Well I took another glance at my skin tone and it seems the ramp isn't being picked up @_@ ARGH -confused-

Any chance someone could take a look at my file see what went wrong?

Batqueen23
Hmmmm, when you say isn't being picked up what exactly do you mean????? Is it still showing black? or isn't your tone apearing in game at all?

Re-run through the check list I gave you. Just replace a default tone for the time being till you know your ramp works then change the hex for it.

Hi all, sorry for a lack of replys from me on this, but I've been busy with the start of a new term at college, so I haven't had much chance to sit down and thoroughly check these issues; but I will have time this evening and tomorrow.

So the things I will be looking at--and let me know if anything should be added or removed from the list--(1)Issues with the UI Layout mod not appearing in 1.8/2.3 installs; (2)Black skin appearing in some cases of new Tone Ramps when applied to the TONE; (3)Clarifications to the tutorial to indicate when to use a package editor/hex editor, how to access FNV hash tools from common package editors, and a better interpretation of 'keeping both of the files the same instance number'.

Further, I would to thank Missy Harries for being so kind as to give support in a thread where she was not obligated to: Thank You Very Much.

And some quick answers:
1) I got WA recently, and updated to 2.3; in my brief tests, the UI mod has some minor adjustment issues with the addition of that annoying glowing shop button, but the expanded TONE-pick area appeared for me; I will check the XML to see if there are any changes from 1.7 to 2.3.

2) With the black skin appearing, as missy harries said, try a default-replacement tone-ramp (don't change the instance ID, and don't edit the TONE) to make sure your tone-ramp is working. Then, if your ramp is working, then work on editing the TONE file--first try just changing the TONE file's instance to see if your game is registering new TONE files properly; if it works, then try hex editing to include the new ramp--be careful when hex editing, its probably better/easier to convert the instance to hex before going into the editor just so you can check for mistakes. Another issue, since the tone-ramps share a Type ID with other images and textures, you may have stumbled on an Instance ID that is already used. When two image files have the same TGI, but are intended for different uses--i.e. a tone ramp versus a CASIcon, neither texture displays properly; if this is the case (and it is rare if it is), then try a new Instance.

3) What I mean there--and I'm sorry for lack of clarity in the Tutorial--is that there are two tone-ramp files (one _img, and one IMAG) and these two files must have the same Instance as each-other; so if you change one, the other must be changed to match.

Okay I will do ^.^

Then I probably will be asking someone for a basic step by step about how I can get the image files I've created to show up for this skin xD (namely stripes and glowy dots xD)

Thank you miss harries and Rez for your help. With just one more question about the hex editing...

1. The beginning of the string I'm looking for starts off the same, but the rest of the line is different. Just for practice I was using the same alien skin that Rez used in your tut. Is it supposed to be different that yours?

2. How would I go about changing that line? I see where in the program where it says overwrite, but no matter which line I put it into, it tells me it's invalid.

The hex editing program I am using is this one.

Thank you guys again!

Okay it seems to be picking up two tone files - is changing the instance names a nessecity for the skin tone ramp because really all I need on that skin tone now is the overlays added to create the stripes and glowy dots?

The actual ramp as it stands now is fine for the blue skin

So if I don't need to hex edit anything how would I add in the tone overlays -experiment-

Batqueen23 - If you want to keep it as a default then it should all be done now! If however you want to add it as a new skin then you will have to hex edit.

I'mma confused again now xD

Can I ask where I'd find the right hex's to edit for making a skin tone overlay only use for one skin? Just so I know

Could someone please elaborate on this? Im sort of a noob, and have gotten this far with out my computer killing me. However Right when i get to this part and open it in my hex editor, the same values as yours do not show up? I used all the same Names/Instances as yours and therefore i do not see what could be the issue.
Also can you say or post a link to the hex editor that you used? Yours shows the lines in between that i think would be very useful.

Please help!

What Tone file are you using? You shouldn't search for what Rez has used in this tut. You should write down the original instance of the ramps you used before giving them a new one.
Put a search in for the original instance using your hex editor, it should have a search function. Personally I'm using Cygnus free edition. It does the job.

Thanks Missy harries, but i was only looking for certain examples that Rez used because everything was the same; all the instances, file names etc. I will try out your suggestions and your program. Thanks for the help, Ill update soon!

EDIT: I used the Alien file just like in the tut.

Then the instance should be 0x20EE0A9E9A7186FD. Remember that hex works backward but forward so you should be looking for FD 86 71 9A 9E 0A EE 20 though if you just use FD 86 71 in your search then you should find it.

Will do. im about to try out Cygnus, as my old hex editors search was over-complicated.

Don't worry, that ones nice and easy. All the hex numbers just make it look complicated but when you know what your looking for its plain sailing.

It was!! Thank you soo much for your help missy harries!!! I am about to go test in game now, but everything worked fine! My other (4) hex editors i tried did not find the instance when i searched for them, but now ill definitely use Cygnus now!! Thanks so much! After this ill move on to the actual new skintone!!
Cant thank yo enough, Missy and Rez!!!!

And now Im stumped. I got all up and running and then its not there in the panel of choices. looks like Im heading to the troubleshooting section!

EDIT; Oh my gosh... I forgot to put the package in Mods/Packages. It works fine now. Thanks so much everyone! Can someone please quickly inform me on how to change the Skin itself to a custom one?

First off, my hex editor is a program suite called Gizmo Village. Its a free set of tools (quick launch dock, script editor, ISO virtual drive, hex editor, and hash tools--don't use these hash tool for Sims3, it does not support FNV32) that I've been using since it was in beta. It does not integrate into S3PE, so its not the ideal editor.
The hex editor that was recommended to me previously for use with Sims3 modding is XVI32; it integrates perfectly with S3PE, is a very light program, and has useful search features that allow you jump right to a string. To add the hex editor to S3PE, after installing XVI32 to a directory, in S3PE go to Settings: 'External Programs...' In the window that opened, click the check-box next to 'Use an external hex editor' then browse for XVI32.exe; leave the other check-boxes unchecked, and hit OK. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with XVI32. I suggest making the window fairly small, so that it only displays 16 columns (32 characters) as this is the standard size of TGI strings in Sims3, and is also the size layout shown in S3PE. The line numbers here-out assume that XVI32 is displaying only 16 columns (else the line numbers are different).

In this addendum to the tutorial, I will use 'TGI:' notation where if I list a full TGI string it will look something like this: TGI:xxxxxxxx:yyyyyyyy:zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, or T:xxxxxxxx, etc.
These are the TGI values as they appear in S3PE, NOT the Hex values.

The conversion from TGI to hex is the same as mentioned in Step 5 of the tutorial.

So from here, I will refer to XVI32, and assume that you are in S3PE with a TONE file in its own package.
Select the TONE file, and hit 'Hex Editor', it will open XVI32. You should see the hex displayed. The first part (about a third) of the hex is the file table and data flags and contains a lot of zeroes--we are not concerned with this section. The part we are looking for is called the TGI list, and in Sims3 files the TGI list is always at the bottom--but knowing that is not helpful in this case, as the TGI list is some 100 entries long. For the TONE file, all the entries in the TGI list are _IMG files (T:00B2D882). As a standard for all TONE files, the tone-ramp is the first TGI entry.

So, we are going to search for the first TGI entry; in XVI32 open the search tool (the magnifying-glass button, or 'Search'->'Find...') and we want to look for a hex string, direction down, scope from beginning. This tells the search that we are looking for the first entry that matches our query. So the hex we are looking for is going to be the hex of the _IMG file's type--so T:00B2D882 :: 82 D8 B2 00--our serch is for '82 D8 B2 00'. Type that in, or just copy/paste, then hit OK. The search (if done correctly) should be displaying the first TGI entry (line 280).

Note, that if you have the XVI32 window set to 16 columns, that the '82 D8 B2 00' is repeated every line. Each '82 D8 B2 00' is a new TGI entry. For tone-ramps (skin colors) we are only concerned with the first entry.

Now we need to edit the Instance portion of the TGI entry to the new Instance of the tone-ramps we made in Step 4. With the XVI32 window displaying 16 columns, the Instance begins in the third column of line 290 (alternately, you can go to 'Address'->'Goto...' select hexadecimal, absolute, and our address is $292. This address is constant for all TONE files, and is the Instance location of the first TGI). Next, make sure XVI32 is in Overwrite mode by clicking 'Tools' and looking to see that Overwrite is checked. Now, as I recommended in an above post, it is easier to convert your new instance to hex before trying to put it in the editor, so open notepad, grab some scratch paper, etc. and convert the instance you made in Step 4 to hex using the pattern shown in Step 5; check for errors. Now in XVI32 begin replacing the Instance, be sure you stop before the next '82 D8 B2 00' entry.

After you have completed the hex editing (Check for Errors!), hit save and exit XVI32 (or just exit, and it will prompt you to save). S3PE should now come back and give you a pop-up asking to Commit Changes, click yes; then save your package. Remember when saving your package: its good to have a back-up point to before you started editing in case anything goes wrong.

Test the package in game to see it works--make sure the UI mod is also installed; if not, then try following the troubleshooting methods explained in my previous post.

I hope this helps, and let me know if anything can be explained further.

Changing the TONE file to use a custom skin is very similar to the directions for changing the tone-ramps. You will need to search for the default skin's instances (there are at least three for each skin--light, dark, and specular) in the hex. Then with your new skins (Aikea Guinea's tutorial, if you don't have them already) you need to give each one a new instance, also converting the new instances to hex.

Then, and this is the tricky part because the order matters in the TGI list, you have to replace one-for-one the instances; matching light-to-light dark-to-dark, and specular-to-specular.

I wish I could provide more specific location to the locations of each skin, but as I said before, there are about 100 TGIs listed; so making a nice list would take more time than I can allot at the moment--school has been keeping me very busy.

Thanks so much for all of this Rez, I got your PM. You elaborated very well!!! Everything was extremely helpful! This will make so much more sense when i come back to create more. Also this mini-tut for specific skin is very useful, and will be good to good use. Thanks so much for putting your time and effort into such a quality discovery that is sure to be used a lot more once it gets put out there. Great work!

Rez - how could I find the default skin's instances? I'm not sure what you mean with that ^.^;;;;

In the Aikea Guinea default replacement skin tutorial, there is a link to download a set of the original skintones. In the file names of that set, are the default instances. When you create your new skins, just keep a list of the original instances (keeping in mind that instances have to correspond female pale with female pale, etc.).

Then once you have all the files you want/need, give the skins new instances. Translate the instances to hex, then hex edit the TONE file. To find the instance to replace, just refer back to the instances found from the files in AG's tutorial, search for their hexes using the your hex editor.

Just a note about the Aikea's file set, it does not include the skin specular; but for most skins changing the specular is not necessary.

Okay thanks for that Rez ^.^ sorry if I keep asking newb questions I'm just trying to get head around something that for me (a graphics designer more then a coder/programmer) is just O_O

I'm almost ashamed to say I'm only catching up with this exciting development now. Has anyone actually made non-default replacement skins in addition to the modded and added tone sliders? I definitely want to experiment with it, and since I'm more of a programmer than an artist I'd like to work on a tool to set up the tone and skin linking so hex editing won't be necessary. If no one else has started on that, anyway.

Yep, I've been playing around on and off to see just WHAT I can do with it. It work's like a dream.
I'm no programer though, I'm more of an artist (an ok artist at least....).