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P3D v4 Prop animation speeds

Adam_WMidsUK

Adam_WMidsUK

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unitedkingdom
Hi All

I'm happy with my first attempt at modelling generally. It is a Do228-100 intended for AI use only. However, I notice that when the aircraft reaches the runway hold short, and reduces throttle to idle, the prop animation is much too slow - looking almost as if the engine had been cut.

Video link below shows this occurring.

http://www.mrbartlam.com/downloads/props.mp4

Is there any simple way to prevent this... i.e. to adjust the speed it will spin during idle? I am loathe to have to change the animation itself on all 7 LODs... I was thinking maybe the aircraft.cfg prop_anim_ratio value? But don't be able to find a value for this which does it?

Cheers

Adam
 
Heretic

Heretic

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You can alter the RPM range for the prop_slow, prop_blurred, etc... visibility conditions in the MakeMDL.xml. The change will take effect on all LODs after compiling the model.
 
tgibson

tgibson

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Hi,

That's the main problem I have with using the solid prop for prop_slow - it just doesn't look right. What I do for the slow prop is to start with the blurred prop, and cut out wedges until I have a disk with four wedges remaining, in the shape of a Maltese (or German Iron) cross (for 4 bladed props). This looks much better when the engines are at idle.

You can also use prop_anim_ratio=0.9 in each fltsim section of the aircraft.cfg file to improve things as well.

Hope this helps,
 
n4gix

n4gix

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On some I've cloned the still blades twice, rotated one of them 45º, then attached the two objects together for my _slow prop assembly. This gives the illusion of faster rotation. Sometimes cloning the _blurred disk and Linking it to the _slow assembly completes the illusion.

There are many ways to approach the problem! :stirthepo
 
Adam_WMidsUK

Adam_WMidsUK

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29
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unitedkingdom
Heretic said:
You can alter the RPM range for the prop_slow, prop_blurred, etc... visibility conditions in the MakeMDL.xml. The change will take effect on all LODs after compiling the model.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice... sounds perfect. Unfortunately I can't find a MakeMDL.xml file... I've run a search on my hard drive and not found one either. Having carried out a little research on the wiki here and online generally it seems this file is associated with FS9 / GMAX? I'm on P3d v4 and 3DS Max 2017, exporting to a .X file and then using x2Mdl.exe ... anybody know if this file still applies... or if not, which file WOULD do the same job?

Cheers

Adam
 
n4gix

n4gix

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FS9 uses the MakeMDL.xml file.

FSX/P3D uses the modeldef.xml file that is located in the ..\Prepar3D v4 SDK 4.0.28.21686\Modeling\3ds Max\bin folder of the P3D SDK.
 
Heretic

Heretic

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Sorry for the confusion. "MakeMDL" sounds much more to the point then "Modeldef" and is the first thing to pop into my mind when talking about XML anims.
 
Adam_WMidsUK

Adam_WMidsUK

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unitedkingdom
No problem Heretic.... if you hadn't have taken time to reply then I wouldn't have known in the first place to ask about it to get the clarification!

Much appreciated.

Adam
 
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