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FSXA Rotating Beacon

tgycgijoes

tgycgijoes

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I created a scale Flight Light airport beacon in Sketchup 2016 from the real info sheet. I am creating a small airport in Elizabethtown, NC and have already created the tower but the beacon in FSX is too large and I have no idea how to scale it down, not like a building bgl can. I exported it as a DAE; imported it into MDCx and exported a 3DS file. I opened it in GMAX which I really don't how to do much even though I have tried in the past so that I can animate it and export it to FSX to attach lights in MDCx. I figured out how to rotate BUT it does not rotate around the axis like it should. HELP please. I have already tried two tutorials I Googled that did not help since they are for animating aircraft flaps or landing gear; no help. I also read a couple posts here that I found Google but they did not help doing this either.
 
Hello:

One can use the Scale tool in Sketchup to size a custom beacon before export to another 3D modeling application for animation.

Sketchup Menu > Tools > Scale

https://www.google.com/search?q=+Sk...ECoAEByAEPwAEB2gEECAEYCA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp


AFAIK, one may not re-size using the BGLComp placement parameter after Animations or Effects have already been implemented.

So, scaling would certainly need to be done before export from 3D modeling applications, and 'final' export from MCX.

Thus, one may not re-size the default FS2Kx animated airport "civilian" rotating beacon. :oops:


As you may know, Sketchup cannot create even a simple "transformation" animation in a format used by FS SDK, so most folks use:

Blender

GMAX/3DSMAX

FSDS


NOTE: Arno has a feature in ModelConverterX (aka "MCX") to add simple "transformation" type animations ...including rotation. :wizard:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/hierarchy-editor-change-animations.442297/




I have not yet studied animations in sufficient detail that I would presume to advise someone on how to implement them.

Here's hoping someone here offers you help in GMAX, although the trend now seems toward use of Blender to do these things. :)


You might be surprised at how simple Flying Theston makes the process look when animating a rotating airport beacon in this video:


In that video a MSFS Exporter is used, but IIUC, maybe one could use a Blender Exporter for FSX / P3D ...rather than the one for MSFS ? :idea:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blender2p3d-fsx.447054/


Some related info on the existing FS2Kx rotating airport beacon (which actually can be placed AGL without the 'usual' support tower): ;)

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/airport-rotating-3d-beacons.451551/

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/what-features-for-version-1-50.16405/post-107493

GaryGB
 
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I need to place the beacon on a special support tower or I would use the complete tower in ADEx. I want to thank you all for trying to help but this doesn't help. Ok, I can't resize the default beacon. Kinda figured that out when there was no scale in the edit. This is for FSX NOT MSFS so the uTube doesn't help especially with Blender which I tried once and is worse to learn for an ol' guy than GMAX is.

Well, I just spent the last hour and a half in GMAX by trial and error thought that I had it and I was able to create (I thought) what I wanted but when I exported it to an FS MDL it had NO animation even though I thought I created it correctly and then the spotlight lens of green and white I THOUGHT I added were not there in MDCx either. Can someone who knows how to animate this and attach the lenses in I don't care what program as long as it is an FSX BGL when it's finished help me out and create this for me? I can attach the files I have created if you have the generosity to help me out.
 
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Perhaps some kind soul might be more receptive to helping out on this project, if we consider the statement by Didier (aka "Lagaffe") in his reply to another one of your threads last year, wherein you also asked for assistance with animation:

Lagaffe said:
Hello,
While trying to look at your problem out of curiosity, I found another method that seems faster than going through a 3DS file.

- With MCX export your model to DAE
- With Blender 2.83.17 import your DAE file by validating all available options

This will keep the pivots for each part and the empties/dummies to animate them.

If you want to have your plane under FSX/P3D install the plugin available in the resource section. For MSFS, see the other plugin.
There are many posts about Blender animations on this forum, you should be able to do your work without too much trouble.

The plus of this solution is the conservation of pivots and dummy, after that it's a piece of cake ...
I have developed on Gmax and currently on Blender and definitively I find Blender more easy to learn for a newbie :cool:
Click to expand...

IIUC, if the complex animations of an aircraft can be imported to MCX from a source such as a BGL / MDL / or other 3D model exchange format that MCX reads, one could export a Collada *.DAE from MCX that would retain the comparatively less complex "transformation"-type 'Rotation' animations from the default rotating civilian airport beacon in code that could be imported by GMAX or Blender ? :scratchch

Of course, that might be complicated by a need to scale the default rotating civilian airport beacon.

So perhaps instead of pursuing that complex undertaking, someone like Arno might explain in a more 'comprehensible' way, how to use MCX to apply a "transformation"-type 'Rotation' animation to your custom "Flight Light" rotating civilian airport beacon 3D model ? :teacher:


I would be willing to bet that most would-be helpers want to be certain they can successfully help you ...before posting a work-flow.

If you attach- or link to- your custom 3D object project source and work files, that would encourage would-be helpers to first try in the privacy of their own computers (Hmmm... is that possible here at FSDeveloper ? ;) ), to see if they can help you to achieve your goal.

It might even result in a useful tutorial being posted (for all of us to learn from) explaining how to implement their successful work-flow.


Oh, and in the end, you may just get a working custom "Flight Light" rotating civilian airport beacon 3D model. :wizard:

GaryGB
 
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GaryGB said:
Perhaps some kind soul might be more receptive to helping out on this project, if we consider the statement by Didier (aka "Lagaffe") in his reply to another one of your threads last year, wherein you also asked for assistance with animation:



IIUC, if the complex animations of an aircraft can be imported to MCX from a source such as a BGL / MDL / or other 3D model exchange format that MCX reads, one could export a Collada *.DAE from MCX that would retain the comparatively less complex "transformation"-type 'Rotation' animations from the default rotating civilian airport beacon in code that could be imported by GMAX or Blender ? :scratchch

Of course, that might be complicated by a need to scale the default rotating civilian airport beacon.

So perhaps instead of pursuing that complex undertaking, someone like Arno might explain in a more 'comprehensible' way, how to use MCX to apply a "transformation"-type 'Rotation' animation to your custom "Flight Light" rotating civilian airport beacon 3D model ? :teacher:


I would be willing to bet that most would-be helpers want to be certain they can successfully help you ...before posting a work-flow.

If you attach- or link to- your custom 3D object project source and work files, that would encourage would-be helpers to first try in the privacy of their own computers (Hmmm... is that possible here at FSDeveloper ? ;) ), to see if they can help you to achieve your goal.

It might even result in a useful tutorial being posted (for all of us to learn from) explaining how to implement their successful work-flow.


Oh, and in the end, you may just get a working custom "Flight Light" rotating civilian airport beacon 3D model. :wizard:

GaryGB
Click to expand...
Gary, thank you for taking the time and your suggestion. I am going to attach the complete work file below and hope that someone WILL look at it and be able to create it for me. Like above, I DID try hard to do it myself but though I thought it had worked it didn't and was not perfect in MDCx when I opened up the created MDL.
 
Here are all my files as Gary GB suggested I provide to look at and see if you can help me by creating a working Flight Light Beacon which will be shared for others since it is ALL my own creation as far as artwork and DAE files.
 

Attachments

After two solid days work and the excellent animation tutorial from ianztrainz that he did for a windmill, through much trial and error I created a beautiful rotating beacon from my 3ds files from MDCx. Wow! Not really!!! I exported it with the FSX exporter in GMAX with the GUID/friendly name and all the checkboxes checked and it opens up in MDCx minus one of the dds files even though they were all in GMAX and NO AMIMATION Is anyone willing to look at the attached file in GMAX PLEEEEEEEZE and see if you can attach the FSX animation for me and add the spotlights "clear and green" so that I can use this beautiful creation in FSX and I will share it online for anyone who wants it for THEIR small GA airport in FSX/P3D? I hope that someone more knowledgeable than me will complete it. I tried 3 times different ways. Below is a link to it on mediafile because "attach file" on here does not accept gmax files. I just tried following all the hints from everyone including NG4X and it just doesn't work for me. I got an animation slider that doesn't move and still missing the red dds for the beacon part though the base IS red like it should be. Again, please help me out here. It is really frustrating and discouraging to follow instructions that don't do what they are supposed to. You will see if you upload the gmax file that I CAN follow instlructions. When ACES created all the SDK's I don't feel like they wanted anyone else to know how to create so that they had "job security". Until they got laid off and shared the secrets then developers had a chance to start creating for FSX. FSX At War is a good example IMO.

GMAX file
 
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Well, I got home from evening service at church and tried 3 more times to export the beacon with animation. The beacon red.dds is still missing and notated in the errors in MDCx 1.50 I am using. The animation slider is there. When you slide it nothing happens. In the tweak animation in MDCx there are 4 ambient animations but when they are played the frames go from the 0 to 100 but the beacon does not rotate at all. I sure hope that someone with the knowledge to fix this will read lthis post and help me by opening it and exporting it from GMAX correctly so that it works like it is supposed and does in GMAX. I don't know what to do anymore. I downloaded and printed out four different people's suggestions of what to do but nothing worked for me.
 
OK I reloaded all the FSX Gamepack files from the FSX SDK to see if that was why no animation is being exported. I have read EVERY post here from EVERYBODY and still the animation is NOT exported and the texture on the beacon does not export either. Would someone please download my GMAX file above which is animated perfectly in GMAX and export it as an FSX MDL and tell me it works in YOUR MDCx on your computer. My OS Is Windows 7 64 bit and FSX is Acceleration. MDCx is Version 1.50 but I also have V1.30 and it doesn't work in either one. Please help me out here. I cannot see what I am doing wrong. I even had screenshot to follow and verified all the proper boxes were/weren't checked before exporting it.
 
When I load your 3DS object into GMAX it appears that the polygon normals are completely corrupted and will not be displayed properly.
 
tgibson said:
When I load your 3DS object into GMAX it appears that the polygon normals are completely corrupted and will not be displayed properly.
Click to expand...
I was able to properly load them and merge as well as animate it in GMAX correctly for a nice rotation. My problem as my last post is in the export. You will see above the GMAX file. Please download that and try it in GMAX and then export it as an FSX Mdl and let me know what happens when you open it in MDCx, please. Thank you for taking the time to help.
 
Tom, thank you for helping. I am attaching the complete Flight Light 80 Beacon file with the Sketchup; Collada files. If you are willing to please see what can be done with it to make it work in FSX. I was able to open the DAE in Blender which I installed (again) but I just don't undertand that at all so I uninstalled it AGAIN. If you do Blender, look at it there. It was suggested by someone to open up and work with the DAE there.

Anyway, I hope you and yours have a very Happy Thanksgiving. Its time for me to get ready so I will check this later or understandably tomorrow.
 

Attachments

I don't use Blender. Any version I import into GMAX is corrupted, so I can't do anything.

Sorry,
 
Thanks for t;rying. Did you open the GMAX file that I linked above that I created that opens and rotates is that corrupted too? Is that why it does not exdport the animation or the top texturer? I can't figure out Blender either and apparently no one else here has the time to help.
 
I know little to nothing about either 3DSMAX, the *.3DS file format, or GMAX, nor what it may- or may not- be able to import. :oops:

But I found this statement explaining Tom's concern over there not being a GMAX file in the ZIP files attached above: :alert:

tgibson said:
The main thing you will be missing in a 3DS import into GMAX is that there will be no animations - they will all have to be re-created. For scenery this isn't a big problem, but it is for aircraft.
Click to expand...

GaryGB
 
I successfully animated the beacon and posted a complete GMAX file for help above because when I try and export an FSX MDL the animation looks like it exported even the slider in MDCx slides but there is no animation of the beacon though there IS in GMAX.
 
Again, my knowledge here is limited, but generally speaking, what we have in one 3D modeling application, may- or may not- be transmissible into another 3D modeling application (or utility such as MCX), because of the limitations of the 3D model exchange format file.

In your case, you appear to be exporting a *.3DS file; Tom asserts that the animations will not be retained when *.3DS file format is used.

If you create animations in GMAX, IIUC, you should be able to save your project as a *.GMAX file, so that Tom / Arno can import the file.


Your ZIP files attached above contain a *.3DS file ...but not a *.GMAX file. ;)

IIUC, the difference is File > Save > GMAX versus File > Export 3DS ? :scratchch

[EDITED]

PS: Some things which may merit review:

https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/pimp-up-yer-gmax.437029/

https://www.google.com/search?q=Set...hUKEwjLoMnmkcr7AhU1j4kEHW_lAs4QrQIoAnoECBQQAw

[END_EDIT]

GaryGB
 
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Here is the link again to the GMAX file that is animated to see if you or Tom can open it up in GMAX; export it with the FSX Animator and then see what happens when you open up the MDL in MDCx and see if you get the same results that I do. If it OK in YOUR MDCx then it's something wrong with my computer because I reinstalled MDCx Version 1.50 from a new download.

Flight Light 80 Beacon GMAX File
 
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