Have trouble parking your ship? Use 'navlights'! ;)

[Motam]

I was a bit tired of fiddling around with the perspective when trying to align my ship to the docking connector so I decided to add colored lights directly in front and behind the connector on the ship. This is what it looks like when docking. Makes my life so much easier. Before I had to change the camera perspective several times. Now only one view is necessary.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=282320803
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=282320895
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=282321010
Also very useful when positioning your tools - my ship is equipped with colored lights on all sides that I switch via light groups.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=282321835
This would be useful for large ships also. For example you could color two or more plates of the hangar in a different color. Fix lights with the same colors and spacing on your ship. Throw the light switch when you approach the dock. When the lights and plates align you know you are docked. Of course you'd have to do this for bottom lights and side lights to have the ship properly aligned.

Hope this makes the SE life a bit easier for some :))

P.S.: In real life (air)ships are equipped with these kind of lights but commonly only left (red) and right (green), they are called position lights.

P.P.S.: I usually throw the position / nav lights on also when I leave the ship for some manual mining. The idea came to me when I used the scenario with the rescue ship and was totally bugged that I always struggled to go to the correct side of the ship i.e. to find the entrance, stupid I know.
With the position lights, I'd always know which side to go to when approaching the ship. The other uses (see above) came to me later on.

[InFusIon]

i use them also as not having a scroll button i cannot zoom out. or i may have a spotlight on keypoints like ship bays or docks with the connector or merge centered in the ring of light. and i have lights above my connectors on my stations and ships that i use as fuel\energy request lights so my supply ships can coast by and see if the station needs anything without having to connect. and other signal lights to know if my base is powered on, needs repairs, or is functional. i use the color of lights so i know which sector i am in. to make signal lights just lower intensity and radius all the way. lights are also good for sending codes to team mates. another good way to align ships is i you can easily make connection arms that go straight out to a ship aligned on a dock.

[Motam]

how do you use the request lights? do you flip them manually when for example in a ship that needs fuel so that you can come back at a later point in time to refuel it?
I guess as soon as scripting / programming is implemented in the game (I think the devs want to use C#), it will be extremely useful to automate those lights.
It seems that there also are (proximity) sensors to come (don't ask me where I read it ^^), so hangar lights / position lights could come on when a ship approaches.
I like the idea of colored lights for different sections or levels of a base and the light ring around the merger!

[InFusIon]

yea i just flip them on. proximity sensors would be pretty rad. i can think of so many traps already.

[Motam]

oh the possibilities xD!
Also: automated (hangar) doors that open only when a member of the faction approaches, etc. etc.

[InFusIon]

smart mines

[Rylo704]

i love you

[InFusIon]

thats nothing keen already stated that they are releasing programmable blocks in the future, full out robots and machines.

[Motam]

@Rylo: xD
they might seem overkill to the more seasoned players but since I am pretty much a SE beginner, they helped a lot

@Subcreature: totally looking forward to it :)

[BLACK۞EYE]

Nice application of lights! I taked a point on it :)

[Motam]

Thanks :)