Clothing Cloning Plugin for DatGen

[DarkMatter]

Hello skinners. Many of you, probably most of you, will be familiar with a tutorial written by Brianna of the Well Dressed Sim. Her tutorial outlined the process by which you can export a clothing item from Bodyshop, and the steps you have to take to create a new mesh for editing.

Brianna's tutorial has been invaluable to clothing skinners who wish to make new meshes. Its a fairly complex process, involving about 40 steps. Its a bit of a hassle and takes a bit of time. I've taken Brianna's process, and automated it in a new plugin for DatGen. This plugin is EXTREMELY simple, and does all the steps of Briannas tutorial except the Bodyshop parts in about 30 seconds (after you fill in a few required fields in a small form). You will still need to follow the very first step, and the last few steps, of Briannas tutorial: http://www.sims2.thesimsresource.com/article/tutorials/wdstutorial.

The tool takes the skin package exported by Bodyshop, and requests several output filenames. When you click the button at the bottom of the form, the plugin will process the skin, and create a Mesh package, a skin package, and export a .obj file containing the clothing mesh for you to edit. The tool is in its first release, and doesn't do much more than I described. The next release is slated to have an extremely simple, one-step reimport process so you can update your Mesh package with the edited clothing mesh (from the .obj file).

This tool is for all the custom clothing meshers and skinners out there who would like a simpler, faster process. I hope this will fulfill a need, and shorten the development time for making new clothing meshes. I love a LOT of the work you guys do, and some of you are particularly exceptional.

This is the first of several mesh editing tools for DatGen, and they will all be on roughly the same level of simplicity and ease-of-use when released. You can get this plugin by downloading the latest release of DatGen at www.datgen.info/files/DatGen_079_Release.rar. NOTE: You need WinRar to extract this file.

Please let me know what you think, and what features you would like that you think would make your jobs as skinners easier. Using the tool is pretty strait forward:

1) Open the skin package you exported from Bodyshop.
2) Type in a name for the new mesh, your initials, and choose the age and gender.
3) Choose filenames to save the mesh package, skin package, and .obj files to.
4) Run the process. :)

[VAMPY BITES V^^^^V]

OOOOOOOOOOOOH!

Thank you!

Will try it out!

"S"
V^^^^V

[ladydrb58]

I would like to thank you for this tool. I am downloading it now, and can not wait to try it out. Looking forward to creating new clothing for the toddlers, and elderly. Will post once I have completed the tutorial using this plug in. Again many thanks

[DarkMatter]

Oh, sorry. I forgot to mention, READ the DatGen FAQ at www.datgen.info/faq.aspx. I guarantee that a lot of you will have questions as to why the program doesn't run...the FAQ will get you started.

Also, the tool is found in the Plugins sidebar, its the last one. You might need to scroll the sidebar a bit to find the icon for it.

[Faylen]

You know, DarkMatter, I've been delayed in learning to mesh because I so seldom have time to sit at the computer for an extended period. I'll let you know how it goes with this. Thanks!

[PAF]

This sounds really good but I haven't been able to get it to work yet or at least I can't find the mesh packages.I just get a list of errors when I click on clone.It may very well be me.I'm mostly wondering if I'm doing somethig wrong.

[DarkMatter]

Could you explain the steps you took? It might be a good idea to read through Briannas tutorial so you know what the plugin does. You still need to do the first step of her tutorial, and the last few (basically, anything that has to do with bodyshop).

[mod_bv]

Thank you!

[PAF]

I will try it again as soon as I finish the one I"m working on.If I can find what I'm doing wrong I'll let you know.If I'm the only one then it is probably me and not the plug-in.

[alej_r_b]

A huge Thanks!!!!

EDIT:
I have a problem with the download, I have been trying to download the file but after five minutes the download "ends" and when I try to open the .rar file a message box appears and says "unexpected end of file".

[DarkMatter]

Seems like your connection to the server is spotty. Keep trying to download, until it finishes. The file is about 6.2 to 6.3 megs.

[alej_r_b]

Thanks, problem fixed.

[PAF]

OK I found my problem.I was trying to keep the same name for the texture file and that is why I was getting the errors from Datgen.Also for some reason milkshape wouldn't import the .obj so I just exported a new one from simpe.This will save alot of time though.Thanks Darkmatter I can't wait to see the finished plug-in.

[hritza]

Thanks so much! I thought that it was a rather long and time consuming thing with many opportunities for error! I'll try it out... but... does this still use SimPE? or is DatGen required? I'll let you know how it goes...

[DarkMatter]

Everything I do will require DatGen. I'm not part of the SimPE project, nor will any of my tools work for SimPE.

Check out www.datgen.info for more information about DatGen. It does a lot more than just help clone clothing, and it actually allows you to edit more file types than SimPE (with another 10-15 more editors due very soon. ;))

[yocrose]

I seem to have a very strange problem. I started off not able to view the plugins at all and followed your faq sheet to update my DirectX to the April 2005 update. Then all the plugins seemed to work. However, i have the same problem that "PAF" (above) mentioned-where a string of errors come up when pushing the clone button. He fixed his problem by having a different name for them, but mine already have totally different names. Not one is the same. What do I do? Am I not naming the files correctly? Is there going to be a little mini-tutorial on how to label things properly? Sorry to be such a bother and thanks in advance!

[DarkMatter]

Can you list some of the errors that are comming up? Error messages usually include line numbers (if they are bugs), which I can use to quickly fix any problems. Also, don't worry about posting problems. The more feedback you guys give me, the better I can make this tool your you all, which is my ultimate goal. :)

[PAF]

The problem that I was talking about was having the same name as the bodyshop file,but I never could get the new mesh to show up.I thought it was just me though.After I changed the names I didn't get errors anymore.

[DarkMatter]

Oh. You can't save out the new content to the same name as the bodyshop file. The plugin has to keep the body shop file open WHILE its saving the new contents, which is why you were getting the error. You have to save the skin and mesh files to new names.

[PAF]

I'm still not exactly sure on this so could tell me exactly which step of Brianna's tutorial this stops on?Also the .obj file exported by datgen was crashing milkshape 1.74.

[yocrose]

THis really helps! I'll try it out! I have the same question. Which of Brianna's tutorials last steps do we still have to take? Because I know you said we couldn't import the file back in yet.

[DarkMatter]

In briannas tutorial, you have to do step 1, and steps 29-31. Until DatGen has its reimport script system ready, you'll need to do the last part, part 6, to reimport your edited mesh.

I'll check out the .obj crashing Milkshape issue. Any idea where I can get version 1.74? I have a couple older versions.

[PAF]

Here is link to milkshape and it is 1.75 now,sorry I forgot that I just updated.Mlikshape (http://www.swissquake.ch/chumbalum-soft/ms3d/download.html)I have not tried with 1.75 though.

[yocrose]

Okay, I was finally able to export the mesh, etc. okay but when I opened up the mesh it was very weird. It was all smushed together into one plane. I guess I'll have to give it another whirl. Is this a problem for anyone else?

[DarkMatter]

I may be exporting the .obj wrong. This is my first go at generating .obj files, so, I have to do some debugging.

[yocrose]

It's okay!!!! I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate what you've already accomplished to do. I think pretty soon your program will be all I will need to use and that in and of itself is exciting!!!! Thanks a million!

quick update:
Have worked with the clothing cloner plugin several times and here's what I've come up with. Apparently it's not able to export hair- just lists a bunch of errors. Tried exporting several different clothing packages- successful but when opening up the object file in Milkshape it's totally messed up. Smushed down to one plane as mentioned before. Hope this is fixable!!!!

[DarkMatter]

Thanks yocrose, for the compliment and the experiments. :)

Its all definitely fixable. Code is my domain, and I can do pretty much anything with it. Its just a matter of how long. I know whats wrong with my .obj files. Apparently, you can't have a vertex listed more than once, otherwise it causes problems. The original way that I was exporting .obj files worked for meshes that had only one subset, but for meshes that have multiple subsets, it won't work. I know how to fix the problem, but it means considerably more complex code than I had before. I have to build consolidated lists of vertices, texture coordinates, and normals, then reference the right entries in those lists from multiple groups. Its going to take me a little while to fix the problem, so I'm not going to set any dates as to when an update could be expected.

Also, hairtones, and any character model part (head, torso, etc), use more complex GMDC files than plain clothing. There are some known deficiencies in DatGen's handling of GMDC files that, like the .obj export, are going to be difficult to fix. Since you guys really need the whole .gmdc file instead of a .obj file to edit things like clothing or hairtones, I'm going to add an option to extract them, and disable the .obj export for now. I'll make this update soon, and let everyone know when its up. That should make it possible to use this plugin to clone clothing, but not hairtones, while I fix the other problems.

[PAF]

Thanks Dark Matter I would like to thank you for what you are doing for us.Hpoe everything goes well with the tons of code you must have to go through and write.Also I was wondereing is there any chance of being able to add vertices and/or groups when you have time to work on the importer? I'm trying to learn how to do that now and I'm about to pull out what hair I have left :banghead: .I will keep trying to find a way to get my ideas to work but I think your program would simplify things alot.Well I'm gonna get back to it and once again thanks for all that you have done. :read:

[NicMcD]

I hope I'm posting this in the right place. I want to know you to us DatGen to convert Adult clothes to Young Adult. And if I can do this with DatGen could someone please give a detailed description of how to do it, like step by step for a N00blet like me. I got the bodyshop steps covered but I'm at a total loss when I get to the DatGen part.

Thanks


Edit: DOH!! I just found the tutoiral on the DatGen site. :Slap:

[DarkMatter]

Glad you found the tutorial, nicwear. :)

Regarding cloning of hair meshes. I'm not sure how this is currently done. Do you follow the same method as for cloning clothing, or is it a different process? If its a different process, I'll probably have to write a new plugin for it, or add a new processing path to the current one.

[DarkMatter]

I'll be uploading a new development version of DatGen tonight, and it will include an updated Clothing Cloner. I've disabled the .obj export, and added .gmdc export. When the .obj export is working again, I'll reenable it, but I think you guys need to use the .gmdc anyway, so I think everything should be good. :)

[DarkMatter]

A new development version is up that allows exporting of .gmdc files. I've disabled .obj export for now. www.datgen.info/downloads.aspx

[ladydrb58]

Hope you do not mind me posting this issue here. It is a problem that I am having with datagen, not sure if anyone else has had this problem. I started using Datagen, and just testing some of the features.

After runing skinfixer, this is the error message that I received. And first, I would like to say that I tried posting on the forum, but it would not acknowledge my user name and password, so I could not post any issues there.
See pic, of the error message that I received.

[ladydrb58]

Following the instructions, I am still getting the same error message. I tried closing bodyshop, receive error when I click on clone. I read throught the threads, and went back open bodyshop and when I go to plugin view in datagen this error pops up. Am, I missing something? Need some help here.

---------- [Exception Report (1)] ----------

Type: WebException

Message: The request failed with HTTP status 404: Not Found.

Stack trace: at System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapHttpClientProtocol.ReadResponse(SoapClientMessage message, WebResponse response, Stream responseStream, Boolean asyncCall)

at System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapHttpClientProtocol.Invoke(String methodName, Object[] parameters)

at DatGen.Services.DGSExceptionReporting.ExceptionReporting.LogDatGenException(Guid userKey, String report, DateTime dtstamp) in E:\Data & Stuff\My Documents\Visual Studio Projects\DBPF Editor\DatGen.Services\Web References\DGSExceptionReporting\Reference.cs:line 43

at DatGen.Services.ExceptionReportingManager.LogDatGenException(Guid userKey, String report, DateTime timestamp) in E:\Data & Stuff\My Documents\Visual Studio Projects\DBPF Editor\DatGen.Services\ExceptionReportingManager.cs:line 48

at DatGen.Apps.frmDatGen.LogError(Exception ex, Boolean show, Boolean fatal, IWin32Window owner) in E:\Data & Stuff\My Documents\Visual Studio Projects\DBPF Editor\DatGen.Apps\DatGen.cs:line 2365

at DatGen.Apps.frmDatGen.Application_ThreadException(Object sender, ThreadExceptionEventArgs e) in E:\Data & Stuff\My Documents\Visual Studio Projects\DBPF Editor\DatGen.Apps\DatGen.cs:line 4617

at System.Windows.Forms.ThreadContext.OnThreadException(Exception t)

at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProcException(Exception e)

at System.Windows.Forms.ControlNativeWindow.OnThreadException(Exception e)

at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)

at System.Windows.Forms.UnsafeNativeMethods.DispatchMessageW(MSG& msg)

at System.Windows.Forms.ComponentManager.System.Windows.Forms.UnsafeNativeMethods+IMsoComponentManager.FPushMessageLoop(Int32 dwComponentID, Int32 reason, Int32 pvLoopData)

at System.Windows.Forms.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoopInner(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context)

at System.Windows.Forms.ThreadContext.RunMessageLoop(Int32 reason, ApplicationContext context)

at System.Windows.Forms.Application.DoEvents()

at DatGen.Apps.frmDatGen.Main(String[] args) in E:\Data & Stuff\My Documents\Visual Studio Projects\DBPF Editor\DatGen.Apps\DatGen.cs:line 2809

[DarkMatter]

Well, the error in your last message is because you tried to report the error. The error reporting feature is down, as my host screwed up some of the features of my web site. So, don't click the report error button in the error window.

The error window that comes up allows you to just copy the error message. Copy it and paste it here, and I'll see what I can do. (BTW, i tried to download the attachment from your previous post, but MTS2 just sits there and doesn't return anything, so I'm not sure what the other error message you recieved was).

[hritza]

This would be great, super quick etc, but I'm not allowed to export a .obj file... Is there someway to fix this?

[Serasims]

wooow thats gorgous, i will try it...maybe it can fix my meshproblems =))

[mininessie]

thanks ,is very wonderfull don´t need hard work for export the mesh.
i´m very gratefully


thanks it really works well with clothing
now i try to make hair mesh.
thanks