Exterior lights are to dim

The exterior lights like the nav lights and collision lights are way to dim. They are hard to see. Don't get me wrong, I see them as a single point when close. They seem to dissipate as soon as you are just a few feet away from the aircraft.

 

 

I think the flash of the collition lights on the tail tips should light up the ground a bit at night.

And the navlights should show on the environment a bit. And when flying at night finding your friends you should see the nav lights if they are on. Now they are to dim.

 

 

On the same note, the color of the green navlight seems a bit to blue... That might be my video card doing that, or that the real F14 had a more blue ish color to it. Somehow I doubt that due to regulations....

 

 

The formation lights work just fine, awesome!

For me, all external lights are totally off or so low, their glow is non-existent.

How you think it should be and how it is are two different things. Come with some photos or a proof to show it's wrong.

 

And if you come with photos, giving the settings would help to see because depending on the setting, the lights are bright or dimm.

This is a known issue.

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=237692

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=238480

How you think it should be and how it is are two different things. Come with some photos or a proof to show it's wrong.

 

And if you come with photos, giving the settings would help to see because depending on the setting, the lights are bright or dimm.

You don't need photos to prove something that obvious, just look at a passing plane next time you fly in a real aircraft. In real life you can see the anticollision strobe from far away...

Position lights a bit closer but at least double the distance you can see them in any DCS aircraft.

And yes, I did check in a real plane, last Sunday night on a flight from Portugal to Germany.

On a side note: Photos have lots of trouble to accurately capture lightsources, ranging from colorshift, blooming, glare, to issues with exposure times, lens flares and the necessary aperture in the dark. So to request a photograph as "proof" for a lighting issue is, let's just say a bad idea... ;)

You don't need photos to prove something that obvious, just look at a passing plane next time you fly in a real aircraft. In real life you can see the anticollision strobe from far away...

Position lights a bit closer but at least double the distance you can see them in any DCS aircraft.

And yes, I did check in a real plane, last Sunday night on a flight from Portugal to Germany.

On a side note: Photos have lots of trouble to accurately capture lightsources, ranging from colorshift, blooming, glare, to issues with exposure times, lens flares and the necessary aperture in the dark. So to request a photograph as "proof" for a lighting issue is, let's just say a bad idea... ;)

 

How else do you wanna proof it then? If cameras are a bad idea, what else remains? Eyes? Not every human sees things the same either... So yeah, a bit of a tricky thing.

How else do you wanna proof it then? If cameras are a bad idea, what else remains? Eyes? Not every human sees things the same either... So yeah, a bit of a tricky thing.

You actually can't exactly proof a color, unless using wavelength measurements, but you can see from how far away you can spot a collision light or position light easily with bare eyes.

I don't expect DCS to get it 100% right, as this is A) difficult to manage and B) has an impact on performance, as well.

But the Tomcat collision strobe and position lights on bright are definitely way too dark and invisible at just 100 to 150m, currently.

This is a known issue.

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=237692

https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=238480

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for linking the other posts. :)

Come with some photos or a proof to show it's wrong.

not obvious enough?

Devs, is there any update in the works for this? Currently MP night ops are basically impossible because your aircraft disappears at about 200' or so. The formation lights, nav lights, anti-cols, everything is extremely dim compared to real life (see the above video, or really any picture/video of an F-14 at night). We should be able to see the external lights from many *miles* away. Take note of how bright the lights are with sunlight still visible on the horizon. In pitch black night they are even brighter than that. Currently I'd estimate that the intensity of our external lights are about 10% of what's shown in the video for dusk lighting even in pitch black skies.

Exterior lights are to dim

 

My guess is the lighting parameters are mainly a DCS problem. I’ve seen A10 have weak nav lights/strobes. Hell, I think all the planes. Even the runway lighting to me seems just too dim. You should be able to discern a runway in the dark easily 10-20 miles depending on which direction and atmospheric conditions. Usually approaching parallel or directly gives the best angle for seeing the lights, however perpendicular shortens that distance. Because the lights appear more spaced apart but still visible.

 

I have plenty RW experience. Type ratings and logbooks to prove it.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Edited September 24, 2019 by Eagle7907

Hell, I think all the planes. Even the runway lighting to me seems just too dim.

 

 

Yep, and it gets even worse in VR.

Not only related to F-14, but general DCS as well, and which is unsolved since a long time.

 

Funny part of the story is, that the refuel boom light illuminates satisfactory.

Edited September 26, 2019 by TOViper

I have plenty RW experience. Type ratings and logbooks to prove it.

Same. I think my confusion is how we got here in the first place. Did someone at ED really think the lighting was satisfactory as is? If not, why is the place holder so wildly different from what is easily observable with a quick trip to a local airport or a youtube video?

When will this be fixed?

We fly allot of night-missions & the Exterior lights are practically invisible if you're not flying in parade-formation.

Can HB chime in & explain why this is so?

yeah +1

A problem not concerning only the F-14, but most other planes, since A G E S...

And it IS POSSIBLE to correct this. For example, the landing lights of the MIG-21

are much brighter than other planes....

All the lights in DCS are way too weak.

All the lights in DCS are way too weak.

 

I agree, lights in DCS are way too dim.

But just have a look at the the landing lights of the MIG-21

those are much brighter than other planes....

Any word from ED regarding this long standing issue would be very much appreciated by many of us.

Night OPS is a very cool thing, but this is quite an immersion breaker.

It seems like a very simple thing to adjust.

There are some modules that have very bright lights, as it should be, but most are very hard to see.

 

Hope ED finally replies to this thread and many other threads on this issue.

 

Thanks in advance!

Any word from ED regarding this long standing issue would be very much appreciated by many of us.

Night OPS is a very cool thing, but this is quite an immersion breaker.

It seems like a very simple thing to adjust.

There are some modules that have very bright lights, as it should be, but most are very hard to see.

 

Hope ED finally replies to this thread and many other threads on this issue.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

:thumbup::thumbup:

The way lights are made in DCS are done either through textures and/or 3D lamps, which both dictate brightness. So far I believe only the textures are showing the color and not much brightness. This can be fixed by HB, but night lighting is messed up completely outside of aircraft from ED.

F-14 is especially low intensity. The only time my flight notice I haven't turned on nav lights is checking my taxi light when i start.

 

 

 

I was intimidated by the A-10C strobe on the runway, that was comparatively blinding. So better lights are there and possible.

 

 

Really want actual "lights".

To me it looks like there is only the lamp texture and no "glow" from the light at all.

Maybe there is just a parameter broken, internally.

Definitely needs fixing.

DEFINITELY needs fixing.........

You cant see an aircraft from a mile away, would you expect any less from the lighting?