RE: Thanks, but need further help with Object Workshop
 

Yes, I commit and then save. I have three working recolors out of 22 I have planned, and I have tried 8 total, saving the others for if I get this figured out.

I thought at first that it was an image size issue, so I looked at the sizes of the three that worked (~50-70k). I tried to downgrade the quality of the ones that did not work, to make them to be about the same, but they are still not showing up in game.

I have tried using different methods of recoloring these, so I'm not sure if the problem is with the image itself or the final package files. Methods include various processes found in tutorials involving Object Workshop, Photo Studio and/or Wizards of SimPE.

Perhaps I should mention, I'm running Win7 64-bit with 8 GB RAM and NVidia GEForce 310.

I appreciate anyone's time in checking this out. It's driving me crazy!

Note: 06.png works in the game, but 01.png does not. The "fancygrey" is the base texture I'm using.

Update... I started trying the package files one at a time and it appears that some really do work, but not when I have others along with it in the downloads folder. Another issue entirely. Am I missing a step or something that prevents conflicts between multiple recolors of the same item? I am following this tutorial from the beginning for each new recolor.

This is indeed very strange. I cannot see any difference between the two recolours, yet only one showed up. I made a recolour with the 01 pic you included and it turned out fine. I very much doubt, anyway, that the source pics have anything to do with the problem.
The most mysterious thing is that when I renamed the 06 one to load before the 01 one, both of them showed up.
Only one thing comes to my mind: reinstall CEP. I'm not sure it would help, but it can't hurt.

Interesting. I will definitely give that a shot! Thanks for the tip. I'll update if I figure something out.

Well, your idea about renaming the files was a good start. I renamed them all completely, and guess what...they all show up. Thanks for the brain-check!

Note to all creators - do not use a period anywhere in the filename, except before the extension (even though most programs and OpSyses allow it). I took them all out, and voila! Why do I never think of the simplest answer first? :/

Or if you do, make sure that the part before the first period is different in each file

Glad you figured it out, if was really baffling.

You have helped me sooooooooooooo much. Thank you. This tutorial is absolutely what I needed to get started. Wish me luck!

Thank you so much
this is really helpful....

Well, I've skimmed through the past 46t pages and haven't seen my question, and I can't think of where else to ask it. If this is the wrong place to ask, direct me to the correct place by all means, but for now... Well, i've downloaded winzip to open the SimPe zip file and everything, but now it won't open...
To be more specific, I click on the file called "SimsPe.exe" to execute it, hit run, and it automatically comes up saying "SimsPe has stopped working, windows is searching for the problem,/solution" When the thing never started in the first place, let alone long enough to stop working. And that message just goes away without even coming up with like, "troubleshooting or anythign" It just poofs...

Problems running SimPE are really outside the scope of this thread. You probably want the Sims 2 Tools forum. If you need more help, please post there:
http://www.modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=4

Here are a few obvious things to check:
Have you got an appropriate version of .NET? Are you using an install or no-install version of SimPE? If it's a no-install version, did you extract all of the files from the ZIP file to a new folder on your hard drive? Are you running SimPE.EXE from the extracted location?

I'm not able to install 3ds Max DDS Plug-ins. It says "Unable to locate 3ds max in the path you selected, please select another directory." I have selected another but it still won't work. Please, help.

I'm following all the steps, and I've looked over it several times now to check, but I can't figure out what's going wrong. I save my edited pictures (.png), right click and choose Build DDS, open the picture (changing smoothen to none and the format to DTX1), press Build, and press commit. I do the same with the lit texture and save the package, then copy it into my Sims2 downloads folder, where other custom content I have that works is.

What I'm seeing, though, is a second color selection option, but it's the same color as the original was! And back in SimPe, the image I right clicked to build never changed in color, either. Please tell me if you can see what I'm doing wrong!

The importing changes the image in SimPe, but the DDS one isn't changing it.

Can you check the size of your edited .PNG? DDS won't import it if the aspect ratio is not correct, but won't give a warning. Just one pixel difference is enough for the image to not be imported.

The sizes are both 64x64. Is there maybe a file size limit and I should save it under a .bmp? The original (using the unlit lamp one as an example) was 4.09kb, though the changed one was only at 6.48kb, so I can't imagine this would be the problem, but I'm stumped.

No, there should be no need to save as anything than PNG. I do not think there is a file size limit either, but if there is, it is certainly much much larger. A 64x64 texture is tiny. I suggest you try to recolour another object to see if it's just this texture or your DDS is badly behaved in general.

I've followed the tutorial and was wondering if I needed to have that NVDIA program that you can no longer download to edit poster textures. I get to the step where you click plugins and nothing appears.

You do need the DDS Utilities to use SimPE. I had a look around the Nvidia site- this is what I got when trying to download the utilities So, not a blank page- but it does explain why you can't download.

New download link for DDS Utilities
http://developer.nvidia.com/content...y-texture-tools

Just One Question!
 

First of all, thank you for creating this insanely easy to follow tutorial.
I am currently working on a Lady Gaga The Fame Perfume Furniture Collection. Furniture recolored Black and Gold with textures & reflections etc.

Now here's my question:

If I recolored a chair and somebody went to download this chair, would that someday need the same expansion and stuff packs I have installed? Or just the expansion or stuff pack the chair came from?
Thank you once again, please reply ASAP! You Are !

Yours Sincerely, MatthewIDI

For recolors, the only EP/SP required is the one the object you recolored is from.

Mmat
 

I am trying to do some recolors of content I've downloaded and I'm following this tutorial. Not getting very far. When I get to Recolor>Start I press Start and it says 'Collect MMAT Files Please Wait...' and I've been waiting a very very long time. Nothing seems to be progressing yet the program is still responding in Task Manager.

@_@ I am browsing to the package from the catalog which is located under Surfaces>Miscellaneous. I have Sims 2 Double Deluxe (Sims 2, Nightlife, Celebration Stuff) and the furniture is working in game with it's default skins.

/distressed and anxiously awaiting.


Update: I managed to make the recolors by 'Opening' the file instead and cloning once it was open and editing that way. @_@ So I can recolor the item now. I will post back if I have this problem again.

Hi,
I went through the tutorial before and recolored the base game egg chair to black. I had no issues and it worked perfectly. I am currently trying to recolor the base game Get Up! alarm clock for the activity month. I have Nvidia DDS set up. I am also able to choose the object in the catalog. Then I can choose recolor and start with no problem. After I save it as a DBPF (or whatever you call it), I can not find the plug in for the object and I sort of get a blank plugin view and the object workshop says your object has been created. I was wanting to know if I doing something wrong, if the clock can even be recolored, or am i missing something? Thanks in advance!

That object is not recolorable, so that is why the package appears to be empty.

So there is no possible way to make them recolorable?

hey folks! i installed cep and all those stuff, averagely good at this, (after a long struggle finding the zce extra in deluxe) and now when i finally get a plugin... then when i go to plugin view theres no lit state shader only the orange unlit shader and it appears IN the plugin view and not next to the recource tree!!! i have latest cep an simpe... and then deluxe n others... lol i was so excited to get to this part of the tutorials!!!