Dash_Panel_Clight_Files

[mongoose]

Just having a look at this.

1. Do the dds files have to go into specific sub folders in the aircraft/shared folder?

2. I noticed something like the BoB Defiant shared files had b_gauges_1a" instead of "b_gauges_1" but looked the same so I added "a" to "b_gauges_1.+clight" to make b_gauges_1a.+clight" Will that work/ (haven't looked at individual ac yet)

3. If an ac is using a file such as "a_gauges_1." and I just add "a_gauges_1.+clight" will it automatically show up in the correct place or do all the xdp files have to be adjusted? I think what I am asking is what does the placing of the "cockpit_light_uv" have to do with the "ight_uv.DDS" and the "*. +clight.dds" files???

I suspect this is not so easy as I first thought!

[MajorMagee]

The new *.+clight.dds cockpit light function was first implemented in the 25 February 2017 version of AnKor's Shaders. These are for cockpit use and are only active when the cockpit light is switched on. These will actually add the lightmap on top of original texture, so even black surfaces in the original texture can appear as "emitting" the light. The lightmap doesn’t have to match the resolution of the original texture, but I have seen some issues if you did not include MipMaps when the +clight file was created. Keep in mind that only ONE additional texture of this kind (+lrgb, +light, +nlight, +clight) can be used, i.e. you can't specify +light and +nlight for the same original texture.

*** Installation Instructions ***


1. Place the small 1 pixel (white) file called light_uv.DDS in your Aircraft\Shared\CLight folder.


2. In the TextureMagic.ini add an entry to define the Cockpit light and you can set that to look like the dim UV black-light sheen by using:
light_uv.dds=Spot|130026|2.0||||30|30


3. Install the light files for each gauge texture to designate what you want to glow when the cockpit light turns on. For example, a_gauges_1.dds needs a file called a_gauges_1.+clight.dds. These can all go in your Aircraft\Shared\CLight folder.


4. In effects.xml you'll need to add:
<cockpit_light_uv ClassName="Shockwave" PullOnGround="0" CountCycles="1" Pulse="0" InitialDelay="0" Duration="99999" FadeInTime="0" FadeOutTime="0" Pause="0" PosX="0" PosY="0" PosZ="0" InitialSize="0.0001" FinalSize="0.0001" Texture="light_uv.DDS" BlendMode="QuadSprite"/>


5. In the aircraft xpd you'll need something like: (the position will need adjustment for each specific cockpit to illuminate the dash panel as you would like. See examples below)
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="cockpit_light_uv" PosX="-0.475" PosZ="0.0" PosY="0.5" Pitch="110" Heading="20" MinVel="-999999" MaxVel="999999"/>
<Effect Type="Track" EffectName="cockpit_light_uv" PosX="0.475" PosZ="0.0" PosY="0.5" Pitch="110" Heading="-20" MinVel="-999999" MaxVel="999999"/>


PosX - Positive is right of center
PosZ - Positive is more forward
PosY - Positive is up
Pitch - Higher values point more downward with 0 straight up, 90 horizontal, and 180 straight down
Bank - Tilt rotation (not really needed for lights as they project a circular spot)
Heading - Positive is yaw (pivoting in the X-Z plane) to the right.

If you have already worked out the location of the dynamic reticle to work in the cockpit, that's a great place to start with a PosZ value about 0.5 (20 inches) more negative than the gunsight. Like the dynamic reticles, if you are too far outside the cockpit with your PosZ value the new effect will not initialize and you will still see the original bright red overall cockpit light.


Using a slightly brighter light like cockpit_light_red can be helpful to see the limits of where the light is shining before you set it to cockpit_light_uv for the final effect.


In effects.xml you need:
<cockpit_light_red ClassName="Shockwave" PullOnGround="0" CountCycles="1" Pulse="0" InitialDelay="0" Duration="99999" FadeInTime="0" FadeOutTime="0" Pause="0" PosX="0" PosY="0" PosZ="0" InitialSize="0.0001" FinalSize="0.0001" Texture="light_red.DDS" BlendMode="QuadSprite"/>


in TextureMagic.ini [CockpitLight] you need:
light_red.dds=Spot|800000|2.0||||30|30


and you need a 1 pixel (white) file called light_red.DDS in your Effects\fxtextures folder.

[MajorMagee]

Just having a look at this.

1. Do the dds files have to go into specific sub folders in the aircraft/shared folder?
Like most files in CFS3, the program will find them anywhere they may be hiding. This makes it easy to have repeats that conflict. Keeping them all in one designated folder called Clight makes it less likely to have errors crop up.

2. I noticed something like the BoB Defiant shared files had b_gauges_1a" instead of "b_gauges_1" but looked the same so I added "a" to "b_gauges_1.+clight" to make b_gauges_1a.+clight" Will that work/ (haven't looked at individual ac yet)
That should work.

3. If an ac is using a file such as "a_gauges_1." and I just add "a_gauges_1.+clight" will it automatically show up in the correct place or do all the xdp files have to be adjusted? I think what I am asking is what does the placing of the "cockpit_light_uv" have to do with the "ight_uv.DDS" and the "*. +clight.dds" files???
You need to have the light effect added to the xpd file. It needs to be positioned within the cockpit space so it will be recognized by the shaders as being turned on or off. If the light effect is on within the cube space immediately aft of the dash panel the clight dds will automatically be overlaid on top of the associated gauges.

I suspect this is not so easy as I first thought!

See step-by-step instructions above

[mongoose]

I see we crossed here!! So some points answered

I did read the readme in the folder several times but clearly not well enough. Even so..........

I can see I don't fully get how this works.