i am on tutorial level, and both the camp map and first cave map is just too dim, i can barely see anything on it. is there any way to lighten the map? i have my gamma cranked up to full.

 

here's a shot of what my map looks like:

 

 

http://cloud-4.steamusercontent.com/ugc/528385406417270664/11C07299A102C76D7D9FBD2CC9D95B58812350DB/

 

 

the overworld is just fine, but somehow the map looks so dark. is it intentional? setting? or my monitor?

eh, nevermind, i tweaked color setting in Nvidia control panel, and it is fine now.

 

it seems my screen's cotnrast and vibrance are too low. it's awesome now

yeah try adjusting brightness level on your monitor if you haven't already. Initially my game was a bit too dark as well but a couple points up on the gamma slider made it better (though it's still dark).