• Which the release of FS2020 we see an explosition of activity on the forun and of course we are very happy to see this. But having all questions about FS2020 in one forum becomes a bit messy. So therefore we would like to ask you all to use the following guidelines when posting your questions:

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Blender -> FSX/P3D

Vitus

Vitus

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Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you aircraft modellers successfully switched over to Blender 2.80 and if so - how? I would really like to dive into Blender, since no other 3d software can beat its price tag. But it seems as if most users here use it for scenery creation and I find the discussion around it rather confusing - because I don't speak BGL. :rolleyes:

So is there anyone here using Blender 2.80 already and was able to export to FSX or P3D? Is anyone using Blender 2.79 and wants to switch over to 2.80? Maybe we can develop new exporting tools together...

This is something new for me, but between the annual USD 1500 for 3dsmax and learning a new tool and workflow, Blender wins.

What do you think? Anyone on board?
 
Vitus

Vitus

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I actually went through the code of the blender2fsx tool and surface-read on how to adapt plugins to 2.80. But since then there's still no solution and so I thought it might be worthwhile to create this thread.
Essentially, I'd like to gauge whether or not it's worthwhile investing time into Blender 2.80 for FSX/P3D to begin with, or if it's better to use 2.79 with working exporters, ooor stay away from Blender all together.
 
G

gfxpilot

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OK Im not a vehicle builder but I have created some buildings, and eye candy like fire trolleys that pad out the realism

I used 2.79 but didnt invest time and went to 2.8. Now Im getting to grips with it and prefer it to sketchup etc especially now Im getting the texturing together. The only issue with blender (unless some one can correct me) is that using the multiply array doesn't show in MCX or the fsx platforms - you will have to create and manually copy/paste bits. Ive tried mirroring with it for bits and it helps as a massive work saver. Ive seen some of the work done of Ac creation with blender in turbo squid etc and its pretty impressive.

Have a look at some of the sites where blender models have been posted and see what potential is.
 
Vitus

Vitus

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I'm more concerned about the exporting process from Blender 2.80 and specifically how it would work for aircraft. How do you get your models, textures, animations and visibility tags into the sim from Blender 2.80?
 
J

jacklyon

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102
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france
you must use MCX
export as obj or dae and import with MCX
and compile from MCX
is less ergonomic but it will work

Envoyé de mon SNE-LX1 en utilisant Tapatalk
 
G

gfxpilot

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unitedkingdom
Vitus said:
I'm more concerned about the exporting process from Blender 2.80 and specifically how it would work for aircraft. How do you get your models, textures, animations and visibility tags into the sim from Blender 2.80?
Click to expand...
I export to MCX regularly checking all are correct as I go, making sure nothing looks untoward. Have not had any real issue with creating the MDLs I wanted thus far.
 
Vitus

Vitus

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In your workflow, how do you attach visibility tags, animation etc. ?
 
Heretic

Heretic

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Vitus said:
In your workflow, how do you attach visibility tags, animation etc. ?
Click to expand...

Have you watched Krispy's tutorials?
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/blender-2-70-blender2fsx-tools-video-tutorials.430998/

And read the toolset's manual?
https://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=Blender2FSX_Toolset_manual

The magic in any exporter for modeling tool lies in translating the mesh, material properties and mesh tags into the standardized .x and .xanim format required by XToMDL, which will binarize it.
The biggest challenge posed by the 2.80 branch is the new handling of materials and requiring a distinction between legacy and PBR formats. The X-Plane people are also struggling with it and working on a new exporter.
However, if you do not need PBR just yet, you can simply stick with 2.79 and the current exporter.
 
Vitus

Vitus

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Hey Bjoern, I haven't seen Krispy's tutorial yet. That's quite detailed, thank you.

I think my main concern is to set up an up-to-date workflow, which supports the latest technologies.

So I take it, no one here is using Blender 2.80 yet, because of the missing tools?
 
lionheart

lionheart

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10,088
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us-arizona
Hopefully someone will get things working for it soon.

I saw last night that Blender 2.81 is nearing release if not already. He was showing the newest features it will have.

They seem to be having a ton of growth in Blender.
 
Osian

Osian

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I have Blender 2.79 installed next to 2.81 until the new tools arrive :p
 
J

jacklyon

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102
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france
To be 100% honest, i wait for the tool P3D for Blender 2.8x, but i am not impatient with this
the tests i did with 2.8x, i'm not feel very comfortably with the new interface, i'm not sure, that is better, in a P3D development looking way...
i know that is better in a 3D animation and design way, but, for the utility that we use all days in scenery development, this is less true
i will surely go to 2.8x one day
(and even most if the tool is one day available for Blender 2.8x), but i am not these days very motivated, to change my 3D design program,
and to change from 2.7 to 2.8 is near to change or 3D design program...
must relearn all again, now that i start slighty know a bit the 2.7x interface...

Why they change ALL, old interface, was not bad... ??!!
 
M

Michael2

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407
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ca-britishcolumbia
I use 2.79b for FSX and P3D. You have a working exporter and everything you need to make an aircraft for those sims.

I have spent a lot of time now using 2.81 for a new aircraft that I intend to develop for the new Microsoft Flight Simulator.

At first I found 2.8/2.81 frustrating as they changed the interface a lot, but really it only took me a few days to get used to it, and after using it for a few weeks I can see that the changes really are for the better. It also has a real time rendering option similar to what you would see in a sim or game using a modern graphics system. I think 2.8+ will be the way to go for the future, but I wouldn't use it for P3D/FSX. I don't see any obvious advantages, there is no exporter for those sims and may never be.

Finally time in 2.79 is not wasted in my opinion if your goal is at some point to move to 2.8+. The programs are basically the same in terms of what you will use to make aircraft; the principal differences are in how the interface is laid out. At first t;he change seems daunting but in reality you will adapt pretty quickly. Also, you can open 2.79 models in 2.8 so if an exporter is eventually made you could switch then. But beware, if you save in 2.8, you can't then open the file in 2.79. The compatibility only goes one way.
 
Last edited:
M

Michael2

Messages
407
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ca-britishcolumbia
On re-reading the thread, I see that some people are exporting from 2.8 to MCX and then to the sim. For a complex aircraft with many materials surely this would get pretty difficult? Also, I have found that animations and skinned meshes exported from Blender sometime don't look right in MCX.
 
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