Goran_M

I was thinking heavily about the freeware releases of those 2. I'm not sure I'm going to release a freeware version of the 4000. I did originally have plans to do so, as I made posts about it. But to do so would mean releasing a substandard add on using planemaker when compared to a high quality version being made in Blender. Not meaning to be big headed, but it's the same as seeing someone like Miranda Kerr, Cindy Crawford or Elle McPherson just getting up out of bed with no makeup on and wearing pyjamas and someone saying "here are photos of these women for free when they get out of bed, but if you pay me something, I'll give you photos of them taken in a glamor studio with full make up from Estee Lauder and hot 2 piece bikinis and see through tops." What would you prefer to see?? Planemaker just doesn't have the tools to make (visually) very high quality aircraft when compared to something a 3rd party 3D application can do like Blender, Modo or 3DS Max. I would like people to see a fully made up Hawker 4000. Something that cannot be differentiated from the real thing when seen in the sim. Theo has already ripped into me because he spent a great deal of time making liveries for the planemaker version. The Hawker 800, that is entirely Jason's project. He has INDICATED he is willing to finish it someday, but it will be up to him if he wants to release a planemaker version. I hope you can understand my reasoning behind these decisions. Had I known I would be doing this so seriously, I never would have made assurances. Lesson learned I guess. Goran

Been a while since I posted anything in here but I have an update on Hawker 4000 progress. The modelling is complete, texturing is very close to being complete. Just a few small errors to iron out. Animations are complete. Only the programming is left. I could dumb down the programming to get the aircraft out sooner but i really want it to have realism that is comparable to the real thing. I have the reference material for the FMC and the displays. Now comes the wait for programming. I have a couple of options. The xlua language that X-Aviation is developing is one of those options and is looking quite viable. The bad news is the Hawker 4000 won't be ready in time for an early December release because xlua development is taking longer than anticipated. So for that, I apologize. I did initially assume I could have the Hawker 4000 out before December. There are another few options but we'll wait and see how that all pans out before I say anything definite about it. So, the Hawker 4000 is still moving along. I do plan on making at least 1 more Hawker aircraft and that is the Premier 1A. I already have made the flight model for that aircraft. I actually made it before the 4000. After all, it's a Hawker fleet project. The Hawker 800 is still an unknown quantity at this point. Jason and I have discussed it and he doesn't know whether he'll finish it but he's leaning towards the "yes, I'll finish it" side. So, while all this is going on, I'm dedicating a lot of hours to the Saab 340 series as they are the easiest aircraft for me to finish and get out the door. I can safely say the Saab 340A will be the first aircraft that I will sell through X-Aviation and will MOST LIKELY be finished before Christmas. I say that because the AOM is about 3000 pages long for the A/B series and a slash over 3000 pages for the WT so reading is kinda high on my list of priorities to make a completely accurate flight model. Goran

Javier, you are insane! How many polys do you have so far?? Goran

Check my shorts!!

Nick, you're going to bust a blood vessel in your head. Rafael, you don't have to worry about doors and windows yet. Yes, there is a way to model the doors and windows while building the fuse but it's kind of for more experienced modellers where you build the object around the hole. It's a bit tedious but if you mess something up, it will be a disaster. And takes some practise. You should finish the major parts first. Fuse, wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizors. THEN start cutting things out. Goran

Nothing really worth bragging about. The major things are done. Filling in the gaps now. Small objects like rudder pedals, rudder pedal adjustment lever, side walls, jump seat, stuff like that. Mostly adjusting objects in the right positions and lining them all up with background images. When it's all done and assembled, i'll throw a render up. Goran

I didn't want to say anything here, but I will. It's good to have ambition. But a project of this size is a bit beyond your reach at this point Rafael. I was asked if I could do an L1011 a while ago and I refused purely because of the amount of work that has to be done. Even the Hawker 4000 was a stretch for me. (Thankfully I got it done). Learn to walk first. Then run. Goran

Not sure if you know about this, Rafael, but you can make several loop cuts in one section but selecting the loop cut tool and then using the scroll wheel to increase or decrease the number of loop cuts. This places the loop cuts an equal distance from each other in the specific section you are trying to shape. Goran

I'm not sure if it's an unusual angle of the model, but I can still see slight bumps in the fuselage and a seam running up the middle. The seam can be fixed but perhaps you should look into "proportional editing" when resizing the different sections of the fuselage so it smoothens out a bit. The seam in the middle needs to be S,X 0'ed to make it a clean join. Overall, it's coming along nicely. Goran

Main panel and center console assembled. And here you can see the wireframe of the overhead set against the background image. I tried to make it as accurate as possible. And 2 renders of the overhead That overhead was fuelled by about 8 cups of coffee, a steak, OJ, 5 bowls of noodles and A LOT of music over a period of 19 hours. TIME FOR BED!

WIP Center pedestal. I still have to shape the actual base where everything is mounted on, but it still is basically a big box with no rounded edges (YES!) The thing off to the side is the circuit breakers panel. Still to be positioned.

I managed to get my hands on the entire AOM for the Saab 340A/B. 4 PDF files at close to 100MB each (Gives you an idea of how many pages each section has.). This aircraft was truly state of the art in the 80's. The more I read about it, the more I love it. I have learned a lot more about them and I feel confident I can model each variant to 100% accuracy with what I have seen in the AOM so far. Anyway, Theo has finished texturing the Hawker 4000 and while she awaits programming (which should begin sometime this month or next month) I will continue working on the Saab series. Cockpit is progressing nicely.

Thanks Ola Just doing my best.

We'll see what happens with this plan. One of those "cross that bridge when we come to it" scenarios. Goran

Looking good, Theo.

Panel renders.

Ok, just a couple of things to post. I'm still deciding what I'll do with the pricing system for the Saab series. I just don't want to be painted with the same brush that Captain Sim was painted with regarding their "blocks" system. If it does go ahead, I think it will benefit everyone and will save people a lot of money. Also, this isn't MSFS so things work a lot better in X Plane than FS9 or FSX. Anyway, we'll see what happens down the road. Theo continues to work on the textures for the Hawker 4000 and you can see a recent screenshot of the FMC in the Hawker fleet thread. The bonanza is still on hold until I get all the info from Chris. It will most likely come this week. The Saab is moving along VERY quickly and the modelling for the 340A will be done within 1-2 weeks. For the latest screenshots of the panel, please see the Saab 340 thread. As always, feedback is always welcome. Goran

I have to say I am partly at fault for the walls. Rafael asked for my opinions on the fuse and I mentioned the walls are too thin. If he wanted to add thickness, to make slightly thicker. But you are correct. Rafael, model thickness once you have everything in the fuse completed. Otherwise you will spend hours "cleaning up". Goran

I might have to clarify something. The base package will, for example, cost $20 (NOT final price) and for $5-$10, you can purchase the upgrades. So instead of paying something like $40 up front for a whole package, you can pay for what you really need. It basically means it will cost the same what I would charge for a complete package. This way, beginners can get the benefits of something more "basic" in the Saab 340A without paying for a full package. Goran

Thanks guys. I was actually wanting to know something and I would appreciate feedback on this. There are 2 different variations of the Saab. They are the 340A and the 340B. Also, some 340A variants come with an FMC and some have just a GPS. Then the 340B has more modern displays and comes with an FMC as standard. So, what I was thinking was to make a "base" version of a 340A (with default FMC) and then make separate "upgrades" available for purchase. So a small fee to add the custom FMC to the 340A, then another fee to upgrade to the 340B. I might even include a Saab 2000 for another small fee. I would really appreciate as many people responding to this as possible. Goran

Well, I thought I would post a little update as it has been very quiet around x-pilot lately. The Hawker 4000 is still being textured and is roughly (and I use the term loosely) 60%-70% textured and I can't do anything with it until Theo finishes with it. But I am seeing progress screenies and it is looking very "nice". The Bonanza is still being made but is on hold because the exterior is finished but I'm waiting on interior photos from "Chris" and he's away from home at the moment. He comes back this week so hopefully I can get started on that this week. Now, "Project 3" is the Saab 340. I already have a ton of documentation on it and the AOM that is given to pilots is going to be brought over to my house sometime this week. I was able to model the exterior of the Saab in the last week. I figured I can't do anything on my other 2 projects yet so I'll get started on the Saab. Anyway, here are some screenshots of Project 3. It is still a work in progress. I want to fix a few little things that bug me. Overall, I'm very happy with it.

The analogies I use are to familiarize people with the different types of security that is out there. The main difference is, and I had some kind of problem with this info a few years ago, is that when you buy payware, you don't really own it. You have bought the license to use it on your computer. That's where EULA's come in. If you "owned" it, then you could share it, distribute it, do whatever you wanted to it. Funny business this E business. Goran

Thanks Javier Goran

I KNEW you were making something else. I even asked Cameron and he said "CRJ-200". Javier, you are both in for a wild ride. I have refused to make an airbus purely because of the systems modelling. If anyone did an Airbus, I am happy it was you! Looking forward to it! Goran

Some people don't realize, DRM technology is in use all over the world for many different things. Albeit, in a different form. Many shops have DRM (Security Tag on clothing, beeping barriers, PIN's for ATM's, keys for unlocking your car or your house, even, believe it or not, contraception.). These are all a form of DRM and we, as customers, are forced to accept these forms of security. What a lot of people don't understand is, payware developers create add ons so they can put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. Some developers do it for fun and don't charge for their work. My hats off to them, but those developers do not work towards a deadline and they develop in their spare time for fun because they have full time jobs that pay the bills. But when a developer spends up to 18 hours a day, 5-6 days a week creating a simming add on only to see that add on end up on torrent sites, it destroys any future add on because the developer just won't bother with making something else which will almost definitely be better unless security can be provided. DRM exists to protect developers and to also ensure developers keep creating more, higher quality add ons in the future. It's a very small price to pay for many hundreds, if not thousands of hours of enjoyment. Just my 0.02 worth Goran