Why not use the in-game color blindness filters?
Short version: they do not help much, if at all.
Long version:
First read "How does color blindness work?" below.
The goal of those filters is to shift colors on screen to a point that removes the frequencies of color that trigger more than one type of cone. This is similar to how the "colorblindness correcting glasses" "work", which have been proven to be a scam.
The problem is that a game shifting the color of an object does not shift the actual color output on a screen. All modern displays today use pixels to communicate a color, those pixels are actually made up of 3 small lights, colored red, green, and blue. These lights have a static frequency, and cannot be shifted. Due to how normal color vision works, this means a display can mimic any normally possible color. But for abnormal vision, these static frequencies do not match what their cones are looking for.
For example, if a color on screen has any amount of red in it, the red parts of pixels will be on, and someone with Deuteranomaly (shifted green cone (towards red frequencies)) will see the color as partly green.
For these reasons, the consensus among doctors, scientists, accessibility specialists, and those affected by color blindness agree: do not rely on color to communicate important information; use symbols. If you must use color, limit your options to two colors: one with high brightness and one with low.
What is color blindness (or colourblindness) or color vision deficiency?
Colorblindness is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color compared to normal vision. This can lead to difficulty differentiating colors that most people have no trouble with, like Electronic (green) and Advanced (red) circuits.
How does color blindness work?
This question is relevant when trying to find accessibility solutions for color blindness.
There are many different forms of colorblindness, including:
- Deuteranomaly (reduced red-green vision)
- Protanomaly (reduced red-green vision)
- Tritanomaly (reduced blue-yellow vision)
- Deuteranopia (no green cones)
- Protanopia (no red cones)
- Tritanopia (no blue cones)
- Monochromacy / Achromatopsia (black and white vision, very rare)
This is not an exhaustive list either, because each -anomaly form has multiple degrees of severity. In the -anomaly forms, the affected cone triggers on the wrong light frequency. For Deuteranomaly and Protanomaly, this means the red and green cones overlap in what frequencies trigger them, meaning many colors trigger both and instead look brown. For Tritanomaly, this means yellower frequencies trigger the blue cone, looking blue.
What options do you use?
I have moderate to severe Deuteranomaly.
I have the following options set for my personal use:
- Circuit connection blue signal: 255, 255, 255, 255
- Circuit connection green signal: 0, 255, 127, 255
- Circuit connection red signal: 231, 0, 0, 255
- Roboport construction robot range: 121, 255, 55, 255
- Roboport logistic robot range: 255, 82, 0, 255
- Capsule range: 12, 25, 255, 32
- Turret range in game: 12, 25, 255, 32
- Copper cable electric pole connections: 225, 129, 0, 255
- Green wire electric pole connections: 0, 255, 92, 255
- Red wire electric pole connections: 180, 0, 0, 255
- Available technology background color: Dark green
- Unavailable technology background color: Dark red
- Pollution: 215, 0, 0, 220
- Atomic bomb: Icon overlay
- Explosive cannon shell: Icon overlay
- Explosive uranium cannon shell: Icon overlay
- Uranium cannon shell: Icon overlay
- Uranium rounds magazine: Icon overlay
- Cluster grenade: Icon overlay
- Crude oil: Icon overlay
- Heavy oil: Icon replacement
- Light oil: Icon replacement
- All fluid barrels: Overlay of fluid icon
- Bulk inserter: Icon overlay
- Electronic circuit: Icon replacement
- Advanced circuit: Icon replacement
- Green wire: Icon replacement
- Active provider chest: Icon overlay
- Buffer chest: Icon overlay
- Passive provider chest: Icon overlay
- Requester chest: Icon overlay
- Storage chest: Icon overlay
- Efficiency module: Icon overlay
- Productivity module: Icon overlay
- Logistic science pack: Icon replacement
- Utility science pack: Icon replacement
- Express transport belt: Icon replacement
- Transport belt: Icon replacement
- Fast underground belt: Icon and sprite replacement
- Underground belt: Icon and sprite replacement
- All color signals: Icon replacement
- Each signal: Icon replacement
- Everything signal: Icon replacement
- Pollution on map: 140, 0, 0, 200
- Ammoniacal solution: Icon overlay
- Electrolyte: Icon overlay
- Fluorine: Text overlay
- Fluoroketone (Cold): Icon overlay
- Fluoroketone (Hot): Icon overlay
- Holmium solution: Icon overlay
- Lithium brine: Icon overlay
- Agricultural science pack: Icon replacement
- Cryogenic science pack: Icon replacement
- Turbo transport belt: Icon replacement
- Turbo underground belt: Icon and sprite replacement
- Spores on map: 140, 140, 0, 200