A Plug for ADEX

[rdaniell]

Have you ever wished that you had your own little grass strip in FSX? Well, ADEX is just the program to accomplish that. I'm attaching a screen shot of a little farm strip that I just threw together. I used a stock airstrip bgl and added one default hanger and Dimus' mobile home model.(Found here in the downloads section at the Outhouse.)

The whole project took about 20 minutes to put together.

Actually, that is pretty much how I learned to use ADEX. I took a stock airport bgl and began by learning how to add just one stock scenery object. My learning curve was not to difficult. ADEX is designed to use a lot of pointing and clicking.

Anyway, I'm glad I learned how to use it. I know there are several other programs available that do pretty much the same thing but, I just prefer ADEX.
Probably because that's the first program I downloaded and learned to use.

WARNING: ONCE YOU GET A TASTE OF DESIGNING AND MODIFYING YOUR OWN SCENERY, YOU WILL BECOME ADDICTTED.:isadizzy: I think there is a scenery designer's annonymous.

RD

 

[falcon409]

Yep, well done! I agree, it can be quite addictive. I also started with ADEX, but in it's early stages and to be honest. . .it was terrible. . .not at all user friendly and so I opted to purchase AFX, which is what I still use today. I also use Instant Scenery V2 for placing objects, Autogen Annotator for placing large areas of trees when using photoreal ground textures. I have GMAX, FSDS3.5 and Sketchup somewhere and have not the slightest idea how to do 3D custom objects, lol. . .I even purchased Instant Object Designer which was supposed to be soooo easy to do 3D objects on the fly, right in the sim. . .nope, not for this aging brain, lol. . . .

So yes, scenery design can be very addictive and even with a simple airport like you've accomplished, stay with it and you'll be well on your way to producing some really nice airport upgrades and there are a lot of them that still need upgrading.:salute:

 

[rdaniell]

Yep, well done! I agree, it can be quite addictive. I also started with ADEX, but in it's early stages and to be honest. . .it was terrible. . .not at all user friendly and so I opted to purchase AFX, which is what I still use today. I also use Instant Scenery V2 for placing objects, Autogen Annotator for placing large areas of trees when using photoreal ground textures. I have GMAX, FSDS3.5 and Sketchup somewhere and have not the slightest idea how to do 3D custom objects, lol. . .I even purchased Instant Object Designer which was supposed to be soooo easy to do 3D objects on the fly, right in the sim. . .nope, not for this aging brain, lol. . . .So yes, scenery design can be very addictive and even with a simple airport like you've accomplished, stay with it and you'll be well on your way to producing some really nice airport upgrades and there are a lot of them that still need upgrading.:salute:

I either have a later edition of ADEX or a different opinion but, it seems really user friendly to me. If I may suggest, download the free version of SketchUp and give it a go. I'm a little older than you and probably a lot dumber; yet, I learned to use it. It really makes a difference in scenery modification and design when you are not limited to default objects or what's available for download.

I've yet to learn how to use Autogen Annotator. Maybe one of these days.

RD

 

[falcon409]

I either have a later edition of ADEX or a different opinion but, it seems really user friendly to me. If I may suggest, download the free version of SketchUp and give it a go. I'm a little older than you and probably a lot dumber; yet, I learned to use it. It really makes a difference in scenery modification and design when you are not limited to default objects or what's available for download.

I've yet to learn how to use Autogen Annotator. Maybe one of these days.

RD

Yes, I tried ADEX when it was first released and as I said, it wasn't at all user friendly. As far as Sketchup. . .I have it downloaded and installed. . .I have a lot of things I'd like to construct, especially for scenery I did for my local airport. Problem is I have no photos, nothing to use for correct textures (those would come from some good photos) and dimensions, I have no idea how to go about getting the correct dimensions unless I get the blueprints for the buildings I want to design. I spend more time confusing myself than I do getting anything done really.

 

[rdaniell]

Yes, I tried ADEX when it was first released and as I said, it wasn't at all user friendly. As far as Sketchup. . .I have it downloaded and installed. . .I have a lot of things I'd like to construct, especially for scenery I did for my local airport. Problem is I have no photos, nothing to use for correct textures (those would come from some good photos) and dimensions, I have no idea how to go about getting the correct dimensions unless I get the blueprints for the buildings I want to design. I spend more time confusing myself than I do getting anything done really.

A couple suggestions. For materials, I look up images of the materials in question on the web. I can usually find some good images to use as jpegs in SketchUp. Model Converter converts the jpegs to DDS.

I use aerial views for building size. I use the top down view to scale the length and width. I then use "birds eye view" to WAG the height. I also use known object heights to check for height approximation. Since I'm only doing a virtual rendition of the objects, having absolute correct dimensions doesn't bother me.

Of course, when I can get actual photos of the objects, I use them.

RD