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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 3rd Jul 2019 at 10:26 PM
Default Can’t recolor license plates on car
I’m trying to recolor a car to make it into a different license plate for my sims series. But it won’t do. I’m doing this through SimPE, I put the license plate over the old one through paint, save it, import the new image, “update all sizes” fix TGI, then “update all sizes” again. I save it, install it into my game, and the new option is there, but it’s the same as before. I have no idea why it does this, I’ve tried to figure it out and I can’t find a solution. Does anyone know where I may be going wrong?
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Mad Poster
#2 Old 4th Jul 2019 at 2:39 PM
Is the licence plate included in the recolorable subsets? If not, you may have to add a subset (if there's room for it - you can only have 2 recolorable ones).

And it's often better to use DXT texturing instead of import and update sizes. Usually gives a much better result.

You should never do "fix TGI" when recoloring, only when adding a new subset or TXMT/TXTR resource. When you clone a TXMT/TXTR, the "Fix TGI" function makes them stand apart from the ones you cloned.

Which car are you trying to recolor?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 4th Jul 2019 at 7:57 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Is the licence plate included in the recolorable subsets? If not, you may have to add a subset (if there's room for it - you can only have 2 recolorable ones).

And it's often better to use DXT texturing instead of import and update sizes. Usually gives a much better result.

You should never do "fix TGI" when recoloring, only when adding a new subset or TXMT/TXTR resource. When you clone a TXMT/TXTR, the "Fix TGI" function makes them stand apart from the ones you cloned.

Which car are you trying to recolor?


Toyota Camry. It’s a custom car. Do you mind telling me what a subset is? I’m new to all this stuff, I thought I had it right in SimPE.
Mad Poster
#4 Old 4th Jul 2019 at 10:19 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 4th Jul 2019 at 10:35 PM.
A subset is a set of texture resources (TXMT, TXTR, and with a MMAT if it's recolorable). A subset is linked up to the SHPE, and the GMND if it's recolorable. It shares a group name with the mesh group it belongs to in the GMDC.

There are only two subsets available for recoloring in an object (the top and bottom thumbnails when you pick a color ingame), but you can have several non-recolorable subsets. Some objects have two recolorable subets, others have just one, or even none (a lot of maxis objects don't have recolorable subsets unless you have the CEP to enable them).

If the car is available for download, could you post a link to it (the mesh)? Would be easier to figure out if it's possible to recolor the license plate that way, and I could help guide you through it. Cars often tend to have more than two subsets, and sometimes they already have two recolorable ones.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 8th Jul 2019 at 5:35 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
A subset is a set of texture resources (TXMT, TXTR, and with a MMAT if it's recolorable). A subset is linked up to the SHPE, and the GMND if it's recolorable. It shares a group name with the mesh group it belongs to in the GMDC.

There are only two subsets available for recoloring in an object (the top and bottom thumbnails when you pick a color ingame), but you can have several non-recolorable subsets. Some objects have two recolorable subets, others have just one, or even none (a lot of maxis objects don't have recolorable subsets unless you have the CEP to enable them).

If the car is available for download, could you post a link to it (the mesh)? Would be easier to figure out if it's possible to recolor the license plate that way, and I could help guide you through it. Cars often tend to have more than two subsets, and sometimes they already have two recolorable ones.



I’m not sure if it’s up for download anymore as I’ve looked, but it’s Fresh Prince’s Toyota Camry 2008 I believe. If that helps any. I have CEP installed, and this isn’t a maxis object so it has to be something else.
Mad Poster
#6 Old 8th Jul 2019 at 6:44 PM
Could you maybe PM me the file or add the file below?
Cars are rather complex objects in regards to textures (they often have many, not all recolorable), so it's difficult to say without looking at the file.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#7 Old 8th Jul 2019 at 7:52 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Could you maybe PM me the file or add the file below?
Cars are rather complex objects in regards to textures (they often have many, not all recolorable), so it's difficult to say without looking at the file.



I think this is the mesh file for the car.
Attached files:
File Type: rar  F-P2008ToyotaCamry01.rar (1.77 MB, 9 downloads) - View custom content
Echezzman Nwokeoma
staff: senior moderator
#8 Old 8th Jul 2019 at 9:42 PM
Ok I just did a recolor of the car by changing the plate number and it showed in the game. The car has only one subset that is recolor able, and it's the car image.

What I did
1-Start SimPe,
2_Click open and select the car package
3-Change to recolor and then choose a name and save.
4-Right click on the image in SimPE and choose build dxt. A window opens top left
5-Click on open in the window
6-Select the recolor image to add to the package
7-When the image is built, Change the option to dxt 1 or 3
Click ok
8-When image shows in SimPE view, click on comit
Then save and try in game.
Mad Poster
#9 Old 8th Jul 2019 at 11:31 PM
The car has 3 MMATs for some reason, two of them seems to be for the main texture.

The license plate is part of the car recolor like Misty says, so you'd get multiple instances of the same color if you just recolor the licence plate. It's the "vehicleSedanWhite" subset, the only texture that shows up when you choose to recolor.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#10 Old 10th Jul 2019 at 8:01 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
The car has 3 MMATs for some reason, two of them seems to be for the main texture.

The license plate is part of the car recolor like Misty says, so you'd get multiple instances of the same color if you just recolor the licence plate. It's the "vehicleSedanWhite" subset, the only texture that shows up when you choose to recolor.


“Vehiclesedanwhite” is the one I’m recoloring with, and it doesn’t show up in the game. I export the image to my files, then edit the license plate on into paint, import it in, commit, save, then download into my game. Is there a special MMAT or something I’m supposed to select?
Mad Poster
#11 Old 10th Jul 2019 at 8:36 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 10th Jul 2019 at 8:56 PM.
Have you tried using DXT (the Nvidia DDS Utilities that's linked to in the Properties)? It gives you a better result, and updates all sizes for you.

I'm thinking you may not be properly updating sizes, which you have to do when you recolor with Import, or only the largest size will update. If you play with lower graphic settings, the recolor may not show properly. Does it show with one or two recolor thumbnails when you buy or recolor it ingame?

You're only supposed to edit the TXTR Resource when doing simple recoloring (MMAT should usually be left alone, TXMT should only be touched if you're editing shine or other properties of the material, "Fix TGI" is only for when you're making a new recolor subset). If you're working on any of the files you did "fix TGI" on, throw them away - they won't work. Make a new recolor, use DXT3 or 5 to import the texture, and see if that does the trick.

I made a quick recolor of the car, which you may want to test if works for you (it's this color: so it should be easy to spot). If it doesn't work, something may be off in the texture resources, and may need fixing.
Attached files:
File Type: zip  F-P2008ToyotaCamry01-Blue.zip (608.4 KB, 7 downloads) - View custom content
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 10th Jul 2019 at 9:49 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Have you tried using DXT (the Nvidia DDS Utilities that's linked to in the Properties)? It gives you a better result, and updates all sizes for you.

I'm thinking you may not be properly updating sizes, which you have to do when you recolor with Import, or only the largest size will update. If you play with lower graphic settings, the recolor may not show properly. Does it show with one or two recolor thumbnails when you buy or recolor it ingame?

You're only supposed to edit the TXTR Resource when doing simple recoloring (MMAT should usually be left alone, TXMT should only be touched if you're editing shine or other properties of the material, "Fix TGI" is only for when you're making a new recolor subset). If you're working on any of the files you did "fix TGI" on, throw them away - they won't work. Make a new recolor, use DXT3 or 5 to import the texture, and see if that does the trick.

I made a quick recolor of the car, which you may want to test if works for you (it's this color: so it should be easy to spot). If it doesn't work, something may be off in the texture resources, and may need fixing.


I stopped the “Fix TGI” stuff and I followed the instructions of the guy above, recolor still didn’t show up. I click “update all sizes” before committing and saving. So I’ll have to keep trying, I’ll try to do what you say the best I can and see if it works.

I believe there’s 2 recolor thumbnails in game? I can’t remember. My graphics settings are high on the game.
Mad Poster
#13 Old 10th Jul 2019 at 11:54 PM Last edited by simmer22 : 11th Jul 2019 at 12:34 AM.
The blue car recolor I posted above shows up without any issues in my game, so the car is fully recolorable. Maybe try again? If all else fails, replace your texture with the one in my file, because that file definitely does work (see pic below)

Just a fyi, but if you start using DXT, don't do "update sizes". That's just for the import function. DXT does all size updates for you.
Screenshots
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#14 Old 15th Jul 2019 at 3:05 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
The blue car recolor I posted above shows up without any issues in my game, so the car is fully recolorable. Maybe try again? If all else fails, replace your texture with the one in my file, because that file definitely does work (see pic below)

Just a fyi, but if you start using DXT, don't do "update sizes". That's just for the import function. DXT does all size updates for you.



How do I replace the texture with yours? I downloaded your file and it showed up no different in game.
Mad Poster
#15 Old 15th Jul 2019 at 11:32 AM
Did the blue recolor show up for you? If it did, you can replace the texture in the file with your texture via dxt3.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#16 Old 19th Jul 2019 at 3:06 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmer22
Did the blue recolor show up for you? If it did, you can replace the texture in the file with your texture via dxt3.


If you don't mind could you post a tutorial?
Mad Poster
#17 Old 19th Jul 2019 at 4:48 PM
Make your texture. Make sure it's the same size as the original file (512x1024, I think), and that it's saved as PNG (preferably 24-bit).

- Open SimPE - Go to Extra --> Properties. Make sure the Advanced Mode is ticked, and that you have set up the Nvidia DDS tool properly - they're int wo different tabs. (Tutorial for the DDS part here).
- Go to the Object Creation tab at the bottom, select "open...", find the car mesh file, and select "recolor".
- The subset screen should pop up, I think there's just one subset to choose from for this file. Click OK.
- Find the TXTR resource, and follow the instructions from 4 to 6 here, picture is included, remember to click commit.
- Save file.
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