Google Sketchup 7

[djscoo]

I just downloaded it, and I am fully impressed with it. It's the most user-friendly modeling program I have ever used. Just curious if anyone else has any experience with it. I wish I could use it to make scenery for FSX...
a little something I did this afternoon:
7352

http://sketchup.google.com/download/

[Cratermaker]

I downloaded it a while back. It IS pretty easy to use. What version are they at now?

[Lionheart]

That would be awesome if you could put the scenery in FS...

Has anyone wrote them about perhaps making it possible to do this?



Bill

[Cratermaker]

Maybe they are saving it for their own flight simulator. (I kid, I kid! Well, I can dream can't I?)

[Wing_Z]

I fly the Google flight simulator from time to time.
If everyone pitched in and made just ten buildings we'd populate the world in no time...:mixedsmi:

[djscoo]

I fly the Google flight simulator from time to time.
If everyone pitched in and made just ten buildings we'd populate the world in no time...:mixedsmi:
There's a few fairly interesting buildings in the downtown area of my city that I plan on trying later...and maybe my house:engel016:

[Cratermaker]

Now if there were a way to export designs from Sketchup to Flightgear... :wiggle:

[Cratermaker]

Wait a minute, if you have the pro version you can export as .3ds or .obj What does Microsoft use? Apparently you CAN get your objects in to flight gear if you have the Pro version of sketchup.

EDIT: aw crap, the pro version is $500

[djscoo]

Wait a minute, if you have the pro version you can export as .3ds or .obj What does Microsoft use? Apparently you CAN get your objects in to flight gear if you have the Pro version of sketchup.

EDIT: aw crap, the pro version is $500

I can get a 1-year license for $50 using my student discount...I'm seriously considering it. If it can export to .3ds, can't that in turn be imported into gmax and then re-exported to .mdl? or is there an even faster way?:kilroy:

[X_eidos2]

There have been several threads about getting models from SketchUp into other modeling programs (Daz3d's Carrara Pro for instance.) on other modeling forums. For those of us who don't currently have the means to get the Pro version of SketchUp, there are free plugins available on the internet that allow you to export SketchUp models as DXF and OBJ objects using the free version of SketchUp (pc version only, didn't work on Mac version of SketchUp). One of the big attractions to using SketchUp, besides ease of use, is access to the 3d Warehouse, which has 1000's of models available for free download that have been made by other users. While the models shouldn't be used for sceneries that will be distributed publicly, they certainly can help dress up a movie set in a hurry.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b59/X_eidos2/USS_WASP_SketchUp.jpg

The one draw-back that I've found with the free plugins for converting the Sketchup models to OBJ or DXF is that they tend to choke when dealing with the larger, more complex models. (The model of HMS Rodney was over a million faces) But for simple models or models you make on your own, it seems a good way to go, as you can import DXF and 3ds files directly into gmax, and with a maxscript you can import OBJ files as well.

[rhumbaflappy]

Hi all.

The converting programs do choke on models with large amounts of polys or verticies... as will flight simulator.

MeshLab:

http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/

It will import collada files and textures. Rename the KMZ file as ZIP, and extract to a folder. Then import into MeshLab. Export as 3ds... then open that in gmax.

You may need to rotate the model in gmax, but the material texturing should be OK. You will still need to apply the materials to the model.

You could also try ModelConverterX after the MeshLab export:

http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=87

Dick