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"Best" Gmax Tutorial? (Read 532 times)

Sep 1^st, 2003 at 11:12pm

Travis Offline
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Okay, I have been using The Stupid Idiot's Guide to Gmax, but it has fallen short on cutting out the control surfaces. So what, in ya'lls opinion, is the best Gmax tutorial available?

(I tried the ones included with Gmax, but they couldn't help me.)

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Reply #1 - Sep 1^st, 2003 at 11:40pm

Mustang Offline
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well the stupid idiots guid is by far the best tutorial out there and it covers cutting out the controll surfaces pretty well in my opinion... what questions do you have maybe i can help Wink

Wink

later

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Reply #2 - Sep 2^nd, 2003 at 1:49am

Travis Offline
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Quote:

Cutting out your control surfaces is actually pretty easy. We'll do this with Edge/Cut. I find it easiest to use Snap/Edge to make sure I'm selecting the edges I want. In the top view I've simply traced the fontrol surface of

Adjusting Vertices: If you need to adjust some of the vertices you've created the best way to do this is again using Snap/Edge to move the vertex along one of the new edges. You can "slide" the vertex up and down along the edge as long as your edge is highlighted by the 3d snap.

Now repeat the process of cutting your edges out on the underside of the wing, ensuring you have everything line up. To assist ensuring the control surface lines up along the trailing edge you can use Snap/Vertex. This will snap to the vertex you made on the top.

Detaching the Control Surfaces is as simple as selecting the polygon and then clicking on Detach. You can repeat this command to separate the Aileron from the trim flap and the landing flap. However, in this case--since all three share the same hinge point--I'm going to seep them together a little longer.

Okay, that's a direct quote from the Idiot's Guide in the section on cutting out control surfaces. What I don't understand is in the first paragraph, it says to use Snap/Edge to select the edges, and then the next sentence degrades into gibberish. Edges of what? The object I'm cutting? The background images? Once I figure out that one part, all the rest should be fairly simple. Its just that little bit that has me confused.

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Reply #3 - Sep 2^nd, 2003 at 6:29pm

X_eidos2 Offline
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Not having read the idiot's guide (not qualified Grin

Grin

) I had to do a little testing before writing my answer.

The edges being referred to are the edges of the polygons of the mesh being edited.

Why the author of the tutorial has you cutting up edges to make control surfaces is beyond me. I've always taken the approach of having the edges of the polygons of the wing match the position of the control surfaces during the creation process, so that when it's time to make the ailerons, its always been a simple matter of detaching polygons from the wing mesh. Making trim tabs would be a simple matter of using the boolean process and going in and cleaning things up since boolean tends to make twice as many faces as you really need.

But this illustrated one of the beauties of software. There's always more than one way to do the task. Which way is best depends on personal preferences.

In the Gmax help file there's a good description on how to use the cut edge function.

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Reply #4 - Sep 7^th, 2003 at 7:49pm

Scottler Offline
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Unless I'm an absolute moron, which has been known to be true from time to time, I found even the Stupid Idiot's Guide a bit advanced for me. It just jumped right into it. Anyone else think so?

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #5 - Sep 7^th, 2003 at 11:05pm

Travis Offline
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Deffinitely. I think the guy is pretty advanced at it, and took for granted some of the things people don't know starting out. There are times when I have to reread things three or four times and then go back in the guide and read over something else before I understand it. Kinda strange, but its making me pay attention . . . Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

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Reply #6 - Sep 7^th, 2003 at 11:28pm

Felix/FFDS Offline
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The idea of teh SIGtoGmax is to do it AFTER you've done the gmax tutorials.

It is important to do the basic program-handling tutorials before you attempt others.

Not everything in the gmax default tutorials applies to FS, but more important is getting to familiarize yourself with the program.

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #7 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 9:10am

Scottler Offline
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Well, that would certainly explain why the only thing I was able to successfully create was a cylinder. lol (Which, admittedly, is farther than I've gotten on previous attempts. So I suppose the SI Guide did something. lol)

I'll have to check out the regular tutorials when I get home. Anyone know where I can find those?

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #8 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 10:41am

Felix/FFDS Offline
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If you have FS9, gmax 1.2, the help files and default tutorials are in disc 1 under the "Extras" folder.

They are also a separate download from the discreet site....

Don't forget, that there are also specific tutorials/links from the FFDS site, Tutorials Section.

Quote:

I'll have to check out the regular tutorials when I get home. Anyone know where I can find those?

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #9 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 10:45am

Scottler Offline
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Felix, you are truly a help. Thanks. I've actually seen the tutes on the FFDS site, but it was when I was still afraid of gMax. Perhaps tonight, after stops at the bank and the pet store, and before the finale of "For Love or Money 2", I'll be able to try it out.

Assuming the modler is of average intellect, about how long do you think it would take someone to get to the point of being comfortable designing and building aircraft?

Also, where does one find the specs for various aircraft? One thing I couldn't find was the radius of the fueslage, which is important in gMax. I found the length of the plane I was trying to build, but nowhere could I find the radius!

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #10 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 11:27am

Felix/FFDS Offline
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Quote:

Assuming the modler is of average intellect, about how long do you think it would take someone to get to the point of being comfortable designing and building aircraft?

Anywhere from one week to two years....

Quote:

Also, where does one find the specs for various aircraft? One thing I couldn't find was the radius of the fueslage, which is important in gMax. I found the length of the plane I was trying to build, but nowhere could I find the radius!

If you have a proper scaled backdrop, with the "basic" dimensions correct, other dimnesions fall into place. Depending on the quality of your image, you may be a few inches "off", but remember, you're making an artistic statement, rather than making a detail engineering document.

For example, presuming you have the correct wingspan in your view, when you draw your cylinder against the iimage, you'll "fit" it to the backdrop. Say you estimate the diameter/radius off a bit, you can still us the spinner to adjust it.

Quote:

Felix, you are truly a help. Thanks. I've actually seen the tutes on the FFDS site, but it was when I was still afraid of gMax. Perhaps tonight, after stops at the bank and the pet store, and before the finale of "For Love or Money 2", I'll be able to try it out.

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #11 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 12:33pm

Scottler Offline
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Ah-Ha!!! There's another thing I was doing incorrectly. I'm such a Stupid Idiot...oh wait, this book IS for me!

Where can I find the images to use as a backdrop? I've tried finding info here at SimV and also at airliners.net, but I didn't see anything that I could use as a template, so to speak.

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #12 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 2:10pm

Felix/FFDS Offline
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sigh -

Go to
Simviation Design Utilities Page and towards the bottom of the page you'll see 3-View Resources which gathers my favorite resources for backdrop images - 3-views and scale plans...

Quote:

Ah-Ha!!! There's another thing I was doing incorrectly. I'm such a Stupid Idiot...oh wait, this book IS for me!

Where can I find the images to use as a backdrop? I've tried finding info here at SimV and also at airliners.net, but I didn't see anything that I could use as a template, so to speak.

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #13 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 2:59pm

Scottler Offline
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Thank you Felix. I promise. If I've got any further questions, I'll ask someone else. You've done more than your share today, and it's appreciated.

Thanks! Grin

Grin

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #14 - Sep 8^th, 2003 at 4:56pm

Travis Offline
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Scott, what aircraft are you looking to build, specifically? I looked through the 3-view resources here at SimV, but the aircraft I was looking for (Hughes H-1) didn't have very good views. I asked here, though, and got three different e-mails with all the specs I could possibly need! It was great!

So if you're looking for a specific aircraft type, just come to this forum and post it. Someone will see it and try . . .

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Reply #15 - Sep 9^th, 2003 at 11:03am

Scottler Offline
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Ender Baron-

I wasn't really looking for anything particular, I was just hoping to learn a new skill that is useless anywhere but in F$. lol

To do this, I was hoping to build me a purdy lil 727, but after going through the landing gear tutorial, I've decided that it's just way too much to learn just for a hobby. lol

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #16 - Sep 9^th, 2003 at 3:44pm

Travis Offline
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Hey, man, that's why I'm learning it! I used to use TurboCAD every day, and that was just a hobby, but I soon learned to use it very proficiently. If I just spend a few hours a week on Gmax, I'm sure I can get used to it. It will certainly take me awhile, though. I consider it a usefull waste of my time . . .

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Reply #17 - Sep 9^th, 2003 at 3:58pm

Scottler Offline
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And then six months from now, you'll get an email that says "Hey Ender Baron, I need you to make me a DC-10." haha j/k

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #18 - Sep 9^th, 2003 at 5:31pm

Felix/FFDS Offline
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Quote:

And then six months from now, you'll get an email that says "Hey Ender Baron, I need you to make me a DC-10." haha j/k

You forgot to add: "In historic Eastern Air Lines livery"..

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #19 - Sep 10^th, 2003 at 4:25am

Travis Offline
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I made a promise to myself when I started doing this. "I will never make a flying cigar tube!" Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

And I don't plan on it.

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Reply #20 - Sep 10^th, 2003 at 7:46am

Felix/FFDS Offline
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A modeller after Inspector POly's heart ...

Quote:

I made a promise to myself when I started doing this. "I will never make a flying cigar tube!" Roll Eyes

Roll Eyes

And I don't plan on it.

Felix/FFDS

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Reply #21 - Sep 10^th, 2003 at 5:58pm

Travis Offline
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Who ees dees "Inspector Poly"?

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Reply #22 - Sep 12^th, 2003 at 1:01pm

Katahu Offline
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I haven't read this entire thread, so pardon me if I repeat anything.

There is this website that not only gives you loads of tutorials, but also TONS of 3 view images (from cars, to weapons, to even characters and planes of all sorts).

www.onnovanbraam.com

Go to this website, and you'll be surprised if you explore it a little more than you have to.

This is where I learned how to master the art of the SPLINE tool that Gmax has to offer. I'm pretty surprised that not that many people know about it.

On e of the tuts teaches you how to make a car by using the spline tool rather than a primitive object like a box. The new tool may be advanced for you people, but the site also offers you a tut that teaches you the very basics of splines (a lot better than those tuts that FS9 and discreet provides).

I think that also has a tutorial that teaches you how to make the heads of you favorite character(s) by using the spline tool as well rather than a simple box that the common tuts tell you.

At the same time, the site also provides many pics of the finished models. The pics gives you an idea of how much it pays off to know all about you 3-D design program.

These tuts only refer to 3Ds Max. However, since 3Ds Max and Gmax have the exact same tools, features, and rely on the same principals, you'll quickly get the hang of these tutorials even if you only have Gmax rather than 3Ds Max.

The spline tool is what I used to make the model of Project Mercedes and Project Have Blue.

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Reply #23 - Sep 12^th, 2003 at 7:00pm

Han Offline
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Although the tutorials at the site underneath are not in relation to airplanes but if you want some basic skills of max (gmax is just a flavor of max) try the ones at 3Dbuzz.com. They are video's with sound, and sometimes a bit corny, but the thing is they do the tutorial from the bare basics of it all. Including some students who make comments that aren't used to gmax and 3d modelling in general. If you have nerdy humour qualities, check it out...the only thing you need is a reasonable fast connection, you have to register at the site (FREE!) and brew a cup of coffee and you can be busy for hours...I certainly recommend the first two VTM's of the site, the rest is maybe a bit too far advanced, these first two are made in the mother of gmax > max4, and although some color's might be different, the basic setup of the programs is the same...

One of the vid's you'll find interesting in regard to blueprints, is issue number 4, video 1 and 2...

http://www.3dbuzz.com

If you succesfully registred at the site, look in the left pane under downloads>3Dmax...

Pilots are the best computers we can put aboard aircraft, and the only ones that can be massproduced with unskilled labor..

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