Sims 2 Random Thoughts

Good tutorial, but I noticed a crucial bit missing, wes_h's vertex data merge and normal data merge. If it's actually there, my excuse is no glasses.

no crack at the waist

After you've chopped chopped off everything below the waist, you need to use wes_h's merge vertex data tool at the waist. Not all body meshes have a waist at the same height as Maxis separates. Not all body meshes have the same bone weights at the waist as separates do. If the vertex coordinates of a top waist and a bottom waist don't match exactly, there will be a visible gap. If the bone weights don't match exactly, you will see cracks appear when the sim moves.

To use the merge vertex data tool, you need a Maxis top and your chopped up body mesh top. Make sure the Maxis top is at the top of the groups list, *above* your top. Select a pair of vertices at the waist, one from the Maxis top, one from your top. Use vertex data merge. Do this for each pair, all around the waist. Then do this for the fat morph as well. MilkShape will complain that fat morphs cannot be donors, so rename the Maxis fat morph to something like "fat" and it will work fine.

no seam at the waist (may or may not be needed, depending on type of shirt)

If your top has naked skin at the waist, or is skin tight, or untuckable, or you just don't want any visible seam at the waist, then you will also need to use wes_h's merge normal data. Do this for each pair of vortices all around the waist, regular mesh and fat morph too.

untuckable tops

If your shirt mesh meets the bottom mesh at the waist, but the shirt texture extends down past the waist, you have an untuckable shirt. If worn with naked butt untuckable pants, the shirt looks untucked. If you are making an untuckable top, you'll want the UV map of your top to match up perfectly with the UV map of a bottom. You can use Cat's UV data merge for this, same forum as wes_h's tools. Note that most Maxis men's bottoms have the same UV at the waist, but women's bottom UVs vary widely. Untucked tops / bottoms are easier to make for men.

no pants / skirt texture on shirt

If it has only one mesh group, you need to make sure the UV map of your top does not overlap the UV map of bottoms. If you have overlap, the texture of the bottom will appear on the top. Sometimes you're lucky and the Maxis UV map is fine as is, has no overlap, sometimes you're not so lucky. If your top UV map overlaps the bottom, there's two things you can do. Option one, squash the UV map upwards. Original Maxis textures will no longer work on your mesh now unless you squash them too. Depending on the texture, squashing may or may not make them look crappy. Option two, should probably have its own tutorial. Split your top mesh into two groups. Each group gets its own texture. More on that in the next section.

3D untucked tops (not the same as untuckable)

If your shirt mesh (not just the texture) extends down below the waist, you have an untucked shirt.

* Untucked tops must have either squashed UV maps or be split into two parts so you don't get bottom texture on your top.
* Untucked tops must have correct bone weights so they don't intersect the bottom when the sim moves.

Here's how to split the shirt. One group is the chest, arms, neck, the other group is the torso below the chest. There are tutorials on MTS2 that explain how to add a mesh group (or several) to an existing mesh and recolor package, but there's an easier way. Just take an existing CC two group mesh and its recolor and use those as your starting point instead of a one mesh group Maxis top. Feel free to use any of my MTS2 untucked tops as templates for this purpose.

Untucked tops almost always need to have their bone weights adjusted so the bottom mesh doesn't intersect the top mesh when the sim moves. You don't want the sim's butt, waist, or hips poking out of the top, that just looks wierd. Use the bone weights of Maxis bottom as a guide. Find top vertices that are close to bottom vertices and try to match up their bone weights. Make your sims walk, run, jump, sit, lie down, do the smustle. Adjusting bone weights can take quite a bit of time, but is worth the effort. Keep in mind that some bottoms will never work with untucked tops, for example very wide ballerina skirts and the like.

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