new Gmax tutorial for dummies

[jytte]

No offense, I was a dummy too, not so many days ago.
Come to think of it, I probably still am:hehe:


Gmax can be pretty intimidating. I found it totally incomprehensible until someone put me on the right track. Then I found that it's really not that hard, once you get over the first hurdle. So I set out to make a tutorial to help others get over that hurdle, step by step, picture by picture.

I have it from the best of authority (another dummy) that it works.

It is on my website (below) under tutorials (oddly enough), named "how to make a house".

Have fun.

 

[matruck]

Thank You

Howdy jytte,
A big thank you for that tutorial i have saved the pages and will give it a go,thanks very very much.
Cheers Mick.

 

[Euphod]

Wow.....nicely done and long overdue. I appreciate your attention to detail and your step by step lesson plan.

 

[Railwayz]

Gmax for dummies

Jytte, you're a genius. I had previously tried Gmax and put it in the too hard basket. After reading your tutorial I can't think why that was so. As you said it only takes someone to put you on the right track and it's easy. It does take a special sort of communicator to be able to make it understandable to everbody though, so I take my hat off to you and say thank you very much.

Railwayz

 

[Dinorius_Redundicus]

My first ever gmax creations will probably hit the DLS on Monday thanks to this tutorial (and no, they won't be a set of houses!). Big thanks to Jytte. You have livened up this place (in a good way).


Dino

 

[jytte]

Thank you all,

I was so elated, when I finally "saw the light" in Gmax, thanks to the help of other Trainzers, especially Bob Sanders, he is a God sent!

I thought it only fair to share my good luck with others.

But don't blame me, when you'all are burning the midnight oil, making shapes of all kinds, this stuff is addictive :hehe:

 

[Railwayz]

Gmax for dummies

Any chance of a slightly more advance tutorial such as combining several different shapes into one object to provide a more detailed item?

Railwayz

 

[jytte]

I did not want to put too much stuff into a "first step" tutorial and the chimney part gives a general idea on how to combine parts.

I am, however, considering a second tut, covering some of the nicer details, like a decent roof, reducing polys, maybe a bit about the textures.

Remember, I'm in the learning process myself, but I might make a few more tuts as I go along. At least till we get to the more advanced stage of some of the other great tutorials out there.

 

[1Partsman]

GREAT tutorial!!!!

this is absolutely the best....having tried gmax for a long time, and just did not have the hours to try and get started, tried this and it sure explains where and how to get started..........thanks!!!!!!!!!!

John

 

[jytte]

For anyone who already downloaded: I updated part 2 today, a minor change to config regarding height adjustment.

And "lesson 2" is in the works. Should be ready by tomorrow.

 

[matruck]

Thanks

Howdy jytte,
Your a legend,i tried your tutorial today and built and put my first object into trainz(jytte's house)i could'nt actually get the thumbnail image part working but your little wonder that I made is now inside my pc,i'm like a rat with a gold tooth.When you make your texture's do you just take a photo of say a brick wall for instance then save it as a bmp in photoshop pro would i be on the right path.
Once again a big thank you.
Cheers Mick.

 

[Red_Rattler]

Jytte, with your website, you need to make sure that your pages fit WITHIN eithe 800x600 or 1024x768 screen resolution. We have the screen in the 1024x768 mode at the moment, and we still have to scroll across, which is annoying. It would be easier for people to read if it was suitable for within 800x600.

1024x768 is annoying to me, and for people with eye problems (and some other medical problems) as the text is too small.

 

[jytte]

I did look at scaling the tutorial down for a smaller screen resolution (I'm using 1280x1024), but that won't happen, as the pictures are too big, and some of the pictures can't be resized any further, as you then can't see what's on them, Gmax is a lot of tiny information gathered on one screen.

I am however working on putting the tutorial on a word document as well, resizing the pics as necessary for that, for people with resolution problems.

The next lesson, should at least fit within 1024 width, but that's as low as I can go.

As for the website itself, I haven't had time to mess with it too much, but I will have a look at reformatting one of these days.

 

[jytte]

Lesson 2 just uploaded to my website.

 

[jytte]

Howdy jytte,
Your a legend,i tried your tutorial today and built and put my first object into trainz(jytte's house)i could'nt actually get the thumbnail image part working but your little wonder that I made is now inside my pc,i'm like a rat with a gold tooth.When you make your texture's do you just take a photo of say a brick wall for instance then save it as a bmp in photoshop pro would i be on the right path.
Once again a big thank you.
Cheers Mick.

Did you rename your thumbnail pic to "$screenshot$", just like in config? And did you make sure it is 240x180? And is it the same format in config and file both (as in jpg)?

Yes, you can take photoes of houses or whatever, or find some nice ones on the internet, then bring that into your imaging software, and make your skins from that.

 

[Mick_Berg]

Any chance of a slightly more advance tutorial such as combining several different shapes into one object to provide a more detailed item?

Railwayz

Jytte's tutorials are very good for starting out. Another good one for buildings is Tafweb's Town Hall. And if you want to know absolutely everything about gMax, I would suggest you get a copy of the book "gMax Bible". It can be found for under ten bucks. It will tell you everything you need to know, but be warned, your head will explode.
Mick Berg.

 

[jytte]

Ian Manion (vulcan) also has some great tutorials on his site http://www.ianztrainz.com.au/tutorial6.htm

 

[Mick_Berg]

Lesson 2 just uploaded to my website.

Jytte, Part 2 is very good and taught me a few things. Many thanks. But I think you left the old roof on the house, which should have been removed to save polys, shouldn't it?
And another tip when making houses, which you might like to include, the main box should descend below ground level by a few feet so it can be placed on uneven or sloping ground without looking as if it's "floating". You'll see a lot of models made that way.
Another tutorial on making buildings, by Terry Franks (Tafweb); this one is a bit more advanced with booleans, lathing etc.
http://www.tafweb-trainz.co.uk/tutorial_bank_1.html
Thanks,
Mick Berg.

 

[jytte]

Yes, I did leave the old roof on. I was getting a bit tired (and I guess a bit anxious to get back to my own building projects), so I plum forgot. Thanks, I will update the tut and upload again.

You're right, it would make it easier to place on slopes etc, if one extends the house with "foundation", Ive used that myself, but didn't think of putting it in. I should've thought of that.

While we're at it, wouldn't it be nice to have a thread (I can't see that we have one) that is a "sticky" kind of thing, no discussions or comments, just with listings of tutorials out there, maybe a short description. They can be SO hard to find, especially for newbies. Even when mentioned in forum, they get lost in a hurry.


EDIT: Just updated and uploaded the tutorial again. Thanks again Mick.

 

[Red_Rattler]

I did look at scaling the tutorial down for a smaller screen resolution (I'm using 1280x1024), but that won't happen, as the pictures are too big

In that case, why not use linkable thumbnails? Besides using thumbnails, makes it easier on slower connections.

But I attempted to save your webpage after every thing was done downloaded, I opened it, and the picture areas were just showing a "Red X". I think you may also have to save each picture to your hard disk drive.

Also Jytte, why not make a tutorial in a PDF format? (Naturally, you can't use linkable thumbnails on PDF, but would be easier to save than an HTM/HTML page.)