Usually, the hood and lot packages are all that's required. Thanks for doing this. I hope that niol has a chance to look at them soon (looks like there's already one download, so he may be working on this as I type).

That`s what I understood, too. You`re welcome. Yeah, there`s still one download as I type. I hope it helps. FYI, the two lots are virgin untouched lots, never ever entered in any mode.

Would it be useful to compare a virgin untouched lot with a lot template? Could we perhaps learn how to create true template lots at non-standard sizes, so we won`t have to clutter our Lot Bins with dozens of fake-template lots?

GeneralOperationsDirector,

Thanks for the lots.



All,

No, it wasn't me who downloaded the first. In the beginning , I thought it was one of posters of this thread or GeneralOperationsDirector tested it once to see if it worked. Now, a little mystery! :D

Some people will download anything!

::giggle:: Yeah!

You`re welcome, niol. Any comments re creating new sizes of lot templates, Moo`?

All,

Alright, my bad for my not informing GeneralOperationsDirector of make a build change before saving and packaging the lot files. :slap my face with some sounds:

Such build change can be just adding in a plant or shrub or a tree, and then delete such object in order to stimulate the game to save the ltos once to add in the lot data from the invisible temp file.

Actually, selectively clicking at the "save" button without making a build change can already do the arts.

It's the option to "go to the neighbourhood mode"/"leave the lot" that automatically check if a user makes a change before a save.


Maybe, a way to ensure whether the lot has been saved is to check the sizes are "0" kb and the modified time which should be pretty latest among all files found in the same directory.


GeneralOperationsDirector,

Can you please enter the lots and click the save at least once before re-packaging? Thanks...


All,
I've been checking the in-lot object-related files as well as Inge's notes to get a better idea of those files, and I find myself partially confused for why there're many coordinates. Hopefully, the single-object testing can help simplify the data for us when it works.

[deleted]

Let's try to keep this thread on topic and keep the chit chat about building in the research thread. I believe that we're all monitoring that thread, along with a bunch of people who aren't reading this one.

Would you mind if we took this to the main research thread? I've answered there:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...963#post2713963

"Would you mind if we took this to the main research thread?"

Not at all.

"I've answered there"

Thank you.

Package for Niol!
 

Niol asked me to make a couple of test lots...this is an empty hood, Base + BV. No sims, two empty lots - one beach, one plain. Hope that's all correct.

aelflaed,

Thanks

you're welcome!

Sorry, niol, I didn`t know that you wanted them entered and saved.

I see that aelflaed has posted a pair of lots for you made with just the base game and Bon Voyage. When I play tonight, I`ll enter my special beach-lot neighborhood and "do something" in the lots, then save them, then re-upload tomorrow, and you can compare the differences from TWO environments, and difference the differences, too.

GeneralOperationsDirector,

That's OK. I know you're busy on your tool and other matters.
To free you out of the our previous interaction on this test, I from the beginning never expect anything must happen to cause an advance on this test. If there's anything to happen, good. If not, let it be and not bad. These're completely understandable results to me.

N if you still feel like to add in this one more instance for further comparisons, I guess the whole group will be appreciated as well.

So long as we're all happy with what this is processed and accomplished.

I didn`t play last night, as I got home from work [pardon my British] too bloody whipped to bother [took two Tylenol PM and went straight to bed]. I expext to play again tonight, though, and I still intend to prepare those lots at the next opportinity, and post them at the next opportinity thereafter. As for my tool, progress is being made at the pace of an arthritic snail that occasionally [but rarely] ingests copious quantities of caffiene. IE, none at all for long periods, with occasional bursts of [relatively] intense activity. The biggest hurdle at the time of this writing is getting the tool to write package files to disk, after having opened one to modify. The first step of that is to write out a [possibly dummy] file header. Easy enough to do, just needs to be *done*.

GeneralOperationsDirector,

Presently, I'm fixing my XP + .net2 OS copy which are essential to run simpe. It went out 2 days ago, and now I've decided a new installation instead of a fix after sessions of frustration.
Thus, no rush.

Lol, I had been immersed into Canadian, British, American and International Englishes, so I have no problem with wordings that may sound rude in a particular "dialect".

[I`m *not* British.]

Meanwhile, the "edited" lots are available here, as I *did* play last night, and *did* prepare the archive for reuploading.

:giggle:

... it matters only in terms of serious meanings... to me...

Thanks... I've cleared the HD for a complete whole erase, format, setup.
So, I'll start to work on them pretty soon again.

You`re welcome.

Would you be interested in comparing a beach lot TEMPLATE with a non-beach lot TEMPLATE?

I've already extracted those files from the EP installation discs.

Sorry, honestly just finished installed the OS copy for the 4th time to get a desirable os copy (win xp + sp2 + .net framework 2).
The previous copies had slow-down for unknown reasons and some odds, but this one is pretty decent this time. So, gonna have to take care of it better and back-up properly.

Good luck with that, niol.

...so what kinds of differences are there between the two classes of templates?

For that matter, what are the differences between residential and community templates? I`m about to go in-game and check, but can we make community beach lots? I know that at least one exists at one of the vacation destinations, but I don`t remember seeing any templates for making our own. Then again, I suppose that "changelotzoning community" might do the trick...?

Wouldn't you just put down a template, then designate it res or comm when prompted?Same as with normal lots?

I have a beach community lot in my current game.

aelflaed, have you looked into the folder that the templates are stored in? There are seperate templates for residential and community non-beach lots. I forgot to go check if we could make community beach lots in-game , but I`m pretty sure that there aren`t seperate residential and community beach lot templates...checking...oops, there ARE seperate templates for them. ::blush:: It`d still be interesting to know the difference bewtwen community lot templates and residential lot templates.

I don't dig into the files unless I have to. Remember, I'm the Reluctant Modder.

Sorry, I've been inert these days as my older pc run terribly unstable, still figuring how to fix it better... gonna try to see if simpe loads on it still.




Lol dear, in this group, we've got at least one more reluctant modder! :D

Just for funs if we all think so. if not, please let me apologise when this kidding sounds offensive.
]

(added 20090930)
PS,
I"m also a reluctant modder. :P

All,

update:

just got a 2nd hand card for my another PC to run.
I'm setting up things to get ready for simpe and others...

Just a pointer to a new thread on this topic:
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=446054

It really looks like beach lots have some inherent property which is not implemented as objects. That property controls things such as the location of beach activities and the use of the beach portals.