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Test Subject
Original Poster
#1 Old 18th Jul 2015 at 7:51 PM
Default I want to make Sims gain fatness/fitness faster, would that be a tuning mod?
Hi guys!

For my own personal taste, I wanted sims to gain and lose weight faster, and so I thought I'd create a mod to do this. However, I've never modded anything before (recolored my first object yesterday, yay!) and so I'm overwhelmed as where to begin. I've read all the tutorials and am trying to understand what I'll need -- I need to download python, download the file so I can access sims 4 python files, and then.... what? Start looking around for things that modify fatness and fitness? I imagine it won't be just a straightforward value I can bump up, and instead I may have to change all the calorie values of the foods and the calorie loss of exercising on specific machines, maybe?

What are those files from the EA forum called the custom content guide? What is s4pe and do I need it for something like this? Where exactly are the sims 4 python files hidden?

I'm sorry, this must sound so stupid to you guys, but I'm completely at a loss to get started. :/ I fear I picked a problem too complex for my first try.
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Pettifogging Legalist!
retired moderator
#2 Old 18th Jul 2015 at 8:16 PM
The custom content guide is a PDF they published with info on how modding works. You should probably download and read it.

s4pe = Sims 4 Package Editor. It is a tool for making/editing packages .. such as mods that contain XML tuning. And yes, this would very likely be XML tuning. TBH I thought I had seen this already available for download, though -- have you checked in Downloads > Mods?

Stuff for TS2 · TS3 · TS4 | Please do not PM me with technical questions – we have Create forums for that.

In the kingdom of the blind, do as the Romans do.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#3 Old 18th Jul 2015 at 9:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by plasticbox
The custom content guide is a PDF they published with info on how modding works. You should probably download and read it.

s4pe = Sims 4 Package Editor. It is a tool for making/editing packages .. such as mods that contain XML tuning. And yes, this would very likely be XML tuning. TBH I thought I had seen this already available for download, though -- have you checked in Downloads > Mods?


Hi, thanks for the quick response! I check through the mods here frequently for all sorts of stuff, but to be sure I just went through all 33 pages and can confirm there's nothing like this! The only thing remotely close is a slider expander for the fitness/fatness sliders, and in order for them to stick you have to disable weight gain/loss. So that's actually the opposite of what I was aiming for, haha. I'll start with the pdf and work from there. Thanks very much!
Forum Resident
#4 Old 19th Jul 2015 at 1:58 AM
I believe scumbumbo said that the xml tuning for the commodity fitness fit and fitness fat controlled how quickly Sims would gain or one weight or muscle. I haven't tested it myself though.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#5 Old 23rd Jul 2015 at 4:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simmythesim
I believe scumbumbo said that the xml tuning for the commodity fitness fit and fitness fat controlled how quickly Sims would gain or one weight or muscle. I haven't tested it myself though.


Hi, my apologies as this may sound very stupid, but I need some help. I really want to do this, but I'm at a total loss. I've been clicking through the forums overwhelmed with the amount of tools, files, and whether they are not out of date, I'm trying to follow a guide but each one link leads to something else, and so on... so if I may, I'll list off to you what I think I have to do, and could you correct me? At this point I'm not sure what tools are what I need. I've been trying to follow plastic's XML tuning how-to guide.

Step 1: Read through the EA guide. I've done that and looked through the tdesc files at well. According to the documentation, tdescs are XML, right? But I take it I couldn't edit directly off one and get it to run in game. It seems they're like XMLs, but not? Script mods are different than xml tuning mods, correct?

Step 2: I went to use Morgade's Tuning Tool, but it's out of date. Next, I went to download Velocity's Sims4XMLExtractor, but it's also out of date. Scumbumbo has a XML/Binary Tuning Extractor that seems to work, but I am unsure of what the Binary aspect means. I finally found the Sims 4 Mod Workshop by Zerbu, but it also requires the extracted XML. Should I use scumbumbo's XML extractor or can I use [https://fogity.wordpress.com/resources/extracted-tuning/]Fogity's extracted tuning found here[/URL] ?

Step 3: At this point, this is where I would start looking through the files to find the one I wanted to tune. I assume this is where I could find the commodity fitness and fatness you mentioned?

Step 4: This mod would be considered an override, correct?

Step 5: I at least have S4PE installed and functioning, so putting my tuning mod into .package form shouldn't be too difficult.

If you could just point me in the direction of getting the XML extracted (I'm working on getting the resource from SimulationBuild0.package right now) then I will be able to move on from there. Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate any help you can give so much.
Deceased
#6 Old 23rd Jul 2015 at 4:52 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
Step 1: Read through the EA guide. I've done that and looked through the tdesc files at well. According to the documentation, tdescs are XML, right? But I take it I couldn't edit directly off one and get it to run in game. It seems they're like XMLs, but not? Script mods are different than xml tuning mods, correct?

Yes, tdesc is short for tuning descriptions, and they are stored in XML. That can be a bit unreadable, so I wrote a tdesc browser which I use a lot myself. They are just documentation, you don't want to edit those. Script mods are completely different from XML mods, but some mods use both, typically the XML to control the UI aspects of the mod and the script does the nitty-gritty work for features that aren't included in the game.

Quote:
Step 2: I went to use Morgade's Tuning Tool, but it's out of date. Next, I went to download Velocity's Sims4XMLExtractor, but it's also out of date. Scumbumbo has a XML/Binary Tuning Extractor that seems to work, but I am unsure of what the Binary aspect means. I finally found the Sims 4 Mod Workshop by Zerbu, but it also requires the extracted XML. Should I use scumbumbo's XML extractor or can I use Fogity's extracted tuning?

Fogity's files have not been updated for several game patches now, so you should use the XML Extractor (or Sims 4 Studio) to get the XML. Both will now handle the "binary tuning files" which are stored in the game package files. I wrote a short tutorial that tells how to extract the game's XML files for editing.

From there on it sounds like you have a pretty solid idea of what you need to do next. I haven't looked at that fitness/fatness stuff in quite some time, so I'm not sure how difficult what you're wanting to do may be - should be doable if I remember correctly. If you run into any problems, just ask and I or someone will get back to you. Have fun!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#7 Old 24th Jul 2015 at 4:36 AM
Quote: Originally posted by scumbumbo
From there on it sounds like you have a pretty solid idea of what you need to do next. I haven't looked at that fitness/fatness stuff in quite some time, so I'm not sure how difficult what you're wanting to do may be - should be doable if I remember correctly. If you run into any problems, just ask and I or someone will get back to you. Have fun!


Hi again! First let me take a moment to thank you SO MUCH for your patience and kindness through this. Thanks to your guidance and tutorials I was able to extract the XML and use your tdesc viewer to look for the relevant files. I have just a couple more questions (good thing too, because if you did much more work this would be more your mod than mine! :P)

So first, I believe the file I need to access is found under Tuning > Objects-Components_Consumable_Component > ConsumableComponent. Within that file, it looks like this.
Code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<M n="objects.components.consumable_component" s="8910170354296316884">
  <C n="ConsumableComponent">
    <T n="CALORIES_PER_POUND">150</T>
    <T n="CONSUMABLE_COMMODITY">16634</T>
    <T n="FAT_COMMODITY">16589</T>
    <T n="FAT_STATE">15151</T>
    <T n="FIT_COMMODITY">16590</T>
    <T n="FIT_STATE">15179</T>
    <T n="SIM_WEIGHT_RANGE">200</T>
  </C>
</M>


Now, I was able to make sims gain weight faster simply by editing the calories per pound. (I set it to 15 and my sim noticably gained weight after 2 plates of mac anc cheese. YAY!) However, I'm confused on how to make them lose weight faster. With the calories per pound, the value given makes sense to me, but for the rest, I'm not actually sure what these values represent. Some unit of measure? Should I just use trial and error to find if I need to make a number higher or lower, and to what degree? Would perhaps setting the Fit and Fat_Commodity to something lower like 5000 help them change faster? Also, I'm not entirely sure about the "commodity" term. I've seen it semi-frequently while looking into the files, and my understanding is that Commodity is the attraction that items have to sims to satisfy a particular desire. Am I completely off base in thinking of that? Also I take it Fit and Fat_State tell you at what point your sim is considered fit and fat? I appreciate all your help, I'm actually starting to get it and that's such a fun feeling.

Lastly, one minor thing. When I got just the calories per pound value changed, I packaged it up and threw it in game to test it. When packaging, it gave me the option to change the type/group/instance. I figured, since this is changing default EA xml, it should be the exact same, and so I left it alone and it seemed fine. However, according to the EA guide I should do a number of things, including making sure the group starts with 1, and use a "hash" for the instance of mods. I assume this is what the program hasher is for? Would changing this make this no longer an override, or simply reduce the chance for collision?

Thank you so much, again. ^_^
Deceased
#8 Old 24th Jul 2015 at 5:25 AM
Changing that commodity number in that tuning wouldn't help - in fact it would hurt quite a bit. That's not a value, but a pointer to a commodity instance (in decimal). Converting the FAT_COMMODITY to hex, we find that it's commodity instance ID is 0x000040FA. The commodity XML files themselves are stored in the XML in the statistic folder. The states are probably less interesting for what it sounds like you are wanting to do, and are stored in the object_state folder. These are like switches, controlled by the commodities themselves - so if a commodity is in a specific range the state will change it's value to a specific value. The tuning descriptions describe these tunings pretty well, so I'll leave you to explore and ask questions if you need to.

Something somewhere should be causing the fat commodity's value to either decay over time, or during an action (e.g. exercise likely decreases the fatness commodity during the interaction, and increases the fitness commodity).

Yeah, you don't want to change the TGI for an override as other parts of the game point to that. So if you change the TGI, the game will use the original rather than your override. For a new piece of XML (say for instance you wanted to create a new set of states controlled by the fitness commodity in addition to the existing ones rather than instead of), you will want to create a name and hash that as described in the documentation from EA.

Hope this helps out, and yes I'm intentionally being kind of vague in places as it sounds like you're wanting to learn by doing - but if I'm ever too vague let me know!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#9 Old 24th Jul 2015 at 10:38 PM
Hello again!

First, yes, I do want to learn by doing and so I appreciate very much you teaching me to fish, rather than feeding me for a day.

Onwards to my current confusions! Most of them have to do with understanding the language of the XML files, so feel free to get a little more specific here, or use liberal amounts of examples if that would help. Once I get the idea of what certain terms and concepts mean, I should be able to expand that knowledge onto future mods.

1. Determining hex - Now, you said "Converting the FAT_COMMODITY to hex, we find that it's commodity instance ID is 0x000040FA." I had never heard of hex before but after doing some research I think I understand it. I plugged the number for FAT_COMMODITY into both google and python's hex() function, but I got 40CD, not FA. Is there some other factor I forgot to account for? Is that the correct way to convert to hex?

2. Looking at 40CD, I seem to be on the right track. The first line is as follows:
Code:
<I c="Commodity" i="statistic" m="statistics.commodity" n="commodity_Fitness_Fat" s="16589">


Here's where I start to get stuck. I've used the EA CC Guide to help me understand what many of the single letter instances represent (such as I, M, n, s, t and so on) but the particular LANGUAGE of the named tunable values is confusing to me. I think is comes partially from my lack of programming knowledge, and partially from my lack of knowledge of the game's inner workings. If I don't understand what commodities are and the effects they have on my sims, how can I know what values need to be tuned? This is where your tdesc tuning descriptor has been incredibly useful, but I've been having a somewhat difficult time finding them all. In this case, I went to Statistics > Commodity and have been finding many of the values I was confused about, such as default_convergence_value, _max_simulate_time_on_load and arrow_data, but I can't find more specific ones such as commodity_Fitness_Fat. Is this because that value is for the name of the XML value as a whole, and not of an individual tunable value? Also, in the event of numbers I find, how can I tell what is their range? If I had to take a guess, I'd say maybe -100 to 100? (Side note: I have also found 40CE, which seems to be named commodity_Fitness_Fit so understanding one should make the second one quite easy.)

If you have any advice or external reading on the games inner workings, I'd gladly accept that now. I think at this point I would benefit greatly from a more thorough foundation of the hidden programming of gameplay, so that I can look at these XML files and understand the concepts I currently find abstract, such as commodities, convergence, thresholds, and simulated time.

Thanks so much for reading and all your help.
Pettifogging Legalist!
retired moderator
#10 Old 24th Jul 2015 at 10:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
1. Determining hex - Now, you said "Converting the FAT_COMMODITY to hex, we find that it's commodity instance ID is 0x000040FA." I had never heard of hex before but after doing some research I think I understand it. I plugged the number for FAT_COMMODITY into both google and python's hex() function, but I got 40CD, not FA. Is there some other factor I forgot to account for? Is that the correct way to convert to hex?

2. Looking at 40CD, I seem to be on the right track. The first line is as follows:
Code:
<I c="Commodity" i="statistic" m="statistics.commodity" n="commodity_Fitness_Fat" s="16589">


Yes, you are on the right track =). I guess what happened is that scumbumbo accidentially looked at the line *above* fat when he said 0x000040FA -- consumable, 16634, which is 0x40FA in hexadecimal. 16589 is 0x40CD.

Stuff for TS2 · TS3 · TS4 | Please do not PM me with technical questions – we have Create forums for that.

In the kingdom of the blind, do as the Romans do.
Deceased
#11 Old 25th Jul 2015 at 4:26 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
I went to Statistics > Commodity and have been finding many of the values I was confused about, such as default_convergence_value, _max_simulate_time_on_load and arrow_data, but I can't find more specific ones such as commodity_Fitness_Fat. Is this because that value is for the name of the XML value as a whole, and not of an individual tunable value? Also, in the event of numbers I find, how can I tell what is their range? If I had to take a guess, I'd say maybe -100 to 100?

Yes, you're correct in both of those assumptions! The tuning descriptions just describe the XML nodes that can be tuned, not the entire instance (or as you put it the "name of the XML as a whole"). Every (well, practically every) XML instance will have a name like that, and it just kind of generally describes what that whole file is all about. In this case, it's a commodity, that deals with the fitness of a sim, and specifically how fat that sim is. And yes, that fatness can be anywhere in that mix to max range of -100 to 100.
Quote:
If you have any advice or external reading on the games inner workings, I'd gladly accept that now. I think at this point I would benefit greatly from a more thorough foundation of the hidden programming of gameplay, so that I can look at these XML files and understand the concepts I currently find abstract, such as commodities, convergence, thresholds, and simulated time.

Don't know that there's much in the way of external reading. I know there was a wiki that got started, but not sure how far that got or even if it still exists. It was pretty barren the last time I looked. So, what is...

A commodity? Basically a commodity is just a number or "statistic" stored with an game object (and a sim is a type of object). But it's a special type of statistic in that it has a value that can change over time. It will have a tendency to "decay" to the "convergence" value. So say the convergence value is -100, if the decay rate is the default (0.001 per sim minute) and the current value of the commodity is 45.3, then after ten sim minutes it will decay to 45.29. If the value was -1, it would decay after ten minutes to -1.01.

The convergence is usually set to the minimum for that commodity, but it could be a center-point instead. If the convergence were 0, then 45.3 would decay to 45.29, but -1 would decay to -0.99 UP towards the convergence point.

A threshold is a point where a commodity is in "distress" or basically, it needs attention. This could be a sim having to relieve themself. So once that threshold value is reached, it will typically trigger a buff or an interaction. If a commodity is in distress too long, it will reach the failure point, at which time the commodity distress runs, e.g. a neglected child needing to be snatched by the baby police.

Simulated time is ... well, simulated time. If you switch to another household then the game stops tracking those sim's commodity deltas. Once that household is reloaded, the game will compare the last time that lot was saved with the current sim clock and simulate that the commodity changed during that time. This is not really well simulated, which is why if you have a baby in a crib on a lot and go play another household for an extended period of time, when you return to that lot the game wlll be screaming that the baby is being abused because you haven't fed it in a week and all the plants are dried up husks, etc.

Hope this helps!

ETA - This was why I made a point that the fatness had a decay of 0. The decay can be changed by other parts of the game (e.g. a buff), they will reference the commodity and set it's decay to a new value.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#12 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 1:23 AM
Hello again! Your messages were very helpful, and I definitely feel myself "getting it"! :D

If I may, I'd like to post sections of the code and do my best to explain them with the knowledge I have, and then you can confirm/correct me. This will help me solidify my understanding and allow for you to point out where I'm mistaken. :D

Code:
<I c="Commodity" i="statistic" m="statistics.commodity" n="commodity_Fitness_Fat" s="16589">
  <T n="_default_convergence_value">-100</T>
  <V t="enabled" n="_max_simulate_time_on_load">
    <T n="enabled">0</T>
  </V>

The first line tells me where to find the section, and what it controls. Line 2 is the default convergence value, and since it's at -100 I assume that means that if your sim starts the game at max fatness, they will slowly converge back to that unless the player intercedes. Third line says that that is enabled, followed by a simulated time instance, but the 4th line marks that as NOT simulated, meaning a sim that's not in a played household will not get any closer to the convergence?

Code:
  <U n="arrow_data">
    <T n="negative_double_arrow">-20</T>
    <T n="negative_single_arrow">-1</T>
    <T n="negative_triple_arrow">-30</T>
    <T n="positive_double_arrow">20</T>
    <T n="positive_single_arrow">1</T>
    <T n="positive_triple_arrow">30</T>
</U>

This section details whether or not arrows should show detailing the rise or fall of this stat. I imagine this matters more for a commodity that has a moodlet that goes with it, such as "hungry" or "tired". I'm not sure where or if these are necessary for fat, since I don't think it actually shows anywhere like that.
Code:
  <T n="auto_satisfy_curve_random_time_offset">120</T>
  <T n="decay_rate">0</T>
  <U n="initial_tuning">
    <T n="_use_auto_satisfy_curve_as_initial_value">False</T>
    <T n="_value">0</T>
  </U>

NOW, the first line explains that the game has a randomizer so that the time until the commodity auto-satisfied isn't the same every time. What exactly is an auto-satisfy curve? Like arrow_data, I sort of understand the concept, but I'm not sure how it applies specifically to the fatness commodity. Do sims feel gross when they gain too much weight? And there, the infamous decay rate you mentioned. It is a multiplier override, I believe. So in theory, if I increased its value, whatever actions that caused fat decay should work faster, no? The next line is self explanatory, then finally, VALUE. It's set to 0. Since this is indented underneath initial_tuning, we now know that there is no initial tuning set in place. My issue is, particularly with this and everything in the next block: they make sense to me when viewed in a context of say, hunger, but I'm not sure how the fat commodity applied. The next block is as follows:
Code:
 <T n="max_value_tuning">100</T>
  <T n="maximum_auto_satisfy_time">1440</T>
  <T n="min_value_tuning">-100</T>
  <T n="remove_on_convergence">False</T>
  <L n="states">
    <U>
      <U n="buff">
        <T n="buff_type">77836</T>
      </U>
      <T n="value">-100</T>
    </U>
    <U>
      <T n="value">-80</T>
    </U>

I may be overthinking this. I'm just very interested in understanding the inner workings of the files. After posting this, I am going to give some values to decay rate and throw it in game to see if actions that cause fatness to decay work more quickly. Thanks as always for reading and all your help!
Forum Resident
#13 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 3:37 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
Hello again! Your messages were very helpful, and I definitely feel myself "getting it"! :D

If I may, I'd like to post sections of the code and do my best to explain them with the knowledge I have, and then you can confirm/correct me. This will help me solidify my understanding and allow for you to point out where I'm mistaken. :D

Code:
<I c="Commodity" i="statistic" m="statistics.commodity" n="commodity_Fitness_Fat" s="16589">
  <T n="_default_convergence_value">-100</T>
  <V t="enabled" n="_max_simulate_time_on_load">
    <T n="enabled">0</T>
  </V>

The first line tells me where to find the section, and what it controls. Line 2 is the default convergence value, and since it's at -100 I assume that means that if your sim starts the game at max fatness, they will slowly converge back to that unless the player intercedes. Third line says that that is enabled, followed by a simulated time instance, but the 4th line marks that as NOT simulated, meaning a sim that's not in a played household will not get any closer to the convergence?

Code:
  <U n="arrow_data">
    <T n="negative_double_arrow">-20</T>
    <T n="negative_single_arrow">-1</T>
    <T n="negative_triple_arrow">-30</T>
    <T n="positive_double_arrow">20</T>
    <T n="positive_single_arrow">1</T>
    <T n="positive_triple_arrow">30</T>
</U>

This section details whether or not arrows should show detailing the rise or fall of this stat. I imagine this matters more for a commodity that has a moodlet that goes with it, such as "hungry" or "tired". I'm not sure where or if these are necessary for fat, since I don't think it actually shows anywhere like that.
Code:
  <T n="auto_satisfy_curve_random_time_offset">120</T>
  <T n="decay_rate">0</T>
  <U n="initial_tuning">
    <T n="_use_auto_satisfy_curve_as_initial_value">False</T>
    <T n="_value">0</T>
  </U>

NOW, the first line explains that the game has a randomizer so that the time until the commodity auto-satisfied isn't the same every time. What exactly is an auto-satisfy curve? Like arrow_data, I sort of understand the concept, but I'm not sure how it applies specifically to the fatness commodity. Do sims feel gross when they gain too much weight? And there, the infamous decay rate you mentioned. It is a multiplier override, I believe. So in theory, if I increased its value, whatever actions that caused fat decay should work faster, no? The next line is self explanatory, then finally, VALUE. It's set to 0. Since this is indented underneath initial_tuning, we now know that there is no initial tuning set in place. My issue is, particularly with this and everything in the next block: they make sense to me when viewed in a context of say, hunger, but I'm not sure how the fat commodity applied. The next block is as follows:
Code:
 <T n="max_value_tuning">100</T>
  <T n="maximum_auto_satisfy_time">1440</T>
  <T n="min_value_tuning">-100</T>
  <T n="remove_on_convergence">False</T>
  <L n="states">
    <U>
      <U n="buff">
        <T n="buff_type">77836</T>
      </U>
      <T n="value">-100</T>
    </U>
    <U>
      <T n="value">-80</T>
    </U>

I may be overthinking this. I'm just very interested in understanding the inner workings of the files. After posting this, I am going to give some values to decay rate and throw it in game to see if actions that cause fatness to decay work more quickly. Thanks as always for reading and all your help!

I found the post where Scumbumbo talked about fitness and fatness! Here's a relevant part of the post.

Quote:
If someone changed the commodity to make fatness range from -50 to 50, it wouldn't change the actual displayed fatness/leanness, it would just double the rate at which visible changes occur, as if eating some food added 1 to the fatness commodity it would actually add 2 percent to the visible physique.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#14 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 5:17 AM
Quote: Originally posted by simmythesim
I found the post where Scumbumbo talked about fitness and fatness! Here's a relevant part of the post.


Hello! Thanks for finding that! It seems so simple in retrospect! I tried plugging it in here, since that seemed the most-likely place.
Code:
 <T n="max_value_tuning">100</T>
  <T n="maximum_auto_satisfy_time">1440</T>
  <T n="min_value_tuning">-100</T>


However, when I threw it into my game, it doesn't seem to work. In fact, it seems my sims don't lose or gain weight at all! To test, I gave one sim insta-large and the other insta-lean, and then I had the one run and the other chain-eat pizza. After 14 hours of just doing those activities, they looked the exact same as when we started. I even changed the values again to 25 and -25, just to see, but I got the same result. Is there some other value I need to change that I'm missing? I s'pose there's also a possibility that I packed it incorrectly into S4PE, haha...

Thanks for reading and your help!
Forum Resident
#15 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 7:30 AM Last edited by simmythesim : 26th Jul 2015 at 8:39 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
Hello! Thanks for finding that! It seems so simple in retrospect! I tried plugging it in here, since that seemed the most-likely place.
Code:
 <T n="max_value_tuning">100</T>
  <T n="maximum_auto_satisfy_time">1440</T>
  <T n="min_value_tuning">-100</T>


However, when I threw it into my game, it doesn't seem to work. In fact, it seems my sims don't lose or gain weight at all! To test, I gave one sim insta-large and the other insta-lean, and then I had the one run and the other chain-eat pizza. After 14 hours of just doing those activities, they looked the exact same as when we started. I even changed the values again to 25 and -25, just to see, but I got the same result. Is there some other value I need to change that I'm missing? I s'pose there's also a possibility that I packed it incorrectly into S4PE, haha...

Thanks for reading and your help!

You need to change the value in the corresponding DATA file. There's a DATA file reader named Sims4Data here on MTS and the actual files are in SimulationDeltaBuild and SimulaionFullBuild.

Extract the DATA files by sorting by the DATA tag on s4pe, then drop them into a new folder, then download Zerbu Mod Workshop and point it to the Data Folder Files and the Xml files, then clone the fitness and fatness as overrides in Zerbu's Mod workshop. The data files should be cloned with it, open the data files with Sims4Data and change the values to match the xml ones you modified.

Sounds complicated? I know, just ask more questions!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#16 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 7:33 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simmythesim
You need to change the value in the corresponding DATA file. There's a DATA file reader named Sims4Data here on MTS and the actual files are in SimulationDeltaBuild and SimulaionFullBuild.

Extract the DATA files by sorting by the DATA tag on s4pe, then drop them into a new folder, then download Zerbu Mod Workshop and point it to the Data Folder Files and the Xml files, then clone the fitness and fatness as overrides in Zerbu's Mod workshop. The data files should be cloned with it, open the data files with Sims4Data and change the values to match the xml ones you modified.

Sounds complicated? I know, just ask more questions!


Hello again! Thank you for your instructions! I'm trying to follow along, but I'm not accustomed with these tools, so forgive me. These are my following questions:

Step 1 is to use S4PE to extract the Data Files, correct? What do I need to use the file reader Sims4Data for? Should I only extract the data files that are relevant to this mod? (side note: I accidentally used s4pe to extract ALL of the files with the tag data onto my desktop, whoops! ) Also, what is the difference between the Delta and Full Build, and how can I determine which is the correct one to extract, or should I extract both?

Step 2 is to use Sims 4 Mod Workshop to clone the overrides. That is done under the Browser/Clone Tool, I assume. I think what I'm trying to do here is find the particular XML. I set the Type to Statistic, but every time I search, either with a Sub-Type or text in the Contains text box, the program has an exception and closes. I'm not sure if I have an old/incorrect version or I'm doing something terribly wrong.

Thanks for reading!
Deceased
#17 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 7:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
What do I need to use the file reader Sims4Data for? Should I only extract the data files that are relevant to this mod?

The Sims4Data program will allow you to edit the values in the data file once it's extracted. And yes, you only need the data files that are relevant for the mod.
Quote:
Also, what is the difference between the Delta and Full Build, and how can I determine which is the correct one to extract, or should I extract both?

The full build is the original file that came with the game. The delta build contains the game patch updates and so that is the most recent version of those data files. However, some are not in the deltas if they've never been changed by a patch, so you may still need to go back to the full build file.
Quote:
Step 2 is to use Sims 4 Mod Workshop...

Sorry, I don't use the workshop so I couldn't tell you why your search may be failing. I believe it's been updated a few times, so yes you might want to start with checking you have the latest version of it.
Forum Resident
#18 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 11:01 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
Hello again! Thank you for your instructions! I'm trying to follow along, but I'm not accustomed with these tools, so forgive me. These are my following questions:

Step 1 is to use S4PE to extract the Data Files, correct? What do I need to use the file reader Sims4Data for? Should I only extract the data files that are relevant to this mod? (side note: I accidentally used s4pe to extract ALL of the files with the tag data onto my desktop, whoops! ) Also, what is the difference between the Delta and Full Build, and how can I determine which is the correct one to extract, or should I extract both?

Step 2 is to use Sims 4 Mod Workshop to clone the overrides. That is done under the Browser/Clone Tool, I assume. I think what I'm trying to do here is find the particular XML. I set the Type to Statistic, but every time I search, either with a Sub-Type or text in the Contains text box, the program has an exception and closes. I'm not sure if I have an old/incorrect version or I'm doing something terribly wrong.

Thanks for reading!

I also had a problem with the Mod Workshop throwing an error every time I tried to clone, make sure to have your extract folder set or else it will keep throwing errors!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#19 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 11:22 PM
Quote: Originally posted by scumbumbo
The Sims4Data program will allow you to edit the values in the data file once it's extracted. And yes, you only need the data files that are relevant for the mod.

Sorry, I don't use the workshop so I couldn't tell you why your search may be failing. I believe it's been updated a few times, so yes you might want to start with checking you have the latest version of it.


I apologize for these two questions because they may be hilariously stupid, but how can I determine which .data file(s) is relevant to the mod? So far the only way I can look inside them is to have extracted them already, then look at them one at a time with the data reader. Surely I must be missing something.

Second question: I'm fine with not using the Mod Workshop if there is an alternative. What would be the steps required if I did not want to use it?

Thanks for reading!
Forum Resident
#20 Old 26th Jul 2015 at 11:37 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
I apologize for these two questions because they may be hilariously stupid, but how can I determine which .data file(s) is relevant to the mod? So far the only way I can look inside them is to have extracted them already, then look at them one at a time with the data reader. Surely I must be missing something.

Second question: I'm fine with not using the Mod Workshop if there is an alternative. What would be the steps required if I did not want to use it?

Thanks for reading!
You can determine if a DATA file is relevant to the xml file if they have the same instance number. You CAN not use Mod Workshop, it's purely for convenience reasons.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#21 Old 27th Jul 2015 at 12:02 AM Last edited by Loxotic : 27th Jul 2015 at 12:06 AM. Reason: incorrect information
Default Almost There.
Quote: Originally posted by simmythesim
You CAN not use Mod Workshop, it's purely for convenience reasons.


Hi, simmy!
I was able to get the workshop working, and I'm SO CLOSE I CAN TASTE IT! I changed the values in the data reader, and then saved it. When the workshop cloned it, it gave me both an xml file and a .data file. Do I pack both of these into a package now using S4PE, or just one/the other?

Thank you! :D
Forum Resident
#22 Old 27th Jul 2015 at 3:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
Hi, simmy!
I was able to get the workshop working, and I'm SO CLOSE I CAN TASTE IT! I changed the values in the data reader, and then saved it. When the workshop cloned it, it gave me both an xml file and a .data file. Do I pack both of these into a package now using S4PE, or just one/the other?

Thank you! :D

You pack both of the files in s4pe and then save it. You can do it!
Test Subject
Original Poster
#23 Old 27th Jul 2015 at 6:47 AM
Default It is complete!
HI GUYS!

I am pleased to say that with the joint efforts of scumbumbo, simmythesim, and plasticbox I was able to complete this!
It seems to work well. I still need to do more testing on the losing-weight part because it seemed a little slow, but I might just be imagining it. I've been watching sims jog and eat cake for so long my frame of reference is gone.

Thank you guys SO MUCH for your patience and kindness. When I posted, I was so worried someone was going to be like "read the guides, idiot!" but instead I was met with the most patient people on the internet! I feel like I have a much better understanding of the innerworking that goes into mod-making and next time I want something done in game I may just be able to do it myself.

Uploading it here in case anyone wanted to test it/mess with it/examine it.
Attached files:
File Type: zip  GainLoseWeight4xFasterbyLoxotic.zip (1.6 KB, 121 downloads) - View custom content
Description: the min/max is -25 to 25, making sims weight gain or loss show up 4x as fast. Theoretically.
Deceased
#24 Old 27th Jul 2015 at 4:24 PM
Great that it's going smooth now. The only concern I have is that by tightening up the range in the XML for the commodity, there may be some additional changes that are required. Specifically anything that references that commodity's values. I haven't looked, but two possibilities I can think of would be the object states and possibly some objective tests for aspirations (not sure if there are any, but an example might be "get a sim to maximum or minimum weight).

The good news is that based on the previous thread on this kind of thing (going off memory here) I think we did determine that the visual fatness automatically scaled to the commodity's range in the Python code, so visibly a sim with a commodity value of 25 should appear to be at their fatest, and vice-versa for the -25.
Test Subject
#25 Old 7th Aug 2015 at 5:57 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Loxotic
HI GUYS!

I am pleased to say that with the joint efforts of scumbumbo, simmythesim, and plasticbox I was able to complete this!
It seems to work well. I still need to do more testing on the losing-weight part because it seemed a little slow, but I might just be imagining it. I've been watching sims jog and eat cake for so long my frame of reference is gone.

Thank you guys SO MUCH for your patience and kindness. When I posted, I was so worried someone was going to be like "read the guides, idiot!" but instead I was met with the most patient people on the internet! I feel like I have a much better understanding of the innerworking that goes into mod-making and next time I want something done in game I may just be able to do it myself.

Uploading it here in case anyone wanted to test it/mess with it/examine it.


I'm so glad you went through all this trouble, because I've wanted to do the same thing but was way too intimidated. Just downloaded it and can't wait to try it out!
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