EXTRACTING THE MESH AND TEXTURES
The first step is to open up the Sims 2 .package and pull out the good stuff.
This tutorial is provided for people who wish to convert their own Sims 2 items, EA Sims 2 items, or items they have PERMISSION from the original creator to convert (either through the creator's TOU or direct contact with the creator). If a creator does not wish to have their meshes converted PLEASE respect their wishes. And always, always give credit where credit is due - don't claim other people's meshes as your own work :D
This tutorial uses the Gearhead Mirror by HugeLunatic @ MTS. A check of her TOU shows that she is okay with conversion and cloning of her meshes as long as credit is given. ALWAYS check before converting.
What this tutorial will show you:
How to extract a Sims 2 Mesh and Textures from simPE
What you will need:
simPE - available HERE
A Sims 2 .package file (Gearhead Mirror if you want to follow the same steps in the tutorial)
**This tutorial will not cover how to install and configure simPE. Please visit the simPE forum or FAQ for information on how to install the program.
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Choose File - Open and navigate to your saved Sims 2 .package to open it.
2. When the mesh is loaded, click on "Geometric Data Container" in the Resource Tree menu on the left of the screen.
Sims 2 to 4 Conversion Tutorials:
Part 1 - Extracting the Sims 2 Mesh
3. The parts of your mesh will be displayed in the Resource List window. This mesh has 4 parts. You will need to extract each part individually.
4. Click on the first item in the list. This will activate the Plugin View window at the bottom of the screen. Make sure the mesh part is selected with the tick box, and click on "Preview" to see that part of the mesh.
5. You will see the mesh part displayed in the purple window. In some cases, you may have to scroll up or down to see the mesh.
6. Click on "Export," and save the mesh part. It pays to be organized in this process. I create a folder for the object I am converting and name the mesh parts appropriately as I extract them. I'm going to call this one "Circle Shadow" and save it in my Gearhead Mirror folder.
7. Follow the same process of extracting and naming for each of the 3 remaining mesh parts (other objects may have fewer parts).
8. Once you have the mesh parts extracted, it is time to extract the texture. Look back in the Resource Tree window and click on "Texture Image."
9. The image resources will now appear in the Resource List window. Some objects will have multiple images, but this mirror only has one.
Click on it activate the Plugin View.
9. This .package only has a shadow texture included in it which is not needed for converting. If your .package has the actual diffuse texture included, extract and save it by right clicking on the image and choosing "Export." Name your texture file and save in your project folder.
10. If the creator has included recolors of the object (which is very common for Sims 2 objects), open the recolors and follow steps 8-10 to extract the texture file from each recolor.
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Congratulations - you are now finished extracting the Sims 2 mesh and textures!
Comment below if you have questions or need help with this tutorial.
Or go on to the next step - UV Mapping the Mesh
