does anyone know how to create a 'flicker' effect for lights?

[TheJamsh]

I'll explain what im trying to do,

When my building deploys from a vehicle, i want a couple of lights to flicker a couple of times, then fade on. Much like the behaviour you see with those long flourescent lights in shops and warehouses.

Im trying to do thsi effect in the following stages:

Code Select Expand


[Flickereffectemitter]
[flickereffect]

[Fadeeffect]
(startdelay to allow flicker effect to finish)

[Lighton]
The light as itself, just on.


However i cant make the light look like a real hp_light with the cone and everything. can i only use a draw_geom for that? if yes, does anyone fancy making that cone xsi for me ?

[Nielk1]

Never making effects myself, the first thing I think is the flicker and light on would be 2 completely different things.

Something set to emit every 999 years, that emits the flickers the first time, and another something that has a short delay. This is only a guess though, I hope Steeveeo or GBD sees this topic soon so I know if my inkling is right.

[Steeveeo]

Flickering a spotlight via ODF is nigh impossible, since light hardpoints and effect hardpoints operate completely differently.

The only way I think you would be able to do this is via DLL trickery.

[TheJamsh]

indeed, its a shame, but i spent a lot of the day playing and couldnt work it.

it CAN be done, but no via a hp_light hardpoint. i simply would have to use a coloured semi-transparent draw_geom to make the cone effect, and add a constant light to the top of it.

shame, but ah well.

[mrtwosheds]

Not quite sure what it is you are actually doing, but I do know how you can make a light flash! with a cone too probably.

It involves making a simple rotation animation, with only column of data that has values > than 0. This causes the object animated to scale on only one axis. Imagine a cube, the left hand side gets animated on the x axis -4 to 4, the right hand side 4 to -4.
In the middle at zero it briefly disappears! If a light is attached to this animation it will go on and off for as long as the animation runs.
So you could set it as a deploy animation to flash as the unit is deploying.

I know, your thinking WTF is he talking about?
Its something I discovered while playing with rotation animations. the light is scaled with the object it is attached to, when all values = 0 it goes out.

[Nielk1]

Interesting...

So you know Jamsh, I requested the light effect mask in 1.3 feature for units like the black dogs, so their broken headlights could spark when the working ones were turned on. Don't know if Av ever tried it though. You might find another use for it, just throwing it out there.

Mr2Shed, I suggest getting all these tips and tricks you learned together and doing a submission to www.bzcommand.com

[Warfreak]

I second that suggestion. For all we know, Twosheds knows the secret of the BZ Universe. 

[bigbadbogie]

He knows? He knows that Battlezone is real and that the NSDF are currently fighting the CCA in Egypt?

I really do talk too much.

[TheJamsh]

I pretty much have NO idea what 2sheds is talking about haha..

The light mask thing is pretty cool, havent REALLY had a chance to play with it. probably easier using draw_geom lol =] but itll never get the same effect as a real spot-light

[Zero Angel]

Took me a while to understand it too. But I think I got the point.

Imagine you have a square, now you shrink the square down until it disappears, then you grow the square until its at its original size.  Loop the animation for as many times as you need.

[AHadley]

Just vary the speed and the distance between the loops, and there you are! Flickering lights!

[Avatar]

Blinking is easy enough, the FE guys did it as a 'strobe' on top of the armory spikes.  I used it for left/right green/red blinking lights on aircraft...

-Av-

[mrtwosheds]

Imagine you have a square, now you shrink the square down until it disappears, then you grow the square until its at its original size.  Loop the animation for as many times as you need.

Spot on.
But scale animations don't work.
Rotations are very similar, they have 4 columns of data, if only one column has non zero values, the square will scale on one axis.
Its a very simple animation to make in notepad,  paste the ibpgen anim into a test .xsi, attach a HP_light to the animated frame just zero all but one of the columns of data and you will see it happen.

[Nielk1]

Blinking is easy enough, the FE guys did it as a 'strobe' on top of the armory spikes.  I used it for left/right green/red blinking lights on aircraft...

-Av-

For PIN lights.

[TheJamsh]

i managed to get further when i was looking over the seeker mines ODF yesterday:

[render]
lightType = "point" (etc)

now to try and get the cone.