It's not because it's expected behavior that it is not a bug
What I expected to happen was...:
I went into a cave and expected to see nothing but pitch darkness
What actually happened was...:
I could see pretty well, enough for torches to be useless
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Put "brightness" on "bright"
2. go into a cave that should be pitch dark
3. see that it is not pitch dark, but actually pretty light
4. go on a mac to see the difference
Comments 5
The problem is that it is not consistent, so for example a windows user that changes to mac will be annoyed by the fact that he/she cannot see as much as on windows. It should be identical on different operating systems. So either both dark like on mac, or both light like on windows (my preferred option).
Just making some elimination for possible reasons.. have you checked if there is gamma-correction setting differences between macs and windozes? I mean on the graphics driver settings. Also, is there a (significant) difference when the brightness setting is at its minimum? (I can not compare that myself as I only have single system...)
On my windows 7, the maximum brightness on a completely enclosed tunnel is quite dark still. I can certainly see almost everything without torches, but I have to keep looking for a moment to notice details. I would expect this would be something of expected level for a maximum setting, if not a bit too dark.
Consider also this, as an example, all my friends like to keep their monitors brightness at something like 50% to 100% ("it is so nice to see the darker things too"), and happily adjust gamma correction for the same benefits. I tend to try and calibrate my monitor and settings for "correct" end results (One monitor at 0%, the other at 20% to try and match the one at its minimum). So, check your monitor and graphics driver settings; is the base level of everything already too bright, and the problem isn't actually in the game?
That is, such comparisons between systems aren't valid unless both systems have been calibrated equally. In this context, visual comparison/calibration is enough, no need to purchase expensive gadgets.
The slider exists because perceived brightness may vary depending on a huge number of factors, including: viewer, ambient light, monitor, video card, drivers, gamma correction settings, OS, etc. Because they cannot make it consistent across all those factors, the slider is provided so that the user may adjust it as necessary.
Whats your problem? Just change brightness to smallest. That option was supposed to be like that. Its not bug