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*Custom bridges tutorial (NO Custom content!)*

ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
edited March 8 in Nominated Threads
How to make a custom bridge with no custom content!

Someone asked where I got the bridge from for my world Newbridge (bit.ly/newbridgeworld), and I thought I'd make a tutorial to show how it was made. It's a long grey bridge with a railway track running along the edge, so it's a bridge for both cars and trains (of course the train bit is entirely optional and only for decoration)

This is what you'll be able to create:
Screenshot-168.jpg
Screenshot-169.jpg
Screenshot-171.jpg

So... interested? First you'll need to download the free programs S3PE and S3OC, and you'll need an image editing program that supports .dds files - I recommend the also free Paint.net. The only EP this tutorial requires is Ambitions for the bridge object.

Recoloring

The first thing we need to do is recolor the bridge. For this tutorial, I'm going to use the bridge from Twinbrook (Steadfast Bridge).
Open S3OC, and go to tools > search.

S3ocsearch.png

In the search bar, type "Bridge", tick the boxes labeled Resource Name,Object Name and Catalog name, then select "Normal Object" from the drop-down menu.

S3ocbridge.png

Select bridgeStructural and press the "Clone or Fix" Button. Untick the "Renumber/rename internally" box and click the start button. Save it somewhere you can remember.

S3ocCloneorfix.png

Open S3PE, go to file > open and open the package you just saved. Select all the _IMG entries then go to resource > export > To file. Again, save these somewhere you'll remember.

S3peexport.png

Now, open your graphics program (I'm using Paint.net) and open the files you just exported. Edit the image as you see fit. If it's just a simple recolor you're going for, change the hue/saturation settings. To create the grey bridge from my world, just set the saturation to its very lowest.

Painthue-sat.png

Now save these images but do not save as. Save them with the same name in the same place as they were before in the same format as before (.dds) otherwise they will be useless.

Go back into S3PE, and open your .world file. Go to import > from file and import ALL the images you just edited. Save and close S3PE.

Building

Open Create a world and open the same world as you imported the img files into using s3pe. From the metadata list, place 4 of the 'Steadfast Bridge'. Line them up so that the ends match perfectly. In the picture below I am not using the recolor, but your bridge should be the color that you changed it to in the editing software.

CAW4Bridges.png

Now you can begin to add decorations to the bridge. For my bridge in the Newbridge world, I added chainlink fencing to the sides and lamposts between the arches.

Screenshot-169.jpg

Be creative! You could even add picnic tables! Just make sure you do not place anything in the middle of the road or directly on the sidewalk as this will cause routing issues. For the purpose of the tutorial I add the 'Main Street Pennant' item from Pets and two 'Sago Palm' trees from World Adventures.

CAWPalmbridges.png

To make the railway line bridge, simply use a 'Medium Seawall' object on its side and add railway tracks on top of it. This requires a mod by Sim Sample that enables the Twinbrook tracks and Seawalls in CAW (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=427515).

All that's left to do is create a valley under the bridges and build around it! You can use this technique to recolour anything and it is very useful as it requires NO CC to be installed on your, or anybody using your world's computer. Thankyou for reading! :D



Post edited by EA_Solaire on

Comments

  • estyle36estyle36 Posts: 1,338 New Member
    edited April 2012
    I'm bookmarking this! I've always wanted to recolor that bridge so this surely will be useful for me when I have time for my world!

    Thank you and good job, this looks really well done :) .

    eStyle
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    estyle36 wrote:
    I'm bookmarking this! I've always wanted to recolor that bridge so this surely will be useful for me when I have time for my world!

    Thank you and good job, this looks really well done :) .

    eStyle

    Thankyou! :D
  • estyle36estyle36 Posts: 1,338 New Member
    edited April 2012
    TJ, when I search for "bridge" in the search bar, it only gives me the bridges from WA :( !

    I don't understand why because I downloaded S3OC here: http://dino.drealm.info/den/denforum/index.php?topic=190.0 ,
    whici is the latest version, isn't it :s ?
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    estyle36 wrote:
    TJ, when I search for "bridge" in the search bar, it only gives me the bridges from WA :( !

    I don't understand why because I downloaded S3OC here: http://dino.drealm.info/den/denforum/index.php?topic=190.0 ,
    whici is the latest version, isn't it :s ?

    Yeah, that's the one :S.. I can upload the img files so you can import them if you like :-)
  • estyle36estyle36 Posts: 1,338 New Member
    edited April 2012
    estyle36 wrote:
    TJ, when I search for "bridge" in the search bar, it only gives me the bridges from WA :( !

    I don't understand why because I downloaded S3OC here: http://dino.drealm.info/den/denforum/index.php?topic=190.0 ,
    whici is the latest version, isn't it :s ?

    Yeah, that's the one :S.. I can upload the img files so you can import them if you like :-)

    Ohhh yes that'd be fantastic :mrgreen: !
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    Ohhh yes that'd be fantastic :mrgreen: !

    http://www.mediafire.com/myfiles.php#ps1519yhzcj1c
    Sorry it took so long :)
  • estyle36estyle36 Posts: 1,338 New Member
    edited April 2012
    Ohhh yes that'd be fantastic :mrgreen: !

    http://www.mediafire.com/myfiles.php#ps1519yhzcj1c
    Sorry it took so long :)
    Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you :mrgreen: !!!

    EDIT: Hmm, weird, I get to my files page by clicking this link :shock: .
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    estyle36 wrote:
    Ohhh yes that'd be fantastic :mrgreen: !

    http://www.mediafire.com/myfiles.php#ps1519yhzcj1c
    Sorry it took so long :)
    Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you :mrgreen: !!!

    EDIT: Hmm, weird, I get to my files page by clicking this link :shock: .

    Oops wrong link, sorry! :oops:
    http://www.mediafire.com/?ps1519yhzcj1c
  • estyle36estyle36 Posts: 1,338 New Member
    edited April 2012
    Thank you very much TJ. It works.
    I'll give you credits when I upload my world :wink:
  • Sneakfeline0Sneakfeline0 Posts: 1,235 Member
    edited April 2012
    Awesome, thanks for this tut! :D
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    Cheeky bump ;)
  • alexspoom13alexspoom13 Posts: 7,439 Member
    edited April 2012
    So does this replace the original colour?
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    So does this replace the original colour?

    Only in the world that you import the img files into. :)
  • simsamplesimsample Posts: 987 Member
    edited April 2012
    Excellent tutorial! This method is very versatile; you could replace any texture in the world in the same way. For example, billboards, rabbithole buildings, trees, the moon- all these can be recoloured.
    I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will
    RUSH
    My Worlds
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    simsample wrote:
    Excellent tutorial! This method is very versatile; you could replace any texture in the world in the same way. For example, billboards, rabbithole buildings, trees, the moon- all these can be recoloured.

    Thankyou! I actually tried this after seeing your red bridge in Jericho - which is a brilliant world by the way :D

    I have done this with alot of items for my world, as you can see in the pictures here and at my Newbridge post (bit.ly/newbridgeworld), I have recoloured the train tracks, retaining walls, chain link fencing, and made some billboards - I made three simlish billboards with Katy Perry, Lady GaGa and Mcdonalds on :)
  • auntielyndsauntielynds Posts: 3,071 Member
    edited April 2012
    Great tut :D

    I'll link it in the FAQ. The other re-coloring tuts are in advanced, but I may make a new header for it.

    estyle36 wrote:TJ, when I search for "bridge" in the search bar, it only gives me the bridges from WA !

    Under settings, click Game Folders, and make sure everything is linked up, and enabled so s3oc can find all your stuff. The reason why most my EP's are not linked up is because they're Digital Downloads located in
    Programs(x86)/Origins Games
    not Electronic Arts

    n2od9j.jpg
    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    Great tut :D

    I'll link it in the FAQ. The other re-coloring tuts are in advanced, but I may make a new header for it.

    :O thankyou so much Auntielynds! That really means a lot to me :D
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    Absolutely honoured to have this on the faq, thankyou everyone for the compliments :)
  • ThomsonJamieThomsonJamie Posts: 392 New Member
    edited April 2012
    simsample wrote:
    Excellent tutorial! This method is very versatile; you could replace any texture in the world in the same way. For example, billboards, rabbithole buildings, trees, the moon- all these can be recoloured.

    Hey, just a quick question: In your (beautiful :D) world Jericho, the flags are red. I tried recoloring the flags but when I open the IMG files there is no actual flag; only textures for the pole. Is there another method you used? :)
  • jjjorijjjori Posts: 6 New Member
    edited January 2014
    I know this is quite outdated, but this is a wonderful tutorial. Though, I keep messing up something. Everything is fine, until I import the images at the end. I think that's my issue, at least. I saved and imported them and what not, then I go to open my world, and I can't. It says it cannot load a packed file. Did I make a funny somewhere?

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