Beginner GMAX assistance - difficulty level - minor

[kevintampa5]

I have hit a wall. I have been using Sketchup to make my models and texture them. The process has been running pretty fast, except the texturing is limited to an invisible plane which cant be modified, as it is set on a non-editable, non-moveable grid. This is fine for solid color/texture objects, but Im getting more into where custom and different sized textures are required to make the models look real. I am going to need GMAX for this, or I could use blender, but blender support seems to be very low, maya even lower, when it comes to FlightSim uses other than XPLANE, within this forum or a couple others I frequent.

Now, I am playing more with GMAX, have some basics down, but nothing too skilled. I am a basic or novice at the moment.
I am not doing it yet, but I want to get this thing configured for use with FS, and I know there are FS2002 gmax, 2004 gmax kits available, but I do not know how to install or use these in GMAX. I have read a guide, but that left me more confused than anything. So to install the 2002 gmax kit and the 04 kit, how is this done, what files are needed, etc, etc. Anything to help a newbie-max user would be heavily appreciated.

Again, level of gmax skill, minimal at best. Im better with blender but blender support is on the low side. Need guidance on the setup for FS use.

I currently use Paint.net to create my textures, heard GIMP is good too, but Ive gotten pretty good with PDN.

PS: Ive probably posted this before somewhere, am looking for it. When I find it, I will update here. Thanks in advance

 

[Tejal Bernardo]

You will need Fs2002 or Fs2004 according your needs, to work with ground polys and Mcx you need Fs2004 sdk ( or scasm files), to work with CAt tool problaby too, and to tweak some files, just that, mostly to do things for Fs9 that will work in Fsx, keep up with Gmax it is no so bad tool and it is all set up to work with Fsx, it's true that is not any kind of support or it is very poor,very lilttle tutorials, etx, but it's no so bad.
For image editor the only thing that could make difference is that this could manage effect for night textures, effects as light effect in photshop, and that the image editor could manage allpha channels, just that.

 

[tgibson]

I don't understand your limitation in Sketchup. When texturing you can move, rotate, scale up/down, and do most of the other things you can do in GMAX. It even has a version of the GMAX UVW Unwrap (but does not include vertex by vertex texture mapping, which is only very rarely used).

Use my tutorial here to learn the basics, although other's tutorials have much more detail on the subject:

http://www.calclassic.com/sketchup_tutorial.htm

Hope this helps,

 

[kevintampa5]

I don't understand your limitation in Sketchup. When texturing you can move, rotate, scale up/down, and do most of the other things you can do in GMAX. It even has a version of the GMAX UVW Unwrap (but does not include vertex by vertex texture mapping, which is only very rarely used).

Use my tutorial here to learn the basics, although other's tutorials have much more detail on the subject:

http://www.calclassic.com/sketchup_tutorial.htm

Hope this helps,

Had no idea about this part, I must have missed it.

"6. Now we need to adjust the "mapping" of the texture on this part of the building (a "face") so it looks the way we want it. The "trick" is to select a "face" (section), apply the texture using the Paint Bucket tool, right click the face and choose Texture/Position. Then you drag it around until it is aligned properly. You can also use the little green "pin" (actually the 0 right next to it) to scale and rotate the texture on this face. For example, drag the green O to the right to "zoom in" the texture, making it larger on the building's face. If you use the green O to get it spanning the correct horizontal distance, you can then use the blue box to then get it spanning the correct vertical distance."

 

[Prosku]

I don't understand your limitation in Sketchup. When texturing you can move, rotate, scale up/down, and do most of the other things you can do in GMAX.

I have some questions for you, just for curiosity cause I dont really know:

1.- Can be added with Sketchup specular and bump textures too like GMax?
2.- Add reflections (default horizon) to a transparent model (glass) or add reflection to a texture in the desired area of a texture (alpha channel) and add personalized reflections too (cubemaps)?

Thanks. I honestly dont know about Sketchup, I´ve used only Gmax from some time.

Need guidance on the setup for FS use.

Hi, first... if you are working with FSX, you must have instaled the relevant SDK's to your FSX's update (SDK for FSX's SP2.. or SDK for FSX's SP1 or SDK for FSX Acceleration), then copy the gamepack (entire folder) in the SDKs adress:

X:\program files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Modeling SDK\"FSX_GmaxGamePack"

And paste in Gmax:

X:\gmax\gamepacks\"FSX_GmaxGamePack"

Next times when you want to work with Gmax for FSX, you must open the file inside the gamepack call it: "FSX_GMax" and NOT the "gmax.exe" in the main Gmax folder

 

[Tejal Bernardo]

Hi Prosku, not with Sketchup but with MCX , with the material editor, recently I realized of this, about cubemaps I am no so sure.

 

[tgibson]

As Bernardo states, you import the DAE file into ModelConverterX and then add all the various FSX maps that you want. You can also set the various options (reflections, etc.). Export as an FSX MDL file.