Cockpit instruments have gone almost luminous!

Don't know when this happened, but a lot of the instrument panels and dials have become almost luminous when flying towards the sun, or when cockpit is in shade.

See the attachments. Top graphic is from OB and bottom is Stable. Settings are exactly the same, and I've attached a comparison flying with sun at my back to demonstrate that.

Now, I don't know if this is intentional, but it looks pretty weird, especially in VR where it looks totally unnatural. I also don't know if this is just in the Spit, but I haven't noticed it in other mods so far.

Yes, the instruments have luminosity.

Spawn into the aircraft at night.

Are they supposed to be like that? If so, why has it only changed recently? Looks horrible in VR.

Probably similar bug to the one in German birds (altough their issue is even more extreme).

I’m confused. Are we saying this is a bug then? If so, has it been reported?

Thanks.

I’m confused. Are we saying this is a bug then? If so, has it been reported?

Thanks.

I don't have VR... but it looks completely fine on a monitor. Maybe a touch too bright, but it's not silly or buggy looking.

But Phil, look at the 2 screenshots. They are from monitor. It's a massive change in a recent update.

Seems strange to me that if this is correct, then why has it taken years to be implemented. Also, if Art-J says it affects other prop planes, then it must be a bug, i guess. Don't you think?

OK, I just checked, and the Kurfurst is the same. Look at screenshot. Half in sunlight, half completely luminous in shade.

If this is correct, then it certainly helps visibility, but it would be good to know if this change is a bug which seems likely if it is applicable to more than one aircraft.

OK, I just checked, and the Kurfurst is the same. Look at screenshot. Half in sunlight, half completely luminous in shade.

If this is correct, then it certainly helps visibility, but it would be good to know if this change is a bug which seems likely if it is applicable to more than one aircraft.

Maybe the issue here is the shadows and not the luminous gauges.

Take a watch with luminous hands and charge it in the bright sun for a minute, then take that watch into a very dark room. It's amazing how bright they "shine".

So, the instruments in DCS look fine against the very dark background.

However, the shadows in your 109 screenshot seem very sharp, with no gradient between shadowed areas and lit areas. My shadows look quite different, they gently transition from dark to ilght areas.

It's as though the shadow areas in your 109 screenshot are taken from inside a small room with no windows, and then, 1cm away there is bright sunlight. This makes the luminosity look out of place as a result.

The solution might be to change cockpit lighting, shadows, deferred shading and SSLR settings.

Turn Cockpit Global Illumination on too.

The image below is what my spitfire cockpit looks like in half-shadow half-sun. Note the smoother shadow transition and the more gentle contrast on the instruments in the shade compared to yours.

Maybe the issue here is the shadows and not the luminous gauges.

Take a watch with luminous hands and charge it in the bright sun for a minute, then take that watch into a very dark room. It's amazing how bright they "shine".

So, the instruments in DCS look fine against the very dark background.

 

However, the shadows in your 109 screenshot seem very sharp, with no gradient between shadowed areas and lit areas. My shadows look quite different, they gently transition from dark to ilght areas.

 

It's as though the shadow areas in your 109 screenshot are taken from inside a small room with no windows, and then, 1cm away there is bright sunlight. This makes the luminosity look out of place as a result.

 

The solution might be to change cockpit lighting, shadows, deferred shading and SSLR settings.

Turn Cockpit Global Illumination on too.

 

 

The image below is what my spitfire cockpit looks like in half-shadow half-sun. Note the smoother shadow transition and the more gentle contrast on the instruments in the shade compared to yours.

 

 

Phil, thanks for that. I can't honestly see much difference between your Spit cockpit and mine. (See attached.)

i think the point here is that this big change has only come about in a recent OB patch. Look again at the attached comparison in my first post. Dials have effectively no illumination in the shade in Stable DCS, but in the latest OB they have a lot.

i think the point here is that this big change has only come about in a recent OB patch. Look again at the attached comparison in my first post. Dials have effectively no illumination in the shade in Stable DCS, but in the latest OB they have a lot.

Yeah, the instruments became luminous two patches ago. . . I though you were raising it as a bug because you thought it looked bad, not just because you were querying if it was new.

As far as it's been implemented well.

Well, I am wondering if it is a bug. I mean did all the WWII planes have luminous dials?

It just seems weird that they have all acquired this new effect at the same time.

radioactive glow, watches used to look like this in real life too

radium power

In all German birds all gauges seem to have their UV lights turned permanently on even without battery power or respective CBs on :D. Operating light controls doesn't make any difference there, so it looks like a clear-cut case bug.

With Spit, however, difficult to say if it's a bug, or a half-a...ssed feature (attempt of modelling radio glow?).

You need no UV light. It is radiactive glow. No external light source involved.

With Spit, however, difficult to say if it's a bug, or a half-a...ssed feature (attempt of modelling radio glow?).

I don't understand why you think its wrong in the Spitfire.

It's pretty standard to have luminous needles and numbering on instruments and watches.

It doesn't require power.

During the daylight it looks white. In shadow, pale green/ white. In the dark, bright green.

My watch does exactly this, and it looks very similar to the spitfire in DCS.

In the Kurfürst it looks exactly like the radioactive watches I have seen.

In the Kurfürst it looks exactly like the radioactive watches I have seen.

Here's a crappy low-res phone photo of my watch indoors on a cloudy day. The watch is automatic, no electrical power source.

Here is that same watch but downstairs in the shadows:

You need no UV light. It is radiactive glow. No external light source involved.

If that was the only factor, there would be no dedicated, adjustable instrument UV lighting system on German planes, don't you think?

Anyway, If that's how it's supposed to be in Spit, so be it, they were so poorly readable before that this new rendering helps, I won't complain :).

The UV lighting systems were an anticorona mechanism ;-)

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/luminous-dials-what-makes-them-glow-and-how-to-spot-their-differences

Guys, what I was meaning in the first place was, is this an intentional effect that was on the original planes or is this a bug. Whether it looks good or not is not the issue here.

As it happens, I like the effect on monitors, not good in VR. I do wonder why this has been applied to several modules at the same time after several years.

Perhaps we could ask BN to check.

So, it's been confirmed by BigNewy in the other thread that effect in German planes is intended feature attempt. I guess the same applies to what we see in the Spit as well then.

Hmm, interesting. Let’s hope the effect is modified soon to make the VR effect more acceptable.

If that was the only factor, there would be no dedicated, adjustable instrument UV lighting system on German planes, don't you think?

 

Anyway, If that's how it's supposed to be in Spit, so be it, they were so poorly readable before that this new rendering helps, I won't complain :).

I believe german dials used phosphorescent paints (not radioactive) instead of radium paint (radioactive). The difference being phosphor paints need to be exposed to light to work. They also can glow when exposed to UV light.

The lume on many modern watches use phosphorescence principle. The Seiko automatic watches have pretty bright lume. In fact it doesnt need to be dark to see their glow. If it’s sunny out, all you have to do is walk into a shaded area...it doesnt have to be a dark room.

Now they glow when in shade. Also better visible when not in shade. Right or wrong (I like to think right), they're now readable to the extent I removed NAKED350's enhanced visibility mod. Good job I think.