TUTORIAL:AddingNewShoesToAMeshWarning!!PicHeavy!!

on:06June2010,05:56

Ireallywassurewehadatutorialforthishere,butwhenIwentthroughthissection,Icouldn'tfinditanywhere.So,perViviane's
request,here'sasimplerundownofhowtoaddadifferentsetofshoestoamesh.Thismayseemlikeacrazylonglistofstuffto
do,butasyougetusedtoallthesteps,itgoesfasterandfaster.
Thistutorialwillassumeyouknowthebasicsofrecoloringandhavesimpe,milkshapeandsomesortofphotoeditingprogram
installedonyourcomputer.Otherwise,I'vekeptitsupersimplesoprettymuchanyoneshouldbeabletodoit.Pleasedokeepin
mindthough,notallmeshesarecreatedequal.Thetutorialshowsaverysimpleshoeswitch.Theoriginalmeshandthenewshoe
mesharemappedverysimilarly,andsoit'sverysimpletochangethem.Formorecomplicatedshoemeshes,youwouldfollowthe
samesteps,theyjustmightrequirealittleadditionalworkinUVmappingandtexturing.Nothingtopanicover,justsomethingto
keepinmindwhentakingonthisprojectforthefirsttime.Startsimpleuntilyou'recomfortablewiththeprocess,thengocrazy.
Ifpeopleneedit,Icanalsoabitmoreinfoaboutmorphsandthecommentsandstuffforthemtoo,butthisjusthasaquick
overviewforthem.
So,lesstalking,moretutorial!

Firstoff,youneedtopickanoutfitthatyouwanttochangetheshoeson.I'vechosenthis'fabulous'Maxisdress.Thedressismeh
anyways,buttheshoesareheinous.Bysavingtheshoes,maybetherecanbesomegoodrecolors.

Step#1
OpenBodyshop,andchoosetheoutfityouwanttouse.Createanewprojectfromtheoutfit,andnameitsomethingyou'll
remember.Mineistheexcitinglynamed'basedress'.

Whentheprojectloads,importitimmediatelybackintothegame.

Step#2
Next,chooseyouroutfitwiththeshoesyou'regoingtouse,andfollowstep1again.CloseBodyshop.

Variation#1NonMaxisShoes
Ifyouareusingacustomshoemesh,justcreatethenewproject,butdonotimportitbackintothegame.

Step#3
OpenSimPE.Clickthe'New'buttoninthetopcorner.Thengotothe'Tools'menu,thento'PJSE',thento'BodyMeshTool',thento
'ExtractingStage'.Click.

Apromptwillcomeupandgiveyoutwooptions.Entera'BaseMeshName',orclickbrowse.Youwanttoclick'Browse'.
GotoyourSavedSimsfolder,andchoosethat'basedress'filethatyouimportedinstep1.Click'Open'.

Variation#2NonMaxisBaseOutfit
Ifyouareusingacustommeshforthebaseshape,youwilldothisabitdifferently.FollowONLYSteps5and6,
skippingStep4.ThengototheFilemenu,andopenthemeshfileforthecustombasemeshyouareusing.Besureyou
openthemeshfile,nottherecolor.ItwillhavethesamepartslistedinStep4,buttheywillbecustomizedasinStep5.
FindtheGMDCfile,extractit,andsaveitwithanamesoyoucanfinditagain.ContinueonwithStep7.

Step#4
TheSimPEwindowisgoingtoadd4differentfilestothenewpackageyouopened.Thesearethebasemeshparts.

RightClickonthelinethatsays'GMDC'intheTypesection.Amenuwillpopup,andyouwanttoselect'Extract.

Itwillpopupa'Extract'window.Icreatedanewfolderforthis,butyoucansavethisfilewhereverworksbestforyou,aslongas
youcanfinditagain.Savethefileinwhateverlocationyouchoose,andchangethenamefromthelargenumberofnumbersand
letters,tosomethinglike'dressbase'orsomethingyou'llremember.ClickSave.

Step#5
ItwillsendyoubacktothesameSimPEwindow.NowgototheToolsMenu,andgoto'ObjectTools'andthento'FixIntegrity'.Click.
NOTE:Don'tforgetthispart.Veryoddthingsmayhappen,thingsyoudonotwanttohappen.

Anewwindowwillpopup.IntheModelNamebox,putwhatyou'dliketocallyouroutfitmesh.Inmycase,Iput
KielenTutorialDressFix.Notexciting,butitsayswhatitneedsto.Clickthe'Update'link.Allthenamesintheboxbelowwhereyou
enteredtheModelNamewillchange.Thisishowyouknowyoudiditright.TheyshouldallhaveyournewModelNameatthefront.
Iftheydo,clickok.

Step#6
GototheFilemenu,anddoasaveas.SavethefilesomewhereinyourDownloadsfolder.Again,youmaysubfolderwhereveryou
like,butrememberyouhavetofinditagain.IusuallynamemyMeshfileswiththisformat.MESH_Kielen_MeshName.Youcanname
themhoweveryoulike,butkeepinmind,itshouldsayMeshsomewhereinthenamesopeopleusingorrecoloringitwillknow
whichpackageisthemesh.

Step#7
Followsteps34forthepackageyoucreatedforyournewshoes,againsavingtheextractedGMDCfilewithanameyou'll
remember.DonotrepeatSteps5and6.
Variation#3NonMaxisShoes
Ifyouareusingacustommeshfortheshoes,youwilldothisabitdifferently.GototheFilemenuandOpenthemesh
filefortheoutfityouareusingfortheshoes.Besureyouopenthemeshfile,nottherecolor.Itwillhavethesameparts
listedinStep4,buttheywillbecustomizedasinStep5.FindtheGMDCfile,extractit,andsaveitwithanamesoyou
canfinditagain.continueonwithStep8.

Step#8
OpenMilkshape.GototheFileMenu,thengoto'Import',thenscrolldownto'Sims2UniMeshImportV4.09A'andclick.

Intheboxthatcomesup,findthefileyouextractedinStep#4orVariation#2andopenit.

Sometimesitwillaskyouifyou'dliketocreateBlendGroups.ThiswouldbeFatandPregmorphs.Youwillfollowthesamestepsfor
themorphs,forthemostpart,butIdidn'taddthemwiththistutorial.SoclickYesformorphs,Noforjustthebasebodyshape.
Occasionally,itwillthenpopupasecondwarningbox,sayingthatsomeskinweightsdonotequal100%andwantingtoknowif
you'dlikethemCorrected.ALWAYSsayyes.
Thisiswhatit'sgoingtolooklike,moreorless.Atthispoint,Iwouldalsosaveyourfile,incasethereareanyproblems.Continue
savingthroughoutthenextstepsaswell.Justsaveitasamilkshapefile,andgiveitanameyou'llremember.

Step#9
ClicktheModeTabontherightpanelatthetop,andclickthe'Select'button.Thereareseveralsettings,solookatthepictomake
sureyoursettingsarethesame.(Vertex,ignorebackfacesunchecked)Next,chooseaplaceonthelegwhereyou'llbejoiningthe
newshoes.Selecteverythingunderthatline,butnotincludingtheline.

HitDelete.Yourmeshwillnowbemissingfeet.(Thereshouldbesomebrilliantjokeabout'LookMa,NoFeet!',butI'mcomingup
blank.)

Step#10
OpentheFilemenuagain,andagainchooseImportandtheSims2UnimeshImport,andClick.Youwillgetapopupsayingthatif
youimportoveranothermodel,resultsmaybeunreliable.ClickOK.Thistime,choosethenewshoemeshyouexportedinStep#7
orVariation#3,andimportit.

Again,itmayaskyouaboutBlendGroups.Ifyouchosethemthefirsttime,thensayyes.Ifyoudidn't,thensayno.Ifaskedabout
SkinWeightslikebefore,again,answerYes.

Step#11
BackinMilkshape,itwillshowthemeshyou'llbetakingtheshoesfrom,nowontopofyouroriginalbasemesh.GototheGroups
Tabinthetopright,andhighlightthefirstgroup.Downbelowthelist,therewillbeabuttonthatsaysHide.Clickthat,andthebase
bodymeshshoulddisappear,leavingjusttheshoebasemesh.

GoingbacktotheModeTab,makesureyou'restillinSelectmode,andfigureoutwherethelinewouldbewhereyoucutthefirst
mesh.Ifyouneedto,youcangobacktotheGroupstabandunhideitagain,butmakesuretorehideitbeforeproceeding.
Onceyou'vefiguredoutwheretheclosestlineistotheedgeofthebasemesh,thistimeselecteverythingabovethatlineAND
includingtheline.

PressDeleteandtada!

Step#12
GobackintotheGroupstab,andunhideyourbasemesh.Nowyoucanseehowtheoutfitandthenewshoeslooktogether.Inmost
cases,thereissomespace,orevenoverlapbetweenthetwopieces.Evenincaseswhereyoudon'tseeanygapsoranythingoff,
you'llneedtocompletethisstep.

Selecttwoverticesthatshouldbematchedup,onefromthetop,onefromthebottom,andgototheVertexmenu,andthenchoose
ExtendedManualEdit(EME).

NOTE:ThereareseveraldifferentwaystohandleselectinginMilkshape.Ifindgoingintothebottomrightview,andthen
hittingthespacebartomakeitfullscreen,andselectingtheretobetheeasiestwaytoworkwiththistypeofmeshing,
buttherearemanyways.Anywayyoudoit,ALWAYSmakesurethatyouonlyhavethetwoverticesyouwantselected,
selected.Sometimesotherscreepin,andthatcancreateabigproblem.
WhentheExtendedManualEditscreencomesup,therewillbeabout5columnsandavaryingnumberofrows.TheONLYcolumns
youwanttoeditforthisaretheX,Y,andZcolumns.Justignoretheothers.

NOTE:Also,normally,youjustwanttoseetworows.Ifyouseemorethanthat,justmakesurethatsomeoftherows
match,sothatthereareonlytwosetsofvalues.Ifyouhave,say,3rows,andeachhasadifferentvalueforX,that
almostalwaysmeansyouaccidentallyselectedaverticeyoudidn'tmeanto,andyou'llneedtounselectit.
Onceyou'recertainyouonlyhavethetwoyouwantselected,you'llchooseonerow,andcopyallit'svaluestotheotherrow(s).
Whenyou'redone,alltheX'sshouldbethesameaseachother,alltheY'sshouldbethesameaseachother,etc.Oncethat'sdone,
clickok,andMilkshapewillrealignthevertices.
Variation#4UsingVertexDataMerge
Ipersonallyusethisvariationmostofthetimewhenpossible,andusetheEMEmethodabovetocheckwork,and
combineareasthatareabnormal,ortoworkwithmorphs.Thismethodisveryusefulforaddingshoes,butwillNOT
workonmorphgroups.YouwillhavetouseEMEformorphs.Tousethismethod,selectyourtwoverticesasinStep12,
andthengototheVertexMenu,andChooseSims2UnimeshVertexDataMerge.

Milkshapewillautomaticallycopytheinformationoverfromthefirstmesh'sverticetothesecondone,savingyouthe
timeofdoingthisbyhand.USECAUTIONTHOUGH.Ican'ttellyouthenumberoftimesI'vefinished,onlytorealizeI've
somehowmanagedtoattachalegverticetoafingerverticeandawaistverticeandthenhadtogoandpullthewhole
thingout.SincetheVertexMergedoesn'thavetheoptiontocheckwhatyou'redoinglikeEME,Ialwaysswivelthemesh
aroundreallyquickaftereachtimeIuseit,justtomakesurenothinggotcaught.Youcanalwaysundo,andit'seasierto
doitsoonerthanlater.
Youwillneedtodothisstepwitheverypairofverticesallthewayaroundeachleg.Ittakesawhileatfirst,butonceyougetdown,
ittakesalmostnotime.

Step#13
Selectalltheverticesyoujustmatcheduponbothlegsasthepictureshows.

GototheVertexmenu,andchooseAlignNormals.

Thiswillmakesuretherearenolinesleftonthelegsfromtheconnectingprocess.

Atthispoint,youwanttosaveyourfile,ifyouhaven'tdoneitalready.Goaheadandjustsaveitasamilkshapefile.Nowit'stime
togetyourtextureready...

Step#14
Openboththetexturefilesforthetwoprojectsyoucreatedatthebeginningofthetutorialinphotoshoporwhateverediting
programyouuse.Youwillbemovingtheshoetexturesfromtheshoeprojecttothebaseoutfittextures.Therearealotofways
youcandothis,anddependingonthecomplexityoftheoutfityouaremodifyingthismaybeharderoreasier.TheexampleI've
usedisaverysimpleone.
First,selecttheareasthatareshoesontheshoetexturefile,andcopythem.Pastethemontothebaseoutfittexture.Ifthereisno
overlapofanypartsonthebaseoutfit,thengoaheadandcombinethelayers,andsavethefilewithanewnamesomewherethat
you'llrememberit.

Step#15
GobacktoMilkshape,andselectyourentiremesh.EasiestwayistomakesurenoneofthegroupsarehidingandhitCTRL+A.

ThenchoosetheMaterialstabinthefarrightcorner.ClicktheNewbuttonhalfwaydownthelist,andthenclickthebuttonthatsays
None.

Adialogwillpopupandpromptyoutochooseatexture.Findthetextureyoujustcreated,andopenit.

Youshouldnowseethetextureonyourmeshinthebottomrightframe.Ifyoudon't,rightclickintheframe,andwhenthemenu
comesup,andmakesurethatTexturedisselectedinthetopsectionofthemenu.Nowyou'llbeabletoseehowthetexturewill
lookonthemesh.

Step#15
Now,gotothetopWindowmenu,andchooseTextureCoordinateEditor.

Aboxwillpopup,showingtheUVmappingofyourmesh.IfyouputsmallernumbersinthebottomScalefieldandthenclickscale,it
willshinkitdownsoyoucanseebetter.Youcanalsoresizethewindowaswell.AlsomakesurethatyouchecktheRedrawbox.
Thiswillmakesurethatanychangesyoumakewillshowonyourmeshinmilkshape.Youcanmovethemesharoundsothatyou
canseethepiecesyou'reworkingonasyoumovethemapping.
Hereyoucanseehowthebodypartofthemeshlooksonthetexture.Nothingoverlappingthenewshoes,whichisveryimportant.

Keepavagueideaofwhereeverythingonthemappingforthebodyis,andthengotothedropdownfieldontherightside,and
choosethesecondoption.Inthiscaseit'snamedbody,sometimesitmightbesomethingelse.Thischangestheviewtothe
mappingofthefeet.

Giveitaonceovertomakesureit'snotoverlappingthebodymapping.Inthiscase,it'sjustfine.Youalsowanttomakesureit's
properlysituatedoverthetexturefortheshoes.Ifyou'reabletocopyovertheshoetexturewithoutanychanges,thenthis
shouldn'tbeaproblem.sometimesifyouhavetorearrangetheshoetextures,youwillneedtomovethingsaround.Justusethe
selectandmovetools.Onceeverythingisarrangedcorrectly,closeoutoftheeditor.
Nowgivethemeshanotheronceovertomakesureeverythinglooksright,andallthetexturesareseatedwhereyouwantthemto
be.

Step#16
GototheGroupstab.Yourmeshshouldstillallbeselected.Makenoteofthenameofthegroupnameofthemainbodysection.In
thisandmostcases,itwillbebody.
NOTE:Ifyouaredoingmorphgroups,youMUSTdothisstepseparatelyoneachgroupset.Makesurethetwogroupsfor
everysetexcepttheonesyouareperformingthissteponarehidden.Onceyoufinishwithonegroupset,hideit,and
thenunhidethenextgroupsetandperformthestepsagain.Ifyoudoitwithallofthemunhiddenandselectedallat
once,itwon'twork,andyourmeshwillhavethemorphsjammedtogetherinoneanditwillbeterrifyingandpossibly
somethinglikeSplice...
ClicktheRegroupbuttonunderthelistofGroups.MilkshapewillcombinethegroupsandnameitRegroup1,2,3,etc.Youwillneed
torenamethegrouptotheoriginalnameyounotedabove.

NOTE:Ifdoingmorphs,besuretoselectthefirstmorphgroupbeforecombiningandcopythenameofthegroupand
saveitsomewhere.Aftercombiningthegroups,highlightthemorphgroupyoujustcombined,pastethecopiedname
intothenamefieldandclickrename.

Step#17
ClicktheCommentbutton.Aboxwillpopupwithabunchoftext.
Ifyoulookatit,youwillseetwogroupsofinfothatwillbethesame.Deletethesecondgroupoftext,andmakesurethatthe
ModelNamematchesthegroupnameshowingintheGroupstab.
NOTE:Whendoingmorphs,youwanttodeleteoutalltextinthemorphcommentsexceptasinglelinethatsays
MorphNames:botmorphsfatbot(orMorphNames:botmorphspregbotforapregmorph)
Whendone,itshouldlooklikethis.

Step#18
SelecttheentiremeshagainwithCRTL+A,andreopentheTextureCoordinateEditor.Checkthealignmentofthelegsagain.Often,
theywilllineupperfectlyandyoucanjustclosetheeditorandgotothenextstep,butoccasionallyyoumayneedtomakesome
slightadjustmentssothelegverticesmatchproperlywhereyoucombinedthemeshes.ForthisyouwouldusetheSelectandMove
toolsandmoveeachpointonthemappingsoitlinesupwithit'spairontheotherhalfofthemap.Exitwhenfinished.

Step#19
GototheVertexmenuandchooseSims2UniMeshFixUnderweightBones.Alwaysdothisstepbeforeexporting.Thiswillhelpcatch
anyoddnesswithweightsifanythingwentwrong.

Step#20
GototheFilemenu,gotoExport,andchooseSims2UnimeshExporter.

Savethefilewhereyousavedyourexportedfiles,withadescriptivename.

Step#21
GobacktoSimPE.OpenupyourmeshpackagethatyousavedinStep#6.SelecttheGMDCline,andrightclick.Choosereplace
thistime.

FindthemeshfileyoujustexportedfromMilkshape,andclickOpen.SimPEwillaskyouifyouaresureyouwanttoreloadthe
GMDC,sayyes.Savethepackage.

Step#22
Now,opentheprojectpackagefileyouimportedinStep#1.Selectthe3DIDReferencingFileline.GototheToolsmenu,then
PJSE,thenBodyMeshTool,thenLinkingStage.

Youwillgetapopup,clickok.FindtheMeshpackageyoujustmodifiedinStep#20,andclickOpen.

Youwillgetanotherpopup,clickok.Nowclickadifferentlineinthelist.Doesn'tmatterwhichone,justonethatisnotthe3DIDline.
Thiswillcommitthechangeyoujustmade.

Onceyoudothat,savethepackage.

Step#23
Now,reopenBodyshop,andgotoCreatePartsandcreateanewprojectfromtherecoloryouimportedinstepone.Itshouldshow
yourmeshchanges,butthetextureswilllookwrong.

Gointophotoshopagainandcopyoverthetextureyousavedtouseinmilkshapetothetexturefilefromyournewproject.Adjust
youralphatomatchthenewtexturesandaddabumpmapifapplicable.Saveallfiles,andgobacktoBodyShopandrefresh.
Yournewmeshshouldbedisplayingallyourtexturesproperly!Youcanzoomandspinitaroundtomakesureeverythinglooksthe
wayyouwant,andthengoaheadandimportitintoyourgame.

Besuretotestthemeshingame,andifeverythingisallgood,you'resettorecolorandupload!