Basically my problem is that self illuminating on custom buildings in CAW doesn't work.


The buildings either illuminate completely, or not at all. Screenshots are from CAW, but it works just as poorly in game. PS: This isn't the world I'm working on. This is only a simple flat world for testing purposes...

So I've had this problem for quite some time since I first made these buildings over a year ago for a town I've been working on so I may be a little rusty on the exact method used to create the buildings.

My method is probably an amalgation of several different tutorials followed as meticulously as I could, but apparently something still went wrong.

The objects themselves were made in Blender 2.93, but the MLODs etc. were exported to .s3asc files using Blender 2.79 because that's the latest version the Sims 3 tools work with (as far as I know).

Then they were imported into a cloned object using S3PE (signBillboardUrban), the Andy Warhol looking one from Late Night.


The sign of course illuminates like it should, but the houses do not... they're either completely dark or completely bright.

The illumination images are simple black and white .dds images. 512x512 resolution, DTX1, like in the original billboard file.

The textures were mapped in MilkShape, and work like they should.. but I cannot figure out why the illumination doesn't, and why one house is always completely illuminated and the others are not.

Also, changing the illumination images does nothing. I tried using the illuminaton image for the billboard on the houses, but it had no effect. So it looks like a) something is wrong with the mapping of just the illumination texture somehow or b) something keeps overwriting it..



Screendump from s3pe. There are only 5 image files in the package. The self illumination image, the multiplier, the specular, the diffuse map and an unedited detail map which I don't know what it's used for.



I have used the Texture Tweaker tool to replace the image files. The images repeat two more times for medium and low quality, but there are really only five of them, and none of them are completely black or completely white corresponding to either a completely dark or completely lit up house...

I really have no clue...

The Blender object plugin is quite outdated, it's possible that the shader data required for the object to even be looking for that texture has been lost when modifying the mesh.

I have a Roaring Heights billboard with resources named a bit more helpfully than the Late Night one, I should be able to reverse-engineer how it works. If you would like to upload your package and the loose meshes/textures and attach them to a reply or link them here, I could compare them and let you know if I can see what went wrong.

Thanks for the reply. Ok, so it might be an issue with a plugin and not something I did. That's.. comforting to know.

I have uploaded a zip file with the package of the building that always illuminates, as well as four .dds image files and the mlod/modl meshes. You may notice that there are some other issues such as the sunshadow and bounding box not being correct, but I think I can fix those myself, I just haven't bothered as long as the building didn't self illuminate correctly. Hopefully I understood correctly what you asked for. I'll send you the link shortly in a private message.

I have several other buidlings with the same issue, so if you can figure out a method for me to repeat I would be grateful. Thanks for any help.

I had a little look into it and had the same results over a couple of different methods, it's definitely a puzzling one!
It may be a quirk of the cloned items- at least something I can't spot from panning through their resources.

I did find this tutorial though: https://mspoodleccfinds.tumblr.com/...shiny-buildings
Maybe if you use the same clone you will have better luck. @HydrangeaChainsaw is still an active creator on Tumblr, so you may also be able to politely ask if this issue sounds familiar.

I do not make buildings, but if making a building, I would think to clone a building that does as you want, instead of a sign which is always lit. I did look at a building clone. It had 17 different groups, landmark, glass and other. In s3pe, it shows that it is also scripted. You may also want to post in CAW section. People doing CAW might know something, but don't look at the object creation thread.

@CardinalSims Thanks for looking through it! Yeah, I found that tutorial too, it's what I started with, however, I can't use the exact item because I don't have the Showtime expansion pack (and didn't want to get it just so I could clone an item..). So... maybe the best solution is to try what @LadySmoks said and to clone a building. I remember looking into that at first way back when I wanted to make these buildings, but thought it would be easier to clone something that had fewer groups.... well, I guess not... :/

I might ask again in the CAW forum later. I haven't posted much at this forum, so I wasn't sure which sub forum was best to use. Thanks for your help and replies!