Posts Tagged ‘new tools’

Hi guys,

Just wanted to say that I’m going to be wrapping up the blogging on this site shortly (but not the site itself). Unfortunately I don’t have enough time to blog on a regular basis so I’m just going to turn the news here into a static page. I do have a list of things that I’m going to get to someday on this site and the software here. Namely:

• Updates to the current tools with the latest expansion packs
• Whatever little Sims 2 capabilities I can add in (probably only to SimExplorer, not looking to build any new tools)
• Add whatever technical specs that are not available on the Sims 1 formats that I can

I don’t have time for any Sims 2 tools, but from what I’ve seen out there, there are plenty of smart guys doing great stuff with this right now. These days my focus is now on doing some work with Microsoft products (and some public speaking at user groups and events across the country) and some new game development. I’ll still plug away at the Sims stuff as I can find time but can’t commit to any schedules or tools these days. In the meantime, enjoy what’s here and keep on Simming!

Okay, so since my last post (about an hour ago) I decided to stay up and complete the upload to the site. You can now download everything listed under the SimsTools A-Z section. The Coming Soon section is for tools that are either not online or not ready for download yet. If there are any guffaws like broken links let me know.

A few things about the site update. Yes, it’s been a long time coming. I actually bought this domain back in July so that shows how either frustrated I was with building a new site or lazy. You be the judge.

The site is somewhat dynamic. I know I mentioned before on the site design that I wasn’t going to use ASP or PHP and such but the technology allows web developers to build a site without repeating a lot of things. The main pages are actually all driven from a single template file so maintenance is a breeze now and adding new tools or updating them takes no time (from a site perspective, there’s still that programming thing that has to happen). In any case, it’s slick and fast. I can’t guarantee that I accomodated all browser versions and that jazz so let me know if there’s any burps. My main focus isn’t maintaining a website, it’s writing tools.

The forums are also updated with the same look and feel as the site. Even though the forums are hosted elsewhere, it’s neat to be able to tweak things so much that they look like they’re part of the site. Well, okay maybe I need to get out more.

I’ve left most of Tom’s programs intact and on the site. I’m not sure if he still has his own site or not so they’ll stay here until someone (him) tells me otherwise. I haven’t heard from him for some time now so who knows. A lot of us Sim guys seem to vanish for long periods then resurface from time to time.

The links to tutorials, tech, contact, etc. are not working right now. I wanted to get all the downloads up and running so give those some more time. Back later with info on the updates to the actual content around here and what’s happening in that space. At least this is a somehat useable site now. Thanks for your patience.

Yeah, cheap shot yesterday in a vain attempt at filling a news post. So cut me some slack. Anyways, there’s an interesting article over at Salon that talks about user created content for games and how simple mods for games has blossomed into an industry in itself. Given the amount of programs we have floating around here, I wonder why nobody talked to us but hey at least Will Wright had something to say about it:



“I was always impressed by the community that formed around ‘Quake II’ in particular,” says “The Sims” creator, Will Wright. “At some point the mod authors not only made new stuff for the game but also new tools for content … [It's] a great example of how the hardcore fans can totally surprise you with their creativity, given the chance.”



Guess he was talking about some of the stuff we do around here with that new tools for content but again, no booby prize. Oh well. Check out the article here as it’s a pretty good read (if you’re into that sort of thing).

A new look. Some new tools. New stuff everywhere.

As you can see, the site has got a facelift. I was bored of the old one so I’m flipping over to something a little different. Please be a little patient as it’s going to be a little messy while I get all the other blue goodies hooked up (forum, polls, images, etc.) but we’ll get there.

So the new tools are arriving. The first to grace the scene is the new MenuEditor. This is a pretty slick tool that will not only let you edit the menu text, but also the flags for each menu item in an object and adjust the motive values for each (Room, Social, Hunger, etc.) This is NOT the catalog values that you can adjust with Transmogrifier and blueprint but the actual values which can affect your Sim, the room around them and other good stuff.

Anyways, I’m not going to get into a big explanation. The file is there (or will be) along with the documentation. One note, you have to run it from the command line and pass the name of the IFF file to it in order for it to work (so don’t email me with “Filename missing error, what do I do?”. You have been told!). However, the install will place an icon on your desktop and you can simply drag IFF files from Windows Explorer and drop them onto the icon to run it. Easy huh?

Also (once everything gets uploaded) the texture packs have been moved and rebuilt into new JPG formats that will work much better with blueprint than the current set. There are also some new textures so grab them when you get a chance.