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Ms. Byte (Deceased)
Original Poster
#1 Old 28th Oct 2014 at 4:29 PM Last edited by CmarNYC : 6th Apr 2015 at 12:17 PM.
Default Tool to fix custom meshes that crash on some computers
*** This tool is now obsolete - the problem it fixes has been removed in a game patch! ***

I'm releasing this separately since I'm a bit bogged down with new features for S4 CAS Tools and don't want creators to have to wait for this since I seem to have finally gotten it working in a useful way.

What it's for: To fix custom creations that cause crashing on computers with Intel video chipsets, often but not always Windows 8 systems.

What does it fix? (tech notes for tool and mesh makers): According to SimGuruModSquad in the EA forums, this was caused by not enough bones in the list of bones used by each mesh being referenced by at least one vertex in the mesh, which resulted in not enough memory being reserved and bad memory writes. I found it's a little more than that - any bone in the list that's not referenced by at least one vertex causes crashing, in other words there can not be any unused bones even if the 'use' is only an empty bone weight. And other things like zero bone weight references to bones outside the bounds of the bone list array, which was tolerated by Sims 3, causes crashing in Sims 4.

To use: Unzip the files into a new folder and run S4_CrashBoneFixer.exe. Select your package, click Go, save the modified package, and you're done. The 'Minimum bones' is set to a default of 3, but if your package still has problems you can try increasing it. If you do have problems, please post here and if possible upload your package.

Testing: I've tested mostly only in CAS so I can't guarantee everything will work in-game. That said, most people had crashing in CAS and never got the items into the game. I've successfully gotten hairs by @Astraea Nevermore and Anubis and DylanArcadia and @Elitta and @Vampire_aninyosaloh , and a dress and accessories by @Notegain , working in CAS. Needs more testing, especially in-game. @FoFuxx may be interested too. (Sorry, I know I left out some people who asked about this.)

For people without Intel video chipsets who want to test and don't mind fiddling with game files, you can use the method suggested by SimGuruModSquad:
Quote:
As for why it only happens on certain machines: It only happens when software skinning is enabled, which only is enabled on Intel cards. You cannot switch to software skinning via the options. But for tool makers wanting to reproduce the crash you can go to the file GraphicsRules.sgr (next to the EXE) and set this line (~line 86):

setProp $ConfigGroup EnableSoftwareSkinning false

to

setProp $ConfigGroup EnableSoftwareSkinning true

Of course you will want to undo this change once done reproducing the crash. Note that you can always "Repair Game" in Origin if to get any modified files in the install directory back to their correct state. You should only make this change to debug this issue, otherwise you will experience reduced performance.
Screenshots
Attached files:
File Type: zip  S4_CrashBoneFixer_1_0_0_0.zip (146.0 KB, 10073 downloads) - View custom content

Please do not PM me with mod, tutorial, or general modding questions or problems; post them in the thread for the mod or tutorial or post them in the appropriate forum.

Visit my blogs for other Sims content:
Online Sims - general mods for Sims 3
Offline Sims - adult mods for Sims 3 and Sims 4
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 29th Oct 2014 at 4:45 AM
Thank you very much for the tool, testing and explanation Cmar Now i can test and fix those meshes
Mad Poster
#3 Old 29th Oct 2014 at 12:29 PM Last edited by Esmeralda : 29th Oct 2014 at 7:08 PM.
Wow, thank you, Cmar. Look forward to trying it out. I have weird minor problems with my glasses on Intel PCs - although they don't crash, they cause strange aberrations on some clothing meshes on my Intel graphic PCs (but not on my nVidia one), creating gaps in some EA outfits (usually in the clavicle area, forearms, or lower legs) when the sim puts the glasses on. If this tool fixed that problem too, it'd be fantastic.

(My glasses were not made with CASTools, BTW, they were made with Sims 4 Studio - when I tried making glasses with CASTools I kept getting only one mesh in game, the lenses, and the frames were not showing up. I thought it was just me, but I now see Notegain has just mentioned in another thread that they too had tried cloning glasses with CASTools and only one mesh of their 2-mesh accessory showed up in game, so it might be worth your knowing about that in case it's a bug in CASTools.)

ETA: Oh damn, it didn't work for glasses, they still have the outfit gaps problem on some outfits (the male 'Oracle' outfit is the one I first noticed it on, seems to be the worst offender). If it works for hairs, though, that will be an enormous help.

ETA 2: Just tried it on one of my TS3 converted hairs which used to crash CAS if I changed the shader to SimGlass to enable alpha. This time, it didn't crash (hooray!), but, although it looks OK in CAS, in-game the alpha looks like pink pieces of paper all over the sim's head. Well, at least it doesn't crash now, which is a big step in the right direction!
Test Subject
#4 Old 29th Oct 2014 at 9:36 PM Last edited by FoFuxx : 30th Oct 2014 at 2:11 AM.
Thank you so much, I'll test! <3

Friends that tested reported that works!
Lab Assistant
#5 Old 30th Oct 2014 at 4:11 AM
Thank you! Now to update one of my mesh edits to see if this fixes the issue. The problem has been one reason that puts me off. I want my creations to work for everyone, and this with hopefully be the solution.
I aim to misbehave
retired moderator
#6 Old 2nd Nov 2014 at 7:44 PM
Thank you very much for this. I've fixed all my hairs with it, and hopefully they'll work for everyone after the update

Check out my tutorials: For TS4: Eyelashes and for TS2: Eyes and Eyes 2
-My Insta-

Please, call me Nina (:
Field Researcher
#7 Old 2nd Nov 2014 at 8:10 PM Last edited by Astraea Nevermore : 3rd Nov 2014 at 11:32 PM.
Oh my, thank you so much for this! I'm testing it right now! <3 No crashes for me so far, and the hair looks good both in CAS and in game for me. I had my sim interacting with random objects, change hair color at the mirror and then travel to a bar all without crashes, all while having the softwareskinning enabled. Sure, my game seems to run a little slow now, but I guess that has to do with the reduced performance the SimGuru at the EA forum was talking about, since I don't have an Intel card and I'm just editing the GraphicsRules for testing purposes before the fix, I couldn't even get past CAS without the game crashing, if I had software skinning enabled D:

Edit/Update: Looks like there is a little problem, though the male versions of both my conversions worked fine and caused no crashes at all, but the female versions are still causing crashes. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the way I created the packages, though: while I did both male hairs by cloning a package from the game, importing the textures/lods, changing the shader and everything else, the female version was simply made by cloning the male package using CAS Tools and then changing the gender flags in s4pe. Could that be the reason why the fix doesn't work for those?
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
Original Poster
#8 Old 4th Nov 2014 at 12:13 AM
Interesting! I still have to check that cloning custom packages with CAS Tools actually works, so that could be the problem. Did you run the fixer tool on the female versions after cloning? The bone fix is not built into the current version of CAS Tools.

Please do not PM me with mod, tutorial, or general modding questions or problems; post them in the thread for the mod or tutorial or post them in the appropriate forum.

Visit my blogs for other Sims content:
Online Sims - general mods for Sims 3
Offline Sims - adult mods for Sims 3 and Sims 4
Field Researcher
#9 Old 4th Nov 2014 at 8:43 AM
Quote: Originally posted by CmarNYC
Interesting! I still have to check that cloning custom packages with CAS Tools actually works, so that could be the problem. Did you run the fixer tool on the female versions after cloning? The bone fix is not built into the current version of CAS Tools.


Yep, I used the fixer tool after I had cloned the package and changed the gender flags on it to make it work for females. Today I also tried a different order, as in: running the fixer tool first on the male package and then cloning that fixed version to make the gender switch, but nothing, it still crashed it seemed to work at first (I could select the hair in CAS, change colors both in CAS and at the mirror, interact with objects, travel around town and so on), but when I closed the game and then re-opened the save that was using the female version of the hair, it crashed so yeah, I guess there could be something with cloned custom packages in CAS Tools D:
Instructor
#10 Old 4th Nov 2014 at 4:52 PM Last edited by simmer4eveer : 4th Nov 2014 at 6:05 PM.
OMG works, your the best :D

I need a cigarette
Test Subject
#11 Old 7th Nov 2014 at 9:32 PM
When I go to save it, it won't let me save it back into the mods folder?
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
Original Poster
#12 Old 7th Nov 2014 at 11:04 PM
Quote: Originally posted by x___PEPSii
When I go to save it, it won't let me save it back into the mods folder?


It won't let you save over the original package. Save it with a new name and replace the package in your mods folder.

Please do not PM me with mod, tutorial, or general modding questions or problems; post them in the thread for the mod or tutorial or post them in the appropriate forum.

Visit my blogs for other Sims content:
Online Sims - general mods for Sims 3
Offline Sims - adult mods for Sims 3 and Sims 4
Test Subject
#13 Old 10th Nov 2014 at 12:08 AM
Works! I wasn't having any difficulty in CAS, it was only if I was playing the game. It would crash usually between 5 to 15 minutes of play. This is what I did:

1. Used this tool on all the CC hairs I have
2. Opened the game and used manage households to re-choose custom hairs on my played sims and deleted all of my unplayed sims (rationale here http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/dis...ssible-solution)
3. Repaired game in Origin

(Whenever I delete CC now I delete unplayed sims or at least change their outfits in case they were spawned with old CC)
Pettifogging Legalist!
retired moderator
#14 Old 30th Nov 2014 at 4:49 PM
Is this the kind of crash that was fixed in 1.2.24.20?
Quote:
We fixed a crash reported on the modding forums where custom content clones of hats and hairs could cause a crash on Intel graphics cards due to an issue with the skinning code.

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/dis...omment_12997840

Stuff for TS2 · TS3 · TS4 | Please do not PM me with technical questions – we have Create forums for that.

In the kingdom of the blind, do as the Romans do.
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
Original Poster
#15 Old 30th Nov 2014 at 6:24 PM
Quote: Originally posted by plasticbox
Is this the kind of crash that was fixed in 1.2.24.20?
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/dis...omment_12997840


Yes it is, and the fix seems to work.

Please do not PM me with mod, tutorial, or general modding questions or problems; post them in the thread for the mod or tutorial or post them in the appropriate forum.

Visit my blogs for other Sims content:
Online Sims - general mods for Sims 3
Offline Sims - adult mods for Sims 3 and Sims 4
Test Subject
#16 Old 12th Dec 2014 at 7:58 AM
Norton stopped download - ? Supposedly malicious.
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
Original Poster
#17 Old 12th Dec 2014 at 2:42 PM
Quote: Originally posted by jaki2
Norton stopped download - ? Supposedly malicious.


My tool is not malicious, and Norton is probably getting a false positive. In any case, games that are patched up to date no longer need this fix.

Please do not PM me with mod, tutorial, or general modding questions or problems; post them in the thread for the mod or tutorial or post them in the appropriate forum.

Visit my blogs for other Sims content:
Online Sims - general mods for Sims 3
Offline Sims - adult mods for Sims 3 and Sims 4
Test Subject
#18 Old 12th Dec 2014 at 5:00 PM
Default Cheers
Quote: Originally posted by CmarNYC
My tool is not malicious, and Norton is probably getting a false positive. In any case, games that are patched up to date no longer need this fix.



Thanks, I know Norton is a bugger for that. Hair still blue - have to try something else? Thanks for reply cmar and all your fantastic creations over the years.
Back to the drawing board! Cheers
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
Original Poster
#19 Old 12th Dec 2014 at 8:30 PM
Blue hair in the preview may be due to this graphics settings issue: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=542628

Please do not PM me with mod, tutorial, or general modding questions or problems; post them in the thread for the mod or tutorial or post them in the appropriate forum.

Visit my blogs for other Sims content:
Online Sims - general mods for Sims 3
Offline Sims - adult mods for Sims 3 and Sims 4
Test Subject
#20 Old 1st Apr 2015 at 8:54 AM
looks very usefull, but i have a mac so it doesnt work for me ;v;
Mad Poster
#21 Old 1st Apr 2015 at 9:48 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Red-Bloom
looks very usefull, but i have a mac so it doesnt work for me ;v;

The tool has been obsolete since November when EA fixed the hair-crashing bug in an update patch (read the November 30th-December 12th posts further up this thread), so you don't need to use it anymore.
Test Subject
#22 Old 22nd Sep 2017 at 8:57 AM
It says "Can't read GEOM" for some of my package files. Does that mean that they're corrupted files?
Ms. Byte (Deceased)
Original Poster
#23 Old 26th Sep 2017 at 11:33 PM
As it says in the OP, this tool is obsolete and unnecessary now. You're getting an error because EA changed the format of the GEOM after this tool was written.

Please do not PM me with mod, tutorial, or general modding questions or problems; post them in the thread for the mod or tutorial or post them in the appropriate forum.

Visit my blogs for other Sims content:
Online Sims - general mods for Sims 3
Offline Sims - adult mods for Sims 3 and Sims 4
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