Issue with reflective skintones

[marvine]

Since I installed Pets and Seasons - both on the same day, but I guess Pets is responsible for this - the face of skintones using an envcube has lost it's reflectivity and the colour is weird.
I was able to fix that only by changing the material definition in the character files to SimStandardMaterial; doing this in the file of saved sims doesn't seem to have any effect, the material definition still reverts to SimSkin in the character file when putting the sim in game.
I could still live with that, but I'd need to share a sim using a reflective skintone and not all users will want or be able to edit the character file; the biggest issue though is that when you do that, the sim will use the eyes of the skintone instead of any custom ones.

Um, was this clear, and would anybody have any idea about how to fix that? I mean, in the best of cases keep the face's reflectivity without any SimPE editing by the end user, or else find settings to make custom eyes that would apply over it?

[witch]

I haven't a clue what you just said, but would seeing a working reflective skintone help you any? I have some of those I've downloaded, thought I must confess I haven't tried them in a few expansions.

[Ayslhyn]

Those shiny custom skintones look horrible in my game whatever I do. Sims sporting them look as if they have dipped their faces in lard then added some luminous flour for good measure.

Mind I am using a mac so what do I know?

[akatonbo]

Those shiny custom skintones look horrible in my game whatever I do. Sims sporting them look as if they have dipped their faces in lard then added some luminous flour for good measure.

Mind I am using a mac so what do I know?

I'm pretty sure Marvine is actually referring to METALLIC skintones -- i.e. those meant to make a Sim look like a robot made out of highly polished silver-toned metal. Not the ones with the shiny shiny cheeks.

[witch]

That's what I thought too, I have three of those but they are easily found at MTS2.

[marvine]

Yes, the metallic looking skintones are what I mean - no problem until Pets and Seasons, and now the effect is lost on the face when importing the finished sim in game.
It looks ok in CAS, wrong in family CAS and in game. It's also wrong on sims that displayed properly before I installed these EPs.
What I found is that the SimSkin type of material is applied to the face in the character file, when the envcube (the additional texture used for the reflections) needs the SimStandardMaterial to work (but then how did it work before? The settings surely weren't changed in already exixting sims?). Changing this is not a big deal, but it looks like it messes with the layering - for the eyes in particular, but I think the same will happen with makeup - so I'm stuck.

I'm aware that Pets changed things with the materials and the layering, and I can't think of a workaround; and yes, I'd be interested to know it somebody who has Pets and Seasons happens to have one of these skintones working properly in game, in which case the issue could be with my video card.

[witch]

I'll pop one in tonight, I want to play my cyberhood, will let you know.

[marvine]

Thanks a bunch

[witch]

Sorry mate, I remembered I said I'd try them, well now I can't find them. So sorry, no idea how they go ingame. I tried searching MTS2 - I seem to remember it was Binky something, but I'm not even sure where I got mine, it was way back in the dim days of the beginning of sims 2.

[notveryawesome]

I found the creator of those robotic and transparent skins. Here's a link to his profile on MTS2:

http://modthesims2.com/member/Bink13y

[witch]

Thanks. I actually did do several searches, in main, in sims, in sci-fi - gawd their search sucks. I did search on Binky but not realising the number came in the middle of it. Sheesh.

Anyway, you must be an awesome searcher. 

It'll have to be tomorrow night now.

[J. M. Pescado]

Thanks. I actually did do several searches, in main, in sims, in sci-fi - gawd their search sucks. I did search on Binky but not realising the number came in the middle of it. Sheesh.

See, now you recognize the wisdom in banning number-names, yes?

[notveryawesome]

Anyway, you must be an awesome searcher. 

Nah, not awesome (hence the screen-name), just a good memory. I used to have robotic vampires in my game, via a default replacement found at MTS2. I remembered that it used the robot skin from bink13y, and the thread included a link to the original robot-skin thread, so I did a search for 'vampire.' Convoluted, yes, but it worked.

Edited to insert quote.

[witch]

Thanks. I actually did do several searches, in main, in sims, in sci-fi - gawd their search sucks. I did search on Binky but not realising the number came in the middle of it. Sheesh.

See, now you recognize the wisdom in banning number-names, yes?

You must be psychic, I thought, 'I bet that's why JM bans names with numbers!'

[marvine]

Just to let you know - the issue was confirmed by several other people.
I still didn't find a perfect workaround - okay, I'm not a real modder, but the chances there is one really don't look too good.
Well there are other things to play with... *sigh*

Thank you for replying and trying to help anyway