I've read the tut on the mesh tool and it says to use object workshop. I am not making an object and need to know what to do to export the correct mesh and how to package it for hair.

I have Poser 5 and can import obj files and modify them there.

Any help would be appreciated.

Debby

I've been experimentinting with hair-mesh, -and it's a lot more work than with the single-objects described here.

You have to get all of the RCOL-chain down to the mesh itself. So you have to extract all the needed objects from simsXX.package:

RCOL: will be in sims06.package (find your "afHairLongFuzz....", copy the instance-id and export it)

SHPE: in sims05.package (again, either by "afHaorLongF.... or the ID)

GMND: in sims04.package (search by name or ID)

GMDC: Here's the actual mesh hided(!)

You have to extract all the above files (including all the age-groups you will modify)

Then you have to add them to your SimPE Package - and follow the guides around here for re-naming and so on

Thats it(!)

....As I said I have been fooling around a bit. and it works - BUT the animations are tricky. This will only show up inside the game (not BodyShop) - so before you do toooooo much work you should fire up the game and check it out *S*

Hope this helps you a bit,
VelvetCube

I didn't see your note.....

But at least: could we have a separate thread for "non-object-manual-meshing"?

It's quite hard to follow it when a lot of info relates to the object-wizard and obj-id's and so on....

okay this thread can be for questions releated to hair and body meshes.

We hope to get a tutorial on how to do this posted soon, just we have been really busy this week.

Thxx ;-) Miche!

....and yeah: I've see that you have done a huge amount of work so far. Really appreciate it

Would be happy to see a tutorial, .....and who knows; If I can figure out the last bits about animations and lights ......maybe I'll write it myself and post it :-D

Great work so far guys and girls!
VelvetCube

Thanks VelvetCube!!!... runs off to try it.....


Can't wait for the tut.

Debby

Cool a seperate thread for hairs, thank you!! :D

I have tried out some different ways to get the meshes back in the game without overwriting an existing mesh. Unfortunately there is not something like GUIDs for hair so did anyone find out a way to import them back without overwriting the existing hair meshes?

thanks
diablight

I've finally got a hair-mesh changed(!)

I'll write a more detailed tutorial later (after I have actually finished my hair-project .....But here's the highlights:

1. Get the basics
You should know this if you're up to this modding....
And as I said b4:

Get the entire RCOL-Chain (see 3-4 posts above)

2. Fix up your SimPE Package

Change the names and ID's to:
-Group=0xFFFFFFFF
-Your own name (I'll describe this in detail later, but many of you know)
-Add hash to your names

Remember to update the 3D ID Refernce File(3IDR) with the new RCOL and SHPE

3. Edit the mesh
This is described in detail b4 (export, obj, extract etc.)

4. Fix it with SimsMeshTool
UPDATE:
This is still a problem ....and I can't get this part to work. The new mesh get dissorted and the animations don't work when we are in the game.

5. Replace and save
Then replace the GMDC in SimPE and save as normal


*OK - I know this was kinda quick-and-dirty. But I just wanted to post it so more people could get up to speed on this. I'll clean it up later.

It works.. this is so cool!!

diablight

hmm the only problem is that the faces are inverted. I tried UVmapper but that did not help.

edit: Ok, now i have solved that problem too.. :D

As I edited in my previous post:

I can't get the import back from milkshape->mtsmeshtool->simpe to work.

It looks OK in BodyShop, but in the game the aimations seeems to get all wrong.

My best guess is that the animations are tied to the mesh with some kinf of numbered id (for either points, polygons or normals), but when it get imported back into the game - they are re-ordered or renumbered in some way(?)

Can anybody help on this?

Sound like you have moved the vertices around to much. The vertices have to be in roughly the same area as there were originally ,as they are attached to the bones for animation, so if you move a vertice from the top of the leg to the bottom of the legs, the animation will look wrong as it will still move in line with the top.

We are working on allowing more to be done to animated objects/sims/hair, and currently have a test version in closed beta which allows completely custom meshes to be used for animated objects, and hope to extend this to the body meshes soon.

how did you get the 3D ID Refernce File? did you just add them the same way as you add gmnd and so on?
I think I miss the basic part cuz I'm really new to this, any link to the tutorial?

Hi, here is a pic of my first modified hair mesh! :D:D

I got the 3d ID references from the bodyshop. I copied all the files for the Mesh into a custom object package made with the bodyshop.

edit: the only problem: It is NOT animated in game, sience i have imported it as a new mesh. How can i use the animations from another object, the edit an existing object function seems not to work. I have tried to import my 3d model load another SimPE file with some old hair meshes but in game it is still the old one.

or should i better wait for the new meshtool version?

Maybe this can help you
http://forums.modthesims2.com/showt...&highlight=Mesh

The only way you can currently do hair styles or body meshes is to import them as a existing object.

What is not working when you try importing them that way?

If you are saying that the hair style is the same as the original after you have imported one as a existing object. Then in SimPE, go to the gmdc file plug-in view and re export the gmdc as a obj file again to check if the new hairstyle actually got imported, if the obj file shows the new hairstyle then it is a package problem. If the obj file is still of the original then the mesh tool isn`t importing the new hairstyle, and the most likely reason for this is that the names of the original mesh and the name in the obj file you tried to import through the mesh tool didn`t match (with modified existing objects the program matches the names up so any name in a obj file which doesn`t match to a name in the original gmdc file is ignored. )

Diablight, one thing that helped me is to pick two different gmdc files for "existing" and "save".

Ok, this is what i did:

First I opened SimPE and extracted the file "tmHairHatBucket_tslocator_gmdc" and exported it as obj and .simpe.

Then i have opened it with maya and scaled it to childs sice. the objects where a group with the names hat and hair1. I changed the name hair1 to hair. after that i saved it as a new obj file.

in the mesh tool i klicked on load 3d file and loaded my maya OBJfile.
as sims2 mesh i took the "tmHairHatBucket_tslocator_gmdc" mesh that i have exported before.

in the settings i ticked only the "import vertices" option then i saved it to a new file.

In SimPE i replaced the gmdc with the new gmdc file and clicked on commit. (I already have made a package which works with the new mesh).

in bodyshop the object appears with mixed vertices or stretched vertices. sometimes it appears with wrong textures, depending on what i tick in the settings in the mesh tool. with the option "import polygon" on the bodyshop crashes, but the object is ok in maya when i re export it. strange.
i would be very thankful if i could solve this problems and finally know what i need to do to import working hair meshes.


edit: now i tried the combination "import vertices" and "import normals" in the settings and the object appers as it should be in maya, but bodyshop still crashes.

For sims2 mesh try using the child's hair from the original package that you are actually importing into. (Extract the teen obj, the childhair gmdc, save to a third file).

the problem is that there is no hair for childs who has two meshes: hair and hat.. i will continue trying tomorrow.

hair styles do seem to cause a lot of problems , people have had more sucess with body meshes.

Normally the only option you should use when importing a modified hair style (or body mesh ) is the import vertices. But as you have done, if this doesn`t work then you should try the other options.


Why did you rename one of the parts? what is the name in the original GMDC (in SimPE go to the gmdc plug-in view and then to the item3 tab and in the model lists what are the names) the names in the obj file need (so when you changed one of the names , you changed the name that it would be in the obj file) to match these original names or it will not be correctly (if at all ) imported.

Sorry I can`t be more help, but as I said some hair styles are still a problem, some of the beta testers did have more sucess with some hair styles than others.

The original name in SimPE is Hair and hat

in maya its

Group
-hat
-hair1

I renamed it because its "hair" originally and not "hair1"

import polygon crashes with the bodyshop but ingame it works but the object has a lot of holes. see attachment

thanks for all your help anyway. If i get that out i will write a Tutorial how to import hairs. :D

What about the pirate hat? The thing is I don't think you can add a part to a skeleton item (clothes or hair) and have the animations just know what to do with it.

Ok, i give it up yet. It seems that the problem is in importing the object and convert it into gmdc. I tried to put the original teenhat into my package and it worked without any problems and with animations, however it did not fit on the head of the girl or boy child because it was in teensize.

then I exported the object changed the size and import it again. sometimes it crashs with some options ticked on in the settings and sometimes it causes very stretched vertices or holes.

I will wait for a new version of the meshtool and wanna say thanks to all who helped me and made the meshtool possible.

diablight

thanks Diablight I forgot about that , I'm already test it

I using Maya(5) and have the problem ,that I got the new hair to show up but' the shape is totally screw

every time I export it from mesh tool after all the process from ,edit an exiting mesh,step1, step2, then when it convert it to gmdc ,the object got screw up ( I test it by re-export from Simpe)

I did test all the possible such as tick only import vertices and normal,or just vertices by itself,
I even tried to re-export the original mesh that have no change at all,still got the same result,

how is other people that using a different 3D programe do then get the mesh export to gmdc alliright? I just wonder