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Gmax/FS2004 suddenly stops exporting X file

T

theFiddler

Messages
26
Greetings!

Here is a question for the nostalgically inclined or those interested in archaeology:

I am trying to make an animated scenery object for FSX, but am using the GMax/FS2004 gamepack --> makeMDL approach.
The reason being that I want that animation to be triggered (with the help of Arno's CAT tool) by a certain NAV1 frequency, and as I understand it that is not possible in pure FSX. I have done this (years) before, and thus do know the ropes.

Yesterday morning, I succeeded to get this working, to the point where I could indeed see the animated object just fine in FSX. The animation trigger (supplied by CAT) did not yet work, but that was just a first test, and I may have done something wrong there. To be solved later.

However, since yesterday afternoon I cannot even successfully export any more very simple non-animated objects from GMax with the FS2004 gamepack. Not even those same objects I had already exported successfully in the morning.

All seems to go well until the MakeMDL / Middleman (v1.2) dialog pops up.
Options "Keep files" and "Save X File" are checked.
But if I then click on "Go!", I am prompted to select an X file, and there is none. So MakeMDL simply does not proceed.
From what I read here I should never see this prompting dialog, and I did indeed not see it this in the morning when all still went well.

Apparently, the GMax export simply no longer generates an X file, so MakeMDL cannot find one and has to ask. The placement XML file is not created either. The only file I can find at that stage is a very small file with the export filename but without extension (e.g. "test5"), which contains a short string (like "0XFFFFF9A3")

The Middleman dialog says
...
C:\GMax\GAMEPA~1\FS2004\plugins\
MDLCommander Found
-xml

No Interior Model Found​

The makeMDL log reports (my bold):
mdlcommander version: 1.03
(C) Doc Moriarty - 2002
original commandline:
argv 0 :
argv 1 : -xml.x
argv 2 : -scenery
argv 3 : -KeepErrorLog
argv 4 : -Keep
argv 5 : -b
argv 6 : +savexfile
argv 7 : +batch
no special parameterfile makemdl.par found
extracting mdlcommander parameters
got parm: +savexfile
got parm: +batch
makemdl was called without inputfile
calling mkmdl with: mkmdl -xml.x -scenery -KeepErrorLog -Keep -b
created process: 6564
exiting mdlcommander with rc=0​

So, apparently it finds no X file to work with. And there is none indeed in the respective folder.
The GMax log reports nothing particular, just that it loaded a GMax file and did a job with it.

I am aware that this problem has been reported here before (many years ago), and I have made sure there is e.g no issue of wrong file extensions, etc.

After the problem started, I created a new sub-folder for FS2004 under \gamepacks for a fresh start, as described in the same post mentioned above.
But it did not help.

I also tried to export not the whole GMax scene (only one object anyway), but Selected All first, and then tried "Export Selected" (as recommended by n4gix at one point).
Did not help either.

No changes had been made to GMax or anything else between the earlier success and the current failures. (I know users always say that; I was in User Support for many years :))
At one point I accidentally started GMax with the FSX gamepack, but noticed at once and did not do anything with it. Besides, it had run before, and did not hamper the subsequent FS2004 runs.

So why would GMax with FS2004 gamepack suddenly stop to generate X and XML files?
(GMax with the FSX gamepack still exports successfully, so the program is not fundamentally broken.)

All ideas welcome and appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Martin
 
Hi,

You should not be using Middleman for a scenery object, you should be using MakeMDL directly. Perhaps you are starting GMAX with the wrong icon?
 
Thanks, Tom!

Ok, so "cut out the Middleman", is the advice. I'll certainly try that. Just that it has so far worked quite well for me... :)

Actually, what (as always) worries me more than export not working is the fact that it did work, with exactly the same objects, three hours earlier and then suddenly stopped. (After about four decades fighting computers, I ought perhaps to have learnt not to look for rational reasons, though. ;))

As to the shortcut, I was aware of that trap and carefully checked the Properties. Besides, GMax in the title bar clearly said " gmax - [FS2004 game pack]"

OK, we have a new idea as requested. Thanks again!

Cheers,
Martin

UPDATE 21.12.2017
For the record: "cutting out the Middleman" and reverting to the original MakeMDL did work indeed (don't forget to supply a working makemdl.cfg, too, as mkmdl.cfg will now be ignored.)
Export is now OK again, and animated object turns up in FSX correctly.
I still cannot get the trigger to work (a certain NAV1 freq., as set in the CAT tool); the animation runs all the time. But that is another problem.
[Update of Update: now also solved. RTFineM. ;)]

Thanks again to Tom for the help!
Martin
 
Last edited:
Hi,

Glad to help. I can't seem to get CAT working on a System 7 computer, while it worked on my old XP machine...
 
Well, FWIW, I am (now) running CAT v.1.2.11 (and everything else) on a Windows 7 box (which is probably what you mean by "System 7" ?).
I have, as always, installed it not in the default location "C:\Program Files..." but elsewhere (so as to avoid hassles with writing files), and am running it as Administrator (the usual caveats apply). No problems encountered.
Does this help?

Cheers,
Martin
 
I figured it out, it's now working OK for me too. Just had to use a different way of animating it than I thought I did.
 
Last edited:
I don't know why the old way is no longer working, but I'm glad I can still use it. :)

Happy Holidays,
 
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