[Sandwich]

Originally posted by Carl
i usually use "link as uncle" or "link as second cousin twice removed"

ROFLMAO!!!!

[LAW ENFORCER]

The most important thing to remember is not to specify what program people WILL use! I use Milkshape 3D WOOHOO! and would like to use it always... I tryed max 4, still can't do anything in it though...

[Stryke 9]

Oh, and the "link as sibling"?

Dunno when you'd really use it without a parent, but it's very simple- link both to a third object, then delete the third. Or co-link the two.

[Martinus]

Originally posted by Carl
i usually use "link as uncle" or "link as second cousin twice removed"

tsk, tsk. You're gonna confuse the newbie modellers

[Nico]

Originally posted by Stryke 9
Oh, and the "link as sibling"?

Dunno when you'd really use it without a parent, but it's very simple- link both to a third object, then delete the third

the link would just vanish I suppose. one subparent is linked to the parent, not to the other subparent. no link at all between them.if you remove your chest, your two arms won't be linked together

co-link?

[Stryke 9]

Each one parents the other- you link one to the other, then do the same with the second one.

[KARMA]

Originally posted by LAW ENFORCER
The most important thing to remember is not to specify what program people WILL use

yes ok, but simply think that whenever there will be (if there will be..) a support for other model formats than cob or scn the best solution would be to have it for a format used by a very common powerful freeley distribute program. don't know about this gmax, but it may be a good solution if its really a "special" edition for MAX...i still have do downolad it to see what features it has or not

[Nico]

Gmax is 3dsmax w/o the video post and the renderer.
the best thing you can have for modding, if you ask me.

[Stryke 9]

I dunno who'd buy MAX for the renderer, anyway...

[EdrickV]

As far as I can tell, GMax can't export anything. The menu items are disabled. And it's imports are very limited. It can import 3DS, PRJ, DXF, and SHP files. (Three of those being Max formats.) That's it. There may be plug-ins that can change that, but I don't know of them or where to get them. GMax, IMHO, is a lot harder to use then Wings3D or, for some things at least, TS1.

[Nico]

What did you expect? it's free, it uses the max interface, and you cmplain about that? of course it doesn't have much export options: developpers like microsoft or westwood studios provides their own converters, since every game has different real time 3d file formats. As for importing... it has .3ds, and every program, from TS1 to LW can export to .3ds. So what's the point?

[Bobboau]

"every program, from TS1 to LW can export to .3ds"
poorly

[EdrickV]

I expected a crippled program that's not very useful for making FS2 models, and it seems I was right. A modeller is only as good as the formats it exports IMHO, and GMax doesn't export any. You can only export using Game Packs, and there are none for FS2 that I'm aware of. (You might be able to convert a file from some other format like Quake models into a format you can use, but you may lose stuff in the process.) I didn't really intend to use GMax. I downloaded it to see how good it might be since people have been talking about it. People in the above posts weren't sure what formats it could import/export, so I did my post saying what GMax itself can import and export. (The latter being nothing.) There are plug-ins available for importing more file types, but not for exporting. If you just want to make models for the sake of making them or learning how to use Max, GMax could work. But don't expect to make renders with it or to export to 3ds/cob format, it doesn't do that. There may be .gmax file converters out there but I haven't seen any yet. (Not that I've really looked.)

[Nico]

crippled
Sure, if we want to use it for FS2, we'll have to make our own converter, that was pretty obvious anyway.

[KARMA]

Originally posted by venom2506
crippled
Sure, if we want to use it for FS2, we'll have to make our own converter, that was pretty obvious anyway.

thats the point, i think

(for beginning plz note that i'll referr to your and venoms description, i still have to test gmax.)

most people in the community uses ts1 or2 just because are free (and necessary), a lot uses progs like blender, milkshape or rhino just because they are free or extremely cheap for the modelling stuff, then export their artwork to ts1 or 2 for final tuning, with often A LOT of exporting probs (as far as i know just a few or maybe nobody uses 3dexploration and are so lucky to have a ready to be converted .cob file with full hyerachy and textures), and a lot always look for FREE and *useful* modelling programs that can be used at some point of the "modelling for fs2" process
as said others told to me some days ago about gmax..and from the description it immediatly sound to me very useful: a version of max with some limitations but free, and if the limitations are the ability to save only to 3ds format (or supported game formats) and to don't have the render (that is not the *best* part of MAX ), well i confirm my first impression: very useful.
With most of the other 3d modelling pkages you still have to use for textures and hyerachy a version of truespace and you often have to use a converter (like 3dexploration)...so there is not a big difference in this point actually... simply its another FREE program you can use instead of some others...if you like it....and this can be very useful for a lot of ppl (personally i have both lw and max -but still have to install em-  so its not for me)
But the true point is little different: as said the first pof converters were for truespace just because it was free and the cob format was enough complete (hyerachy), this was right some years ago but now truespace is not the only nor the best free modelling prog.
This was the origin of this thread: if we could manage to have hyerachy editation in an external tool (like pcs), so if we can add single meshes to an already converted pof to insert the LODs, and maybe subobjects too,  one of the biggest point for we still need to use truespace will expire(you would be able, for example, to texture the already converted pof with lithunwrap that supports in some ways  pof formats, and then add the hyerachy with pcs w/o using truespace...).
then comes a little dream    if gmax is free and 3ds is a "complete" file format (hyerachy), and 3ds is a common format (you won't have much troubles converting to 3ds, surely less than cob) it would be good and logical  to have directly a converter for 3ds that will let you to do all the modding stuff - modelling-texturing-hyerachy- in single free good prog avoiding all the exporting probs......or maybe even to have a game pack for it to save directly in .pof.
just a dream, i repeat, since probably the only one that could do that is kazan and he said in other threads that for a lot of reasons he has no intention to do that;)

well, maybe its just my opinion (and still have to check gmax;))

btw, sorry for some badspelling,
bye

[Martinus]

KARMA - Gmax will not export to .3DS format. That's one of the reasons a lot of people aren't even giving it a second glance. I have heard that there is a converter of some type available to convert Gmax's unique file format into something useful but I've yet to see it.

MAX or 3DS is still in my opinion the most useful format to work with, I know a lot of converters don't really convert to 3DS format very well but most of them do the job well enough to get by.

The only other possible format which I see the use of is 'XSI'. wEvil suggested it a while back, it's open source and handles everything we need the format to do.

[KARMA]

Originally posted by Maeglamor
KARMA - Gmax will not export to .3DS format. That's one of the reasons a lot of people aren't even giving it a second glance. I have heard that there is a converter of some type available to convert Gmax's unique file format into something useful but I've yet to see it.

MAX or 3DS is still in my opinion the most useful format to work with, I know a lot of converters don't really convert to 3DS format very well but most of them do the job well enough to get by.

The only other possible format which I see the use of is 'XSI'. wEvil suggested it a while back, it's open source and handles everything we need the format to do.

i should have misunderstanded, i thought it was possible to save in 3ds, if not this obviously changes evrything

[aldo_14]

I think it exports to milkshape or quake format, and I believe there are 3ds convertors for those.

Anyways, didn't sandwich find a way?

[Stryke 9]

Try getting one of the MAX export plugins... Renderosity has a Lightwave one. If GMAX is a stripped MAX, likely it can use the same plugins.

[EdrickV]

All the plug-ins I've tried so far will not initialize. Including an import plug-in. I think GMax uses a different plug-in system. They probably changed some function names in order to break these export plug-ins. Copying the plug-in from the Tempest (Quake III) game pack into the plug-in directory enabled MD3 and MAP exporting and importing, but I'm not sure how good a format that is or how well programs like LithUnwrap (the only program I have that can open MD3 files) can convert it.