Ok, bad title...but really, I like lights. A lot. Most people weren't huge fans of the Chieftain and the following two copy-cats and, honestly, I don't care for it a lot either (although I dig the looks - new/different ship designs are always a win!).
But DOOD...it has more ambient lighting underneath it! Deploying my SRV beneath it is so much cooler than dropping out of my very dark and bland-undersided...well, anything really. I really wish we had external lights that were actually 'external' and not just 'forward'. So the suggestion:
Function: External Lights Toggle Lighting Modes
- Much like the SRV Hi/Lo/Off beams, you can cycle your external lights
- Cycle is as follows: Forward Beams Only (What is currently installed), Forward and Landing, Landing Only, Off
Forward Beams are your typical beams as you have now - they illuminate what is in front of the ship and reach some distance
External Lights are flood lights around the bottom and possibly the sides of the ship - they illuminate the area around the base of the ship (or underneath it in space) similar to the lighting a Chieftain provides beneath the cockpit and near its SRV Hangar / Cargo Scoop. These create more ambiance when landing and provide great lighting for camera work or SRV / SLF docking and deployment.
In addition to this new lighting function I would create two new bindings (which aren't necessary but could be used by those of us who like 'one button for everything') Also, if you don't like cycling a lot to turn off your lights:
- Binding for 'Cycle Ship Lights' (Helps the console peasants out without demanding more buttons, this is the same as the existing binding)
- Binding for 'Toggle Ship Forward Beams' (For those who don't care/ don't use externals)
- Binding for 'Toggle Ship External Lights' (For those who care / camera work for sweet vids)
For the sake of clarity and immersion, I intentionally title them Forward 'Beams'. External 'Lights' could be changed to 'Floodlights' or 'Floods' to further clarify the difference between these two lighting sets. These sorts of details, while small, really help the immersion of the simulation.
But DOOD...it has more ambient lighting underneath it! Deploying my SRV beneath it is so much cooler than dropping out of my very dark and bland-undersided...well, anything really. I really wish we had external lights that were actually 'external' and not just 'forward'. So the suggestion:
Function: External Lights Toggle Lighting Modes
- Much like the SRV Hi/Lo/Off beams, you can cycle your external lights
- Cycle is as follows: Forward Beams Only (What is currently installed), Forward and Landing, Landing Only, Off
Forward Beams are your typical beams as you have now - they illuminate what is in front of the ship and reach some distance
External Lights are flood lights around the bottom and possibly the sides of the ship - they illuminate the area around the base of the ship (or underneath it in space) similar to the lighting a Chieftain provides beneath the cockpit and near its SRV Hangar / Cargo Scoop. These create more ambiance when landing and provide great lighting for camera work or SRV / SLF docking and deployment.
In addition to this new lighting function I would create two new bindings (which aren't necessary but could be used by those of us who like 'one button for everything') Also, if you don't like cycling a lot to turn off your lights:
- Binding for 'Cycle Ship Lights' (Helps the console peasants out without demanding more buttons, this is the same as the existing binding)
- Binding for 'Toggle Ship Forward Beams' (For those who don't care/ don't use externals)
- Binding for 'Toggle Ship External Lights' (For those who care / camera work for sweet vids)
For the sake of clarity and immersion, I intentionally title them Forward 'Beams'. External 'Lights' could be changed to 'Floodlights' or 'Floods' to further clarify the difference between these two lighting sets. These sorts of details, while small, really help the immersion of the simulation.
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