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KATAMARI VILLAGE - #9 Onishi Residence (a Japanese home)

by squeam Posted 20th Aug 2008 at 5:03 PM - Updated 14th May 2009 at 3:24 PM by squeam
 
15 Comments / Replies (Who?) - 13 Feedback Posts, 1 Thanks Posts
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Top Secret Researcher
#2 Old 27th Aug 2008 at 4:48 PM
wow! i must say, that this is one of the most realistic japanese homes you've done so far. the shape and the details are perfect! thanks!!!
will download it now and hope that i soon have time to try it out...
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#3 Old 27th Aug 2008 at 8:33 PM
Waahoo!
Alchemist
#4 Old 9th Sep 2008 at 2:29 PM
I really like your houses. The layout is perfect, even for a bigger family, and the garden is also still big enough! Somehow you use some kind of trick, don`t you?
Thanks,
Test Subject
#5 Old 5th Jan 2009 at 6:00 AM
All of the homes you made look absolutely cute(gorgeous)! i'm downloading all of em ^_^
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#6 Old 5th Jan 2009 at 7:49 PM
Great! Thanks for saying so. Just so you know, and others who are thinking they might download all of them at once, I repeat a lot of the CC from house to house, so you wouldn't really be loading your folder with as much as it seems. Have fun!
#7 Old 5th Jan 2009 at 8:58 PM
Thank you for that information, squeam, but please be advised that each time someone installs one of your houses, they get *another copy* of that same custom content, with a brand new nonsense hexadecimal filename. If someone installs enough of them before realizing what is happening, they can end up with lots of duplicate files with no way of telling one from another to remove the duplicates.

There are ways of dealing with this, and I`m writing such a tool myself, but many people don`t know about this, or how to use the tools when they do find out about the extra files.

The best way I can think of to deal with this is similar to what you have already done here: remove *all* custom content from the *.sims2pack file, and package it seperately by hand.

Even though I likely will not be downloading this lot anytime soon, due to the custom content *and* the use of expansion packs I do not [yet] own, I thought I`d like to complement you on your solution to the CC not packaging. By the way, it`s a nice-looking house, too.

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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#8 Old 7th Jan 2009 at 7:00 AM
Oh, that's what those long number files are. I didn't know that packaging all the cc separately is the only way to cancel duplicates. And actually only some of the cc for my lots are in a separate file, whereas some are packaged with the lot. Damn, and I thought I was being helpful repeating as much as possible. I'm sorry everybody.

That's made up my mind about stopping the uploading though. I get crazed/OCD about the details and trying to make everything as clear and simple as possible for the downloader (while keeping these lots intact since they were made for my game to begin with) and it always still ends up being confusing or misunderstood. And now finding out the way I've been doing it is problematic makes me pretty disappointed. If I continued to put my lots up I'd have to re-upload everything too, because it would drive me nuts, but none of that is very appealing right now. With Sims 2 ending anyway, I think it's time to move on.

Thanks anybody who's reading this and enjoyed my lots.
#9 Old 7th Jan 2009 at 5:59 PM
Hey, squeam, don`t let my attempt to complement your technique discourage you! Yes, that`s what those long number files are. Packaging the cc seperately isn`t the ONLY way to cancel duplicates; it`s just the best way I personaly know. The Clean Installer is another way, but many people don`t use it, and some people can`t.

As for being helpful by repeating as much as possible, that ***IS*** being helpful, as those who know how can easily either clear out the duplicates, or prevent them in the first place. It is not *your* fault that some people don`t know how to deal with the consequences of EA/Maxis` decision to handle cc this way. You have NOTHING to be sorry about! I want to thank you for trying so hard to help.

Please, do not let my attempt to compliment your technique cause you to stop uploading! You do beautiful work, and it would be a loss to the community if you quit.

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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#10 Old 9th Jan 2009 at 6:34 PM
Oh it's no problem. I didn't mean to make it sound like you were discouraging me. I was already burning out and like I said, I get so hung up on the details that I've just been wondering how much it's worth it to me. And while reading your post I was only seeing the places where I could have made it better, instead of seeing the places where you were saying I already had made it better. So I do appreciate your compliments, thank you, I was in self-critical mode at the time.

It's really not set up well by EA, like you say. I'm hoping Sims 3 will be set up better, but who knows with them. I think it's great that you're working on a tool for that. I didn't know what other people did. I really only ended up doing separate files because some CC wouldn't package with the lot and I didn't want people to have to go hunting for a list of objects. But even that can be done a few different ways and I kept looking for the clearest. Still, you're saying it would be better if ALL the CC were in a separate file right?
#11 Old 9th Jan 2009 at 7:06 PM
***In my personal opinion***, yes, I believe that it would be better if ALL of the CC was in seperate files, whenever possible, although those files *could* be packaged into the same archive for easier downloading. The key is to avoid putting package files in Sims2Pack files whenever possible. Tools like RoboFileMaid would still work on that kind of archive, people would get sensible names for their downloaded content, and it would be easier for people without special tools like DDO or the one I`m writing to find duplicate packages. If you want to check out my tool, see New Tool Needs Name; unfortunately, the dupchecker, while fully functional on my machine, is not yet available for testing in that thread.

I`m sorry to hear of your burn-out. Take it easy for a while, have fun, and share when you`re ready, but please don`t give up. As for seeing the negative, but not the positive, I sometimes have difficulty expressing myself well, and I can see how you would have seen what I wrote in a negative light; I`m sorry it came across that way; I meant it positively: "You`ve done well; here`s how it could be even better." Unfortunately, the most positive point was in a small paragraph at the end, where you could easily have missed it.

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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#12 Old 10th Jan 2009 at 7:45 PM
No, it's cool. It's true, I should probably just wait a while and see how I feel later on. Thanks for the thoughts (I too have the trouble with the expressings of my self) and I'll keep an eye out for your tool. That thread is a bit over my head, but interesting. Once again I am struck by how nice and helpful simsample is.

It's a good thing that whole conversation was private. Oh wait, it wasn't.
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retired moderator
#13 Old 10th Jan 2009 at 9:15 PM
Hey, you'd better not stop making lots, you're one of my favourites, Squeam!
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#14 Old 10th Jan 2009 at 11:10 PM
Hwah, there you go again. Bein' all nice.

Well this whole conversation has got me thinking about trying to make more of the series as just mostly empty houses. That way I'd reduce my headaches and still be able to continue. I think about it.
#15 Old 10th Jan 2009 at 11:17 PM

I hope you do continue building and sharing, when you`re ready, of course! Empty shells [with interior walls!] would be very welcome to me --as long as they don`t use expansions I don`t have, naturally! When my Sims move out to a bigger-and-better house, they tend to take all of their stuff with them [because it would only get sold anyway], so they don`t need much in the way of furnishings in their new houses.

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Test Subject
THANKS POST
#16 Old 4th Jul 2014 at 12:00 AM
Thnx^^