DMFS BAC 1-11 FSX Upgrade

[Bjoern]

G'day. In case some of you don't lurk around other flightsim forums, here's a more local heads up.

With DM's blessing (can provide proof) and after a painful conversion process, FSX users now have native models of Dave's 1-11 at their disposal. The conversion was done in a long and painful process with ModelConverterX, so don't expect any new ground breaking features. Most of the effort was spent to iron out some bugs caught from the conversion procedure.

There's more than just the models though, as I tinkered with the "under the hood" stuff as well. You now get a complete cockpit audio environment (switches, APU, etc...), the APU now uses the one from FSX', the bleed air and fuel systems were completely rewritten, there are now strobe lights and the panel status is automatically saved every few seconds. All these improvements apply to both the standard and 510ED panels. Both panels are available in a metric and imperial flavor now, with the formar requiring an edit to the livery's [fltsim.x] entry.

I've also assembled the paintkit from DM's site and turned into a format that is more convienient and usable. It's provided in PSD and XCF format, so intrepid painters can expand on Gerry's (RIP) already vast selection of liveries.

All you need is an installation of DM's 1-11 models and sound in FSX (see the Readme for instructions). You won't need the panels as the upgrade was so extensive that an all-in-one delivery was more convenient.
Note that the upgrade contains modified aircraft.cfg files without provisions for repaints, so you absolutely have to carry over all [fltsim.x] entries from the old ones! See the installation instructions.
None of the old model files are overwritten, so you can return to the FS9 models at any time by editing the model.cfgs.

Since I'm using Google Drive's revision management, the most recent version of the upgrade can always be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6K_xi ... fMC0ddQdXw

Praises and problems may be discussed in this thread.


Hope you guys find this useful.
Cheers!

[Marijn]

Whoow, sounds like pretty decent job. Will check it out over the weekend!

Thanks for your hard work

[chrisal]

Hi,
This looks excellent, and it also works inP3D!
I've some control issues (Flaps/Spoiler) but I'm sure this can be resolved with FSUIPC.

Now a big question. Years ago I did a lot of work on DM's Comet 4 (with David's permission) completely rewriting the air-file and aircraft.cfg using the real aircraft's actual data and Avon engine performance rather than adjusting the original. I obtained many documents on both and eventually was pleased with the results in FSX.

I'd love to be flying it again in P3D but all the VC clickspots fail to work. The 2D panels are fine.

Do you think that if I learned how to convert the model to FSX native with ModelConverterX this might be solved?
Would it be a big learning curve?
Cheers
Chris

[Bjoern]

I've some control issues (Flaps/Spoiler) but I'm sure this can be resolved with FSUIPC.

I can't help with that as I don't have any controllers besides a flightstick.

Keep in mind that the flaps and spoilers require hydraulic pressure to operate.

I'd love to be flying it again in P3D but all the VC clickspots fail to work. The 2D panels are fine.

Do you think that if I learned how to convert the model to FSX native with ModelConverterX this might be solved?

I think P3D does have a fair share of issues with FS9 models, so I guess it can be solved by converting the models to FSX native.

Would it be a big learning curve?

Definitely. We're talking K2 north slope levels of difficult here for someone without any prior experience in modeling tools, model compilers and ModelConverterX. The basic, ideal procedure sounds fairly simple and basically consists of assigning animations, checking materials and exporting as FSX native models, but there are 34209345893415897345 sticks that will be thrown your way to work around any quirks.
And save for a kind-of "how to" for (comparatively simple) AI models that I've written for the FSDev wiki, you only have a few related threads to dig through and will be on your own for the rest of the time.

I've documented the required procedure for the 1-11 models (ref the "INFO" folder in the upgrade), but it leaves out an extire section dealing with fixing distorted parts in 3ds Max and getting them ready for proper rendering in FSX (the fixed parts are contained in the folder).

Skills you'll need for the 1-11: ModelConverterX, animations and visibility codes in modeldef.xml, compiling with XToMDL, FSX material handling, DirectX .x and .xanim file structure, adding parts and PartData to .x files, generating PartData code and, should the need arise, importing .obj files into a modeling tool and getting any parts ready for export and then ready for rendering in FSX. So basically a PhD in model development. If you can pull through a 1-11 conversion you have the bare skills to have a go at the Comet, but you will still need to invest an awful amount of time to figure out the oddities.

Despite being a rather simple model by today's standards, the procedure for the 1-11 series took me more than two weeks to figure out. An exercise I simply do not wish to repeat.

[Bjoern]

Small public service announcement: If you do not wish to store any shared textures for the 1-11 in FSX\Texture, create a texture.cfg with the following content and add it to every repaint:

Code: Select all

[fltsim]
fallback.1=..\..\DMFS Shared Files\Texture

The create a "Texture" folder in "DMFS Shared Files" and copy the following textures into it:

Code: Select all

111ENG_L.dds
111EXTRA_L.dds
111FUSE_1_L.dds
111FUSE_2_L.dds
111FUSE_3_L.dds
111FUSE_4_L.dds
111Tail_L_L.dds
111Tail_R_L.dds
111WING_BL_L.dds
111WING_BR_L.dds
111WING_TL_L.dds
111WING_TR_L.dds
DM111VCPANEL1_L.dds
DM111VCPANEL2_L.dds
DM111VCPANEL3_L.dds
DM111VCPANELC_L.dds
DM111VCPANELO_L.dds
DM510VCPANEL1_L.dds
DM510VCPANEL2_L.dds
DM510VCPANEL3_L.dds
DM510VCPANELC_L.dds
DM510VCPANELO_L.dds
DM_1-11_VC_1.dds
DM_1-11_VC_1_L.dds
DM_1-11_VC_2.dds
DM_1-11_VC_B1.dds
DM_1-11_VC_B4.dds
DM_1-11_VC_FLOOR.dds
DM_1-11_VC_S1.dds
DM_1-11_VC_S2.dds
DM_1-11_VC_SEAT.dds

Note: The light maps for the exterior models are only present for contingency reasons because I've encountered some paints that did not contain any.

[Bjoern]

My original reply must've been gobbled up by the approval queue, so here's the short version:

Don't try until you have a PhD in anything related to FSX aircraft model development.
The process is fairly straightforward (assign animations, check materials for night textures, export) but no one will hold your hand during the process. You'll be all on your own, especially if the exporter screws up a part or two.

[Vancouver]

Don't know what went wrong for me here but the control surfaces and Trim will not work - I can see it is trying to work as the trim graphic is twitching when I press the 7 or 1 keys, but will not turn. I followed the instructions TWICE now. I revert back to my straight port over from FS9 with smoke fixes and all is OK. I'm puzzled.

[Bjoern]

Hydraulics...

[chrisal]

Well, I thought I'd ask...
I haven't even got basic knowledge of model design so the learning curve would be near vertical!

But thanks for taking the time to set me straight.
Cheers
Chris

[Bjoern]

You can still experiment with ModelConverterX and see what you get, but the actual point I was trying to make in my reply was that I simply don't have time to provide one-on-one help. There is, however, a thread with a MCX tutorial on SOH* and I'd pitch in for a quick answer there. Butr first, get comfy with the A3D example, then try the 1-11 (see "INFO" folder in the upgrade) and then tackle the Comet. The model isn't that complex by modern standards, but you'll definitely be scratching your head regarding the gangway's visibility conditions.



* http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/s ... n-and-Help