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Frequently
Asked Questions about the Skins
All questions about
Skins: installation, creation, request...
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| Download |
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| Troubleshooting |
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| Creation |
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| Policies |
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| Other |
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Download
and Installation
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| Download
and Installation |
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You need to download the skin AND the mesh,
if you think you don't have this one already. It doesn't matter
if you download it several times, but you need to have it once.
For example, once you have downloaded a B325fafit mesh (used
in the women formal pages), you don't need to download it again.
If, when you install a mesh in your skins folder, your computer
tells you that you have already a file with the same name and
asks you if you want to replace it, say no, and put the mesh
in the trash.
Same thing for the Hot Date skins: you'll need the meshes as
well.
Installation
Once they're unzipped, you need to install the .bmp, the
.skn and the .cmx files in your The Sims\GameData\Skins
folder.
You need to install the *files* not the folders: folders included
in the skins folder won't work.Be careful on this point, or
the skins won't appear in the game.
As they're zipped on a Mac, the process of installation might
be a bit different from the one you're used to do, so you can
have a look at the Step-by-step (look below).
Step by Step
If this explanation isn't enough for you, there's a full step-by-step
with pictures that will help you: one is made
for PC, one for Mac,
and if you don't know if you have a Mac or a PC, have a look
here.
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| Why don't
you include the meshes with the skins? It would be easier to download... |
| Well, unfortunatly, it would use too much space
on my server to add several times the same file, and it would
also make the downloadable files bigger, and the bigger the files
are, the more bandwith it uses, and we all know that bandwith
is a precious treasure to not abuse... |
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Troubleshooting
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I have unzipped your skins and installed
them in the right place, butthey don't appear in the game... What
happens?! |
Be sure to have downloaded the skin AND the
mesh.
Be sure to have downloaded the version you wanted to (Hot Date,
Vacations, the Sims...)
Be sure that there's no folder in your Skins folder, but only
files. That's the error the most common. To avoid it, have
a look at the step-by-step
for installation. |
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| The NPCs
I downloaded from your site have only hands! What's wrong? How
to install your NPCs? |
Ok, so you can't see the bodies nor the heads?
Then, you haven't installed them correctly. I might not have been
really clear in my Read-me, then, because I tried to explain how
it needed to be installed, but some of you didn't seem to have
understood what I meant, so... Let's start again. =)
Once you have downloaded the dining-podium or the bar, you need
to unzip it. Then, you find two folders in your unzipped folder.
One contents .skn, .cmx and .bmp, and is called "Skins".
You need to drag the content of this folder in your GameData/Skins
folder. The *content*. I insist on this point because all
the ones who had troubles dragged the whole folder in the Skins
folder, and not only the content. And as I've already said in
the FAQ: you can't have folders in your Skins folders. In your
unzipped folder of the podium, you find also another folder,
with .iff files (podium, bar, NPC...). You need to drag the content
of this folder in the GameData/UserObjects one.
And if my english is really far to be clear for you, here's what
wrote an user. She wrote what I meant in other words. you might
understand her better. Thanks Kerri! ;)
"The reason mine were not working is that winzip unzipped them
into new folders inside my userobjects folder and skins folder.
After I took them out of the individual folders and just put them
in the actual userobjects and skins folders, all is well and works
great! :) "
Here's also a picture
of what you should see and what you shouldn't. |
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| I have a Mac and most of
the skins I download from other sites than yours don't work. Why
and what can I do? |
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Mac is limited to 31 characters
for files names (for Mac OS system older than OS X), while Windows
98 can support much more... So, sometimes, the names are cut
when you unzip them on your Mac, and the skins won't work.
So does it mean we have no solution?
Noooo! We used to have a long process for converting the skins
with Simple Text, but now, we have a much easier tool: SkinShrinker.
Simply drag a .cmx file on Skin Shrinker, and voilà:
Skin Shrinker has renamed the .skn and edited the .cmx and they
will now work perfectly.
(Don't forget that every downloads
from this site have been already converted, so you don't need
to do anything! ;))
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| I've been
asked for a password when I tried to unzip the files. Could you
give it to me? |
| Oh, there's no password, actully. It's a bug
caused by the "Icon" file. You have probably tried to
unzip it, and it asks you a password because it doesn't understand
what to do with: the "Icon" file is useless on Windows,
it's only there because I zipped my files on Mac, but don't pay
attention to it, and once again: there's no password neeeded,
so I can't give one to you! ;) |
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Creation
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| How
to make skins? |
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You need to have a painting program like PaintPro
(PC), Photoshop
(Mac-PC), GraphicConverter
(Mac), etc..., and a program to preview your skins:
For Windows: SimShow
(Maxis) or SimPose
For Mac: SimShow
(Aspyr)
Check some Skins tutorials:
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| How to
create meshes? |
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You need to have a 3D program and a program
to preview your skins (like SimShow
or SimPose):
For Window:
3D - MilkShake
3D
Preview - SimShow
or SimPose
For Mac:
3D - Meshwork
(beta - you can import .skn, but not export)
Preview - SimShow
Check some Meshes tutorials:
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Policies
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| Can
you make a skin for me? |
| No. You can't guess how many skins
I would like to do (more men, more winter clothes, more fat women,
more kids faces...). I don't even think I'll have time to make
the quarter of all of them, so really I can't take requests. Moreover,
I'm absolulty not interested in celebrities skins, so... |
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| Can
I use your heads as models for my skins and put their picture
on my site? |
Yes, sure! I'd be honored that my sweetie skins
will begin an international model career by figuring on your site!
;)
Send me your link, I'd be glad to see them!
Credit to my site would be nice, though... ;) |
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| Can
I distribute your skins? Can I recolor or use a piece of your
skin to create mine? |
| Sorry, but no: my skins (like all my creations)
have been made for this site and only for this site, so you can't
redistribute them, nor alter them in any way. |
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Other
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| You say
your meshes are converted for Mac. Will they work on my PC? |
| Yes, of course! The only difference is that the
file names are shorter, but they will work with Windows without
any troubles. |
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| How
can I rename my skins for Hot Date, Vacation, SuperStars? |
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For Mac: You can use Sims-Skins-Renamer
and Sims-Mesh-Renamer
to rename automatically your skins for a given expansion pack.
(Thanks to my darling! ;))
For Windows: I suppose there's a tool that let you do
that automatically, but as I use a Mac, I don't know all the
application that exist for PC... So, I'll explain you how to
rename the skins by yourself. :)
The skins you'll find on my site exist already in Hot Date version,
but if you have downloaded some skins elsewhere and that you
would like to use them as buyable items in Dowtown, you'll have
to rename them:
For example:
B325fafitlgt_ATS_Evening001.bmp
B325fafitlgt_ATS_Evening001.bmp
B325fafitlgt_ATS_Evening001.bmp
We're going to make of these skins Hot date
buyable formal dresses; to do so, replace the "B"
by a "F":
So you rename the files like this:
F325fafitlgt_ATS_Evening001.bmp
F325fafitlgt_ATS_Evening001.bmp
F325fafitlgt_ATS_Evening001.bmp
But you have also to rename the .cmx part of
the mesh (work on a copy; the original might be used by normal
skins):
b325fafit_jvdpr_heels2.cmx
Here again, replace the "B" by the
"F":
F325fafit_jvdpr_heels2.cmx
Last,
open your .cmx in a text editor:
"// Character File. Copyright
1997, Maxis Inc.
version 300
0
1
b325fafit_JVDPR_heels2
0
0
1
PELVIS
xskin-b325fafit_heels2-BODY
0
0
0 "
And replace the name of the cmx by the one you
have given (I mean: replace the first "B" by a "F").
"// Character File. Copyright
1997, Maxis Inc.
version 300
0
1
F325fafit_JVDPR_heels2
0
0
1
PELVIS
xskin-B325fafit_heels2-BODY
0
0
0 "
And voilà. =)
If you want to use the skins for swimming-suits
or pajamas, then, use a "S" for the swimming-wear
or a "L" for the lingerie instead of the "F":
F for formal
S for swimming-suit
L for lingerie (pajamas)
W for winter (Vacations)
H for high-fashion (SuperStar)
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| Can
I use your skins as pajamas, formal, swimming-suits? |
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Yes, it depends if you have Hot Date/Vacation
or not:
If you have Hot Date or the Sims Vacation:
Download the HD/SV version of the skins and of the meshes, install
them in the GameData/Skins folder, and then, your Sims need
to go Downtown to buy their new clothes (lingerie, winter wear,
swimming-suits and formal: Hot Date is required for adults swimming-wear,
formal and lingerie; Vacation is required for adults winter-wear
and for all the clothes for kids).
If you don't have Hot Date nor the Sims Vacations:
you have two possibilities: change the default skins or give
a skin to a particular Sim.
• Change the defaults: rename the files
as below:
Formal: FFfitLGT_01 (F = formal)
Swimming: UFFitlgt_01 (U = underwear?)
Pyjama: PajamaFlgt_01 (Pajama = Pajama...)
The example I took is a white fit female Sim, but you can change
the name, as explained here to make clothes
for an other Sim. A formal suit for a dark fit male skin will
be:
FMfitDRK_01
You also need to rename the mesh, ex: PajamaFfit_01.cmx
You might have noticed that we don't have "A"
for adult nor "C" for children, here. It means children
and adults will wear the same clothes (so think about it before
giving to your little girl a hot-sexy pajama... or giving to
your mediterranean guy a swimming-suit with teddybears...)
• Give a clothe to a particular Sim:
The principe is the same as for changing the default, but change
the "01" by 8 first characters of the name of your skin's clothes.
For example: if you have a skin named "B333FAfitLGT_LongLovelyBlackDress",
the pajama/swimming/formal for THAT skin must be called: PajamaFlgt_LongLove
(so if you have an other skin named "LongLovelyGreenDress",
well... they'll get the same pajama.
Note: if you can give a particular pajama/etc to a skin, you
can't give them a particular mesh: all your female pajamas will
use the same mesh, as well as the formal and swimming-suits.
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| What's
the difference between a Sims skin and a Hot Date one? |
A Hot Date skin requires the expansion pack Hot
Date (logical, huh?). Your Sims will be able to buy the clothings
(lingerie, swimming-suits and formal) in the Downtown shops.
Their names are different: while a skin file always begins by
"B" (like "Body") for a normal skin, Hot Date
skin's file name will begin by a:
F for formal
S for swimming-suit
L for lingerie (pajamas)
W for winter (Vacations)
H for high-fashion (SuperStar) |
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| Some
of your Sims have an inscription "HD" or "SV";
what does it mean? |
| HD is for Hot Date, and it indicates that these
skins that can be bought in Downtown (Hot Date), it concerns the
adults skins of formal, lingerie or swimming-suits. SV is for
Sims Vacation, those skins can be bought too, but in Sims Vacation.
It concern children skins or winter skins (both adult and children). |
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| What is
a mesh? .CMX, .SKN, what's that? Why does the name of a skin matter? |
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A skin (a character) is made with 2 parts (the
body and the head). Bodies and heads need a texture (.bmp files)
and a 3D volume, called the mesh (.cmx and .skn files)
Let's have a look on a skin's name:
B777FAfitLGT_robette.bmp
B = relative to the body (C is relative to the
head)
777 = n° of the mesh used (you must have .cmx and
.skn files with the strings "FA777")
F = female. Also: M = male
A = Adult. Also: C = child
fit = fit (size of the body). Also: skn =skinny
and fat = fat
LGT = light skin tone. Also DRK =dark or MED
= Medium.
So, our example is a white fit woman, wearing a "robette"
texture on a "777" mesh, ok? =)
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| XXL skins |
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As you have probably noticed, the Maxis' fat
women lack of curves. That's why some skinners created other
beautiful curvy bodies models for "fat" ladies, the
XXL ones, created by SimSisters,
and the Rubenesque, created by Mermaid
Cove.
Most of the skinners use the "XXL" tag in the name
of the skins (ex: B325faXXL_...), and then, they need to put
the buyable skins for those ladies, in the "fit" category,
as the game doesn't recognize "XXL".
I have never found this very logical, and I like better having
all my curvy ladies in the "fat" section, so I had
to rename the BMP and the meshes as "Fat" and no more
as "XXL", but I kept track of the XXL in the name
of the meshes (ex: B325fafat_XXL...)
You need to download the nude skin as well if you don't want
to see your sims get suddenly thiner because they have a shower
or so. ;)
You'll be able to link the nude skin to a XXL lady by using
SimWardrobe
(free) or SimEnhancer
(paying).
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