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USEFUL PROGRAMS

How do I use these files?
When you download a file from the site they are packed in a zip. You need to have a program to open them and use them. You can use either WinZip, Ultimate Zip, Win Rar or a program like these. A guide will follow with the programs.

Where do I put them?
It depends on what game you have. If you have The Sims only, you can only use skins located in NormalWear and all the heads. You unzip these in your TheSims/Gamedata/Skins folder. This also goes for the expansions Living It Up/Living it Large or/and House Party. If you have HotDate you can use all the skins except the Winter Wear. You unzip NormalWear and Heads into TheSims/Gamedata/Skins and SleepWear, FormalWear and SwimWear into TheSims/Expansionpack3/SkinsBuy. If you have expansionpack Vacation or/and Unleashed, you unzip NormalWear and Heads into TheSims/GameData/Skins and every other skin into TheSims/ExpansionShared/SkinsBuy.

Can't I use buyable clothes without expansions?
Yes, but then you have to change them. All skins have numbers. The buyable skins are marked like this:
Swimsuits start with a S
Formal clothes starts with a F
SleepWear started with a L
Winter clothes starts with a W
If you want to use any buyable clothes without an expansion you have to change these letters to B. All regular clothes starts with the letter B and are located in the TheSims/Gamedata/Skins folder. You have to rename both the bmp-file, the skn. and the cmx-file. Sometimes the cmx-file is called B even though is for buyable. Then you don't have to change it. When you've changed the visible letters you have to pick the cmx-file. Right click it and open it with notepad. Inside the file document you'll find the same names once more. And again you change the letters to a B. PLEASE run Sim Enhancer's cmx-validation when you're done to pick up any errors. Otherwise it can affect your game and make it crash. (Suddenly stop and go right back to the desktop) It works the same way if you have a regular skin which you want as say a formal. Then change the B to F and place the skin in ExpansionShared/SkinsBuy. It will then show as buyable when Downtown.

If you want your Sims to use the clothes as FormalWear or SwimWear without going downtown, you will need Sim Wardrobe to change that. Instructions is on the page and are very simple.

Then how do I make the clothes buyable?
It's pretty much the same as making buyable into casual. Casual wear located in the skin folder starts with a B. What you do is pick out what you want as buyable and the easiest thing is to copy these files to a new folder you can delete when you're done. Now all you have to do is changing that B to what kinda buyable clothes you want it to be. Lingerie starts with a L, Formal with a F, Swimwear starts with a S, Winterclothes with a W and Superstar Highfashion with a H. If you want a cool outfit to be available as Highfashion, change the B to a H. Do this in in both BMP file and CMX file. To keep the meshes to a minimum in buyable you can use the xskin file for every type of clothes. What you have to do it rightclick the CMX file, open with and choose Notepad. Here change the CMX to H as well and save the file. Now it will go with the xskin file though this is still named B. If you want the same mesh as Formal you just need to put in a new fixed CMX file and this will go with the xskin file as well and you'll keep the files to a minimum. When you're done, cut your files and paste them into your skinsbuy folder.

Why don't the skins show in my game?
There can be several reasons. You need HotDate expansion to get FormalWear, SwimWear and SleepWear to work and you need Vacation to get WinterWear to work. Also be sure they are placed in the right folders - look above. A skin is made from three files. The mesh, which is a combination of the skn-file and the cmx-file, and the bmp-file which is the actual color of the head. You need all three to get the skin working. Some meshes are made different and if they don't have the right bmp-file to go with it, it can show up looking very odd.

You also have to make sure the bmp-file is in 256 bits. Try running Sim Enhancer's cmx-validation and Sim Filecop before running your game. If there are any errors in your skins, these should find them and let you change them or delete them.

What is a mesh?
The mesh is combined by two files - the skn-file and the cmx-file. You need BOTH of these to make the skin work. They are the shape and hairstyle of the head and without these the game won't know how to show the bmp-file - the actual picture of the head. You can't altar the skn and cmx-files in anyway. They are made to fit each other and a cmx file wont go with a skn file it was made to go with. You can have numerous bmp-files with each mesh, since they only give your game information how to show the skin, but without them, the game can't figure how they should be shown.

Why is there no mesh in your zip?
Maxis didn't make very many meshes for the game - but you can find them online. Some of the very best meshes you can get your hands on are from either Simfreaks or 8th Deadly Sim - hosting the amazing Fionn - creator on both sites. But these are paysite. This means you have to pay a small amount of money to download their things. The two sites became very big last year and had to find a server, that could keep up with the visitors. A server like that, you unfortunately have to pay for and this is why they are forced to charge for their products. This is also why sometimes I do not include meshes in the files.

no mesh included - get it at Simfreaks

After they went pay, you are not allowed to give out any of the new meshes they made. I can only give you the old ones. I would say though, that I think being a member is worth the money. They update often and with some of the best things you can find out the for The Sims. So if there is no mesh included, you can only get them at the link shown beneath the skin. I do NOT give them out - Sorry....

Can't I use those skins without a mesh included?
Yes, there is a way for you to do that. But this means you have to change the bmp. to go with another mesh - give it another haircut. Lets say you like this girl...

But there is no mesh included. What do you do....well either go and get the mesh at Simfreaks or you can change the bmp. to fit another mesh.

How do I change a skin to another mesh?
What you do is look at the numbers on the files. This girl is called . If you look at the site with Light Skinned Females you'll see some of the other haircuts you can use. Now don't mind if the other girls have green eyes, red hair or what ever. This won't matter cuz we are only talking about the shape of the head. Now of ALL the meshes I have, I think the none-pay mesh that comes closest to Aria's hairstyle is this one...

She's called Aurora and you can find her on the same page as Aria. When you download Aurora you'll find a mesh in the zip. This mesh you can also use for Aria. Remember you can use as many bmp's on a mesh as you want to. The zip that comes with Aurora looks like this...

As you can see all three files share the same number. It is these number that determines which mesh the bmp's go with. This mean you have to change so it will fit this mesh. All you have to do is change it too..... You simply change the number so it will go with the C794-mesh.

When ever you find a zip with no mesh in it....try looking at my site and see if there's another head that has some what the same haircut. When you find a picture where the hair could fit, download it, open it and see what mesh comes with it. Change the bmp-file from the zip with no mesh to match the mesh you then choose. It's all about the number. Also you can take a look at the Simfreaks site. I can mail you any mesh from Fionn's Series 1 and ONLY Series 1, if you like one that isn't located on my site.

Using male mesh for female and vice versa

Sometimes when I make celebrities I come across a singer that has a haircut that hasn't been made for male - but a perfect match is made for females. I think we all want the famous people to look closest to what they do in real life so I decided to use crossover meshes and make a guide for use. You can choose on your own if you want to do it. I can't make any guaranties that your game won't crash - but then I can't do that with any of the things I make. Only thing I know is that I've done it myself for a long time and my game has NO problem with it. Also I asked Fionn at Simfreaks if I could upload the changed meshes and he wasn't keen on the idea. The reason is that he's making a line of heads with numbers that follow each other. That line will be interrupted by changed mesh numbers. Lets say You really like the mesh C721Ma mesh for your ladies - I LOVE IT - and you want to have it in your game. Well that means that the heads you already have for c721Fa will show up with that haircut as well - you'll get tweice as many heads - that can be a good thing but also slow your loading time. So I'll leave it up to you to choose. You can always use the guide above to make it match another mesh and then you don't have to change a female mesh to a male or vice versa.

Anyway...how do you do it? Well let's say you like Omarion from the group B2K. I made him with a female mesh and he looks like this...

That hairstyle is exactly like the one he has in real life - but it's a female mesh. The mesh is called C811Fa_Venutian. What you do is first you change the letters F in both the cmx and the skin file. F means female and you change it to a M - make it read C811Ma_Venutian instead. Now it fits a male. Then you take the cmx file - right-click it and open it with notepad. Here you'll find the two names again and you also change these to M. Then you save it and the mesh is changed. To be 100% sure run Sim Enhancer's cmx-validation. If you don't want the new mesh to interfere with any male mesh with the same number - check your skin folder and see if you have one with the same name. If you do you can always change the name and called it something like C8V1Ma or C8A1Ma or change the number completely - just see what numbers you have already and find one in between.

Contact Me

If you have any other questions, feel free to write me.
- Ayoe