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Step by step tutorial for SODE jetway.

jtanabodee

Resource contributor
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3,924
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thailand
Hi guys,
I think the most challenging in making an airport is to make the jetway. SODE jetway is even more difficult than the default CTRL-J jetway. I have been through a lot of difficulties and the process is long and easily to forget something. So, I am writing this tutorial to help myself to do it step by step, not to forget anything along the process. I hope you guys will have benefit from it as well.

Please read it. Any comments, criticizes are welcome. I will edit it later if there are any suggestions from you or any mistakes that you could spot on.

This tutorial is not intend to replace SODE jetway SDK. Anything that is well written SDK, I will refer to. But the tutorial will by pass the understanding how it works, confusing terms for dump, non-computer guy like me. SODE placer is well written in steps, so I will not repeat it. Just focus on how to edit XML manually. Since there are many projects that I have already made and I have the coordinate of them already. So, editing XML might be useful too.

Thanks Jeffrey for making such a good program for us. It has opened the new world to jetway animation.

Regards,
Tic
 

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Thanks Tic. I have been insisting on CTL-J and doing work arounds for sinking wheels, etc (mostly visual). I can clearly see now that to do SODE properly you absolutely have to understand how a CTL-J works.
Awesome tutorial!

David
 
Thanks David.
If you find that it is useful and you can follow it flawlessly, I would put up to WIKI, so everybody can find it easily.
 
I think I will add some more on trouble shooting questions. I found some more problems and tricks about SODE jetway. May be there will be a new version of tutorial soon.
 
Hi Tic,
Thanks for the tutorial!
I'm just a little confused about exporting the model. In the tutorial you said click "export to mdl" after run the script. I'm using 3ds max with P3D sdk and it only gives me the option to export to .x file. The "Export and LOD tool" from P3D's sdk doesn't seems to be the right place since there is no way for me to select "export skin" and "export animation". Can you tell me where should I go for the exporting?

Thanks,
Henry
 
I use Gmax. If you use 3dsmax, you need to export to X file. Then you need to convert X file to MDL by using XtoMDL. Please search for export animation from 3dsmax. If I found the link, I will post that for you later. Or you can load up the X.anim file to MCX and save it as MDL.
 
I use Gmax. If you use 3dsmax, you need to export to X file. Then you need to convert X file to MDL by using XtoMDL. Please search for export animation from 3dsmax. If I found the link, I will post that for you later.
Thanks a lot. I'll go use gmax then. I use blender for modeling so 3dmax or gmax is basically the same for me.
 
One other thing I would like to add, if you want to change the material inside the SODE jetway. You need to go back to Gmax/3dsmax and change it there. You cannot change in MCX and then save it. Since some links might broken. I did it with my glass jetway and the glass came off the jetway, even it looked fine in MCX.
 
One other thing I would like to add, if you want to change the material inside the SODE jetway. You need to go back to Gmax/3dsmax and change it there. You cannot change in MCX and then save it. Since some links might broken. I did it with my glass jetway and the glass came off the jetway, even it looked fine in MCX.

Exact same issue with CTL-J jetways. you cannot change the material on ADE the simple way...they break and won't display. Easy fix though, just load the model in 3DS/GMAX an set a new GUID/Name, then export new MDL. THEN you can change the material in ADE. Should be similar for SODE process.
 
I cannot solve the problem of wheels sink to the ground, so I quite CTRL-J jetway.
 
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