>Hi Bill,>>A bit of off topic, but do you know if it is possible to>create MOVABLE landable platforms in FSX? I haven't tried this>yet, but I saw an "adventure" where you have to land Piper Cub>onto a school bus... and I would call that a movable platform,>so it looks promising...Yes, you can easily create "movable platforms." One of the Missions includes landing on the helipad of a luxury yacht... ;)

>I see...>>So, none of the intermediate files are available for scrutiny?>I'm a little confused, I thought you could read the x file if>you could see the Meta-data added.>>And the ASM file - are we talking the FS9 ASM or the "real",>hex code? Again, if those can't be captured, it's a moot>point.>>Perhaps I will set some time aside and go through the FSX>design process myself before I start asking more questions...>>As a footnote - aren't FS9 models compatible with FSX? Why not>stick with MakeMDL?FR9 models are mostly compatible. Material based "colors" applied to parts render them invisible, landing/taxi light ground splashes are INOP except in 2d panel (because of the shift from texture rendered "animations" to Shader rendered animations), etc.The .asm files in the FS9 export chain are the specialized version one could calle "FS9 ASM" rather much like the XML code generated is also unique to FS.The only reason I can "see" the exported DirectX files to examine their Metadata tags is because I also have Max8...The export module used for Max7/8 generates only DirectX files. The modeler then has to compile the .mdl manually by drag-n-dropping the xxx_interior.x file onto XtoMDL.exe to generate the actual .mdl file.The GMax export however is seamless, and no residual trace of the DirectX files is left in the folder to examine/modify... ;(

Bill, that's awesome...A couple of more q's to pick your brain: - are the objects designed for FSX "BACKWARDS" compatible to FS9? - can those platforms move in any direction? Specifically, up/down? I'd love to do an elevating helipad... - can we somehow trigger the anims through a gauge? I used to be able to do that with the CAT tool (Thanks ARNO!!), where I was able to trigger the start of the anim by tuning a specific frequency. I noticed that you can tell that bus in the adventure when to get going ...As always, thanks!

> - are the objects designed for FSX "BACKWARDS" compatible to>FS9?No. The .mdl format used by FSX is completely incompatible with FS9. For one thing, the .mdl file is no longer "compressed and/or optimized." The same mesh in FS9 might produce a 1.2 MB .mdl file, whereas in FSX it might total 4.3 MB... The chief advantage of the new format is that it may be sent directly to the video card without having to be "uncompressed" by FSX in main memory first. Hence, models load far faster overall.> - can those platforms move in any direction? Specifically,>up/down? I'd love to do an elevating helipad...That should not be a problem...> - can we somehow trigger the anims through a gauge? I used to>be able to do that with the CAT tool (Thanks ARNO!!), where I>was able to trigger the start of the anim by tuning a specific>frequency. I noticed that you can tell that bus in the>adventure when to get going ...Understand that I am NOT a scenery modeler (except at the most simplistic level), so take what I say here with huge grains of salt...I don't think that a "gauge" can communicate directly with a scenery model. For that, the Mission system uses SimConnect...It is possible for a gauge to talk to SimConnect which in turn will talk to the scenery model... ;)

I did some tests last night and I came up with a pretty good band-aid for the self-illumination (or lack of it) problem. If you check the material's "Assume vertical normals" option, you get a reasonable facsimile of a self-illuminated object. Like other techniques we were discussing, it works fine at night, dawn, and dusk, but it also works throughout most of the day. When the sun is low in the sky (post-dawn or pre-dusk), objects look a dit dark, but not horrendus. Until MS comes up with a real fix, it will do.One gotcha: the option likes to turn itself off for some goofy reason, so before doing your final export you have to make sure it's turned on.