Starting my first project

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

Hi I am new to the forums and scenery design and want to start my first remake of KORH (Worcester Regional).I have GMAX,FS gamepack,Airport 2.60,AFCAD,BGLcomp,PSP7,and the MS SDK installed.I am fairly new to GMAX but I figured out how to make simple structures and texture them.What I would like to know right now is how to add more apron to the exsiting airport.Also what additional programs I need.

[Bill Womack 7]

Congrats on getting started! You've assembled most of the right tools, so now it's just a matter of getting used to them. Aprons are probably most easily added using AFCAD. If you look in Lee's documentation for that program you'll see how it's done. It's probably one of the easiest things you'll do in scenery design.Good luck!

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

Thanks for your reply. I have AFCAD 2.0 and it says in the documentation that aprons cannot be changed. Is there a newer version out I do not know about?

[Bill Womack 7]

Yes, there is. Check in the file library here and order by date and you'll find it. I'm using version 2.21 and it can change aprons.thanks,

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

Thanks, I now have the apron layout like the real KORH.Now how do I remove all the default buildings?

[arno 1]

You need to make an exclude for that. You best make this exclude with the program you are going to use to place your new buildings I think.Which program where you planning to use for your new buildings? If you use GMax with the new Fs2004 gamepack you can probably best use SceneGenX to place your objects.If you are designing older API macros, you can use Airport for Windows or FSSC.

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

I will be using GMAX to add the new buildings.Also where should the FS2004 Gamepack be in my GMax folder?

[arno 1]

If you just run the setup that comes with the gamepack and then point it to the GMax folder everything will be installed correctly. To check if the gamepack is working you can best try to export a simple object to a scenery MDL file and see if that happens without errors.

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

Ok a few more questions.What exactly are MACROS?What is a .XML file? I will get ScenGenX, what exactly is it used for?Can I create roads with it.Do I really need Airport for windows? It seems like a outdated and complicated program.Is there any othe programs I should look into getting?Sorry for all the beginer questions but i'm still learning the basics i'm sure there will be more to come.

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

OK, I figured out what a .XML file is and does.

[bob.bernstein 0]

The word Macro is used in the context of programming. If you write a program, you could type the same set of commands more than once, or you could produce a standalone set of code that you reference more than once. The latter idea is in play when you create a flightsim macro...the macro is the subroutine that could be called by a main program. Alone, the macro is of no value, it cannot be compiled to be used by the application, its only when the macro gets called by the main program that it executes its code.In flightsim terms, programs like Airport and fssc were designed to produce code (bgl files) that flightsim can display. They made it possible to import macros that you might create using fsds or eod. Gmax code can be also used in macro form, but you have to jump thru hoops to get there, and I don't know if that can be done with the fs2004 gamepack. Nor would I worry about it, using xml output of gmax is pretty handy.I agree with you that the purpose of Airport and other assembler programs is in doubt, as the features of interest become availalbe in programs like AFCAD and GMAX. Pretty soon, there is no point in Airport left. My assembler tool of choice used to be fssc, but I've now stopped using it entirely, relying on AFCAD, GMAX, Ground2k4 as the primary tools.B

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

Thanks bob,Is Ground2k4 the same or similiar to SceneGenX?I would like to create a few roads into my airport, which program is handy for that?Also I am a little unclear about this exclude option.Does it mean when I import my new structures it will take the old ones out?

[bob.bernstein 0]

I guess I'm not sure what the value of scenegenx is. Never looked at it. I did just now google it, and it looks a bit more like a competitor to afcad - taxiways and such. Ground2k4 will let you alter the land/water masks...that's the way the default is defined for what is land and what is water, plus it lets you create custom polygons with or without custom textures, and it lets to exclude default roads, and stuff like that. I think of Ground 2k4 as operating on the underlying world...while tools like gmax and afcad operate on the stuff that sits on the underlying world. Ground2k4 is a good tool to place roads and bridges. Think of roads as part of the default basic world. Excludes exist for both levels, but they're different. Ground2k4 can create its own excludes for its own stuff, but you also need a "topside" exclude to remove existing structures. Importing new structures won't take out the old...for that you need the "topside" exlude. There are helper programs to make this exclude, I think one is called excbuilder, or something like that. B

[arno 1]

I agree with Bob here.SceneGenX is very similar to AFCAD, both allow you to design the airports (SceneGenX is the XML version of Airport for Windows). The disadvantage of AFCAD is that you can not place custom objects with it, while SceneGenX allows you to do so. But for the rest I think AFCAD is easier to use.

[Guest Lt_Hawk]

Well I am currently in the process of modeling my new terminal and hangers in GMAX.I will be downloading Ground2k4 today.