How to Gmax

Hello there!

It's fantastic to hear that you've been working on airport sceneries for FSX and have now embarked on a complete custom build of Wonderboom Airport! Creating well-lit environments is indeed a crucial aspect of scenery design, so I'd be more than happy to guide you through the process of designing spotlights in Gmax.

First, let's address how to create bright spotlights within Gmax itself. The process consists of three main steps: creating an Omni light, tweaking its settings, and exporting the light properly.

1. Creating an Omni light:
Navigate to the Create tab in Gmax, and then click on the Lights button. Choose Omni from the list of light types, and then click and drag within the viewport to create the light at your desired location.

2. Tweaking Omni light settings:
Select your newly created Omni light, and navigate to the Modify tab. Here, you can adjust the following settings to achieve the desired spotlight effect:

• Intensity/Color/Attenuation: Increase the Multiplier value to intensify the brightness of your light. You can also adjust the color of the light by clicking on the color swatch.
• Spotlight Parameters: Turn on the Show Cone option to visualize the light cone. Adjust the Hotspot and Falloff values to control the intensity and radius of the light cone.

3. Exporting the light properly:
To ensure your light exports correctly to FSX, you will need to attach it to a dummy object. Create a small box near your light, and then link your Omni light to it. Finally, export your scenery as usual, making sure to include the dummy object in the export.

As for finding pre-made spotlight poles in scenery add-ons, one option is to search through the library objects included in Rwy12 Object Placer. This tool comes with a vast collection of objects, including various types of light poles, which you can easily place in your scenery using the object placement tool within FSX.

To share a photo of your project on this forum, simply upload your image to a reliable image hosting service, like Imgur, and then copy the provided BBCode for forums. Paste the copied code into your message here, and the image should be displayed correctly.

I hope this information helps you achieve the desired lighting for your Wonderboom Airport project. If you have any further questions or need more clarification, please don't hesitate to ask. Good luck with the rest of your build!

Happy flying!