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Lights

K

kimhumphreys

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unitedkingdom
I want to create some gmax apron lights for use in an FSX scenery. I have tried the various methods that have been explained in the Forums including the Light_Nav and attach point. I have tried all the combinations but I cannot get anything to work.

Does anyone have a straightforward method for creating lights in Gmax for FSX?
 
Hi,

The special names like light_land, etc do no longer work in the FsX gamepack of GMax. I think with the FsX gamepack the only approach would be to use effects for your lights.
 
arno said:
Hi,

The special names like light_land, etc do no longer work in the FsX gamepack of GMax. I think with the FsX gamepack the only approach would be to use effects for your lights.
Click to expand...

Simply create a poly as usual, orient the normal to face "backwards," and use the Attachpoint Tool to attach fx_landing.fx to the poly. It will then work in the same fashion as the old LIGHT_LAND Material. ;)

Ideally though, you will make a copy of the fx_landing.fx and name it something like fx_apronlight.fx so you can further customize the effect to your one tastes.

You can even use the Object Placement Tool to see it in the sim immediately in action...
 
Thank you for your help.

I have followed the steps you suggest and I have managed to compile an MDL file.;)

I now have another problem - I cannot compile it into a bgl. I have tried bglcomp - no go. I have tried Arno Object placement tool - I get an error (attached0 and I have also tired Arno's library creator but get a similar error to the obj placment one.

I attach the MDl file - any ideas as to where I am going wrong?
 

Attachments

Hi,

Maybe you can post the error message you get?

I tried it here, but you object compiles without trouble. This is the XML file I used:

Code: 
<FSData version="9.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="bglcomp.xsd">

	<SceneryObject lat="40" lon="-40" alt="0M" pitch="0.0" bank="0.0" heading="0" altitudeIsAgl="TRUE" imageComplexity="NORMAL">
		<LibraryObject name="{b2e13fc5-ea25-4f30-8eb1-48e59e8d6da7}" scale="1.0"/>
	</SceneryObject>
	
	<ModelData sourceFile="light.mdl" />
	
</FSData>
 
kimhumphreys said:
Thank you for your help.

I have followed the steps you suggest and I have managed to compile an MDL file.;)
Click to expand...

Even if you were to manage compilng as a BGL file, you would "see no light," because the poly to which the .fx is attached is facing the wrong direction...

You can hardly be faulted though, because the SDK was written for Max, which uses a different coordinate system than FS uses... :eek:

GMax users need to "flip the polygon and axis" from the Max example. In your case, simply rotate the entire polygon 180º so that the "face normals" are on top. :cool:

I'm also less sanquine about how well this will work facing straight down, as the .fx seems to "project" along the axis of a planar path. In other words, at an angle.
 
Hi,

Following this tread... I see there is no longer the fact that an exclude area is the reason that no lights are displayed in FSX. Strange.

Is it possible that someone post here an illustration with a few images so that we (GMAX users) can follow step by step how to configurate the light effect on a box and how to orientatate it to the ground ? Something clear and easy to understand, please.

Best regards. José.
 
Thank you for the response.

I have sorted the compilation problem but the lights do not show in FSX.

I have tried another one using the following steps:-

1. create box

2. create poly using the spline create and then change to editable mesh

3. reverse the normal face on the poly so it faces the box

4. assign the effect fx landing I used "attach to selected geometry" rather than create a new attach point - do not know if that makes any difference.

5. I selected effect and visibility and then added the parameters DAY=0;NIGHT=1; havign read on the forum that it will only accept two.

6. tried to compile and got an error message,

7. the error message and the gmax file are attached.

8. If anyone could tell me where I am going wrong I would be grateful - the scenery will never be finished unless I can add the lights!
 

Attachments

Kim,

Don't select visibility as well as effect. Select whatever light effect you want to use and put the DAY=0;NIGHT=1 in the parameters for the fx_landing effect attachment.

JimD
 
Hi Jim,

Thank you for your response. I have done as you suggested but I get the same result.

As I have recently done a clean install of GMAX I am pretty sure that the problem isn't there.

I have looked through the SDK and the forums again and I think that the sequence set out in my previous post (subject to making the change you suggested) should work but I cannot work out why it doesn't.

Someone out there must have had success with this - surely?
 

Attachments

Kim,

This is how I do it:

1. Make a plane, or box, or whatever...this is a real piece that will show in the sim.

2.Make the poly, or whatever you will use to attach the effect...convert it to editable mesh.

3. At this point, if I'm planning on a dusk-to dawn light, I will clone the editable mesh object. So far we have 3 pieces. one object that will show in the sim, and two editable mesh objects. Let's call them Plane_01, Box_01, and Box_02. The boxes are the editable mesh.

4. Since there are two boxes occupying the same space, you may have to select the second one with the selection list. At any rate, select one of them.

5.Run the attachtool script from the FS Tools menu. Check the "Effects" box ONLY.

6. Select the proper effect to be attached, then in the parameters box, put DAY=0,NIGHT=1. Press the "attach to selected geometry" button.

7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for the other box, but put DAWN=1,DUSK=1 in the parameters box.

8. Name the file and save it. Run the LOD Name tool to assign a guid to the object (and hence the .mdl).

9. Export the file as an FSX .MDL.

At this point, I open notepad and click on FILE > Properties click the Custom tab , highlight and copy the GUID and friendly names, then save the file as friendlyname.txt. Place the .mdl, and you're ready to go.

Caveat: this may not be the best, or the way that anyone else does it, but it works for me. It was also written from my desk, that does not have GMAX installed...so I may have changed some terms due to memory lapse.

JimD

Arno, Please put the objects/files below in our "Scenery Bank" when it is revitalized.
 
Last edited:
Xml And Guid For Fsx

Hi,

I would like to test your lights in my scenery. May you post the XML code (and the FSX Guid, of course) for both objects?

Thanks in advance,

José
 
lights AGAIN!!!

After Jim's post of the 23rd April I thought I had this worked out. Jim's lights work fine when I compile the gmax file, create an mdl and then a library object using Library creator.

I could make the lights appear when saving Jim's original as something else and then changing the model.

However when I try and make soemthing from scarth, I get the following error message:-

ERROR: Failed to process part XML for part: frm-attachpt_fx_landing_0, this part will lose all custom attributes!
ERROR: Verify the attached XML data block in the modelling package!
ERROR: System.Xml.XmlException: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 1, position 188.
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ThrowInvalidChar(Int32 pos, Char invChar)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseAttributeValueSlow(Int32 curPos, Char quoteChar, NodeData attr)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseAttributes()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElement()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElementContent()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReader.Read()
at Microsoft.FlightSimulator.XToXmlLib.PartAttributes.ParseFromXML(Stream XMLStream, String PartName)
ERROR: Failed to process part XML for part: frm-attachpt_fx_landing_1, this part will lose all custom attributes!
ERROR: Verify the attached XML data block in the modelling package!
ERROR: System.Xml.XmlException: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 1, position 189.
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ThrowInvalidChar(Int32 pos, Char invChar)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseAttributeValueSlow(Int32 curPos, Char quoteChar, NodeData attr)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseAttributes()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElement()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElementContent()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReader.Read()
at Microsoft.FlightSimulator.XToXmlLib.PartAttributes.ParseFromXML(Stream XMLStream, String PartName)

The sequence for creation I have used is the same as in Jim's post.

I attach the gmax file and wonder if anyone could give me a clue as to where I am going wrong.
 

Attachments

Did you make sure to change the planes to editable mesh before you did the attachtool? I've had this same error and don't remember whether it was from that or trying to clone something that is already an attatchpoint.

JimD
 
Hi Jim,

Yes I did change the two planes to editable mesh before using the attach tool but that did not make any difference.

I cloned the parts before using the attach tool as well but that made no difference either; I then made two planes separately but again no change.

As an experiment, I took one of your lights, added a plane to the top of it, changed it to editable mesh and then used the attach tool to add an effect - a green light. It compiled and shows up in FSX.

Clearly there is something I am doign or not doing that is causing this error. I will keep trying but if your have any other ideas I would be grateful.
 
OK, Kim, I think I've got it. Make sure the attachpoint tool looks like the following pictures before pressing "attach to selected geometry". I should have been more clear...you used the quotes in the parameter boxes? If so, sorry. I went back to your file, deleted your attatch points, substituted a couple new planes, converted them, attached an effect, gave it a name/guid, and it compiled fine.

Hopefully, we've got it.

Jim

DAY=0(semi-colon)NIGHT=1

DAY and NIGHT in uppercase
Same goes for DAWN and DUSK.
 
Last edited:
Hi Jim,

My attach points did look like the two picures you posted and I could not find any quotes around the parameter boxes.

After a bit more fiddling I found that if I selected the box and the plane and chose "Export selected" then it compiled without error. Quite why this did not occure to be before I do not know...I quess it must be obvious to everyone else.

Having done that I could create any number of planes and attach effects to them but I could still not get the fx-landing to work until it occurred to me that the Z pivot needed to point downwards as suggested elsewhere on the forum.

Anyway, having done so it works.

I am grateful to you for your efforts in helping to resolve this and hope it helps others too.

Best Regards
 
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