If you use the new UniMesh tool, you beed to delete all the references in the bones assignments to the "_hair" bones. Until there is a better understanding of animations, leaving them in creates bad looking hair models.
There is a quick and easy way to assign all the vertices to the head bone, but you can get a better mesh if you manuallly adjust all the vertices (but that is very time intensive if you have 800 vertices to edit).

See my message at http://www.modthesims2.com/showthre...2310#post992310 to get a detailed description of how to assign all the bones to the head quickly, as well as some other discussion on bone assignments.

Using the older plugins this wasn't usually an issue, because it wasn't able to import all the bones.

<* Wes *>

Damn, I tried this tutorial but I got lost in the SimPE (version 0.50a) portion with after opening the Sims03 file from Wes_h's clarification:

"Open the Sims03.package, and the file matching those 4 numbers (actually, just the last 3, the first one is the type, and is always the same for GMDCs.
This is the mesh used by the game to make the hairstyle you selected.
You can now export it by right-clicking on it from the list and choosing "Export" (for using the MilkShape plugins). Or there is another tab in the plugin view that allows you to export in a choice of files formats (in newer versions of SimPE), or at least in .obj format."

I can't find the export option, nor do I know what to even do exactly once I open the file because I don't know which of the three window sections of the program to even refer to or mess with. Is this the most detailed tutorial out there? If so, then my A.D.D./L.D. must really be kicking in right now. I get confused very easily.

No, Callum91. You have to Fix Integrity, that's what I do, and my meshes usually work. You need to replace the names so that it doesn't replace the Maxis mesh!

I got stuck also. I cant find the export button in (sims04). When i right click on it the only options there are: Add, Extract, Replace, Delete, Clone, and Clone Resource. I would really appreciate it if someone would help me on how to export in this section

Thank you in advance
-Cinnamin

extract is probably the same as export, if you're clicking on the resource.

That should read "Extract" not "Export". My mistake. I'm sorry.
<* Wes *>

I get stuck fast
I CANT OPEN THE SIMS03 FILE!!!

you're not running the game or bodyshop at the same time, are you?

erm... im kinda new here, and ive got a problem with ur tutorial. i went on EA Games - Sims 2, but then i couldnt find a folder called TSData. could u please help me?

There's two folders - one is in 'my documents' the other you get to from doing 'my computer' then your hard drive, program files.... etc

I've just tried it out,
but it wont show up in bodyshop, it stays the same
I first used WesH plugin(the older one), but when i try to save it,
it said "ERR.BODYMOD.1 misordered...."
So i used WesH's newest plugin, no errors at all, but still wont show up..

uhh this tutorial is good but i cant get past step 7 because wen i open sims PE there isnt an export button to ... well export the file. a little help please

ok rite... nvm about the above prob but now i have a new one. i extract it and sae it as SimPE thingy and then wen i go to mikshape i cant open it there... it doesnt let me for some reason

They are "animation targets". For body meshes, you usually only find 43 joints used. Head makes 44. The real bones are the ones that sound like something you learned in biology/anatomy class, e. g. "r_longsleeve" is an animation target; "r_mid0" is a bone (both middle fingers share one bone in Sims 2).



Good advice. Leaving the "*_hair" targets in a hair mesh leads to trouble because it appears that Maxis uses some propietary tool to redo the bone assignment section (inside the GMDC) after the mesh is produced to insert the animation targets. I don't have a clue what it is, but it breaks the pattern used for body/clothing meshes (seemingly all other meshes with bones).

I have seen the _hair and all the other names in CRES files, that's where I got the names I used on the default skeleton for my MilkShape plugins. But from a GMDC data model perspective, they look the same as a real "bone".

Prior to the introduction of my UniMesh plugins, you were stuck with one bone assignment per vertex using the old 2.16 plugins. Generally, the _hair assignments are secondary (or third or even 4th in NL) bone assignments, so no one usually had issues because all they ever saw were the primary assignment. Now, the _hair assignments get sucked in on import (in the newest plugin) and if you export them as-is you get weird things that happen to the mesh (hair parts in front of the face, parts that won't spin with the mannequin). Changing the bone assignment to eliminate the _hair assignments, leaving the secondary assignments like "spine2" and "neck" (with proper reweighting) makes for a smoother and glitch-free hair mesh.

<* Wes *>

I keep getting an "ERR: Unknown file type" message whenever I try to open the files in step #8. What could I have done wrong?

(PS: You have two step #8's :P)

When the plugin tried to open the file you selected, it didn't find the data arranged in the proper format for a GMDC (Geometric Data Container).

That means that you either exported the wrong part of the *.package file (the GMDC is the only part are interested in bringing into MilkShape) or you are trying to open the *.xml file instead of the *.5gd or *.simpe one (depending on how old your SimPE version is).

<* Wes *>

I know what SimPE is, but what does milkshake do?

MilkShape is a 3D model editing program, to create or modify the "mesh" (shaping data) for an object or body or clothing item (contained in the GMDC part of your .package file).

The mesh supplies the shape for an object. The texture is the name for the "paint" that goes on the outside skin of the mesh. It is edited with Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop or about 5,432 other paint programs. SimPE helps you get these two parts together with enough other data to create a new object or to modify an existing object's looks or shape.

<* Wes *>

i went threw all the files indervidually and still couldn't find the meshes used in the sims 2 piggy tails that come with the game can some 1 help me out?

afHairFlyPigtails..

kk i found the mesh and stuff but how do i edit it on milk shape like how do i change it?

^ thats what im wondering, Its said that its self-explanatory - but how do you guys actually learn how to edit the mesh in milkshape itself? Or is that just about reading normal milkshape tutorials?

kk i found out how to edit it but now theres this black stuff were i just deleted some of the mesh from how do i get rid of it?

p00jkins- I'm sorry. I didn't exactly know how to tell you to edit a mesh because that's all up to you! However, basic knowledge of Milkshape is required for editing.

klaus baudelaire- the black stuff is part of the mesh, you NEED it unless you want parts of the mesh to be missing in the game. Sometimes just changing around the order of the alphas can change that, but then you'd probably have to change the order back around when saving the mesh. Otherwise, just look at it in the wireframe form and play around with it.

I'm sorry everyone. I noticed my tutorial is the lowest-rated tutorial in the section. I know it just says that it's "self-explanatory" but the point is I really, really couldn't tell you how to edit the mesh. This is done by moving around vertices and playing around with resizing sections of meshes, moving them around etc. It would depend on what your final product is supposed to look like. This you actually need to figure out. It's pretty much all personal preference and it is all learned by fooling around in Milkshape and learning things on your own. Most of thse things could not be shown in a tutorial.

Milkshape is most likely the simplest 3-d program on the internet (after fooling around with as many free programs I could find and everything else..I know it's true) and if you can't figure out how to move vertices and resize object etc.. not to be rude but unless you REALLY REALLY have the inpiration and the drive to mesh then you probably shouldn't try. I tried to make my tutorial the easiest I could but meshing is comlicated, and there is no such thing as 'easy' mesh making. It's just a fact.

Otherwise, I wish you all the best and good luck with meshing.

Last edited by DJ_Mur3 : 17th Feb 2006 at 11:21 PM.

DJ_Mur3 - I think your tutorial is great nonetheless (fact is, NONE of the tutorials out there explain the editing parts of the mesh) So your tutorial is honestly good (hey - it got me further than any other tutorial has gotten me) So thanks for the hard work Off to read milkshape tutorials.