I want to make custom content!

[JillianLuv]

I absolutly love TS3 but I am not allowed to keep buying EPs. So I want to start making my own stuff. Like hair, clothing, etc. But even MTS says "If you haven't done this before on TS2 don't bother trying for TS3!" and crap, and thats pretty stupid because the only way you learn is if you try! I mean I would have made stuff on TS2 but when I started playing I was only like 9 or 10 and I had no clue about custom content. My mom would be the one who would even get TS2 running on the computer because I had just started using a computer. There are NO tutoials online so I have not a clue how all these people know how to do it.

I really want to learn how to make custom content but there are no websites (and I can't find anything on here) that have anything for beginners. Please help... :|

Edit:

I went to the websites, tried to download all the stuff it tells me to. But half this stuff is in some different language, says it doesnt even exist anymore or expects me to know where to download it from. I mean seriously? This is not for beginners... this is for people who know how to build a computer and make computer programs.. my god, this was pointless... I am not a computer genius and there is about 500 different things you need to download, why can't there be one or two? Now I have to go uninstall all these pointless German (or whatever) program... never doing this again...

[AdamantEve]

Are you serious?

http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Sims_3:Modding

[ThomasRiordan]

But even MTS says "If you haven't done this before on TS2 don't bother trying for TS3!"

Where does it say this exactly?

As someone who has done damn near every type of creation imaginable for all 3 games I can tell you that knowledge from one doesn't really translate well into the next. In fact it's just more stuff you need to unlearn because what you did one way in 2 is completely different in 3.

Check out the tutorials section and keep plugging away at it even if you fail. Sometimes even the worst failure will result in useful information.

[StarboardParoxysm]

I can't think of ANY tutorial that says tells you to just give up now. I can think of some that say something like, "This tutorial is very basic, assuming you already have some preexisting knowledge in areas of X, Y, and Z." My hair meshing tutorial is like that, written RIGHT after TS3 came out and meant for people to mostly be able to convert from TS2 to TS3, and just giving the absolute basic steps so people could get started. Most of the first tutorials were like that on purpose - letting people have the real basic info and overview, assuming that someone would come along later and give some more beginner tutorials.

Like, for example, how daluved1 put together this AMAZING tutorial on clothing creation: http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=CAS_Creation_With_Daluved1:_From_Start-To-Finish ... made for beginners. Yeah, you might have to download a few things - think of it like a home improvement project - you probably can't do something complex with just a flathead screwdriver. You may actually need several specialized tools to accomplish something as complex as making something new.

Please try to understand - nobody is paid to make tutorials. It can be one of the most annoying, thankless tasks there is - people will pester you for -years- afterward with stupid questions answered in the tutorials, or things like, "It's too hard, can't you tell me how to do it easier?" as if tutorial writers deliberately use the most difficult method just to frustrate new creators. If it's hard, it's because that's just the way it is. Sometimes a new tool or plugin will come along that makes it easier or quicker, and then tutorials have to be rewritten, which can take hours to days to do... and then you get beginners complaining that there's too much to download... Or that it's -still- not simple enough.

There will never be a three-click method for making anything even remotely complex (some simple tutorials may be just a handful of steps, but they still almost always will take a while the first time, and downloading several tools). And sometimes you have to do some legwork yourself and learn additional techniques. If you aren't willing or able to search around a little bit and find info on what you need to learn, at least enough to ask more specific questions on figuring things out, then you are not likely to succeed at modding.

When I started modding for TS2, there really were no super beginner tutorials on things like hair meshing. Hell, the tutorial I learned from didn't even have any pictures, and was an absolutely -basic- overview. It took quite a while of just plinking around learning what the heck I was doing to get a basic understanding of what was going on. Comparatively, creators nowadays have it pretty easy, with a LOT more info out there - it may not hand the info to you on a platter, but the info is there if you look, or at least are willing to read enough to get started and then ask good questions to get you further.

(Yes, I did just "back in my day we had to walk uphill both ways in the snow barefoot" here, but srsly, if we were able to get started modding back in the dark ages, then you kids nowadays can get off my lawn and do a little Googling if you don't understand something just like we did back then. Suck it up, buttercup - modding is hard and complicated and if you're gonna mod anything, ya better get used to that.)

[lisfyre]

I absolutly love TS3 but I am not allowed to keep buying EPs. So I want to start making my own stuff. Like hair, clothing, etc. But even MTS says "If you haven't done this before on TS2 don't bother trying for TS3!" and crap, and thats pretty stupid because the only way you learn is if you try! I mean I would have made stuff on TS2 but when I started playing I was only like 9 or 10 and I had no clue about custom content. My mom would be the one who would even get TS2 running on the computer because I had just started using a computer. There are NO tutoials online so I have not a clue how all these people know how to do it.

I really want to learn how to make custom content but there are no websites (and I can't find anything on here) that have anything for beginners. Please help... :|

Edit:

I went to the websites, tried to download all the stuff it tells me to. But half this stuff is in some different language, says it doesnt even exist anymore or expects me to know where to download it from. I mean seriously? This is not for beginners... this is for people who know how to build a computer and make computer programs.. my god, this was pointless... I am not a computer genius and there is about 500 different things you need to download, why can't there be one or two? Now I have to go uninstall all these pointless German (or whatever) program... never doing this again...

First thing I have to say is you don't need to buy all EP's. If you keep your game patched to the latest and greatest, you can get store or 3rd party items to add objects to your game. If you can't afford Store items, there are a lot of 3rd party sites that offer objects for free. I don't buy every EP either and have so far passed on 2 of them - PETS and SHT, and from the looks of things... EP7. I remember when spiral stairs came with GEN and I couldn't get it yet. I patched my game and grabbed a set of free 3rd party spiral stairs and crossed my fingers. They worked very well. So.. from that point of view, problem solved.

Secondly, if you want to create there's a TON of tutorials that are free and I know for fact that a few creators are willing to help out if you're really stuck and need help. MTS has a huge library of tutorials on how to make custom content. I tried it myself for TS2 but eventually gave up because I couldn't devote a lot of time with it and I didn't have the patience for it. So.. I stuck to building and decorating which is my forte.

If you read replies in this thread carefully you will note a couple of links that may help you out. Let me add a few more to help you out if you are determined to create objects for your game. The information is out there.

Simprograms: http://www.simprograms.com/the-sims/the-sims-3/the-sims-3-tutorials/
Garden of Shadows: http://www.digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=16557.0
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZLRW79MzEw

Whatever you end up doing... good luck and may the force be with you. Errrmm.. wrong game... uh.. Happy Simming!!

[JillianLuv]

I can't think of ANY tutorial that says tells you to just give up now. I can think of some that say something like, "This tutorial is very basic, assuming you already have some preexisting knowledge in areas of X, Y, and Z." My hair meshing tutorial is like that, written RIGHT after TS3 came out and meant for people to mostly be able to convert from TS2 to TS3, and just giving the absolute basic steps so people could get started. Most of the first tutorials were like that on purpose - letting people have the real basic info and overview, assuming that someone would come along later and give some more beginner tutorials.

Like, for example, how daluved1 put together this AMAZING tutorial on clothing creation: http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=CAS_Creation_With_Daluved1:_From_Start-To-Finish ... made for beginners. Yeah, you might have to download a few things - think of it like a home improvement project - you probably can't do something complex with just a flathead screwdriver. You may actually need several specialized tools to accomplish something as complex as making something new.

Please try to understand - nobody is paid to make tutorials. It can be one of the most annoying, thankless tasks there is - people will pester you for -years- afterward with stupid questions answered in the tutorials, or things like, "It's too hard, can't you tell me how to do it easier?" as if tutorial writers deliberately use the most difficult method just to frustrate new creators. If it's hard, it's because that's just the way it is. Sometimes a new tool or plugin will come along that makes it easier or quicker, and then tutorials have to be rewritten, which can take hours to days to do... and then you get beginners complaining that there's too much to download... Or that it's -still- not simple enough.

There will never be a three-click method for making anything even remotely complex (some simple tutorials may be just a handful of steps, but they still almost always will take a while the first time, and downloading several tools). And sometimes you have to do some legwork yourself and learn additional techniques. If you aren't willing or able to search around a little bit and find info on what you need to learn, at least enough to ask more specific questions on figuring things out, then you are not likely to succeed at modding.

When I started modding for TS2, there really were no super beginner tutorials on things like hair meshing. Hell, the tutorial I learned from didn't even have any pictures, and was an absolutely -basic- overview. It took quite a while of just plinking around learning what the heck I was doing to get a basic understanding of what was going on. Comparatively, creators nowadays have it pretty easy, with a LOT more info out there - it may not hand the info to you on a platter, but the info is there if you look, or at least are willing to read enough to get started and then ask good questions to get you further.

(Yes, I did just "back in my day we had to walk uphill both ways in the snow barefoot" here, but srsly, if we were able to get started modding back in the dark ages, then you kids nowadays can get off my lawn and do a little Googling if you don't understand something just like we did back then. Suck it up, buttercup - modding is hard and complicated and if you're gonna mod anything, ya better get used to that.)

Thanks for your answer, it motivated me not to give up. The thing that all of you people don't understand is that I'm only 14 and really only been using a computer for about 3 or 4 years. And most of the time when I was on the computer was on CD games and online stuff. The most technical thing I have actually done has been Photoshop at school. I mean now I don't even use the computer for much except The Sims 3. And a lot of this stuff online just confuses the crap out of me. Thanks though, I'm not going to give up.

[Srikandi]

14 is a great age to learn more about computers -- your neural networks are still young and flexible ;) You learn a lot faster at that age!

Kolipoki, who did the very first TS3 interactive object and wrote a great object scripting tutorial about it, was about your age at the time, IIRC.

And, assuming you're actually female, society does do a lot to keep girls feeling insecure in technical arenas... but proving em all wrong is the sweetest victory :)

Keep at it! We're all behind you :)

[jthm_nny]

Speaking of, I'm 14 and female and have been creating Custom content for 2 years, though I haven't gotten a chance to upload anything. It's been months since I last played a PC version the Sims because my sister lost the disc (I have the wii version of sims 3 though It's not as good). That was sims 2 though, so I hope I'll get the Sims 3 for my birthday in September. So far I've been going around looking at downloads (programs and other kinds of things) and bookmarking them on my computer, kind of like a wishlist :D

Also, I'm trying to learn to make meshes and currently am using Blender, but at one point of the tutorial I was using I got stuck because even though I knew how to do it in theory, the controls themselves were too complicated. So far the only custom content I made was only recolors and retextures, and even though I could make some pretty awesome detailed stuff, it was built on Maxis meshes or meshes I downloaded. Any advice on this particular section of the tutorial?: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro/What_is_a_Mesh%3F

[Pyba]

Are you serious?

http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Sims_3:Modding

You don't have to be mean. :)

[metal_goat]

You don't have to be mean. :)
Passive aggressive smilies are really obnoxious.

[GnatGoSplat]

Thanks for your answer, it motivated me not to give up. The thing that all of you people don't understand is that I'm only 14 and really only been using a computer for about 3 or 4 years. And most of the time when I was on the computer was on CD games and online stuff. The most technical thing I have actually done has been Photoshop at school. I mean now I don't even use the computer for much except The Sims 3. And a lot of this stuff online just confuses the crap out of me. Thanks though, I'm not going to give up.

You and me both! I can definitely understand as I've had the crap confused out of me many, many times. Creating CC for TS3 is definitely a mentally challenging and time consuming endeavor. I've created a few items for both TS2 and TS3. It's not enough to know how things work in TS3 (which in itself is a lot to learn and quite technical), but there are a lot of prerequisite skills required as well. If you want to create scripting mods, you need a firm grasp of object-oriented programming (preferably C#.NET). If you want to create new objects or outfits, you need to know your way around a 3D meshing program (most tutorials use Milkshape). To make new textures, you need a pretty good grasp of Photoshop or similar graphics editing program. Then you need to know about all the different texture files necessary, alpha channels, transparencies, etc. There are a lot of programs you have to use, because there's no one program that does it all. The satisfaction of success can be very rewarding though, and a lot of the prerequisite skills will be useful in the workplace if you should decide to go into something that requires programming or 3D modeling.

I make a comfortable living in IT, and nothing in my workplace has been as challenging as making TS3 CC. I definitely can appreciate and admire the abilities of people who are proficient at this stuff and write tutorials and tools to make it easier, especially since they do it for free.