• 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:

    • Tag FS2020 specific questions with the MSFS2020 tag.
    • Questions about making 3D assets can be posted in the 3D asset design forum. Either post them in the subforum of the modelling tool you use or in the general forum if they are general.
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    • Questions about airport design can be posted in the FS2020 airport design forum. Once airport development tools have been updated for FS2020 you can post tool speciifc questions in the subforums of those tools as well of course.
    • Questions about terrain design can be posted in the FS2020 terrain design forum.
    • Questions about SimConnect can be posted in the SimConnect forum.

    Any other question that is not specific to an aspect of development or tool can be posted in the General chat forum.

    By following these guidelines we make sure that the forums remain easy to read for everybody and also that the right people can find your post to answer it.

Hello and Greetings!

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Hello!

Gabriel Theodoulos here. My friends callo me Gabe, Gabby, or even one or two refer to me as Uncle Gabe!

I'm 52 years old and retired. While waiting for Star Citizen to come out, my friends drew me into the flight sim community, and boy, am I hooked. I love flying FSEconomy and Air Hauler 2. And now, I'm eager to dabble in modding planes.

It's incredible what you can find online for free. One site (Sim Out House) has one gentleman Milton Shupe, who has done a fantastic job on many craft.

I have stumbled across one or two aircraft though that are egregious. I heard they were most likely ported from an earlier version of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

One example that has caught my eye is a Howard DGA-15
3yXE2f8.jpg


9SUkFD4.jpg


aO9Fc1U.jpg


As you can see, the graphics leaves much to be desired.

Now, I don't have a lot of resources or skills, but one commodity I do have is TIME (hey! I'm retired!).

Is there a way I could improve the textures and graphics of this plane?

I was told by a friend that you folks here would know.

Thanks!





If you see me online, stop by and say hi! I'm always glad to chat.
 
Gabe you picked a real winner over Star Citizen. Great discovery of Milton Shupe's work too, however, it looks pretty good to me, considering. You are probably comparing it to models like those on this page:
http://www.lionheartcreations.com/LHC_Classics_Fleet.html
The developer of these models does not simply dabble, he goes to great lengths to create rich and immersive detail. I am sure he will tell you that it takes an extreme level of dedication to get to the point of being able to create such beauties and he may or may not be willing to share some tips, he's a regular contributor here and seems very supportive of new work, so, that would be your in. He might want you to start over, because the free model by Milton Shupe is merely a shadow of what is possible and nothing of it would remain in the end anyway.
To give you an idea of the learning curve, you could check the models in the links in my sig. It's been about three years now and they are pretty decent, if I do say so, but nothing like those on the linked page and barely about even in visual quality with the freeware Howard.
So that's my advice, start something. Many will gladly contribute idea's and this is easier for developers when they are not talking about modifying another developer's work.
 
The model of the Hughes you show is rather crude by today's standards. The instrumentation in the cockpit is just painted on a flat background. The flight controls are built with too few polygons to give a smooth shape. The join between undercarriage and fuselage is poorly done and there is a hole in the wing/windscreen cutout. The fairing between wing and struts is poorly mapped leaving gaps in the paintwork. Oh, and the fuselage appears to be cut from 2" thick stock and possibly weighs tons.

That's not to say the model should be binned never to see the sun again because only those who have tried to build one really know how easy it isn't, and the modeller has actually got it flying in FS which is more than many beginners manage.

Instead of trying to improve a crude model with better paint, you could tackle learning to model yourself. Milton has done several tutorial series which have launched many on a modelling path, myself included. You can be sure that spare time will be fully occupied getting to grips with that!
 
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I don't want to come across as "dissing" the modder who put this DGA-15 together. I'm sure he did a great job for an earlier flight sim.

I was (ignorantly?) thinking that all this needed was some TLC on the interior bitmaps. I'll look into Milton Shupe's tutorials and see if I can find them.

Thanks!

ADDENDUM - Have just found Milton Shupe's tutorials on GMax. This is exactly what I need. Thanks!
 
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Gabe, I'm going to tell you one more thing. This modelling stuff can be ADDICTIVE. You may find yourself doing nothing else. One more thing. Rome wasn't built in a day. Take time to learn and enjoy the process along the way.
 
The moment Star Citizen hits version 1.0, you'll probably have released 500 aircraft add-ons, all modeled to the last rivet, performance within 0.00000001% of the real deal, systems simulated down to the friction within the hydraulic lines and with dust specs on the two gigabytes of plane textures.


Your best friend to get you started with everything will be the search function of the major flightsim forums and Google. It's all out there.
 
Welcome Gabe, you sound like someone I would enjoy chatting with.
You are now in the realm of the pioneers of FS development and some of the most knowledgeable people on the subject.
If you persist in this endeavor I can guaranty three things, mental stimulation, hair pulling frustration and sublime satisfaction.
Vintage military aircraft is my interest and I can't describe how great it felt the first time I flew one of my creations. I genuinely hope you will discover the same.
 
Hello Gabe,

welcome to the developer's world. I hope you have a strong forehead, because there's a lot of head-banging involved in the development process. :banghead:

But everything else is a lot of fun indeed. :D
 
Hello Gabe,

welcome to the developer's world. I hope you have a strong forehead, because there's a lot of head-banging involved in the development process. :banghead:

But everything else is a lot of fun indeed. :D

Yes, I am finding that out right now.

I am an absolute and complete newbie to 3d modeling. Currently, I'm going through Milton Shupe's wonderful tutorial videos, but I am feeling like a complete MORON.

:banghead:

Hats off to all who have mastered GMax!
 
I am an absolute and complete newbie to 3d modeling. Currently, I'm going through Milton Shupe's wonderful tutorial videos, but I am feeling like a complete MORON.
Let me first start by saying "Welcome Gabriel"! and I hope you will have a wonderful time learning how to model.

If you want to get started modeling in Blender, (a free 3D modeling tool and so much more):
1 - You can download my "Getting started with Blender Guide" from the FsDevelopers Resource section:
- http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/blender2fsx-toolkit-getting-started-guide.191/
It contains lots of Blender tutorials on almost every subject you can image, needed to model an aircraft.

2 - Take a look as Krispy1001 Blender2 FSX Video tutorials on Youtube over here:
- https://www.youtube.com/user/kpgamemods/search?query=blender2fsx
Kris shows - in a number of videos - how to connect a Blender model to the FSX software development kit
and learns you how export the model from Blender into Flightsimulator. A must watch!

3 - Take a look at my first Work In Progress project over here, the General Dynamics YF16
This thread shows the entire background story behind the WHY and HOW I started (Blender) modeling the General Dynamics YF16 prototype
- http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/wip-general-dynamics-“yf-16-prototype”-project.440049/
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/yf16_prototype/albums

And if you have any questions, be sure to post'm here and be prepared to learn and grow :)
 
We all felt like morons when learning since there's so much to learn, but stick at it. Having started with one tool, best to keep on with that tool but Uncle Milton is your friend: good choice!
 
Hi Ronald,

I started off with Gmax, because Milton Shupe is helping me. But I am finding GMax (an older program) to be a bit buggy on my system (Fx-8350; 32GB Ram; GTX 1070). This is really frustrating!

banghead.gif


I am slightly more familiar with Blender only because I dabbled in it a year or two ago.

How do you find Blender to work with FSX/Prepar3d modeling? Does it work as well as GMax???

Am eager to hear your opinion.



Let me first start by saying "Welcome Gabriel"! and I hope you will have a wonderful time learning how to model.

If you want to get started modeling in Blender, (a free 3D modeling tool and so much more):
1 - You can download my "Getting started with Blender Guide" from the FsDevelopers Resource section:
- http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/resources/blender2fsx-toolkit-getting-started-guide.191/
It contains lots of Blender tutorials on almost every subject you can image, needed to model an aircraft.

2 - Take a look as Krispy1001 Blender2 FSX Video tutorials on Youtube over here:
- https://www.youtube.com/user/kpgamemods/search?query=blender2fsx
Kris shows - in a number of videos - how to connect a Blender model to the FSX software development kit
and learns you how export the model from Blender into Flightsimulator. A must watch!

3 - Take a look at my first Work In Progress project over here, the General Dynamics YF16
This thread shows the entire background story behind the WHY and HOW I started (Blender) modeling the General Dynamics YF16 prototype
- http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/wip-general-dynamics-“yf-16-prototype”-project.440049/
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/yf16_prototype/albums

And if you have any questions, be sure to post'm here and be prepared to learn and grow :)
 
Hello Gabriel.
Note: I do not have any (previous) experience with Autodesk's "Gmax"

I personally find Blender "delicious" to work with since it is open, flexible, highly extendable / customizable and supported by an entire thriving and talented open-source community / forums / websites.
Yes - I agree - the initial Blender learning curve is steep (but i like it that way since Blender has lots to offer you when mastered correctly).

Fortunately (for me), "Blender" has a thriving global community and they provide are TONS of free educational videos on internet to learn from.
I've already embedded a lots of links to them in my "Getting started with Blender guide"

If you need Blender tutorials about something specific, just ask, and i'll see what I already have in my bookmarks.
 
All the serious modelling tools have a steep learning curve, it's the nature of 3D modelling. I have years with Gmax and it's a big pussycat when you finally learn enough of it – 3ds Max, which I now use, is much the same – it just took a while to get into their way of working. Blender is quite different in its ways (I have dabbled briefly) but I see enough examples of its use for FS to show it's similarly capable.

@Ronald: Max is highly customisable and very extendable with a thriving global community too. Free videos on its use litter the web.
 
All the serious modelling tools have a steep learning curve, it's the nature of 3D modelling. I have years with Gmax and it's a big pussycat when you finally learn enough of it – 3ds Max, which I now use, is much the same – it just took a while to get into their way of working. Blender is quite different in its ways (I have dabbled briefly) but I see enough examples of its use for FS to show it's similarly capable.

@Ronald: Max is highly customisable and very extendable with a thriving global community too. Free videos on its use litter the web.

I adore Milton, and I know enough GMax to know it is a great tool, but I am leaning a little bit more towards Blender.

In Blender, I know how to set up the 3-views, while GMax is currently not cooperating. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

I'm also wanting to learn Blender so I can (attempt to) place my local airports and town landmarks into the scenery, as well as make some potential toys for another game I am eagerly waiting for (I am not going to mention Star Citizen here).
 
I am an absolute and complete newbie to 3d modeling. Currently, I'm going through Milton Shupe's wonderful tutorial videos, but I am feeling like a complete MORON.

Patience my friend!!! As Tom wisely said, everyone in this hobby has felt like you (many times, I must say). First, master the 3D software tool(s) of your choice; then start simple!

With time and effort, you will be enhancing your skills and you will achieve your goals. Of course, it will depend in your own commitment, abilities and practice. Regardless of the software of your choice, all tutorials by Mr. Shupe, Krispy and Ronald's are a must and will give you incredible insight of what modeling is.

A word of advice, you can't rush this things! You will be facing a lot of study and experimentation; but please keep going one step at a time.

Remember, we will be here for you.
All the best,
Sergio.
 
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