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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Oct 24, 2021 20:03:30 GMT -5
Dear anyone reading: Just so y'all are aware, this thread started with me wanting to know how to add a new cut to a package because I wanted to add a third shader. It ended with qolygonal's brilliance. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU qolygonalI got the desk working by vertex painting the part of the desk I wanted to glow, adding a light source, and setting up the package so that it would accept these changes.
I think this tutorial covers it but it's for CAS items. I'd like to know how to do this for objects. |
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Post by MizoreYukii on Oct 25, 2021 12:06:13 GMT -5
As in another cut, like a new Phong, etc? Unfortunately not possible in S4S (hopefully one day), you will need to either find an object that has as many as you want or use TSRW to add one.
If you mean another LOD, you can add another Model LOD resource similar to what the tutorial shows, then you can select the Model file, click Edit Items across from LODs, use Copy or Add to add a new entry, and then should be able to reference the new one.
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Oct 26, 2021 1:34:46 GMT -5
Yeah, I mean a new cut. There's a person here who is making a desk with a glass top and with tubes wrapped around it. She wants the tubes to function as lights. I'm not sure if that's possible given that you'd have to adjust the tuning (I'm guessing), but I was thinking that at least we could experiment with shaders. Problem is, we'd need three mesh groups: one for the desk, one for the glass group, and one for the tubes. I'm not aware of any desks that have three mesh groups.
I've seen things online that hint that you can make a new cut with TSRW but no concrete instructions. Can you point me somewhere? Or possibly explain how this would be done?
Edit: Yes, I'd still like to know how exactly to duplicate a mesh group in TSRW--surely, there's more to it than just clicking duplicate--but I just remembered that TSRW is not designed to work with Blender. Anything made in Blender would have to be exported as an obj and you'd need Milkshape to assign weights. Shoot. That would not be an issue for me as I have some experience with Milkshape but the person making the desk is very new to all this and likely has never touched Milkshape. Milkshape costs money, too.
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Post by mauvemorn on Oct 26, 2021 7:01:14 GMT -5
Yeah, I mean a new cut. There's a person here who is making a desk with a glass top and with tubes wrapped around it. She wants the tubes to function as lights. I'm not sure if that's possible given that you'd have to adjust the tuning (I'm guessing), but I was thinking that at least we could experiment with shaders. Problem is, we'd need three mesh groups: one for the desk, one for the glass group, and one for the tubes. I'm not aware of any desks that have three mesh groups. I've seen things online that hint that you can make a new cut with TSRW but no concrete instructions. Can you point me somewhere? Or possibly explain how this would be done? Edit: Yes, I'd still like to know how exactly to duplicate a mesh group in TSRW--surely, there's more to it than just clicking duplicate--but I just remembered that TSRW is not designed to work with Blender. Anything made in Blender would have to be exported as an obj and you'd need Milkshape to assign weights. Shoot. That would not be an issue for me as I have some experience with Milkshape but the person making the desk is very new to all this and likely has never touched Milkshape. Milkshape costs money, too. You can just clone any object that behaves in a similar way and change its tuning in Object definition. However, there is already a desk that you need, deskCLGlass2x1. I'm not 100% sure, but judging by this tutorial, you do not need a separate meshgroup for the light, you just vertex paint the area with white. So you need the meshgroup for the whole desk, the meshgroup for the glass, and two for the shadows on the floor |
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Post by MizoreYukii on Oct 26, 2021 10:38:47 GMT -5
Yeah, I mean a new cut. There's a person here who is making a desk with a glass top and with tubes wrapped around it. She wants the tubes to function as lights. I'm not sure if that's possible given that you'd have to adjust the tuning (I'm guessing), but I was thinking that at least we could experiment with shaders. Problem is, we'd need three mesh groups: one for the desk, one for the glass group, and one for the tubes. I'm not aware of any desks that have three mesh groups. I've seen things online that hint that you can make a new cut with TSRW but no concrete instructions. Can you point me somewhere? Or possibly explain how this would be done? Edit: Yes, I'd still like to know how exactly to duplicate a mesh group in TSRW--surely, there's more to it than just clicking duplicate--but I just remembered that TSRW is not designed to work with Blender. Anything made in Blender would have to be exported as an obj and you'd need Milkshape to assign weights. Shoot. That would not be an issue for me as I have some experience with Milkshape but the person making the desk is very new to all this and likely has never touched Milkshape. Milkshape costs money, too. Mauvemorn is correct, you don't need to clone a desk in order to make a desk, you can use anything and just need to manually fix tags, flags, and the tuning reference, depending on how different they are. For TSRW, you only need to use it to clone and add the group, you can (thankfully) switch back to S4S afterwards after exporting as a package (though be aware there may be differences in the package, I've only seen a few that don't really impact much). After you clone in TSRW and it loads to your new project, click on the "Mesh" tab on the right, then find the group you want to clone and right click on it, select "Duplicate", click Yes on the warning message about it being experimental. Do this for every LOD as well, you can choose which one at the top where it says Model 1 - High Detail. I've never seen a way to identify the groups in this program (never looked hard though), so I recommend opening a version of that object in S4S to be sure you're duplicating the right one, if needed. But this is the extent of my knowledge of TSRW, and any further questions will of course need to be posted on their forums, or contact a helpful TSRW creator like Ravasheen.  |
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Post by archangelic on Oct 26, 2021 13:02:10 GMT -5
If i understood correctly you need an other model group and to be able to show in the studio tab right ?
In that case you can manually duplicate an already model group put a new instance by the hash generator ( you need to dublicate at least one model and one model lod and definitely a footprint and use on all of them the same hash instance number. ) then you got to object definition add the footprint on the footprint tab and the model on the model tab . If you add rigs and slots you do the same for those too . Then save , close , open and you should be able to see them at studio tab in the mesh group .
Otherwise if that fails and still doesn't show in the mesh tab you can duplicate the model and model lod ( put a new instance hash ) then go to studio tab , import the meshes you need in the 1st group lod 0 and lod 1 ( you need to press the adjust footprint to fit the mesh button and then after you finish all the importing of your meshes to duplicate the footprint and put the new model group instance hash ) go to warehouse press on those models and press under the picture of the 3d model the export button ( it will save as binary and only under the picture the export button cause the other exports do not work well ) , then you go to your new model mesh press under the picture the import button and import the binary you saved .
You need to do the same for both lod 0 and lod 1 and then you can import the original mesh back to lod 0 and lod 1 ( do not forget the adjust footprint to fit the mesh button ).
That one will work for sure .
Hope i understood correctly and i hope that helped you <3 .
If i didn't understood correctly i am sorry i wasted your time reading this <3 .
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Oct 27, 2021 3:54:45 GMT -5
archangelic I'm sorry. I didn't understand a word of what you wrote. Sigh. I know it's a lot of work, but could you provide screenshots? And I'm not sure, but are your instructions for adding another LOD? Because what I want/need is something with four mesh groups. One mesh group would be for the floor shadow, one for the glass top (using the PhongAlpha shader), one for the desk, and one for the glowing or lit-up tubes around the desk (maybe using the FullBright shader). mauvemorn I've never tried to combine a desk with a lamp before. My thought was not to use a lamp's tuning but to instead just try the fullbright shader on the fourth mesh group or enable UseVertSelfIllumination. If I used an EA object with four mesh groups and used a lamp's tuning (along with vertex paint) and then added the slots that a desk would need (deco slot, chair slot, etc.) it might work. I'll have to try it and see what happens. I also noticed that the desk you posted about has four mesh groups and two of them are for the floor shadow--the OP only needs one. It's the same with the other glass top desk the OP cloned. I was thinking I could change the shader for one of the floor shadow mesh groups but the shader data window for the drop shadow has almost nothing in it. I think it would need a lot more data than what is currently there. So there goes that idea.  MizoreYukii I've never been able to tell which mesh group is which either. In the past, I just changed the dropdown menus next to "visible" from true to false and then one by one changed them to true again and see what appears in the 3D window. It's a crude but effective way of identifying mesh groups, haha.
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Oct 27, 2021 4:11:25 GMT -5
Nope. There's a problem. I cloned the desk and changed the tuning to a lamp (quick experiment) but when I clicked on the light resource the window is blank. I can add a light by clicking the add button but not all of the information shows up. Do I need all of the missing information? I think yes, but I could be wrong, of course.  |
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Post by archangelic on Oct 27, 2021 7:42:36 GMT -5
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Never mind then what i wrote was totally out of the content ( Yes it was about adding an other lod and being able to see it in the studio group and make mesh imports from there ! I was half asleep but that is NOT an excuse , SO sorry ) !
But if you want the tubes only to light up why don't you create an other model in the package and make that illuminated etc ?
For example you can use a lamp package merge it with the desk package and use the lamp model to set up the tubes ?
Fwecka i am sorry if i am wasting your time with my limited knowledge and you can tell me to stay out of the conversation any time you like , i will not find it offending or something like that .
I am just trying to be helpful but that doesn't change the fact that i just might be a burden and messing things up since i am not a pro in this .
Sorry if i confused you with my out of content post :( .
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Post by mauvemorn on Oct 27, 2021 8:56:43 GMT -5
Nope. There's a problem. I cloned the desk and changed the tuning to a lamp (quick experiment) but when I clicked on the light resource the window is blank. I can add a light by clicking the add button but not all of the information shows up. Do I need all of the missing information? I think yes, but I could be wrong, of course. You need to choose lamp shade light (or whatever will be more suitable ) instead of the default ambient light before clicking on Add. There is no need to create a new meshgroups, or turn the shadow plane into something else,or change tuning in object definition. All the tutorial mentions is vertex paint and light editing. Find a maxis item that has the same type of light you need and change Light entry to match |
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Oct 27, 2021 23:25:51 GMT -5
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Never mind then what i wrote was totally out of the content ( Yes it was about adding an other lod and being able to see it in the studio group and make mesh imports from there ! I was half asleep but that is NOT an excuse , SO sorry ) ! But if you want the tubes only to light up why don't you create an other model in the package and make that illuminated etc ? For example you can use a lamp package merge it with the desk package and use the lamp model to set up the tubes ? Fwecka i am sorry if i am wasting your time with my limited knowledge and you can tell me to stay out of the conversation any time you like , i will not find it offending or something like that . I am just trying to be helpful but that doesn't change the fact that i just might be a burden and messing things up since i am not a pro in this . Sorry if i confused you with my out of content post :( . Don't worry about posting. Whatever input you have is very welcome and don't worry about the brain fog, either. I have sleep issues and CANNOT get in to see a sleep specialist. They are booked out for weeks and weeks. Everything shut down last year because of Covid and now that things have opened up again, everyone who wanted to see a doctor last year but couldn't are now swarming the doctors. In the meantime...brain fog. It's annoying and embarrassing. I thought about making the lamps separately but I wasn't sure if that would create a pathing problems for the sim, like if the lamp's bounding box prevent the sim from sitting down (or maybe its footprint; I'd need to research that). Objects have what's called a bounding box and it's tied to collision. It's basically an invisible box that surrounds an object and is tuned a certain way to prevent a sim from walking through an object as if the sim was a ghost or something. The screenshot shows the bounding boxes in Blender. You'd have to choose bounding box viewport shading to see it and you can select any box in the outliner and then press N to open the side panel and edit its dimensions. There are three in this screenshot because the desk has three mesh groups: the desktop, the tubes, and the main desk. Each mesh group has its own bounding box. I'd maybe have to mess with the bounding box of the lamp if the lamp was made separately. I'd have to experiment, I guess.  |
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Oct 27, 2021 23:36:07 GMT -5
Nope. There's a problem. I cloned the desk and changed the tuning to a lamp (quick experiment) but when I clicked on the light resource the window is blank. I can add a light by clicking the add button but not all of the information shows up. Do I need all of the missing information? I think yes, but I could be wrong, of course. You need to choose lamp shade light (or whatever will be more suitable ) instead of the default ambient light before clicking on Add. There is no need to create a new meshgroups, or turn the shadow plane into something else,or change tuning in object definition. All the tutorial mentions is vertex paint and light editing. Find a maxis item that has the same type of light you need and change Light entry to match. I'll try that. Thanks! Update: Adding a light source created a light effect, but vertex painting didn't affect the tubes. What's happening, actually, is that I vertex paint, save my file, import it, save the package, export the mesh, and the vertex paint is gone.  |
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Post by archangelic on Oct 28, 2021 2:11:19 GMT -5
Tell me about the sleep issues .... Currently i am living with 3 hours sleep per day and when my brain decides to let my body to rest , if i am lucky , i will get an 8 hours sleep tops .... Anyways .... About the bounding box , a new model will also have it's own footprint where there you can check the pathing and the sims flag on the Flags and IntersectionFlags and leave sims unchecked on the IntersectionType . That will allow your sims to pass next and intersect with your item but it will not pass through it ( Stairs have the same set up ), sooooooo with the same logic you shouldn't have a problem with separate tubes messing with your sims pathing .   Those are not images from a stair footprint but it makes my point right now :P . Now back to the vertex paint . I am sure i read something about it while i was searching everywhere for the light values , an other person had the same issue with vertex paint getting disappeared from their mesh witch right now that is totally useless information for you since i do not remember ( some information that they are not important i just discard them instantly ) but my point is that if you research it you will get your answer cause i know i saw it out there . <3 |
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Post by Fwecka (Lolabellesims) on Oct 28, 2021 2:25:22 GMT -5
I did a search on "lamp" and good golly, there was something like 45 pages of posts that showed up. Do you recall any of the exact wording from that post? That would narrow down my search. The footprint information helps, thank you. I tried, just for the heck of it, changing the tuning to a lamp and I could no longer attach a chair to the desk so that's out. Didn't think it would work anyway, but now I know for sure.
Making the lamp separate and editing its footprint so that it doesn't block a sim's pathing seems the best way to go. I seem to remember a post where someone used the footprint for a rug since a rug allows a sim to walk on it, but I'd have to see if I can find that post, too.
This isn't even my project but now it's bugging me that I can't make this work, lol.
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Post by qolygonal on Oct 28, 2021 3:58:06 GMT -5
For a package to support vertex color in Model Lod/Model > VertexFormat, Declarations must be the Color line. If you are going to test this, pay attention to the Offset and Stride values.  All items that have a highlight just use a lightmap. Yes, these objects don't illuminate the environment like lamps. But are we talking about realism and this game in one sentence? |
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