Adjusting the brightness of the landing light 'pool'.

[Bushi]

This has most likely been asked.. and answered before, but I can't find a thread.. or an answer using google either.

So.. I have to ask.. does anyone know how to adjust the brightness of the pool of light cast by landing and taxi lights on the ground?

I've seen answers on how to adjust the brightness of the light itself when viewed from outside... (someone had posted you adjust that in the halo bmp in the root texture folder), but I absolutely HATE the way the pool of light cast by the lights washes out everything in front of the airplane! aarrgghh....

I have for the MANY years I've flown in flightsim just lived with it.. and landed without the aid of landing lights as to be honest.. the ground is EASIER to see.. Even taxi lights cast such a bright overwhelming pool of light as to also be useless.

It's a reason I've always endeavoured to plan my long distance routes so that I take off, and land, in some semblance of daylight.

So, a couple of screenshots of my CS C-130.. with the offending light pattern..... Oh how wish I could tone this down to make it easier to distinguish centerlines.. numbers.. sigh.......

cheers...
Dave

 

[Milton Shupe]

This has most likely been asked.. and answered before, but I can't find a thread.. or an answer using google either.

So.. I have to ask.. does anyone know how to adjust the brightness of the pool of light cast by landing and taxi lights on the ground?

I've seen answers on how to adjust the brightness of the light itself when viewed from outside... (someone had posted you adjust that in the halo bmp in the root texture folder), but I absolutely HATE the way the pool of light cast by the lights washes out everything in front of the airplane! aarrgghh....

I have for the MANY years I've flown in flightsim just lived with it.. and landed without the aid of landing lights as to be honest.. the ground is EASIER to see.. Even taxi lights cast such a bright overwhelming pool of light as to also be useless.

It's a reason I've always endeavoured to plan my long distance routes so that I take off, and land, in some semblance of daylight.

So, a couple of screenshots of my CS C-130.. with the offending light pattern..... Oh how wish I could tone this down to make it easier to distinguish centerlines.. numbers.. sigh.......

cheers...
Dave

You can directionally control LLs in the sim with the numeric keypad. Check your key Assignments.

That will tell you whether the model has them adjusted for best appearance or not.

All aircraft should be using the same LL texture so it may be the pitch adjustment that makes the big difference for each model.

I know I adjust taxi lights pitch so the light is less intense than the LL (uses the same bmp) .

You may be able to carry a different version of the fx_landing.bmp in your common folders. I do not know if the sim by default only checks it default folder for this light.

 

[tgibson]

This can also be changed (at least for FS9 models) in the model itself (source code required). In the landing light material, the diffuse color and the Opacity settings affect how "dense" and bright the light is.

 

[Tom Clayton]

The default file controlling that is spotlight.bmp in the common texture folder. There are several replacements available. The default is pretty bright. I have a blue-tinted replacement, but I can't remember where I got it after all these years. You could probably take the stock one and use an image editor to tone it down a bit, but you'll need something that will open a dxt1 bitmap.

 

[stansdds]

DXTBmp Texture Tool plus an image editing program such as Paint.NET, GIMP, PaintShop Pro, etc. are needed to adjust and edit such files.

 

[Bushi]

thanks for the input guys!

back from a GREAT holiday in sunny Spain... and just getting the chance to catch up.

Thanks to all who have posted some ideas on how to fix my lighting 'issue".

I'll play with the angles Milton, and see how adjusting the colour works out as well.

Now.. off to bed..

 

[Bushi]

much better!

Okay, so, I did what Milton suggested, and tilted the light up as far as it would go, and that took a lot of the 'washed out' appearance away... then I converted the spotlight bmp and darkened it substantially in photoshop... (I made several copies at different brilliances, so I can swap them around if I please)... and am quite a bit happier with the appearance of the pool of light in front of my airplane now!



Thanks guys! Much appreciated!


...now all I have to do is figure out how to add contrails to this airplane... sigh... they ARE supposed to be there.. but I've never seen them!

Cheers
and have a great weekend

Dave

 

[MrZippy]

...now all I have to do is figure out how to add contrails to this airplane... sigh... they ARE supposed to be there.. but I've never seen them!

Cheers
and have a great weekend

Dave

Is there anything in your aircraft.cfg stating at what temperature contrails appear? Most are set at -30C and since I like the effect, I set mine to 0 degrees.

[GeneralEngineData]
engine_type = 1
Engine.0 = 4.750, -16.100, -4.500
Engine.1 = 4.750, 16.100, -4.500
fuel_flow_scalar = 1.30
min_throttle_limit = -0.25 //Minimum percent throttle. Generally negative for turbine reverser
max_contrail_temperature = 0 //Temperature (deg C) below which contrails may appear<--------------------------(contrails)

 

[PhantomTweak]

...now all I have to do is figure out how to add contrails to this airplane... sigh... they ARE supposed to be there.. but I've never seen them!

I do the same thing as Zippy does for the contrails. Love em
Having said that, there are a couple ways to make the actual effect show up.

You can add a Contrail= <whatever_contrail_effect_file_you_like>.fx line to the [effects] section of your aircraft.cfg file. Most planes I've seen have their own, special made effect file they include as part of the installation. Makes customizing them much easier. Like where they show on the aircraft, and other attributes they have. Size, shape, thickness of the contrail, persistence, etc. You do need to be able to customize .fx files, though. Not as hard as it sounds. There are some excellent explanations of how to on the FSDeveloper forums.

Another way is to have the contrail effect file called in the [smoke] section, using an xml file in the panel.cfg. Gives very good control of when the file shows up. G load, outside temperature and pressure required, etc etc. It also permits a very exact placement of the effect on the aircraft, as the effects called in the [smoke] section have the location the effect appears called out in the section.

It seems pretty much up to the developer as to what method they use. Individual choice, I guess.
Hope this is of some help...
Pat☺

 

[Bushi]

yeah.. tried all those things.. over and over...

...there just seems to be something 'odd' about Captain Sim addon aircraft. They do not like to play by the rules.. LOL


but heh.. I can't see contrails from the flight deck at altitude anyway.. and why go outside.. it's cold and windy out there!!!

But hey, I've been having so much fun repainting the Herk in some unique schemes! And no.. neither REALLY existed!

The aluminium belly and wings on one of my Transglobal airplanes is still a work in progress.. nearly there.. and my PanAM one now has a name, some more graphics, and a Reg..

Good to have something to do while suffering through a cold just DAYS after a holiday south!! grr...
Cheers
Dave

 

[Bushi]

Transglobal finished, and PanAm done too.

Again. thanks for all the input as to my questions regarding lighting and contrails.
Nice to re-discover this old girl sitting in the back of the hangar.
A joy to fly.
cheers
Dave

 

[PhantomTweak]

I love that Pan Am paint!
A while back someone made a B-52 with a Pan Am paint job, for a "funny" picture and caption. It was hilarious too, I just can't remember the caption, darn it...

By the bye, are you sure Pan Am never had a Herky-Bird? It seems like they had darn near every thing else in the Aviation world.
My mother was a Pan Am stew, just as a side note. She somehow, and never did tell me how, met my father, a United pilot. They were both flying in the DC-8-62 at the time. Mom had some really funny stories of flights she'd had, too. Like when the Harlem Globetrotters got their (huge) hands onto a tea-cup poodle, and passed it all around the cabin, never leaving their seats. The little dog was returned to his owner, sound asleep. Obviously terrified the
little thing...
The last flight I had on a Herc was delayed, just as we taxid to the hold-short at Osan, for take-off back to Iwakuni. It had become extremely necessary for me to leave, as the AP I was staying with (a lot better than a tent!) had started asking about what colors I liked for wedding dresses. Time for me to GO. Anywho, a C-12 was doing T&G's, and was just coming around for final as we hit the hold-short. Suddenly, I heard our pilot yelling "WHEELS, WHEELS, WHEELS!!!". I looked out the ONE window in the fuselage (RHIP! ), just in time to see the C-12 land perfectly. Without his gear down, but other than that little detail...
We turned around and taxi'd back to the terminal. I spent a miserable night there, as I had already gone through Customs, and they wouldn't let me back in. We left the next morning...

Sorry, I ramble. Great paints on the Herc's!
Have fun all!
Pat☺

 

[Bushi]

I love that Pan Am paint!
A while back someone made a B-52 with a Pan Am paint job, for a "funny" picture and caption. It was hilarious too, I just can't remember the caption, darn it...

By the bye, are you sure Pan Am never had a Herky-Bird? It seems like they had darn near every thing else in the Aviation world.
My mother was a Pan Am stew, just as a side note. She somehow, and never did tell me how, met my father, a United pilot. They were both flying in the DC-8-62 at the time. Mom had some really funny stories of flights she'd had, too. Like when the Harlem Globetrotters got their (huge) hands onto a tea-cup poodle, and passed it all around the cabin, never leaving their seats. The little dog was returned to his owner, sound asleep. Obviously terrified the
little thing...
The last flight I had on a Herc was delayed, just as we taxid to the hold-short at Osan, for take-off back to Iwakuni. It had become extremely necessary for me to leave, as the AP I was staying with (a lot better than a tent!) had started asking about what colors I liked for wedding dresses. Time for me to GO. Anywho, a C-12 was doing T&G's, and was just coming around for final as we hit the hold-short. Suddenly, I heard our pilot yelling "WHEELS, WHEELS, WHEELS!!!". I looked out the ONE window in the fuselage (RHIP! ), just in time to see the C-12 land perfectly. Without his gear down, but other than that little detail...
We turned around and taxi'd back to the terminal. I spent a miserable night there, as I had already gone through Customs, and they wouldn't let me back in. We left the next morning...

Sorry, I ramble. Great paints on the Herc's!
Have fun all!
Pat☺

Fun story! Saw almost the same thing while waiting for clearance. A Mitsubishi MU-2 goes past in front.. perfect flare.. right on to her belly....aaand we taxi back to the apron!

I've always loved Pan Am blue, and the globe.. 'perfection' in a logo. so.. kinda HAD to..

Just mucking about with some schemes to pass the time as the weather isn't conducive to a motorcycle ride at the moment, and I'm struggling through a nice chest cold to boot. Best to stay in with the fire going.
Cheers, and thanks for the compliment on my Herks.. I've uploaded a colourful.. although purely fictitious.. NASA bird.

Dave

 

[MrZippy]

Just mucking about with some schemes to pass the time as the weather isn't conducive to a motorcycle ride at the moment, and I'm struggling through a nice chest cold to boot. Best to stay in with the fire going.

Dave

Now you just had to go and mention motorcycles and riding. I owned 2 in my life....first one a 1967 Yammerslammer twinjet 100 and the 2nd one a 1976 Honda CB500T (made in Japan for export to the U.K.) Don't know how a new one showed up at the Honda dealer in Alameda?

I'm sure Pat has stories about his dealing with bikes! No offense, Pat!

 

[PhantomTweak]

Absolutely none taken
I lost my eye riding a '75 Kow-Kow Police Special. Police clutch and mag, powerful bike. Had the fiberglass saddle bags and fairing, and I had put in a nifty stereo system and even a auto type cigarette lighter. Had speakers in my helmet for the stereo. Even had a set of pegs on the highway bars. Relax, kick back on the hour long trip to work every day. I had Kevlar brake pads. Beautifully waxed and shiney. Even had a really comfy sheepskin seat cover.
They didn't help me much, though. All I remember is purring along at 60, just before dawn on the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I saw a tan horse run out in front of me. Fine, just swing wide and go behind him. Then the Black horse behind him turned the white blaze on his face to me.
What they think happened was that he reared just as I got there and rode the fairing up, scraping me off the bike. A couple guys found me picking up pieces of the bike, in a total daze, obviously. I had already gotten the main part of the bike's corpse off the side of the road. They told me I needed to lay down, and I passed out on the spot. Found out later the horse died at the scene. Good!
Anywho, I had apparently bounced down the highway for a while. Had a huge yellow stripe down the side of my helmet, and road-rash on my arm and leg. Thankfully, the helmet saved my life, but the impact knocked my retina loose. A famous doctor at Scrips Memorial tried to stick it back in place, but no go.

So, blind in my left eye, but I'm the only guy I ever met that's killed a horse with his chest.
Stupid headline in the Yuma paper the next day: Horse Dies in Motorcycle Accident. We still can't figure how the heck he got on the bike...

 

[Bushi]

Absolutely none taken
I lost my eye riding a '75 Kow-Kow Police Special. Police clutch and mag, powerful bike. Had the fiberglass saddle bags and fairing, and I had put in a nifty stereo system and even a auto type cigarette lighter. Had speakers in my helmet for the stereo. Even had a set of pegs on the highway bars. Relax, kick back on the hour long trip to work every day. I had Kevlar brake pads. Beautifully waxed and shiney. Even had a really comfy sheepskin seat cover.
They didn't help me much, though. All I remember is purring along at 60, just before dawn on the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I saw a tan horse run out in front of me. Fine, just swing wide and go behind him. Then the Black horse behind him turned the white blaze on his face to me.
What they think happened was that he reared just as I got there and rode the fairing up, scraping me off the bike. A couple guys found me picking up pieces of the bike, in a total daze, obviously. I had already gotten the main part of the bike's corpse off the side of the road. They told me I needed to lay down, and I passed out on the spot. Found out later the horse died at the scene. Good!
Anywho, I had apparently bounced down the highway for a while. Had a huge yellow stripe down the side of my helmet, and road-rash on my arm and leg. Thankfully, the helmet saved my life, but the impact knocked my retina loose. A famous doctor at Scrips Memorial tried to stick it back in place, but no go.

So, blind in my left eye, but I'm the only guy I ever met that's killed a horse with his chest.
Stupid headline in the Yuma paper the next day: Horse Dies in Motorcycle Accident. We still can't figure how the heck he got on the bike...

YIKES! wow.. sorry about the eye... all my two 'unscheduled dismounts' did to me were broken bones and worn down soft bits. From which I have recovered. One was while traveling about 100 km hour on a multi-lane when my '81 Yamaha 750 Seca and I parted company.. I'd rather not say why. We went a fair distance down an off ramp, across a road, and slammed into a guardrail.

The other.. well.. not really something I like to talk about. Suffice to say, a pedestrian darted out from in front of a bus.. at night... He ended up like your black horse..

Today I ride a Kawasaki W800. Looks and feels like a 60's british twin, and I LOVE it. So authentic in it's classic look AND feel... the handling is JUST enough to scare you.. and remind you of days long gone by.

Dave