custom pushback truck

[Guest nextlevelgfx]

hi there! :)I have seen quite a couple of addon aircraft that have custom pushback trucks. Any idea how this is be done?? The FSX pushtruck is a generic object I guess that can't be influenced... so is there a way to lets say model a custom pushtruck and assign that to a specific aircraft?thanks so far,Oli :)

[Guest ziporama]

Ideas on this:- Some add-ons include the truck in the mdl file as part of the aircraft model and animated as such. I call that the "cheating" method because the truck is tied to the specific model. No different from stairs, chocks, red carpets, etc, you see on some add-ons. This approach only works with the add-on.- A very old technique is to use scenery variables to control models you place in scenery (dynamic scenery). Have to use SCASM or similar tools that produce the same result. Primarily circa FS2000. Not seen it work in FSX, uses old format BGLs. May work in FSX (backwards compatible) but seems to be way too much work.- FSX introduces dynamic objects via Simconnect. These objects can be static, given waypoints on the ground and/or flight plans. I was researching this and verified you can create your own model (I used GMAX in my case) and place it anywhere in relation to your aircraft. If you setup the model's animation to respond to standard FS values (example rudder), you can make the wheels turn, etc... That seems by far the easiest way to setup a pushback truck, and I'm looking at incorporating this in my next version of my ground utility gauge (atngau), when I get around to it... One desired feature in FSX would be for the ability to get a list of all objects in the vicinity of your aircraft so you could actually simulate a pushback with collision detection. Gotta love the ability to pushback smack into that fuel truck...Etienne