They’ve been periodically cutting out particle effects from the game…
Meteor smoke anyone? Or a lot of other NPC campfire smoke and probably other stuff here and there we didn’t even notice.
Imo they’ve been after those altar lights for a long time but now they have a convenient reason for it too.
Probably has to do with the experience itself as well… like you have new people join a server and see all these intimidating silly beams all over the place, Ignasi might have been joking in the patch notes with the light pollution thing, but he’s got a point
I agree though if they want to use this for events, then it makes sense else you might accidentally show up on some Alpha clan’s doorsteps by accident to do the events
(Based on how I understood what they said on the stream… they don’t just plan to use it for the Chapter 3 sorcery event… but for ALL events in the future of ALL Ages )
Unless a rework of religion is coming and shutting off the beams was the simplest solution to an internal concern and it would be moot in the next age anyway… just idle speculation.
They are changing Mek-kamoses spire “to have a light pillar that is seen from a great distance”. I assume they just put the normal pillar effect on it and adjust it to be visible from huge distance - but to avoid same happening to normal altar beams (if they are simply using the same effect) they are shutting the other beams off (hopefully temporarily).
So tl:dr I am hoping situation will return to normal once the event is gone.
I’m happy they’re gonna go. I liked them well enough, but their pull on the server performance is bad. I’m tired of seeing noobs join the official servers and instantly unlock every shrine, just to shove them all into a crappy base that clusters them among 20 million torches, thralls, and pets. I will either build one per small satellite base, or none at all. My main base is large on EL, yet purposely does not contain a single shrine. Your average player won’t consider this and would have them filtered in because who cares about other players? I say good riddance. Get over it, guys… the reason they should be gone is because of server performance and because your average player can’t control themselves. Oh, and I’m also glad, because now that occasional player can’t have a phallic tower with beams shooting out anymore (I’m looking at those guys that built next to me about 4 years back).
I know, I know…they caused lag, didn’t do anything for content, visual only. I get it, but I liked my base spouting light pillars up into the heavens. It may have been just an asthetic thing for me, but I still liked it. RIP, Vegas lights
Maybe someone will make a mod to bring 'em back tho
Its a good thing to start with actually because it will involve a few key tables, making a copy of the altar blueprints, and adding the beam particle effect and a recipe to craft them (mostly copy/pasta). It would be an excellent first foray and probably be a tiny mod. It wouldnt involve what I would call “programming” and as you did it, you’d undoubtedly get ideas on how to do all kinds of other things you have always wanted.
I find this discussion interesting as it shows that people still like the disco lights.
In my experience most players I talk to are pretty annoyed by the beams, even in their own base. It’s true, some players know to create amazing effects with them. (But that’s the minority, at least on PvP and PvE-C servers.) At some point the sight of yet another plain base with six light pillars reaching to the sky gets boring.
I’d prefer my shrines without the light beams and would appreciate them to have some distinct local effects to match their deity. So I’m with KamikazeHamster on this.
I whould like to keep the beams also. Couldn’t they just make the event beams a different color, white or somthing? I like running around at night and seeing them it gives life to the map,kinda like Vagas, lol
Or a lot of other NPC campfire smoke and probably other stuff here and there we didn’t even notice.
Age of Gods 
