Comments on: Request for XPlane2Blender Documentation Improvements https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/ Developer resources for the X-Plane flight simulator Sat, 12 Aug 2017 14:22:26 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 By: COLIMATA https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21284 Sat, 12 Aug 2017 14:22:26 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21284 Guys let me say that you are doing a great job with this exporter and the way you build and introduce the new version.
I’m confident that we are getting a stable and backward compatible release (I’m contributing on the beta tests).

As a professional developer, I’ve learned how vitally important a reliable exporter is.
Blender is a great tool for many developers free, part time or pro. Open, powerful and with a great community and tutorials.

Suggestion for the manual:
+ Complex nested bone animations (landing gear)
+ Multiple SHOW/HIDE animations for one object
+ Lights (cockpit and outside)

Best regards
Florian
COLIMATA

]]> By: Ben Supnik https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21274 Fri, 11 Aug 2017 12:22:23 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21274 In reply to Santiago.

Laminar Research does not have plans to do this. Andy Colebourne offered to take over maintenance of the ac3d exporter – I do not know what his plans are for it.

]]> By: Santiago https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21273 Fri, 11 Aug 2017 04:02:24 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21273 Hello Ben,

Are there any plans to update the AC3D plugin with the new features of the blender exporter?

thanks!

]]> By: hhbrbg https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21262 Thu, 10 Aug 2017 19:37:58 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21262 In reply to Ben Supnik.

Great, thank you Ben…
Tom

]]> By: Ben Supnik https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21261 Thu, 10 Aug 2017 15:27:55 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21261 In reply to hhbrbg.

Hi Tom,

Yes – and – we are doing testing on a major update to the 3DS exporter that Step2sky has done – we are sponsoring this so it can be open source.

]]> By: hhbrbg https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21260 Thu, 10 Aug 2017 14:54:18 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21260 In reply to Ben Supnik.

Hello Ben,

you wrote not so long ago:
“Our goal is to have 3DS be a first-class citizen for content authoring.”
Is this still your goal? If yes, what is the status of the project?

Greetings from Bavaria
(another) Tom

]]> By: quantumac https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21255 Thu, 10 Aug 2017 01:32:09 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21255 In reply to Ted Greene.

Not really, no. I have to admit I’m still using the older v3.20.14 with a minor modification for Blender 2.78c, but I took a look at the v3.3 documentation anyway. I find it a bit disturbing there’s no screen captures (i.e. all the images are little question marks indicating file not found). It also has minor spelling errors here and there. Generally I’ve been able to understand the XPlane2Blender documentation, though. I don’t expect it to teach users how to use Blender since there are plenty of other resources for that. The older v3.2 documentation was sufficient for me to understand what settings carried over from Blender into X-Plane object files via the script. I don’t know how typical I am for your audience, though. I’m a software developer who works with OpenGL daily, so the terms and ideas are quite familiar. Those with less 3D experience might be overwhelmed at first simply because there is so much to learn.

]]> By: AJ https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21253 Wed, 09 Aug 2017 20:49:23 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21253 In reply to Ben Supnik.

Ted wrote the blog, but Jim is railing against my “one-texture-per-obj-forever” stance.

Yes, was not reading carefully, sorry.

]]> By: Ted Greene https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21252 Wed, 09 Aug 2017 17:48:08 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21252 In reply to quantumac.

Glad Blender is working out for you. Do you have any suggestions for the XPlane2Blender Manual?

]]> By: quantumac https:/2017/08/request-for-blender-manualdocumentation-improvements/#comment-21251 Wed, 09 Aug 2017 17:46:56 +0000 http://developer.x-plane.com/?p=7808#comment-21251 As someone who creates aircraft for X-Plane as a hobby, I prefer Blender due to the fact it’s (a) free, (b) feature-rich, (c) cross platform and (d) the source code is available. Yes, the interface can be clunky in areas, but I haven’t seen a 3D software package which didn’t have a learning curve. There are many video tutorials on the web describing how to use the various features of Blender, which is how I approached the package. Patience is key. I took notes, jotting them down in an easily searched text file, using my own phrases/terms to help me learn. When I released my BD-5J for X-Plane, I included the Blender and Gimp files used to create it so others could learn and help expand the X-Plane ecosystem. As far as I’m concerned, Blender is adequate for my needs.

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