Blender 2.5 TS3 Tools

Testing has been completed and the tools can be found in the Downloads section: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=433882 I would like to thank all the testers who participated. Your help was valuable.

This script includes a set of tools for creating objects for TS3. Originally two scripts (import and export), I've merged them into one script and added several features:

• Import/export - import/export MLOD and MODL files(.s3asc)
  
• EZ Bake - bake multiplier images with just a few clicks
  
• Image Loader - apply images to objects and get and idea how they will look in-game(including alphas)
  
• Fix Seams - fix unsightly seams created when splitting vertices/edges(aligns vertex normals)
  
• Make Glass - automagically give a group a glass material with one click(Blender viewing only)
  
• Hide Bones - hide/show the bones in an object with one click

Installation:

1. Download and extract the "io_TS3_tools.py" and put it where you can find it.
2. Start Blender and go to File->User Preferences(or press CTRL+ALT+U).
3. Click the "Add-Ons" button at the top of the User Preferences window.
4. Click the "Import/Export" button on the left, then click the "Install Add-On" button at the bottom.
5. Navigate to where you extracted the file and select the "io_TS3_tools.py" and click "Install Add-On". TS3 Tools is added to the the list.
6. Click the check box to the right of the TS3 Tools in the list. The importer/exporter is added to the File->Import menu, and the TS3 Tools and TS3 Image Loader panels are added to the Properties Editor under Scene.
7. Close the User Preferences window, and hit CTRL+U to save as default(if you want TS3 Tools to be there next time you start Blender).

Importing/Exporting:

Importing:
1. Select the MLOD/MODL in s3pe, right click on it, and select "export". Rename the the file to name.lod(for MLODs) or name.model(for MODLs). Renaming is really only necessary for files with long names, because Blender has a limit. Save the file in it's own folder.
2. Open the MLOD/MODL file with the S3 Object Tool and decompile it.
3. Start Blender, and in the Properties editor under Scene, click the Import button in the TS3 Tools panel or go to File->Import->Sims 3 MLOD/MODL. Navigate to the your folder and select the name_filebase.s3asc file.

To assign a new mesh to a group:
1. Right-click on the new mesh, the hold SHIFT and right-click on the mesh you want to replace.
2. Press TAB to o into Edit mode, Select all the vertices, and hit DELETE(X). Select "All" in the pop-up.
3. Press TAB to go back to Object mode, and press CTRL+J to join the new mesh to the group.

To assign vertices to the joints:
1. Right-click on the mesh and press TAB to go into Edit mode.
2. Select the vertices you want to add to a joint. In the Properties editor, select the "Object Data" panel(button with triangle/w dots at the corners).
3.In the "Object Data" panel under 'Vertex Groups', select the joint you want to assign to, and click assign.

Note: Make sure to triangulate all meshes before exporting. Select all vertices in Edit mode and press CTRL+T.

Exporting:
1. In the Properties editor under Scene, click the Export button in the TS3 Tools panel or go to File->Export->Sims 3 MLOD/MODL. Navigate to the folder you imported from, select the name_filebase.s3asc file, and press "Export MLOD/MODL".
2. Recompile the MLOD/MODL with the S3 Object Tool.
3. In s3pe, open the package. If you didn't rename the file when you exported it from s3pe, right-click and select 'Import'. If you did rename the file, right click on the MLOD/MODL and select 'Replace'.


EZ Bake:

note: You must have a UV/Image editor window open in your scene. Also, Material mode must be set to GLSL and Shading method to Textured to view the results on the mesh. See this tutorial.

1. Select the groups you want to bake.
2. In the TS3 Tools panel in the EZ Bake section, select the size of the image, and the baking method you want to use.
3. Click the Bake button. Press ALT+Z to change to Textured shading and see results on the mesh.
4. In the UV/Image editor, go to Image->Save As to save you image. Default format is .png. you will have to open your image in an graphics program to save it as a .dds. Also The image is a little too bright by TS3 standards, so you'll need to darken it as well(contrast, levels, etc.)

Image Loader

note: Material mode must be set to GLSL and Shading method to Textured to view the results on the mesh. See this tutorial.

1. Select the group you want to add an image to in the Image Loader panel. Click Open under whatever image you're trying to load(multiplier, mask, or overlay).
2. Navigate to the image and click Open.
3. If another group uses the same image, select that group in the Image Loader, click the button with the picture on it(Browse ID data), and find the image in the list. Press ALT+Z to change to Textured shading and see results on the mesh. If some groups appear invisible, it is because no images are loaded for them.
4. To remove an image from a group, simply click the X next to that image.

Fix Seams:

note: If you use Fix Seams, you cannot go into Edit mode with the group you used it on, or Blender will recalculate the vertex normals and undo the fix. You can use Edit mode on other groups as long as you haven't used Fix Seams on them. Fix Seams Should probably be one of the last things you do before exporting. Also, the result may not be visible, and the only way to verify that it worked is to go into Edit mode and turn on the vertex normals. But then Blender will undo the fix once you go back to Object mode, so you'll have to do Fix Seams again. :P

1. While in Edit mode, select the only the vertices of the seam(it may be easier to select the edges in edge select mode). Do the same for all groups that have seams you want to fix.
2. While in Object mode, select all the groups that have seams to fix and click the Fix Seams button. If there were no problems, 'Alignment complete' will printed in the Console.

Show/Hide Bones:

Simply click the button to hide all bones in the object, and click again to show them.

Make Glass:

Select the group(s) you want to make glass and click Make Glass. Press ALT+Z to change to Textured shading and see results on the mesh.
note: This does not make your object glass in-game. It's is merely a representation for viewing in
Blender.

Issues:
Complex objects such as beds, cars, etc., will not represent the bones correctly.
Importing more than one MLOD/MODL can cause problems. To start a new project, you should restart Blender.

Updated: fixed inverted x axis for bones on import.

Updated:
- fixed to work with Blender 2.55 release
- eliminated use of text file for data storage
- rewrite for faster processing

Looking very cool CMo Thanks for this

Huge update! I merged to two scripts into one and added many features. See first post.

You *know* how happy this makes me Cmo Thank you for sharing it

ps: especially the EZ Bake

sorry for the double post...but I'm wondering how many joints Blender supports. Is it more than 128?

I don't know of any limit. You can easily add 1000+ joints to Blender without it crying foul.

Ty (xtra so it lets me post)

Thank you very much for this cmomoney, i waited so long for this.

Looks very intresting, but I still want to jump into creating CAS stuff. Still, I might download and fiddle with it a bit

The installation worked fine. (Still not ready to actually try it yet.)

You might want to edit the installation instructions--a couple of points still refer to two files.

Thanks for the report and the heads up on the instructions.

Don't know if this post is still running, but I downloaded blender 2.56, and installing the add-on works fine, but when I try the import with either method, I get an error message (see attached picture). Basically, no file browser window pops up, and blender complains about not having access to a resource. I would have gotten 2.54 or 2.55, but it looks like they only offer the new hotness.

You can get 2.54 beta from the Blender release archive:

http://www.blender.org/download/get...older-versions/

Shiny, 2.55 worked no problem. (^_^) Thanks.

2.56 changed the API a tad bit. I've already fixed my script for it, but I want to do more testing before I upload it. If you want the 2.56 version I can send it to you.

eta: the 2.56 version has a problem exporting modified uv maps. Gotta figure it out before I release it.

eta: Nevermind...I'm and idiot and and it works. Still testing...

hello,
until now, i've got the blender and de TS3 Tools, but !!!
I don't find the windows of ADD ONS with the pannel of install, unable to find it, ten times i returns but no results, can i have a screenshot for each step of procédure please.
thank you very much and happy new year for alls.

You have to go to the File menu and select User Preferences(or press CTRL+ALT+U). The User Preferences window looks like this:



The Install Add-On button is at the bottom-left.

With 2.54 and 2.55, the models import fine, but exporting doesn't seem to be doing anything. I am not getting any errors, and it says the export was successful, but no change to the file. Even tried exporting it to a different file name, and the file is never created. All I am doing is scaling the object on the z-axis to make it taller to test some effects in the game.

How did you know it was unchanged, by comparing the files or testing in-game? It won't create a new file, it overwrites the originals.

Oro, I kind of figured out what was going on. All I was doing was scaling the whole object along the Z axis. If I actually go into edit mode and move vertex points around, and export, it saves those changes no problem. It does not seem to register changes made by the just the scaler in either object mode or edit mode. Kind of weird.

Changes made in Object mode aren't reflected because you're not actually changing the mesh. The object is just a container for the mesh. In Edit mode, you're changing vertex locations in the mesh, and that's what gets exported. Moving the object around in Object mode doesn't export because you're not changing the position of the mesh in relation to the origin. Any changes made to the mesh(including scaling) in Edit mode get exported, for example, I made the tissue box into a tissue not-a-box:


Anyway, I appreciate you testing this and reporting for me.

Hey there,

is there any other way to get the add-on installed? Every time I try to open the user preferences dialog, blender just crashes. Is it possible to just copy the script into the right folder and get blender recognize the file somehow else?

Greetings

Try changing the Editor type to the User Preferences, instead of starting the new window. It's the button usually in the corner of every header/footer with a pic and up/down arrows on it.