How to Properly Package Up Bodyshop Files (excluding sims)
by Dour
Ok, you've made your stuff and it's fabulous. Now it's time to do the dirty work... This tutorial assumes that you have:
1. Already completed a recolor, and have successfully exported it using bodyshop.
2. Can navigate the files and folders of your computer.
3. Have a copy of Sims2Pack clean installer and can fumble around inside it well enough to find a folder. *If you are trying to package more than 1 texture created in bodyshop*
Step 1: Where are they?
Believe it or not, there is a way to give those files away without having to export them on a Sim! Navigate to...
My Documents/EA Games/Sims 2/Saved Sims/ and find your file: abunchofgoofynumbers_yourprojectname.package
That's it! You're ready to roll.
Step 2: What's with those goofy numbers?
If all you are doing is retexture/recoloring something, then you should rename this file. Rename it something intuitive, and denote who it is for and what site it will be offered on. If you have made an adult female green dress that is binned for casual for my site, name it something like DS_AFCgreendressandsparkles.package.
DS is the shortened name for my site, AFC is just Adult Female Casual, AFF would be adult female formal, TMS would be teen male swimwear etc.
It is better to write the site name instead of your name; because a lot of people like to organize their downloads folders. They do not always know your name (gasp!) but they will know the name of the site. Plus it helps them to remember where they got that great outfit from! ;) If you are submitting to a site that has several artists, you can squeeze your initials/handle in there somewhere (DS_DuckieAFCgreendressandsparkles.package) You may also want to throw the date in there, if you are like me and have a hard time naming 10 green dresses differently. (DS_AFCgreendress030707.package and DS_AFCgreendress122506.package)
***if you have exported more than 1 outfit (per mesh) with Bodyshop in a session, you are going to need to use Sims2Pack clean installer to identify the separate textures. You're going to want to swing ahead to step 5, where it suggests making a new folder, and then cut/paste the goofily named files from the saved Sim folder to your 2Bpackaged folder. Have clean installer open the 2Bpackaged folder and read it. Click each file it shows, and a yellow box will pop up and tell you the file name, as well as an image of the texture. Quickly memorize the first few letters/numbers of the file, and then find that letter/number sequence in your 2Bpackaged folder. Rename the file accordingly.***
Step 3. Rar or zip?
RAR and zip are filetypes. They bundle and compress many files into one. It essentially works the same way a folder does, except a folder cannot be sent to other computers, and zip/rar can. I use zip because I didn't want to deal with people complaining about me using RAR. RAR is better than zip, it compresses into a smaller file than zip. Unfortunately, most people only know how to unpackage .zip files, and they WILL barrage your guestbook/forum/e-mail with requests for you to change to zip. Why do you need a compressed file at all? Do you have a readme.txt? Do you want to include a preview image? Does your retexture require a mesh to work? Does the maker of the mesh require that you distribute THEIR readme with the mesh? Then you are going to need to transfer more than your 1 retexture file.
Step 4. Naming the RAR or zip
Each one is going to have to be different, they are all going to be sitting in your website directory, and if two have the same name, one is going to be overwritten (oh nos!) Again, I suggest you name it something like "Sitename WHOITISFORthesameintuitivedescription". A sample:
Doursim AFF foldsnfeathers.zip would hold my DS_AFFfoldsnfeathers.package plus a readme.txt and a custom mesh, if I used one.
*NOTE: Some downloading programs, forums, and file hosts do not like spaces in the names of the zip/rar files. If you are conscious of this fact then you should replace spaces with _ or - (underscore or dash)
5. Putting it all together.
The first thing I like to do is create a new folder in my downloads folder (My Documents/EA Games/Sims 2/Downloads) I name mine "2Bpackaged". Then I go to my saved sims folder (see step 1) and cut the files I want to package out of that folder, and paste them into my 2Bpackaged folder. I like to create my .zips on my desktop, (right click, and then select New > Compressed (zipped) folder) [the steps for rar are identical, just select WinRAR Archive instead] and name them right away (see step 4). I then drag and drop my readme.txt into all the zip files I have created. I pull up my 2Bpackaged folder, and then arrange it so that I can see both my zip files on the desktop, as well as the contents of that folder, then drag and drop the .package files into the appropriate, prenamed zips.
If any of my files also require a mesh, I will locate the mesh in my downloads folder, and drag/drop them into the zip as well (along with any readme.txt that the mesh creator may require that I distribute). I like to collect meshes I have used in the past in a (new) folder in Downloads so that they are easy to find if I use that mesh again. If you wish to include a preview image then you can stick that in there as well :P
You're done! The file is ready for distribution! Pat yourself on the back and go grab a cookie.
If you have any questions or concerns about this tutorial, please visit the forums and post them there!