Hey,

I need a bit of help! I want to test out if it's possible to replace the AntiqueTrain/TrainFrance mesh that came with World Adventures with a new mesh (by tjstreak).

If this is possible, it could pave the way to different types of animated moving objects (i.e. other trains, subways, streetcars, moving cars). Of course, this will require the cloning of animations as well.

I have the extracted mesh from WA (cloned) and TJ's monorail train uploaded here.

I'm a complete newbie at this, so please let me know what to do and if this is possible! Thanks


Photo by tizerist, monorail is in the lower right corner.

Original France train.

@Qahne,

Would you happen to know how I might be able to approach this issue?

I can help with the mesh replacement, but as for creating new animations, I believe that's something quite complicated in TS3. I do know that the Zephyr monorail that comes with ITF can be adjusted quite easily to animate however you like, but of course it only moves around the map when someone is travelling on it. I'll take a look at this right away, replacing the mesh should be simple enough, and I'll package it up for you.

EDIT: Fifteen minutes later...

Okay, here you go! As you can see, the monorail was quite a bit smaller than the train, so I resized it to match the width - it's still shorter, and I shortened the shadow mesh underneath the train - I haven't tested it, but in theory, it should work fine.

One thing to note is that there are no joints on the train - all animated objects, as far as I'm aware, in TS3 have joints (clock hands, etc.). This train is part of an effect - not sure what the technical differences are, or if it's easier to edit one than the other, but that could be your in, I guess. Again, I know nothing about this, just a clue that could be useful.

@ Qahne- Thanks

Hopefully I can find another animation that I can replace the mesh of. Just need another for highway cars! Also need to find a way to replace the sounds, nighttime effect & get rid of the smoke effect.

What was the workflow in doing this? I want to learn so that I won't have to pester you again!

No problem, like I said, only took me fifteen minutes before I headed to bed

The workflow for a mesh replacement is pretty simple:

1 - extract the MLOD and MODL files from your package, using the "export to s3asc" option. Extract any necessary textures, too.
2 - import your base MLOD into Milkshape, and then import the one of the object you wish to overwrite it with
3 - make sure they're in the same position - you may need to manoeuvre it around, but it's not too difficult most of the time
4 - rename the new group (in the "Groups" tab in Milkshape) with the name of the original group you're overwriting. Move it to the same position in the groups list, and delete the original group, making sure to copy over any comments if they're there.
5 - export to s3asc, overwriting the original s3asc file you exported (the one to be overwritten)
6 - import into s3pe, in the package you extracted from the game, replacing the appropriate files. Also import and replace any necessary textures with the one you extracted from the other package.
7 - see if it works!

The s3asc features do require one of WesHowe's plugins that I don't think is included as default in either S3PE or Milkshape - they're called "Object Mesh Plugins" or something like that, and you can find them here on the forum somewhere. If you're confused by my brief skim-through, you probably should look at a couple of object meshing tutorials, since a working knowledge of Milkshape is always a good thing to have and can help you avoid a lot of issues, rather than just trying to speed through it. It's a simple tool, designed for use by modders (back in the Half-Life days!), so you should be fine.

One thing you do need to know is which mesh file is which (there are generally four - two actual objects, one for close-ups and one for distance, and two shadow meshes that get used when the sun casts light on the object outside - again, one for close-ups, one for distance. Some have more, some have less, some, like fences, have no sun shadow mesh, as the game creates them on the fly, but using the "mesh preview" option in S3PE can give you a good idea of which is which (hint: sun shadow meshes are always the actual mesh compressed into a tiny cube at the center of the grid).

As for replacing the effects, most of the effects are linked to texture files, so it's a simple matter of finding the texture files in the game files (I remember finding a few just by typing in "Train" in the WA build package in s3pe), extracting them and replacing them with a blank 4x4 DXT5 image.

@Qahne- One more question- do you know how the process might go about creating a night version of the train (lit up windows)?

I've seen some custom CAW objects have day and night states.

That...is a good question. I really don't know, I've never done it myself, but it would require slightly more in-depth editing. The billboards in the game do this, you'd need to clone one, take a look at its resources (vpxy, I think? Really not sure) and edit the train to match, so there's room for both a night texture and a day texture...you'll need some bigger guns for this, maybe @bloomsbase could help.

I'm definitely liking this. If I can help with anything (and I'm not sure I can), just tell me.

@Grijze Pilion - One thing would be to find sources for conversion into the Sims 3.

From this thread here (http://modthesims.info/showthread.p...tpost&t=572006), Blyss found a subway car similar to the one I want.

Right now I'm looking for one that's slightly higher quality (but not too much), like this one (http://www.simsmarktplatz.net/index...=4201&585f37f3).

On a side note, I'm also looking for New York elevated tracks to convert.

I think I could convert some vehicles from Cities in Motion, the transport management simulation game by the same guys who made Cities Skylines. Can't promise anything, but I think it's doable for a noob like me.

Some NY subway trains would be nice.

Also, I think that game has a New York map, right?

I think Monsoon has converted some buildings from it in the past.

I'm not sure if there's NY subway trains in it, but I know for sure there is a DC train in it. I'll go have a look.

Speaking of this- is there any way of finding out where effect textures are stored?

I want to deactivate a few stubborn effects that won't go way (even after using a Noeffects mod).