time to start making things

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decaff_42
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Re: time to start making things

Post by decaff_42 »

Copperhead wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 2:46 pm That's why most folks stick with separated and transparent lines.
Guess I'm a rebel. All my panel lines are solid.
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

u2fly wrote: Wed Jun 30, 2021 8:22 pm There is some info about known modificators and I has collected some details in "YSFlight Handbook" (read "3D Visual Models" chapter)
now THAT is really helpful! thanks!
I don't know how I missed that.

looks like I'll be sacrificing some default cubes to see how it all works
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

I finally decided to settle down and work out animating control surfaces without using Blender 2.49b
It was a confusing fall down a rabbit hole because YSFlight, Blender 2.49b scripts and Blender 2.79 scripts all use different orientations to a set of global axis which also probably led to a series of differences in documentation how coordinates are used.
Some docs say "x,y,z "
Some say "y,z,x"
Some say "x,z,y"
Some seem to match translations required between the Blender 2.49b and the .dnm's that ysflight wants

After much experimentation, I figured out the model orientation in blender 2.79 to match the script's output to the output that the Blender 2.49b script offers. In both versions, the script shifts the orientation from what YSFlight seems to expect and back again on export. For the 2.79 scripts to work nicely, the model needs to be oriented such that the model's front/nose is facing 'down' on the screen in Blender's top view ( numpad 7 ).
After I got import/export to work properly there, I knew I could do modelling and obtain info for the .dnm file in Blender 2.92, whose features concerning custom local axis make setting up hinge-lines for animations a snap.
While I can't load 2.92 files directly in 2.79, I can append them easily.
Then I snap empties to the control surface's forward edge with match rotation; this sets the empty's local z-axis to be parallel to the edge. I can then assign that empty to be a custom rotation axis so that the control surface always rotates on the empty's z-axis. Each control surface gets its own custom axis of rotation. Setting the object's rotation center to the empty's location also gives exact location, while rotations can be monitored in the global axis. Not parenting them together allows you to clear rotations easily and not have to translate the empty's global rotations for changes.... just monitor the object's rotations directly. Non-animated parts, I just set the position to 0,0,0 which should be at the airplane's center of gravity. I don't worry about parents/children until typing up the actual .dnm file.
All of that gives info needed to plug into the .dnm file directly in an editor ( I use Geany ), just be sure to multiply degrees by 182.04 to get the ysflight's units and be sure to translate to the axis that ysflight expects.

The x,y,z values in Blender have to be put in the order -x, z, -y for position and x-rot, y-rot, z-rot needs to be put in the order z-rot, -x-rot, y-rot so they rotate properly around the global axis within YSFlight.
I put the airplane's parts as .srf's in a separate folder and access them as external files in the .dnm so the file I spend most of my time on isn't stuffed with lists of thousands of numbers.
The positional stuff also works for info needed in .DAT files, such as gear locations, vapor trails, guns and hardpoints, etc.

Anyways, I've done this with a Blohm-Voss HA137 so far, so I know it works for control surfaces at least
Now to look into props ( especially contra-rotating props ) and landing gear ( focusing on gear door sequences, such as the P-51's )
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

it's been a not-so-good year so far
Over this past year, I've developed something of a love / hate relationship with YSFlight
I love making little things to use in it and the simplicity of the game, but abhor the necessity kludge of using extra, very old, programs to translate from blender to one-off formats that aren't used anywhere else to add anything to it. Sometimes, it seems easier to learn the Godot engine to fly my toys around and look at stuff.
Maybe I'm lazy, but it lacks enjoyment after building a thing elsewhere to put into the game as it stands now.... it is not play, it is work.

But I'll likely keep making things that will never find its way into the actual program.
and I'm sharing them here as .blend files, cc-by for others to do anything they like with them.

in the files, the number after the model name in the outliner is the number of faces after triangulation and remove-triangles
Attachments
buildings_lp.png
Free_buildings.blend.zip
free building to use
(1.2 MiB) Downloaded 229 times
Last edited by Captain_Ahab on Sat Mar 05, 2022 8:10 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

some more factory buildings
free to use
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factory_buildings.blend.zip
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factory_buildings_lp.png
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

vehicles to use any way you like
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trains_lp.png
free_vehicles.blend.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

free ww2 tanks
Panzers and T-34's
Attachments
ww2_tanks_lp.png
russia_T34's.zip
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Panzers_ww2.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

and newer tanks
Attachments
Tank_Collection_lp.png
Tank_Collection.blend.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

HMAS Melbourne (close enough ) Majestic class carrier
( no ysflight carrier stuff done )
Attachments
HMAS_Melbourne_lp.png
HMAS_Melbourne.blend.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

Daring class destroyer from the early 50's
Attachments
Daring_class_DD_lp.png
Daring_class_DD_early-50's.blend.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Ruskiwaffle1991 »

these models look fantastic sir! Are you planning to make aircraft next for YS?
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Re: time to start making things

Post by waspe414 »

Those are fantastic. I may yoink some of them for a new RvB WW2 map
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

USS Kitty Hawk in the mid-1980's
USSKittyHawk_stripped.png
I was the cat electrician from July 1983 to Halloween 1987 so I had to make the Shitty Kitty
We handled Tomcats, Phantoms, Corsair II's, Skyhawk trainers, first F-18 squadron to be CQ'd, Intruders and Electric 6's, and even an EA-3 Whale (Skywarrior) and the assorted support planes/Helos
CVW-2 and CVW-9 were deployed with us

3 x Sea Sparrow mounts
3 x CIWS

and yes, I am a Trusty Shellback

Here is the .blend
Do what you like with it... it is free to use with no strings attached
You can place your own planes in the hanger deck
Elevators don't work, nor do the JBD's
USSKittyHawk_stripped.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

Another ship .blend
HMAS_Sydney.png
HMAS Sydney
Turrets/Guns/Gun Director are separate for animating
The Walrus could be dona as a low detail GAC plane, I suppose

Do what you like with it
CC-0
HMAS_Sydney.blend.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

Here is another ship ready for putting into YSFight
the turrets and guns are parented to hull, as is torpedo tubes and catapult
Loire seaplane might be lo-detail GAC plane ... it has an open cockpit!
Algerie_French_Cruiser.png
Here is the .blend file
CC-0 free to use for any purpose
Algerie_French_Cruiser.blend.zip
(698.31 KiB) Downloaded 164 times
Have fun
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

Yet another ship... the Graf Spee ( plus Arado Ar 196)
I didn't bother to separate out the torpedo tubes or fire directors on this one
All the guns should work
The plane is parented to the catapult
Graf_Spee.png

Here is the .blend file
CC-0 free to use for any purpose
Graf_Spee.blend.zip
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

Another useful ship

A Currituck class seaplane tender
(based on bad drawings of the USS Pine Island)

Guess I'll have to do a low-poly PBM Mariner now
USS_Pine_Island.png


Here is the .blend file
CC-0 free to use for any purpose
USS_Pine_Island.blend.zip
(602.12 KiB) Downloaded 173 times
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

A French aircraft carrier, the Bearn
Modeled (sort of) on the 1927 drawings

I didn't bother making the useless casement guns functional
only 6 75mm AA guns; I don't bother with smaller stuff

No catapult and a slow speed made this ship pretty useless during WW2
Bearn.png
Here is the .blend file
CC-0 free to use for any purpose
Bearn.blend.zip
(617.13 KiB) Downloaded 160 times
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Re: time to start making things

Post by decaff_42 »

What version of Blender are you using to create these models?
Check out my website YSDecaff for all my tutorials and addon releases.
Visit my GitHub page for Python codes: https://github.com/decaff42?tab=repositories

YSFlight Addon Database - Find links to nearly every addon made for YSFlight!
Submit Addon To Database
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Re: time to start making things

Post by Captain_Ahab »

I use 3.1 but export the model out as a .dae and get it into 2.79b to make .srf and .dnm so the materials are good
I just have to remember that the positive y-axis is the front, as it is in ScnEdit and re-orient things properly

It's a pain to animate by editing files by hand, but it's not too bad because I use custom axis and copy the rotation numbers into the .dnm
I don't like it, as it seems too much like work, so I am putting it off while I play with other bits

if only someone way smarter than me wrote a script to export from recent blender versions
I don't see why it couldn't even be done to replace the scene editor even
But I'm not smart enough to do that
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