How to Conquer the Darkness: Making Nights Less Ominous in Ark: Survival Evolved

Navigating the treacherous landscapes of Ark: Survival Evolved can be challenging enough during the day, but nighttime brings a whole new level of difficulty with its often oppressive darkness. If you’re tired of stumbling blindly through the night or losing valuable progress to the shadows, this guide will equip you with the knowledge and techniques to make those Ark nights less daunting.

Understanding the Problem: Why is Ark So Dark at Night?

Before diving into solutions, it’s crucial to understand why Ark’s nights can feel so incredibly dark. Several factors contribute to this:

• Realistic Weather System: Ark’s weather system directly impacts nighttime darkness. Clear nights tend to be brighter, while overcast or stormy skies result in much darker, sometimes almost pitch-black, conditions.
• Engine Shaders: There are documented issues with Ark’s shaders which can sometimes cause them to get stuck at a set light level, essentially overriding any gamma changes and leading to exceptionally dark nights.
• Survival Emphasis: The game is designed to incorporate survival challenges, and limited visibility during nighttime is one of the core elements. This heightened challenge pushes players to use tools and strategies to navigate through the dark.

The Solution: How to Make Nights Brighter in Ark

There isn’t a single magic bullet to instantly light up the night in Ark. Instead, you’ll need to employ a combination of in-game settings and tools. Here’s a breakdown of how to achieve that:

1. Adjusting Gamma Settings

The gamma setting is your first and most readily available tool for adjusting in-game brightness. While the in-game menu lacks a specific gamma slider, you can adjust the gamma by using a keybinding and console command:

• Enable Gamma: First, you’ll need to go into your game’s keybind settings and set a key to change the gamma. This enables the command to function. This is different than having a gamma slider, its purely to enable usage of the command.
• Execute the Command: During gameplay, press the bound key and type “gamma [number]” in the console command box, which you can open using the tab key. A gamma value of 1 is default. Try values higher than 1 (e.g., 2, 3, or even 4) to increase brightness. Experiment to find a comfortable level that makes night visible without completely washing out daytime colors.
• Persistent Gamma: Keep in mind this gamma change will need to be done each time you join the game. Setting a user file configuration file is required for persistent gamma settings.

Note: Server owners may need to adjust server configuration files for gamma changes to take effect across all players.

2. Utilizing Night Vision Goggles

The Night Vision Goggles are a head-slot item that dramatically enhances your vision in dark environments. When worn, they turn your vision into a green-tinted monochrome display with drastically improved light levels.

• Crafting: You’ll need to craft these goggles using polymer, metal, and electronics, generally making them a mid-to-late game item.
• Daytime Usage: Be cautious about using the Night Vision Goggles during the day as the display will be heavily overexposed and practically useless. These are only really effective for nighttime.

3. Turning Off Light Bloom and Shafts

Another approach is to reduce some of the light effects that can contribute to poor visibility. Head to the options menu and disable “Light Bloom” and “Light Shafts”. Doing so can eliminate some of the effects that can make it difficult to see in certain conditions. This approach may not solve the problem, but can be used in tandem with other methods to achieve the results you want.

4. Using Light Sources

While this doesn’t affect the overall darkness of the night, strategically placing light sources can help you create safer and more navigable areas:

• Lampposts: The most powerful lighting solution you can craft, the Lamppost emits a wide cone of light and can illuminate a relatively large area. These are particularly useful in your base for better visibility and defense. They are able to shine through some structures.
• Torches: A more basic but still useful light source, Torches are readily available from early in the game and can provide some illumination. They require fuel, though, unlike Lampposts.
• Campfires: Campfires can provide a small circle of light to help guide your movement at night. Though they have a very small radius of light, they are easy to craft and use early on in the game.

5. Day/Night Cycle Adjustments

While you can’t remove the night entirely, you can shorten it. Server administrators can adjust the day and night cycle settings within the GameUserSettings.ini file. Look for the following settings:

• DayCycleSpeedScale: Controls the overall speed of the day-night cycle. A higher value will make days and nights pass more quickly.
• DayTimeSpeedScale: Controls the length of daytime. Higher values make days shorter.
• NightTimeSpeedScale: Controls the length of nighttime. Higher values make nights shorter.

Lower values will make each phase longer. Keep in mind, this makes each phase of the game more extreme. If you make nights much shorter, you will make your days much longer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can I make the sun less bright in Ark?

Yes, you can reduce the intensity of the sun by turning off “Light Bloom” and “Light Shafts” in the game’s options menu. You could also adjust the gamma setting for an overall darker look during daytime.

2. Why is Ark so pitch black at night?

Ark nights are designed to vary in darkness, based on the current weather. Clear nights will be brighter, while overcast conditions result in much darker nights. Shader issues can also contribute to extreme darkness.

3. How do I change the night cycle in Ark?

To modify the day/night cycle, you must adjust the “DayCycleSpeedScale”, “DayTimeSpeedScale”, and “NightTimeSpeedScale” settings in the GameUserSettings.ini file.

4. How long does it stay dark in Ark?

At the default settings, nighttime in Ark lasts approximately 13 minutes and 20 seconds. This ranges from 21:50 to 4:30 in game time.

5. Is there a cheat to wake up in Ark?

Yes, the admin cheat “SetSleeping False” will wake you up if you are sleeping. “SetSleeping True” will make you sleep, for example, to fast forward time and heal up.

6. Is the night useful in Ark?

Yes, the night is a crucial part of the Ark experience. It adds to the survival aspect and provides an additional challenge, including decreased visibility and increased danger.

7. What are the glowing lights in Ark?

The glowing lights you see are Beacons, which mark the location of supply crates. The color of the beacon indicates the required level to access the crate and the quality of its contents.

8. How do I reduce brightness outside of Ark?

If your monitor is too bright you can reduce the brightness of your monitor by using the hardware settings or by using your monitor’s software. You can also use your operating system to control monitor brightness using the Windows Network icon on the taskbar or within the Android settings.

9. How do I make my screen brighter outside of Ark?

You can increase the brightness of your screen via the hardware settings of your monitor, through the monitor’s software, or using your operating system’s brightness settings.

10. How long is a full Ark day?

A full day-night cycle in Ark lasts 60 minutes by default. Daytime is 40 minutes and nighttime is 20 minutes.

11. What time is night in Ark?

Nighttime in Ark starts around 17:30 and ends at 5:30. You will know when night is coming by listening to the dusk music that signals the start of the change.

12. Are cheats allowed in Ark?

Yes, cheats are allowed in singleplayer. In multiplayer, you need admin access and to type ‘EnableCheats ‘ before you can use cheat commands.

13. Can I permanently adjust the gamma in Ark?

Yes, through editing of the server’s configuration files. In order for this to work, you must either be the server administrator, or obtain access to these files.

14. Can weather affect how dark it is?

Yes, absolutely. Overcast and rainy weather will result in much darker nights. Clear, starry nights tend to be much brighter.

15. Can I use any method I want to change darkness in multiplayer?

It depends on the server. Some servers may have specific rules or configurations that affect your ability to change gamma settings or day/night cycle. Always check your server’s rules first.

Conclusion

Nighttime in Ark: Survival Evolved can be a difficult obstacle, but by implementing a combination of the strategies outlined above, you can greatly improve your visibility and make those dark nights more bearable. Whether it’s adjusting your gamma settings, crafting night vision goggles, or strategically placing light sources, there are various ways to conquer the darkness and continue your survival journey. By mastering the tools available to you and understanding how the game mechanics work, you can learn to thrive, even when the sun goes down.