The "Dream Team"
23rd Jul 2005, 8:49 AM
THE GRAND TRIANON - COLOURS AND RECOLOURS
Instructions, tutorial, hints & FAQ about
recolouring the Grand Trianon collection
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATES:
23 Dec 2007 - Updated the thread to reflect the changes due to the new Kitchen set. Added info about extending the existing recolour packages to the Kitchen Counters.
24 July 2005 - Added Hints about recolouring the Frame (wood) texture.
23 July 2005 - Added tutorial about recolouring the Etched Glass textures + Edited the "Golden Rule"
23 July 2005 - Posted first version
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1 - INTRODUCTION
The Grand Trianon collection makes a wide use of the "Texture Repository" tecnique; this means that almost all the recolourable textures are contained into one object, that functions as a repository, and all the other objects "borrow" the textures from it. The "Repository" is the Floor Mirror (part of the Mirror Bedroom collection): you must keep it in your downloads folder, otherwise all the Grand Trianon objects will show a flashing blue texture.
The repository technique comes in hand for recolours, too, because creating a recolour for the Poster Floor Mirror will automatically recolour the whole set!
Please notice, also, as some textures are linked together: for instance, the colour of the handles will automatically change according to the wood colour, or the glass that covers the paintings will appear and disappear according to the type of painting (modern paintings have the glass, classic paintings don't).
Since the structure of the Grand Trianon is quite complex, all the recolour artists are strongly invited to respect the recolouring rules that we are going to state in the next paragraphs.
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2 - GOLDEN RULE: Recolour all the 5 textures of the attached Template at once
If you are not going to read this document to its end ;), then this is the first and only rule to apply, always and without exceptions:
In order to create a recolour for the Grand Trianon, you have to CLONE the template downloadable from this thread (:new: the template has been updated for the Kitchen) and edit all the 5 textures therein contained (frame, countertop, glass, metal and fabric). You can't create a package containing less then 5 textures, and all the 5 recoloured textures must look different from the existing ones (you can omit to edit the Metal texture, if you really can't find an original replacement).
Please note that when we ask to "CLONE" the template, we don't mean just save it with a different name: you have to actually CLONE it using SimPE's Object Workshop.
This rule is important, because if the recolour package lacks some textures, some objects may have flashing blue parts; and if you include all the 5 textures, but you "forget" to recolour one or more of them, then the users will find in the catalog multiple identical colour options.
If your recolour complies with this rule, your recolour is entitled to earn the Dream Team Seal of Approval (please apply for the Seal by posting on the main Grand Trianon thread).
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y83/Numenor65/Approved.jpg
HINT --> The "Frame" (wood) texture is divided into several sections; apart from the white part (reserved for future use), the "wood" comes in 4 different shades. The "main" part is the large square located in the top-left: most of the objects parts are mapped on it; the upper-right portion has a lighter shade and it's generally used for the front panels of the drawers; the lower-left portion is medium dark, and is used for the foot and the top of the object; lastly, the small square in the lower-right corner is very dark, and it's only used for (mostly hidden) back panels of the objects.
HINT --> The wood texture has vertical veining (except for the mid-dark section in the lower-left corner): if your recolour will respect the direction of the veining, the objects will look more natural.
[Technical insight - Start]
Many Grand Trianon items use the so-called "slave subsets": e.g. when a new "frame" colour is applied to the object, the game looks a matching "glass", or a matching "metal" inside the same package; and if the slave subset isn't found into the package, a flashing blue texture is applied.
The slave subset technique is used, for instance, by the double beds (the glass is slave of the frame) and all the doors (the metal is slave of the frame). Most of the object that have a metal part have the "metal" set as slave subset of the "frame".
:new: The Kitchen Counters are slightly different, because they have the "countertop" set as master subset; the Frame and theMetal are slave of the Countertop (this way, "old" recolours not updated for the kitchen will just be ignored by the counters, instead of producing flashing-blue countertops).
[Technical insight - End]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 - EXCEPTIONS TO THE GOLDEN RULE
It is true indeed that the 4 textures in the Floor Mirror are linked together, but - to be exact - these links work one-way:
a custom texture for the "Frame" subset needs to have corresponding custom textures for the "Glass", the "Fabric", the "Metal" and the "Countertop"; but the opposite is not always true. A custom texture for Glass, Metal or Fabric don't need to have a corresponding custom texture for the Frame. As a consequence, here is an
Exception to the Golden Rule: a recolour package containing only the Glass, the Metal or the Fabric is compatible with the structure of the Grand Trianon collection. But, due to the incompleteness of these recolour package, the Dream Team will not assign any Seal of Approval to them.
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4 - RECOLOURABLE TEXTURES NOT INCLUDED IN THE FLOOR MIRROR
Some objects have recolourable textures that were not included in the Repository (the Floor Mirror) because no other objects shared those textures. Here's a complete list of the textures that are autonomously recolourable:
Glass Candle: glass and surface.
HINT --> This is a completely stand-alone object; therefore, when creating a recolour package, you can choose freely the subset(s) you want to recolur (you can recolour only one subset).
Horizontal Painting and Vertical Painting: painting.
HINT --> In the recolour package there will be only one texture (the painting), but you'll find two Material Definitions: infact, every painting has it's own glass in front of it, and the second Material Definition is related to the glass; you choose to keep this MATD as is, or edit it in order to give the glass a custom look. In particular, the very last parameter ("stdMatUntexturedDiffAlpha") can be altered to change the transparency of the glass: the value can range from 0 (completely transparent = invisible), to 1 (completely opaque: the painting won't be visible behind the glass).
Poster Desk & Hutch (both the EP and the non-EP versions): books.
HINT --> There is only 1 subset to choose from, but in the recolour package you'll find two textures: one for the books, and one for the props, i.e. the stuffed bear and the boxes visible on the hutch. Both textures should be recoloured at once.
Mirror Bathroom (all the items of the set): surfaces.
HINT --> All the items in the Bathroom set borrow the textures from the Maxis expensive toilet. Therefore, in order to recolour the Bathroom, you should create a standard recolour package for the expensive toilet.
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5 - HOW TO RECOLOUR THE ETCHED GLASS: Mini Tutorial
The glass texture contains the so-called Alpha channel (often called also "mask"): it's basically a second image, embedded in the main one, that contains information about the transparency of the texture. The Alpha channel is a grey-scale texture that can be exported and imported separately from the main image, if needed.
In order to recolour the glass, you need: SimPE (latest version), with the DDS utilities (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=77626) correctly installed, and any paint program (even the MS Paint!).
Note: there are several alternative methods to achieve the same results: the method explained here is a little longer, but it's easy and can be performed with any paint program.
A) - Open your paint program and create a 256x256 blank image; fill it with the colour that you want the etching for (we have used a ligh grey for all the etchings, but you can use white, black or any other colour: the etching will appear in that colour).
B) - Create a second 256x256 image, convert it to grey-scale and fill it in black: this will be the "Mask". Use a white pencil to draw on the map the etching shape: all the white parts of the mask will look opaque, thus letting the main image to show up; the black parts will make the main image look transparent. See picture.
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/images19/MTS2_96768_The_Dream_Team_thumb_B-SampleMask.jpg (http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/images7/MTS2_96768_The_Dream_Team_B-SampleMask.jpg)
HINT --> You can use any 256x256 Black&White image as template, instead of drawing manually the etching.
HINT --> You can lower the contrast of the "mask" to achieve a more natural result: the transparent parts will be a bit less transparent, and the etching will not "jump off" the glass.
C) - Save both images (the Main and the Mask), either in .png or .bmp format. The paint program is no longer needed: you can close it.
D) - Open SimPE and load the recolour package that you have already created (if you haven't created it yet, create it now :)).
E) - Select the TXTR for the glass: the original etching will appear in the lower-left part of the screen.
F) - Now it comes the tricky part... ;) - Click on the "Import" button and select the Main image: a plain coloured texture will be displayed. Do not click Commit! Instead, right-click on the image and select "Import Alpha"; browse to the Mask image and load it: the image will show the actual etchings. Again, do not click Commit. Click on the "Export" button and save the image as .png.
G) - Right-click again on the image and select "Build DXT" (if you can't see it, or it is greyed out, this means that you haven't installed correctly the DDS utilities: read here (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=77626)).
H) - When the DDS utilities window opens up, be sure that the Format is set to "DXT3", then click "Open Image"; select the .png image that you have saved at step F and load it. Now you can Commit and save the package.
HINT --> Don't use SimPE's "Update all sizes" function: it tends to corrupt the transparent textures
6 - HOW TO "EXTEND" THE EXISTING RECOLOURS TO THE KITCHEN SET
With the introduction of the new Kitchen Set, the overall number of recolourable parts raised from 4 to 5. Therefore, the existing recolours lack one needed texture, and will be ignored from the kitchen counters.
We at the Dream Team have modified our Recolour Packs to reflect the new internal structure of the Grand Trianon. All the other users that have created recolours for the Grand Trianon must update their packages, or they won't work with the GT Kitchen.
Though there is a way to modify the existing packages, the easiest way to accomplish the task is to recreate it anew, by following these simple steps:
Download the recolour template attached to this post.
Clone it using SimPE's Object Workshop.
Save the cloned package assigning the very same name of the original recolour.
Replace the textures contained in the template with the ones taken from your old recolour. Of course, you can replace only four textures with your own (Frame, Glass, Fabric and Metal). The 5th texture contained in the template (Countertop) must be manually edited (the only part of the texture to be edited is the one painted in the template, the other parts are unused).
Update the thread where you posted the recolour, specifying clearly that your recolour has been updated to work with the Grand Trianon Kitchen.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(More hints will be added in the future, so check back every now and then :))
No more updates are scheduled.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Instructions, tutorial, hints & FAQ about
recolouring the Grand Trianon collection
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATES:
23 Dec 2007 - Updated the thread to reflect the changes due to the new Kitchen set. Added info about extending the existing recolour packages to the Kitchen Counters.
24 July 2005 - Added Hints about recolouring the Frame (wood) texture.
23 July 2005 - Added tutorial about recolouring the Etched Glass textures + Edited the "Golden Rule"
23 July 2005 - Posted first version
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 - INTRODUCTION
The Grand Trianon collection makes a wide use of the "Texture Repository" tecnique; this means that almost all the recolourable textures are contained into one object, that functions as a repository, and all the other objects "borrow" the textures from it. The "Repository" is the Floor Mirror (part of the Mirror Bedroom collection): you must keep it in your downloads folder, otherwise all the Grand Trianon objects will show a flashing blue texture.
The repository technique comes in hand for recolours, too, because creating a recolour for the Poster Floor Mirror will automatically recolour the whole set!
Please notice, also, as some textures are linked together: for instance, the colour of the handles will automatically change according to the wood colour, or the glass that covers the paintings will appear and disappear according to the type of painting (modern paintings have the glass, classic paintings don't).
Since the structure of the Grand Trianon is quite complex, all the recolour artists are strongly invited to respect the recolouring rules that we are going to state in the next paragraphs.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 - GOLDEN RULE: Recolour all the 5 textures of the attached Template at once
If you are not going to read this document to its end ;), then this is the first and only rule to apply, always and without exceptions:
In order to create a recolour for the Grand Trianon, you have to CLONE the template downloadable from this thread (:new: the template has been updated for the Kitchen) and edit all the 5 textures therein contained (frame, countertop, glass, metal and fabric). You can't create a package containing less then 5 textures, and all the 5 recoloured textures must look different from the existing ones (you can omit to edit the Metal texture, if you really can't find an original replacement).
Please note that when we ask to "CLONE" the template, we don't mean just save it with a different name: you have to actually CLONE it using SimPE's Object Workshop.
This rule is important, because if the recolour package lacks some textures, some objects may have flashing blue parts; and if you include all the 5 textures, but you "forget" to recolour one or more of them, then the users will find in the catalog multiple identical colour options.
If your recolour complies with this rule, your recolour is entitled to earn the Dream Team Seal of Approval (please apply for the Seal by posting on the main Grand Trianon thread).
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y83/Numenor65/Approved.jpg
HINT --> The "Frame" (wood) texture is divided into several sections; apart from the white part (reserved for future use), the "wood" comes in 4 different shades. The "main" part is the large square located in the top-left: most of the objects parts are mapped on it; the upper-right portion has a lighter shade and it's generally used for the front panels of the drawers; the lower-left portion is medium dark, and is used for the foot and the top of the object; lastly, the small square in the lower-right corner is very dark, and it's only used for (mostly hidden) back panels of the objects.
HINT --> The wood texture has vertical veining (except for the mid-dark section in the lower-left corner): if your recolour will respect the direction of the veining, the objects will look more natural.
[Technical insight - Start]
Many Grand Trianon items use the so-called "slave subsets": e.g. when a new "frame" colour is applied to the object, the game looks a matching "glass", or a matching "metal" inside the same package; and if the slave subset isn't found into the package, a flashing blue texture is applied.
The slave subset technique is used, for instance, by the double beds (the glass is slave of the frame) and all the doors (the metal is slave of the frame). Most of the object that have a metal part have the "metal" set as slave subset of the "frame".
:new: The Kitchen Counters are slightly different, because they have the "countertop" set as master subset; the Frame and theMetal are slave of the Countertop (this way, "old" recolours not updated for the kitchen will just be ignored by the counters, instead of producing flashing-blue countertops).
[Technical insight - End]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 - EXCEPTIONS TO THE GOLDEN RULE
It is true indeed that the 4 textures in the Floor Mirror are linked together, but - to be exact - these links work one-way:
a custom texture for the "Frame" subset needs to have corresponding custom textures for the "Glass", the "Fabric", the "Metal" and the "Countertop"; but the opposite is not always true. A custom texture for Glass, Metal or Fabric don't need to have a corresponding custom texture for the Frame. As a consequence, here is an
Exception to the Golden Rule: a recolour package containing only the Glass, the Metal or the Fabric is compatible with the structure of the Grand Trianon collection. But, due to the incompleteness of these recolour package, the Dream Team will not assign any Seal of Approval to them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 - RECOLOURABLE TEXTURES NOT INCLUDED IN THE FLOOR MIRROR
Some objects have recolourable textures that were not included in the Repository (the Floor Mirror) because no other objects shared those textures. Here's a complete list of the textures that are autonomously recolourable:
Glass Candle: glass and surface.
HINT --> This is a completely stand-alone object; therefore, when creating a recolour package, you can choose freely the subset(s) you want to recolur (you can recolour only one subset).
Horizontal Painting and Vertical Painting: painting.
HINT --> In the recolour package there will be only one texture (the painting), but you'll find two Material Definitions: infact, every painting has it's own glass in front of it, and the second Material Definition is related to the glass; you choose to keep this MATD as is, or edit it in order to give the glass a custom look. In particular, the very last parameter ("stdMatUntexturedDiffAlpha") can be altered to change the transparency of the glass: the value can range from 0 (completely transparent = invisible), to 1 (completely opaque: the painting won't be visible behind the glass).
Poster Desk & Hutch (both the EP and the non-EP versions): books.
HINT --> There is only 1 subset to choose from, but in the recolour package you'll find two textures: one for the books, and one for the props, i.e. the stuffed bear and the boxes visible on the hutch. Both textures should be recoloured at once.
Mirror Bathroom (all the items of the set): surfaces.
HINT --> All the items in the Bathroom set borrow the textures from the Maxis expensive toilet. Therefore, in order to recolour the Bathroom, you should create a standard recolour package for the expensive toilet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 - HOW TO RECOLOUR THE ETCHED GLASS: Mini Tutorial
The glass texture contains the so-called Alpha channel (often called also "mask"): it's basically a second image, embedded in the main one, that contains information about the transparency of the texture. The Alpha channel is a grey-scale texture that can be exported and imported separately from the main image, if needed.
In order to recolour the glass, you need: SimPE (latest version), with the DDS utilities (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=77626) correctly installed, and any paint program (even the MS Paint!).
Note: there are several alternative methods to achieve the same results: the method explained here is a little longer, but it's easy and can be performed with any paint program.
A) - Open your paint program and create a 256x256 blank image; fill it with the colour that you want the etching for (we have used a ligh grey for all the etchings, but you can use white, black or any other colour: the etching will appear in that colour).
B) - Create a second 256x256 image, convert it to grey-scale and fill it in black: this will be the "Mask". Use a white pencil to draw on the map the etching shape: all the white parts of the mask will look opaque, thus letting the main image to show up; the black parts will make the main image look transparent. See picture.
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/images19/MTS2_96768_The_Dream_Team_thumb_B-SampleMask.jpg (http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/images7/MTS2_96768_The_Dream_Team_B-SampleMask.jpg)
HINT --> You can use any 256x256 Black&White image as template, instead of drawing manually the etching.
HINT --> You can lower the contrast of the "mask" to achieve a more natural result: the transparent parts will be a bit less transparent, and the etching will not "jump off" the glass.
C) - Save both images (the Main and the Mask), either in .png or .bmp format. The paint program is no longer needed: you can close it.
D) - Open SimPE and load the recolour package that you have already created (if you haven't created it yet, create it now :)).
E) - Select the TXTR for the glass: the original etching will appear in the lower-left part of the screen.
F) - Now it comes the tricky part... ;) - Click on the "Import" button and select the Main image: a plain coloured texture will be displayed. Do not click Commit! Instead, right-click on the image and select "Import Alpha"; browse to the Mask image and load it: the image will show the actual etchings. Again, do not click Commit. Click on the "Export" button and save the image as .png.
G) - Right-click again on the image and select "Build DXT" (if you can't see it, or it is greyed out, this means that you haven't installed correctly the DDS utilities: read here (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=77626)).
H) - When the DDS utilities window opens up, be sure that the Format is set to "DXT3", then click "Open Image"; select the .png image that you have saved at step F and load it. Now you can Commit and save the package.
HINT --> Don't use SimPE's "Update all sizes" function: it tends to corrupt the transparent textures
6 - HOW TO "EXTEND" THE EXISTING RECOLOURS TO THE KITCHEN SET
With the introduction of the new Kitchen Set, the overall number of recolourable parts raised from 4 to 5. Therefore, the existing recolours lack one needed texture, and will be ignored from the kitchen counters.
We at the Dream Team have modified our Recolour Packs to reflect the new internal structure of the Grand Trianon. All the other users that have created recolours for the Grand Trianon must update their packages, or they won't work with the GT Kitchen.
Though there is a way to modify the existing packages, the easiest way to accomplish the task is to recreate it anew, by following these simple steps:
Download the recolour template attached to this post.
Clone it using SimPE's Object Workshop.
Save the cloned package assigning the very same name of the original recolour.
Replace the textures contained in the template with the ones taken from your old recolour. Of course, you can replace only four textures with your own (Frame, Glass, Fabric and Metal). The 5th texture contained in the template (Countertop) must be manually edited (the only part of the texture to be edited is the one painted in the template, the other parts are unused).
Update the thread where you posted the recolour, specifying clearly that your recolour has been updated to work with the Grand Trianon Kitchen.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(More hints will be added in the future, so check back every now and then :))
No more updates are scheduled.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------