Blinking Lights: - Added blinking lights (customizable blink frequency, blink length and blink delay) - Added possibility to use a light as a spotlight (with customizable spot angle)
Something that would be very welcome would be a signal input to toggle the blinking (since right now the only option is off or blinking).
Not the right thread but I would also like to have the blinking effect in other devices like Holographic Screens and LCD Screens And I would like static in LCD Screens as an option in the colors....
Spotlights The term "spotlight angle" was confusing to me. At first I did not understand what it was supposed to do and thought it was broken. I thought it was the angle the spotlight was pointing at (much like the spotlight block can go straight or 45 degrees). I think "beam spread angle" would be more intuitive. There's no directional adjustment for the spotlight. Not a big deal in most cases since the corner lights project at 45 degrees. However, it brings up something that has bugged me for a while: "Light 1 (Corner)" isn't really in the corner of a block, it is on the side of a block. You can't actually mount a light in the corner. I think it should be renamed "Light 1 (Side)" and a true "Light 1 (Corner)" be created, that would actually be against the corner of a block. That would also allow a spotlight to come from the corner of a room. I think the UI would be cleaner if the "spread angle" was hidden unless spotlight mode was checked. The existing "spotlight block" should allow adjusting the beam spread, and the color. Otherwise a normal light actually is a more flexible spotlight, which doesn't make sense. The spotlight block is a good idea and should be improved. You should be able to texture the sides and back of a spotlight block. I think the back should just be flat, so if it was mounted in a wall you can texture/paint the other side as normal. There is no reason not to allow the spotlight block on a base. It says they are for "exterior illumination" but they work just fine indoors, and in fact look pretty cool inside of a hangar, for example. Spotlight block in "ramp top" and/or "ramp bottom" shapes would be nice. "Round slope" shape might also be nice. Consider merging "spotlight slope" and "spotlight slope horizontal" back into one block, that instead has a control that adjusts the angle. This would be more flexible and also work well with adding new spotlight block shapes. Add a motion-tracking spotlight device for a base or CV, which functions much like a turret. It can be set to target hostiles, or friendly factions (which can be useful to just keep a light on you while you're working). All it does is just shine a light on them. When idle (there is nothing to target) it should just sweep back and forth, looking for things, like a spotlight at a prison. Blinking Lights Some people are sensitive to blinking lights, so this feature should be able to be disabled from a client side perspective (in game options). Note that it is possible, using 0.25s frequency combined with delays, to create a very intense strobe effect. Great for a POI or other uses but not so great if someone has a seizure from it. There should be a way to adjust the "fade" of the light. Right now the light is on or off, it does not fade smoothly. Would be nice to adjust the fade rate (either have it blink as now, fade rapidly, or smoothly fade). It would be nice to be able to completely edit the light intensity curve, so you can make it irregular (e.g. light for 0.1 s, dim for 0.4 s, light for 0.2 s, dim for 0.9 s). Absent that, please add some presets that have some "randomness" to them, to emulate the effect of flickering lights (where the power is inconstant). This would be good for POI to simulate broken/damaged devices and add an unexpected creepy factor. I think the UI would be better if blinking was a checkbox (instead of just setting it to 0s frequency) and when unchecked, the frequency/delay controls were just hidden. Being able to shift between two colors, or multiple colors, would be nice. However this might not be worth doing in a UI. If someday devices could be "scriptable" that would be cool. Other Comments After reworking the palette for normal devices, we need the same for lights. I don't think we necessarily need a custom palette here, but doubling the number of colors would be great. There are certain colors that don't exist (e.g. purple). I also find myself sometimes wanting lights that are only slightly tinted, for example yellowish white or bluish white, and even the lightest colors are still a bit too vibrant for my taste. I'd like to see hanging light fixtures. You can turn a lantern upside down and it is OK, but something half that height would be useful, as well as some fixtures that have a cone over them, or look more like chandeliers. Would be nice if lights could mount on the inside of a wall or half-block (when used as a ceiling). A light panel that takes up the entire 2mx2m space, much like LED panel lights you'd see in an office building. As far as what they'd look like, just take a 1x1 window panel, and make the middle part a light instead of a window. You could even use them as a wall. A light with the same frame as Light 6, except square (same size, similar frame). A light with the same frame as Light 6, except rectangular (same width as light 6, but about twice as long). A light with the same frame as Light 6, but twice as big. Also a square version, twice as big. Rename "Light 1 (not centered)" to "Light 1 (off-center)". Saying "not centered" is factually correct, but I am not sure if it is a valid adjectival phrase. I am not a master of English grammar by any means but as a native speaker it just sounds "not quite right". A version of Light 5 that does not behave like a flare. Maybe this is just a bug. But the intensity of this light is off the charts, and so even though I like the appearance I rarely use it because it is too bright. A version of Light 5 (above) that extends the entire 2m length. The mount in the middle should keep the same size, just the light tube part should be extended. You can then chain multiple lights into a really long tube.
Do you really want to be the game devs whose game actually killed somebody? Please add a seizure-disorder-safe setting for the game.
