Anti-Light Blocks??

[AnthonyAnderson]

We've got light blocks and a couple possible alternatives, being crystal.

What about Light-Absorbing or Anti-Light blocks? Instead of adding luminosity to nearby blocks, it reduces it?

With the right placement, a player could make a visually stealth ship, incredibly hard to see save for any contrast to the background. Or, done carefully, a ship that has parts of it blacked out to give the false impression of a smaller ship (you can't see that secondary section bristling with turrets).

Anyone have another opinion?

 

[MineCatFTW]

This actually sounds really neat. They would have to be expensive though, otherwise no one would ever be visible.

 

[Krougal]

Anyone have another opinion?

Yes. It's a horrible idea.

 

[Comradecolonel]

I mean you can just do what I do and use lots of black and no lights. I have a ship that's really fast and hard to see. Camouflage is very easy in this game considering you can put any block on your ship. I think this would make a cool mod though.

 

[Burfreezy]

what about just "Matte Blocks"

Blocks with very little/no specularity (gloss) to them. Maybe only coming in lower armor variants like no advanced or only hull. They would appear darker in game without being a visual cloak.

 

[AnthonyAnderson]

I mean you can just do what I do and use lots of black and no lights. I have a ship that's really fast and hard to see. Camouflage is very easy in this game considering you can put any block on your ship. I think this would make a cool mod though.

I've tried that before.

What I would really want to see is this be a logic-trigger thing. Deactivate the anti-lights when you want your ship displayed in full glory, then reactivate when you want to visually conceal a part or whole of the ship. Block hull would work if it was a 100% of the time type thing

 

[Edymnion]

what about just "Matte Blocks"

Standard Black Armor is almost impossible to see. It doesn't shine, it doesn't have any noteable features, its just black with a touch of noise so that you can't even make out what you're looking at even in build mode with Lighten on.

Against players, its as good as a cloaker. Just have a jammer so you have no HUD icon, and long as you keep moving no human is going to be able to follow you visually unless you're flying it around in a big bright nebula. But your anti-light would have the same problems there as well, being a big black void against a bright background.

 

[jayman38]

I can see this becoming an interesting idea, but only if existing lighting is improved and expanded. (Lights should have a great long range, preferably with the ability to illuminate other entities with a minimum of lag.) Then this type of thing could be used to carefully control how lighting works.

Instead of introducing a new block type, just link a "NOT" logic block to a light block to get the negative light effect. (Then the anti-light can be easily controlled by logic.)

I don't see how this could be used on stealth ships or bigger ships to hide parts of the ship, unless you are talking about reducing ambient light on the surface of the ship, since the anti-light effect would technically just reduce or eliminate glow points. You could get the same effect by linking to the outer running lights from an off switch (activation block). If you are indeed talking about an anti-ambient light effect, then this becomes an effective poor-man's cloak. That might be overpowered unless it had some insane power requirements, at which point, you might as well use a real cloaking device, making this suggestion superfluous.

 

[Burfreezy]

Instead of introducing a new block type, just link a "NOT" logic block to a light block to get the negative light effect. (Then the anti-light can be easily controlled by logic.)

a NOT slaved to the light or the light slaved to the NOT? In the first that seems backwards. The slave usually modifies the master not vice versa. In the latter that would replace being able to have a light action when a condition is not met.

 

[jayman38]

a NOT slaved to the light or the light slaved to the NOT? In the first that seems backwards. The slave usually modifies the master not vice versa. In the latter that would replace being able to have a light action when a condition is not met.

Well, naturally, you want the light-slaved-to-logic to remain as-is, so that the light can be logic-driven. On the other hand, I kinda wanted to see the light blocks become an alternate activation block (I.e. when the light is activated, it sends a True signal; when it is turned off, it sends a False signal.), so slaving a NOT to the light wouldn't be my preference either.

A more flexible solution would be to link a light block to a deactivated light block.
Black = antilight (all three source colors suppressed)
White = antilight (all three source colors suppressed)
Red = red component suppressed (white lights start emitting a blue-green light)
Green = green component suppressed (white lights start emitting a purple light)
Blue = blue component suppressed (white lights start emitting a yellow light)
Yellow = both red and green components suppressed (white lights start emitting a blue light)
Purple = both red and blue components suppressed (white lights start emitting a green light)
Ice Crystal = both green and blue components suppressed (white lights start emitting a red light)
Orange = ? (Orange is kind of the odd one out. Maybe suppress full red and half green components?)

 

[AnthonyAnderson]

Instead of introducing a new block type, just link a "NOT" logic block to a light block to get the negative light effect. (Then the anti-light can be easily controlled by logic.)

I like that. Would probably save on BlockID space, as well.

I don't see how this could be used on stealth ships or bigger ships to hide parts of the ship, unless you are talking about reducing ambient light on the surface of the ship, since the anti-light effect would technically just reduce or eliminate glow points. You could get the same effect by linking to the outer running lights from an off switch (activation block). If you are indeed talking about an anti-ambient light effect, then this becomes an effective poor-man's cloak. That might be overpowered unless it had some insane power requirements, at which point, you might as well use a real cloaking device, making this suggestion superfluous.

Ideally it would just give the impression of a smaller ship. From a distance you've got a highlighted hull showing a portion of the ship. If you see what you think is a smaller ship in the distance you won't (I imagine) feel as threatened. But, should you see a massive ship you'll maybe want to keep your space.

Or it could just make some really cool ambient lighting inside and out of a ship.

A more flexible solution would be to link a light block to a deactivated light block.
Black = antilight (all three source colors suppressed)
White = antilight (all three source colors suppressed)
Red = red component suppressed (white lights start emitting a blue-green light)
Green = green component suppressed (white lights start emitting a purple light)
Blue = blue component suppressed (white lights start emitting a yellow light)
Yellow = both red and green components suppressed (white lights start emitting a blue light)
Purple = both red and blue components suppressed (white lights start emitting a green light)
Ice Crystal = both green and blue components suppressed (white lights start emitting a red light)
Orange = ? (Orange is kind of the odd one out. Maybe suppress full red and half green components?)

Personally I wouldn't want this overly complicated. An Anti Light should reduce all light, not just specific kinds. Plus, why use specific antilights to create a specific light, if you can just pop on that light in the first place. Unless we were going for a light block that can change light colors...

hmm.

 

[kiraen]

If you see what you think is a smaller ship in the distance you won't (I imagine) feel as threatened.

...until you press 'n' and see the mass of the ship is 10 times bigger then the ship could possibly be. And before you cry 'Jammer' let me just say 'Scanner'.

Frankly, I don't see this happening. As already stated

1. This is just a cloaking system and we have one already.
2. Black hull (of various levels) is already pretty hard to see.
3. Just don't put lights on the outside of your ship.

It sounds cool until you really think about the details. Like an underwater bicycle.

 

[AnthonyAnderson]

...until you press 'n' and see the mass of the ship is 10 times bigger then the ship could possibly be. And before you cry 'Jammer' let me just say 'Scanner'.

Frankly, I don't see this happening. As already stated

1. This is just a cloaking system and we have one already.
2. Black hull (of various levels) is already pretty hard to see.
3. Just don't put lights on the outside of your ship.

It sounds cool until you really think about the details. Like an underwater bicycle.

Honestly, then, it comes down to player preference.

1. Yup, but a poor-man's cloaking. As stated.
2. Maybe I don't want to put down all black blocks for my entire ship. Maybe I want my normal grey-red-white hull appearance, but I want the option to darken my ship at will
3. There's lots of natural light coming from stars, which don't have an on-off switch (that I know of)

And an underwater bicycle does sound really cool.
Almost as cool and useful as a bicycle you pedal in one place.