flashes at the start and end of each scry? Please!

Magrat

Yes - this keeps being buried in other threads and is a real issue for some people. I've seen people asking about this for ages and nothing has been done.

16BitForestCat

HARD FREAKING AGREE.

Reminder to folks that when you report this issue--and you should!--do it through the elderscrollsonline.com support portal, not in-game. In-game reports tend to get overlooked. Make sure you reply as soon as possible to the auto-reply email you'll get, even if you see a notice saying you don't have to, or your ticket will be dropped. I recommend doing what I did in the report I just submitted and including screenshots of the screen going totally glowing white (and, you know, warn for it). Maybe if enough support reps get blinded just reviewing tickets, someone will get on fixing this problem people have been complaining about for months. :P Probably not in time for Lost Treasures of Skyrim, sadly, but it would be nice in the long run.

I don't suffer from migraines or other issues that can be exacerbated by visual gameplay...I play in a well-lit room sitting back from the monitor...and even I start getting eyestrain headaches after about 20 minutes of scrying despite closing my eyes and turning away each time the flash is coming up. Which happens TWICE per scry! It's so excessively bright that it pierces through my closed eyelids. It's so excessively bright that the first time my partner started a scry in our fully lit living room when Greymoor initially launched, I (sitting across the room on the other side of the monitor) thought lightning was striking outside.

As soon as the Lost Treasures event was announced and they mentioned Antiquities would be involved, my first thought was, "Oh, no, I am going to be in agony trying to get that house unlocked."

Daemons_Bane

Magrat wrote: »

Yes - this keeps being buried in other threads and is a real issue for some people. I've seen people asking about this for ages and nothing has been done.

I've visited these forums pretty much daily since before Greymoore was launched.. calling it ages is kind of a stretch, and the demand for this change has not seemed that high.. of course, if it's an issue, some kind of change would be nice.. have you considered just hitting escape yourself.? Works pretty well

SilverBride

This is a real issue for me, too, but it's not just scrying that does this. A lot of quests end with a flash of bright white light, which I find painful. I actually have to cover my eyes and turn away. I requested they stop this shortly after ESO launched. As you see, they haven't.

Daemons_Bane

But to some of us, that could be something we would miss.. hard to please both parties, unless it can be fixed via options.. tried glasses?

SilverBride

Daemons_Bane wrote: »

But to some of us, that could be something we would miss.. hard to please both parties, unless it can be fixed via options.. tried glasses?

I was going to reply to this but anything I'd say would probably be snipped out.

Daemons_Bane

SilverBride wrote: »

Daemons_Bane wrote: »

But to some of us, that could be something we would miss.. hard to please both parties, unless it can be fixed via options.. tried glasses?

I was going to reply to this but anything I'd say would probably be snipped out.

I was not trying to troll you, if that is what you think.. I know some people use special glasses when they sit at a screen, but not the exact effect of said glasses

Magrat

I just think if we're about to have a whole event around antiquities where people are being encouraged to scry in order to earn some really great rewards (I mean we all are going to want to work together for the house and house guest I'm sure) then I wanted to be sure that Zos are aware of how uncomfortable many players find it and request they tone it down for the event. I have reported it through various channels both in and out of the game since the end of June. It may seem unimportant to you Daemons_Bane but there are endless threads on the Forum on things I have no interest in and I don't complain they are taking up space, I just skip past them to ones that interest me.

Daemons_Bane

Magrat wrote: »

orted it through various channels both in and out of the game since the end of June. It may seem unimportant to you Daemons_Bane

I actually supported you, if it was a problem but never mind that I guess.. I just objected about the "for ages" part, and said that it was not something that had really been that visible on the forum..

SilverBride

Daemons_Bane wrote: »

...I just objected about the "for ages" part, and said that it was not something that had really been that visible on the forum..

I posted about the flashing bright lights with some quests shortly after ESO launched. It may not be posted about frequently, but it's been a reported issue all along.

Daemons_Bane

SilverBride wrote: »

Daemons_Bane wrote: »

...I just objected about the "for ages" part, and said that it was not something that had really been that visible on the forum..

I posted about the flashing bright lights with some quests shortly after ESO launched. It may not be posted about frequently, but it's been a reported issue all along.

Remind me, when in the sequence is the light that bothers you.?

16BitForestCat

I've also been seeing multiple people complain about the flashing light issue ever since Antiquities became a thing, and not just on these forums.

The white flash of light happens at both the beginning and end of each scry, so you can't just "escape" out of it every time. (Exiting a scry too early destroys all your progress anyway. You'd just end up having to do it again, and dealing with the bright flashes once more!)

Here's the screenshot I took of the flash that I included with a report I submitted (I'm not embedding it because of the glare). It's very difficult to get a shot of it at maximum brightness because it's so fast--which heavily contributes to eyestrain headache/migraine issues--but I did my best. This was the brightest out of about 15 screenshots I took from various scries, until my head hurt too much to scry anymore. It doesn't look like much as a still shot, but just imagine that full-screen dark-to-bright flashing in front of your eyes, over and again, whenever you're grinding out Antiquities. There are going to be a LOT of headaches when Lost Treasures starts, I'm guessing. One of my friends today says this effect triggered a seizure in her at one point, which I didn't know about, and would have included in my support ticket if I had known. I hope she files her own ticket.

https://imgur.com/ptrmpHQ

t3hnerevarine

@Daemons_Bane there are two types of glasses that I can think of that people wear when looking at screens: anti glare/reflection and blue light blocking. The anti glare ones do wonders for general eye strain and the blue light blocking ones filter out a specific band of bright blue light that can cause eye strain and also disrupt people's sleep schedules. Neither of these glasses would help with a sudden bright flash like with antiquities and some quests.

I have issues with bright lights and I've been plagued by these scrying flashes since greymoor came out. Imo they aren't as bad as the full screen flash in some quests and after activating hard mode in a dungeon but they do still leave big blotches in my vision that persist for multiple minutes.

AlnilamE

16BitForestCat wrote: »

As soon as the Lost Treasures event was announced and they mentioned Antiquities would be involved, my first thought was, "Oh, no, I am going to be in agony trying to get that house unlocked."

If all else fails, don't worry about scrying if it's that bad for you. It's a community event and not everyone has to participate to unlock it for everyone who meets the conditions (owning Greymoor and logging in within a certain period)

I promise to do some extra scrying to make up for people who have issues with it if ZOS doesn't make adjustments.

We'll get that house!

Sylvermynx

AlnilamE wrote: »

16BitForestCat wrote: »

As soon as the Lost Treasures event was announced and they mentioned Antiquities would be involved, my first thought was, "Oh, no, I am going to be in agony trying to get that house unlocked."

If all else fails, don't worry about scrying if it's that bad for you. It's a community event and not everyone has to participate to unlock it for everyone who meets the conditions (owning Greymoor and logging in within a certain period)

I promise to do some extra scrying to make up for people who have issues with it if ZOS doesn't make adjustments.

We'll get that house!

Yeah. I caved and bought the chapter for my accounts tonight. I want that house. So obviously there was a good marketer on this one, as I really wasn't going to buy the chapter (I HATE vampires, werewolves, and Reach stupidity along with that whole part of Skyrim other than Morthal). So yeah. Not going to play Greymoor's questline - but antiquities are on the plate.

Vevvev

Please ZOS at least give us an option in the gameplay tab to turn that bright flash off! I don't usually have issues with flashing things but that Antiquarian's eye hurts to look at.

SilverBride

Daemons_Bane wrote: »

Remind me, when in the sequence is the light that bothers you.?

When you finish scrying there is a flash of bright blue light.

I really don't know why they make so many things flash like this. While the one with scrying is bad, the ones with quests are even worse because they last a lot longer.

Daemons_Bane

SilverBride wrote: »

Daemons_Bane wrote: »

Remind me, when in the sequence is the light that bothers you.?

When you finish scrying there is a flash of bright blue light.

I really don't know why they make so many things flash like this. While the one with scrying is bad, the ones with quests are even worse because they last a lot longer.

When you connect the last star, right when the pieces start to move, you can hit escape.. then you cancel the animation, but still get the location

16BitForestCat

AlnilamE wrote: »

If all else fails, don't worry about scrying if it's that bad for you. It's a community event and not everyone has to participate to unlock it for everyone who meets the conditions (owning Greymoor and logging in within a certain period)

I promise to do some extra scrying to make up for people who have issues with it if ZOS doesn't make adjustments.

We'll get that house!

There's an awesome for you! Because you are!

I'm gonna keep a throw pillow on my lap and hurriedly press it to my face whenever I start/end a scry so I can reduce the painful effect of both flashes as much as possible during the event. I shouldn't *have* to suffocate myself to play a game, but that's the (digital) world we currently live in.

Daemons_Bane wrote: »

When you connect the last star, right when the pieces start to move, you can hit escape.. then you cancel the animation, but still get the location

The flash of light also happens at the beginning of the scry, sadly--you can't simply cancel out of that one! I'm familiar enough with when the flashes happen by now that I can usually, though not always in time if something else is going on, take steps to reduce their negative effects. But players shouldn't have to take those steps at all for an unnecessarily bright and sudden flash. Again, I don't have any light sensitivity issues, yet even I still get eyestrain headaches from scrying solely due to that flash.

P.S. I agree with what others have said about other game flashes that cause problems! For me, scrying is the worst because I tend to do it in batches due to it being easier to fall into a comfortable rhythm. But there are plenty of times where the screen has lit up for other reasons and I was just like "That blinding glare *really* wasn't necessary, ZOS...." Even if it doesn't cause pain, it's still noticeable and annoying.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

I keep wondering why nobody has modified the LCD electronic welding glasses to assist people with this kind of sensitivity. The contraption I speak of is a pair of glasses fitted with LCD panels that darken in a few milliseconds when it detects a bright flash of light from a nearby welding arc. It should be an easy thing to modify it to sudden changes at much lower contrast levels to block out, or at least significantly reduce, any sudden bright flashes from a computer or TV screen. I'm not suffering from photosensitivity myself, so I wouldn't know if it would help, but it seems like something that could be useful.

etchedpixels

I would raise it with the graphics card companies and Microsoft/Apple

- If ESO changes, you fixed ESO
- If graphics drivers or the operating system accessibility incorporates anti-flash options you fix it in one place for everyone.

I merely find it an irritation rather than having any problem from it, but I would also much rather it faded to/from black for scene cuts like that. There's a reason films fade through black between scenes not bright white.

LadyNalcarya

I agree, they are annoying. And while we're on it, I would also like to be able to remove that white flash when you activate hardmode in a dungeon. A simple message on screen (like in trials) would be better imo.

AlnilamE

Sylvermynx wrote: »

AlnilamE wrote: »

16BitForestCat wrote: »

As soon as the Lost Treasures event was announced and they mentioned Antiquities would be involved, my first thought was, "Oh, no, I am going to be in agony trying to get that house unlocked."

If all else fails, don't worry about scrying if it's that bad for you. It's a community event and not everyone has to participate to unlock it for everyone who meets the conditions (owning Greymoor and logging in within a certain period)

I promise to do some extra scrying to make up for people who have issues with it if ZOS doesn't make adjustments.

We'll get that house!

Yeah. I caved and bought the chapter for my accounts tonight. I want that house. So obviously there was a good marketer on this one, as I really wasn't going to buy the chapter (I HATE vampires, werewolves, and Reach stupidity along with that whole part of Skyrim other than Morthal). So yeah. Not going to play Greymoor's questline - but antiquities are on the plate.

I've honestly haven't even started the quest line there. I did some world bosses, some Harrowstorms and the public dungeons.

But I've spent a lot of time scrying and searching for leads and it's been a lot of fun. I have all the furnishings I got so far displayed in Pariah's Pinnacle for guildies to see.

Dark_Lord_Kuro

Temporary solution
Turn your head for a sec or 2
Not optimal but it may work in the mean time

Heady

go to monitor settings turn down contrast ez fix

SilverBride

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

I keep wondering why nobody has modified the LCD electronic welding glasses to assist people with this kind of sensitivity... I'm not suffering from photosensitivity myself, so I wouldn't know if it would help, but it seems like something that could be useful.

It's not photosensitivity. It's not good for anyone to have bright lights flashed in their face. But don't you think wearing welding glasses is a bit extreme? If something is causing this many people this much discomfort, and is not an any way necessary for gameplay, why do it?

LadyNalcarya wrote: »

I would also like to be able to remove that white flash when you activate hardmode in a dungeon.

And the flashes of bright white light that happen during a lot of quests.

Heady wrote: »

go to monitor settings turn down contrast ez fix

No. We shouldn't have to compromise how every other thing looks on our computers to accommodate something that has no purpose in the first place.

SilverBride

Click the Support link at the top of the page and submit a ticket. You may also refer to this thread in your ticket so they see it's a problem for many. I don't know if it will do any good, but it doesn't hurt to try.

Daemons_Bane

SilverBride wrote: »

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

I keep wondering why nobody has modified the LCD electronic welding glasses to assist people with this kind of sensitivity... I'm not suffering from photosensitivity myself, so I wouldn't know if it would help, but it seems like something that could be useful.

It's not photosensitivity. It's not good for anyone to have bright lights flashed in their face. But don't you think wearing welding glasses is a bit extreme? If something is causing this many people this much discomfort, and is not an any way necessary for gameplay, why do it?

LadyNalcarya wrote: »

I would also like to be able to remove that white flash when you activate hardmode in a dungeon.

And the flashes of bright white light that happen during a lot of quests.

Heady wrote: »

go to monitor settings turn down contrast ez fix

No. We shouldn't have to compromise how every other thing looks on our computers to accommodate something that has no purpose in the first place.

That's why we talked about it as an option instead..

SickleCider

Yes, bright flashes in this game need to stop occuring. I'm photosensitive* but no game has ever caused me as much agony as this one. It literally hurts when there's a bright flash during a quest or boss battle. Antiquities has compounded the issue. 😣

*yes, diagnosed

craybest

I never even noticed the bright flashes, much less thought about how they could be hard on the eyes for others. I hope it can be helped