SWF mods, shoes and stockings (1 Viewer)

[SyntaxTerror]

Hello

I have a technical question about SWF mod making (using konashion's templates): in the case of stockings, or socks, or anything similar, the good way to make them is to use the "body" template for calfs and if needed the "costume" template for thights?

Because if I use the "costume" template for both and put shoes at the same time, they appear under the feet:

If the calfs are in the "body" template, everything seems to be okay:

In fact, I just want to be sure that there wont be problems I didn't thought of if I do this, because I've looked at some stockings made by Dante, and they all use only the "costume" templates.
I am quite new to costume making and I still have many little problems like this (even if it is getting better slowly).
I am asking this to stuntcock and Huitznahua that already helped me about Flash, but anyone can answer.

Thanks.

 

[Huitznahua]

You can grab another .fla template.
Personnaly I'm using the sby_template3. As you can see you can find both template calf and thigh in the library.

You can find the template probably here (I'm not sure) : sby's loader imports; October 19 2016: uploaded stuffs

 

[SyntaxTerror]

You can find the template probably here (I'm not sure) : sby's loader imports; October 19 2016: uploaded stuffs

sby's mods are for the loader I think, I am making SWF mods for Vanilla.
In fact, all I was asking is if there is any problem to use the "body" templates to put clothes, but as i write these lines, I remember doing this with bracelets, and there is a problem when one change the skin tint: it also changes the cloth tint that is put on a body part...
I tried with Dante's Elsa Coronation Gloves and the same problem occurs:

So I think that I'm screwed, and that I must make separate mods for stockings alone and stockings with shoes, or say on the download page that skin tint must not be changed... I think that I'll chose the last solution (or maybe put both mods), because anyway, I think there is no other way to make gloves for Vanilla (strangely, the gloves in the basic game do not have this problem).

 

[Faceless]

Huitznahua Actually, there's a dedicated thread for it.

SyntaxTerror The reason for this is because konashion never got around to exposing the glove and stocking layers to the template before he disappeared. The template @sby made does actually work for vanilla; it's just that anything that isn't part of the original vanilla template won't show up.

 

[SyntaxTerror]

Thanks Faceless .

Basically, you say that sby's template will work for Vanilla, but not for the things I am asking?
Anyway, I didn't find the sby_template3 that Huitznahua speaks of, so I'll wait for @sby to tell me what to use and how to use it.
In the meantime, I am getting mad at learning how to use Adobe's Animate. Things are getting better, but so slowly... I am definitely getting too old for this shit (38, soon 80 :p).

 

[Huitznahua]

Huitznahua Actually, there's a dedicated thread for it.

Thanks.

I didn't find the sby_template3 that Huitznahua

Like Faceless said ---> sby_template3 <---

 

[SyntaxTerror]

Huitznahua : Thanks! I speak English quite fluently (or I try to make people believe it...), but sometimes, I cannot understand even the best explanations.
I'll have a look at this template immediatly.

By the way, I have a (stupid) question:
For Vanilla, it is possible to mix only one footwear mod, one bottoms and one top (plus eventually accessories and piercings)?
In fact, I want to make a belt, but if I make a special mod for this belt using a top template for example, I cannot put this belt AND another top mod, I must put them together in the same mod?

 

[Huitznahua]

For Vanilla, it is possible to mix only one footwear mod, one bottoms and one top (plus eventually accessories and piercings)?

I don't remember precisely the vanilla template, sorry.

In fact, I want to make a belt, but if I make a special mod for this belt using a top template for example, I cannot put this belt AND another top mod, I must put them together in the same mod?

Why do you want to put the belt on the TOP ? You can easily draw a belt on the bottom, then name the pants RGB1, the belt RGB2 and tadaaaam you got a belt. (I don't remember if the vanilla have two rgb slider for the bottoms so it's maybe a loader thing once again (I'm not sure at all)).
OR if you just want a belt (without a pants) draw your mod on the bottom template and then go to the action panel. On the action panel, look at the overwrite option on the bottom template settings.

 

[stuntcock]

For Vanilla, it is possible to mix only one footwear mod, one bottoms and one top (plus eventually accessories and piercings)?

Yes. But (as you've already seen) the layering rules don't quite behave in the way that you want: the BOTTOMS item will be drawn on top of everything else: FOOTWEAR, LEGWEAR, CUFFS, etc.

Options (this list is not exhaustive):

• categorize the stockings as a BODY mod
  • pro: it will be drawn on a suitable layer (below trousers and shoes)
  • con: it will be influenced by skin-HSL tint changes
  • con: it will not be influenced by clothing RGB sliders
• categorize the stockings as a LEGWEAR mod
  • pro: it will be drawn on a suitable layer (below pants and shoes)
  • pro: it will be influenced by clothing RGB sliders
  • con: it will be invisible to vanilla uses (Loader people will see shoes and stockings; vanilla people see only shoes)
  • con: you won't even be able to preview your own work in-game unless you install the Loader
• crop your stockings at the ankle (so that they don't cover the feet) and categorize them as BOTTOMS
  
  • pro: the layering problem still exists, but it's less likely to be noticed (eveningwear shoes are ok; tall boots will look stupid)
    
  • con: the cropped stockings aren't really "stockings" anymore ... they're more like "leg warmers"

My preference would be to use the LEGWEAR category and say "to hell with vanilla users!" If you feel more generous towards the vanilla folks then that's certainly commendable, but please be aware that you will need to suffer (in terms of artistic limitations, visual compromises, or additional work) in order to accommodate them.

In fact, I want to make a belt, but if I make a special mod for this belt using a top template for example, I cannot put this belt AND another top mod, I must put them together in the same mod?

Short answer: use the overwrite parameter.


Long answer: SDT allows for an unlimited number of visible clothing elements which share the same template category. The trick is that mod-makers can choose to set var overwrite:Boolean=true; in the ActionScript settings for their mods. When the game encounters this flag in an incoming SWF file, it will automatically clear out any existing mods clothing of that category before loading the newly-selected mod.

The behavior can be somewhat confusing for players -- especially newbies. If you load an overwrite=false mod after an overwrite=true mod, then both of them will appear (i.e. the girl will be wearing two shirts with bits of cloth overlapping and clipping through each other). But if you load the overwrite=false mod first, then the subsequent overwrite=true mod will simply replace it (i.e. the girl will be wearing only one shirt). Load-order becomes important.

Some mod-writers overuse the flag and set overwrite=true on all of their work, simply to avoid the weird behavior. One important advantage of sby's moreClothing mod is that it allows players to experiment with clothing combinations (such as "undershirt + overshirt") which would normally be impossible because of the hardcoded overwrite policy.


Options:

• categorize the belt as TOP (or BOTTOMS, depending on its size) and publish it as a standalone mod with overwrite=false
  • remind users that they'll need to load the belt SWF file after they've already loaded the rest of your costume
• draw the shirt and belt on a shared canvas, then publish the whole thing as a single TOP item
• categorize the belt as BOTTOMS, combine it with a TOP shirt and FOOTWEAR shoes (as separate objects within your FLA source file), and then publish the whole thing as one SWF file
  • load-order doesn't matter anymore -- the belt has become a mandatory part of the costume
  • if you want the belt to be optional, then you'd need to publish two versions of the costume SWF file (with belt, without belt)

 

[SyntaxTerror]

Faceless & Huitznahua : I tried to make a glove with sby's template, but couldn't get it to appear on Vanilla. Maybe I did something wrong? I'll try again later, but for the moment, the most important for me is to learn how to use Animate CC.

stuntcock :

My preference would be to use the LEGWEAR category and say "to hell with vanilla users!" If you feel more generous towards the vanilla folks then that's certainly commendable, but please be aware that you will need to suffer (in terms of artistic limitations, visual compromises, or additional work) in order to accommodate them.

Hey stuntcock, I AM A VANILLA USER!
I never bothered to try to use the Loader, even if i've seen videos showing different postions that could be nice, I'm soooo lazy that I prefer to stick to Vanilla (worst of all, i'm not even ashamed of it).

At the moment I am trying to make an outfit for Philia from Sword Art Online.

Spoiler: Philia's outfit

The big problem is that I couldn't find a side view, but on this chart there are some important parts seen from the side (boots, flag, hand, breasts and arm armour).

I already did the boots, stockings and flag/belt.

Spoiler: My mods

I do this firstly as a drawing training on Animate, because I still have many problems with it (especially the fact that it is not possible to zoom really much and that the nodes are very small and difficult to grab with my crappy mouse and eyes).
I will first draw all the outfit parts, then decide how to distribute them between the templates, your advices will be very helpful to me at this point, thanks.
Next step will be to make a dynamic hair for Himeno Kisara (my favorite character) and her outfit.

 

[Huitznahua]

Faceless & Huitznahua : I tried to make a glove with sby's template, but couldn't get it to appear on Vanilla. Maybe I did something wrong? I'll try again later, but for the moment, the most important for me is to learn how to use Animate CC.

sby_template3's new templates like armwear, cuffs, ... are for the loader. (once again : vanilla suck).

At the moment I am trying to make an outfit for Philia from Sword Art Online.

Lol. You did not choose the easiest mod to start. What you done look pretty good BUT I think you going to have a lot of problem with the animation/character movement. I really advise you to trace all the basic shapes first, test your mod, and add all the details after.

 

[stuntcock]

I will first draw all the outfit parts, then decide how to distribute them between the templates

You're right; that's the most reasonable option. No need to worry about that stuff prematurely :)

Next step will be to make a dynamic hair for Himeno Kisara (my favorite character)

I'm afraid that I can't help you much on that project. I can provide tech support and answer questions, but from a "creative" or "artistic" point-of-view I've already admitted defeat. The difficulties are:

• the hairstyle includes many "animate-able" elements
  • at a minimum, we'd want to animate the long rear section of hair and the two sidelocks
  • ... but maybe we'd also want to animate the bangs so that they aren't completely stiff
  • ... and then there's the small hair strand with the beaded accessory -- perhaps we ought to animate it separately so that we can properly model the inertial effect of the hair accessory
  • the trouble is that there's no obvious "stopping point" or "visual discontinuity" which could define the boundary between the dynamic-animated portion of the hair and the static portion of the hair
• the resting position of the hair is very close to the girl's body
  • a dynamic hairstyle relies on motion to make it visually interesting (because its linework and shading will be much simpler than those of a static hairstyle)
  • because the Himeno Kisara hairstyle lies very near to the girl's body, we would need to heavily constrain its motion
  • if we don't constrain it, then the hair will tend to clip through the girl's collarbone and torso
  • we'd be putting a lot of work into the hairstyle in order to make it move ... and then putting more work into the hairstyle to stop it from moving. The whole idea is a bit silly
• the rear section of the hair is quite thick
  • if we animate it as a single strand then the motion will look bizarre -- the hair will behave as a single three-inch-thick rope instead of many small strands of hair
  • if we divide it into many small strands then that means more modding work (which is okay), higher complexity (which is bad if it's your first dynamic hair project), and more severe FPS impact (which always sucks, because it limits players' ability to use your mod in conjunction with other high-impact mods)
  • if we divide it into many small strands then it's much harder to make the hair wrap around the girl's shoulder
• the hairstyle would rely on extended physics
  • animating this hairstyle using conventional techniques (i.e. fulcrum offsets, damping, and gravity manipulation) would be very difficult
  • I'd prefer to use extended physics in order to wrap the hair around the shoulder, to apply permanent curvature to a few strands, and to assign appropriate mass values to the smaller strands
  • extended physics requires the Loader ... but SyntaxTerror prefers to create (and use) vanilla mods. So the whole project seems like a non-starter