Bloom

I don't like bloom on graphics. Plus in some graphics environments it eats up processing time.

Here's a restrained bloom example (from SMERSH's collection of ArmA II "photographs"...this shows a religious procession being arrested or something)

SPMiller said:

Hard to tell with that screenshot, but the sky is at least partially overcast, so the bloom effect probably shouldn't be so bright.

In most cases, bloom (and its buddy, HDR) is highly effective in producing more realistic scenes. I generally like it.

But realism isn't always something we want out of games.

Click to expand...

Charging into the Bloom. (from http://ttp2.dslyecxi.com/images/mout_crossing_street_covered_2.jpg )



I'm not sure what bothers me about bloom. Is it one of those special graphics things like "lens flare" that is base more on what happens with cameras than with the human eye? I just don't see much bloom myself.
So games with lots of bloom (and I usually just shut off the bloom and other "post-processing" options)...are they using camera effects so to speak versus eyeball effects because big explosions and such are things most people playing computer games have seen only in movies?

SPMiller said:

The sun is bright. Certain surfaces reflect an irritating amount of light. Hence sunglasses and so forth. I'm not sure it's as unrealistic an effect as you believe.

But I'll gladly agree lens flare is ridiculous.

Click to expand...

I guess the irritating effect is just too effective for me in some games, so I shut it off. Usually some other glare effect takes care of being a bit blinded at times by the sun.