OXP Equipment suggestion / request - spotlights

[Thargoid]

Adding flashers could be possible (via a shipdata-override.plist) but it gets complicated when OXP pods are also involved (or indeed if the pod in question already has sub-entites for some reason). Plus to have it only when equipment is installed and active is another layer of complexity, but again theoretically possible.

Scanner should be simple enough (as a lollipop colour change) but HUD I don't think can be done (but I'm not a HUD expert).

[Commander McLane]

Flashers are perfectly possible if we're talking about new OXP pods. They simply would come with flashers from the start, and a slightly modified AI which checks for player proximity (or ship proximity; why treat the player differently from NPCs?) and switches the flashers on or off.

As Thargoid says, it gets a little more tricky if we're talking about retrofitting the existing pods (some of them do have flashers, but others weren't intended to have them in the first place).

[Smivs]

I am currently working on a pod with flashers for the next release of 'Accessories'. It currently takes the form of a small 'control panel' on the side of the pod with a red flasher incorporated in it. It's all working, but I want to test it to make sure it sits well in the game. Here's a teaser...

[Ganelon]

Searchlights that would spot cargo containers at a range of multiple km seem kind of unlikely. Scanners already do that job, as has already been pointed out. Sure, it's a bit of a pain in the rump sometimes, but that's why we get paid in the game for doing it. LOL

On the other hand, I note that on at least the Griff scuffed Cobra, there are some lights that actually seem to light up the skin of the ship. Could that effect be extended enough to use as a sort of short range landing lights?

It could be neat when very near to stations or other ships or pulling into a Rock Hermit or Royal Hunting Lodge or whatever to see the "headlights" against the back wall.

Probably not an effect that would add useful function to gameplay enough to warrant going to a lot of bother for it, but it could be a nice bit of atmosphere if it was something easy to incorporate into some ships.

[Commander McLane]

On the other hand, I note that on at least the Griff scuffed Cobra, there are some lights that actually seem to light up the skin of the ship. Could that effect be extended enough to use as a sort of short range landing lights?

Well, there is no light involved here. Part of the texture is simply whitened. But you can't make one ship whiten the texture of another ship.

[Ganelon]

I can see where that would be the case. But I have to say that the illusion is good enough that I always have thought of them as actually being lights.

[Zireael]

Why can't we make a missile that would affect the lightness (gamma) of the entire screen?

[Kaks]

Actually, you kind of could make a flare missile, by using the ship.setMaterial/setShader function to temporarily add a bright layer to all surrounding ships... you'll need a timer to restore the original ship texture as the flare fades, of course!

Other than that, you can always change the overall brightness by oxps.

Without an atmosphere, the blackness of space does remain black, no matter how bright a flare you have! If you really, really want to, you can alwas create a 'frozen' white flasher floating a couple of inches off your viewport, and that will make the whole viewport noticeably paler...

[Commander McLane]

If you really, really want to, you can alwas create a 'frozen' white flasher floating a couple of inches off your viewport, and that will make the whole viewport noticeably paler...

But would it make other ships better visible? Because that's what the suggestion is about.

[Kaks]

Nope, all such a frozen flasher would do is to add fog to space, as far as I can tell...

[Commander McLane]

Nope, all such a frozen flasher would do is to add fog to space, as far as I can tell...

So actually more like the opposite of what was requested. Then it's perhaps nothing that should be pursued further.

[Zireael]

Or (I just thought) you could add a gamma setting in the game options menu. A slider similar to the one concerning sound.

Kaks idea sounds good, now if only somebody actually did it...

[Commander McLane]

Kaks idea sounds good, now if only somebody actually did it...

Nothing hinders you to do it yourself for your own ship. The Wiki tells you how a flasher is defined in shipdata, so the only thing you need to figure out is the coordinates of your ship's "window".

[Smivs]

Kaks idea sounds good, now if only somebody actually did it...

Nothing hinders you to do it yourself for your own ship. The Wiki tells you how a flasher is defined in shipdata, so the only thing you need to figure out is the coordinates of your ship's "window".

Or look in the shipdata.plist

Code: Select all

view_position_forward = "0.0 4.4 22.5";

[Commander McLane]

Or look in the shipdata.plist

Code: Select all

view_position_forward = "0.0 4.4 22.5";

Very true. Stoopid me!