FS2004 aircraft mdl export

[arno]

If you load the aircraft.cfg file you are correct, the visibilities are retained. But if you load the MDL file instead and export that, they are not. That's what I was doing. I guess I have to get out of that habit!

Ok, I'll test that way. It should not matter I you load via cfg or mdl (I actually loaded the mdl).

 

[arno]

Anything you need me to test in the new development release?

It got some issues fixed, but not yet the main ones of the reversed animations, lights missing, etc.

 

[tgibson]

I doubt I'm doing anything different. Using the 10/28 and 11/5 versions if I:

1. Import FSX DC-6B MDL file as MDL file.
2. Export Object as FS2004 MDL file then it does not retain the visibilities, I've done it three times now. I wonder if it is something in my Options? I tried setting CollapseModelParts to True, but that made no difference.

Interestingly, if I import the MDL file the prop rotation animation looks fine. If I import the aircraft.cfg file the engine 3 and 4 prop rotation is not correct, the still prop blades are displaced.

 

[tgibson]

The stairs texture displays OK in MCX now, thanks.

 

[tgibson]

If I import the aircraft.cfg file for the FSX DC-6B, parts of the maintenance stairs are displaced in MCX. If I load the MDL file they are not.

These are parts that when the FS9 model is imported give an Undefined8 animation in the Animation Editor, and those must be fixed to be non-animated before export to FSX format or they will become displaced. The parts themselves do have an unwanted animation in GMAX and you can see the animation displayed as well in MCX. I see them lift up a bit with the animation slider. They are part of a larger animated object. I can't fix it in GMAX because it has started exporting a 100 AND 200 LOD version of user planes, for some unknown reason.

After eliminating the animation and exporting to FSX the resulting SceneGraphNodes do end up with a complex Transformation matrix in the FSX model, which might be the problem?

 

[arno]

I doubt I'm doing anything different. Using the 10/28 and 11/5 versions if I:

1. Import FSX DC-6B MDL file as MDL file.
2. Export Object as FS2004 MDL file then it does not retain the visibilities, I've done it three times now. I wonder if it is something in my Options? I tried setting CollapseModelParts to True, but that made no difference.

So you don't see the problem on your end either at this moment?

Interestingly, if I import the MDL file the prop rotation animation looks fine. If I import the aircraft.cfg file the engine 3 and 4 prop rotation is not correct, the still prop blades are displaced.

I'll try to reproduce that here as well.

 

[gapeters]

First one that won't compile for me. Attached is the error log and model maybe you can see where its going wrong...? This was using the lateset dev release but also did not work in any previous release either. Thanks

Greg

 

[tgibson]

No, I do see the problem on my end if I load the MDL file. The visibility conditions are lost.

 

[arno]

Hi,

When I import this MDL file into MCX and then export it to FS2004 aircraft MDL I get no error.

Looking at the error you get I think I have seen that before when some complexity is overran (e.g. too many vertices or triangles). Let me see if I can reproduce the error in some other way.

 

[tgibson]

There are no errors or warnings in the log, so I don't know how to help more.

 

[gapeters]

Here is the whole error message string in screenshots attached for the 787-10.

Greg

 

[arno]

Tom, quick question for you. When you add lights in GMax to a FS2004 model, do you add the lights to each LOD individually or do you only need to add them once?

 

[tgibson]

Hi,

I think if you add them to the LOD models you might need to. But I add them outside of any LOD hierarchy, and thus they shine all the time, no matter the LOD.

 

[arno]

Ok, I wonder ib which x file they end up then, as there is a x file per lod. I'll try to figure it out.

 

[tgibson]

Here is an X file generated by GMAX with landing and taxi lights outside the LODs. It only generated one X file. MDL included too. Not tested in the sim.

 

[tgibson]

Now tested in the sim (I made a new version with each LOD's cube a different color). The LOD's work and the landing and taxi lights shine at all LOD displays.

Note that the landing lights are parented to a cube (so I could add a custom visibility condition) but the taxi lights are not.

 

[tgibson]

When I load this FS2004 MDL file into MCX and export as an FS2004 MDL file, I do indeed get separate X files for each LOD. Each X file has dozens of taxi and landing lights, when the original model only has two of each. So the lights were added to every LOD model's X file.

 

[arno]

Thanks, I'll do some testing with your file.

I decided to do the separate x files as without that it didn't seem to work. Just as you can add multiple x files in makemdl. But I'll try again without.

 

[arno]

Hi Tom,

How many lights did you add in your sample X/MDL file?

When I look at the X file I think there are 4 taxi lights and 4 landing lights. Is that correct?
When I read the MDL file I get more, but that might be a bug in MCX.

 

[tgibson]

There are two of each, one on each side of the cubes. In GMAX (MakeMDL?), to create valid landing lights you must create two parent/child triangles with the correct material, color, and orientation. The two triangles are converted to a single landing light. The material name signifies it is a landing or taxi light, the color of the triangles becomes the color of the light slplash, and the orientation determines the direction of the light splash.