My modded character's arms clip through their "hair"

[bazyboo]

so I'm making a character with long "hair" and I thought everything would go well because the "hair" didn't clip with the body but then I saw they the "hair" was clipping through the arms. I can't use the pigtails because their animations look wrong with the "hair"

 

the reason "hair" is in quotes is because it's on the hair layer but it's not my character's hair

 

[FerniFrenito]

Could you please upload a zip file with your character implementation, including the .scml file?

[bazyboo]

does this WIP work?

sourtail.zip

[FerniFrenito]

On 8/20/2025 at 7:39 PM, bazyboo said:

does this WIP work?

sourtail.zip 3.28 MB · 1 download

Yes. How can i replay the bug?

[bazyboo]

On 8/21/2025 at 9:49 PM, FerniFrenito said:

Yes. How can i replay the bug?

just load the character in game.

[FerniFrenito]

42 minutes ago, bazyboo said:

just load the character in game.

What happens is that in my game your mod works perfectly and I don't get the texture bug.


The only bug I have with the textures is this one, but let's take it one by one, shall we?

[bazyboo]

for me it looks as pictured above in the original post, one arm is behind the hair and sometimes the arms clip through the hair. how did you install the mod? and the bug you found... I can barely tell what's going on lmao.

[bazyboo]

I have no idea why it's different for you. it shouldn't be...

[FerniFrenito]

I know, it shouldn't be any different. I install the mod by simply placing it in the game's "mods" folder, that's all.
I don't know much about character design in this game, but from experience working with image editing programs, the difference could mean that both are on the same layer, but I don't know how to handle that. You could find a way to move the tail or ears to a further layer so they don't interfere with any other layers.

[bazyboo]

18 minutes ago, FerniFrenito said:

I know, it shouldn't be any different. I install the mod by simply placing it in the game's "mods" folder, that's all.
I don't know much about character design in this game, but from experience working with image editing programs, the difference could mean that both are on the same layer, but I don't know how to handle that. You could find a way to move the tail or ears to a further layer so they don't interfere with any other layers.

okay, we installed the mods the same way, but why are we both getting different results?

[FerniFrenito]

52 minutes ago, bazyboo said:

okay, we installed the mods the same way, but why are we both getting different results?

As I said, the problem with getting different results could be because the hand and the hair are on the same layer. So, if it's not well-defined what to show first, sometimes that's due to randomness. I suggest you see if there's a way in Spriter to move what you have on the hair layer to a lower layer that doesn't interfere with any other parts.

[Chesed]

1 hour ago, bazyboo said:

okay, we installed the mods the same way, but why are we both getting different results?

Is the version of the mod you attached to your post the same version of the mod you are looking at? The mod I downloaded from your post has absolutely no compiled assets at all, and compiling it produces the same result as the other poster - no bug. Is it possible you changed something before uploading, or sent an older version of the mod?

By the by, the other bug is happening because you have resized your canvases without updating the image resolutions in the Spriter file (sourtail.scml). I can see an example here with the headbase-1 sprite.

Doing things like this will cause sprites to become displaced or disappear. I would avoid changing the sizes of your canvases unless you absolutely have to, and update the sizes in the .scml file with a program like Notepad++ if you do.

This could be why the arm is vanishing for you in the first place, but I can't recreate the bug on my machine to tell you certainly.

(Sorry if you reply to me and I am not here, it is very late at night but I recognised the issue from the picture so I decided to try and help you narrow things down.)

Edited August 24, 2025 by Chesed

[bazyboo]

On 8/24/2025 at 7:33 PM, Chesed said:

Is the version of the mod you attached to your post the same version of the mod you are looking at? The mod I downloaded from your post has absolutely no compiled assets at all, and compiling it produces the same result as the other poster - no bug. Is it possible you changed something before uploading, or sent an older version of the mod?

By the by, the other bug is happening because you have resized your canvases without updating the image resolutions in the Spriter file (sourtail.scml). I can see an example here with the headbase-1 sprite.

Doing things like this will cause sprites to become displaced or disappear. I would avoid changing the sizes of your canvases unless you absolutely have to, and update the sizes in the .scml file with a program like Notepad++ if you do.

This could be why the arm is vanishing for you in the first place, but I can't recreate the bug on my machine to tell you certainly.

(Sorry if you reply to me and I am not here, it is very late at night but I recognised the issue from the picture so I decided to try and help you narrow things down.)

I have not heard about "compiling" yet, that would probably be very useful lmao. I edited the .scml file to fix the size issue. from what I remember I resized the head base and the pigtails however I'm reverting to using the hair layer so I'll be using a blank version of the pigtails from the template I was using (they're to default size)

On 8/24/2025 at 7:18 PM, FerniFrenito said:

As I said, the problem with getting different results could be because the hand and the hair are on the same layer. So, if it's not well-defined what to show first, sometimes that's due to randomness. I suggest you see if there's a way in Spriter to move what you have on the hair layer to a lower layer that doesn't interfere with any other parts.

unfortunately it seems like DST overrides any changes made to the .scml file as I have tried that before but it resulted in no change

btw, sorry for my late responses, I just started school

here's an updated version btw, still getting the bug lol

sourtail.zip

[bazyboo]

I hope the post didn't die lmao

[FerniFrenito]

On 8/26/2025 at 2:44 PM, bazyboo said:

I have not heard about "compiling" yet, that would probably be very useful lmao. I edited the .scml file to fix the size issue. from what I remember I resized the head base and the pigtails however I'm reverting to using the hair layer so I'll be using a blank version of the pigtails from the template I was using (they're to default size)

unfortunately it seems like DST overrides any changes made to the .scml file as I have tried that before but it resulted in no change

btw, sorry for my late responses, I just started school

here's an updated version btw, still getting the bug lol

sourtail.zip 3.29 MB · 0 downloads

To make any changes, you need to delete the "anim" folder and the generated .zip in the same folder as the .scml file. I think this is best explained in this answer

[bazyboo]

15 hours ago, FerniFrenito said:

To make any changes, you need to delete the "anim" folder and the generated .zip in the same folder as the .scml file. I think this is best explained in this answer

let me try this rq

it isn't working. the ears still have the same display problem

[FerniFrenito]

58 minutes ago, bazyboo said:

let me try this rq

it isn't working. the ears still have the same display problem

I need you to send me the .zip file that is generated when starting the game and that has the same name as your .scml file, but the one generated in the folder where the .scml is located, since the one in the "anim" folder is encrypted. Maybe reading it will give me a little more information about why the bug occurs.

[bazyboo]

On 8/29/2025 at 1:03 PM, FerniFrenito said:

I need you to send me the .zip file that is generated when starting the game and that has the same name as your .scml file, but the one generated in the folder where the .scml is located, since the one in the "anim" folder is encrypted. Maybe reading it will give me a little more information about why the bug occurs.

it starts as a non zip file when I drag it into the mod folder

sourtail.zip

[FerniFrenito]

17 hours ago, bazyboo said:

it starts as a non zip file when I drag it into the mod folder

sourtail.zip 5.79 MB · 2 downloads

nah i give up. I can't reply the bug. I'll just say something else that might be helpful to anyone reading this thread:

When you make a change, so that the game loads your change and does not stay with the previous version you need to delete 2 things:

The anim folder and...

this zip. You actually need to go into your exported folder and navigate to each folder that has a .scml file, since there will always be a zip file there. If there isn't one, then you have a problem because that texture won't be recognized in the game. What this zip file does is transform the scml file into an xml file, because the game's animations work with xml. Then, the file is encoded so the game can read it and saved in the anim folder.

I hardly understand Spriter, but I'm sure the error is related to the layers (z order).

Edited August 31, 2025 by FerniFrenito

[bazyboo]

1 hour ago, FerniFrenito said:

nah i give up. I can't reply the bug. I'll just say something else that might be helpful to anyone reading this thread:

When you make a change, so that the game loads your change and does not stay with the previous version you need to delete 2 things:

The anim folder and...

this zip. You actually need to go into your exported folder and navigate to each folder that has a .scml file, since there will always be a zip file there. If there isn't one, then you have a problem because that texture won't be recognized in the game. What this zip file does is transform the scml file into an xml file, because the game's animations work with xml. Then, the file is encoded so the game can read it and saved in the anim folder.

I hardly understand Spriter, but I'm sure the error is related to the layers (z order).

I never had that folder! this is the first time seeing that .zip file!

1 hour ago, FerniFrenito said:

nah i give up. I can't reply the bug. I'll just say something else that might be helpful to anyone reading this thread:

When you make a change, so that the game loads your change and does not stay with the previous version you need to delete 2 things:

The anim folder and...

this zip. You actually need to go into your exported folder and navigate to each folder that has a .scml file, since there will always be a zip file there. If there isn't one, then you have a problem because that texture won't be recognized in the game. What this zip file does is transform the scml file into an xml file, because the game's animations work with xml. Then, the file is encoded so the game can read it and saved in the anim folder.

I hardly understand Spriter, but I'm sure the error is related to the layers (z order).

I don't see the .xml file tho

[FerniFrenito]

17 minutes ago, bazyboo said:

I never had that folder! this is the first time seeing that .zip file!

I don't see the .xml file tho

it's inside the .zip

[bazyboo]

1 hour ago, Chesed said:

These files are created when you character sprites are compiled by the Autocompiler. 

I recommend you finish or rewatch the tutorial you're looking at and try to find the part that introduces Don't Starve Mod Tools. I think something has gone wrong with how you have set up your mod. Even your .png images have not compiled, which suggests to me that this mod isn't in your mod folder or your Autocompiler isn't working at all.

Did you at first edit a version of Esctemplate, and then make a new mod named Sourtail and move your sprites over to there? Is it possible that the character you are looking at in-game is still the Esctemplate and not actually your new mod? The only way I can explain this in my head to make sense is that there are two versions of the mod and we are looking at different ones.

By the by, I downloaded the newest version of the mod you sent and the issue with the image dimensions has been fixed. I don't know how to fix the issue with the arms. I'm only trying to help you out with the Autocompiler/understanding what is happening with your mod files.

what's the autocompiler? is it the terminal that starts up before DST boots up?

also this is the tutorial I'm using

 

[bazyboo]

6 minutes ago, Chesed said:

That's correct.

You should be seeing progress bars on the autocompiler when you make changes to your mod.

If your mod has compiled correctly, for example, the files in your "images" folder should look like the right hand side version.

Your Autocompiler must be working since you've gotten you character to appear once before to take a picture of it for the first post of the mod, which is why I'm wondering if you've somehow made a second version of the mod somehow that you are editing while looking at the first mod still. If that mod isn't compiling for some reason then that would explain why those folders aren't appearing and why these pngs haven't been compiled.

Then again, I'm having a lot of trouble actually following the conversation in the thread so forgive me if I'm misunderstanding if this is even a problem at this point.

In any case, it's very hard to troubleshoot issues like this without being able to actually look at your computer, so forgive me if I can't help you any further.

the problem is the ears rendering on the wrong layer/ arms clipping through the ears. everything is rendering correctly besides that