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STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT GMAX

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Sid2008

Charter Member
STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT GMAX

Hi Friends,
I know how to model airplanes with FSDS 3.5. I think that I have mastered it except for the boolean, which is very temperamental.

So, I want to learn to use GMAX to build airplanes for FS9. I am almost scared to start because most folks on the forum said it is hard. Well, I am not the braniest one in my mom's litter so I am a bit worried.

So I started this message called STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT GMAX because I want some straight talk for gmax users.

First, is there a tutorial that will teach me how to model the exterior and vc of an aircraft in FS9? Does this tutorial teach about cutting through surfaces, bending tubes, animating objects, and texturing?

Lets jut start there for now.

Thanks folks.
Sid​
 
I tried FSDS but couldn't get to grips with it, then I tried Blender and was able to model OK but making UVW maps was a bear plus it can't export to FS9 (FSX only) and can't do FSX animations. I then tried GMAX and found it far more intuitive and easy to use but I do have a lot of time in ACAD so that probably helped too.

Regarding tutorials Google is your friend. There are literally hundreds of GMAX tutorial sites out there covering both text/graphic tutorials and video tutorials. I found them to be a great help and still go hunting out tutorials if I need to do something new. Don't limit yourself to just looking for aircraft tutorials either. I found a lot of very useful information on tutorial sites for the 'Trainz' railway simulator and for driving simulators like GTR2.

The best way to learn is to jump in and do it. Start easy and add more techniques as your skills develop and remember there is always more than one way of doing ANYTHING!
 
Gmax is easy when you learn what the functions are called, and what they do. It's a bit like learning a new language. If you can conceive in your mind a shape, and you can look all around that shape and see it's detail in your mind, then that's the biggest challenge in Gmax aircraft design. I read somewhere that seamen that navigate submarines via a joystick and computer screen have the ability to perceive a 3 dimensional space on a 2 dimensional screen. If you have that skill, you can do great things with Gmax. the only way to find out, is to jump right into it.

Some straight facts about Gmax:

~ Free Form Deformations in the modifier roll out are your best friends for fine shaping.
~ Back and forth between User and Perspective views gives you a greater sense of that 3D object
~ Animating things is easy, understanding what to name the parts according to the SDK is the key to having the parts move in the flight simulator
~ Vertices are your best friends and your worst nightmares. When you construct an object as a Editable polygon, change it to a Editable mesh for certain operations, and convert it back to a Poly again, sometimes extra verticies are created against your will, and you can pull your hair out trying to find the problems when shapes have an unusual shadow or white streak because the vertex is hiding. That's when the skill of being able to perceive the 3d space comes in real handy.
~ Milton Shupe is my hero.
 
Sid2008 said:
STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT GMAX
Hi Friends,
I know how to model airplanes with FSDS 3.5. I think that I have mastered it except for the boolean, which is very temperamental.

So, I want to learn to use GMAX to build airplanes for FS9. I am almost scared to start because most folks on the forum said it is hard. Well, I am not the braniest one in my mom's litter so I am a bit worried.

So I started this message called STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT GMAX because I want some straight talk for gmax users.

First, is there a tutorial that will teach me how to model the exterior and vc of an aircraft in FS9? Does this tutorial teach about cutting through surfaces, bending tubes, animating objects, and texturing?

Lets jut start there for now.

Thanks folks.
Sid
​
Click to expand...

Hello Sid,

You've come to the right spot, Milton Shupe's C162 tutorials are for FS9 and cover exterior, interior and texturing in easy-to-follow detail. I certainly recommend them, and I'm building for CFS3!

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=93&daysprune=-1

If you're used to FSDS then you'll already have a decent idea of how to build an aircraft model, you just need to get used to gmax's way of working. Booleans can be temperamental in gmax too, I'd recommend Milton's methods to start with and there are various methods of getting them to do what you want.

He doesn't cover bending things iirc, but you'll find useful info on lofting at the end of the late Gerard van der Harst's excellent Low-Poly Aircraft modelling tutorial, here at SOH. That's what I use for making bent things.

http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=16418&daysprune=-1

Also check the sticky threads on this forum for more useful info.

Gmax is an excellent tool, it just takes a long time to learn from scratch; hence the complaints about it being hard. You have a head start already thanks to FSDS. Yell if you need help! :wavey:


Like the Firefly, Fnerg!
 
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