Flowing, Formal Dress

[Nekota]

Since this is the request line, I would like to see a mesh of a formal dress that flows -- something with a little flare at the bottom -- soemthing that doesn't look like it makes ladies take tiny little steps, but has an elegant grace about it.

And most importantly, a mesh that is compatible with 38DD-28-34 size that I have come to appreciate so much! :love10:

[Warlokk]

Well to start with I plan to convert all of the base clothing from the original game for each size, so if one of those fits the bill, no problem.  Afterwards I'll start with the expansion packs, then possibly move on to some custom clothing meshes if I get permission from original creators, but I don't have any solid plans along that line yet, it's a ways off.

[Nekota]

Yes, the dresses in the Maxis collection have some good choices.  I've tended to be partial to the blue, black, and red ones towards the back of the original game formals (not the oriental ones, but the ones).  They have a kind of casual yet formal look.

But, to reply, yes, most definitely, that would be fantastic.  And yes, I can wait.  I KNOW you are really busy with the present project and that certainly takes priority.  I was just posting here under requests so that 1) you would know the thoughts of your fans and 2) if anyone had some spare time who wanted to contribute to the project, this was one area that such a generous individual could make that would be appreciated by at least one person.

Keep up the good work!

[Warlokk]

Something like this?  

These are from the 34DD Enhanced-36 set, which will be part of the first release.

[Star Ranger4]

hrrrm. I think she's hoping for a bit more 'pouf' in the skirt around the knees/ankles based on what she said Warlokk.  like put a minor ring of magnets around the kneeline and a slightly more powerful one around the ankle line?

[Nekota]

Warlokk,

The model used in the screenshot is a nice dress, I was actually looking for something with a larger expansion at the knees and extended even further out at the ankles.  More triangular than cylindrical. :B

Star Ranger4,

Thanks for coming up with that description.  I was having a hard time thinking of the right words to communicate it.

[Warlokk]

I think there's a formal Maxis dress like that, I just can't remember if it's a base game outfit or one of the expansions.  I'll look into it, either way it'll definitely get done eventually.

[Nekota]

Warlokk,

The ones I was trying to describe are in the base game.  As the catalog scrolls through the selections, they are close to the very back (but not the oriental ones in the very, very back).  The dresses are sleeveless, have a "v" neck, single color tops, and bell or triangular shaped bottom that is criss-crossed with a dark color on a lighter shade background.  Those are my top, personal choice. :love4:

Thank you for your promise of getting them done eventually (however long that is). :pray:   Its been frustrating to be able to do recolors, but not be able to do meshes.  Its official now -- I hate Milkshape. :angryfir:

[Warlokk]

The 34DD's are in production now, with all hip sizes I plan to include (34-40)... I've hit a few snags with some outfits, and I'm not thrilled with some of the weird shadow effects I'm getting using the Mesh Tool/Poser technique since I can't fix some of them in MilkShape afterwards without blowing up the mesh (welding issues), but I've decided to keep going forward and get something out there... I can always update meshes later.  The main stumbling block is the fact that the new Unimesh tools don't support Bump maps, so if I want to keep them I have to do it the old way, which is much less stable and allows less control.  If I were willing to sacrifice the bumps I could make my life easier, but I'm not, at least not for all of them.

[Nekota]

Whoa.  That was scary.  I actually understood what you were talking about (still rather new to the modding world).

One question for clarification, however, . . . if giving up bumpmaps would make your life easier, then what is so important about keeping them?  Is it for recolor ability later on?  Or is there some other reason for keeping bumpmaps? . . . just trying to understand the pros and cons of what you're facing. :dontknow:

And I can sympathize with exploding meshes. . . . :sad5:

[Warlokk]

A lot of clothing textures use some really nice bump maps, and without them they look really flat and plain... I'd just hate to give them up if I don't have to.  Unfortunately keeping them makes my meshes do weird shadow things... it's a trade-off, for now, I guess.

[Star Ranger4]

Unfortunately keeping them makes my meshes do weird shadow things...

Hrrrm....  Sounds like a normalization issue.  Normals sort of tell the mesh what direction(s) it reflects light in

[Warlokk]

Exactly... it's been around since the beginning, and it's fixable with Milkshape and the Unimesh tools, but Unimesh currently can't reimport the bumpmap data properly... so fixing one thing breaks another.  Frustrating, to say the least.

[kendra]

The 40dd lady needs alot more outfits then she has and also I would love it if there was some outfits for all of your lovely ladies with the shoe mesh from Marvine, that would be awesome.