Model Converter X Question and Help

[lazarus]

It's turned into a model converter lucub, everybody's working on a different problem and things are happening. I've found that turboprops use a prop 0 still, prop 0 slow and prop 0 blurred progression instead of the counter intuitive piston animation sequence of engine 0, n1_0 slow, n1_0 blurred. Turboprops also seem to be heavily dependent on the aircraft cfg entry's for engine, prop, turbine engine and turboprop sections- the FS9 entry's do not work. I'm just ironing out some bugs, and I have to look at helio's next, then I'll nail together the next DIY guide.
I could sure use some FDE elves on this heavy stuff...anyone interested in lending a hand?
View attachment 37553View attachment 37554

Test pilot's lounge:

Scrubby's SeaFire FR.47 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bymd7iALx2FoaHdyWUd3allkQm8/view?usp=sharing
Zh Tu-95MS Bear-H https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bymd7iALx2FoU1B5N3d0S2RnUmc/view?usp=sharing

Piglets C-133B Weenie Wagon https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bymd7iALx2FoRXpGZ25ZWU1HaHM/view?usp=sharing

 

[kanoasurf]

I better clarify... I only work with AI aircraft. My knowledge is very limited.

My biggest problem is the night textures. You can see in the first pic the problem: the lights effects on the fuselage are always on; once the plane is taxing and taking off or landing, fine, realistic, but in flight, again, they are on all the time although the landing and taxi lights are off. If someone can help with that...

I would like to have a sort of paintkit for the models converted but I am simply useless at painting, a total ignorant.

By the way, I have written permission from Henry Tomkiewicz to convert all his freeware (that exclude the single engine Cessnas) so I am working towards them and its publication, but my biggest problem now are the night textures as mentioned. Below is his Beechcraft 1900D already FSX converted.

Cheers

a

 

[Shane Strong CYHZ]

Night lighting between landing lights and normal lights is done through the alpha layer of the texture for night here is a page that describes this
http://www.calclassic.com/repaint5.htm
If you need someone to do a paint kit for your night lights for each aircraft shoot me a email
strong@eastlink.ca
hope this helps
Shane

 

[gavinc]

Probably worth to note that I do not import them from the FS9. I create them from scratch on the newly converted FSX model. Actually I also take the chance to check all the lights.

Hi
I have been doing a bit more work and have FS9 modified lights working (on AI aircraft) sort of. The plus of using the FS9 imported attach points is that they are actually attached to landing gear etc.

Should point out that if you enter 4 or 5 into the g_light_state field when you import the model you wil get the light configs.

I have found that if the orientation of landing lights is set to (00.0, 0.00, -180.00) the lights are pointed forward and light up the runway.

The problem i have is editing the orientation parameters. You modify one field, click out of the edit box and everything changes. Type -180 into the roll field and exit, heading changes to 90 and roll changes to 90. Only by randomly entering values did I manage to find something that set roll to -180.

I'll keep plugging away.

Gavin

 

[kanoasurf]

Night lighting between landing lights and normal lights is done through the alpha layer of the texture for night here is a page that describes this
http://www.calclassic.com/repaint5.htm
If you need someone to do a paint kit for your night lights for each aircraft shoot me a email
strong@eastlink.ca
hope this helps
Shane

Shane

Thank you for your reply. I came across with that tutorial already but I also read that FSX night textures work in a different way than for FS9 (for which that tutorial is written down). Please advice

Cheers

a

 

[Bjoern]

The "always on" cabin/logo lights is a FSX limitation/feature.

AI Aardvark explained the issue and workarounds pretty well in the readme for their AI model upgrade package.

 

[kanoasurf]

The "always on" cabin/logo lights is a FSX limitation/feature.

AI Aardvark explained the issue and workarounds pretty well in the readme for their AI model upgrade package.

Thank you Bjoern

I have used the AI Aardvark guide and I managed to get rid of the splashes "always on" editing the night texture (light map) as they mention at the beginning. But what I want to achieve now is to have the splashes working with the lights (showing up when the lights are on and switch back off when the lights are off).Like the native models do.

Any clues?

 

[gavinc]

Thank you Bjoern

I have used the AI Aardvark guide and I managed to get rid of the splashes "always on" editing the night texture (light map) as they mention at the beginning. But what I want to achieve now is to have the splashes working with the lights (showing up when the lights are on and switch back off when the lights are off).Like the native models do.

Any clues?

Hi,
don't know if this is part of the answer or not but ...
in Material Editor what Emissive Property are you using? I have set it to AdditiveNightOnlyUserControlled and the splash turns on and off when i turn on or off landing lights. But that is with user aircraft and I don't know that it will work for AI.

Just a thought.

Gavin

 

[kanoasurf]

Hi,
don't know if this is part of the answer or not but ...
in Material Editor what Emissive Property are you using? I have set it to AdditiveNightOnlyUserControlled and the splash turns on and off when i turn on or off landing lights. But that is with user aircraft and I don't know that it will work for AI.

Just a thought.

Gavin

I've tried them all!!! lol that will work with flyable but not for AI... I keep seeking for a solution.

Going back to one of your question a few posts above regarding orientation, I got it (I also had the same problem time ago). You can only modify the orientation when you create the attached point. You cannot edit it at later stage once you reload the model and try to Solutions:

1. Ensure you get the right orientation first time.
2. If point 1 is no longer possible, duplicate that object, alter the orientation, give it the name of the original and delete the original (don forget to go to the editor to assign the relevant visibility condition).

And the orientation parameters are, in this order: heading, pitch and roll

Cheers

 

[CG_1976]

Umm yum a Bear, thank you Lazarus. Now I'd love to have the TU114. Jafo did several paints for her and a Canadian North Paint that I love to cruise Havana to Iqaluit to Moscow.

 

[gavinc]

Adding props removes animations?

Hi,
I am still plugging away at this with (limited) success.

Just come across a new wrinkle and hopefully someone has already seen it and fixed it.

I am still working with AI aircraft.

I have been looking to convert the AI float planes that came with the Tongass Fjord scenery (strictly for my own use), converted the Twin Otter fine and went to try the single engine Otter.

Imported the model into MDLX and fixed the animations (except prop). Exported to FSX, tried it out and everything looked great. Extracted the prop & blurred prop models from the FS9 model and imported them into the FSX model. Now all the animations are gone when I export the model. I can see them in MDLX but no matter what animation keys I use they are gone in the sim.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Gavin

 

[Bjoern]

Are they properly tagged for visibility?



P.S: The abbreviation for ModelConverter is MCX. MDLX is the file format.

 

[gavinc]

HI,
Yes, the props are tagged for visibility.

I guess I should have been clearer. When I said all the animations are gone I meant all, flaps, ailerons etc (the only animation that still works is the water rudder, which is tagged to landing gear). Animations that worked perfectly fine before I inserted the blurred prop no longer work. The animation tags are still there and if I use the undo function in MCX to roll back to before the insertion and re-export the model the animations work again.

Thanks
Gavin

 

[hschuit]

This may be a long shot but did you merge the prop disk modelparts including visibility conditions? I have experienced corrupted MCX exports doing that. The solution was to:
1. Reset the new modelpart visibility condition = none
2. Merge the new modelpart with the model
3. Export the model
4. Import it again
5. Add the visibility condition back into the newly added modelpart.

 

[gavinc]

This may be a long shot but did you merge the prop disk modelparts including visibility conditions? I have experienced corrupted MCX exports doing that.

And here was me thinking I was being clever by pre-defining the visibility condition. That is exactly what I was doing.

Let me re-try the merge without any visibility conditions defined.

thanks for the suggestion.

Gavin

 

[Mach3DS]

Custom Visibility

How do I set the weight for the custom visibility tags once I've assigned them the tag in MCX? Meaning, I've got the pylons and objects set...but I need to be able to set a weight?

 

[hschuit]

How do I set the weight for the custom visibility tags once I've assigned them the tag in MCX? Meaning, I've got the pylons and objects set...but I need to be able to set a weight?

1. Open the MDL file with Notepad++ or a hex editor
2. Search for entry: PAYLOAD STATION
3. These entries look like: (AAYLOAD STATION WEIGHT:3, pounds) 1000 ==
This is the 3rd station_load entry in the aircraft.cfg file (station_load.2), set at 1000 Lbs.
4. Let's change that to the 2nd station entry in the aircraft.cfg file and set weight at 200 Lbs: (AAYLOAD STATION WEIGHT:2, pounds) 200 ==

Important: Make sure you overwrite the old characters (incl spaces), if you delete or insert a character the MDL file will have less/more characters than before and will be corrupted. Another challenge is to edit the right station entry in case of having multiple stations with the same sequence no.

 

[Mach3DS]

Thanks hschuit! One more question since I'm really flying by the seat of my pants here...lots of this is way above my pay grade...but im trying to understand...for some reason it seemed like I needed xyz station coordinates but no?

 

[hschuit]

Thanks hschuit! One more question since I'm really flying by the seat of my pants here...lots of this is way above my pay grade...but im trying to understand...for some reason it seemed like I needed xyz station coordinates but no?

Rick, You do not need the position coordinates for a payload item with visibility condition. Just make sure the station index no. in the mdl file is in sync with the station index no. in the aircraft.cfg file model:

Model PAYLOAD STATION WEIGHT:1 applies to aircraft.cfg station_load.0 etc.

 

[Mach3DS]

Do I need any special plugin to do this? When I try to open the mdl in Notepad++ it's all just symbolic jibberish?