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Scholar
Original Poster
#1 Old 6th Sep 2018 at 3:19 AM Last edited by Bubblebeam : 6th Sep 2018 at 11:46 PM.
Default Combining mesh groups?
Could anyone take me through the procedure of merging mesh groups of clothing into one group? Clothing meshing is totally foreign to me so apologies if I make zero sense. I've just learned that default replacing clothing requires the replacement mesh to have no more than one group, and mine has three (body plus two alphas), and I can't find another mesh similar enough to use instead. How easy would it be to just combine the needed two into one and delete the other? I'm assuming you don't just export like you would objects, since there are joints and such.


"It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled." - Mark Twain
Truth will not fear scrutiny.
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 6th Sep 2018 at 5:44 PM
If you combine mesh groups, there are things you need to consider:

1: Can the mesh groups use the same texture? If yes, you may be able to combine them. If not, you may have to remap the mesh.
2: Does the mesh have an inside and outside (alpha mesh)? If so, you need both groups, because they layer differently.
3: Is the mesh a 3t2/4t2 clothing mesh? If so, all skin parts usually need to be on a separate group named "body", "top" or "bottom". If not, you may have to do a lot of UVmapping to make them fit in one group.
4: There are two methods to default replacing (as I understand). One replaces the mesh and recolor directly, another goes via the PropertySet. I'm not too familiar with the second method, I just know it exists.
(to be cont.)
Sesquipedalian Pisciform
retired moderator
#3 Old 6th Sep 2018 at 7:26 PM
This is a tutorial :
https://le-plat-du-jour.livejournal.com/56464.html

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Scholar
Original Poster
#4 Old 6th Sep 2018 at 11:43 PM Last edited by Bubblebeam : 7th Sep 2018 at 5:01 AM.
Yeah, I've considered those things. The alphas are the inner and outer layers of two skirts (probably better just to show you, here). I'd need to delete the upper skirt leaving just the bottom one, like this recolour shows, but that would still leave the two alphas existing for the remaining skirt. So I'd need to merge them all and remap the mesh right? How exactly should clothing meshes be imported/exported?

leefish, oh does this guide apply to clothing as well? I was originally following this guide also by Marja but they mentioned multiple group meshes aren't eligible to be default replacements. I'll give this one a look though, it looks hopeful. And I'd much rather not have to edit any clothes myself since I know crap all about it. Thanks.


"It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled." - Mark Twain
Truth will not fear scrutiny.
Sesquipedalian Pisciform
retired moderator
#5 Old 7th Sep 2018 at 4:52 AM
The tutorial says it should work for body shop , though do read the comments, especially the ones from nysha and pooklet.

More downloads by Leesester, BoilingOil and others at Leefish.nl | My Stuff at Leefish.nl | LeeFish RSS | Sims4 News Blog | TumblinLeefish
Mad Poster
#6 Old 8th Sep 2018 at 2:03 AM Last edited by simmer22 : 8th Sep 2018 at 2:33 AM.
Alphas (if they need to be alpha editable, as in partly visible or partly transparent) need to have multiple layers. The "body/top/pants" layer takes on skintone, while the alpha layer is actually alpha editable and can be made partly invisible or transparent.

However, if both (or multiple) alpha layers can use the same texture, you can get away with only one extra texture and layering. Make sure to change the "opacity" in the comments so that the inner layer has a lower number than the outer layer (1 for inner layer, 3 for outer layer, and so on with more layers, only using odd numbers - I have yet to see even numbers used for this, save for the occasional 0). Give the mesh parts the same name after importing. They'll layer correctly, but you'll only need one extra texture.

This is quite useul for hairs that need to be layered in a particular way but can get away with two textures (for scalp and actual hair), or other CAS items where the same texture and alpha can be used for inner and outer alpha layers.

You may still have a problem with defaulting the outfit, but that's one less layer to think about.
Forum Resident
#7 Old 17th Sep 2018 at 11:05 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
4: There are two methods to default replacing (as I understand). One replaces the mesh and recolor directly, another goes via the PropertySet. I'm not too familiar with the second method, I just know it exists.
(to be cont.)


The second method works by replacing the 3IDRs with ones that use custom meshes and TXMTs. Replacing the Property Sets helps with matching individual replacement 3IDRs to the outfits being replaced, and with making sure that the replacement has the correct shoe sounds. Strictly speaking, though, you only need to keep the replacement Property Sets when using this method if the Maxis outfit and the replacement outfit have a different number of mesh groups, or if any of the mesh groups use different names. Aside from that added flexibility, the advantage to this method is that it doesn't break any existing CC that uses the Maxis mesh. The downside, to the extent there is one, is the need to be careful with the Delete button in CAS and Body Shop, because having a Property Set in the default package will enable it.
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