Through A Glass Darkly
Jul. 7th, 2012 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hat_plays_simsRight, so the thing about Medieval windows is that a) they did not usually have glass and b) when they DID have glass, it wasn't usually a whole big sheet of glass. (Big sheets of glass are called plate glass. Even into the middle of the twentieth century, it was unusual to have large plate glass windows rather than several smaller panes mounted in mullions.) The reason for this is that glass was expensive and is fragile and difficult to transport. In smaller pieces, however, glass is actually pretty sturdy, which led to the compromise of windows made up of lots of little panes of glass held together with lead between the panes making up a glassed-in window. Not only were these smaller panes easier to transport without significant breakage, they were cheaper to replace if that horrible neighbor kid chucked rocks at your windows-- instead of replacing a pricey sheet of glass, you were just replacing a few little pieces.
Of course, my game is Sims and most Sims 2 windows are made with plate glass, so for a long time I just kind of rolled with it.
And then Mustluvcats came up with privacy film for windows, and I let out a happy little shriek, because suddenly, there were so many possibilities.
The neat thing about Mustluvcats's privacy film is that it works with any window-- glassless or glassed. ... Okay, okay, it doesn't work so well with double-hung windows, and windows that already use stained glass don't need it, but that's beside the point. You can use it with almost any window. The way I made the textures, you can add glass to a glassless window or leading to a window that already has a plate-glass pane. Here is a helpful swatch:
These are side-by-side comparisons of the same beachy shot (with slightly different angles). The Sunni Noble versions only come with textured glass; the sheer yellow glass is still pretty opaque while the round glass... Well, I really kinda love the round glass, honestly. On the OpenMe and Cyclonesue variations, the Glass and Blue Glass versions are meant to be used in glassless windows, while the No Glass versions add interest and accuracy to regular plate-glass glazed windows. (You could totally add a glazed film to a glazed window, but it would also make it harder to see your Sims through that window.)
I like plumb bobs in my game all over the damn fool place, of course, so when I realized the more diamond-shaped OpenMe film was about the same shape as a plumb bob, I had to fiddle around with color and squishing leading around. I did put them a little bit high; the upper plumb bob is actually cut off by most windows by default. However, using the Short window film and, if you have Apartment Life, Goggalor's Shiftable Curtains (it's in the rar with the signs, paintings, and photos; all Maxis stuff that Maxis missed), you can shift the plumb bob film to line up however pleases you. Like this:
Also, yes, the textures look slightly different if you put them on the outside of your windows rather than the inside. The only one that really 'flips' is the plumb bobs-- the rest are relatively vertically symmetrical.
So! You get sixteen recolors and six slaved, base-game compatible meshes by Mustluvcats (your master is the Long window, don't lose it). The window films will show up in your catalog under Deco Curtains, and you can use them with regular curtains either using move_objects on or by putting your window films on the outside and your curtains on the inside. All the textures tile neatly, although for three-tiled and larger windows, I'd recommend using multiple single-tile films instead of a double and two singles. Everything has been compressorized for your pleasure.
I've got to give credit to Sunni for her Noble Walls, because I really fell in love with that round glass, to Cyclonesue for her Gothic windows, because those are nice panes that deserve to show up in more places, to Mustluvcats for a truly brilliant idea (and for her basic glass texture), to Quaxi for SimPE without which there would be no recolors, to Lyn for making sure I had a working copy of Photoshop (without which I could create no recolors), to DJ for the Compressorizer, and to Goggalor for making hanging deco objects Maxis skipped properly shiftable with AL, to the point where I couldn't figure out why these windows weren't shifting in my clean test game.
Don't use these with doors. Your Sims will walk through them and that will just look silly.
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Wanna help me feed my cats?
In case you feel like dropping me a buck or two, should you have a buck or two to spare. Donors get two things at the moment: a) a link to the Super Secret Cat Gallery, full of pictures of the cats you'll be feeding, updated sporadically when the cats do something photogenic and I'm fast enough on the trigger to catch it, and b) a link to the list of content I have done-but-not-screencapped, nearly done, partly done, or in the planning stages, and the option to suggest what ought to be in the next batch of things I focus on.
Of course, my game is Sims and most Sims 2 windows are made with plate glass, so for a long time I just kind of rolled with it.
And then Mustluvcats came up with privacy film for windows, and I let out a happy little shriek, because suddenly, there were so many possibilities.
The neat thing about Mustluvcats's privacy film is that it works with any window-- glassless or glassed. ... Okay, okay, it doesn't work so well with double-hung windows, and windows that already use stained glass don't need it, but that's beside the point. You can use it with almost any window. The way I made the textures, you can add glass to a glassless window or leading to a window that already has a plate-glass pane. Here is a helpful swatch:
These are side-by-side comparisons of the same beachy shot (with slightly different angles). The Sunni Noble versions only come with textured glass; the sheer yellow glass is still pretty opaque while the round glass... Well, I really kinda love the round glass, honestly. On the OpenMe and Cyclonesue variations, the Glass and Blue Glass versions are meant to be used in glassless windows, while the No Glass versions add interest and accuracy to regular plate-glass glazed windows. (You could totally add a glazed film to a glazed window, but it would also make it harder to see your Sims through that window.)
I like plumb bobs in my game all over the damn fool place, of course, so when I realized the more diamond-shaped OpenMe film was about the same shape as a plumb bob, I had to fiddle around with color and squishing leading around. I did put them a little bit high; the upper plumb bob is actually cut off by most windows by default. However, using the Short window film and, if you have Apartment Life, Goggalor's Shiftable Curtains (it's in the rar with the signs, paintings, and photos; all Maxis stuff that Maxis missed), you can shift the plumb bob film to line up however pleases you. Like this:
Also, yes, the textures look slightly different if you put them on the outside of your windows rather than the inside. The only one that really 'flips' is the plumb bobs-- the rest are relatively vertically symmetrical.
So! You get sixteen recolors and six slaved, base-game compatible meshes by Mustluvcats (your master is the Long window, don't lose it). The window films will show up in your catalog under Deco Curtains, and you can use them with regular curtains either using move_objects on or by putting your window films on the outside and your curtains on the inside. All the textures tile neatly, although for three-tiled and larger windows, I'd recommend using multiple single-tile films instead of a double and two singles. Everything has been compressorized for your pleasure.
I've got to give credit to Sunni for her Noble Walls, because I really fell in love with that round glass, to Cyclonesue for her Gothic windows, because those are nice panes that deserve to show up in more places, to Mustluvcats for a truly brilliant idea (and for her basic glass texture), to Quaxi for SimPE without which there would be no recolors, to Lyn for making sure I had a working copy of Photoshop (without which I could create no recolors), to DJ for the Compressorizer, and to Goggalor for making hanging deco objects Maxis skipped properly shiftable with AL, to the point where I couldn't figure out why these windows weren't shifting in my clean test game.
Don't use these with doors. Your Sims will walk through them and that will just look silly.
Wanna help me feed my cats?
In case you feel like dropping me a buck or two, should you have a buck or two to spare. Donors get two things at the moment: a) a link to the Super Secret Cat Gallery, full of pictures of the cats you'll be feeding, updated sporadically when the cats do something photogenic and I'm fast enough on the trigger to catch it, and b) a link to the list of content I have done-but-not-screencapped, nearly done, partly done, or in the planning stages, and the option to suggest what ought to be in the next batch of things I focus on.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-14 11:05 pm (UTC)About not working well with double-hung windows.. that's something I always meant to see if I can fix but I don't think it can be. The mesh is pretty much right in the middle of the wall- moving it forward or back a bit MIGHT work but then it might be in the wrong place for all the other windows.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-15 05:54 am (UTC)I love these meshes, by the way-- they're perfect and versatile and awesome. I'm glad you like the recolors!