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FX Tool "Do effect" not working

S

Sasa

Messages
141
Country
poland
Hi Guys,

I have been doing Effects manually in the past by editing the FX files themselves. Given the new features with dynamic lighting etc. however I would like to do some creating/editing through the FX Tool while visually seeing the effect as any normal person would do. :)

Problem is: When clicking "Do Effect" in FX Tool... nothing happens. Simply nothing changes, no effect visible anywhere. Judging from other discussions around here clicking this button should place the effect right in front of my nose, shouldn't it?

Here's some more info about the environment:
Location: Default ENSH Solvaer airport at a dark winter night. Should be perfect for some nighttime dynamic light testing. Aircraft spotlight (default Maule) works just fine there.

Not sure why, but I have an addons.cfg and DLL.XML in two folders:
C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4
C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4

Their content looks as follows:

add-ons.cfg
Code: 
[Package.0]
PATH=C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\FsDreamTeam ZurichX
TITLE=FsDreamTeam ZurichX
ACTIVE=false
REQUIRED=false
[Package.1]
PATH=C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\FsDreamTeam Addon Manager
TITLE=FsDreamTeam Addon Manager
ACTIVE=false
REQUIRED=false
[Package.2]
PATH=C:/FS_Tools/SDK/Prepar3D v4 SDK 4.0.28.21686/Modeling/Special Effects/Visual FX Tool
TITLE=Visual FX Tool
ACTIVE=true
REQUIRED=false

ddl.xml
Code: 
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AceXML" version="3,0" id="dll">
    <Descr>AceXML Document</Descr>
    <Filename>dll.xml</Filename>
</SimBase.Document>

<Launch.Addon>
<Name>Special Effects Tool</Name>
<Disabled>False</Disabled>
<Path>C:\FS_Tools\SDK\Prepar3D v4 SDK 4.0.28.21686\Modeling\Special Effects\Visual FX Tool\visualfxtool.dll</Path>
</Launch.Addon>

The code addition in the ddl.xml is not mentioned in the SDK documentation. I did this manually after reading this thread to see if that solves my problem (it didn't).

Any ideas?

Bests,
Sascha
 
Addition: I tried clicking "Do Effect" after loading Avalon_fx_Apron_light.fx (as recommended elsewhere as a good basis for an apron light) and other effects that I know that work when placed attached to 3D model or inside a BGLComp XML file.
 
The "do effect" button triggers the effect at the center of the model. Try moving X and y sliders very little, say to numerical value 1 or 2 and this should place the effect just outside the user vehicle. Alternatively you can use something like ORBX Bob which has no model and see the effect at the "object" center.
The effect tool is buggy and moving the effect origin does not stay consistent sometimes. You will have to reopen the tool if you have relocated the effect once and need to do it again.
 
=rk= said:
The "do effect" button triggers the effect at the center of the model. Try moving X and y sliders very little, say to numerical value 1 or 2 and this should place the effect just outside the user vehicle. Alternatively you can use something like ORBX Bob which has no model and see the effect at the "object" center.
The effect tool is buggy and moving the effect origin does not stay consistent sometimes. You will have to reopen the tool if you have relocated the effect once and need to do it again.
Click to expand...

You mean the XY sliders on the top left? No change. Of course I also tried slewing around a bit - there's simply nothing there.
When I check "show location", P3D crashes to desktop without an error message. I guess this is not happening for you?

Bests,
Sascha
 
No. You need to pick a simple effect, like fx_navred.fx. Slewing won't help you see your taillight, for example, the distance from the origin in the sliders is the distance from the model center. If you have a bubble type cockpit, like on a helicopter, you will be able to see the reflection of the fx_navred.fx effect on the inside of the cockpit without changing the sliders at all. The you can move x or y slightly and see the change and go from there.
 
Thank you for trying to help out here, Rick!

I reinstalled everything from scratch now, including the ProgramData and UserData\AppData\Roaming\ folders or Prepar3D and the SDK.
It's working perfectly now - not sure what's been causing the problem in my previous installation.
 
Hi guys, i have read about this tool, installed the Visual Fx Tool folder in the addons (docs), activated the addon upon entering p3d, and once i start the tool in a scenery, loaded any effects (startingt with the fire that comes with the default tool) and p3d crashes... cant seem to find anything wrong in the error log.
Have you guys encountered this problem before?
thanks!!
Javier
 
Hello:

First, eliminate any "Forward-slash substituted for Back-slash ...backlash" due to incorrect OS "path" delimiter characters.

FYI: Forward-slash and Back-slash characters are NOT interchangeable in File / Folder (aka "directory") 'Paths': :pushpin:

[Package.2]
PATH=C:/FS_Tools/SDK/Prepar3D v4 SDK 4.0.28.21686/Modeling/Special Effects/Visual FX Tool <-- WRONG ! :yikes:

...must instead be:

[Package.2]
PATH=C:\FS_Tools\SDK\Prepar3D v4 SDK 4.0.28.21686\Modeling\Special Effects\Visual FX Tool

GaryGB
 
Javier, I started to get the crash, then remembered the dll.xml was referencing the version in 4.3 sdk and client was on 4.4. pointing to the correct sdk version for client solved it.
 
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