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No, no other lights, only the 3D model of the tower is exported. Nothing needs to be synced.
But that's exactly what I didOk, Appreciate the input, but this is not what I was looking for. What you mentioned is a "stock" rotating beacon model with lights. I do not want to use "their" model and have already eliminated it from my airport in preference of my model. I DO want to use the lights for that model though! Wonder if I can deconstruct the model somehow and figure out how to use JUST the lights with MY model. Hmmm....
Worse comes to worse, I'll eliminate my model and replace it with theirs.
TB2
Ok, Appreciate the input, but this is not what I was looking for. What you mentioned is a "stock" rotating beacon model with lights. I do not want to use "their" model and have already eliminated it from my airport in preference of my model. I DO want to use the lights for that model though! Wonder if I can deconstruct the model somehow and figure out how to use JUST the lights with MY model. Hmmm....
Worse comes to worse, I'll eliminate my model and replace it with theirs.
TB2
But that's exactly what I did
The 3-D model of the Beacon housing comes from me. But the light is from Asobo (only the light).
Hi TB:
I also seek a MSFS true Rotating Green - White Civilian Airport Beacon - not one that "flashes" On / Off (with / without a 'fade' effect).
I like the image of the 3D model you showed above in your post earlier in this thread ...here:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/rotating-beacon-light-tower.453047/post-913604
Is that the Rotating Beacon on top of the Ocala International Airport tower ?
I ask because, there is typically some small Red hazard lights adjacent to such Rotating Beacons that may be required as well.
IIRC, those Red hazard lights are either Continuous On, or 'slow' On / Off types.
I am curious if it is best to make these as part of a Control Tower 3D model used to mount a separate Rotating Beacon SimObject ?
GaryGB
When I last updated my Essen/Mülheim Airport EDLE, I added the so-called "Asobo Beacon Light" to the tower. the light is visible in fog and has great visibility.
In the first step you create a dummy object in your 3D model and call it attachpoint_beacon, for example:
View attachment 86936
In the next step you reference the dummy object with the same name in your XML placement file:
<!--SceneryObject name: mh_flughafen_tower (Beacon)-->
<SceneryObject parentGroupID="8" groupIndex="18" lat="51.40647299999826" lon="6.93854500000000" alt="0.00000000000000" pitch="0.000041" bank="-0.000041" heading="135.000000" imageComplexity="VERY_SPARSE" altitudeIsAgl="TRUE" snapToGround="TRUE" snapToNormal="FALSE">
<LibraryObject name="{59589256-FB71-4D94-99D8-953DC12312BE}" scale="1.000000"/>
<AttachedObject attachpointName="attachpoint_beacon" instanceId="{42910FFC-EEF5-43B1-A0F6-AEB885F7B95A}" pitch="0.000000" bank="0.000000" heading="0.000000">
<Beacon type="CIVILIAN" baseType="AIRPORT"/>
</AttachedObject>
</SceneryObject>
The referencing can also be done in the Scenery Editor, where you only have to use the tower as a beacon light object. It's called Replace Beacon Light Model, or something like that.
View attachment 86937
FYI, "has Beacon" also includes the offset, which means that if you decide to use the default beacon placed with the Scenery Editor, you will have to include a second instance of said beacon which uses the beacon attach point, buried below at presumably, Christian's same offset, in order to see the beacon and light together.There is also the "Has beacon" option in the Scenery Editor:
Scenery Objects
docs.flightsimulator.com
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<FSData version="9.0">
<!--SceneryObject name: VertexBrickCube-->
<SceneryObject groupIndex="1" lat="42.62955774618441" lon="-88.60053272113089" alt="0.00000000000000" pitch="0.000000" bank="0.000000" heading="0.0" imageComplexity="VERY_SPARSE" altitudeIsAgl="TRUE" snapToGround="FALSE" snapToNormal="FALSE">
<LibraryObject name="{A7836CA0-32C4-4C1B-8865-CE0DD63BEB67}" scale="1.000000"/>
<AttachedObject attachpointName="myattachpoint" instanceId="{C8FC79C5-CE91-45E3-90ED-95ABBA54E0A8}" pitch="0.000000" bank="0.000000" heading="0.000000">
<Beacon type="CIVILIAN" baseType="AIRPORT"/>
</AttachedObject>
</SceneryObject>
<Airport groupID="1" groupGenerated="FALSE" state="Wisconsin" city="Delavan" name="Lake Lawn" ident="C59" lat="42.63388284867607" lon="-88.60112657613251" alt="288.77326180133969" magvar="2.000000" trafficScalar="1.000000" airportTestRadius="5000.00000000000000" applyFlatten="FALSE" isOnTIN="FALSE" starAirport="TRUE">
<Aprons/>
<PaintedElements/>
<ApronEdgeLights/>
</Airport>
</FSData>
Rick, is this offset always the same, or does it vary along one axis and along another axis?FYI, "has Beacon" also includes the offset, which means that if you decide to use the default beacon placed with the Scenery Editor, you will have to include a second instance of said beacon which uses the beacon attach point, buried below at presumably, Christian's same offset, in order to see the beacon and light together.
The offset for the "has beacon," for the default rotating EDJA beacon, is some value greater than 6.44 meters, I just checked. The thing is that the light effect is not rotating and does not even conform to the frequency of the model, which does have it's own rotating light that is visible at night at least as far as the edge of the field, possibly further. Granted the light effect seems much brighter up close, but Asobo light effects attenuate weirdly, an example being the default blue taxi lights, which are little blue dots up close, but much brighter at distance.
That said, rotating beacons are left over from a bygone era of night VFR. The default is authentic to this particular airport, with the green and white, so it will stay as is. As to the reason for the offset, I believe it is arbitrary. I believe the original effect engine suffered the most, of all the various components that made up the FS9/FSX universe, when Asobo "modernized" it and the few light effects they hacked into the code, have been the best possible, thus far. The original "has beacon" was a rotating light effect with a visible beam that exactly corresponded to the position and rotation of the model. The military version had three lenses, for the two white one green flash.
Ok the Asobo has beacon light effect is strobed, it does not rotate, nor cast a beam, it does illuminate and the strobe fades in and out to give the appearance of rotation. This is not original from FSX and I believe the offset is as close as it could be set.
There may be a number of differing applications for MSFS SDK compatible lighting configurations in static or animated 3D models.
Personally, I consider controlling display / occultation of 3D lights for light houses / airport beacons a top priority, since MSFS (using purportedly 'state of the art' methods) shipped with no rotating Green / White civilian airport beacon.
Windsocks & Beacon Lights
the beacons are improperly coded, improperly operating and also are not the correct light flash sequences. beacons do not run 24/7, they operate during VFR Conditions from Dusk till Dawn, or on demand with IFR/IMC Conditions. They are visible at a range of anywhere from 5-10 miles and if...forums.flightsimulator.com
IIUC, in the MSFS SDK, we have thus far only been provided with worked examples of what are 3D modeled "Blinking Effects", rather than true animated emissive 3D light cones (with many Kilometers of visibility upon approach to airport).
I look forward to seeing a 3D modeling savant produce a MSFS-2020 compatible version of the legacy FS2Kx / FSX / P3D rotating Green / White civilian airport beacon, even if it ends up being a SimObject.
Some pertinent info and prior efforts to create a custom version of that beacon for FSX were discussed here:
Light beam: puzzled!
Hi all, I'm trying to create a "beam" to mimic the one of a lighthouse. My problem is that I really can't make it with texture parameters, even after reading and re-reading the SDK doc and MCX small tips. In fact I can't succeed in making my rotating "beam" look realistic, additive but/and...www.fsdeveloper.com
IIUC, at the end of the Day (...meaning at Night, when lights are supposed to be visible in scenery of MSFS as a 'state of the art' ffff_light simulator ), Windows renders MSFS via DirectX-11 (and purportedly via DirectX-12 by the end of summer).
(Source: [FSX install path]\Scenery\Global\Scenery\Airport_Objects.BGL)
Note MCX' Material Properties for Light Cones of the FSX legacy format rotating Green / White civilian airport beacon:
Surely, if we already have a exemplary and fully functional rotating Green / White civilian airport beacon in FS2Kx / FSX / P3D via legacy DirectX, we 'should' also have one working in MSFS via DirectX-11 by now (...6 months post-release from August 2020).
IMHO, "2020 vision" would have resulted in MS / Asobo having seen the need to "Git-'R-Done" long before RTM.
GaryGB
I think Christian has already done that.Surely someone in the FS Developer Community with advanced experience in Blender or 3DSMAX can look at Material properties in MCX for the original FS2Kx "true" rotating 3D Beacon, and make a replacement that can be mounted onto the MSFS tower or other 3D tower Models ?
Surely someone in the FS Developer Community with advanced experience in Blender or 3DSMAX can look at Material properties in MCX for the original FS2Kx "true" rotating 3D Beacon, and make a replacement that can be mounted onto the MSFS tower or other 3D tower Models ?
I think Christian has already done that.
Which "has_symmetry" parameter spelling are we supposed to use:
* symmetry
...or:
* simmetry
...in order for MSFS' rendering engine to process this instruction correctly ?
https://devsupport.flightsimulator....e-minding-the-store-at-asobo-blender-git.html
Is this another "MSFS default objects are FUBAR-ed" scenario ?
FYI: Thus far I have only found this info regarding "symmetry" ...in the context of a Blender MSFS exporter:
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php/Blender2MSFS
"Lights
Lights are automatically exported into the sim. Note however that not all parameters of the light will be exported to the sim. The values that are supported are:
Furthermore, there are a few custom parameters to create flashing and rotating lights. You can find those under the light object's properties.
- Color
- Power
- Shape-size (cone angle for spot lights)
Note that you can utilize point lights, however make sure to switch on "symmetry" to prevent clipping issues. No idea why that is, but it seems to help."
PS: In seeking a better understanding of how to use 'Lights' with Asobo's Exporter I found an interesting treatise on cone/spotlight culling:
https://bartwronski.com/2017/04/13/cull-that-cone/
BTW: That post incidentally links to this intriguing post:
https://mynameismjp.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/bindless-texturing-for-deferred-rendering-and-decals/
...which might reasonably raise questions as to what Asobo encountered with MSFS SU-10's attempted performance boost via DX-12.
GaryGB
What do you expect when approaching an airfield that you cannot find immediately after dark?
Well, it'll be a light you'd expect, flashing white and green alternately.
The Asobo Beacon light ensures no more, but also no less. Thank you Asobo
I had dealt with the initial question above and am very satisfied with the Beacon Light solution that Asobo made available to me as a developer.
Let's just wait and see how far @TBryson2 got with all the information
Five bars and a green battery on the Garmin, seems reasonable.What do you expect when approaching an airfield that you cannot find immediately after dark?