Need some Gmax setup help

[woody]

Hi guys need some help in setting up Gmax. other then the gamepack and makemdl what other files should I have in the plugins folder. I have heard of middle man and mdlcommander. should they also be in the plugin folder . and what do they do. thanks for any help you can give me.

woody

 

[arno]

Hi Woody,

In general the Fs2004 gamepack is enough. Just run the installer and you should be fine.

MDLCommander can be used to give you an options screen during export. For example to keep the source files (ASM) for further editing or use in other tools. But you can also supply these options by making a simple cfg file in the folder of MakeMDL. That is the method I am using now and it is probably the easiest.

MiddleMan also gives some extra options, but IMHO you don't need it. For scenery design I never saw the purpose of this tool, aircraft designers might think different about it.

 

[woody]

Gmax help

Arno
Once again thanks I will run the install program for the fs2004 gamepack am I right that it will fine Gmax and install all the stuff in the right folders. And If i dont need the other things I will not install them .I like to keep it simple if I can. Can I ask you to post a copy of your cfg file so I can look at it and see how you do it. many thanks again.


woody

 

[arno]

Hi Woody,

Yes, just point the installer to your GMax folder and then everything should be installed correct. After that you can start GMax with the Fs2004 shortcut and the exported should work.

My makemdl.cfg looks like this:

[Options]
Keep=1

 

[woody]

having trouble with the SDK

HI Arno
well I guess I did something wrong again. when I go to run the Gmax SDK I get a error message. " The configuration data for this product is corrupt, contact your support personal". I am running on a win XP computer but i have adm rights so I dont think that is it. Do i have to uninstall gmax and start over again. I even went and downloaded a new gmax sdk file just incase that was bad.

woody

 

[ablitos]

i would sugest starting over. I'll post everything you need and their website.


1. http://www4.discreet.com/gmax/
(THIS IS FOR DOWNLOADING THE LATEST VERSION OF GMAX 1.2)

2.http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/fs2004_downloads_sdk.asp (THIS IS FOR DOWNLOADING THE LATEST VERSIONS OF THE GMAX SDK AND ALSO THE MAKEMDL SDK)

3.http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...2b-b4f2-46da-b4b6-c5d7485f2b42&DisplayLang=en
(THIS IS FOR DOWNLOADING THE LATEST VERSION OF MSXML WHICH IS REQUIRED)


just follow the install directions for each one. when your done and still have problems let me know and we'll see whats missing. also, if you do get gmax going if it isnt set already that is.....you must change the unit of measure to meters....not feet.just post back on what happens

 

[woody]

go it working somehow

ablitos

I got it working by installing on one computer and then transfering it over to the other one. It is working I think. I can run the FS2004 gmax and it works that way. I guess what i need is a tutorial on what I need to do to export things into Gmax. like what files I need were. when it put the makemdl file in the FS2004 plugins folder. does it also have to be in the regular gmax plugin fold to . I guess i am just to new to this stuff. I am downloading the files that you pointed me to so I have them and maybe can understand some of this stuff. thanks for all the help and will let you know how things are progressing on intalling.

thanks
woody

 

[ablitos]

all new files go in gamepack/2004/

the plugins folder should contain...
fsmodelexp.dle
makemdl.parts
makemdl
mman
mmans
makemdl.cfg

the scripts folder should contain....
attachtool.ms
gmaxclouds.ms

any documents should go in the doc file

any textures for models used in gmax go in the texture folder

the scenes folder contains any work that was saved in gmax

if you have any more questions...dont hesitate to ask...goodluck

Dave

 

[Andrew]

Aha....!

Hi all,

I have to say MS SDK`s and all that stuff is a bit unclear. I did not know for example, that I had to click the FS2004 shortcut in the gamepack in order to get gmax going the right way. Also I could not get Attachtool to work, got a lot of BS messages I could not understand and just kept on ...

So here I found the tip about the makemdl cfg...which was not in my gamepacks/FS2004/plugins folder! So I just took the cfg from the makemdlSDK and edited it like the tip here:

[Options]
Keep=1

Now the attachtool works just fine. How did you find out? I also wonder what are "mman" and "mmans" doing in the plugins folder?

Regards,
Andrew

 

[woody]

help with gmax

Andrew
This is why I come here almost everyday just to fine out what problems other people are having. just to see if someone have asked a question that will help me also. these guys here on this fourm are some of the best people around and know this stuff and seem to be very much willing to help us newbie's with any question that we have. It may seem like a dumb question to them but to us it is a matter of getting Gmax to work or not .
I have found (i would like to say) some very nice people here. when Dave told me what i should have in what folder that helped a lot. I too didnt know that you had to open Gmax with the new shortcut that the gamepack made. as for the MMan that Dave refered to i think it is what they call Middleman. I hope that i am write. and if you look around on the net you can fine that and also mdlcommander to I think these two go hand and hand . But Arno said that you don't really need them. anyway thanks all for the help. I still have a lot to learn and a lot to ask. just have to work on it and see if i can figure it out . some of the stuff is very hard to understand. I saw a tutorial some place that said what you need and how to use it but this old mine can't remember were I saw it. and didnt bookmark it. Dumb


woody

 

[Andrew]

Hi woody,

Indeed it has been a wise decision to visit in here as often as I can, and find answers even before I ask. The Avsim forums are nice, but not enough, so now I often drop in here, and at the PTsim forums as well, and have learnt tons in a short time.

Cheers,
Andrew

 

[mkd1964]

GMAX Setup

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here. I ran accross this thread in a very timely manner. I have finally decided to try my hand at scenery design and I'm close to the same point as Andrew in getting things set up.

I've installed GMAX, and followed along with a pretty good tutorial and have created a simple building.

Now, exporting the building is where I have trouble. Here is my setup:

C:\GMAX
C:\GMAX\GAMEPACKS\fs2004\PLUGINS

Under \PLUGINS.. I have:

FSModelExp.dle
makemdl.exe
makemdl.cfg <--edited as above 'keep=1'
makemdl.parts

Now, the tutorial I'm using is primarily aimed at FS2002 and tells me that when I choose 'Export' in Gmax that the 'MakeBGL' dialog will appear. This of course, is not what I get. I get the 'MakeMDL' (that's not a surprise). But I see it flash on the screen and then disappears. (shouldn't it stay open so I can edit the Lon. and Lat. for placement?)

I'm exporting my building to: GMAX\GAMPACKS\fs2004\SCENES
(or should I export it directly to my add-on scenery folder? ..maybe it doesn't matter at this point)

I then have the following files in my SCENES folder:
(the file name of my building is 'GreyStone')

GreyStone.mdl
GreyStone.xml

So this is where I'm lost. It seems to me that the MakeMDL dialog box should not just disappear when I first export the file. I can start the MakeMDL program and navigate to the folder where my files are but then, the tab for editing the LONG. and LAT. cooridinates are greyed out. And I don't konw what the default 'X.File' means. What do I do whith that?

By the way, does it matter where I export my file at this point? Where would it usually go by default?

I have more questions, but I'll see what answers I get up to this point and try any suggestions.

Thanks for reading.. I'm only 3 days into this. I'm a total newbie.

-Michael.

 

[minula]

I feel your pain


I am about a week old at this myself!!
If one of the old hands here doesn't get back to you I'll walk you through how I do it, but I don't have a lot of experience. I found it easier not to use the lat long. settings by using rwy12 to place my scenery objects. I don't even have a makemdl.cfg. in the folder you mentioned, (and I use Library Creator XML to compile the BGL which is probably your next step) I will be curious to see how others do this; my way seems like a tedious process.


David

 

[arno]

Hi Michael,

So this is where I'm lost. It seems to me that the MakeMDL dialog box should not just disappear when I first export the file. I can start the MakeMDL program and navigate to the folder where my files are but then, the tab for editing the LONG. and LAT. cooridinates are greyed out. And I don't konw what the default 'X.File' means. What do I do whith that?

The box to enter the lat/lon is only for the Fs2002 gamepack, it has changed in the new gamepack.

As you already saw you get a XML and a MDL file. If you open the XML file in a text editor you will see that you can enter the coordinates there (you need to remove the comment around the placement code). After that you can compile the XML file with BGLComp and this will give you a BGL file you can actually use in FS.

The XML and MDL file are only intermediate files, so you don't have to place them in the scenery folder. I usually keep them in the folder where I store the source files of my projects.

Instead of placing all objects by writing their XML code manual, you can also use tools like Rwy12 or ObPlacer XML to place them with a GUI while slewing in FS.

 

[arno]

Hi David,

I found it easier not to use the lat long. settings by using rwy12 to place my scenery objects. I don't even have a makemdl.cfg. in the folder you mentioned, (and I use Library Creator XML to compile the BGL which is probably your next step) I will be curious to see how others do this; my way seems like a tedious process.

You are right taht the makemdl.cfg file is only needed if you want to tweak the object after you exported it from GMax. For example to use it in CAT. If you are happy with the options of GMax, then you don't need to keep the source files.

This is how I place my objects in general. I make two BGL files. One is the library BGL I create with Library Creator XML. I add all objects to this BGL file, but no actual placement is done in it. The second BGL file contains only the placement code and I use ObPlacer XML to make it (you can also use Rwy12 if you have added your library to Rwy12). I don't really found this a tedious process, once you know how the tools work you can add a new object to your scenery with only a few mouse clicks.

 

[Firestriker]

Mman.sys and mmans.sys are just configuration files, much like makemdl.cfg and are only used by middleman. Compile options are stored in mman.sys and mmans.sys is a list of defined locations. These are saved when you edit and "save as default" your options at runtime.

Lou

 

[mkd1964]

Gmax Setup

Arno,

Thank you very much. I havn't installed the BGLComp SDK yet but I knew I would need to. I had already read (and knew) that you must compile your .XML file with BGLComp. I just wasn't sure at what point. I will give it a go and let everyone know how it works out.

One question, since the .XML file and .MDL are intermediate, and since .XLM is the new standard, what is the .MDL file for? Are there reasons you might want to keep this file (maybe for use in other design programs or for compatability with FS2002).

David, I'd be interested in any little bits of info you find useful. Since we're bascially on the same page it would be nice to share frustrations with another newbie.

Thanks.

-Michael

 

[arno]

Hi Michael,

One question, since the .XML file and .MDL are intermediate, and since .XLM is the new standard, what is the .MDL file for? Are there reasons you might want to keep this file (maybe for use in other design programs or for compatability with FS2002).

The MDL file contains the actual object (so the real definition of the vertices, polygons, etc). The XML file is "only" used to assign a GUID to the object or to place it. So that is how the data is split between those two files.

For compatibility with Fs2002 these files are no good (actually the BGL file made with the XML/MDL file will only work in Fs2004). When you want to tweak the object, for example with MDLTweaker, it makes sense to keep the MDL file. But if you want to save some HD space you can delete them, as you can regenerate them from GMax easily.

 

[mkd1964]

Almost there..

Hi everyone..

I'm still trying but something is still wrong.

I have two questions:

I managed to succesfully compile my .XML file into a .BGL. That's good. I also know that once I move it into FS that I must start the Sim and add the scenery area (folder) to my Scenery Library.... Ok.

(Arno, I hope I'm not posting in the wrong forum.. since this thread was already going I thought I'd continue it here)

I recall reading that the texture file must be converted to 'DXT1' format. So I opened the ImageTool and on the first attempt it would not even open the file..it was in .JPG format. So I converted the file to .BMP. Then the ImageTool said that the .BMP was of the wrong dimensions (size).

It is a 'composite' texture file (.BMP); size 256x256. (Now as I'm typing this, I think I realize that is not a correct size)

Question 1: How do I convert the texture file to the correct format?
I do not see my object in FlightSim even though I'm 99% sure
that I've typed in the correct cooridinates in the .XML File.
Would an incorrect texture file keep the object from appearing?
(Yes, I've removed the comments but I'll double check that)

Question 2: I am looking at the .XML file generated from the Gmax Export and
it differs ever so slightly (nur ein bißchen) from the official
documentation from Microsoft.

The .XML file exported from Gmax does not prefix the
cooridinates with "N" or "W" but the example in the MS SDK does.
Would that make a difference? Perhapse my building is nowhere
near where I thought I placed it.

Thanks again for reading. I've learned more here in a few days than in years of hunting around the internet for little pieces of information.

-Michael.

 

[arno]

Hi Michael,

Question 1: How do I convert the texture file to the correct format? I do not see my object in FlightSim even though I'm 99% sure
that I've typed in the correct cooridinates in the .XML File. Would an incorrect texture file keep the object from appearing? (Yes, I've removed the comments but I'll double check that)

If the texture is missing the object should still show, only without a texture. So your texture is probably not the problem if you don't see anything at all.

Question 2: I am looking at the .XML file generated from the Gmax Export and it differs ever so slightly (nur ein bißchen) from the official documentation from Microsoft.

The .XML file exported from Gmax does not prefix the cooridinates with "N" or "W" but the example in the MS SDK does. Would that make a difference? Perhapse my building is nowhere near where I thought I placed it.

If you do not enter N, S, etc then north and east are positive. So it could very well be that your object is on the other side of the world (that happened to me as well the first time).

If that still does not help, can you post the XML code you use? That might give us an idea.