Goran_M

The rain effect is very cool. But I noticed something that actually freaked me out. The flickering CRT screen on the FO side. Now THAT'S cool! Nicely done.

SSSHHHHHH!!! Don't tell them that! Their excuse is "we are limited by the constraints of the sim".

The Hawker 800 was Jason's project. He is very keen on finishing it so I will try to convince him to do it. The only other Hawker bizjet I have plans on finishing is the Premier 1/1A. That won't take too long as the flight model is already done (I finished it early last year). As for the other bizjets, we'll see how things pan out. My main priority now is the Saab, Hawker 4000, Bonanza A36 and G36 (yeah, I'm doing them both) and the 747. I'll definitely make my intentions known as the weeks go by. Goran

This project is definitely still alive. The person doing the programming is waiting to start work. However, as with any kind of work, he must be paid. As soon as the Saab is released, the programming on this add on will start. Goran

Ok, here's the situation. About 3 weeks ago, work stopped on the animating as Reuben had a few things to take care of. Now his time is taken up by school and his time dedicated to the Saab is extremely limited. So I had to make a choice and, unfortunately, took him off the project as I always say school is more important than any other activity. Originally, I had Jason in mind to help me animate everything so we can get it done fast without rushing it. However, I asked someone else who could finish it on his own. This person agreed and is a master at animating in AC3D. If the average developer can animate something in 5 minutes in Blender, this guy can do the same animation in 30 seconds in AC3D. I don't really want to say who it is. That's up to him if he wants himself to be known. The only thing is, everything needs to be UV mapped before we export it to AC3D and Theo is making sure it's all done. Because of this setback, we had to push the target back to early March, which includes the manual. It better be done by early March. My birthday is mid March and I want it out before then.

Who's working??? I'm on a sun lounge in the Maldives. Oh wait! Thats some time later this year. Damn. Back to work, I guess.

Yeah Theo. How did you manage that??

This is a list of things that need to be finished. 1) the overhead needs some tweaking...just switches moving the right way, maybe some datarefs changed etc... 2) 1 hr tidying the gear animations up 3) placing and animations of cockpit side panels 4) texturing LCD panel displays correctly 5) Making engine management gauges work right and display accurately 6) rudder pedal animation 7) ext lighting to be finished 8.) landing lights to be added We're looking at about 7-10 days work for this if things go well. I would love to show some screenshots but not just yet. We want to concentrate on getting all these things sorted. Maybe in a few days. Goran

Like Cameron said, we don't tell everyone everything.

I've been told it's default textures.

It's a lovely day, isn't it? More screenshots soon. And before you ask, it's not me that's making it.

I was having a discussion with someone who will remain anonymous, for the moment. And he said this to me: I just had a shower and i washed my right half and i thought to myself man it would be awesome if i could apply a mirror modifier Needless to say, I cracked up laughing!

Wait for Cameron or Eric to jump back on. They're the scenery experts. Goran

Can't see your picture, but some scenery does not convert properly. You need to download "Overlay Editor" and remove any objects that should not be there. Overlay Editor is very easy to use. Goran

No problem. We all want the realism. And speaking for myself, and I'm sure I speak for the others who work at X Aviation, we're all working very hard to bring the most realistic experience for X Plane. I guess we can only get better as time goes on. Cheers Goran

Welcome to the X Plane world. With regard to the FMS. I have no immediate plans to have a custom FMS programmed into the Saab. Yes, most Saab 340B aircraft have an FMS, but I plan to model the other B versions that don't have it. In the future, I may add it as an "upgrade". The 747-200 that I am making does not have an FMS. It will use INS navigation. It will follow waypoints that are programmed into it but the waypoints can only be entered 9 at a time. Goran

We're getting closer and adding more "surprises" to the Saab, lately. I was debating with myself whether I should put these screenshots up (for about a week) and have decided I wanted to show where we are going with this. Propellors will have realistic animation using a technique that X Plane allows. Also, look closely at the engine hub. You will see a work in progress reflection of the fuselage in the prop hub. Also, fyi, the engines have been re-done since this screenshot was taken. Theo asked if I could get rid of the seams running all over them as he can add them as a texture, also, on top of that, it will improve performance and generally look better. It's definitely moving forward and will be ready soon. We're spending a ridiculous amount of hours to get this finished asap. We're looking at some time in the 2nd half of february. (Fingers crossed!)

It was my turn to make gutterall sounds this time. Jason made a couple of renders with some really nice lighting and shadow effects.

Great to see you Mike and thanks heaps for using my forums to introduce yourself! Good to see more MSFS users getting a taste of X Plane and liking what they see. Hopefully more will follow you in the transition and see the benefits of BOTH sims. (Of course with a strong preference towards X Plane!) Cheers Goran

Great to see you have signed up, Terrence. You're more than welcome to share any texturing tips with us, should you have the time. Thanks for showing an interest in X-Plane. (BTW, for those of you that don't know, Terrence is Lead Designer for McPhat Studios) Cheers Goran

Not meaning to sound like I'm bashing PMDG, but 37px/m would look better on an aircraft the size of the Saab (less area to cover) than the MD11. Theo has basically crammed more into a smaller package to make sharper and clearer detail. Goran

Many thanks. I'm looking into that. Like Ola said, it appears to be an x plane issue, but I'll try to get it looking right. Cockpit is being overhauled (textures). Won't take long. Maybe another few days.

Thanks, Chris. Doing my best. I'm hoping I won't disappoint. Cheers Goran

Another one. Don't get too excited. It's not a sim screenshot. But it sure took me by surprise when it popped in my dropbox.

Getting there... The obj props have not been added yet and lights are still to be accurately positioned.