FSDS - Problems making a VC

[Elgabro]

Hi all!

I'm at my first attempt to aircraft design, and I have 2 questions about modeling virtual cockpits:
1) How can I make thick walls with FSDS? In Gmax there is a command "extrude" but it seems that in DS there is nothing similar.
2) I made a VC but I cannot see it in FS. I made the pilot.view settings but it doesn't work...

Thank you!

All the best

Gabriele

 

[JordanMoore]

1. I assume that you mean for things like fuselages, doors, etc. FSDS does not have extrude but you could take a tube and cut the middle out of it with a smaller tube using a boolean cut and end up with a similar result. However, in my opinion this sometimes leaves you with far more polys than you want, and it will create some polys that are hard to work with later. If I need something to be "thick" I will sometimes take 2 copies of the part (like a door for example) set them close together, join the parts, and then begin creating polys between their points. Whenever possilbe, I create the illusion of thickness without sacrificing polys by using clever texture art. But I prefer to create aircraft in the 20k or less poly range. Which I think is pretty low by todays standards. I find that FSDS is good for this because it forces me to think about the most efficient approach to a given visual outcome. Everyone has a different style.

2. In FSDS, did you do the VC work using the Virtual Cockpit Model? You can change models using the "Model" menu. If you add some parts to that model in FSDS, you should at least be able to see those parts when you switch to the VC view in flight simulator. Have you been able to at least get that far? Seeing the parts in VC is step one.

 

[FelixFFDS]

1. I assume that you mean for things like fuselages, doors, etc. FSDS does not have extrude but you could take a tube and cut the middle out of it with a smaller tube using a boolean cut and end up with a similar result. However, in my opinion this sometimes leaves you with far more polys than you want, and it will create some polys that are hard to work with later. If I need something to be "thick" I will sometimes take 2 copies of the part (like a door for example) set them close together, join the parts, and then begin creating polys between their points. Whenever possilbe, I create the illusion of thickness without sacrificing polys by using clever texture art. But I prefer to create aircraft in the 20k or less poly range. Which I think is pretty low by todays standards. I find that FSDS is good for this because it forces me to think about the most efficient approach to a given visual outcome. Everyone has a different style.

Jordan - excellent presentation of a modelling "philosophy". Overall, it's basically my same approach with FSDS.

2. In FSDS, did you do the VC work using the Virtual Cockpit Model? You can change models using the "Model" menu. If you add some parts to that model in FSDS, you should at least be able to see those parts when you switch to the VC view in flight simulator. Have you been able to at least get that far? Seeing the parts in VC is step one.

[/quote]
The other point is that when using the Model page/tagged as Virtual Cockpit, it is also important to set the pilot.view in the virtual cockpit. That will "set" the eye point in the aircraft.cfg

 

[Sid2009]

I have an answer

Hey guys, this is what I have found with pilot.view:

Make a small object (cylinder/sphere) and put it in the cockpit where the pilot sits in the base model (not VC model)

Call the small part pilot.view and chcek on the Reference Parts box under part properties.

Just before compiling your model chceck the box that mentions about compiling refernce parts.

Your eye position should be right in the VC view in FS9.

Check out my comments to the VC blog article in Adam Howe's excellent blog.
Sid