Created my first object :) :)

Two myears ago I installed gmax, tried to create something for a few weeks but then gave up. A year ago I even uninstalled it.

 

Today I decided to re-install gmax.

It all much easier the second time round. In about one hour I created my first model in gmax, added it with ADE, and it actually showed right up!!

 

Happy chappy!!

 

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Nice work - we all start somewhere - it's a significant milestone to be able to create something with 3D modeling software and have it displayed in the sim... Good job and best of luck with if...

 

Regards,

Scott

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nicely done, il! Congratulations indeed!

Now, when will see a Starship, ready to sail the galactic seas :D

Pat☺

Thanks guys! A journey begins with the first step indeed. (A small step for mankind, but a huge one for this humble simmer.)

 

Managed to add a texture too. Don't ask me how I did it, but I got it to show up eventually.

(Had it showing in MCX all the time just fine, but in FSX it showed as solid black.

Now I started over from version 2 that did show up without texture. Then I placed it with the "MCX convert and place object wizzard", in a location at the airport, and suddenly all the previousy placed instances show up as well. Funny that.)

 

Time for some victory Ice Cream now. Hurray!:)

 

 

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Gmax is a fine program. Using FSDS instead of 2 hours first try it may have taken 2 minutes. easier to understand, learn. But congrats! Bob

Well done with obj placer. Place object with Instant scenery 3

Thanks.

For now I'llstick to these tools. I'm getting the hang of gmax. Am able to make objects, texture them, make a .bgl with MCX or libraryCreatorXML, and then position in scenery with ADE. For a simple object it takes me less then an hour.

 

More complex shapes with gmax is difficult though.

 

With Blender shaping objects like I want to is easier. But with that adding the texture is hard. I have no idea how to get the UWV mapping like I want it. When I made a cube in blender the texture got all streched out over the whole object, instead of a copy on each surface.

Compiling into .x and then to .MDL worked well. (At least, once I followed an online guide step by step. Couldn't do it without that.)

Placing the object was no issue.

The Blender manual is long and full of technical terms I don't know. But I do like the program a lot, and I have seen people create wonderfull things with it (airplanes) so I hope I get the basics down eventually.

 

I had a brief look at Sketchup, but the eula looked complex and daunting. And I think learning 3 programs at a time will only add to my confusion. gmax, Blender, MCX, LCXML, that's plenty new stuff for now. I also need to have a look at the FSX-SDK's object placement tool menu (never used it) and I think there's also xml2bgl I can use.

pheew...

Here's afew more objects I made.

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?299050-FlightSim-Com-20th-Anniversary&p=1979500#post1979500

Well done. A simple object about an hour? How about in minutes? And that is even being new.

Blender is a good tool but as complicated as Gmax even more so. Sketch Up is nice but you cannot animate!!!!

 

Believe me- I've been through all this! You can have best of both worlds with FSDS but if yon are happy - good. Making objects with FSDS and mapping textures..... EASY- very easy. FSDS had done 99.95 of what I wanted.

ADE is a great tool as well. I use that often, but find Instant Scenery I can place an object AND SEE IT while I am placing it. No shutting down FSX in order to compile!!!!

 

but ADE is a very good tool. I thought you might have been interested in photoreal which I can teach you in twenty minutes on Skype.

Anyway- if interested let me know. I have friends who use FSDS and Gmax as well. Bob

I thought about IS3 before. Would be nice to place objects directly. Especially handy when a object has an irregular shape. In ADE they show as square boxes, and that makes it hard to know where the actual object is. Still, I don't mind recompiling and guestimating a bit...

 

FSDS looks interesting.

I see it looks a lot like gmax, but is maybe more tailored towards FS(X) and a bit more intuitive.

I read some comparisons with gmax and blender and get the impression those last two are more powerfull. Especially Blender.

I read a few times that Blender is especially powerful with textures. Specular reflections, alpha maps, etc.

Then again, those were older reviews referring to FSDS2 and even FSDS (1).

Has that improved in v3.5?

 

For now I'll muddle on with gmax/blender. But I'll keep FSDS in mind.

IS3.... no need to make things too easy now...;):)

(also, I think IS3 puts the objects in a seperate .bgl, and not compiled into the airport's .bgl file. Not sure if I like that. Yet more to keep track of....

Don't know your name- Anyway-

 

First keep on with Gmax... very good tool.

Keep on with ADE also - excellent.

Blender and Gmax are more versatile and so called more powerful, but as I said before FSDS has performed 99.9% of everything I wanted it do.

 

FSDS 1 and 2 were more basic. And version 3 was much better. These used a compile engine called MAKEMDL.

 

version 3.5.1 uses a compile engine called XTOMDL Some very good improvements... too detailed to explain here.

 

Notice I do not bash anyone's tools.... not into that. I am merely saying your work goes much faster with FSDS 3.5.1 and IS3.

 

I use all but Gmax but I do have a copy of Gmax as well... just for fun.

 

Instant Scenery discussion........... do this for me...and yourself.... DO NOT compile and save any object into the AFCAD bgl!!!!

 

In ADE make sure you have (in options) "separate bgls".

 

this will compile into an afcad bgl, an object bgl (if you have any objects there0, and a cvx bgl (if you have any landclass items, etc, and a gp bgl (if you have made any ground polys.

the AFCAD (is what I call it and many others) is all your airport data like rwys, taxiways, aprons.... etc.

 

obj file is what is created when you place an object in ADE. cvx file is a landclass or excludes, etc....... and gp are ground polys.

 

Have you created any ground polys yet? If so - great if not I can show you in a heartbeat!

 

INSTANT SCENERY3---- works for P3d also.

1. make an mdl of your object from Gmax.

2. put all your mdls in one folder where it is easy to get at.

3. IS comes with a library maker of its own so damned easy to use!!!.

4. when you save the mdls this library is made and you put that library in your active scenery.

5. go to the scenery in FSX

6. open IS from you FSX addons menu (it will be there)

7. in the is box find your library you just made click on the object and place it with your mouse.

you can rotate it fast or slow , scale it bigger or smaller, raise the elevation if need.

 

 

when you place an object you get a little window that asks add to (last one you did) OR add to another file. click that one and navigate to your scenery sub folder of your active scenery

 

type in a file name of your choice( Istrongly recommend ending the file name with the word objects OR placement. This way I always know this is a placemenrt file NOT a library.

 

DO NOT SAVE IT INTO YOUR LIBRARY. You will run into problems down the road if you do that. People used to do that long ago ... save right back into their library they created or into the AFCAD! Drives people nuts.

 

I was on the development team for Instant Object studio and Airport studio both.

 

This sound like a lot but it is not.

 

I could have explained most of this in 5 minutes instead of typing it all out.

 

did my pictures come through?

 

BTW- face-to-user objects made in makemdl (FSX9) will work in FSX...BUT.... there is an alpha (transparency channel) with it that either shows black in FSX or like fences and trees... shows the wrong background.

 

Yu can correct the fences and trees, but objects with transparency ... if you correct those I MCX.... you lose the face-to-user teak. They no longer face to user! so- sadly you can have the tweak or the trans but not both.

 

BUT, BUT , BUT one of our "family" here and I found a trick so we CAN have both!!! Skype me and I will tell ya.

 

got so many neat stuff to share. Why? We just like to. We've been at the beginning with very few people to help. some are willing to help but don't know how to teach. Bless their hearts.... it's like they are brain surgeons (they are) and they talk to us with their terms and words without explaining them. AND HERE WE ARE...... 1ST YEAR MED STUDENTS! bwahahaha!

 

and we go---- WHAT THE...? hahaha.

 

some others won't tell you their tricks and tips. why? I don't know maybe they don't want the competition. Most here are good fellas, though.

 

Who here remembers Opa Marshall? When I began. He helped me a lot. He called me "Grasshopper". :)

 

So- If you wish , Skype me , show me some Gmax... we will trade ideas! BTW-0 we have friends now in Thailand, south Africa, Australia, her in the states in 6 states, Sweden, Netherlands, England, Scotland, Denmark, Germany. All great people! Bob (sorry for the long post)

Regarding ADE. I'm not new to that. Have been using it for several years, making my own versions of addon airports.

I don't think I ever compiled models into the ICAO_ADEX.bgl file. Nor did I include them as separate .bgl's in the /ICAOname_ADEX/scenery folder.

 

I always use the LOM (Library Object Manager), and the models are in separate folders, such as "/Addon Scenery/objlib EZ1".

If I leave the airport active, and disable "/Addon Scenery/objlib EZ1" in the fsx scenery library, the airport shows, but not those models from that swpecific library.

 

I do it like that, to make sure that if I ever upload the Addon Airport, I do not inadvertently include any models. (copyright).

It means that if I ever want to share one of my airports, I will have to tell the user which objectlibraries he neds to download and install to see it in full glory.

What I meant is that by doing it that way, the *Placement* of the object is included in the ICAO_ADEX.bgl

 

(I did add a separate .bgl to an airport's /scenery folder one time only, to add a sound effect to an airport. I created the .bgl with xml2bgl, and added it manually.)

 

I think with IS3 you have separate .bgl's for each object you place.

I think (but may well be wrong), that this means that it doesn't matter whether I activate ICAO_1_ADEX, or ICAO_3_ADEX version of the airport, the object will be there in both versions. THat's not what I want.

 

I guess I could move the single-object .bgl that IS3 creates to the airport folder ("ICAO_3_ADEX/scenery" for example), so it is only active withthat one version of the airport. But it sounds like a lot of hasstle.

 

------------------------

I stared at the FSDEev FSDS forum for two hours yesterday, and came across a lot of your posts. Interesting.

I never use(d) skype, but I'm more and more tempted to become a member on fsdev as well. Though I do like the open way of communicating here on flightsim. Where anyone can feel free to jump in.

(And threads stay up a long time, so more people can profit from the knowledge shared:) )

 

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Ground poly's.Not sure what you mean. I did use poly's, for "exclude autogen, flatten" that sort of thing. have never made airport textures (photoscenery). And not really looking to.

I did see what that looks like in a few MAIW airports.

 

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Ah, I reread your IS3 part. I think I got the gist of how it works.

-------------

Saw your pictures in the other thread. Looked nice.

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FS9 objects. I do know the EZbabes effect;)

Would like to create a 3Dbabe one day..... Long way away from that.

I don't have FS9 (but I got the SDK from flyawaysimulation)

I don't think I'll aim for creating FS9 objects, though when I make Gauges I always try to make them FS9-compatible. So they can use them too.

-----

I do remember Opa. I don't think we talked often, but he was still posting when I joined here, and I learned a lot from reading those posts. I was a total beginner back then.

-------

I've never had much of a problem with sharing creations, but only starting out with modeling... Sharing models... not sure. The few simple gauges I created I shared by posting the code in the forum.

I donn't have much to share yet in the form of models anyway. I can imagine people being skittish about that. But sharing knowledge is always ok.

All this stuff does take a lot of time though, and so will explaining things. I have to pace myself.

I don't really see myself as a 'developer'. More as a "fixer of stuff that happens to come up". So I won't be modeling full time.

 

My next big project target btw (only an idea, no actual progress yet at all) is a barn/hangar that has an opening door. (maybe responding to a certain nav or com frequency.

Some intermediate idea's:

-On a shape, add more then one texture. Cube with different sides.

-make a more complex shape in gmax,

-make a complex shape in Blender, and get the texture mapped on it correctly.

-make a model that consists of more then one part.

 

looking at that list, and concidering all the other stuff I have to do, this could well take me more then a month though. Modeling takes a lot of time, and 5 mins here or there is not enough. I really need to be avle to sit down to it for a few continous hours to get anywhere.

 

Thanks for the advice. If I make any progress or have questions I'll post.

All sounds good! your name?-

 

It is always a great advantage to separate your bgls In ADE when you compile.

 

Ground polys- This is in ADE - newer versions- where you can add polygons on the ground th at will not flicker ... they stay on the ground at airport EL and do not flicker as you gain altitude. You do have to watch it when drawing. A ground poly you draw will draw right over the top of taxiways and all else.

 

Asking users to go find this or that library is how we used to HAVE to do it. We haven't had to do that for a few years now.

 

consider this question- Let us say you used 3 models out of a library that has 136 models in it. Why would we ask a user to go install a 136 model library when ONLY 3 models were used out of that library?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?????

 

In ModelConverterX you can pick and choose the models you want and pout them in your own library. This library you make sure is in your scenery sub-folder of our active scenery!! One step.... all done!

 

copyright is no problem unless you use someone else's model (not to worry about models in FSX. Everyone has those).

 

If you use someone else's models... email them and ask. If it is not for pay ware 99% of the time the developer will say yes... just give him the kudos for it. I've done this for years now.

 

IS3- To restate this.... NO you do not have separate bgl's for each model. I have libraries I have made with one or two or three items in it. I have made libraries with 140+ items. Each library you make holds the models.

 

You put this library you make into the scenery sub-folder of your airport.... You put the bmps (textures0 into the corresponding texture folder!!!

 

VERY IMPORTANT TIP_ stay out of putting things into Addonscenery\scenery except for testing purposes or you have made a tool you use but never upload.

 

HANGARS WITH OPENING DOORS- Yes- at least two different ways to do this.... radio freq operated or proximity operated. I like proximity operated... that way I don't have to figure out the codes to choose the right radio freq.

 

This means when the user gets close enough - the doors open. When he gets far enough away- the doors close. You control the distances for this when you work on it.

 

WHAT YOU MUST DO FOR THIS-

1. Get Arno's C.A.T. tool

2. Follow his tutorial. I have it if you want it.

3. Make you hangar IN MAKEMDL mode. (I am sure Gmax can compile as makemdl if you switch in options) This WILL NOT WORK in xtomdl mode!!!

4. compile your hangar after you have animated the doors and tweaked them with CAT.

5. Put this mdl into a folder away from any models made with xtomdl otherwise you will have a hell of a time placing it right!

 

EXPLAINATIOIN- All liberties you make with models made with xtomdl are in one library. All models made with makemdl go in their own library with NO xtomdl items!

 

PHOTOREAL- Missing out on a lot of easy fun!! :) It's a kick in the pants to do!

 

Follow this rule- You give yourself 1 or maybe 2 hours of this stuff. When the time is up.... stop. do real world stuff, go fishing, beat up the kids! hahaha.

but set some time aside for yourself in all this.

 

Ask questions. We are all here to help. Asking me or someone else saves you much time and headache.

 

All of the above I can help out with. It will make things go easier and faster.

 

question- after you compile your model in Gmax, how do you go get the textures to put into your texture sub-folder of your scenery? I am sure there is an easy way. In FSDS there is a simple process which put all the textures you used in making a model into one folder. You then easily copy all those into your texture -sub folder!!! Now you not have to go find each and every one you used! Time-consuming.

 

Any questions on any of this, let me know. Bob

Asking users to go find this or that library is how we used to HAVE to do it. We haven't had to do that for a few years now.

 

consider this question- Let us say you used 3 models out of a library that has 136 models in it. Why would we ask a user to go install a 136 model library when ONLY 3 models were used out of that library?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?????

 

A simple reason why I disagree with this is that when you use that same model in 10 different addons I end up with 10 different copies of the same textures polluting my PC.

 

Adding object libraries is a one time proposition and if that simple process is too hard for people to handle then they are destined to be frustrated with FS in general.

 

Also, most of the time models get ripped out of object libraries and reused by people who never give credit to the original creator.

 

I know this is the current trend and there are several people out there that do it, I do not like or agree with the process and have all but given up on using freeware scenery because of it.

 

My two cents worth.

 

peace,

the Bean

I understand and appreciate your point, but you are not 'polluting' your computer with texture files. If you delete a certain scenery you lose the textures in it (i.e. not being used) But adding a library with tons of models in it when you are using only 2 or 3... that is unnecessary.

The way I described is the pretty much standard nowadays. Most of we developers do this and DO give credit where credit is due. In fact I write to the fellow and ask permission whenever I can get ahold of him.

Payware scenery I do not do because I develop my own. Why shuld I pay for one when I can do it myself?

Pay ware is a real hassle. We have a friend who recently did ESGG in Sweden. He has made good money but the installer for the update does not work, pljus he was informed that users now have to pay an extra $5 Euros for each and any update. PLUS, you always have whiners who will get in close about 2 feet away and find something THEY don't like and complain about it. This is called a ticket and the developer has to correct it before anymore sales go through. You could be at this for years!

Moreover... you make your scenery as frame rate friendly as possible... with LOD, Batch drawcalling, few polys, multiple item models and it is fine... then someone comes along with one of these new planes that do everything but have babies which is extremely heavy on frame rates and your scenery is just enough to push it over the top..... GUESS WHAT?! He blames YOU!!!!

I don't need those hassles.

 

BTW- Once I wrote to some fellows in England who made a nice payware and asked for permission to use two items out of a library of theirs. They granted it to me asking me to use only those two. I complied. Very nice of them.

Adding object libraries as a one time thing.... where do you put these libraries?

The way I do it is a simple download... install one folder with the scenery and texture sub folders inside... go activate it.... done. The only caveat is if I have to add some planes I have for a traffic file I made. Maybe an effect or two. I always put my traffic files in the scenery's scenery folder rather than scenery\world\scenery.... Less for the installer to worry about.

And yes- if either rway is confusing to a user then perhaps he should find another hobby. ;) Bob

Name: il88pp

 

objectlibs. I am of the same opinion as StringBean. Tell people where to find them and let them install themselves. I don't want the hastle of asking permission to use other people's objects. And I definitely don't want to include someone's objects by accident.

If I add my own objects as well, I'll include my own objecttlib, and tell them to install it separate from the scenery.

No need to have that same objlib .bgl in each airport's /scenery folder.

 

I also prefer installing my scenery's in /Addon Scenery/

(but never in /Addon Scenery/scenery/). Each in it's own folder.

 

Personal preference I guess.

 

I learned by installing some objectlibs, and then getting the Thumbs, and eventually adding more and more to airports using the LOM. Gerat way of discovering what ADE can do I think, and not difficult at all.

Also shows how this works, and gets people interested in 'messing' with objects themselves. An easy step-up.

To come back to the first point. Easyer for the user to install a lib, then for me to ask all those developers one by one.:)

 

Thanks for the tip on opening doors. MakeMdl. For FS2004 compiled... hm. that reminds me there was some problem with opening doors in fsx I think. Something like "opening doors only work in FS9" or something.

I'll need to look into that before I start a lot of work on this and end up wasting my time.

 

:):) I'm not that good at asking questions.:) My method is more, try try try again. Stubborn. But that way if I ever figure it out I remember it. Asking and being spoon-fed the answer often means I forget just as quickly.:)

I'll try and ask if something comes up though.

 

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What I did in gmax. Two ways.

-export to .MDL

-Grab texture (.bmp file) from gmaxtexture folder, and save in one folder with model. e.g. folder: /Desktop/Ball

-open .MDL in MCX

-compile as FSX model, using "batch convert + export textures". Compiled to folder:

/Desktop/Ball/NewFolder

-Place texture in that folder too.

Create new empty folder: /Desktop/NewFolder/NewFolder

-take the created FSX model and open in MCX

-Compile, this time to FSX bgl, again using "batch convert + include texture"

-In /Desktop/NewFolder/NewFolder is where the .bgl ends up.

I add to that the texture, but first I convert it manually

The texture is .bmp file. I convert to dxt5, and flip vertically. (Else the image ends up upside down on the object.)

 

Then. Create folder: /objlib ball

with in it /scenery and /texture.

and in /scenery place the .bgl, and in /texture place the dxt5 .dds file.

Place in /Addon Scenery/

and activate in scenery library.

 

Open model in MCX. Take screenshot of it with snipping tool. Save file as GUIDnumber_ball.jpg

and place that file in ADE.

Add objlib that is now in Addon Scenery to ADE LOM.

Thumb shows up. All is well.

 

------------------

Other method found recently. While creating objlib_5_balls (for balloons at Shannon)

Create models in gmax,

convert each to fsx MDL using MCX,

placed model(s) and textures of each together in one folder.

Used LibraryCreatorXML to make a library with al objects.

for some reason this time they showed up when opening that bgl (objlib_5_balls.bgl) in mCX, even when the textures were not in the same folder as the .bgl!!

Not sure why. But didn't wonder very long. I placed the bgl in /objlib_5_balls/scenery

the folder objlib_5_balls/texture remained empty.

And all models showed up fine when placed at the airport.

 

------

Still not sure why I need to convert them to FSX MDL first in MCX. (At least, when making the .bgl with MCX I need to do that first. Maybe not if done with LibraryCreatorXML.)

I could have inadvertently have gmax set to use MakeMDL. Not sure, because I don't have much of the FS2004 SDK installed. SO I don't really see how gmax would have thought that needed to be set.

 

I think that's pretty much what I did.

Have a good one,

il.

Very good then- personal prefs. This leaves more work for the user to do. This also loads up your computer with libraries with items not used in your scenery and all those extra textures the user downloaded and installed which ALSO will not be used.

 

but I can understand the concern of others' work. BTW- if you ever need to use any of my work feel free to do so.... permission granted - just give some kudos to me (i.e. where you got them from). ;)

 

You won't include anyone's stuff by accident. ModerconverterX reminds you of this. It allows the compile regardless but your honor is yours. As I said mine is yours. I do so because it helps others, and others have help me in this respect..... Namely just a few... Sidney Schwartz... a fine designer, semi retired out of designing, John Stinstrom from MAIW who has granted me permission to use a number of things when needed. Of course these fellows get acknowledgement for this.... always. There are many others as well.

 

Kudos to ya for each in its own folder not addonscenery\scenery.

 

 

the work you speak of with obj_5_ball seems like a lot of work to me. But ... no matter.

 

maybe MCX needed to do mdl first, then use that to add to a library of your choice. If you compile to bgl it won't know where to place itself. Actually that may become a small library in of itself and be placed that way.

 

Two best ways..... make a folder called mdl files... easy to find where you wish to put it. This can be accessed by IS3 or ADE. Open ADE tools mdls navigate to mdl folder and choose the mdl you want, save. now right click choose models and place!

 

second way open IS3's library maker, click on the green cross, nav to mdl folder, choose the mdl you want, when done save and navigate this to your active scenery folder\scenery, give it a name and save. Either way is good.

 

Anyway- hope to see you soon on Skype even String Bean if he wants to. Bob

Il88- Sorry to bother you , but I just remembered something you mentioned in ADE.

 

You said it was difficult to know what the front of the object is when placing one I ADE..

 

the trick is.... zoom in very close. Look at the yellow square. yes there is a small circle to rotate it with BUT look again... there is a very small, black dot on one side of the yellow square. THAT is the front of your object!

 

There is only one additional problem you can't get away from....

 

there is no standard in this industry as to WHAT entails the FRONT of an object! Rats!

 

Keep in mind I can help greatly with gp's (ground poly's) which are sometimes very necessary. Too complicated to explain here. The ADE pdf manual does not explain it well or even at all... can't remember. Bob