I made some hats....

[Tarman]

Hi,
I actually made some hats, not bad for a 1st attempt and they showed up in the game! They're not the greatest but I'm sure I will get better with practice. I wanted to share them right away. Look for FancyhatsATS.zip. look below at my next post for the correct file, the one attached here is wrong.

[TroyHepfner]

Nice job! I looked at the image file, and it was a good first attempt. I couldn't get it to load in the game for me, though - at least not on the Linux version. The game's log file, fclog.txt, said:
Unknown tag: <NAME>fancyats</NAME>

Looks like you forgot to put spaces between the tags and values, like this:
<NAME> fancyats </NAME>

Good first try, though! :)

[Tarman]

My husband helped me fix it and here is the correct file the hats show up now in the game. Could you delete my first file off here so no one else gets the wrong file please? Thank You

[TroyHepfner]

I tried to remove the attachment, but couldn't figure out how. It may not be possible. However, you can edit your original post and add a sentence to tell folks to look for the updated file below.

By the way, this one loaded into the game fine for me! Good job!

[AlleyCat]

Very cool, Tarman! You're the first one to make it all the way through the instructions and produce something new! Good for you! Thanks for sharing! :)

I think the hat outline needs to be thicker, tho. This is something I just learned too. I was making a skirt, and when I shrunk it, the outline nearly disappeared. It was so faint. So I went back and made the outline thicker, using the doll's line thickness as a guide. That worked much better.

Troy, maybe you can update the instructions to mention this? Thanks!

[TroyHepfner]

Troy, maybe you can update the instructions to mention this? Thanks!

Done!

And I figured out how to update an attachment. Edit your post, click the "Go Advanced" button, click the dropdown arrow next to the paper clip (attachments) button, and click on "Manage Attachments" from the dropdown menu. This takes you to a screen where you can remove your original attachment and upload a new one.

[jadeyes41]

Hello Troy!!

This is fantastic! Thank You for such a wonderful idea!!

I have a question, Are the instructions just for drawing hats?
Because I made a top but I don't know if it's going to fit the doll because I don't know if the measure % of scaling that you used for the hat will be the same for the other items.

I used Macromedia Freehand to design the top and then imported the image to GIMP!

Thanks,
jadeyes

[TroyHepfner]

Excellent question! The instructions can be used to draw any clothing items for the game. You can draw hats, tops, bottoms, shoes, dresses, or any of the accessory types (glasses, handbags, shoulder strap purses, pets, jewelry, or scarves). I just did a hat as an example. The instructions for drawing, scaling, measuring, etc all apply to any kind of clothing item you want to create.

When you get to the step where you are creating the descriptor file, you'll specify the type that matches the kind of clothing item that you made, so that the game knows how to play it. The different types are listed in the table under the TYPE tag.

[jadeyes41]

Thank you Troy,

It means then that when I get to the scaling part I always have to introduce 215 pixels in the height, independently of what item I'm creating? Because I did that with a top and to me it looks a little bit big for the doll! Maybe I did something wrong, I'm going to try again!

Thanks,

jadeyes41

[TroyHepfner]

You said you were using Macromedia Freehand and then importing into GIMP? It's difficult to troubleshoot the problem when I'm not sure what steps you're following, but I will try. Were you drawing your new top on the doll in the model.png file, or were you drawing a top all by itself? I found that drawing a clothing item independent of the doll makes it difficult to scale it properly - lots of trial and error. By drawing into the model.png file and then erasing the doll, your item is guaranteed to scale properly when you scale the image to 215 pixels in height (because the model.png file is perfectly proportional to the doll in the game).

If you are drawing into the model.png file, are you sure that Macromedia Freehand isn't somehow scaling the image or changing it in some way? I'm not familiar with that program, so I don't know. Maybe you can e-mail me a copy of the resulting image from Macromedia Freehand - the one you're importing into GIMP - so I can see what you've got...

[jadeyes41]

Yes I'm using the model.png file.

Where can I email you the file?


jadeyes41

[jadeyes41]

Hello Troy,

Attached please find the file!

Let me know what you think!

[jadeyes41]

Hello Troy,

I'm working on a hat too.

Before I keep on it, could oyu check if it's going to work! In terms of size!

Thanks,

jadeyes41

[jadeyes41]

Good morning Troy,

I think I know what happened! When I created the hat in Macromedia Freehand I exported the hat with an alpha channel, but just the hat, I didn't included the blue rectangle that represent the doll. It means that when I scaled it in GIMP, I just scaled the hat. That is why it was so big! I redid it, but this time using the blue rectangle and the measuremets where exactly the ones you mentioned in the instructions. I have to check though, the .dat file because the hats doesn't appear in the game! I used 3 colors in the majority of the hats, will that have anything to do with the non appearance of the hats in tha game? Please let me know!

This is so interesting, because it let us peek at alllllllllll!!!!!!!! the work involved in the design of the game!

Thanks,

jadeyes41

[TroyHepfner]

Yes, I was going to say that it looked like you had cropped the image in Macromedia Freehand first. You definitely need to scale the image before cutting out the hat, so that it scales properly.

As for the items not showing up in the game, it certainly does depend on what colors you used. As you know, some colors don't show up until later levels in the game. Still, the white version of your item should show up in any level. You can look in the Fashion Cents Deluxe log file to see if there were any import errors. The file is fclog.txt, and you can refer to Part IV in the instructions to see where to find it. Search the file for your .dat file name.

Also, if you want, you can e-mail me the .dat file at info AT mygamecompany DOT com, and I will take a look at it for you. Send the corresponding image file, too, so I can double-check the information in your .dat file.

[AlleyCat]

Those look great, jadeyes41! Can't wait to get ahold of them and add them to my game!! :D

[jadeyes41]

Hi Troy,

Thanks for your time. I'm sending the file right now.
Hope to hear from you soon

Jadeyes41

[jadeyes41]

Those look great, jadeyes41! Can't wait to get ahold of them and add them to my game!! :D
Thank you Alleycat!:)

As soon as I have them ready, I'll upload them!!!!':D

[jadeyes41]

Yes, I was going to say that it looked like you had cropped the image in Macromedia Freehand first. You definitely need to scale the image before cutting out the hat, so that it scales properly.

As for the items not showing up in the game, it certainly does depend on what colors you used. As you know, some colors don't show up until later levels in the game. Still, the white version of your item should show up in any level. You can look in the Fashion Cents Deluxe log file to see if there were any import errors. The file is fclog.txt, and you can refer to Part IV in the instructions to see where to find it. Search the file for your .dat file name.

Also, if you want, you can e-mail me the .dat file at info AT mygamecompany DOT com, and I will take a look at it for you. Send the corresponding image file, too, so I can double-check the information in your .dat file.
Hello Troy,

Sent the file already. Did you received it?

thanks

jadeyes41

[TroyHepfner]

Yeah, I e-mailed you back. Didn't you get my response? Basically, there's additional text in the .dat file that shouldn't be there. What program did you use to create it?

[VictoriaHepfner]

Hi jadeyes41

You are quite an artist! I love the items you created. I'm looking forward to seeing them in the game. I hope that you are able to figure out what needs to be done to get them scaled for the game. :) Keep up the good work. Your pieces are inspiring. I hope that I will be able to create something nice for the game!

[VictoriaHepfner]

Hi Tarman

Thanks for being the first to share your creations. You did great for your first attempt - especially when you see my first attempt. If you read my blog, you know what I meant about the "Etch-a-sketch" effect. Keep up the good work and keep posting your progress. This is going to be fun!

[jadeyes41]

Yeah, I e-mailed you back. Didn't you get my response? Basically, there's additional text in the .dat file that shouldn't be there. What program did you use to create it?
Hello Troy!!!


Yes I received the response. I redid the whole .dat file but still the items doesn't appear in the game. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!:( I've sent the new ones to you via email, in case you wanted to check them. Help!!!

[jadeyes41]

Hi jadeyes41

You are quite an artist! I love the items you created. I'm looking forward to seeing them in the game. I hope that you are able to figure out what needs to be done to get them scaled for the game. :) Keep up the good work. Your pieces are inspiring. I hope that I will be able to create something nice for the game!
Good Afternoon Victoria,


Thank you! I just love this game soooooo much! It gives me the opportunity to dress the girls. I'm still working with the file, hope that I can make it work soon! Because I have a some ideas that will like to try !

jadeyes41

[TroyHepfner]

Actually, it worked for me. I just sent you a couple of screenshots to prove it. As you'll see, some of your measurements are a bit off, but a few tweaks to your .dat file should fix that. Looks good!

[jadeyes41]

Actually, it worked for me. I just sent you a couple of screenshots to prove it. As you'll see, some of your measurements are a bit off, but a few tweaks to your .dat file should fix that. Looks good!
HEy!!

I saw the screenshots they look cool!!! As you said, needs tweaking but I'll work with that!!

Stil I haven't been able to make it work for me. I didn't realized I had to modify the addons.txt file. What do I have to do to it? By the way I'm using Mac!

Thanks for all the help,support and patience!!!!!!!. You ARE fantastic!!!!

jadeyes41

[TroyHepfner]

Glad to help. I think you're pioneering this for everyone else! :)

To edit the addons.txt file, you should be able to just use the same program that you used to create the .dat file.

[jadeyes41]

Glad to help. I think you're pioneering this for everyone else! :)

To edit the addons.txt file, you should be able to just use the same program that you used to create the .dat file.
Good afternoon Troy,

Did everything and now the hats appear in the game but are invisible!!! Whenever one of the hats "appear" something funny happens to the shopping bag!

I tweaked the .dat file to correct the width. Sent them to you via email in case you wanted to test them.

Thakns again for your help and patience!!!

jadeyes41

[TroyHepfner]

No problem. If the hats appear invisible, that's a good clue that the image size is wrong. In your case, the image size was 512x33. If you make it 512x32, it works fine.

[jadeyes41]

No problem. If the hats appear invisible, that's a good clue that the image size is wrong. In your case, the image size was 512x33. If you make it 512x32, it works fine.
Hello Troy!

I'm ecstatic!!! It worked fantastically!!! They look as my daughter said, COOL!!!
I learned from all my mistakes and will be working in some new designs tomorrow.
You are THE BEST!!!
Thank you for being so patient with me!!!! I appreciate it!!

jadeyes41

[Tarman]

very glad to see you got them fixed and working, I'd love to try them if you wish to share them.

Thanks,
Ann