I just read your reply and I'm pretty sure that I only selected the recolour ones and they all said indetermined .. I did find some .bak files and didn't know what to do with them so I deleted them.. :confused: ..that's what I get for not asking first and being impatient..sorry..I really don't understand why this didn't work..unless none of my blue flashing files are fixable?? :banghead: thank you for taking time to explain this to me and for your patience.. if I get brave enough I might install sim pe again and try once more...I really hate to let it get the best of me..

Well, you can try and find again the recolours you downloaded from the original threads: almost all the existing recolours were updated by the creators.

Ok, i downloaded both files, and unzipped them. no .exe file. What did I do wrong?

Look better: the "ColourOptionsSetup_V2.0_14Mar2005.zip" contains only 1 file, called "ColorOptionSetup.exe".

The other zip ("Recolourable_and_Excluded_Objects_V2.0_14Mar2005.zip") is not to be installed in the Downloads folder: it's a list that can be used as a reference to know which objects are recolourable and which not.

Numenor?

I have a question I know you can help on (actually I've had lots of questions for you, but I never want to be a bother and add to the huge amount of questions I'm sure you already get!)

I've made quite a few packages in SimPE using my own mesh--but I've never run into this problem before--I can't give a single one of the 0 subset, 2 tile coffee tables recolor options after I clone them and replace the GMDC with my own mesh.

I've actually spent about 2 days now trying to figure out where I'm going wrong, and I just can't.

They all have recolor options in my game, but as soon as I clone them and replace them with my mesh--no recolor options at all in the game.

I double checked the MMAT files, to make sure "texture enabled" is set to true...and it is.

I might not be giving you enough information, but...would you know what I am doing wrong anyway?

I would really appreciate any help you would give me...thank you so much.

Best,
Suzanne

Suzanne, you're welcome to ask me all the question you want

The first thing I can guess is that your mesh uses group names different than the original (e.g. the original has 2 recolourable parts, "wood" and "metal" and your new mesh has two parts "frame" and "brass").
Another possibility is that the original table is not a "stand-alone" object, but it borrows the textures from another table. In this case you should clone it using the "Create stand-alone" option.

If non of the above apply, please post one of your faulty packages. Maybe, if I can ask you a favour, you'd better post your package (and further questions on this subject) on the Colour Options thread: I try and reserve this thread only for CEP-related problems and issues.

Did any one find out why the CEP wont work?? Also I would like to try the CEP that does not have Uni Support.

Simsbaby, I'm sorry: seems that no one experienced with Mac wants to help...
Anyway, I'm sure that there must be a File Manager, i.e. a program that will let you see all the files recorded on your hard disk; if there is such a tool, please perform the checks that I've asked about in my previous post.

As for the "non-UNI CEP", it doesn't exist: the current version is perfectly suitable for any user, with or without UNI installed.

The CEP files will have to be placed manually in the correct folders. There is no exec file for Mac. Just navigate to the folders, as listed below:

NOTE: If you have installed Sims 2 into your main hard drive skip this paragraph and follow the instructions below. But if you installled Sims 2 into your applications folder, you will need to throw both the Sims 2 in applications and the EA Games in the home folder away, and reinstall Sims 2 into the main hard drive (be sure to save any files you have altered like neighborhoods or downloads, also collections, storytelling and saved sims) -- don't forget to delete the plists in preferences in the home folder library before you reinstall. Start the game up once before doing anything else. Exit. Then replace the new folders in your new installation of Sims 2 with any altered folders from your previous installation. Start up the game again. Exit. Now you are ready to place the CEP files.

If you already installed directly into your main hard drive, just follow the instructions below:

In your home folder (the one with the little house, under Users), go to Documents, then EA Games, then Sims 2, then Downloads (if the Downloads folder does not exist, then make a new folder and title it Downloads). Place the _EnableColorOptionsGMDN.pkg file in that folder.

On your main drive go to The Sims2, then TSData, then Res, then Sims3D. Place the_EnableColorOptionsNMAT.pkg file in that folder.

Now you can put a few downloads at a time into your Downloads folder (the one in the Documents, EAGames, Sims2) and start the game to test the new downloads. Do a few at a time, because some will work, and some will not. Test everything first.

NOTE: The Lady In Red paintings usually show up, as do the Tapestries. No other paintings show up, as yet. I am going to notify the creators of the Mac OS X CEP program about the problem.

On my computer (a G4 PowerBook 133 GHZ with 1 GIG intenal memory), space is very limited in the downloads folder. I don't know the exact number (I am still testing to find the breaking point), but it is under 2000 total files before the game crashes. (The neighborhood movies in the start up window become green wireframe generic pictures, and when you click on them the neighborhood seems to open, but then crashes before going to the neighborhood scene.) The number of allowed files may be larger on a more powerful computer, but maybe not. I have well over 7000 files on my PC top of the line gaming computer, plus running Univ, with no problem. So under 2000 is very limiting, and quite disheartening. Download only what you know you will really use.

Ooops -- I went to the main site, and found out Numenor *is* one of the creators for the Mac CEP, also. I assumed it was different people than for the PC CEP. Sorry about that!

More details of the problem:

I made sure all files were up to date downloads, but were artwork that showed up in my PC game. No wall hangings except The Lady In Red and the Tapestries is showing up, so far, from the main game. I've tried lots of different downloads with various art bases, including the fan, etc. All were files that stated they were EP ready, which should mean they were created in the right program. It doesn't seem to be a file problem.

It feels like whatever was done to enable The Lady In Red and Tapestries was not done for the other main game wall hangings. I am not seeing anything but the wall hangings themselves, just like in a fresh install out of the box.

For each test, I had only the wall hangings being tested in my downloads folder (under 50 files), so the number of downloads isn't an issue.

I downloaded the Grand Trianon set, and those paintings work. So I assume new meshes are OK.

I hope this helps you track down the problem. I really miss my other wall hangings on the Mac (my travel computer), and hope you can find the solution soon. Thanks for all your hard work! :-)

Amjoie, many many thanks for having explained how to install the CEP on MacOSx systems. I know nothing about MACs, and I was very sorry to not being able to help Simsbaby.
As for the PC and MAC versions of the CEP, Quaxi (or a frien of his, I don't know exactly) converted my original files in MAC format, but the content is identical.

Lastly, let me clear up that the Grand Trianon doesn't need the CEP: the CEP is needed only for original Maxis objects; when you clone a Maxis object, SimPE includes in the clone the small fraction of the CEP related to that Maxis object, and therefore the clone is recolourable even without the CEP (because it contains its own little CEP, inside )

This applies to *all* custom cloned objects: they all work without the CEP. Only recolours for the Maxis objects need the CEP.

Ok I downloaded some lady in red recolors and they work. Nothing else works. I then moved my The Sims 2 folder to my games folder and lady in red recolors still work. Must be a flaw in mac codeing hope aspyr will patch the game.

I had over a thousand old recolor downloads from my PC game that worked fine. I tested them a few hundred at a time until I got to about a thousand, and then put them in a "works fine" folder. I tested almost all of them, and then combined them together in the downloads folder. Game crashed. I finally found out that somewhere around the 2000 count for all downloads of all types, the game crashes on the Mac.

So, since it would be nigh on to impossible to try to figure out and sort which of over 7000 downloads I want to keep on the Mac, I just decided to redownload exactly what I need for my "travel computer" game. It was when I was downloading the wall hangings that I discovered the problem.

But I know other recolors work. They did, to the tune of over a thousand at a time.

However, as I redownload, I'll find out which ones in particular do or do not work. I'm guessing it is going to be real patchy, and not make much sense, just like with the art. I already know clothes, hair, and makeup don't all show up -- and it makes no sense which ones do or don't. But at this point, I only want the ones I can't live without, because I don't have much room, anyway.

I wish Aspyr had taken a bit more time to port. This game isn't up to par on the Mac. It just isn't the same game as on the PC, with comparable hardware specs. I am, to say the least, disappointed with Sims 2 on the Mac.

You are more than welcome. I'm glad I could help. :-)

Thank you for letting us know about the new meshes not needing CEP. Perhaps that opens up a possibility for the Mac people having problems with recolors, at least for now.

If someone could get more high class artwork (I love what they already have) into the Trianon art frames, and give us dark brown, gold and siver colors for frames, that would help a whole lot. I most miss the Renoir, Monet, Vermeer, etc. Also some Kinkade and similar, that don't lend themselves to a vertical frame.

But, hopefully, who ever converted the CEP can take another look at it. Maybe it is something simple. Well, one can always hope.

Amjoie - It may be a little OT here, but I'm going to tell this anyway (it's my thread, after all ).

I've read of your 2000 files limit (maybe the exact limit it's 2048? In this case it's a OS limit for sure); if the limit applies to every single folder, you can move all your clothes, hairs, genetics and accessories into the SavedSims folder.

As for the paintings, the frame colours are taken from the repository: all the set shares the same colours for the wood; more artworks can be added using the standard recolouring tecnique (I love Renoir, too )

First, let me say that you are awesome! :bow: Without CEP, my Sims would still be living with tacky mismatched furnishings! :yech:

Second, I've searched through this thread for the answer to my question, but couldn't find it, so here goes...

Would it be possible to make it so that custom content object meshes can't be deleted without their corresponding recolors?

I'm desperately trying to clean up my downloads folder and separate my objects from my clothing and accessories, but it's impossible when the object mesh gets deleted and some of the recolors get left behind in the folder. I can't locate them because most of them have alphanumeric names or are named in a foreign language, plus they aren't viewable without the mesh. :swear:

I really don't want to have to go through 4,500+ files one by one to weed them out! :gonemad: Please help!

Forgive me if this has been addressed~ I honestly did look through the posts.

When you delete a recolour from the catalog, the game deletes the package that contains that recolour: if you have selected the base textures (the main one contained in the mesh package), the whole object will be deleted. There's no workaround to fix this.

I suggest you to sort your files using SimPE's "Scan Folders" tool: uncheck all the options except the "Thumbnails" one and perform a Recursive scan of the Downloads folder; you can then click on the "Type" column to sort the files by type (Recolours, Objects...). SimPE will show a thumbnail for each package (unfortunately, sometime the thumbnail is the "shadows" texture, but only for the Objects); you can disable the recolours that you don't like by unchecking the "Enabled" checkbox in the bottom-right info window (you can directly delete packages from within SimPE, but when you disable them, SimPE will rename the package giving it a .simpedis extension, so you can easily spot and delete the disabled packages from the Downloads folder).

Hi again!

A few results are in for the Mac CEP, and it isn't encouraging. Besides most of the artwork, no plants can be recolored. Neither can the piano, the easel, the Moroccan style bookshelf, the colonial style wood framed mirror, and the Grandfather Clock -- all of which is not nearly a complete list, which it will be almost impossible to post here, because it is going to be so long. And I'm sure that is just the tip of the iceberg, but it is as far as I have gotten on my new downloading.

Sorry to say, but I think it is back to the drawing board for the Mac CEP. It needs to be reworked and then thoroughly alpha/beta tested. I am truly sorry to be the bearer of such sad news. :-((

However, having said that, there are still plenty of things the current Mac CEP *does* help, so it *is* worth having. Even a little versitility in the game makes the current Mac CEP worth while getting. But it is my opinion that it should be offered with a disclaimer that compliance is spotty, and the Mac CEP is still in the early alpha stage.

What a pity... I wish I could put my hands on a Mac to take a look at the Mac CEP...

Thank you Amjoie for your report: at least, if Mac users will have problems, they will know they are not the only ones

Thanks for the advise Numenor.

I'll try it as soon as my foot heals a bit and I'm able to get back to my good computer in my office downstairs. Right now I'm stuck with my laptop which can't run my game.

Is CEP that thing everybody calls for EP?

LOL! No! "EP" stands for "Expansion Pack" (in particular, the "University" expansion pack, since so far it's the only available; maybe the Nightlife will be called "EP2"...).
And "CEP" stands for "Colour Enable Packages", and are two packages that let you recolour all the items that Maxis shipped in the base-game and in the EP with only 1 colour.

Eh, eh! I wish I was the creator of the EP, but unfortunately I've created only the CEP...

Numenor:

I need a little further help, pretty please! I tried to find the answers to my questions on the SimPE forum, but came up empty handed. Would you please help me?


I followed your instructions, but couldn't figure out how to delete the objects from within SimPE like you said. How is this done? Do they have to be deleted one at a time or can they be done in a batch? Can they be deleted without being disabled? I was able to disable the packages, but I couldn't figure out how to re-enable them?

What I'd like to do is delete all the object files that are in the wrong folders to my recycle bin and then restore them to their proper folders, which won't work if the packages are disabled.

Thanks for all your help~ you're a doll.

Rattysim - You are a doll if you don't beat me after you've read this
There was a typo... I meant "you can't delete packages from within SimPE". I'm so sorry! You probably have spent a lot of time trying to apply my wrong directions! :P

Adven - What "Recolour Pack"? :confused: The CEP (both v1 and v2) don't contain recolours; it only enables recolours for objects that previously couldn't be recoloured.
If you are referring to the test package that was posted along with v.1, it was removed long ago, because it was outdated.

Oh, just you wait Numenor!



Nah, really, don't sweat it! My foot has really held me up from spending too much time on the computer, so I didn't waste TOO much time!

I kinda, sorta solved the problem, though! Only thing is, I created an even bigger one! When I reformatted my PC, I somehow lost my backup of the 19,000+ downloads I had. I swear they were there before I pushed that button!! I'm now trying to reconstruct, and sorting all the while!