The GMAX terminal gates alive

[Guest manny3]

Oddly, my animation worked when I switched to the makemdl program that came with the SDK. It seems to me the old makemdl doesn't compile the animation sequence.Arno, can you post the NAV Freq variable? I don't really know how to program the BGL but it seems we need to have a counter to stop the the animation in the middle. Is it possible to do? Or maybe you are already on to it, Arno.Yep, I'm also happy you are spending so much time to explore the secrets of scenery designs. I know it is very rewarding but it also takes so much patience. :-)Manny

[arno 1]

The NAV2 freq variable is 07C2.I have now found out how to use different ASM files depending on that freq, so I can start an animation by selecting the freq.But, as you said, we will need some sort of counter or memory to stop the animation again. This is also needed to let it start at the beginning and not in the middle (the animation plays endlessly on the background and does not start from 0 when you call it using the freq).I have some ideas on how to solve these problems and I am going to try them this evening. I will make posts of my progress here.Arno

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Member Netherlands 2000 Scenery Team[a href=http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen]http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen/banner.jpg[/a]

[Guest manny3]

Thanks again, Arno!Will experiment in the meantime.BTW, animation works in library objects generated by FSRegen. There is an additional procedure to be done because FSRegen rewrites the Filename_0.asm file and inserts the word GO in the animation labels causing error when compiling with BGLC.I am using the makemdl that came with the SDK with the Keep Files option checked and the No Animation left unchecked during the export. I did not use middleman. The new makemdl doesn't seem to work with Middleman (I'm using version 1.10)To get around the rewrite problem, I saved a copy of Filename_0.asm before assembling the library in FSRegen. The default Copy of Filename_0.asm. is sufficient as this is only a temporary file.I then created the library file in FSRegen. After this procedure I went back to the export folder and delete Filename_0.asm, then renamedCopy of Filename_0.asm to Filename_0.asm. Run the Library.asm in BGLC and voila. An animated library object that can be called in an API within Airport290 (or Airport260).Pardon the long post if you already knew this. :-)Manny

[Guest manny3]

Arno,I still don't know how to implement variables and branching in BGL. But my theory on controlling animation is this:1. Define a true-false variable which is checked before the code enters the bgl_animate command. Initialize this variable to true so animation runs first time.2. After the animation command, set the variable to false so animation will be skipped on the next cycle.3. When the correct NAV2 freq is selected, the variable is set to true AND the variable that holds the number of frames in the animation (this is the 4th line below the xxx_trans_1 label word line in the animation code) is set to 50. This will cause the animation to stop in the middle of the movement. I tried this and this works but the animation restarts again after the half time is consumed but it still stops at the middle of the suceeding cycles.4. The true-false variable is again set to false so animation is skipped.5. To reverse (as in when the NAV2 freq is unselected, we will have to copy and paste the other half of the animation and this is the code to where the execution pointer jumps to.This is purely my imagination and I don't know how to encode it in bgl but it might work.Also we may need to call the drawing routine for the object at the transformed coordinates when the animation is inactive.Hmmm, looks like a lot of work.What do you think?Manny

[arno 1]

Hi Manny,I am afraid that will not work, for example at point 3 I do not always have 100, it is also 2 sometimes. And then you can not stop it in the middle that way. But.....YIPPEEI have had some great succes this evening. I can now select the NAV2 freq and the gate will only start moving when it is at the start of the animation. It will no longer start in the middle, it will wait until it is at the start and then start moving.I am going to use the same procedure for the backward motion, but at this moment bed is calling (it's rather late here), so I will finish it tomorrow evening. I think I can then have a competely working example :).Arno

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Member Netherlands 2000 Scenery Team[a href=http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen]http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen/banner.jpg[/a]

[Guest]

Thanks again Arno, your an absolute champ!Jarrad

[Guest manny3]

Hi Arno,With that great big Yippee up there I think we are on the verge of something really big. Go to bed now and rest you earned that and more, that is if you can. I know you will be dreaming of those moving objects obeying your wishes and in the morning you know exactly what to do. ;)Manny

[Guest]

This is going to be a milestone for all thanks Arno youare sure good Friend to us all! Rusty Harris :-beerchug

[arno 1]

>Go to bed now and rest you earned that and more, that is if >you can. I know you will be dreaming of those moving objects >obeying your wishes and in the morning you know exactly what >to do. ;) Hehe, you know how it works. It took me about half a hour to get to sleep, I kept thinking about moving boxes and what I now could do :).So, when I got up this morning I couldn't resist trying some things and here is the result:http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen/download/ani_test.zipThis file includes a readme about the test scenery and the scenery itself, so you can all have a look at it.PS Rusty: It will be a lot of work to make your gate animated this way, as you have a lot of animated parts. Can you maybe group some parts so that the gate will have only a few animation commands?Arno

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Member Netherlands 2000 Scenery Team[a href=http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen]http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen/banner.jpg[/a]

[Guest manny3]

Wow, Arno, you didn't go to sleep. :-)Will take a look at it right after office hours. Can't think of anything else. Heheh.Manny

[Guest]

YES OH YES. I can't wait to have my double fingered gate at SBPA fit both on an MD-11 or just one on a B737.

[arno 1]

OK, I have uploaded a tutorial to my website now. Please let me know if parts are not clear to you. You can find it in the GMax tips section. Click on the banner below to go to my site.Arno

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Member Netherlands 2000 Scenery Team[a href=http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen]http://home.wanadoo.nl/arno.gerretsen/banner.jpg[/a]

[Guest manny3]

Arno, That is an excellent tutorial.My hangar doors (there are eight leaves) now open and close depending on NAV2 frequency and does so only when the animation starts and not at the middle.Very nice!Thank you again Arno for a great work! :-)Manny