Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Mad Poster
#76 Old 31st Oct 2012 at 7:41 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Periandre
I can't get this to work on my laptop. Arrow keys (keypad, directional or the , . keys) just move the camera around. Tried this with it still being a blueprint (after clicking the hand) and in preview mode. I must be missing something.


Oops, forgot some use hotkeys or the keyboard to move around the game. It's exactly what KittyCarey said, I am talking about using the green arrows in the build mode while you are in *hand* mode. Or from the beginning build mode screen, the arrows show up when you are not using the cursor to place anything. Gosh, hope that is clear. I am confusing at times. Sorry.

Resident member of The Receptacle Refugees
Let's help fund mammograms for everyone. If you want to help, Click To Give @ The Breast Cancer Site Your click is free. Thank you.
Advertisement
Scholar
#77 Old 31st Oct 2012 at 10:21 AM
Quote: Originally posted by KittyCarey
I think you've got the wrong idea: go out of blueprint mode into normal build mode and hover the mouse over the wall you want to move. Green arrows should appear, pointing in the directions you can move the wall. Click and drag to shift it. It will move furniture (though not counters - you have to move them first) and add wallpaper to the extra bits of wall if you've created some, though you may have to adjust them if you wanted a different piece at the ends. If too large a section of wall is moved, try clicking from the other side of the wall.


So it's a normal house size adjustment. Thanks! Where's the little blushy icon?
Forum Resident
#78 Old 31st Oct 2012 at 2:42 PM
Hi I haven't patched my game yet, I'm still waiting on my mods to be updated. But I was wondering if blueprint mode can be used for community lots also? I think I get the basic gist of what it is, and how it's supposed to be used....But no one has mentioned using it to build community lots. I mean you can put the rooms down and delete the furniture that comes with blue print and add what you want and decorate it right? I'm terrible at actually building a home, they all look like boxes when I try. But this blue print mode gives us a basic outline of a house, it's just up to us to add and take away as we see fit...
Field Researcher
#79 Old 31st Oct 2012 at 4:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Simsdestroyer
Hi I haven't patched my game yet, I'm still waiting on my mods to be updated. But I was wondering if blueprint mode can be used for community lots also? I think I get the basic gist of what it is, and how it's supposed to be used....But no one has mentioned using it to build community lots. I mean you can put the rooms down and delete the furniture that comes with blue print and add what you want and decorate it right? I'm terrible at actually building a home, they all look like boxes when I try. But this blue print mode gives us a basic outline of a house, it's just up to us to add and take away as we see fit...


It does work with community lots, but all the blueprints are for residential lot, so it can only be used for creating a layout.

Quote: Originally posted by Srikandi
Blueprints are xml files, that point to the object IDs of the game's furniture etc, and specify location, rotation, and pattern preset. You can actually make custom ones right now if you know the rudiments of XML modding; it's just a text edit.


Really? Awesome! I'm going to go check it out right now. I guess the claim EA made that it was complicated was just a lie to help sell more blueprints on the store.
Scholar
#80 Old 31st Oct 2012 at 6:24 PM
Ah HA! I predicted that some folk would "crack" the blueprint mode within a week and it looks doable! I wonder if sharing will be possible though.
Eminence Grise
Original Poster
#81 Old 31st Oct 2012 at 7:34 PM
Quote: Originally posted by kewpie
Ah HA! I predicted that some folk would "crack" the blueprint mode within a week and it looks doable! I wonder if sharing will be possible though.


Yup, can be packaged like any other XML mod... I think
Scholar
#82 Old 31st Oct 2012 at 8:16 PM
This will be so awesome. I hope that some people get hooked on making blueprints and will crank them out. What would be really cool is to make blueprints with trashy cheap furniture only to be used as placeholders so you can decorate it yourself, but use their floor layout.
Inventor
#83 Old 2nd Nov 2012 at 5:48 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Zerbu
I guess the claim EA made that it was complicated was just a lie to help sell more blueprints on the store.

How is making .xml edits even remotely something that you could ask an average user to do?
Field Researcher
#84 Old 2nd Nov 2012 at 6:17 PM
They said they didn't have a feature for creating your own blueprints because it was too complicated, but if all they are is XML files and not some overly complicated format, surely it can't be that hard to include a tool in the game. As a matter of fact, I think some other features in the game export XML files.
Inventor
#85 Old 3rd Nov 2012 at 2:09 PM
I don't think they were referring to writing an .xml when they said it was too complicated. It's the user experience that matters here. If EA only has an internal tool that involves many manual unintuitive steps, I could understand why they don't share it with users.

I actually just checked the game files for Blueprint stuff and apart from the .xml I also see FTPT, VPXY, OBJD, OBJK, MODL, and ICON files for each blue print. Some of these seem to be the same for all blueprints, but others are not. So I'm not yet convinced a pure .xml edit would allow us to create completely new blueprints, though I'd be happy to be convinced of the contrary since I like the functionality and would love to see some user created blueprints that aren't the huge mostly empty rooms that EA seems to favor.
Instructor
#86 Old 3rd Nov 2012 at 11:42 PM
Quote: Originally posted by velocitygrass
I don't think they were referring to writing an .xml when they said it was too complicated. It's the user experience that matters here. If EA only has an internal tool that involves many manual unintuitive steps, I could understand why they don't share it with users.

I actually just checked the game files for Blueprint stuff and apart from the .xml I also see FTPT, VPXY, OBJD, OBJK, MODL, and ICON files for each blue print. Some of these seem to be the same for all blueprints, but others are not. So I'm not yet convinced a pure .xml edit would allow us to create completely new blueprints, though I'd be happy to be convinced of the contrary since I like the functionality and would love to see some user created blueprints that aren't the huge mostly empty rooms that EA seems to favor.


The actual layout of the room is actually in the xml file. However, the ftpt, vpxy and modl files are apparently for the footprint that you see when placing the room. These are in a new version of the format for the appropriate file types that (as far as I know) haven't been decoded yet. The OBJD and OBJK resources are probably how they get included in the catalog in play mode and what links the various resources together.

I suspect that once we understand the layout of these changed resource types, we will be able to create a tool to make new blueprint rooms. In fact, I suspect we'll be able to draw a room in an editor and then have the tool auto-generate the rest of the information.

With full time job and full time school (and CC Magic too), I'm not sure I'll have the time to do the editor myself, but I'd be happy to work with anyone who is making an editor/tool.

codename: granthes -- Developer of Sims3/4 utilities
Now working on modding tools for the Sims 4 CAS Demo
Test Subject
#87 Old 4th Nov 2012 at 9:34 PM
I patched because I really wanted to try out Blueprint mode. But after finally making the house and moving in a sim, the house was empty (meaning no furniture) but in Blueprint Mode and Build/Buy mode before I started playing, there was furniture in there. I even edited a few rooms a bit in Build/Buy mode to the way I'd like it. Is this a bug or is this the way it's supposed to be?

This was in a clean game... I had started a new game in Sunset Valley for this and I had all my mods and CC out of the game for the time being.
Eminence Grise
Original Poster
#88 Old 5th Nov 2012 at 12:11 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Denim
I patched because I really wanted to try out Blueprint mode. But after finally making the house and moving in a sim, the house was empty (meaning no furniture) but in Blueprint Mode and Build/Buy mode before I started playing, there was furniture in there. I even edited a few rooms a bit in Build/Buy mode to the way I'd like it. Is this a bug or is this the way it's supposed to be?

This was in a clean game... I had started a new game in Sunset Valley for this and I had all my mods and CC out of the game for the time being.


So you built the house in Edit Town, and then had the sim buy it? Did you buy it furnished or unfurnished?

If you bought it furnished, I think it's a bug. I haven't tested using blueprints exactly that way though... I had the sim buy the empty lot and then placed the blueprint. Did place a bathroom blueprint on a community lot in edit town and it was furnished when my sim visited it, though.
Test Subject
#89 Old 5th Nov 2012 at 12:20 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Srikandi
So you built the house in Edit Town, and then had the sim buy it? Did you buy it furnished or unfurnished?

If you bought it furnished, I think it's a bug. I haven't tested using blueprints exactly that way though... I had the sim buy the empty lot and then placed the blueprint. Did place a bathroom blueprint on a community lot in edit town and it was furnished when my sim visited it, though.


I think when I did it, I moved the sim in from Edit Town mode, which is the way I always do it since I usually use total annihilation from Twallan's mastercontroller (which is not installed at the moment) and put in my own sims. Yes, I did build it in Edit Town.
Inventor
#90 Old 28th Nov 2012 at 10:14 AM
Grant, you are correct. I created a test package with a 3x5 hall (instead of 3x6) and the blueprint preview was the old 3x6, but the actual built room was 3x5. That's very encouraging as a first step. I need to see to believe sometimes
Field Researcher
#91 Old 28th Nov 2012 at 1:02 PM
plastic lips are sealed with glue
hide swallowed teeth in sealed balloons
count their limbs - we stop at two
'what you don't hurt can know you'
Test Subject
#92 Old 4th Dec 2012 at 9:55 AM
i dont have any faith in them, they will be working on sims 4. they release new sims every 4 to 5 years so i guess its time. they are just going to try and get as much money out of sims 3 with some store content dlc's. they are allready people talking about sims 4. yes i do with they would sort out the game before moving on to something new. there so many faults with sims 3. game crashes, trouble installing addons, slow, i could just go on and on. ea just need to sort out there s**t, well for the money they charge there should be no issues. well that's what i think .......


Quote: Originally posted by lewisb40
One of the things that make me excited about new EP coming in the game, the modding community! I have faith in them.
Field Researcher
#93 Old 4th Dec 2012 at 10:19 AM
I've used the blueprint a bit myself. Used it to change a house, making it bigger. It's good that it's an extra thing and you're still able to built walls. It's actually just a option to make some standard rooms. Everything is prefab, wysiwyg. You still can change the furniture and other things afterwards. I guess it's usefull for the lazy builder who wants to quickly built houses without spending hours to it. You still have to add a stair yourself if you want to built a house with more then one floor though, cause that isn't included.
Test Subject
#94 Old 19th Jan 2013 at 11:00 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ticklish
Ya is another way for ea too make you buy Sim points. Just like they do with Sim social if want it now you got too pay real money.
Nah its becasue of Origin, in my opinion, Its the worst thing to happen to TS3
Top Secret Researcher
#95 Old 20th Jan 2013 at 11:25 PM
I only managed to get my copy working yesterday for adout an hour befor crashing. I maybe wrong by saying this but I am the only one thinking that is really lazy thing to add. True I think it is a bad thing to add but I do not think it is worst thing they have added no ... that goes to the socail features and mulitplayer things that takes that title in my opinion.

"I know, and it breaks my heart to do it, but we must remain vigilant. If you cannot tell me another way, do not brand me a tyrant!" - knight commander Meredith (dragon age 2)

My sims stories: Witch queen
Nocturnal Dawn
Page 4 of 4
Back to top