Controlling panel.bmp illumination with PANEL_LIGHTS

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

As we all know, when you turn on the panel lights, a "panel" gets illuminated.This seems to be similar to setting IMAGE_USE_BRIGHT for a gauge.Can this effect be controlled at all with say the alpha of the bmp? Or perhaps it image flag manipulated?I realize one could create a "panel gauge" so there is no background panel, but that has some draw backs.The only other alternate I have come up with is to just use a blank panel, then draw the panel with GDI+, but is overkill if there is an easier way.I'm thinking of setting up the panel so that you turn on the instrument lights, and this gets you luminous instruments, but without the panel being lite up too, which is more realistic.Granted, I can do this using multiple instrument bmp's etc., but I am going for multiple effects, and ease of programming.Just wondering what others have found.

[Guest Vorlin]

Patrick,Are you talking about something similar to what I did with the MD500E? If so, check the HC forum post regarding thunderstorm lighting that I replied to earlier today... it sounds as if it's similar to what you're talking about.You can turn lighting on and off using one of 2 electrical busses and Bill has mentioned that he's used xml baked into model a'la the parts.xml file to achieve individual control. Additionally, sometimes it's not a matter of turning them on but rather leaving them on and masking the parts you don't want to show, as described in the HC post I mentioned.However, the whole thing requires the _L bmp's to be active and that only happens if the sun angle is less than 1, per the sun angle calculation formula elsewhere here in these forums.Lastly, I replied to your HC post earlier today. Catch me on TS!Scott / Vorlin

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

Scott,>Are you talking about something similar to what I did with the>MD500E? If so, check the HC forum post regarding thunderstorm>lighting that I replied to earlier today... it sounds as if>it's similar to what you're talking about.Actually, I have not seen your MD500E, so I have no idea, nor is this really related to the other topic on HC (in my mind) on anti-dazzle lighting. Also, _L stuff is in the model for the VC only, and I'm really talking about the 2D panel bmp's here primarily, although I've filed that away for later when/if I do the VC in the model to go with everything else I'm doing.>You can turn lighting on and off using one of 2 electrical>busses and Bill has mentioned that he's used xml baked into>model a'la the parts.xml file to achieve individual control.>Additionally, sometimes it's not a matter of turning them on>but rather leaving them on and masking the parts you don't>want to show, as described in the HC post I mentioned.Individual control of what? I already know how to control the the power/buses etc.Yes, as mentioned in my post above, I'm familiar with the idea of creating a "panel gauge" with holes for other gauges. This is not an attractive option however, as it creates a panel with fixed gauges, and also because I am using switches and gauges which overlap beyond the 'hole' in the panel in which they are mounted.>However, the whole thing requires the _L bmp's to be active>and that only happens if the sun angle is less than 1, per the>sun angle calculation formula elsewhere here in these forums.Ah, this explains why you guys were all hot to trot to get that calculation working, haha. I read all that wondering why the heck do ya care? Look out the window, it's dark, haha.>Lastly, I replied to your HC post earlier today. Catch me on>TS!Not sure what your HC callsign is, but sure.

[Guest ridgell]

fighting this dragon my self.i opted for the panel as a gauge. you can set the night color to black or very dark, but that will not completly blackout the background panel. i am useing a seperate panel background gauge useing time of day to decide which to use.way back in some posts between myself and bill learning we explored the use of multiple overlayed windows. its not used that much but there does not seem to be much of a frame or computing cost, and it opens up a lot of options. ( bill you never did get back on the psuedo panel definition) :)

[Guest Vorlin]

Hmmm...I'm not really a 2d guy myself and so don't know a whole lot about them other than the basics. However, I wonder if it's at all possible to create a window with no background color that has one image covering the entire window. If this image were white with, perhaps, 15% alpha then it *may* cause anything underlying to look brighter... just as a black 15% alpha overlay can be used to dim the underlying image.But as far as self-illumination goes, I think that luminosity and panel lights are the only options in the 2D.By using several different windows, giving them numbers higher than 9 and using another xml gauge to call them by their idents, you can have as many as you like without taking up any space in the Shift+# slots.Sometimes the overlays work with white rather than black, sometimes not. Only playing with it will tell.On HC I'm HC070NC_Vorlin. I'm on TS now and will be for the next few days (home from work until Monday due to a back injury).Scott / Vorlin

[n4gix 4,947]

Hmm, all of this is explained in the SDK, but to recapitulate, for the 2d panel these entries control the "lighting":Day=255,255,255 //self explanatory!Night=10,10,10 //color and brightness of the 2d panel at nightLuminous=150,150,150 //color and brightness of gauge elements tagged to use LUMINOUSFor my latest project's gauges, I'm using a combination of LUMINOUS and BRIGHT for gauge illumination.Using BRIGHT of course allows me to use a specially treated bitmap for effects.Using LUMINOUS allows me to use the same bitmap, and simply add color and/or brightness to the gauge element.The "Night=" parameters listed above are the items related to your specific question. They are "added" to the existing 2d panel bitmap, and respond to the panel lights bus.

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

I was talking about more control that Night=, and not really over the lighting of the gauges, but the lighting of the panel itself.Patrick

[WarpD 824]

FS doesn't 'light' the 2D panel.The 2D panel is lit based on the entries in the panel.cfg file.If you want the entire panel literally lit, it has to be a gauge. Otherwise, the entry for Night= will define how 'bright' the panel is and it is indeed static.

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

>FS doesn't 'light' the 2D panel.>>The 2D panel is lit based on the entries in the panel.cfg>file.>>If you want the entire panel literally lit, it has to be a>gauge. Otherwise, the entry for Night= will define how>'bright' the panel is and it is indeed static.So basically, you are implying that I can turn off the "light" (since you don't like that word) on the panel by adjusting the Night= setting. Ok, I'll try that.If one can find those values internally, then they could be adjusted dynamically too. Now that would be cool.

[n4gix 4,947]

>So basically, you are implying that I can turn off the "light">(since you don't like that word) on the panel by adjusting the>Night= setting. Ok, I'll try that.The "Night=" 2d 'lighting' is controlled by the panel lights switch. Turn off panel lights switch, and the 2d panel goes dark.I typically use "Night=10,10,10" for most panels, because I'd rather not have a uniformly lighted 2d panel, as that is only "realistic" to the point of having the overhead flood light on... not something one would do in a car at night, much less an airplane! ;)

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

>>So basically, you are implying that I can turn off the>"light">>(since you don't like that word) on the panel by adjusting>the>>Night= setting. Ok, I'll try that.>>The "Night=" 2d 'lighting' is controlled by the panel lights>switch. Turn off panel lights switch, and the 2d panel goes>dark.>>I typically use "Night=10,10,10" for most panels, because I'd>rather not have a uniformly lighted 2d panel, as that is only>"realistic" to the point of having the overhead flood light>on... not something one would do in a car at night, much less>an airplane! ;)Ok, I'm getting it now. This was what I was looking for. Yes, having it lit would be like having a flood or anti-dazzle lighting on.It also explains why I rememgber having luminous instruments WITHOUT the panel being lite.Thanks,Patrick

[n4gix 4,947]

>It also explains why I rememgber having luminous instruments>WITHOUT the panel being lite.Yep, some folks got lazy and simply added LUMINOUS to the whole darn gauge......which to me looked rather silly, 'cause when's the last time you saw a bezel light up? :-erks

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

>>It also explains why I rememgber having luminous>instruments>>WITHOUT the panel being lite.>>Yep, some folks got lazy and simply added LUMINOUS to the>whole darn gauge...>>...which to me looked rather silly, 'cause when's the last>time you saw a bezel light up? :-erks Hey, I sold Acme Lighting that Super Bezel Light 950, and they paid good money for it. :-bigangel