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Topic: Lights... I see the light!


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A very good topic... I am using 3Dlights with FSX but it still lacks a lot of realism

Just as a guess: what about all that emergency lights, on the cabin floor e.g. etc.

Not as necessary for operation and flying but could increase ambience a lot.

Maybe have a look at this document I found doing a quick research:

http://www.goodrich-...xpand=1#Landing,_Taxi_&_Emergency_Lights

Regards

Michael

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I would have a good lightsystem that works. There you have taxilights etc. Not like in FSX on default aircraft there you just can have landinglights on, and that to much

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I don't know if this is possible but cabin lights are dimmed at take off and landing.... could that be replicated somehow? and then just to be over the top have the individual light up as the passengers turn on their reading lamps :P but thats just an extra. And if you can lights not blind you but when you take off at night and there is a great big long queue of Large A/c facing you, there is a blinding effect.

Is there a way of differentiating the strobe patterns because this is one way of recognising a Boeing from an Airbus...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Why not leave it open for devs to say "I want 50 external lights"? Why put an artificial limit on everything? IMHO this is where FS fundamentally went wrong.

Have your lights if you wish, but make the API such that you can theoretically have an unlimited number. If it kills the system having 50,000 lights rendered on one aircraft then so be it, but I think you get the point. :)

The same for engines, etc.. - make it as scalable as possible. Talking of engines - permit types to be mixed (e.g. 4x turboprop engines and 16x rocket as in Fat Albert).

Best regards,

Robin.

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Hmm, I don't know if you have seen that, but, in FSX, the light is only simulated.

If you want to do a beautiful, realistic and amazing simulator ! :lol: You must create a real lighting with true shadowing !

For example:

- There must be shadows under the gates.

- When an airplane is approaching from a lighting source, it must be illuminated !

etc.

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Lights should illuminate the ground (and not just "wash it out"). Additionally scenery objects (including clouds) and other aircraft should be illuminated too.

Good lighting really improves the "atmospherics", so hopefully AS2012 will get it right (better than FSX).

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Speaking of lighting, I would like to see the lighting from the sun/moon more accurately portraid. Case in point, the 'God Rays' that pour thru cloud from above when viewed below. Also, for lighting to be darker under an overcast layer than when on top. This is a very crude description, but sort of like an infinately variable mask that works similar to the system that's employed to change textures from daytime to dark via dusk- As the aircraft decends thru cloud and pops out on bottom, the atmosphere is darker based on cloud coverage (2/8, 4/8, etc.) and the more overcast, the darker. As the aircraft moves from one weather region to another the texture mask adjusts based on the reported cloud covereage noted in the weather engine of the sim. The same for when the calandar in the sim dictates a full moon- make the ground a slightly brighter texture than on a non moon night. Make moon reflection on objects as well as light from other sources. When approaching the terminal and the terminal lights are on, they reflect off of the water left by rain. Last, but certainly very important to me, is as many others have requested to have LIGHT be true light in the sim so that it actually illuminates an object (or appears to). One very annoying thing from FS is when an aircraft is parked next to a building and when you go to spot view, you see the taxi/landing lights shining thru the base of the building onto the other side.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Don't forget many panels have a glow strip under the glare shield, as well as instrument backlights, illuminated switches etc. and yes the lights should be dimmable.

While on the topic of lights, although not necessarily aircraft, please consider:

* Pilot-controlled runway lighting

* 'Tower' controlled lighting, with separate dimmable controls for:

Runway

Taxiways

Approach

VASI/PAPI

Also the lights should be directional (RW, very few runways are highly visible from the side...)

In RW training, especially at night, it's common to fly circuits with one or more sets of lights switched off for each pass. You could request this through the ATC calls...

Also consider allowing Tower signal gun lighting, viz: http://pad39a.com/gene/lg.html

Also consider allowing more kinds of lights. For example, a WWII-era airfield might use goose-neck flare lights (you would not have to simulate the bloke pedalling down the runway on his bicycle, lighting them... ;) )

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Shouldn't inactive runway lights at larger airports be off? If so, the sim should reflect reality in this case.

Everything Tim_A (post before this one) mentioned, especially instrument backlights, illuminated switches and several dimmable light sources within the cockpit, sounds great when incorporated in the sim. Tower controlled lighting would probably be a dream of virtual controllers.

Cloud shadows are a must in 2012 I think. FSX should have had them actually.

Taxi, landing, turnoff lights should have a realistic light cone with light fading over distance (not like those triangles in default FSX :S). Light cones should look realistic in foggy conditions and should illuminate clouds. With a modern DX10-11 videocard, this shouldn't be a problem.

Raymond

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Don't forget many panels have a glow strip under the glare shield, as well as instrument backlights, illuminated switches etc. and yes the lights should be dimmable.

While on the topic of lights, although not necessarily aircraft, please consider:

* Pilot-controlled runway lighting

* 'Tower' controlled lighting, with separate dimmable controls for:

Runway

Taxiways

Approach

VASI/PAPI

Also the lights should be directional (RW, very few runways are highly visible from the side...)

In RW training, especially at night, it's common to fly circuits with one or more sets of lights switched off for each pass. You could request this through the ATC calls...

Also consider allowing Tower signal gun lighting, viz: http://pad39a.com/gene/lg.html

Also consider allowing more kinds of lights. For example, a WWII-era airfield might use goose-neck flare lights (you would not have to simulate the bloke pedalling down the runway on his bicycle, lighting them... wink.gif )

I would REALLY like to see the tower light gun signals. Pilot controlled lighting would be cool too.

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Poll: When was the last time you've been given a clearance by light gun signals (in the real world, and other than for demonstration)?

A: Just last week.

B: In the recent past.

C: Don't remember, but i've seen it once or twice.

D: Never ever.

:D

But I vote for pilot controlled lighting, non-omnidirectional runway and taxiway lights, and variable light intensity/brightness.

Judith

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The airport rotating beacon in FSX MUST be improved on.

Also, I don't know if this is the right place... but one of the things that bothers me more than almost anything else about FSX is that there is far too much light at night. It should be difficult, I think, to land in the dark at an unlighted grass strip in alaska with no landing lights, but in fsx, it is not. Over the ocean at night, especially under an overcast, the horizon should not be visible. At all.

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The airport rotating beacon in FSX MUST be improved on.

Also, I don't know if this is the right place... but one of the things that bothers me more than almost anything else about FSX is that there is far too much light at night. It should be difficult, I think, to land in the dark at an unlighted grass strip in alaska with no landing lights, but in fsx, it is not. Over the ocean at night, especially under an overcast, the horizon should not be visible. At all.

Very true; on many flight over oceans I can see the ocean below quite well and it "glimmers" way too much.

Another thing that bothers me is that when you look at ground textures, to simulate cities they just made them "light" color to distinguish them from rural areas. It would be nice to see real lights, as this looks much more realistic. Just compare FlyTampa's Hong Kong City & Kai Tak Airport with the FSX default scenery. In the default, the ground is lit up like a Christmas tree at night. In FlyTampa's rendition, there is enough light from the city itself that the ground texture doesn't need to be illuminated.

If this is asking too much, don't do it. I don't want AFS2012 to be plagued by the low framerates and problems of FSX.

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Please God make lights illuminate the tarmac. Not just the aircraft lights, but the airport lights as well. The outdoor lighting at the field should illuminate the ground, the aircraft, the parking spots, the baggage carts, the terminal, etc. I hate parking in the dark in FSX. lol

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The airport rotating beacon in FSX MUST be improved on.

Also, I don't know if this is the right place... but one of the things that bothers me more than almost anything else about FSX is that there is far too much light at night. It should be difficult, I think, to land in the dark at an unlighted grass strip in alaska with no landing lights, but in fsx, it is not. Over the ocean at night, especially under an overcast, the horizon should not be visible. At all.

That's true, even the cockpits are to bright for my taste during night in FSX/FS9.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Has anyone seen the night lighting on this CRJ-200 being developed for X-plane? It's very impressive, particularly the capability to dim the instrument lighting and control cabin lighting as well. Check out the external lighting as well, with the beacon light reflecting on the wings and fuselage.

This sort of functionality would be fantastic in AFS2012. It certainly adds to the overall atmosphere.

happy new year...'s eve.

Rhydian

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I liked that on the CRJ.. I didn't see the strobes though on the wings... And I would prefer to see the light of Landing lights illuminate the ground.

I didn't know XPlane had such detail?? :P

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Most lights reflect on the ground as well. Strobes, Navs, beacons.. etc. reflect onto the ground in most planes. That is one major component.

I know this may be a far fetched idea but how about simulating the decreasing intensity of the lights with age.

:)

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I'd just like to be able to see the airports lights, especially the identifier from the Tower (wht/grn -- Civilian, wht/wht/grn -- Military) like normal airport lighting. I have an addon for FSX that lets me set the intensity of the lights along with scenery textures "XGraphics from HiFi Flightware". I also use 3D Light Redux, and it helps somewhat. But if you fly and need to land in a hurry, I really don't think the Air Force wants you dropping in for a visit.

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Also, don't know if this is the right post for this, but when declaring an emergency using FSPassengers, has no consequence in FSX. You change the transponder to the emergency frequency and FSX cancels your flight. Be nice if you set the emerg freq and a controller contacts you and asks what's up. Also be nice to see emergency equipment waiting for you at your destination or alt landing point when you arrive after declaring an emergency. Be kinda interesting to watch the landing from the view of the firetrucks! Just a thought I'd throw into the mix.

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LOL, one more thing. Could you put some flashing amber lights on the airport service trucks? I can't tell you how many times I almost run over an airport fuel truck because I was watching other aircraft around the terminals. Any maybe add some of the new transportation laws from the US. If something like a security breach happens at an airport and your taxiing to the terminal, ur told to hold until further notice.

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