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Posts: 19
1st of all i have done no modding in the past so be gentle (so in breif when it comes to this im an idiot). I was just wondering if it is possible to mesh with Google Sketchup (for TS3). I have used this program for a fair while and am familiar with it as apposed to other programs that have been sugested.
Thanx
Maccarox481
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The joint assignment that HL mentioned is quite simple and someone here can walk you through that if you need help with it so you shouldn't let that hold you back.
Posts: 19
oh here is the wrap up (i only have basic but if i could find somebody with pro i am sure they could convert)
http://sketchup.google.com/support/...en&answer=36203
maccarox481
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To be honest, I'm not sure how happy someone would be to convert every mesh you made for you. I'm not trying to be ungentle there...just being realistic. Converting someone else's meshes because they don't have a program that supports basic 3D meshing extensions would get old fast IMO.
On the other hand, if you're willing to learn something new, Milkshape isn't tough (and is fairly cheap) and there's also Blender which a lot of people really seem to like (and I think might be free). You could definitely get help with learning Milkshape here and probably Blender also...both have their own forums and tutorials as well.
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Now, this is not the cheap, for free way, but there is a really good program called Ultimate Unwrap 3D (a UV mapping tool) that does a pretty good job of converting between COLLADA (.dae) and MilkShape's native .ms3d format, as well as plenty of other formats. Included in the conversion are the skin weights, assignments, joints and animation (I am not sure how well sketchup support those). Those are pretty important for GEOM (body mesh) modelling, necessary but simpler for object meshes. This will still require MilkShape, which also is not free, but you would only do some touchup and exporting via MilkShape, you could do all the rest of your work in sketchup.
The other, for free, way is to try to import your COLLADA (.dae) files into Blender. There is a GEOM exporter for Blender, but no object mesh support. Blender is very powerful and free, too.
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Posts: 19
blender will not load .dae files (just tried)
EDIT: i think my problem is lack of the python script anybody know where to get it?
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If you have Blender and are willing to try learning with that I think you'd be a lot better off. Another alternative would be learning to mesh with Milkshape since to mesh for Sims 3 you need it anyway and it's very easy to learn.
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Posts: 73
Sketchup can also export/import .OBJ. I know you're going to say "but that's the expensive version. I'm freeloading sap like you."
WRONG.
Well, yes, I am a freeloading sap, that's why I know this stuff.
You just gotta think Ruby Scripts.
Exporter:
http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/20...j-exporter.html
Importer:
http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/20...j-importer.html
Install instructions:
http://sketchup.google.com/support/...en&answer=38583
That being said, you're probably better off in Blender for things other than modeling.
Also, yes, there is a Blender script to import .DAEs. It would appear that it comes with it:
http://www.katsbits.com/htm/tutoria...kmz_blender.htm
I've tried it before, and it works (well, it showed up in Blender, at least... My Blender knowledge is a bit limited...). Some of the textures even showed up (though, they probably wouldn't work in-game)!
Heck, someone could even make a script for Sketchup for modeling. I have no clue about how, but I have a feeling that if someone was able to create a physics engine for Sketchup, it's probably possible to copy the functionality of the Milkshape script (to a certain extent).
I like pie...
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On the other hand, I have to say, I think it's probably easier for most meshers to just learn to use a standard 3D tool than to go through acrobatics to stick with one that doesn't support basic 3D extensions. There are forums and tutorials for meshing tools like Blender and Milkshape that can walk you though that process. And, of course, for Sims 3 you're gonna have to buy Milkshape anyway.
What was Sketchup developed for anyway? It's strange to me that a program you can mesh with doesn't have obj as an importable/exportable extension in the basic version.
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I can't really feel that trying to stick with free tools is bad, after all, this is a hobby and not everybody wants to invest much in fun.
I worked hard to make the ObjTool separate from the MilkShape plugins. That was not necessary, because initially I had it working all in plugins (there was an object mesh importer plugin that opened some of the MLOD and MODL files directly that was included in the package with the original GEOM plugins).
And the intermediate files for the object meshes and materials are a greatly simplified, dicumented text format. All of the complex parts of decompressing and compressing the floats and formatting the game file format are done in the decompiler/recompiler code. There was someone interested in making a Blender script, but they disappeared.
I will not be doing that myself, but anyone that knows python or ruby could get some help understanding the TS3 requirements for making a Blender or Sketchup (is that name derived from "It's Ketchup?) plugin/script.
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Posts: 19
thanx
Maccarox481
EDIT: Yes i am a freeloading sap
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Ceixari, if you can do it you'll be making a lot of Blender users very happy. |
Yes, very happy indeed.
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does anybody know the scale of one square in the sims 2 (metric please) |
The squares are every one meter. (1.0 = 1 meter)
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the .s3asc* and .cfg files extracted with S3ObjTool |
While the .MCFG file will be useful to study and learn from, you should not need to read or use anything in there to actually make a mesh plugin work... everything you need is in the .asc3g files.
The *.asc3 file is always empty, it is just there to get the name from. Then the MilkShape plugins just loop looking for each *.asc3g file, incrementing the digits in the filename, until one is missing (indicating the end of the list). Each file becomes a mesh group, but for the joints you have to check and see if that joint already exists before you make it, because each group only includes the joints that are actually bound to any vertices (so some joints might not be in every group).
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I was wondering about the relationship between the .mcfg file and the .s3ascg files. Knowing that I don't have to bother with it has already made life a load easier.
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So I altered the layout a bit and just used the 'loop until fail' method, eliminating any dependence on the MCFG file. You can see the obvious patterns in the file names, the recompiler uses the naming conventions to find the various parts.
The layout within the *.asc3g files has all the required elements from the MODL/MLOD files, but instead of being compressed and binary and scattered amongst the VRTF/VBUF/IBUF/SKIN parts, they are laid out nice and neat in an easy to parse text format.
You can probably find lots of help on python scripting elsewhere... if I were very knowledgeable on the topic myself, I would have gone ahead and written a plugin. But when you want to know what elements of the asc3g file are for and why they are there, then you can get that info from me here.
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If you like to say what you think, be sure you know which to do first.
I'm a mac maniac, and it's really crappy that you can't currently mesh on a mac (because ya can't use milkshape). I've gone and gotten windows... I've only had it installed about 10 minutes and already it's pissing me off LOL.
Sketchup IS actually a half decent program, and you don't need PRO because of the dearth of plugins that are around... I do RL furniture design on sketchup basic and it's pretty good.
Mac-tastic Sims 3 - Tips and tutorials for making the most out of your Sims 3 experience on Mac :D
http://www.mactasticsims3.com
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I've gone and gotten windows... I've only had it installed about 10 minutes and already it's pissing me off LOL. |
You don't need to have a Mac to have windows tee you off.
The way that object meshes are stored was designed for the game, not for the modders... between the compression and data organization issues, it is rough.
But we already have had a successful effort by Ceixari at making a set of plug-ins for Blender that read and write the intermediate files used by my ObjTool (and that is what my MilkShape plug-ins work off), and I think he is working on a set of Blender plug-ins for the TSR tool also.
That would be the way to approach it, I think. The native game file format is documented and available on the Sims 3 wiki, but the game files contain a lot of data that is not generally easy to store in modeling programs, but needs to be there to make a complete file that will be used by the game.
I can help you some with your plug-in work... not with Ruby or Sketchup directly, but questions regarding how the mesh files the ObjTool uses (*.s3ascg) are organized, why they are that way, and such, although if you have ever worked with .obj or .smd files before, you will find the overall concept quite similar.
<* Wes *>
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