Amtrak Ditchlights

[1996fan]

Is there a way to edit ditch lights on Amtrak models i.e. the Cascades NPCU to have the lights flash on bright mode vs dim and still emit a decent amount of light? I recall doing something similar a while back with non flashing ditch lights on freight motors but don't recall how do it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[wmuzeke]

I guess it depends on what you want to do. Do you want the light ahead to flash back and forth or just the lighting on the front of the locomotive or both? You can make that happen with bright or dim mode, but there are conditions available with the newer versions of ORTS to make them flash with the horn and/or bell activation. Section 9.1 in the ORTS manual will show you how to setup the various conditions. With Type 1 lights (Sphere of Light), the distance that the sphere travels is set by the Radius. Higher values will make it project further ahead. The Angle sets the width of the beam. Also the LightColour value will affect how far it projects, as well.

[1996fan]

I guess it depends on what you want to do. Do you want the light ahead to flash back and forth or just the lighting on the front of the locomotive or both? You can make that happen with bright or dim mode, but there are conditions available with the newer versions of ORTS to make them flash with the horn and/or bell activation. Section 9.1 in the ORTS manual will show you how to setup the various conditions. With Type 1 lights (Sphere of Light), the distance that the sphere travels is set by the Radius. Higher values will make it project further ahead. The Angle sets the width of the beam. Also the LightColour value will affect how far it projects, as well.

With the Cascades NPCU Id simply like to swap the dim and bright settings so that the ditchlights flash on the bright setting versus the dim. And then id like to apply the same with all other Amtrak NPCU's Ive got in my folder.

[wmuzeke]

For that - Headlight ( 3 ) = bright setting, Headlight ( 2 ) = dim. You would change the flashing ones to 3 and the steady to 2 for each locomotive.

[1996fan]

And for motors that don't have the flashing option how do I go about adding those?

[wmuzeke]

You can copy the section from the locomotives that have it into those that don't. The positions might be different. If so you would have to update them.

[1996fan]

After editing the bright and dim features the light position matches what shows on the ground but not on the actual locomotive itself. In the .eng file do I have to edit the comment lines and swap along the lines of " LEFT DITCH light bright" to say "FLASHING LEFT ditch light"?

[slipperman]

Hi 1996fan
No, mate, comments are only for documentation - you could make it "Comment ( 1996fan flashing lights )" and it wouldn't make any difference!
To set any lights to flash, you need include the appropriate parameters within the 'Light' section.
May I suggest that you have a look at the Lights Tutorial - file ID 85983? This was created for use with MSTS + Bin Patch and doesn't include the latest OR-specific parameters, but does include instructions on how to set flashing lights.

Cheers,
Ged