Sunday 29 August 2010

The Hathaway Mansion - Teaser Trailer

I'm on a roll with these video editing tools, so don't make fun of me. And don't ask where I got the male voice, I'd have to shoot you later. On a more serious note, this was a fun project to execute. It all started with a shell I did for the cover of an article for Simspiration. From there I made a residential mansion and then decided to go a bit further and create an alternate tomb version. Both lots are available for download at my minisite, I hope you enjoy them :)

Thursday 12 August 2010

Kahotep Ruins - as official as it gets - Trailer

Here's a trailer I made for my first tomb: Kahotep Ruins. It was quite fun to revisit the place and take that footage!

How to add residential objects to community lots in Sims 3

I thought I should post this here, as I haven't found sufficient information on the web so far. As many of you know by now, the guys at EA set some limitations on what items we should include in community lots and decided we couldn't add residential objects (stoves, microwaves, laundry machines, etc). However, they have managed to bend those rules and presented us base camps with stoves (just to taunt us, of course). So, how did they do it?

While trying to work out the answer to this, I accidentally found a way to get past those sneaky developers! However, in other to achieve this, you will need to run the program Create a World Tool.

So here's what you can do:

1- Build your lot on a residential home and after you are done, save it to your library.
2- Open Create a World (CAW) tool:
2.1. - Under File -> Open a World -> Pick a file from a pre made world (it can be whatever you like really, as long as you have zoned areas to work with).
2.2. - Click on the Plumbbob symbol to edit the world in game;
3- After your game is loaded through CAW, pick your lot from the library and place it, as you would in a normal game. Then save your changes and exit the game;
4- CAW will at this point be updated with your lot placed in it. Click on your lot and you will see lots of information on it, including the type of lot;
5- Edit the categories and change your residential home to any type of community lot you want;
6- Repeat step 2.2. to access again your lot in game. You will notice that it now has successfully turned into the type of lot you wanted;
7- Save your lot to the library or package it according to your choice and use it as you like.

Note: Although you can create base camps with all the residential items you want, you won't have the option to export them and share them with others. You can always resort to rezoning in this case, but all those residential items will be lost in the process. As base camps are the only lots that do not have that option, it should work fine with everything else. I have tested a few of my lots successfully, but have not tried every single type of community zones, but I'm assuming they work as well.

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Simspiration article

The new site Simspiration is now releasing their first printed magazine world wide. The magazine features a wide variety of topics: fashion trends, gardening tips, tutorials on how to create your own custom content, you name it!


My upcoming issue at Simspiration
I have to say I'm pretty excited about this magazine, especially now that I've submitted an article for the upcoming issue! Woohoo!  It's called "Tips and Tricks: Adding special features to your lots" in which you can learn how to add cool stuff to your homes that do not necessarily include custom content (ex: adding a hidden room that an only be unlocked if your sims perform particular actions).

The magazine also comes with an added bonus, as it unlocks all the custom content featured on the magazine, which is not available anywhere else.

They also have a neat Facebook Page in which you can read more about it, if you like.

I hope you take a closer look at it!

The real truth about the mini Tudors

For the last few days, I've been trying to squeeze really tiny starter homes in 10x10 lots. But that's not all. Each of these homes include an underground cellar that can only be accessed if you perform a particular action. You may have to remove a book from a shelf, or a gem (or even an innocent looking gnome) from a display to visit the hidden room.

Why, you might ask? Why make something so small you hardly find room for a mailbox?

I could say the lots are easier to load if they are small and can fit virtually anywhere on the map and the hidden cellar are just a fun little feature... but that would only be a fraction of the truth. The real reason it's all part of my evil plot to dominate your town. There, I said it! Just don't make me repeat it again.

*this message will self destruct in 5 seconds*


Gerhard Starter HomeFriedhold Starter HomeEwald Starter Home