Concerns about Benchmark's Graphics

[Skullmaker]

I've run the new benchmark in every configuration of options available and am concerned about a couple of things.

1. Self-shadowing on characters and npc's seems way too strong, to the point of being ugly and harsh. There should never be 100% black shadows on anything. This is especially noticable during flying scenes, where even flying under a clear blue sky,
as much as 80% of each character is in shadow. It just looks harsh and ugly. Usually self-shadows are handled by ambient-occlusion shaders, but adjusting it in the benchmark settings does not change it.

2. Most of the outdoor areas seem very bland, as if there was a foggy haze covering everything, despite the fact the skies are clear and the sun is out. I'm not sure if this is a problem with saturation, seeing as there are objects and certain mineral deposits
that display a lot of color, but overall it's un-appealing to look at.

I do hope that someone on the staff can pass along these concerns to the developers, or perhaps reasure us that the finished product will adress them.
(I have noticed the same problem in many people's screen shots, so chime in if you agree)

Edit*****After reading some suggestions and looking through the settings in the benchmark again, I did two things. First was under Shadows/Self/show/hide...I switched it to hide, re-ran benchmark. The stark shadows were much less severe and I could see much more detail on things that were in shadow before. Second thing was to change my monitor settings from Normal to Game. This improved the color range quite a bit, and I think I was also failing to take into account the distances being shown at certain times which would account for the faded look.
I'm still a bit concerned that self shadows could be too strong, as I've never had this problem in ARR proper, but I'll just accept that the developers are probably well aware of this. Thanks again for the replies.

[Krokov]

Well its a benchmark so its not complete.

[Skullmaker]

I really hope it is just a matter of it not being complete, because it's a benchmark.
It would be nice to find out, one way or another though, because as it stands, it's kinda ugly.

[Darkstride]

Personally I don't see the "ugliness" you are referring to. Looks fine to me.

[Wobi]

This smells like a troll post, move along people. Nothing to see here.
If your benchmark looks bad you should adjust your settings, because mine looked fine. I cannot imagine anyone one would run that that benchmark and come up with the description of "ugly".

[Skullmaker]

This smells like a troll post, move along people. Nothing to see here.
If your benchmark looks bad you should adjust your settings, because mine looked fine.

A. Uh, no...this is not a troll post.
B. I have adjusted my settings as well as the benchmark settings in multiple ways.
C. I rather suspect if I looked at your computer running the benchmark, I would see the same problems.

[Sunako_Nakahara]

skull can you grab a screen cap of one of the parts you are reffering to i find all my shadowing to be very light.
Also what type of monitor panel are you watching the benchmark with. TN, ISP, PLS, VA so on.

[Sunako_Nakahara]

I went and ran a playback of the of the bench i recorded and watched the flight parts on
First a IPS no problem LG
PLS second no issue, SAMSUNG
AHVA not as good as the first 2 but can still see without it becoming to dark
forth and firth First a Viewsonic vx2835wm second a LG both unable to see within dark area's

Most Likely the effect you are seeing skull is coming from the fact you are using a TN type LCD Pannel
lower contrast rations making it harder for you to see darker areas and the details within.

[Wobi]

A. Uh, no...this is not a troll post.
B. I have adjusted my settings as well as the benchmark settings in multiple ways.
C. I rather suspect if I looked at your computer running the benchmark, I would see the same problems.

Sounds like a bit of a monitor issue perhaps, I ran it again and no solid black shadows. Granted this issue could be compounded if you are riding around in a dark outfit on a dark greenish-gray dragon in direct sunlight, but from the sounds of it you need a bit more contrast. But I'd have to see it to know for sure.

[Skullmaker]

I will get some screen-shots and point out what I'm talking about.
In the meantime, I must admit it never occured to me it could be the monitor (blush), I'll have to check and see if that's the problem.. Thanks for the responses so far

***It is a TN type panel.