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EZ Scenery...FSDS V3??

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Guest Hugo

Hi all! I was not feeling that great lately and did not do much in scenery desing or even visiting this forum. Beside I had a problem with FS9 and had to reinstall it from scratch.Yesterday, I came back to the forum and got the news about EZ-Scenery. I got the trial package and gave a fast shot at it. Looks very interresting indeed and very much so as, if I gathered it well, one could make use of Rwy12 objects as well as other that may be developped by 3rd party.One interresting thing I red in the Help file though, is it can use those objects created by FSDS V3!! Properly imbedded into an object library I assume. I'm not shure if FSDS V3 is available yet but it should be soon if I got that right. I contacted Abacus today about this. I'm an FSDS V2 user that was supposed to work my way to Gmax this fall but haven't done so yet for the reasons mentionned above.Now I just wonder if it is still worth I make this move given Gmax's steep learning curve and the fact that FSDS V3 new features would make it an almost as versatile tool as Gmax the way I see it.Here's what Abacus says about FSDS V3: New Full FS2004 compatiblity. FSDS now uses the Microsoft MakeMDL and BGLComp tools that provide the complete FS2004 feature set. New Export to .x file fomat. For advanced users who want to "tweak" the .x file for MakeMDL. New Boolean operations provide powerful way to cut and split parts. New Animation capabilities as provided by the FS2004 documentation New Support for using specialized textures: nighttime, lightmaps, more. New Unlimited Undo / Redo. Protects your model from inadvertent design errors. Roll back each design operation, step-by-step. New User selectable Autosave interval. Safeguards your model from computer failure. New FSDS V2 compatibility. New version recognizes and handles earlier file versions. New Aircraft Specification Sheet simplifies setup of new aircraft for Flight Simulator Updated HELP files with tutorials for making animated scenery.What do Gmax users think about this description against Gmax possibilities?Thanks for your comments,Hugo

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Hi Hugo,As it states that MakeMDL will be used, the resulting scenery will be in the new Fs2004 format. So that removes one big reason to move to GMax. It is good to see that other tools are starting to use the new Fs2004 techniques.About the other features it is hard to say much without having the tool. Things like boolean sound similar to GMax, but you would have to see it in action to know if it is really as powerfull as the boolean function in GMax (which is one of my favorite functions when modelling).


Arno

If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done.

FSDeveloper.com | Former Microsoft FS MVP | Blog

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Guest Hugo

Thanks Arno for the fast reply. Coming from someone like you is certainly very much encouraging :)To tell you the truth, I was not that keen going through learning Gmax from scratch. But if that would have been the price to move to next FS desing generation then I would have. Hopefully V3 will be sufficient to make this step.As for the boolean functions of V3 vs Gmax, unless I go through Gmax altogether, I wont be in position to realy appreciate one against the other ;) You could have a better idea of what Abacus means for this option, over the dry statement mentionned above, by going to Abacus related link as showned in EZ-Scenery help file. It seams that, for the moment, this is the only way to link to this site, as I wasn't able to find it readyly by going directly to Abacus site.Meanwhile I'll be looking for Abacus's email about the availability of the tool and will post it here ASAP.Thanks again for the kind words :)Hugo

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Guest Hugo

OK, I got the reply from Abacus. FSDS V3 shall be available early december. I already order it along with EZ-Scenery and a couple of other goodies in a promotional deal with 40% discount :-)Hugo

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Wow, this looks promising. I really don't like working with Gmax and I've used Abacus products for scenery/aircract design in the past. If FSDS will make SDK-compliant models, then I'm ready to lay some cash down.


Jeff Bea

I am an avid globetrotter with my trusty Lufthansa B777F, Polar Air Cargo B744F, and Atlas Air B748F.

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Guest Hugo

Well I aleady bought it. Got the reply theyr'e looking for a release december 9.Hugo

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>What do Gmax users think about this description against Gmax>possibilities?The thing about Gmax is that it was never created as a FS-specific design platform. Therefore, there are plenty of features in it which we would probably never need. So, generally, I think that FSDS3 will satisfy most users needs. However, there are those who have a better grasp of Gmax than I do that will stick with it, since it still works fine, and there will always be those extra features that Gmax has that these people will find useful.I was never as proficient at Gmax as I was at FSDS2. Mostly, I just didn't have the time to learn it as well, but slowly I was catching up. Now I think I'll switch back to FSDS, since that is what I always knew best.Overall, I think that the release of FSDS3 will be a good thing for the community. To start with, Autodesk no longer supports Gmax as a stand-alone product, and this leaves the question of future Gmax registrations in doubt. Hopefully, MS will come up with some sort of solution besides having us all upgrade to 3ds Max (we're talking next version of FS here...). Also, there is plenty of "FS2004" scenery and aircraft out there that is actually being created using FS2002 methods. All these people will have the benefit of using the FS2004 SDK to create their scenery, which should ensure an easier transition to the next version of FS.I wonder if we will still be able to export objects as .api's, or if it will restrict us to .mdl files. If so, then we could still create scenery for FS2002. The only problem with that would be people's reluctance to learn .xml for creating scenery - not hard nowadays anyway, thanks to programs like SceneGenX. This relates to what I said earlier about using FS2002 methods to create FS2004 scenery.- Martin

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I wonder if it'll be out today?Any suggestions on some good 3-view sources?Panel documentation?Thanks,J


Jeff Bea

I am an avid globetrotter with my trusty Lufthansa B777F, Polar Air Cargo B744F, and Atlas Air B748F.

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Guest Hugo

Well, I preordered it back last nov 25th and, at 18h EDST friday Dec 9, I haven't heard anything of them yet. They were supposed, and I quote 'to promptly process the backorder upon release'. Has anyone mail-ordered them today and already got the go ahead to download the new version at this time?At their site, http://www.abacuspub.com/ -under What's News section, they are stating it to be available by today.Hugo

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Guest archtx

Just downloaded and installed my copy. Ordered it this morning. Probably swamped with orders.

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Guest Hugo

Thanks for the reply. I'm gonna see if I can have something done about that.Hugo

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I'm just as ###### as you are Hugo, but like the previous poster, I only ordered this morning.The whole purpose of downloadable software is so that it can be easily obtained. I called them twice yesterday (not toll free) and was told, "yes, we will process your order today." What really sucks is that I bought the $79 bundle and got an email with the bundle software but NOT FSDS3 - which is why I even bothered with the bundle.


Jeff Bea

I am an avid globetrotter with my trusty Lufthansa B777F, Polar Air Cargo B744F, and Atlas Air B748F.

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I ordered four or five days ago and received my registration details today - maybe they have a backlog

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