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Minimize Drawcalls seems to affect FS2 render visibility

W

whitav8

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I am using MCX to convert a DAE format model to AC3D AC format for use in Aerofly FS2 (Great VR performance!). The Sketchup DAE model has many textures and I thought about using Minimize Drawcalls to merge them. It seemed to work and the model with a couple of remaining textures looks fine in the AC3D model editor - but the Aerofly FS2 rendering has all sorts of polys that are back faced (I think) and look invisible - plus there is some sort of "popping" in and out (visibility) of the polys depending on viewing angle. If I simply do not use the Minimize Drawcalls feature, and just accept the use of 30 or so separate textures, the model looks great in FS2. I was wondering if there might be a "bug"/limitation in Minimize Drawcalls or a different approach to this process. Thanks in advance. MCX is an amazing tool!

Dave W.
 
Hi Dave:

I'm wondering if what you see with MCX after applying the 'Minimize DrawCalls' function may be an issue with MCX interpretation of the multiple UVW vertices for "Smoothing Groups" as well as a type of "Multi-Texture" option that IIRC, the AC3D file format supports.

That is ultimately a technical question for Arno as the author of MCX, I suppose; but I have seen this with the intermediate use of the MCX engine in Don Grovestine's (aka "gadget's") Static Aircraft ModelMaker (aka "SAMM").

A 'smoothed' exterior aircraft body (implemented via "Smoothing Groups" which, IIUC, have an entirely different set of texture UVW vertices and 'faces') is a feature of nearly all FS aircraft that are not 'aliased' to an objectionable extent.

I have had this type of result when converting a number of aircraft that implemented "Smoothing Groups", and MCX does not seem to identify that the (2) different sets of exterior faces are present within the 3D model, and does not allow an option to delete the interior set of faces, which often produces "flickering" due to their close proximity to being 'co-planar', and therefore cause the Z-Buffer Fighting.

This puts one in the un-enviable position of having to manually delete many un-wanted faces and T-Verts. :banghead:

I'm wondering if deleting an interior set of faces (under the Smoothing Groups) is something we can now do more easily via the MCX Hierarchy Editor, and if so, how do we identify that un-wanted inner-most set of exterior faces ? :scratchch

GaryGB
 
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Hi Dave,

Would you have a picture of the effect? I can't think of a reason now why minimizing drawcalls would introduce problems.
 
Arno,
Thanks for looking into this. Here are a couple of example photos. One correct and the other using Minimize Drawcalls
s!Ah-GN1pAHAEHiRSyEjJRHnZp3gTK
 

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Could it be the texture should be flipped for AF2? For example the dome did it have a texture before or just a color?
 
FYI: Since the OP refers to a static scenery object rather than an aircraft SimObject, my reported issues are entirely different than what is now seen in the screenshots attached above.

Sorry for assuming that the OP referred to an aircraft; I'll take up the issue of MCX, SAMM and "Smoothing Group" detection and elimination of 'original' internal faces inside the 'new' faces associated with Smoothing Groups ...elsewhere, later on. ;)

GaryGB
 
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