So i'm guessing this would take an actual 3d rendering program?
What file extension are these things in? I have access to my CADing program for 2 more days and wanted to play around if possible.
That all seems easy enough, but what if you're dealing with something like this in an actual program already... what file would i export this as, to bring it into tsr ws... and if i've already made my graphics and applied them, is tsr ws even necessary...
That all seems easy enough, but what if you're dealing with something like this in an actual program already... what file would i export this as, to bring it into tsr ws... and if i've already made my graphics and applied them, is tsr ws even necessary...
You need to save your file in a standard format, something like the Wavefront .obj file or the Autodesk .3ds. Most people seem to prefer the .obj format, but I have been using the .3ds format a lot lately. So far it seems to be six one way, half a dozen the other.
After you get it into that format, you need to import the file into Milkshape. Milkshape is a payware 3d modelling program, but you can try it for 30 days for free. Make sure you have installed the TSR plugins. They are found in ths TSR workshop folder.
After your model is in Milkshape, you may find that you have to rotate the model to orient it properly. Typically, I have to rotate the model 90 degrees in the upper right panel (i.e. side view) so it lines up properly in the game. Then you export the model from Milkshape into .wso (the native TSR Workshop format). From there the mesh can be imported into TSR Workshop, where it can be fiddled with further.
Also you need to add your texture file. These generally are .dds graphics file. Yes, you can use things like .png files, but they are a pain in the hindquarters to deal with, and since I have Photoshop, it is just as easy to work with .dds files. (Also paint.net and gimp can produce .dds files, but it is not as slick as with Photoshop.)
Any material files (.mtl) you have with your .obj or .3ds file won't work. Apparently TSR Workshop cannot read these or apply them to your model. You have to do your texture file as a .dds file. This is where you run into all of the UV mapping issues, which is what makes converting Sketchup files such a pain.
I see that you have both tables and chairs in your model. These will not work as tables and chairs in the game using my techniques. You need to clone the various tables and chairs in the game. Plus there is the whole issue of slots, which I have not played with. I would suggest that you remove things like the table and chairs and use in game objects instead.
Also, keep in mind what I am making. These are deco buildings. They have no function, unless I am cloning a rabbithole and replacing the rabbithole mesh with one of my own. But your sims do not actually interract with these models in any way, shape or form.
They are sort of like trees or rocks in that they fill up the space between functioning objects and lots. Most creators like to fill up that space with things like hills and forests. Instead of using a tree, which has hundreds of polygons, you probably are better off having a building with 12. Instead of a forest which can tax your cpu, a subdivision of houses is probably going to be easier on your computer.
Worlds with 200 plus lots tend to suffer from horrible lag -- i.e. if you want a big world, you must use cc to avoid lag.
That all seems easy enough, but what if you're dealing with something like this in an actual program already... what file would i export this as, to bring it into tsr ws... and if i've already made my graphics and applied them, is tsr ws even necessary...
You need to save your file in a standard format, something like the Wavefront .obj file or the Autodesk .3ds. Most people seem to prefer the .obj format, but I have been using the .3ds format a lot lately. So far it seems to be six one way, half a dozen the other.
After you get it into that format, you need to import the file into Milkshape. Milkshape is a payware 3d modelling program, but you can try it for 30 days for free. Make sure you have installed the TSR plugins. They are found in ths TSR workshop folder.
After your model is in Milkshape, you may find that you have to rotate the model to orient it properly. Typically, I have to rotate the model 90 degrees in the upper right panel (i.e. side view) so it lines up properly in the game. Then you export the model from Milkshape into .wso (the native TSR Workshop format). From there the mesh can be imported into TSR Workshop, where it can be fiddled with further.
Also you need to add your texture file. These generally are .dds graphics file. Yes, you can use things like .png files, but they are a pain in the hindquarters to deal with, and since I have Photoshop, it is just as easy to work with .dds files. (Also paint.net and gimp can produce .dds files, but it is not as slick as with Photoshop.)
Any material files (.mtl) you have with your .obj or .3ds file won't work. Apparently TSR Workshop cannot read these or apply them to your model. You have to do your texture file as a .dds file. This is where you run into all of the UV mapping issues, which is what makes converting Sketchup files such a pain.
I see that you have both tables and chairs in your model. These will not work as tables and chairs in the game using my techniques. You need to clone the various tables and chairs in the game. Plus there is the whole issue of slots, which I have not played with. I would suggest that you remove things like the table and chairs and use in game objects instead.
Also, keep in mind what I am making. These are deco buildings. They have no function, unless I am cloning a rabbithole and replacing the rabbithole mesh with one of my own. But your sims do not actually interract with these models in any way, shape or form.
They are sort of like trees or rocks in that they fill up the space between functioning objects and lots. Most creators like to fill up that space with things like hills and forests. Instead of using a tree, which has hundreds of polygons, you probably are better off having a building with 12. Instead of a forest which can tax your cpu, a subdivision of houses is probably going to be easier on your computer.
Worlds with 200 plus lots tend to suffer from horrible lag -- i.e. if you want a big world, you must use cc to avoid lag.
I design exhibits so that's just what I had open to screen shot as an example lol. Creating a custom rabbit hole is exactly what I want to do. This has been pretty helpful. I'll see if I can't create some kind of obj or 3ds file to export before my trial runs out again. so sad... I love this program... I wish it didn't cost $4k
Oh, I wanted to know how you figure out size. Obviously my program works in real time, but what is the size comparison to a sim file, for instance if I want it to fit on a 10x10 space lol
Actually it was a pretty simple project. Basically two very large textured cubes. I filched the texture from a Google Earth building by taking a screenshot of the building in Sketchup.
Sketchup is such a weird program. Typically it will do 100 polygons when only one is needed. Sometimes it makes more sense just to take a screenshot of a building and recreate the mesh from scratch. This is one of those cases.
I would note that the Sketchup model had a lot more detail on the roof. However, the roofs of supertall buildings in the Sims 3 are really hard to see. Most of the time, we do not look at these buildings from the top down, but from a sims eye version looking up:
Hey if I could do this I would, but I'm not exactly sure how, and I probably don't have the computer space lol. You have the Empire State Building which is a much smaller model and it appears to light up at night. That compared with this WTC is much smaller. I was wondering if it was possible for you to put it on that scale (Of course the WTC was taller still), perhaps making the WTC buildings 2 different objects? I don't think that even at that scale the buildings would fit on the same lot, which is perfectly fine with me.
Creating a custom rabbit hole is exactly what I want to do. This has been pretty helpful. I'll see if I can't create some kind of obj or 3ds file to export before my trial runs out again. so sad... I love this program... I wish it didn't cost $4k
I am treating the custom rabbithole thing as being experimental at this point. This is why I have not uploaded any of my experiments. So far, it has not borked my game, but I want to be pretty sure.
Unfortunately, Milkshape is rather unavoidable if you want to do any sort of meshing. It seems that every game tends to have its preferred modelling program. X-Plane and Second Lifers tend to use AC3D. Sim City gamers tend to use G-Max. From what I can tell, Microsoft Flight Simulator gamers have some free utilities they can use. Unfortunately, every game system seems to be different, and each one needs a different modelling program.
And that's if you are lucky. Almost all game objects are in one proprietary format or another. I have not played around with Grand Theft Auto, but Bloom indicates it can be done. I cannot open up Farm Simulator files, at least not yet. I would like to get some of the objects from Trainz or Microsoft Train Simulator, but have not experimented with these much at all.
The good news is, compared to some of the other modelling programs, Milkshape is dirt cheap. It's not like shelling out several grand for Autodesk or Maya. Of course, students can get these programs relatively inexpensively.
But if you view object creation as a hobby, it is a relatively inexpensive one. Just compare it to a day of skiing!
Oh, I wanted to know how you figure out size. Obviously my program works in real time, but what is the size comparison to a sim file, for instance if I want it to fit on a 10x10 space lol
This is simple. One square in Milkshape = One Square in the Sims.
I have always figured a square in the Sims as 30 inches (2.5 feet).
In Flight Simulator and other programs, a square is usually either a yard or a meter. So if you want to be picky and get data that a building is 300 meters tall, you can do the conversion, figuring that if a meter is 39 inches, then the Sims buildings should be 390 squares tall.
But I don't do that. This means my buildings are slightly under scale, but it really is not too noticeable. They are still ginormous buildings.
But if you want to be picky, you can always use the scale feature in Milkshape to scale up or scale down a building. For example, in his New York world, Manustyle has scaled down some of my buildings.
Hey if I could do this I would, but I'm not exactly sure how, and I probably don't have the computer space lol. You have the Empire State Building which is a much smaller model and it appears to light up at night. That compared with this WTC is much smaller. I was wondering if it was possible for you to put it on that scale (Of course the WTC was taller still), perhaps making the WTC buildings 2 different objects? I don't think that even at that scale the buildings would fit on the same lot, which is perfectly fine with me.
Actually, the lighted Empire State Buildings is from Luna Sims Lulumai. I am quite impressed by that work.
I have been experimenting with lighted buildings, but have not had a lot of success. I did do an Empire State Building as part of an experiment, but did not have success with the lighting.
This is pretty much a straight conversion of the Empire State Building from Aerosoft's Manhattan X for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Unfortunately Aerosoft does not do good night textures -- as you can see in the version on the right. So I probably will use the native Empire State model in Flight Simulator instead of this one.
It is pretty much to scale. Flight Simulator models pretty much translate to Sims 3 on a 1 to 1 basis, if you assume that a square is a yard/meter. As such it is about twice as large as the Luna Sims model. Of course, you could always extract the mesh from the Luna model and resize it using the scale function in Milkshape.
Oh okay, thank you! So, you're saying in milkshape I can make the WTC smaller, like the other lighted model? I'm not sure if I can do it haha but I'll give it a try!
Perhaps I should be consulting my husband. If he managed to replace all of the meshes in crisis, he could probably figure it out for sims3... this didn't even occur to me until now... durp!
I want to thank you again for the WTC model, I've been looking at it in this world I'm creating and its fantastic. I have a question though. This guy named manustyle is making an NYC world and I'm quite clueless on milkshape. How do I get WTC to the scale of those buildings? My world would be complete if that could happen. lol
I've had something of a breakthrough! I got a new computer, and I took your WTC model and managed to size it down in milkshape! Now, I'm having real issues because when I put it into my game, it looked like this:
I've had something of a breakthrough! I got a new computer, and I took your WTC model and managed to size it down in milkshape!
I don't know what you did in Milkshape. All you need to do is use the scale function. You plug in the scale you want to reduce or increase the model to. I don't know what scale Manustyle uses, but I do know that he has scaled down some of my buildings. Obviously Manustyle knows how to do this, because I blatantly stole from him -- perhaps refining his techniques a little. I suspect it is a process of experimentation.
By the way, I tend to keep my models close to real life scale. It is slightly off. I usually figure that each square in Milkshape is a yard/meter, when it probably is actually closer to 30 inches (2.5 feet) For the Europeans out there, yes, I use Imperial/English measurements.
If I were messing with this, I probably would extract the mesh from Luna Sims empire state and import that into Milkshape to get a size comparison. You might have to do some quick math to get the scale right. When I was done, I would just remove the Empire State.
As far as the texture in TSR Workshop, it does not go in the texture section. Instead, under the Mesh tab, you need to find the area labled Materials. The texture you want is under diffuse texture. However, I have been using the same texture in the other boxes. These buildings are non-castable, by the way.
As long as you have not messed with the UV map, you should not have any problems with the texture. Just leave the Texture Coordinage Editor alone. Pasting the texture on a smaller model should make it look better because you have the same texture covering a smaller surface, which means you should get slightly better detail.
By the way, I think I am getting closer to being able to convert Google Earth builidngs into Sims 3 format. I use a program developed for the Flight Simulator community, Model Converter, to convert the mesh into a 3ds format. This program will also reduce the number of meshgroups.
But still, one is left with a model which may have multiple meshgroups and textures. For me, the problem has always been importing multiple meshgroups with unique textures into TSR Workshop. But I think I know how to do that know. I did a quick experiment with Graham's Conversion of Criquette's Ocean terminal:
Those who have worked with this model know that it comes in four parts. To use it, it has to be assembled in game.
I got it into one piece, despite some rather funny UV mapping on two of the parts, with the help of Blooms and one of the Featured Artists on TSR:
It's still not perfected. Some of the meshgroups don't fit well together yet. The specular needs some work. Currently, while it works in CAW, it does not work in edit in game or edit town. The point here, is that multiple meshgroups with unique textures can be imported and used in TSR Workshop.
All the pieces seem to be here, the ability to convert Sketchup meshes and textures into a format that can be read by TSR Workshop and the ability to use multiple meshgroups with unique textures in Workshop.
Excellent work! If you ever get this sorted and write a tutorial, I'd love the link as I've seen several people asking about this on different forums, and it would be good to have somewhere to send them.
I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose free will RUSH My Worlds
I have just read through this thread you guys are amazing wish i knew what what you were talking about but i love the results
OK. This is surprisingly simple, once you understand what I am doing.
There is a program called Model Converter at http://sims3newyork.blogspot.com/2011/09/twallan-comes-through-yet-again.html This is your Rosetta stone for converting models. It will convert models between a number of different formats. The program itself comes from the Flight Simulator community -- they have a real interest in these types of conversions.
I would suggest, for the moment, forgetting about Google Earth. Sketchup really is designed only to support Google Earth, but it makes really bad models for games. If you look at most of the models on Google Earth, 90% of them are really bad. These models really are not made for gaming applications.
A better source would be converting buildings used in various flight simulators. You can get Microsoft Flight Simulator for $20 to $30. Once you start digging around in it, you will find that it has thousands of models. Not just buildings, but planes (surprise, surprise), cars, trucks, trains, ships, boats, bridgess, decorative items like power lines, and just about every landmark on can find in the world.
The nice thing about flight simulator models is they were designed for gaming. Most of them are 15 minute conversions.
I haven't done a tutorial on this because I am still trying to perfect things. Also, I have had a major infection in my leg for the past month, and my dog died earlier this week. So creating stuff has been back burnered while I deal with real life problems.
hey TJ I hope things get better for you real soon and my conlounce on your dog take care
Losing the dog really left me shell shocked. She was just a puppy. Monday morning she was biting my dad's toes and chasing her tail. By evening she was struggling to breathe and the vet had no idea of what was causing it. I had to put her down because she was suffering.
I was just beginning to really like that dog, too. The thing about adopting dogs is that you either adopt them when they are past the puppy stage and hope that their prior owners did not screw them up, or you adopt them as puppies -- and put up will all of the puppy stuff (housebreaking them, civilizing them, have them destroy stuff, having them run off).
Anyway, there are a lot of "surplus" dogs who need a home, and I have a home. So I got an 80 pound goofball from a shelter. Best guess: he is a Great Labradane. (50% Lab, 50% Great Dane -- big dog!)
Condolences also form me, it's not nice to lose a beloved one!
Also have to support your idea about sourcing from flight aims but one additional thought.
Unless you specifically want to play the fain why even buy one?
There is an almost limitless supply of third party objects available free from the film websites much of it better than the originals. Much like here with our cc but even greater in volume by far.
Another source could be the train sim sites. MSTS may be dead for Microsoft but lives of for numerous fanatics as well as offshoots such as open rails. There's also a mother one by some Aussie company, search for trainz. It occurs to me that heir stuff may be even more suitable, perhaps, as they are more likely to expect to see their buildings close up than in films.
There is an almost limitless supply of third party objects available free from the film websites much of it better than the originals. Much like here with our cc but even greater in volume by far.
Another source could be the train sim sites. MSTS may be dead for Microsoft but lives of for numerous fanatics as well as offshoots such as open rails. There's also a mother one by some Aussie company, search for trainz. It occurs to me that heir stuff may be even more suitable, perhaps, as they are more likely to expect to see their buildings close up than in films.
The problem is converting from one format to another. Most games have their own proprietory format, and where they have a conversion utility, it usually allows you to convert from another format to their format, but almost never from their format to a standard format.
I played around with Farm Simulator for a while before coming to the realization that the conversion was one way. It may be easier to convert some of the Grand Theft Auto games, but other may be impossible. I have looked, briefly, at both Trainz and Microsoft Train Simulator, but have seen no easy way to convert from their format to a standard format. Again, the conversion utilities are all one way.
The problem with items from DAZ and similar sites is their models are not suitable for gaming. It is not unusual to see a model with 100,000 or more faces. The Sims, and most of the tools used in the sims simply cannot handle files of this size. Programs like Milkshape start throwing fits when you have 50,000 or more vertices or faces. I usually really start cringing when I see a model go past 10,000 faces
For example, I have downloaded a number of nifty roller coaster models (including some from Sketchup). The problem is, they tend to have between 250,000 to 500,000 vertices. To build a model like a roller coaster, one has to find a way to reduced the vertices to, like, 5% of this number. This requires entirely different building techniques.
The reason I started working with the flight sim programs is that their community was large enough and skilled enough that they were developing good conversion utilities. I am sure Microsoft would have loved to keep their formats both proprietary and secret.
Comments
What file extension are these things in? I have access to my CADing program for 2 more days and wanted to play around if possible.
Yes. WSO.
Start here: http://tjstreaksnotsonaughtysims.blogspot.com/2011/10/making-objects-lesson-1-making-simple.html
You need to save your file in a standard format, something like the Wavefront .obj file or the Autodesk .3ds. Most people seem to prefer the .obj format, but I have been using the .3ds format a lot lately. So far it seems to be six one way, half a dozen the other.
After you get it into that format, you need to import the file into Milkshape. Milkshape is a payware 3d modelling program, but you can try it for 30 days for free. Make sure you have installed the TSR plugins. They are found in ths TSR workshop folder.
After your model is in Milkshape, you may find that you have to rotate the model to orient it properly. Typically, I have to rotate the model 90 degrees in the upper right panel (i.e. side view) so it lines up properly in the game. Then you export the model from Milkshape into .wso (the native TSR Workshop format). From there the mesh can be imported into TSR Workshop, where it can be fiddled with further.
Also you need to add your texture file. These generally are .dds graphics file. Yes, you can use things like .png files, but they are a pain in the hindquarters to deal with, and since I have Photoshop, it is just as easy to work with .dds files. (Also paint.net and gimp can produce .dds files, but it is not as slick as with Photoshop.)
Any material files (.mtl) you have with your .obj or .3ds file won't work. Apparently TSR Workshop cannot read these or apply them to your model. You have to do your texture file as a .dds file. This is where you run into all of the UV mapping issues, which is what makes converting Sketchup files such a pain.
I see that you have both tables and chairs in your model. These will not work as tables and chairs in the game using my techniques. You need to clone the various tables and chairs in the game. Plus there is the whole issue of slots, which I have not played with. I would suggest that you remove things like the table and chairs and use in game objects instead.
Also, keep in mind what I am making. These are deco buildings. They have no function, unless I am cloning a rabbithole and replacing the rabbithole mesh with one of my own. But your sims do not actually interract with these models in any way, shape or form.
They are sort of like trees or rocks in that they fill up the space between functioning objects and lots. Most creators like to fill up that space with things like hills and forests. Instead of using a tree, which has hundreds of polygons, you probably are better off having a building with 12. Instead of a forest which can tax your cpu, a subdivision of houses is probably going to be easier on your computer.
Worlds with 200 plus lots tend to suffer from horrible lag -- i.e. if you want a big world, you must use cc to avoid lag.
I design exhibits so that's just what I had open to screen shot as an example lol. Creating a custom rabbit hole is exactly what I want to do. This has been pretty helpful. I'll see if I can't create some kind of obj or 3ds file to export before my trial runs out again. so sad... I love this program... I wish it didn't cost $4k
Wow. Thank you so much! Thats amazing, I really appreciate it!
This is the model I have in my game that I speak of: http://tjstreaksnotsonaughtysims.blogspot.com/2011/10/deco-building-size-comparisons.html
If you cant thats fine but again, it would be greatly appreciated. I don't mean to be a pest at all!
Also, just so I'm correct on the ESB model, it was the one used in this world, correct? http://sims3newyork.blogspot.com/
Thanks again for even taking the time to make the WTC. Its greatly appreciated
I am treating the custom rabbithole thing as being experimental at this point. This is why I have not uploaded any of my experiments. So far, it has not borked my game, but I want to be pretty sure.
Unfortunately, Milkshape is rather unavoidable if you want to do any sort of meshing. It seems that every game tends to have its preferred modelling program. X-Plane and Second Lifers tend to use AC3D. Sim City gamers tend to use G-Max. From what I can tell, Microsoft Flight Simulator gamers have some free utilities they can use. Unfortunately, every game system seems to be different, and each one needs a different modelling program.
And that's if you are lucky. Almost all game objects are in one proprietary format or another. I have not played around with Grand Theft Auto, but Bloom indicates it can be done. I cannot open up Farm Simulator files, at least not yet. I would like to get some of the objects from Trainz or Microsoft Train Simulator, but have not experimented with these much at all.
The good news is, compared to some of the other modelling programs, Milkshape is dirt cheap. It's not like shelling out several grand for Autodesk or Maya. Of course, students can get these programs relatively inexpensively.
But if you view object creation as a hobby, it is a relatively inexpensive one. Just compare it to a day of skiing!
This is simple. One square in Milkshape = One Square in the Sims.
I have always figured a square in the Sims as 30 inches (2.5 feet).
In Flight Simulator and other programs, a square is usually either a yard or a meter. So if you want to be picky and get data that a building is 300 meters tall, you can do the conversion, figuring that if a meter is 39 inches, then the Sims buildings should be 390 squares tall.
But I don't do that. This means my buildings are slightly under scale, but it really is not too noticeable. They are still ginormous buildings.
But if you want to be picky, you can always use the scale feature in Milkshape to scale up or scale down a building. For example, in his New York world, Manustyle has scaled down some of my buildings.
Actually, the lighted Empire State Buildings is from Luna Sims Lulumai. I am quite impressed by that work.
I have been experimenting with lighted buildings, but have not had a lot of success. I did do an Empire State Building as part of an experiment, but did not have success with the lighting.
This is pretty much a straight conversion of the Empire State Building from Aerosoft's Manhattan X for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Unfortunately Aerosoft does not do good night textures -- as you can see in the version on the right. So I probably will use the native Empire State model in Flight Simulator instead of this one.
It is pretty much to scale. Flight Simulator models pretty much translate to Sims 3 on a 1 to 1 basis, if you assume that a square is a yard/meter. As such it is about twice as large as the Luna Sims model. Of course, you could always extract the mesh from the Luna model and resize it using the scale function in Milkshape.
Here's a link to the WIP model: http://www.mediafire.com/?qzujppjk1bo2ruv
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n623/mixedanthony/Screenshot-24.jpg
A true disaster. I'm hoping you check this thread again, because this stuff has really has my interest.
P.S. for some reason I cannot export the skin for the WTC itself in the TSR workshop, so thats a true pain.
I don't know what you did in Milkshape. All you need to do is use the scale function. You plug in the scale you want to reduce or increase the model to. I don't know what scale Manustyle uses, but I do know that he has scaled down some of my buildings. Obviously Manustyle knows how to do this, because I blatantly stole from him -- perhaps refining his techniques a little. I suspect it is a process of experimentation.
By the way, I tend to keep my models close to real life scale. It is slightly off. I usually figure that each square in Milkshape is a yard/meter, when it probably is actually closer to 30 inches (2.5 feet) For the Europeans out there, yes, I use Imperial/English measurements.
If I were messing with this, I probably would extract the mesh from Luna Sims empire state and import that into Milkshape to get a size comparison. You might have to do some quick math to get the scale right. When I was done, I would just remove the Empire State.
As far as the texture in TSR Workshop, it does not go in the texture section. Instead, under the Mesh tab, you need to find the area labled Materials. The texture you want is under diffuse texture. However, I have been using the same texture in the other boxes. These buildings are non-castable, by the way.
As long as you have not messed with the UV map, you should not have any problems with the texture. Just leave the Texture Coordinage Editor alone. Pasting the texture on a smaller model should make it look better because you have the same texture covering a smaller surface, which means you should get slightly better detail.
But still, one is left with a model which may have multiple meshgroups and textures. For me, the problem has always been importing multiple meshgroups with unique textures into TSR Workshop. But I think I know how to do that know. I did a quick experiment with Graham's Conversion of Criquette's Ocean terminal:
Those who have worked with this model know that it comes in four parts. To use it, it has to be assembled in game.
I got it into one piece, despite some rather funny UV mapping on two of the parts, with the help of Blooms and one of the Featured Artists on TSR:
It's still not perfected. Some of the meshgroups don't fit well together yet. The specular needs some work. Currently, while it works in CAW, it does not work in edit in game or edit town. The point here, is that multiple meshgroups with unique textures can be imported and used in TSR Workshop.
All the pieces seem to be here, the ability to convert Sketchup meshes and textures into a format that can be read by TSR Workshop and the ability to use multiple meshgroups with unique textures in Workshop.
More experimentation to follow.
RUSH
My Worlds
OK. This is surprisingly simple, once you understand what I am doing.
There is a program called Model Converter at http://sims3newyork.blogspot.com/2011/09/twallan-comes-through-yet-again.html This is your Rosetta stone for converting models. It will convert models between a number of different formats. The program itself comes from the Flight Simulator community -- they have a real interest in these types of conversions.
I would suggest, for the moment, forgetting about Google Earth. Sketchup really is designed only to support Google Earth, but it makes really bad models for games. If you look at most of the models on Google Earth, 90% of them are really bad. These models really are not made for gaming applications.
A better source would be converting buildings used in various flight simulators. You can get Microsoft Flight Simulator for $20 to $30. Once you start digging around in it, you will find that it has thousands of models. Not just buildings, but planes (surprise, surprise), cars, trucks, trains, ships, boats, bridgess, decorative items like power lines, and just about every landmark on can find in the world.
The nice thing about flight simulator models is they were designed for gaming. Most of them are 15 minute conversions.
I haven't done a tutorial on this because I am still trying to perfect things. Also, I have had a major infection in my leg for the past month, and my dog died earlier this week. So creating stuff has been back burnered while I deal with real life problems.
Losing the dog really left me shell shocked. She was just a puppy. Monday morning she was biting my dad's toes and chasing her tail. By evening she was struggling to breathe and the vet had no idea of what was causing it. I had to put her down because she was suffering.
I was just beginning to really like that dog, too. The thing about adopting dogs is that you either adopt them when they are past the puppy stage and hope that their prior owners did not screw them up, or you adopt them as puppies -- and put up will all of the puppy stuff (housebreaking them, civilizing them, have them destroy stuff, having them run off).
Anyway, there are a lot of "surplus" dogs who need a home, and I have a home. So I got an 80 pound goofball from a shelter. Best guess: he is a Great Labradane. (50% Lab, 50% Great Dane -- big dog!)
Also have to support your idea about sourcing from flight aims but one additional thought.
Unless you specifically want to play the fain why even buy one?
There is an almost limitless supply of third party objects available free from the film websites much of it better than the originals. Much like here with our cc but even greater in volume by far.
Another source could be the train sim sites. MSTS may be dead for Microsoft but lives of for numerous fanatics as well as offshoots such as open rails. There's also a mother one by some Aussie company, search for trainz. It occurs to me that heir stuff may be even more suitable, perhaps, as they are more likely to expect to see their buildings close up than in films.
The problem is converting from one format to another. Most games have their own proprietory format, and where they have a conversion utility, it usually allows you to convert from another format to their format, but almost never from their format to a standard format.
I played around with Farm Simulator for a while before coming to the realization that the conversion was one way. It may be easier to convert some of the Grand Theft Auto games, but other may be impossible. I have looked, briefly, at both Trainz and Microsoft Train Simulator, but have seen no easy way to convert from their format to a standard format. Again, the conversion utilities are all one way.
The problem with items from DAZ and similar sites is their models are not suitable for gaming. It is not unusual to see a model with 100,000 or more faces. The Sims, and most of the tools used in the sims simply cannot handle files of this size. Programs like Milkshape start throwing fits when you have 50,000 or more vertices or faces. I usually really start cringing when I see a model go past 10,000 faces
For example, I have downloaded a number of nifty roller coaster models (including some from Sketchup). The problem is, they tend to have between 250,000 to 500,000 vertices. To build a model like a roller coaster, one has to find a way to reduced the vertices to, like, 5% of this number. This requires entirely different building techniques.
The reason I started working with the flight sim programs is that their community was large enough and skilled enough that they were developing good conversion utilities. I am sure Microsoft would have loved to keep their formats both proprietary and secret.