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Testers wanted: Multiple pollination technicians!

by fwiffo Posted 17th Jun 2005 at 5:06 AM - Updated 15th Oct 2008 at 9:32 PM by Christy1077
 
98 Comments / Replies (Who?) - 96 Feedback Posts, 1 Thanks Posts
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Guest
#26 Old 19th Jun 2005 at 3:47 PM
fwiffo - Making your own
This question is aimed at fwiffo:
If I do Part 1 of making your own Pollination Tech will their be two of them or will it replace the ordinary. If it replaces the ordinary, can you tell me how you make a second one.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#27 Old 19th Jun 2005 at 4:11 PM
You'll need to read part 2. Basically, with the way this hack is designed, there are four slots. The first one is the original PT, the other three are the new ones I made. After you make yours, you'll need to put it in one of the four slots, replacing whoever is there. You can replace the original PT or you can replace one of my new ones.

If you replace the original PT, it doesn't replace the PT in the game - it just drops it from the list of choices for abduction. So any babies or pregnancies started before the hack will still have the original as their father.

Each of the four slots is equally likely to be selected.

Don't get this hack confused with the "Better looking pollination technician" hack, which basically modifies the original pollination technician.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#28 Old 19th Jun 2005 at 5:40 PM Last edited by fwiffo : 19th Jun 2005 at 5:44 PM.
As I noted in an edit of the original post, the Vulcan had some non-Vulcany features. Here are the two by themselves. You can only have one or the other - they use the same GUID.

I still haven't gotten very many requests in my request thread, so if you've got a sim that you'd like to be part of the next pack of technicians, please upload them there.
Attached files:
File Type: zip  Multi-PT-Hybridization_Engineer_Gamma-38.zip (148.3 KB, 45 downloads)
File Type: zip  Multi-PT-Hybridization_Engineer_Gamma-38-blond.zip (148.5 KB, 38 downloads)
Public Enema #2
#29 Old 19th Jun 2005 at 10:59 PM
Hi fwiffo!
Got your note. OF COURSE you can use any of the crazy aliens etc. i've uploaded. Anything to support a helarious new hack :D
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#30 Old 20th Jun 2005 at 12:22 AM
Thank you very much! Marvin may have a new job lined up. :-)
Test Subject
#31 Old 20th Jun 2005 at 8:08 AM
Is it just me, or does the first one kinda look like Kevin Bacon?
Field Researcher
#32 Old 20th Jun 2005 at 5:38 PM
Thanks...................now i will test it in my game
Test Subject
#33 Old 20th Jun 2005 at 8:18 PM Last edited by ob2 : 20th Jun 2005 at 8:21 PM.
This is awesome! I've been waiting for this for a long time. Now at last, not all aliens will be half-siblings. I know that's not a problem with the InSIMenator, but I've been playing the game without any cheats for awhile, and I prefer it this way.
Lab Assistant
#34 Old 21st Jun 2005 at 5:23 AM
Hi! I'd like to say that this is an AWESOME hack. I can't wait to try it out.

However, I got a bit stuck on Step Eight of Part Two:


8. Click "Commit", then "File -> Save". Your hack is ready to go. Copy it into your downloads folder and give it a spin in a test neighborhood to make sure everything goes as expected.


First of all, which file exactly do I put into the downloads folder? The BAK file for the Multi-PTs, the BAK file for the custom alien? Or do we just dump the whole folder in?

Thanks for your help!
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#35 Old 21st Jun 2005 at 5:34 AM
SimPE makes automatic backup files - you can ignore those. You want to put in the custom PT .package file (or files, if you made more than one) and the "Multi_Pollination_Technician.package" file in your downloads folder. These are the same files you opened at the beginning of the two parts.
Lab Assistant
#36 Old 21st Jun 2005 at 3:42 PM
Thank you so much!
Test Subject
#37 Old 21st Jun 2005 at 8:44 PM
Is there anyway to remove the vulcan? or at least make it so that you can choose who abducts the sim?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#38 Old 21st Jun 2005 at 10:36 PM
There are instructions earlier in the thread on how to make your own pollination technican. You can use those to replace the Vulcan if you'd like.
Test Subject
#39 Old 22nd Jun 2005 at 12:16 AM
Ohh I love the new Vulcan. I can't wait to try this.
Test Subject
#40 Old 22nd Jun 2005 at 4:04 PM
Can't get the SimPE to work, then again my saved sims aren't ever showing up in my saved sims folder
Test Subject
#41 Old 22nd Jun 2005 at 4:36 PM
Wait, think I've got it. going to find out if it worked
Test Subject
#42 Old 22nd Jun 2005 at 6:51 PM
How do you get SimPE?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#43 Old 22nd Jun 2005 at 7:12 PM
http://sims.ambertation.de/
It's the first hit on Google.
Test Subject
#44 Old 22nd Jun 2005 at 7:19 PM
So it's not available for macs, then? Poo.
Test Subject
#45 Old 23rd Jun 2005 at 6:19 AM
You said something about adding more pollination technicians. I don't know much about BHAV files, but from looking at your Multi_Pollination package and reading the tutorial, it looks like inserting a new set of steps (from one Set to Next to the other) instead of modifying an existing set and adding another coinflip to reference it would allow more than 4 pollination techs to exist. If I knew exactly what it meant by "Set to Next" and "Create New Object Instance" I would have a better idea about it. And what does FFFE mean? That it's a placeholder and that option shouldn't actually be used?

Hmm. This actually doesn't look too complicated, if I'm reading it right. Nice little arrows and everything. That could just be because I like logic gates.

Going to test this, and see if I can get it to use more PTs. Also, the way the current coin flips are set up, I'd have to add 4 new PTs to keep the odds even. No reason why it has to be even, though . . . hmm. I think I'll make a Hellboy type alien-thing. Bright red sims. Heh.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#46 Old 23rd Jun 2005 at 2:25 PM
Yeah, if you know simantics at all, it's not hard to make it have more. It's not a complicated function at all. I just did four because it was an easy number to work with. I actually intend on releasing "expansion packs" in the future that have more. If you want to have a set with even odds that isn't a power of two, you can use some of the other random number generators that are available (in the case of four, it actually would require more lines of code and more complication, so I didn't do it that way).

I think the FFFE you're referring to is one of the true/false targets, yes? Each line you execute in Simantics either returns true, returns false, or returns an error. The line can then branch based on the true/false value (the true/false targets) to other lines. If a line returns Error, the action is aborted. If you have the debug cheats on, you'll usually get an error popup. If there's a sim using an object gets an error, they reset (they "jump") and cease the activity. There are three special values:
FFFC = Return Error
FFFD = Return True
FFFE = Return False

That tells the function to return that value to the calling function, which can then branch accordingly.

"Set to Next" means "find the next thing in this set of things". The operands specify what the set of things is. In this function, they all say "find the next person object with this GUID and give me its NID". The Pollination technicians are unique, so it always finds just the one it's looking for (there aren't 10 Birth Queen #44's -- just the one). "Create New Object Instance" creates a new object (in this case, it creates a new pollination technician of the GUID specified if the one isn't found, then it uses "set to next" to get its NID).

The first four operands to both of those functions are the GUID of the Pollination Technician you want (as described in my instructions earlier in the thread). My understanding of the rest of the operands is not complete, so I was careful not to modify them from the original global I started with. The "create object instance" and second "set to next" may actually be redundant. In my testing, they never got used - it seems like the PT is created automatically because of some property in its object info. However, since they were in the original global, I copied them to be safe, in case there are certain rare circumstances where they are necessary.
Lab Assistant
#47 Old 23rd Jun 2005 at 5:53 PM
So we can have more than 4 slots then. Hmm... could you pretty please write a tutorial for us dummies that need it put simpler. If you can thanx if not, I'm sure I'll get it eventually.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#48 Old 23rd Jun 2005 at 7:43 PM
The tutorial earlier in the thread is as simple as I can make it. Short of writing a new plugin for SimPE, it isn't possible to make the process much simpler. Each of the upcoming expansion packs will come with their own version of the multi-pt hack that has the GUIDs for the corresponding new technicians. I may eventually make some sort of kit that makes it easier to have your own set of pollination technicians "ala carte".
Test Subject
#49 Old 24th Jun 2005 at 8:59 PM
I may be completely confused, but bear with me here. My first question is making the sims in Body Shop - how do you access the hidden (re: green) skins from there? My second thought is this. I attempted to follow the tutorial and make my own PTs and fix it up as you said in the second part. I then created a new Sim to impregnate and it wouldn't work. I attempted to "make me alien pregnant" via boolprop and when I went back to the menu, the Sim still wasn't pregnant. Any ideas as to where/how I screwed up?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#50 Old 24th Jun 2005 at 10:10 PM
I don't think you can access the green skin from there. I've got some alien sims I've exported from the game with SimPE that I clone to start with when I'm making my aliens...

As far as the sim not getting pregnant with boolprop... The only thing I can imagine is that the sim can't get pregnant for some other reason (being too close to elder, not being an adult, etc.) I doubt it could be this hack unless you inadvertantly made some change when adding your own polli tech that caused it to completely fail. If you entered the GUID incorrectly, it's possible that it returned the ID for some other invalid thing instead of the pollination technician. Just to be sure, try removing the hack and seeing if the "get alien pregnant" option works on that sim.
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