Newbie Q

[David Murden]

Hi,

I've just started out making my own spotlights for the PMDG -8 and the much need panel lighting for there NG.

I have to say it looks fantastic. Could you help me in two ways, please?

1) I find doing the light for the MCP is hard, I go it so the light range is very low as I don't want them to bleed through or down. All good and it look great but it takes 14 lamps to get it right.

Q is they a way to make one lamp more letterbox shape. e.g not very high but wide.? a sharp rectangle shape?

2) For the life of me, I cannot within the sim see/get the spotlight panel to show me a way to dim/brighten the light. There's a box that sometimes shows a value. I have seen on youtube people pulling out a red line and adjusting the light. Please tell me how? it's frustrating.

 

[Lefteris Kalamaras]

Hello David,

Spotlights are taking advantage of the new P3D effects system (but extending it to be dynamically controllable at any given time). Lights have cone properties, with inner and outer angle specifications ranging from 1 to 360 degree width, as per "reality".

Letterbox shaped lights, in reality, are made of many lamps put in series, or a tube light (like a fluorescent tube for example). As such, you're correct, it will take 14 lamps to make it look "proper" but if you are careful with the range of the lamp (how far the light reaches), you shouldn't have FPS issues.

As for your second question - resize the columns in the spotlight panel to allow the second column to reveal the controls. In there, you'll find the control you're looking for.

Hope that helps!

[David Murden]

Thank you