Star Trek rank insignia for TNG/VOY uniforms and dress uniforms

UPDATE APRIL 29, 2013: The regular (but not the provisional) rank insignia have been updated:

• the meshes have been updated; they now have a better shape and look crisper, but are lower in poly than before
• all UV maps have been updated so that they actually make sense to other people, and the textures have been updated accordingly
• TNG/VOY admirals now have rank insignia that works better with the TNG/VOY uniforms
• the TXMT type has been updated so that the rank insignia no longer looks "garbled" from certain angles
• the shoulder rank insignia have new bone assignments; they now move properly with the shoulder and won’t clip as badly into the Sim’s body
• and last but not least, all rank insignia now have custom thumbnails in CAS and in game, so you no longer have to squint at a nondescript head to try to figure out how many pips it's wearing

The file names are the same as before, so if you already have these insignia in game, the updated versions will overwrite the old files. However, if you have any Sims in game currently wearing my old rank insignia, you'll have to change their appearance in the mirror for the updated insignia to display correctly.


If you've downloaded my TNG/VOY dress uniforms and have tried to wear them together with my rank insignia , you'll have noticed that they don't play well together; the rank insignia sit on the collar, but the dress uniforms are supposed to have the rank insignia on the shoulder. But have no fear - I have a solution for that problem.

I've created two sets of each type of rank insignia (i.e. regular and provisional) for your TNG and VOY Sims. The first set looks, feels and tastes like my other collar rank insignia - they are for adults/YA and elders and can be worn together with other accessories - but there is one significant difference: they appear with casual clothes and outerwear only - not with formal wear. (Don't worry, they won't overwrite my other rank insignia and the tooltip clearly marks them as the "no formal" version, so you won't get the two confused.) You'll see why this is a good thing in a moment.



The second set is meant specifically for use with the TNG/VOY dress uniforms, and thus sits on the Sim's shoulder. Now, there are two things you need to know about this set. First of all, it's categorised as formal only. This means that, even though you will see a thumbnail for it in CAS/Bodyshop and when you change your Sim's appearance in a mirror, you will not actually see the Sim wearing it until he/she changes into formal wear. You'll see why this is a good thing in a moment as well.

Second, this set can be worn together with other accessories, including other rank insignia. (Normally, your Sims can only wear one of my rank insignia at the time.) This means that you can have your TNG/VOY Sim wear it together with the "no formal" rank insignia described above.

Now, why would you want your Sim to wear two sets of rank insignia? Because then you won't have to change rank insignia manually every time your Sim changes into/out of formal wear, that's why; since the "no formal" version is visible with casual clothing and outerwear only, it will disappear when your Sim changes into formal wear - but then instead, the shoulder rank insignia, that has been invisible until then, will appear, since it's set to show with formal wear. Nifty, eh?

Note that this only works this way if your Sim is wearing the "no formal" rank insignia as its normal rank insignia! If you use my other rank insignia , the collar insignia will NOT disappear when the Sim changes into its dress uniform, since that version is set to be visible with formal wear as well.

So, to make a long and somewhat complicated story short: have your TNG/VOY Sims wear both the "no formal" and the shoulder rank insignia at the same time. Then your Sims will automatically change into the proper rank insignia when they change clothes, and you won't have to do a thing.

Polygon Counts:

The poly count is the same for both the "no formal" and the "shoulder" rank insignia.

MESH_nixnivis_provinsig.package: polys=62, vertices=19
MESH_nixnivis_onepip.package: polys=50, vertices=124
MESH_nixnivis_twopips.package: polys=98, vertices=245
MESH_nixnivis_threepips.package: polys=146, vertices=366
MESH_nixnivis_fourpips.package: polys=194, vertices=487

All admiral's rank insignia: 50 faces, 135 vertices


Additional Credits:
* HP, Tig and Dr Pixel - meshing gurus
* Quaxi and all the other SimPE developers
* Wes H for the Unimesh plugins
* The Milkshape team

As always, if you like my creations, hitting the "thanks" button is a quick and painless way of showing it.

Happy Simming!