as i see it,
there are basic similarities in the programs.
mainly, in the way pieces are drawn
and the way they are viewed by the sim.
if nothing else, over the years,
i have learned to expect nothing.
while it is true that i would gladly accept assistance
from anyone who has experience with ad2k,
i will be the first to admit,
that i have as yet,
not met that person.
so i will continue to muddle along.
hopefully, learning something as i go.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
You are going to get it done Smilo, and you are going to have the only worthy AR196 on the net.
Well worth waiting for.
Dave :salute:
www.thefreeflightsite.com
I would bet that these "seal planes" are the same as the gluing parts in AF99. I would eat my mustache if they're not!Originally Posted by smilo
(I don't mind; it will grow up again anyway...)
P.S.- Just went and check the English help file;
I think my mustache is safe for now:salute:The following only applies to FS98™ and CFS™. FS2000™ uses a new viewer that makes useless the seals and the associated JUMP PLANE/PLANE instruction pair. When you design for FS2000™, you just need to build the sub-assies, assign them a color or a texture and make them move. That's it !
What is a seal...
A seal is a chain of vertices defining a plane that is used to sort the different parts of the 3D model during the viewing process. Parts of the 3D model can be either sub-assies, sets of sub-assies, or sets of polygons.
Let us assume a given seal interfaces the sub-assy "A" with the sub-assy "B". Depending upon the position of the virtual observer with respect to the seal, he will see "A" in front of "B", or behind it. Thus, the viewer must draw "A" after "B" or before it... The choice of appropriate seals is very important in the design of a model.
The seals are used in the Model Editor (instruction JUMP PLANE) but they must be declared in the Graphic Editor. To do that, you just have to select an existing chain or a template and add it to the seal list which is maintained by Aircraft Designer 2000. The plane of the seal is defined by three points of the supporting chain or template.
The seals may be displayed in the Graphic window or hidden. The show seals option of the Utilities menu controls the display of the seals.
Torture numbers and they'll say anything.
Hubbabubba, Touche à tout.
save your mustache, hubba.
i won't take that bet.
i may be dumb, but i'm not stupid.
one thing i just noticed reading your quote,
templates can be used a seal planes.
i didn't know that.
the thing that's odd,
is that i was able to do it
with the Do17 double rudder,
but am having fits with the 196.
go figure.
maybe, i'm looking too close.
thanks for the encouragement, Dave.
it make take forever,
but i'll do my best.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
Hello Smilo,
Your project can't take any longer than the ones I have worked on. Now THOSE take forever. It has been about a year since I last worked on the Dornier 17Z though I can honestly tell you I have been far from idle.
- Ivan.
WOW!!! a year, huh?
has it been that long?
time flies when you're having fun.
or, in my case,
time flies when you're getting old.
funny you should mention the Do17.
just last night, i was thinking
about opening it back up,
but decided against it.
i don't want to get any more confused
than i already am.
even though it's the project
i set down to start this one,
my weak brain can't have too much going on.
i swear, i must have adhd or something like that.
(there was no such thing when i was a kid)
i have a b*tch of a time staying on task.
it seems like it's a constant struggle.
for example, just a few minutes ago,
i was working on the 196 canopy.
been at it for several hours.
all of a sudden, for no apparent reason,
i decided to check my email,
there was a cfs forum post notification,
and vua la, here i am.
(hubba, please correct my French, vua la)
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
Actually, smilo, it is "voilà", but your phonetic deformation of it may be more appropriate; I would try "vua-lah" to emphasize the "flat" a at the end.
Leonardo Da Vinci is renowned for his tendency for multi-tasking and leaving things unfinished. For every painting, sculpture or invention he completed, 90% was left mid-way. So, you're in good company.
The Taifun took me 2-3 years of research, 2 years of modeling, and then I came to this forum for would-be testers and, after more than a year, I finally released it. But who's counting...
Torture numbers and they'll say anything.
Hubbabubba, Touche à tout.
Voila!
Pardon my French.
If you think THAT is ADHD, you should see what I have been working on in the last few weeks:
In looking over the Stuka's Canopy, I realised that I spent way too much time trying to make mirrored Left and Right Components. I edited one of my earlier programs to take a AF99 .AFC Component file and flip the bit that indicated a mirrored or non-mirrored part. The result was to make a process that was very error prone and would take 20-30 minutes into a program execution that would take about 5 seconds with no possibility of error.
You already know about the fix for Tails bleeding through the Cockpit from an interior view. After figuring out what to do, I executed the process with about a half dozen of my projects.
There are also a few more items that are not worth mentioning in a discussion that is publicly viewable.
- Ivan.
I started typing the last message a couple hours ago. My son has had my computer for school work and games until a little while ago.... Missed Hubbabubba's response before I submitted mine.
Hubbabubba, I had the impression the Taifun was a much quicker project than that. I guess we never see what others are researching. Regarding research, I am doing a fair amount of that myself. So far since yesterday, I have gone through manuals for a P-47 Thunderbolt, F6F Hellcat, P-40B/C Tomahawk, and a Hawk 75 / P-36.
It would be really cool if something actually resulted from all the reading I have done.
- Ivan.
VOILA!!!
thanks fellas.
as soon as i saw it,
the memory banks kicked in.
as i've said in the past,
i am continuously amazed
by how many french words and phrases
i use in my everyday conversation.
it's to bad that i didn't pay closer attention
in that french class i failed back in the ninth grade.
so it goes.
i hope i am not kidding myself,
but i feel like yesterday was a very good 196 progress day.
even though i can't say that i have it down pat,
i am starting to figure out the viewing order process.
trial and error, trial and error,
and then some more trial and error.
i have been trying to put together
the gunstation/cockpit area which includes
the fuselage exterior and interior,
the exterior and interior canopy framework,
panel area, and later, the tailgun needs to be added.
one thing that i've noticed is that
pieces must be added within a sub assembly
in the proper sequence, or else
the texture shading does not look right.
for example, if i cover 5 bulkhead templates
from a forward bulkhead to the aft,
and then later, decide to add 1 more template
just forward of the 5 i previously did,
there is a shading issue with the new
far forward group of pieces.
i have tried changing the sequence in the model editor,
by moving the new pieces to the top of the list,
but still have the issue.
i went to bed with this problem
and might have come up with a solution.
i need to go test the theory.
maybe, a few screen shots would help clarify.
next post, after i fire up the working machine.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
okay, here's a screenie;
i removed the external fuselage
and some other stuff for the shot.
the parts in question are the darker shaded
red and gray, just forward of the yellow panel.
pretty obvious, really.
as a side note;
the varying shades of the glass pieces
are just an experiment to see what
different transparency settings will do.
____i'm off to see if i can fix the problem.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
well, so much for that idea.
i'm glad i didn't waste time elaborating.
fortunately, there is an alternative,
rebuild the interior walls from scratch.
of course, this time, being sure to place
everything in the correct order.
apologies for the darkness of the shot.
i was playing with sim time
to see the effect on the texture.
got to go coffee up,
then, back to it.
oh yeah, the whole reason for this exercise
was to add the covered forward bulkhead
and floor behind and below the panel.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
i really need to take a break...pant, pant
here's a shot of today's progress, so far;
Attachment 51853
a few things to note;
first, the long, light gray piece
below the windows
is actually, 5 pieces.
for some reason, the texture is showing
the opposite of the side they should be on.
in other words, the pieces on the other side
of the fuselage are dark, but should be light,
like these, and vise versa.
i hope i can just swap sides with them.
we shall see.
second, for some reason, there is a line
just behind the windscreen.
i think it's a minor texture support chain alignment issue.
dink, dink, dink.
third, see the interior peeping around the front opening?
it's not a big deal...it's nothing, really.
fourth, looking closely at the shot,
i thought the texturing pattern was kind of interesting.
to get the effect, i took the shot
when the sim was out of focus.
it shows a slight texture misalignment,
first, between the aft and mid fuselage joint,
and second, between the mid and forward fuselage joint.
this is not visible when the sim is in focus,
but what the heck, all the same, it's a flaw
that should be a relatively easy fix.
i may put off fixing the texture issues for a bit
and go to work on the canopy framework next,
then align the windows to the frames,
copy them, including the windows, to the other side,
and finally, copy and flip the whole mess,
so the windows and frames can be seen from the inside.
theeeen, i need to decide the next move,
cowling/engine area, prop,
or, wings and all that goes with them.
no, i haven't forgotten the floats.
i'm planning on saving the float framework for last.
i figure that is going to be, visually,
the most challenging to get right.
hopefully, by that time, my skills will
have improved enough to do it justice.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
Anyone looking can instantly tell thats a P47 on floats, LOL
Looking great my friend.
It will be a great birthday present in august 2012 ??? maybe?
:mixedsmi:
Dave
Luv ya dude
Bravo smilo!
You're making progress at a fast pace. The issues you were having with the shading, in the first shot as well as in the third with the five canopy/middle section joints, appears to me to be vectors inversion. Can't say why and how to correct them with AD2000 though...
If the middle section bulkheads aft and fore are exactly the same as the fuselage aft and fore section, it could be only a question of overlapping by one unit both parts. Same thing with the dash top.
Again, good progress!
Torture numbers and they'll say anything.
Hubbabubba, Touche à tout.
thanks Dave, but, really?
what do you suppose my wife
wants with an ar196 model?
she's definitely not a simmer.
thanks, Guy.
You're making progress at a fast pace. The issues you were having with the shading, in the first shot as well as in the third with the five canopy/middle section joints, appears to me to be vectors inversion. Can't say why and how to correct them with AD2000 though...
If the middle section bulkheads aft and fore are exactly the same as the fuselage aft and fore section, it could be only a question of overlapping by one unit both parts. Same thing with the dash top.
Again, good progress!
i think i will have to think about your advisory.
i don't know much about vectors, yet,
let alone inverting them.
when i made the (5) parts,
i used parts that were originally tied to the bulkhead templates.
actually, first i covered the templates,
deleted the ones i didn't need,
then, modified those to the size i wanted,
two points from each one were already where they had to be.
when i first changed two of the original points,
i got a pop up window that said;
"Confirmation"
"template point: do you want to untie it?"
i said yes, because i wanted to change the points.
when i finished with one part,
i mirrored it to the other side.
just for grins, i am tempted to swap the parts,
from one side to the other,
just to see what happens.
it couldn't hurt.
but that will be later.
right now, i'm puttering with the canopy framework.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
I'm wondering out loud here; is it possible that, in keeping the points already in the "good" positions, you inverted the polygon's surface? Then, the outside would be inside and vice-versa, like a turned glove?when i made the (5) parts,
i used parts that were originally tied to the bulkhead templates.
actually, first i covered the templates,
deleted the ones i didn't need,
then, modified those to the size i wanted,
two points from each one were already where they had to be.
when i first changed two of the original points,
i got a pop up window that said;
"Confirmation"
"template point: do you want to untie it?"
i said yes, because i wanted to change the points.
when i finished with one part,
i mirrored it to the other side.
I started the tutorial a long time ago but never went very far with it. I can't believe that Hervé Devred would have missed something that obvious. It may be time for me to do a bit of studying of that prog, if only to understand what you're talking about smilo.
Torture numbers and they'll say anything.
Hubbabubba, Touche à tout.
Hey Smilo,
The shapes aren't quite what I would have expected, but it looks pretty good thus far. I am not entirely sure what to expect for shapes because I haven't spent the hours looking at photographs that I would have for one of my own projects.
From your description, it appears AD2000 is a much greater featured application than AF99 is. If you can flip vectors for a single polygon, then it seems there are possibilities.....
- Ivan.
my manager says i talk too much.
that i could spend more time building
if i didn't make each post,
a 500 word dissertation.
he has a valid point.
hubba, i spent a few hours today,
experimenting with the afore mentioned parts.
i tried flipping them, swapping them,
i even made new ones,
all to no avail, so i gave up, for now.
the solution will come in time...later.
Ivan, it is true that ad2k has many features.
most, i have no clue how to use.
but, i'm learning as i go along.
as for "shapes", i'm not sure i know what you mean.
other than those shown here.
i have not even begun to add the extras,
like exhausts, air scoop, antenna,
and those funny little oval dimples on the cowling.
Attachment 52031
it's been a busy weekend
------
maybe i should take a shot of this thing
on my 1024x768, secondary monitor.
she's looking pretty long and lean on the wide screen.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
Hi Smilo,
It finally dawned on me what you meant by correct only from ONE direction. If you are still having that issue, you might want to go back and look at my Tutorial for AF99 using the Macchi Veltro. Specifically, go look at the Cockpit section.
This is what Hubbabubba keeps calling "Ivan's Conga". The basic idea is to find the "Central Part" which for most of my projects is the Pilot's Head. To connect to the Pilot's Body, we use a viewing plane between Head and Body. The Viewing Plane or Seal or whatever is about where the Guillotine would go for an execution. If we are above the Neck, we see the Head in the Foreground. If we are below the Neck, we see the Body in the Foreground.
If you look at the example of the Cockpit on the Veltro, you can see how each additional Piece is added to the monster wad of stuff that was all the previously added Pieces with a new Viewing Plane between the New Piece and all the prior "Stuff".
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforum...5-Veltro/page6
Please Ignore this if you have already worked around the issue.
- Ivan.
somewhere, i'm sure of it, i just can't find it, there was mention of the lower float parts disappearing when the ac is at rest, then, reappearing when the ac taxis over a certain speed. please tell me i didn't dream this. if this is possible, please tell me how the feat is accomplished. is it an air file thing or what? i have spent the weekend building, rebuilding and rotating a float. it, actually, turned out pretty nice, if i do say so myself. it still doesn't have a rudder, though. minor detail i'll go take a screenie, after i splash some paint on it.
---------------
okay, here it is,
Attachment 52577
yes, the waterline is off.
it's a stock texture that i use
and it can be adjusted later.
there are a few other issues,
but i don't see them a major problems.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
Smilo,
Ivan brought that up I think a few posts back, he would Know far better than I, BUT
I was never impressed the way it worked in FS98 or CFS1 ( he may have a fix). I think
building the entire float will make the plane great for CFS2.
Dave
.
i've never intended to build
just the upper part of the floats.
that would look good in the water,
but totally wrong in flight.
while this model should be just fine in cfs2,
i haven't given that any thought.
it is mainly for cfs, but, thanks to ad2k, not exclusively.
if i can develop any skill with ad2k,
i would like to pursue a long time dream...
making the cfs ai models a little more visually accurate.
nothing too complex. i don't want to kill frame rates.
i just want a little better detail.
i would start with the Do17,
then do the mosquito,
then, the B-24, B-25 and Ju-88.
in my opinion, they are,
simply put, butt ugly.
but, first things first.
i am about ready to wrap it up for the weekend.
i started at 02:00, worked about 4 hours,
took a break and then,
have been at it for most of the day.
if nothing else,
i am definitely not speedy,
but i do feel like i have made progress.
sometimes the magic works.
sometimes it doesn't.
Hang in there my friend, I was once told "all good things are worth waiting for", It came true.
Many years ago I met my wife, later had a beautiful daughter, and now I have great friends
like yourself, Ivan, Hubba, Cees, Lindsay and to many to type in this post.
We are with you. although all on pins and needles.
Dave :salute:
The display of the underside of the float when moving above a certain speed is a conditional display feature of the model that can be set in AF99. These conditional displays are used for things like "Landing Gear Down", "Flaps Extended / Retracted" and other such things. There are none for Ailerons, Rudder, Elevator and AF99 / Aircraft Animator use "Tags" to communicate these Pieces to each other as "Speed Below XXX" conditional displays. They can also be used for real "Speed Below" things such as Floats....
I can email you a model I have that shows the way this works, but I don't know if that will really help you considering that this is a AF99 (and SCASM) feature and that isn't what you are using. I understand that AD2000 can also do animation, so perhaps you should look at that.
- Ivan.
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