idiot question about Shockwave lights

[ian elliot]

sticks his head above the parapit and prepares for ridicule ------
but what are they and why are they special
cheers ian

 

[Jagdflieger]

I was wondering that too.

 

[phantomx1]

Basicly just gives the impression of brighter lights, The landing and taxi light beams are more pronounced as in throwing a beam through fog or moisture in the air especially when viewed from side views. However some of those beams really could use some extra distance on them or probably better would be to have them more feathered into the darkness. Some of those beams look kind of elongated bulbuous in their appearance.

When viewing aircraft with standard FS9 aircraft headon with the landing lights on you can barely tell that the landing or taxi lights are on, but with shockwave lights they appear a little more to be on. Also the strobes and navigation lights appear brighter including at distance with shockwave lights applied.

 

[OBIO]

The Shockwave 3D lights are amazing additions to the realism of FS9. The stock sim lights are just little balls of light that...quite frankly...look cartoonish. The Shockwave 3D lights are much more 3D and much more real. The landing and taxi lights, for example, actually produce cones of light that is well blended and look like real light produced by sealed beam head lights. I have spent hours sitting in a plane, out of the traffic pattern, watching AI aircraft...and doing so at dusk, night or dawn is really spectacular with the Shockwave lights added to the AI aircraft.

The variety of lights in the Shockwave 3D lights package is far beyond what is available in the stock light selection. Strobes that blink slowly, strobes that blink fast. Landing lights of various sizes and intensities....there's a landing light for vintage airplanes even...a light that is less bright and a bit more yellowish.

If you have $14.99 to spare and want to spend it on a sim upgrade, I highly recommend the Shockwave 3D lights package. You can buy it from the A2A Simulations page here:

http://www.a2asimulations.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=3

There is also a Shockwave 3D Lights package for FSX for $16.99. I don't know if the FS9 Shockwave lights will work in FSX...but I think they won't...why else would they have two distinct packages?

OBIO

 

[AndyG43]

You can get a Megapack (got mine at Simmarket) which will give you sets for both sims.

http://secure.simmarket.com/a2a-simulations-3d-lights-redux-megapack.phtml

Probably one of the best addons I have bought, it totally transforms the sim, airport lighting looks all twinkly & gorgeous!!

 

[OBIO]

twinkly & gorgeous!!

Isn't it illegal in most states for a man to use these two words in a single sentence? LOL!

OBIO

 

[AndyG43]

Isn't it illegal in most states for a man to use these two words in a single sentence? LOL!

OBIO

Over here we can do it with impunity!! Over there, I believe there are some states where it will earn you a lynching.

Actually, not words I would use often, but they seemed to fit. I was watching a documentary the other night, about the growth of air travel in the UK, and several people commented how beautiful airports can look at night; and I realised they were right, the lights of the runway laid out, the taxiways, the terminals, they have an almost magical quality about them - possibly it is the connotations, usually you are at an airport for a holiday, or something eventful. Shockwave helps recreate that in game, sitting on the runway at Seattle (Fly Tampa in one install, or the Cal Classic in the other) really gives that feeling. Sorry if that is a bit too lyrical!!

 

[Wing_Z]

There are all sorts of lights if tinkering with lights is your thing.
I am ever grateful for the mods that pop up every now and then for my favourite aircraft.

BUT: I simply cannot get excited about the much-vaunted "3D cone" of landing and taxi lights!
Even in bright sunlight they make this massive glare which you'd really only ever see in fog (and for which the stock sim has adequate provision)

It may just be the way my sim is set up, but I've never found this convincing, and so I remove landing lights from all the mods.
Some of the rotating beacons are fun though, and strobes when you want some real Ka-Pow!

 

[EMatheson]

it's true, it is kinda annoying in the daytime. Shockwave has provided a gauge as part of the package that disables the effect in the daytime. In the night, though, it is a definite improvement. The real improvement of the addon is the part where it actually reflects light on the aircraft model itself. The stock lights stay stubbornly put and don't illuminate the plane the way real lights do.

 

[Wing_Z]

First I've Heard about it

...so I'm glad i mentioned this.
I have swlights_utility_v1.2a.zip dated 25/09/2011 which does not seem to include this.
Where would one look for this gauge?

 

[Clarke123]

...so I'm glad i mentioned this.
I have swlights_utility_v1.2a.zip dated 25/09/2011 which does not seem to include this.
Where would one look for this gauge?

Run v1.2a again and it should ask you, during the install, whether you want the landing lights to show during daytime.

 

[Wing_Z]

I said: I HAVE swlights_utility_v1.2a.zip
I didn't say: I've RUN swlights_utility_v1.2a.zip
*Sigh* so many toys, no time to keep abreast of them all...
OK having actually run the latest update, the lights are well and truly...gone.

Aargh it's not as if they should vanish in daylight, folks. (See "Real" pic, above)
Maybe I should gird my loins and trundle over to the A2A forums for a little grouse.

Many thanks for the helpful comments received here

 

[Clarke123]

Check your light coords and, don't shout, you've named 'em right and they show at night. :mixedsmi: You should still see the lights like in your real pic just sans the big cone. Well I do anyhoo. :

 

[racartron]

One of the most enjoyable bits(to me) of the Shockwave effects package is the large number of light effects you have to play with. I personally enjoy the big landing light and strobe effects and the many variations available. But I also understand some others don't. Since I can't predict who will and who won't like them, I go ahead and include the whole kitchen sink. Fortunately, in its wisdom(??) Microsoft let's you hash out the ones you don't want without messing up the numbering scheme.

Also, anyone installing my versions(or anyone else's) can easily tinker with the setup using the myriad variations included with the application. That's a major part of the enjoyment fs2009 provides -- creating your own sim world exactly like you want it. And when (trust me it will) your vision changes, updating can be a sinple "//" away.

 

[Wing_Z]

...and your efforts are appreciated, as mentioned above.
No problem to comment out stuff that doesn't work for me.

However... there's something amiss here.
I uninstalled the 3D lights entirely, and re-installed, followed by the latest utility patch.
Strangely, some aircraft still show the daytime cone!
Those that don't, have no daytime landing lights at all - they are simply switched off.
A gauge conflict, perhaps?

What convinces me to walk away from it all, is I tried logging in to the A2a Forums for more wisdom.
Ahh, password? Nope, send new one please.
No such email in database.
OK Register please.
Sorry, email already in use

The 3D lights software also runs from an executable, I bet that kind of logic exists somewhere in there too.
Grr.

 

[racartron]

Yeah, I tried several times to get onto their forum to post some of my mods, but was rebuffed each time. Sometimes it's best to move on to preserve one's sanity.