Thanks to Twallan's jailbreak mod for the Create-A-Pet demo, you can check out the the collections system. I've got to say, thank god that collections are finally back.

Anyway, if you have a crap load of CC like I do, you know that the EP catalog sorter that came with Generations/patch 1.22 was a great idea, since it makes finding content from a certain EP or installed through the launcher so much easier. You will also know that is has one fatal flaw. Any CC that is cloned from a base game object (i.e. the vast majority of CC), will show up as a base game item when you have the catalog show you only base game items. This doesn't make it any easier to find a base game item in some sections of the catalog, depending on how much CC you have.

This is where the collections will come in handy. I've created a collection that has all the base game items in it, that way if you're trying to find, say, the toilet paper roll, you wont have to dig through all the Misc. Deco content you have to find it.

I'm posting this here now because I want to see how sharing collection files will work. I assume that it'll be just as easy as it was with Sims 2, but it can't hurt to test it out, just to be safe. And, doing it two weeks before the actual EP/Base Game patch comes out will give us time to figure out any issues we come across.

So, I need people to test this out. To test it, you will need two things. One, you need Twallan's mod that jailbreaks Create-A-Pet. Second, you will need to have followed the instructions later in the thread where you get the mod on how to get the base game items to show up in the demo. While looking at the collection, there will be a few items that show up as placeholder items. They are items added with a EP or Patch, but are marked as Base Game items, such as the urinal.

The items will show up exactly the order they show up in the function sort of the catalog, with three exceptions. First, fountains will show up at the end of the plumbing fixtures rather than with the rest of the deco items. This was purely a personal thing, I prefer fountains being under plumbing, it makes them much easier to find. Second, the buffet table and bars will be listed with the rest of the Entertainment items rather than with surfaces. Again, personal preference. And third, the deco items will be at the bottom of the collection. I did thing because I feel that it'd make looking through the collection easier. Say you were looking for a crib. Cribs are in the child section of the function sort, which is after deco items. You wont have to scroll all the way through all the deco items to find the crib.

When it comes to creating and sharing collections, I've found one thing out already that will be useful to know. Collection files have a coded name, this collection's being coll_0x36010043a9d644f0. Halfway through making the collection I turned the game off (mainly to make sure it saved. Made this collection, along with a collection for every single store set, and some for CC from another site. When I turned the game off, it crashed, causing me to lose all of those collections). I renamed the collection to "The Sims 3 Buy Mode," then turned the game back on and finished the collection. After I had finished it and turned the game off, that collection was still in my collections folder, but it's last date modified hadn't changed. Instead, a new collection file had been created. So, this means that we won't be able to label the collection .package files when sharing them, unless someone is able to figure out a way to change that.

And now, I think I've explained just about everything (and typed way more than I had thought I'd need to). Just download the .rar file and plot the .package file in your Collections>User folder. Let me know if the collection shows up in game and if the items are there. Also, if you noticed I missed any items, just let me know the item's name and what category they show up under the function sort. And, if you notice anything else odd about the collection, share it here.