[FSX] GMax object creation and application

[amahran]

Alright, this thread will probably be moved because I have a feeling I'm doing something wrong here, and I'll probably sound like a colossal idiot, but here goes (Please forgive me with the hate)


Can someone give me a simplified tutorial as to how to create an object in GMax and make it appear in FSX?

Tools I have:
GMAX
FSDesignStudio
SBuilderX313
ADE (Thank you very much for the EXTREMELY useful tool, Jon!)
GIMP
and no idea how to use any other than ADE

...please don't insult me for creating this thread

[arno]

Hi,

Can you give a little more information where you problem is?

Can you model the object in GMax already? Is it the exporting to a MDL that gives you trouble? Or is it the placement of that MDL in the scenery that gives you problems?

At least you will need the FSX gamepack for gamepack, since that is needed to export your object as a MDL file. It is part of the SDK. If you have this MDL I think you can import it into ADE and place it in your scenery. Another approach is to add it to a library BGL and hten use an object placement tool (like WhisPlacer) to place it.

[amahran]

Think of it this way: ABSOLUTE BEGINNER!
no experience with GMax or anything to be honest other than ADE (position objects, compile, fly). And regarding ADE, i can only use default objects and edit stock airports.
COMPLETE amateur

[Tejal Bernardo]

it's come from Godzone Virtual Flight, is for Gmaxhttp://windowlight.co.nz/store/index...52cb67ba615f06. It is not Pdf, but is very good.good luck

[amahran]

Yeah, but it assumes I know something about Gmax, which is NOTHING like my case.

Forget a "for dummies" guide, I need a "For Completely stupid idiots" guide

[n4gix]

Sadly, one cannot provide knowledge or talent by proxy, nor include it in any length of forum post, tutorial, et cetera...

You are going to have to do it the same way everyone else does, but starting at the very beginning and working your way through the GMax Help/Tutorial examples.

Those will help you learn the basic tools of GMax. Start with the first exercise, then do not move to the next lesson until you can repeat the first from memory.

WARNING: Do NOT expect to learn what you need overnight. It just ain't gonna happen.

I also highly recommend this resource:

The Stupid Idiots' Guide to starting with gMax

Although a bit dated now, it is specifically written to help folks learn how to set up and use GMax for scenery and aircraft modeling...

[Tejal Bernardo]

come on¡, well, when we begin in this matter seem all like that, anyway there is a lot of tutorial in the net, you can see what is better.above all, look for putting gamx model in fsx to see which is the process, and trying with a cube par exemple and so on.

[toprob]

Originally Posted by amahran

Yeah, but it assumes I know something about Gmax, which is NOTHING like my case.

Forget a "for dummies" guide, I need a "For Completely stupid idiots" guide

You are right; the tutorials do assume some knowledge of GMAX, but there is a good reason for that.
The only way you are going to get started with GMAX is to actually use it, so I'd suggest that you start with an hour a day for a month, just trying all the tools, and reading the manual. There are some good resources which come with GMAX, but are available as separate downloads. Have a look here.

It is not really possible to 'learn' GMAX by following a set of instructions in a tutorial, so it's up to you to figure out the best way for you to learn it. I have a friend who uses my computer quite often, for a number of reasons, but has absolutely no interest in learning the basics -- she just wants lists of instructions to follow, and she even writes these down in a notebook. If I mention that she could use Notepad or similar, she just says that's too complicated. She has no idea about how to layer windows, so she is always 'losing' things.

The result is that I need to be on hand all the time she is working on the computer -- I sit there and answer questions continually. As you can imagine, this is a hopeless situation.

She needs to understand the basics, so that she can figure things out herself. It's the same with GMAX, if you don't want to have to rely on someone to answer every question each time you get stuck. This means doing a lot of reading, learning the 'language', so that you know the correct names for tools and techniques, figuring out how to build basic shapes. Then you can move on to the FS tutorials. At this point, if there's something you don't understand you should have a good idea of where to find the answer.

Since the early days of the Windowlight tutorials, I've always recommended a good book on GMAX, and I've finally managed to shift this page to the new site -- take a look here for details.

[hcornea]

First question is "What are you wanting to do?"

eg "I want to make a simple object and get it into the sim"

Read the wiki article about setting up the Gmax gamepack:
1) start with making a simple object (eg a box) to learn how that works in Gmax
2) run it through the exporter to see if you can get it into the sim
3) work out how to make your objects more complex.

Everyone starts as a beginner, and hits problems. You WILL hit problems with the simple things above. If you don't then you are truly exceptional (or lucky or both!)

Set reasonable aims (simple models, small projects)

A developer is someone who didn't give up when things don't work the 10th time.

[chris]

Originally Posted by toprob

... I have a friend who uses my computer quite often, for a number of reasons, but has absolutely no interest in learning the basics -- she just wants lists of instructions to follow, and she even writes these down in a notebook. If I mention that she could use Notepad or similar, she just says that's too complicated. She has no idea about how to layer windows, so she is always 'losing' things.

The result is that I need to be on hand all the time she is working on the computer -- I sit there and answer questions continually. As you can imagine, this is a hopeless situation...

Good Grief! You know my ex-wife ....

[amahran]

Okay, let's say I created an object in GMax. How do I get that object to appear in a scenery file I am creating with ADE?

e.g I created the terminal building, and I want it to appear in FSX. What do I do? I have the ADE AFCAD I am creating and the terminal building in GMax.

[hcornea]

You will need to export it as a mdl file using the FSX Gamepack

You will then need to compile that model into a library using xml / bglcomp (and one of the available tools, such as Arno's Library Creator xml 2.0)

You will need to add the model to ADE's list

Then place it.

My personal preference ... I place models separately to the Airport (ADE) file, in a separate placement file.

[amahran]

yeah, all of that. I need a step by step guide

[hek293]

I think everyone's been kind enough to outline the methods you need to use to achieve this.

It takes some initiative now by your side, some studying, researching and trial&errror to get it done.

I m afraid no one can do that except yourself. Then, you can post here to seek help with more specific questions of what goes wrong or does not work as it should.

[hcornea]

Start here:

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/inde...video_tutorial

Have a try ... and come back with specific questions.

You will need to learn to be fed with a knife and fork, not a spoon!

[tgibson]

You will also need to read these:

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/inde...tion_%28FSX%29

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/inde...roubleshooting

And all these (and many other) topics can be found here:

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/inde...ircraft_Design

Hope this helps,

[n4gix]

To be perfectly honest, since admitting to piracy in the other thread, any further assistance from me has ended.

*plonk*

[hek293]

Originally Posted by n4gix

To be perfectly honest, since admitting to piracy in the other thread, any further assistance from me has ended.

*plonk*

...and from the whole forum as it appears (''banned'')

[hcornea]

Congratulations .... in my years here the moderators have erred on the side of extreme tolerance.

I am not sure of the exact reasons, but perhaps they may cause you to re-evaluate whatever it is you have done, and rectify it.

Rest assured, this is not a decision that would have taken lightly .. of that I am sure.

Bill ... I can;t find the *piracy* mention ... but that is bound to evoke strong feelings here.

[n4gix]

It appears that post has been removed/deleted, which is just as well. What's the point of doing the laundry then leaving dirty underware lying around...