What you're looking for is exactly what you need. "Suggestion"!! The moon is the power piece in this(brighter white), the City could be darkened quite a bit with the moon casting backlighting artifacts on the buildings, which would create more of a Suggestion of the City. Pin lights across the bulidings to give them a bit of detail. The uniformed color is giving it a flattened look. Just my .02 ICM

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Ockham's razor- It's that simple