• Which the release of FS2020 we see an explosition of activity on the forun and of course we are very happy to see this. But having all questions about FS2020 in one forum becomes a bit messy. So therefore we would like to ask you all to use the following guidelines when posting your questions:

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FSXA Blackfin Sailfish (1930s Racer)

He should be: he'll be the first one to know if it's working right when the time comes . . . . !
 
And now a dreaded question: what is the ACTUAL poly limit for FSX when exporting from 3DS Max? I thought I read 65k somewhere, and that seems extremely low considering that it was that way with FS8 . . . and I am approaching 65k without any LODs or the proper propeller work. Is this something I should be worried about? If so, this project might be in trouble . . .
 
No worries about poly count in FSX but you have to watch for vertex draw calls with your textures. Your not there yet so don't worry about that either.
 
LockeFP said:
And now a dreaded question: what is the ACTUAL poly limit for FSX when exporting from 3DS Max? I thought I read 65k somewhere, and that seems extremely low considering that it was that way with FS8 . . . and I am approaching 65k without any LODs or the proper propeller work. Is this something I should be worried about? If so, this project might be in trouble . . .
Click to expand...

Hi Travis!

The 65K limit has to do with vets per texture sheet. If you run into this problem all you have to do is make a new material, assign the texture sheet to the new material and then apply the new material to the objects that put you over your vert quota.

Thanks, Kris :-)
 
Here's a quick VC render. The parts aren't labeled, but you can pretty much tell what is what. The handle in the center of the panel is the gear. Just below that is a rotational switch for the flaps. The two cleats just aft of the pedals are the rudder trim and there will be a resistance knob and modeled indicators for all trim components. Obviously switches are not yet modeled and I still have to construct a gauge layout. But this is basically what you will see in the VC when I'm done.

VCStart03.jpg
 
Yeah . . . there's a lot going on in this VC. I'm actually having to move things around the pilot himself just so there's room for him and all the stuff. It's getting a bit cramped, but I've got enough space (I hope;)).

I'm not DREADING the next steps of the process (animating & converting) but I am a bit apprehensive about them. For instance: my canopy is pivoted around a hinge residing (for now) on the right side of the aircraft. It's canted at a weird angle because of the contours of the airframe. However, I CAN NOT get it spin about it's personal axis for the life of me. I've tried all the tricks I know about gizmo orienting and still it confounds me. But it is an issue that resides within Max itself, I believe, and only the powers of the almighty Autodesk Knowledge Network :confused: can seem to cope with my befuddlement in these trying times. And this is only the BEGINNING of the troubles and mighty witchcraft that are a necessary to get an aircraft into FSX it seems.

But we strive on, do we not?!
 
I'm no expert on 3Ds Max but I found this on a autodesk forum:

"you click two times on the Rotate tool in the Palette, the Rotate Option window will appear. From there you can choose the coordinate system which will be used for the rotation: Global, Local, Universe.

The Local Axes System can also be modified with the tool: Palette -> Transform - Set Local Axes (it is usually hidden in the sub menu of the move pivot tool)"

And I guess what you need for the pivot is a local axis(?)
 
Well, you're not wrong . . . but I'm very familiar with the rotational tools. Normally when I rotate something and I have aligned its axis to something other than the world axis, the something will spin in the fashion I'm wanting. However, after many tries and constant bickering with my computer I have been unable to get a straight cylinder to pivot on its longitudinal axis. It's confounding me, and that is the least of my worldly problems regarding this little mess I started.
 
LockeFP said:
Well, you're not wrong . . . but I'm very familiar with the rotational tools. Normally when I rotate something and I have aligned its axis to something other than the world axis, the something will spin in the fashion I'm wanting. However, after many tries and constant bickering with my computer I have been unable to get a straight cylinder to pivot on its longitudinal axis. It's confounding me, and that is the least of my worldly problems regarding this little mess I started.
Click to expand...
This is very basic stuff so I'm a little confused about what you mean. Could you post a picture of your Max viewport with a cylinder, with select and rotate activated and a description of the problem?
 
I couldn't really show you unless I posted a video of the rotation and my internet is so slow as to not work AT ALL sometimes. I'll figure the problem out, I was just making sure I wasn't missing anything simple. It appears that somewhere in Max I have screwed up a setting or two. I'll probably end up reinstalling to see if that fixes my minor issues.

EDIT: Good news is it was something to do with the part itself, not something I did to Max. However, I still don't know what I did or why the new part works right.
 
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Well, actually, I didn't fix it. But I fudged a bit and now it works correctly, although I had to expend some extra polys in the process.

I have a new question!:p

I'm trying to model a stick shroud (the small rubber or leather cover at the very bottom) and I'm wondering how the pros would go about it. I've been experimenting with Max modifiers and I got a mesh that I really like, but I'm stuck at figuring out how to animate it. I don't want it to just rotate with the stick: I would like it to bend and move like the real thing if at all possible. Are there any tips or suggestions (or maybe even a tutorial!) that would be of use?
 
Your going to have to use bones and skinned mesh to animate the boot. There are a lot of tuts online about how to do this. You will need to know how if you want an animated pilot. I almost forgot, the tut in Max help is very good.
 
LockeFP said:
Well, actually, I didn't fix it. But I fudged a bit and now it works correctly, although I had to expend some extra polys in the process.

I have a new question!:p

I'm trying to model a stick shroud (the small rubber or leather cover at the very bottom) and I'm wondering how the pros would go about it. I've been experimenting with Max modifiers and I got a mesh that I really like, but I'm stuck at figuring out how to animate it. I don't want it to just rotate with the stick: I would like it to bend and move like the real thing if at all possible. Are there any tips or suggestions (or maybe even a tutorial!) that would be of use?
Click to expand...

Hi Travis!

First I would like to say very nice modeling on your VC. Looks very Good!!!

Yea, to animate a mesh you are going to have to use bones. I am working on a tutorial on how I made my pilot and animated it but I am not done yet. I know you are using Max, but the principle is the same. Maybe I can get the tutorial done before you start working on that part.

Kris :-)
 
Thanks Kris. A tutorial on that would be good, since I still have quite a bit to texture as well as a couple of model parts to finish out.

I'm 99% sure I won't try this, but is it theoretically possible to animate EVERYTHING a pilot would do? Reaching for knobs, dropping gear & flaps, pedal movement, etc? If that were easily done I could see putting a pilot in both the exterior and VC, just to give it that much more oomph.:p
 
How about a quick update, folks?

This is my current panel layout. If anyone sees any gauges that should be there and aren't, let me know. Also if there are any gauges that you think would be in there but aren't I would like to hear about it.
PanelLayout001.jpg
 
As I am approaching the point where I want to start converting, I have to set up the SDKs. I've read and understand the SDK notes listed on the forum here and I'm fairly sure I can do it right. However, I'm wondering which SDK version I want. Are aircraft created with the FSX-A SDK able to function on systems that only have the standard retail version?

EDIT: I installed them as per the instructions (FSX Disk 1 SDK, FSX-A Disk SDK SP1, FSX-A Disk SDK SP2/XPack) and I already have Gmax installed. I open up an MD-83 I acquired from Free Flight Design and get this error:

GmaxError.jpg
.

I'm guessing this means I did something wrong in the installation? Or did I just not place something in the modules folder that I should have?
 
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AFAIK that is true, as long as you use no Acceleration-specific FS variables or features.
 
LockeFP said:
As I am approaching the point where I want to start converting, I have to set up the SDKs. I've read and understand the SDK notes listed on the forum here and I'm fairly sure I can do it right. However, I'm wondering which SDK version I want. Are aircraft created with the FSX-A SDK able to function on systems that only have the standard retail version?

EDIT: I installed them as per the instructions (FSX Disk 1 SDK, FSX-A Disk SDK SP1, FSX-A Disk SDK SP2/XPack) and I already have Gmax installed. I open up an MD-83 I acquired from Free Flight Design and get this error:

View attachment 25500 .

I'm guessing this means I did something wrong in the installation? Or did I just not place something in the modules folder that I should have?
Click to expand...
Are you modelling in Max or gMax? If Max, depending on which version, you should use the P3D SDK. For later versions, ie 2015, you will need both v1.4 and v2.5 of the P3D SDK. For earlier versions just v1.4 will do. You will be able to install the Aces Tools and export for FSX with this setup as well as P3D if you so wish. You don't need P3D to do this and the SDKs are free to download.
 
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