Help Needed With An .FX (Effect) File...

[n4gix 4,947]

I need some help trying to get a nice "LOGO LIGHT" effect working, using a bitmap resource as shown below:http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/9677/esdglogold8.pngTrying to use an image like that on an _L.bmp or _LM.bmp in FSX is useless. Both Blend and Additive modes look like mud......aside from which there's no "control" over the appearance of the LOGO LIGHT splash! If I can get this working, I'll use it in both FS9 and FSX to allow for full pilot control... 8-)Obviously, what I know about .fx files wouldn't fill a thimble, and I've had no success in figuring out the SDK at all... :(

[n4gix 4,947]

I can only surmise that no one here knows anything at all about .fx files, or at least doesn't know anything more than I do......which is rather little, truth be told.I find that rather frightening as well as discouraging... :-shy

[nickpike 0]

Hi Bill, in FS9 I would use the _L in the name and made it a lightmap. Then had two fins, one shows with logo lights off and the other with the lightmap applied shows with the logo lights on.cheers,nick

[n4gix 4,947]

>Hi Bill, in FS9 I would use the _L in the name and made it a>lightmap. Then had two fins, one shows with logo lights off>and the other with the lightmap applied shows with the logo>lights on.Unfortunately, that _L.bmp trick doesn't work well with FSX, since neither the Additive nor Blend modes work worth a darn. The _L.bmp "light" is muddy, and actually washes out the diffuse texture.So, I'm still looking for [b[anyone[/b] who knows something about .fx files... ;)BTW, I already tried using code to "swap" lighted/non-lighted parts in FS9 and it wouldn't work...

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

Bill,To be honest, and it's been awhile since I made my last fx file, I do not think you can use them in this way - ig. to throw light onto the model blending it with the texture.I believe (and perhaps wrongly) that they texture an invisble "sprite" or poly creating the illusion of whatever is on the poly (and sometimes polys) being there. It's a 2D animation basically, but not going to interact with the model by lighting it in the way that you want.You can perhaps see the flash of position strobes, but that's about it I think.Patrick

[n4gix 4,947]

>Bill,>>To be honest, and it's been awhile since I made my last fx>file, I do not think you can use them in this way - ig. to>throw light onto the model blending it with the texture.>>I believe (and perhaps wrongly) that they texture an invisble>"sprite" or poly creating the illusion of whatever is on the>poly (and sometimes polys) being there. It's a 2D animation>basically, but not going to interact with the model by>lighting it in the way that you want.>>You can perhaps see the flash of position strobes, but that's>about it I think.Actually, you can do precisely that: generate a "light" to illuminate portions of an exterior or interior model. How else then explain the behavior of the "lights" which may be used inside the VC to provide illumination?Or, how else explain the "light spash .fx files" used to simulate the reflection of landing/taxi lights as they are reflected by the fuselage?In point of fact, I CAN easily generate a generalized "blob of light" that will provide illumination to the vert stab and rudder, but it is very diffuse and scattered, and without any defined shape.As the picture below from FSX illustrates, the current .fx file I've been trying to create is "unfocused," and scatters "light" in a 360

[Guest Patrick_Waugh]

Why not just use a light poly (like landing light) like we used to do, which will also create the light in the space between?Here's why I don't believe your method can be effective:While you are correct, your fx's can generate very diffuse blobs of light (think of what the game engine can dynamically handle), it is not going to be "clinically effective" in creating what you want.Here is why, I believe.Imagine, when you look at your pic above of the vert. stab moving the single poly sprite, which is a plane the "size" of your effect slowly against the stab. where you want the light.Note this sprite is flat. At some point your sprite will "touch" the vert. stab, at the point of tangency.At those points where it touches, your light can be very bright with it becoming very diffuse with it falling off to the square of the distance perhaps.As you cannot "wrap" the poly onto the surface, unless you have a flat stab, I am not sure that you can get it strong/sharp enough.However, here is how I would proceed. a) Use a regular colored position fx to confirm that you have coordinates next to the stab, just touching it. :( Position your emitter there. c) Get a basic emitter particle working, and do it so you can see the poly. (Kind of like the error people used to get with the position lights. Maybe just take an existing static fx (like the position light), and use only one of it's emitter/particle triples. Change your sizes accordingly. d) After getting the fx file correct, experiment with making the texture "brighter" where it is further away from the surface normal. Perhaps using a "map" you create from the geometry you are overlaying. Or, you could create additional "layers" and just add more emitter/particles pairs to "thicken" the light.When I made flashing landing lights for my 737, it took me like 2 weeks to get the fx file done, so I feel your pain.