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Author Topic: Blue thumbnails in the buy mode/build mode catalog...  (Read 6674 times)
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Paden
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« on: April 07, 2018, 06:51:50 pm »

Pretty much what it says in the title. I've got the meshes needed, it's just that the items show up that sick shade of blue in my buy/build mode catalog and it's driving me absolutely insane. Someone told me to delete the thumbnail folder and it will regenerate a new one when I restart the game but I hesitate to do this because it sounds kind of drastic. (That and I just now got all sixteen gigs of CC to play nicely together for the most part and I don't want to have to uninstall and then reinstall everything I have.) My husband was an absolute darling and got the EPs and stuff packs that I've been missing for years, and while it wouldn't take much time to reinstall, I'd then have to start adding CC back to the game folder by folder. My folders have subfolders to the the point of a friend telling me I have an OCD about my content. (If only I could do that with my house, you know?) I'm still using the same compute I had way back when I joined InSim, if that tells you much. Dell Inspiron, circa 2008, tower, and it runs XP. Ralphie is an old boy but he's still running well. I no longer connect to the net with him, just download on my newfangled laptop which runs Windows 8.1 and transfer over with a memory stick. Anyhoo, if anyone else has had this problem and fixed it, could you please share your solutions with me or at least allay my fears about the thumbnail folder deletion, I'd be very very grateful for the time you spend replying. Thank you!!!  ( Chainsaw go vroom! This is me when I see those crappy blue images!)
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Theraven
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« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2018, 08:41:09 pm »

Do you have a link to a few of the objects that show up like this?

Blue objects usually mean missing textures, so chances are they're slaved objects and you don't have the master meshes.

Also, don't layer your subfolders too deep. I've experienced that slaved objects won't show up properly if the master mesh can't be read by the game (to me this happened to texture-slaved CAS items - they showed up with the right mesh, but skintone colored. Moving the master files a few subfolders back solved the problem).
  • Keeping to 3 layers of subfoldering as a maximum might help you avoid this issue. Also avoid special characters (using only Aa-Zz and 0-9 and -_ in file and folder names is a good habit, though spaces seem to work fine in folder names. Extra punctuation marks save from the one in ".package" can be a very bad thing and can make the game unable to read the files).

When you go back ingame to test, try to click the thumbnails to reset them (it's a combo of holding in either ctrl or shift, and clicking either the left or right mouse button - I can never remember).

Deleting the Thumbnail folder is safe, it's pretty much like deleting the cache files. The only trouble is that your game might spend a few seconds when you click next in buy/build/CAS because it generates new thumbnails.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2018, 08:58:07 pm by Theraven » Logged

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HobbesED
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« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2018, 10:18:58 am »

I agree with Theraven - it likely is slaved items missing their master mesh.

Within CAS, I believe it is CTRL+RightClick that will refresh the thumbnail for an individual item but I'm not 100% positive on that. Unfortunately that doesn't work in BodyShop only in CAS.

Deleting the Thumbnails file is safe. The pictures are rebuilt as needed. But it is a royal PITA when you have a large amount of CC. The images are rebuilt as you scroll through your CC. So each screen takes an extra second (or two) to display as the thumbnails get rebuilt. Scrolling all the way through your everyday clothing, for example, may take 10 minutes where before it may have taken one. So while it is safe to do, deletion of the thumbnails can cause some frustration. Every single thumbnail in every clothing/makeup category, even for items not blue, has to be rebuilt.
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Paden
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« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2018, 01:11:31 pm »

I'm weird when I have CC, I tend to make one folder for furniture, for instance, and then put the master meshes in one folder and the recolours floating in that furniture folder. With hair, for another example, I have a master mesh file and then the recolours either float freely or, if I have a bunch done by the same creator such as Trapping or Nouk, well, they have their very own folder. I don't download recolours/slaves until I make sure I have the masters because that just crashes my game outright. The items are just fine in game, they show up perfectly well it's just that I cannot stand that weird neon powder blue in the catalog. UGH! As a rule, I also tend to have folders for creators and they each have master mesh files with the recolours floating in the main; like Windkeeper's windows have the master mesh folder and then the recolours outside of that in the main folder. Sounds weird but it's working so far. Right now, the content doing it was created by Raynuss (I think that's the name, I'll check the spelling in a bit) and it was recoloured by Red Sonja of MTS and Plumb Bob Keep, it's medieval stuff because I've been playing a themed hood lately... Of course, I could always folder the recolours and let the master meshes out free into the respective folders, it could be worth a try. I'd thought about investigating the issue with SimPE but realized that isn't the way to go, I've used Delphy's download organizer thingie and if I could get Clean Installer to actually install on Ralphie, I'd try it. Sadly, every time I try to install that program, it screams there is already a previous version and I need to remove it. Uh, no, been into the program files with a fine tooth comb and it ain't there. Years ago, I deleted it when I uninstalled everything Sim related and I don't want to mess anything up. I've checked registry files, you name it, it ain't on there but the program still won't install so I do it the old fashioned way. *sigh* I really wish so many of the programmers like Mootilda hadn't passed away, but what can you do? At least Numenor and Quaxi are back, for now, at least. And who knows, now that I've got SimPE figured out again for recolouring, I might start releasing some of my stuff for download again, I put a buttload of it up on Mediafire last week. That way, if it ever gets lost again, I can retrieve it. That's neither here nor there, though. I've written down your advice and will give it a go in the next couple of days, going back to the sites I got the stuff from to see if I missed anything and reinstalling it. Seems like the old days are back for me, download on one computer, save it to memory stick, put it onto game computer, unzip, throw it in and play. I'm hopeless but at least I'm not bored with the game any more! Wink Thanks, I'll let you know how it went and I will try to get some pics with Fraps, may even try to recover my Photobucket account back so I can post pics... Or archive them and put them onto my Mediafire and post the link... I think we're allowed to do that, right? I really need to read the rules on that one again. I'm old, past age fifty now! Cheesy
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Paden
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« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2018, 08:05:21 pm »

So far, so good. Only ONE blue thumbnail in the content catalog and I can honestly live with. I did go the route of deleting the thumbnail folder and that solved the problem. Then, I had another problem: bloated download folder. Didn't slow me down for long as I got a new copy of the Compressorizer or however ya spell the blasted thing and took the whole day yesterday to go through my download folder. Five gigs slimmer and game running slick again. Also figured out SimPE once again so making my own stuff for the game. Things are looking up. Thanks for the help and suggestions! (And it would really help if my fingers would stop making so many stupid mistakes when I'm tryin to type but I blame the rubbing alcohol for that. Go home, finger tips, you're DRUNK!!!)
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mustluvcatz
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« Reply #5 on: July 13, 2018, 12:07:02 am »

For future reference - For slaved objects (slaved to Maxis objects or custom objects) if the blue isn't the flashing, missing a mesh blue AND ctrl+right click solves the blue thumbnail issue (which is usually temporary, next time you load the game the thumbnail will probably be blue again): the problem is most likely the texture not being linked properly in the package. As long as all recolors show and there's no blue flashing, it's purely cosmetic and won't hurt anything.

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Paden
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« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2018, 01:45:30 pm »

Thanks, I don't know why I didn't remember all of that earlier but I think it's because I'm nearing fifty-four. Getting old and senile here, methinks. How've ya been?
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mustluvcatz
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« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2019, 09:13:41 pm »

Sorry Paden! I lost track of this thread - but I haz a good reason, spent most of May and most of June in the hospital and hadn't been home long when you last posted. Had a hell of a few months there last year, had a heart attack; a month later it was congestive heart failure and another month later it was triple bypass surgery. Oh, and also found out I'm diabetic (which is under control now!).

So that's how I've been. I've definitely been better, but it could've been one hell of a lot worse ..
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