Hey guys, I have a question I've wondered about for a while.
In SimPe, in the BCON section > Tuning - Fun Inc, (say for example for the 'Stuffed Animal - Teddy Bear' object),
there are set values and labels: 'Fun Motive Max' and 'Fun Motive Inc'. I have noticed that changing these values
will affect the fun bar in-game. However, my question is, what do Motive Max and Motive Inc mean? Also,
say for example, I want to tune the fun value from 10 (as the catalogue reveals for this given object) to 3,
What do I set the value to in the BCON section? '30'? Also, do I set this 'assumed' value in the Fun Motive Max or
Fun Motive Inc section?
Thanks.

It's the max value after which they stop using the object and the increment per period of time while they are using it. The catalog rating is just set in OBJD, it has no effect on how good the object actually is.

Fun Max in most contexts means that the fun bar can only top up to this limit. I think it happens with cheap TVs. Usually max fun is 100, which is as high as it can go. Fun gain is usually expressed per in-game hour. The fun bar has a capacity of 200 units. So if the gain is 100, they would take about 2 hours to fill it from empty to full, with 50 they'd take 4 hours. In rare cases each action adds a small amount of motive directly.

Thank you for the clarification, but I am still confused. Let's take another object for example, the 'Computer - Cheap'. Here, in the BCON under Tuning-Play, it reveals that the 'Fun Max' value is set to '90', while the 'Fun Inc' is '45'. This is where the confusion happens: if the catalogue (aware it has no effect on motive) shows that this specific computer has a fun rating of '7', then should the 'Fun Max' value in the BCON not be '70'? Also, what determines a '45' for the fun Inc? Does this value translate into the minutes in-game as a constant? That is, every 45 in-game mins a tick of fun triggers?

Sorry for so many questions, but I have tried to look for a glossary on BCONs or constant values, and cannot understand how these numbers are set.

I appreciate the help, thanks a lot.

I don't think there's any real correlation to the catalog rating and the actual motive satisfaction, they are just numbers that EA stuck on the objects.

Does max fun being a value of 100 translate into a fun score of 10 into the catalogue? Or does the catalogue calculate this score differently, (say based on a scaling method for instance)?
Also, by fun gain, do you mean Fun Inc?
Where do I go about on learning about bar capacity and BCON constants?
Also, some objects list an Inc value of 45, 55, etc. Are these in-game mins?
Thanks.

You are right. I tested this in-game with various objects, and there is absolutely zero correlation. I do however wonder if the constants in the BCON are somewhat relatable to this catalogue score, which seeing by what I am reading here, I highly doubt they do.

The scale in the catalog is simplified to be intuitively understood. 10 means the best possible, and 7 is okay. For different motives the gain varies. For example, a 7-rated shower increases hygiene faster than a 7-rated TV increases fun. Most objects increase the motive to the limit. The bars have some squish at the ends, so you might not quickly tell a difference between 90 and 100.

You want to change the fun inc to change how much is gained. I think about 80-90 fun is when the 3 arrows show up.

45 is determined by the author of the object. Every hour you get 45. It is divided up smootly by the engine, to apply a bit less than 1 every second/minute. Note that the fun still decays, so you might end up with 40 or so fun gained at the end.

This is very helpful insight. So, say for example, if I want to reduce the fun score of the 'stuffed animal - teddy bear' object to match a catalogue score of 5 (instead of the default being 10), to do this, do I tune the value of 'Child Fun Motive Max' or 'Child Fun Motive Inc'? The default values of this object are 90 and 100 respectively. I have fiddled with these values and tested it in-game, and it worked, there is a significant drop in the fun score--I however am unsure how does this then translate into the score number shown in the catalogue, or if the values I have set match up to the score 5.

You adjust the fun "inc" to where it needs to be, and then set the catalog rating if it seems wrong. 100 is a really good fun for an adult. Good hygiene is 400, and crappy hygiene is 200.

You will find in the BHAV section the instruction "1D Set Motive Change" where it starts. It will show that one constant is increment "per hour" and the other is "stop at". When the motive drops a bit, it will be boosted back up to the level of stop at as long as he is using the object.

I think that toddlers and children are expected gain all motives faster, to simulate a smaller "capacity" before they need a recharge. And they don't have a choice between different teddy bears or similar toys of different goodness, so not much thought probably went into rating them.

I am balling my eyes out looking in the BHAV section for the given instruction for 1D Set Motive Change, but could not find it. I will have to look more thoroughly into this tomorrow and get back to you with what I do find. I immensely appreciate your time and guided help, thank you very much for your insight.

You don't necessarily need to find it if the numbers have been exported and labelled into a BCON. But finding it would confirm exactly how they are applied.

You don't have to modify the BHAV at all, that's the whole point of having constants. I'm not sure why, but jonas is constantly telling people to do things that are not really useful and in many cases not possible, like to search some file for a hex sequence when almost no one has a program that's capable of doing that.

I think it is beneficial to look at a problem from all angles and hear different views and explanations and extract some commonality among them by oneself. Then you can apply it to a different situation for which the given instructions don't directly apply.

In the end I did say that you don't need to find the BHAV instruction. But the journey could give one insight how tackle another object for which you might lack labels, or you might find that they have been accidentally shuffled.

The tool for searching for files is called a file manager. You are playing a game from 2008 and must remember one of these things before Windows with flat design came. It is a general purpose tool, which every computer user should learn and use in a variety of situations. You don't need a creator to come and give it to you, and then it can only search for Sims files using a ton of memory. Total Commander works very well for this. But another among dozens of file managers might work too.

Most mods unfortunately are compressed, making it impossible to search for any text. But the group number remains plain and can be searched for. You just have to keep in mind that the number is in little-endian format and must be written backwards.

No, you cannot search for sequences of hex in binary files in the fucking Windows file manager, lmfao.

Not in the one that is included in Windows, no. That's not what I said. I said one of the dozens of choices, such as Total Commander or XYplorer.

If it is fine to suggest any of the number of Sim tools to get, you can also download a FM.

There's absolutely no utility for almost everyone to search binary files. Reading package files is what we have tools like SimPE for.