I conducted a search and found some relavent info to my question but I was wondering what is the best tool to create and place an industrial plant that is close to CYVR. It would add to the realism of FS2004 as it is along the flight path of arriving and departing aircraft. Can anyone point me in the right direction. Thanks,Max

Hi Max,If you want to design a detailed plant, GMax is probably your best option. This allows you to design it as close to the real one as you want.If on the other hand you are happy with placing a default library object (not sure if there are many that can be used as industrial plant), you could also use the Rwy12 Object Placer tool.

Thanks Arno,I downloaded gmax yesterday and had a look at the P38 tutorial. When I have some time I will sit down and design something... just have to get used to using the program.Max

If you need a more detailed tutorial, I would recommend downloading the full gmax gamepacks SDK available at the FS2004 SDK downloads page (This is if you just downloaded gmax from turbosquid). The P38 tutorial that's available, if used to create scenery, isn't quite as adequate and misses some important steps. The gmax gamepacks SDK contains some demonstration obects and detailed tutorials on how to build scenery objects (the object in the tutorial is a simple house, but its methods can be applied to anything you build), texture them, and export them to FS using the MakeMDL SDK and BGLCOMP.exe.In addition, there's several scripts (or tools) that the gamepacks SDK has that can allow you to add effects or attach other objects to your scenery objects, such as chimney smoke or a beacon. I would recommend gmax if you want to recreate that industrial plant. I struggled literally for almost a year and a half before I finally managed to master the basics of gmax.

Thanks Bell206Freak, I will have a look at the files you mentioned and give them a try. Hopefully I can master gmax as alot of you obviously have already.Max

Max, gmax is a great program that is extremely powerful. However, its complexity can put people off. Quite often people simply gave up because of the - apparently - steep learning curve. So my advice would be - if you want it! : don't try to run before you can walk. I would suggest you forget about making real scenery for a couple of weeks. Instead, work through the excellent manual and, most importantly, do the tutorials that take you from the basics to the more advanced topics. At first it may seem a bit overwhelming but hopefully there will be a point when it suddenly clicks and you find yourself opening modifiers without a second's thought. In reality gmax is pretty easy and the user interface is superb. For example, you can do modelling in the perspective view, just like a sculptor. gmax should be good as it is almost identical to 3dsmax, one of the top professional modelling packages that costs thousands of dollars. Anyway, good luck and have fun.... Best regards, Chris