I am finding it very frustrating when i follow various tutorials by following the instructions to the word and it still does not work how it should. I really need to learn how to cut cockpit windows if i am to learn more about FSDS2. This is a big wall to me that i can not pass until i get my head around cutting cockpit windows.Can anyone help me? Is there a way of doing it by making a tube the shape of the window and then running it through the fuselage part and then doing something to cut anything that the tube passes through?

i recall that's only possible in gmax.okay.. i don't use DS2 but i assume you have some knowledge in DS2 to translate it into DS2 instructions..what i would do is this:delete the polygons overlapping the window frame..move the vertices manually to the frame shapeand create polygons so that you have window frames :)That's why i prefer gmax.. you can cut stuff easily :D

Ah i was toying with doing that! Will give it a go!

I've been playing with a new method....I call it the "mold and swap" method....First, I create a flat poly/part with as many points as I think I'm going to need for the window... I color the poly a contrasting color--usually red works best.Second, I position the poly over where the window will be. I then start moving the points in each axis so they align with the outline of the planned window. I use the "hide" feature quite a bit to assist in the alignment process. If done right, the red should just break the surface of the fuse.Once that piece is done, I remove all points from the fuse that overlap with the poly/part--this will also delete the polys in the fuse as well where the window should be.Next, I copy the part (window), then "merge" the original with the fuse part.Next, I build new poly's to connect to the window part....To add depth to the windows, I usually just copy the fuse after the windows are cut, and copy a new one with the polys flipped--and I scale it ever so slightly. I then play "connect the dots" to build the polys for the window frames. This is one of the last things I do in my projects, so any mods/updates I do to the windows are current.It's really a variation of the "tube" method, but once you get it down I think it's a bit easier, at least for me.-John

John, have you ever tried "Shape Merge?"Basically, you simply layout the pattern you want ("shape") for a cut-out area (like a window), then use the "Shape Merge - Cookie Cutter" process to "cut out your hole."Your original "shape" is retained, so you can then simply rename it as window and move on... :)I've found that "Shape Merge" often will work better than a boolean cutter will...

Thanks guys i'll give them both a try and get back to you with how they went

Bill,I suppose the way mentioned above ur post is using FSDS2..as i recall in FSDS2 there is no boolean and shapemerge..so we gmax users should be happy there are such things in gmax :-lol

I'm using FSDS 2, so I'm not really using a Boolean cutter. Probably what I am doing is closer to the shape merge. In a sense, I am creating a set of "replacement points" to use in the fuse, and they also serve as the outline of the window. -John

>I'm using FSDS 2, so I'm not really using a Boolean cutter. >Probably what I am doing is closer to the shape merge. In a>sense, I am creating a set of "replacement points" to use in>the fuse, and they also serve as the outline of the window. Oh, I see. Somehow I had gained the impression that you were a GMaxer... :)One of the neatest 'tricks' in GMax is the ability to select the "edges" of some shape, and then create a new "shape object" from those edges.One can then take the result and either use it in a "Shape Merge" operation, or convert that "Shape Object" to e-mesh or e-poly and build an entirely new poly object from it by adding the poly faces to the vertices... :)

A boolean is clean and quick.Example : A spiral where the wire size goes from small to bigger with cylinders, triangles and rectangles booleaned into it at equal spaces of travel along the axis of the spiral. Each object has its own spacing.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/80391.gifWould be a big challenge for me in FSDS. Yes, I have the latest version of FSDS. ;-)Yes, gmax is harder to learn, but that is only because it has so many more bells and whistles to get the job done. 3ds (gmax parent0 is a production house tool and if you master it or gmax you will be able to do many things quick and easy. Just takes time.Regards,BobSSeems the rage to talk about the "size and speed" of each others computer. Beat this if you can for solving novel/unique problem anywhere in the cosmos. ..Have K&E and know how to use it!

i found a trick i think helps. put in a large temporary disk ( so it passes all the way thru the fuselage) and translate it and rotate it to line up with the cut lines on the 3d projection of the texture. then use point move to line up points along the disk. ...doc