Recognized Colorable/Larger Thruster Plumes

[gregolegomonkey]

1. Thruster plumes could have their color changed by linking a light emitting block to the ship's core, OR, by linking all the thrusters to a single light block.
2. Larger thruster plumes, like the mod of the same name. The main purpose of the thread is the first suggestion.

 

[jstenholt]

Meh... I don't know. It'd be nice for small ships, like, really small ships. But for capital ships, I'm pretty sure most everybody designs engines out of ice, crystals, lights. It just looks better that way than the mod looks.

 

[Valck]

1. Thruster plumes could have their color changed by linking a light emitting block to the ship's core, OR, by linking all the thrusters to a single light block.

Yes please.
However linking a light to the core would preclude other possible uses so I don't think that would be a good way to go about it.

2. Larger thruster plumes, like the mod of the same name. The main purpose of the thread is the first suggestion.

Meh... I don't know. It'd be nice for small ships, like, really small ships. But for capital ships, I'm pretty sure most everybody designs engines out of ice, crystals, lights. It just looks better that way than the mod looks.

I'd say it would be nice for capital ships as well, if not especially nice for capital ships. And having it as a game function as opposed to a shader, it could even scale the larger-plume-ness with engine-big-ness.

 

[kiddan]

It would be nice to have larger and colourable thruster plumes, just only if we could have one single large plume for each group of thrusters so that it would actually be more noticeable.

 

[EricBlank]

Could use a decorative block that serves as the origin point of the plume with a GUI to guide what the plume should look like color, shape, and size-wise, instead of the plumes coming from the thruster blocks themselves and being pre-defined (if at least one such plume decoration block has been added, say).

Wouldnt that work kinda like the screen/text sign block we've got now, anyway? It generates its little screen-effect that exists on the one surface of it and the text you ask it to display. Would there be trouble getting a block to act as the origin of a custom-colored/sized plume effect instead of a screen with text?

 

[spunkiethefirst]

Make thruster plumes combine into one plume if they are touching.

The Plume origin point is selected the same way as the output for a weapon group by pressing r on the desired output thruster for that group.

Change color of the thruster plume via links to light blocks (c on thruster v on light block), only those lights that are on will affect the plume, which will enable color change/mixing via logic.

 

[jgames666]

I actually like most of the suggestions in the thread.
You have my blessing son!

 

[Magrim]

Could use a decorative block that serves as the origin point of the plume with a GUI to guide what the plume should look like color, shape, and size-wise, instead of the plumes coming from the thruster blocks themselves and being pre-defined (if at least one such plume decoration block has been added, say).

Wouldnt that work kinda like the screen/text sign block we've got now, anyway? It generates its little screen-effect that exists on the one surface of it and the text you ask it to display. Would there be trouble getting a block to act as the origin of a custom-colored/sized plume effect instead of a screen with text?

This is the ticket right here. The reason is that I dont always put thruster modules in my "engine pods" and with the original op it would be a requirement. Besides, I think a good use of the particle effect system would be exactly this sort of thing. That is when it gets the love it needs to be fully implemented.