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Modeling illuminating runway and taxi lights for P3D aircraft

B

Butch1

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unitedstates
I am curious as to how illuminating taxi and landing lights in P3D aircraft are added. Will MCX do this if so how are they added?
Also, is 3D lights compatible with P3D V5? A lot of the landing and taxi lights only twinkle and not illuminate the runways.
 
There are two ways of setting lights on a model.

1. The fx file is 'attached' to a position in the aircraft structure by the VC developer.
2. You define the light fx position and name in the aircraft.cfg file (this is the method I prefer to use).

I can't speak for 3D Lights, but the way I do it is to create one .fx file for the light itself and another for the light 'splash'.

1773660884322.png


There is a bit of a downside to this: the light splash will follow the aircraft nose as it takes off. I don't like this, so I coded the light splash to turn on and off as soon as nose up or nose down exceeded a given number of degrees. This is the light splash (ground/water illumination) code:

Code: 
[Library Effect]
Lifetime=5
Version=2.00
Display Name=MCX light
Radius=-1
Priority=0

[Properties]
Spot=1
Tower=1
Map=1

// Light splash port
[Emitter.0]
Lifetime=0.50, 0.50
Delay=0.00, 0.00
Bounce=0.00
Rate=1.00, 1.00
X Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Y Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Z Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Drag=0.00, 0.00
X Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Y Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Z Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
X Rotation=0.00, 0.00
Y Rotation=0.00, 0.00
Z Rotation=0.00, 0.00
X Offset=12.43, 12.43
Y Offset=3.23, 3.23
Z Offset=1.23, 1.23
Pitch=5.00, 5.00
Bank=0.00, 0.00
Heading=0.00, 0.00

[Particle.0]
Lifetime=0.000000, 0.000000
Type=28
X Scale=400.00, 400.00
Y Scale=0.00, 0.00
Z Scale=0.00, 0.00
X Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Y Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Z Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Drag=0.00, 0.00
Color Rate=0.00, 0.00
X Offset=0.00, 0.00
Y Offset=0.00, 0.00
Z Offset=0.00, 0.00
Fade In=0.00, 0.00
Fade Out=0.00, 0.00
Static=1
Face=0, 0, 0

[ParticleAttributes.0]
Color Start=180, 150, 110, 30
Color End=90, 75, 55, 60
Bounce=0.00
X Scale Goal=0.00
Y Scale Goal=0.00
Z Scale Goal=0.00
Falloff Exponent=0.40
Inner Cone Angle=15.00
Outer Cone Angle=20.00

// Light splash starboard
[Emitter.1]
Lifetime=0.50, 0.50
Delay=0.00, 0.00
Bounce=0.00
Rate=1.00, 1.00
X Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Y Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Z Emitter Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Drag=0.00, 0.00
X Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Y Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
Z Particle Velocity=0.00, 0.00
X Rotation=0.00, 0.00
Y Rotation=0.00, 0.00
Z Rotation=0.00, 0.00
X Offset=-12.43, -12.43
Y Offset=3.23, 3.23
Z Offset=1.23, 1.23
Pitch=5.00, 5.00
Bank=0.00, 0.00
Heading=0.00, 0.00

[Particle.1]
Lifetime=0.000000, 0.000000
Type=28
X Scale=400.00, 400.00
Y Scale=0.00, 0.00
Z Scale=0.00, 0.00
X Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Y Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Z Scale Rate=0.00, 0.00
Drag=0.00, 0.00
Color Rate=0.00, 0.00
X Offset=0.00, 0.00
Y Offset=0.00, 0.00
Z Offset=0.00, 0.00
Fade In=0.00, 0.00
Fade Out=0.00, 0.00
Static=1
Face=0, 0, 0

[ParticleAttributes.1]
Color Start=180, 150, 110, 30
Color End=90, 75, 55, 60
Bounce=0.00
X Scale Goal=0.00
Y Scale Goal=0.00
Z Scale Goal=0.00
Falloff Exponent=0.40
Inner Cone Angle=15.00
Outer Cone Angle=20.00
 
That's an interesting way to solve the problem DD. 👍

I don't think MCX is capable of adding the required effect polygon if the aircraft developer did not add it to the model originally, it needs to be compiled with the original model.

I don't have P3D v5 as you know Butch but I see no reason why they wouldn't work, they are just light effects after all. They certainly work in v4.5 as I still use them on some aircraft. I was part of the original development team at A2A when they created those lights way back in the early days of FSX and spent many hours every day tweaking and testing all the lights on every aircraft in my hangar.
 
I think that only illuminates the ground IF the lighting poly is part of the model. If the model does not have that poly nothing will happen. That option just turns on the ability to cast light onto the ground but the model will still need to have the lighting poly in it for the effect to be seen.
 
Tako_Kichi said:
I think that only illuminates the ground IF the lighting poly is part of the model. If the model does not have that poly nothing will happen. That option just turns on the ability to cast light onto the ground but the model will still need to have the lighting poly in it for the effect to be seen.
Click to expand...
Duly noted. I just found that out in a 4.5 session with the FSDT FA-18.
 
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