Suggestion: Fiberoptics (lighting assist)

1st Official Post

    Not sure if this was already suggested, I did my best searching.


    I was trying to light my underground base just now and let me tell ya, I was having a heck of a time dealing with the few options we have. Torches, Lightstones and Luminators which aren't quite feasible yet. I hate looking at sooty torches, and I dispise the stock look of lightstones. Even with texture mods they don't quite fit in. I tinkered with the idea of setting them back begind glass to minimize their appearance, but it's only a half-solution that doesn't look the best. So I said to myself "Myself, there needs to be a better way to do this!" And then it hit me.


    tldr;


    THE IDEA:
    A white block that looks somewhat like a luminator (but is a full cube, like hardened CF) that doesn't block out light. In fact, it glows at the same intensity as the light currently occupying that square. Put a lightstone behind it in a wall, and it'll look like a nice light! Heck, add the Painting functionality and color your 'light'. A more advanced idea would be to actually color the light that passes through, changing the color of the light itself if that's possible. (making my purple and pink love-nest possible!)


    Of course it could be more complicated too. Like if you set another fiberoptic block next to it, it'll glow at the same intensity as the first. Use them to create neon signs! They wouldn't actually radiate light, but simply glow as bright as the brightest one in the length. Or maybe they could? Give them a maximum length to prevent abuse. Heck, how about linking them with the Luminator project to create.... FLORESCENT LIGHTS! :D


    There are so many ways it could work. In any case, that's the idea. How do yall like it?

    Quote from DrSNAFU

    color the light that passes through, changing the color of the light itself if that's possible. (making my purple and pink love-nest possible!)

    Possible, but is such a pain to code that no one has done it yet.


    Or, if they have, they haven't finished it yet.

    ...What? There's no pineapples here.


    GENERATION Pineapple: The first pineapple you see, copy it into your sig on any forum and add sqrt(-1) to the generation. Pineapple experiment.

    Currently, the lightning engine of minecraft doesnt have support for colored lights afaik, and trying to code something like that would take a lot of effort (And like someone above mentioned, overwritting a shitton of base classes). Its similar to how light 12/15 (I forgot) its the max amount of light you can code in any object + losing 1 level of light every block the futher away you are from the source.


    Edit: Looking at the video above... its really not that big of a thing? RedPower2 had their own "Colored Luminators" (if you want to call them like that, But they are basically a colored sortish glass like block that gives white light) but they work with a constant redstone current. I Guess Real Colored Lighting its not possible unless mojang coded it in their game.

    Yeah if the colored light bit isn't feasible that's fine. I just enjoy having colored CF blocks and think that the same might be cool for the 'opaque glass' part.

    Quote from FenixR

    Currently, the lightning engine of minecraft doesnt have support for colored lights afaik, and trying to code something like that would take a lot of effort (And like someone above mentioned, overwritting a shitton of base classes). Its similar to how light 12/15 (I forgot) its the max amount of light you can code in any object + losing 1 level of light every block the futher away you are from the source.


    Edit: Looking at the video above... its really not that big of a thing? RedPower2 had their own "Colored Luminators" (if you want to call them like that, But they are basically a colored sortish glass like block that gives white light) but they work with a constant redstone current. I Guess Real Colored Lighting its not possible unless mojang coded it in their game.

    ... X( I should have linked the test rave! I'm sorry! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3ABOc_EBto There it is! Much better...

    Hey, everybody thinks about it the wrong way! I don't know java, but i'm sure you could just make f.e. a green panel put a green overlay on any nearby blocks!

    Age: 16. Favourite school subject: Physics/Chemistry.


    The IC2 forums could really use a lot more of [REDACTED], [DATA EXPUNGED] and ████████.


    I'm in a so called "after-school". It's freaking fantastic and nowhere near as boring as normal school!

    For the moment, just install the RedPower2 mods you like. ( www.eloraam.com )


    In this case, core and lighting would give you 16 colors of blocks that emit white light. While you're at it you might also like the improved redstone wires and cover plates...

    I thought about all the possibilities and came up with some applications, in order of least to most complicated.


    Type 1:
    Behaves like glass pane. Lets light shine through but is otherwise an opaque block. All sides of the block are illuminated at the intensity of light currently occupying the square. Essentially, it’s a window that looks like a light source.


    (optional) Make the global illumination transfer to any connected ‘fiberoptic’ blocks so you could make reasonable facsimiles of light strips that look consistent.
    (optional) Make ‘fiberoptic’ blocks paintable like CF blocks are. It won’t change the color of light passing through but will make the blocks more ‘color coordinatable.


    Type 2:
    Fiberoptic blocks behave like light ‘repeaters’. They determine the light level of the block they currently occupy, illuminate the sides of the block at that intensity AND repeat that level of light as its own light source. Add adjacent blocks and they’ll repeat at the same intensity as the first/brightest. Great for faux florescent lights. Probably add a maximum limit on strings of blocks to prevent it being TOO useful.


    (optional) Again, colorable. But maybe with the ability to tint the light itself. But I hear that’s complicated apparently. :x


    Type 3:
    Combine with the Luminator concept to create wire-powered florescent light strings that draw depending on how many are connected together. Though that might be too much alike the original Luminator concept.


    (optional) Maybe instead of requiring LV power, it’ll require HV power since fluorescent lights require an upshift in voltage or something… Good for lighting long hallways!

    • Official Post

    I seriously like Idea 2.
    Combined with the rework of Luminators, this could DEFINITELY create some nice possibilitys.
    Could cause some heavy workload regarding lighting updates though, probably need to figure something out in that regard.