Hi, not really sure which category this thread should be in; I hope here is ok

I've finally decided to open a thread about this project because it is huge and complicated even for experienced people, and I happen to have almost zero CAW skills (so far).
Only a few weeks ago I've started learning about meshes and creating custom objects and I guess my progress there has given me this crazy idea that I can do this...

I've thought of posting here at the Medieval section of the forum, to let Medieval simmers know about this project, and also to collect useful ideas for the world and links to objects that have already been converted from TSM for TS3, and comments from people enjoying TSM world and wanting to have it made for their sims 3 to live on it.
And I will open another thread on the CAW section, more focused on asking doubts and working out the problems I can find while building this world, where people with knowledge on creating worlds and custom content could give me some really needed advice and guidance.
Does this make sense?

I do enjoy a lot playing TSM, but after some time I start missing the wide range of possibilities TS3 with all its expansions and mods gives, and so I go back to my sims 3 stories.
But sooner or later I start missing my medieval sims again, and though in order to return to my medieval characters and their medieval lives and skills I can just play again TSM, there's still this one thing of the game that I really love, which is the world where it's placed, that I would REALLY like I could make my sims 3 characters to live there.
Not only I find it beautiful and pleasant to play on it, it also offers a lot of possibilities if turned into a sims 3 world.

I thought surely someone had already thought of this proyect and maybe even finished it, but I've been unable to find such a thing; only a few threads talking about the idea, but nothing seemed to have been kept alive.
So if somebody knows about someone working on this project already, or if something has already been made on this matter, please let me know.
I just would love to have this beautiful world available for the sims 3, but since it's a lot of work I'm not asking any world creator to make it just because I want it.
I'm willing to learn and to spend as much time as needed, but any help or advice will be really appreciated.

Also I don't want to remake things that have already been converted from TSM to TS3; last two days I've been researching and I've found tons of objects, outfits and hairs (even a building) made available for the Sims 3 from the Sims Medieval. I'm quite sure I haven't found EVERYTHING there is to be found, so maybe when (if) this world is finished, we could all check that we have all the converted stuff put together so all simmers enjoying TSM and wanting that world for their sims 3, and all sims 3 players who enjoy medieval atmosphere can find the world, and along with it, all the objects, lots and CAS content available.
For my game I will turn everything into package and merge all the packages in only a few ones (CAS, patterns, objects...) and I would share those files along with the world if the people who made the conversions in the first place is ok with it. Just thinking of making it easier to have the world complete, but of course it's their work and not mine.

My idea is to make a copy as exact as possible of TSM world, but I would like to add some things where there is nothing, or a rabbithole. I think it's better if the decision of changing something that is already in TSM is left to the preferences of each player.
Here are some ideas I've come up with so far:
- There would be no roads, so taxis and cars would not be a problem. Sims would walk or ride their horses. I've been working on a "medieval style vehicle", but until I can properly finish that project and test that it works fine and that all cars can be substituted for it, I believe the safest thing is not to place roads (again, people with CAW experience should advise me about this matter).
- Create an underground labyrinth where the cave is (I guess it would be similar to building a World Adventures tomb), and place the metal and gem spawners in there.
- Create another underground labyrinth for the pit (maybe I could place there the reliques, treasures, and that sort of things), and I would probably make it "dangerous" as it is in the Sims Medieval. Maybe by placing a mummy, and/or the World Adventures tomb "traps"... But I'm willing to hear about other ideas.
- The forest would not be a rabbithole, but a real forest, crowded with trees, and there I would place the minor pets spawners.
I've been suggested about a little stilted shack over a stream in the forest that sims can live in, and that is a wonderful idea. Maybe there will be even more things in the forest...
- Another forum member also suggested that I could create the village, and I've thought it could be a small world (apart from this one) that the sims could travel to (same with Tredony, Crafthole, etc.) because I guess there won't be space for so much, even using a large world. I'm guessing 200 height will be more than enough, but I'm still unsure about a medium size map being enough to fit it all in. Here I need CAW experienced builders opinions.

Surely I'm forgetting something else, but I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions on this project

This is a very good idea! Would love to see somebody pick this up!

I'd like to see this, too

What an awesome idea, I really hope that someone decides to to help you with this projecy, it would be totally amazing! Here's hoping....

This is a good idea, but it sound kinda daunting, to be honest. Although, to be fair, I don't know the first thing about creating a world. I'm thinking getting rid of cars and taxis might not be do-able. It may require going into the game's program itself, does that make sense? But you could, perhaps, replace the textures of the cars and taxis. I don't know, just some thoughts occurring to me.

I would start with your tomb idea first. Even if you can't incorporate it into a larger world, I think lots of people would love it anyway.

And if you need help finding stuff converted from TSM, head over to the WCIF section here and ask, or go to Simscave's WCIF section. They are very helpful. I, myself, have tons of converted TSM items, so if you're looking for something in particular, pm me, and I'll see if I have it.

Good luck, and be prepared to feel frustrated! Isn't that how it always is? Great ideas, nothing but problems.

Just a brief message now, to let know I'm still alive and the project has not been abandoned
I did't even know that someone had replied to my post...
Some health troubles have kept me away from my computer (I couldn't even remember my nickname, passwords, or even the threads where I had written about this TSM Sims3 world project...) but recently I've come back to my sims, and though I'm having trouble to remember all the stuff I had learnt (and it was a lot), I intend to go back to work on this world.
When I was forced to stop, I had already created the height map using captures of TSM world (it was a challenging work, to put together that puzzle of images into a well scaled map, and then recolor to gray scale considering the height that CAW assigns to each shade of gray, but it worked out, and that first step of the world is already created in CAW).
I had also learnt to convert from TSM to TS3, and when I "ripped off" the SASFullBuild files (or something sounding like that) I found EVERYTHING in the game there, even the terrain paints. So I was in the process of working the heights in the landscape and painting the terrain with the same texture it has on TSM.
I also converted many objects from the medieval sims to sims3 (I turned a car into the "Ox Cart with Oxen", I placed a stereo into a little bird, I used the "Wizard's Staff Core" to be the moodlet manager... that kind of things) and I tested them in game and they worked fine.
I have had more ideas to add to the medieval world to make it more playable and fun, so once I have them sorted out and put down in writing I will post them here.
Hope you will like them too :lovestruc

Yes, it is a HUGE project, and I can't even imagine how long it will take, but I intend to keep working on it.
A few weeks before my first post I knew nothing of creating worlds or converting objects or creating new meshes. And I learnt. So it can be done.
And hopefully it will

Wow, very cool. If you will share your CAW files and the things you've extracted, perhaps others can help. I've done a little fiddling around in CAW too and while my free time is limited, once school is out, I should have a bit more time to fiddle around with the sims.

You might consider posting over at The Sims Creator's Conosortium here: http://ts3cc.canadian-forum.com/forum

Or the Create A World forum on the official site: http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/cat.../create-a-world

@loxsmith, @Lord St.Croix, @tracylee, thank you, I'm glad someone finally shared some of my enthusiasm about this idea
Truth is I was a bit surprised that after all these years, with so many talented creators, this world hadn't been done (I really thought it would have), but I was even more surprised to feel I was alone in this wish of having this world available for our Sims 3.


@mirabellarose, that's so true! Yes, there's been frustration, but since it's something I choose to try to do only as long as I feel the effort is worth the results, I'm taking it easy. When I started learning about CAW and converting objects I didn't know if it was possible. Now I know it can be done; I just don't know if trying to do it all myself is something realistic...

Yes, one of my first thoughts too was about getting rid of cars and taxis (and anything not medieval!); that's why my first option was creating a world with no roads for vehicles. But, since I have already been working on a "medieval car" (looking like the cart and oxen) and I had also thought of turning the slowest motorcycle into a donkey, or something like that, I might want to give the roads a chance if I can find a mod to allow ONLY these two medieval vehicles in the game. Not sure if this is possible, so of course the easiest option is no roads at all.

I will try to make a list with everything converted from TSM to Sims3 that I already have, so I could send it to you in case you have more stuff that I have been unable to find. There is such a mess in my computer, with so many duplicate files and folders and different hard drives, that it will not be an easy task.
Thanks a lot for offering :lovestruc

That's exactly what I started doing! Building lots, I mean, before putting more work in CAW.
(not that I have ever built a tomb or used any of those tomb objects when building in the Sims3, but I have always built and decorated the lots for my sims, so I guess I would learn and it shouldn't be a problem)
I realised that it would be so much easier to place the lots in CAW and do all the landscaping if I already knew the size that the lots would need. So I stopped working with the world on CAW and I started building the lots and creating the objects and textures I would need for them.
I was working on the tavern when I had to stop, mainly because I had found already converted almost all of the objects that I was going to need to complete it. It turned out I was still in need of creating some of them, so the tavern is not yet finished. But I guess that's where I should keep working.


@jmtmom, thank you so much. Of course I would share my files; as I said in my first post, I just want to have that wonderful world available for me (and any other interested simmer) to enjoy. I don't care about doing this or that; if someone else is willing to help, I guess the wisest thing would be that each one would contribute working on the part where he/she is more familiar/skilled with. I would leave any part of the project to more experienced people, and I would work on the tasks that no one would do.
Thanks for the links; definitely, I will try to put some order in my ideas and I will post at The Sims Creator's Conosortium, in case someone there could (and wants to) help.

And here are some pictures of what I was doing before this long "break"...

I put many pictures together to get this panoramic view of the world we have in TSM. The village, the forest, the farms... are not there (yet!) but it helped me when trying to assign the proper height to each part in CAW. Once complete, the Sims 3 world should be bigger, like this:


This is how I turned the "air view" of the medieval world into several heights of gray:


Here is the tavern (bottom right is TSM, and the other two are Sims3) and the "cooking fireplace" I was working in. The overlay looked pretty good, but no matter what it decided to show a different color than it should have, so I still need to work on that and try to figure out how to fix it.


And I also worked on the karaoke to allow the bard to sing
(I think "lectern" is the word in English for that wood piece of furniture where I would place the music sheets, and maybe there would be curtains on the back wall)


This is the "car" I was working in. The mesh was already finished, with everything in place (hands, feet, seats and even lights where they should be). I still have to create an overlay including all the parts of the vehicle so every piece has the right texture



So, titanic work ahead to be done, but in only a few weeks I had gone from zero knowledge to several functioning objects and a map to start working on CAW...
And this made me think maybe I'll be able to do it.
But still... still maybe :p

I'm really impressed with your work. That cart is very cool. I remember that Hexameter created a bunch of replacements for the Sims 2 vehicles: http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=75890

I've been wishing for something like that for Sims 3 for forever.

Roadless worlds can be problematic, but I'd talk that over with other world creators.

@jmtmom Thank you so much :lovestruc


Yes, I discovered Hexameter's wonderful creations before I even started considering creating a vehicle myself, and I was so disappointed they were only for the Sims 2 and nothing similar to that had been created for the Sims 3... Just like you, I've been wishing for something like that for Sims 3 ever since I started playing (which was not so long ago, maybe a couple of years... So now if I ever manage to finish several "period style" vehicles for Sims 3, surely the Sims 4 will be on their 10th expansion... )


Yes, to avoid troble I had been thinking of creating only one main road, outside of the kingdom we know (maybe on the back side of the village), mostly thinking of game needs and not for playing needs. It would be there only to avoid issues due to absolute lack of roads. Anyway it would be great to find a mod that would allow only one or two medieval style vehicles (how weird a yellow ice cream truck would be in a medieval world? )

If this weekend I can sort out all my "medieval stuff" I will try to start a proper thread somewhere else, see if some experienced creator would want to help a little.
But if you have some experience with CAW maybe you could help me "shaping" the landscape to look like TSM world. Thanks to the grayscale height map the world already has the right size and the main zones delimited, but since I'm not familiar at all with those terrain tools it would take ages for me to get a decent result.
I could try to learn instead how to create the medieval trees and plants (and other landscape objects) to add to the world (if they have not been already converted. Of course before starting anything I would need to be 99% sure they can't be found somewhere!)

I'd be happy to take a look at the CAW files. I've done a little with the terrain tools, but I'm not a master like some. I'm not so great at exact recreations, most of what I make is evocative of, but not exactly like the original. I think that existing Sims 3 plants should be OK for our purposes. We might miss leeches though, it wouldn't be the same without them. I don't actually have any CC other than default replacements and game tweaks in my Sims 3 game, but I have all EPs and lots of store content. I also have the recolorable rabbit holes. I do think that including a bit of road somewhere would help avoid the issues. There are mods that limit traffic. I use a lot of NRAAS' mods and they seem to help.

I should add that once Spring Break is over, I might not have much time again until May. I'm both a teacher and a student so I'll be busy.

Don't worry, I need to keep working at my health's own rate, and I have enough to do for the next weeks. But if you don't mind, I might need to ask you about some doubts I can have as I keep working on the world.
Yesterday I finally managed to find what I think it's the last version of the world I had in CAW (it's so frustrating that I can't remember for sure if that's the most "updated" version, and that I can't seem to be able to find anything in that mess of files and folders in my computer...).
Wow, in all tutorials they warn you about how long it's going to take shaping your world with the sculpting tools and then painting it so it looks nice, but it's quite shocking to realize about HOW LONG it's going to take!...

Anyway, I have already gone back to work. I've decided to start with the beach for one reason (and here if anyone with CAW experience can give some advice it would be really appreciated). Since the grayscale height map was not a "smooth" one like the premade maps in CAW, and I did it giving different shades of gray to my map to limit each area and place them at different hights, now the world has many "platforms" like steps that I need to work with sculpting tools to give them the right shape.
That's fine, since this way each "platform" gives me an idea of which area I'm working with and some notions about the size and shape it should have.
The thing is that, as far as I know, there is no tool to create the pond and the river (I don't want to mess with superCAW; it's already complicated enough for me as it is), so to make them I've had to lower the terrain enough to be under the sea level, so the river and pond fill with water. Is this right, or is there another way to do it?
(the pond I have already thought to make it part of a little lot that will be a fishing spot, so I can make a real pond and place some fish spawners, but I can't use this trick to create all the river).
But in TSM world, the pond and river area is quite higher than the sea level, and I need the river to have water but also the shores can't be cliffs (I hope I'm not sounding too confusing; my CAW is not in English so it's hard to know which words to use). So I've decided to start working on the beach, which needs to be slightly over the sea level, and keep shaping up from there, to leave the rest of the land as low as it can be to surround the river, but high enough to keep its shape and appearance.

Also, the "terrain bridge" connecting the wizard's tower and clinic area with the castle is going to be difficult to recreate. Sculpting tools won't allow me to leave a little path of ground and at the same time having the sea going under it. And of all the bridges available I think the only suitable one is that made of wood, and I'm not sure if I can place a bridge and then delete the roads on both sides while keeping the bridge and not having routing issues...



What do you mean? The Sims Medieval rabbit holes, or the Sims 3 rabbit holes? Cause I have none of them.

I will tell you more about my ideas about how to deal with some of the "special" lots next time (my eyes are too tired of the screen already

I was referring to Sims 3 rabbit holes. Since it is a Sims 3 world, they would have to work like they do. But re-coding objects is a bit out of my league. I would approach it by recreating the buildings and putting Sims 3 rabbit holes in the basements. Some people use the Rabbit hole rugs that way.

Well, yes, of course being a world for the Sims 3 I know I need the "functionality" of the objects (rabbitholes, in this case) of the Sims 3 games, but I also need the "appearance" of the objects of TSM to combine it with the Sims 3 function to convert or create new items for this world (as I was doing with the cart and oxen, the stereo, the moodlet manager...)
To make an exmaple, I want to use the lighthouse of TSM, but I don't know if it's out there, extracted from the game. Even only as a deco object it would be very useful for my purposes. If no one has done it, I will look for it in the sas_fullbuild files of TSM, but there are so many things to do that if the lighthouse is already out there, I would use all that time in other tasks instead of extracting the lighthouse myself.

Regarding the Sims 3 rabbitholes, using the rugs was what I had in mind for them; either placing the "rabbithole rug" in one of the buildings or maybe creating a really tiny lot just to place the rug next to the main buildings.

Anyway, if you know if someone has shared TSM items such as the lighthouse, or the executioner's hut, or parts of the Castle or Cathedral facade... please let me know.
I've taken a few screenshots of the beach and the Graveyard-cave area (where I've been putting more work so far) so if you're curious to see them I will bring the pictures to this computer to upload them

http://www.khanysims.be/medieval-sims3.php

http://thesims3medievalfinds.tumblr.com

objects, cloth... Downloads

This looks amazing so far!!!

I am in love with this thread, keep on going with this awesome project!

Finally i have managed to get the game working win8+(steam) and its wonderful to get back into.
I share your enthusiasm. I have build a number of worlds and am well versed in the building and CAW side of the game.
True to TSM such a world would have a limited number of buildings and objects to interact with. I do not believe it to be a huge project (unless you count duplicating all sims). TSM world is far smaller than many worlds ive built. I would not be interested in recreating the map in CAW (huge amount of work) but a quick google leads me to believe a height map can be converted via S3PE. Its uniqueness would be in planning, how to incorporate (and which) features from Sims3 into a limited build size would take some imagination. I really like your mention of tombs, whilst at it how fitting would Pirates and Nobles be applied to Dive lots and house boats.
Much CC has thankfully already been converted.

So with a working height map. Single road placed (needs one by my awareness needs not be large). Paths placed.
Lots need building and designing (rabbithole rugs come to mind).
Sims duplicated.
CC recorded.
NRASS settings essential.

Heres the thing. TSM is sooo much smoother than sims3. An updated refined version of the engine i believe. This is something the Sims3 will always struggle with by comparison.

Nice necro dude, OP hasn't logged in since 2015!

I know, in a hearbeat i got confused and felt it was 2016. Oh well. It is as it lies if anyone picks it up.