+ToS Posted March 6, 2009 Posted March 6, 2009 Hey folks, I´m new to TK sim modding, thus I accumulated a bunch of noobish beginner questions. I´m building a new Tomcat cockpit (basically a high poly spin-off of a pit I made for Janes FA18) and I´m lost on a few things: 1st: setting up the VDI (center) display ? The center display is basically a flat attitude indicator with some radar target symbology overlayed. - How can I set up a flat attitude indicator (eg similar to the radar attitude indicator) ? I figured out how to make attitude sheres, but have no idea how to make a flat sreen... I´m also not sure how I can get some radar data (range, ASE cycle, weapon type...) to display on the same screen (simultaniously with the normal radar screen on the lower display) ? 2nd: warning lights as lights ? this one is probably very stupid... The warning lights I added to the side consoles show up but are not "illuminated" (ie no lights, at night they are dark). Do I need to set up a certain material in 3DMAX (textures are plain bmps/ material standard right now) ? 3rd: F14A/B NATOPS / (high-res) pictures of the right knee panel/ upgraded F14B HUD ? well, title says it all - can anyone by any chance help me out with some reference material for the right knee panel and the upgraded F14B HUD (the one with a HUD frame - especially the modified ACM panel) ? Any input appreciated oh, and forgive my poor english..I´m too lazy to polish things up Cheers, Chris ps: there´s a screenie of what it looks like (early WIP shot of course): Quote
+bobrock Posted March 7, 2009 Posted March 7, 2009 Hi ToS, I'll try to answer your questions. Making a complex cockpit is probably the hardest thing (a part from the FM) and sometimes you have to figure out some work around. 1- From what I understand you want to fake a MFD display, displaying attitude bars and a few other information. Basically you have to make a flat rectangle and (in the INI) assign the movement to the texture instead of the meshnode. Like this [Att_Pitch] Type=PITCH_INDICATOR NodeName=ATT_ind MovementType=TEXTURE_V <---------------------- ValueUnit=DEG Set[01].Position=0.5 Set[01].Value=-90 Set[02].Position=0 Set[02].Value=0 Set[03].Position=-0.5 Set[03].Value=90.0 AFAIK you cannot use radar infos like target range and altitude outside the radar screen, but you can make some lights look like screen text and show informations like weapon type / station selected 2- Correct, the lights material in MAX has to be "self illuminated". 3- Sorry, I cannot help. I guess you already checked http://www.anft.net/f-14/index.htm or airliners.net As a general hint I suggest you to check other cockpits, study them and reverse engineer what could be useful for you. And be creative If you need some more help just send me a PM. Quote
Icarus999 Posted March 7, 2009 Posted March 7, 2009 Glad you made it over here Chris, I was following your thread over at the third wire forum. Nice pit!!! Quote
+ToS Posted March 7, 2009 Author Posted March 7, 2009 (edited) bobrock, thanks for your reply - I fixed the lights and got the VDI to work (more or less, some scaling issues remain): once again a very basic question: How do I set up ANALOG_COUNTER (e.g. for Gun Rounds) in 3Dmax ? Can I influence the font color, size, style.... ? @ Icarus: thanks... I guess it´s pretty hard to avoid this place when it comes to TK sim mods Edited March 7, 2009 by ToS Quote
coolpilot Posted March 8, 2009 Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) I hope this videos help, they´re from the IRIS F-14B for FSX Edited March 8, 2009 by coolpilot Quote
+bobrock Posted March 9, 2009 Posted March 9, 2009 ToS, that new pit looks terrific! Good job Setting up analog counters is quite easy, when you know how to do it ;) You have to make the dials in 3d max, simple 10 faces cylinders will do, name them with 1,2,3 suffix, like gun_dial1 for units, gun_dial2 for tens and gun_dial3 for hundreds, and map them with a bmp like this one Number_Tape.bmp Your INI will then have to be like this [Guncount] Type=GUN_ROUNDS_INDICATOR CounterNodeFormat=gun_dial%d <----- this little piece of code will take care of the sequence MovementType=ANALOG_COUNTER Now, that's for old style counters, like range or course in the HSI. BUT after september 08 patch you can also make digital readouts. The process is quite the same, but instead of cylinders, make a series of rectangles. When mapped they should show "0" IIRC Map example rangedigits.bmp The INI will then be like this [Guncount] Type=GUN_ROUNDS_INDICATOR CounterNodeFormat=gun_dial%d MovementType=DIGITAL_DISPLAY I guess that's it, just ask if you need to know something else. Quote
+ToS Posted June 1, 2009 Author Posted June 1, 2009 well - I´m late to say thank you ....that helped me quite a lot ! I was lazy (hey it´s summer ), but the pit is still alive and has undergone some face lifting (next in line are some missing dials and avionics): that said... maybe I´m suffering from a special case of mental stupidness but I can´t figure out how the HSI MovementTypes work... Can anyone please tell me how the corresponding MovementTypes are called ?? Quote
+Julhelm Posted June 2, 2009 Posted June 2, 2009 1. [HSIWheel] Type=MAGNETIC_COMPASS NodeName=CompassWheel MovementType=ROTATION_Y ValueUnit=DEG Set[01].Position=00.0 Set[01].Value=0.0 Set[02].Position=-360.0 Set[02].Value=360.0 2. [HSICourseDeviation] Type=COURSE_DEVIATION NodeName=HSICourseDeviation MovementType=POSITION_X ValueUnit=DEG Set[01].Position=0.018 Set[01].Value=-5.0 Set[02].Position=-0.018 Set[02].Value=5.0 3. [CourseArrow] Type=COURSE_ARROW NodeName=HSINeedle MovementType=ROTATION_Y ValueUnit=DEG Set[01].Position=00.0 Set[01].Value=0.0 Set[02].Position=360.0 Set[02].Value=360.0 4. [bearingMarker] Type=BEARING_MARKER NodeName=HSONeedle MovementType=ROTATION_Y ValueUnit=DEG Set[01].Position=00.0 Set[01].Value=0.0 Set[02].Position=360.0 Set[02].Value=360.0 ...is how the Skyray HSI is setup. Nice work on the pit meshwise, though you might want to clean it up a bit by using texture detail instead. A good way to do this would be to use camera projections to bake the diffuse texture from the pilot POV so that you get nice shading and detail. If you look at the pits over on cockpits.nl, these most certainly use this technique quite heavily. Either way, I really think you should work on the textures so they match the modelling. Quote
+bobrock Posted June 3, 2009 Posted June 3, 2009 A good way to do this would be to use camera projections to bake the diffuse texture from the pilot POV so that you get nice shading and detail. I'm quite interested in using this technique for my next pits, does anybody have a step-by-step-for-dummies tutorial? It could save a lot of polys and the results I've seen are very close to a full 3d model. Quote
+ToS Posted June 27, 2009 Author Posted June 27, 2009 (edited) thanks for your input - I got most things working now but still a lot of "thisismyfirstmodelandIknownothing" questions left ... 1. The BEARING_MARKER and COURSE_ARROW do not move relative to the MAGNETIC_COMPASS (i.e. they show the bearing for a fixed, non moving compass with N on the top) - do I need to link them to the Compass mesh ? ....which would be bad, because everytime I try linking objects the cockpit screws up in game 2. Can someone please enlight me with a step by step elaboration for dummies on Digital-display counters (especially how I set up the "series of rectangles") ? Cheers, Chris Edited June 27, 2009 by ToS Quote
+Julhelm Posted June 27, 2009 Posted June 27, 2009 I believe the digital display works just like the analog display. Quote
+Julhelm Posted June 28, 2009 Posted June 28, 2009 It needs some shading, then it'd look good. Right now the flat colors are killing it. Quote
+ToS Posted June 28, 2009 Author Posted June 28, 2009 well, have some patience, those are early WIP shots coming back to my questions: Nope, unfortunately Digital_Display doesn´t work like the analog type..... anyone here to enlight me ? Quote
+ToS Posted July 4, 2009 Author Posted July 4, 2009 bump......still seeking for the DIGITAL_DISPLAY info Quote
pistitom Posted July 4, 2009 Posted July 4, 2009 wow, this looks cool, I guess it's not out yet, right? great job Quote
+Paladrian Posted July 4, 2009 Posted July 4, 2009 For digital counters you need to UV Map the node as shown in the screenshot below The bitmap will have the exact same arrangement as the image below Once mapped, the node only shows "0". That's it, configuration is identical to analog display Quote
markkyle66 Posted July 5, 2009 Posted July 5, 2009 ToS, Great Job... man I wish I had those skills! Not certain if self respecting Naval Aviators flyaround with Natops on their knee pads... usually DOD Flip/Approach charts : ] Quote
scouserlad13 Posted July 5, 2009 Posted July 5, 2009 HOLY CRAP, YOU CAN EVEN SEE THE REFLECTION IN THE TV SCREEN!!! This is one great pit my friend, should be extremely proud as its your first creation. Look forward to the release Quote
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