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Select NPC
(Non Playable Character)
 | Use this drop down list
to select from any NPC Characters available in your game. Note this does
not include Townies, Tourists, Somebody's, Etc. which are actually
playable once they have moved in with a family. To change these types of
characters which have many more options for editing you can use
SimEnhancer 3D. |
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Restore (NPC)
| If a NPC has been
changed and then saved the SE NPC MakeOver Kit will extract a copy from
the game files to save the changes to. This copy is used instead of the
game default when it exists. To restore the game to the original NPC
click the restore button. This will then remove the modified copy and
then load the default data for that NPC back into the SE NPC MakeOver
Kit for editing. |
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| 3D Viewport
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The 3D Viewport is visible most of the time. It is used for making character
changes and for most of the functions used for working with skins.
The following interactions with the Viewport are available:
- Wire Frame. (Allows you to view the underlying 3D wire
frame)
- Left Click and Drag. (Rotate, twist or Roll the
character to any angle, center is at the pelvis)
- Right Click and Drag (Zooms in and Out)
- Hold CTRL Key and Left Click and Drag (Pan around to get a
closer view of each part)
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Body, Head, & Hands Buttons
| These are for selecting
which portion of the character you wish to change. When you select each
the Current Mesh and Selected Texture lists will display skins that are
specifically for that body part. Hands will display a set available
hands to choose from in the upper right corner. The exception is that it
will also display the default skins assigned to the character when it
has not been modified. (I.E. If the restore button is not enabled) |
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Reset Thumbnails
| This box basically just
tells the program to assign new thumbnails to the NPC when it is saved.
In some cases this will not be available if the program has determined
new thumbnails need to be assigned. (I.E. If the head is changed) This
is not the same as SimEnhancer 3D which normally just removes the
thumbnails. The game does not add new thumbnails into NPC files and
therefore they need to be replaced in order to keep it from displaying a
black box or the old unchanged NPC thumbnails. These thumbnails will not
look identical to those that the game would generate if it replaced them
in NPC Characters. Please do not email me concerning this since most
people would rather see a reasonable likeness than to see one that looks
like someone else or that is just a blank box. |
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| NPC
Name
| Allows changes to the
Name that is displayed for the NPC during game play. |
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| Age
Selection
| This will not be
available for Pet NPC's. For others it allows you to select either adult
or child for the NPC. Keep in mind that the game often has specific
animations that are used by NPC's that may look odd if the NPC is not
the same age as intended. For instance an child mail person my appear to
put the mail under the mail box rather than in it. (I haven't tested it,
this is just an example of possible odd looking behavior) |
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Gender Selection
| Allows you to select
from male or female skins for your NPC. This has considerably less
effect in the game than SimEnhancer 3D. Most NPC's will use the same set
of Animation no matter what gender is specified whereas normal
characters have many animations specific to the gender. For example
relieving their bladder. For the most part this just determines what set
of skins are available in the CMX and Texture lists. |
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| Skin
Tone Selection
| This basically just changes the set of skins available
in the CMX and Texture lists dependent upon the skin tone selected. Skin
Tone does not have any effect during game play for any characters with the
exception of the skins available when changing outfits which is not an
option for NPC's. |
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| Body
Size Selection
| This is the same as Skin
Tone above except that it will be dependant upon the body size selected. |
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Texture (*.bmp) View
| This displays a flat
unmapped view of the texture currently selected in the Selected Texture
list. |
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Current Mesh Selection
(New Information Oct. 22)
| This displays a list of
skins that are used by normal characters in the game. The skins
displayed will be dependant upon what selections are made in the left
panel. |
| Custom *.cmx files can
be add to this list from any known valid skin location by right clicking
the drop down box and selecting "Browse for Custom File". |
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Extract (Current Mesh)
| This button allows you
to extract a copy of the default skins used by the NPC. (Available only
if the NPC has not been previously edited and if there is not already a
*.cmx in any skin path with the same name) This will include the *.cmx
file, any *.skn files listed in the *.cmx, and any *.bmp file listed in
the *.skn files. These can be placed in any folder for editing. I
suggest adding a sub-folder to the skins directory for this. Extracting
them can be useful to either edit them without editing the NPC itself
(If the edited skins are placed in the skins folder the game will use
them as the defaults fo the character), or they can be modified for use
in your game by normal characters. (See the tutorials for a tutorial
explaining how to do this) |
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Texture Selection
(New Information Oct. 22)
| This displays a list of
textures that have names matching the cmx selected in the Current CMX
list |
| Custom *.bmp files can
be add to this list from any known valid skin location by right clicking
the drop down box and selecting "Browse for Custom File". |
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Extract (Current Texture)
| This allows you to
extract the default texture used by the selected NPC. (Available only if
the NPC has not been previously edited and if there is not already a
*.bmp in any skin path with the same name) This can then be placed in
any folder for editing. I suggest adding a sub-folder to the skins
directory for this. Extracting them can be useful to either edit the
texture without editing the NPC itself (If the edited skins are placed
in the skins folder the game will use them as the defaults fo the
character), or they can be modified for use in your game by normal
characters. (See the tutorials for a tutorial explaining how to do this)
This can be used in combination with using the CMX Extract button
(although the CMX extraction will usually extract the texture anyway
since it is usually listed in a *.skn file) or seperately if you only
want to change the graphics and not the shape for a particular NPC. |
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Save/Exit
| Save saves any pending
modifications to NPC's and leaves the program open for further editing.
Exit will give you an opportunity to save pending changes if any and
then exits. When changes are saved to a NPC a copy of the NPC is
extracted in the folder where the NPC originated. For instance if it is
found in ExpansionPack\ExpansionPack.far then a copy will be saved in
the ExpansionPack folder. I suggest deleting any modified NPC's either
directly or by using the Restore button before you install a new
expansion pack. Then go back and edit them again since there may be
subtle changes to them any time a new expansion is released. |
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