This is a list I have compiled to help beginning object creators decide which Maxis objects are good bases for cloning.

For various reasons, some objects are better for cloning than others. This list does not include all the different types of objects there are, but I've tried to include the most common ones that beginning object creators usually deal with, and the kind of objects that I'm personally familiar enough with to recommend them. It does not mean that the objects on this list are the only objects you should ever clone. It's only a suggestion.

Information provided on the list for each object:
- object type (end table, dining chair etc)
- number of recolorable subsets, and if CEP is needed for one or more of the recolorable subsets when cloning
- descriptive and file name
- required expansion pack, if any
- difficulty (easy, medium, hard)
- special notes

Feel free to suggest improvements and additions to the list. I plan to update the list in the future with more objects.

When cloning these objects, use the default cloning options unless otherwise recommended in the Notes section for the object.

Numenor's kitchen counter and island templates, which should be used for cloning instead of the Maxis ones, can be downloaded here. Make sure to follow the instructions in that thread when using the templates.

For a full list of all objects in the base game and expansion packs, download the Documentation file in the CEP thread. On the CEP object list you can find information regarding how many recolorable subsets an object has, and if there are "slave" subsets involved.

For those who are new to cloning objects, I recommend JWoods' object tutorial which teaches all the basic steps of object creation. The tutorial section also has many other useful tutorials on various areas of object creation.

If you run into problems with your cloned object, feel free to make a post in the Object Creation Workshop And Repair Center, providing both the problematic object package and a detailed explanation of the problem.

The list is in Excel (.xls) format, and to view it you need a program that can view Excel files. Excel Viewer 2003 and Open Office are both free to download and use.

Cool thanks. This will save me having to go through loads of objects until I found a decent one. Some clones do not contain textures which annoys me. Thanks yet again.

IgnorantBliss, maybe I'm just too stupid but in your list are a few "Object Descriptive Names" I'm just unsure about when choosing the object to clone (they are displayed in the wrong language ). In this case I have to do (several) 'test clonings' to take a look and compare the Object File Name. So if you update the list could you maybe e.g. add the price of the objects, a quick descritpion of the look, something like that to help identify the right file? Or do I just need to look for some brain?

To my understanding, the Object File Name listed is the same in all languages, even if the Descriptive Name is different. If in your SimPE settings you check the option to "show OBJD filenames", the filenames will be listed in Object Workshop instead of the descriptive names.

Thank you for the hint! I always struggled with finding out the English filename - in German SimPE they are by default displayed in German and I just didn't know how to fix this. Thank you very much!

Thanks for this. Great idea, saves ploughing through and starting several objects, only to find that they are beyond you. Not to mention the wasted guids!

can you put this into word format or adope format please.

Tks beehive

I am sorry IgnorantBliss, I still have a question...
I am making a bench...my meshes are done, but I cannot seem to find in SimPE, any of the sectionnal booth, such as :"Jacuster's Last Stand sectionnal booth"--"Mr. section by Comfortitude" and..."Mr. section with arms by Comfortitude"

So I don't know what to clone, so my bench can be long, and sits more simmies...

any ideas ?
I looked in seating, unknown, other...in vain.
Thank you,
Rosemary :0)

well, i looked at an object someone did...it takes a global sofa mod....
too bad !

nm, thank you!

Maybe I'm waking up the dead, but I just wanted to include that the ideal clone object depends on what you want to do with it and your own modding level. A simple sculpture can be modified to be totally different objects even interact able. I always use the Base Game Venus Sculpture for almost everything. Reason: it is recolorable, has two subsets and accept more, so long they have own texture and material definition (like glass, or other envcube based textures), it is viewable from the neiighbor and has own automatically modifiable lod90. Better than this, is only the Flamingo

I kind of wish you hadn't mentioned the flamingo. I am coming back to Sims 2 object creation and I am struggling with a couple of conversions right now. I have never been very good at it and I don't do it that often. But i am giving it a go because I am sick of looking for conversions of a couple of favorite items from Sims 4. So I am thinking, Hmm.... The flamingo is a nice object, about the right size, for use outdoors, simple... But I found out -- not so much! It has to be placed on the bare ground, for one thing. And Sims try to interact with it in all kinds of ways that wind up throwing an error. So my suggestion is DO NOT CLONE simple, decorative objects from the base game's Pink Flamingo. That is unless you are looking for a whole bunch of aggravation and want to end up right back at square one with your project. I am going to give Mr. Sablovian a try next. At least he doesn't have a fun rating that draws bored, frustrated, mean Sims like moths to a flame, hell bent on destruction and larceny.

A short while later...

I tried my man Mr. Sablovian as a clone source and he worked out just fine. I am planning to use him again. It *LOOKS* like he is base game compatible from SimPE's new object workshop, the info that shows just below where you pick which object to clone. I really did want the object to be visible from Neighborhood View, so I (successfully) followed this tutorial to get that to work:
https://dramallamadingdang.tumblr.c...-how-to-do-this

Now I have a shiny, new roof vent for my game and to share with the world (once I figure out how to do that).

For small, decorative objects placeable on all shelves, I prefer the small sculpture that looks like a wooden man (the kind you use for drawing poses in art). It doesn't have annoying thumbnails, is fine with all shelves, you can easily set it to be a larger shelf object, and the TXMTs only need some slight editing to get rid of shine. I don't think it even has a "view" option (but don't quote me on that).

I used the fruitbowl and the blue vase with red flowers quite a bit in my early meshing days, but the fruit bowl is a mess, and while the red flower vase has exactly two things I used to like (the TXMT of the red flowers and having two subsets), the rest of it is kinda annoying at times. Found some fixes for my old fruitbowl meshes, so now they're working fine, but they are the ones that needed the most poking and prodding.

Never used the flamingo, because it's kickable. I usually don't want a kickable deco object that's only placeable outdoors, etc.

Subsets - they're fairly easy to add or remove as long as you've got a good tutorial, so just get a good starter object even if it only has one subset, and deal with adding a second subset later.

TXMTs - they're easy to edit (you can copy settings from other items that look the way you want).

BHAVs - If you really want to mess with those, that's up to you. I edit a few I feel comfortable with. The rest I leave up to the experts. I prefer starter objects to have a good starting point, and I'd rather add BHAVs than have to remove them.

Size/footprint - worth considering. You don't clone a huge object if you're making a tiny one, or vie versa (although occasionally using a small object for a large mesh can come in handy, because items using more than one OBJD usually aren't OMSP friendly).

I'm with you "no" to the flamingo. When something just sits on the floor or ground, I use the canvases, not base game, but works.

You've offered really good advice for beginners.

I got sick of having to change all the old basegame meshes to look the way I want my new mesh to look and made "base clones" of the objects I used the most. I just cloned the measure of a sim for sculptures, the musee vase for two subset sculptures, crazy 8 endtable, scraps coffeetable, etc, in SimPE and then changed the txmts, gave most of them a 1024 texture (useful in conversions) and used some really great advice from Theraven and am replacing all the shadows in them so I don't have to do all that flipping, inverting, blah, blah, blah nonsense anymore. All the base clones are maxis meshes with maxis guids. It's like only waiting half the time for SimPE to load to clone them for a new mesh.

Honestly, I make it very easy for myself most of the time, too - I have items I've set up the way I want them to be, and clone those. I'll only bother with cloning something from the catalog if I want items to be set up in a very different way, or clone something I don't usually make. I can't be bothered with editing the same things over and over again for the same base items when I already have files with the exact setup I want to use.

It's also perfect for when adding tedious things like slots. When it's done for one item, clone it, and you have instant slots for the next item (placement is editable, so doesn't matter if they're in the wrong spot - make sure to add enough to the first one, so you can delete a few instead of adding extra to the rest, because removing is much easier).

You can clone slaved/repo'd files, and they'll continue being repo'd to the same object(s), so that's a very neat timesaver if you have a lot of files this will work for (only works when you want the new clone to be the same type of object as the other repo'd object).

Thank you, @simmer22 and @Deatherella,for the replies and for the advice, which is quite helpful to me and for other beginners, too The file in this thread does not offer cloning suggestions for simple decorative objects. That is where I am getting started, so THANKS AGAIN! I did grab the file for future reference.

My preferred objects for deco:

Small size (shelf) - the wooden man (been using it for a while now, never looked back).

Medium size (shelf) - the blue vase with a red flower is fine and has two subsets. Has a very shiny TXMT for the vase, but this is fixable (If you only want one subset, you can use the flower subset, it's less annoying to work with).
(But honestly, if it's not something that absolutely needs to be big and on the floor, I use the wooden man, and just edit the OBJD a bit to set it as medium-size, and it works fine. Haven't really bothered with the vase in a while).

Larger/medium size, one-tile (floor, avoids shelves) - Often one of the one-tile indoor potted trees, because these tend to stick to the floor. I think both the fig and palm-like tree have one tile.

Very large size, multi-tile - I honestly don't clone too many actual big-size ones, because they have multiple GUIDs/OBJDs. Multi-GUID/OBJD objects may count toward the max object limit the game can have, so I try to avoid cloning those types of objects unless very necessary for whatever reason. Usually I cheat this one and use a large one-tile object, but make sure it's floor-only so it ignores shelves. Plus, one-tile objects have the advantage of being placeable on OMSPs. It is possible to edit the footprint so sims go around the item properly, which can be a good alternative to multi-GUID (I'm usually too lazy to do that...).

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For People who are new to creating - don't be worried that the item you're cloning is going to end up in the wrong category or has the wrong price. This is some of the easiest information to change. Also don't worry that the item you're cloning doesn't look anything like the item you want to end up with, because you're going to change both the mesh and texture, so that's not going to be a problem.

A lot of the properties are editable, but if you're not comfortable with editing in SimPE, you 'll want the relative size and properties of the item to be somewhat similar to the desired result.

You can check out size and properties of items ingame, which is a good way to get to know all the objects. Put them on shelves, look at them in indoor and outdoor light, turn shadows on, see how they behave, poke and prod them, and figure out how they work. That's what I did when I got tired of objects not working the way I wanted them to.