A year ago I would've pointed out how an upgrade of this type wouldn't be terribly useful, since many players don't have the sort of high-end computers required to handle the locational lighting. And then I'd have gone on to explain how the Devs have been trying to create new content and touches usable by all members of the playerbase or, at least, most.
i17 blew that argument out of the water, though! So yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay Lightsourced powers!
/signed
-Rachel-
Yes, the only reason why someone would be against this idea is the whole system requirements thing you've mentioned. I don't see why else someone would be against it. I mean, who wouldn't want the game they're playing to look better?
So long as it was bundled into Ultra Mode and/or could be switched off, sure.
However, it turned out that Smith was not a time-travelling Terminator
A lot of powers in CoH/CoV give off some sort of light. In fact, a ton of powers have extremely bright animations. The only problem here is...why doesn't any of those light illuminate their surroundings?
It would be neat to blast a fireball down a hallway and have that hallway be illuminated by the light from your fireball as it travels.
How cool would it be to have the sparks from your Electric Armor illuminate its surroundings? And yes, I do mean each individual spark illuminating its respective surroundings, be it the ground, the wall, your teammates or even yourself.
Fire Armor would be a walking torch. The "puffs" from Fiery Aura would look pretty cool if it illuminates its surroundings.
The idea as a whole seems pretty good to me. For example, a group of players fighting a GM somewhere in a zone. Obviously, that area should be pretty bright, given all the powers being used by the players themselves along with the GM. From afar, you can see some sort of light pulsating and KNOW just by looking that something big is going on there. As you look around the zone, you see other lights pulsating, small fights breaking out everywhere around you.
I know this is a lot to ask, I'm sure it's a lot of work to do and will probably take a ton of resources to implement it this late in a game. Chances are, it will never happen...but hey, a person can dream :]