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Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 23rd Nov 2006 at 12:50 AM
Default Wondering about recolouring collars
I'm not certain if the pet collars are considered objects or not. I just updated SimPE today, couldn't wait to recolour, among other things, the pet collars only to find, or rather not find, the collars anywhere in the Object Workshop. Does anyone know please? I tried here first because the pet accessories are objects as is the collar display but.. well I'm hoping perhaps someone has figured it out. thanks.

I'm eleven hundred and twenty-years-old, jus' gimme' a frikkin' beer!
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 23rd Nov 2006 at 1:27 AM
I'm guessing they're not objects (in the Buy/Build mode sense) but accessories much like glasses and everything else in Body Shop. So you won't find them in Object workshop. No clues yet on how to mod them, though.
Instructor
#3 Old 23rd Nov 2006 at 1:54 AM
Have no idea. Cannot find animals in BS. what about CAS? Can you get into that and extract files?

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Instructor
Original Poster
#4 Old 23rd Nov 2006 at 2:42 AM
Hmmm, good question. I had no idea where to post this, I tried here because the other accessories are in the object workshop. Goshdarnitall, I really wanted to recolour some collars. Thanks anyway, I guess it's just too soon. I actually did go looking for them in bodyshop first because you need to take the animals to the mirror but no luck. Just have to wait and see I guess. sigh.

I'm eleven hundred and twenty-years-old, jus' gimme' a frikkin' beer!
Admin of Randomness
retired moderator
#5 Old 25th Nov 2006 at 4:53 AM
Obesessisim, accessories that are worn by sims are _not_ objects in object workshop, they are recolored with bodyshop. We were not given any way to access pets or their accessories by Maxis, and as far as I'm aware, no one has cracked the code yet on the new pet meshes. You'll know when they do.

"Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." - Ronald E. Osborn

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Instructor
Original Poster
#6 Old 25th Nov 2006 at 8:05 PM
Thanks, Tiggerypum
Quote: Originally posted by tiggerypum
Obesessisim, accessories that are worn by sims are _not_ objects in object workshop, they are recolored with bodyshop. We were not given any way to access pets or their accessories by Maxis, and as far as I'm aware, no one has cracked the code yet on the new pet meshes. You'll know when they do.


Thanks, I just couldn't decide where to ask this due to the fact that even though you take the pets to the mirror, the darn collars don't show up in bodyshop to recolour. sulk, pout. The dishes and other pet "accessories" I can recolour in the object workshop. But anyway I feel my question has now been definitively answered. I'm disappointed but some geniuse will figure it out.

I'm eleven hundred and twenty-years-old, jus' gimme' a frikkin' beer!
world renowned whogivesafuckologist
retired moderator
#7 Old 25th Nov 2006 at 9:29 PM
There is one, yes... available at Lycos, which is a large company, and most certainly was made in cooperation with EA/Maxis. There is not currently any known way to make custom pet accessories or recolours though. Sure, it's POSSIBLE - that's proof of concept, but in terms of actually making our own, nobody knows how to do anything custom for pets... yet.

my simblr (sometimes nsfw)

“Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step to being sorta good at something.”
Panquecas, panquecas e mais panquecas.
Alchemist
#8 Old 26th Nov 2006 at 1:03 AM
I certainly have not explored the full range of particulars on Pet accessories. I have been looking carefully at the meshes. The collar meshes are in the Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Pets\TSData\Res\3D\Sims03.package file. The newer SimPE seems to be able to open and preview these files, and while you can import them into MilkShape with the interim importer update I posted in the UniMesh thread, you cannot export all the new mesh parts yet.

Before Object Workshop (or the CEP) were released, I made cloned (and uploaded) objects from scratch by tracking down all the pertinent chunks by hand. I made fence clones before Object Workshop was able handle fences. Anyone that has done a few cloned objects will probably be able to recite the main parts of the scenegraph by heart. While most of these original parts in the game files have the same name base, that is not always true (some game objects share meshes or textures), so I always tracked the parts I wanted from the CRES file by following the package links.

Once I had all the pieces I needed in a seperate package file, I renamed and renumbered them, and used Fix TGI. When I was able to put my duplicated object in the game, I could then start changing the texture file(s) to my liking.

Working this way became obsolete and unnecessary when the Object Workshop and then the CEP were developed. But I wanted to point out that before these were around, people (besides myself) managed to make recolored and modified objects starting with a game object.

If someone were to try making a clone package of the collar, leaving the reference to the original game mesh (GMND/GMDC), I would suspect that it would work, and the texture files in teh new package could be recolored to their heart's content, subject to the UV map being a part of the original game mesh. Perhaps we will have something that can modify the mesh segments someday soon.

<* Wes *>

If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
Instructor
#9 Old 26th Nov 2006 at 2:28 AM
Excellent information there wes!

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Alchemist
#10 Old 26th Nov 2006 at 3:10 AM
Paleoanth:

I noticed you have 10 uploads posted, downloaded in total almost 20,000 times and have done all that since joining less than four months ago. Pretty impressive modding record.

I hope you take this up as a challenge.

<* Wes *>

If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
Instructor
#11 Old 26th Nov 2006 at 3:22 AM
Thank you! That is a huge compliment coming from you. I really appreciate it.

Actually, I have extracted all the files, built a new package and can get the collar to override/replace the maxis collar. Showed up in CAS and everything! You are a super genius.

So, I Fixed integrity, gave it a new name, updated (which may have been a mistake) and now it doesn't want to show in CAS. I might try deleting the accessories cache and see if that helps. If not, any suggestions are appreciated. Since you can only view collars in CAS it is a pain to have to completely start up the game to look at your progress.

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Instructor
#12 Old 26th Nov 2006 at 3:41 AM
*just stepping into the dialogue* :D

Paleoanth, maybe installing Numenor's BaseGameStarter (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=107015) can help you because it starts a lot faster:D

And good luck
*steps out again*

Yes, I am serious though I'm not serious at all. I'm serious about this!
Even the joker can be deadly serious...
Wichtig ist, was hinten raus kommt!
Entscheidend daran ist, wie?
Instructor
Original Poster
#13 Old 26th Nov 2006 at 3:48 AM
I'm so glad I asked about this. I never expected the collars to be such a project, hell I expected to open up my updated SimPE and find the darn things just waiting for me to recolour, lalala...not! I'll just keep my eyes open, you guys'll have this cracked in no time. I may mess with it a bit in simpe, but not to the extent of messing things up too bad. Why does it show up in CAS but we can't pull it out of bodyshop? I haven't checked out the advanced mode in the updated Simpe, not even sure if this version has one.

I'm eleven hundred and twenty-years-old, jus' gimme' a frikkin' beer!
Instructor
#14 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 12:52 AM
Things I have tried and results:

1. Used finder to get cres, shape, matdef, gmdc and gmnd of

ducollarsmooth. Also added texture file uucollarsmooth-blackbones as a

template. Added to new package and saved as. Replaced texture file

with mine (I used a 256x256 plain color). Left all names the same.

Results: collar shows up in CAS, replacing Maxis collar.



2.Fixed integrity giving new model name. DID NOT USE UPDATE.

Results: Maxis collar returns.

3. The main problem seems to be that there is no Matoverride if this was

an object OR no texture extracted file if this is an accessory. So, I

tried extracting a MAToverride file from another package and changing

the values to match the collar. Gave it a new GUID.

Results: Maxis collar still there.
Screenshots

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Alchemist
#15 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 1:04 AM Last edited by wes_h : 27th Nov 2006 at 1:32 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by Paleoanth
... I Fixed integrity, gave it a new name, updated (which may have been a mistake) and now it doesn't want to show in CAS.


One thing that it took me a long time to figure out once-upon-a-time was that catalog objects use a STR# with an instance of 0x85 (I think) to hold the CRES name (minus the "_cres" part).

Since the collars are only in CAS (or maybe it's CAP), and not the catalog, then there is likely a different kind of hunk (like the XFNC for fences) or a different instance that points to the CRES name. Somewhere there is something that references the CRES name for these type of accessories that needs to be included.

My next step (based on your symptoms that started when the name was changed, breaking the link) would be to look in the Pets\3D directory for some new STR# instance number that has the collar CRES name, or some other XML-type hunk that has that name in it.

<* Wes *>

Edit: Your last post was made while I was typing this post. After reading it, I still feel the main problem is that something that references the new CRES name needs to be included for CAS to find the new collar. I will look myself and see if I can locate the mystery hunk.

Edit2: I think what you want is an XMOL with your new name in it and a 3IDR with a matching instance value. Look in the Pets Res\Catalog\Skins\Skins.package file and you'll find these for the existing collars. My first attampt would be to get a copy of the one that you are cloning, change the it's name and the name inside it, put it and a 3IDR in group 0xffffffff and hash them for the instance value, then edit the 3IDR to put your new TGI numbers in it.

Since I am not doing this, I can't guarantee this is all that has to be done, but it looks like this is at least a part of what needs done.

If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
Instructor
#16 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 1:42 AM
Quote: Originally posted by wes_h

Edit2: I think what you want is an XMOL with your new name in it and a 3IDR with a matching instance value. Look in the Pets Res\Catalog\Skins\Skins.package file and you'll find these for the existing collars. My first attampt would be to get a copy of the one that you are cloning, change the it's name and the name inside it, put it and a 3IDR in group 0xffffffff and hash them for the instance value, then edit the 3IDR to put your new TGI numbers in it.

Since I am not doing this, I can't guarantee this is all that has to be done, but it looks like this is at least a part of what needs done.


This is what I think too. Should I go ahead and try making a separate package with the XMOL and 3DIR files in it and then link this package to my collar package?

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Alchemist
#17 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 2:06 AM
I would suggest placing them in the same package for now. The XMOL and 3IDR will point to the things that are in your new package anyway, except you are using the original mesh.
I think the XMOL will be of little use if all you can reference in your 3IDR are original game components. You need new texture images, too, and they take up the most file space.
<* Wes *>

P.S. I am very interested in your progress. I would like to see a working package if you get one (even if you don't think it's perfect). I had been thinking I needed to figure out how to do this so I could then test editing the new mesh overlay gmdcs more easily.

If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
Instructor
#18 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 2:15 AM
4. Fixed integrity on my collar package, named model. Extracted cres and

shape files.

5. Extracted XMOL and accompanying 3DIR files. Created new package.

Fixed group numbers as wes suggested and hashed new instance numbers.

Used for both 3dir and xmol files.
Added extracted shape and cres files, linking them like normal.

Results: Maxis collar

Edit: just saw your post. I will now add the 3dir and xmol files to the original package.

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Instructor
#19 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 2:37 AM
6. Added the 3dir and the xmol files to main package. Refixed the group

for the 3dir file to 0xFFFFFFFF and hashed new gui's for the instance

numbers for both 3dir and xmol (using the same instance number). Then

linked the shape and cres to the 3dir and xmol files.

Results: my collar shows up as thumbnail, but original Maxis collar

shows up on dog.

note: scenegrapher shows everything is fine and I can see my new color

on the collar in the GMDC preview.

Also there are three mat definition areas in the 3dir file. UI data

says 000000000-00000000-0000000.

I am going to hash create a number for creator ID string in XMOL file as it is all 0's and maybe change the family string too.

Question: should I have only 1 3DIR file?

BTW, I really appreciate all your help with this. I really know nothing about coding, except in SAS. So, I am more or less feeling my way around. Please don't assume I know anything. I am willing to try almost anything though.

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Alchemist
#20 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 3:20 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Paleoanth
Question: should I have only 1 3DIR file?

BTW, I really appreciate all your help with this. I really know nothing about coding, except in SAS. So, I am more or less feeling my way around. Please don't assume I know anything. I am willing to try almost anything though.


So far as I know, each XMOL/3IDR pair should yield one collar.

As far as feeling your way around, trial and error is how most of the stuff we know about modding was discovered.

Now, I found in catalog\bins\globalcatbin.bundle.package that there is an STR# hunk (0x7Fb1E575-0x00000000-0x00000001) that has the names of the collars in it, starting with string #0x000C [ducollarsmooth_bonesblack].
I don't know for sure, but that file may be pointers to the names of the stuff that shows up in CaP [Create-a-Pet].

Certainly you don't want to play with this without backing it up, and I am unsure what to do to add new ones (although a collection may be the way you get new stuff in there). Almost all other content has some way of adding new things by placing them in the folders in My Documents rather than editing the files in Program Files. You appear to be making some progress, in so far as the game must be able to see a good scenegraph to generate a thumbnail. So this file may be one of the keys needed to at least finish testing your package.

I will look at the collections again to see if that is the way to add new custom items in CaP, but maybe not tonight.

Oh, and a few tech-year centuries ago I lived in Raleigh and had computer gaming enthusiast friends that worked for SAS (and I drove by their HQ on my way to work every day). That was when they were first porting SAS to run on the PC platform (formerly it was a mainframe-only application).

That was also about the same time as the original Sim City came out (for the Amiga platform). Our first cheat was accomplished by modifying one field in the saved game file to increase the amount of money to about 2 billion bucks (I think it used the ascii character that was localized for currency, not the one used now). That made building anything you wanted possible.

<* Wes *>

If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
Instructor
#21 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 3:30 AM
Hey! I am from North Carolina-Winston-Salem, actually. My brother used to live in Raleigh for his education and he used to work for GSK. I learned to code SAS before SAS for windows came out when I was getting my Master's, so I learned the mainframe style coding. Stupid semicolons gave me a headache.

I won't touch the file now, at least until you get a chance to look again at the collections. Why Maxis has made this so hard, I just don't understand. Every new EP adds more and more difficulties for modders. It is almost like they don't want people making things for the game. Which is stupid as, without custom content, most people wouldn't play it.

Thanks again. I will be happy to upload the file or send it to you when we get something showing up in CAP.

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
The ModFather
retired moderator
#22 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 10:32 AM
Quote: Originally posted by wes_h
so I always tracked the parts I wanted from the CRES file by following the package links.

Quote: Originally posted by Paleoanth
1. Used finder to get cres, shape, matdef, gmdc and gmnd of ducollarsmooth.


I know nothing about BodyShop stuff, but at least I can point out a faster and easier way to collect the filen starting from the CRES name: if you set SimPE in Advanced Mode (there's an option in the Preferences -> SimPE settings), you will see in Object Workshop the "Advanced" panel, containing the "Open by CRES name" button. Just fill in the CRES name (with or without the _cres extension, it's irrelevant) and click the button.

Uncheck all the options, and you will get all the original Maxis files (with the original names and TGI) in your package. Now you can do the Fix Integrity etc.

I've finally started my Journal. Information only, no questions.

My latest activity: CEP 9.2.0! - AnyGameStarter 2.1.1 (UPD) - Scriptorium v.2.2f - Photo & Plaques hide with walls - Magazine Rack (UPD) - Animated Windows Hack (UPD) - Custom Instrument Hack (UPD) - Drivable Cars Without Nightlife (UPD) - Courtesy Lights (FIX) - Custom Fence-Arches - Painting-TV - Smarter Lights (UPD)


I *DON'T* accept requests, sorry.
Instructor
#23 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 3:00 PM
D'oh! Numenor, I do have it in advanced mode. I am just too oblivious to have thought of that. Thanks.

Cogito ergo nupta non sum.
Alchemist
#24 Old 27th Nov 2006 at 11:44 PM
Well, that is a useful tip.
It's just like me to learn the hard way and stick with it.
<* Wes *>

If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
Alchemist
#25 Old 6th Dec 2006 at 1:44 AM
Just as a followup, I finally managed to make a Dog collar (using Paleoanth's texture).
It's not exactly simple, but only a little more complex than making other accessories. The collar package I made isn't grand, and still has something wrong with it (sizing) as well as having both buckle and collar sharing a texture, but you can see and/or download it at:
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthre...878#post1498878

You can make anything you want out of the package yourself, and do what you want with it, but I don't want to see it uploaded anywhere else as is... it's just a proof-of-concept at this time.

<* Wes *>

If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
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