Blender <-> FSX MDL

[Marginal]

Here are some scripts to import and export FSX MDL models to and from Blender. Basic documentation is included.

The following FSX features are curently not supported:

• Animations
• Attach Points
• Platforms
• Some material settings

but I hope to get most of these working in the future.

Please let me know if you have any questions, problems or if you're missing a feature
(or if you can help me understand how animations are encoded in an MDL file )

[n4gix]

While I'm certain that some will applaud the export capabilities, be prepared for some possible grief over the importer...

I cannot for the life of me imagine why any modeler would need to "import" their compiled model back into Blender (or any other 3d modeling program for that matter).

[empeck]

I'm keeping fingers crossed for progress on the exporter. We do need a new freeware solution to make FSX compatible aircrafts and sceneries.

Thanks,

Mike

[arno]

Hi,

Thanks, very interesting. I just started to read more about Blender with the idea of looking for some exporting tools later.

May I ask why you decided to go for direct MDL export? I think the preferred way is to write the X file and let XtoMDL make the MDL file. This is also easier as XtoMDL can do a lot of optimizations for you.

And I agree with Bill on the MDL import functionality. That is something we should be really careful with (especially in loading it into a modelling tool), as it would allow people to steal and modify other peoples work a lot easier.

[n4gix]

Originally Posted by arno

May I ask why you decided to go for direct MDL export? I think the preferred way is to write the X file and let XtoMDL make the MDL file. This is also easier as XtoMDL can do a lot of optimizations for you.

Not to mention that by doing so, one could not use MakeMDL.parts.xml file (for FS9), or the modeldef.xml file (for FSX)...

...without which NO animations would be possible for FSX models...

[jdberg]

A blender exporter for FSX and FS9 would be great, because we actually also convert the sceneries for X-Plane and this would no longer be necessary. Blender is THE prefered tool for X-Plane.

Jörg

[Marginal]

Originally Posted by arno

May I ask why you decided to go for direct MDL export? I think the preferred way is to write the X file and let XtoMDL make the MDL file. This is also easier as XtoMDL can do a lot of optimizations for you.

Actually the exporter does save a .x file, and then invokes XToMdl on it. I was tempted to write the .MDL file directly (so removing the requirement to have the FSX SDK installed) but I haven't. So the user can hack the saved .x file and re-run XToMdl on it if they need to.

The reason that I invoke XToMdl directly rather than just leaving this step up to the user is that I suspect that most users find running command-line tools difficult, don't know how to hack the .x file, and have no wish to hack the .x file.

Originally Posted by empeck

I'd prefer blender -> .x -> xtomdl -> mdl route too.
It would be easier to make custom animations.

I intend to add support for animations. But what do you mean by "custom" animations - are there animations that you can't create using gmax and for which you have to hack the .x file?

Originally Posted by n4gix

I cannot for the life of me imagine why any modeler would need to "import" their compiled model back into Blender

If you're a modeller interested in using Blender you need some way of getting your existing models out of gamx and into Blender. You're unlikely to want to junk all your existing models and re-create them from scratch in Blender[*].

I would have written a Blender gmax importer or a gmax exporter, except for the fact that the gmax file format is undocumented and gmax appears to be deliberately crippled to discourage people from importing or exporting. So importing the .MDL file appears to be the only practical option.

I don't condone copyright infringement, but I'd point out that if people want to rip off your models they can already do so - they can use your textures and aircraft or scenery MDLs. Adding the ability to load an MDL into Blender doesn't significantly change this situation in my opinion.

Originally Posted by jdberg

A blender exporter for FSX and FS9 would be great, because we actually also convert the sceneries for X-Plane and this would no longer be necessary.

I'm the author of the Blender import/export scripts for X-Plane.


*: As an aside, I learned about the importance of providing users with ways to migrate their content from existing apps from reading an account of how Jeff Raikes, who ran the Microsoft Applications team in I think the early 90s, took on WordPerfect. In short, if you want to supplant an existing product then you have to provide ways for users to get their content out of the existing product and into your product. Ideally, and perhaps non-obviously, you should also provide users with a way of getting their content out of your product and into the existing product so that they feel that they can safely try your product without getting locked in.

[n4gix]

Originally Posted by Marginal

I intend to add support for animations. But what do you mean by "custom" animations - are there animations that you can't create using gmax and for which you have to hack the .x file?

Many animations in FS9 and ALL animations in FSX are defined in XML scripts, which is then parsed by MakeMDL.exe for FS9, and XtoMDL.exe for FSX.

Complicating matters is that the XML Schema used for FS9 is very different to the XML Schema developed for FSX, so you would have to branch your script depending on which platform the user is exporting for...

...or have two different scripts at a minimum.

In addition, an FSX model requires an ProjectName.xamim file, which together with the ProjectName.x file are parsed by XtoMDL.exe to compile the finished .mdl file.

Max/GMax simply exports animation tracks; i.e., a key-frame matrix. The conditions and all other driving information comes from the XML scripts.

For example, here is an nnn.xanim for an object with a "rudder" animation file. This file would have to be generated by your Python script (or whatever handler you pass control to). It combines data from the model's animation matrix with data from the modeldef.xml file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>
<AnimLib version="9.1">
  <Anim name="rudder_percent_key" guid="5433b2a0-0fd9-4192-8f7d-0ba36bf7191d" length="100.000000"
        type="Sim" typeParam="AutoPlay" typeParam2="rudder_percent_key">
    <AnimStream name="Rotation" id="0" partName="rudder" length="100.000000">
      <Keyframe time="0.000000" type="Quaternion" data="0.000000;0.000000;0.000000;1.000000"/>
      <Keyframe time="50.000000" type="Quaternion" data="0.000000;0.000000;0.174253;0.984701"/>
      <Keyframe time="100.000000" type="Quaternion" data="0.000000;0.000000;0.344016;0.938964"/>
    </AnimStream>
  </Anim>
</AnimLib>

Here is the associated code from the modeldef.xml file for the named animation:

<Animation name="rudder_percent_key" guid="5433b2a0-0fd9-4192-8f7d-0ba36bf7191d" length="100" type="Sim" typeParam2="rudder_percent_key" typeParam="AutoPlay" />

    <PartInfo>
        <Name>rudder_percent_key</Name>
        <AnimLength>100</AnimLength>
        <Animation>
            <Parameter>
                <Sim>
                    <Variable>RUDDER DEFLECTION PCT</Variable>
                    <Units>percent</Units>
                    <Bias>50</Bias>
                </Sim>
            </Parameter>
        </Animation>
    </PartInfo>

If you like, I can easily generate sample .x files for either FS9 or FSX (or both) for any type of animation...

...to be truly successful, your script(s) would need to replicate the .X file and .XANIM files perfectly.

[arno]

Hi,

Originally Posted by Marginal

Actually the exporter does save a .x file, and then invokes XToMdl on it. I was tempted to write the .MDL file directly (so removing the requirement to have the FSX SDK installed) but I haven't. So the user can hack the saved .x file and re-run XToMdl on it if they need to.

That is great to hear. I agree that most users will be happy that they don't have to compile the X file manual, so that is a good feature.

Originally Posted by Marginal

If you're a modeller interested in using Blender you need some way of getting your existing models out of gamx and into Blender. You're unlikely to want to junk all your existing models and re-create them from scratch in Blender[*].

I don't condone copyright infringement, but I'd point out that if people want to rip off your models they can already do so - they can use your textures and aircraft or scenery MDLs. Adding the ability to load an MDL into Blender doesn't significantly change this situation in my opinion.

I agree that in the future we would need an upgrade path to be able to edit our own work. But personally I am not sure if importing the MDL files directly is the best way. For my ModelConverterX tool I have also worked on a MDL importer, but I have not released it (yet) for these reasons.

In my opinion the copyright trouble when somebody can actually edit my model, is a lot bigger than when they just use the texture or MDL file as is.

But this is indeed a tricky point, maybe it would be a good idea to start a separate discussion about this topic.

I have been thinking about other import option that would "prove" the user actually has the source. For FS2004 MDL files you can think of importing the ASM files (I haven't seen MDL decompilers yet). Unfortunately for FSX I did not find something that could be imported and only made if you have the sources.

[BHawthorne]

Thanks for developing this conversion tool. I think this is a valuable tool toward making Blender a primary modeling utility for MSFS X for me. A few of you have mentioned concern over unethical use of the utility. I believe that it shouldn't be a deterrent to come up with utilities like this. I look at it this way..."locks keep honest people honest". It's the dishonest people that you need to worry about, not the 99% of honest people. I believe that the community is savvy enough to realize whenever someone might do a knock-off plane and call them out. There is no need to be obscure about model format or conversion utilities in that situation. It's my belief that knowledge shouldn't be hidden -- rather people should be open and helpful with what they know. Conversion utilities like this fall into that category imho. Anyways, thanks much for coming up with this converter.

[n4gix]

I think that no one has any concern whatever about the export script at all.

As for the "import script" that will take a .mdl and dissect it for use in Blender, my own testing has proven that to be a non-issue as well, simply because the resulting mish-mash-of-mesh is -for all practical purposes- pretty much useless for "casual theft" of someone's IP.

[BHawthorne]

Originally Posted by n4gix

I think that no one has any concern whatever about the export script at all.

As for the "import script" that will take a .mdl and dissect it for use in Blender, my own testing has proven that to be a non-issue as well, simply because the resulting mish-mash-of-mesh is -for all practical purposes- pretty much useless for "casual theft" of someone's IP.

That being true, it's still useful for casual reverse engineering of measurements. If someone wanted to get the base measurements for specific cockpit panels and make their own cad drawing/simpit based on that, you fall into a gray area. That in mind, it's still tons of work to pull that off even. It would just take the measurement aspect out of the work, not the making a model from scratch part. I've pondered the concept of simpit builders using this to get semi-accurate measurements (once scaled) for simpits that don't have well established dimensions. Imagine the inadvertent help something like that would provide to them for their one-off projects. Technically, that could be considered as derivative model stealing though. In that situation it would have implications outside of a virtual model into people actually using it for reference in actual physical home-brew simulators. I suppose if you legally purchased the aircraft add-on and wanted to use the model to make a simpit, to fly the model in, that might be interesting. I don't know if anyone has thought of the ethical implications of using the utility to achieve simpits, or if there are any real ethical implications for personal one-off use in this way.

[n4gix]

Frankly, the import .mdl is a wonderful diagnostic tool for helping one build uber-efficient FSX models, precisely because everything is imported "per drawcall!"

I've been using it (along with another utility program with which I'm acquainted) to optimize one of my models.

So far I've managed to reduce it from 223 drawcalls (FS9 MakeMDL compiled) to a mere FIVE drawcalls (XtoMDL compiled)...

[Jorge Antunes]

Hio, any news on the blender exporter?

[fael097]

man, blender2fsx is just what i needed, thank you SO MUCH!
but i have just a question: how to manually install it? since the installer doesn't seems to work on windows 7.
also, do i need python installed? cuz blender can't detect python installation.
thanks again.

[liser]

hi!

is there someone in here???

Well, I've been looking all over the net and it seems that Blender2FSX isn't working well.



Just wanted to confirm that.

Marginal! are you still working on this???

I've spent hours working on a model for an airport project that i'm starting, textured it, and it's not working.
Actually I could export the model with a simple material and see it in FSX, but if it's textured it doesn't work.

Blender is great software and working in gmax is painful! (IMHO) so, if I don't find how to work between blender and fsx I think i'll give up.

I hope there's a reply soon.

Thanks!

[n4gix]

GMax is nowhere near as painful as trying to get the Blender2FSX stuff working...

[liser]

is this dead??
Isn't there any workaround from blender to fsx???

[FelixFFDS]

Originally Posted by liser

is this dead??
Isn't there any workaround from blender to fsx???

Blender -> 3DS -> gmax-> FSX

will be the easiest way....