[gap]

Originally Posted by Seaowl

Kendras experimented with searchlights as lighthouse flares in SH3. You can find his posts referring to this here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...228731&page=30

Yes, I know that: I was involved in that discussion, but I think he never actually tried. I have something in mind, but it needs to be tested...

Originally Posted by Seaowl

By now I have solved the smoothing problem:
In fact, it was no issue with edges or faces, but trouble with uv-map and consequential
trouble with texture.
For whatever reason, parts of the uvs were stretched across the border of the uv-map.

I was able to repair this, without creating a new uv-map:

I am glad that you found the problem

Originally Posted by Seaowl

Furthermore the GR2 lighthouse has a working GR2 lense:

Because of the structure of the GR2 file, it was necessary to create a Normal- and AOmap for the lense.
Seems a bit overdone, but otherwise the lense stayed black (it wasn´t possible to disable Normal- and AOmap inside the GR2 file.)
Besides I made use of the Normal-map to texture some rudimentary Fresnel structure.

Well done Seaowl, though rudimentary your Fresnel lens looks so nice! If you want, I think I have better 3D models and better textures of real lenses. You might give them a try

Originally Posted by Seaowl

At the moment I use two particle-controllers at the same time inside the simfile of the lense: The stock particle controller, that comes with Flakmonkeys lighthouse and the particle controller of TDW, I found inside the TWOS library,
That makes the flare more intense.

But on the other hand using TDW controller alone has one big advantage: the lighthouse flare doesn´t shine through nearly everything like bunker walls, houses, ships, hills...
Hopefully I will find the cause for that, so I could apply it on the other particle controller as well.

That should be a quick fix and I am 100% sure that Kendras can help you on that. For some reason which I don't fully understand, he has been banned from subsim, but you can find him at his new forum:
http://kendras-sh3-modding.forumactif.com/

Originally Posted by Seaowl

Here another picture from further away: (on the left the GR2 lighthouse, on the right the Dat lighthouse)

Before we look at them will need to wear virtual sunglasses lol

Originally Posted by Seaowl

Here some early version of the Normal-map: as base I used a very detailed brick texture.
But in the end I had the impression, that it was a bit too much:

I agree: definitely it was. The screenshot on top of your last post looks much better, thoughfor my personal taste I would further subdue its normal map.

Originally Posted by Seaowl

One thing bothers me now: no matter which particle controller is used, it seems that the GR2 lense needs some kind of activation.
It starts to glare not until then the free camera comes close.

Once activated though the flare stays visible from far away

At long range, is the lens itself visible?