…but developer Scott Gentile, of Shockwave Productions, has come up with an ingenious method that allows FSX aircraft to pierce the veils of darkness: a new 3D lighting system!
How did you come up with this feature, Scott? Where you actively looking for it or was it by accident?
The sight of a large airliner on final with its landing lights on still amazes me to this day. We just wanted to recreate this same feel in FSX. And then, while working on a new visual effects system for another project (not FSX, a standalone air-combat simulation) the idea just popped up. The initial FSX experiments sort of took us by surprise! Later on we ran the idea with the WoP (Wings-of-Power) team and they responded favorably, so I knew we had something good.
There are a couple of areas in which they could be improved (they seem to cast light over distant areas, etc). Do you plan to tweak them further?
Simulations are perpetually in a state of progress and improvement, so yes, we have some neat ideas of building on this system, but they are still in the formative stages.
Could this lighting system be used for static scenery too?
Yes, there are more ways to put these 3D lights to use in FSX. We are thinking about how to integrate them with the existing environment.
Light me up, Scotty, how has reception been so far?
The customer response has been fantastic!
This gadget may or may not rock your FSX world, but only ten bucks will jazz up your ambiance to surreal levels, that’s for sure. “More light!” demanded Goethe.
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