Question Groups and Meshes question

[Kobayashi]

Hi, i am trying to make my first addon for orbiter.
I tried Blender and Anim8or and i think i gonna stick to 3DS Max.

Now the question.

How can i create or split objects in 3DS in groups?

So, if i want and animated door i know i need to create two groups, one for the door and another for the ship (for example)

I tested different ways, but i still can't figure it out.

If you guys could point me in the right direction it will be a huge help to me.

Thanks...

 

[Loru]

group in 3ds max is totally unrelated to orbiter's mesh group

3ds max' object is equivalent to orbiter's mesh group but remember that single mesh group can have only 1 material (no sub/multi materials present in max can be exported to msh file)

 

[Kobayashi]

group in 3ds max is totally unrelated to orbiter's mesh group

3ds max' object is equivalent to orbiter's mesh group but remember that single mesh group can have only 1 material (no sub/multi materials present in max can be exported to msh file)

Well, i know about multi materials, but i am not at that point yet so is not my actual problem.

About the groups, i got a project in 3ds with 3 objects and when i export it i got 2 groups. Thats why i know there must be a way to group objects.

Here they talk about making groups using attach command, but i can't see how are they related.

http://orbiter-forum.com/showthread.php?t=10245

So to resume, if i want to create something like a cube with two doors do i need to create 3 independent groups or could i create the cube and two doors (2 doors in one group)

I dont know if i am explaining my self very good, english is not my first language

 

[Loru]

in a nutshell every independetly animated part has to be separate group so box is 1 group, 1st door is 1 group and 2nd door is 3rd group.

to split object in max into separate objects you have to select desired polygons and click "detach" at "edit mesh" modifier window.

 

[Kobayashi]

Ok, i think i get the point.

By the way, i have been looking around and i found a program called Wings3D and it seems to be like blender but more limited and more user friendly.

Do you know it or do you can recommend to me another 3D program for Orbiter addon making?

Or should i use 3Dmax?

I want to learn the basic on addon development and i want to choose the right program.

Thank you again for you help

 

[Donamy]

AC3D is the best IMO. It is very user friendly, has great texture mapping and a very simple import/export plugin for Orbiter. Well worth the $80 US.

 

[Kobayashi]

AC3D is the best IMO. It is very user friendly, has great texture mapping and a very simple import/export plugin for Orbiter. Well worth the $80 US.

AC3D looks very good, if i have any question can i ask you directly by private message?

 

[Loru]

3ds max (expensive) or gmax (free) are using same UI and there is excellent msh import/export script for them on OHM.

 

[wehaveaproblem]

I concur with Donamy, I think AC3D is very under-rated for what it is. It's the program I use for all my orbiter dev. It's not the most advanced program, but I think it's ideal for Orbiter level projects, plus there is an orbiter mesh import/export script available which makes it even more convenient.

 

[Kobayashi]

Configure Visual Studio 2010

I will start with AC3D and if i need more tools i'll switch to 3Dmax.

Now i understand much better how groups works with Orbiter.

Ok, another question...

I know i can use spacecraft3.dll to config the ship parameters but if i want to do it my self creating a module in C++ , whats are the right steps?

I got Visual Studio 2010 and i know Visual Basic language, so learning C++ must be easy for me (i hope).

But (here is the question) how can i configure VS2010 to import the Orbiter API's and debug my .dll?

Thanks all for your help.

 

[orb]

But (here is the question) how can i configure VS2010 to import the Orbiter API's and debug my .dll?

Search for "property sheets" phrase on the forums (include quotation marks). Make appropriate changes to one of them (value of OrbiterDir macro), and then convert 2 sample projects (vessel and plugin) to VS2010 version. All is then set up, and you only need to include the converted Orbiter property sheets in your projects (unlike the lengthy configuration process in every new project from video tutorial anyone else may refer you to).