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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 20th Aug 2012 at 4:53 AM
Default CAW Atmosphere - Grunged Items and INI files
I haven't seen where anyone expressed interest in tackling CAW recolors and INI files, so I've started to tackle those in a rather casual fashion. If anyone else is interested, let's use this thread to avoid duplication. I think all of this can be imported into the world to simplify downloading. Hope it works, anyway; it's a new project for me.

For the INI files, I'm thinking some of the Egyptian heat effect would work, and a relatively dark atmosphere with dramatic changes for weather as the light hits the debris in the air. Sound good?

For objects, I'm starting with traffic deco. I'd like to make the trees a bit sickly, but am wondering if Seasons will wipe out those changes. We shouldn't need rabbitholes, since the economic structure would be too broken to need those.

What does everyone think?
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Instructor
#2 Old 20th Aug 2012 at 11:28 AM
Changing INI files is a A large gain in atmosphere, but I would be carefully with the heat haze from WA, because i think it doesn't match the world anymore with "Seasons".
For the dark atmosphere: I'm thinking of the water from Bridgeport.
I've never dealt with changing the INI files. I first need to learn something about it.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 20th Aug 2012 at 1:26 PM
Quote: Originally posted by VampireSim
Changing INI files is a A large gain in atmosphere, but I would be carefully with the heat haze from WA, because i think it doesn't match the world anymore with "Seasons".
For the dark atmosphere: I'm thinking of the water from Bridgeport.
I've never dealt with changing the INI files. I first need to learn something about it.
Yes, I tried the haze and will have to scale it way back or drop it. I had a thought that a very, very slight shimmer might contribute to a sense that something is not quite right - toxic gases floating past, or something along those lines, but maybe not. We'll see - I'm pretty much in the change-random-stuff phase. If you try it and come up with something you like, let me know and we can include that one.

It would be very cool to have a few billboards advertising places in town in their pre-apocalypse glory, so if anyone can temporarily spruce up their buildings for a photo shoot, that would be fantastic. We could have a real estate billboard to show what houses looked like in better days. I made a destroyed movie billboard, but items relating to the town would be ideal. We could also customize the magazine covers and have our Sims paint some scenes from both before and after the apocalypse.

In addition to the CAW-specific items, I'll try to do a little aging and customization for items that can't be recolored in-game but stand out in their default settings. For example, there is a stack of books with recolorable covers in dire need of some antiquing of the perma-white pages. Not total destruction; the items still have to work in upscale settings, especially if people use this as a rebuilding challenge.

If anyone else wants to do recolors, there is no need to make a separate package, unless you plan to release the recolor outside this project. You can just export the .dds, recolor and test it, and send it to me for import directly into the world. That should have the effect of giving us default replacements that only affect this world.

If we're still in development by Seasons time, the festival lots with objects changing by season might be very useful for giving a sense that different groups of Sims are migrating through town. Tent camps in summer, trading posts in fall, etc.
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 21st Aug 2012 at 9:29 AM
OK, i've just come back from 2 weeks in Majorca and I have no experience in making Objects and Effects, But, I do like to use the good old tab key and take photos, and I've had experience in making pictures for Advertising Boards, for RCT3. It was very basic though, just something I done in 10 minutes in Paint or Colour Magic. I just hope with Seasons coming out my job won't be much harder, because I reckon CAW is going to need a serious update. I would also think road signs would be cool as well, I see a lot of them since the UK has a very um crazy road network. Not to mention we drive on the left, not the right. Anyway I'm getting off topic, so would it be OK if I Take pictures, probably in Sunset valley or a place like that of pre-apocalyptic buildings instead, and make adverts for boards using them, and tell me your opinion on the road signs.

Just Call me Square!
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 21st Aug 2012 at 8:21 PM Last edited by SharaRose : 21st Aug 2012 at 8:59 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by squaretable
OK, i've just come back from 2 weeks in Majorca and I have no experience in making Objects and Effects, But, I do like to use the good old tab key and take photos, and I've had experience in making pictures for Advertising Boards, for RCT3. It was very basic though, just something I done in 10 minutes in Paint or Colour Magic. I just hope with Seasons coming out my job won't be much harder, because I reckon CAW is going to need a serious update. I would also think road signs would be cool as well, I see a lot of them since the UK has a very um crazy road network. Not to mention we drive on the left, not the right. Anyway I'm getting off topic, so would it be OK if I Take pictures, probably in Sunset valley or a place like that of pre-apocalyptic buildings instead, and make adverts for boards using them, and tell me your opinion on the road signs.
I dirtied the road signs (speed, road crossing, etc.) that are included with the game, so those are set.

Distant terrain is looking pretty good, though I'll detail it later to match the finished world. The colors fit now, and the buildings in the distance are darker.

A couple of billboards from other cities would be okay, but I was really hoping we could get some shots of buildings from the current world in their pre-apocalypse state. You know, plop the building into a temporary lot and pretty up the front for pictures, or clean up a room inside somewhere, add some Sims, and stage a business advertisement. It would be cool for people to look at the billboard and say, hey, that's the science building before it was destroyed! Create a sense of history. I used some images of the world that was stripped to make this one as "before" shots for magazine covers or to tack to the bulletin board, but actual buildings from this world would be ideal for billboards, where you can see much more detail.

BTW, here's the movie billboard. I might rip it up some more. The more detail, the better.


(The Night the Sea Began to Glow - THE INCIDENT, Coming Soon, PG-13)

BTW, we may have a new group member interested in taking a section of the world and doing some editing once you finish your edits and check the CAW files back in.
Top Secret Researcher
#6 Old 22nd Aug 2012 at 10:36 AM
Oh ok, cool. Sorry i was whisked away on holiday for 2 weeks plus staying at my nans, brothers birthday and seeing olympics, made it hard to do anything, plus the fact the only computer that can support any EPS after Amb. is shared dosent make it easy to do stuff!
So my pathetic excuses out of the way, id happily make some signs and 'billboards' for you!
Infact heres one (Non-weathered sorry) i made earlier!

Try and guess what they are, they are all towns from current and previous sims games! Theres 2 form Sims 3
And one from Sims one and two!
Try and guess what they mean!
or if you cant be bothered just read the discription.
Screenshots

Just Call me Square!
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