Legality of gmax import script...

[Guest]

Is there any legality issue for a public domain gmax script that would allow users of gmax to 'import' FLY! II Aircraft Model (.ACM) files? SMF files are a no brainer, its the aircraft I am trying to work on.I have started developing one and thus far all the parts are imported nicely, but now I have to move and rotate them into their final positions. Keyframing and Texture mapping are also on my list.So, again, is there any legality issue here? I think it would be a great tool so that developers (and wanna-be developers) can start creating gmax aircraft for FLY! II, and maybe even FLY! Is anyone else working on this? What about a converter that takes gmax output files and creates ACM or SMF? (If you have MSFS 2K2 you already have the ability to export to MDL format!) Are there any other converters available? I only know of MDL2DXF, 3DS2SMF, and TS2S3D.Forgive me if I sound naive, I haven't done any real developing before.Tom

[Guest]

interesting concept.....but going through med school, not law, i cannot help you out....sorry. but i think that it would be great if we could get more planes in here!!!! yehaw!anthony

[Guest]

Hi Tom (Discreet charges something like 80 thousand dollars U.S. for the right to use gmax as a importer for any title) so I would tread carefully that's why Tri (a small company) never included gmax with Fly due to the above costs I would check with someone at discreet first. Dan

[Guest ben_]

DanI'm no lawyer, but I made a quick visit to Discreet's GMax site where they state" New version of gmax released. Includes new .dxf importers!Registered users: take the gmax survey 251689 registered gmax users - August 22, 2002 Based on the world's best selling 3D modeling, animation and rendering platform,3ds max

[Guest]

That was my take on it, too. I have seen other importers posted on the Web for importing 3DS, DXF, OBJ, and other 3D file formats, all on various 3D Graphic/Modeling web sites. That's kind of what gave me the idea to try it. If someone can create a "Lightwave .OBJ" importer, why not a free SMF, S3D, or ACM importer as well?My actual question was more geared at finding out if the Aircraft models that came with FLY! or FLY! II had any sort of 'copyright'.Tom

[RandallR 444]

Tom,They absolutely do. However, if you study the License & Terms of Agreement of the SDK, you will note that you (the owner) are allowed to use the accompanying tools to make variations of the current aircraft or new aircraft as long as they are used only with Fly! simulator software.For instance, you cannot reverse engineer an aircraft, then reproduce it as a model for MS or any other sim.As long as you stay within the Fly realm, you're probably OK - the big question would be, What does GMAX allow?

[Guest]

Randall,That was my intent. To be able to start the process of being able to import FLY! II .ACM Aircraft Model Files so that people could produce Aircraft for free, and so that others could take rough work (say on a TB-20 or dehaveland Beaver) and make it bigger or better. Add moving doors along with rudder, etc.If there was a way to use the existing software within License & Usage terms, such that exporting to one of the already available output formats, and then through a converstion process to either a .3DS file for use in the FLY! KeyFrame editor, or through some other conversion directly into .ACM files, maybe we would see the kind of work on A/C for FLY! as there seems to be for the other sims (MSFS, FU3, etc).As for those making new Paint Jobs for existing models like the Airliners, etc, I am wondering how they are going about making the UV Maps match up to the existing files (or are there new UV maps?).Also, i noticed that both 3DS Max and GMax have the 'X' axis pointing out the Left wing, but FLY! Models 'HowTo' doc says it should be pointing out the Right wing. Is this simply a matter of mirroring the model before exporting?Tom