[Research/WIP] Custom Light Patterns through carcols.ymt

[Captain14 397]

Hey all,

Recently the OpenIV team has made the carcols.ymt file available as an XML file which allows editing. Big thanks to them for that as this is what makes this project possible. You can find the carcols.xml here: https://www.gta5-mods.com/tools/carcols-ymt-converted-into-xml-format

 

Anyways on to the meat of it. The carcols is where all vehicle sirensettings are configured. Vehicle developers are probably familiar with this and most, but not all, vehicles currently released have been configured to work with sirensettings 1. Looking in the carcols we can see exactly where siren setting 1 is configured and learn about the structure of sirens. This is a shortened portion of the configuration for siren setting 1:

Spoiler

<Item>
      <id value="1"/>
      <name>police/sheriff</name>
      <timeMultiplier value="1.00000000"/>
      <lightFalloffMax value="10.00000000"/>
      <lightFalloffExponent value="10.00000000"/>
      <lightInnerConeAngle value="2.29061000"/>
      <lightOuterConeAngle value="70.00000000"/>
      <lightOffset value="0.00000000"/>
      <textureName>VehicleLight_sirenlight</textureName>
      <sequencerBpm value="220"/>
      <leftHeadLight>
        <sequencer value="0"/>
      </leftHeadLight>
      <rightHeadLight>
        <sequencer value="0"/>
      </rightHeadLight>
      <leftTailLight>
        <sequencer value="1431655765"/>
      </leftTailLight>
      <rightTailLight>
        <sequencer value="2863311530"/>
      </rightTailLight>
      <leftHeadLightMultiples value="1"/>
      <rightHeadLightMultiples value="1"/>
      <leftTailLightMultiples value="2"/>
      <rightTailLightMultiples value="2"/>
      <useRealLights value="true"/>
      <sirens>
        <Item>
          <rotation>
            <delta value="0.00000000"/>
            <start value="0.00000000"/>
            <speed value="3.00000000"/>
            <sequencer value="4294967295"/>
            <multiples value="1"/>
            <direction value="false"/>
            <syncToBpm value="true"/>
          </rotation>
          <flashiness>
            <delta value="1.57079600"/>
            <start value="4.71238900"/>
            <speed value="1.00000000"/>
            <sequencer value="1431655765"/>
            <multiples value="2"/>
            <direction value="true"/>
            <syncToBpm value="true"/>
          </flashiness>
          <corona>
            <intensity value="50.00000000"/>
            <size value="1.10000000"/>
            <pull value="0.20000000"/>
            <faceCamera value="false"/>
          </corona>
          <color value="0xFFFF0300"/>
          <intensity value="0.50000000"/>
          <lightGroup value="0"/>
          <rotate value="false"/>
          <scale value="true"/>
          <scaleFactor value="2"/>
          <flash value="true"/>
          <light value="true"/>
          <spotLight value="true"/>
          <castShadows value="false"/>
        </Item>
      </sirens>
    </Item>

 

The full xml contains definitions for all 20 siren elements in order, but I have removed sirens 2-20 for the sake of making it easier to read. So far, here is what I have learned:

• The game engine caps the maximum number of sirens at 20 per sirensetting.
• Custom sirensettings can be added to the file and used.
• Corona colors and intensity can be edited for each individual siren (format for color: AARRGGBB). They can also be removed completely.
• Each individual siren can have it's own individual flash pattern (and these can be user created, not just selected from a list)
• Headlight and taillight flashing can be configured with custom flash patterns - one user has already released a modification that enables headlight flashing.
• You can set the number of "beats" per minute that the lights will flash using sequencerBPM value. This value will apply to all of the sirens for that specific sirensetting.
• You can set individual sirens to be rotating or non-rotating and configure their speeds.

 

So far I have not done any work with rotating lights. For non-rotating lights, the flash pattern can be custom configured by editing the sequencer value under "flashiness" for each siren. In the snippet of code posted above, the siren uses the following configuration:

<sequencer value="1431655765"/>

At first glance it looks to be just a random number. This is actually a 32-bit integer, and when you view it in binary, the flash pattern becomes clear:

01010101010101010101010101010101

So this siren uses a simple alternating flash pattern - off, on, off, on, off, on, etc. These can be configured to create new and far more complex flash patterns than are currently in the game. Along with increasing the sequencer beats per minute you can create some neat stuff.

 

Here is a (very quickly) thrown together demo to showcase possible patterns. This vehicle uses 6 sirens: two for all the red and blue lights, two for the traffic advisor (which is an extra), and two for the headlight strobes. The headlight strobe coronas have been modified to be white and the vehicle uses a completely custom sirensetting. The pattern for the red and blue lights has been customized for alternating speeds.

 

Again, this is just rough stages of research so far, but I wanted to share what I had found with the community. Hopefully this will be useful for vehicle developers in designing cars which are non-ELS but offer similar levels of functionality. I will be updating this thread with further research as I discover new things.

 

Thanks for reading and happy modding!

[HankVoight 553]

This is actually really neat, having the ability to change/create patterns via a simple text change is truly amazing. If this does become fruitful and a script like the ELS pattern changer could be made to read the file and maybe even have the ability to change patterns while in game (like a plugin) could create virtually unlimited possibilities for everyone. And also maybe render ELS obsolete as then the only feature it would have over default lighting is the ability to change siren tones (which I'm sure a script could be written to do as well).

I do look forward to more info on your research! 

[Kane104 1247]

Absolutely epic. Thanks for the guidance you've posted, its much appreciated.

[royalx7 20]

To go along with HankVoight, i'd have to think that it would also be much more stable.. Instead of extras rapidly firing, using rockstars script would probably be better. (Tbh I'm not too sure how stable ELSV is, it could be perfect and I wouldn't know, just making an assumption). 

[CiscoFan 98]

Will it be possible to replicate this

 

https://youtu.be/YgXOTlhnWFw

[purplepotatoes14 588]

That is so COOL! I still can't believe that we're finding things out about this game even after it's been out for a good while. I really enjoy that custom headlight strobe pattern on the Explorer! 

Edited August 13, 2016 by purplepotatoes14

[Captain14 397]

20 minutes ago, DroidRZRLover said:

Will it be possible to replicate this

 

https://youtu.be/YgXOTlhnWFw

Yes absolutely. You can create any flash pattern with 32 flashes per cycle and they can be applied to the headlights, taillights, or any individual siren.

 

@Desmond98 I would be happy to help you with configuring an ultra realistic pattern for your upcoming explorer! 

Edited August 13, 2016 by Captain14

[CiscoFan 98]

11 minutes ago, Captain14 said:

Yes absolutely. You can create any flash pattern with 32 flashes per cycle and they can be applied to the headlights, taillights, or any individual siren.

 

@Desmond98 I would be happy to help you with configuring an ultra realistic pattern for your upcoming explorer! 

Desmond98 and I are working together

We will gladly accept the ultra realistic flash pattern

[Captain14 397]

43 minutes ago, royalx7 said:

To go along with HankVoight, i'd have to think that it would also be much more stable.. Instead of extras rapidly firing, using rockstars script would probably be better. (Tbh I'm not too sure how stable ELSV is, it could be perfect and I wouldn't know, just making an assumption). 

I'm certain ELS will be stable (at least much more so than the IV version) but as with any added plugin you will have crashes. As this uses the built-in system for lighting it will be more stable, but as another user has noted this does not offer the ability to change siren tones like ELS does.

[FRGamer 1425]

This is really cool, thank you!

[GravelRoadCop 1308]

Does this also influence the intensity/brightness of environmental lighting ?

[Captain14 397]

1 hour ago, GravelRoadCop said:

Does this also influence the intensity/brightness of environmental lighting ?

I have yet to experiment with it but I believe this can also be changed. I'll try messing with it later if I get the time.

[Captain14 397]

@GravelRoadCop environmental lighting:

 

[Scuderio 2405]

That's so awsome, I'm looking for future posts.

[GravelRoadCop 1308]

Today is a good day. So if I have a custom ambulance model installed, I can edit the file above and use custom flash patterns for the ambulance model ? Or does it require model editing as well in order to load the custom patterns ?

Edited August 13, 2016 by GravelRoadCop

[Jakeus 47]

From what I gather @GravelRoadCop it's simply editing the carcols.ymt file, no vehicle modeling required.

Time to have a play!  Be interesting to see what everyone comes up with!

[GravelRoadCop 1308]

2 minutes ago, Jakeus said:

From what I gather @GravelRoadCop it's simply editing the carcols.ymt file, no vehicle modeling required.

Time to have a play!  Be interesting to see what everyone comes up with!

To be honest, I had to do a double-take on this because it seemed too good to be true ! How fascinating, I think I'm gonna dive into this and see what I can make !

[Captain14 397]

1 hour ago, GravelRoadCop said:

To be honest, I had to do a double-take on this because it seemed too good to be true ! How fascinating, I think I'm gonna dive into this and see what I can make !

It's entirely in the carcols file. You can create extra siren settings to apply to an individual custom model if you would like to.

[Ranger61 89]

I look forward to some kind of tutorial explaining the steps. @Captain14 first post is a nice start. Also, how did you see that number sequence. I still don't see 010101, etc That sound like some Dr. Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson's character in the movie Sphere) type skills. :D

[densup 50]

14 hours ago, HankVoight said:

This is actually really neat, having the ability to change/create patterns via a simple text change is truly amazing. If this does become fruitful and a script like the ELS pattern changer could be made to read the file and maybe even have the ability to change patterns while in game (like a plugin) could create virtually unlimited possibilities for everyone. And also maybe render ELS obsolete as then the only feature it would have over default lighting is the ability to change siren tones (which I'm sure a script could be written to do as well).

I do look forward to more info on your research! 

Possibly RIP ELS, all that time for nothing, kek.

But on a serious note, good thread.

The ENV can also be greatly effected by altering these lines.

<lightFalloffMax value="55.60000000"/>
      <lightFalloffExponent value="10.00000000"/>
      <lightInnerConeAngle value="0.00000000"/>
      <lightOuterConeAngle value="25.60130000"/>

As far as I've tested, you can do whatever you want. I'm sure if this is tweaked enough for all the sirens, we could have a great mix of ELS enhancers! I recommend doing some small research on light falloff exponent values and falloff to get a better understanding of what you're editing.

Edited August 13, 2016 by densup

[Captain14 397]

1 hour ago, Ranger61 said:

I look forward to some kind of tutorial explaining the steps. @Captain14 first post is a nice start. Also, how did you see that number sequence. I still don't see 010101, etc That sound like some Dr. Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson's character in the movie Sphere) type skills. :D

0 is off, 1 is on. It's a 32 bit unsigned integer and the sequence of bits determines the flash pattern. So 0101 would be off, on, off, on. You can totally customize these settings and the game will cycle through the pattern you give it X times per minute (sequencerBpm value).

[thegreathah 4541]

4 minutes ago, Captain14 said:

0 is off, 1 is on. It's a 32 bit unsigned integer and the sequence of bits determines the flash pattern. So 0101 would be off, on, off, on. You can totally customize these settings and the game will cycle through the pattern you give it X times per minute (sequencerBpm value).

Awesome... I'll have to see what I can come up with.

[Captain14 397]

Okay so I've done a little bit more research and also tested out a few other flash patterns.

• It is possible to enable environmental lighting for coronas (visible in video). You have to set the "light" value to true to enable it.
• I do not yet know if it is possible to enable environmental lighting without using coronas. I am going to further research this.
• All lights seem to be placed into two groups (0 and 1), I am not yet sure what these groupings determine.
• "delta" and "start" values under the flashiness section determine the rotation of the light mesh and corona when active. 
• You can change how much the sirens scale when enabled.

Here is another quick demo video. I played around with the explorer a little and altered the flash patterns some more: 

The valor is using siren7 and siren8. The rear window lights are using siren2 and siren5. The grille lights are using siren15 and siren16. The front strobes are using two sirens each in this video (sirens 1, 6, 19, and 20) but I will be reducing this to 2 by rotating 19 and 20. The traffic advisor is again an extra using siren9 and siren10. Finally, the rear taillight strobes are not using the default taillight flashing system but are using siren3 and siren4.

You can see in the video that the lights with visible coronas (corner strobes) are environmental. Coronas are currently hidden for my other lights but can be added easily. In the video you may notice that the left taillight strobe seems buggy; I believe this is due to my not-so-great graphics settings.

 

More research soon to come.

[purplepotatoes14 588]

Spoiler

48 minutes ago, Captain14 said:

Okay so I've done a little bit more research and also tested out a few other flash patterns.

• It is possible to enable environmental lighting for coronas (visible in video). You have to set the "light" value to true to enable it.
• I do not yet know if it is possible to enable environmental lighting without using coronas. I am going to further research this.
• All lights seem to be placed into two groups (0 and 1), I am not yet sure what these groupings determine.
• "delta" and "start" values under the flashiness section determine the rotation of the light mesh and corona when active. 
• You can change how much the sirens scale when enabled.

Here is another quick demo video. I played around with the explorer a little and altered the flash patterns some more: 

The valor is using siren7 and siren8. The rear window lights are using siren2 and siren5. The grille lights are using siren15 and siren16. The front strobes are using two sirens each in this video (sirens 1, 6, 19, and 20) but I will be reducing this to 2 by rotating 19 and 20. The traffic advisor is again an extra using siren9 and siren10. Finally, the rear taillight strobes are not using the default taillight flashing system but are using siren3 and siren4.

You can see in the video that the lights with visible coronas (corner strobes) are environmental. Coronas are currently hidden for my other lights but can be added easily. In the video you may notice that the left taillight strobe seems buggy; I believe this is due to my not-so-great graphics settings.

 

More research soon to come.

 

Wow, this almost replicates an ELS pattern. That's awesome!

[grimdar 83]

Falloff values allow you to set the lights to reflect off objects much further. Short video I made here, you can see the light reflect off the buildings and tree. I set "lightfalloffMax" and "lightfalloffExponent" to a value of 80.

Why would Rockstar have such low falloff values is beyond me, default is very unrealistic and there appears to be no performance issues.

 

Edited August 14, 2016 by grimdar