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FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd (Read 5245 times)
jonbouy
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FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
01/18/08 at 14:20:11  
Boris Petrov's (Bobo's) Famous 'Back From Five' script was taken on by someone and debugged and re-released in its full glory.
 
http://www.scriptspot.com/3ds-max/bff-2007
 
It says it is for MAX9 but I use MAX8 and have had no problems at all with it. (It should also work in MAX 2008)
 
So if you want to get your Max creations into gMax (IMO still the only way to go if you want to export to FS9) now there is nothing in the way.
 
With a bit of coaxing you could even do this!!!
 
A brand new model perfectly re-built in front of my eyes in gMax, complete with all mappings, ALL FSX materials with parameters and paths and even some of the stacks left intact. EVERYTHING exactly where it was in MAX!!!
 
It don't like .dds textures (nor does gMax for that matter) though. So get rid of any reference to any first of all.
 
No Animations alas however (I chose not to export them in the end) and you will, with FSX materials have to get rid of the line preceding the highlighted one each time the script falls over when importing. Eventually the script will complete leaving you with this.
 

 
An extreme trial for the script, not encountered in my regular use of it, but it triumphed in the end...
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« Last Edit: 01/18/08 at 14:27:30 by jonbouy »  
Jonbouy
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lionheart
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #1 - 01/18/08 at 15:58:40  
Awesome.....!
 
Is someone going to make this available to FSX SDK people?  (I hope..   please please please).   Shocked    Cheesy
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jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #2 - 01/18/08 at 16:34:03  
Quote from lionheart on 01/18/08 at 15:58:40:
Awesome.....!

Is someone going to make this available to FSX SDK people? (I hope.. please please please). Shocked Cheesy

 
Hopefully I just did.... Wink
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Jonbouy
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jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #3 - 01/18/08 at 20:47:12  
I've just put all the Bone animations back, about an hours work. Everything so far is 100% faithful, all the numbers are accurate to 3rd decimal, if there is sufficient interest I'm quite happy to take a detour from my intended route this weekend to complete the task.
 
I guess what I'm saying is, subject to approval from MS/Aces there is gMax SDK example DC3 available if anyone wants it.
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Jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #4 - 01/19/08 at 13:12:38  
OF course there's interest!
 
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jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #5 - 01/19/08 at 18:21:00  
Quote from Felix/FFDS on 01/19/08 at 13:12:38:
OF course there's interest!


 
Then bring on the Coffee and encouragement....I'm going in!!!... Cool
 
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« Last Edit: 01/19/08 at 18:21:22 by jonbouy »  
Jonbouy
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jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #6 - 01/20/08 at 23:33:14  
Almost done with the exterior, just double checking for bugs I may have introduced (I've preserved to original ones... Cheesy).
 
The only real issues I seem to have is the compiler is Warning about the Vertex's having no weights when exporting the skin animation.  And gMax won't let me refer to the GlobalEnv_AC_Chrome.dds file without crashing.
 
I've got no idea how to set vertex weights in gMax (or even if I need to, as the bone animations are working perfectly in gMax).
 
Also should I get gMax material editor to point to a dummy .bmp or .psd for the compiler to produce the correct .dds reference in sim?
 
Unfortunately I've not got FSX installed presently so I can't check it first hand.
 
Any tips will be appreciated.
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Jonbouy
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Fr. Bill
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #7 - 01/21/08 at 00:11:36  
Quote from jonbouy on 01/20/08 at 23:33:14:
The only real issues I seem to have is the compiler is Warning about the Vertex's having no weights when exporting the skin animation.  And gMax won't let me refer to the GlobalEnv_AC_Chrome.dds file without crashing.

 
Open the GlobalEnv_AC_Chrome.dds file and convert to 24bit .bmp or .psd for use in GMax.  Or, just create a dummy.bmp file with that name...
 
You can use .png textures if you like, the exporter doesn't care!  As long as you have .DDS selected when exporting, FSX will automatically look for .DDS files when loading the aircraft...
 
The only important part is the name itself, not the extension!  Cool
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« Last Edit: 01/21/08 at 00:12:34 by Fr. Bill »  
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #8 - 01/21/08 at 12:12:53  
I am looking forward to this JonBouy.  I think it will help a great many people that are Gmaxer's to understand the materials and animation tags more easily.
 
Hope it comes along smoothly.
 
 
Bill
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jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #9 - 01/21/08 at 20:00:58  
Thanks LH
 
The exterior is now complete, onto the interior....
 
This exercise has certainly improved my understanding... Shocked
 
And thanks Fr Bill the texture renaming worked a treat, as I suspected, I think its only an issue with gMax and Direct X on my machine. Even Max complains at times with .dds files. Funnily enough ACES imagetool couldn't handle the file either I had to do the conversion in PS.
 
Now I've got to work out how to re-assign Vertex Weights in gMax without all the lovely tools available in Max... Sad
 
Actually I found that exporting with animations was helpful in the end as all the required controllers and keys are already set so its just a case of filling in the co-ords for each key. Read tedious.
 
I wish I could find out what attach points are assigned though
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« Last Edit: 01/21/08 at 20:09:51 by jonbouy »  
Jonbouy
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jonbouy
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Eureka!!!
Reply #10 - 01/23/08 at 01:25:46  
Don't you just love compiling in gMax, not one word to say that its finished succesfully, yet it complains like hell when something's wrong.
 
Verified 100% complete as per MAX version all animations, all materials, no vertex weight issues on the wing flex and compiles just like the original. Here is the external model in all its glory. Compiled with SP2 and yet appears here in the lowly FSX demo.
 
I rebuilt the bones and Dummy nodes (Hey, you can use proper gMax Dummy helper objects in FSX! I never knew that.) in gMax so they are all fresh native gMax, not imported meshes.
 
Now what do I do with it? ... undecided
 
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« Last Edit: 01/23/08 at 01:33:38 by jonbouy »  
Jonbouy
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Chuck Jodry
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #11 - 01/23/08 at 06:50:02  
Faced with the same question in December i emailed P.Taylor for to post the DC3  for Gmax, resulting in  
permission to post on their website with the delay a combination of the MS webmasters required lead time and my production
commitments.
As there is an understanding in place perhaps Phil would allow you to post that one here at FFDS's source files library
->   ptaylor@microsoft.com  give him a shout ,  the arrangement that i agreed to required me to produce a Tutorial on the conversion process
but the technique is as useful for updating FS9 models and optimizing in FSX ,  I am sure the guys would love to see a tutorial on doing bone structures ... with any luck you can be talked into it 
 
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jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #12 - 01/23/08 at 07:37:44  
Are you saying this has already been done, while I'm halfway through doing the interior? ... Grin
 
Bear in mind I have no intention of using gMax to produce for FSX, this is solely a labour of love for the community. If there is already a converted interior please spare me the aggravation...
 
The conversion process I used is already outlined above, apart from the animations which I've lovingly recreated manually, cutting and pasting for England from the MAX version to gMax.
 
I'd appreciate knowing whether I'm duplicating effort here as I've got a back-log of various other pressing tasks and a few days grace while my partner is away visiting... Wink
 
Meanwhile I'll fire an email in the direction given.
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« Last Edit: 01/23/08 at 07:38:54 by jonbouy »  
Jonbouy
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Re: FSX SDK example DC3 get BFF'd
Reply #13 - 01/23/08 at 07:51:10  
The devil is always in the details and one that is at play here is speed , it is going to be some little time before i get this up .
The other point is initiative and you have shown plenty of it ..finish it .. you have been duplicating effort from the first moment
but doing it a whole new way !!! .. why stop ?  i used a default format  as an export out of 3DS in a .3DS  format   for import into Gmax.
What you have going looks much faster and is the first any of us have seen of this tool and its use and you get to have your name  
on the new trail markers  Smiley
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Au-MaV
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Re: Eureka!!!
Reply #14 - 01/23/08 at 08:09:13  
Quote from jonbouy on 01/23/08 at 01:25:46:

Now what do I do with it? ... undecided

http://flightsim.ryefc.com/images/fsxsdk_gmaxdc3.jpg

 
put floats on it and Release it as freeware then run like the clappers Smiley  
 
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