Costume Shop
v 1.00
Designed and Programmed by Dr Pixel <drpixel@theblarneystone.org>

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:

I am in no way responsible for anything that happens to anybody at any time  ;)

This includes, but is not limited to, the use of this program.

Don't let that scare you, this program will NOT alter the contents of your
Costume Trunk in any way, and it has been tested.

However, nothing is perfect, there may be bugs - if you find any, please
let me know.
===================================================

Installation:

This program only works on Windows PC systems.

Requirements:
You must have The Sims game installed, and also the House Party expansion pack.
Other than that, if your computer will run the Sims, you're all set.

Just unzip the program wherever you want
If you want to be able to refer to this file while the program is running,
also unzip this readme into the same folder.
That's it - no other files are needed.
To un-install, just delete the folder - nothing is left behind in the registry or
anywhere else to cause problems.

=======================================================

Using:

* Select the costume type in the top right selector by clicking on the small arrow
  at the right side -
  The choices are Men, Women, Boy, and Girl costumes.
  Changing this selector will reset all the other lists, so it's best to
  make your choice here to start with.

* Below this is a selector where you can choose the type of clothing 
  that you want the skins converted to.  The choices here depend on
  which expansions you have installed.
  You will always be able to choose "Normal" clothing
  
  If you have any expansions that allow "buyable" clothing you can to convert to:
  Swimsuit
  Pajamas
  Formal (adults only)

  If you have Vacation, you can convert to Winter clothing

  If you have SuperStar you can convert to High Fashion (adults only)
  
  This selector can be changed at any time without affecting anything else.

* Below these is the main skin listing - here you will see the names of all skins
  of the selected type that are available.
  You can browse through this list by clicking with your mouse, and by using 
  the up/down arrow keys.  
  As you go, you will see the flat bmp of the skin shown at the top left of the window.
  You can also select multiple files the same as you do in Windows Explorer lists.
  The Add button above this list will add all selected files to the "Shopping Cart" list
  on the left side.  You can also add files by using your "+" key.
  Files that are already in the "Shopping Cart" have a "@" symbol next to the filename.

* If you look at the numbers on the bmp's, it may seem that some are missing.  This is
  not a bug - some of the outfits in the Costume Trunk are, in fact, exact duplicates.
  For example, there are several duplicates of the same black man's tux in the trunk.
  Blame Maxis for this, not me  ;)
  I have set Costume Shop to ignore these duplicates.
  There are also two "bonus" skins in the Costume Trunk that Maxis put in there, but they
  will never show up in the game.  I think these were preliminary versions of the skins
  that got in there by mistake.  There is a light female disco outfit, and a dark male
  luau outfit, you can recognize these because they do not have a skin colour in the
  name of the bmp.   Although these won't be used in the game, Costume Shop does
  recognize them, and will properly convert them so you can use them in your game.

* The "Shopping Cart" list on the left shows all the files that will be converted when you
  click the "Convert" button.  
  You can add as many files as you like to this list before converting. 
  Keep in mind that they will all be converted to the same clothing type.
  You can use the Remove button to remove the selected file from this list.
  You can also the "-" key to remove the selected file.
  The left and right arrows can be used to jump back and forth between the lists.

* Finally, the main feature - the Convert button.
  When you click this, all the files in your "Shopping Cart" will be converted 
  to the clothing type you have selected at the top.
  Note that the clothing type is completely up to you. 
  - if you have a bunch of formals in the Shopping Cart and have selected Swimsuit
  you will wind up with a silly-looking set of swimsuit skins, so be careful.

* When you OK the conversion, you will get a standard Windows "Browse for Folder" window
  where you can choose a folder to save the converted skins into.
  It will first come up with your  "The Sims\Gamedata\Skins\" folder shown.
  If you simply want to put the skins into your game, just OK this.
  If you'd rather save them in a different folder, choose it before clicking OK.

  NOTE:  Do NOT put the converted skins into your SkinsBuy\ folder - this can cause
  problems.  All skins should go into the Gamedata\Skins\ folder.
  
  You may notice that the converted files have some odd-looking names and numbers.
  This is done to make sure they do not interfere with any existing skins you may have,
  nor with each other.
  
  Don't worry, they will work fine in the game.

* If you are using these skins for skinning purposes, just give your new .bmp the same
  ID part (the part before the "_" in the name) and a new name (the part after the "_")
  Do NOT change the names of the .cmx or .skn files.
  If you are going to distribute these skins, you must also include both the .cmx and
  .skn file with your .bmp's or the skins will not work for other people.  
  
* Please let me know if there are any problems.  Have fun  :)

 