It seems like the dawn and dusk time periods in the outdoors are the worst, because Torch Light doesn't have any effect outside until the game time is 9:00 PM. I was playing (stock) MM7 and then switched to play MM6, and MM6 seemed a lot brighter in early morning and early night. Since the game settings aren't doing enough for you, I recommend fooling around with the Windows graphics settings (like right-click on the desktop and go to Properties). If don't want the game to be too bright, try lowering the contrast through the Windows graphics properties - that way, darker will become lighter, but bright areas in the game won't be too light. Hopefully it won't be too washed out in the game.
