GeeBee Beta 3D model on Anim8or site!

[Guest jonpoint]

Those of you interested in developing models and aircraft for FU3 may have heard of Anim8or, the freeware 3D animation program. Well, R.Steven Glanville (author of Anim8or) was so impressed by the GeeBee as a 3D model, he's posted a couple of shots in his gallery!http://www.anim8or.com/gallery/gallery12/index.htmlThis seems rare to say the least - the last thing I expected when taking on the development was achieving something good enough to be considered on it's own merits, not just how it flies :-) ...and it hasn't even been released yet ;)To be truthful, the beta wouldn't have looked so good if it wasn't for Lloyd Schoenbach who did a beautiful GeeBee R2 in Anim8or (in the gallery somewhere). After seeing his model I concluded I could do MUCH more and the beta is the result. Lloyd also provided the engine textures - Thanks, Lloyd!I know I've said some unkind things about it in the past but again, reading the excellent tutorials cleared up a lot of issues. My problems were with texturing but, as you can see from the Beta shots (totally retextured in Anim8or), the problem was the user...I've had Gmax for 2 months now but I've barely opened it! To be truthful, ANY model creation for FU3 WILL require some modification of the efile before running BSP (lights, axles etc.) and also, FU3 doesn't support many features like reflections, wires and the like so the extended capabilities of 3DS or Gmax seem rather wasted.If you want a good, free, easy to use (unlike me, please read the tutorials first ;) ) 3D program that can import/export 3DS files, give Anim8or a go - it works for me :-beerchugPS Special thanks to Ansgar Avermeyer for pointing me to it in the first place :-beerchugPPS I know it's late but it's also nice to see the words 'Flight Unlimited 3' appear in a non-sim site!PPPS If anyone needs help getting under way with it I'm glad to help.Jon Point*************************(effyouthree@hotmail.com)*************************

[Guest twsimfan]

Jon,Congrats... kind of like having your book published. I once spotted a screenpic of my old Skyhawk in a Brit flight sim mag and nearly fell off my chair. You should be very proud... you have every right to be! :)

[Guest glidernut]

Hi Jon Point,

[Guest qvdg]

Congratulations - Well deserved recognition for a great piece of work. I have also been bitten by the aircraft designing bug and am currently having fun being in the steep end of the learning curve of GMAX with the intention of building a TigerMoth. Its going to be a long climb !Cheers, QvdG

[Guest Ansgar]

Hello Jon,second all above! It

[Guest jonpoint]

John,Thanks! It's all you guys wot got me 'ere!As for the versions, there are a few! The yellow/black one in the shot was 'real', as is the red/white one in the previous screenshots (the GeeBee will be released in the red/white livery with the yellow/ black as a resviewer update pack).Then there are 3 models! One red/white parked (in CVA photo - with prop!), one red/white flying (in back of CVA photo, 20ft up at 200mph!) and one yellow/black flying. These will all be available (in BOTH palettes) very soon.The flying ones are for the racing package. I've also done a couple of Mustangs (red and blue) for the package too but I'm having serious thoughts about complexity. Put 4 planes in the air at ~1000 polygons each then fly amongst them - #@&*^% the framerate.... OMG :-( Jon Point*************************(effyouthree@hotmail.com)*************************

[Guest]

Jon is ma Heero ! I hope that I didn't put him to too much trouble with the Gee Bee idea, I sometimes feel that I have. But I think now that y'all can see, she's a true Classic !Jon; Ya gotta be proud !

[Guest jonpoint]

Thanks to all - you guys all had (have?) a part in it anyway ;)Don't worry about 'putting him to too much trouble' - I wouldn't have done this if I didn't like a challenge. I suppose I just HAD to find out what was involved and I'm pleased to say that it wasn't really THAT hard and has been extremely rewarding!The only boring part was doing the callsigns and even that was rewarding - the first time I heard 'Alex' say 'Arlington tower, this is GeeBee One Zero One...' put a smile on my face :-)I still want to do a B200 (Kingair) and a Twin Otter is another aircraft appropriate for the region but then there's the Stearman...Isn't it great when you find a(nother) part of your hobby can be so rewarding?PS Ansgar, your file WAS OK, I reloaded into the resfile and it works fine. If I export the offending one and reimport it, the problem comes back. Dunno how or why but it's OK :(Cheers to all for the weekend :-beerchugJon Point*************************(effyouthree@hotmail.com)*************************

[Guest qvdg]

I vote for the Stearman !Cheers, QvdG