I don't know if this is the correct forum to post this but here we go.

This is a tool to edit the Swarm binaries and to create new custom effects from existing ones, the tool is far from finished but it could use some testing and feedback to ensure I am on the right track. The tool is not going to be for everyone and will require some basic understanding of how particle systems and shaders work in DirectX.



As you will notice there are quite a few "Unknowns" which I haven't been able to figure out yet, if you find out what they are used for then please post here so I can update the tool. I am also not sure I have mapped everything correctly, especially Wiggles, Attractors and PathPoints needs looking into.

Since effects are now grouped in the new 0x1B192049 resource, when you edit/clone an effect you will be working with all effects belonging to that resource because they reference each other.







How to edit an existing visual effect
1. Double-Click on TS4VFXTool2.exe to start the tool.
2. Click on Main to load the main game visual effect library.
3. Select the Visual Effect "island_tiki_torch_flame" and click Edit.
4. Select the ParticleEffect Block Index 0 and click Edit.
5. Enter the values 0.78, 0.15, 0.78 in the ColorCurve table for a purple color, click Return.
6. Select the ParticleEffect Block Index 1 and click Edit.
7. Enter the same values 0.78, 0.15, 0.78 in the ColorCurve table, click Return.
8. Click Return and then Save Package, you now have a package with a modded visual effect that can be placed directly in your mods folder.

The visual effect mods you create are highly depended on the game version they were created from and EA do tend to change not just the content, but also the binary format quite often, so be prepared for having to redo your modding often as long as the game is in active development.

How to create a new custom effect by cloning an existing effect
This is basically the same procedure as above except you have to give the effects new names, you will also be able to rename effects and delete effects/parts you don't need.

1. Double-Click on TS4VFXTool2.exe to start the tool.
2. Click on Main to load the main game visual effect library.
3. Select the Visual Effect "island_tiki_torch_flame" and click Clone.
4. Since all names must be changed to avoid conflict with the EA effects you will be prompted for a name to prefix all effects, enter "my_".
5. Select "my_ep07_island_tiki_torch_crossed" and click Delete, select "my_ep07_island_tiki_torch_flower" and click Delete as we don't need them.
6. Select the Visual Effect "my_island_tiki_torch_flame" and click Edit.
7. Repeat steps 4-8 from "How to edit an existing visual effect" to change the color.

In order for the game to recognize the new effect names they need to be merged with the EA effect names in the new 0x1B19204A resource.

8. Click Merge, a dialog will open where you can select one or more packages containing new visual effects to be merged.
9. Select the "my_island_tiki_torch_flame.package" you created above and click Open.
10. Chose a name for the combined package and click Save.
11. The tool will merge all the selected effect packages and build the necessary 0x1B19204A resource and save everything to the combined package.

Please note that the mapping table 0x1B19204A is a single resource meaning you can only have one installed, if you install two packages with this resource they will override each other, use the Merge function to create one package.

How to migrate a visual effect from TS3 to TS4
We will migrate the constant bubble effect from the Late Night Effects Machine, the tools can only migrate the visual effect, referenced images, sounds and models must be migrated manually using other tools. I have migrated image and sound resources for the effect and put them in ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant_ref.package (attached to this post).

1. Start the TS3 VFX Tool and click on TS3.
2. Select Visual Effect "ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant" and click Clone to make a copy and isolate the effect.
3. Keep the effect name and click OK in the popup.
4. Click Return as we are not making any changes to the effect.
5. Click Export and keep the filename ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant.json, click Save.

The visual effect is now in a serialized format that can be imported into the TS4 VFX Tool.

6. Start the TS4 VFX Tool and click Import, select the ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant.json file from step 5 and click Open.
7. Click Save and keep the name ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant.package.

The effect is now ready for TS4 but must be merged with the games effect list and also include the referenced resources.

8. Click Merge and select both ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant.package and ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant_ref.package (Ctrl-Click), click Open.
9. Choose a name for your VFX mod and click Save.

Copy the package from step 9 to your mods folder and use Andrews Effect Player in game to play the effect "ep3effectsmachinebubblesconstant".


Bugs

To-Do List

• Persistent customs colors.
• Add an image viewer.
• Use checkboxes or similar for the flags fields.

Updates

• Version 2.0.1
  • It is now possible to create new effects (by cloning existing ones).
  • Added color picker to the color curve table.
  • Most instance and flags fields now use hexadecimal numbers.
  • Added more extensive checking and diagnostics for non-standard Sims 4 installations.

• Version 2.0.2
  • Added Metaparticle Effects
  • Added button to reload current resource
  • Fixed filename bug in Save Package

• Version 2.0.3
  • Added Decal Effects
  • Added Sequence Effects
  • Added Sound Effects
  • Added Shake Effects
  • Added Game Effects
  • Added Ribbon Effects
  • Added Sprite Effects

• Version 2.0.4
  • Added function to Add a new reference to an existing visual effect type.
  • Added function to Copy an existing visual effect type creating a new instance of the visual effect.
  • Added function to Delete reference to an existing visual effect type (will deleted the instance if no more references exists).
  • Reorganized Particle Effect form to only include properties and tables currently used by EA effects.
  • Added an Extra form for unused properties and tables in case anyone wants to experiment.
  • Fixed Hex validation not working in new forms.

• Version 2.0.5
  • Fixed saving a previously opened custom effect would add an incorrect file extension.
  • Fixed Edit BlockType VisualEffect not working.
  • Fixed Color picker not returning correct values.
  • Fixed Rename visual effect selecting the wrong index.
  • All effect names are now forced to lowercase.

• Version 2.0.6
  • Updated VisualEffects to version 13.
  • Updated ParticleEffects to version 24.

• Version 2.0.7
  • Updated SoundEffects to version 8.
  • Added Distribute Effects (no editing yet).
  • Fixed a mapping error in MetaParticleEffects.

• Version 2.0.8
  • Updated ParticleEffects to version 26.

• Version 2.0.9
  • Fixed ParticleEffects version bug.

• Version 2.0.10
  • Fixed MetaParticleEffects bug.

• Version 2.0.11
  • Added options to serialize/deserialize effects to export/import between different versions including Sims 3 and Sims Medieval.
  • Added function to calculate new rotation.
  • Fixed a lot of bugs and mapping errors.

• Version 2.0.12
  • Made the tool more backward compatible and able to upgrade to the latest version.

• Version 2.0.13
  • The Merge function will now copy all resource types from the source packages.

• Version 2.0.14
  • Added scrollbars to ParticleEffect and MetaParticleEffect forms.

• Version 2.0.15
  • ParticleEffect updated to version 27.
  • VisualEffect updated to version 14.

• Version 2.0.16
  • Fixed Import initialization error.

• Version 2.0.17
  • Changed Merge functions duplicate check behavior.

• Version 2.0.18
  • VisualEffect updated to version 15.

• Version 2.0.19
  • SoundEffect updated to version 10.
  • VisualEffect updated to version 16.

Reference
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Sims_3:0xEA5118B0

I highly recommend reading this part:
http://www.andrewwillmott.com/talks...cedural-content

TS3 VFX Tool
https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=664394

That's big, thank you for your effort, it's amazing to see this being possible. :D

Do you think all resources containing effects are loaded, and not just the main one, allowing to add new effects without conflicts with other mods?

Yay, I'm so glad there's an alpha version! I posted this in several areas, hopefully we can get some testers. I will do my best to poke at it but this is my first time encountering effects like this so the terms in the options go over my head (I'll try to do some research later).
Are the car headlights, streetlights, etc. considered particle effects and available at this moment for testing? Also, how would you go about turning off/hiding effects?

This all looks very complicated for me, but far too interesting to not try to play with it a bit.
I've already done a texture override myself of a VFX in game. I don't know if it can be of any help for you, but I will send you a message about it later today probably.
I've also once made a huge blue iguana instead of the green small one, but as it was a test and just as your effects an override, I haven't done anything with it. :D

I didn't put this in the original post but this is how I believe visual effects works now:

In the beginning all visual effects were in a single big resource (0xEA5118B0), but after the University patch (I think) effects were split into ~7000 new resources (0x1B192049), some of these new resources contain only one effect, some contain 100+ effects.

There is another new resource (0x1B19204A) which is a mapping table that lists all visual effects in the game and in which 0x1B192049 resource they can be found. When creating new effects this table needs to be extended, at least that is the only way I have been able to get the game to recognize new effects (so far). Since there is only one mapping table it creates a conflict if two or more modders want to create new effects as the mapping tables will override each other.

Modding existing effects as described in my original post doesn't require updating the 0x1B19204A table as long as the modded 0x1B192049 resource contains the same effects as the original (which the tool ensures). So modding existing effects doesn't create any conflicts, unless two people mod the same effect of course.

Creating new effects by cloning existing ones is almost ready, I will be updating the tool soon.

It looks like most of the world effects are grouped in one big resource with over 500 effects, try selecting "world_vehiclecoupe_headlights" and click Edit.

I am not sure what the best approach is but one could be to set the ColorAlphaCurve values to zero, another option could be to set ParticleLifeTime to a low number like 0.1. I noticed that all headlight VisualEffects reference the same ParticleEffects (1-5), so when you have edited one headlight VisualEffect you have edited them all.

Regarding the streetlights, I am fairly certain you need to edit their LITE resource, setting the range to zero should turn them off I think.

Thank you for the tips! I've been messing with it the last hour. It's working great so far, I got one of the offending VFX removed, taxis, and am excited to remove the shadows, etc. when that update comes out. I'm tackling headlights next, then will look at streetlights again. One thing I did notice when I wanted to make different versions of the VFX, but already made changes I couldn't undo, is that there is no "Reset/Refresh" option without clicking "Main" and refreshing the entire list, then finding the name in the list again. Can something like that be added? Also, if I am making changes to different EA effects, is it okay to merge the effects into a single file with S4S/S4pe? Or do we use the merge feature on the tool once it is done? Or will the ability to add multiple effects to a single package be included?

Lastly, is it possible to add/replace textures to the EA effects or are we better off creating new ones?

(Sorry for all the questions, thanks!)

This is so good! Thank you so much for this

- I will see if I can add a Reload button somewhere
- The overrides you currently create can be merged and split with whatever tool you prefer, it is only new effect names that will require a special action.
- You can override the EA images if you want, but be aware that some of the images used to create particles are referenced by many visual effects.

Thank you for the info and considering the reload button! I don't know how to override the images though, but that's a project for later then. I was wanting to override the VFX clothes they use when hanging laundry, which I don't think would be referenced much outside the laundry pack. So after some more testing, I can't get the headlights to disappear. The ParticleTime option worked for the taxi object (not the lights/shadows), but any changes to the headlights hasn't shown, and I tried it on all car headlights after the first suggested one didn't work either. I even went and entered 0 everywhere for each ParticleEffect just to see if it was a different setting, and it had no effect. Also tried editing ep05_vehicle_cold_exhaust and that too wouldn't disappear. So I'm guessing at this point it's maybe a different VFX that's not currently available?

Also, further testing with streetlights with the light resource (and even removing references to light resources within the Model/MLOD) didn't make the lights disappear, so it's definitely either a VFX or controlled by the client. I fear it might be the latter. I found a few VFX to test next but I don't have much hope, lol.

Edit: Okay, I got the little orb inside some? of the lights to change, but the environment is still lit. I tried changing s40_env_light_lamp_post and s40_env_lights_red_glow as it seems like the appropriate vfx but there were no changes I could see. Going to keep trying at a few others.

I have uploaded a new version 2.0.1 which can now create new effects, for the game to recognize the new effects it is required to use the Merge function to build the necessary mapping resource.

I have added a new small "How to" in the description to create a single new effect, you can use Andrew's VFX player to test it.

I wasn't able to find the lamppost with the yellow flowers but I found a similar one and setting the Intensity (Range) to zero does this:

Whoa, that's pretty cool. I'm looking at the LITE resource in S4pe this time (S4S is proving useless for this it seems), not seeing anything about Intensity/Range, and I also extracted and opened in a Hex Editor (recommended by a thread I found), but I'm not really understanding what I should be changing (pictures are from a bollard). Because the streetlights don't seem to have this option? Here is a street light package, not the yellow planter though. Edit: I figured out why some of the streetlights didn't have an option (but not all). I was using the original files of the history mod to remove the physical street lights. I made some new overrides, saw they had an option in the light resource. However, editing them shows no difference, I even tried changing the color. Also, some like the bollard don't come with a light setting, and instead has a blank LITE resource. I uploaded a new file, one with the yellow flowers, a regular streetlight, who have light options (already edited) and the bollard with no light option so you can see what I mean. The yellow flowers light are in Newcrest I believe, if that helps, along with the bollard.

The lamppost I edited was from build/buy which is probably why it worked, apparently lighting for world objects is controlled by something else.

Maybe ask Bakie who posted here earlier, he knows a lot more about world objects than I do.

Hi! Really interesting tool. Is it possible to import visual effects from The Sims 3? I have some extracted sims 3 vfx that i'd like to put in Sims 4.

Do you have any other suggestions on how to remove the current VFX we know of? The headlights and the one light orb I did find. Edit: Zeroing the IID helps block effects!!! Nando just showed me and I tried it on the headlights, it worked! I still can't get the car tire tracks to leave though. Every other effect in this cars related file is either a Metaparticle Effect, or Visual Effect. So either it's stored in a different file, or it's one of the ones I can't edit yet.
(I am also curious about importing the Sims 3 and Sims Medieval VFX like the previous poster, or in general exporting EA VFX to be edited and then imported back.)

Oh, a suggestion for the tool. When I open a previously saved file to edit it some more, then go to save it, it try's to save the entire directory path and the package name. Is it possible to get it to just save the package name?

Also, I discovered that editing the DrawMode for certain (or maybe all) VFX will crash the game. Not sure if that helps anything or not, but I decided to say it just in case.

Can you be a little more specific, what do you mean by extracted a visual effect from TS3 ?

In general you can make the same effects as in TS3 since it is the same Swarm engine, but do note that the Material Shaders section is empty in TS4 and so far I haven't been able to figure out where the ParticleEffects that use them point to.

If you by export mean save the visual effect to a source file that can be edited with a text editor then that is definitely possible, I have been thinking about this to better deal with the constant binary format changes that EA is doing, but this is for a later stage, I need to complete the tool first.

The Save Package issue is fixed in the release.

I mean export the...mesh? Material? I'm not sure of the right word, of the VFX so that maybe I can change the shape, alter textures, etc. and then import them back, either as an override or new effect with the clone option. Is importing new effects, or exporting effects, not possible?

I've cloned some objects from the sims 3 to the sims 4. Some of them have animated effects.
For example:
- the Apple Bobbing tank has a visual effects for the apples moving in the water
- the haunted house has effects for the ghost moving inside of it
- the snow halfpipe has effect of the snow when the sim is snowboarding

I have exctracted with TS3 Effect Cloner the single .effect file from the sims 3 (for example: ep8applebobbingrampdown2%%+_SWB.effects).
I wonder if there's a way to import the same effect in the sims 4 and then target it to the object.

I attach the single effect extracted from the sims 3

The IID field in the Particle Effect form points to a normal image or mesh resource, you can use your favorite CC tool to either override it or create a new one, if you create a new resource you need to update the IID field with the new instance ID.

The Tiki torch I use in my examples reference the following image resource to create the smoke and flames:

0x00B2D882-0x00000000-0xBAA02E62CE901C52
(Found in ClientDeltaBuild6.package)

The file you have attached is the old Swarm binary format used in TS3, it is the same format TS4 is based on but it has been changed many times since then, for example the ParticleEffects format was version 7 in TS3 but is now at version 22, so it is not possible to import the TS3 format directly, it will need to be "upgraded" first.

There is still the matter of shaders, if a TS3 effect use a shader it wont work in TS4 because the TS3 shaders don't exists in TS4.

About the shaders I think that we can add more shaders like the post here: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/di...precomp-info/p1

SimGuruModSquad says "Hey guys, I was asked in another thread about the format of the Shaders_Win32.precomp file, which contains the game shaders. A bt file for this resource is attached.

Also, note that you can modify your "Mods" resource CFG to override the precomp file so that you can install modded shaders in the Mods folder and not have to replace the one in the game install directory. As follows:"

About the upgrade version: is there a way to upgrade the version? or can you link me a guide to do so? thanks.

I don't think such a tool exists, once I am certain I have encoded everything correctly I will publish the source code for the classes I made, this can be used if somebody wants to make a TS3->TS4 conversion tool, my main focus will be on Sims 4 for now.

I have uploaded a new version 2.0.2 with Metaparticles.

MetaparticleEffects reference other ParticleEffects by name, I am not sure if it is possible to reference effects in other resources.

When cloning a visual effect containing a MetaparticleEffect the tool will prefix the referenced effects, but after that you will need to maintain the names yourself.