I'm looking for a program that previews objects as they appear in the game, so that I don't have to keep loading my game to see an object. It takes quite a while for my game to load and I have custom content that I have no idea where they came from but I want to use them in a custom-made house and don't know where to link to for the meshes/recolour policies, etc. I need help finding where the objects come from or how to find out where and I thought a program that let me view the objects with their .package names would help. Any ideas?

You can can use Sims2Pack Clean Installer. You won't get a 3D rendering of the object but you'll see the recolor and file name. Plus you can sort by object type.

So there's nothing for Sims2 like there was SimPlorer for Sims 1? Bummer. ;-)

If you want to preview clothing/make-up/hair items in 3D, you can use BodyShop. But for objects, no one has written anything (that I know of) yet.

SimPE does have a preview function in it for meshes... but you have to open the right .package file containing the mesh, go to the GMDC, and click Preview. It'll give you a 3d rendering of the mesh, and in the case of objects, it'll show with its default texture. However, this requires that you know which file is the mesh to begin with.

Thanks HP. I wasn't sure if SimPE had any 3D functionality.

Doh, well maybe somebody could create something like that. *hint* hint* Also, what does GMDC mean? I would like to be able to click on a .package file and open it in a program that can read it and show it as it looks in the game so that I don't have to keep re-loading the game to see an object. SimPE can do this? Also, I go into SimPE and click on Tools/Content Preview but I don't see anything. This is all I see:

GMDC = Geometric Data Container. Open a mesh file for an object in it, find Geometric Data Container on the list of resources. Select it (there may be several, depending on the object... generally there's one that's the "right" one which you may or may not be able to tell from the text). Go into plugin view and click preview. It'll chew on stuff a while and show you the object with the default texture. If you get an error message talking about DirectX when you select the GMDC, go to the SimPE site and under Downloads, get the Managed DirectX extensions listed where it lists stuff required to run SimPE. This will also work for accessory, clothing, and hair meshes too, but you won't get a texture on them, just a grey, untextured mesh.

I have no idea how the content preview works/is supposed to work/do. I got all excited about it in the last release, but I've never fiddled with it. *shrug*

There is a reason no such program has been made yet: It's a lot of very hard programming.

I assumed as much. Thanks for the sarcastic comment. I was only asking if such a program existed. The Insimenator is complicated. SimPE is complicated and so are the other. Name a program that isn't complicated. So please refrain from the sarcasm, okay. It was only a question and it wasn't meant to offend anybody.

As to this:



I see what you mean, now. It's a neat tool, even though it's only meshes, it helps a bit. Thanks. Not exactly what I was wanting. Perhaps I'll go to the SimPE forum and see if they have some help section on the "content preview" works. Thanks for the help.

I'm sorry, that was not meant sarcastically.
I can be a mean and sarcastic person, but when I'm sarcastic it'll be dripping off the walls. The above comment was just an honest explaination.

Okay, maybe I took it the wrong way then. Sometimes things can be read wrong. My humble apologies.