If it is indeed the normal map intensity of the road textures at fault here, here's is a quick and easy guide on how to adjust those in UE4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVmgWneIj24
@mike_hmt wrote:
@pyide_maybea video tutorial really 😄
Hey, you laugh, but it's the studio's first time using UE4, sometimes the small details get overlooked and ignored, another prime example there is with the auto-exposure / eye adaptation intensity in the interior car views in the daytime. It's possible they don't know what the problem is and how to quickly address it. It's also very possible they don't even see it as a problem at all, the game did ship with this insanity in effect after all. That's what troubles me the most.
It's a brief, informative example showing how simple it would be to tweak the road's materials, then test if it has any difference and impact on their end. Not something we can adjust on our side, unfortunately. This is all presuming it is an issue with the surface maps being too strong. It may be something else entirely. There are other ways to tweak the normal maps, too, that's just the first one I saw. Maybe even better ways than that.
Only included it as a jumping off point, plus it provides a good visual example of the difference the default UE4 normal mapping strength can have vs adjusting it to reduce the effect, for players who may not understand what the heck I'm talking about, but know that something is messed up with the roads at night from having played the game some.
Small addition, these are comparing the loss of artistic details in the actual road (like the tire / driving lines and cracks and such) because of the intense normal maps or whatever is amping up the roughness of the surface too much and playing off the headlights to create all that noise.
Headlights off: https://imgur.com/knM8lEF.jpg
Headlights on: https://imgur.com/7CtPyFi.jpg
Headlights off: https://imgur.com/j7sC1Dr.jpg
Headlights on: https://imgur.com/kQE3fZG.jpg
You can actually see more detail and what the road surface is really like in the total darkness. Wild.
You are right, they must know about this and many other things.
The other workaround for this wonky glitch that may never be addressed is to just turn off your headlights at night and crank up the game's brightness instead.
Would suggest everyone who can't take the excessive visual noise and shimmer and unnatural movement of the road surface at night while using headlights give that a shot. Less ugly than disabling AF for sure, especially in the wet/rain.
I don't need to increase the brightness, search here for a topic called "summer nights" 😂...
One more comparison too add for this nonsense. This time from Japan in the fall where there's leaves and debris on the edges of the roads.
Headlights Off: 
Headlights On:
Notice how when they're on, the visual noise from the lights shining at the surface map layered on the road manages to even drown out some of those additional details, along with the road textures themselves. It's that strong.
I wonder if it's just the some settings attached to vehicle headlights that could be tweaked to avoid or reduce this, or maybe it's the intensity of this moveable light itself along with the extremely low angle causing this behavior where the surface map strength needs to be adjusted to reduce the severity? Because this noise is really not noticeable with how it interacts from main skylight in certain times of the day, and not visible at all from just the overhead street lights at night which shine directly down from above when you turn the headlights off. Those lamps aren't nearly as "bright" and intense as the headlights, however.
