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FSXA New way to make light splash.
- Thread starter jtanabodee
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jtanabodee
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In that picture I use:
Destination Blend= One
Source Blend = SrcColor
But it has an issue under low visibility, so I change the blending to
Destination Blend= One
Source Blend = One
Destination Blend= One
Source Blend = SrcColor
But it has an issue under low visibility, so I change the blending to
Destination Blend= One
Source Blend = One
euroastar350
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Ran across this thread last night and thought I would use the material recipe for something quite different and it's not scenery either 
n4gix
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Nice, and so we come in full circle. This type of lighting is what gave rise to the ramp lights project, now we're back to landing and/or taxi lights again...Ran across this thread last night and thought I would use the material recipe for something quite different and it's not scenery either
View attachment 17583
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Hello jtanabode, i tried your technique, using
Destination Blend= One
Source Blend = One
and it's works without white plane during foggy condition
but, do you know why the planes not illuminated? sorry for my bad english
jtanabodee
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You need Bill's light then to illuminate the airplane. Try this link http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/33mo-leaming-field-lighting-progress.19286/
jtanabodee
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Yes, Shuan. It does show that way. But I think during the dark night, cloudy sky looks almost the same as clear sky. I think I can live with that.
Hi
I'm sure the problem with clouds showing through the apron lights can be solved. Take a look at this screenshot from ORBX's latest product: http://www.flightsimstore.com/images/images_big/ORB-085_pic8.jpg
As you can see, the clouds do not show through the volumetric light. Now I have no idea how they did it, but there is a solution. Could it be an effect file?
I'm sure the problem with clouds showing through the apron lights can be solved. Take a look at this screenshot from ORBX's latest product: http://www.flightsimstore.com/images/images_big/ORB-085_pic8.jpg
As you can see, the clouds do not show through the volumetric light. Now I have no idea how they did it, but there is a solution. Could it be an effect file?
jtanabodee
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They will not tell us how to do.
It is us to find the way to do.
If anyone found the solution for that, please let us know.
It is us to find the way to do.
If anyone found the solution for that, please let us know.
jtanabodee
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I think so but effect always hurts frame rate if you use it a lot in a big airport.
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As regards the photo of the Orbix scenery, the directional lighting effects, one side bright and the other shadows, for the aircraft are quite reminiscent of some nighttime FS9 screenshots I obtained of parked aircraft during a lightning storm. http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/lighting-a-parked-aircraft.21636/#post-143012 . (the ground lighting for the shot of the MD 500E are the pad's night textures)
The featured screenshots are all from FS9, but with patience and hundreds of screenshots, I was able to create the same effect in FSX as well. It was interesting that the lightning effects, which appear to be the only way to directionally light aircraft on the ground, don't actually cast any light on the ground itself.
Now that I think of it, I don't think I ever made any of the lightning screenshots at an actual airport in order to see if the lightning illuminated any airport ground support equipment. All I know is that it was the only way I ever saw realistic directional lighting for an aircraft on the ground.
Maybe someone at Orbix has figured out how to use the effects provided in the sim for lightning?
(ededid fur speleen)
The featured screenshots are all from FS9, but with patience and hundreds of screenshots, I was able to create the same effect in FSX as well. It was interesting that the lightning effects, which appear to be the only way to directionally light aircraft on the ground, don't actually cast any light on the ground itself.
Now that I think of it, I don't think I ever made any of the lightning screenshots at an actual airport in order to see if the lightning illuminated any airport ground support equipment. All I know is that it was the only way I ever saw realistic directional lighting for an aircraft on the ground.
Maybe someone at Orbix has figured out how to use the effects provided in the sim for lightning?
(ededid fur speleen)
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jtanabodee
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Interesting indeed. The effect from lightning might be the way to do this.
I'm not a programmer, may be others could have some clue for this.
I'm not a programmer, may be others could have some clue for this.
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Hi Tic,
I think that until I see a lot more Orbix screenshots showing those lighting effects on various static aircraft, I'm going to assume they did the same thing I did, which was to set up the weather for thunderstorms, and repeatedly push the button on my screen capture program until the flash of lightning occurs.
I'm not saying that the light fixtures and ground splashes in that screenshot don't look fantastic, I'm just not so sure the lighting to the two aircraft in that screenshot had anything to do with the light fixtures and ground splashes.
And, I think the headlight beam on the moving vehicle may be Photo-shopped.
I'm just sayin'.
I think that until I see a lot more Orbix screenshots showing those lighting effects on various static aircraft, I'm going to assume they did the same thing I did, which was to set up the weather for thunderstorms, and repeatedly push the button on my screen capture program until the flash of lightning occurs.
I'm not saying that the light fixtures and ground splashes in that screenshot don't look fantastic, I'm just not so sure the lighting to the two aircraft in that screenshot had anything to do with the light fixtures and ground splashes.
And, I think the headlight beam on the moving vehicle may be Photo-shopped.
I'm just sayin'.
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They are static aircraft the _LM texture is brighter/"lit" like the sides of the hangar underneath the floodlights.
The 3d- light-splash-rays from the floodlights, similar to the 4x4 headlight's rays is what we're trying to replicate (not showing the clouds behind, in-front). I really think this is effects. It really wouldn't be too hard to achieve I think: the semi-transparent orbs around the nav_x textures has proper alpha writing and works well in fog. I'm going to look into it.
Anyone with this scenery can look at newly installed textures in the effects/textures to confirm this.
The 3d- light-splash-rays from the floodlights, similar to the 4x4 headlight's rays is what we're trying to replicate (not showing the clouds behind, in-front). I really think this is effects. It really wouldn't be too hard to achieve I think: the semi-transparent orbs around the nav_x textures has proper alpha writing and works well in fog. I'm going to look into it.
Anyone with this scenery can look at newly installed textures in the effects/textures to confirm this.
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Hi Shaun,
That would be a heck of a job of _LM texturing to achieve the directional lighting and shadows of the aircraft as seen in the Orbix screenshot. Additionally, those two static aircraft wouldn't be appropriate for any other setting than the one they are in.
As I said, the lightning effects upon aircraft look just like what is seen in the Orbix screenshot. The intensity varies a great deal as the light source is randomly generated, i.e., from flash to flash the light source moves around, is brighter or dimmer, and directionally illuminates only aircraft.
I used to enjoy finding interesting ways to produce artsy flightsim screenshots, and I found that the sims have some amazing capabilities for directional lighting at sunrise, sunset, and especially during lightning strikes, when the aircraft is directionally lit at night, an effect which is otherwise difficult to attain.
It is not an easy thing to make the screenshots with lightning, for the three shots I posted, I probably took five hundred screenshots, but as can be seen, the results are quite striking and worth the effort.
The Orbix screenshot is amazing because of the light fixtures and ground splashes which seem to support the reality of the directional lighting of the aircraft. However, it is just a matter of posing the aircraft, and taking screenshots until you get a lightning strike from the right direction.
Yep, I look forward to seeing more screenshots from the Orbix users.
Cheers
Gman
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Okay, they baked the texture with a light source in the position of the floodlights and used this to generate the shadow on a ground poly noise texture below. This is pretty standard, does it directionally and at the touch of a few buttons.
However, I see what you mean in that there is some function, used by lightning, to illuminate objects. I would be nice to know how to do this.
AFIK the lightning effect doesn't cast shadows. And if this were possible it would be nonsensical if one could just bake the light effects, it would be way too performance intensive.
However, I see what you mean in that there is some function, used by lightning, to illuminate objects. I would be nice to know how to do this.
AFIK the lightning effect doesn't cast shadows. And if this were possible it would be nonsensical if one could just bake the light effects, it would be way too performance intensive.
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I guess what I always wanted, was to be able taxi up to one of these light splash areas and see my aircraft illuminated beneath the light fixtures like those two helicopters appear to be.
We went to a lot of trouble with our landing pads to develop night textures for the landing decks which supported the illusion of light splashes from the surrounding ground lights while on approach. But as soon as the helicopter lands on the pad, the suspension of the illusion takes over as the chopper sits in the darkness of an otherwise well lit pad. Of course, since ramp light poles are not a good match for chopper pads, we were thinking from the ground up, not from the sky down. The only light source I found to provide the effect of directional illumination of the aircraft sitting on the pad was lightning. It seems like there were buttons in Gmax for some dynamic lighting options, but that they were disabled or otherwise not implemented for Flight Simulator, at least in my freeware version.
I find myself wondering again about the Orbix screenshot. That is one hangar/office/ramp light combination. Are there hundreds or thousands of these carefully constructed airport scenes customized with dozens of different ramp light/hangar/office/ground splash combinations complete with customized directionally lit static aircraft and static (or is it AI?) night lit vehicles with headlamp beams available at airports throughout the scenery area? If that is the case it is truly an amazing product.
Cheers
Gman
We went to a lot of trouble with our landing pads to develop night textures for the landing decks which supported the illusion of light splashes from the surrounding ground lights while on approach. But as soon as the helicopter lands on the pad, the suspension of the illusion takes over as the chopper sits in the darkness of an otherwise well lit pad. Of course, since ramp light poles are not a good match for chopper pads, we were thinking from the ground up, not from the sky down. The only light source I found to provide the effect of directional illumination of the aircraft sitting on the pad was lightning. It seems like there were buttons in Gmax for some dynamic lighting options, but that they were disabled or otherwise not implemented for Flight Simulator, at least in my freeware version.
I find myself wondering again about the Orbix screenshot. That is one hangar/office/ramp light combination. Are there hundreds or thousands of these carefully constructed airport scenes customized with dozens of different ramp light/hangar/office/ground splash combinations complete with customized directionally lit static aircraft and static (or is it AI?) night lit vehicles with headlamp beams available at airports throughout the scenery area? If that is the case it is truly an amazing product.
Cheers
Gman