Awesomod discussion/questions/helpful tips thread

[rohina]

I've been trying to add a 'Slave' trait since you mentioned that AM can support 3rd party traits, but have been unsuccessful.  In the process I was able to bork my game so no EA traits existed.  I went into editsim to check something out and the game made fun of me.  It only listed the 'stupid' trait that you added as being available. 

I believe this is called "poetic justice".

[phnxflyng]

Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be able to point me in the right direction on how to create my own trait. 

I would also like this.

[J. M. Pescado]

How to create a custom trait plugin that will work in AWESOMEMOD:
First, take a look at the relevant XML in AwesomeMod: THe instance is FNV64 of "AwesomeTraits". To create your own, use the value "<YOUR ASSEMBLY HERE>Traits", like "SimiusTraits".

Now, inside the Traits block, like so, you will need to have the following:

Code:

<Traits>
  <TraitNames>
    <Name></Name>
    <Hex></Hex>
  </TraitNames>
  <TraitNames>
    <Name>NAME OF TRAIT VARIABLE HERE - NO SPACES, SIMILAR TO EAXIS ENUM</Name>
    <Hex>HEX VALUE YOU WISH TO HAVE THAT TRAIT BY: ONCE YOU SET IT, NEVER CHANGE IT - MAKE SOME SHIT UP AT RANDOM - MUST BE UNIQUE</Hex>
  </TraitNames>

etc.
Repeat the last <TraitNames> block for every trait you wish to define.

Every trait may have an associated "Commodity" indicating that the sim desires that particular advertised commodity. You can leave it blank, or define it similarly to TraitNames, only with "CommodityKind". Add a blank header as above, then proceed to define CommodityKinds. Then proceed to the TraitList block definition as with AwesomeTraits, and define your trait below: The "Name" field will now recognize since you defined it in TraitNames. Two additional categories of trait exist in AwesomeMod: "HiddenInCAS", meaning "real trait, visible, can be learned in conversation, but cannot be chosen in CAS", for special visible-schtick traits, and "Administrative", meaning "not visible, doesn't count, can't be learned", for things like "Sacred" and "Radar".

To verify that your trait loaded successfully, use the "traitinfo" console command to see if data could be brought up.

[Simius]

Okay, thanks.  I was skipping the first couple of steps before.  However, I think I followed your directions correctly but the game still doesn't recognize "addtrait Slave".  It tells me the trait doesn't exist.  Also traitinfo doesn't do anything when I type it in.  Obviously I'm still doing something wrong, but for the life of me I can't figure out what.

This is what I have so far:

Code:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<traits>
  <TraitNames>
    <Name></Name>
    <Hex></Hex>
  </TraitNames>
  <TraitNames>
    <Name>Slave</Name>
    <Hex>SimiusSlaves</Hex>
  </TraitNames>
  <CommodityKinds>
  	<Name></Name>
  	<Hex></Hex>
  </CommodityKinds>
 <CommodityKinds>
 	<Name>Slave</Name>
 	<Hex>SimiusSlaves</Hex>
 </CommodityKinds>
 <Trailist>
  <Name>Slave</Name>
  <Description></Description>
  <ShortDescription></ShortDescription>
  <Hex>SimiusSlave</Hex>
  <AgeVisible>None</AgeVisible>
  <Category>Administrative</Category>
  <CommodityName></CommodityName>
  <Predicate>IsSlave</Predicate>
  <CanBeLearnedRandomly>FALSE</CanBeLearnedRandomly>
  <ThumbFilename>lt_rewards_mybestfriend</ThumbFilename>
  <ThumbPieMenu>trait_slave_s</ThumbPieMenu>
  <ThumbDislikePieMenu>trait_slave_s_crossed_out</ThumbDislikePieMenu>
  <TraitToolTipText0>SlaveToolTipText0</TraitToolTipText0>
  <TraitToolTipText1>SlaveToolTipText1</TraitToolTipText1>
  <TraitToolTipText2>SlaveToolTipText2</TraitToolTipText2>
  <TraitToolTipText3>SlaveToolTipText3</TraitToolTipText3>
 </TraitList>
</traits>

I've also tried <CommodityKind> instead of <CommodityKinds> but neither work.  What am I doing wrong?

I have another question for after I get the game to recognize the trait and allow me to add it to sims:  Right now my Slavebot hack uses the term "BeFrankenstein" to prod simbots to do the laundry and whatnot.  What term would I use to prod my sims with the Slave trait to do the laundry or whatever? Would it be "Slave" or "TraitSlave" or something else entirely?

An attached version of my unsuccessful SlaveTrait hack: http://www.mediafire.com/file/th2c1fcect8pj1m/Simius_SlaveTrait.Package

[Pyromaniac]

A few questions about how Storymode moves families into new homes:

1. Does the number of beds always have to match the number of sims in the household? For example, if a family consists of a married couple and a kid, will a double bed + a single bed suffice? Or will I need 3 beds total, regardless of the size? Or what if it's just a single parent and one child? Will just a double bed suffice?

2. If I have a household full of "roomies" who are friends (but otherwise unrelated) living on a lot with a crib, will the storydriver move them out into a non-cribbed lot to allow married couples to move in and spawn?

3. Do WA tents (in either the packed/unpacked state) count as beds?

4. Are lot sizes taken into consideration? So if a 1-bedroom 40x40 lot exists in tandem with a 1-bedroom 20x30 lot, will a household with only 1 sim choose the smaller one?

I'm really curious about how the story driver decides whether or not a family is living in an 'appropriate' home. I'm trying to separate sims of different social standings and isolate them in certain regions on the map (sort of like Apartment Life in TS2), but awesomemod quickly mixes them all up.

[kuronue]

Simius: I've never touched any of the files but reading the instructions right above your post, you're DOING IT WRONG.

Hint: look up the meaning of the word "Hex".

[lordrichter]

I've also tried <CommodityKind> instead of <CommodityKinds> but neither work.  What am I doing wrong?

I can tell you that it is <CommodityKind>

The traitinfo command requires that you put the trait after it.  If the trait does not exist, it will tell you.  If it does, it will tell you. 

I looked at your package.  You used the same instance as AwesomeTraits and I think you should use a new instance.  You also used <Trailist> instead of <TraitList>.

Regarding the "hex" values and the comment from kuronue, Pescado uses "<Hex>Tealdeer</Hex>" in his own XML.

[J. M. Pescado]

The TraitNames/CommodityKind header must be an actual hex value, 0xDEADBEEFDEADBEEF style. The "Hex" section in the TraitList is EAxis-made, and its name is a bit of a misnomer, but there is nothing I can do about that. The TraitList <Hex> section generates the hex value by processing the enum, but the TraitNames section is a unique AwesomeMod creation that injects the new names into the enum parser so that they WILL process, and thus must be a real hex value.

[Zazazu]

1. Does the number of beds always have to match the number of sims in the household? For example, if a family consists of a married couple and a kid, will a double bed + a single bed suffice? Or will I need 3 beds total, regardless of the size? Or what if it's just a single parent and one child? Will just a double bed suffice?

It's appropriate sleeping spaces. Married couple + kid, single + double = ok. Single parent + child, double bed = not ok, I believe, because Awesomemod requires a single bed for a 6-12.

2. If I have a household full of "roomies" who are friends (but otherwise unrelated) living on a lot with a crib, will the storydriver move them out into a non-cribbed lot to allow married couples to move in and spawn?

Yes, eventually, unless you make the home ancestral.

3. Do WA tents (in either the packed/unpacked state) count as beds?

Not sure. Don't believe so.

4. Are lot sizes taken into consideration? So if a 1-bedroom 40x40 lot exists in tandem with a 1-bedroom 20x30 lot, will a household with only 1 sim choose the smaller one?

Size, no. Awesomemod only cares if the house has enough available beds and if it is affordable. I have huge (7-8 sim) families living in a 12x16 and a 10x15, yet there is an equally affordable house on the mountain that is on a 20x24. Approximately 15 sim days after building it, no one has seen fit to move in, presumably because the existing occupied houses are adequate.

I'm really curious about how the story driver decides whether or not a family is living in an 'appropriate' home. I'm trying to separate sims of different social standings and isolate them in certain regions on the map (sort of like Apartment Life in TS2), but awesomemod quickly mixes them all up.

You're best off making the homes ancestral.

[Simius]

I've also tried <CommodityKind> instead of <CommodityKinds> but neither work.  What am I doing wrong?

I can tell you that it is <CommodityKind>

The traitinfo command requires that you put the trait after it.  If the trait does not exist, it will tell you.  If it does, it will tell you. 

I looked at your package.  You used the same instance as AwesomeTraits and I think you should use a new instance.  You also used <Trailist> instead of <TraitList>.

Regarding the "hex" values and the comment from kuronue, Pescado uses "<Hex>Tealdeer</Hex>" in his own XML.

Thanks for that.

I actually did change the HEX value, but only a few random numbers in it.  I've found a Hash tool now so I did it correctly.  I'm now using 0x1044f9f0a6880794 as my instance.

I think I've fixed the typos I had previously (and a bunch more that I added as I was playing around with it).  Anyway, I'm still doing something wrong as I can't get it to recognize the 'Slave' trait.

I was wondering if you or phnxflyng or anyone else who might be interested in getting this to work could take another look at what I've done so far and point out any obvious errors I've made. 

I omitted the CommodityKind part of it as it seems to be optional from the directions.  So I intend to add that later after I get the basics to work.

Code:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Traits>
  <TraitNames>
    <Name></Name>
    <Hex></Hex>
  </TraitNames>
  <TraitNames>
    <Name>Slave</Name>
    <Hex>0x11FF4E2F6E0476F2</Hex>
  </TraitNames>



 <TraitList>
  <Name></Name>
  <Description></Description>
  <ShortDescription></ShortDescription>
  <Hex></Hex>
  <CodeVersion></CodeVersion>
  <AgeVisible></AgeVisible>
  <SetNumbers></SetNumbers>
  <Points></Points>
  <RandomWeight></RandomWeight>
  <Category></Category>
  <CommodityName></CommodityName>
  <FacialIdle></FacialIdle>
  <AutonomousDesiredCommodity></AutonomousDesiredCommodity>
  <AutonomousAvoidedCommodity></AutonomousAvoidedCommodity>
  <IncreasedEffectiveness></IncreasedEffectiveness>
  <ReducedEffectiveness></ReducedEffectiveness>
  <xMin></xMin>
  <DesireMin></DesireMin>
  <xMax></xMax>
  <DesireMax></DesireMax>
  <Decay></Decay>
  <Predicate></Predicate>
  <CanBeLearnedRandomly></CanBeLearnedRandomly>
  <IntimacyLevel></IntimacyLevel>
  <ActiveTopic></ActiveTopic>
  <PreferredBookGenre></PreferredBookGenre>
  <ThumbFilename></ThumbFilename>
  <ThumbPieMenu></ThumbPieMenu>
  <ThumbDislikePieMenu></ThumbDislikePieMenu>
  <ThumbPose></ThumbPose>
  <AddListenerFunction></AddListenerFunction>
  <TraitTipDescription></TraitTipDescription>
  <TraitTipIndex></TraitTipIndex>
  <TraitToolTipText0></TraitToolTipText0>
  <TraitToolTipText1></TraitToolTipText1>
  <TraitToolTipText2></TraitToolTipText2>
  <TraitToolTipText3></TraitToolTipText3>
  <CanBeLearnedThroughConversation></CanBeLearnedThroughConversation>
 </TraitList>
 <TraitList>
  <Name>Slave</Name>
  <Description>IncontinentDescription</Description>
  <ShortDescription>IncontinentShortDescription</ShortDescription>
  <Hex>Slave</Hex>
  <CodeVersion>BaseGame</CodeVersion>
  <AgeVisible>None</AgeVisible>
  <SetNumbers>945</SetNumbers>
  <Category>HiddenInCAS</Category>
  <AutonomousDesiredCommodity></AutonomousDesiredCommodity>
  <AutonomousAvoidedCommodity></AutonomousAvoidedCommodity>
  <CommodityName>Slaved</CommodityName>
  <Predicate>IsSlave</Predicate>
  <CanBeLearnedRandomly>FALSE</CanBeLearnedRandomly>
  <ActiveTopic>Incontinent Trait</ActiveTopic>
  <ThumbFilename>trait_incontinent</ThumbFilename>
  <ThumbPieMenu>trait_incontinent_s</ThumbPieMenu>
  <ThumbDislikePieMenu>trait_incontinent_s_crossed_out</ThumbDislikePieMenu>
  <TraitToolTipText0>IncontinentToolTipText0</TraitToolTipText0>
  <TraitToolTipText1>IncontinentToolTipText1</TraitToolTipText1>
  <TraitToolTipText2>IncontinentToolTipText2</TraitToolTipText2>
 </TraitList>

 
 <! lt_rewards_mybestfriend</ThumbFilename>
  
</Traits>

http://www.mediafire.com/file/kfah3s19vsgdypk/Simius_SlaveTrait.Package

[Freezerburn]

What is the characteristic of a Sim that has this trait? Will it acts like SimBot?

[Simius]

What is the characteristic of a Sim that has this trait? Will it acts like SimBot?

I'm going to make it for my Slavebot mod.  Only sims with this trait will be Slavebots instead of all Simbots being Slavebots.  The Slavebots are compelled to autonomously clean the house like a maid, do all the gardening and repair broken items like a repairman.  They also tinker on appliances to upgrade them.

[lordrichter]

Thanks for that.

I actually did change the HEX value, but only a few random numbers in it.  I've found a Hash tool now so I did it correctly.  I'm now using 0x1044f9f0a6880794 as my instance.

I think I've fixed the typos I had previously (and a bunch more that I added as I was playing around with it).  Anyway, I'm still doing something wrong as I can't get it to recognize the 'Slave' trait.

I was wondering if you or phnxflyng or anyone else who might be interested in getting this to work could take another look at what I've done so far and point out any obvious errors I've made.  

I omitted the CommodityKind part of it as it seems to be optional from the directions.  So I intend to add that later after I get the basics to work.

I did not look at your package but I did take a quick look at AwesomeMod to see what was expected.  The plugin search feature looks to be tied to the list of assemblies.  If your plugin does not appear in that list, AwesomeMod will  not know to look for the traits XML file.

The bottom line is that you need to have a .NET assembly named "Simius" in the package to get the plugin scanner to recognize this.

EDIT: One should not read this and assume that I have this working.  I am just going by what appears to be happening in the code.
EDIT 2: Stay away from <CommodityKind> for now.  AwesomeMod has a bug related to converting from the XML to the enum.  (System exception, can't cast a UInt64 to an Int32 in AddValue)  Operator error

[J. M. Pescado]

You're certain that occurs? Because that's a soft-error, indicating you're doing it wrong somehow, perhaps by using a value of uint64 length and trying to cram it into an int32 CommodityKind. I have no such difficulty in the Undiscovered Shiny, which does, in fact, use a CommodityKind (and works, which is why this feature exists). It should say an error of the form "Can't cast <VALUE> (<VALUE TYPE>) TO <ENUM TYPE>". What's <VALUE>? Something that is illegal for int32? I'm not sure how you're even GETTING an invalid cast error, since AwesomeMod specifically handles int32s without ever casting.

I omitted the CommodityKind part of it as it seems to be optional from the directions.  So I intend to add that later after I get the basics to work.

Why did you include all of the rubbish for the "Incontinent" trait instead of your own stuff?

[lordrichter]

You're certain that occurs? Because that's a soft-error, indicating you're doing it wrong somehow, perhaps by using a value of uint64 length and trying to cram it into an int32 CommodityKind.

Yeah.  Operator error.  I noticed that it needed to be 32 bit and did change it to a 32 bit value, but apparently it was not 32 bit enough.  When I dropped the hex value down to "0xFFFF" it worked. Perhaps my copy/paste did not catch the entire 64bit string when I replaced it.

[J. M. Pescado]

What was the value originally? 0xFFFFFFFF? Because that value would overload int32 and end up as -1.

[lordrichter]

What was the value originally? 0xFFFFFFFF? Because that value would overload int32 and end up as -1.

No, it was a meaningful but unique hex string.  In my haste I likely pasted the 32 bit version over the 64 bit version without properly selecting the entire 64 bit string

Edit:  I did somehow have an old copy of the XML around. It was "0xF093C5B9", which is the problem.  Does not like negative numbers.

[Simius]

Why did you include all of the rubbish for the "Incontinent" trait instead of your own stuff?

I haven't actually created my own stuff yet.  Before, if I got it to work, I was expecting it to display a message that no text tips exist and whatnot when I added the trait, and was just going to figure out how to do that at that time.  Then I thought that might be part of my problem so I decided to use your junk until I got it to work, and then fix it afterward.  Bottom line is I won't use your stuff after I get it to work, it is basically just in there as a placeholder for now.

The good news for me is I have no idea how to add a .NET assembly, so I had no chance of getting it to work before.  But now that that has been spelled out for me I can go to google and find out more about it and get that done correctly.  Then it is just a matter of adding my own thumbnails and tool tips/descriptions and then altering my other mod to actually use the trait.  All of which should be pretty easy.

[Alidai]

I downloaded the newest version of AM and updated my game(I only have WA).So I installed everything like the manual said,but the problem is that AM doesn't show up,can anyone help?

[friendlyquark]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but if you HAD actually done it as the manual said, then you wouldn't have a problem. Try searching the site for answers first, and loading your game without the disc. If it loads without the disc, you have it installed, even if you can't see anything different happening.

[Alidai]

The game won't load without the disk,so I'm still idiotic...
I tried to install it in program files and documents,it just doesn't seem to work.

[Motoki]

The game won't load without the disk,so I'm still idiotic...
I tried to install it in program files and documents,it just doesn't seem to work.

Are you trying to run the game from the launcher (ie the icon the game installs by default on your desktop)? If so, that would be why. Awesomemod does not disable the CD check on the launcher so you will either need to run the game directly from the actual game or episode exe file or get a cracked file for the launcher. The latter is not recommended as it causes problems patching later on. You can backup your files but many people forget to do so.

If you are launching straight from the game exe and it's still not working without the CD then Awesomemod is either not installed right or you turned off the CD Check disable in the config. I'm assuming the former because by default the CD Check is disabled and you would have had to actively go out of your way to change that.

[Pyromaniac]

You're best off making the homes ancestral.

Thanks, Zazazu, for the explanations. I was aware of the ancestral home workaround, but I don't like relying on it due to its limitations - primarily, if your sims get married off and have name-changes, they'll have to find their own place. Also, I think I've seen a family get moved out by awesomemod even though it's assigned to an ancestral home, just to get moved back in an hour later.

[Alidai]

I'm trying from the launcher,so now that I know that doesn't work,I'm still idiotic...
Thanks  for replying,any idea how to make AM work though?

[Motoki]

I'm trying from the launcher,so now that I know that doesn't work,I'm still idiotic...
Thanks  for replying,any idea how to make AM work though?

Going out on a limb here, but uh don't use the launcher? 

Alternately if you absolutely insist on needlessly launching your game from that bloated, buggy piece of crap, go back and REREAD WHAT I SAID THE FIRST TIME. There is a way but it involves searching on your part. I am not going to do everything for you. Also, if you do it and then come back at a later date and complain that you can't patch I will point at you and laugh.