I'm trying to get a group of all koi that are colored as different varieties. I've never modded anything before so of course I'm running into difficulties.
I successfully recolored the textures for both koi and tilapia using paint tool sai, but I can't switch out the tilapia mesh for the koi mesh.
Koi with one red spot on their head are called Tancho
Running windows, Wishful S4S
Have blender 2.70 only so I can export and import meshes
Things that did nothing when put live in the game, but showed a koi in the studio:
- Batch import Everything in the warehouse
Things that changed to tancho koi texture + mesh in studio, and in game when caught or live dragging, but used default tilapia mesh with Tancho skin when swimming, mounting, or laying:
- Importing the koi texture + meshes using the studio
- Right clicking on the DST image in the warehouse and importing the koi texture, doing the same to all the LOD model entries
- Right clicking and replacing by hand the DST images, the LODS, lights, meshes, rig, string tables
(tilapia with the Tancho texture seen with a normal koi)
Things that made the tilapia a normal koi when swimming/building/mounting, but uses the custom koi mesh and skin when being caught/live dragging:
- Changing the texture and mesh in studio, and replacing the Object Definition with the Koi Object Definition in warehouse
I successfully overrode the laying tilapia object with the laying koi texture and mesh and it worked in the game
But I got an error when I tried to import the mounted koi mesh into the mounted tilapia (LOD 0 - high, and the rest as well)
I wasn't able to find what I wanted by searching, so if someone could tell me how to change the live swimming meshes and have it work in places other than Caught/live dragging, that would be very helpful.
This is my first mod and i know i should start with something less ambitious but I don't Want to make anything else. I Want my koi garden.
Thanks!
ALSO! what is a Slot? I get errors when i try to replace the tilapia slot with the koi slot. But i don't know what a slot is.
Last Edit: Sept 8, 2020 17:55:53 GMT -5 by shiredded
The fact that you've replaced the mesh in some circumstances but not all strongly suggests that either a) there are different meshes for those circumstances where the mesh has not been replaced, and you need to find them and replace them, or b) there are different references to which mesh to use in different places in the game for those circumstances where the mesh has not been replaced, and you need to find them and change them.
Yeah I think that must be the case. The texture for the swimming, laying, and mounted tilapias are all the same, but the meshes are all different. I don't know where to find the swimming tilapia meshes. They could be the mounted tilapia mesh, but I cannot replace those as S4S gives me the error
Can you give me a hint for finding and changing hidden meshes or code that tells the game which mesh to use for swimming fish?
Ok i changed out the meshes and the textures for mounted tilapia into trout meshes with tancho koi skin
Interestingly, nothing at all changed in the game, meaning that the meshes for mounting are not stored or referenced from the mounted tilapia object.
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2020 0:02:22 GMT -5 by shiredded
It'll have to be someone else who offers the hints, I do not actually have modding skillz. I just figured there was a logical conclusion to be drawn from the partial success. You've turned on show debug in S4S and keyword searched?
Found out that what controls the swimming fish id is under Object Definition. The box called "Tuning ID" Change the number to 76082 and yoru fish will automatically look like a koi while it swims. The problem is, it will only referance the base koi texture, so whatever texture the base koi has, the tilapia koi will wear as well. I have to find out where 76084 (tilapia) tuning ids are stored.
I created a custom tuning ID for the koi using this tutorial: www.patreon.com/posts/how-to-start-38023976 I then did a fresh tilapia override and changed the tuning id to my new custom tuningID (10905009976567945347) And it made swimming tilapia not exist, and the fishing signs got deleted and were unplaceable due to script error.
The following screenshots have another mod running at the same time! This is an override object that changes the normal koi into white koi. The only reason I have this mod running at the same time is to prove that the tuning id always references the skin imported into the koi model, rather than finding the koi skin somewhere else.
Ok so the tilapia, when swimming, automatically referenced the TuningID 76084. So I extracted the Object Tuning file from the koi (76082) created an empty package, and added the koi tuning file to it. Then I changed the tuningID in the empty package using the data tab to 76084 (tilapia) and ran the game.
in the following screenshots, the uncircled fish are normal koi, while the circled fish are tilapia.
here's what happens when I copy the koi tuning, but change the tuning ID to 76084 (tilapia tuning id to make the tilapia reference this new tuning package)
The red highlights are unchanged "koi" text
Swimming tilapia in the game turned into koi.
Then I went back in to the edited koi tuningID that I used before, and changed SOME of the instances of koi to tilapia (yellow highlights). I left the fishbowl as koi to see what would happen.(red arrow)
and this is what happened
The circled yellow one is what happens when I have <E n="inventory_type">AQUARIUM_STANDARD</E> <U n="base vfx name"> <T n="vfx_name">tilapia</T>
the circled red one is what happens when I have <T n="fishbowl_vfx">s40_fishbowl_koi</T>
If I were to change these out for tilapia, koi, trout, or anything else, the swimming mesh AND skin would be referenced back to the whatever fish I put in. I could easily make all fish in the fishing spot koi, but they would all have the same skin, and i want a bunch of different skins.
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2020 15:15:57 GMT -5 by shiredded
The crucial thing they all reference is vfx there are vfxs named after every fish that the code references and draws upon. if I could just find the vfx file for tilapia I could change the meshes... and every vfx=tilapia would change to that instead of the mysterious tilapia meshes they currently use that i cannot find anywhere. I can't find the "vfx" the code references.
To find the mesh you will need to use the VFX tool, you want to copy the IID, open up the "game file cruiser" in sims 4 studio "tools", and paste it into the instance, and click on "all", to find the texture you want to select the "model" entry, go to "edit items"
copy the instance, and paste it again in the "game file cruiser" and click on "all" and you will find the texture
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2020 17:35:42 GMT -5 by sigma1202
Thank you for your help! I followed your instructions for the vfx editor.
I found the fishingspotfish_swimup_tilapia and koi instance codes
tilapia: 0A6FC9148BAFEDFF
koi: D735739A0301BC0C
But I don't know how to edit the game file tilapia mesh, or how to make a package that overwrites tilapias from using the tilapia swimup mesh. I tried making an empty package, added all the swimup koi files to it, and then went in and changed D735739A0301BC0C to 0A6FC9148BAFEDFF on each instance, but it had no effect in the game.
I think perhaps because it was an empty package rather than an override, the game went back to the normal tilapia swimup meshes.
I have not yet found fishingspotfish_swim_tilapia. only "swimup"
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2020 19:50:28 GMT -5 by shiredded
Thank you for your help! I followed your instructions for the vfx editor.
I found the fishingspotfish_swimup_tilapia and koi instance codes
tilapia: 0A6FC9148BAFEDFF
koi: D735739A0301BC0C
But I don't know how to edit the game file tilapia mesh, or how to make a package that overwrites tilapias from using the tilapia swimup mesh. I tried making an empty package, added all the swimup koi files to it, and then went in and changed D735739A0301BC0C to 0A6FC9148BAFEDFF on each instance, but it had no effect in the game. I think perhaps because it was an empty package rather than an override, the game went back to the normal tilapia swimup meshes.
Changing the instance won't work, you'll need to import the koi meshes to replace it. Try following this tutorial. sims4studio.com/post/148488/thread And then once the mesh has been replaced, you can give it the original instance again and delete everything else that the package had that you didn't need. Hopefully that works.
Your other alternative is to clone the VFX to create custom koi instead of overriding the tilapia.
Last Edit: Sept 9, 2020 20:04:28 GMT -5 by MizoreYukii
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I followed the tutorial and have extracted the koi mesh.
I don't know where to start with a package that would replace the tilapia VFX. Creating a empty package? overriding an object? Creating a mesh?
I successfully turned a loveseat into an unmoving koi, but when I turn a tilapia into a koi, it only changes the "caught" and live dragging meshes. For swimming, it still references the tilapia vfx which uses the tilapia mesh.
I don't know how to create a package that overrides a vfx.
Looking up how to do that now. Looks like I'll have to do it through the vfx editor which is a bummer if my mods will reset with every sims update.
I found the swim VFX! going to try editing that now and creating a package.
Didn't do anything. I couldn't find any meshes included in the package made by VFX editor
s40_fishingholefish_swim_tilapia
I couldn't find a way to import meshes using the VFX editor. The tutorial only told me how to the change the color of an effect, not find and replace a mesh within.
Last Edit: Sept 10, 2020 0:44:59 GMT -5 by shiredded
Exciting news! I made a package using the VFX editor! I changed the ColorCurve to the values that I thought would give me purple, based on the tutorial on the VFX editor's thread. The tilapia did not turn purple. But he did start twitching while swimming so even though I haven't figured out how to change his mesh yet, I know I am editing the correct effect.
Post by shiredded on Sept 10, 2020 17:38:07 GMT -5
Still don't know how to change the meshes using the VFX editor.
I used s4s to create a custom tuning file that made "wolf eel" reference "mahimahi" in fishingspot, and then i edited mahmahi VFX to be all twitchy. But I can't figure out how to change the meshes on the vfx mahimahi
Last Edit: Sept 10, 2020 18:01:17 GMT -5 by shiredded
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