201 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
201 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
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"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
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<head>
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<title>Flightgear External Model Mini-HowTo</title>
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</head>
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<body bgcolor="white">
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<h1>FlightGear External Model Mini-HowTo</h1>
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<img src="model.jpg" />
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<p>FlightGear now supports external views with user-defined 3D models.
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Eventually, FlightGear will probably support a single definition file
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that specifies a package containing a flight model, engine model,
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panel, external 3D model, and sounds; for now, however, users must
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specify each of these separately.</p>
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<p>FlightGear uses the open-source <a
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href="http://plib.sourceforge.net/">PLIB</a> library, which (as of
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version 1.3.1) includes support for several 3D file formats:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>VRML</li>
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<li>3DS</li>
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<li>AC3D</li>
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<li>SSG (its native format)</li>
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<li>ASE</li>
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<li>DXF</li>
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<li>TRI</li>
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<li>OBJ</li>
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<li>MD2</li>
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<li>MDL (<cite>Microsoft Flight Simulator</cite> format)</li>
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</ul>
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<p>(Note that some of these have restrictions; see the PLIB
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documentation for details.) As new formats are added to PLIB,
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FlightGear will automatically be able to support them.</p>
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<p>First, you need to find a 3D model for the aircraft you want to see
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during an external view. Your best bet is probably to download an
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MSFS MDL file from one of the many flight-simulator Web sites, such as
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<a href="http://www.flightsim.com/">www.flightsim.com</a>. You then
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need to install the main model file (with the appropriate extension)
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somewhere under <code>$FG_ROOT</code>, and install any associated
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textures in <code>$FG_ROOT/Models/Textures</code>.</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p><strong>NOTE: if your model appears untextured and you are
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using a case-sensitive filesystem, you may need to fiddle with the
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case of the texture file names.</strong></p>
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</blockquote>
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<p>Next, you need to set the property <code>/sim/model/path</code> to
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the model file's name, relative to $FG_ROOT.</p>
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<p>It is possible that the model may not be aligned correctly, and
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will appear to fly too high, too low, sideways, vertically, etc. If
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so, you can use the additional properties described at the end of this
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mini-howto to adjust to model so that it appears to fly
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realistically.</p>
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<div>
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<h2>Example</h2>
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<p>You have downloaded a zip package containing a 3D Cessna model for
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Microsoft Flight Simulator, and you want to use that model in
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FlightGear. First, you unzip the package, where you find a series of
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files, including one with the extension "<code>mdl</code>" and several
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with extensions ending in "<code>af</code>"; you can safely ignore any
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other files for the installation, but you should, of course, read any
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files describing your usage rights.</p>
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<p>Change to the location of <code>$FG_ROOT</code>
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(<code>/usr/local/FlightGear</code> on my system) and copy all of the
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<code>*af</code> texture files to <code>Models/Textures/</code>. In
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Unix, assuming you unzipped in /tmp/cessna</p>
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<pre>
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cp /tmp/cessna/*af Models/Textures
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</pre>
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<p>Next, copy to <code>*.mdl</code> file to any location under
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$FG_ROOT; it's probably a good idea to put it inside
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<code>Models/</code>. In Unix</p>
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<pre>
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cp /tmp/cessna/*.mdl Models
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</pre>
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<p>To use the model in FlightGear, use the <var>--prop</var> option
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with the <code>/sim/model/path</code> property:</p>
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<pre>
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fgfs --prop:/sim/model/path=Models/C172SKH.mdl
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</pre>
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<p>Press the 'v' key to switch to external view, and see how it
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looks.</p>
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<p>If the model does seem to have the correct position or orientation,
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you can adjust it using the properties described below. When
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everything is correct, you can add the properties to your .fgfsrc file
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so that you do not have to type them every time.</p>
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<!-- end of "Example" -->
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</div>
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<div>
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<h2>Properties</h2>
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<p>These properties allow you to specify the path of the 3D model for
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external views and to adjust the model's position and orientation so
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that it seems to fly in the correct position. For example, if the
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model is pointing backwards, you can specify</p>
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<pre>
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--prop:/sim/model/h-rotation=180
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</pre>
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<p>to turn it around the right way. If the model seems to float a
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half meter above the ground, you can specify</p>
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<pre>
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--prop:/sim/model/z-offset=0.5
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</pre>
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<p>to lower it a bit.</p>
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<table border="1">
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<thead>
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<tr>
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<th>Property</th>
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<th>Default</th>
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<th>Description</th>
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</tr>
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</thead>
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<tbody>
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<tr>
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<td><code>/sim/model/path</code></td>
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<td align="center"><code>Models/Geometry/glider.ac</code></td>
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<td>The pathname of a file containing a 3D model, relative to
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<code>$FG_ROOT</code>.</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>/sim/model/x-offset</code></td>
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<td align="center"><code>0.0</code></td>
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<td>The backward/forward offset in meters. Positive is backwards,
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negative is forwards.</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>/sim/model/y-offset</code></td>
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<td align="center"><code>0.0</code></td>
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<td>The left/right offset in meters. Positive is right, negative is
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left.</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>/sim/model/z-offset</code></td>
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<td align="center"><code>0.0</code></td>
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<td>The up/down offset in meters. Positive is down, negative is
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up.</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>/sim/model/h-rotation</code></td>
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<td align="center"><code>0.0</code></td>
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<td>The heading rotation in degrees. Positive is counter-clockwise,
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negative is clockwise.</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>/sim/model/p-rotation</code></td>
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<td align="center"><code>0.0</code></td>
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<td>The bank rotation in degrees. Positive is left bank, negative is
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right bank.</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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<td><code>/sim/model/r-rotation</code>
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<td align="center"><code>0.0</code></td>
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<td>The pitch rotation in degrees. Positive is nose up, negative is
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nose down.</td>
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</tr>
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</tbody>
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</table>
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<!-- end of "Properties" -->
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</div>
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<hr />
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<address>David Megginson,
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<a href="mailto:david@megginson.com">david@megginson.com</a>,
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2000-11-08</address>
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</body>
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</html>
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