Just installed the Sims 3 patch or about to?
Want to create your own clothes for the Sims 3?
| Search this Thread |
1st Jan 2012, 05:49 AM
|
#101 |
|
GoofyGirl17
Test Subject
Join Date: Jun 2011 |
Thank you, Simsample. What does that file look like in GIMP?? Because I can't find that 32 bit A8R8G8B8 DDS format file anywhere!! 
|
|
|
|
|
1st Jan 2012, 12:55 PM
|
#102 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
 
|
You have the DDS plugins? See post #3 for links to download the plugins for GIMP. There are screenshots showing you what to look for too. |
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
1st Jan 2012, 10:51 PM
|
#103 |
|
GoofyGirl17
Test Subject
Join Date: Jun 2011 |
Yes I have the DDS plugin or else I wouldn't be able to bring up any of the ramps at all. But when I save it, I don't see that file anywhere. Even in the file extension section, so I just leave it as is ( a DDS file). I have GIMP 2.6.11 Could you tell me step-by-step where I should go to find this file? lmao  It would be greatly appreciated and I will report back if I find any improvement 
|
|
|
|
|
2nd Jan 2012, 02:45 AM
|
#104 |
|
GoofyGirl17
Test Subject
Join Date: Jun 2011 |
In GIMP, I am able to save the files just as they are |
|
|
|
|
2nd Jan 2012, 05:30 PM
|
#105 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
GoofyGirl17, I put some screenshots up in post #3 to help you; please try it out and let me know if the ramps work (I haven't tested any GIMP generated ramps out in-game yet). Note that you will have to re-make your ramps, as once you have saved then at the wrong compression the colours will remain oversaturated- so begin with one of the EA ramps, recolour it and then save. |
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
3rd Jan 2012, 10:28 PM
|
#106 |
|
GoofyGirl17
Test Subject
Join Date: Jun 2011 |
I'm so sorry if I am becoming a nuisance to this thread lol (Honestly, sorry if I am) but CAW failed to load my world after I followed your instructions using the screenshots you posted for GIMP....I would give up and use Photoshop but every time I download it, it says it may be harmful to my computer so I just cancel the installation and continue trying to work with GIMP. Question: Am I supposed to be editing the custom color ramps that we downloaded or one of the color ramps from the EA worlds? Well, I edited both and as soon as I changed the format to ABGR8, I was unable to load my world. I get a message about it being unable to load the file and "Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt." I did exactly what you told me to (Tell me if I messed up somewhere): 1.) I edited one of the ramps in GIMP, which was just a regular custom ramp from the folder that I downloaded which you provided for us. 2.) I went to "Save As" and kept everything the same except for the format (ABGR8) and pressed save 3.) I went to S3PE, opened my world, imported the color ramp and re-imported the INI files from the "Base Game Edited Files" folder and pressed save 4.) I went into CAW, and then that's when I got that error message  I also made sure I ticked the right things in S3PE like "Replace Duplicates", "Compress", and "Use Resource Name". I also made sure that the "Load Mipmaps" option was un-ticked as well What am I doing wrong?
|
|
|
|
|
8th Jan 2012, 09:41 AM
|
#107 |
|
GoofyGirl17
Test Subject
Join Date: Jun 2011 |
I'm not sure if that screenshot about how that file looks in GIMP is correct becuse as soon as I changed my edited color ramp to that file (Format:ABGR8), I was no longer able to open my world. Now even when I change the format back to normal, my world still won't open. I haven't been able able to open my world in days...... Who else is using GIMP? And could they please explain how it worked for them??? Please help. I'm following exactly what this thread says .....do you think this could because I just recently bought Pets? |
|
|
|
|
8th Jan 2012, 11:31 AM
|
#108 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Hey GoofyGirl17, don't panic! As most people can't get on to this site every day, sometimes you have to be patient and wait for a reply. Also, if you read post # 3 you will see that I have written in large letters 'BACKUP ANY FILES YOU CHANGE BEFORE YOU CHANGE THEM!'. This is so that if you get into a situation where you break something, you can always retrieve a safe copy. It is important that you read all information, as this thread is a learning thread- that means that we are still experimenting and gathering data, so you have to be prepared to experiment yourself and click different things if the first thing you try does not work.  I have changed the images in the third post- try out the settings I have there. Test with rgba8 instead of abgr8- both are unsigned and uncompressed, but the channel data is just in a different order. That should hopefully work! I seldom use GIMP, so I am learning too with that- I just had to search on the Internet to find a different solution for you, so next time you get a problem try doing that yourself, and then you can let us know what worked for you!  Don't forget to backup; also, if you want to remove the weather you can just open your file in S3PE and delete the resources that you previously imported.
|
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
9th Jan 2012, 02:55 AM
|
Embarrasssing...hehehehe lol #109 |
|
GoofyGirl17
Test Subject
Join Date: Jun 2011 |
Ohhhhhhh okay, sweet!! Lol Thank you so much, simsample.  Sooooo sorry I panicked there and next time I definitely will go to the internet and search harder because I started searching and totally lost hope after a while so came back on here and I thought the thread died for a minute!! I thought that was the end for me learning how to do these things  (Sometimes it's embarrassing being a begginner like me lol) Well, I'm off to test this out and I'll let everyone know what does and what doesn't work I'm totally going to be apart of more of these learning threads to learn more things.EDIT: And yes, I saved a copy of my original world but I was so worried why I couldn't get into my other copy lol (I have no idea why hehehehe  ) Once again, thanks for the reassurance and explanation, simsample!!
|
|
|
|
|
11th Jan 2012, 10:21 PM
|
#110 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Ah, we are all beginners at something, I've only learnt about CAW by reading what others have found out, and by messing with files myself. I hope you get your skies to work, show us some pictures if you do!
|
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
14th Jan 2012, 09:05 PM
|
#111 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Some new information! Atavera has found that CAW is set up to automatically export these files with a world; please click here for information. |
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
19th Jan 2012, 07:06 AM
|
#112 |
|
Mera Benzema
Field Researcher
Join Date: Jul 2011 |
Why am i not understanding anything?  I came here just to see how can i make my Sunset Valley world look like Bridgeport's cloudy weather but i didn't get anything.  Can you help me please with showing a simpler way that i can understand? Please. 
|
|
|
|
|
19th Jan 2012, 11:16 AM
|
#113 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Mera Benzema, possibly you aren't reading the right bit? The instructions and files for impoorting the EA weather are in post #3, and the Bridgeport weather files are attached there for you to download. You just need to backup SunsetValley.world and import the Bridgeport weather files into it. Be sure to backup- this is so that if you ever want Sunset Valley back the way it was, you can restore it easily! |
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
24th Jan 2012, 08:26 AM
|
#114 |
|
bakafox
|
Ok, there is something I'm not quite understanding, and that's the stuff involving moon and sun paths- I've noticed that the moon in particular goes WAY ABOVE easy viewing, and I'm trying to make a world where it's easier to see without having to basically tank a camera down to earth level and point it almost straight up for most of the night- is there any way to make the moon 'lower' somehow so that it's much more easily viewed from various points? |
|
|
|
|
24th Jan 2012, 04:39 PM
|
#115 | |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Baka, try changing the moon offset figures in S3_1F886EAD_00000000_5E20253AF53E517F%%+_INI.ini.
Code:
Let me know whether it works or not. Also, post some pictures if it works! | |
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
||
|
|
|
|
24th Jan 2012, 09:37 PM
|
#116 | |
|
bakafox
|
Quote:
I did try those offsets (should have mentioned I'd already worked with them, sorry!)- unfortunately for my hopes, they don't actually make things run closer to the ground- though they do technically make the moon or sun more visible longer... from some sides of the world. Really couldn't get screens that were good at illustrating exactly in and of themselves, so I made a terrible presentation graphic:  So, it basically just scoots your moon or sun's setting point closer to the rising one.. which means while it's sort of lower in the sky, it doesn't actually travel across your world so much, so the angles of viewing get a little more limited.. you can see it longer, without having to tilt way up, for the day/night so long as you're facing rather towards the rising point and only a bit to a side of it. Am wondering now if the height you set your terrain map might be something to look at- my worlds I tend to make 300's, is there anyone out there with a 100 or 200 map that can report about how high/low their moon and sun seem to the ground and how much they have to crane their metaphorical necks to see it when it's around 10-2, not just a few hours after rising or a few hours before setting? |
|
|
|
|
|
25th Jan 2012, 12:08 AM
|
#117 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Hmm, interesting, thanks for the diagrams! I understood you perfectly. Perhaps there isn't a way to change this then- the other figures in the sky tuning file are mainly dealing with light and shadow. Interesting idea about the terrain heights- I'll test it out when I get chance.
|
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
27th Jan 2012, 06:06 AM
|
 ManmadeLightIntensity vs Ambient Light Pt 1
#118
|
||
|
bakafox
|
I'm about to start tweaking INI's again, but wanted to start with a post on my problem, in case someone else already has ideas I've missed. I'm actually testing as I write up this post (because otherwise I'll forget to MAKE this post), so please forgive grammatical errors and tenses if I've lost track a little. I've got my world set up to be a pretty gloomy world, not really bright during the day hours. I'm needing to see if something can be done for the lighting at night, short of throwing streetlights all over, because it is WAY TOO DARK by about 8pm. It may be fairly 'realistic' in some ways, but it's terrible for any kind of storytelling/screenshot purposes. For the basic sky/lighting .ini I'm using France's, the only alteration I made to that is I reduced moon reflection to .70 and made weather change every 6 hours. I'm using bridgeport's files, edited, so that I have multiple weather types and could alter the water. I'm not noticing anything in sky params that would really deal with lighting that I can tell, there's just the bloom rates. So I am guessing I need to edit all the weather/sky .INI files, or find something somewhere else that would deal with ambient lighting In the sky/weather files I am looking at raising the manmade light in the Misc Parameters for clear skies:
Code:
However this just lead to brighter areas directly around buildings (as I suppose must have been expected) and not to an overall ambient brightening so things weren't pitch black farther from lots. So that's from 30 in earlier to 70 to 180- which is handy for those making brighter cities, but not what I need to make a spooky foggy world good for folks who like making stories. I also did try shuffling the daybloom numbers a little, but honestly by halfing or doubling, didn't see any differences in lighting in a fast test. However I just found the file S3_1F886EAD_00000000_5E4F8E7B226066CA%%+_INI which I wish I had earlier, since it looks like it IS the generic lighting code.
Code:
I am going to start a second post with my playing with those, since this one's probably getting a bit long for one post. |
||
|
|
|
|
27th Jan 2012, 08:29 AM
|
Ambient Lighting Issues pt2
#119
|
|||
|
bakafox
|
Ok so back to the file S3_1F886EAD_00000000_5E4F8E7B226066CA%%+_INI which looks like it IS the generic lighting code.
Code:
I am going to now show 2 screens for 3 different settings, the first being at those defaults, the second being at double those (except gamma), and the third being half the default (except for gamma): Can see that there are differences- now I need to jog around and see what exactly will change what. A downside so far is that nothing is based on time of day here- so if I make the night brighter, I'm also making the day much brighter. First though, I also did not mess with the Gamma previously, so I'm going to tweak that now for 2 screens, one doubled, one halved for the numeric, I have NO idea what the f might do so am leaving it. I have a harder time seeing much change doing those gamma number changes. Now just going to play with one setting, new code where I raise the LightProbeSaturation from .5 to 2-
Code:
Already noticing that with this setting, it's brighter day, and also there's a pronounced (when on max speed) jolting of how dark some trees suddenly turn as day goes on. Higher is clearly brighter during the day to me, but night it doesn't seem to change much with this option, though it might just be harder for me to tell since the room I'm doing all this in has gotten darker since I started. I think I may take a break from posting for now- but even if I forget to post more here or am delayed doing it, I plan to keep ALL my tweaks/edits of this page as an album. The descriptions of each picture will tell what the code was for them, in case it helps as a reference, so here's the URL for this file's album, added to until I get tired of it and/or throw my computer out a window: http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums...%20INI%20Tests/ Breaktime Nao!  EDIT: Hm, looks like these will be tricky to play with. I found that light settings that look ok from a distance are often terrible up close during the day, may have to go back to the drawing board:  Above pic was with
Code:
And my buildings are horrible shiny and edged with bright blue where it'd be darker shadow colors. |
|||
|
|
Last edited by bakafox : 27th Jan 2012 at 11:12 AM.
|
|
28th Jan 2012, 10:27 AM
|
#120 | ||
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Great work Baka- this will be most useful! Out of interest, in the Egypt version of 5E4F8E7B226066CA the figures look like this:
Code:
With a remark that the Bloom ramp intensity and gamma aren't working. For you pictures with the gammas changed, I can't really see any difference- although perhaps it's really subtle? In Bridgeport those do not have a comment against them though. The main problem with all of these settings as far as I can see is that of course the E4F8E7B226066CA is global so it applies to every weather type, so if you manage to make one weather type gloomy using all of these then they all are! For Jericho what I did was to control the gloominess with the colour ramps. For example, this is sunset (6pm) on the 'clear' weather setting: http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums...22734108511.jpg And this is 2pm on the 'stormy' weather setting: http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums...-01-23-1320.jpg As you can see, that's pretty dark already- but the only difference between the two are the fog settings, cloud cover and colour ramps. So not sure if that's possible for what you're trying to achieve. Perhaps you'd have to tweak the colour ramps for the night times, to make things lighter? I'm interested that you were noticing a difference in the lot lighting for the ManmadeLightIntensity though. In my tests I could see no (or at least, very very little) change in the lot loghting or street lighting when changing that figure, but there was a difference in the moon brightness. For ManmadeLight Intensity=0 the moon vanished (although you can see a dark disc against a cloud), and for ManmadeLight Intensity 50 the moon was brightest. Going above 50 seemed to make no difference, so I'm guessing the range is 0-50 for that one. It would make sense for that to be moon brightness, since the DaytimeBloom setting to me seemed to predominantly change the sun/ cloud brightness. So those three settings:
Code:
Each of which are present in the weather inis (so can change with the weather) perhaps just deal with sky. | ||
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|||
|
|
|
|
28th Jan 2012, 01:14 PM
|
#121 | ||
|
bakafox
|
Quote:
Hrm. Well I already am working with ramps- but I have to admit, I'm doing kind of 'cheap' ramp edits- mostly I ran a sepia filter over Bridgeport ramps a few times to get my coloring. (I'm afraid my personality is made of equal parts perfectionist, procrastinator, and impatience, plus a heaping spoonful of insomnia- which leads to some...interesting shortcuts, mistakes, memory lapses, and delusions) Have zipped my ramps and current INI edits up for you to take a gander at if you want to- AND have a beta test release of Howell Island up temporarily at http://www.bakafox.com/stuffness if you'd like to drag that out of the box and shake it around to see those INI in action on intended setting. As to the whole manmadelightintensity... I didn't even think to look up at the moon, but I could swear there were differences in the radius around the lights around those pictures I took. Will have to look again once I have slept a few hours-- also will play a little more with those other settings again. |
||
|
|
|
|
29th Jan 2012, 06:24 AM
|
#122 |
|
bakafox
|
SimSample, when you say that the moon brightened, did it also make the landscape a little brighter at night? I'm unable to spot any difference in lighting for the island, but I'm not so sure that it isn't my monitor callibration or general tiredness that's interfering. |
|
|
|
|
29th Jan 2012, 10:26 PM
|
#123 |
|
simsample
Original Poster
'Death, death, death' Until the sun cries morning
|
Thanks Baka- will test out your world and ramps as soon as I get chance (have been rather pushed for time this last week!) No, there was no noticeable difference in the landscape brightness for either the manmade light intensity or the daytime bloom figures. I've attached some images, they were taken in CAW but the effect was the same in-game. |
|
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
RUSH Headlong Flight Performing Arts Award Star Rush OC Please check out my profile policies before PMing me! Thanks. |
|
|
|
|
|
29th Jan 2012, 11:05 PM
|
#124 | |
|
bakafox
|
Quote:
Ok thanks! Seems to be a lot easier to make pretty tropical/bright worlds than gloomy, Silent HIll-esque ones- which just follows my usual trend of trying to do the hard stuff before simpler when exploring new Sims content to try making
|
|
|
|
|
|
3rd Feb 2012, 02:50 AM
|
#125 |
|
GoofyGirl17
Test Subject
Join Date: Jun 2011 |
Hellooooo!!!  I know its been FOREVER since I been on but its just that I been so busy so I hope you didn't think I ditched the thread Well, my update on my world is pretty good actually I decided to use Paint.net and for some reason, I noticed more accurate results when saving them to that specific file sooo I have no idea what that was all about lol So if anyone is having trouble with their colors, even when saving them to the right file in GIMP, then try Paint.net to save your ramps  -Also, whenever I try to change the color of bar 9 (sky horizon when sun is near) the same color as the sea color (in my case, the same color as bar 4 and 5), the sea becomes different colors when the camera is faced with a different angle  So what I did was leave that bar the same color or a pinkish color and everything was back to normal. I don't know why that is, but I would think it's best to have these bars different from each other if there's a problem in CAW or in-game. So in the short, I only changed bars 4 and 5 ,which at first, was giving me the worst of problems for such a small change lol....Now, It's a simple change with accurate results-the way it should be lol Well,thanks guys!  Here are some pictures below of the effects it had in CAW...I love the "glow" of the water at night
|
|
|
|
 |
Twitter
del.icio.us
StumbleUpon
Google