23/7/2015 alphaskirttutorial

AlphaSkirtTutorial
byCatOfEvilGenius@MTS2,withmuchtextborrowedfromHystericalParoxysm@MTS2
updatedNov12,2008

Overview
Thistutorialwilltoteachyouhowtomakeanalphaskirt.
Suchaskirtcanbesheer,lacy,havedifferenthemlines,
orevenbejustadanglingbeltorsashovershortsorleggings.
Thetechniqueslearnedherecanbeusedtomake
otheralphaclothingsuchasdresses,pantsandshirts.

Youwilllearnhowto:
makeameshwithalphagroupsw/morphs
matchboneweightsforcorrectskirt/leganimationwhenthesimmoves
makearecolorformultiplegroupsandalphagroups

Figure1ateenalphaskirtshowninthistutorial
untuckedtanksbylolie2,patternedshirt(farright)byvaricev,mandarintopbyme

Figure1balphadressmadebyMarvine@MTS2

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Level4Advanced
Thistutorialisnotforbeginners.Youshouldalreadyknowhowto
createclothingmeshes,altermeshes,alterUVmaps,editrecolorfiles,
anduseSimPEingeneral.Thisshouldnotbeyourfirstorthirdorfifth
timeusingMilkShapeandSimPE.

TableofContents

Prerequisites
WhatYouWillNeed
AlphaSkirtMesh
MakingtheLegsGroup
MakingtheSkirtGroups
SKIRTOUTSIDE
MatchUpBoneWeights
SKIRTINSIDE
MeshPackageFile
AlphaSkirtRecolor
TestTexturesandUVMapinMilkShape
RecolorPackageFile
TestinBodyShopandtheGame
CommonMistakes(andFixesForThem!)

Prerequisites
Youshouldalreadyhavemasteredtheskillslistedbelow.
Ifyouhavenot,pleaseworkthroughthetutorialsfor
thoseskillsbeforeattemptingthistutorial.

creatingnewclothingmeshes
usingMilkShapetoeditmeshestutorial
ageconvertingmeshes
combiningpartsfromdifferentmeshesa.k.a.frankensteining
tutorialthattutorialisexcellentbutalittleoutdated,getCat'sanddemon'sMilkShapepluginstomakeiteasier
addingnewgroupstomeshes(thiswillbereviewedinthistutorial)
makingworkingfatmorphs
properUVmappingtutorial
creatingrecolorpackagesfornewclothingmeshes
usingaUVmapwhenmakinganewtexturetutorial

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previewingtextureinMilkShapetutorial
addingextratextureandmaterialdefinitionstoarecolorpackage
(thiswillbereviewedinthistutorial)
changingclothingpropertiessuchasage,gender,category,etc.tutorial

WhatYouWillNeed
Youwillneedthetoolslistedbelow.Whileyoucansubstituteothertools,
suchasMayainsteadofMilkShape,andPhotoShopinsteadofGIMP,this
tutorialwaswrittenusingthosetools.

SimPESims2packageeditor
MilkShapemesheditor
wes_h'sUnimeshplugins(required)
demon'splugins(optional,butHIGHLYrecommended)
Cat'splugins(optional,butHIGHLYrecommended)uv,normals
GIMPgraphicseditor
EAGamesBodyShop

AlphaSkirtMesh

Thealphaskirtmeshinthisexampleiscomposedofthreeparts:
1)legs,2)skirtinside,3)skirtoutside.Thelasttwogroups,
thetwolayersoftheskirt,arethealphagroups.Becausetheskirt
canbeanylength,itdoesnothavea"modestypanel"atthebottom
likeMaxisskirtsdo.Weneedtomaketheskirtdoublelayeredsowe
canseeboththeinsideandoutside.(Thiscannotbedonebyturningoff
backfacecullingbecausethatwillnotworkcorrectlyforanalphagroup.)
Next,wewillgooverhowtomakeeachofthesegroups.

Figure2abottom(yellow),bottom_alpha(aqua),bottom_alpha2(green)

Figure2b

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MakingtheLegsGroup

Thelegsgroupmustcontaincompletelegsandabutt,
andmatchupperfectlywithshirts.Thereasonitcontainscomplete
legsiswedon'tknowhowshorttheskirtwillbe.Theremighteven
benoskirt,justabeltorsashandshortorleggings.

1. Loadafullbodynudemeshofthecorrectagegroup.
Sincemyskirtwillbeforteens,Iusedtheteenfemaleswimwearmesh.

2. Cutoffthetopofthebody,forbothfitandfatgroups.
Ifyouhaveapregnancymorph,doallappropriatestepsforittoo.

3. Renamethegroupfrom"body"to"bottom".
Makesureyoualsochangethemeshnameinthecomment.

Figure3a

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4. Justtobeonthesafeside,makesurethelegsfitperfectly
toaMaxistopatthewaist.Iloadedtheteenfemaletshirtmesh.
Iftheydon'tmatch,useWes'VertexMerge,NormalMerge,andmyUVMerge
tomatchthemup.Alsomakesuretheirboneweightsmatchatthewaist.
Dothisforthefatmorphandpregmorphtoo,ifyouhaveone.
Whenyou'redone,removetheshirtgroups.

Figure3b

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5. Addshoes.Theswimsuitmeshhadbarefeet.Ilikedthesandals
fromtheteencuffedshortsmesh,soIcutoffthebarefeet,loaded
theshortsmesh,cutofftheshortslegs,thenjoinedtheshortsshoes
totheswimlegs.Ifneeded,makesuretheseamattheanklehasmatching
vertices,normals,bones,etc.DoNOTmergeuvattheangle/legjoint,
theyarenotsupposedtobejoinedintheUVmap.Dothisforthefatmorph
andpregmorph.(Ilaterchangedtheshoesagain,tosmoothfeetwith
asmallheel,sothatIcouldmakemanydifferentkindsofshoes.)

Figure3c

Figure3d

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6. Shrinkthebutt,hips,andtummyatinybitbecausewe'llbeputting
askirtoverthem.DoNOTshrinktherowofverticesatthewaist.
Dothisforthemorphstoo.

7. Saveyourworksofar.Remembertosaveaftereverymajorstep,
soyoucangobacktoanearlierversionifsomethinggoeswrong.

MakingtheSkirtGroups

Iwantedaverylongskirtsothatrecoloristscouldmakeitlong,
mediumorshort.Therewasn'tagoodskirtforteens,soIusedthe
adult/youngadultneohippieskirtasastartingpoint.Inhindsight,
thebasegameadultlongskirtmayhavebeeneasiertoworkwith,
butIreallylikethetexturesofneohippieanddidn'twanttohaveto
altertheUVmaptoomuchsoIcouldstillusethem.

SKIRTOUTSIDE

1. Loadtheskirtyouwanttouseoverthelegsmesh.
Ichosetheadultneohippieskirtbecauseitisquitelong
andIlikeditstextures.

2. Iftheskirtisforadifferentage(minewas),youneedtoageconvertit.
Eithershrinkitorenlargeitasappropriate.Makesurethefeetstay
onthefloor,makesurethewaistisclosetothewaistofthelegsgroup.

Figure4a

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3. Iftheskirthasanyextragroupsyoudon'tneed,removethem.
Theneohippieskirthada3Dbelt.Getridof3Ddecorationslikebelts,
bows,andsuchbecausetheylimitwhatkindsofskirtsyoucanmake.
(Orkeepthemifyouwantto,butmakesuretheyarealphagroupsand
thattheskirtstilllooksokaywhentheyaretransparent.)

4. Removethefeetandthe"modestyshield"atthebottomoftheskirt.

Figure4b

5. Getridofany3Dridgesandbeltsthatareontheskirt.
Thisissorecoloristscanputthetopoftheskirtatwaistlevel
orhipleveloranywhereinbetween,orjustmakeahipscarforsash.
Thisissteptookmequiteabitoftimewhenworkingwiththisskirt.
Youcanscale,cutpartsout,stretchparts,insertparts,usemyNormalSmoother
ifyoureshapethings,whateveryouneedtodotomakeitlooksmooth.

6. Makesurethewaistoftheskirtmatchesthewaistofthelegs.
Youknowthedrill,vertices,normals,boneweights,etc.
YoudoNOTneedtomatchtheuvoftheskirttotheuvofthelegs!
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YoudoNOTneedtokeeptheiruv'sfromoverlapping.
Thesepartswillhavetheirownseparatetextures.

Figure4c

7. Loadashirtandmakesuretheskirtandshirtlookgoodtogetheratthewaist.

8. Doublecheckthehips,buttandtummyagain,shrinkthoseareas
orexpandtheskirtasnecessary.

9. Doallappropriatestepsaboveformorphstoo.

10. MakeanynecessaryadjustmentstotheUVmap.

11. Renamethisskirtgroup"bottom_alpha2".Don'tforgetthe2attheend.

12. IntheCommentforthisgroup,changethename,
andsettheOpacityvaluefrom1to1.Thisnumberisfordepthordering,
ittellstherendererwhichgroupisoutermost.Sincethisistheoutsideof
theskirt,itgetsa1.Thelegsget1.Theinsideoftheskirtwillgeta0.
Ifyouforgetthisstep,yourskirtwilllookverywrong,theinsidewill
getdrawnovertheoutside.

13. Saveyourwork.You'vebeensavingyourworkthroughoutafterevery
majorchange,right?

MatchUpBoneWeights

Nowthatyouhavethelegsandskirt,matchtheirboneweights
wheretheyalmosttouch.Forexample,theskirtisvery,verycloseto
thehips,butt,andbelly.Ifyoudonotmatchtheboneweightsthere,
thosebodypartscan"popout"oftheskirtwhenthesimmoves!
Sincetheskirtiswhattheplayerwillsee,notthethighsandbutt,
youmaybetemptedtomatchthelegsgroupbonestotheskirt.However,
thiscouldmakethepelvis/tummyareamoveunnaturally.Ifyourskirt
issheerenoughtoseethosebodyparts,youwantthemtomovenaturally.
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Soifyoucan,trytomatchtheskirtgroupboneweightstothelegsgroup
boneweights,whilekeepinginmindtheskirtshouldmovefluidly,notstiffly.
Beextracarefularoundthebutt,youdon'twanttheskirttomovelike
buttcheeks.Itwillifyoumatchtheweightsatthebuttexactly.

Anothertrickyissueishowtoassignboneweightstolong,narrowskirts.
Theymaylookgreatwhenthesimstandsstill,butwhataboutwhentheywalk
orrun?Dothesimslegspopoutoftheskirt?Myexampleskirtislong
andnarrow,andIhavespenthoursfiddlingwithboneweights,meshgroups,
andeventheUVmap.Youcankeeplegsinsidetheskirtwhilewalking.
However,thisisdonebymakingtheskirtmovewiththelegs.Itlooksstiffer.
Bepreparedtosacrificesomeoftheskirtsfluidmotionandknowthat
youwillprobablyincreasetheamountoftexturestretching.It'satradeoff.

Usedemon'sExtendedManualEditand/orwes_h'sUnimeshBoneTools
toadjustbonesandboneweights.Toseeboneweights,clickthejoints
tabandthencheckthecheckboxmarked"drawverticeswithboneweights".
Thiscantakequiteabitoftime,butitisquitenecessary.
YoucancheckhowthemeshmovesinMilkShape(readt2suggasanimationtutorial).
MilkShapewillgiveyouaroughideaofwhetherboneassignments/weightsareokay.

Youmaystillneedtomakeadjustmentstoboneweightsafteringametesting.
Infact,youmaywanttomakeameshandrecolornow(withouttheskirtinsidegroup)
andseehowasimwalks,run,sits,anddancesingameinyourskirt.
IthelpstotexturetheskirtwithitsownUVmapsoyoucanseewhereproblemsare.

DONOTSKIPTHISSTEP!

Herearetheresultsofmyboneweightsadjustmentformyexampleskirt.
Igotthebutt,hips,upperlegsandkneestostayinside,butthecalves
stillclippedabitforthelongestskirts.Whenclippingcan'tbefixed
withmeshadjustment,itcanbehiddenwithskirttextureonthelegs.
Here'sanexampleofhowonecreatoradjustedboneweights.TheproblemssheranintoarethesameonesIhadandare
common.

Figure4d

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Figure4e

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SKIRTINSIDE

Wenowhavethelegsandtheoutsideoftheskirt.
Next,wemaketheinsideoftheskirt.Thisisthequickandeasypart!
We'regoingtomakethisskirt'snormalspointinside,notoutside,
sotheinsideoftheskirtwillbe1)lit,and2)correctlytextured.
Thisalsomeansyoucouldgivetheinsideoftheskirtadifferenttexture
thantheoutside,ifyouwantedto.We'llgettotextureslater...

1. Keepyourmeshfileopen,doNOTcloseitordoFileNew.
Youalreadysavedthisfile,right?Now,importitagain.
YounowhaveTWOCOPIESofeverysinglegroup.Deletethe2ndlegs,
the2ndlegsfatmorph,and2ndlegspregmorph.Younowhave
twocopiesoftheskirtanditsmorphs.OR...Youcanselectagroupinthegroupstab,gototheEditmenu,
andselectDuplicateSelection.Youwillgetanewgroupnamed"duplicate".
Renameitandmakesureithasanappropriatecomment.

2. Now,gotothe1stskirtgroupinthelist.
Renameiffrom"bottom_alpha2"to"bottom_alpha"withoutthe2.
ChangethenameintheCommenttoo.Yourgrouplistshouldnowlook
somethinglikethis...

Figure4f

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3. InthesameComment,settheOpacityto0.
Nowdoublecheckthecommentsforyourgroups.Theyshouldhave
thefollowingOpacityvalues:
1:bottom
0:bottom_alpha
1:bottom_alpha2

4. Selecttheverticesinthe"bottom_alpha"group(notalpha2!),
exceptforthetopandbottomrows,andshrinktheminXandZ,
maybebyafactorof0.99.Dothisforallofthisgroupsmorphstoo.

5. Makethenormalspointinside.
Inthegroupstab,selecttheentirebottom_alphagroup(notalpha2!).
Facesmenu,ReverseVertexOrderyourskirtnowlooksawful,butdon'tworry
Vertexmenu,Cat'sNormalSmootheryourskirtnowlookssmoothandislit
fromtheinsidebecausethenormalspointinsidenow.
Inthegame,youwillseetheinsidebecausethefacesarereversed.

Figure4g

6. Doublecheckthateachgrouphasthecorrectnumberforitsfatmorph.
Forexample,thesearethegroupsIhad...

bottom
~00MORPHMOD.0
bottom_alpha
~01MORPHMOD.0
bottom_alpha2
~02MORPHMOD.0

MorphRefNum:0<thisisinthecommentforbottom
MorphRefNum:1<thisisinthecommentforbottom_alpha
MorphRefNum:2<thisisinthecommentforbottom_alpha2

Ifyoumadepregnancymorphs,doublecheckthatthereferencenumbers
forthemarecorrectaswell.

Whew!YourmeshGMDCisdone.Now,let'sputitinapackagefile.

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MeshPackageFile

Younowneedtocreateamesh*.packagefile.Sincethemeshhasmultiple
groups,youwillneedtochangeafewthingsinthemeshfilewithSimPE.

TheinstructionsinthissectionarealmosttakenverbatimfromHystericalParoxysm'stutorial.

1. Createameshpackagefiletheusualway,youshouldalreadyknowhow.
ExportaGMDC,GMND,CRES,andSHPEoftheappropriateageandclothingtype,
sointhiscase,teenagebottom,shortsoraskirtorpants,doesn'tmatter.
ReplacetheGMDC,fixintegrity,youknowthedrill.

2. SelecttheGMNDresource,andgointoPluginView.
IntheBlocklistdropdown,selecttsDesignModeEnabled.

3. Downatthebottomright,inthedropdownmenu,Arrayshouldbeselected.
Clickaddtoaddanarraytothelist.Selectyournewlistitemjustcreated,
thentypethenameofthenewgroupyouaddedinMilkshape.
Youwillseeitchangeinthelistasyoutype.Soinourexample,
youneedtodothisforBOTHbottom_alphaandbottom_alpha2,
thetwonewgroups.Commityourchanges!

4. SelecttheSHPEresource.YoushouldstillbeinPluginView.
ClickonthePartstab.

5. Selectthelastentryinthelist,thenclickAdd.
Itwillclonethelastentry.Changethenameofthegroup
tothefirstnewgroupyouadded.Inthisexample,bottom_alpha.
Dothisforeachgroupyouhaveaddedtoyourmesh.
Inthisexample,youneedtodothisforbothbottom_alphaandbottom_alpha2.
Commityourchanges!

6. Saveyourmeshpackagefile.

7. PutthemeshpackagefileinyourDownloadsfolder.

AlphaSkirtRecolor

Arecolorforanalphaskirtdiffersfromsinglegroup,nonalpharecolors.
Mostobviously,thetexturehastransparentareasthatwillappearinvisible.
Therecolorpackagemustbeawarethatyourmeshhasseveralgroups.
Ithasmultipletexturesforthedifferentgroups.
Thelegsgettheirowntexture,andtheskirt(insideandoutside)gets
aseparatetexture.Ifyouwanttheinsideoftheskirttohaveadifferent
color/patternthantheoutside,youmustgivetheinsidegroupitsown
texture.

TestTexturesandUVMapinMilkShape

Beginbymakingonesetoftesttextures,andpreviewtheminMilkShape.
Theydon'thavetobelovelyorperfect,butshouldgiveyouagoodidea
ofwhetheryourUVmapisdoingwhatyouwantornot.HerearetheonesIused.
Remember,thisskirthasno"modestyshield",sogivethelegtexture

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somepanties,shorts,tights,orleggings.

Figure5a

Figure5bbottomtexture Figure5cbottom_alphaandbottom_alpha2texture

RecolorPackageFile

MostofthetextbelowistakenalmostverbatimfromHystericalParoxysm'stutorial.
Ihavemadechangeswhereneededspecificallyforalphagroups.

1.AddyourCRESandSHPEandlinktheminthe3DIRtothecorrectage
asyouusuallydo,tolinktherecolourpackagetoyourmesh.Rememberto
deletetheCRESandSHPEfromthepackagewhenyouredone.

2.Analphaskirtneedsatleasttwotextures.Ourexampleusestwo.
RightclickanexistingTXTRresourceandselectClone.

3.Now,makesomechangestothenewTXTR...
ChangethenameoftheTXTRresource,itneedn'tbeabigchange.
Forexample,Ichangedpartofthenamefrom"bottom"to"bottomAlpha".
RightbelowtheFilenameboxis"fixTGI",clickthis!
Replacetheimagewithyourown,usingBuildDXT
(unlessitisabumpmapTXTR,thenuseImportorfixitinBodyShoplater).
Commitchanges!

Thiswillmakeforamuchlargerimage,uncompressed,thanrunning
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itthroughBodyShop,soifyoureaddingseveralimagestoyourfile,
youmayconsidermakingnewprojectsofthefilesoncecompletetocompress
theimages.Youcanalsorunyourrecolorpackagesthroughjfade'sCompressorizer.

3.Repeatstep2foranyfurthertexturesyoumayneedtoadd.
Trytokeepadditionaltexturestoaminimum.
Don'tforgetbumpmaps,butdonotchangetheirimagesinSimPE,doitinBodyShoplater.
Inthisexample,wewilladdONEnewTXTR,becauseboth"bottom_alpha"
and"bottom_alpha2"usethesametexture.
Ifyouwanttheinsideoftheskirttohaveadifferentcolor/pattern,
youneedtoaddanotherTXTRforit.

4.RightclickanexistingTXMTresourceandselectClone.
Changethefilenametomatchyournewgroupname,inourcase,bottomAlpha.
Do"fixTGI"!
ClicktheContenttabandCategorizedPropertiessubtab.
InDefaultTextures,changethenameoftheTXTRresourceusedfortexturing,
andifusingbumpmaps,findDefaultNormalMapandchangethename
ofthebumpmapTXTRtoo.
IntheDefaultTextureBlendingsection,setstdMatAlphaBlendModetoblend
Thisisneededforcorrecttransparency.
ClickthecMaterialDefinitionsubtab.
IntheTypefield,changeSimSkintoSimStandardMaterial.
Thisisneededsotransparentpartsaretransparent,notskincolored.
InDescription,changebottomtobottomAlpha.
Commitchanges!

5.Repeatstep4foreachofthegroupsyoureadding.
RememberthateachgroupmusthaveitsownTXMT,butthatmultiple
groupscanshareTXTRresources,andthatbottom_alpha
andbottom_alpha2havethesametextureandbumpmap.
RememberthattheTXMTfilenameandDescriptionforbottom_alpha2
shouldbedifferentthanforbottom_alpha.
DOTHISSTEPTOSAVEDISKSPACE!

Ifyouwanttheinsideoftheskirttohaveaseparatecolor/pattern,
youneedtogiveititsownTXTR,butinthisexample,wedon'tdothat.

Figure6a

Figure6b

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6.MakeanoteoftheInstancenumbersgiventoyournewTXMTsafteryou've
done"fixTGI".Youllneedtheseforthenextstep.

7.Inthe3IDR,pressthePackagebutton.LookinthelistofTXMTsfor
theitemwiththeInstancenumberofyourfirstTXMT,anddragittothebottom
ofthelist.CountdownfromthetoplinetofindwhichlinenumberyourTXMT
ison.Thefirstlineinthefileis0,thesecondlineis1,andsoon.
MakeanoteofwhatlineyouraddedTXMTison.WhenIdidthis,Iused
lines7and8,butyourlinenumbersmaybedifferent!

8.Repeatstep7foranyfurtherpartsyouneedtoaddTXMTsfor,addingthem,
inorder,tothebottom,andmakingnoteofthelinenumber.
Soinourexample,youwouldaddalinefortheTXMTforbottom_alpha,
andthenalinefortheTXMTforbottom_alpha2.
Makesuretocommityourchangeswhenyoufinishinthe3DIR.

Figure61/2yourlinenumbersmaybedifferent,thisisjustmyexample

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9.IntheGZPS(PropertySet)inPluginView,selectthenumoverridesline,
andchangethevaluetothetotalnumberofgroupsinyourmesh.
Inourexample,thatwouldbe3(bottom,bottom_alpha,bottom_alpha2).

10.Lookdowninthelistandfindthelastoverride#shapeentry.
Selectit,andthenclickAdd.Thiswillcloneitatthebottomofthelist.
Changethenametoadd1tothenumber,i.e.ifthelastitemwas
override0shape,andyouclonedthat,thenchangethenametooverride1shape.
Ifthelastitemwasoverride1shape,andyouclonedit,thenewonewillbe
override2shape.LeavetheType(dtUinteger)andvalue(0x00000000)partsalone.

11.Lookinthelistandfindthelastoverride#subsetentry.
Selectit,andthenclickAdd.Thiswillcloneitatthebottomofthelist.
Changethenametoadd1tothenumber,tomatchtheoverride#shapeentry
youjustdid.LeavetheType(dtString)alone,butundervalue,changeit
tothenameofthefirstgroupyouareadding.
Inourexample,change"bottom",to"bottom_alpha".

12.Nowselectthelastoverride#resourcekeyidxentry,thenclickAdd.
Again,thiswillcloneitatthebottomofthelist.Changethenametoadd1
tothenumber,tomatchtheoverride#shapeandoverride#subsetentriesyoujust
did.Again,leavethetype(dtUInteger)alone.Changethevaluetothelinenumber
ofthefirstmaterialdefinitionyouaddedinthe3DIR,thenoteyoumadeinstep7.
Remember,werecountinginhexhere,00,01,02,03,04,05,06,07,08,09,0A,0B,0C,0D,0E,0F,10,11,etc.
Ifyoureunsureaboutwhatyourlinenumberwouldbeinhex,
youcanalwaysuseSimPEsnumberconverterorWindowscalculatortocheck.

13.Repeatsteps1012foranyadditionalgroupsyouareadding.
Youcancloneyourlastentriesyoujustadded.
Inourexample,youjustadded3linesfor"bottom_alpha",
sonowyouneedtoadd3morelinesfor"bottom_alpha2".
Commityourchangeswhenyouredone.

Figure6bthisisjustmyexample,yournumbersmaybedifferent

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14.IntheGZPSresource,settheshoesound.
SettheShoepropertyappropriatelyfor*each*recoloryoumake.

0thisisatop,noshoesound(don'tusethisoneforaskirt,obviously)
1barefoot(don'tusethisoneifyouhaveshoes)
2heavystompyboot
3heeledshoe,clickysound
4generic,regularshoe
5floppysandal
7armored,likeamedievalknightinplatemail

Commitchanges!

15.Saveyourrecolorpackagefile.

16.PutitinDownloads.

Rememberlater,whenyoumakemorerecolorswithBodyShop,thatitissilly
andwillmakeTWOCOPIESofatextureandalphaifyouhavetwogroupsthat
usethesametexture.Thiswastesdiskspace.Youcanfixthisby
editingtherecolorpackageinSimPE.Ifyousee*two*TXTRresourcesthat
have*identical*images,getridofthe2ndone.ThengototheTXMTsthat
usethatimage,andmakesuretheybothusetheTXTRresourcethatisstillthere.

TestinBodyShopandtheGame

Nowthatyourmeshandrecolorpackagesarefinished,it'stimeto
makesuretheyworkproperlyandmakeanynecessaryadjustments.
Seethenextsection,CommonMistakes,forfixesforcommonerrors.

1. StartupBodyShop.DoesyourskirtappearinBodyShop?

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2. GotothecreateasimsectionofBodyShop.Makeafatsim.
Dressthissiminyouralphaskirt.Doesthefatmorphlookfine?
(Asyoucanseebelow,myfatmorphhadavisibleseamatthewaist,
Ineededtoadjustmynormalstofixthis.)

Figure7a

topbylolie2@MTS2

3. MakearecolorofyourskirtusingBodyShop.
IntheblackandwhitealphaimagesforBOTHbottom_alphaandbottom_alpha2,
putabigholeintheskirt.Justmakeabigblacksquare.
Importtherecolorintothegame.Doyouseeabigholeintheskirt?
Canyouseethesims'legs?Canyouseetheinsideoftheskirt?
Nowtrymakingtheblacksquaregrey.Doesyourskirthaveasheerpanel?

Figure7b

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Figure7d

Figure7e

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4. ExitBodyShopandstartthegame.MakeasiminCAS.
Letthesimmovearound.Dothesims'hips,butt,andbellystayinthe
skirt?Dothesimslegsstayintheskirtwhenthesimmovesaround?

5. Makethesimfat.Repeatthetestabove.

Great!You'redone!Nowgomakelotsoflovelyrecolors.:)

CommonMistakes(andFixesForThem!)

PROBLEM1:Skirtisallbrightblue. PROBLEM4

FIX:Didyoudosomethingwrongorforgetastepwhencreatingthe
recolorfile?
Therenderercannotfindthematerialdefinitionfortheskirt.
ReadtheinstructionsforaddingTXTRsandTXMTsagainanddouble
check
thatyoudidallthesteps.Didyoumakesureyouchangedthe3IDR

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resource?
DidyoumakesureyouaddedlinestotheGZPSresource?
Readthosesectionsagain,anddoublecheckyourlinenumbers.
Ifnoneofthathelps,createawholenewrecolorpackageandtryagain.

PROBLEM2:Legsilhouettesappearthroughtheskirt,and/orit
looksliketheinsideoftheskirtisgettingdrawnontheoutside.
(Ifyourskirtissheer,youshouldseelegsthroughit,thiserrorisfor
opaqueskirts.)

FIX:DidyouforgettochangetheOpacityvalueintheCommentforeach
alphagroupinMilkShape?DidyouusethecorrectOpacityvalues?
ForBOTHthealphagroups?Readtheinstructionsforcreating
thealphameshgroupsagain.

PROBLEM3:Skirttransparentareasareskincolored.

FIX:DidyouforgettochangethematerialfromSimSkinto
SimStandardMaterial
intheTXMT?ForBOTHthealphagroups?
ReadtheinstructionsforaddingandchangingtheTXMTintherecolor
cuteskirtbyfakepeeps7
fileagain.
PROBLEM6
PROBLEM4:Skirttransparentareasareblack(orwhite,orsome
othercolor).

FIX:DidyouforgettoenablealphablendingintheTXMT?ForBOTH
thealphagroups?
ReadtheinstructionsforaddingandchangingtheTXMTintherecolor
fileagain.
Ifthatdoesn'tfixit,didyoudosomethingwrongwithyouralpha?Isitall
white?

PROBLEM5:Sims'hips,butt,orbellypokeoutoftheskirtwhen
standingstill.

FIX:Shrinkthehips,buttand/orbellyslightly,orexpandtheskirtslightly.

PROBLEM6:Sims'hips,butt,belly,orlegspokeoutoftheskirt
whenmoving.

FIX:Adjustyourmeshand/oryourBONEWEIGHTS.
Especiallyinthebutt/hip/bellyarea,youneedtomakesurethebone
weightsforthelegspartandtheskirtpartarevery,verysimilaroreven
identical.Inthekneesregion,makesuretheskirthascorrectkneebone
weightsneartheknees.Movethatpartoftheskirtupordownifneeded.

PROBLEM7:Crackatwaistorankleswhensimstands/moves.

FIX:Didyouforgettomergevertexdataand/ormatchboneweights PROBLEM8
atthewaistwheretheskirt/legsmeettheshirt?
Orattheankleswherethenewshoesmeetthelegs?
Mismatchedverticesmakeacrackwhenthesimsstandsstill.
Mismatchedboneweightsmakeacrackwhenthesimmoves.

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Readthemeshmakinginstructionsagain.

PROBLEM8:Visibleseamatthewaist/ankles.

FIX:Didyouforgettomergenormalsatthewaistandankles?
Mergelegs/skirtwaistnormalstoashirtortanktop.
Mergeanklenormalstolegnormalsbeforejoininglegandshoesgroups,
ordoAlignNormalsbeforeoraftermerging.
Readthemeshmakinginstructionsagain.

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