Cutting out parts in GMAX

[jlvandem]

Does anyone know how I can cut ailerons and elevators out of a part in GMAX? I know in the tutorials you can cut certain parts and texture them for windows but I haven't seen anything that tells how to cut something out and make it a seperate part. I need to know so I can cut out geardoors and the passenger door. I've already made ailerons, rudder and elevators in FSDS, but I'm getting ready to export to GMAX for animation and final touches. Here's a pic of what I've got so far...



...any comments welcome.

Justin

[N4733D]

Yes someone please help. Here is my little design and so far, nothing moves . Please help us both:

[Felix/FFDS]

As in FSDS, you can either cut out parts or form them in place.

In gMax, you're looking at either your boolean operations, or selecting the appropriate polygons and detaching them as objects.  Of course, SAVE your work before starting any cutting/detaching process.

If you've already made the parts in FSDS, take care that you name them correctly from the "git-go".

Basically, I'll ask Bonzonie, x_eidos, or any other to chime in with additional details on how to do the cutting/detaching.

Other tutorials (especially on Boolean operations) can be found at the Freeflight Design Shop's Tips or Tutorials Sections

http://www.freeflightdesign.com

[X_eidos2]

Boolean operations are great if you're making a shape for an animation, but for a flight sim they're not the way to go. The best thing to do is move your vertices around so that your edges line up with the edges of the control surfaces you are trying to model. I guess a boolean would be OK if you're trying to punch out a wheel well on a curved part of a fuselage, but you'll have to go back in and clean up all the extra little polygons that the boolean makes.  I'd recommend detaching the faces that make up the control surface. Also remember, if you turn on the 3d snap tool (hit the s key to toggle on or off)  and have the options set to vertices only, you can take the line tool and quickly draw a line along the shape, when it ask if you want to close the line say yes and then hit a edit mesh modifier and you'll have a polygon.

Hard to explain without pictures.

I guess I'll have to get to work on those web pages after all  ;)

[Bonzonie]

Agree with X_eidos.

Boolean Operations can really mess up things. I've done a couple, but most times the whole part gets distorted. maybe it's the way I've been doing it, but I found it much easier to move around Vertex points so I can just select the polygons to detach. The only real use of Boolean operations were when I wanted Gear Bays right in the middile of the wing as X_eidos already said. It's really useful for that.

[jlvandem]

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I'll just have to move vertices to get the part the way I want. Now I have only one more question...How in the world do I get the picture to display?! Thanks.

Jlvandem

[X_eidos2]

Did you post your image to this forum's screen shot page, or did you link it to another website? Some websites won't let you link images. Probably the surest way to post an image is to upload to the page here, and then use the little picture tool up in the "add YABBC tags" toolbar

[jlvandem]

I uploaded to YABBC then used the link but for some reason it didn't work. Any ideas of what I might have done wrong?

Jlvandem

[Psychophant1]

The YABB board is case-sensitive.  I took a shot in the dark and capitalized .JPG.  Here ya go.

[jlvandem]

Thanks!

[N4733D]

Ooooohhhhh, Pshycophant, are you you going to upload that???? If you do (Please ) will you make it for FS200X. I had 2002, but lost disk one......

[jlvandem]

Actually I'm making it but it will be exported to GMAX so it'll be FS2K2 only sorry.

Jlvandem

[BMan1113VR]

pretty plane

[Woodylepic]

try this link bro  ;)
http://www.freeflightdesign.com/tips/Q_BooleanOps.htm

[Travis]

What happened to the screenshot?  I want to see this aircraft!