SimPose-ium: Menus

File

About 

  

Details of the program's version etc. 

Speed 

(Various) 

Select the speed at which animations are run: normal, speed up or down by a factor of two or four, and Single Step (i.e. freeze until space bar pressed) 

Step 

  

Advance animation if in Single Step mode 

Options 

Show Blend 

When checked, joint blending is used - really added so I could see the effect during development - normally leave checked 

Show Stats 

Show performance data in the 3D window (or the title bar after v9.0). The first number is the Frame rate (frame/second), the next three the size of the 3D window (in pixels) and colour depth (in bits). The final number is the free time between the end of rendering one frame and the start of rendering the next. 

Show directories in droplist

In the character page droplists, preceding the file names by a number that indicates which folder the file is in. If there is a  *  before the file name, the file is in a game archive (FAR) in the indicated folder.

Show directory list

List the folders searched for mesh and texture files and their associated number as shown in the 'show directory in drop-list' command above.

Use old slider order  

When checked, affects the action of the sliders on the Character page so they operate as V5.1 and earlier  

Advanced graphics options See FAQ "why do the colours on my Sim look wrong on the screen"?
Add file search path Add a folder to the list that SimPose if searches for mesh and texture files at program start. See FAQ "How can I   use the meshes, textures and animation loaded with the game"?
Delete path Remove a folder from the list that SimPose searches at program start.
Delete all paths Delete the entire list of folders that SimPose searches (it will always look in the GameData folder below the folder in which the SimPose executable is located).
Reload file lists 

Forces the program to re-read the …\GameData folder structure, so any files added since the program started become available for selection from the droplists 

Reset Camera/Lights defaults Restore default camera positions, lighting, and colours.
Reset world offset Remove any global rotation or translation added to a scene (removes the effects of the world rotate and world translate joint controls)

Capture Image 

  

Save the current 3D display as BMP file (either full size or half-size). Use the standard Windows file selector to identify the file to be created. If the 3D window is displaying an animation, a series of BMP files will be created. If the file name selected is xxx.bmp, the series will be xxx0000.bmp, xxx0001.bmp etc. See the FAQ for more information 

Exit - No Save   Exit the program without saving the data needed for reloading the current state on restart. The next time SimPose starts it will start in the same state as it did for the current run.

Exit 

  

Exit the program and save its internal state to be recovered on restart.

 

Static

New Pose Library 

Create a pose library with two entries - the default pose for an adult and child Sim. Up to four libraries can be loaded at any time. When four libraries are loaded, New causes the currently selected library to be replaced.

Load Pose Library 

Reload a pose library, previously saved by one of the following commands. Up to four libraries can be loaded at any time. When four libraries are loaded, loading causes the currently selected library to be replaced.

Save Pose Library 

Save the current pose library (overwriting the file it was loaded from) 

Save Pose Library As 

Save the current pose library to a file - user asked to select location 

Select Pose Library When more than one pose library is loaded, select the one to be used as the current library from a list
Rename Pose Library Change the name of a pose library (defaults to the file name). The name is used in the library selection list and is displayed in the SimPose Windows title bar.

Select Pose 

The user is presented with a dialog including a droplist of all the poses named in the current library. One of these should be selected and OK pressed. The controlled Sim will move into that pose.

In V5.0 and after, the library keeps child and adult poses separately, so the droplist will only contain poses appropriate for the currently selected Sim. If a library created by V4.0 (or earlier) is loaded, then all poses in that library are displayed for both children and adults.

The Subset droplist contains a named set of joint subsets (by default only All is defined). The selected pose is only applied to the joints in the selected subset. To create a new subset, click add. This displays a list of all the Sim's joints. Select all those that are to be included in the subset and give it a name (e.g. select all arm, hand and finger joints, and the neck and head and call it UpperBody). Subsets are saved with the pose library. 

Save Pose to Library 

The controlled Sim's current pose is saved to the pose library. The pose selection dialog is presented to the user. If the user selects a pose name (+OK), that pose is updated in the library (the default poses cannot be changed). If the Add Pose button is pressed, the user is asked for a name for the pose (must be unique), and a new pose is added to the library.

This command works in any display mode (static, keyframe or CFP animation). If not static, the pose saved is that at the selected 'adjust time' 

 

Key Frame

See the notes on keyframe animation

Load Keyframe Animation 

Load a keyframe animation from a file and apply to the currently selected Sim 

Save Keyframe Animation 

If the currently selected Sim is performing a keyframe animation, modify the animation previously 'Load'ed, else acts as SaveAs 

Save Keyframe Animation As 

If the currently selected Sim is performing a keyframe animation, save the animation to a named file. If its performing a CFP animation, the user is asked howmany keyframes are required, and the CFP animation is sampled that many time to create the keyframe animation.

New Animation: Bounce 

Make a new keyframe animation and apply it to the currently selected Sim. The user is asked for the length of the animation sequence (in frames, at 30frames/second) and the LinkFrame (from the pose library). Keyframes are created at the start/end of the sequence and the mid-point. Note: because the same pose is used at the start, end and mid points, the animation doesn’t appear to be doing anything, until a joint is moved. 

New Animation: Translate 

Make a new keyframe animation and apply it to the currently selected Sim. The user is asked for the length of the animation sequence (in frames, at 30frames/second) and the start/end LinkFrames (from the pose library). Keyframes are created at the start and end of the sequence and the mid-point. Note: if the same pose is used at the start and end, the animation doesn’t appear to be doing anything, until a joint is moved. 

Add Keyframe 

If the currently selected Sim is performing a keyframe animation, the user is asked for a time (in frames) and optionally a pose from the library. If no keyframe exists at the indicated time, one is added, otherwise the existing keyframe is modified. If a library pose is selected, the Sim moved to that position at the indicated time, otherwise the keyframe is set as the interpolation between the preceding and following keyframes (i.e. no immediately visible effect, but the pose at that time can now be adjusted) 

Move Keyframe 

If the currently selected Sim is performing a keyframe animation, the user is asked for the new location (in time) of the keyframe selected by the AnimationTime droplist. The keyframe is moved to that time. Note: a keyframes cannot be reordered this way, i.e. a keyframe cannot  be moved to or before the preceding keyframe or to or after the next keyframe. 

Scale Keyframe 

If the currently selected Sim is performing a keyframe animation, the user is asked for a new sequence length (in frames) and the animation speeded up or slowed down to fit the new length   

Convert to CFP 

Converts the current keyframe animation to the CFP format used by TheSims game.

 

Animation

Load CFP Animation 

Select the required animation from a list of animations identified during the search for mesh and texture files at program start.

Load animation from file In a file selection dialog, the user selects the CMX (or cmx.bcf) file that points to the animation (cfp) file required. Some CMX files link to multiple CFP files, in this case the user is asked to select the animation required 

Save CFP Animation 

If the animation was loaded with 'Load CFP animation', the CFP file alone is updated. Otherwise the effect is the same as 'Save CFP Animation As' 

Save CFP Animation As The user is invited to select/create a CMX file. Both a CMX and CFP file are created with the same name (but obviously different extensions) 

Trim Animation 

Truncated the current animation to the limits set with the animation timeline control.

 

Props/ Hands

Change Left hand 

The user is presented with a dialog, in which they can select the mesh and texture to be used as the controlled Sim's left hand. 

Change Right hand 

The user is presented with a dialog, in which they can select the mesh and texture to be used as the controlled Sim's right hand. 

Clear Props 

Any props attached to the controlled Sim are removed.  

Add Prop 

The user is presented with a dialog, in which they can select the mesh and texture of a prop to be added to the controlled Sim. There is a limit on the total number of props that can be added to any one Sim - currently set as 4. 

 

Import/Export

These have been added to enable new 'props' (hats, carried objects etc) to be generated - see the notes on creating new props

Export OBJ 

The currently selected Sim, with any attached props, is exported as a Wavefront 3D object. 

Import OBJ 

A Wavefront 3D object is imported and attached to the currently selected Sim as a prop 

Export Head SKN 

The currently selected Sim's head mesh is exported as a SKN file - could be used for example to convert a mesh loaded as a binary bmf file to a skn, so it can be displayed by SimShow 

Export Body SKN 

 as above - for the body mesh 

Export Left-hand SKN 

 as above for the left hand mesh 

Export Right-hand SKN 

 as above for the right hand mesh 

Export Prop SKN 

The mesh of the first prop attached to the currently selected Sim is exported as a SKN file. This is useful, as the prop may have been created by 'Import OBJ' 

 

Help

About

 Program version data.

Help

 Display the help file in a browser window.

Diagnostics

 Used for program development and diagnostics.