I've seen Bakie (from YouTube BakieGaming) make "Invisible Dance Floors" and the "Invisible Walls"; as well as the "OMSP" pegs (I'm not sure who made it. I think it's KitkatsSimporium). All of which are (obviously) invisible yet they still work as normal. So, all this to ask how I can make something have a optional invisible swatch? I'm trying to make the ice/skating rinks from Seasons have an optional invisible swatch to choose from.Thanks in advance for any help and/or advice you provide!

maybe the reply to this topic on the S4S Forums will help?http://sims4studio.com/thread/6519/invisible-objects

Thought I'd update this thread with what I've learned. I FINALLY (!!!) figured out how to make OMSPs. First, you don't need to do this with every swatch if you are intending that only one swatch be invisible. For the invisible swatch, follow this tutorial to add and enable "alpha blended." https://sims4studio.com/thread/1037/make-object-transparency-add-alpha?page=1Then, and again, this is only necessary for the invisible swatch, change the shader to "phong alpha." Lastly, use a blank png texture file for the invisible swatch. I found that by doing things this way I am able to interact with my object when it's invisible. HOWEVER, I did some testing just now and found that if I simply changed the shader to "phong alpha" on my invisible swatch and didn't add "alpha blended", I was able to interact with my OMSP once it was invisible. This makes me wonder if the most recent patch fixed things. Hope this helps :smile:

Well, I took a look at the skating and ice rinks and they have lights and sound attached. If you made the rink invisible, whether by replacing the meshes with empty meshes or whether by enabling alpha transparency and using a texture with an alpha channel for your invisible swatch (which, at first glance, would be likely the best method if you want both a visible and invisible swatch) there is still the issue of the light source and speakers for the music. If you made the rink invisible you would have a light source just sort of hanging out, phantom-like. You could perhaps edit the light source so that it's so small it's almost invisible. I haven't done this myself but here's an excellent discussion on how to edit a light source: https://sims4studio.com/thread/1451/light-source-solved?page=2&scrollTo=21199 You could even try removing the light source altogether but I have no idea whether doing so would bork things. Generally, I think it's not a good idea to delete things. As for the speakers, wouldn't you need to have something visible so that you can click on it in order to turn on/off the music and/or change the music? That issue would require some thought...and likely some outside help. If I were you I'd post your question at Sims4Studio.com. They are wonderful over there. Edit: Looks like you can actually remove a light source from something. The tutorial is here: https://sims4studio.com/thread/882/mini-tutorial-remove-light-lamp?page=1

Have you managed to create an invisible skating rink? If so, would you mind sharing it with me?I'm searching for one right now but there seems to be no cc for that.

Bumping because I, too, am having issues with making items invisible.

How do I make an object invisible but still functional?

19 Replies

wlazlkotek
3 years ago
I believe Ravasheen made invisible skate and roller rinks
https://ravasheen.com/download/cheapskate-roller-ice-rink-set/
I haven't tested it, because for me it is unimportant in my game. I use OSMP shelves though :)
mcrudd
Legend
3 years ago
"susannesims;c-17930504" wrote:
Hmm, wonder if this will come in useful with Cottage living *ahem* Llama and Cow shed *ahem*

I did it one month later in August 2021 ;)
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/992682/i-build-a-barn-for-my-cow-then-an-invisible-animal-shed-lol
I shared my whole journey while doing it too lol. Only saw this now though :/
LolaBelleSims
4 years ago
"DarkFoxGirl13;c-17915596" wrote:
"ilovescampers;c-17913780" wrote:
Just posting to say I FINALLY finished that tutorial I said I was going to write. All of the details are here, in this post: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/990992/i-made-a-tutorial-on-how-to-give-a-skating-rink-an-invisible-swatch/p1?new=1

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this tutorial AND the invisible rinks wee wanted!!!

You are welcome. I hope the tutorial helps.
Susannembryhni
5 years ago
Hmm, wonder if this will come in useful with Cottage living *ahem* Llama and Cow shed *ahem*
DarkFoxGirl13
New Spectator
5 years ago
"ilovescampers;c-17913780" wrote:
Just posting to say I FINALLY finished that tutorial I said I was going to write. All of the details are here, in this post: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/990992/i-made-a-tutorial-on-how-to-give-a-skating-rink-an-invisible-swatch/p1?new=1

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this tutorial AND the invisible rinks wee wanted!!!
LolaBelleSims
5 years ago
Just posting to say I FINALLY finished that tutorial I said I was going to write. All of the details are here, in this post: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/990992/i-made-a-tutorial-on-how-to-give-a-skating-rink-an-invisible-swatch/p1?new=1
LolaBelleSims
5 years ago
Alrighty, boys and girls, I figured it out! I'm going to write up a tutorial on what to do in a new post tomorrow or the next day (It's really late, right now) and I'll provide a link to the finished product as well.
LolaBelleSims
5 years ago
"drakharis;c-17852398" wrote:
The way I would do it is by adjusting the object's opacity to where it is still there but "invisible".

You mean with the texture's alpha layer? I'm not sure what you're talking about and I'm not sure what else I can do to the textures to change things. I can't remember now, but I think I even tried using a blank specular and/or bump map but that didn't do anything. I thought about changing the shader on the shadow mesh. I don't know. I'm out of ideas--I've only got bad ideas at this point--and I don't know why altering the shadow mesh breaks the rigging. I don't know enough about rigging to do anything about it.
drakharis
5 years ago
The way I would do it is by adjusting the object's opacity to where it is still there but "invisible".
LolaBelleSims
5 years ago
I'm not sure what you mean about fixing the light issue. I didn't do anything with the lights, actually. I just wanted you to be aware that you'll have to decide whether or not you wanted to keep the light as you can't have a light source for the visible swatch and no light source for the invisible swatch. Whatever you choose will affect both swatches. If it were me making the choice I'd say eliminate the light source. You can always use a lamp if you need light. Note that deleting the light source altogether might bork things--I'd have to run some tests to see--but I think it's possible to at least minimize the light source so that it's still there but you can't see in in-game.

I'm still experimenting with all this, and I might have to reach out to Sims4Studio.com for help (seriously, they are awesome over there) but it appears that altering the shadow mesh in any way is what causes the sim to float in the air. I've no idea why. It's hard to see, but there are shadows that are showing up when the rink is invisible and I'm not sure what's causing it. I think it's the shadow mesh, but if I alter the shadow mesh then the animation issue shows up. AARGH! And I've got, like, five projects I'm working on so I'm not sure how much time I can devote to figuring this out.

https://i.imgur.com/8rKPrg1.png