FSX Ground Lighting at Night, Enhanced Terrain

[Funta 9]

Hi,

 

I'm flying, as best I can, the 617 Squadron Dams Raid of 1943.

 

Since a blackout would have been in effect back then, both in England and over the Continent, is there some way, after setting the true date/time of the event, of disabling all the ground lighting effects - ie towns, roads etc?

 

The correct date/time shows night, with moonlight, which is accurate, and the ground features they used for navigation were mostly coastline, rivers, canals etc - bodies of water which do show up at low level in FSX, so it would improve the realism a great amount to otherwise not have lit towns, cities, motorways etc.

 

Also, as far as terrain, and scenery go, the default FSX setup is adequate for my exercise, but can anyone comment on the value of Orb-X's various products - the Global Terrain down to the Europe coverage. I've read their documentation in which they would recommend some 3-4 levels of their products to get the optimum coverage.

 

OR, if you can comment on anyone else's enhancements in this area, I'd appreciate it.

 

Rgds

 

Peter Hunter

Sydney, Australia

[J G 927]

Hi Peter, and welcome to the Hanger.  It is good to see another Military enthusiast joining.

 

I haven come across a way to do this in FSX, so I dont know if it is possible. However I know a man who might know.

 

PC8MyBrain, or Chris Bell is a developer for the Areosoft Night Environment series.  These products enhance the FSX lighting, but I guess Chris has to know all there is to know about FSX lighting to do his job.

 

Go here to mail him:  http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php?/profile/2296-mypc8mybrain/

 

I hope this helps.

[Captain Coffee 2,030]

I like your T-shir

                        t.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Captain Coffee

[brett 2,315]

5 hours ago, Captain Coffee said:

I like your T-shir

                        t.

 

My father was a draftsman/artist and in the basement shop he had an old sign with those same words framed out. It always drew my attention for some reason when a child, later in life it reminded me as a carpenter to always do just that. When he died and the family members were going through our home that was the first thing I claimed to their dismay.

[Funta 9]

One of the first bits of basic philosophy passed to me at An Initio flight training was "Stay Ahead of The Aircraft."

 

As time went by and the aircraft got bigger (at 6'4" I still used to hit my head on the flight deck CB panel. No matter how big they got; cockpits are a non-revenue earning area), it became more and more relevant.

 

Peter.

[brett 2,315]

I'm pretty sure getting rid of the night lighting will not be an easy task at all. Much of the night lighting is done using separate textures designed just for night time. I would be interested in what Chris has to say.

[Funta 9]

Brett,

 

I msgd Chris. His reply:

 

Hi Peter, you will need custom textures for that,

there is no way you can do that with existing Sim, it is not era correct!

the most you do is try to place a photoreal over the area which will block default textures,

in the near future though you will be able to do that with Black Marble,

http://forums.nightenvironment.com/topic/207-black-marble/

 

Me back to him:

Thanks Chris.

But I bet you didn't anticipate putting all this amount of work in so someone could have no lights at all !!

 

He back to me:

lol 

 

 

[brett 2,315]

That's pretty much what I figured but was hoping Chris had some insight, I remember a ways back trying to figure a way to do the same thing so I could run missions with the Lysander into France and Germany. 

[Funta 9]

I know the Lysanders (and Hudsons) did missions into France, but wasn't aware of any into Germany...

There was the DC-3 operation into Poland to retrieve V2 parts, I think from a base in Italy.

I remember reading somewhere there were some agents in Germany at one point, communicating using VHF with operators who were flown overhead in Mosquitos.

 

Any of the above would make interesting Sim runs, but one would have to get detailed flight plans. We're very lucky the Dams raid documentation has survived, giving us the info we need to recreate.

[Funta 9]

Further to my above:

• Specially equipped Mosquitoes from the British 654^th Bombardment Squadron flew top secret “Redstocking” radio missions for the American OSS during 1944 and 1945. The aircraft, which were loaded with classified VHF transmitters and receivers codenamed Joan-Eleanors would fly night missions to relay radio transmissions between agents on the ground and headquarters in the U.K. The Mosquito was chosen for the job because of its long operating range, high speed and its ability to fly above the reach of anti-aircraft fire.

[brett 2,315]

It's true that the Lysander's were mostly used in France, I stand corrected. That's not to say I didn't make up a few of my own non-authentic missions into Germany. The aircraft I purchased included a few RW missions and even included scenery files with landing zones marked by car headlights, easy enough to replicate in the sim. The only thing that wasn't realistic was how bright the towns were which made it much easier to navigate. It was still tough to land in a small field at night without circling too much though.