Recolourable Holy Smoke modular stairs

18 MAR 2007 - BUGFIX
These stairs have been online for almost two years, and so far they worked well. But they had a little bug nevertheless In some games (especially the base-game, without any EP) the catalog icon for the modular stairs was empty. This is because these stairs were made in a very old format (the old "EP Ready format, created when UNI first came out).
Updating them to the current correct format would have meant breaking all the existing recolours (there are so many around the net, not only here at MTS2); and so I've fixed it in a way that... you shouldn't try at home (like they say in TV ).
The important thing is that now the icon is visible in catalog and all the existing recolours still work! :D

Of course, if you never had problems with the catalog icon, redownloading is optional.

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FAQ: Why there is no text file to install with these stairs, like all the other custom modular stairs?
That's because these stairs are intended to override the Maxis originals, and therefore uses the same Maxis text file already installed with the game.
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I think that the Holy Smoke is the most useful staircase, because it lets the sims pass under it. But the standard grey/bluish colour doesn't match *all* the furniture styles.
So, I decided to make it recolourable.
But the internal file structure, and the lacking of a correct filenaming led me to actually clone the original stairs.

At first, I thought to *add* a new modular stair to the catalog, then I thought it would be useless to have two identical stairs, one recolourable and one not.
So I decided to set this staircase to override the original one.
Don't worry, though: I said override, not overwrite When you get bored of my staircase, just delete the package from the downloads folder, and the original staircase will be back in the catalog.

IMPORTANT: this is to be considered an Alpha release! Though it is stable, EP-compliant and works fine, still it's a little "tricky" to recolour.

Installation instructions
Unrar both the attached files to the downloads folder. In the first archive there is the "main" package (the stairs themselves), in the second there are some recolours for the metal part and for the glass parts.

How to create custom recolours
Open SimPE's Object Workshop (current release is v. 029) and choose the "Load Object" tab. Browse the downloads folder and load the "STEPS_90NMNglass_main.package". Proceed with the recolour as usual.
NOTE: you can choose to recolour the metal part or the glass part (or both).
You can use the attached template texture as a guide for your recolours.
Since the original texture contains an alpha channel (transparency), I strongly suggest that you import your custom texture in the package using the option "Build DXT" + "Commit", instead of "Import" + "Update all sizes" + "Commit": using the "Build DXT" creates a more accurate texture.


How to apply the recolour to the staircase
Here come the tricky part, because you will not find the different colours in the catalog (I guess that this section of the catalog doesn't manage multiple colour options).
Choose the standard Holy Smoke stairs from the catalog and place it on the lot. Add the railings if you like, but remember that adding the reailings after having recoloured the stairs may cause their reverting to original colour.
Now, select the Design Tool and click, in turn, on each step: now you can choose the colours for the metal part and for the glass.

If I ever find a way to recolour all the stairs at once, you'll be the first to know...
But there's a good side effect: you can apply a different colour to each step!


KNOWN ISSUE
Once recoloured, you should't add or delete railings to the stairs, otherwise it will revert to the original colour. But this "reverting" is only temporary: if you save and exit the lot, and then re-enter it, you'll find that the staircase has again the new colour you applied to it

OK, enough... Download and enjoy! Let me know any (unknown) issues you may find.