As a developer, I can speak on this.
In FS9, many animations were hard coded, so you didnt have to animate alot of parts. In FSX, all parts including propellers and tires, must be animated.
After animating, you tag them with Animation manager, and fill out its animation key max points, zero to 50, zero to 100, etc. If its a switch, then you also need a Attachment/Mouse Rect. If it has an effect, then you also need an Attach Effect (such as Viz, Lights, etc).
In FS9, you had reflective and transparent materials governed by Alpha channels. In FSX, you have Diffuse (main) plus Specular, Bump map, and optional others, like environment map (like for super shiny parts, glass, etc), and the list goes on. You can have an average of 5 to 7 material components (textures) in a single material. (one.... ) whereas in FS9, you had a Diffuse, Lightmap (optional) and thats about it.
Concerning code, for some reason, (they say it was a good one) they changed the way XML is spelled and written. Thats like taking English and making spelling different. Ok, so now we have to learn to write in the new language, and it took long enough to learn the one we did learn. But the fun doesnt stop there. You have to add two entries (paragraph blocks) for each animation code (for making a part move, visible, etc in the Max/Gmax model). These 'each' include custom serial numbers, similar to the password code for Windows, such as lets say 2345-J434J-4958945-L90 None can be the same number or it crashes your master XML list and your planes will not animate in FSX.
For me, it takes perhaps say 4 to 6+ months to make a high detail plane in FS9. Then it takes another month or two to simply convert it. If you think about that, its overwhelming. The work load, in my humble opinion is quadrupled.
There are also side factors that add to the time element. FS Tools do not always function. Animating everything can be difficult, such as wheels that are mounted on a landing gear that is folding up, where you must spin it in the correct direction in key frame points, while it its mounted to a landing gear at an angle, and with the landing gear raising up. (one instance). Some of the time, a part will get a wrong Attach tag, and you try to change it, and it takes several tries or sometimes, you simply cant get it to change and you have to literally delete the part and make another because of this tag issue. When you go to test a plane, it takes FSX a boot up time of nearly 4 to 5 mins. For me, I can go make a pot of coffee, wipe the counter down, strole back in my room, and the sim is still at say 8% or 12% loading. That is at a 'saved' airport' with plane on the ramp, ready, and in a stock invironment, no photo real scenery. So that takes a huge impact. Mind you, thats the first boot up on a cold start computer. If you keep rebooting FSX, the restarts speed up as the RAM already has sim parts loaded.
Finding glitches in animation XML is doubled. Two blocks per code entry.
Adjusting things like tinted windows can be a nightmare. I just went through that a couple of weeks ago. Found out it was one tiny 'tick' away from working. Took over a week to find it though. There are so many options and ticks and sliderders for each FSX material, that you can get lost in it, even after working in them for several years..
It was much easier to make FS9 planes. That is no joke.. But now everyone owns FSX and thats what people are crying for, and the old school guys do not wish to learn 'everything' (code, quadrupled work load, new animation tagging systems) all over again.
Switching the code was hurrendous alone.. Rewriting the wheel...
Three good things I like from this;
1. Speed the compiler works at.. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!
2. No limits on polygon quantities nor Vertice proximity (distance) limits.. Unlimited
3. Huge size textures allowed.
Anyhow, I hope that provides some perspective.
Not a complaint, just a 'how-it-is'.
Bill
