NIGHT_THRESHOLD and DAY_THRESHOLD

[neilhewitt 493]

Does anyone have these settings actually working and doing anything useful in P3D 5.1? I'm trying to keep emissive textures on later into the morning and earlier in the evening. I've been playing about with these settings, having added them to my .cfg, but they don't affect the time that emissive lights go off or on, with EA on or off. In my saved scenario at 26/01/21 at EGLC, they go off some time between 0820 and 0825 Zulu. It's maddening.

(Really what I want is for developers to stop using emissive textures for cockpit lighting including backlighting, flood lighting and dome lighting, and use proper dynamic lights and effects. It's hugely irritating that FeelThere's E-Jets v3 still uses this technique even though it was supposed to target v4.5. But I'd settle for being able to keep the lights on until 10am in winter and have them back on at 2/3pm.) 

If you've got evidence that it works in 5.1, could you let me know what your settings are, so I can try them out?

Edited February 17, 2021 by neilhewitt

[Mace 1,896]

I am mirroring your findings --

Set myself at MMMD and did some tests.

1.  Set NIGHT_THRESHOLD to 8000.  Observed a "lights on" the main roads at 17:42 local.  Exited sim.

2.  Set NIGHT_THRESHOLD to 48000.  Observed a "lights on" the main roads at 17:42 local. 

If NIGHT_THRESHOLD were working as in the past, wouldn't that "lights on" time change?

[neilhewitt 493]

10 hours ago, Mace said:

I am mirroring your findings --

Set myself at MMMD and did some tests.

1.  Set NIGHT_THRESHOLD to 8000.  Observed a "lights on" the main roads at 17:42 local.  Exited sim.

2.  Set NIGHT_THRESHOLD to 48000.  Observed a "lights on" the main roads at 17:42 local. 

If NIGHT_THRESHOLD were working as in the past, wouldn't that "lights on" time change?

I think it's the other way around - NIGHT_THRESHOLD controls when night lighting ends in the morning, but I changed both values and neither time - lighting off in the morning, lighting on in the evening - changes at all.

[FreeBird(Josh) 314]

There is allot of good info here.  Look at my post 7 down.   Josh

Edited February 18, 2021 by FreeBird(Josh)

[Mace 1,896]

3 hours ago, neilhewitt said:

I think it's the other way around - NIGHT_THRESHOLD controls when night lighting ends in the morning, but I changed both values and neither time - lighting off in the morning, lighting on in the evening - changes at all.

Ok, well I will try it at dawn and see.

I can't speak for you Neil but I was aware of the thread FreeBird(Josh) mentions, and already had used this tweak for many years, even back in FSX days.   It's possible it is not working in 5.1 but you are the first person to bring it up.  I will be able to re-test in about 10 hours (I have to go to work right now).

[Mace 1,896]

Ok, tested a number of scenarios.  I'm not using EA.  In a word, NIGHT_THRESHOLD is goofy now.  I can't say if it does anything or not.  Look below:

NIGHT_THRESHOLD=8000
lights off at 6:42 am at MMMD on 2/18/2021

NIGHT_THRESHOLD=48000
lights off at 6:42 am at MMMD on 2/18/2021   

NIGHT_THRESHOLD=1000
lights off at 6:42 am at MMMD on 2/18/2021

NIGHT_THRESHOLD removed (default)
lights off at 6:30 am at MMMD on 2/18/2021  

 

Thinking that possibly Orbx OpenLC might be doing something, I disabled that.  I do not use Vector.  So now, see below for those results:

Disabled Orbx OpenLC
NIGHT_THRESHOLD removed (default)
lights off at 6:30 am at MMMD on 2/18/2021   

Disabled Orbx OpenLC
NIGHT_THRESHOLD=8000
lights off at 6:30 am at MMMD on 2/18/2021

re-enabled Orbx OpenLC
NIGHT_THRESHOLD=8000
lights off at 6:31:15 am MMMD on 2/18/2021

 

None of it makes any sense.  So I have to conclude that NIGHT_THRESHOLD at least, isn't working as it did in the past.  It might be doing something, but if so, the results I got were erratic.

[neilhewitt 493]

It seems to have an impact just by being in the .cfg, but other than that it doesn't change anything (hence the 12 minute time difference in your first examples). So it might be that the code reads the value and it does change something just by being there, but P3D doesn't actually use the value itself anymore, so it's always the same time with the setting in your .cfg.

Weird. Or possibly a bug. I may report this at Prepar3d.com forums. 

[Darren FS 0]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I did a flight yesterday EGCC LEBL landing around 1815z and the airport taxiways and ramp were completely dark. Same issue I've had since I bought P3D.

 

 

[neilhewitt 493]

5 hours ago, Darren FS said:

Did you ever find a solution to this? I did a flight yesterday EGCC LEBL landing around 1815z and the airport taxiways and ramp were completely dark. Same issue I've had since I bought P3D.

No. I have left the entries in my config file and I get the lights on for an extra 12-15 minutes irrespective of what values I set them to, but that's all I was able to do.

We just have to get developers to stop using emissive textures entirely, and start using dynamic lighting. For cockpit lighting I don't think it's hugely difficult, but for scenery it would mean you need interior models as well as exterior, with transparent window surfaces so you can show the lights at night. A lot of newer scenery has interior modelling but it's far from universal. 

[FPStewy 538]

6 hours ago, Darren FS said:

Did you ever find a solution to this?

We kinda discussed this in another post and this is my opinion only is that it's hard coded because it has to do with several variable that override, like minimum visibility, fog, rain, sunset/sunrise time of day ect. all have an input. Then if it's a payware airport it's coded into the airport. So there's not really much we can do.

[mfcl1 0]

In P3Dv5.2 it works on my end as it should.

Also have installed ORBX Base, Vector, TerraFlora, OpenLC EU, OpenLC Africa and many more