Whenever I try and do a night scene and all I want is natural lighting, all the natural materials turn to pitch black, short of adding lights, how can I fix this problem? Tempest

Easiest way I have found is go to the sky editor and drop the shadow percentage. it is uaually on 90 to 100, and eveything will be dead black in a night scene. You can also up the ambance of a texture to make it "glow" just enough to be seen.

Make a night scene that is actually a day scene (just with a dark sky color, dark sun glow color and dark colors for the clouds. Don't be afraid to use lights. A few dim radial lights can really spruce up a scene without overwhelming it.