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Where to start?

Thralni

Thralni

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netherlands
Hello everybody,

I used to do quite a lot of modeling and scenery creation for P3D, but haven't touched it in a while. I'm returning now because there are some airports I want to see better represented in MSFS, and it doesn't seem anybody is working on these - so, I'll give it another go. However, it's hard for me to gauge how much things have changed... On face value, it looks as though everything is different. Newer Blender versions, different exporter, different file structures and file types... I have no idea where to start with modeling in Blender. No idea if projects are setup the same way, and seemingly no guide that simple says 'this is how you start'. I have found the occasional guide, such as the one Google Dox describing an introduction to airport creation for MSFS, and while useful for some things, it only scratches the surface on how to setup a Blender project.

Specifically, for modeling (and keeping exporting in mind), how does one setup their Blender project? For P3D I'd start with downloading a background image using SBuilderX, then importing it into Blender by using the built-in materials. Then I'd start to build on top of that. Do things still work this way? Some direction to get me back on my feet would be very much appreciated. Some insight on how others go about setting up their Blender projects to work for MSFS would be appreciated.

On the topic of ground polies, it seems as though these can be simply painted inside MSFS now. Is that how people do things? Gone are the days of modeling a Groundpoly in Blender and then exporting it to P3D through many iterations of troubleshooting?

Thanks!
Benjamin
 
May I suggest this youtube series, it covers a lot of what you are asking for

(this is the first video of the series, the SDK is changing fast and some bits may have changed, in regards of airport project creation the helipad video is the mosf updated one)
 
Fantastic! Thanks, this will help a lot. Will make my way through the series.
The tutorial focuses on a small grass strip, so I don’t suppose ground polices are really talked about, right? For larger airfields that have paved aprons etc, do people usually paint everything in MSFS or do people still model the whole ground layout in Blender?
 
The in game tools are enough to create a solid ground base, "Aprons" can be layered to obtain realistic worn surfaces, you can create you own materials in game and "PaintedLines" are very fast to put down rather that doing them in the 3d software (and can be customized in color and shape, in a limited way of course)

Of course you can create the layout in Blender, the process is flawless, add planes, shape them as a taxyline or whatever you need, give them a material and export like any other 3d object.
When importing In the game, use ProjectedMesh instead of Scenery Object, and the 3d object will be draped on your terrain.you can layer those too

The videos starts with the basic, so you don't get overwhelmed at the beginning

For some basic Scenery Editor tool, I do recommend Flying Theston tutorials too (most of the thing he already explained are still valid so don't need to make new tutorials for them imho)



Inviato dal mio Mi 9 Lite utilizzando Tapatalk
 
Thanks mamu, that is very helpful! I've watched the first of your videos and found it very helpful to get started. Will continue watching them :)

On a slightly separate note, I've heard that LODs ae very important in MSFS, that it's not as forgiving as P3D used to be. When people make LODs for their custom objects, what's the preferred approach? Would you make a LOD0 object first, and then make the lesser LODs by removing detail, or would you rather, as you work towards the LOD0 object, 'set aside' the LODs during that process? I hope my question makes sense..
 
Personally I made the full detailed lod0
Then I remove details for further LODs

The need of lods is all about the details you put into a model,
If you are the one that goes with 64 side for cylinder and bevel and array like crazy, poly count can skyrocket in no time, or maybe you like 8k texture for a single commercial on a wall, the ram will be full soon, so better add Lods

Otherwise, a single 1k texture on a 5k tris object I wouldn't bother a lot with lods, unless you plan to add thousands or millions copy of that object

Inviato dal mio Mi 9 Lite utilizzando Tapatalk
 
That sounds like excellent advice. Thanks! :) I think I have all I need to get going for now. Thank you!
 
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