I’ve been asked several times on Discourse and Reddit about a guide on how to create custom emergency lighting effects for first responder vehicles. Instead of having the same discussion repeatedly, I’ve decided to put it in a step by step walkthrough.
I will start by noting that there are various methods available to achieve similar results and each have their benefits and drawbacks. Specifics aside, the actual process is near identical for each method. As a rule of thumb, I recommend installing all of the available lighting mods from the Workshop.
Step 1:
Create a fixture that you will be using as your lighting source. Position and size your fixture to suit your purpose. For this tutorial, I am using the thinnest Deep Straight fixture from the MMDHL LED Lines mod. I have scaled, and placed the desired fixture within the inset of the front grille on my subject vehicle.
Step 2:
Within the selected fixture’s Slot Editor, select your desired slot to modify the material/paint choice. Within the Material/Paint editor, create a New Paint Swatch. Expand the Materials list and select your desired texture material. For this tutorial, I am using the Gauge Glow Material from the Gearhead Materials mod.
Step 3:
Once the desired lighting material is selected, you will now choose the desired lighting color using Advanced Paint Mode. For this tutorial, I am setting the Base Color (Light Status On) to Red, and the Unlit Color (Light Status Off) to White. Ensure that you click on Finish Editing Paint in order to save your modifications.
Step 4:
Once your modifications to the lighting Materials and Paint colors have been completed, you should revert back to the selected fixture’s Slot Editor. On the slots that you have applied your custom textures to, click on the Light Type icon, and change to your desired lighting type. For this tutorial, I am setting the Light Type to Indicator, so that my completed Emergency Light will blink Red/Off when I enable my Indicators under Advanced Visibility Controls.
This is a very basic and barebones walkthrough on how to create custom emergency lighting effects using fixtures and custom lighting textures. This method can obviously be scaled up or down, and combined with other techniques to achieve a variety of different effects and purposes. As this walk though has been focused on creating an actual light element, you are now able to embed this fixture within other fixtures such has headlight housings, grilles, or even position them behind windows.