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headlight effect (different question)

Fern

Fern

Messages
537
Country
canada
Hi, all

Well, using fx_landing.fx (never used it before) I found out that it DOES illuminate the ground in front of the aeroplane, but only in cockpit and VC modes.

Does anyone know a way of making it show in Spot Plane View mode, or know of another effect that will show in the Spot Plane Mode?

Thanks

F
 
??? It works just fine in ALL views here, in six different aircraft I've created/converted... Bear in mind you only need the .fx in the exterior model now. You do not need to create one for the interior model.
 
fx_landing.fx

Hi, n4gix

Well, I am talking about an effect; I am not talking about the headlight built into the model.

Sometimes there are models already made that don't have a headlight. I know those planes probably aren't worth playing with, but...

So, this effect fx_landing.fx shows a bright light where the light bulb is but, looking from inside of the plane, it also shows the spot of light on the ground in front of the plane. On take off, the spot "on the ground" disappears, as it should.

This effect (fx_landing.fx) is, therefore, a bit more elaborate than just a bright dot pretending to be a headlight bulb. It shows a pool of light on the ground, a "mickey mouse" one, but it is there.

However, the spot on the ground does not show when viewing the plane from the outside; it only shows in Cockpit and VC mode.

That is what I want to know. How can I get an EFFECT, something that I can add to the "lights" in the aircraft.cfg file, that will give me a headlight effect, even a primitive one.

I tried apron lights with modified bitmaps, but they don't show at all when installed on a plane.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Fern
 
Fern, assuming you are referring to FS9 (or earlier) a/c installed in FSX, the short and unhappy answer is...

..there's not one bloody thing you can do to accomplish your goal. Period. Full Stop.

Aside from lowering your Shader to 1.3 or below, the pre-FSX method of generating the "ground splash" from the landing/taxi lights will not be displayed except in the 2d panel view...

...of course, then you loose the Shader 2.0+ water effects.

You cannot simply add an entry for fx_landing.fx in the aircraft.cfg file at all, since that particular .fx file only works whenever it is Attached to a polygon in the model, since it must be "aimed" based on the pivot point of the polygon. Absent that, the .fx file will only show up as a 'glowing ball of light' in FSX.
 
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I still think those limitations are the biggest disappointments fsx brought with it. :(
I really hoped fsx would at this point be better than fs9.
 
Horst18519 said:
I still think those limitations are the biggest disappointments fsx brought with it. :(
I really hoped fsx would at this point be better than fs9.
Click to expand...

In order for ACES to implement Shader 2.0+ somethings had to go... unfortunately, it was the "old landing/taxi light" system that took the dive into the deep six.

OTOH, the "new method" is much, much more flexible and extensible...

Why I have created multiple controlled landing and taxi lights, without even having the use the landing or taxi light electrical systems! ;)

How about an adjustable "spotlight" that can be pointed in nearly any direction using a 'mousable joystick' in the VC or 2d?
 
Could you show a screenshot ot those lights? It would be very interesting how you did it. :)

I thought of a spot-light years ago, but with FS9 it didn't get it to work like I wanted. Would be great if it were possible in fsx.
 
headlight using effect works, but...

Hi,

Well, I got a headlight (landing light) effect to work. It is far from perfect, and I still have some problems to solve, but here is the most pressing one:

The pool of light appears as required, on the ground, visible from all views, but it doesn't turn with the plane.

In other words, it follows the aeroplane around, but it is always pointing in the same direction which it first appeared, the same direction the plane appeared.

Is there a way to make it turn with the plane?

F
 
Is the polygon Linked to the a/c's fuselage, or is it simply "free floating?"
 
Headlight "effect" pictures

Hi, Thorsten

Here are the two pictures of the effect. For now, please ignore the fact that the pool of light is appearing as if the headlight was some 20 metres behind the plane. That is easy to fix by just changing the bitmap to show the lit area in the uppper part of the bit map.

The problem I am trying to fix first is make the effect 'turn' with the plane. In the second picture you can see what I mean. The pool of light moves with the plane, but it doesn't turn with it (it does go up and down with it).

I know for a fact that effect can be made to turn with the aircraft, as, for example, after-burners flames.

I used the fx_landing.fx as a base, and used one of MS' bitmaps as a source for mine.

Here is the text for the effect.

Fern


[Library Effect]
Lifetime=5
Version=1.00

[Emitter.0]
Lifetime=0.50, 0.50
Delay=0.00, 0.00
Bounce=0.00
No Interpolate=1
Rate=1.00, 1.00
X Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Y Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Z Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Drag=0.00, 0.00
X Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Y Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Z Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
X Rotation=0.00, 0.00
Y Rotation=0.00, 0.00
Z Rotation=0.00, 0.00
X Offset=0.00, 0.00
Y Offset=0.00, 0.00
Z Offset=0.00, 0.00


[Particle.0]
Lifetime=0.00, 0.00
Type=19

X Scale=30, 30
Y Scale=30, 30
Z Scale=0.00, 0.00

//X Scale=0.75, 0.75
//Y Scale=0.75, 0.75
//Z Scale=0.00, 0.00
X Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Y Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Z Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Drag=0.00, 0.00
Color Rate=0.00, 0.00
X Offset=0.00, 0.00
Y Offset=0.00, 0.00
Z Offset=0.00, 0.00
Fade In=0.00, 0.00
Fade Out=0.00, 0.00
Rotation=0.00, 0.00
Static=1
Face=0, 0, 0
Ground Normal=1

[ParticleAttributes.0]
Blend Mode=2
Texture=LandingLight.bmp
Bounce=0.00
Color Start=55, 52, 50, 100
Color End=55, 52, 50, 0
Jitter Distance=0.00
Jitter Time=0.00
uv1=0, 0
uv2=1, 1
X Scale Goal=0.00
Y Scale Goal=0.00
Z Scale Goal=0.00
Extrude Length=0.00
Extrude Pitch Max=0.00
Extrude Heading Max=0.00
 
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Controlling the effect

Hi,

One more thing...

The fx_aburner.fx is "controlled" by a DSBAburner.xml, which sits in the folder FS\Gauges\dsbxml.

Is there a write-up on this DSBAburner.xml and how it controls the fx_aburner.fx somewhere?

That could help me create a control to make the pool of light effect disappear when the plane takes off.

Thanks

F
 
Polygon

Sorry, n4gix, forgot to answer your question.

There is no polygon. Like I explained at the beginning, this is NOT a headlight created in gmax. This is an effect (fx_xxxxx.fx), to be placed in the Effects folder, and placed on the plane as an effect, with the Lights, in the aircraft.cfg file.

Thanks

F
 
Fern said:
Sorry, n4gix, forgot to answer your question.

There is no polygon. Like I explained at the beginning, this is NOT a headlight created in gmax. This is an effect (fx_xxxxx.fx), to be placed in the Effects folder, and placed on the plane as an effect, with the Lights, in the aircraft.cfg file.

Thanks

F
Click to expand...

Ah! Now I gottcha! I'm a little slow sometimes... :p

Bill
 
Who's slower

No sweat, Bill, you're no slower than me.

I am racking my brain here trying to figure out why the afterburner flame effect can follow the aircraft so neatly and my headlight effect follows the plane but doesn't turn with it (it is always pointing in the direction the plane first appeared).

Thanks

Fern
 
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