Difference between revisions of "Sims 3:CTU Guide Designing"

Revision as of 05:11, 19 August 2009 (view source) Daluved1 (Talk | contribs) (→‎Designs) ← Older edit		Latest revision as of 15:51, 17 September 2012 (view source) Kiwi tea (Talk | contribs)
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−	<font size="5">This page is under construction :) - daluved1</font>
−
	==Find a CAS Part==		==Find a CAS Part==
	[[Image:param.jpg|right|400px]]		[[Image:param.jpg|right|400px]]
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	==Designs==		==Designs==
−	Designs are a collection of stencils, patterns and textures group together. Each design appears as one thumbnail in CAS. Therefore, to make a CAS part set in Create-A-Sim (one scroll box), add multiple designs in the CTU. <blockquote>	+	Designs are a collection of stencils, patterns and textures grouped together. Each design appears as one thumbnail in CAS. Therefore, to make a CAS part set in Create-A-Sim (one scroll box), add multiple designs in the CTU. <blockquote>
	===Add New Design===		===Add New Design===
	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	* Add New Blank - Adds a new design with the default texture (EA textures) and patterns/colors.		* Add New Blank - Adds a new design with the default texture (EA textures) and patterns/colors.
−	* Copy All From Base -	+	* Copy All From Base - Copies all of the original designs from the original CAS part in the game.
	* Add New (Copy Last) - Makes a duplicate of the last design.</blockquote></blockquote>		* Add New (Copy Last) - Makes a duplicate of the last design.</blockquote></blockquote>
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	==Stencils==		==Stencils==
	[[Image:Stencil.jpg|left|100px]]		[[Image:Stencil.jpg|left|100px]]
−	A stencil is a design that appears on top of the base texture of the CAS part, however thestencil itself is not recolorable. Stencils can be saved in DXT1, DXT3 or DXT5 compression.	+	A stencil is a design that appears on top of the base texture of the CAS part, however the stencil itself is not recolorable.
	: [[Image:RightArrow.gif]] ''For more information on how to add a stencil see [[Sims_3:Adding_Custom_Stencils| Applying Stencils]]''		: [[Image:RightArrow.gif]] ''For more information on how to add a stencil see [[Sims_3:Adding_Custom_Stencils| Applying Stencils]]''
	<br clear="all">		<br clear="all">
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	==Patterns==		==Patterns==
−	[[Image:Pattern.jpg|300px|right]]	+	[[Image:Patterncust.jpg|300px|right]]
	Patterns are the recolorable regions in Create-A-Sim. Here you can set the default colors/patterns you want displayed on your CAS part.		Patterns are the recolorable regions in Create-A-Sim. Here you can set the default colors/patterns you want displayed on your CAS part.
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	====Type====		====Type====
−	Sets the type of color or pattern you want to use.	+	Sets the type of color or pattern you want to use. Usually, the pattern browser will automatically select the correct pattern type.
−	<blockquote>	+	<blockquote>[[Image:Patternprev.jpg|left]]
	=====Solid=====		=====Solid=====
	A solid color. To change the color, click the little colored square under Solid Color Options.		A solid color. To change the color, click the little colored square under Solid Color Options.
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	=====Pattern (HSV)=====		=====Pattern (HSV)=====
−	HSV patterns are base images that are color shifted by a certain amount. They usually show up as red, yellow and magenta in the pattern preview.[[Image:Hsv.jpg|left]]<blockquote>	+	HSV patterns are base images that are color shifted by a certain amount. To change the color, click the little colored squares under Pattern (HSV) Options.<blockquote>
−	======BG Image======	+
−	BG Image is used for specifying a background image behind the pattern itself. This image colors can be "shifted" by changing the HSV (Hue, Saturation and Value) ratios.	+
−	======Channel======	+
−	.....	+
	</blockquote></blockquote><br clear="all">		</blockquote></blockquote><br clear="all">
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	|-		|-
	| class="shaded" |'''Overlay'''		| class="shaded" |'''Overlay'''
−	| An overlay is similar to a stencil except it can be placed anywhere, whereas a stencil is confined to the perimeter of the mesh. Necklaces that are attached to a clothing item are usually overlays.	+	| An overlay is similar to a stencil except it can be placed anywhere, whereas a stencil is confined to the perimeter of the base texture's alpha. Necklaces that are attached to a clothing item are usually overlays.
	| DXT1, DXT3, DXT5		| DXT1, DXT3, DXT5
	| Yes		| Yes
	|-		|-
	| class="shaded" |'''Part Mask'''		| class="shaded" |'''Part Mask'''
−	| Unknown	+	| The part mask maps out the minimum physical space the CAS part takes place in and is used by the game to map out how different outfit textures parts overlap. For example, it keeps knee-high boots textures from overlapping pants textures. In general, you won't have to change this unless you're doing some extreme retexturing such as turning pants into shorts.
	| DXT1		| DXT1
	| No*		| No*
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	| DXT1		| DXT1
	| No		| No
		+	|-
		+	| class="shaded" |'''Face Overlay'''
		+	| Face overlays are the equivalent of base textures for the face. These are used to make anything that deals with the face like: custom face masks, makeup, eyebrows, etc.
		+	* When dealing with face overlays, instead of assigning pattern colors, you give each part a '''tint color'''. To change the color either double-click on the little colored squares at the bottom of the textures window, or right-click on the tint key and hit edit color.
		+	| DXT5
		+	| Yes
		+	|-
		+	| class="shaded" |'''Bump Map'''
		+	| Bump maps are alpha-layered grayscale images that are used by the game to simulate raised bumps and grooves on the texture.
		+	| DXT5
		+	| Yes
	|}		|}
	<nowiki>*</nowiki> If you have four pattern regions you'll need to include the alpha channel.</blockquote>		<nowiki>*</nowiki> If you have four pattern regions you'll need to include the alpha channel.</blockquote>
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	==Meshes==		==Meshes==
−	(coming soon)	+	<blockquote>
		+	===Mesh TGI Links===
		+	This box lists all of the DDS Textures referenced from within the mesh (.simgeom) itself.  The primary usage of this box is to find the ResourceKey of the bumpmap.
		+
		+	===New Meshes===
		+	<blockquote>
		+	====Name====
		+	In order to succesfully use a new mesh, you '''must''' give it a new '''unique''' name in the CTU.
		+	====LODs====
		+	LOD files are the Level Of Detail meshes that all body meshes are made up of. The highest detail is LOD1, whereas the lowest is LOD3. The game will choose which LOD to use based on graphics settings and viewing distance.
		+
		+	''When importing LODs into the CTU, they must be imported in the correct order''.
		+
		+	[[Image:Bump.jpg|200px|left]]
		+	====Bump Map====
		+	The bump map is an alpha layered DDS file that is used to simulate bumps and grooves on the mesh. Bump maps can be grayed out to produce a flat map, which is more useful for universal use, or they can be completely mapped out for your design.
		+
		+	''Custom bump maps can only be used with a custom mesh at the moment.''
		+
		+	</blockquote></blockquote>
	<br clear="all">		<br clear="all">
	<font size="3">[[Sims_3:CTU_Guide| Main Page]]</font>		<font size="3">[[Sims_3:CTU_Guide| Main Page]]</font>
	==Design Type==		==Design Type==
−	Design Type allows you to change between 3 channel (CasRgbMask), 4 channel (CasRgbaMask) and Tintable Overlay.	+	Design Type allows you to change between 3 Channel RGB, 4 channel RGBA and Tintable Overlay.
	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
−	* Switching to 4 channel allows you to successfully enable pattern D (the fourth Pattern region).	+	* Switching to 4 Channel RGBA allows you to successfully enable pattern D (the fourth Pattern region).
−	* Toggling to CasRgbMask automatically disables pattern D</blockquote>	+	* Tintable Overlays are used for face masks and makeup.</blockquote>
	<font size="3">[[Sims_3:CTU_Guide| Main Page]]</font>		<font size="3">[[Sims_3:CTU_Guide| Main Page]]</font>
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	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	====How To Use====		====How To Use====
−	To enable 3D View, tick the Enable 3D Preview checkbox in the top left corner. When checked the a preview box will be added to the side. When you add a new design, the 3D Preview will load and should update in real-time as you change textures/patterns/etc.	+	To enable 3D View, tick the Enable 3D Preview checkbox in the top left corner. When checked, a preview box will be added to the side. When you add a new design, the 3D Preview will load and should update in real-time as you change textures/patterns/etc.
	<blockquote>		<blockquote>
	• Use the mouse wheel to zoom in, or click and drag.<br>		• Use the mouse wheel to zoom in, or click and drag.<br>
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	=====View=====		=====View=====
−	To rotate the mesh, right-click anywhere in the window and choose the view.	+	To auto-snap to a rotation, right-click anywhere in the window and choose View -> then the position.
	=====Reset View=====		=====Reset View=====
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	<br clear="all">		<br clear="all">
	<font size="3">[[Sims_3:CTU_Guide| Main Page]]</font>		<font size="3">[[Sims_3:CTU_Guide| Main Page]]</font>
		+
		+	[[Category:Sims 3 Modding Tutorials]][[Category:CTU Tutorials]]

---

Latest revision as of 15:51, 17 September 2012

Contents 1 Find a CAS Part 2 Part Details 3 Part Category 3.1 Commit 4 Designs 4.1 Add New Design 5 Stencils 6 Patterns 6.1 Enabled/Linked 6.2 Type 6.2.1 Solid 6.2.2 Pattern (Colored) 6.2.3 Pattern (HSV) 6.3 Pattern Browser 6.3.1 Custom Patterns 6.4 Tiling 6.5 RGB Mask 6.6 Specular 7 Logo 8 Textures 8.1 Replacing Textures 9 Other Details 10 Thumbnail 11 Meshes 11.1 Mesh TGI Links 11.2 New Meshes 11.2.1 Name 11.2.2 LODs 11.2.3 Bump Map 12 Design Type 13 3D View 13.1 How To Use 13.1.1 Render Mode 13.1.2 View 13.1.3 Reset View 13.1.4 Reload 3D 13.1.5 Reload Textures

[edit] Find a CAS Part

Before adding any designs to your CAS part, you have to chose which mesh you wish to use.

• Parameters - Use the age, gender and type parameters to dial up a mesh category. Then select the mesh you want to use from the drop down list. The thumbnail to the right of the screen allows you to preview the mesh.
• Quick Find - Once you dial up the age, gender and type, Quick Find allows you to scroll through thumbnails to pick which mesh you wish to use.

Main Page

[edit] Part Details

Part Details is for informational purposes only. More advanced users can use this list to help locate specific files and details of the package.
Main Page

[edit] Part Category

The Part Category tab allows you to change the categorization of the CAS part. Most of these are pretty self-explanatory.

Changing the age and/or gender of a CAS part can cause some pretty wacky results. So don't be shocked if you get something weird.

Extended Category		Other
Valid for Maternity	Check if you want to allow pregnant sims to wear the CAS part.	Left Handed	????
Valid for Random	Check if you want townies to be able to wear the CAS part.	Right Handed	????
Is Hat	Check if the CAS part is to be considered a hat.	Human	????
Is Revealing	Check if the CAS part is considered to be revealing.
Hidden In CAS	Check if you want the CAS part to be hidden in Create-A-Sim.

Main Page

[edit] Commit

By now you've probably encountered the commit button. To save any changes you've made, it is important that you click this button before moving on to something else.

Main Page

[edit] Designs

Designs are a collection of stencils, patterns and textures grouped together. Each design appears as one thumbnail in CAS. Therefore, to make a CAS part set in Create-A-Sim (one scroll box), add multiple designs in the CTU.

[edit] Add New Design

• Add New Blank - Adds a new design with the default texture (EA textures) and patterns/colors.
• Copy All From Base - Copies all of the original designs from the original CAS part in the game.
• Add New (Copy Last) - Makes a duplicate of the last design.

Main Page

[edit] Stencils

A stencil is a design that appears on top of the base texture of the CAS part, however the stencil itself is not recolorable.

For more information on how to add a stencil see Applying Stencils

Main Page

[edit] Patterns

Patterns are the recolorable regions in Create-A-Sim. Here you can set the default colors/patterns you want displayed on your CAS part.

[edit] Enabled/Linked

Enabled	Tick this to allow the pattern region (defined with the mask) to be recolored.
Linked	Unknown

[edit] Type

Sets the type of color or pattern you want to use. Usually, the pattern browser will automatically select the correct pattern type.

[edit] Solid

A solid color. To change the color, click the little colored square under Solid Color Options.

[edit] Pattern (Colored)

Colored patterns, the kind the Pattern Packager makes. They can have up to four different colors. To change the color, click the little colored squares under Pattern (Colored) Options.

[edit] Pattern (HSV)

HSV patterns are base images that are color shifted by a certain amount. To change the color, click the little colored squares under Pattern (HSV) Options.

[edit] Pattern Browser

The Pattern Browser allows you to easily browse through both the in-game patterns and downloaded and/or user created custom patterns.

[edit] Custom Patterns

• Use the Import Custom Pattern button to add a custom pattern to the pattern pool.
• To view custom patterns, pick the asterisk (*) from the drop-down Category list.

[edit] Tiling

Tiling allow you to change the number of patterns tiles used to fill a pattern region. The default size is 4.0000,4.0000; to use more tiles per region, increase the tiling number (see image) and vice-versa.

[edit] RGB Mask

Changing the RGB mask under the patterns tab can be used to build a pattern from scratch, that is only used for that specific design and will not show as a usable pattern in Create-A-Sim/Style. To do this, you create a pattern but instead of packaging with Pattern Packager (or any tool of choice), import the DDS here directly.

Note: it's much easier to use the pattern browser to import a custom pattern ;)

[edit] Specular

Changing the pattern specular can alter the shinyness/reflectiveness of the pattern.

Main Page

[edit] Logo

The logo is unused at the moment. My speculation is that it'll be used to distinguish items from different EPs, like The Sims 2 did.
Main Page

[edit] Textures

The vast majority of your CAS part will be defined with textures. The following is a list of all the possible textures, and what they edit on the CAS part.

Texture	Use	Compression	Alpha Needed
Base Texture	The base texture--sometimes called the multiplier---maps out what parts of the mesh are used (via the alpha layer) and it adds texture (wrinkles and folds) to the CAS part.	DXT5	Yes
Clothing Ambient	The clothing ambient indicates lighting intensity of the CAS part. This is rarely used, even by EA, so most are left pure white.	DXT1	No
Clothing Specular	The specular indicates the shininess or reflectivity of the CAS part.	DXT1	No
Mask	The mask uses the Red, Green, Blue and Alpha channels to define the different regions (patterns) that are recolorable using the Create-A-Sim tool.	DXT1	No*
Overlay	An overlay is similar to a stencil except it can be placed anywhere, whereas a stencil is confined to the perimeter of the base texture's alpha. Necklaces that are attached to a clothing item are usually overlays.	DXT1, DXT3, DXT5	Yes
Part Mask	The part mask maps out the minimum physical space the CAS part takes place in and is used by the game to map out how different outfit textures parts overlap. For example, it keeps knee-high boots textures from overlapping pants textures. In general, you won't have to change this unless you're doing some extreme retexturing such as turning pants into shorts.	DXT1	No*
Skin Ambient	The skin ambient is similar to the clothing ambient, except it indicates the lighting intensity on the skin itself. For the most part all default ambients are the same, so there's really no need to change it.	DXT1	No
Skin Specular	Skin speculars are like clothing speculars, except they indicate the reflectivity/shininess of the skin itself.	DXT1	No
Face Overlay	Face overlays are the equivalent of base textures for the face. These are used to make anything that deals with the face like: custom face masks, makeup, eyebrows, etc. When dealing with face overlays, instead of assigning pattern colors, you give each part a tint color. To change the color either double-click on the little colored squares at the bottom of the textures window, or right-click on the tint key and hit edit color.	DXT5	Yes
Bump Map	Bump maps are alpha-layered grayscale images that are used by the game to simulate raised bumps and grooves on the texture.	DXT5	Yes

* If you have four pattern regions you'll need to include the alpha channel.

[edit] Replacing Textures

For more information on how to replace a texture, see Replacing Textures

Main Page

[edit] Other Details

Other Details, like Part Details, is strictly for information only. The majority of the information displayed here can be changed under the Part Category tab.
Main Page

[edit] Thumbnail

If you want your own custom thumbnail to display in Create-A-Sim, then import it here. The image must be in .png format and 256x256 in width and height.
Main Page

[edit] Meshes

[edit] Mesh TGI Links

This box lists all of the DDS Textures referenced from within the mesh (.simgeom) itself. The primary usage of this box is to find the ResourceKey of the bumpmap.

[edit] New Meshes

[edit] Name

In order to succesfully use a new mesh, you must give it a new unique name in the CTU.

[edit] LODs

LOD files are the Level Of Detail meshes that all body meshes are made up of. The highest detail is LOD1, whereas the lowest is LOD3. The game will choose which LOD to use based on graphics settings and viewing distance.

When importing LODs into the CTU, they must be imported in the correct order.

[edit] Bump Map

The bump map is an alpha layered DDS file that is used to simulate bumps and grooves on the mesh. Bump maps can be grayed out to produce a flat map, which is more useful for universal use, or they can be completely mapped out for your design.

Custom bump maps can only be used with a custom mesh at the moment.

Main Page

[edit] Design Type

Design Type allows you to change between 3 Channel RGB, 4 channel RGBA and Tintable Overlay.

• Switching to 4 Channel RGBA allows you to successfully enable pattern D (the fourth Pattern region).
• Tintable Overlays are used for face masks and makeup.

Main Page

[edit] 3D View

By far the neatest feature of the CTU is the 3D preview! The 3D view allows you to...well...preview your CAS part in the CTU.

[edit] How To Use

To enable 3D View, tick the Enable 3D Preview checkbox in the top left corner. When checked, a preview box will be added to the side. When you add a new design, the 3D Preview will load and should update in real-time as you change textures/patterns/etc.

• Use the mouse wheel to zoom in, or click and drag.
• Left-click and drag to rotate the mesh sideways.
• Right-click and drag to freely rotate the mesh.

[edit] Render Mode

To change the way the mesh is rendered, right-click anywhere in the window and choose the mode.

[edit] View

To auto-snap to a rotation, right-click anywhere in the window and choose View -> then the position.

[edit] Reset View

Resets the 3D view to the default position.

[edit] Reload 3D

If you change a mesh, 3D view should automatically load the new mesh. If it does not, click Reload 3D.

[edit] Reload Textures

When you change a CAS part texture (i.e. base, mask, etc.) or a pattern color/swatch, the 3D view window should automatically change the textures. If it's not refreshed, then click "Reload Textures".

Main Page