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FSX Hierarchies

Flyboy_6cm

Flyboy_6cm

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us-michigan
I remember reading that in FS9 you needed to have very specific part hierarchies in order to make things work right. Is this also true for FSX? I have also read about FSX not supporting axis driven animations. What does this mean for a noob like me?
 
Nope... Not needed if not attached via animated parts, like a door having door parts, so that the parts move with it.

Mainly because you have two totally seperate models for interior and exterior.

Some people have some rare 'needs' for a complete Hierarchy, but not everyone. I am not using one with FSX only models. Tons of my parts are all on the same front level Hierarchy.
 
lionheart said:
Some people have some rare 'needs' for a complete Hierarchy, but not everyone. I am not using one with FSX only models. Tons of my parts are all on the same front level Hierarchy.
Click to expand...

Eeek! And I thought FSX might be an advance on previous sims...
Maybe I'm just a bit formal, but I find a hierarchy useful for even just navigating to find a particular object. Or maybe I've just spent too much time building for CFS3, but if an instrument panel or landing gear needs nudging left, I'd rather everything on it moved at the same time. But then, FSX and 9 do panels differently, don't they?

Oh well, back to Reverse Polish... :o

BTW, if anyone knows of a script to print or save to file a model's parts list, I'd be obliged. I can do it via a screen capture utility and some fiddling in PSP, but a proper listing would be a boon.
 
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What I've been doing is just link all the parts to the exterior, but for something like the landing gear what I did is linked the top hinge point to the fuse, then linked everything going down to the next higher part. Now I just rotate the top of the gear and the whole thing move (Thank you captain obvious, amirite?) What I am curious about though, for the gear animation, should I just rotated the top part, or do I have to rotate each individually.
 
You only need animate the top part for extension/retraction, the other linked parts will follow along like good chaps. Lots more fun arises when you animate the oleos or have more complex retraction mechanisms. Like Piglet's Skyraider for FSX...
 
I absolutely DO use "Hierarchies" if only for the sake of ORGANIZATION!!!

Even if they are complete "dummies" (meaning a single poly)...

Code: 
exterior
   FUSELAGE PARTS
       fuselage
       vert stabilizer
   WING LEFT PARTS
       wing left
       l_aileron
       l_flap
       nav light left
   WING RIGHT PARTS
       wing right
       r_aileron
       r_flap
       nav light right
   CABIN PARTS
        et cetera
 
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I usually start with a good hierarchy that gets more and more messed up over time :tapedshut
 
hairyspin said:
Hear, hear! :teacher:
Click to expand...

I also used the "hierarchy" names for my Named Selection Sets...

Meaning that all of the parts Linked to the WING LEFT node are included in the WING LEFT named selection set.

To instantly select only those parts, I select the WING LEFT named set from the upper toolbar's sub-window, and then "Hide Unselected" or "Freeze Unselected" leaving only the WING LEFT parts visible in the Viewport...
 
I do agree that having things attached to main hierarchies is great for doing things like hiding and unhiding. As mentioned, with attaching panel bits to the panel, this will be great for when you want to work on nothing but the panel. Select all the panel bits, and select Hide Unselected, and Voilla, instantly you have only the panel before you.

Some things though I just dont organize anymore.... Lazy? hmmm... Fast...!

What is that system of hiding and unhiding that Max uses? Layers?
 
lionheart said:
What is that system of hiding and unhiding that Max uses? Layers?
Click to expand...

Yes, "Layers" is something Max does offer as another means of control, but frankly it's something I've personally never used.

Since I have to work with both Max and GMax, I tend to stick with techniques that are common to both programs, if for no other reason than to keep my confusion down to a manageable level...

...as in wondering why I can't "Rotate" a screenshot attached to an email! :D
 
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