Second Life Forums Archive - Auto-dimming lights

Cristiano Midnight

Evil Snapshot Baron

Join date: 17 May 2003

Posts: 8,616

05-25-2006 21:51

Please add an option to the new lights that will allow them to automatically shut off during daylight. The new lights are gorgeous, but the main problem is now everything is overlit during the day. While we can script a solution to this, it seems wasteful to have so many scripts checking for the sun position when this could simply be built into the client. It should be an option on a light by light basis as to whether or not it remains a light when it is not night.

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Cristiano

ANOmations - huge selection of high quality, low priced animations all $100L or less.

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Jillian Callahan

Rotary-winged Neko Girl

Join date: 24 Jun 2004

Posts: 3,766

05-25-2006 22:26

It would also be cool to have client side animations of the lights... say, a "flicker" with several factors for rate, delta and randomity - all client side.

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Lyrak Sleeper

Big Bad Wolf

Join date: 10 Jan 2006

Posts: 123

05-26-2006 04:43

From: Jillian Callahan

It would also be cool to have client side animations of the lights... say, a "flicker" with several factors for rate, delta and randomity - all client side.

As someone who has had seizures, though this is cool, something in my brain screams "Bad Idea"... unless they were to make it so the rate can't go fast enough to cause problems. If somebody starts sticking strobe lights all over, a lot of people won't get to enjoy the new lighting system. :\

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Lyrak Sleeper
Custom Avatars and Clothing
Specializes in Furry Avatars (Shapes, working on texturing skill)

Argent Stonecutter

Emergency Mustelid

Join date: 20 Sep 2005

Posts: 20,263

05-26-2006 07:53

CODE


list LIGHT_PARAMETERS = [
  <1,1,1>, // color
  1.0, // intensity
  10.0, // radius
  1.0 // falloff
];
integer night()
{
  vector sun = llGetSunDirection();
  return (sun.z < 0);
}
default
{
  state_entry()
  {
    llSetTimerEvent(300); // check every 5 minutes.
  }

  timer()
  {
    llSetPrimitiveParams([PRIM_POINT_LIGHT,night()]+LIGHT_PARAMETERS);
  }
}

Cristiano Midnight

Evil Snapshot Baron

Join date: 17 May 2003

Posts: 8,616

05-26-2006 12:04

Argent,

The entire point was not to have to use a script, but for it to be built in as an option to the client. I know how to do it with a script. With the sheer number of lights that are going to be in use now, using scripts in all of them to do this is not very efficient at all, whereas built in support within client would be.

_____________________

Cristiano

ANOmations - huge selection of high quality, low priced animations all $100L or less.

~SLUniverse.com~ SL's oldest and largest community site, featuring Snapzilla image sharing, forums, and much more.

Rickard Roentgen

Renaissance Punk

Join date: 4 Apr 2004

Posts: 1,869

05-26-2006 12:11

I agree with both flicker and client side daylight dimming. The client side dimming durring daylight would also be better because of it's ability to work with overridden sun positions. It's easy enought to limit the flicker rate. In anycase if you can play sl now it's a very very small chance that the client would actually be able to make something flicker fast enough to make you siezure.

_____________________

Duke Scarborough

Degenerate Gambler

Join date: 30 Apr 2006

Posts: 158

Other script problem

05-26-2006 12:13

The other problem with the script is that it doesn't deal with 'forced sun position'. Some users like the nightime (I know I do - especially with the new, darker night).

Haravikk Mistral

Registered User

Join date: 8 Oct 2005

Posts: 2,482

05-26-2006 16:20

I agree on flicker rate, I don't suffer seizures (my sympathies to those who do

), but I also don't want to see strobe lights ANYWHERE. It would be best if the flicker effect, while having some options is ultimately either flashing (with a minimum flash of a say 0.25 of a second which is still fairly slowly but allows for some effects, could also add an interpolate option to that, so it fades in/out on the flash for better club effects), or flicker which is sporadic, with a random time where you can set a min and max time, with the min being several seconds and it flickers once or twice (not too much).

_____________________

Computer (Mac Pro):
2 x Quad Core 3.2ghz Xeon
10gb DDR2 800mhz FB-DIMMS
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Argent Stonecutter

Emergency Mustelid

Join date: 20 Sep 2005

Posts: 20,263

05-28-2006 13:42

From: Cristiano Midnight

I know how to do it with a script. With the sheer number of lights that are going to be in use now, using scripts in all of them to do this is not very efficient at all, whereas built in support within client would be.

With only the six closest lights to an avatar being rendered, there's likely to be fewer lights than other active scripts like poseballs and doors in a typical build. Having a handful of scripts running a five minute timer is not enough impact to justify adding Yet Another Special Case to the client.

Shirley Marquez

Ethical SLut

Join date: 28 Oct 2005

Posts: 788

Flickering lights...

05-31-2006 07:34

I've been experimenting with scripted flickering lights to simulate candlelight or fireplace light. With a scripted light, you can get a maximum of about four changes per second because of the build-in .2 second delay in llSetPrimitiveParams(), though I plan experiments with two light sources to see if I can get a smoother effect. In any case, the light changes I use for simulated candles are fairly subtle -- nothing like full strobing on and off -- so they aren't likely to trigger the problems that some people have with strobe lights. (Question: do any people have trouble with actual candles or fires?)

It would be nice to have this as a client-side effect, even if it would make my work obsolete. The flicker script is pretty active, so I expect that it would contribute somewhat to lag. It wakes up four times per second to change the light parameters; each run isn't very computationally intensive, but nonetheless it adds up. If I make these things available to the public, I will be recommending their use only in small quantities in quiet areas. (There is no point to being in range of more than six of them anyway.)

Auto-dimming lights
Cristiano Midnight Evil Snapshot Baron Join date: 17 May 2003 Posts: 8,616	05-25-2006 21:51 Please add an option to the new lights that will allow them to automatically shut off during daylight. The new lights are gorgeous, but the main problem is now everything is overlit during the day. While we can script a solution to this, it seems wasteful to have so many scripts checking for the sun position when this could simply be built into the client. It should be an option on a light by light basis as to whether or not it remains a light when it is not night. _____________________ Cristiano ANOmations - huge selection of high quality, low priced animations all $100L or less. ~SLUniverse.com~ SL's oldest and largest community site, featuring Snapzilla image sharing, forums, and much more.
Jillian Callahan Rotary-winged Neko Girl Join date: 24 Jun 2004 Posts: 3,766	05-25-2006 22:26 It would also be cool to have client side animations of the lights... say, a "flicker" with several factors for rate, delta and randomity - all client side. _____________________
Lyrak Sleeper Big Bad Wolf Join date: 10 Jan 2006 Posts: 123	05-26-2006 04:43 From: Jillian Callahan It would also be cool to have client side animations of the lights... say, a "flicker" with several factors for rate, delta and randomity - all client side. As someone who has had seizures, though this is cool, something in my brain screams "Bad Idea"... unless they were to make it so the rate can't go fast enough to cause problems. If somebody starts sticking strobe lights all over, a lot of people won't get to enjoy the new lighting system. :\ _____________________ Lyrak Sleeper Custom Avatars and Clothing Specializes in Furry Avatars (Shapes, working on texturing skill)
Argent Stonecutter Emergency Mustelid Join date: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 20,263	05-26-2006 07:53 CODE list LIGHT_PARAMETERS = [ <1,1,1>, // color 1.0, // intensity 10.0, // radius 1.0 // falloff ]; integer night() { vector sun = llGetSunDirection(); return (sun.z < 0); } default { state_entry() { llSetTimerEvent(300); // check every 5 minutes. } timer() { llSetPrimitiveParams([PRIM_POINT_LIGHT,night()]+LIGHT_PARAMETERS); } }
Cristiano Midnight Evil Snapshot Baron Join date: 17 May 2003 Posts: 8,616	05-26-2006 12:04 Argent, The entire point was not to have to use a script, but for it to be built in as an option to the client. I know how to do it with a script. With the sheer number of lights that are going to be in use now, using scripts in all of them to do this is not very efficient at all, whereas built in support within client would be. _____________________ Cristiano ANOmations - huge selection of high quality, low priced animations all $100L or less. ~SLUniverse.com~ SL's oldest and largest community site, featuring Snapzilla image sharing, forums, and much more.
Rickard Roentgen Renaissance Punk Join date: 4 Apr 2004 Posts: 1,869	05-26-2006 12:11 I agree with both flicker and client side daylight dimming. The client side dimming durring daylight would also be better because of it's ability to work with overridden sun positions. It's easy enought to limit the flicker rate. In anycase if you can play sl now it's a very very small chance that the client would actually be able to make something flicker fast enough to make you siezure. _____________________
Duke Scarborough Degenerate Gambler Join date: 30 Apr 2006 Posts: 158	Other script problem 05-26-2006 12:13 The other problem with the script is that it doesn't deal with 'forced sun position'. Some users like the nightime (I know I do - especially with the new, darker night).
Haravikk Mistral Registered User Join date: 8 Oct 2005 Posts: 2,482	05-26-2006 16:20 I agree on flicker rate, I don't suffer seizures (my sympathies to those who do ), but I also don't want to see strobe lights ANYWHERE. It would be best if the flicker effect, while having some options is ultimately either flashing (with a minimum flash of a say 0.25 of a second which is still fairly slowly but allows for some effects, could also add an interpolate option to that, so it fades in/out on the flash for better club effects), or flicker which is sporadic, with a random time where you can set a min and max time, with the min being several seconds and it flickers once or twice (not too much). _____________________ Computer (Mac Pro): 2 x Quad Core 3.2ghz Xeon 10gb DDR2 800mhz FB-DIMMS 4 x 750gb, 32mb cache hard-drives (RAID-0/striped) NVidia GeForce 8800GT (512mb)
Argent Stonecutter Emergency Mustelid Join date: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 20,263	05-28-2006 13:42 From: Cristiano Midnight I know how to do it with a script. With the sheer number of lights that are going to be in use now, using scripts in all of them to do this is not very efficient at all, whereas built in support within client would be. With only the six closest lights to an avatar being rendered, there's likely to be fewer lights than other active scripts like poseballs and doors in a typical build. Having a handful of scripts running a five minute timer is not enough impact to justify adding Yet Another Special Case to the client.
Shirley Marquez Ethical SLut Join date: 28 Oct 2005 Posts: 788	Flickering lights... 05-31-2006 07:34 I've been experimenting with scripted flickering lights to simulate candlelight or fireplace light. With a scripted light, you can get a maximum of about four changes per second because of the build-in .2 second delay in llSetPrimitiveParams(), though I plan experiments with two light sources to see if I can get a smoother effect. In any case, the light changes I use for simulated candles are fairly subtle -- nothing like full strobing on and off -- so they aren't likely to trigger the problems that some people have with strobe lights. (Question: do any people have trouble with actual candles or fires?) It would be nice to have this as a client-side effect, even if it would make my work obsolete. The flicker script is pretty active, so I expect that it would contribute somewhat to lag. It wakes up four times per second to change the light parameters; each run isn't very computationally intensive, but nonetheless it adds up. If I make these things available to the public, I will be recommending their use only in small quantities in quiet areas. (There is no point to being in range of more than six of them anyway.)

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Auto-dimming lights