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MDL Converter Problem

expat

Charter Member
Taken the plunge with Gary's great CV-41 Midway and downloaded ModelConverterX.

Here's what I did:

  • Loaded the model with the Wizard - it appears in the preview window.
  • Used the Convert and Place Object Wizard (added coordinates, etc) and also placed in D\FSX\Addon Scenery\USS Midway\Scenery folder (made new folders for the last bit) NB: this created a corresponding texture folder, but no textures there (added these later on). Activated this new folder in the scenery library
  • Opened ADE, Library Object Manager, and opened an airport (AS Big E at Yankee Station). Picked a spot nearby and loaded the object and placed it with ADE. It appears in ADE as an orange rectangle the way other objects eg hangars do.
  • Loaded it also on land on an airport
PROBLEM: despite all of the above, there is no carrier visible at either of the two test locations. "Manual" for the app describes the buttons but I am sure there are some necessary steps I need to take that it does not mention.

Any of you experts out there have some tips?

Thanks,
expat
 
You actually did more than needed. If you specified the coordinates then there is no need to use ADE to place it. You just need to put the bgl file inside an activated scenery folder.

In my opinion you need to do the following:

1. Create a new folder on your hard drive called "Static Midway" or similar and inside it create two subfolders, one called Scenery and one Texture.
2. Copy all required textures in the Texture folder
3. Load the model in MCX and open the material editor. For every texture specify the source at the end of the list on the right to be your new "Texture" folder
4. Specify the location in coordinates
5. Export the bgl pointing to you new "Static Midway\Scenery" folder
6. Copy the new Static Midway folder in your FSX Addon Scenery folder or wherever you place new scenery files
7. Activate the scenery from the library

It would normally show.

If you want to use ADE the procedure would be different and you will need to export a bgl without placement coordinates.
 
Bingo!

Thanks Dimus. What I did was to forget the Wizard and just use the "Export as FSX bgl" and put into an addon scenery folder. Then I used ADE to import it as a library object into ADE and opened my other fixed carrier airport in ADE. I slewed away from it with a plane and then dropped the boat on the same spot with ADE. Actually ended up with two twins but now as you can see I got what I wanted. Now have to make afcads - upstairs and down (flatten file) - to get some AI working. PS - it looks simply awful because I am doing it remotely from work via home on TeamViewer.

Thanks again.

 
There are several ways to convert a moving boat to a static object and then place it into a scenery. As mentioned above I mainly use MCX. My steps include:

1. Load the MDL into MCX.
2. Use the Object Information Icon and bring up that window.
3. Press Edit in the upper left corner.
4. Then select new GUID and press that. You will see a new number appear just above. Change the name in this case to USS_Midway_Static. (Any name you wish) This is important because your new MDL created will have a different GUID number than the moving object. Write down the new GUID number.
5. Close the Object Information screen.
6. Select Export Object in the selection bar. Save the new MDL where you wish.

Open the Library Creator Program by Arno. (Same guy who developed MCX.

1. Create your USS_Midway_Static bgl files and save where you can find it.
2. Create a new scenery folder called USS_Midway_Static and place it in Addon Scenery. In that new folder make two sub folders. One Scenery and the other Texture.
3. Place the USS_Midway_Static bgl in the scenery folder. Place all the USS_Midway textures in the Texture sub folder.
4. Activate the USS_Midway_Static folder within FSX.

Note: You can also just place the new USS_Midway_Static bgl in the Addon Scenery/scenery folder. You must then place all the USS_Midway textures in the Addon Scenery/texture folder. I usually don't do this because it puts large number of texture files in one place and you don't which texture goes to an object.

Finally, you can use ADE, Object Placement Tool, SBuilderX or in my case Instant Scenery to place your new static USS_Midway where ever you wish.

This works to create any new static object.

I have made it look complicated by so many number steps but actually I included everything you will need to do. Hope this helps.

Looks like Expat figured out all the steps above. One he may not have done is to give the new static object a new GUID number. This is important so you don't have several objects with the same GUID number.
 
Another technique I have used is to create a waypoint and an airport with nothing but a start. I place these at the location of Yankee station. Then in AICarrier, I place the carrier at the waypoint not moving, then start an airplane at the airport. The plane magically appears on the deck of the carrier. Then I start the carrier moving and the plane is on the deck, ready to taxi to the cat to wreak havoc on North Vietnam.

You have to play with the airport altitude a bit to get the plane on the deck and not under the deck where it will fall to the sea or over the deck where it will fall to the deck and crash :0 It's a bit of trial and error based on the deck height.

Dave

PS
I have not been able to post the XML I used to create the waypoints and airport. Putting the code tags did not seem to work.
 
Now have to make afcads - upstairs and down (flatten file) - to get some AI working.

You should be able to skip the flatten file if from MCX you also export the Midway's deck as a CVX file (fsx flatten BGL).
I think all of the airport has to be within the deck area for this to work.
 
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