Skinning in The Sims 2

The Sims 2 has two major changes to the craft of skinning: the size of the texture files and the way the clothing is organized.

The user will be able to go into camera mode and zoom in on the characters from any angle, so the texture files contain a lot more detail. To really impress their fans, skinners will be challenged to render a whole new dimension of subtle details. The seams, pockets, and belt loops in the cargo pants worn by this sim gives us a clue as to just how much detail we will be able to include.

Instead of having to put an entire outfit into a skin, clothing articles and accessories in The Sims 2 are separated. Players can mix and match their characters' shirts and pants, so if you want to represent an entire new outfit you will have to make separate skins for each article.

We expect that having the clothing and accessories separated from the body skin will make things easier for skinners. With each article of clothing being an isolated item, will have less difficulty mapping the details onto the mesh. However, the amount of detail required to make a skin look really good might add a new set of tasks to the process of designing and making a new skin.

As with The Sims, you will need a good image editor such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to make nice-looking skins for The Sims 2.

Instead of a single head mesh, the new game has the hair mesh separated from the head-and-face mesh. It's not clear whether a sims' body is a single integrated mesh as they are in The Sims, or whether an article of clothing has its own mesh. Either approach has its advantages for game play and use of computer resources.

We don't know what how difficult it will be to add custom meshes to the game. As soon as we know for sure, we'll provide you with an update. We expect there will be some better information even before the game comes out because Electronic Arts intends to release The Sims 2 Body Shop ahead of the game, in May 2004.

For more information about the tools we might be using to make things for The Sims 2, see our essays on Tools for Artists.