[REQUEST] Navigation lights on ships when landing gear down

NeilF

NeilF
My original request from over two years ago has been closed. So I'm re-posting it -



How about when you get close to the station, navigation lights come into effect on your craft? As employed on ships/planes etc...

It would:-
1) Be a bit more immersive.
2) Might mean not crashing headlong into another ship you couldn't see very well in the poor lighting conditions.​

I suggest a new option in the Status Panel controls the navigation lights:-
  • No Fire Zone - When in no fire zone, navigation lights are on. [default]
  • Landing Gear - When landing gear down, navigation lights are on.
  • On - Always on. [Purely for messing about...]
  • Off - Navigation lights never on.

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Note 1: NPCs would be set to "No Fire Zone".

Note 2: Silent Running would prevent the lights coming on.

Note 3: Alternatively, "On" and "Off" could just be replaced with "Manual" and a key bind assignment offered to allow complete manual control of navigation lights. This bind should have a hold/toggle option on it.
 
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c00ky1970

c00ky1970
Seems cool,

I think these coming on once you have requested docking would be good, with those tweaks to silent running to keo them less visible.

As an aside why in the diagram does Helicopter have white strobe at rear, but no white steady, but plane does??
 

Sapyx

Sapyx
This used to be a thing in the two earlier Elite sequel games. I seem to remember they were flashing red-and-green lights, that appeared whenever you lowered landing gear. I'm not quite sure why the concept did not cross over into ED.
 

Hydrino

Hydrino
I agree completely.

Also, can we get QOL feature of "Headlights On" indicator on the HUD plz. Seems a simple thing (I know, dangerous to say in game dev).

Quite possibly ships would also have the option of lights all around and not just on the front. A Cobra MKIII is big, when I walk out on an airless world I'm gonna wanna have floodlights all around that sucker.
 

Lightspeed

Lightspeed
Putting the counter view here .....

But why? The landing areas are pretty well lit and, unless a ship is in Black Friday paint, it's usually easy to spot. Also, we have headlights. .....

Not doubting you - many seem to think this is a good idea - but do you have photos/examples where this would be worth having? I can't visualize the benefit over what we have already.
 

jacozilla

jacozilla
Lightspeed said:
Putting the counter view here .....

But why? The landing areas are pretty well lit and, unless a ship is in Black Friday paint, it's usually easy to spot. Also, we have headlights. .....

Not doubting you - many seem to think this is a good idea - but do you have photos/examples where this would be worth having? I can't visualize the benefit over what we have already.
Click to expand...

1. some landings are well lit, yes. but you've obviously not landed at some - not all - some outposts where it is pitch black, and some planetary landings at night were it is poorly illuminated. It is a pretty factual statement to say -some- landing areas are not well lit at all. Whether it is worth turning on lights or having separate auto landing lights is reason for this thread, but when you state landing areas are pretty well lit - that's a factual statement that can easily be disproved.

2. I'm not really gung ho over it, but not against OPs idea of it being enabled in game so long as described in OP it is an optional toggle to enable.

The benefits that you can't visualize worth having were noted in OP -
a) turns on by itself - convenience over manually toggle headlights on/off
b) allows players to set (or ignore) this new toggle and/or keybind
c) based on OPs example diagrams it appears it may be separate landing lights vs existing headlights (for more illumination)

My .02 cents is I'd personally prioritize this option as fairly low, my immersion doesn't need it. But I don't see the harm nor struggle over why other players may find it more useful than I -if and only if- as described it is a purely optional toggle.

I'll admit when landing at some outposts manually, I always toggle the headlights because some of those landing pads are pretty dark to pitch black. It also adds to the overall sense when at some of those landing pads you swear you can hear what sounds like disco music thumping out of the outpost while you're sitting on the pitch black landing pad.
 

Vasious

Vasious
Lightspeed said:
Putting the counter view here .....

But why? The landing areas are pretty well lit and, unless a ship is in Black Friday paint, it's usually easy to spot. Also, we have headlights. .....

Not doubting you - many seem to think this is a good idea - but do you have photos/examples where this would be worth having? I can't visualize the benefit over what we have already.
Click to expand...

Like the lights on the Hauler, you'd never notice but for getting close and looking

[video=youtube_share;JlVX7F9vSO4]https://youtu.be/JlVX7F9vSO4[/video]
 

DNA-Decay

DNA-Decay
Yeah, Nah.

I'd like some more control over my exterior lights and Nav LX part of that.

BUT.

The "Red Port Left" only really works when UP is the same for everyone.

Here's a thing -

the red / green lights on the toast rack.

Do you line up with green on the right like driving in the US
or
do you line up with green on the left like proper people?

Same same for Nav Lights - they are only useful with a common "UP"
 

Vasious

Vasious
DNA-Decay said:
Yeah, Nah.

I'd like some more control over my exterior lights and Nav LX part of that.

BUT.

The "Red Port Left" only really works when UP is the same for everyone.

Here's a thing -

the red / green lights on the toast rack.

Do you line up with green on the right like driving in the US
or
do you line up with green on the left like proper people?

Same same for Nav Lights - they are only useful with a common "UP"
Click to expand...

They still use Red and Green and White on Modern Space craft Navigation lights.

You know that the object lies between the Red and the Green

Just as if the object in in front of you or behind you, you still get an indication of the size of the object and where it is.

on each it gives you a direction or facing, but in Elite the engine plumes do that.

That is why when the Docking ports were "Fly down the centre" we have Green and Red as wide side indicators, and flasing red as the narrow side indicators.

The enter Green side like a traffic light was not the original design.

The Magnetic field of the coils out front Still direct your ship to the dead centre of the docking power if you drift in with FA off.


 
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VerticalBlank

VerticalBlank
DNA-Decay said:
Yeah, Nah.

I'd like some more control over my exterior lights and Nav LX part of that.

BUT.

The "Red Port Left" only really works when UP is the same for everyone.

Here's a thing -

the red / green lights on the toast rack.

Do you line up with green on the right like driving in the US
or
do you line up with green on the left like proper people?

Same same for Nav Lights - they are only useful with a common "UP"
Click to expand...

I've noticed that Federal starports always have the adverts aligned with green to starboard, red to port, whereas Imperial starports usually have the adverts in both orientations.

FWIW I generally align myself based on docking bay number. Bays 1-10 and 31-44, put green to starboard. Bays 11-30, put green to port. Minimises the roll you need to do once inside.
 

DNA-Decay

DNA-Decay
Still not convinced by your case.

On Earth - The red and green Nav lights give an indication of direction and that's hugely useful for both planes and boats.

On waterways the red and green also tells you where the channel is.

You say contemporary spaceship use them, but I think that's only the shuttle and the ISS which both have an "up". Shuttle also had to be capable of landing.

I don't hate the idea of standard red / green Nav lights. I just don't think you've made a strong case for their necessity yet.


One other thing that I don't like about your proposal is to link them to landing gear.

To me Nav lights mean "I'm on civilian business". Like the opposite of Silent Running.

In the WW2 flight sims, we flash them to signal a salute to other players not on our comms channel. Or to signal that we are on approach to land.

So yeah - I'd love to have a whole Christmas tree of running lights I could turn on and off.
But I don't think they'll be useful the way you would like. I don't think linking them to landing gear is a good idea.
And I would want options for our nefarious smugglers, griefers, sneaky silent runners.
 
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