how do you make your own planes?

[eeveeman 0]

how do you make your own planes? i understand it will be challenging, but i want to try, adn will download anything that i need to.can someone point me to where i can find out?thanks in advance!eeveeman.p.s. can i upload a plane if i make one? or does it have to be reviewed or something?

[Guest fu3]

Eeveeman (I use EV's too...),"how do you make your own planes? i understand it will be challenging, but i want to try, adn will download anything that i need to."I assume that you want to build the 3D model etc. There are a lot of steps but Andre and I can assist you where necessary. <<< The first step is to choose an aircraft >>>The choice of aircraft will affect exactly how much work will be required. If you choose something close to an existing aircraft, you can use existing soundfiles, cockpit etc for the first tests.If you want to do something 'all new', it may require some extra efforts :-rollI would search the Avsim FU3 forums for similar threads (building planes, aircraft construction, modelling etc). The "White Papers" are also a mandatory read.You don't need to buy any software as everything is available as freeware. Use Anim8or for the 3D model - it outputs 3DS files and is easy to use.You will need to download Resviewer, as well as a number of small utilities. I released a collection of these some time ago (search the FU3 Avsim library for tools).Also, don't forget that FU3 is really intended as a GA sim - and that Ansgar spent over 12 months getting the 747 finished! The Staggerwing took me around 3 months all together, although I have cheated and used existing Beaver sound files etc.You can email me at:jonathanpointgmailcom...and I will send you some info and files ;)Regards,Jon Point

[Guest fu3]

Sorry, I forgot :-roll"p.s. can i upload a plane if i make one? or does it have to be reviewed or something?"Yes, feel free to upload anything you want to ;) I think you will need a different login with Avsim to do that but that's easy enough.All of that said:* It is far better to post a test copy to 2-3 people so they can test it for you. In the case of packages and scenery models, this is necessary simply because posting a package with 1 texture file missing will crash FU3 every time :-(* Other people are better at finding bugs than you are. I think Andre found about 50 in my last creation :-lol* Post a new topic in the forum asking for testers and include an email address so people can contact you.* Don't post partially-completed things unless the rest is a long way off. Minor updates are hard for users to track, and they may end-up with the wrong versions over time. Minor changes are best tested amongst a small group first. Once you put a few minor changes together, upload it. Flight models are a good example of this.* When you upload anything, please be careful to respect others' work and include a mention of this in the readme file. For example, if you use any part of the published game, a mention of the Copyright belonging to EA Technologies would suffice. If you use someone's plane as a base for a new plane, you should mention that too!* Whatever you do, make it freeware - anything else is a minefield that nobody here needs to cross...:-waveRegards,Jon Point

[eeveeman 0]

thanks for all of this information, i will put it to good use. i would expect i would release my firts plane near the end of 08/beginning of 09 even if i used one of the other planes!i have a good question. how do i get the .res file/readme/.jpg's into a winzip file thing? i use the evaluation version(?) so how would i do it? could i send the files to you and could you "zip them up" for me?i will remember to let people test it, as there will be faults left right and center for my first one probably! i apologise in advance!i will only upload the final plane, and it WILL be based on another plane to begin with, and i will work up from that. but with exams coming up for me, i will not be doing much work on anything for the next few months.i will remember to put in copyright, but could you or someone else point out any issues i miss out in the readme file? thanks.anyway, i myself await my first creation, and trust me, it wont be fantastic :-hah i will probably base it on the Beechjet 400A or the Windhawk, my favourite two planes, but i may choose something elsefinally, how do i make other "liveries" without uploading the WHOLE plane instead? i would like to release different liveries myselfthanks again,eeveeman:-bla

[Guest fu3]

To zip files, I use 'Jzip':http://www.jzip.com/You need to put the aircraft 'resfile', and readme file in there at least. Sometimes, I include a screenshot or 2 so people can see what they're getting. Download an aircraft from the library and see what the author did.*** All FU3 aircraft are stored as 'res' files (*.res). These files are a compressed binary-type file (i.e. all data, no gaps) and must be de-compiled and re-compiled to make changes. Fortunately, there is a program available to do it easily (Resviewer), and Agtim has continued development of it, which will make your job much easier ;) You need to download the original version (v1.32):http://www.gpdev.net/Downloads.htmlunzip it and copy to a new folder. Then, download the update (v2.10):http://www.agtim.ch/fu3/ResViewer.htmlunzip it and copy it into the same folder. ***'Liveries' are just colour schemes for aircraft. You will need Resviewer to install them. They are 256x256 pixel bitmaps, and must be converted to 256 colours using a common palette. The palette must also be included with a new livery, unless you used the aircraft's original palette. The palette format is a 'PSP' palette file, which can be generated using 'iMage', a freeware program:http://www.memecode.com/image.phpTo upload a livery, you need to put the bitmaps, palette file and a readme into a zipfile and upload it, that's all. Download a livery from the library and have a look inside the zip ;)My advice is to download Resviewer and have a look inside the aircraft resfiles (stored in Flight3plnpile) so you can get a better idea of what's inside. Don't be put off by the complexity - many changes only require a few files ;)Regards,Jon Point

[eeveeman 0]

thanks for all of your help! i will make sure to use this when (if) i complete my first creation...thanks,eeveeman :-bla