hi! i'm trying to make a 4t2 hair conversion and I've got it mostly figured out but the linking stage in SimPE is giving me a lot of grief. I've tried giving my mesh groups names according to the override subsets and changing the milkshape comments, but I'm still having issues where either the hair and scalp are invisible leaving just the head part of the mesh or there's no tile showing up in bodyshop at all? what's your process for those steps in 4t2 hair conversions if you dont mind me asking?
Hi yo! Sorry for taking so long to get back to!
Working in SimPE can be very fickle and can be frustrating even on the best of days \o/ But here’s a quick rundown of how I do this part:
Firstly, is making sure the mesh is made correctly and the comments and names are all correct before exporting from milkshape; once you have your mesh package put together, you have to link it to the recolour file you’re using as a base.
Open that file in simPE and then click on “Instance”
This will re-arrange the items in descending order like below; as you can see, each age group has a number instance (1 for toddlers, 2 for kids, etc). This is useful because then you can match the right 3D ID Referencing File with the right mesh. The 3D ID Ref is where most of the mesh info is stored:
Once you highlight the right 3D ID Reference link for the age you want (Adults in this case), click on “Tools -> PJSE -> Body Mesh Tool -> Linking Stage”
You’ll get the first pop-up message; just click okay and then find the mesh you want to link to the file. Another pop-up will appear; just click okay again.
And then you’re done with that one age! Link the rest of the ages with their meshes (YA, adults and elders all share the same mesh), double check your override names to make sure they match the names of your mesh, then click save and close simPE. Put the edited recolour base file and your meshes into your downloads folder and load up bodyshop.
If everything has been done right, you should have the new hair showing up in bodyshop (if it looks weird - chopping hair, missing parts - it’s because the alpha and texture needs to be edited to the new hair textures).
Sorry if things sound a little all over the place, but I hope this helps!