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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 20th May 2019 at 8:28 AM
(FEEDBACK WANTED!) The No Pudding Townie Project
So I've always wanted good looking sims to either use as genes for NRaas SP, or to plop in my world if I wanted a storyline and such. Since no one has done that, I've decided to try it on my own. I've made two families so far, and I'm still deciding whether or not to make them BG or to let them have EP content on them. I'm not really familiar on how the MTS upload process works, so I'll be deciding to upload them on my Tumblr. But anyways, please rate my sims, and whether or not they look good enough to fix the pudding problem that TS3 townies have. Thank you!!

https://imgur.com/a/nCqJUbw
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 20th May 2019 at 1:25 PM
You're taking your screenshots wrong; they're too dark. I had to turn up my brightness all the way to get a good look at them and it's still hard to see, but they definitely look a lot better than puddings.

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Mad Poster
#3 Old 20th May 2019 at 3:33 PM
That's one half, but your capture method can also solve this. Most screen capture tools can't capture TS3 properly, which results in a dark and severely washed out image. The in-game screenshot tool is the easiest way around it. I believe the game compresses the images slightly but it's not something that'll particularly ruin your image.

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( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#4 Old 21st May 2019 at 1:23 AM
Yeah, trying to take Screenshots in TS3 in game is entirely broken on Linux, so I have to take a Screenshot using Steam's tool instead, then edit that on GIMP. I have no idea how to fix it, rip.
Site Helper
#5 Old 21st May 2019 at 3:35 PM
In GIMP, under the Colors heading, there is an option for Brightness/Contrast. You can use that to bump up the brightness.

I am Ghost. My husband is sidneydoj. I post, he downloads, and I wanted to keep my post count.
Group for Avatar Makers* Funny Stories *2017 Yearbook
Mad Poster
#6 Old 21st May 2019 at 4:27 PM
I've found that color grading can't compensate for the loss in contrast and dynamic range, but it's always better than doing nothing. This is all strictly off-topic, of course....

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( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#7 Old 22nd May 2019 at 2:17 PM
@Ghost sdoj What's the best value for that Brightness/Contrast thing? I've usually used like 15, but as said by @AGuyCalledPi it isn't enough.

Anyways, here's my first batch of sims for you guys to use. Again, you can either plop them in as townies or use NRaas Immigration to make completely random sims, based off these genes, instead. I do use defaults (Smaller Eye meshes and Better Skins & Eyes) so feedback and pictures on other defaults will help a lot. Place these in your SavedSims folder. My sims are the one with the gray shirts. There might be only four, but they are genetically diverse (1 Caucasian, Asian, African, and Hispanic sim each) so uhhh...yeah. Thank you!
Attached files:
File Type: zip  nopudding.zip (1.35 MB, 6 downloads) - View custom content
Scholar
#8 Old 22nd May 2019 at 2:36 PM
they're still "pudding", without actually embedding some skin and seriously resculpturing poor pixels, and changing templates in general, it's brave but ultimately doomed quest, sorry mate.

for the screenshots you have Gnome Screenshots, Spectacle (KDE), Shutter, scrot (cli) or maim (cli [ https://github.com/naelstrof/maim ] ), 'ol good PrintScreen IRQ is still working in Xserver.


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Site Helper
#9 Old 22nd May 2019 at 3:02 PM
I'm not sure about the best value for the Brightness/Contrast thing myself. I only have GIMP on my home computer because it's what is on the computers at the library where I go to help a friend download and print out things for her preschool class, and it's helpful to have a bit of practice with it. If I'm just working on something for myself I use Photobie (which was free but is hard to find now that the site is closed.) It has blend modes. Cloning the layer and then using Screen (or Additive) on the clone does a nice job of brightening things up, but I have no idea if. or where. you could find it in GIMP. You could try bumping both brightness and contrast up to about 30, or poke around and see if you can find blend modes. It would not surprise me if they are there somewhere. I just have no idea where they are.

/offtopic discussion

I am Ghost. My husband is sidneydoj. I post, he downloads, and I wanted to keep my post count.
Group for Avatar Makers* Funny Stories *2017 Yearbook
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#10 Old 23rd May 2019 at 4:20 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ElaineNualla
they're still "pudding", without actually embedding some skin and seriously resculpturing poor pixels, and changing templates in general, it's brave but ultimately doomed quest, sorry mate.


how do they look like pudding specfically? i tried to make their face as defined as possible and their eyes & nose small and proportionate.
Mad Poster
#11 Old 23rd May 2019 at 7:51 AM
You have made the woman's head a bit narrower than the game generally does, which I like and I tend to do also, but they look pretty much like the sims in my game. Sims 3 sims look fairly alike no matter what. Especially the kids. I do not think having them in the game would really make any difference in the looks of a town. (?)

Sims 3 Sims look like 3 Sims just like 2 look like 2 and 4 like 4. Again, especially the kids. They are just part of the game IMO and OK as is other than some exceptions like some of the really bad fish faces we had in 2.

I tweak my family I play when needed, but TBH I don't really care what the townies and NPCs look like.

Also, you can brighten/adjust pics in many programs. I use Microsoft Picture Manager I think it is called the most. There is some program that came with Windows 10 on my new laptop that does all the things too. I have GIMP but do not need it for something like that.
Mad Poster
#12 Old 23rd May 2019 at 11:20 AM
It's absolutely true that they do tend to look alike (though I'm sure they'd say the same thing about us) but what I think you can aim for is to create a group of Sims that also broadly look alike, but in a different way. I consider mine to be a sort of "Pudding Plus"; they're still a bit pudgey and not quite realistic but they do have a realistic edge. That goes for the whole game, generally, I want it to still look like TS3 no matter what. All my graphics mods and my lighting setups and my effects serve two purposes: to enhance the game's existing visual qualities, and to somewhat emulate the look and feel of 35mm film circa the 1980s. I'm not sure about the former but I'm pretty sure it manages the latter alright.

So while you can definitely do some good with what the game gives you to work with, I think delving into CC and finding an aesthetic that works is more valuable. Even just, you know, a basic skin and nothing else.

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( Join my dumb Discord server if you're into the whole procrastination thing. But like, maybe tomorrow. )
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#13 Old 23rd May 2019 at 1:30 PM
well, i never did test them in game, so idk, i only know what they look like in cas. i guess my aesthetic for ts3 rn is tiny eyes and small heads uwuwuwuuwu
what about nraas immigration though? has anyone tested that? i think a set of good looking slider free sims may be able to allievate no pudding townies imjustsayin
Scholar
#14 Old 23rd May 2019 at 2:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by redandvidya
well, i never did test them in game, so idk, i only know what they look like in cas. i guess my aesthetic for ts3 rn is tiny eyes and small heads uwuwuwuuwu
what about nraas immigration though? has anyone tested that? i think a set of good looking slider free sims may be able to allievate no pudding townies imjustsayin


@Wojtek pointed you in some directions where you find possible partial solutions.
Sims looks different in the CAS and in the game because lightning works different. The "pudding effect" is caused mainly by collective effort of skin, lightning and weird, uncanny templates. When you look at the "realistic" or just "not repulsive" sims' creations you'll see they're built with nondefault (or modified defaulted) skin, often additional masks (as makeup) and lighted in a special way to be pleasant for the eye.
Also game, while there is many face templates, use only one (1st) while generating new random populus randomizing (a bit) sliders, and because of that they're look like pudding-clones (with weird combos of skin-hair-makeup-clothes thanks to the RND-god). IIRC both Nraas (randomization pool) and Awesome (template randomization) mitigates that for some extend. But eventually if you want to have better looking common population (aside residents) you need to get hand dirty and manually correct each one.


favorite quote: "When ElaineNualla is posting..I always read..Nutella. I am sorry" by Rosebine
self-claimed "lower-spec simmer"
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#15 Old 24th May 2019 at 5:14 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Wojtek
You can follow THIS tutorial to make your sims look more unique and download THIS MOD to diversify hair colors in your game. If you need more sims for testing, you can find and download them HERE.


tbh, consort's mods are way too "manual" and they're all done by a save by save basis, so i just use no mutated hair color instead.

also, i tried that townie guide long ago, but the sims generated with that procedure had WAY too big eyes, noses, mouths, etc. too much for my aesthetic.
Mad Poster
#16 Old 24th May 2019 at 9:22 AM
As said, I do not really care what the sims I am not playing look like. In 2 I used SimPE and nuked the worst sims from the hood. In 4 I delete some of the worst nonplayed household offenders. With 3, I just let the game do its thing. As said, if someone really bothers me I can always edit in CAS but normally never bother unless that is a sim I want to merge into my family.
Instructor
#17 Old 24th May 2019 at 9:07 PM
I just have a lot of diverse looking sims I have created or downloaded in my library folder and have a NRass set to pull all new generated sims from those genetics 100% and it seemed to work fine in my games before my computer died. That includes pets also.
Top Secret Researcher
#18 Old 24th May 2019 at 11:42 PM
Not trying to dismiss your creativeness and I do know there are some people who look for random sims for their game but for me I just let the game pick the townies and then I have at them in CaS. Most are not so bad to look at - it's the clothes they wear that bothers me more. Had one sim wearing a towel and a hat...not pretty when going out to the clubs.
Scholar
#19 Old 25th May 2019 at 10:13 AM
Quote: Originally posted by KatyFernlily
Not trying to dismiss your creativeness and I do know there are some people who look for random sims for their game but for me I just let the game pick the townies and then I have at them in CaS. Most are not so bad to look at - it's the clothes they wear that bothers me more. Had one sim wearing a towel and a hat...not pretty when going out to the clubs.

I had one wearing Egypt clothes combined with into the future clothes. It was so wack omg.

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Mad Poster
#20 Old 26th May 2019 at 8:54 AM
I also laugh at the outfits quite often. I pay more attention to those than the sims.
Field Researcher
#21 Old 29th May 2019 at 3:02 AM
I would say I've gotten fairly good at making diverse sims... but with custom sliders lmao. I can't live without them and honestly can't see why anyone should. Ahmed's sliders are godly I recommend them to everyone. I do like your sims OP, they are proportionate! I think that's definitely the basis for better looking sims, the sims 3 default sims include gigantic eyes and heads, with non-existent bone structure (moon face).
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