countour seams

[telefen]

I've been wanting to make some realistic seams on countour of the mesh for example on the swimsuit on the shoulder straps to further enhace the looks.. Now, after seeing some creators work, I was so impressed that, now I know it's possible &want to give it a try.. I'm absoloutely not intersted in what i can do with bumpmapping cause, that's not it. Does anybody know how this is done & or if milkshake is capable of such jobb. Many thanks in aidvance. :beer: :)

[kalynn06]

You can absolutely do that in milkshape. If I want to get that look I end up playing around with the normals to get that effect in addition to just subtly playing around with the position of the vertices, so I'd say that a good first step would be to experiment with the normal alignment at the seams to see if that can achieve what you want.

[telefen]

You can absolutely do that in milkshape. If I want to get that look I end up playing around with the normals to get that effect in addition to just subtly playing around with the position of the vertices, so I'd say that a good first step would be to experiment with the normal alignment at the seams to see if that can achieve what you want. I think you misunderstand my intention on this subject. If you wanna see what I mean,. Over at insiminator take a look at Bobby stuff,then, you'll see what I'm talking about. Thanks anyway. :)

[kalynn06]

I think the you'd be likely to get the most help by either posting a pic of what you want (or at least a link) or asking over at insimenator, preferably of the original creator, because pictures really are worth a lot more than words when discussing meshing issues. What I'm taking about are the subtle seams that are used on Maxis meshes and custom meshes to make the necklines of gowns and the straps of swimsuits which are done with moving vertices and lining up normals in specific ways, which is what it sounded like you were describing. Apparently I misunderstood the verbal description.

[telefen]

I think the you'd be likely to get the most help by either posting a pic of what you want (or at least a link) or asking over at insimenator, preferably of the original creator, because pictures really are worth a lot more than words when discussing meshing issues. What I'm taking about are the subtle seams that are used on Maxis meshes and custom meshes to make the necklines of gowns and the straps of swimsuits which are done with moving vertices and lining up normals in specific ways, which is what it sounded like you were describing. Apparently I misunderstood the verbal description. I'm up to today unable to link simply because I haven't learn that yet so, i'll be glad if someone teaches me that. Unfortunately the original creator (my hero mesher) has left meshing sims2& I would have asked her otherwise. She's a great creator & a generous person. Thanks for your help kaylynn06 :Pint: :turtle:

[HystericalParoxysm]

IMO, it is better to -not- have those seams whenever possible. You can add the look of them very very well through texturing/bumpmapping, and it makes for a much more versatile mesh - for example, a mesh that's smooth from shoulder to wrist can be spaghetti straps, tank top, flutter sleeves, tee shirt, 3/4 sleeve, or longsleeve all in one.

If you -must- do it, I think Milkshape can, yes. Whether or not it can do it -easily- depends on the mesh you're making. Basically it will be MUCH MUCH easier if there is already a line of vertices along where you want the edge/seam. Then you can unweld them, pull them out a bit, and create a few new faces to patch the little hole along the edge, map them, and you're done. Otherwise you'll have to create a new line of vertices along where you want the seam which may be a lot more complex, time-consuming, and, well, as I said, not ideal to do in the first place so again, IMO, not worth the time/effort.

[telefen]

IMO, it is better to -not- have those seams whenever possible. You can add the look of them very very well through texturing/bumpmapping, and it makes for a much more versatile mesh - for example, a mesh that's smooth from shoulder to wrist can be spaghetti straps, tank top, flutter sleeves, tee shirt, 3/4 sleeve, or longsleeve all in one.

If you -must- do it, I think Milkshape can, yes. Whether or not it can do it -easily- depends on the mesh you're making. Basically it will be MUCH MUCH easier if there is already a line of vertices along where you want the edge/seam. Then you can unweld them, pull them out a bit, and create a few new faces to patch the little hole along the edge, map them, and you're done. Otherwise you'll have to create a new line of vertices along where you want the seam which may be a lot more complex, time-consuming, and, well, as I said, not ideal to do in the first place so again, IMO, not worth the time/effort. By the way what does IMO mean? I hear what you're saying abouttexturin/bumpmaping- Ever since i went thrue your &tiggypaum's beginner tut's, I been bussy doing all that& more. A few days ago I made my first successfull single alpha mesh&been doing lots of my multi alpha mesheswhich all workperfect. The part about adding mesh parts in simpe is another chapter which someday I'll tacke thru. My wish is still to be able for example, make an alpha casuall/exercise shorts like Jane Fonda used to wear A little baggy & loose. That's where i wanted the seams around the thigh opening& around the waist to further enhance the realism with help of bumpmapping . What's irritating with bumpmapping is that just when one is having fun looking at all the nice bump mapping done without any cosideration to the surounding while working on the project for hours,.. the damn lighting changes when the sims move around & it all looks like nothing. After seeing what Bobby has created with all those nice polygonized contours, I see it as a challenge I want to attempt cause, I really enjoy meshing now more than ever& want to learn a whole lot more before I can't see anymore :) No really, i sort of suspect she might be using another meshing program but, may be not. I mean may be ther's a meshing tool that can create these intricate contours for us cause, If you look at some of her work, there are hundreds of vertices so close together how in the world can one sit days trying to fix one shoulder strap on a swimwear. It sounds unreasonable & not worth doing if it were suppose to be one vertice at a time. Do you follow me?. :turtle:

[fakepeeps7]

IMO means "in my opinion".

There are some meshes in some of the newer EPs and Stuff Packs that have shoulder straps already contoured. It wouldn't be that difficult to use those pieces in your own mesh. I suspect that's what other people have done when they have 3D shoulder straps and such.

[telefen]

Thanks alot FP7. I'll have a look. Although I don't have pets,seasons or M&G.

[fakepeeps7]

I think FreeTime has some outfits like that. And possibly H&M Fashion Stuff.

The newer packs seem to use 3D meshes rather than bumpmaps to get that raised effect on clothing.

[telefen]

I think FreeTime has some outfits like that. And possibly H&M Fashion Stuff.

The newer packs seem to use 3D meshes rather than bumpmaps to get that raised effect on clothing. I have free time but noth&m yet. It sounds good. Can you be specific as which free time outfit you're talking about cause i didn't find anything with 3d countours. :rolleyes: :lol:

[fakepeeps7]

The adult female dresses with aprons have 3D shoulder straps, as do the athletic outfit with the orange top and grey pants, the athletic outfit with the purple asymmetrical top, and the pink & black ballet leotards. The teen ballet leotards also have the contours.

For adult males, there is the weird black dance costume, the workout outfit with the brown top and one pants leg pushed up, and possibly the black unitard with the silver flames (it's a bit difficult to tell on that dark colour).

[telefen]

The adult female dresses with aprons have 3D shoulder straps, as do the athletic outfit with the orange top and grey pants, the athletic outfit with the purple asymmetrical top, and the pink & black ballet leotards. The teen ballet leotards also have the contours.

For adult males, there is the weird black dance costume, the workout outfit with the brown top and one pants leg pushed up, and possibly the black unitard with the silver flames (it's a bit difficult to tell on that dark colour). Thanks a lot FP7.I'll have a look at that dress. You know,I've sort of have gone thru lots of these meshes looking for details I could use however, to be honest maxis hasn't made anything as detailed as what I've seen. The detail i'm talking about is sort of a flattened up tube at times which follows the contour of thigh opening or around the waist line of a pair of 3d pants where the waist line wasnot at all skin tight& this tube's vertices are integrated into surounding opening in a way that only a meshing program is capable of thru human command. The mesh outcome is quite polygon rich since, it's needed to create all these indentation thus, giving it a real 3d effect combined with right shading. I'm looking to find such tool which, I hope would be compatible. I should'nt say I hope since, what I've seen can only be made with such a meshing program not manually joining & moving vertices. Then you're up to 8-9000 faces for a relatively simple pair of shorts& a top. Thanks anyway FP7. :beer: :turtle:

[fakepeeps7]

To be perfectly honest, if the examples I suggested aren't what you're looking for, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Some pictures or links would be extremely helpful.

There is no magic meshing program that does all the work for you. And be aware that high-poly meshes are going to have a very limited appeal; my computer would choke on an 8000-face mesh, so I wouldn't even bother downloading it. In any case, MilkShape is perfectly capable of making meshes with lots of polygons. But this is The Sims 2 we're talking about here, and that level of detail simply isn't necessary for most players.

[telefen]

To be perfectly honest, if the examples I suggested aren't what you're looking for, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Some pictures or links would be extremely helpful.

There is no magic meshing program that does all the work for you. And be aware that high-poly meshes are going to have a very limited appeal; my computer would choke on an 8000-face mesh, so I wouldn't even bother downloading it. In any case, MilkShape is perfectly capable of making meshes with lots of polygons. But this is The Sims 2 we're talking about here, and that level of detail simply isn't necessary for most players. If wouldteach me how to link, I'd show you. 8000 faces is a lot but,my machine is 4 yr old with a ram of 1GB for example& an old Gforce 9600 serie grafique card. I have not problem with 8 adults runing around, not all wearing such high poly clothes but nothing less than 4000. It also depends on how much cc I think. The only problem I encounter is when I use motivedecay off& all their needs are satisfied&some of them stand still&that lags the game until I send them to sit on the bike. Then cosidering I've converted the biggest rental apartment for their residence.Like three apartment on top of that hill In belladona. That's a huge complex. honestly doesn't matter what they wear it could be a plain smimsuit worn while in a hotel on vacation. The game starts lagging occasionally or wearing something with 8-9000 same thing. i don't have many sims running around in those execpt the & gals&two guys living there&lot's of guests that I invite but as long as they're in motion, there's no lagging at all. that's also because of using motive decay off cheat. :Pint: :turtle: I just went through the whole sims wardrobe. IMO, I find all those you're refering to to be rather 2D than 3D cause after all 3D means you can see the object in 3 differnt dimension not just 2. Again, that's not just my fact. Thanks anyway FP7. :)