Building a plane

Hiya! Long time and lots of water under the bridge since last. Since my own, real-life, flying occupies most of my time, scenerybuilding nowadays are seldom. But I am highly active anyway. Building an aircraft for FS2004/FSX has proven to be quite a challenge, but it´s darn fun! And now, when I realize that it actually someday might be finished, the satisfaction is enourmous.

More to come! :-)

Old news goes around again

Yes, indeed! And the winner this time, is ESSX. Yes folks, I´m almost finished, have just made some small adjustments, and then the scenery made by me & compadres will be released. Really, it´s just the ReadMe (which noone ever does, anyway) left.
Then I will embark the greatest adventure since I took my drivers license. Those plans are high-flying, believe me! More when it cools outside.

SketchUp!

Yes, if you´ve missed it, do not fear, SketchUp is now free! Thanks to Google buying another of my favourite software (+Picasa, Writely, and yes, Blogger) this 450€ software is now available for free. Slimmed, yes, but not much. Most noteworthy is that the 3DS Export is missing, but it might be that we´ll find a solution to that.
Sketchup is not a substitute for Gmax, but it is the most easy way to create boxes with roofs, so if I can dream, let MS make an export from Sketchup to FS. Drool! :-)

I hate Word

I hate Word. Yes, harsh words but I do believe that I do. Why? Because it tries to think instead of you. Thankyouverymuch but I think I can manage on my own... That´s why this is written in Writely ! :-)

Well well

Well, consider yourself lucky! I´m checking out Picasa (another googled thing) so I needed a pic to publish. And, a once private comparison now lies here for you to watch. D-mn, I´m good! ;-)

Furious

Furios? No, not me. But I´ve been furiosly active in Gmax since last thursday, a friend of mine showed me a couple of tricks that I did not know, and it turned out good! I`m re-working my first airport, ESMK, the project which learned me Gmax. And it shows now, looking at the models some 4 years later, that it really is a beginners project. Well, I´m not a pro now neither, but I´ve learned! A lot! :-)

I might have mentioned Sketchup before. Now it´s been bought by Google (as have everything but my car...), but it still is a great program! It is not a substitute for Gmax, but it comes a long way. Making smaller objects like runway-lights, is really a breeze. You still need Gmax/MakeMdl for the export, but sharing files between the two is not a problem at all. I wrote a letter a couple of weeks to @Last Software (creators of Sketchup), sharing the idea of incorporating MakeMdl (which relies on the X-format) as a plugin for Sketchup. No reply, so far... Well, I dream on. Gmax by Discreet is bought by Autodesk who promptly cancelled Gmax. :-P So, there is a market for FS-compatible, cheap (Gmax was free) software. Thanks to TurboSquid who still provide a registration process.

Another free, exellent software (which is also Goooogled) is Writely.com. All you need to process, online, 24/7!

Take care out there!

Pains & gains

Hiya! Silence, silence, silence - I´m going on a vacation tomorrow, way up north. No PC, no TV (I think) and almost no phone. Just snow and sunshine!
I´ll be needing this, it´s been too much for a while and it´s starting to take it´s toll. I have done almost nothing in the sim for a while, but I have actually taken up another hobby - R/C - in the form of Mini-Z. Great fun, a little expensive, and it really brings out my competetive side. Do a gooooogle for Mini-Z and enjoy! (I know, that text should have been full with links but I didn´t have the time nor the energy...)
Ultimate Terrain Europe is out. Seems excellent, better than "Roads & Railways...", perhaps? But I have a feeling that my own LC, SweClass, might have an edge! :-)

Funny!

Brian Fletcher over at Avsim.com have just had his review of FSDS 3 published. It´s an interesting read, but I have to quote him here. Being a keen Gmax user this line is quite amusing;

"Those people who have created highly detailed aircraft and scenery objects with Gmax are a breed of their own who have most likely spent many years mastering the program"

...a breed of their own... well, it´s not what I thought about myself, but it is probably true! :-) Thanks, Brian!