Thread: Disable Weapons Glow

Is there any way to disable glowing effects in the weapons? Kinda breaks the immersion for me. I'm not asking to disable it for everyone just in my game, like in this other game I could disable it. I messed around the graphic settings but found no way. Anyways thanks.

I created this thread 2 years ago, on the suggestions forum. Floon was still the head art developer and i ask for a way to disable weapon glow on the client.

The thread got some support, but no official attention was ever given to it, sadly.

If you want to support it, go here:

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...ry-Weapon-Glow

No there is not

Well the short answer is no. Though some weapons did glow when certain enemies were close by according to the lore, like Sting for example. The thing I don't like is the glowing hands on the mini which is not in the lore and looks like they are trying to copy Asian mmo's who make it all glow. I get your point though.

I support a choice for glow or not to glow also. For some people with slow (old) systems, every little tweak could make a small difference in frame rates. And even if it doesn't do that, it still would be nice to have the choice.

We already have the "bloom" variable in the graphics settings.

"Glow" should be a nice slider to put right next to it.

Should apply to things like Mini's warspeech hands, too.

Please forgive my ironometer sort of going off in this thread.

Of all the ways in which we end up having to fudge and twist the lore to fit around the needs of a game (which are at times considerable), this is probably the least deserving nit to pick.

Please bear in mind that Tolkien all but invented the glowing sword, and certainly was the foremost popularizer of the concept in modern fiction, given that a great many of the weapons and doodads in his books give off some kind of glow or palpable aura, and some are even described as having flashy effects when they strike. Taking a cursory glance at the notable weapons we come across in the books, I'd say the majority of them appear to have VFX of some sort.

I don't mind people being sticklers about the lore - I do a fair bit of it myself - but I'd at least stick to the parts that deserve it.

I am all for lore-supported glow on weapons. But the current implementation on legendary weapons not only looks ridiculous, but also conceals the fantastic art on the underlying weapon. At this point, we would be just as well off having 8-bit textured legendaries, since all the detail is lost anyway.

Originally Posted by Vastin

I don't mind people being sticklers about the lore - I do a fair bit of it myself - but I'd at least stick to the parts that deserve it.

I don't think the complaint is so much that the weapons glow, but rather that the way that it is implemented on legendary weapons doesn't look quite right. This really can't be helped nowadays, as I'm sure the system is too far along to change anything now, but it does seem to be a step down from the old days.

Pre-Moria, the glow effects looked spectacular, and when only a select few had these bonuses, it made them feel all the more legendary. Not only would they glow blue around orcs, beasts, or the undead (depending on the bonus), but they would also crackle with electricity if they were Beleriand-made, or gleam with a crimson shine if they were Ancient-Dwarf. Heck, at one point I even had a sword that would burst out in flames and do fire-damage until that was removed from melee weapons.

Some of those weapons felt so legendary, so special to me, that even 25 levels later I still have many of them locked away in my vault, just for nostalgia's sake. That's more than can be said for the LI's that I deconstruct every few levels.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Please forgive my ironometer sort of going off in this thread.

Of all the ways in which we end up having to fudge and twist the lore to fit around the needs of a game (which are at times considerable), this is probably the least deserving nit to pick.

Please bear in mind that Tolkien all but invented the glowing sword, and certainly was the foremost popularizer of the concept in modern fiction, given that a great many of the weapons and doodads in his books give off some kind of glow or palpable aura, and some are even described as having flashy effects when they strike. Taking a cursory glance at the notable weapons we come across in the books, I'd say the majority of them appear to have VFX of some sort.

I don't mind people being sticklers about the lore - I do a fair bit of it myself - but I'd at least stick to the parts that deserve it.

People aren't complaining that they glow. They're complaining that the glow as implemented is garish and ugly. And further, it is garish and ugly while being omnipresent on every Legendary weapon.

Originally Posted by Krindus

I don't think the complaint is so much that the weapons glow, but rather that the way that it is implemented on legendary weapons doesn't look quite right. This really can't be helped nowadays, as I'm sure the system is too far along to change anything now, but it does seem to be a step down from the old days.

Pre-Moria, the glow effects looked spectacular, and when only a select few had these bonuses, it made them feel all the more legendary. Not only would they glow blue around orcs, beasts, or the undead (depending on the bonus), but they would also crackle with electricity if they were Beleriand-made, or gleam with a crimson shine if they were Ancient-Dwarf. Heck, at one point I even had a sword that would burst out in flames and do fire-damage until that was removed from melee weapons.

Some of those weapons felt so legendary, so special to me, that even 25 levels later I still have many of them locked away in my vault, just for nostalgia's sake. That's more than can be said for the LI's that I deconstruct every few levels.

I agree 100%

It's not that they glow. It's the way they glow. I enjoyed the first version much better and wish Turbine would return to it. The Light Sabre effect we have now is horrendous. It actually overpowers the visual of the weapon. It seems a shame to spend time designing a sword graphic when all I see is a blocky glob of light.

If I wanted a Light Sabre I would be playing Star Wars.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Please forgive my ironometer sort of going off in this thread.

Of all the ways in which we end up having to fudge and twist the lore to fit around the needs of a game (which are at times considerable), this is probably the least deserving nit to pick.

Please bear in mind that Tolkien all but invented the glowing sword, and certainly was the foremost popularizer of the concept in modern fiction, given that a great many of the weapons and doodads in his books give off some kind of glow or palpable aura, and some are even described as having flashy effects when they strike. Taking a cursory glance at the notable weapons we come across in the books, I'd say the majority of them appear to have VFX of some sort.

I don't mind people being sticklers about the lore - I do a fair bit of it myself - but I'd at least stick to the parts that deserve it.

The notable weapons glow..all 3 maybe 4...of them...so everyone in middle earth has a lightsaber? :P

I too preferred the SoA glowy. It wasn't so...tawdry. The LI glow is awful.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Please bear in mind that Tolkien all but invented the glowing sword, and certainly was the foremost popularizer of the concept in modern fiction, given that a great many of the weapons and doodads in his books give off some kind of glow or palpable aura, and some are even described as having flashy effects when they strike. Taking a cursory glance at the notable weapons we come across in the books, I'd say the majority of them appear to have VFX of some sort.

I think most of us don't mind having the VFX sheaths on the weapons, we just want the VFX sheath to fit around the detailing on our LIs, so the business end of it still retains the VFX, yet the detailing (which is largely hidden) becomes visible again.

I know on my current 75 SA 2H Sword and Halberd, there's plenty of detail lost to the VFX sheath on both weapons - and I imagine many of the other 75 FA and SA LIs also lose a lot of detail to the VFX sheath too, which is probably generating a lot of this "tone it down" sentiment.

Or a better question to ask: why let the artists design such intricate (and in some cases beautiful) weapons if we can't appreciate the models because the VFX is covering it up?

/not signed. In fact, I wish I could see my rune-stones glowing more.

It's not the fact that they glow, Vastin. What most people are complaining about is the horrid, coating-like glow that happens only on legendary items. As if they have been dipped into some half-transparent liquid and then left to dry.

Couldn't it possibly be changed so that legendary items have the same glow that weapons had during Shadows of Angmar?

Originally Posted by Krindus

Pre-Moria, the glow effects looked spectacular, and when only a select few had these bonuses, it made them feel all the more legendary. Not only would they glow blue around orcs, beasts, or the undead (depending on the bonus), but they would also crackle with electricity if they were Beleriand-made, or gleam with a crimson shine if they were Ancient-Dwarf. Heck, at one point I even had a sword that would burst out in flames and do fire-damage until that was removed from melee weapons.

I believe the pre-Moria effects are part of the design of the weapon. As such they are carefully crafted to look good with the artwork by the artist that designed the item.

Legendary items, the glow is a universal effect that is wrapped around the weapon. The weapon is designed without the wrapper. Someone selects the best fit out of the library of available wrappers. In some cases, they look really good. In other cases, it is like the charity event I went to where everybody got a T-shirt. I got a T-shirt that would look great on a female tween. No use to an adult male. They were all out of the larger sizes. Ms. Yula was unamused by my comment after she put it on - you not allowed outside wearing that.

Gotta add my voice to the "It ain't the glow, it's the luminescent jellyfish clinging to the end of my weapon that's the problem" statements here.

I half way expect to see pieces flying off as I wack stuff with it.

Add another voice to the chorus. It's not the fact that weapons have a glow that's the problem it's that the LI damage type weapon glow is both ubiquitous and obnoxious.

As distinct from the pale blue light source that emanates from a weapon if it has a preferred enemy and that enemy is nearby is specifically supported in lore and a very pleasing visual effect.

My champ has both a third age drop and a crafted second age great sword that have different models, so I know this is not tied to a specific item. 2H swords aren't visible when mounted and fade back in when I dismount, then there's a couple of seconds pause I can see just the blade, which looks good and then the unpleasant Morrowind-esque neon wrap fades in. Also, often when swimming I can see the neon glow shell even though the blade itself is hidden. So I can see the weapon and glow wrap are being rendered separately.

Although I'd love to see the LI damage type glows re-done to be more subtle like the effects on non-LI weapons, and a choice of different cosmetics at reforge, I think it's a reasonable compromise to simply have a client-side option to switch the LI weapon glow off when the weapon is sheathed.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Please forgive my ironometer sort of going off in this thread.

Of all the ways in which we end up having to fudge and twist the lore to fit around the needs of a game (which are at times considerable), this is probably the least deserving nit to pick.

Please bear in mind that Tolkien all but invented the glowing sword, and certainly was the foremost popularizer of the concept in modern fiction, given that a great many of the weapons and doodads in his books give off some kind of glow or palpable aura, and some are even described as having flashy effects when they strike. Taking a cursory glance at the notable weapons we come across in the books, I'd say the majority of them appear to have VFX of some sort.

I don't mind people being sticklers about the lore - I do a fair bit of it myself - but I'd at least stick to the parts that deserve it.

I'm all about the proxity weapon glow, which is repeatidly quoted in the canon. What i'm against is turning this:



Into this:



In SOA you had this cool, but soft and gentle damage type effects like in Elder Staff and Forvy's Despair. They kept the Art of the weapon intact and don't look like the neon sticks we have nowadays:

Exactly what Galahadur said. I love the proximity glow for weapons. I loved the sutble damage glow non-legendary weapons have. Especially the 40-50 elf weapons. The LI saran glow wrap not so much.

Seriously I feel bad for the artists that make the swords. They put all that work in to have it covered up by that ugly glowslime.

I would vote for reducing the static glow substantially. It hides the proximity glow which I love on my weapons. Reducing it to the level of the old weapons would be awesome.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Taking a cursory glance at the notable weapons we come across in the books, I'd say the majority of them appear to have VFX of some sort.

I bolded the part that matters!

LIs are NOTHING LIKE 'NOTABLE' WEAPONS, they're two a penny and utterly un-legendary in any way I can think of. 'Notable' weapons as you call them exist in very small numbers, being the weapons of powerful beings and ancient Elves, few if any mortals ever possessed them, and certainly no mortal running around Middle-Earth in the Third Age had their bags full of them.

Citing 'notable' weapons as a justification for this pitiful WOW-liike glitz shows just how thin your reasoning for this abomination really is. Stop pandering to the sad "look at me I'm a special snowdrop" brigade and, if you really can't bring yourselves to eliminate this ridiculous feature altogether then at least return to the days of SOA where the UNCOMMON glowy effects on a few swords and other weapons was far less intrusive and garish; although I still maintain it's 'lore-breaking' I will admit that one or two swords my LMs have had looked quite good with small red or blue 'flashes' from time to time.

Same as almost every other poster above, I don't mind the glow, and even more, I used to use it back in Goblin-Town, when my burglar tried to sneak in and used her sword (or dagger) to detect ennemies on the other end of the corner...

What I really dislike is the coloured lightning applied to legendaries when they are equipped with a damage-type scroll. If this could be changed (for example, change the colour of the glow - after all, if Tolkien specified that Sting had a blue glow, it underlies that other weapons could glow with a different shade...), I'd be really happy...

Regards,
Skro

The ingraspable thing for me is that Turbine *does* have the artists and tech to make very "beautiful" weapons, and add "tasteful" VFX to them. But somehow the LIs do not only get the most cursory glance in this system (starting with only one, often bland model for each type of weapon), but also chooses to encase them in a glitzy light sheath that is a full 20% larger than the actual weapon in some cases.

It would be like Mercedes adding leaf springs to their S-Class.

Especially considering that Turbine so far makes no commitment to cosmetic weapons: Why must the cool weapons in this game be lvl37 greeny trash drops?!?

Originally Posted by Vastin

..., and some are even described as having flashy effects when they strike. ...

Then why not have this in the game then instead of lightbulbs with an edge. I KNOW you have the tech for that as well, my hedge and bracing attack (boring skills) have VFX. But when I land a sweet remorseless devastate for 9000 damage, all I get is the ever-same sound of a wet liver dropping on the kitchen floor.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Please forgive my ironometer sort of going off in this thread.

Of all the ways in which we end up having to fudge and twist the lore to fit around the needs of a game (which are at times considerable), this is probably the least deserving nit to pick.

Please bear in mind that Tolkien all but invented the glowing sword, and certainly was the foremost popularizer of the concept in modern fiction, given that a great many of the weapons and doodads in his books give off some kind of glow or palpable aura, and some are even described as having flashy effects when they strike. Taking a cursory glance at the notable weapons we come across in the books, I'd say the majority of them appear to have VFX of some sort.

I don't mind people being sticklers about the lore - I do a fair bit of it myself - but I'd at least stick to the parts that deserve it.

What about an option to remove the LI glow simply because many of us think it looks terrible and would much rather see the raw weapon models?

However, I'm afraid that if I read between the lines in the only dev comment regarding the atrocious LI glow (that I'm aware of), this is confirmation that mandatory LI glow is here to stay. Shame.

Originally Posted by Hydragyrum

What about an option to remove the LI glow simply because many of us think it looks terrible and would much rather see the raw weapon models?

However, I'm afraid that if I read between the lines in the only dev comment regarding the atrocious LI glow (that I'm aware of), this is confirmation that mandatory LI glow is here to stay. Shame.

There really is no reason why the graphical client can't offer an option to turn off weapons glow, and other glow like Mini war speech hands. The server wouldn't care. Or know for that matter.

Ah, I see now. Should have read more carefully. So for the most part it's not the 'glow' part that concerns people, so much as the 'My weapon is completely cocooned in blazing electric arcs at all times' that's making it an issue.

That's a more interesting challenge. For the most part, subtle effects and detailed textures only show up in screenshots, such as you folks trade on the boards. In game, with things moving around very quickly and against much noisier backgrounds, subtlety and detail have an annoying tendency to disappear altogether.

Alas, I'm no artist, and hold little sway in that area, though I'll see if I can poke around for ideas on this end. We have a lot of stuff going on right now with Rohan underway, so don't hold your breath or anything.

One thing I noticed yesterday is that my Legendary item is 10 times more glowy than my non-legendary off hand weapon. The off hand weapon has a subtle lightening effect where the Legendary weapon has a measurable aura around the blade giving the lightsaber effect. They are both Beleriand damage so I'm comparing the glow on the same damage type. Can the code be changed so that the legendaries use the same glow as the non-legendary weapon?

Originally Posted by Vastin

Ah, I see now. Should have read more carefully. So for the most part it's not the 'glow' part that concerns people, so much as the 'My weapon is completely cocooned in blazing electric arcs at all times' that's making it an issue.

That's a more interesting challenge. For the most part, subtle effects and detailed textures only show up in screenshots, such as you folks trade on the boards. In game, with things moving around very quickly and against much noisier backgrounds, subtlety and detail have an annoying tendency to disappear altogether.

Alas, I'm no artist, and hold little sway in that area, though I'll see if I can poke around for ideas on this end. We have a lot of stuff going on right now with Rohan underway, so don't hold your breath or anything.

Thank you for understanding. I've had a thread in the Suggestions forum for some time (Floon was still lead artist?). I'm just glad that a blue name took interest in this.

At this point, i think most of us would just be happy to have an option in advanced graphics do disable LI Effect Glow attachd to the default type or damage altering types (ADM, Westerness, Beleriand).

Perfection would come with allowing the client to choose between no efects, the gentle effects found in non-LI weapons and the neon light sabers we have right now. :-)

P.S. Thanks for listening!

Originally Posted by Vastin

Ah, I see now. Should have read more carefully. So for the most part it's not the 'glow' part that concerns people, so much as the 'My weapon is completely cocooned in blazing electric arcs at all times' that's making it an issue.

Hey, at least we got a Turbine staffer to say they understand.

Yes, it's not that the weapons are glowing, it's the plastic-coating, wrapped in a several rolls of SaranWrap, encasing glow that we dislike. Just check out any dual wielding class, and compare the effects on the non-LI with the LI. The LI wrappers is what we don't like.

I can honestly say I have not actually *seen* the artwork or style on my two-handed blades for my captain since level 50. The wrappers just don't allow for one to admire the details. I remember taking several moments to figure out the dragon head on the level 60 first age halberd back in Moria, the LI glow was so bad.

That's a more interesting challenge. For the most part, subtle effects and detailed textures only show up in screenshots, such as you folks trade on the boards. In game, with things moving around very quickly and against much noisier backgrounds, subtlety and detail have an annoying tendency to disappear altogether.

I can understand this comment, but understand that we also spend a fair amount of time with our characters standing still even when we aren't taking screen shots. "The Ugly" of the LI glow is pretty obvious when one looks at their character out of combat probably more than in combat (or at least as much as in combat).

Thanks for listening!

Originally Posted by Lupini

I can honestly say I have not actually *seen* the artwork or style on my two-handed blades for my captain since level 50. The wrappers just don't allow for one to admire the details. I remember taking several moments to figure out the dragon head on the level 60 first age halberd back in Moria, the LI glow was so bad.

If you *try* and put an LI in your vault (resulting in an error message) and then equip a weapon, you can see the LI decor without the wrap for a few seconds, before the effect kicks in. Thats how i took the before and after​ screenshots.

Originally Posted by Vastin

We have a lot of stuff going on right now with Rohan underway, so don't hold your breath or anything.

There is SO much potential to misuse this quote!

It's PROOF that you're not going to fix the Orthanc issues or the mini issues or the lag issues or the housing issues... It can be posted everywhere to show that there will be no improvements until the next expansion this fall. Muwahahaha! *taps fingers while making evil calculating grin*

Thanks for the replies here Vastin.

I understand we shouldn't get our hopes up with this request, but I really do think it is something that could increase player immersion considerably.

Frankly, the glow isn't too bad for onehanded swords and daggers, but with my LMs staff it just looks tacky.

I also support the idea of, if nothing else, having an additional option to switch off the glow completely(if that is any kind of easy to do).

Yeah TBH I dislike the uber-glow as well, and have done so since Moria.

I wouldn't mind if the weapons only glowed IN combat, or if there was a toggle.

Originally Posted by Vastin

That's a more interesting challenge. For the most part, subtle effects and detailed textures only show up in screenshots, such as you folks trade on the boards. In game, with things moving around very quickly and against much noisier backgrounds, subtlety and detail have an annoying tendency to disappear altogether.

You know what? I'm fine with that. Just because something is in the game, doesnt mean that it has to be visible and noticeable 100% of the time. I know the tendency when you're adding something new is to make it immediately noticeable so people can appreciate the novelty, but that wears off quickly, and after a while you're left with a dozen "new" things all clamoring for your eyeballs every time they're on screen.

I like it better when there's lots of subtlety and nuance - maybe something you dont notice or discover till you've already played hundreds of hours, or till you zoom in really close and pay attention. Those kind of details are what really stand out and make LOTRO feel different than the other more cartoony fantasy MMORPGs.

Instead of a straight 'On' or 'Off' option, an 'Intensity Option' would be really nice (that scaled from a zero - or off - option up to the present settings). This would allow the player to control how much glow normally appears on the weapons being wielded. It would allow players with a desire for it, to really compliment the design and art of the item without having to choose, or just turn it off all-together.

Totally agree with the posters here. I particularly hate the effect when applied to a bow--not only does it look ridiculous, but there is no logical reason why wood would be glowing. I'd be fine with the arrows having a colored effect I guess, but walking around with a silly flashing neon slime-covered bow ruins the feeling of playing a woodland hunter, no matter how legendary her weapon may be. Perhaps the 'subtlety and detail' would blend into the rest of the scenery during much of the gameplay, but I'd gladly give up the ever-present flashiness to see an exquisitely carved wooden bow in screenshots and closeup views.

And cookies for Vastin for engaging in the conversation!

[QUOTE=And cookies for Vastin for engaging in the conversation![/QUOTE]

I'll add my name for volume. I am glad that this thread went the right way. I prefer the artwork over the glow. This game shines above all other for its art content. Don't bury it behind a cartoonish light bulb.

A also would like to thank Vastin for engaging with us. IMHO in a perfect world here's two client-side options that I would love to see implemented:

1. An on/off toggle option for rendering glow on weapons sheathed, or 'at rest' (ie. character is out of combat).
2. A slider for % opacity of the LI damage type glow shell, from 100 being the weapon glow as it is now to 0 switching off rendering of the glow altogether.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Ah, I see now. Should have read more carefully. So for the most part it's not the 'glow' part that concerns people, so much as the 'My weapon is completely cocooned in blazing electric arcs at all times' that's making it an issue.

I'm so excited to see this come to blue-name attention! Thank you Vastin!

I hasten to reiterate that, as already mentioned in this thread, while the LI damage-type glow (Beleriand, Westernesse, etc.) is widely disliked, the LI enemy-type glow (+damage to orcs, +damage to dragonkind, etc.) is almost universally loved. So I hope that something can eventually be done to improve the former while preserving the latter.

Originally Posted by Vastin

Ah, I see now. Should have read more carefully. So for the most part it's not the 'glow' part that concerns people, so much as the 'My weapon is completely cocooned in blazing electric arcs at all times' that's making it an issue.

That's a more interesting challenge. For the most part, subtle effects and detailed textures only show up in screenshots, such as you folks trade on the boards. In game, with things moving around very quickly and against much noisier backgrounds, subtlety and detail have an annoying tendency to disappear altogether.

Alas, I'm no artist, and hold little sway in that area, though I'll see if I can poke around for ideas on this end. We have a lot of stuff going on right now with Rohan underway, so don't hold your breath or anything.

Woohoo!

At least you can get the ball rolling, and we might see something sometime soonish (hopefully within the next 3 or 4 updates).