Stasher wrote:
Has the cavern actually gotten darker since the "crash" of D'ni?
No. You can see here in this annual graph that pellet contributions went up after the "crash" (let's call it a "freak electrical storm") of September, 2014, compared to pre-storm, so the light level would have quickly recovered:
http://forums.openuru.org/viewtopic.php?p=8580#p8580
However, the light level tends to normalize as the algae absorbs the nutrients. And currently being quite starved in the first place, as compared to a fully populated and funded Restoration, only reaching a sustained and significant level of contribution would also maintain a higher light level. But temporary increases do happen before the algae normalizes.
Starting with September, 2014, you might see in the monthly graphs afterward that although there were ups and downs in contributions, the average has held very constant:
http://forums.openuru.org/viewtopic.php?p=8550#p8550