Important health warning
A very small number of people may have a seizure when they see certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that can appear in video games. Even people with no history of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition that can cause these "photosensitive epileptic seizures" while playing.
Symptoms can include lightheadedness, altered vision, twitching of the eyes or face, jerking or shaking of the arms or legs, disorientation, confusion, or a brief loss of awareness. Seizures can also cause loss of consciousness or convulsions, which can lead to injury from falling down or striking nearby objects.
If you notice any of these symptoms, stop playing immediately and see a doctor. Parents should watch their children while they play, or ask them about these symptoms; children and teenagers are more likely than adults to have these seizures.
If you or anyone in your family has a history of seizures or epilepsy, talk to a doctor before playing.
To reduce the risk
- Play in a well-lit room.
- Sit a comfortable distance from the screen.
- Use a smaller screen or window if you can.
- Don't play when you are drowsy or tired.
- Take a break of at least 10 to 15 minutes every hour.
Comfort and strain
Playing for long stretches can cause tired eyes and aches in the hands, wrists, arms, neck or back. Take regular breaks. If you feel pain, tingling, numbness or stiffness that does not go away, stop playing and see a doctor.
What in IRONLINE can flash
- Lightning. During storms, lightning briefly lights up the whole scene, with several seconds between strikes. Storms are one of the game's weather states and come and go with the seasons.
- Opening a crate. Between runs, opening a crate ends in a brief white flash as the lid comes off. You can click to skip it.
- The interface. Pulsing alerts and highlights are kept at two pulses a second or slower.
The game does not shake the camera.
Comfort and accessibility settings
These are all in the game's Settings (press , or open the pause menu with Esc):
- Animation: Full or Reduced (Picture). Reduced stops the interface's pulsing, easing and the beacons on the map.
- Your system's reduced-motion setting is respected as well. With it on, the game's in-world effects, such as the bursts when something is built or a town grows, are calmer.
- Interface size (Picture), from 85% to 145%.
- Overlay colours (Picture). The land value map can use blue to yellow instead of red to green.
- Quality (Picture). Plain and Plainest turn off the extra drawing passes, haze and the tilt-shift blur.
- Edge scrolling and inverted drag to look (Controls).
- Separate volume levels for effects, ambience (including weather) and music (Sound).
There is currently no setting that switches off the weather or the lightning. If you are sensitive to flashing light, please take extra care during storms.