Creating 3D Assets for airport usage in MSFS

[stinger2k2]

If you wish to smooth your cone in Blender....

Ensure you are in object mode then select the object. Right click the object then at the top of the list shown click "shade smooth"

There are other ways too but I find this method the simplest.

Good luck
Stinger


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[Geoffb]

@stinger2k2 Thanks for the reply. Nothing seems to happen when I am in object mode and the cone is selected and I right click, "shade smooth"
I recall needing to lift the cone up to the datum mark, as now, below ground.
I need this cone to be white. So are textures needed, as I want a low kb footprint as possible, due to many of these cones needed per project.

 

[Geoffb]

And just looking again at the export system, do I have to type in the entire address for where my textures (if any) will go? I would have thought(hoped) that Blender would enable a search tool to get to the address. Last time I did the export, it some how omitted the xx.bin file, so I need to make sure I have all items entered as correct as possible.

The structure I am using for MSFS airport building for the runway cones

• Documents > myFSProjects >
• PackageDefinitions
• PackageSources > modellib

>textures
>cone

• scene

 

[stinger2k2]

Shade smooth should work without textures, assuming that you made the cone with Blender. You could also try autosmooth which is under a green button on the right hand side called "object data properties". Look under "Normals".

Assuming that your texture folder is inside your modellib folder, then when exporting you need to type "../texture/" in the Textures field that you show in your screen shot. This will tell the exporter to go back one level in your folder structure to where your texture folder is. (Hope that makes sense). Your model itself should be exported to a folder inside the modellib folder , thats why you need to tell it to go back one level to find the textures folder.

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[Geoffb]

@stinger2k2 OK, I will try the autosmooth. "../texture/"..... I will use this. I wondered how to get the exporter to know how to get to my textures folder. Thanks.

 

[stinger2k2]

@stinger2k2 OK, I will try the autosmooth. "../texture/"..... I will use this. I wondered how to get the exporter to know how to get to my textures folder. Thanks.

If you haven't already check out a series of tutorial videos on Youtube by a chap with the id " Flying Theston" He's very good to get you started.


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[Geoffb]

If you haven't already check out a series of tutorial videos on Youtube by a chap with the id " Flying Theston" He's very good to get you started.


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Yes, I often use his site for assistance. I got utterly lost with his system of file setup changing the .xml names and contents. So, I set up my file structure as previously advised and let the SDK create the xml files during the file save process. I have built several airports, well, more like airstrips in PNG, so that part is not too bad. Though that said, I notice on the console, "1 item skipped". I do not get any serious errors, and the creation and subsequent modifications seems to work great

For me, my next challenges are creating scenery and getting it into MSFS. My 'cone' problem was solved yesterday when a fellow airstrip builder put out a package of build items, including several cones of differing colours. They worked excellently.

But, I still need to be able to create items and export/import myself.

 

[stinger2k2]

Yes, I often use his site for assistance. I got utterly lost with his system of file setup changing the .xml names and contents. So, I set up my file structure as previously advised and let the SDK create the xml files during the file save process. I have built several airports, well, more like airstrips in PNG, so that part is not too bad. Though that said, I notice on the console, "1 item skipped". I do not get any serious errors, and the creation and subsequent modifications seems to work great

For me, my next challenges are creating scenery and getting it into MSFS. My 'cone' problem was solved yesterday when a fellow airstrip builder put out a package of build items, including several cones of differing colours. They worked excellently.

But, I still need to be able to create items and export/import myself.

I agree, the intial setup is a bit confusing but once you have done it a few times it becomes easier. Good luck.

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[stinger2k2]

You could always try this. It sets up the folder structure for you.

MSFS 2020 Blank Project Creator - MSFS Add-on - Flightsim.to

✓ For Microsoft Flight Simulator: Create empty frameworks for airports and scenery in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 with this handy tool. Save time on manual editing of paths and XML files by using this program...

flightsim.to

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[Geoffb]

@stinger2k2 Maybe of value, I had looked at this before! I made the habit of when I had created the working!! project file structure, I made several copies. Blank project 1 etc to make sure everything is as it should be. Then, as I use one of the blanks for a project, I create a new blank copy. Creating airports certainly demands your file creations are accurate, to stop it running off the rails.

Flightsim.to has some excellent stuff on it. One of their items that is the mainstay of my community folder additions and deletions methodology is their "MSFS Addon Linker"...amazing little program.

 

[stinger2k2]

@stinger2k2 Maybe of value, I had looked at this before! I made the habit of when I had created the working!! project file structure, I made several copies. Blank project 1 etc to make sure everything is as it should be. Then, as I use one of the blanks for a project, I create a new blank copy. Creating airports certainly demands your file creations are accurate, to stop it running off the rails.

Flightsim.to has some excellent stuff on it. One of their items that is the mainstay of my community folder additions and deletions methodology is their "MSFS Addon Linker"...amazing little program.

Yes, I use addon linker too. A great tool. It sounds like you are even more organised than me with your project setups!

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[Geoffb]

Yeah, setting up is super important, and helps with not losing things, then its a case of getting the bits inside to talk to each other...Some times the journey of discovery has hills..

 

[V-PACSimmer]

I'm starting to think Blender has a committee that vets anything logical or intuitive.

If you want a complete rundown of how to get from Sketchup to MSFS via Blender let me know. That's one thing I can do.

I thought that was the easiest part. I can export from blender into Sketchup (If I remember right) as .FBX or .OBJ. I think the easiest way to create something in Sketchup and export it over to Blender is to save it as .OBJ. To texture and Paint it, Convert to .FBX to send it to Adob SP. Move the texturing files with the MSFS2020 template. Then load the .FBX back to Blender, apply the texturing mapping you made in SP and then use the MSFS2020 Exporter to make it play right inside the game. I know this seems like a tedious and pointless workflow but I want to model in Sketchup because it seems like it can get models basic structure up a lot easier, bring it into Blender to add some finer details, clean things up and get really looking god inside Blender. Move it into Adobe SP for the paintshop and texturing. Then Finally back to Blender to package and export the final model to show up in MSFS20.

If there is an easier way to shortcut I would like to know. What I really want to know is are there any good tutorials showing how to build hangers and buildings in Sketchup for MSFS2020. I don't even need to know how it gets into MSFS I just have a hard time learning if I am not building the exact type of object I want to model. I want to have help building a Hanger in program XYZ not a hard surface Tron car moon rover. I want to have a step by step tutorial teaching how to texturize a hanger, and paint a livery in Adobe SP, not a roller Skate lol. In Sketchup, I want to see that process of the hanger being made not a house, floor plan, interior, and a picket white fence.

If anyone knows where content creators are covering this, please help direct me in that direction. If I never find it and if I ever learn. I will be the one that does it for others. lol

 

[superspud]

What I really want to know is are there any good tutorials showing how to build hangers and buildings in Sketchup for MSFS2020.

You could simply skip learning anything and do it all in a click. That's what I do much of the time.

One click hangar

One click hangar (Updated 03 OCT 2015) I've created a one click hangar creator plugin for Trimble SketchUp. This is intended to work with SketchUp 2014 and backward compatibility with SketchUp 8 or SketchUp 2013 cannot be guaranteed. This needs to go into the Sketchup plugin folder before...

www.fsdeveloper.com

You may need an older version of Sketchup than you have.

 

[=rk=]

This guy's pretty good, it's for FSX but it mostly applies to MSFS since it's just about creating the mesh. I'd add you can copy/paste the photographic ground textures onto your model to help add additional detail.

 

[V-PACSimmer]

You could simply skip learning anything and do it all in a click. That's what I do much of the time.

One click hangar

One click hangar (Updated 03 OCT 2015) I've created a one click hangar creator plugin for Trimble SketchUp. This is intended to work with SketchUp 2014 and backward compatibility with SketchUp 8 or SketchUp 2013 cannot be guaranteed. This needs to go into the Sketchup plugin folder before...

www.fsdeveloper.com

You may need an older version of Sketchup than you have.

I'll take a look at this. Thanks.

 

[V-PACSimmer]

This guy's pretty good, it's for FSX but it mostly applies to MSFS since it's just about creating the mesh. I'd add you can copy/paste the photographic ground textures onto your model to help add additional detail.

I will check him out. Thank you very much. I love your work by the way. I live in Wood Village and originally I was going to tackle KTTD and had all the pictures was ready to go and then saw that KTTD was on the happy. I was really happy either way. These two airports needed to be represented. My project is a long way from being complete but it is a labor of love. I do have another update around the corner though

 

[=rk=]

Oh wow KHIO? Very cool. You already have more downloads than the guy who's had it out for 8 months, so you must be doing something right. You can convert any assets from my FSX version at Avsim if you want. The tower might be decent, the Nike hangar is probably ok, I mean it's way off in the corner anyway. It's all probably a bit rough, it was done 10 years ago!