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FS2004 View Problems

T

Tedc

Messages
16
Country
unitedkingdom
View problems
Fs2004, Windows XP, Gmax 1.2
Following a hard drive failure I lost A Lancaster aircraft from Fs2002 and Fs2004. that I had built with Gmax1.1 a few years back
Fortunately I had saved on disc the Gmax files that I had used to construct this
aircraft along with the fs2004 cfg file
Thus I decide to create a new MDL file but this had to be done with Gmax1.2
as I had also lost Gmax 1.1 with the hard drive failure.
The problem I have is the external view only shows the upper part of the aircraft and appears to be quite distant (faint).
also the Vertual Cockpit is to far away. Changing the eyepoint dimensions in the config file has no effect whatsoever.
Doing a search through these forums it would seem I may have a stray vertex
somewhere but have had no luck in locating it. Any suggestions welcome.

Ted
 
This sounds like GMAX is not set to METERS, and thus your model is being compiled to the wrong scale. This is the System Unit Scale in the main Customize/Preferences section, not the Units Setup section (which is what determines what displays in GMAX). Try going to the view menu (if FS9) and set the distance to very far away. Is your object now visible, but large? You'll need to fix this problem.

If not, then one way to delete stray vertices:

1. Select all parts.
2. Add Edit Mesh modifier to the stack
3. Go to vertex mode.
4. Make sure that Ignore backfacing box is OFF
5. Drag the mouse across all visible parts of the plane to select all visible vertices.
6. Confirm that ALL visible vertices are selected. If not, Ctrl drag from different views until they are all selected.
7. Choose Edit/Invert selection.
8. Press the Delete key.
9. Collapse the stack.

Hope this helps,
 
Good suggestion, Tom.

There were two replies already answering the same question in the duplicate thread http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=424728 created by original poster.

Ted - it's bad form to double-post here, for obvious reasons. And it's easy to edit/delete or link to the one section that you want your replies in.
 
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Thanks Tom, Gmax was not set in Meters nor was it in the version I produced with Gmax V1. and that worked fine. When producing the MDL file it did give a warning to that effect. But it used to do this with Gmax V1 and the flight model worked fine. However I will do as you suggest.
I did also try changing the view distance in FS9 to very far away but it makes no difference. The aircraft selection menu in FS9 shows the aircraft perfectly.
Think a lot of my problem is to do with my age (76) and it is probably about two years since I have worked with Gmax, so I am quite rusty.
Will next try your detailed steps of trying to find and eliminate any rogue vertices. Thanks for that, may take me a while but I will get back to you.

Ted
 
Sorry mjahn about the double post, just not sure which area my problem was.
Will refrain from doing so in the future.

Ted
 
Hi, Eventually I found 4 stray vertexes and managed to eliminate delete them as Tom suggested but still have the same problem. Also changed the settings
to meters but this produced a massive aircraft. The view out of the cockpit window shows the aircraft on the runway threshold but the tower and spot views show it at a completely different location. Am beginning to think that a
gmax file produced in Gmax version 1.1 is not compatible with Gmax version 1.2. If I solve this problem will post the solution back here. Any other suggestions welcome.
 
I have used a lot of GMAX 1.1 files in 1.2, and they all at least compile properly, once they are set to meters.

If you end up with a huge aircraft, you need to select everything and scale it down until it is the correct size. If it is in inches currently, then when converted to meters you will need to scale it down by 0.0254 times.

Hope this helps,
 
Perhaps you have not got rid of all stray vertices.

Test #1 - unhide all parts and click View All bottom right. Does the model fill the view screen (good) or is it small (= more stray vertices).

Test #2 (cumbersome but enlightening) - use Export Selection mode, e.g. pick just the fuse or the wing and export that alone. How does it look in sim?

Test #3 - do you have an Exterior node? If not, create one, small cube, place it at 0,0,0 and link all other parent parts to it. (Same for Interior, later.).

Test #4 - download a public domain gmax model, delete it, and merge your mesh into it. (On the assumption that it is a settings thing.)
 
Thanks Tom, pleased to hear you have used Gmax files from V1 into V2.
Following a long layoff from Gmax I am beginning to get back into it but it still takes me a long time to do simple operations hence the long delays between replies.
Will have a go at converting from feet to metres with a factor of 0.3048 but with more than 60 objects to resize it may take some time. Thanks for your continued support.
 
Thanks MJAHN did your TEST No. 1 in all 6 views and in each case the model filled the view so assume there were no more rogue vertices.
Had also tried TEST No.2 with just the Fuz but still had the same problems.
Not to sure how to go about TEST No.3, never used links but will read up about it first.
TEST No.4 just tried a couple of public domain down loads but as yet no luck.
Also going to try Tom’s suggestion about converting to meters.
I really appreciate the help I am getting here, many thanks
 
You should be able to do a quick test - just select all the objects, Uniform Scale down to 0.0254, export, and check it out.
 
What does the Properties window say about the dimensions of a part, say the fuse? Are they "plausible"?

Resizing is best done in subobject mode, eg, select all vertices, then scale. But tricky subject.

Why don't you attach one part of your (original) model here (or upload it someplace) so that we can take a quick look ... makes diagnosing the prob much easier, and quicker?

Or PM one of us and send by email.
 
Thanks mjahn, Have spent quite a few hours today trying to resize just the Lancaster FUZ without much success.
Managed to reproduce the Lancaster view problems by making a
simple aircraft (block fuz and two block wings) and when compiled it had the same faults as the Lancaster, so used SELECT & UNIFORM SCALE to reduce to a working size quite easily. But trying the same technique on the Fuz was unsuccessful.
Following your suggestion have included an attachment of the Lancaster Fuz.
Hate being beaten by a problem, thanks for your help.
 

Attachments

Got it, will have a look asap. Got a Lancastrian here, so should have the right aircraft.cfg, too.

Yeah, right, loading it as is it is 2600+ feet long, just a trifle too long I suppose.

Merging it with one of my scenes it is 145 meters, should be something like 25, right?

The external model has been grouped, ungroup it to get at the bits and pieces. I collapse the stack and note that most of the vertices are hidden. Unhiding them works OK, so it should be easy to resize it to what it should be. Will do so and report results later.

Not a bad looking object by any means ...

Edit:

OK some further problems here - in my version the fuse is way off 0,0,0, which goes to explain its strange appearance in sim. Also the pivot point isn't where it should be.

Downsizing works OK, I am using a scale factor of 0.15 (trial and error).

Have created an Exterior node at 0,0,0 and attached the fuse to it.

On export I get fatal error messages about stray texture vertices, so slap on a UVW map at 25 by 25 meters killing all unwraps). Export now is fine and plane looks dandy in sim:

lanc.jpg


Now, for a revison of the whole model along these lines I would pick all objects, add an edit mesh modifier, polygon unhide all, vertices unhide all, edges unhide all. Vertex mode: select all. Uniform scale: 15 percent. UVW map 25,25 meters. Collapse all. Create Exterior small cube and place at CoG. Link all main parent parts to Exterior. Move Exterior to 0,0,0. (Not fail safe, but worth an attempt...)

FYI revised gmax fuse here:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/51024107/lancaster-revisionMJ.zip
 
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Hi Mjahn, Amazed at the quick response.
Am really grateful for the time you have spent doing this.
Its my birthday today and I have to spend the day with my grand children so will not be able to anything until tomorrow.
Not sure I have the knowledge to do the steps you outline but looking forward to the challenge.
Sure I will be back with a few questions.
Once again many thanks, this is a great birthday present.

Ted
 
Pleasure and many happy returns. Let us know how the project develops.
 
Hi There, Thanks to those who helped with the problems I had previously I can now show the progress I have made. Attached are two external shots how things look at present.
I still have a couple problems, the most baffling concerns the undercarriage.
When exporting after doing the animation for the landing gear I get the following export error report for most of the gear components

“Node r_gear_component name has a scale applied. Remove before exporting”

As a consequence the gear refuses to retract in FS2004. Any suggestions welcomed.
 

Attachments

  • Aircraft Selection Menu.jpg
    Aircraft Selection Menu.jpg
    25.9 KB · Views: 442
  • Aircraft on runway screen shot.jpg
    Aircraft on runway screen shot.jpg
    31.6 KB · Views: 428
Good to see you are getting there.

Otherwise do what the message says -- select the part > Hierachy button (top right) > Affect Pivot only > Reset Scale. (Click a few times.)

See if it works. If it doesn't, as is likely, you have to be brutal. Save scene as new copy. Select the part. Click Utilities button (hammer) > Reset Xform. Convert to mesh or poly. Now your scale will have disappeared, but so may your animation with bits and pieces all over the place. No option but to rebuild from scratch, using the old part as pattern.
 
Once again thanks for your help mjahn, followed your first suggestion and it worked. Funny thing is the right hand gear retracts in about ten seconds but the left hand gear takes about a minute. Will delete all the animation keys for the left side and redo the animation.
 
OK but remember that the length of the retraction mechanism is also set via the contact points section in the aircraft.cfg, and you can use different times for each landing gear - so better check the cfg and see what's already there.
 
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