More Awesome Than You!

Tired of the green pastures of Sunset Valley and Riverview? Have an urge to see other planets? Come visit Colonization 212, located on a planet far away in the Simverse..

(http://simverses.net/blog/Lists/Pictures/col212.jpg)
Administrative Dome. Next to it there is a bigger Residential Bunker for the Leader of the Colonization.
 
This simworld has a blue surface, quiet strange to sim earth inhabitants. The texture is somewhat beehivish.. maybe the planet was inhabited by some bee like creatures, once upon a time? Who knows. There is water on the planet, water with a tealish color, and also tealish mud.

Read more, see pics and download here:

http://simverses.net/blog/ (http://simverses.net/blog/)

Oh, and please let me know of any problems, like stuck sims or anything else

THANKS, THAT WAS GREAT!

However, sims are walking through the sides of the domes. I suck with CAW, but is there some way to mark them as "off limits"?

Is there a list for other CC? I have the rabbit holes, and the Ultra Lounge set, but could you list everything you used? So there's no random missing stuff?

You can paint the ring under the dome "sims non-routable", which would cause sims not to route through them.

Thing is, the domes are tricky when it comes to routing. Leave them as-is, and they seem to be  not accessible. I put in these under-walks, and they are, but it looks like they walk through glass. As they live and work inside them, I want them to be able to. But if you want to you can paint around them and make them all closed off. A dome with a proper entrance would be better, of course.

About CC: I did try to not use much cc in this world, but you know how it is, it can happen anyway as I normally have a lot of it. I will see if I need to add to the list, are there any objects in particular you miss?

OK, I now found one CC set I used in one of the bunker types, Angelas Warwick kitchen from TSR:

http://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kitchen/title/%20Warwick%20Kitchen/id/923912/ (http://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims3-sets-objects-kitchen/title/%20Warwick%20Kitchen/id/923912/)

I'm noticing that fire and burglar alarms are missing... at least in all the homes I checked.  Did you use special ones?

Live dangerously, Moryrie. I don't give my sims alarms. Either they fight off the fire/perp or they die.

No they were not added, to keep costs down :P - they are really mostly needed for the active family and can easily be added. Also a wish to fulfil ;) - A question: did anyone notice if the cc kitchen I used got packed with the hood? It was launcher stuff, which I had installed in mods folder, and I am just curious if it packs up like it does with lots. The kitchen is used in the more expensive small bunker type, type 1.

I have the no-fire hack. xD ... But I still stick fire/burglar alarms wherever..

I also haven't seen a burglar since... July?

And you had that kitchen set along with some showers and I think some sinks in the lots you uploaded last time, so those all appeared, no idea if they were packaged for anyone though. I noticed some patterns installed themselves when I downloaded someone else's world though, so they probably did.

I really like your uber expensive empty lots by the way. xD .. This game needs more money-sinks.

This looks like a fun world. Thanks for sharing!

I really like your neighborhood, but there are a few hiccups. I have to manually tell sims to go to work because they won't automatically due to the lack of car-pools. One of the domes has houses for a negative price. The game hiccups every few sim hours for a few seconds before resuming. On the negatively priced bunkers, it has issues placing objects on the lowest basement, and the problem continues on each basement below it if you add more. Also, I can't seem to move a sim out, because the game crashed to desktop when I try. Did I somehow install the neighborhood incorrectly thus causing these problems, well other than the car-pool which is just caused by the lack of roads?

Noting your observations. I haven't notice any problems placing stuff on lowest level, and my sims seem to go to work ok - besides some that have lots with accessibility problems which I am researching. The lot prices are experimental, the idea is to have really cheap lots for newcomers, but I will adjust these for the next version (which will be released after some extensive testing and adjustments).

I seemed to have fixed the item placement on the bottom floor, but this was after I reinstalled the DLC stuff and the world, and then moved the world to the nonpackaged worlds folder. I still have hiccups though, maybe you can offer a version without the domes for slower video cards?

That would be possible. I also made a base game version, cleansed of WA items. Will be uploaded later today.

This is rather good. Would be nice for a vacation hood particularly.
I'll keep an eye on this. Although the crater texture would look better than the honeycomb one.

I updated to a new version, and posted two alternative versions (base game and less deco). No, I will not do color variations. This particular sim planet is blue. However, if your sims want to colonize another planet of other color, feel free to use the buildings I also posted, if you have use for them :).

http://simverses.net/blog/default.aspx (http://simverses.net/blog/default.aspx)

Do you plan on making smaller variations of this? I remember seeing you intended to make smaller ones for your medieval world, but you never mentioned if you were doing the same for this one.

And I really like the blue. xD .. it was fun doing a photo-shoot in this world, even if the sim who I took photos of was... less than popular.

I downloaded her :) I think she must live there, she fits in :D. Well, I have played with the thought. Maybe when I have finished one or two medieval worlds, the medieval urge is now starting to remind itself. One reason I created this is that I play this hood and get my dose of modern, bright and simple, then I can happily go back to dark wood and brownish clothing ;)

Yeah, I understand.  I get sick of certain types of decor and end up redecorating a lot since I don't really have specific themes going on in each game, though I've found the color scheme that ends up annoying me most is the red/white/black with dark woods. Best of luck with your Medieval worlds. ^^ And I'm glad you like her.

Interesting.  I'm working on something very similar. 

The domes have to be in-lot, as world objects cause interference on the building plane. 

To constrain movement through the dome, you will have to build a wall.

The best way to position the dome over the lot is to build a 4-story square that is depressed 2 stories in the center of the lot, and then use that to change the elevation of the dome, then remove the squares you used to control the elevation.

That way the dome object won't occlude object/wall placement on the first 3 buildable 'stories', without being too elevated.

If you position it right, you'll end up with a nice concrete skirt in which to hide a low wall, so that your sims won't run through the dome itself.

I'll show some screenies later when I get home.

I'm currently trying to generate some lunar terrain that looks good using a paint program and importing the elevation table.  We'll see how that works out.

I used the place-on-lot-technique for my first versions of the Colonization, in Sunset Valley. But they didn't satisfy me, as they demand a very big lot and restrain the building too much, I think. Thats why I used placing the domes in the world this time, which has worked out pretty well for this world. The sims only go through the dome glass if a lot is placed so that it has both a part outside and inside the dome. If its completely inside the dome, its not accessible for sims at all.
(http://simverses.net/blog/Lists/Pictures/col212insidedome.jpg)
Here is a picture of one of my bunkers, taken on basement level, where the dome is visible with its basement part.

Real estate is really not a problem.

I too like the idea of having domes be world objects, which permits the lots to not have any community objects on them, but so far I haven't been happy with the results.

How are you handling access and egress?  I found it was a very graceful soluition to put the dome on the lot, and then wall the property in with fences and build a hallway with doors that protrudes through the dome.  This way sims appear to go through an airlock of sorts to enter and leave the dome. 

I like that idea, but was more concerned that they could go home and to work, as well as have access to the different venues on the community lots. (Almost all lots in this world are inside domes). I would experiment with no routing paint in CAW to restrict the sims, if I was aiming for that.

Well ultimately, I decided against putting the domes off-lot because then you are restricted to a lot that is considerably smaller, so that the square fits entirely inside the dome with enough room to lay down no-pathing paint.  Remember, you can't paint a lot with no-path paint, so if the dome intersects the lot, the sims will squeeze out of the holes like ants crawling through a gap in the window.

You can put a 20x30 standard lot comfortably inside of a dome. Given that the basement tool unlocks an absolutely enormous amount of space, there's really no reason you'd NEED more space. Additionally, you don't even really need walls, since technically, you are already indoors.

I had occlusion issues on the lot underneath the dome when I made the domes be world objects in my game.  There is a lot that is desirable about having the domes be world objects, but I was unable to build walls without them registering as colliding with the world object. 

Also, I could not find any graceful way to have an exit path through the dome when it was on a non-lot world segment.  There are no available objects that I could overlay to obscure the sims walking directly through the dome wall, which I found unattractive.  When it is on a lot, I can cut 'through' the dome with a tunnel that has doors on either side, and it looks good and logical.

I'll show what I mean in a bit.

This is what I currently have.  It meets all my criteria which are to be playable without any wonkiness, to appear logical and require a minimum of hacks to make work.  Here is the wall layout with entrance tunnel exposed :

(http://www.monkeypaw.org/nox/images/s3screenshots/Screenshot-11s.png)

Detail view of the entrance tunnel :

(http://www.monkeypaw.org/nox/images/s3screenshots/Screenshot-10s.png)

View of the door with scenery and roof :

(http://www.monkeypaw.org/nox/images/s3screenshots/Screenshot-13s.png)

Zoomed out view of dome, with contents :

(http://www.monkeypaw.org/nox/images/s3screenshots/Screenshot-12s.png)

ingeli, I eagerly await your updated version. I hope you'll let us know when it is ready and you've resolved the problem with the lakes.

Ellatrue, its up - download the new version here:
http://simverses.net/files/Files/Colonization212c.rar (http://simverses.net/files/Files/Colonization212c.rar)

Huzzah! Thank you!

Great world, ingeli.

I'm having a bit of trouble with some objects though. I have the required CC installed (Melissa's rabbit holes, Riverview, UltraLounge set), as mentioned on your site's page (http://simverses.net/blog/archive/2009/12/30/colonization-212-a-new-world.aspx). It may also be worth mentioning that I decrapified the .sim3pack install files. That shouldn't affect the contents inside, but who knows... it's worth mentioning.

Anyway, I've attached two screenshots. I'm hoping you (or someone else) can tell me what those missing objects are. Some screenshots to show me what it should look like would be appreciated as well.

The two screenshots below are from the Aristophanes and Cyclope domes.

In both, there are white blocks by the waterside. Mousing over gives the message "Missing object resource instance 319e4f1d:00000000:0000000000" (in both domes).
Type 3 bunkers also have white blocks at ground level (visible in the Cyclope screenshot). Mousing over produces the same message and hex numbers.


Aristophanes Dome Center
(http://d.imagehost.org/0776/Aristophanes_Dome_Center.jpg) (http://d.imagehost.org/view/0776/Aristophanes_Dome_Center)

Cyclope Dome Center
(http://e.imagehost.org/0536/Cyclope_Dome_Center.jpg) (http://e.imagehost.org/view/0536/Cyclope_Dome_Center)

I'm sure I've read Pescado saying that decrapifying objects etc does change them and that they need to be replaced ingame after decrapification.

I thought that was if you decrapified the .dbc files directly.

Edit: Actually, maybe decrapifying .sim3pack changes the contents too? I remember reading a couple things that suggested otherwise. One of which was the Compressorizer Redux page: "You should be aware that if you decrapify any content that is ALREADY installed (IE the .dbc files), you will then need to decrapify all of your saved game files."

But I do remember having trouble with one piece of clothing after I reinstalled with decrapified .sim3pack files, which makes me question the emphasis on dbc files.


Having said that, decrapifying the colonization sim3pack file doesn't fix my problem. Decrapifying the save file doesn't fix it either.
So if someone can tell me what those white blocks are supposed to be, I'll just replace them manually.

You don't have debug turned on for those photos, do you?  Because they could just be butterflies and bugs if you do.  Aside from that, I haven't played this world, so I can't help you, but I would hazard a guess that there might be a grill or two by the pool.  I can't imagine why there would be tables there unless it was to put hotdogs on.

Unless Awesome mod turns on debug by default, no it's not on. I was in build mode though.

If it's a grill, then I wonder if it's CC I don't have, because none of my 4 grills have the CC icon. Base did come with 4 grills, right?
I know if you decrapify store content directly (ie: DBC or package file), it will lose the CC icon, but if you just decrapify the sim3pack file, the game will correctly see it as CC and have the corresponding icon.

Anyway, if those things by the pool are really grills, I wonder what the things in the bunker are.

Decrapifying wrecked your hood. I can tell you what those used to be because I've tested this place before. The white boxes were harvest-able plants (Pomegranates, plums, limes, tomatoes and the like.) She had them all over the place, all the home lots, and mini parks and such. The basement of the science building is totally filled with plants.

So... uninstall... and install a NON-Decrapified version.

I only de-crapified the sim3pack files though. In other words, I only decrapified EA store custom content. I did not touch the base game files or dbc files. Harvestable plants should not be affected...

I should also mention that I haven't played on the Colonization world yet. And my regular game in Sunset Valley has the base harvestable plants showing up fine in the garden (I didn't play with WA plants seeds yet).


Edit: Having said that, how would you install non-decrapified store content that is arred. Is everyone extracting them to .package files and throwing them into the mod folder? What are most people doing at the moment? I know at the start it was using dbc or individual package files in mod folders, but that was at the start. Since then more options have appeared, such as decrapifying sim3pack files to allow the launcher to install them. Are there any more options?

I merge them all and keep them in my packages folder... the old files had the .dbc extension changed to .package, and everything else is run through an old version of the compressorisor, then jammed in with one of the smaller old .dbcs. Unless I download someone else's merged ones for that month like I did this month.

Try reinstalling the world again, and see if you get the same results.

Already tried that earlier. I even tried decrapifying the sim3pack file. No difference.


Edit: By the way, the last time you played Colonization, was it with the most recent version from Jan 3rd?

It could also be that that would was build before the HELS patch.

Oh, you think the latest patches could've broken it?

And it looks like I edited my previous post after you responded.

Ah, didn't catch that, and I played with both versions, didn't play her base game version though. Later I saved most of the lots and placed them on a similar 'alien' world because I didn't really love the hugeness of this world.

But if reinstalling and such didn't help you, the patch may have borked something. I know there's another world I couldn't play at all after installing HELS, because it tells me I'm missing an EP whenever I try to access a save. Even though I have all the EPs. It's odd.

Btw, are the poolside white blocks really supposed to be plants?

...Just seems kinda odd to put harvestable plants right next to the pool...
I was actually wondering if they were lights or something.

They really were plants. I am dead serious. The things right next to the tables were grills, but the ones on the far side were plants.

Hm, okay. And what about the stuff in the bunker's ground level?

That one really had me stumped because those were type3 bunkers. They're the cheapest and are supposed to have the least amount of stuff in them. Type2 and Type1b are supposed to be better equipped, but their ground level floors were empty.

And do you know which grill it was? (Gonna manually replace it)

The grill was the cheap park variety.

Also, all the white squares in the bunkers, at ground level, were... plants. They had quite a variety, apple trees, tomatoes, garlic, bell peppers, watermelons, lettuce and so forth.

Really boggles my mind why these non-CC items are not showing up.

Anyway, looks like I'll have to reinstall everything anyway since the 10th store update borked my launcher. Can't uninstall stuff since checking installed content makes it hang -_-. I'll probably try the dbc method when I reinstall. That methods makes CC lose their icon right? But otherwise should work flawlessly?

If by loose the icon, you mean the download diamond yes. They'll look the same as all the package content. While that can be annoying, you get used to it, and there's no other drawbacks.

Actually, I just came across Pescado's post in the DBC thread.

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,17707.msg520118.html#msg520118


So maybe I shouldn't bother redoing it with that method?


I think it'd also be great if Pescado could comment whether decrapifying sim3pack files permanently changes the contents, or if that only happens when decrapifying dbc and package files directly.

*shrug* The method I'm using works, and has been working, so I don't feel like changing. Do whatever you feel is best. But if you want, I could redownload and check things out to see if I'm seeing the same thing you are. That would more or less verify that it is that patch that caused issues. If everything's normal for me.. then it probably has something to do with decrapifying probably.

Reinstalled... looks like those white blocks are due to some mod package I have installed.

On another note, does anyone know where custom styles are saved? Would be helpful for backup purposes. I lost all of mine during my reinstall.

My Documents/ES/TS3/ USER PRESETS

Learned that the hard way... ::)

Ah, userpresets.package, I see. Thanks.

And regarding my white blocks, I found it it was due to an old xml mod about gardening. It was never updated for the latest patches.