[Traindude]

A few days ago in the braking system improvement thread, I suggested using brake status as a condition for lights, as exemplified by the brake indicator lights on the Amtrak Superliner cars:


By putting a Brake ( x ) lighting condition in the lighting code, we can also potentially simulate things like brake lights on streetcars and light rail vehicles, which often share their right-of-way with common automobile traffic.:

x: 0 = ignore, 1 = brake released, 2 = brake applied

To fine-tune the triggering of the brake lighting conditions, the parameters ORTSBrakeLightAppliedToReleasedPressure ( x ) and ORTSBrakeLightReleasedToAppliedPressure ( x ). Where ( x ) indicated the pressure that (in the case of ORTSBrakeLightAppliedToReleasedPressure) the brake cylinder must drop below in order to change the lights from their "brake applied" state to their "brake released" state, or (in the case of ORTSBrakeLightReleasedToAppliedPressure) the pressure the brake cylinder must rise above in order to change the lights from their "brake released" state to their "brake applied" state.

If the vehicle's handbrakes are to influence the status of the brake lights, then the parameter ORTSDoesHandbrakeTriggerBrakeLight ( x ) can be added.

Here's an example code:

                  Light	(
			comment( Left Side brake applied (yellow) light dim, front )
			Type		( 0 )
			Conditions	(
				Headlight ( 2 )
				Unit ( 0 )
                                Brake ( 2 )
                                ORTSBrakeLightReleasedToAppliedPressure ( 25psi )
                                ORTSDoesHandbrakeTriggerBrakeLight ( 1 )
			)
			FadeIn	( 0.5 )
			FadeOut	( 0.5 )
			Cycle		( 0 )
			States	(	1
				State	(
					Duration ( 0.0 )
					LightColour ( ffffff33 )
					Position ( -1.575 2.645 -11.01 )
					Azimuth ( 0 0 0 )
					Transition ( 0 )
					Radius ( .15 )
					)
				)
			)
L                ight	(
			comment( Left Side brake released (green)light dim, front  )
			Type		( 0 )
			Conditions	(
				Headlight ( 2 )
				Unit ( 0 )
                                Brake ( 1 )
                                ORTSBrakeLightAppliedToReleasedPressure ( 10psi )
                                ORTSDoesHandbrakeTriggerBrakeLight ( 1 )
			)
			FadeIn	( 0.5 )
			FadeOut	( 0.5 )
			Cycle		( 0 )
			States	(	1
				State	(
					Duration ( 0.0 )
					LightColour ( ff00ff00 )
					Position ( -1.58 2.595 -11.01 )
					Azimuth ( 0 0 0 )
					Transition ( 0 )
					Radius ( .15 )
					)
				)
			)

Other lighting conditions can potentially include:

Reverser ( x ): The position of the locomotive's reverser determines whether the light is on or off. x: 0 = ignore, 1 = Forward Only, 2 = Reverse Only, 3 = Neutral Only, 4 = Forward and Reverse Only, 5 = Forward and Neutral Only, 6 = Reverse and Neutral Only. In the case of steam locomotives, "Neutral" is defined as anything between +10 (Forward) and -10 (Reverse). Anything above +10 is considered "Forward" and anything below -10 is considered "Reverse". This can be potentially used to define light "spheres" or "cones" for rear headlights on steam tenders so they only turn on for reverse movements and are off at all other times (and likewise the front headlight cone on the loco is disabled when the reverser is in Reverse).:

Light ( 
			comment ( Sphere of Tender Backup Light )
			Type ( 1 ) 
			Conditions ( 
				Headlight ( 3 ) 
				TimeOfDay ( 0 )
                                Service ( 2 ) 
				Unit ( 3 ) 
				Control ( 0 )
                                Reverser ( 2 ) 
			) 
			Cycle ( 0 ) 
			FadeIn ( 1 ) 
			FadeOut ( 1 ) 
			States ( 1 
				State ( 
					Duration ( 0.0 ) 
					LightColour ( ffffe3b5 ) 
					Position ( 0 3.17 -6.60 ) 
					Azimuth ( -180 -180 -180 )
					Transition ( 0 )
					Radius ( 1000.0 )
					Angle ( 22.5 )
				) 
			) 
		)

Other possible conditions include Doors ( x ) where the lighting is determined by the state of the vehicle's doors. x: 0 = ignore, 1 = all doors closed, 2 = left doors open, 3 = right doors open, 4 = both doors (left AND right) open, 5 = Either (left OR right) door open.

Please feel free to suggest any other conditions that might be of importance.

[Weter]

Hello.
I've just got an unclear memories:
IIRC, Acela had friction brakes multistate display among its cab controls.
If its so (our EMU model has WORKING brake release signal lamp in cab too) its much more probable to expect this code addition!

Wow!
Initially, I thought: reverse state ... Why? It's definitely not for our rolling stock! Doesnt matter. BUT
reading this:

Quote

position of the locomotive's reverser determines whether the light is on or off

I've realized, suddenly, that this is exactly what we are missing all this 20+years. MSTS gave coupling conditions, Bin gave cab swapped condition, but all that still wasn't enough for getting full light configuration of rolling stock, but now almost all, what needed might become possible.
Furthermore:

Quote

to define light "spheres" or "cones" for rear headlights on steam tenders so they only turn on for reverse movements and are off at all other times

Is another important and still missing feature!
And

Quote

Please feel free to suggest any other conditions that might be of importance.

I'll try and think.
First thing is snow plough's signal lights, US locomotive configuration lights.

[scottb613]

Hi Folks,

• A light reversal switch - #1 on my list.
  
• Yep - would be great to selectively attach (our one and only) cone of light to a different unit in a string - for multiple locomotive lash ups - for tenders - for articulated steam locomotives.
  
• A "Class Light" switch would also be helpful.

Regards,
Scott

[Jonatan]

I agree with Scott on all these.

And additional active light cones for special FX like fire glow etc would be great, it's one of my biggest wants.
https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/331817060361437184/942467129310081045/Open_Rails_2022-02-13_06-01-54.png?width=743&height=418

[darwins]

For articulated locomotives, like Garrats, then we need light cones that will move with the bogies that the driving wheels are attached to, rather than with the "main" boiler section.

[Traindude]

darwins, on 11 April 2023 - 10:55 AM, said:

For articulated locomotives, like Garrats, then we need light cones that will move with the bogies that the driving wheels are attached to, rather than with the "main" boiler section.

I agree--just look at what happens when my Challenger tries to round a curve---


Dimmable headlights on steam locomotives would also be nice as well.

[ErickC]

I vote "other," as one of the most basic and important lighting features not yet implemented is separate front and rear headlights with multiple light cones being cast as appropriate. This feature would also necessitate code for single vs MU operation. MU operation would need the ability to disable headlights on intermediate units, control which end of the lead unit is treated as the "front," and light the appropriate light on the last trailing unit (see section 124 here).

[Traindude]

ErickC, on 11 April 2023 - 07:33 PM, said:

I vote "other," as one of the most basic and important lighting features not yet implemented is separate front and rear headlights with multiple light cones being cast as appropriate. This feature would also necessitate code for single vs MU operation. MU operation would need the ability to disable headlights on intermediate units, control which end of the lead unit is treated as the "front," and light the appropriate light on the last trailing unit (see section 124 here).

I kinda agree with you, but remember that for those of us who own a RailDriver, the headlight switch has only 3 positions--OFF, DIM and FULL. My idea of using the reverser position as a lighting condition was intended so that when you move the reverser into reverse, the rear headlight (and its associated cone) would turn on and the front headlight (and its associated cone) would automatically turn off. But yeah, an MU lighting condition would be necessary so that the trailing unit's front headlight is disabled, and the leading unit's rear headlight is disabled.

Something else I thought about is a Horn ( x ) lighting condition. On modern US diesel and electric locomotives with ditch lights, the ditch lights are designed to automatically flash alternately every time the horn blows, and continue flashing for a short time after the horn is released. So in this case, it is assumed X would equal either 0 = ignore, 1 = horn hasn't been blown recently, and 2 = horn has been blown recently. Maybe an ORTSHornLightDelay ( x ) parameter can define how much time should be allotted before the lights reset themselves.

[roeter]

Hello,

for timetable mode, I'm working on additional lights which can be set through commands in the timetable.
The intention is to define 'special lights' in the engine file, which are just identified by a number. In the timetable, an addition field #lights will be defined where these special lights can be selected, with certain conditions (e.g. pre-start or post-form). These special lights can be used for classification lights, shunt lights, stable lights etc.
A restriction for these special lights is that these cannot be switched on or off by the player as there are no cabcontrols to allow this.

Another option which I intend to add to the standard light definitions is POWER(x), allowing specific lights to be switch on or off depending on the engine's power state.

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

[darwins]

roeter, on 12 April 2023 - 01:46 AM, said:

Hello,

for timetable mode, I'm working on additional lights which can be set through commands in the timetable.
The intention is to define 'special lights' in the engine file, which are just identified by a number. In the timetable, an addition field #lights will be defined where these special lights can be selected, with certain conditions (e.g. pre-start or post-form). These special lights can be used for classification lights, shunt lights, stable lights etc.
A restriction for these special lights is that these cannot be switched on or off by the player as there are no cabcontrols to allow this.

Another option which I intend to add to the standard light definitions is POWER(x), allowing specific lights to be switch on or off depending on the engine's power state.

Regards,
Rob Roeterdink

This sounds wonderful. What would be really useful for "classification lights" in a British context would be the ability to do something like this with freight animations. This could allow models of oil lamps or discs to be positioned correctly (including oil tail lamps as well as headlamps). It would also allow alpha-numeric head codes, destination blinds and headboards to be changed.