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TOW searchlights

mongoose

mongoose

SOH-CM-2025
I was just wondering why these searchlights are on even when I am flying a German aircraft. My understanding is that searchlights are a gun and therefore similar to flak, which is not operative when friendly aircraft are around. Also, even when enemy aircraft are flying, the searchlights are already lit well before the aircraft are in range, had it been flak.
Thew xdp's look very similar except for the picktype which I assume is not the issue?
Any ideas?
 
Well, the vehicle and gun were already "German", and I changed the weapon to that from neutral; no difference. In the Global Layer most are German but some the Netherlands. ( Kammhuber Line) All lights still on even when my He111 is the only aircraft in the area.
 
As it happens he wasn't but switching him to German made no difference. Have you had similar issues?? However, this does raise another issue in that I use tow_searchlight_white for both tk_searchlight_zone_site.XML (Germany), and tow_searchlight_3.xml (Britain) in the GSL If the problem here is solvable, then I would have to have 2 different searchlights with different nationalities.
 
AA

in the weapons, and guns folder too be sure they are either neutral or German. AA doesn't fire correct?
 
OK So I looked at 2 test missions I had done for tk_searchlight_batterys; 1 RAF and 1 LW.

1. RAF Searchlights move and flak works too well!!

2. LW Searchlights on but static and no flak.

Vehicle is g_88mm German; gun German; weapon neutral

Searchlight now all German.

I have yet to look at the searchlights in Britain using the same TOW_searchlight.

EDIT: Well I did change approach and runway light to German and a Mossie could still see them!

I am wondering if if has something to do with the nature of the light effects called for rather than those used in an actual gun? I have yet to see whether runway lights and the like would have the same result; i.e., on for both friend and foe if a nationality is set?
 
So I guess no one has ideas on why gun vehicles as lights are always active?:dizzy: This is of course why I was asking about lights as spawns rather than facilities; and that has issues for searchlight belts faculties which are in the gsl, as I assume no one has tried to put spawns into gsls??
 
is the beam built into the 3d model? This seems to be the case with at least some of the TOW searchlights.
 
Ah! Maybe that's it. You are correct in that tow_search_white.dds is used by tow_searchlight_white.M3D. In fact it seems all those kind of lights have dds related files in their m3d files. So strictly speaking they are not like guns at all??
 
well they are like guns in that they aim at enemy aircraft but I'm assuming they don't use a muzzle blast effect for the light
 
Hmmm! Well it would seem that might be the limitation WRT making them only show to either a friend or enemy. I hate to go the spawn route as that is difficult, not to mention lots of spawns and work!
 
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