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Modeling using XtoMDL

Discussion, tutorials,hints and tips relating to designing military ai aircraft.
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Sophie Marketa
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Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

Does anybody else find modeling animated parts with the XtoMDL compiler protocols more difficult than the FS2004 makeMDL compiler ? Just want to know if it just me, after 5 year's out of modeling.
How many are using MCX to get around the complexity of XtoMDL.
regards,
Sophie
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

Anybody using FSDS 3.5.1 worked out how to animated a child flap to the main flap, example 737 flaps.
I can animate the main upper flap without issue but as soon as I animate a child flap that sits below, the part separates from the main flap during the animation movement within a compiled .MDL.
The strange thing is, the lower flap childs to the parent flap part perfectly when the animation keyframe are removed.
Sophie
JohnTenn
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by JohnTenn »

Sophie

Just a question.

Is the animation correct when you check it in the sim?
I have seen some strange things in MCX which are not so in the sim.

Have you tried animating both flaps in turn at the same key frame position?

I may be creating noise but I hope it helps.

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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by JohnTenn »

I should have engaged my brain before replying.

Given this more thought.

Try linking the trailing flap to the wing.

Failing that. Remove the animation from the main flap.
Animate the full sequence of the trailing section with the main flap at 0.
Once complete, link the trailing flap to the main flap.
Then animate the main flap.

John
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

Thanks John, I'll give that a go first thing in the morning. I never thought of animating the parts in a reverse process.
I did find another way, which was to animate the parts separately using two different anchor points.
The funny thing is, these flap parts are identical to an animation I did for landing gear bay doors which worked straight up so I'm just baffled as to what I'm doing here with the flaps. Having fun learning all this stuff for FSX, despite a few heartbreak moments.
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

John, tried everything you mentioned above but the two parts continued to separate at the moment the animation keyframe button was selected for upper part. I really don't get what is happening. The part childs to the upper animated part just fine and right up to when you attempt to keyframe it, then it separates as I mentioned. It must be an axis issue that I can't see, although i didn't have any of these issues when I made a complete set of landing gear that has several child parts that are animated. The landing gear is parent and child in the same way as these flaps with the only exception being that the XYZ axis is the same on all child parts as the parent part. In the default axis position when made a child.

I haven't been able to make the child flap rotate when the XYZ axis is in the default position. Maybe I am still missing something in your explanation, I will email you a copy of the ,fsc and perhaps you can have a fiddle with it and let me know what I am missing.
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

Several hours over a couple of days and I found my answer from trial and error... but it still has some minor limitation for flap rotation.
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John Young
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by John Young »

Although Gmax appears to be much easier to use for this type of animation Sophie, I still found wing and flap arrangements like this to be very challenging. You've done very well to get this far. Well done for staying with it.

What is the aircraft you are building?

John
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

John,
Thank you for your kind words.
The wing is a 737-800 that I am using to learn complex animations via the XtoMDL compiler using the default modeldef codes.
I find it to be a great learning model as it is a challenge to work through.
Once I have the animation processes learn't, it should make modeling much more enjoyable and far quicker to get through.
regards,
Sophie
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

Cooking with gas now. Like anything, once you learn the tricks, its becomes much easier to do. Not that its a simple process, there is still a fair bit of guess work to sort out the axis angles for a smooth rotation on multiple parts. Doing the opposite wing is much simpler as its just a matter of coping the axis angles and applying them on the other wing. Big thanks to Kevin Reed who got me on my way with these animations.
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

Just to share an observation when texturing the outer delta wing part of the flaps. I found it much easier to texture map the parts before getting them ready to animate as the axis is put out of alignment when using parent and child parts. This only seems to effect the outer delta wing and not the inner flap as its axis remains untouched in the animation process.
Another way around the texture map issue is to map the part on your texture sheet on a horizontal line and not as the delta wing angle would copy / paste to your texture sheet. Any way, its how I got to work.
Sophie
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Sophie Marketa
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Re: Modeling using XtoMDL

Post by Sophie Marketa »

Seemed like a waste of good wings and animations, so I turned it into a fully FSX native coded 737 Wedgetail. The model comes in at a staggering 10,000 triangles, so its not the the lightest model I have ever made. I'd like to think of it more as a flyable model than an AI.
I know John has already made a great AI version of this airframe and I have it flying in my sim, so this one will make a good flight model when using the default 737 panel and sound set. I still have a few minor issues to sort out with it but I'm learning heaps about FSX and MCX.
Sophie
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