# Police lights flash patterns

**URL:** <https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/police-lights-flash-patterns/1135372>\
**Category:** Programming & Scripting\
**Tags:** unreal-engine, question\
**Created:** [April 21, 2023, 4:15am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/police-lights-flash-patterns/1135372 "2023-04-21T04:15:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 9

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**Author:** ![Everynone](https://d1ap1mz92jnks1.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/forums.unrealengine.com/everynone/32/1135017_2.png) [@Everynone](https://forums.unrealengine.com/u/Everynone)\
**Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 8:57am UTC](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/police-lights-flash-patterns/1135372/9 "2023-04-21T08:57:06Z")

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> [@403Rabbit](#):
>
> The challenge is to make a flash pattern that flashes 4 times, and then a steady pause, before resetting the loop.

Use timeline curves. Predefine as many various ones as you need, load them dynamically if necessary. A single timeline could drive a material with any desired intricacy and timing. Very flexible. _But might be an overkill already._

> [@random flicker from Single Blueprint](https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/random-flicker-from-single-blueprint/479357/2):
>
> How about this snazzy Light Function? Material Actor with a light [[Image from Gyazo]](https://gyazo.com/6a6d9cc417dd5e6e8377c7bf2cba686a) It’s nice this way because when bulbs flicker it’s not really a sharp off/on. It’s a quick falloff transition and this is simulated here; and quite efficiently, too.

This is using a timer with some random values, replace it with a timeline track. Color tracks preferably.

* * *

> make this light control go deeper

Once you go deep with curves, you can go even deeper 🏊‍♂️ :

> **[Curve Atlases in Unreal Engine Materials | Unreal Engine 5.7 Documentation |...](https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/curve-atlases-in-materials?application_version=4.27)**
>
> Curve Atlases in Unreal Engine store a combination of Curve assets that enables you to access Curve Linear Color data through your Materials.

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