Tutorial: Changing the Main Menu Screenshot for Custom Neighborhoods

[mod_bv]

For those people who admire spending their time to make a custom neighborhood and make it grow into an empire, but hate the blank screenshot this is for you. Credits to Delphy and MTS2 for making this site, Quaxi for making SimPE, and all the modders and creators here for making the site a success.

1. We can't do any change without a screenshot. First, go into The Sims 2 and take the screenshot. This is the screenshot I will use:
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86545&stc=1
2. Now, you must go into your Storytelling folder (My Documents\EA Games\Storytelling) and copy the screenshot you just took.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86546&stc=1
3. After that, go to your Neighborhoods folder (My Documents\EA Games\Neighborhoods) and go to the neighborhood folder of choice.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86547&stc=1
4. Paste the screenshot you took in the neighborhood folder.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86548&stc=1
5. Now, open it in Paint. I used Paint for this tutorial because all Windows computers have it.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86549
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86550&stc=1
6. Go to ‘File…/Save As’ and click on the neighborhood menu screenshot.

7. When you press ‘Save’, you will get a warning message. Press ‘Yes’.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86551
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86552
8. Now, go into The Sims 2 and you will see your new image in the main menu! You are done!
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=86553

Note: It took me a long time to write this. Please post feedback.

UPDATED: A PDF is now here. Just download the RAR file named Tut1.


If you use this tutorial, please support development of BV items and click the tiny thank you button. It is the MTS2 way of donating.

[dlm0421]

Thank you. I was getting kind of tired of the default image.

[kitler]

i, for one, appreciate this very much! i HAVE spent a lot of time creating an empire, and it's such a bummer to have that blank neighborhood shot MOCKING me every time i run the game.

the only thing i might suggest...in the way of the tutorial, is to tell people how to take a screenshot. i would assume that most people who have even managed to make their way to this site would probably already know, but...you never know.
otherwise, it's very simple and it's easy to follow the directions! the diagrams are helpful and it's good that you included a shot of the warning message. well done!



kit.

[mod_bv]

it's such a bummer to have that blank neighborhood shot MOCKING me every time i run the game.

the only thing i might suggest...in the way of the tutorial, is to tell people how to take a screenshot.


kit. :lol:

the only thing i might suggest...in the way of the tutorial, is to tell people how to take a screenshot.
Sure, I'll update this tut in a bit, it's justr that my fingers are tired.

[mod_bv]

If this can be moved to the Tutorials section, it would be greatly appreciated.

[caz100]

CHeers Cheers Cheers. I knew how to change the other picture when you click on the neighborhood but not this one. Thanks Mod_BV

[caz100]

I meant to ask this but does anyone know how to make a moving pic like the 3 default neighborhoods.
I checked and I think it has something to do with the file that is a REIA file cause my custom neighborhood does not have that

[Apannepeh]

Thanks so much !
I´ve been looking for this!

[mod_bv]

I meant to ask this but does anyone know how to make a moving pic like the 3 default neighborhoods.
I checked and I think it has something to do with the file that is a REIA file cause my custom neighborhood does not have that
Yes, but I don't know how to make a REIA file.

[caz100]

Well I searched up REIA but all I came across was Real Estate Investment Analysis, so I guess we can't get a moving pic. well at least with this tutorial we can change the empty starting pic. Thanks again

[mod_bv]

Same here, Caz.

[caz100]

Mod_bv it is definetly the reia file that makes the moving picture.

I wrote it here: Link........... (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=58454)

it is somewhere near the end. It has 3 pics attached to it.

How do you do that quote box thing cause that would be a lot simplier.
I can mesh but I can't do html (weird isn't it)

[mod_bv]

Use BBCode.

[caz100]

I am going to sound even more stupid but what exactly do I type in before and after the text

[Frotsydino]

thanx sooo mush for this. I was looking for how to do this the other day and now I know.

[mod_bv]

The QUOTE tag. Type in [(whatever tag)](your text)[/(whatever tag)]

[mod_bv]

And for this, we are using the QUOTE tag. Put the word QUOTE in between the [ ]. Then write the quote. When you finish the quote, type the same thing, with a slash between [ ] SO the end looks like [/ ]

[caz100]

Thanks will try out now

To Quote myself

Cheers Cheers Cheers. I knew how to change the other picture when you click on the neighborhood but not this one. Thanks Mod_BV

[caz100]

Yeah................It worked. Cheers Mod_bv.

[mod_bv]

Please click the "Thank You" button instead fo posting the word "Thanks!"

[therpgqueen]

Thank you SO SO SOOO MUCH! The default custom neighbourhood screens are so dull and uninteresting-looking. You are awesome! :beer:

[mod_bv]

If somebody could make this file into a Word Document, I would appreciate it. I don't have Word on the computer I am using.

[Rct2mad]

Why don't you just use Adobe?

[mod_bv]

UPDATED! A PDF is now here! Just download Tut1.RAR

[happygolucky]

Thanks so much for this tutorial! I found the perfect terrain I want to use for a themed neighborhood. I downloaded it from here... But it didn't come with a neighborhood screenshot at all.. and I didn't have the slightest idea of how to make one. So I hope this works for me too.. even though I'm not replacing a screenshot. But just adding one.

[mod_bv]

Yup, it'll work for adding too.

[fcc2]

I would add just a couple things. You can use any image that is 400x300 and saved in .png format. Just name the file NXXX_Neighborhood.png where 'XXX' is the appropriate number for your neighborhood. You can use an in-game "snapshot" or any other image you might want.

It might be useful to state explicitly that files in the Storytelling folder are in JPG format, whereas the neighborhood screens are in PNG format. It probably makes a difference.

You can do this entirely outside the game if you prefer, by simply opening and saving the files in your image-editing application. The trick is finding the file(s) you want in the Storytelling folder, but if you browse in thumbnail view from within whatever image-editing software you care you use, it isn't too difficult to find the right one(s).

Play around with "camera view" before making your screen capture by pressing the TAB key and maneuvering using the mouse and arrow keys. Since someone mentioned it in the thread, you take a 400x300 .jpg screen-capture in-game by pressing the "C" key--this is saved in the Storytelling folder. You can also capture your entire screen (in Windows) by pressing the Print Screen key and then pasting the image into a new document in your image-editing software; this creates a .bmp file with the same resolution as your display (i.e., 1024x768 or whatever your is). You can then save it as a BMP, JPG,or whatever format you prefer. While this gives you a much higher-quality image, you need to reduce it to 400x300 if you want to use it in the game.

Using an application like Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, you can combine multiple snapshots from your neighborhood into a single image by cropping, resizing, and rearranging the different images in layers (in Photoshop you need to flatten the layers before you can save the image in any format other than PSD). Depending on how well you know your software, you can use various blend and fade effects to create the kinds of neighborhood screenshots that come with the game (the ones that show the game characters). I've never taken the time to learn that stuff myself (I should), but I was still able to create a neighborhood screen without much trouble.

Please keep in mind that I am a NOT a graphics artist, and I don't know any of the Photoshop fading techniques that would have made this look presentable to the public! Anyone with real talent could do much better without any effort, but at least you can see what can be done in very little time. The only effect I used was to use a basic neighborhood screenshot as the bottom layer, set to about 60% opacity so it would serve mostly as background. As it is, I covered up most of it anyway.

[mod_bv]

Very nice! But JPG will not make any color difference with PNG. I testted it before writing the tut.

[ArtfulOne]

Thank you: Jill, The ArtfulOne

[poi_boi]

Thanks for the tutorial Mod_bv

[mod_bv]

If you use this tutorial, please support development of BV items and click the tiny thank you button. It is the MTS2 way of donating.

[JamieSchimley]

This is great! Just one question... is there a way to make a video of your neighborhood instead of just the screenshot? Propabaly not, and i know its alot to ask... but that would be AWESOME!!!!!

[mod_bv]

Jamie, the truth is, I'm not really sure.

[pyro1234]

how do u make mods for the sims 2 original mod bv dou have the tutorial for that yet

[Cocomama]

I pushed the Thanks button for this very nice tutorial. Never knew is was here, but now my snowy neighborhood will have a snowy picture. Thanks.

[PwnagePanther]

Heh, I didn't take a screenshot in the Neighborhood View. I took one in one of the houses and then used Adobe's Photoshop 7.0 to add effects ^^

[Rosebine]

Thanks ! now next time I'll go visite my newly created " Quietown", I'll get a picture of my simmies....LOL

Rosemary :0)

[Rosebine]

Jamie....what if you press on camera, to make a little movie, while in a sim house, but outside.....then paste it instead of a screen shot.....i say that...but will I try ? mmmmm? LOL

Rosemary :0)
but there must be a way, since the default ones ARE movies...no ?

[indigo-violet]

I already knew how to do it. It is SO easy.

[mod_bv]

I tried to get it to do a movie, but I couldn't do it.

And indigo, if you can get it to a movie, share your knowledge.

[Rippleclaw]

For some reason, my snapshots folder will only save one picture at a time. So, if I take a picture, then I take another, the newest one will override the old one. Is there any way to fix it?

[natwel]

You don't have to even use Paint, just delete the default picture, take the image you want, rename is N005_neighbourhood, and move it to the N005 folder

[Soul_For_Sale]

Wow thanks! Didn't know it could be that easy :D

[BeeTaisho]

Thank you SO MUCH for this, I was hoping someone had explained it.

[Javers]

Ah, thank you so much! (And I did too click the 'thanks' ;P) Currently I don't have the game with me, but I can't wait to make custom neighborhood screenshot! Though I do wonder, can the same principals be applied to the second screenshot, such as the Capp vs. Mont family in background behind Romio and Juliet, and the Bella Sim in front of Mortimer and such? I saw someone knew how [in the comments] but I don't think it was in the tutorial list like this one was... I'm sorry if it's too troublesome.

[Hollysymosky]

i really need help okay i did exactly what you said i took a pic then copied it opened it in paint and saved it as the neiborhood thing and but it still wont show. what am i doing wrong? :(

[rachelm920]

Using an application like Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, you can combine multiple snapshots from your neighborhood into a single image by cropping, resizing, and rearranging the different images in layers (in Photoshop you need to flatten the layers before you can save the image in any format other than PSD). Depending on how well you know your software, you can use various blend and fade effects to create the kinds of neighborhood screenshots that come with the game (the ones that show the game characters). I've never taken the time to learn that stuff myself (I should), but I was still able to create a neighborhood screen without much trouble.
This is a great site for tutorials on Photoshop... if you want to learn how to do things and its free!
http://www.my-photoshop.com/photoshop-tutorials.html

and Paint shop pro is pretty similar to Photoshop IMO so you may be able to use these tutorials with it too... you can also google "Free Paintshop Pro tutorials"

[rachelm920]

i really need help okay i did exactly what you said i took a pic then copied it opened it in paint and saved it as the neiborhood thing and but it still wont show. what am i doing wrong? :(
Did you save it as a .png file instead of a .bmp? I don't think it will read the bmp files.

[Toota956]

I just knew there had to be a way to do this. Thank you very much!

[humanseed]

Thank you so much for making life easier for all of us! :D

[Autumn12001]

Thank you so much for this. It is very much appreciated.

[sword99]

Thanks for this! It helped me out to change my Neighborhood picture.

[asian0n0sexy]

I no this thread is old but what if you just want a picture randomly from the internet will it still work the same way????.....

[GeneralOperationsDirector]

I don`t see why not. I did this myself just a few days ago, and didn`t even know that this thread even existed until your post put it on the New Posts page. Any image ought to do, just make sure that it is saved in the right format and has the right name. I didn`t even bother to make the image the right size, and it still worked. Anything reasonably close to the right size should be good enough.

[sweetlilpsycho]

Finally! I have a beautiful custom neighborhood that only shows as the blank screen, and I didn't know where the file was to change it until I read your thread! Thanks so much :)