Sims 4 CC Tutorial:
Create standalone CASparts without compromises!
Have you ever wished for a tool that combined all possibilities for Sims 4 CAS part creation into one? One tool clones meshes, but does not support swatches or properties. One tool supports all that, but canât make standalone files. One tool is powerful enough to do both, but you better be fluent in hash code, or so it seemsâŠ
I know many people are working on tweaking those tools for us and a big thanks to all of them, youâre the best!
But if you are getting impatient and donât want to wait any longer for the perfect tool, here is a tutorial that shows you how to combine the power of three different tools to create custom content with the feature-richness of tomorrow.
What you will learn:
This tutorial will explain how to clone a sims 4 mesh and export and assemble all textures and resources into one package. This will include deleting duplicate textures and linking to only one texture to slim down the package.
Furthermore, I will show you how to add extra recolors with edited properties as well as custom swatch images.
This will create a standalone package with its own thumbnail, not a recolor. With this method, you can incorporate as many recolors as you like and merge them all into one package.
I tried to explain everything as detailed as possible and made 10 hopefully very helpful pictures (tumblr doesnât let me add more), but working with s4pe can be confusing at first, since there are many numbers involved. You donât need to know what they all mean, you just have to recognize them and mix ân match, like dominoes :)
Disclaimer: This is my personal way to create CAS Part packages, there might be other ways or quicker solutions that I donât know of and this tutorial may become obsolete with the evolution of the custom content tools.
Note that creating CC for Sims 4 is still highly experimental! The tools I am working with are in beta stage, they might have bugs or produce undesired results - use at your own risk. I cannot guarantee that all custom content will work using this method - I personally had no problems though.
Once we have programs that incorporate all features into one tool, these steps will probably become obsolete. Until then, I hope this tutorial will be helpful for you!
Programs you need:
CmarNYCâs CAS/Mesh Tools (current version: 0.5.2.0)
Grantâs Color Magic (current version: 0.8.1)
Kureeâs S4PE (current version: 0.2b)
Photoshop or Gimp
DDS Plugins for Photoshop/Gimp
Make sure you have the latest versions of these tools. They are all still in beta stage and receive updates and bugfixes frequently, so be sure to check for updates regularly.
Step 1: Cloning the mesh
First, use Cmarâs CAS/Mesh Tools to clone a mesh you want.
For this tutorial, Iâll be editing the Bootcut Jeans, as shown in image #1 (the image numbers are also listed on the captions. The teaser image does not count, so the first image is the one showing the TS4 Mesh Tools).
Note: there is an option to remove bumpmap or specular. I recommend removing the specular. I like to leave the bumpmap though and create my own, as it makes the colors texture look more realistic. As of now, there is no way to edit the specular yet.
I choose to clone only one swatch, as I add more later with Color Magic. You can then export the package, donât forget to add a unique, descriptive name! If you wish, you can now edit the meshes to your liking (this step will not be included in this tutorial).
Step 2: Creating the textures
Now, open s4pe and import the package you just created. Under settings, make sure that DDS Preview is checked - this will let you find your image files easier.
Now, find the colorful texture with the tag âunknâ and the type 0x3453CF95. This is the main texture. For reference, see image #2.
Export this texture by right-clicking on it and choosing âExport to DDSâ.
Now, it can be opened with Photoshop or Gimp (you need the dds plugin to open it! Google is your friend). You can now edit the texture to your heartâs content and apply any colors or textures you like. The alpha channel contains the alpha mask that is responsible for transparency. When youâre done, save as DDS DXT5. Rinse and repeat for other recolors.
My texture looks like this (minus the watermark):
You may now create a normalmap (bumpmap). Make sure to not use a texture that includes prints or the likes unless you have them on each recolor, because the normalmap will show on all recolors.
I had success in creating normalmaps using the ts3 technique (see tutorial here). It might not be the best or right method, as adding normalmaps is very new and not much is known about creating them yet, so bear in mind that this is my personal method and there might be new findings that optimize/adjust normalmap-creating in the future.
The other texture included in the package, also labeled as type 0x3453CF95, is the shadowmap. It is usually white with some dark grey areas on it. The darker areas indicate where natural shadow should fall on the garment and will darken the texture in those places. If you feel the need to adjust it, export the same way as the other texture and again save as DXT5.
Step 3: Creating custom swatches
If you want your swatches to have your initial on it and/or show an actual preview of your texture, you can create them yourself. In your favorite image editing program, create a file that is 32x32 pixels big. Open your colored texture and crop an area out that you want to show on your swatch. Now paste it into your 32x32 px image and adjust the size to fit into the 32px space accordingly. Now you can add your initials on top or do whatever else you want. If youâre finished, save as DDS DXT1. Repeat to get swatches for all your recolors.
This is my final swatch:
Step 4. Creating recolor packages
Open your mesh package with Color Magic. To do that, check âmanualâ upon opening Color Magic and browse for your package. (make sure the package is not opened in s4pe at the same time as this makes ColorMagic crash). Click next. Now clone the one swatch (just click on it, there should only be one there). Click next again.
Now you can edit the name of the recolor (ColorMagic will again add your creator name to the package, so delete one of it), add a swatch color, enable the custom swatch and edit flags (see image #3 and #4).
Make sure you adjust the color to that of your recolor when youâre editing the flags. The other properties are basically color palettes, they indicate what colors will match your item and on what occasion that item should be worn and in what category filters it will appear. For example, if you were to chosse âpastelâ, the recolor would be treated as being of pastel color and randomized sims/townies will receive clothes that are mixed and matched based on this information. If your item is bright red, but the palette indicates pastel, the game might mix it with a pale green - so if you choose completely wrong ones (or ignore the property editing completely), random sims will most likely look weirdly dressed ;)
After youâve finished, click Finish and save your package - it is best to use the proposed name, as this matches the name of your recolor and avoids confusion later on.
Rinse and repeat Step 4 for all of our recolors.
Step 5: Importing edited textures into the recolor packages
Open each recolor, one by one, with s4pe and import your edited textures. For the base texture and the shadow map (if you made edits to it), right-click the corresponding texture and choose âImport From DDSâ.
For the 32px color swatch and the normalmap, choose âload ddsâ.
Note: The normalmap can only be found inside of the original mesh package! Replace it there.
Save your package by hitting File -> save.
Repeat for all recolors.
Step 6: Importing recolors into the mesh package
Next, open the original mesh package with s4pe. First, letâs familiarize ourseves with the texture names and their representation in the CASP. This is important for the manual linking of resources that weâre going to do. Look at image #5 - I have highlighted the matching resources and their entries in the TGI list.
Note that the normalmap is currently not associated with the casp, weâre going to fix that later on, as weâre not using that casp anyway, since there is no custom swatch associated and the flags are not edited either. So for now, delete the casp and the shadowmap, the original base texture and the specular (if present) and replace them with our recolor that we created with ColorMagic.
In other words, delete all colored textures and the casp shown in image #5 except for the normalmap (colored yellow in the image) - we still need that one. Click âsaveâ to commit deletion. You should be left with one IMG tag file (the normalmap), one UNKN tag (some data file, presumably) and all the GEOMs (meshes).
Now weâre going to import all of our recolors.
Click Resource-> Import -> from package
and choose all the recolor packages (make sure you donât import the original mesh package again). See image #6 on the import settings, theyâre standard though, so nothing should need to be changed. Click no on the prompt for auto-save.
Since they all have the additional shadow map and it will most likely be the same for all recolors, delete all but one shadow map. It is helpful to sort by Type to find them more easily. They have the type 0x3453CF95. Use the dds preview to the right to make sure you only delete the shadow maps and not your colored textures! Make sure there is one shadow map left. Now letâs delete the duplicate speculars as well, while weâre at it: They have the type 0xBA856C78 and show no preview at all. Leave one there. If you donât have specular at all, this could mean that you checked the âno specularâ option in the CAS/Mesh Tool. In that case- donât worry about it. Save the file again to commit deletion.
Now we need to let all casparts point to the normalmap and specular we have left. Hereâs how to do that - letâs start with the shadow map:
Step 7: Manually linking to files in the CASP
First, copy the reskey of the shadow map (right click on the shadow map and choose âCopy ResourceKeyâ).
Now highlight the casp (just left-click on it once) and hit the Grid button at the bottom of s4pe.
The last entry is called TGI List. Click on the grey downward arrow in front of the entry to open the contents. Now, look for the entry âShadowKeyâ that is not in the TGI List section that you just expanded, but a few entries above that. Check what number it has (should be 0x and then a number or letter and number combination behind that).
Now look for this exact number in the TGI List. (You should see the number in brackets followed by the words TGI List.) Now replace the resource number (that long number with two dashes between them). Just highlight the row and paste the reskey from the shadow map you copied earlier into this field. Now click commit.
In image #7, you can see the pasted code (I highlighted the shadow map resource in green for you to see that I copied the resource number from there).
Paste this shadow map resource key to the TGI lists of all of your caspâs. Donât be surprised when you stumble on one casp that already has the correct resource key - thatâs the casp the image was originally linked to.
Now repeat the same steps, only with the specular resource key. In the casp, the specular is called SpecularMapKey. Remember, the specular has the type 0xBA856C78, and no preview picture, so you should be able to find it easily. Start by copying the specular resource key and proceed to paste it into the specularMapKey fields of the TGI list in the casp. Again, repeat for all caspâs.
Step 8: Adding the normalmap to the CASP TGI list
This step is a bit different than replacing the resource keys like we did with the specular and shadow map. The normalmap resource key isnât yet mentioned in the casp at all, so we need to add it as a new resource and then link to it. To do that, we first copy the reskey of the normalmap. The normalmap has a grey preview picture and is the only IMG tag with the group number 0x80000000.
Now, click the grid button on the first casp again. Go to the TGI list, highlight it and click the small button with 3 dots to the right. This opens a new window. Click on âAddâ, then on âPaste RKâ, then click âsaveâ. See image #8 for a visual guide.
You now added the resource key to the TGI list. If the new resource isnât showing right away, click commit and open the casp again using the grid button.
We now need that index number in brackets that was created for our new resource. In my case, it is [16].
New resources always get added at the bottom of the TGI and thus get a new, higer index. You can also double-check the instance number and compare it to the normalmap resource to make sure you have the right one.
Now we paste that index number into the normalmap key field. It is located directly above the specular field. Just write 0x16 (or whatever index number you had) into the normalmap key field (replace the number [0x00]. Alternatively, you can add the resource key from a dropdown menu by clicking on the light grey arrow to the right of the normalmap key field. See image #9 for details.
Now repeat Step 8 for all caspâs.
Save your package one last time and now youâre done! Give it a test drive in-game and enjoy your new creation!
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