Placing a building in FS2004 designed with GMax

[Guest GamePlayer]

I created a building using GMax 1.2 and I don't have the option to set the coordinates when I export it as an .mdl object file. I tried using SceneGenX to place my building in a particular location but all I end up with is a huge grey wall that is like 10000 ft high and 5 miles wide. What can I do to place my building I created with GMax?

[Guest Bell206freak]

First thing you need to do is go into gmax and read the scenery design tutorial - that is if you have the full gamepacks SDK from Microsoft installed. The tutorial's filename is "gmaxSceneryTutorial.doc" (Requires Microsoft Word) and can be found under gmax/gamepacks/fs2004/docsI don't have it with me right now, but you need to go in and set your display settings for a 1 meter grid. After that, you may need to greatly reduce the scale of your object to closely match what it is in reality.I had a similar problem, although I did not use SceneGenX to place any of my objects. What I used was the BGLCOMP SDK and AFCAD. Using AFCAD and FSUPIC, I was able to extract the exact location of the object I was going to place by placing a generic node onto the crosshair in AFCAD representing the location of my aircraft in slew mode. I also set the coordinate display settings to show something like this: N47.14234, W123.08685.Then, I copied the coordinates into the XML file generated by MakeMdl.exe and gmax, and removed the comment markers within the XML file.After that, I dragged the XML file onto BGLCOMP.exe and dropped it on it, creating the BGL file.

[Guest seev_39]

Take a look at the easy to use tutorials here;http://www.sk-flightsim.com/tutorials.html (There is also a PDF version)Exporting and changing coordinates is explained in Gmax Tutorial #2http://www.sk-flightsim.com/http://www.rwy12.com/

[arno 1]

As already suggested, you need to tweak the XML file produced along with your MDL file and enter the position in there. After that you need to compile it with BGLComp.If you are only placing a few objects and you might also want to try my ObPlacer XML tool. That allows you to place them while slewing in FS. It can also easily load your MDL file, so that it can be placed.