So I did look around a bit in the MSFS forums and found that a similar issues were brought up in FS2020 way back. Which leads me to believe that FS2024, with all issues considered, is based on an earlier version of FS2020.
I found the sepia mask issue here:
That being said, I figured how to describe the issue with city lights. Lighting is never uniform as it is right now in FS2024 and previously in FS2020. There are patches of bright and dim lights scattered all throughout.