Night flights - Searchlights

[Hystix]

Hi,
Starting out in this amazing sim and looking forward to flying in the coming years. The images I've seen so far have been mostly of daytime and dusk flights, and only one video of a night time flight (all dark).

One question that I have that I haven't been able to answer from my search is whether there is any working 3d model of a search light available for the mission builder in the this sim. If not - can one be made? I would be able to model it, but would not be able to code it into the game.
Thanks,

[Salmo]

Yes, there are searchlights in the FMB. You need to 'attach' the lights to a power source such as a generator for them to work. here's a sample mission.



[PARTS]
core.100
bob.100
[MAIN]
MAP Land$Online_Cross_v_Roundel
BattleArea 150000 100000 100000 150000 1000
TIME 23
WeatherIndex 0
CloudsHeight 1000
BreezeActivity 10
ThermalActivity 10
player BoB_RAF_F_FatCat_Early.000
[GlobalWind_0]
Power 3.000 0.000 0.000
BottomBound 0.00
TopBound 1500.00
GustPower 5
GustAngle 45
[splines]
[AirGroups]
BoB_RAF_F_FatCat_Early.01
[BoB_RAF_F_FatCat_Early.01]
Flight0 1
Class Aircraft.DH82A
Formation VIC3
CallSign 23
Fuel 100
Weapons 1
Skill 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
[BoB_RAF_F_FatCat_Early.01_Way]
NORMFLY 17497.92 13750.18 500.00 175.42
NORMFLY 16964.58 14205.73 500.00 175.42
[CustomChiefs]
[Stationary]
Static1 Stationary.Environment.Maschinensatz_15_KW_GER1 de 16965.03 14075.17 0.00 /target AIChief_0
Static0 Searchlight.150_cm_Flakscheinwerfer_GER1 de 17001.54 14060.90 0.00
Static2 Stationary.Environment.Maschinensatz_15_KW_GER1 de 17109.64 14110.52 0.00 /target AIChief_0
Static4 Searchlight.150_cm_Flakscheinwerfer_GER1 de 16941.52 14161.89 0.00
Static3 Stationary.Environment.Maschinensatz_15_KW_GER1 de 16969.69 14153.34 0.00 /target AIChief_0
Static5 Searchlight.150_cm_Flakscheinwerfer_GER1 de 17107.96 14147.30 0.00
[Buildings]
[BuildingsLinks]
[AIChiefs]
AIChief_0 0 17010 14124/script powerOn.cpp/r 1000

[DRock]

Yes, there are searchlights in the FMB. You need to 'attach' the lights to a power source such as a generator for them to work.

Lol. Imagine that. You have to plug the lights in for them to work. This sim get better every day.:)

Hystix, we had a map in our server a couple of years ago that would end in darkness. As far as I remember, it was almost impossible to find contacts for the last hour of the map. The light show from the flak was pretty cool, though. Guys would be crashing their planes into the runway when it got too dark.

I'm pretty sure you can adjust the time of day in some of the single player modes. I would give it a try, before spending all that time with codes.

Good luck.:thumbsup:

[Hystix]

Salmo,
Thanks for the code. Tried it out. However the lights look more like people with flashlights, as far as strength of the beam is concerned. Hope there is an improvement in the future...

[Salmo]

Salmo,
Thanks for the code. Tried it out. However the lights look more like people with flashlights, as far as strength of the beam is concerned. Hope there is an improvement in the future...

Can I ask you to click on the Team Fusion bug-tracker link at the top of the forum page & make a bug report for this. That way it won't be lost amongst the myriad of things on the TODO list & others can vote it up the priority list.

[Artist]

Hi Hystix,


Can I ask you to click on the Team Fusion bug-tracker link at the top of the forum page & make a bug report for this. That way it won't be lost amongst the myriad of things on the TODO list & others can vote it up the priority list.

please do as Salmo said: To faciliate and organize bug reports and feature requests, we have established a bugtracker here at http://tfbt.nuvturais.de1. May I kindly ask you to create a new issue with this bug? And, if you haven't done so already, please do read the guidelines here first: http://tfbt.nuvturais.de/projects/il2clodtf/boards/4.

And please include a link back to this thread in the description, so that people can find the discussion here.

Thank you very much,
Artist

-----
1 If you're not registered there already, please do ('Register' on the upper right hand corner od the login screen).

[Hystix]

Thanks very much for the links, I was planning to do this at some point this week.

[philstyle]

Actually, on the subject of night lighting...

There are some objects in the FMB that create a red light, for lighting runways.
Whilst these lights are quite good for marking the runway location itself, they are not visible from very far away and NIETHER do they cast any kind of actual ambient glow.

This, of course, is in addition to the aircraft themselves not having lighting (landing or nav lights).

I know the bomber boys would love more night flying, but the lighting situation (both from ground and aircraft lights) is sub-optimal at best.

Any work being done on this? The lack of ambient glow in particular from ground based lights is a real show-stopper right now.

[1lokos]

There are some objects in the FMB that create a red light, for lighting runways.
Whilst these lights are quite good for marking the runway location itself, they are not visible from very far away and NIETHER do they cast any kind of actual ambient glow.


Can add to this list the vehicles headlights (OK that vehicles are almost useless with the actual roads/bridges)



... aircraft themselves not having lighting (landing or nav lights).


Mmm, this is not bad at all, better in this way that the "UFO lights" in il-2'46 and IL-2 BoS. :D

Anyway navigation/landing lights similar to DCS is welcome - if are real nights (in BoS nights are always "full moon -19:30", what make purposeless his well done searchlights), searchlight lights, tuned Lorenz system... :thumbsup:

[seacondor]

I have just setup a night landing system for my nightfighter intruder missions with the Blenheim. I have created a path of clustered lights 2 red and one white. The white is the direction pointer to the next cluster. The start of the path has a larger red light triangle in a white light circle. As you get on to final there is a bigger cluster in the form of an arrow which points to the runway. After this is a line of red lights that line up with the runway. At the point where you should be at landing height and speed there is a second large arrow. Of cause the runway is lite with white lights both sides and red lights across the threshold and far end. A parking area is marked with a box of white lights. The path isn't straight. At Tangmere it starts on the seaward side of the airfield and takes you inland so you land from the landward side. Makes for an interesting landing experience. Once I had it setup correctly I never miss landing safely. Not historic of course, but you don't have the a navigator to help you in the sim and it means you get to land in the dark.

The searchlights don't work very well. I have only had them work once when I flew over a landing field a zero feet. They were almost flat. When I had any height over the same set they didn't show at all.
I take it is is one of the bugs in the sim.