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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 2nd Aug 2013 at 9:45 PM
Default alternative process in object creation
Hi!

I would love to make my own objects for TS3, however, I do get confused with the existing meshes. I have already created some furniture models in 3ds max, but I find it very hard to do in Milkshape/Blender.

So is it okay if I follow this process instead?
1. Clone the package
2. Extract the meshes in S3PE 3. Import to Milkshape using Wes Howe plugin
4. Export from Milkshape as .obj
5. Import the .obj file to 3ds max
6. Delete the whole mesh and create a new one from scratch
7. Do the uvmaps and textures in 3ds max
8. Export as .obj
9. Import the .obj to Milkshape
10. Export to S3PE using Wes Howe plugin
11. Save as package.

I haven't tried the whole thing yet, but I want to know if this process will work fine or will there be some issues?
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world renowned whogivesafuckologist
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#2 Old 2nd Aug 2013 at 9:59 PM
Yup, you can do that, no problems. Just make sure when you're going to obj and back again that you have the right settings in 3DS Max - that it retains the UV maps, triangles, doesn't need to export materials, etc...

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Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 2nd Aug 2013 at 10:41 PM
Thanks much! By the way, which settings should I take note of? I'm not very familiar with importing/exporting settings yet.
Sockpuppet
#4 Old 2nd Aug 2013 at 11:32 PM
You might want to try out TSRW in combination with a 3DS MAX plugin?
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#5 Old 3rd Aug 2013 at 12:20 AM
Also bear in mind that some objects require joints, and will turn invisible in-game if they don't have 'em correct. Since the OBJ format strips out all joints, if you want to work with those types of objects, you will have to use another format, or restore the assignments in Milkshape or Blender. Lukcily, most objects' joint assignments are very simple (with a few exceptions such as the teddy bear).

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#6 Old 3rd Aug 2013 at 1:09 AM
Quote: Originally posted by BloomsBase
You might want to try out TSRW in combination with a 3DS MAX plugin?


Will this be much easier in terms of not having to change a lot of settings? And what will be the plugins for TSRW/3DSM?
Test Subject
Original Poster
#7 Old 3rd Aug 2013 at 1:12 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Nysha
Also bear in mind that some objects require joints, and will turn invisible in-game if they don't have 'em correct. Since the OBJ format strips out all joints, if you want to work with those types of objects, you will have to use another format, or restore the assignments in Milkshape or Blender. Lukcily, most objects' joint assignments are very simple (with a few exceptions such as the teddy bear).


How do I learn about joints for objects? What I'm making are mostly chairs/sofa, table/desk, and wall decors.
Sockpuppet
#8 Old 3rd Aug 2013 at 1:20 AM
well, you can bypass Milkshape for starters and im pretty sure it support rigs(iow boneweighting)
http://www.thesimsresource.com/workshop/
http://forums.thesimsresource.com/i...texport-script/

You do need a recent MAX version as old ones(pre 10 i believe) autorecalculated normals on import(not wat you want for CAS stuff).
Test Subject
Original Poster
#9 Old 3rd Aug 2013 at 1:14 PM
Quote: Originally posted by BloomsBase
well, you can bypass Milkshape for starters and im pretty sure it support rigs(iow boneweighting)
http://www.thesimsresource.com/workshop/
http://forums.thesimsresource.com/i...texport-script/

You do need a recent MAX version as old ones(pre 10 i believe) autorecalculated normals on import(not wat you want for CAS stuff).


thanks for the TSRW links. I will be getting the 3DSM 2013 - right now I have 2010.
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#10 Old 3rd Aug 2013 at 1:15 PM
If you use the dedicated 3DS plugin for WSO meshes, then you don't need to worry about missing joints at all, as that plugin will allow you to edit joint assignments directly in 3DS.

Joints act as skeletons. They're most important in CAS content - sims quite literally have human-ish skeletons, and certain parts of their bodymeshes are assigned to certain joints; i.e. the left arm of a shirt mesh is assigned to the left arm joint(s). When the sim animates, it's the joints which move, and they pull any vertices which are assigned to them with them.

Most objects don't need joints, as they don't animate. However, if you think of a crib, for example, when sims take a baby out of the crib, the side gate slides down. So the crib has two joints - root, which stays still, and (for the sake of argument because I can't remember what it's actually called), gate, which slides up and down. The gate part of the mesh needs to be assigned to gate, and the rest needs to be assigned to root. 3DS can handle joints and you can use it to assign vertices to joints, but the OBJ format can't hold joint info, so it's lost if you export as an OBJ. Those kinds of joint problems are very easy to fix in another meshing program, and if you're making deco, chairs, and tables, you won't need to worry about them anyway. If you do find that your shiny awesome mesh is invisible in-game, though, then it might be time to look up a tutorial on assigning vertices to joints .

If you already have Milkshape, you can check whether or not an object requires joint assignments very easily. Import the mesh into Milkshape, go to the Joints tab, and tick "Draw vertices with bone colours". If your mesh turns more than one colour, then it requires correct joint assignments. You can probably do the same thing in Blender, but I don't know how.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#11 Old 3rd Aug 2013 at 3:12 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Nysha
If you use the dedicated 3DS plugin for WSO meshes, then you don't need to worry about missing joints at all, as that plugin will allow you to edit joint assignments directly in 3DS.

Joints act as skeletons. They're most important in CAS content - sims quite literally have human-ish skeletons, and certain parts of their bodymeshes are assigned to certain joints; i.e. the left arm of a shirt mesh is assigned to the left arm joint(s). When the sim animates, it's the joints which move, and they pull any vertices which are assigned to them with them.

Most objects don't need joints, as they don't animate. However, if you think of a crib, for example, when sims take a baby out of the crib, the side gate slides down. So the crib has two joints - root, which stays still, and (for the sake of argument because I can't remember what it's actually called), gate, which slides up and down. The gate part of the mesh needs to be assigned to gate, and the rest needs to be assigned to root. 3DS can handle joints and you can use it to assign vertices to joints, but the OBJ format can't hold joint info, so it's lost if you export as an OBJ. Those kinds of joint problems are very easy to fix in another meshing program, and if you're making deco, chairs, and tables, you won't need to worry about them anyway. If you do find that your shiny awesome mesh is invisible in-game, though, then it might be time to look up a tutorial on assigning vertices to joints .

If you already have Milkshape, you can check whether or not an object requires joint assignments very easily. Import the mesh into Milkshape, go to the Joints tab, and tick "Draw vertices with bone colours". If your mesh turns more than one colour, then it requires correct joint assignments. You can probably do the same thing in Blender, but I don't know how.


I see. I was a bit confused as to why objects will have joints, but now I get it. Will start working on my models now. Thanks!
Alchemist
#12 Old 5th Aug 2013 at 3:04 PM
In Sims 3 many, if not most, objects have at least one joint. If the object has a joint it should, for completeness sake if nothing else, be assigned. If you don't assign the joint you will notice that your object does not behave just like the EA object it was cloned from...most notably it will become flat and odd looking when moving it around other objects in-game. It won't render your object non-functional but it's sorta lazy not to do it since it is so easy to do.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#13 Old 6th Aug 2013 at 1:47 AM
Quote: Originally posted by orangemittens
In Sims 3 many, if not most, objects have at least one joint. If the object has a joint it should, for completeness sake if nothing else, be assigned. If you don't assign the joint you will notice that your object does not behave just like the EA object it was cloned from...most notably it will become flat and odd looking when moving it around other objects in-game. It won't render your object non-functional but it's sorta lazy not to do it since it is so easy to do.


ok thanks will read up on this
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