Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 13th Jul 2022 at 5:17 PM
Default Creating for TS3 Instead of TS4 - (Opinion) Is It Worth Learning?
Hi All

I was just wanting to get some feedback and opinions on TS3 CC creators regarding learning to make CC for TS3. I've been a B/B CC creator for TS4 for about 4 years now, in the last few years I've mastered Blender enough to feel comfortable making/sharing CC with my own meshes.

The issue I have with creating for TS4, is 2 things:


One - I HATE coming up with different swatches, I would really love to just create one swatch and let simmers "texture" the objects how they want. I normally create things from SIMspiration pics of rooms/objects and I can create an almost exactly replica of that reference pic (within the limits of the game, obviously), but then I struggle to come up with other textures/patterns, etc, Which then leads me to just getting tired of the whole project and putting it in my WIP folder, sometimes never to be finished.

Two - I HATE that there is such a small amount of functional items in TS4. Like for example, If I want to create a kitchen appliance set in TS4, it's just deco. There's no pool tables or just "fun things" that would be cool to have the same game play function, just with a new look from a new mesh. I'm just bored with TS4, I think.

TS3 has ALWAYS been my favorite iteration of The Sims (with the exception of TS2 Open for Business and Apartments), and is the version I prefer to play to this day. But I create for TS4 because it's familiar, I know how to do it quickly and I'm used to it. But, I also don't really enjoy it. I get great satisfaction from creating in blender things I've seen in RL pics and creating the initial texture for it. And I also love seeing the finished item in my game, but I just get so bored with trying to pick out textures/patterns for all of the other swatches. (In my head I just think to myself, will other simmers like this? Oh maybe I should go with something else, and I can't even tell you how many times I have re-done all of the swatches because I felt like only "I" would like them! LOL)

So .... here's my question and the whole point of the thread .....
Is there enough TS3 players still out there who would be interested in new B/B CC?
Is it worth it from a creator stand point to learn the ins and outs of CC creation for TS3?
If you still get great satisfaction and continue to be inspired to create/share you TS3 CC, are there current in-depth tutorials that would help me transition to new programs?

Some things to note:
I have once or twice opened Milkshape, I'm a noob with that program!
I'm also not extremely proficient at TSRW, because I use S4S 98% of the time when I make TS4 CC. I know my way around TSRW enough to export/import meshes and textures from learning to convert items first and then I also use it for dirt maps for TS4.

Sorry for the long post!

Any help or insight would be wonderful!

Happy Simming!

- Chicklet
Advertisement
Mad Poster
#2 Old 13th Jul 2022 at 6:22 PM
Those swatches were were one of the main reasons I never made CC for TS2/TS4--even looking for retextures for TS2 CC drove me crazy, back before TS3 came out with CASt, a complete GODSEND.

The main thing you'd have to pay attention to is how TS3's textures differ from TS4's, and how overlays, multipliers, and RGBY masks work, to make CC recolorable. https://murfeelee.tumblr.com/post/1...-is-your-friend

As with anything, there's always a learning curve, sure, and people are motivated to take the plunge for various reasons. And they come in with varying degrees of experience/familiarity with other 3d/2d software. I'm a converter, so I don't make many meshes from scratch at all; but I never heard anyone really use Milkshape for making meshes--all I ever hear is people using Blender and/or Marvelous Designer, and then using Milkshape as a last step, for exporting meshes using TSRW's .wso file format. As a converter, I can relatively quickly bebop around from Milkshape to TSRW in a fraction of the time. Sims4Studio is my go-to for 4t3 converting, and I really like it, but for TS3 TSRW is as good as it gets, I'm afraid. (Unless you make CAS CC, in which case you can use .geom files in a variety of other tools without TSRW--I usually make my hairs using Daboobs, and there's also CTU, etc.)

Another thing's that in TS4 people tend to go CRAZY with the poly counts, cuz Blender and S4S can handle tens and hundreds of thousands of polys. That's both a blessing and a curse. Milkshape and TSRW are capped at around 30-40k. Milkshape WILL crash, morphs WILL explode. But it keeps TS3 more or less optimized, cuz you can't (and shouldn't) go hog wild on the polys--Blender has the Decimate modifier for a reason, but people don't seem to use it?

But yeah, IMO, making CC's hard, but not that hard, not once you get the hang of it! But what do I know, LOL. I should be the last one to talk, cuz I'm in a state of perpetual noobdom, and a lot of my CC is kinda crappy--mostly cuz I just don't have the patience for making CC or fiddling around too deep into any particular programs--I'm more of a get in and get the eff out type of gal--if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Personally, I loathe and despise creating CC. It's an aggravating hog of time & energy, cuz I just want to PLAY the game, dangit, but I because I'm a fantasy/occult simmer there's never much CC out there unless I make it my effing self. But is it WORTH it? ABSOLUTELY! I primarily make CC for MYSELF, and upload it if I think it's ok enough to not be a total bust, even if the quality is *cough* subpar. It's not about numbers or popularity--I'm a niche simmer, so my random AF fanciful CC never gets the amount of attention the thousandth pair of skinny jeans or retextured crop top gets. But I often feel bad knowing that I'm sitting on CC when there might be someone out there who actually want the crap I made--"one man's trash," and all. Which is why I've never understood when people upload CC/sims/lots/etc and then have all these counterproductive anal retentive TOUs and policies--like...are you SHARING this with us or what? (And don't even get me started on the CANCER that is paywalled CC.... )

CC is the lifeblood of The Sims, and there's always SOMEONE out there who'll want more stuff. It's about providing CC just in case someone out there in the ethernet might one day find themselves looking for, even if it's years from now and they're digging through my oldest uploads and DLing stuff no one else even seemed interested in. That's what makes the whole hellish process worth it, for me.
Scholar
#3 Old 16th Aug 2022 at 9:16 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Chicklet45368
Hi All

I was just wanting to get some feedback and opinions on TS3 CC creators regarding learning to make CC for TS3. I've been a B/B CC creator for TS4 for about 4 years now, in the last few years I've mastered Blender enough to feel comfortable making/sharing CC with my own meshes.

The issue I have with creating for TS4, is 2 things:


One - I HATE coming up with different swatches, I would really love to just create one swatch and let simmers "texture" the objects how they want. I normally create things from SIMspiration pics of rooms/objects and I can create an almost exactly replica of that reference pic (within the limits of the game, obviously), but then I struggle to come up with other textures/patterns, etc, Which then leads me to just getting tired of the whole project and putting it in my WIP folder, sometimes never to be finished.

Two - I HATE that there is such a small amount of functional items in TS4. Like for example, If I want to create a kitchen appliance set in TS4, it's just deco. There's no pool tables or just "fun things" that would be cool to have the same game play function, just with a new look from a new mesh. I'm just bored with TS4, I think.

TS3 has ALWAYS been my favorite iteration of The Sims (with the exception of TS2 Open for Business and Apartments), and is the version I prefer to play to this day. But I create for TS4 because it's familiar, I know how to do it quickly and I'm used to it. But, I also don't really enjoy it. I get great satisfaction from creating in blender things I've seen in RL pics and creating the initial texture for it. And I also love seeing the finished item in my game, but I just get so bored with trying to pick out textures/patterns for all of the other swatches. (In my head I just think to myself, will other simmers like this? Oh maybe I should go with something else, and I can't even tell you how many times I have re-done all of the swatches because I felt like only "I" would like them! LOL)

So .... here's my question and the whole point of the thread .....
Is there enough TS3 players still out there who would be interested in new B/B CC?
Is it worth it from a creator stand point to learn the ins and outs of CC creation for TS3?
If you still get great satisfaction and continue to be inspired to create/share you TS3 CC, are there current in-depth tutorials that would help me transition to new programs?

Some things to note:
I have once or twice opened Milkshape, I'm a noob with that program!
I'm also not extremely proficient at TSRW, because I use S4S 98% of the time when I make TS4 CC. I know my way around TSRW enough to export/import meshes and textures from learning to convert items first and then I also use it for dirt maps for TS4.

Sorry for the long post!

Any help or insight would be wonderful!

Happy Simming!

- Chicklet


Yes we are still playing it and I'm still making things too, more and more people seem to be going back to 3, it's just a much better game with the open world, etc. With objects no other swatch is required because you can just recolour anyway and that's easy to make happen. I'm also still seeking tutorials on how to do things.

Let me just say that I love your stuff for Sims 4 and when I was playing it I had mostly everything you made in the game, would love you to convert from 4 to 3 on your already made items.
Theorist
#4 Old 16th Aug 2022 at 7:03 PM
Ok. I see you. I read all the text. Thumbs up for that's worth it. I got other things to do. Bye.
Regards Vic

Here you can see more of my creations and conversions for sims 3. ;) I`ll glad to see your comments in.
Lab Assistant
#5 Old 30th Aug 2022 at 10:57 PM
I'm currently starting to learn Blender. Besides just pretty pictures, I want to learn to make objects for my two favorite games. Which would be "Cities: Skylines" and ... "The Sims 3". I do have Sims 4 loaded on my machine, but I never play it.

I had to reinstall everything a few months ago due to a computer problem. When I got to Sims 4, I did reinstall it, and then opened it to test. Okay, it runs. I had no enthusiasm for continuing to play a game in it. I'm a Sims 3 fan all the way, and so that's what I want to create CC for. I frequently check the new downloads for Sims 3 (and, I'll admit, Sims 2) content here at MTS. I never even look at new downloads for Sims 4.

As you get around to making and uploading stuff for Sims 3, I'll be delighted to take a look at it and try it out.
Back to top