SS2 Flashlight Augmentation

[673f4f2a82c09ZylonBane]

System Shock 2 Flashlight Augmentation v1.2
25 Sep 2021
by ZylonBane

- Requires SS2 NewDark patch v2.48 or higher.
- Should be compatible with all fan missions/campaigns.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Grey-market nanotech augmentation deposits bioluminescent cells within the retina to provide coherent illumination of the user's field of view.
• Replaces compass module in standard cyber implant architecture. Use compass keybind to toggle activation state.
• Light generation drains muscular glycogen stores, reducing movement speed by 20% while active.

CUSTOMIZATION
There are four config variables in this script:

• UPDATE_FPS sets the rate at which the flashlight updates. Default is 60. Change to 30 if you experience slowdown while the flashlight is active.
• SIM_INERTIA enables a small amount of inertia on the beam to make it feel more like a part of your body and less like an effect bolted to the game camera. Set false to disable.
• LIGHT_HUE sets the light color. Default is 0.
• LIGHT_SAT sets the light saturation. Default 0.

When using this mod, it is recommended to bind the "Compass HUD" command to something easier to press than the default Alt+C bind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXvggHEi0DI

[673f4f2a82e04voodoo47]

this supersedes the beta, I'd assume?

[673f4f2a82f64JML]

Looks great! Well done!

[673f4f2a83223unn_atropos]

Very nice!
This could result in some new maps or FM.
Would it be posssible to have it as an implant? Upgradeable implant? Different colours?
[look at me asterix!.jpg expired]

[673f4f2a8332dZylonBane]

Of course.

Making it an implant would be a pain in the ass for players though. Vanilla implants are for passive, always-on augmentations, not abilities you might just use occasionally.

[673f4f2a83424Silversharp]

Oh sweet Lord, I've been waiting for this for years! :O
One question though; how can I make the light color a little yellowish?

[673f4f2a8351aZylonBane]

That would be slightly nontrivial since it currently just uses the default white dynamic light for the beam and player glow.

Okay, updated to allow customizing the color.

[673f4f2a836c8Alexander]

if it slows down (there are friezes) on weak laptops, pc,  with the flashlight turned on, change the fps from 60 to 30  (but this problem is individual)
...noticed this information. (sorry, you can delete the post).

changed internal settings so that there was no too white  effect. (also individually)
const maxDist = 60.0;
const minRadius = 2.0;
const maxRadius = 40.0;
const maxLight = 100.0;


maxLight - the most important setting (brightness)

[673f4f2a83849vladdrak]

i activated the mod after i turned on compass, so for the time being i'm enjoying both worlds, but will i be safe on the long run?

[673f4f2a83abfJML]

vladdrakDoubtful, considering you are running around in an alien infested spaceship. (joke)

[673f4f2a83c86ZylonBane]

There was indeed an issue with light color only updating after a save and reload (the original reporting comment which vlad has weirdly decided to remove from his post).

So I've done a minor rewrite, fixed all the edge cases (I hope), and reduced the number of times it hits the script database every frame. This should improve the CPU impact, though my system is fast enough that I can't tell any difference. Also consolidated all the light parameters at the top of the script for easier tweaking.

[673f4f2a83f3dvladdrak]

ZylonBaneat the end it seemed that i could actually get the desired yellowish color through some trial and error (apparently save - reload), plus i couldn't trust my perception skills enough to think that i might be the only one picking this issue up, so yeah. besides, i was so happy with the mod as it is, i slapped myself after reporting, tho im glad it's even better now. thx, zb!

[673f4f2a8404dcowsha]

>ShockGame.AddSpeedControl
Thanks for this line, actually like having it.
Can it possibly have requiement to recharge flashlight? Scaling of light ammount tied to energy left or something like that.
Thanks for mod, i love it.

[673f4f2a841c8ReconUnit]

Might give this one a shot, been getting back into SS2 starting with some basic patches and graphical updates, including using Reshade to amp up the lighting in environments, problem is that it makes some areas a bit too dark, so this is a perfect solution.

[673f4f2a8453awolfy]

vladdrak
I wanted both features too.
I modified file gamesys.dml.
I changed the number

ObjProp "compass HUD" "Scripts" {
   "Script 0" "zbFlashlight"
}

to

ObjProp "compass HUD" "Scripts" {
   "Script 1" "zbFlashlight"
}

And it works.