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Hi!
I am often asked certain questions about downloading files, saving files, where did I get a certain file, etc. I have compiled a rather LONG ReadMe below that can be quite useful. Read the part that you need and then keep the file as a reference.
stephanie b's readme
contact: sboasisinc@yahoo.com
This README is not law. I do not guarantee that any or all of these things work. I just know what works for me. Hope you find some inspiration in this novel. LOL!
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This readme includes the following information:
1. FILE EXTENSIONS: A DESCRIPTION
2. ZIPPED FILES: A DESCRIPTION (OF SORTS)
3. SIM FILE TYPES AND WHERE TO PLACE THEM
A. Includes info on Walls, Floors, Roofs and Objects
B. Objects include Skins, Furniture, Sim Site Downloads and Houses
4. WALL TIPS AND DESIGN
5. HOUSE TIPS AND DESIGN
6. ABOUT SIMPLORER (SIMEXPLORER) AND BLUEPRINT
7. SUBMITTING FILES TO OTHER SITES
8. CARS IN THE SIMS
9. GARAGE DOORS
10. CREATING A POND OR LAKE
11. CREATING A SAND LOOK WITH TERRAIN TOOL
12. CREATING BALCONIES
13. OTHER USEFUL "CHEATS" FOR DESIGNING
14. GAME CRASHES (GENERAL)
15. FASTER LOADING TIPS
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SECTION 1 -
File Extensions: A Description
A file extension tells what kind of file you have. File extensions (when made visible) can be found behind the name of the file. Ex. If a file is called "House01.IFF" - then IFF is the file extension.
A few of the file extensions for Simming include:
.IFF (houses, Downtown lots, Vacation lots or objects)
.WLL (wall files) Word Addin File...(an automatic loading file)
.FLR (floor files)
.BMP (roofs or skin images)
.SKN and .CMX (skin files)
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SECTION 2 -
Zipped Files: A Description (of sorts)
Zipped files compress the size of files to make them smaller for file sharing or storing. You must have a program to unzip zipped files. The program I use is Winzip. It can be downloaded offline from http://www.winzip.com/ . Be sure to download the evaluation version. The evaluation version of Winzip is shareware (which means you can use it for a limited time and then if you like it you have the option of purchasing a complete version). Newer versions of Windows (i.e. Millenium) come with its ownn compression agent.
Most (but not all) Sim sites zip their files for downloading. Winzip can be used to unzip these compressed files. When I download a zipped file, I save it on my desktop and then extract the files into a folder on my desktop. You can extract the files by creating a folder on your desktop and then double clicking on Winzip, Select all and then Drag and drop the files from Winzip into the folder you created on your desktop. Then I place the different types of files into the correct folders (i.e., .wll are place in the Sims Walls folder, .flr are placed in the Sims Floor folder, etc.) Details are below as to where to place files. :) When you unzip files using Winzip, my suggestion is to create a folder on your desktop and then unzip (extract) all files into that folder. Then, using the information below on where to place files, put all files in the correct folder.
Some people prefer to extract the files directly into the folder where they belong. You use this by clicking on the file in winzip, finding extract to and extracting (moving) the file in the folder it is supposed to go into. At times (for some strange reason) this method does not work like it is supposed to. The choice is yours.
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SECTION 3 -
PLACING FILES IN THE GAME
Here is what I do with files to keep my game running smoothly:
The Sims games need plenty of hard drive space to play it with minimal problems. You need to know where the Sim folders are and what is inside of them.
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WALLS
Wall files (WLL files) must be placed into the Walls Folder. To get to the Walls Folder click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Walls and place the wall files there.
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FLOORS
Floor files (FLR files) must be placed into the Floors Folder. To get to the Floors Folder click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Floors and place the floor files there.
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ROOFS
Roof files (.bmp or .jpg files) must be placed into the Roofs Folder. To get to the Roofs Folder click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Roofs and place the Roof files there.
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OBJECTS
There are several types of OBJECT files. These include skins, furniture and decorating items, Sim Site downloads and Houses. Each will be explained below:
SKINS
Skins (SKN files) must be placed in the Skins Folder. There are three basic kinds of SKIN FILES. There are BMP files and OTHER files (CMX and SKN). I usually put BMP files in the Textures Folder. I put CMX and SKN files into the Skins Folder.
Some people simply dump all Skin Files (BMP, CMX and SKN) in the Skins folder. The problem I find with this is that my game would crash when I put too many skin files in the skin folder. So, I seperate the files and my game hasn't crashed since. The choice is yours!
To get to the Skins Folder click on
My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Skins and place SKN and CMX files. My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Texture and place BMP files.
OR
Simply dump all skin related files into the Skins Folder by clicking on:
My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Skins and place SKN and CMX files.
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FURNITURE AND DECORATING ITEMS
Furniture and decorative items should be placed in the User Objects Folder. To get to the User Objects Folder, click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ UserObjects and place the files there.
I also organize my objects inside the User Objects folder for better game performance. I have over 1,200 game files in my User Object folder because I created subfolders. For instance, inside the User Objects folder I have folders for Kitchen Items, Bedroom Items, Household Items, Car Items, etc. By doing this, I can place more objects in my game without the game crashing. Since I have reorganized my files, I get better game performance and no crashing.
Many people place furniture and decorative items into the Downloads folder. However, this folder can only hold so much and I really don't think all user created objects should go in this folder first! I use the Downloads folder to place OFFICIAL MAXIS ITEMS IN (see below). I use the OBJECTS folder to place .FAR files in (see below).
Note: I am experimenting with loading time if I place half of my objects in the download folder and the other half in the User Objects folder, we will see what happens!
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OBJECTS DOWNLOADED FROM THE OFFICIAL 'THE SIMS' SITE
I place objects downloaded from the Official The Sims site into the Downloads folder which can be found by clicking:My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Downloads . These usually are .FAR files.
.FAR files
.FAR files are compressed files that may hold several items within it. These files usually automatically download into the correct folder. However, if you download a file and it has the extension .FAR , then place it in the following folder:
My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Objects
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HOUSES
QUICK INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Houses, Downtown Lots, Vacation Lots(.IFF):
My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ User Data/ Houses
Walls (.WLL):
My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Walls
Floors (.FLR):
My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Floors
Roofs (.BMP):
My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Roofs
Detailed Installation Instructions:
Important Reminders About Houses:
Before you place a house file in the house folder, you may want to make a copy of the House Folder and paste it in your C drive. You will need to do this if you have a house on a lot that you do not wish to lose. For instance, if you save a downloaded house in the folder for LOT 5, the house on LOT 5 will be replaced and lost forever. To be sure to keep wanted houses - save a copy of the House folder first.
If you do not have an expansion pack (especially Hot Date and Sims Vacation, it is best NOT to download a house created for those expansions)! Windows, Doors and objects created in an expansion pack you do not own do not show up in earlier versions. It is best to download houses that were made with exansion packs you have.
Downtown Lots are also house.iff files. They are numbers 21-30 in your House folders. You merely place the file in your Houses folder and it will REPLACE (save your original first)the corresponding Downtown lot.
Sims Vacation Lots are also house.iff files. They are numbers 40-48 in your House folders. You place the file in your Houses folder and it will REPLACE (save your original first) the corresponding Vacation Lot.
To place Sim houses, walls, floors and roofs in your game read the following information.
House files are .IFF files and usually are identified by their lot number. A house on lot 4 is called HOUSE04.iff.
House files (.iff files) must be placed into the House Folder. To get to the House Folder click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ User Data/ Houses and place the House file there. If you have LL or HP be sure to open the correct User Data Folder. User Data Folders 2-8 are for neighborhoods 2-8. If you wish to place a house on lot 2 in neighborhood 4, then you would open User Data 4 and place the House02.iff file there.
Most houses come with user created wallpaper, floors and roofs. Be sure to place Wall files (WLL files) into the Walls Folder. To get to the Walls Folder click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Walls and place the wall files there. Floor files (FLR files) must be placed into the Floors Folder. To get to the Floors Folder click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Floors and place the floor files there. Roof files (.BMP files) must be placed into the Roofs Folder. To get to the Roof Folder click on My Computer/ C: Drive/ Program Files/ Maxis/ The Sims/ Game Data/ Roofs and place the floor files there.
NOTE:
Sometimes creators name house files something other than house. Instead of calling a house "House08.iff" a person may name the house "Skyline.iff" (which will not work when placed in the house folder). When this happens, all you have to do is rename the file - HOUSE08.IFF (or whatever lot it is supposed to be placed on). Then place the renamed file in the House folder. Voila!
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SECTION 4 -
CREATING CUSTOM TEXTURES (WALLS AND FLOORS)
I use 4 basic programs to create walls and floors.
1. Windows Paint Program
2. The Irfran Viewer (Click the following link to get Irfran Viewer).
~*~THANKS FOR THE LINK Jayzin!~*~
3. The Maxis Homecrafter (a free download from THE OFFICIAL SIMS SITE)
4. Corel Presentations 97 (a Program I have on my computer)
I have created templates for walls (128X240), floors (64X64) and roofs(32X32) using Windows Paint. I use Windows Paint to do most of the manipulations with my walls, floors and roofs. Next, I use these templates to create my textures using various downloaded textures off the Internet, Corel Presentations textures and my imagination.
I decide if I want to create a base texture or if I want to use an image/photo from off-line as a base. I create or paste my base texture in Windows Paint. Then, I add details using paint and paste pieces from other images I like.
Then I use the Irfran Viewer to add special effects or details such as blurring, explosion, etc IF I feel the need to. Afterwards, I save them as jpegs.
Afterwards, I open Homecrafter and pull them into the program to turn them into .IFF files. Homecrafter also lets you save the .IFF files directly into the correct game folders. I save them in my game folders and in a folder on the desktop to keep track of them. If I need to edit them, I don't save them until I do.
The realistic look with floors (carpets) and roofs...
Using the paint program, I select a base color and fill in my floor pattern box (attributes 64X64) with that color. Then, I use either black or white SPRAYCAN and sprinkle the carpet. Afterwards, I transfer the file (copy+paste) into the Irfran Viewer. Then I use the Image/Effects of "Blur" and "Explosion" alternating 2 to 4 times between the two to achieve the desired look. Afterwards, I save the file as a jpeg, then upload the file into Homecrafter to save as a FLR (floor) file.
With patterns, I either create them myself or I copy portions of patterns from various jpeg images I have and put them together in a Paint template using Irfran to change the colors before uploading the file into Homecrafter and saving it.
Creating Walls, Floors and Roofs is quite fun once you figure out how to do it.
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SECTION 5 -
POINTERS ON CREATING A HOUSE
WHAT PEOPLE SEEM TO WANT IN A HOUSE
1. Big, inexpensive houses with fewer walls.
2. Big rooms with lots of space.
3. Houses with unusual designs include zigzag patterns, odd colors (especially for the roof) but not too bright and houses built on columns.
4. Houses with some shrubbery (plants). Some people really appreciate a well designed garden.
5. Room for expansion. Covering the whole lot is not necessarily a good thing. You must remember that people may want to edit the house design a little to add a garden or pool, make a garden or pool larger, add a garage, etc. Leave room for expansion!
ANNOYANCES IN DESIGN
1. Lots without any shrubbery tend to decrease the look and value of a lot. Not only can plants add points to the game, they also make each lot more attractive.
2. Too many slanted walls can also be a nuisance. You cannot place game objects against slanted walls. You cannot hang pictures on slanted walls. A few slanted walls are OKAY (2-3 tiles suggested as a limit). Long slanted walls are only doable if the rooms are HUGE.
3. Large shrubbery placed against the outside walls tend to be annoying as well. This is a pain when tall bushes are used. For instance, a house was built using the tall bushes directly along the outside walls. When Sims are interacting in their houses (i.e., using the toilet, cooking, etc.) you may not be able to see many of these activities without constantly changing the angle. Shrubbery against exterior walls tends to block game objects.
4. Larger windows placed along corner walls can also be a problem, especially if curtains are being used.
OTHER TIPS
1. Think about the type of house you would love to live in and design it.
2. Keep your first house designs simple unless you already have a huge floor plan in mind.
Start with your basic rectangle centered in the middle of the lot and slowly take away and add walls to change this basic shape.
3. Try to achieve balance when you place windows and doors. Place them at equal distances (most of the time).
4. Add columns, paths (sidewalk, gravel or dirt), add shrubbery, pools, fences, gardens, playground areas, etc.
5. Designing your own walls, floors and roofs to add your personal touch to your house. If you are not the creative design type, download a few designer walls from as Sim downloading site.
6. Look at houses both real and Sim designed homes on-line for inspiration. Take note of what you like about each house. Good ideas can come from combining aspects of several houses to create your own.
7. Have fun designing! Simming should be fun. When it becomes a chore, it is time to move on.
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SECTION 6 -
Simplorer/SimExplorer and Blue Print
Simplorer/SimExplorer is a neat program developed by Bil Simser (autobiography). It allows you to look at game files (.iff files, .bmps, .wlls, and .flrs). You can also delete or remove files you don't use with this software. It is a great tool to have. This can be downloaded from the Blueprint Site! Bil also developed Blueprint, which is an objects creator's dream! Check out the site!
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SECTION 7 -
SUBMITTING FILES TO THE SIMS RESOURCE (OR OTHER SITES)
HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT WALLS TO TSR:
You will need to have Winzip or another file zipping program. Place your wall files and the jpegs you used to create these files into a folder on your desktop. Create a text file readme with information about your walls (creator and e-mail address mainly). Then zip the files and precede the file name with your initials. Then, submit it to the following address: submissions@thesimsresource.com
You send the zipped files as an attachment.
HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT HOUSE FILES TO TSR and most other Sim Sites:
Here are the instructions from TSR (with my 2 cents added in as SBtips):
Houses
You may submit houses that contain user created walls, floors and roofs, but not user created furniture. If you create a house with game furniture, ensure that there is a family living in it when you extract the .iff file, otherwise the furniture will be missing! Please consider other gamers browsing for houses. Not everybody wants §100,000 mansions that need cheats to buy. Try and design quality houses for first and second time buyers.
Each house should be sent in a single zip and must contain the following:
(SBtip1 Create folder on your desktop with the name of your house to place items in to be zipped.)
1. The house file .iff
(SBtip2 - Goto My Computer/C Drive/Program Files/Maxis/The
Sims/UserData/Houses ---- You must know the lot number
for the house you want to send. Copy the House file with
the lot number you built the house on. If you built the
house on lot 6, copy the house file that says House06.
Paste that house in your desktop folder to be zipped.)
2. 2 preview pictures in .jpg format
*Preview pictures must be taken from the web pages within the game, and not just screen shots or photo album pics. *You should choose 2 pictures of the 3 that show the house best, preferably the exterior view, and then one of the floors.
(SBtip3 -You get these pictures from the FamilyGFX folder of
the family you are using on a specific lot. What? Where? Read on...
To get there - click My Computer/ C Drive / Program Files/
Maxis/ The Sims / UserData/ Webpages /(then click on the family-lot # of the house you created, i.e., click on the Joneses_10...folder) THEN once inside the family-lot folder click on FamilyGFX folder.You will see several files. One will be called house_exterior and another that says house-floor1. Open these jpegs to see if you have the right house. Then copy these two files and place them in your folder to zip.)
3. 1 text file
The text file must be submitted as a .txt file and not a Word or WordPad document, and must contain the following information:
Creator name
Creator e-mail
Name of the house
Price
Lot number
Square Feet
Furnished: Yes or No
Expansion Pack Required: (Livin Large, House Party or both)
Number of custom textures included
Description of the house
Most of this information can be cut and pasted from the web pages built into the game.
(SBtip4 To get the house information goto My Computer/ C Drive /Program Files/Maxis/ The Sims / UserData/ Webpages /click on the family name-lot folder you created the house under/click on the webpage called house and it will provide you with all necessary information.)
4. Any USER CREATED (not created by Maxis but made by fans) walls, floors or roof files used. Please try and limit these to around 10 to keep file sizes down. (SBtip5-To get the any USER CREATED walls you used/made goto: For Walls -- My Computer/C Drive/Program Files/Maxis/The Sims/Game Data/Walls. For Floors -- My Computer/C Drive/Program Files/Maxis/The Sims/Game Data/Floors
For Roofs My Computer/C Drive/Program Files/Maxis/The Sims/Game Data/Roofs Copy any user made walls, floors and roofs and paste them in your desktop folder that you are going to zip.
Please ensure the previews and text details are correct. Errors may result in your work not being published! It depends on whether I have time to correct them.
Submit your files to The Sims Resource at the following address: submissions@thesimsresource.com
You send the zipped files as an attachment.
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SECTION 8 -
ABOUT CARS IN THE SIMS
1. I downloaded the cars mainly from the following sites (Keep in mind that Sites constantly disappear!):
a. Trinkets and Treasures
b. Seven Deadly Sims
c. Sims Plus
d. Killer Sims
2. How to get cars in the game:
a.WHERE TO PLACE CAR FILES:
I place car files (.IFF) into the User Objects folder. Some people place them in the Downloads folder (which is also fine). Either way, they end up in your game in either the Decorations section or the Misc. Section.
b.Some cars require you to use a cheat to put them in your game. This cheat is called "move-objects on/off" These cars tend to be original clones. To use the cheat, while you are playing the game go to the buy mode. Then press (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C). A box will pop up and you simply type in the words "move_objects on". This will allow you to place the these cloned cars in your game. It will also allow you to move the trashcan and mailbox to desired locations. To turn this cheat off simply press (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C) again and then type in the
words "move_objects off".
NOTE:
It is also suggested that you turn the Does not keep PIP window open option off under your game tools. This will prevent some cars from opening a PIP window every few seconds. Not many of the cars were designed with the PIP popup problem (at least not
the ones I have downloaded - I only have a blue one that does this). I wouldn't worry about disabling PIP unless a window keeps popping up with the car in it.
NOTE: Some cars have been known to explode after some time in game play. I'm not too keen on this idea either. Geez!
b.Other cars are simply decorations (like the original red PT Cruiser). All you need do with cars like this is place them in your game. I downloaded the Cruiser from Homesims. Unfortunately the other site that had cars that you don't have to turn on the cheat to use is The Sims Exposed.
TO PLACE CARS INSIDE THE GARAGE:
Many cars can simply need enough space around them to get them inside the garage. For these, all you need to do is place the car in the garage by moving it until it can be placed.
To get the other cars inside the garage, build the garage but leave an opening in the wall, put the car inside the garage, then close the opening. That's it. This works with trees as well if you would like to place a tree indoors.
For the most part, CARS ARE MERELY DECORATIONS:
The cars are just for decoration (at least for now they are). Many of our greatest sim hackers have given cars actions now - like washing the car or creating car alarms that go off (many of which only children can disable). The future looks promising for automobiles and perhaps one day soon your Simmies will be able to take a joy ride.
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SECTION 9 -
GARAGE DOORS
THE ULTIMATE GARAGE DOOR HAS NOT BEEN INVENTED YET (to my knowledge)!
However...Dincer Hepguler has created a nice opened garage door for the game. It is really a window, but it adds an authentic look to any Sim home.
There is a garage door that was made from a regular door. I have not tested it in the game yet, but it looks great on the garage. I downloaded it from The Sims Resource and it was created by tafkap. This door looks great. However, keep in mind that this door shifts when you switch angles and is uncentered at certain angles. It is wood and glass, very classy. It can currently be downloaded from the Furniture Section at The Sims Resource.
Some people download wallpaper (can be found in the walls section of TSR). One designer of wallpaper garage doors is BIKERGUY96. He designed a white set of garage wallpaper in the walls section). Another is Tommy Zee. His two sets of garage doors are brown wood and can also be found in the walls section).
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SECTION 10 -
CREATING A POND OR LAKE
You must use a build mode cheat (if you are not against doing so).
Tips:
1.Using the water cheat to create a lake or pond can be a wonderful finishing touch to your house design. Keep in mind that the water_tool cheat is added to the build/buy mode in Hot Date and you cannot preplace objects and surround them by water with Hot Date. :(
2.If you are placing objects like ducks or pond plants in your pond, you must place them prior to adding your pond. They cannot be added after the pond is there.
When you are in the build mode do the following:
1.Press Control+Alt+Shift+C
2.Type water_tool in the box that appears.
3.Press enter.
Note: The computer may lag for a few seconds to adjust, but it does not harm your game in any way.
4.Hold down your mouse and place water wherever you wish to.
5.To clean the water mistakes or to remove a portion of your pond, press the Control key while holding down the mouse button. THIS WAS A LIFE SAVER FOR ME!
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SECTION 11 -
TO GET YOUR ENTIRE TERRAIN TO LOOK LIKE SAND
This is actually NOT a cheat. I used the terrain tool in build mode. You know the one that looks like a shovel that lets you straighten out the landscape. Once you edit the grass it looks like sand. You need to edit the whole landscape by pulling grass up all around. Then, smooth it flat. There is your sand. Afterwards, you can create hills by pulling up the area you wish to build your house on. I just don't grow grass afterwards. It looks more authentic then!
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SECTION 12 -
TO MAKE BALCONIES
The basics:
1.There are SIMPLE and COMPLEX balconies.
2.Simple balconies will start against the building and move two tiles away from the walls. Simple balconies usually DO NOT "NEED" columns underneath them.
3.Complex balconies will be more than two tiles away from the walls.
Complex balconies usually need columns underneath them for support.
A Simple Balcony(first floor):
1. *create a floor section outside of the house starting against the
building and move 2 floor tiles away from the walls
2. *create a gate around the floor (add shrubbery outside of the gate to give it a realistic look.
A Simple Balcony (second floor)
1. * second floor should be built first with carpet inside before you
try to build a balcony
2. * start against the building and move 2 floor tiles away from the
building/10 - 12 floor tiles side to side
3. * put a balcony gate around the tiles
A Complex Balcony that is built on top of a first level:
(no support needed underneath)
1. *Build a bottom floor with the walls completely closed
2. *Build walls on the second floor and put floor tiles
inside BUT leave a section for a porch.
Be creative. Shape the porch like a square then change it into
another shape.
3. *Add your balcony gate. Add floor tiles.
A Complex Balcony that is built more than 3 tiles away from the building:(Support needed underneath)
1. * second floor should be built first with carpet inside before you
try to build a balcony
2. * place columns (on the bottom floor) beneath the area which will be your balcony/remember that each column can support 9 floor tiles. Start against the building and move 3 or more floor tiles away from the building/10 - 12 floor tiles side to side Also note that once you have built the balcony, you can remove the columns from beneath. However, once the columns (support) are moved from beneath the balcony, you may not be able to at edit certain floor tiles without putting the columns back first. In addition, those upstairs areas cannot be used as a dining facility as the Sims will not be able to place plates on tables. Just an observation!
3. * put a balcony gate around the tiles
To put a roof over the balcony simply add a column to a balcony that is surrounded by a closed-in gate.
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SECTION 13 -
OTHER USEFUL "CHEATS"
To get the cheats to work, ALWAYS press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+C then type them in:
I use the following CHEATS as editing tools when building a new house.
WATER_TOOL - you can put water, lakes, etc. on your lot (In Hot Date, this option no longer exists. However there is an available water tool option in Hot Date build/buy Mode. Keep in mind...you cannot preplace outside objects like trees and surround them with water.)
GROW_GRASS 150 - to restore your grass after editing the land (In Hot Date, this option has been added to the build/buy mode.)
MANSION - The Best House ( I haven't tried this one yet!)
DRAW_FLOORABLE ON - Enable floorable grid
DRAW_FLOORABLE OFF - Disable floorable grid
MAP EDIT ON - self explanatory on
MAP EDIT OFF - self explanatory off
MOVE_OBJECTS ON (or OFF)- Moves most game objects (including your Sims and flies).
KLAPAUCIUS or ROSEBUD - gives you more simoleons
If you type rosebud;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!:!;!;!;!;!;!;!;!;! (up to 60)
you get more money. The more ;! you type behind rosebud, the more money you get!
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SECTION 14
GAME CRASHES
HOUSES CRASHES
Many user created Sim houses may have glitches due to the creative nature of Sim house designers. Below are a few glitches that have resulted from my building Sim houses.
1. If you place a pool inside a house realize that rooms above the pool may have strange things happen. So far, I have only noticed that you cannot place dining tables above such areas as your Sims will not eat at the tables. Your Sims will attempt to place their dishes on a table only to keep taking them away! I think it has to do with there not being true support beneath those areas because the pool is not a floor tile. It is better to place kitchens downstairs or in a place upstairs that is not above the pool. This same thing has been known to occur in houses that are floating or ones with very little support beneath them. It would be best to place kitchens downstairs on both my Glass House and my Designer Blue Beach House.
2. If you download a house with outside objects on the inside, you cannot simply move these objects around. Once you pick up an outside object you will not be able to place it down inside WITHOUT deleting 1 tile of wall to create an opening. Then you can place the outside object anywhere in the room and put your wall back in when you are done. Don't forget to repaint your walls!
3. If you download a house and it causes your game to crash each time you click on it, delete the house. Realize that this is just a freak of Sim nature and that all houses by that creator will not be corrupt. Also realize that the same house may be downloaded by others and work fine in the game. Game crashes happen for a myriad of reasons (hardware incompatibility/issues, bugs, lack of following install directions, bad download, etc.).
OBJECT CRASHES
Here is what I do about objects that cause my game to crash. This happens sometimes because the creator of the game did not use a magic cookie (a special number for each object that keeps it from confliciting with other objects). Sometimes games crash just because the object was not created correctly and sprites are missing. I use SimExplorer downloaded from the Blueprint website to view and delete objects that have missing sprites. You know sprites are missing when the image of an objects does not show correctly in the viewer and usually instead of a description you get a string or list of numbers (especially 0's). You can click on delete while you are viewing the object in SimExplorer. Whenever you download new objects it is good to put them in the game a few at a time and see if your game crashes. Sometimes you KNOW which object it is because the object will cause the game to crash the moment you click on it
SKIN CRASHES
I find these to be the most annoying as they are often the most difficult to catch. The Sims File Cop can be used to detect these (at times) but are not 100 proof. File cop mainly catches bitmaps that have been saved with the wrong color (pixel) specifications. Seeing that skins cannot be placed in subfolders you SHOULD add 1 new skin at a time and play the game for a while before adding another. In this way, you know which skin is causing the problem. You must also pay attention when placing a new skin in the game to see if it is saving over another version. As gorgeous as they are, skins have responsible for over 80% of my game crashes. Now, I have a backup folder of successful skins that I use in my game. I also have backed up the original skins that were in the folder BEFORE I added my collection. In this way…if something goes wrong I dump the entire skins folder, replace the original skins, then add my backup collection. I delete skins that give me problems unless its something I KNOW how to fix…like saving the bitmaps with the correct pixelation.
SECTION 15 -
TIPS FOR FASTER LOADING
1.USE FEWER OBJECTS IN THE GAME:
It is best not to load every texture (walls, floors,roofs), skin or object you download into your game. You KNOW you will not use ALL of them. Try to limit game objects to the ones you KNOW you will use. Save the others elsewhere on your computer and if you have CD Recorder (burner)...make backup copies of ALL of your items before removing them from your game or computer. Certain versions of the game have specific limits as to how many items you can have in your game.
The Sims (Walls 90 Floors 63)
Livin' Large (Walls/Floors: 65,000 or more)
House Party (Walls/Floors: 65,000 or more)
Hot Date (Walls/Floors 65,000 or more)
Vacation (Walls -supposedly 65,000 or more, but for me they only show up if I play the game in 1024 X 768)
Note: With objects and skins it is moreso trial and error. The more you have,the slower your game runs. When windows become objects or stairs become windows, you have too many of them in the game and should remove a few until the game once again returns to normal.
2. CREATE SUBFOLDERS WITHIN THE USEROBJECTS or DOWNLOADS FOLDERS for you OBJECTS:
When the game is loading, it is easier for your computer to load items from smaller folders than it is to load items that are all in 1 large folder. (see above section PLACING FILES IN THE GAME: FURNITURE AND DECORATING ITEMS for details on doing so).
Note: This WILL NOT (at this time) work with skins.
3. PRESS TAB + ALT WHEN THE GAME IS LOADING: This will minimize (in this case, bring you back to the desktop temporarily while The Sims loads). The Sims screen will open once the game is loaded.
4. COMPRESS SMALL GROUPS OF OBJECTS INTO .FAR FILES:
You can cluster together groups of objects into .FAR files using Far Out from Paladin's Sim site at the following addy: http://www.simwardrobe.com . However, I prefer using Bil Simser's Far Edit. I find it much more user friendly. Far Edit can be found at http://blueprint.thesimsresource.com.This should work with all versions.
Quick Reference for "CREATING A .FAR FILE"
7 Steps to .FARing
Step One - Use Sims Object ID from Sim Goddesses @ http://www.simgoddesses.com/tutorials/objectID/OBJID.html to locate and create a new ID for 2 or more files that share an ID number (one of the most common causes for Sim game crashes).
Step Two - Use The Sims File Cop from the Official Sim Site @ http://thesims.ea.com/us/index.html
to ensure there are no additional file conflicts within files themselves.
Note: Sim Explorer (along with many other fantastic Sim programs) can be found at Bil Simser’s site at http://blueprint.thesimsresource.com
can also be used to identify corrupt files. A few objects are not properly constructed as many people have trouble cleaning up the sprites. When an object is not properly finished, the sprite list shows in Sim Explorer. The image looks weird (discolored or doesn't show) and there is a sprite number list (usually with a series of zeros). Automatically delete such files as they serve no purpose other than to crash your game.
Step Three - Separate your objects into subfolders within your Game Data/UserObjects folder as instructed above. Each subfolder will later become a .FAR file.
Step Four - Use Menu Editor to change availability to 'visitors' on certain objects. Menu Editor is by Bil Simser and can be downloaded from his Blueprint Site at http://blueprint.thesimsresource.com . Sims Categorizer can be used to make objects available Downtown and on Vacation Island. Sim Categorizer is available at Paladin's Sim Site. Use the following address to download the Sims Categorizer @ http://www.simwardrobe.com .
Step Five - Open each of your subfolders. Click on View, then Details. Make sure you only have .IFF files in the each subfolder. Other .FAR files should be placed in your Downloads folder. .SIG and .SIF files should be deleted (not needed).
Step Six - Create a backup of your User Objects (elsewhere on your computer or copy it onto a CD). This is an important step to prevent losing those "precious" objects you've collected over time. Be sure to also create a Folder in your Downloads Folder (I call mine FARFILES) to place your .FAR files in once created.
Step Seven - Use Far Edit (or Far Out if you so desire) to create far files. Seeing that I prefer Far Edit, I will briefly explain how I it to create .FAR files.
Open Far Edit. Click on New to clear/set the program. Click on Add Directory. Go to you Game Data/User Objects folder (or where you keep your downloaded objects). Select the first subfolder. The program pulls up all files in the folder. Scroll down the list and double check to ensure you have removed all non .IFF files as this could create corrupt .FAR files. Click on Save OR Save As. Go to your Downloads/FarFiles folder. Type in the name of the subfolder you are zipping. Click save. Do this with each subfolder until you are done. Then, check each far file by seeing what size it is. If it is zero the file is corrupt and will not work in your game more than likely because you accidentally left non-.IFF files in the subfolders prior to FARing. If this is the case, simply go to the Downloads/FarFiles folder and remove that .FAR file and redo it. Once you have checked to ensure your .FAR files are good, delete the .IFF subfolders in your GameData/UserObjects folder.
For a more comprehensive (and well written) explanation on FARing, go to Killer Sims @ http://www.killersims.com
(direct link @ http://209.68.26.185/workshop_far0002.htm
).
5.DIVIDE YOUR .FAR FILES BETWEEN THE DOWNLOADS FOLDER AND THE GAME DATA/OBJECTS FOLDER:
This does minimal to speed up loading time if yours is already optimal. However, for those still having a little trouble with loading time, this may be useful. My game takes between 2½ and 3 minutes to load regardless of what I do. It is optimal
loading for my computer.
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Hope this helps!
stephanie b.
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