• 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.
    • Questions about aircraft design can be posted in the Aircraft design forum
    • 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.

Novice Needing Help

Z

ZetaBoy

Messages
11
Country
us-washington
Hi folks-

I'm new to the development add-on thing...I want to learn how to create my own craft for FSX but quite frankly, I can't find anything that has a clear, concise, step-by-step approach for the layman.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback. I look forward to any responses. Thank you!
 
Welcome to the fun:D

There are numerous places to get information. It all depends on what you want to do. I suggest you start by reviewing the SDK. It's dry and will put you to sleep, but shows alot of what can be acomplished.

Pick a "thing" you want to do like terrain, scenery, effects, missions aircraft/guages.

Understand XML - just the basics.

You must have the Deluxe version of FSX to get ths SDK. Otherwise download FS2004 version.

Search the wiki here for information.

Many other sites have forums and tips and tutorials.

What I did when I started was to create some terrain using Canadian CDED data. Worked out quite nicely. I then moved over to GMAX to create scenery. Just small building etc.

Two of my favorite sites for tutorials are:

http://www.windowlight.co.nz/design.html

http://www.freeflightdesign.com/

For information on the technical stuff of air files.
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/hsors/index.html

Then DO THE GMAX TUTORIAL that you download from turbosquid. It may seem strange to do the character and game level tutorial, but you will use all the things they teach you there, so that you can work with more complex scenery and building your own aircraft.

After playing around, you come back here post a question and keep plugging away. I suggest scenery first because GMAX is very frustrating and getting scenery to work is easier than starting with an aircraft right away.
 
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Thank you! That was very helpful. I should mention my current situation. I have 3DMAX and have modeled a UFO (below) that I would very much like to fly in FSX. I've saved the model as a .3ds file and that's where I am at.

What program allows me to convert the model into a usuable add-on for FSX? I'm assuming I would take a random .cfg and .air file and start tweaking it until it acts somewhat like a craft?

This would be my trainer if you will. Once I get familiar with development I will attempt to make it just like I envision it to fly...
 

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