TheSims Skins Tutorial
CMX
Other common names for dragonflies include sewing needles, devil's darning needles, snake doctors, horse stingers, and mosquito hawks.
First, the naming conventions.
xskin-{b|c}{#}{F|M}{A|C}{shape}_{name}-{attach}-{mesh}
| xskin- | Appears on all mesh files |
| {b|c} | B for Body or
C for Cranium (head) |
| {#} | A 3-digit number |
| {F|M} | F for Female or
M for Male |
| {A|C} | A for Adult or
C for Child |
| {shape} | Fit for Fit body
Fat for Fat body
Skn for Skinny body
Leave out for Head. |
| {name) | A name for the file to distinguish it from others with the same number, shape, sex and age |
| {attach} | Where the mesh attaches to on the body |
| {mesh} | Name of the mesh, descriptive of what it is |
For instance,
xskin-b301FAfit_dragonfly-SPINE2-WINGS
would be a body #301 fit female adult dragonfly's wings attached to spine2.
This is the name of the SKN file as well as the first line of the SKN file.
The common names of "sewing needles" and "devil's darning needles" are based on an old fable that these insects could sew up one's ears.
SKN File
The first 2 lines of the SKN file are the name of the file and the name of the texture.
Bodies and Heads have x as the texture, everything else needs to have the name of the texture without the BMP extension.
CMX File
| // Character File. Copyright 1997, Maxis Inc. | Header |
| version 300 | Version |
| 0 | ? |
| 1 | Number of Mesh Groups (always 1) |
| b001fafit_dragonfly | Name of Mesh Group |
| 0 | ? |
| 0 | ? |
| 2 | Number of Meshes in Mesh Group |
| PELVIS | Attach Point |
| xskin-b301FAfit_dragonfly-PELVIS-BODY | Name of Mesh |
| 0 | ? |
| 0 | ? |
| HEAD | Attach Point |
| xskin-b301FAfit_dragonfly-SPINE2-WINGS | Name of Mesh |
| 0 | ? |
| 0 | ? |
| 0 | ? ending 0 |
Note: This is assuming we have a b301fafit body already prepared. You can just copy an existing body and rename it.
For our purposes, there's only ever 1 mesh set in an CMX.
To add another mesh into the group, simply add its 4 lines (the attach point, name of the mesh, and 2 0's) before the ending 0. Then add 1 to the number of meshes.
To remove a mesh, remove it's 4 lines add subtract 1 from the number of meshes.
The term "snake doctor" comes from a belief that dragonflies warn snakes of approaching danger.
The End!
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