Darkvision Ineffective?

[Anomander]

So playing a character/class with darkvision is a little underwhelming. I'm not sure if my understanding/expectations of darkvision are off (totally possible) but it seems like I can't see very well in the dark at all (not magical darkness but walking around UD or dark cave).

It just seems weird that practically speaking, as a deep gnome shadowdancer, I have to pull out a torch to see well enough to navigate the underdark.

Thoughts?

[Baron Saturday]

In my experience (pre-EE, mind you), darkvision is something you don't really appreciate until you don't have it, at which point you realize how much it actually helped. I've played characters with darkvision/low-light vision and strolled comfortably through dark areas, only to have some human character complain that they can't see.

Also, darkvision is kinda wonky in that it requires you to be standing in a dark spot to turn on, so if you're standing in light looking into dark, it does diddly.