Date Posted: 8th Dec 2011 at 11:06 PM

12-19-2011
An apha(for testing only) release of my Sims 3 world 'A Freudian Fantasy' has been added...this World is a Large map; 2048 x 2048 with a 200 max height for better graphics performance..

http://hotfile.com/dl/137977232/d40...y_002g.zip.html

Just updated one lot '13 Canopy Trail', but I thought it important enough to upload. I only put one family in the savegame as I want to focus on that lot momentarily...

Included:
5 rabbitholes
6 homes
A tattoo/stylist salon
A consignment shop
Various objects and spawners

Height routing is semi-complete for now, until I graft on more land sections.


11-30-2011

This slideshow contains pics of two of my current projects...'A Freudian Fantasy' the world I'm building, and the main cast of the TV show 'Friends' which may be the final version except clothing and makeup.

http://hotfile.com/dl/136343219/75f...how002.exe.html

On a side note... the horses in the slideshow are named:

Fun Baggs-black

Cyanide Clyde-caramel

Rompi Pompi-white

and will probably be included when I release the world

I'm only showing the Friends girls atm. I don't know when I'll find time to package them properly for upload to MTS as I'm very busy for the foreseeable future. However, if you really want them, they can be found in the test release of my world, located in this entry.


I will make an effort to post new slideshows when events warrant it.

Date Posted: 4th Dec 2011 at 7:46 AM

I'm not going to get into hysterical pregnancy as relates to the Oedipus complex here...then again, I did say earlier that I wouldn't do the Freudian thing..hmmm?

My concern is with Freud's obsession with the dream state..the fabric of all good fantasy from 'Alice in Wonderland' to David Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive", not to mention his rabbits and of course Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings'.

The Sims 3 world I'm currently working on has evolved of its own volition to a point that I felt a change of direction was necessary. This will still be an equestrian world, without cars or roads, but it will also be an exploration of the dream state within the confines of the Maxis game engine and my own admittedly limited modding capabilities, as this is the first world that I'm pursuing to fruition.



12-06-2011

I continue on in my work...


this Maxis game engine.. it taxes me with all manner of madness. Why does it speak of an impending carpool when none is forthcoming...most troubling..most troubling indeed.

Date Posted: 19th Nov 2011 at 11:19 AM

THIS IS A DISCONTINUED ENTRY...the entry entitled 'A Freudian Fantasy' is the continuation of this project.



Currently, I'm working on a fantasy world(in Create-a World) called Gnybyl. I mangled the name together like a cheap designer beer. I started with nybble which is half a byte, with a nod to nibbly...defined as appearing to have been nibbled(as does this world) and finally I rounded the front end off with gnome, because some of the mountains look like the little gnome hats...

They also look like a part of the female anatomy, so I guess I could of named it Gnypyl and made it a Freudian fantasy land...but to my credit or detriment, depending on your perspective...I didn't.



11-19-2011

I'm planning on putting in two towns, Hobblemunk and Lambs Breath. If possible, I'd like to not have any roads and use horses for transportation to add to the fantasy feel. No idea if this is feasible since I haven't played Pets for more than a few minutes here and there. I'm hoping I can just put in a lot of dirt and sand trails.

Ok, I put up a feeler http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=461544 , and horses are go...
and I got some good input about things to look at.

11-22-2011

I'm going to go on a bit about heightmaps here. I just reworked my map for the third time. I'm making an island and used the Photoshop pen tool to make an island shaped vector...


I wanted a medium level of detail, as I'm using this shape to generate a mask for 'World Machine' terrain generator. It's necessary to apply a 100 pixel gradient to the contour and blur the mask edges so you don't get split mountains on the perimeter. This also puts a nice little ocean shelf falloff in the water bordering the island.


Now I configure World Machine to generate my desired terrain and produce this heightmap which will be the alpha master of my island.



We zoom in on Gnybyl to find we have Monica happily playing with her Fun Baggs...err..that would be her horse, of course


11-27-2011

Spent the last day learning terrain painting with the help of Denethor's tutorial-Lazy Terrain Painting...
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=443308 although I didn't use his crevice technique, due to a lack of deep crevices on my mountains. I used 3 of EA's textures for beach, bluff and mountain levels.

I'm Fairly happy with the results, but I'll refine them and try some of my own textures before I do the brush touch-ups. I just used Photoshop curves and path tools on the CAW alpha layers, so far. I'll need to do some blending where the beach sand meets the grass line. And there will surely be a need for more terrain painting as the world progresses.


Lastly, here's a slideshow of this world in its current incarnation(27 MB)...
Edit...the slideshow has been moved to the top entry(PoisonFrog's Peepshow).


11-29-2011

I did my first test of a trail, and was happy with the results. The horses seem to have a preference for my sidewalk-based dirt trails, but are routing well over my bumpy terrain, also. I got my first game lag after I put the trail in...probably because the game started to generate all manner of critter, which it didn't before.

I don't care for the CAW road grading tools, so I'll see if I can find a better alternative in Photoshop or the World Machine layout generator. I want a rustic feel, so grading will probably be minimal...although I may recant.

I'm going to continue to release slide shows of my world as I think they give the best overview until I have a Beta version ready for release(that's still far off).



12-03-2011

Ch..ch..ch..ch..changes!
This journal entry is no longer reflective of the scope and direction of this world. I will add a new entry asap. While I won't make additions here, I'll leave it intact for the time being and will respond to comments as needed...

Date Posted: 19th Nov 2011 at 7:58 AM

I have two speeds, glacial and comatose. I'm working at cranking it down a few more notches, but it's slow going and I may not get there before I tip.



I've started this journal for a couple reasons. I enjoy discussing things related to the creative aspects of the Sims 3 with like minded folks, but I'm reluctant to be clogging up the forums with my every thought and question...so, if you come across a subject of interest here, or have wisdom to impart, feel free to join in.

Also this will be a bit of a reference for myself to recall what tools & techniques I used to do various projects. So if it appears that I'm talking to myself at times, at least I'm still rationalizing it for your benefit...