FS25 Lightning Shock V1.1.2.1

What if the storm were no longer just a visual effect?
Lightning tears across the sky and thunder shakes the countryside—but this time, something else is happening. This mod goes beyond lights and sounds: the storm actively interferes with the gameplay, forcing you to adapt.
GIANTS once rejected one of my ideas simply because I dared to create something unusual. This time, I’m not going to explain myself.
I’ll let the storm answer for me.
Read readme from file…
I created this mod for my own enjoyment and according to my personal vision. I aim to recreate realistic situations.
Regular updates are planned, as I still have plenty of ideas. Let’s push the limits of the GIANTS Engine…
FS25_BXRLightningShock adds a dynamic lightning system to Farming Simulator 25. Automatic lightning only runs from the beginning of March to the end of October, and only when any rain or hail is detected. The first strike is prepared shortly after suitable weather begins; later strikes arrive at randomized intervals while preserving the three-minute rule. Each event may also create a separately delayed second strike.
The lightning is not a simple straight line. The main channel grows downward quickly, with dense direction changes and many control points. The wandering/secondary main channel can search for a separate target, strike with a delay, and trigger its own flash, thunder, particles, vehicle shutdown or power outage. The main and side branches emit bluish-white light, glow and channel illumination. During the dark part of the final flicker, the channel disappears instead of turning black.
Target selection first looks for environmental objects. Streetlight and power poles, water towers, silos, storage structures, factories, taller buildings and other elevated constructed objects are preferred. Trees and ground are fallback targets, and ground strikes are heavily reduced under the current rules. Recent impact positions are remembered, and an exclusion radius prevents repeated strikes at the same location.
For vehicle targeting, AI vehicles are last in the targeting order. An AI vehicle in the active view and another AI vehicle both have a unified 15% strike chance. The player’s active vehicle without AI has a 5% chance. Vehicle strikes aim for the cab, and covered vehicles are excluded. The mod handles the full consist: tractor, attached implements and further connected implements are stopped and restored together.
When a vehicle is struck, the mod saves its state: controller type, active work/job, motor state, light state, cruise-control state, speed data and active-view status. Controller types are never mixed: CP stays CP, AutoDrive stays AutoDrive, and GIANTS AI stays GIANTS AI. CP only uses freezeCp/cpHold, then unfreezeCp/cpHold(0,false). AutoDrive only uses pause/unpause/release. GIANTS AI only resumes the saved GIANTS job. If safe restoration is not possible, the mod logs the issue and does not start another AI system.
During vehicle power loss, the whole consist’s lights turn off and the motor is forcibly stopped. Recovery keeps the current sequence: low beam slowly brightens, fades out, brightens again, waits half a second, flashes twice, then the motor restarts. If multiple AI vehicles are affected, their restarts receive a random 1-15 second stagger. Work resumes only through the original controller’s own path.
If lightning hits a non-vehicle target, it causes a power outage within 300 metres. Building lights, outdoor lamps, streetlights, advertising and information lights, LED/digital display characters, light cones, ground-light pools, emissive surfaces and other non-standard light solutions are turned off where the cache can find them. The outage also covers industrial barriers, electric gates, site entrance gates and compatible railroad-crossing controllers: their lights and control logic stop or pause, then return according to the restoration rules. Physical lamp housings, gates and barrier models remain visible. Productions, factories and compatible processing facilities stop. The sky, Sun, Moon, stars, clouds and vehicle lights are not affected by regional power outages.
Recovery timing differs by object type. BXR LED/InfoBoard-style panels are exempt from long outages and return around 10 seconds later. Other objects may recover after variable outage durations, with the two quick restoration flashes preserved. The world light cache is built once when the map loads, avoiding full scene scans right before impact.
The thunder system uses multiple thunder samples, including the two most recently added sounds. Each has a normal and enclosed-cabin/muffled version. Sounds rotate through a shuffled pool, and the mod avoids playing the same thunder sample twice in a row.
The mod also uses its own environment override. It includes Hungary/Central Europe-style day-night transitions, a darker night sky, stronger moonlit surroundings, moon-phase-style scaling and darker night cloud undersides. The underside brightness of night clouds is reduced through targeted cloudGroundAlbedo values, without globally darkening the entire night exposure. These sky, moonlight, night-lighting and cloud changes are fully effective only when no other active graphics, weather, sky or lighting mod overrides the same environment values.
V1.1.2.1
Automatic lightning timing was updated: in suitable weather, at least 1 strike occurs within 4 in-game minutes, optionally with a wandering channel.
Strike repetition prevention was relaxed: the system remembers the last 8 strike points and avoids selecting a new target within 10 meters.
Target search still prioritizes tall, electrical and constructed objects; ground impact remains a last-resort fallback.
The wandering channel searches for a separate impact point, strikes with a delay, and triggers the same events as the main channel.
The power outage system was optimized: lights and targets are cached during map loading.
Lights are now grouped per placeable, so a building or lamp and its related cast/environment lights switch off and recover together.
General lights recover in randomized order within about 1.5 in-game minutes at most.
LED panels use a separate short recovery window of about 10 seconds.
Production/factory outages remain on a separate rule, capped at 1 in-game hour.
Light recovery uses a true double-flash sequence: on-off-on-off-on, with the final state staying on.
Floating helper icons and their cast lights are excluded from outage discovery.
The README was rewritten: only the current feature description remains in Hungarian, English and German.

 

[FarmerBoy]

The level of detail and complexity in your mod, FS25_BXRLightningShock, is truly impressive. Your idea to have the storm actively interfere with gameplay in Farming Simulator 25 goes beyond just visual effects and adds a whole new layer of immersion and challenge for players.

The dynamic lightning system you've implemented, which only operates during specific months and in the presence of rain or hail, creates a sense of urgency and unpredictability. The fact that lightning strikes can target different objects, such as streetlights, power poles, buildings, and even vehicles, adds a strategic element to gameplay as players need to adapt and possibly change their plans when a storm hits.

The attention to detail in terms of how lightning affects vehicles is particularly noteworthy. The way the mod saves the state of struck vehicles and then restores them based on their original controller type ensures a realistic and consistent experience for players.

Additionally, the power outage system you've included, where lightning strikes can cause outages within a certain radius, adds further complexity to gameplay. The fact that different objects have varying recovery times adds to the realism of the mod.

The thunder system with multiple sound samples and variations further enhances the immersive experience, and the environment override for day-night transitions and night sky effects adds a visual element that complements the gameplay changes.

Version 1.1.2.1 of your mod introduces several updates and optimizations that enhance the overall experience, such as refining the lightning timing, strike repetition prevention, and power outage system efficiency.

It's clear that a lot of thought and effort went into creating FS25_BXRLightningShock, and it's exciting to see how you're pushing the boundaries of the GIANTS Engine to create a unique and immersive gameplay experience. Your dedication to realism and attention to detail are commendable, and it's evident that you've put a lot of passion into developing this mod.