Sims firehouse

Started with this: The tricks are to get 2 diagonal MIS starters in place (using either RHW-4 E1 or diagonal RHW-4 A1 ramp pieces, in the old Ramps tab ring), remove the stubs of L1 45 degree MIS FlexFlys, and draw the DxD crossings half by half. The FlexFly stub needs to be removed because it seems to require more space to be able to make the crossing. Watch this step-by-step gif (duration 60 sec.). The first generation result. An RHW 4-to-6 transition piece (upper left) was too close by the FlexFly crossing. This is how to convert these two crossings correctly. After the first build, I thought the acceleration and deceleration lanes were too long (10 tiles) according to Haljackey's guide, so I moved the transition pieces nearer (6-9 tiles). This is the final result. The MIS loop transition plus DxD crossing turns out to resemble a loop ramp very well... and save much space.

Watched the video series by Ganaram Inukshuk the other day and discovered a lot of new features in RHW, particularly the draggable ramps and the RHW disconnector. The draggable ramps were hard to memorize but work out very well; now I don't need to put redundant RHW starters; they are only required in the area in the middle to stablize the monster of intersections. The RHW disconnector tool is very neat; it greatly saves my time and saves me from frustration; when I was modifying little parts it prevented massive degeneration that happens with the ordinary bulldozer. I did not plan anything, just messing around and aiming for a tight footprint, as usual...

I have tried editing Availability, by running a code similar to this: (If I remember correctly.) PrefabCollection<BuildingInfo>.findLoaded("Cargo Center").m_availability=ItemClass.Availability.GameAndAsset; But it didn't turn the cargo station into a loadable template.

A cargo train station may need the following pathing to work: Train Cargo Track - where the cargo train spawns and despawns. Cargo Connection - which freight trucks will take to enter and leave the cargo station.

As far as I understand this situation, to allow mods to become modular, we need to use a common interface to reference the class we are overriding. The Modding API's ISomething interfaces are restricted in that nothing but the Wrapper classes implement these interfaces. The core classes are still hidden from the Modding API. Thus, core class-overriding mods can't be made modular. That makes a number of popular mods fail to work together.

It might be irrelevant info now, as the current patch supports this feature, and the assets created with this new feature are generally smaller in size, I believe. However, I'm not saying that the guide is of no value now. It has a part that teaches you how to create a graphic thumbnail for your assets, and I hope TPB can extend on that part to include more detail on graphics-making. It was a really helpful guide, back then in April, anyway.

I've encountered this bug multiple times. For now, it seems that assets saved in one game session, no matter they're a new file or an overwrite, cannot be re-opened afterward during the same session. Re-entering the asset editor in the same session doesn't work, either. I've only been able to re-open those assets after restarting the entire program. But I assure you your assets are properly saved; they just can't be re-loaded during the same session. Once you restart the game executable, the asset editor will load them properly.

Update: You don't need to import a certain asset to get color variations to work. You just need to: Choose variation colors for the Material. Enable the m_useColorVariations property with ModTools. (Tool Controller->m_editPrefabInfo->m_useColorVariations) Save your asset. There you go. Here is the decompiled code that corresponds to this finding: At BuildingInfo.InitializePrefab(), when an asset is initialized (the game loading process): if (this.m_useColorVariations) { this.m_color0 = this.m_material.GetColor("_ColorV0"); this.m_color1 = this.m_material.GetColor("_ColorV1"); this.m_color2 = this.m_material.GetColor("_ColorV2"); this.m_color3 = this.m_material.GetColor("_ColorV3"); } At BuildingAI.GetColor(), when an asset is placed or refreshed: if (!this.m_info.m_useColorVariations) { return this.m_info.m_color0; } Randomizer randomizer = new Randomizer((int)buildingID); switch (randomizer.Int32(4u)) { case 0: return this.m_info.m_color0; case 1: return this.m_info.m_color1; case 2: return this.m_info.m_color2; case 3: return this.m_info.m_color3; default: return this.m_info.m_color0; }

Such a tool is possible, but then there is another constraint when converting a ploppable building to a growable one: the lot size. According to the official wiki, growable lots can be up to only 4x4 big. Although models that exceed this size can still be used, it is generally advised to confine the model in the editable area, except that it's acceptable if your model extends beyond the zone depth (4 cells). I agree that there needs to be at least a utility to move the model around in the Asset editor. If we can develop a method to manipulate the meshes in game, that will definitely help many people, including the model creators as well.

I think Colossal Orders implicitly enforces a policy that no one is allowed to rip the model from an asset and claim it's their own. Their implementation does minimize plagiarism, so this is (imo) a good model considering there are tons of assets on the Steam Workshop, where some of them are already very similar, if not from the same author. A tool that helps to rip the model is possible, but that would facilitate plagiarism and confuse users about the originality. If you'd like to re-lot an asset, please consider contacting the original author to send you a copy of their model.

This is an incomplete understanding of the meanings of m_placementStyle. m_placementStyle of a BuildingInfo instance is Automatic for growable buildings, Manual for ploppable buildings. Growable buildings cannot have a Manual placement style. Ploppable buildings cannot have an Automatic placement style. Below is an excerpt from the method BuildingInfo.InitializePrefab() in the assembly library: if (this.m_class.m_service <= ItemClass.Service.Office) { if (this.m_placementStyle == ItemClass.Placement.Manual) { throw new PrefabException(this, "Private building cannot have manual placement style"); } if (this.m_paths != null && this.m_paths.Length != 0) { throw new PrefabException(this, "Private building cannot include roads or other net types"); } } else if (this.m_placementStyle == ItemClass.Placement.Automatic) { throw new PrefabException(this, "Player building cannot have automatic placement style"); } A second excerpt from the method PlayerBuildingAI.InitializePrefab() should explain why ploppable buildings has to have a Manual placement style. if ( [Some conditions] || this.m_info.m_placementStyle == ItemClass.Placement.Manual) { this.m_createPassMilestone.m_prefab = this.m_info; } The scope of this thread is limited to m_editPrefabInfo, which is a BuildingInfo instance, but m_placementStyle is also applicable in many other classes, such as a NetInfo: m_placementStyle of a PropInfo instance is always Automatic. Props are always automatically placed whenever an object referencing the props is placed. m_placementStyle of a NetInfo instance is Manual for the network components you can directly choose from the menu, including Basic Road and all other roads, Water Pipe, Power Line, and Dam. It is Procedural for all others. Note that Basic Road Elevated, Basic Road Bridge and so on have a Procedural placement style because you do not activate them directly from the menu. When you import a transport type asset, such as a passenger train station, the Procedural marked paths in the template, in the case of a passenger train station, the Pedestrian Connection Inside paths, will be imported as well; the Manual marked paths in the template will be neglected. This corresponds to the following code excerpt from the method AssetImporterAssetImport.ClearDecorations(). for (int i = 0; i < instance.m_paths.Length; i++) { if ( [A long list of conditions] || instance.m_paths[i].m_netInfo.m_placementStyle != ItemClass.Placement.Manual)) { list.Add(instance.m_paths[i]); } } m_placementStyle of a TransportInfo instance is Manual for Bus, Train, and Metro because you have to manually create and edit the transport lines (not tracks, which are NetInfo insances). Airplane and Ship have a Procedural placement style because you cannot edit the transport line for them. m_placementStyle of a CitizenInfo or a VehicleInfo instance is always Automatic because they are generated, controlled, and destroyed by the simulation engine alone.

Where can I find the original thread? Please restore it because there were already a lot of discussions going on that thread... It shouldn't have been removed. Unless all the discussions are transferred to this thread, it should still be there for us to know what has been talked about in the past.

Yes. You can edit the asset and overwrite it if you downloaded it from the STEX. However, if you downloaded it from Steam, after you edit it, it will not overwrite the download but instead appear in your local Assets folder. The original asset will be intact. Therefore for Steam downloads you need to assign a different Asset Title to distinguish it from the original and avoid duplication. You can keep the File Name the same though, since it does not overwrite the Steam download. Most properties can be edited, but as far as I know, adding an icon to an asset requires importing the original model with the proper "_thumb.png" graphics; it's impossible to do so if you don't have the original model.

This may be due to metro trains running below. I am not familiar with the solution, but you can find some useful information on the reddit site if you search for "metro block". The layout of your roads and the pattern of the traffic tailback back up this theory. You may have laid out the metro tracks below the W/E 4-lane road and below the northern river-bank road.

1. Color mask I have tried the color mask once and it worked. I exported the UV area I want to have variation and fill it with white against a black background in GIMP. I don't know if your color mask was imported successfully. However you can check it after you save the asset. Here is how: Go to the main game, select your asset and open the Scene Explorer and expand Tool Controller and examine Building Tool. Expand the m_prefab property, which should load your asset, and find m_material and check how many maps are used by the model (the names of the maps are a bit different). 2. Color variation property The color variation property seems to be linked with the asset type, or technically the building AI. That is, it will be no effect if you solely edit the property but not change the building AI that dominates it (as well as many other things). I have examined with the ModTools the default game assets, and it turns out that only the Japanese Garden has the m_useColorVariations property set as true. To examine them for yourself, open up the Scene Explorer and find the first order category Sunny Collections. This is where you can find all the default game assets, except the Japanese Garden, which belongs to another first order category Signup Pack. As I said, the Japanese Garden may potentially use color variations, but I haven't tested. However the Japanese Garden has another major difference from other parks. Assets made from this one will be terrain conforming (will even sink into the water), and the underground textures will not be automatically replaced with a concrete texture, although you need to clip the terrain (using the surface tool) to let the underground part show. EDIT: proof that the Japanese Garden uses color variation: Extra: the sunken plaza, which I believe to have used the Japanese Garden as template, shows underground textures correctly, uses color variation (However I needed to toggle m_useColorVariations on besides changing the m_color{n} colors), conforms to the terrain, and sinks into the water: You can also observe that in some areas the ground is clipped, so it shows what's below the terrain mesh, including the sunken model.

I was learning how to create textures and found some useful messages in a video explaining the texture-baking process. This video does not cover earlier steps, how he had textured the material: First, go into edit mode and select faces to assign materials, and then add new textures for the materials. Second, create a UV map for the textures used by the materials. There is a useful blender plugin call sure UVW that can help you map the material texture onto the UV space. https://developer.blender.org/T31788 Once you have applied the materials and their textures UV-mapped, you can follow the demonstration below and finally bake all material textures into a single texture with a new UV map, both of which will be imported in the game.

I have not found a way to do this. Basically I made two attempts: (1) use a small park as template and import the model which has an underground part. Problem: the texture of the underground part is replaced with concrete texture. (2) use Japanese Garden as template so that the underground part of the model can retain its texture. Problem: the model sinks onto the sea bed. Can you please link me to it?

I think you can simply tell users to (1)lower the water level of the area for a while and (2)restore the water level after the ship is placed.

Where exactly did you get the error? Was it importing the adjusted model?

I like the white paved areas between the roads in your photo. Is that effect from any sidewalk texture replacer mod? Too bad I haven't heard of any standalone version. The American Roads mod has a sidewalk texture replacer, but it looks from your photo like you didn't use the American Roads mod.

I think signs and billboards should go to the props category, to be used by other building-type assets. If you are talking about standalone signs and billboards, I suggest you load any of the Parks template. The small park should be fine; I don't know of any difference between the vanilla park templates. The parks are intended as decorations and therefore don't produce much effect, apart from gaining visitors from time to time. As you have imported your model, you can focus on the stats: you may (or may not) want the entertainment values as low as possible. Tourist (or visitor) amount, electricity consumption, etc, you decide. The lot size is interesting: you don't need to contain the whole model in the lot area; you can make the lot size smaller than the model. After you have saved the asset, you can use a Hex editor to change a field called m_placementMode. Search for this text and on the hex-view side, where the selection should end before a byte "00", change this particular byte to "03", which stands for "OnGround", or "04", for "OnSurface". The former gives you freedom to place your sign or billboard anywhere, except on the water; the latter allows you to place it on both the ground and water. In addition, if you want the lot to be circular instead of square or rectangular, you can search for m_circular and change the following byte from "00" to "01", which stands for "true". The radius of the lot depends on the two-dimensional size you define. Be sure you are not seeing any warning of file size change when you edit the Hex. The default mode in that Hex editor is Overwrite, so this shouldn't be the case.

I have a thought, you might be able to replace the building AI as well as editor template and transform your asset into a freight terminal, but it requires ModTools and a Hex editor and lots of trial and error. Here's how: Enter the game and choose the freight station or port, open up the scene explorer (ModTools) to find ToolController, expand it and examine the BuildingTool (it should be activated by now). Scroll down to find m_prefab and expand it. This should be either freight station or cargo port. Scroll down to find m_class, and copy the string such as Beautification Item. (Of course it is not. Beautification Item is associated with parks.) Now go to the Hex editor. Open the asset which you want to transform into a freight terminal. Find m_class and modify the value of this field (I've made a brief description of the method.) Save it and hope it does not screw up the asset. I have tried replacing m_class for one asset, and the success rate is 50-50. I can't promise that this will work.