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-----Chapter
4-----
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4
a basic breakdown of simfiles and Sim Show directories
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so that you have a basic idea of how everything works together to make an
end product. For the example I will use here on out, I will go with a Sim
I made, Chyna. (Chyna is a WWF Superstar who is roughly 6 feet tall, 200
pounds and capable of picking up grown men up over her head.)
Here is a thumbnail of what Chyna's character folder looks like, unzipped.
Just click on it to enlarge it and get a better look at it. Then use the
back button on your browser to come back here.
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| The files we will be working with
out of this folder are B505FAFitlgt_chyna and c513FAlgt_chyna which are
both .bmp files. The naming concept of these files is realatively easy:
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| B505FAFitlgt_chyna |
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| B -
a body file |
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| 505
- the file number |
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| FA - female |
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| Fitlgt -
fit body, light skin tone |
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| _ - a separator |
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| chyna -
the description of this character |
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| The c513FAlgt_chyna is pretty much
the same. The only difference is the "c" which just means cranium.
And the reason there is no fit, fat or skinny designation for the head is
just because the head goes with any body.
You will notice the .cmx and .skn files in there as well. The .skn file
is just a wireframe model of the body or head, which I also will refer
to as a "mesh". Thats what gives your Sim it's shape. It's kind
of like the skeletal and muscular structure which uses the .bmp to make
the "skin" overtop the wireframe.
The .cmx file is kind of like the glue for the end product. It tells
the computer which parts it will be displaying at the same time, whether
it will just be a head or a head with a hat.
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| As far as the Simshow Directory is
concerned, |
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| all your files that you will be
working with will be in the C:Maxis/Simshow/Gamedata directory (provided
you did the default installation). You will see a bunch of CMX folders,
People1 and textures. Click on the thumbnail to the right to see. |
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| The bmp will always always always
go in the textures folder. This includes the bmp's for add-on's like glasses,
hats, wings, etc.
If you want to put in new body models like the kind you get in Maxis
Skin Pack downloads, you will have to break them down a bit. It's not
like the game, where it all goes in the Skins folder. Put the .skn files
and the .cmx files in to the People1, CMX2, or the CMX3 folders. Just
for simplicity, put all the related files into the same folder.
Put all the bmp files in the textures folder. For the purpose of this
tutorial, this is the folder we will be working out of.
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All Sim Graphics
Copywrite Crash Creations 2001-2002 Unless Otherwise Noted
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