FS2Night ***first pre-release preview***

[michal 44]

Chris,Sounds great. I can see you are serious about perfecting your package. I am also glad it is being done by another fellow pilot. Let me tell you this - there are two items I am absolutely obsessed with as far as flight simulation is concerned - night lights and water. And night lights were always my top concern because I figured if my computer proved incapable of handling daytime scenery (mesh, textures, pretty coulds, etc.) I should at least have good night scenery to fall back on (it is even true today that daytime scenery still is far from the real thing but nightime scenery is getting close enough - why not make it even closer !). I also used to work with early commercial flight simulators and the first "modern" simulator I saw in late 70-ties was night-only simulator that used (once very famous) PDP-11 computer. At that time I was working for Singer-Link doing simulation software (in assembly language !) for B-52 ground mapping radar (this part was not classified). I would frequently travel to Merced to Castle Air Force base (Strategic Air Command) to debug my software (the base no longer exists).I see what you are saying about road pattern - I sense now why Mark Keith's night lights created problems - there was a spill-over to daytime scenery.If you get the coloring/blobs right I won't complain about anything else ;-)Anyway, I wish you luck and will follow your progress with outmost interest.Michael J.

[Guest Arrington]

Michael,Sounds good! :) You know, I was stationed at Castle for about two years before it closed in 93. I had an opportunity to fly the KC-135A sim there. Great fun! I was crewing the B-52G until they retired it, then moved on to the B-1B.

[michal 44]

>Sounds good! :) You know, I was stationed at Castle for about>two years before it closed in 93. I had an opportunity to fly>the KC-135A sim there. Great fun! I was crewing the B-52G>until they retired it, then moved on to the B-1B.My last trip to Castle was in 1983.!!! What an interesting coincidence. I was also able to 'play' with KC-135 simulator when it was done for maintenance. Once they even put me on B-52 sim even though it was theoretically strictly off-limit for me at the time - you needed the security clearance. They assumed I had one but failed to notice the orange band on my badge. And I played dumb ... Then they cranked some cross-wind and crabed the fuselage a few degrees for takeoff - I crashed right on takeoff (motion system was off) - could not handle this huge beast even though I already had my PPL.Occasional 'rides' like that were a welcome entertainment in the area otherwise devoid of any entertainment. What is 'crewing' exactly ? Is it what I think it is - being a member of the cockpit crew. B-1B .. wow !!Michael J.

[Guest Arrington]

>of the cockpit crew. B-1B .. wow !!Actually it was a little less exciting than that. :) I was a Crew Chief. This is the lead maintenance position on the airplane. It was my responsibility to coordinate with maintenance specialist and superintendents to keep the airplane in flyable and mission capable status. I would make sure that all maintenance was complied with and properly documented and that all of the aircraft parts were accounted for. I also did pre-flight, thru-flight, post-flight, and scheduled inspections along with troubleshooting, ground-maintenance engine runs, preventative maintenance, and servicing. Occasionally, I would also do things like brake changes, and general airframe maintenance. It was fun, but demanding work. The B-1 has no accommodations for the Crew Chief on the flight deck, so I would always travel via other means to locations away from home station.I always wanted to fly, so I got out of the service after ten years and pursued a career as a professional pilot.

[Guest Shane Strong CYHZ]

is this for 2002 or 2004 it looks greatshane

[Guest Arrington]

Thanks Shane. :) NEU is designed to work with FS 2004. FS 2002 compatibility is not guaranteed.

[Guest Shane Strong CYHZ]

thanks for the response i was just confused with the name :)shane

[maxter 0]

Wow, that looks great Chris.One question... Will this texture set work with the default textures or will there be a "matching" day time texture set? OK one more, what about other 3rd party day textures? Will they work with those as well?Thanks and all the best.Chris Porter:-outtaPerthWestern Australia

[Guest Arrington]

Hi Chris! :)Thanks! The NEU textures will reflect the MSFS daytime default textures, and should match perfectly. As for 3rd party daytime textures, they will be compatible so long as the developer didn't change the "layout" (roads, buildings, etc.)of the texture.

[Guest Mark02]

Hi Chris, it looks great :DBut will the night textures at airports also be upgraded?ThanksMark

[Guest Arrington]

Hi Mark,Thanks! Actually they already have been. :) Here in the AVSIM file library, you can find my latest release:Airport Environment Upgrade MXFile Description:Airport Environment Upgrade MX . Unlike any prior version of AEU, the Master's Edition will dramatically enhance all of the World's airports. From the largest airports to the smallest, by night or by day, its all there! Special night lighting and seasonal techniques are included.File name: aeu_mx.zipAEU MX was designed with FS2Night (NEU) in mind, and provides the airport night environment as I intended it. The reason that I did this is because AEU MX also focused on day textures, and the night lighting had to be specific to them. The night lighting found in AEU MX is actually a part of NEU.FS2Night (NEU) will contain new runway lighting, but it will be the same texture that is found in AEU MX. This will be included just in case the user doesn't have AEU MX installed.

[Bruce Nicholson KMFR 20]

The one improvement I'd like to see with night lighting is an increase in the visual range of the lights. In 2004, it seems like one has to be within 10 miles of a city to see any lights. In some situations, this is realistic. However, in FS2004, it seems the visual range is always restricted.I recently made a trip at night and I could see city lights as far as 50 miles out.Is there a way to increase the lighting so one can see upwards of 30 miles or so?Bruce

[Guest crabster]

I might have missed it in the above posts, but I gotta ask: How is the performance with this addon? (which looks outstanding I may add)

[Guest Arrington]

I'll answer the two questions up front, so as not to bore you with the details. If you are interested in just how much attention I give to performance, keep reading. You may, or may not find it interesting. :-badteethQ: Will there be a loss of performance?A: There will be zero change in performance from the default textures.Q: Can I increase the visual distance of cities at night.A: Unfortunately, no I cannot. This appears to be a function of programming code. I assume that it might also decrease performance, though I can't say for sure.I have always made performance a top priority. This was not easily done with AEU MX, because of the nature of the upgrade. The goal was to upgrade airport facilities to the maximum level of detail. In order to present that level of detail while sacrificing as little performance as possible, I increased the sizes of only the bitmaps that a user would be most likely to be close to. For instance, the main terminals, general aviation facilities, runways, and taxiway/ aprons are all up to 3 times their original size. Some of the other airport features, such as on-field office, storage, and freight buildings are much smaller. Additionally, the larger textures were mip-mapped so that they would present less detail as distance from the texture increases. I also eliminated about twenty of the least important bitmaps from AEU MX just prior to release. I think that the end result was a visually pleasing upgrade with a limited performance loss. Most users have reported no detectable losses, though I'm sure results have varied on some level.NEU is a different story... The user will spend most of the time above and away from the textures. This allows me to create the illusion of high detail, without increasing the size of the texture. The reason that I can do this is a function of the human perception. Our mind is very efficient at processing visual data so that we can use it. It possess the ability to automatically fill in or filter out information to rapidly interpret what we are seeing. An example of this can be seen here:http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/50918.jpgAt first glance, most people will read (or interpret) something other than what this sign actually says. You may have to stare at it a little to interpret it correctly, or you may not, it just depends. If it works it is a fun little demonstration of the mind's rapid ability to process visual information. :)The end result allows me some design flexibility for things that will be viewed briefly and from grater distances. At close range, most of what you see in the night textures will make little or no sense, but I have set a goal for myself that, from altitudes greater than 1000' AGL, the user will be left with an image that simulates an illuminated night environment. As altitude increases, so does the level of perceived detail. The 1000' AGL goal is significant because the user will be moving at a much slower rate in that environment, and it is usually the case, that below this altitude, the focus of attention shifts towards the airport environment. That is why AEU MX came first, and is intended to be used in conjunction with NEU FS2Night.NEU has been in the works for a little under a year now, and aside from the sheer number of textures involved, it is for this reason that the project has required so much time. In creating each bitmap, I use a design standard that presents the appropriate combination of shapes and colors to create the required illusion. I then have to try to find every texture in the simulation, and overfly it at 1000' to test it. It is very time consuming, but well worth the end result.

[Chris Willis 8]

Hi, Mr Chris Arrington, they are nice :-beerchug ThanksChris Willis[link:fsw.simflight.com/FSWMenuFsSim.html]Clouds And Addons For MsFs