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Question about Modeling

L

l33s73r

Messages
9
I really new to Aircraft Modeling.. I have done some modeling in the past for other software titles none being FS. I have been reading all that i can and searching for information along these lines but have not found any or very little. So if this has already been said anyplace please point me and that direction.

Am not sure how you would go about Converting a .mdl to .gmax and or a .gmax to a .mdl if you can even do that.. i have read some information about the Xtomdl.exe but still pretty new and dont know to much about it.. any information about how you would get the gmax model into the .mdl for use in FSX would really be helpful

Also I have read the little help html file that is in the sdk modeling and they talk about a Autodesk 3ds Max software.. How does that compare to Gmax software any suggestions on the type of modeling software for detailed aircraft modeling. To use ?

Thanks - Lêê
 
Last edited:
Hi and welcome!

Since I am also new to aircraft modelling, but have managed to master the basics (I think), I´m taking the liberty of answering your message, in a somewhat unexperienced way.

Regarding coverting a .mdl to .gmax the answer is simple - you don´t! As far as I know there is no way to convert a compiled model (.mdl) into an editable scene (.gmax). What you do is start from scratch, or go to the author and get the sourcefiles, which is rather seldom the case.
Once you have your more or less finished model, you use the FSX exporting tools (requires that you have the Deluxe edition of the sim) from the SDK (SP1 from www.fsinsider.com) along with Gmax and export the model directly to the sim.

Last - Gmax or 3ds Max. I´ve only used Gmax and it is all that you could possibly need to create FS objects, aircrafts or buildings. Workflow sees to be quite like 3ds max, but of course I can not tell for sure.

All the best

/hans
 
Thanks for the fast reply, The reason i ask for the exporting from .mdl back to .gmax is just for the simple reason i would not want someone re-editing my work and adding one thing and claiming it for there own.

Also Is the exporting tool called something along the lines of Xtomdl i have read somethings about it but kinda confusing well have to look more into it...

THANKS for the Information..... helps alot....
 
Once you have GMAX and the tools from the SDK Service Pack 1 set up correctly. exporting to MDL works through the export option of GMAX - start with a simple cube as first trial to get hands on the full process.

The main difference between GMAX and 3DS is that GMAX is limited freeware ( Microsoft paid for us ) compared to a good used car. I'm, after finishing the first designs, not aware of any limitation (but the fact that there is no known way to read the gmax sources by any other program, so if GMAX support ends with FSX, we can discard everything we have.)

There is a third option, FSDS, with a reasonable pricing. Design with FSDS is more intuitive, so while you should count for a long learning period for GMAX (3 to 6 months ), in FSDS you can have success earlier.
 
Actually, there are some methods to sort-of convert a .gmax project to a .max project, but none of them are perfect... :(

I suppose that whether it is worthwile to invest the time and effort to the conversion process depends on the level of complexity of the project. Hard-to-remodel parts would most likely be worthwhile, such as a fuselage with complex, compound curves! :coffee:

I wouldn't waste the time to convert a box, for example... :eek:
 
Thanks for the Information. Am currently reading some of the help docs with Gmax on aircraft modeling pretty new to aircraft modeling. Any ideas on how you get the correct scaling for FSX ?
 
l33s73r said:
Thanks for the Information. Am currently reading some of the help docs with Gmax on aircraft modeling pretty new to aircraft modeling. Any ideas on how you get the correct scaling for FSX ?
Click to expand...

That's the function of the System Unit Scale. As long as it's set to 1 unit = 1 meter, everything you create in Max/GMax will be to exact scale.

You can use whatever is convenient for you while modeling: decimal feet/inches, fractional feet/inches, millemeters, centimeters, meters, etc.
 
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