Regarding the "SET CARRIER LIGHT MODE" trigger

[Northstar98]

Hi everyone,

Recently a new trigger was implemented for the mission editor, providing control of how aircraft carriers are lighted.

The trigger has 5 modes:

• AUTO
• AC LAUNCH
• AC RECOVERY
• NAVIGATION
• OFF

For CVNs 71-75 and the supercarrier Kuznetsov, this seems to mostly work as expected but there are a number of oddities:

For CVNs 71-75:

• The lights illuminating various spaces below decks are on (as with every other mode except "AC RECOVERY") when the mode is set to "OFF".
• The long-range laser line-up system seems to be illuminated in all modes. I'm not sure what real-world procedure dictates but wouldn't it only be applicable to "AC RECOVERY"?
• The IFLOLS isn't illuminated in "AC RECOVERY".
• Are the navigation lights supposed to go off for "AC RECOVERY"? In real footage it's difficult to tell as the port and starboard lights aren't visible from behind (as they should - IRL they should only cover a 112.5° sector from directly ahead, the same should be true for all port/starboard navigation lights). 
• It seems to take a while before the "OFF" setting actually takes effect (~12 seconds), the others are instant.

Another thing to perhaps mention, are the deck floodlights in "AC RECOVERY", there's footage where (apart from the bow catapults) the floodlights are on and the floodlights are off. Perhaps it would be a good idea to have 2 seperate settings, one with the floodlights, the other without floodlights.

 

Kuznetsov:

• There doesn't seem to be a difference between AC LAUNCH and AC RECOVERY. I'm not sure how the Russian Navy does things though I'd expect the landing area lights to not be lit in AC LAUNCH (leaving just the deck edge lights - there doesn't seem to be any floodlights present).
• The OLS doesn't illuminate with "AC RECOVERY" (only if there's actually an aircraft landing).
• While the navigation and island lights go out immediately, it once again takes a while for the deck lights to go out (~11 seconds) when set to "OFF" (though at least here the ship does eventually go completely dark).

CVN_71_light_modes.trk Kuznetsov_light_modes.trk

Edited December 7, 2023 by Northstar98
Apparently I can't count

[BarTzi]

Was this added to the API?

[Northstar98]

14 minutes ago, BarTzi said:

Was this added to the API?

It seems to still be present even if I disable/remove the supercarrier module and it also works (at least to an extent, mostly down to what lights are implemented) on the Forrestal, Veintinco de Mayo and Invincible.

[BarTzi]

19 hours ago, Northstar98 said:

It seems to still be present even if I disable/remove the supercarrier module and it also works (at least to an extent, mostly down to what lights are implemented) on the Forrestal, Veintinco de Mayo and Invincible.

Added to the API means it can be accessed via scripting commands. Seems like this is not the case.

[Nealius]

19 hours ago, Northstar98 said:

It seems to still be present even if I disable/remove the supercarrier module and it also works (at least to an extent, mostly down to what lights are implemented) on the Forrestal, Veintinco de Mayo and Invincible.

But not for the Tarawa, I assume? I would give anything to kill the lights on that atrocity. 

[Northstar98]

1 hour ago, BarTzi said:

Added to the API means it can be accessed via scripting commands. Seems like this is not the case.

Ahh my apologies, not sure on that one.

1 hour ago, Nealius said:

But not for the Tarawa, I assume? I would give anything to kill the lights on that atrocity. 

Unfortunately no, this new trigger doesn’t seem to have any effect on the Tarawa. The Forrestal, Invincible and Veinticinco de Mayo all have at least some implementation (mostly depending on what lights are actually implemented) for the new trigger.

 

Personally though, it would be great if all naval units in the game could use this trigger (though obviously, “AC LAUNCH” and “AC RECOVERY” won’t be applicable to ships lacking aviation facilities).

Edited December 7, 2023 by Northstar98
grammar

[Northstar98]

Just note - the bug with the "OFF" mode not turning off the light below-deck and taking ~11 seconds to actually take effect only seems to occur if it's set after the "AC RECOVERY" setting.

So long as any other mode is selected before "OFF" is selected, it works as expected, excluding the LRLS remaining on.

CVN_71_light_test.trk

[Nealius]

The below-deck lighting I think is a general issue. Last time I did CASE III work before this feature was added, the below deck lighting was on the whole time, and the LA floods came on before I came to a complete stop.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Nealius

[Northstar98]

9 hours ago, Nealius said:

The below-deck lighting I think is a general issue. Last time I did CASE III work before this feature was added, the below deck lighting was on the whole time, and the LA floods came on before I came to a complete stop.

Are you (or anybody else reading the thread) able to do a test in the latest DCS build? At the moment I'm on integrated graphics for my new build (wanted to wait for the RTX 40 super series before I commit to a decision), so testing in DCS is a pretty painful experience beyond looking at the AI on the lowest possible quality.

Though in the test posted above, the below-deck lighting was correctly off in "AC RECOVERY" (and on in all other modes but "OFF", unless "OFF" is selected immediately after "AC RECOVERY").

As for the floodlights, I'm not sure on this one - you can find videos with the floodlights on and you can find some with them off - I'm not entirely sure what the standard operating procedure is, but it might not necessarily be a bug (though it might be good to have a separate setting to have the floodlights off).

[Nealius]

What kind of testing specifically?

55 minutes ago, Northstar98 said:

you can find videos with the floodlights on and you can find some with them off

For me the jarring thing was them turning on before my jet even came to a stop. Normally they don't come on until a few seconds after coming to a complete stop (in DCS).

[Northstar98]

2 hours ago, Nealius said:

What kind of testing specifically?

Just CASE III landings from a player aircraft, might be worth trying with the lights set to "AUTO" and another set to "AC RECOVERY", just to see if there's any difference.

Although the behaviour should be the same between the AI doing it (which I can test myself) and the player.

EDIT: Looks like there's no difference between "AUTO" and "AC RECOVERY" for an AI aircraft. As soon as the the carrier is set for recovery, the floodlights come on and the below-deck lighting switches off. The IFLOLS though only illuminates with an aircraft actually landing.

The Forrestal though is somewhat different. When set to "AC RECOVERY" the floodlights are off and they'll never come on unless another mode is set. In "AUTO" though once an aircraft has been recovered the floodlights come on as the aircraft begins to taxi off the landing area.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Northstar98

[gmangnall]

Bizarre. I have never seen this feature but found it about 30 mins ago noticed it was bugged and came here to report it lol. When setting to off - sometimes the rear of the carrier lights up as well.

[Northstar98]

7 hours ago, gmangnall said:

Bizarre. I have never seen this feature but found it about 30 mins ago noticed it was bugged and came here to report it lol. When setting to off - sometimes the rear of the carrier lights up as well.

So far, in my (albeit limited) testing, “OFF” behaves as expected apart from when “AC RECOVERY” is the previous mode set, whereby they’ll be a delay (~11 seconds) before it fully takes effect and in the case of CVNs 71-75, the below deck lights come on.

[Tomcat388th]

Is this an option in the mission editor if so where at or a lua script

Thanks 

J

[Northstar98]

46 minutes ago, Tomcat388th said:

Is this an option in the mission editor if so where at or a lua script

Thanks 

J

In the trigger menu (open switch symbol) actions -> SET CARRIER LIGHT MODE.

[Tomcat388th]

thank you

J

 

[krayons213]

Can someone please explain how to access the trigger menu so I can use this action?

[Northstar98]

3 hours ago, krayons213 said:

Can someone please explain how to access the trigger menu so I can use this action?

It's the icon that looks like an open switch, just below the button for the weather settings.

Once that's open, add a new trigger (leftmost "ADD" button, set the type, name, event and colour as desired), add a condition for the trigger if appropriate (middle "ADD" button) and then add the SET CARRIER LIGHT MODE action (rightmost "ADD" button, set the type to "SET CARRIER LIGHT MODE", set "UNIT" the unit you want the setting to apply to and set "MODE" as desired).

[krayons213]

Thank you! That worked perfectly. I've never really messed with triggers on my own custom missions before.