Check your gamma setting. The new default is 38, anything much higher will make the game look washed out.Since updating to A17 it is my opinion the game looks worse. Not sure if it's the lighting or the textures, but it looks pretty terrible in all honesty. I'll probably take some screenshots to illustrate later.
Performance is also down; Intel i5 and a GTX 970 and I am barely getting 25-30fps.
I've heard others with a GTX970 run the game with fps above 60. If your resolution is above HD, dial that down. Else maybe delete your user preferences (or install your game in a newly created account on the same computer) and see if some old setting of A16 may be interfering. Just an idea, I don't know if it helps, but worth a try.