FMS Forum

by **Wiseone** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 11:49 am

New Guy here . .

I've just started experimenting with designing aircraft for FMS.

2 Questions :

1. Are there any more tutorials other than the ones at ?

This seems to be lacking when it comes to tieing the .mqo - .par & .bmp files together.

2. Has anyone figured out how to register Metasequoia ? From the authors pages sounds like unless you live in Japan - you just can't register it. I would like the added ability to export into other file formats (i.e. .dxf - .pov - etc.).

Thanks - appreciate the help - hope to contribute to the community.

Wiseone

by **Keith_Watson** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 5:36 pm

There is another tutorial at .

If by "tieing" you mean file naming convensions, I've been looking into that myself. The best thing is to have all the files start with the model name, ie <model>.mqo, <model>.x, <model>.par, <model>.bmp, <model>_prv.jpg, <model>_info.txt, etc. Most of the files FMS loads are based on this scheme. Texture files referenced inside of .mqo and .x files can be any file name so be careful of the names you use there otherwise people won't know which .bmp files are associated with your model.

For conversions, look on the page you mentioned for the GeoEX program. This utility converts between .x, .geo, and .dxf formats.

by **Wiseone** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 3:31 pm

Here's my delima :

Note : I've been using existing designs to help learn how these files interact to make a flying model. I am IN NO WAY trying to pirate someone elses design. This is strictly a learning exercise. Once I get the basics down, I'll be able to work on my own designs & flight data.

My preliminary experiment :

I've designed a simple aircraft (.mqo file).
I used an existing .par file from another aircraft.
I used an existing .bmp file from another aircraft.
Named all files the same :

test.mqo
test.par
test.bmp

When I load the model - the aircraft is "invisible" - - something is flying but can't see any aircraft. If I make a test edit to an existing model ( to .mqo or .par files) the change IS NOT reflected in the flying model.

I guess what I need to know is what these seperate files do & how they interact.

So far I've observed the following:

.mqo file is the visual design of the aircraft.
.par file is the performance and flight data of the aircraft.
.bmp file provides texture & cosmetic markings
.x file - still not sure

ParDesign will not save a file as a .par file - only as a .par7 file.

I've found nothing to explain these basics yet

Thanks

Any help is appreciated

by **ggunners** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:23 pm

Wiseone,

The .x file is the one used to "display" your model. You simply "save as" from Metasequoia to the model.x file.

That's it.

If it doesn't show up after that I've found that applying surface maps will cause the model to be invisible. The simple fix for when that happens is to take off the image maps and reapply correctly.

Don't worry about borrowing others designs, if we post the MQO file, it's there for you to borrow from. If you copy a model outright and just modify the map file though, please make sure others know who the original author is. It's only fair to give praise where praise is due.

-- ggunners

by **Keith_Watson** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 3:17 am

FMS does not read .mqo files. I'm designing a "model" manager and am figuring out what is in each file by trial and error. It is not documented anywhere.

The FMS "Load Model" command only looks for a .par or .mdl file. A .par file only contains flight parameters. If one is found FMS looks for either a .x file or a .geo file. These contain the 3D geometry information. A .x (Direct3D) file can reference a .bmp (texture) file. If a .mdl file is found it contains both flight parameters and 3D geometry.

ggunners mentioned two important steps which needed to be reiterated.

1. After you rename your .bmp file you will need to go to the Material Properites panel inside of msq and change the filename (texture) associated with that material. The texture should show on the model.

2. Save As .x . The "UV Mapping" box must be checked.

by **dukkflyer** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 9:21 pm

It would be cool if FMS could read .mqo files.
does anyone know if this is a possability?

by **IMAC Pilot** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 9:13 am

mabey on the new version (hint hint developers)

by **IMAC Pilot** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 9:13 am

mabey on the new version (hint hint developers)

by **dukkflyer** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 5:37 pm

i would like that because it is a pain making .PAR files.

by **Keith_Watson** » Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:13 am

A .mqo file only contains geometry just like .x and .geo files. It does not contain flight parameter information.

by **dukkflyer** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 12:12 am

how would you make a .geo file?

by **Wiseone** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 4:41 pm

Hey dukkflyer,

As far as I can tell - a .geo file can be created with "GeoEX"
Download links are on this site.

GeoEX can open an .x file and SaveAs a .geo file.

That's about all I know at this point - I'm still working with .par and .x files. Keith_Watson may be able to help with this.

If you get the answer, post it - instructions on how to create FMS models are almost "none". If I can compile enough info, I may write a simple tutorial.

Good Luck

by **Wiseone** » Fri Nov 07, 2003 5:07 pm

Here's an update on download locations for the necessary modeling software :

Modeling with Metasequoia (tutorial - rough)

Download GeoEX - To create .geo files

Download ParDesigner - to creat .par files

by **dukkflyer** » Sun Nov 09, 2003 4:57 pm

Thanks a lot for the links and the help!

dukkflyer

FMS Forum

New Guy - Metasequoia

Who is online