hatshepsut
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hatshepsut's Blog


WA Lots in the Base Game?

I've been conducting a little research with the help of a good friend and here are the findings:

Lots that have been built and packaged using the game update will not install into an unpatched base game.  You will get an error message that an update is required before the lot can be installed.  This is a good thing really as the lot won't install it won't case any problems with your game.

Lots built and packaged with WA installed can be installed into a patched base game and they work just fine.  However, any items used that are specific to WA (roof recolours, plants/trees - build/buy items) will be replaced with base game items.  Things like fence and stair recolours will make the transition just fine.

Just in case you're not sure of which patch/update I'm referring too it's the game update 1.5/1.6.  I'd also strongly recommend the game update 1.7/2.2 also to avoid any game save issues caused by the previous patch.

So yay!  WA lots in the base game! woohoo!  Kudos to EA and a huge hug to Debra for testing this for me!

EA Store stuff etc...

I know I should probably think less and build more but something I've been pondering lately is the use of EA store items in uploaded lots.  So far I have been inclined to keep the use of such items to a bare minimum but occasionally I'll build a lot in which some of those store items would enhance the look and feel of the building both inside and out.

I know that downloaders who don't own these items will just have the default game replacements instead but I'd like to know your thoughts on this.  Does a lot that uses a number of store items put you off downloading it?  Or come to that, the use of custom content in general? 

I know I've been steering clear of using custom patterns in my lots although that's more of a personal preference.  I enjoy the challenge of seeing how many different looks I get from the in game textures.  Anyway, if you have any thoughts on this I'd love to hear 'em!

Back in the saddle

Ok, so it wasn't that much of a break but the last few weeks spent not creating that much seems to have done the trick and I'm now feeling refreshed and inspired to create once more.  Along with a new look I now have a series of new lots in progress.  Whether they'll all get finished is another question, I'm still waiting for someone to invent that 48 hour day!

I have been playing Sims 3 a lot more too and dare I say it but I actually went back and fired up my Sims 2 game and revisited some of my old pixilated friends.  I now find myself torn between the 2 games and enjoy playing them both almost equally despite Sims 2 loading times.  (I always make sure I have a good book at the ready while it loads up!)

One of the things I have noticed since I've been building for Sims 3 is that lots take so much longer to complete so I don't expect to be quite as prolific as before.  I've always been a firm believer in quality over quantity and I take pride in adding detail to my lots both inside and out and all that takes time!  If it's not good enough for my game then you won't be getting to play it, and I do play many of the lots that I publish here.

So, I'll be hanging around TSR for a while longer yet (sorry!) and now that I've bored you all to death I'm heading back to the building site!  Keep on simmin'!

Take 5

I've decided to take a little time out from creating for a while.  I seem to be struggling a bit with creativity at the moment and I just need some time to clear my head and consider my future here at TSR. 

I still have a few goodies in my uploads folder so I'll be releasing those over the next week or 2 and I'll probably still be lurking around the site, just not creating.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly.  Til then - be good girls and boys!

Refresher Course

Well, I finally got my hands on the Sims 3 and boy did it bring back memories!  As soon as I heard the music fire up I almost felt like I was back at Creators Camp.  Time to refresh those building skills! 

I'm so glad that many of the bugs that held me back at Creators Camp have been resolved, in particular the problems I had placing roofs.  I can now proceed with some of the designs that I had to scrap 1st time around.  Yay!

So, what have I been up to since getting the game?  Other than bulldozing all the EA houses to make way for my own I've been working on my 1st planned upload to TSR.  I would have had it uploaded today but the submission system seems to be a bit wonky so I guess I'll have to be patient (not one of my traits!)  So for your viewing pleasure may I present - Fir Trees Grove.

Fir Trees Grove

Not Dead Yet!

Sims 3 mania is now in full swing and Sims 2 may be waving us goodbye but I'm not letting it go without a fight and to prove there's still life in the old dog yet I present to you my latest project - just an ordinary everyday high street (and yes, all these buildings are on one lot!):

More pictures are viewable in my forum thread.  It may be a little while before this little HUGE beauty makes it's debut.  I'm still debating whether or not to upload it with or without the custom content and I'm having too much fun play testing it!  So, is Sims 2 dead yet?  I think not!

Nowhere to hide

Now you can finally find out just what I got up to at creators camp (well creations that is!)  The official exchange is now open for business and my early experiments with Sims 3 creation can be found here: http://www.thesims3.com/mypage/hatshepsut

As I was still finding my way around the game (bugs and all) and time was short these probably aren't my most awe inspiring creations.  I still feel that the best is yet to come but don't let that put you off.  You may well find a few things to give your new game that essential jump start so go on, take a peek.  After all what have you got to lose?!

Summing it up

I've finally arrived home after what seems like spending almost my entire life either on a plane or waiting for a plane.  Now looking forward to the onset of jet lag, oh joy!

I'll now attempt to answer some of your questions on build mode.  This is by no means a comprehensive run through, there were a lot of things that I just didn't get the chance to look at and some things may still change before the final version of the game is released.  We sure gave EA a few things to think about!

To start with the neighbourhoods are no longer customisable in that you can't create your own neighbourhood design like you can with Sim City 4.  To me the neighbourhood seemed to work more like it did in the Sims 1 days.  Lots are a pre-set size and already placed although you can move houses around the hood they must be placed on a lot of the same size on which they were built.

There is currently no stage tool and without the CFE cheat I would say that split level staircases are not yet possible.  There is also no ability to place staircases on a angle so diagonal stairs are out.  You can change stair direction just buy clicking and dragging the stairs although this is best used when placing stairs on terrain rather than between floors.  There are currently no shuttered windows in the game, window shutters are available as separate buyable objects.  The trashcan and mailbox can now be moved freely around the house and even recoloured however the door nearest to the mailbox will be treated as the main doorway and thumbnail that depicts your house will depend on the position of the mailbox.  There are no half walls in the game but there is a good range of new fences and even a nifty no maintenance hedge fence.  As you probably know, cars are included in the base game. Driveways are no longer tied to the road but can be placed anywhere at all on the lot.  There is no longer an animation for the car backing out onto the highway, it just 'teleports'.  You can also start building with the auto roof tool already enabled although I personally wouldn't recommend doing that unless you want roofs ending up in strange places!  There are also no pre-set dormer roofs.

You may have also read in Steve's blog about being able to grab walls and drag them.  Very useful if you want to add extensions to your house.  It even keeps items that are placed on/against walls in position as you drag the wall out and automatically keeps the decor - (wallpapers & floors).

I know that many of you were expecting many of the features of AL to be included here, however this is not the case.  Objects cannot be moved up and down walls for instance and it's back to one family per household although sims now have the ability to roam the entire neighbourhood and visit any house they choose.

Sims cannot yet run home business's.  You can still have/build community lots although these are quite limited and can't be owned or run by sims as in OFB.  The default hood comes with a town square area.  Many of the buildings here are not actual built lots but rather meshes instead.  You can't follow your sims into these structures although they can visit them to eat or learn skills.

Well that's about all my tired brain can think of at the moment.  As always if you have any questions feel free to ask me.  I'm sure there's still loads of stuff I've forgotten to mention!  I'm now going to sleep for a week!

ZZZZzzzzz

End of the Ride

The final day at EA campus and a chance to finish off anything we might have been building/creating.  I also took the opportunity to upload a few furniture sets to the exchange and create a sim family for upload.  It was also fun to play the game a little more because I've been so busy with the building aspect of the game the gameplay side has been sadly neglected by me.

In the afternoon we all gathered together for some fun and games with a plumbob cookie decorating contest.  Sadly my efforts were somewhat pathetic to say the least but it's amazing what some people can do with a couple of cookies and a tube of icing!  Afterwards we were given the opportunity to see what everybody else had been working on throughout the week and prizes given for the best (and in some cases the most unfortunate) custom content.

Finally it was time to gather in the hotel bar for some farewell drinks with the guys from EA.  It was fun to catch up with everyone and discuss what we'd experienced through the week.

Before I sign off from the US and head back home I'd like to say a huge thank you to the guys and girls at EA for giving me this wonderful opportunity and for being so welcoming.  It's been a blast guys!  I've made some awesome friends here and would love to return again some day.  I also want to thank TSR, without you this wouldn't have happened.

Ok, mushy bit done!  Now, I'm off to do a bit of sight seeing!  See you all when I get home.

Construction Site

This time the day was spent pretty much entirely on the construction site!  My 2nd building project has turned out be a little more elaborate than the 1st as I learn more about the building toolls and just what can be done with the customisation tools.  Gone are the days of none matching furniture and it's so easy to recolour everything and that includes the walls and floors.  No Homecrafter tool needed here!  Everything can be fine tuned to just the shade that you want.

The landscaping tools are also more detailed.  As you place plants from the inventory they automatically change shape and in some cases size so that you never get a row of identical flowers/shrubs.  Much more realistic.  It is also easier to achieve more realistic effects with the terrain spray paint tool which now comes with both a circular and square paint brush in 3 sizes.  Not only that but you can adjust the hardness/softness of these brushes which makes blending terrain paints much more effective.

Some of you might be familiar with the new roof tool that came with Mansion & Garden Stuff.  That also appears here although one drawback is that there is currently no ability to adjust individual roof slope angles.  Ceilings can be placed in the same way as in Apartment Life but are currently uncolourable.

One of my favourite features is the ability to place objects on an angle without having to resort to cheats and your sims will still be able to interact with those objects.  Also by holding down the ALT key you can place things more freely (like using the snapobjectstogrid cheat).

After a hard day on the construction site it was time for dinner which turned out to be quite an event!  If I'm a little worse for wear in the morning then I'm blaming Steve and Tug!

If there's anything in particular you want to know about the building side of the game then feel free to pm me and I'll do my best to tell you about it.  I'll try and remember to write up a more detailed blog once I get home.

Latest Headlines

WA Lots in the Base Game? EA Store stuff etc... Back in the saddle Take 5 Refresher Course Not Dead Yet! Nowhere to hide Summing it up End of the Ride Construction Site
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