London Eye

[Guest R_Driscoll]

I am currently working on the Eye. This is the sort of giant ferris wheel opposite the Westminster Palace. There is still some way to go, bu the current status is that the main frame is complete, and I have made 32 little gondolas to position around it (of course the same gondola 32 times). The model displayed well and fast in ModelView after taking about 5 minutes for BSP to construct, so I expected no problems. But when I installed the incomplete version in FU3 for testing, FU3 froze then CTD'd. I checked the size and found the Eye was over 172kb - which is over the Agtim Limit. Darn bother and start over. I tried two separate parts, and this type BSP refused to work. So I'm afraid the gondolas will be a bit simpler than planned - about 24 polygons per g is giving me a massive model size but at least under the limit. Made it, loaded it using FLED, flew over there and Wow - its unreal. From a distance it gives a very nice delicate tracery effect, and up close it shows smooth, not too much framerate hit (despite using transparency and double-sided textures!) - anyway later I will add an LOD1 model to reduce the hit, and its certainly eye-catching (hah hah). I still have to add the centre bits, supports and piers but they should be easy after this.I am still handcrafting the models - and like Jon sometimes work a wee bit late, but of course its worth it. But I cheated a bit for this one - since I have to generate 32 indentical segments and gondolas, and since the whole structure is not exactly upright (according to the photos) I put the equations into a little BASIC program which made it manageable, so its been quicker to build than St Pauls. That was all by hand/calculator.I am happy to upload these models, and if you are interested, I will put them together and you can install them yourselves using FLED. Or if you prefer, wait a few months (I am writing stacks of UKS scenery at the moment) and I will release them as a package upgrade or substitution in due course.Here's some preview shots, just remember that the central bit (eye of the Eye?) hasn't been made yet.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/79445.jpghttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/79446.jpgThanks for the encouragement and help from the community in making this possible and fun. Happy flying all,RobD.

[Hans_Petter 1]

Looks promising! Would it be possible to get rid of the London Eye imprint on the scenery texture? It seems that it was lying down on the ground when the photo was being taken and that scenario turns redundant once we get the model.Hans Petter

[Guest R_Driscoll]

Yes - that will be done! But I can't make it rotate.RobD.