euroastar350
SOH-CM-2023
Hello everyone,
As many of you know, I have a Bell 222 helicopter under development for FS2004 and FSX and what I can tell you is that working with gmax has been a real rewarding experience, something I could not get when working with FSDS. I was always constantly getting burned out with projects and I wouldn't open FSDS for weeks...even months. Thankfully with gmax, I have not experienced this.
Alot of the features found in FSDS are in gmax and they are alot more easier to use, plus I can export parts made in FSDS into gmax which makes my projects far more easier to create and/or modify.
When I took hold of the source files 1 1/2 months ago, they were in 3DS Max format and thought that getting it into gmax format was going to be a breeze..well I was wrong. Firstly, there are 2 ways to export from Max to gmax, using Maxscript or exporting into 3DS format and then importing into gmax. After the conversion, I noticed that alot of parts were out of place, animations all screwed up, materials aren't the same between max and gmax. So.....off to redo the animations and texturing. Thankfully the UVW mapping created in max were still present in gmax, was just a matter of exporting the bitmaps for the final textures.
I did run into issues with the landing not working in the sim platform, even though they worked in gmax. Thankfully the gear now works perfectly in sim. There isn't much left to do to the exterior, just smaller parts that need mapping, animations or just simply put back in place.
The virtual cockpit is a whole other animal. I did export successfully the virtual cockpit for the first time and ran into a serious issue that affected the exterior model....but we will get to that area once the exterior is fully finished, mapped, animated, etc.
The plan for the package is to create the entire Bell 222 series, including the 230. There will be no 430 after this series is released or unless we can get another modeler to help us.
Airwolf cannot and will not be modeled as NBC/Universal Pictures does not allow anyone to create anything related to Airwolf and/or the show, freeware or payware. Same thing Gulfstream Aerospace is doing, NBC/Unversal has followed this same route. Alot of Airwolf fans are going to be truly dissapointed, but this is the reality and we do not need to get into any legal limbo.
I do post updates and screenshots regularly on Hovercontrol, Sim-Outhouse and other flightsim sites. Hopefully within 5 months, we will have the project done.
Until next time, stay safe and keep the blue side up
As many of you know, I have a Bell 222 helicopter under development for FS2004 and FSX and what I can tell you is that working with gmax has been a real rewarding experience, something I could not get when working with FSDS. I was always constantly getting burned out with projects and I wouldn't open FSDS for weeks...even months. Thankfully with gmax, I have not experienced this.
Alot of the features found in FSDS are in gmax and they are alot more easier to use, plus I can export parts made in FSDS into gmax which makes my projects far more easier to create and/or modify.
When I took hold of the source files 1 1/2 months ago, they were in 3DS Max format and thought that getting it into gmax format was going to be a breeze..well I was wrong. Firstly, there are 2 ways to export from Max to gmax, using Maxscript or exporting into 3DS format and then importing into gmax. After the conversion, I noticed that alot of parts were out of place, animations all screwed up, materials aren't the same between max and gmax. So.....off to redo the animations and texturing. Thankfully the UVW mapping created in max were still present in gmax, was just a matter of exporting the bitmaps for the final textures.
I did run into issues with the landing not working in the sim platform, even though they worked in gmax. Thankfully the gear now works perfectly in sim. There isn't much left to do to the exterior, just smaller parts that need mapping, animations or just simply put back in place.
The virtual cockpit is a whole other animal. I did export successfully the virtual cockpit for the first time and ran into a serious issue that affected the exterior model....but we will get to that area once the exterior is fully finished, mapped, animated, etc.
The plan for the package is to create the entire Bell 222 series, including the 230. There will be no 430 after this series is released or unless we can get another modeler to help us.
Airwolf cannot and will not be modeled as NBC/Universal Pictures does not allow anyone to create anything related to Airwolf and/or the show, freeware or payware. Same thing Gulfstream Aerospace is doing, NBC/Unversal has followed this same route. Alot of Airwolf fans are going to be truly dissapointed, but this is the reality and we do not need to get into any legal limbo.
I do post updates and screenshots regularly on Hovercontrol, Sim-Outhouse and other flightsim sites. Hopefully within 5 months, we will have the project done.
Until next time, stay safe and keep the blue side up