SimPose-ium (V5.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I get an error message about a skeleton file not found or failed to load?
When you unzip the downloaded file you must check the 'Use Folder Names' box on the extract dialog
- otherwise the correct directory structure doesn’t get made, and the program cannot find the files it needs.

Why do the colours on my Sim look wrong.
SimPose-ium expects your video display to be set to at least 16-bit colours. It definitely won't work in 256 (8-bit) colour.
How do I capture a Sim animation as an animated GIF?
Basically, SimPose-ium doesn’t generate animated GIF files directly, but generates all the files needed for a 3rd party tool (see links) to make the GIF.
The process is as follows:
- Use the Screen capture command on the File menu (either full or half size - explained below)
- In the file selection dialog box, select/create the name of the first image to be created. If SimPose-ium is displaying an animation, screen capture will generate a series of bitmaps - one for each frame. If you select the name XXX.bmp, the files will be called XXX0000.bmp, XXX0001.bmp etc. If the file name already ends in a number, these are stripped of and the root used (i.e. select YY008.bmp, and SimPose-ium generates YY0000.bmp, YY0001.bmp etc). It’s a good idea to create these images in an empty directory, as it can make the next step easier
- Use the 3rd party tool to import the bitmap files and create the animated GIF
It should be noticed that by default, SimPose-ium generates one image for each displayed frame (i.e. 30 for each second of animation). This can lead to BIG animated image files. Using 'half size', to get a smaller image, reduces the size of the resulting file. Also, if you select Speed *2, you get half the number of image files, and if you build the GIF at 15 frame a second, you get a normal speed image (but not such smooth movement)
- Why do I get a page fault error when starting SimPose-ium?
At a guess you have upgraded(?) to DirectX 8.0. Looking on the web, page faults on initialisation have been reported by the users of several programs, not just SimPose-ium. The best advice at the moment appears to be to ensure you have the latest version of DirectX and your graphics card's drivers.
- How do I see changes made to a skin bitmap without re-starting Sim-Pose?
- If for example you are editing a Female Head skin, then make sure you have at least two bitmap files in the GameData\TexF\Head folder before you start SimPose-ium (the one you want to edit and any other)
- Start SimPose-ium and select a Female Sim and the required head skin - so the current state appear on the SimPose-ium display
- Start your editing program, open the head skin you want to modify, edit it and save it back in GameData\TexF\Head (there is no need to close the editor or unload the edited image)
- In SimPose-ium, select a different head skin, and then reselect the skin you've just modified. Because the skin is reloaded each time it is selected, the edited version is now displayed
- You can repeat this process of editing and saving, selecting a different skin and then reselecting the required skin as many times as required.
- How do I know how big to make my background image
If you add a picture (BMP only) as a background to the display window it will automatically get scaled to fit (if its too small) or clipped to the correct size if its too big. However, if you want to make sure that the image fits the window without distortion:
- Select 'show stats' from the File menu
- Resize the window (if required) to the size you want. Note the size of the window from the data at the top of the display window - [width*height*colour-depth]
- Make the image you require the indicated width * height
- When you close and reopen SimPose it should 'remember' the size it was last set to (the central divider between the panels may need adjustment to get the display window back to precisely the correct size)


