You mean that in the "Filetypes" list, there is no Geometry Data Container entry? the screen should look like in this picture:


Try and save, close SimPE and reopen the package again.

Okay I am experimenting with SimPE going through this tutorial and I get to the point in the tutorial where it tells me to go into the geometric data container to check the meshes. The problem is that in plugin view there is nothing it is completely blank. I have the newest SimPE and I followed the directions up to this point very carefully. Anyway is this a problem most likely with the SimPE program and my plugins or a problem with the object?

Open the Plugin menu and select the first entry (Installed plugins); browse the list looking for a plugin called "CRES Wrapper"; when you find it, uncheck the checkbox next to it.
The close SimPE and re-open it.

If it doesn't work, or the CRES Wrapper is already unchecked, maybe you have corrupted installation: re-download it and, *before reinstalling it*, manually delete the whole SimPE folder.

Okay I went looking for the plugin it wasn't checked but even if it had been when I tried clicking on the checkboxes of any of the plugins in the list nothing happened. They don't respond to anything except moving them up or down in the list.
Since it WAS already unchecked regardless of my inability to affect the list one way or the other I went ahead and tried removing the SimPE folder manually and then re-downloading and re-installing. The same problem persists. the plugin view is blank when trying to look at the geometric data container. Could the situation with the plugin list have anything to do with this? Apparently one should be able to check or uncheck those boxes and since I cannot then it would seem that something is not right.

Sorry, Wiccadwitch, I can't help you more then this. Try posting a help request in the SimPE forum at http://ambertation.de/simpeforum/

Thanks Numenor I posted there with the problem and everything you had me try. Hopefully someone there will be able to help.

Hey Numenor here is the mesh i told you about. You already know the password!!!

Hi there!
I know, it's about building colour-enabled objects but could be I'm right here, too...
I've made some changes to the "make-up-table" (don't know the English word for it). One of these changes was to copy the mirror in the middle twice but the mirror wasn't there in the game later:


(texture isn't the final version because I want to wait for an answer before making detailed work there)

So I think, I've to do some changes in SimPE at the .package but don't know what and where. Is there quite a tutorial for it or can someone help me?
Thanks a lot,
Rado.

EDIT: Ok. Looking around in the gmdcs and testing was solving my problem for this object. I have my three mirrors know
So I redefine my tutorial-question: Is there a tutorial for creating a mirror (for example if there isn't one included in the package or I want another form) and place it right to an object?

Rado, you should ask for a tutorial to the Master of the Mirrors: peter_halland.
Anyway, if you clone any mirror you'll notice that there is always:
1a) a GMDC containing a mesh called simple_mirror_reflection (the mesh can be edited to give the mirror the desired shape)
1b) a Shape that refers to the simple_mirror_reflection
1c) a GMND that points to the mirror GMDC
2a) a GMDC containing the model "subset0"
2b) a Shape that refers to "subset0"
2c) a GMND that points to the GMDC

All these 6 files must be in the package; you can edit the "simple_mirror_reflection" mesh, but nothing else (the filenames can be changed, using SimPE's scenegraph renamer.

For further information, you should ask peter_halland: he's a real expert!

SAIZ08:
I checked your packages (mesh and recolours).
First of all, the mesh package didn't show the problem you told me, about not being able to place it anywhere in the lot, or being it invisible: the bench appears sorrectly in the catalog, can be bought, can be placed on plain terrain (obviously, it needs the terrain to be flat), anc can be recoloured in design mode.
Anyway, I noticed that the "frame" mesh was removed from the GMDC: in these cases, you should also delete the line in the Shape that refers to the removed subset (i.e. delete the line for the "frame" subset in the Shape - "Parts" tab).

As for the recolour package, when you put more recolours in the same package you should give the Material Overrides a unique instance number, otherwise only 1 colour will show up in the catalog.

An additional note about the texture: the game is consistently slowed down by huge textures; since the UV mapping and the textures themselves are quite simple, a 512x256 texture is way too big for your needs. Since the graphic has an horizontal layout (the coloured line are horizontal), I suggest to cut the textures horizontally: try a 128x256 texture, compressed in DXT1 format (since the texture has no alpha channel, there's no need to use the DXT3, that doubles the size in byes). Try it: you'll see that there will be no noticeable difference.

One last thing, but this is just an "aestetic" suggestion: the colours of the textures are too plain and bright; I suggest to use some wooden/plastic/metal textures that can be found freely on the internet (if possible, always choose "seamless" textures).

Thanks
I'll going to ask peter for more information as you tell me.
As I wrote, my object works now. But creating new mirrors is still interesting for me.
Bye,
Rado.

Rado. I don t think thats a good idea to start with a whatever package and then add a mirror, you can add 3d models within the mirror package -creating subsets-, link to them in the shape file, and then forget about all textures and material definitions, change only in the shape file, when clicking on the subset name, the second line to
simple_mirror_reflection
No less no more. It works for comman 3 d models, even for exampel a cylinder. But you will see that the reflection is bad, when you try to use it other than on a plane wall: it shows up only from the wall angel...so, not realy working like a mirror. Good luck.

Lovely tutorial, thanks a ton for writing it!

On to the problem:

Been fussing with this all day, and I'm not managing to get color options enabled. I'm using the most recent version of SimPE, which has a slightly different set of options in the clone dialog, but I've tried it every which way from Sunday and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Tried creating stand-alone and not, tried pulling default color only and not. Attempted to use your "Procedure B" from the other tutorial, but was stymied by the fact that my Resource Node has no "filename" entry (JPG attached of the resource node.)

I may just be being thick (wouldn't be the first time), but if anyone has a moment to glance at the attached packages (one is the main package, the other an attempted recolor), I would be vastly appreciative.

Otherwise the model seems to be working out fine. It's the Retro bar, so lack of possible recolors is not the issue. I would *prefer* to create it with its own set of textures, but if necessary I can deal with linking it to the original textures.

I've also checked and rechecked the model names; I've renamed those puppies so many times today that I've got them all memorized.

Thanks again for writing this up, and in advance for any help

-y

Yggdrasil, the GUID references in the MAterial Override are wrong: you must use the GUID of the "main" Object Data (0xEC14CB0F). When you register a GUID for the main OBJD, you have to click "Update MMATs"; on the contrary, when you register the secondary GUIDs, just hit "commit" in the lower right corner.
Fix the GUID in both Material Overrides and then create again the recolour package.

As for the Resource Node wrapper, open the Plugins menu and choose "Installed plugins"; browse the list until you find "CRES Wrapper ....." and *uncheck* it.
Then close SimPE and reopen it.

Thanks a million. Worked beautifully.

Wow :argh:
Thank you so much. I'm at the beginning of meshing objects. The interactions would be fine, but to make a flat wall or anything else flat reflecting is one point of my interests at the beginning. The difficult "thing" I'll learn later. Now I can give reflections a try :-)
Ciao,
Rado :howdy:

Hi Numenor, I'm a bit confused by your last post can you just clear something up for me please? If we have multiple Object Data files in our object (which is frequently the case) we should only be clicking the 'update MMATs and commit' for the top one (or main one if it is the top one) and clicking the commit at the bottom right of the screen for the others? Is that what you said. I've been clicking 'update MMATs and commit' for all the guids and it didn't cause any problems - hold on, maybe it did?

I get a new guid
Update MMATs and commit and save

for every object data entry. That wrong?

Samekh, though updating MMATs for every GUID *is* wrong, usually it doesn't cause problems (because SimPE is *very* smart! ). Nevertheless, the "Update MMAT and commit" link should be clicked only for the main GUID; and the "Update all MMATs" option should be always left unchecked, unless you know what you are doing.

That's how SimPE works:

1) If you click only "Commit", SimPE doesn't change anything in the MMATs.
2) If you click "Update MMAT and Commit", SimPE will search all the MMATs looking for the *old* GUID, and replace it with the new one (since usually the secondary GUIDs are not referenced in any MMAT, clicking "Update MMAT and Commit" when registering a secondary GUID should not change anything in the MMATs).
3) If the "Update all MMAT" option is active, SimPE will replace the GUID in all the MMATs with the newly registered GUID, regardless to the old GUID value contained in the MMAT: this may break colour options for objects (like the fireplaces) that have more then 1 "main" GUID.

Ok. I see. Is the top Object Data entry always the 'main' one, and if not - is there an easy way of telling which one is the 'main' one. I've opened a recent file with 3 object data entries to see if I can tell which is the main one and I can't.

In the filenames I get

Table - Coffee - Pine
Table - Coffee - Pine - 0,0
Table - Coffee - Pine - 1,0

That's an object I've already got into the game so maybe it's not the best example. I should really clone a fresh object and see if I can tell which object data is which.

Ah, hang on, is the main object data entry the one where there are room options ticked in the catalogue sort? Therefore, it would be the filename without numbers after it which isn't, necessarily, the top one.

The main OBJD is the one without the numbers after it (but, in few cases there may be more then one without numbers: it's when the "object" is actually composed by multiple objects).

So that prompts another quick question. We 'update MMATs and commit' for all the Object Data entries that don't have numbers after their filenames and merely commit (bottom right corner) with the others? And it doesn't matter in what order we deal with the primary or main object data entries as long as we get their guids first?

Thanks for your patience Numenor. Like I said, it's not a problem I've encountered yet but while we're on the subject, and other people are having issues with the object data entries - they might be wondering about this!

Correct. The order you register the GUIDs is irrelevant. You could even register the secondary GUID first (clicking only Commit) and then the main one (clicking Update MMAT and Commit).

I just went to clone an object in SimPE v.35 but now I find a new checkbox, "Stand Alone Object"

I am going to create a new mesh, and I want it to use only my own textures (and recolors), not the Maxis textures

Do I check this? Or is it used for something else?

That option was created to "break" the links when cloning an object that borrows the textures from another object (thus the name "stand-alone"). But if the object is already stand-alone (i.e. it uses its own textures), checking that option won't hurt, anyway.

So, if you are cloning a bed (that borrows the bedding textures from the double colonial bed), checking that option will create a clone that *doesn't* use the common beddings, but its own ones.

If you check the Recolourable_and_Excluded_Objects file posted in the CEP thread, you'll know if an objects uses external texures (all the subsets marked as "slave of...").

That option should be used wisely: it's easier to create always stand-alone objects, but we don't want beds with custom beddings, do we?

I've actually come across some and it's annoying. IMO Quaxi really didn't publicize that option too well and what it does. It just appeared there and I wasn't sure what it did until you told me Numenor so I was just always checking it just in case :o but luckily I wasn't working with anything like a bed that grabbed textures.