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Post by maire024u on Dec 1, 2020 15:41:26 GMT -5
Hello all! I just want to say, Thank you all so much for replying to my post and actively trying to figure it out!❤️ I'll admit though I'm like 70% lost in your convos and terminology with other programs outside of S4S and gimp and PS (lmao) But i am grateful and intrigued! Why all of a sudden EA made the texture map for this table complicated to see and use, and then apparently, after seeing the in game, have a texture/mapping issue? I recolored the smaller version of this table and thus far haven't had any in game issues with it, or have had anyone whose downloaded it from my tumblr mention any problems either. I got a little desperate and curious so i threw the 4 seater recolor txt i did onto the 6 seater and got this! Its not so bad, except for the giant black button template on top (lmao) Image: imgur.com/2lfMpiV
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Post by Cidira on Dec 1, 2020 15:59:07 GMT -5
Both tables use the same VFX model/textures, so it seems that by overriding the large one it will take care of the textures for the small one too. Nifty for matching override sets, not so much if you do them individual or as recolors. xD On the other hand, after you make your replacement, you can also make a) additional recolor sets that use the same fabrics as your 10 replacement swatches with different tabletops and/or cushions, and b) even more extra recolors that use the same fabric as the first swatch with different tabletops and/or cushions.
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Post by Cidira on Dec 1, 2020 16:18:56 GMT -5
Hello all! I just want to say, Thank you all so much for replying to my post and actively trying to figure it out!❤️ I'll admit though I'm like 70% lost in your convos and terminology with other programs outside of S4S and gimp and PS (lmao) But i am grateful and intrigued! Why all of a sudden EA made the texture map for this table complicated to see and use, and then apparently, after seeing the in game, have a texture/mapping issue? I recolored the smaller version of this table and thus far haven't had any in game issues with it, or have had anyone whose downloaded it from my tumblr mention any problems either. I got a little desperate and curious so i threw the 4 seater recolor txt i did onto the 6 seater and got this! Its not so bad, except for the giant black button template on top (lmao) Image: imgur.com/2lfMpiV Yeah, I discovered that when initially investigating it -- I thought they might share a texture at first, tried recoloring the big table with the small table texture, and got the huge controls on the tabletop. It's not exactly a mapping issue, it's just that the fabric that's draped over the legs of Sims seated at the table is a VFX (visual FX, i.e. effects) rather than the table mesh itself actually animating. And that VFX doesn't pull from the exact texture each specific table is using, but rather from a single set of 10 textures which happens to be the 10 textures of the large table. Like... when you recolor a bed, including the bedding, and a Sim sleeps in the bed, the bed uses its actual bedding texture to animate the blankets that cover up the Sim. But the bed blankets covering the Sim are, as far as I know, an animated part of the bed mesh, not VFX. Not sure exactly why the kotatsu is different than beds, tbh, when the desired end results are so similar, but it is. I'll probably end up making a set of matching small/large recolors, and then doing what I described and making some extra tabletops and cushions. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll be able to make a template that makes the large table texture easier to recolor without losing the dirty texture for the table. (Though, I imagine some people might be willing to live without the dirty texture of the table in exchange for being able to recolor the clean texture more easily. But it will still be necessary to make default replacements, and we'll still be stuck with just 10 fabric colors, unless someone cracks the VFX stuff. Actually... doesn't andrew know stuff about the guts of VFX?)
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Post by simpossum on Dec 3, 2020 12:48:26 GMT -5
I stopped researching the kotatsu vfx, unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to break the connection, and I also can't find where this connection is located. It does seem to be related to the material variants somehow as each set on the table matches the VFX model, but something else controls how they are assigned and attached. No matter which tests I ran, switching stuff around or re-assigning them, the VFX stayed and never switched. The best thing to do, to avoid the VFX issues, is to either override the long kotatsu or override the vfx model file and it's material states. The VFX model is actually using the original long kotatsu textures, so if you override that one to get your recolors you will have matching VFX (until you go past 10). Haven't tested it yet but it should. If you do the small kotatsu, then overriding the vfx model file might work best, which it's number is 19C6B6D229FD25A9. I just can't figure out where the assignment is, it has to be something small I keep overlooking, or not visible at all in S4S. Thank you for your reply! This is the first object I've seen with the texture transparency channel used for a different purpose. I still have not seen this table get dirty, which would then require an animation made also for a sim to clean it. No other table gets dirty in the game, and the dirt overlays for everything else that gets dirty are not done with the 4th dds channel like this table. It appears some configuration schemes are in play that have not been used previously. The table also breaks and needs repair. When a sim is directed to sit, an indicator icon appears on the left like with all directives, but no indicator appears for this table. And here is where it gets beyond what I've worked on in the game. The technology in these games is staggering and it takes very many people with various specialties to produce. For me, it's graphic arts, visual imagery, and properly applying the effects available within the Direct Draw Surface product used here. That's what I've mainly studied so far and I won't pretend to know more than I do. My first exposure to computer graphics, digital raster images, and working with them was at a tech school in 1987. That was before anyone knew what they were or what was coming. It was a lonely world in that respect, and now it runs the world. Searching VFX resources, I found you here regarding this VFX issue: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/886227/visual-effectsThis appears most relevant from shimrod: "Some of the graphic effects will have a .dds image which works alongside the SWB file; the image can be edited or swapped with a different one such that the 'effect' would look different in game.", and "The resource is in the ClientDeltaBuild0 file, ID 6F6664543F71A573." I'm not a programmer or a game developer, but I do see this Swarm Binary file format created by Andrew Willmott, who created the original swarm effect engine being used in TS4. I see the editing issues mentioned and the need for a "binary template for the Swarm Binary files". And that's where this issue ends for now. Oops. I know the target texture in the VFX is not in the main package pulled by S4S, and I see this texture is in a separate dds file somewhere. I would need to find that file. Without knowing which dds file the SWB specifies for this effect, is there a way to find this file? Where are these effects images stored in the game? Can you point in a direction? Thanks! tick-tock... Oh silly me! Here's the table blanket VFX dds texture files right in here, DUH! :
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Post by MizoreYukii on Dec 3, 2020 13:58:43 GMT -5
I stopped researching the kotatsu vfx, unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to break the connection, and I also can't find where this connection is located. It does seem to be related to the material variants somehow as each set on the table matches the VFX model, but something else controls how they are assigned and attached. No matter which tests I ran, switching stuff around or re-assigning them, the VFX stayed and never switched. The best thing to do, to avoid the VFX issues, is to either override the long kotatsu or override the vfx model file and it's material states. The VFX model is actually using the original long kotatsu textures, so if you override that one to get your recolors you will have matching VFX (until you go past 10). Haven't tested it yet but it should. If you do the small kotatsu, then overriding the vfx model file might work best, which it's number is 19C6B6D229FD25A9. I just can't figure out where the assignment is, it has to be something small I keep overlooking, or not visible at all in S4S. Thank you for your reply! This is the first object I've seen with the texture transparency channel used for a different purpose. I still have not seen this table get dirty, which would then require an animation made also for a sim to clean it. No other table gets dirty in the game, and the dirt overlays for everything else that gets dirty are not done with the 4th dds channel like this table. It appears some configuration schemes are in play that have not been used previously. The table also breaks and needs repair. When a sim is directed to sit, an indicator icon appears on the left like with all directives, but no indicator appears for this table. And here is where it gets beyond what I've worked on in the game. The technology in these games is staggering and it takes very many people with various specialties to produce. For me, it's graphic arts, visual imagery, and properly applying the effects available within the Direct Draw Surface product used here. That's what I've mainly studied so far and I won't pretend to know more than I do. My first exposure to computer graphics, digital raster images, and working with them was at a tech school in 1987. That was before anyone knew what they were or what was coming. It was a lonely world in that respect, and now it runs the world. Searching VFX resources, I found you here regarding this VFX issue: forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/886227/visual-effectsThis appears most relevant from shimrod: "Some of the graphic effects will have a .dds image which works alongside the SWB file; the image can be edited or swapped with a different one such that the 'effect' would look different in game.", and "The resource is in the ClientDeltaBuild0 file, ID 6F6664543F71A573." I'm not a programmer or a game developer, but I do see this Swarm Binary file format created by Andrew Willmott, who created the original swarm effect engine being used in TS4. I see the editing issues mentioned and the need for a "binary template for the Swarm Binary files". And that's where this issue ends for now. Oops. I know the target texture in the VFX is not in the main package pulled by S4S, and I see this texture is in a separate dds file somewhere. I would need to find that file. Without knowing which dds file the SWB specifies for this effect, is there a way to find this file? Where are these effects images stored in the game? Can you point in a direction? Thanks! As I said the VFX Model is using the long kotatsu textures, so that's what you need to edit to alter the VFX textures. You can find this model file by the instance I gave in Tools > Game File Cruiser if you want to change out the textures it uses to something else.
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Post by simpossum on Dec 3, 2020 22:32:48 GMT -5
As I said the VFX Model is using the long kotatsu textures, so that's what you need to edit to alter the VFX textures. You can find this model file by the instance I gave in Tools > Game File Cruiser if you want to change out the textures it uses to something else. If the VFX dds texture I need to edit is in the delta build package as shimrod suggests for EP10, I have found it. I have a copy edited and ready to use. The total output for it is 00B2D882!00000000!DCFB2354784EA6F9. Several of these same these textures are also found in the EP10 client build package. I don't know enough about these VFX models or how to work with them. I have never made an override. The game file cruiser is puzzling to me also. You gave a VFX model number for the small table and I couldn't find that. I can't go any further until I read up on some things. Thanks!
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Post by simpossum on Dec 5, 2020 11:13:13 GMT -5
I did finally see the dirty table alpha channel get applied so I know the modified dds file I made does work properly. The sim that cleans it does no scrubbing and just sprays it with a spray bottle until the alpha channel effect is turned off. It appears the be one of the same spray animations already in the game.
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Post by sahrmohtahn on Jul 19, 2022 21:32:30 GMT -5
Hi all. I love this thread so thank you for posting it. I wanted to know which instructions to follow? I read the whole thread but I am uncertain how to recolor the x6 Toasty Kotatsu Table. I recolored the x 4 one just fine but I cannot figure out how to map all of the helpful tutorials on this thread and recolor it.
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