Shadowy Shadows - Fluffy Flora Dark Nights and Gorgeous Godrays

A short shpeal about this mod and the game

IT'S A LOVELY GAME, IT REALLY IS.

But. Does the game look "off" at times? not quite scratching the surface of realism as much as you'd hoped for? is Jemison the ugliest planet with awkwardly bright plants and grass? wait - don't answer that - the answer is yes!

This journey began with me thinking the flora in this game was way too bright a lot of the time. And then I realized after editing some flora textures to be darker that no, the ground is also super bright. Almost emits its own light (though not technically), especially noticeable during nighttime when there is about a 100m radius around you of ground and plants being fakely lit. Why even give me a flashlight if you're gonna use your game engine to brighten the entire world artificially, Toddard?

Sunsets and sunrises were completely ruined by glowing ground and plants. In a game where the sunrises and sunsets are simulated in such an epic and cool way, I couldn't let this rest. I get why Bethesda did it. the average gamer wants to conveniently be able to see at all times -- night is just an aesthetic for them.

TO ME - the immersive gamer - night is not an aesthetic: it's a lifestyle. Night is now dark. You will FEEL the sunsets and sunrises. YOU WILL BEG FOR THE SUN TO RISE. like literally we are in the middle of nowhere on a planet. Unless there is large full moon it should be nearly pitch black. GET THAT FLASHLIGHT READY - or sleep until daytime like a normal human being!

So to make a long story short, I eventually gave up on editing ground and flora textures manually as it would take soooo long and SavrenX and SkurkBro started releasing beautiful retextures for both that I didn't want to forgo, and similarly didn't want to edit each texture to be darker each time one of the mods gets updated.

so I delved deep into the ini settings, changing everything that seemed like it could change something, and eventually, one by one, I came across beautiful tweaks that did not make my performance dive but gave me great control over the shadows and volumetrics - there are still some problems, mind you, but much more control.

//Shpeal over

Now to what you came here for...

THE TWEAKS

Keep in mind that I am not versed with the technical complexities of these tweaks, I am simply a visuals enjoyer and I study the screen. That said I will try my best to put into words what tweak seems to change in-game.

Starfieldcustom.ini