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Lab Assistant
#51 Old 22nd Mar 2005 at 9:10 PM Last edited by Eriksrocks : 22nd Mar 2005 at 9:12 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by Mage
I love it. It's really cool :clap:


Thank you. I am debating whether to put it up for download because it was sort of a "test object."

(But hey, at least I finally got one done that was succesful! :D)
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Guest
#52 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 12:09 PM
Eriksrocks - you da man, er... cat, er... one who helped me fix my problem.

Thanks!
Lab Assistant
#53 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 1:41 PM
Quote: Originally posted by dean de beste
oke will do . and i'll report back

here's it is than it showed my changes in SimPE preview but for some or other reson it is in the catalog but i cant place it in the game and the chaanges don't show up in the ingamepreview of the object please help me. i'll upload it with the gmdc and the ojb file for you to have a look
Attached files:
File Type: rar  deandebeste_strangeshapestable.rar (52.2 KB, 15 downloads) - View custom content
File Type: zip  deandebeste_strangeshapestable.zip (67.9 KB, 13 downloads) - View custom content

no ears
Test Subject
#54 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 8:16 PM
Hello together who can help me, I wanted an object to finished with meshtool for simpe, unfortunately then came this message

http://img231.exs.cx/img231/5237/berlauf9xg.jpg
Lab Assistant
#55 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 8:38 PM Last edited by Eriksrocks : 23rd Mar 2005 at 8:42 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by sissy04
Hello together who can help me, I wanted an object to finished with meshtool for simpe, unfortunately then came this message

http://img231.exs.cx/img231/5237/berlauf9xg.jpg


Sorry, can't read that. Do you have your computer set to a different language or something?
Test Subject
#56 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 8:53 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Eriksrocks
Sorry, can't read that. Do you have your computer set to a different language or something?


Sorry apology in my picture stands Run time error 6 overflow
Lab Assistant
#57 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:31 PM
Quote: Originally posted by dean de beste
here's it is than it showed my changes in SimPE preview but for some or other reson it is in the catalog but i cant place it in the game and the chaanges don't show up in the ingamepreview of the object please help me. i'll upload it with the gmdc and the ojb file for you to have a look


Right - As far as the catalog icons (if that's what you mean), this could be because of the GUID. See this thread, and see if this is your problem.

A question on the files: The rar package (the only one I downloaded) has a extra package named abd.package. Is this part of your object? When I tried to open it, it said "error trying to open." Anyways, I guess it doesn't really matter, because the other package opened fine.

WARNING: The stuff below could get REALLY COMPLICATED, and I will try to explain it the best I can, but it still MIGHT CONFUSE YOU!

The other package is OK, except that the textures is messed up. Your texture(s) are only for the table part of the mesh, there is no seperate texture file for the shapes. THIS IS WHERE IT GETS COMPLICATED.

You could add a texture file, but that would require you to add MATD files and entries in the SHPE (plus other misc. changes), which would be VERY complicated for someone who is just starting (or even experienced ).

The other option is to group the table and the shapes together inside of your 3D editor, and then redo the texture file so that the shapes AND the table would be the same [mesh] subset, therefore using the same texture.

NOTE: If this is just a test object, you don't need to worry about this but keep it in mind when making your next object.

------------------------------------------------------------

For the problem that you can't place it in the game, I have looked through the package thoroughly, and have discovered that your object is not placed in any categories:

http://www.modthesims2.com/attachme...tid=45047&stc=1

You must check one of the boxes so your object shows up in a category.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Hope this helps and please remind me if I forgot anything! :D
Screenshots
Field Researcher
#58 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:37 PM Last edited by faeriegurl : 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:40 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by dean de beste
here's it is than it showed my changes in SimPE preview but for some or other reson it is in the catalog but i cant place it in the game and the chaanges don't show up in the ingamepreview of the object please help me. i'll upload it with the gmdc and the ojb file for you to have a look


Dean - okay, I am not an expert on this type of thing as Miche is, but as far as I can tell there is something wrong with your package file. Either the way you created it, or the way you edited the gmdc caused it to not work properly.

I will explain how I came to this conclusion:

When I opened up your package in SimPE, the first thing I noticed is that you have your mesh divided into 3 groups (surfaces, cylinder01, box01). The original mesh is 1 "surfaces" group and all the shadow groups which were apparently deleted from your mesh. This is what your previewed object looks like in SimPE:



So, the next thing I did was to open up the gmdc file you included in Milkshape (I imported it with Wes's plugins). Then, I created texture coordinates and regrouped the separate groups into 1 group and renamed it "surfaces" like the original was named. I then exported it back out with the plugins, colored a new texture image to show the changes and imported the new gmdc into your package. This is what the preview looked like after this:



I then opened up The Sims 2 and tested it. Again, I could see my new table in the catalog but the game didn't seem to register that I chose anything. There was no hand or green square, just the arrow cursor. This is when I realized that it was the complete package file and not just the gmdc file.

So, I used the new SimPE 0.32 to create a new package, registered new guids and then imported the original gmdc into Milkshape, imported yours into it as well, then deleted the original surfaces, so I now had all of the shadow groups included as well:



I then exported it with the plugins & opened the new package file I created in SimPE. Copied the gmdc name, imported the new gmdc, pasted the old name in, commited and saved.

Here is my result:



If you look at the thumbnails in the pic, you can see your table next to mine and in your thumbnail you can't see the shapes on top of the table.

I uploaded my package here so maybe you can look at it and figure out what you're doing wrong. I know I didn't use the mesh tool to make these changes but hopefully this helps you in some way.

If you are using SimPE version 0.32, there shouldn't be any naming issues, because it generates the new names for you.
Attached files:
File Type: zip  faeriegurlS2C_deandebeste_table.zip (30.4 KB, 14 downloads) - View custom content

~faeriegurl~
Sims 2 Creations - http://www.sims2creations.com

faerie's blog - http://spaces.msn.com/members/enchantedrealm/
Lab Assistant
#59 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:37 PM
Quote: Originally posted by sissy04
Sorry apology in my picture stands Run time error 6 overflow


I am sorry, I don't know what that means. You need to talk to Miche (who designed the Mesh Tool).

You should PM him though because he hasn't been around here for a while...
Lab Assistant
#60 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:48 PM Last edited by Eriksrocks : 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:51 PM. Reason: Silly typo... :P
faeriegurl:

WOW. You did a lot of work!

Yes, you are correct. There were no [mesh] shadows.
You basically said (or did) everything I said/did, except you explained it a lot better and you took more time on it. :bow2:

dean, I hope you understand all this....
Field Researcher
#61 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 9:55 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Eriksrocks
faeriegurl:

WOW. You did a lot of work!

Yes, you are correct. There were no [mesh] shadows.
You basically said (or did) everything I said/did, except you explained it a lot better and you took more time on it. :bow2:

dean, I hope you understand all this....


Yeah I know, I spent about 45 minutes or so figuring this out...

I noticed that Miche hasn't been around lately and this issue seemed like something I could possibly help with, so I thought I would at least try... I know it's very frustrating when you have a problem like this and you keep trying to figure out what it is and you're just waiting for an answer from someone.

~faeriegurl~
Sims 2 Creations - http://www.sims2creations.com

faerie's blog - http://spaces.msn.com/members/enchantedrealm/
Lab Assistant
#62 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 10:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by faeriegurl
I know it's very frustrating when you have a problem like this and you keep trying to figure out what it is and you're just waiting for an answer from someone.


YES, YES, YES, YES, YES! That is how I felt before I knew how to do this. Now I try to help everyone as fast as I can and as good as I can because I remember how it felt to not get a reply. Even if you can reply saying you don't know but you know someone who might, at least the person feels that they aren't being ignored.
Field Researcher
#63 Old 23rd Mar 2005 at 10:29 PM
Quote: Originally posted by wave.tsunami
Well I thought I solved my problem, but alas, not all is well.

I've made a new bedframe. Before I had the problem of not being able to recolor the frame. I solved that problem, but now I have a new problem. It seems that either get all of the Maxis bedding as well as my recolors from other things, or only the ones that I've made for this bedframe.

Here's what I've done... I renamed the bedframe group so that not all Maxis color options would show up for the frame (they'd look silly), but I didn't rename the bedding group(s). Then I renamed it back to default after importing to enable the color options for it. I imported new textures for both the frame and bedding.

I did a recolor of the new mesh, and it shows up just fine. But once again, only the textures I imported with the mesh, and the ones for the recolor are showing up. Of course I don't want the default bedframe options to show up, but I do want the bedding to. I want people to be able to use all the beddings they've downloaded with these new beds too.

One more thing... the two new beddings that show up for the new bedframes don't show up for any other bed either.


I have the same problem, plus when I tell a sim to sleep in the bed, the bedding doesn't have any animations.
Lab Assistant
#64 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 12:48 AM Last edited by Jaycephus : 24th Mar 2005 at 3:46 AM.
Last night, I did some checking to see exactly why some 3D applications create .obj files that are not compatible with the Mesh Tool, or else with the Sims 2.

So far I have checked XSI Foundation (similar to ModTool), C4D r8, Silo, and ZBrush.

I compared the .obj files created by them to the .obj file exported from SimPE .32.

The .obj format allows for vertices (v), vertex normals (vn), texture vertices (vt), faces (f), and several other entities that have no bearing on a file exported from TS2. A .obj file from SimPE will have a list of vertices (which are the points of the model), vertex normals, texture vertices (the UV or texture mapping of the model), and the faces (the polygons). All of these are required for full compatibility with TS2.

I found that two of the apps simply drop the vn entries out, so the Mesh Tool rejects these when attempting to import. Vertex normals are optional in a sense, but not for TS2. TS2 uses custom vertex normals that allow the smooth shading in TS2 to blend properly across faces that do not share vertices (i.e., faces on mesh boundaries, such as the neck hole).

Cinema 4D changes up the vertex order on the faces, which means that the normals end-up flipped. I'll have to experiment a bit to see if this can be corrected with a global flip before exporting from C4D. It may be wrong either way.

XSI keeps the custom vertex normals and texture vertices (UV mapping), BUT it creates a large number of extra vertex normals and texture vertices, and then remaps the faces to these different vn's and vt's in a certain way. I also noticed that other apps do this as well. XSI has the correct number of vertices and faces, but the faces refer to different vertex normals and texture vertices. This results in a file that Mesh Tool accepts, renders properly in SimPE, but 'explodes' in TS2 or Bodyshop.

In my example file, there were 1342 v's, vn's, and vt's, and about 2048 faces. XSI and a couple of other apps would do something very similar to this file by keeping the 1342 v's, and 2048 faces, but the number of vn's and vt's would be increased to over 6000. Whatever they are doing, it is not random, because different apps are doing a similar thing, ending up with the same large number of vn's or vt's, and the way that the faces are re-mapped to these different numbers is the same.

I am wondering if anyone can shed any light on this. I am also trying to create a script for XSI that will export a TS2-friendly .obj.

One thing I was wondering was if the fact that XSI is displaying the file with both sides of the faces being rendered might have an impact on how the model is exported to .obj. It renders the file using the custom vertex normals that were imported from the original, and therefore, it must derive some variation of these custom normals for the interior of the model. Could this be the source of the extra vn's and vt's?

(EDIT)
P.S. I had an edited .obj from XSI that I merged with the original .obj, keeping the new (good) vertex data, but replacing the new (and incompatible) vn, vt, and face data with the unedited original data from the unedited .obj, and this actually works fine in the game (in many cases). The issue is that the vertexes have been moved around, but the normals are exactly the same. This works if just doing some light editing to a dress mesh, but it could create rendering artifacts in situations where the editing is more extreme.

Thanks for any help you can give,

- Jay
Test Subject
#65 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 7:13 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Mage
I have the same problem, plus when I tell a sim to sleep in the bed, the bedding doesn't have any animations.

Wow. I hadn't even gotten to testing that aspect yet. But yeah, mine's the same way.

I've noticed on thing. If I clone the Colonial bed, I get the problem of just the recolored bedding in the mesh package (or any recolors of the mesh) showing up. But if I clone any other bed, I get the problem of just the Maxis bedding (and any other recolors I may have excluding the ones in the mesh package and recolors of it) showing up.
Nearly alive
Original Poster
#66 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 12:31 PM
I just wanted to write and say that I hope to get back to answering problems and questions soon. Work and my family have just been taking up all my time the last week or two. Work should ease off after this week (or the middle of next), and I hope to catch up and answer as many questions as I can this weekend.
Field Researcher
#67 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 2:47 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Miche
Work should ease off after this week (or the middle of next), and I hope to catch up and answer as many questions as I can this weekend.

Thanks for all your help. I hope everything is going smoothly for you.
If you do have time to read this later, here are some of my main questions right now.
1. My new mesh objects don't have shadows, I can't seem to find an explaination for how to do the shadows.
2. Cloned beds come with only their own bedding and that bedding lacks animations. The same for the chess table and the chess board.
3. I needed the moveobjects cheat to move or delete a new mesh object I made with a clone of the "Suspense" painting.
4. New mesh mirrors show that text image instead of reflecting the room.
Thanks again for all the help you and others give me here, Miche.
Lab Assistant
#68 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 6:14 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Miche
I just wanted to write and say that I hope to get back to answering problems and questions soon. Work and my family have just been taking up all my time the last week or two. Work should ease off after this week (or the middle of next), and I hope to catch up and answer as many questions as I can this weekend.

well i hope the best for you and thay have been very helpfull whille you were abcent. hope to see you soon
regrades dean

no ears
Lab Assistant
#69 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 6:51 PM
faeriegurl or others how do you add some thing to ga group in milkshape. how do i add my canges to the surfases group?

no ears
Lab Assistant
#70 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 8:50 PM Last edited by Eriksrocks : 24th Mar 2005 at 8:55 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by dean de beste
faeriegurl or others how do you add some thing to ga group in milkshape. how do i add my canges to the surfases group?


There should be a option in Milkshape somewhere...

My best guess is select the "groups" that you want to group into one "group" and then maybe try right-clicking and selecting an option like "group" or something. I don't know... I don't use Milkshape.

Or, you could just try Milkshape Help; http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-.../tutorials.html
Lab Assistant
#71 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:04 PM
hay i'v gotten a bit futher but the only thing that is not working is that i can't place it on the floor when i click on it in the game and move in the game screen out of the catalog screen noting appers and noting happens what am i donig worng. ps i apperecate the work you all have done for me and i'm learnig fast and soon i'll be churnging my objects out soon
regades
Dean
ps i have added all the things you need
oh and how do i create new textures for the new part's of the object?
Attached files:
File Type: rar  deandebeste_myfirst.rar (58.6 KB, 12 downloads) - View custom content
File Type: zip  deandebeste_myfirst.zip (99.0 KB, 13 downloads) - View custom content

no ears
Lab Assistant
#72 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:09 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Mage
Thanks for all your help. I hope everything is going smoothly for you.
If you do have time to read this later, here are some of my main questions right now.
1. My new mesh objects don't have shadows, I can't seem to find an explaination for how to do the shadows.
2. Cloned beds come with only their own bedding and that bedding lacks animations. The same for the chess table and the chess board.
3. I needed the moveobjects cheat to move or delete a new mesh object I made with a clone of the "Suspense" painting.
4. New mesh mirrors show that text image instead of reflecting the room.
Thanks again for all the help you and others give me here, Miche.


I can answer #1...

There are two [main] things that are needed for shadows to work:
  1. The actuall shadow "mesh" and...
  2. The shadow texture
If you have these things, your shadows will work.

When editing your mesh, if you imported the original and saw a box around the object or it looked like the object was sitting on a flat piece, those are the shadows meshes.

If you just created a new mesh from scratch and then imported it, unless you boxed it in, your mesh wouldn't have any shadows.

The shadow texture you will be able to see when cloning a object and looking at the texture files. You will probably see one that looks black with a little white somewhere on it. These are the shadow textures.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The easiest way to say it is if you want your object to have shadows, follow the Official Mesh Tool Tutorial and when you get to Page 8, do what they tell you but make sure you also do it for the shadow meshes. If you did this step correctly, you shouldn't have any problems with the textures - they should be linked to the MATD file just like they were before.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope this helps! :D
Lab Assistant
#73 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:09 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Eriksrocks
There should be a option in Milkshape somewhere...

My best guess is select the "groups" that you want to group into one "group" and then maybe try right-clicking and selecting an option like "group" or something. I don't know... I don't use Milkshape.

Or, you could just try Milkshape Help; http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-.../tutorials.html

i have 3d studio max but it just too complex for me do you know how to do this is studio
ps it's v6

no ears
Lab Assistant
#74 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:18 PM Last edited by Eriksrocks : 24th Mar 2005 at 9:22 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by dean de beste
hay i'v gotten a bit futher but the only thing that is not working is that i can't place it on the floor when i click on it in the game and move in the game screen out of the catalog screen noting appers and noting happens what am i donig worng. ps i apperecate the work you all have done for me and i'm learnig fast and soon i'll be churnging my objects out soon
regades
Dean
ps i have added all the things you need
oh and how do i create new textures for the new part's of the object?


A very simple cause (that I panicked about because I didn't know what was happening when I was just learning this stuff) is that maybe your sims don't have enough money...

Could you show us a screenshot?

As far as adding textures part... *big sigh* This can get VERY complicated. Unfortunately, I don't have the juice to explain it to you right now, but I would PM Numenor - he knows A LOT about that kind of stuff.

Here is what I can basically tell you:

When you add a texture file, you will need to add a MATD file (and make numerous other changes) to make it work correctly.

Every texture file is connected to a MATD. The MATD is the file that essentially tells the game how shiny the object is, if it's transparent, if it gives off light, etc...

Actually adding the texture file and MATD is not as hard as configuring and linking them together...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe I can try to explain it a bit better later...
Lab Assistant
#75 Old 24th Mar 2005 at 9:28 PM
Quote: Originally posted by dean de beste
i have 3d studio max but it just too complex for me do you know how to do this is studio
ps it's v6


Try 3Ds Studio Max help...

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