FAQ: Sims 4 Studio and Blender compatibility
Jan 2, 2022 17:31:00 GMT -5
simlishchic, Feyona, and 2 more like this
Post by mauvemorn on Jan 2, 2022 17:31:00 GMT -5
FAQ
1). What version of Blender can I use to make content for The Sims 4?
Any, but only a few of them are compatible with Sims 4 Studio: 2.7, 2.76, 2.77, 2.78, 2.79. We recommend to use 2.76b because it proved to be the least problematic version.
2). What does "compatible" imply?
It means a version of Blender can accept Sims 4 Studio plugin called S4Studio CAS Tools. Without it, you will not be able to import any mesh in Sims 4 Studio.
3). How to install S4Studio CAS Tools in the supported version of Blender?
- Download the version of Blender 2.76b that fits your system requirements from here. The file with .msi extension is a traditional installer while .zip in a portable version. You only need to download one of them. To install .msi, simply double-click on it and follow instructions. The portable version needs to be extracted with Winrar (free). To do this, put the .zip file somewhere, right-click on it and choose Extract here. After that you can delete the .zip file.
- Open Sims 4 Studio, go to Settings. Change Blender path to blender.exe file in the installation folder;
- If Blender 2.76b is opened as you do this, close it and open again for it to update;
- Check if you have S4Studio CAS Tools now. If you don't, create a thread in Creator help and show us your S4S settings ( do not hide what drive Blender is installed on ).
4). How to use an unsupported version of Blender ( 2.8 - the latest ) with Sims 4 Studio?
- Install Blender 2.76b as explained above, make sure it has S4Studio CAS Tools;
- Clone a similar to yours item, export the .blend file, name it lod0.blend;
- UPDATE FOR BLENDER 3+: Do not open the exported blend in the new version of Blender, this will not work with Blender 3+. Instead open Blender 3+ to a new scene, save it as, for example, progress.blend. Select everything in the scene with A, then press X and choose Delete. Then go to File - Append, select lod0.blend, then Object, then you can either press A and append everything or only the things you need;
- Do what you need to do, save it;
- If 2.76b was opened when you saved the mesh in Blender 2.8 - the latest, make sure to close it;
- Open lod0.blend in Blender 2.76b, go to File - Append, choose progress.blend, then Object, then Shift-select all meshgroups ( s4studio_mesh_ ) you need, Append from Library;
- Assign cut numbers and the type to appended meshgroups so that they correspond with the originals;
- Delete the originals;
- Make sure all meshgroups are visible and selectable;
- Save, import lod0.blend in the package.
5). Why does Sims 4 Studio not support Blender 2.8 - the latest versions?
With the release of Blender 2.8, the software underwent dramatic changes not only in UI but system requirements and scripting.
- The plugin must be re-done because of the changes in scripting;
- The compatibility for 2.7x versions was added individually. Since the release of 2.8 in 2019, there have been 9 major versions of Blender. Multiply this number by two ( for iOS and Windows ). Every time the game will update, the plugin may need to be updated as well, with all versions in mind;
- If S4S developers were to discontinue the support for Blender 2.7x and focus on the latest one only, many people who can play The Sims 4 would not be able to make content for it because of the difference in system requirements;
- Getting the content from an unsupported version in a supported one to assign cut numbers and save takes maximum a minute.
6). Why is the plugin needed at all?
When Sims 4 Studio exports the .blend file, it assigns each Geometry resource in each LOD a cut number based on the order they exist in the package.
When you get the .blend file back in the package, cut numbers tell Sims 4 Studio what to import and in what order.
It is very important for this order to be preserved so that the imported parts inherit the properties of the originals.
Beside the order, the plugin transfers all other related data between two software but that is not something you need to worry about.
Your job is to make sure your custom 3d models will replace the right original ones.
For example, in the picture below you can see that the shafts of the boots come first, so they get 0000. The rest comes second, so it gets 0001. If LOD0 had more parts, they would get 0002, 0003, and so on.
During import, whatever has 0000 will replace the shafts and whatever has 0001 will replace the rest.
In this case, the shafts are tuned to disappear when you put any pants on a sim to prevent clipping. If you were to switch the cut numbers, the wrong part of the shoes would inherit this tuning and disappear upon interaction with pants.
