FSX Landing Light Properties?

[tgibson]

Hi,

In GMAX you can set the color and opacity of the default landing light splash. Are those properties available when I convert an FS2004 aircraft to FSX using ModelConverterX? If so, where are they?

Thanks,

 

[arno]

Hi,

They should probably be converted to an attached light or effect, which has color options as well. But I'm not 100% sure.

 

[Henk Schuitemaker]

In FSX you cannot control the lightsplash color for an individual aircraft. FS9 model landing lights are imported in MCX as attachpoints with a light effect, In order to see the landing light in the sim, you need to attach "fx_landing.fx" to the attachpoint. The default visibility tag for landing lights is "general_light". The "fx_landing.fx" effect name is hard-coded in FSX and triggers the global lightsplash texture. BTW: Make sure the attachpoint orientation is pointing forward (MCX attachpoint green orientation line should point forward).

 

[=rk=]

While the above is essentially true, I do not feel developers are constrained to use only "fx_landing.fx." It is possible to create alternatives, including different hues, that represent a landing light adequately, imo.

 

[tgibson]

Hi,

Arno, you mention that the effect has color options. Is this in MCX somewhere? I can't find it.

If you mean the fx file itself, I believe that only controls the light bulb at the source, not the light splash on the ground?

 

[arno]

If it is loaded as FX file, then the color is in there. But most lights should be loaded as light, not as FX.

 

[n4gix]

While the above is essentially true, I do not feel developers are constrained to use only "fx_landing.fx." It is possible to create alternatives, including different hues, that represent a landing light adequately, imo.

Rick, I've tried countless times during the first decade of FSX's release and never once was successful in using a custom "landing light" .fx file. The very name of "fx_landing.fx" is what triggers the general sim ground splash which is hard coded in the core engine.

What I eventually came up with is a 'floating polygon' based on four bones that could be animated to increase/decrease their size based on altitude, and were locked to just above the ground as the aircraft gained/lost altitude. While it worked mostly adequately, it was very difficult and time consuming to fine-tune, most especially when dealing with multiple light sources such as found on larger aircraft such as the B737-200 Combi. Thus far my attempts to coax the P3D team to create an alternative have been unsuccessful.

 

[tgibson]

Hi,

I found the light color - it's in the original FS2004 attachpoints (which are listed as attpt_light01, etc.). But when I change the MCX autogenerated effect name to fx_landing and convert to FSX, the color and blink sections disappear upon Import of that FSX model. And no matter what color I entered into those boxes in the original FS2004 model, the landing light bulb color and light splash remained their default colors and intensity in FSX. So I think we've answered my question - I can't change that.

Thanks,

 

[=rk=]

Rick, I've tried countless times during the first decade of FSX's release and never once was successful in using a custom "landing light" .fx file. The very name of "fx_landing.fx" is what triggers the general sim ground splash which is hard coded in the core engine.

What I eventually came up with is a 'floating polygon' based on four bones that could be animated to increase/decrease their size based on altitude, and were locked to just above the ground as the aircraft gained/lost altitude. While it worked mostly adequately, it was very difficult and time consuming to fine-tune, most especially when dealing with multiple light sources such as found on larger aircraft such as the B737-200 Combi. Thus far my attempts to coax the P3D team to create an alternative have been unsuccessful.

Yes, your polygons are excellent, I used them to represent the light splash on a ship model I released as freeware. The contrast was a bit extreme, but it was probably something I could have learned to attenuate.

Beyond that, it's possible I'm confusing my P3D results with those from FSX, apologies, but I've gotten great results, just using the dynamic lights and those are fully configurable. Here's a landing light and an extremely exaggerated marker light. Great splashes and reflections, imo.

 

[Polaris]

Rick, I've tried countless times during the first decade of FSX's release and never once was successful in using a custom "landing light" .fx file. The very name of "fx_landing.fx" is what triggers the general sim ground splash which is hard coded in the core engine. I believe that only controls the light bulb at the source, not the light splash on the ground.

Hmmm... that would explain why copying and renaming the fx_landing.fx file does not yield the desired result on my side either.

I am currently exploring what I can do to light up the place in front of my HAS with those floodlights I modeled. I do have a big bloom at the emitter position, but that's about it. Fiddling does alter the source bloom (i.e. Type=25, Lifetime=0.00, etc.), but to no avail regarding the ground splash.

Now given there's more powerful options in P3D and most likely even better implementation of lights in the upcoming piece of simulator, I think that for FSXA purposes I will leave it with either the default fx-landing.fx or have it done with emissive textures.

It was good fun and valuable experience with all I got to read and try in the past 24 hours, but base line is, that back in FSX, I won't get to light up the user and AI aircraft with scenery light sources anyway - correct?

So my resulting approach will be to add proper lights in Blender and bake matching shadows for my emissive textures. That way I'll at least be able to recycle the lighting one of these, if ever the new breed will allow for it...