does hide in plain sight specific rules trump all general vision rules?

[kinderschlager]

due to specific > general i have had it explained to me that if low light conditions are present in any form, a person vanishes from sight.....all sight. lowlight vision, darkvision, and see in darkness are all caput and the only way to detect someone is via stuff like blindsight. is that really correct? as that would make it far more powerful than invisibility with a much reduced number of options to counter it

[Volkard Abendroth]

Yes, HiPS works even if others have dark vision or see in darkness. There is no requirement for the character using HiPS to have concealment in there chosen terrain. In the shadow dancers case, he can hide while standing in the open, in bright light, with no concealment, as long as there is an area of low light nearby.

What HiPS does not defeat is a high perception check or, in the case of a shadow dancer, a light cantrip.

If the party has pretty much any magical light source, a shadow dancer with HiPS will not meet the abilities requirements while near the light source.