In real-life eyes adjust (not instantly) to varying light conditions.
Instead of making the blocks visible relatively easily wether they are at light level 1 or 14, maybe the game could try to determine how "sensitive to light" the player's (Steve, not the actual player) eyes are.
Three values would be used:
#1 The overall amount of light reaching directly the player. This is like the kind of light that reaches you are you stand in the middle of a plain in a sunny day. Light propagated mainly from above but also from adjacent blocks.
#2 The overall amount of light reaching the player's eyes with his central vision (what he is directly looking at, no more than 1/4 the total screen area.
#3 The overall amount of light reaching the player's eyes with his peripheral vision (the rest of the screen).
Or a simpler system.
Then the game would render objects darker or brighter than normal, according to how "sensitive" the player's eyes are to light, and dynamically adjust the sensitivity.
Going from a very bright to a very dark area, it would take a couple seconds for the sight to fully adjust, and fr a bref moments things would look much darker.
Standing say 12 blocks outside a horizontal-tunnel cave in full daylight, looking at the entrance, it would look really dark in there. Same thing when deep in caves, an opening to the surface would look too bright.
By making this part of the light system, it would work everywhere including inside builds.
Torch placement would become more important too: if you simply put a torch straight on the wall at eye level of a 2 high, 1 wide corridor, as you pass that way, your eyes pass through a very bright block, producing glare, making the rest of the tunnel look darker instead.
Given properly placed lighting, you could actually even in some cases have an easier time of it seeing far objects in dark environments. But often, unlit areas, when looked at from a well lit position, or amidst a well-lit environment, would look really dark. And vice-versa.
Looking straight at the sun could produce light glare too, maybe. In any case, it shouldn't last longer than a couple seconds. It's a game after all.
Instead of making the blocks visible relatively easily wether they are at light level 1 or 14, maybe the game could try to determine how "sensitive to light" the player's (Steve, not the actual player) eyes are.
Three values would be used:
#1 The overall amount of light reaching directly the player. This is like the kind of light that reaches you are you stand in the middle of a plain in a sunny day. Light propagated mainly from above but also from adjacent blocks.
#2 The overall amount of light reaching the player's eyes with his central vision (what he is directly looking at, no more than 1/4 the total screen area.
#3 The overall amount of light reaching the player's eyes with his peripheral vision (the rest of the screen).
Or a simpler system.
Then the game would render objects darker or brighter than normal, according to how "sensitive" the player's eyes are to light, and dynamically adjust the sensitivity.
Going from a very bright to a very dark area, it would take a couple seconds for the sight to fully adjust, and fr a bref moments things would look much darker.
Standing say 12 blocks outside a horizontal-tunnel cave in full daylight, looking at the entrance, it would look really dark in there. Same thing when deep in caves, an opening to the surface would look too bright.
By making this part of the light system, it would work everywhere including inside builds.
Torch placement would become more important too: if you simply put a torch straight on the wall at eye level of a 2 high, 1 wide corridor, as you pass that way, your eyes pass through a very bright block, producing glare, making the rest of the tunnel look darker instead.
Given properly placed lighting, you could actually even in some cases have an easier time of it seeing far objects in dark environments. But often, unlit areas, when looked at from a well lit position, or amidst a well-lit environment, would look really dark. And vice-versa.
Looking straight at the sun could produce light glare too, maybe. In any case, it shouldn't last longer than a couple seconds. It's a game after all.