Silly me...
Both your and MaryLou's attachments have been approved

EDIT:
P.S.: Sonner or later you have to explain us how you could create a 1x1 lot, in the first place...
And if you feel inclined to write an article about the structure of a lot package (even if not complete), I will be glad to assist you with the language and to post it in the InfoCenter.

MaryLou
Nice work.
I've linked your post in the first post.

Numenor
Thanks!

Ok, this weekend there is no time for this, but I'll try to explain it next week.

Thank you very very much Mary Lou.

Well I have updated the downloads on my site,
although they are still availble in my downloads section i have added them to my forum.

That way it will be easier to update and keep up with the main thread.
Also let me know if anyone has problems downloading,

This should help with the bandwidth problem here a little.

Also Andi, If you want to Join, I will make you moderator of that thread, If not I will keep up, you could also email me your files.
If you email me, I should have them posted without too much a delay, If you join you can post them yourself. It's up to you.

TheCoffeeBear AT gmail DOT com

Keep up the GOOD WORK, Andi, I love your program.

First of all: In the following I'm using for sizes the values in the same line as all the resources of the lot do. That means you have to add 1 (respectively 10) for the road to get the used size values. E.g. a 1x1 lot in effect is a 1x2 lot or for a 2x2 lot the game uses the size values 2x3.

As in fact I'm using an early version of my LotExpander with reverse functionality to do the necessary changes, the following describes the basics of this program too.

I'm starting the first time with an empty 3x2 lot in the standard orientation. That means without rotating it while placing. So the values of 'Orientation' and 'U11' are both '0' (see below). With moveobjects I'm moving mailbox and trashcan to the right, because this early version of LotExpander don't move objects if necessary.

Ok, let's start modding.
There are 2 packages to manipulate it: the neighbourhood package and the lot package.

Neighbourhood package

Open the neighbourhood with SimPE and have a look at Plugin view of 'Lot Description' resource from the interested lot. There are 3 values relevant for us: 'Width', 'Height' and 'U11'. 'U11' is used by game to store the orientation the lot is loading the first time. We need this value to interpret the coordinate systems of all the lot resources. For 'Lot Description' it defines the meaning of the fields 'Width' and 'Height'. If you are looking from street side and the value of 'U11' is '0' or '2', the field 'Width' shows us the height and 'Height' the width of the lot. If the value of 'U11' is '1' or '3', the two fields show us what their names say. (Don't change the value of 'U11', because that confuses the game and you'll get a terrible hole in your neighbourhood.)
So we have to change the value of 'Height' from '3' to '1'.
That's it in neighbourhood package.

Lot package

In lot package there are multiple resources to change. But because the lot is empty the most changes are easy.

First we delete the 'Texture Image' resources (1C4A276C). The game will create new ones if we do a structural change.

There are some resources where we have only to change the values for the new size:

'World Database' (49FF7D76): Width (Offset 93) value = X * 10 - 1, Height (Offset 97) value = Y * 10 - 1

'Lot' (6C589723): Width (Offset 66) value = X, Height (Offset 70) value = Y

'Wall Graph' (0A284D0B): Width (Offset 95) value = X * 10 + 1, Height (Offset 99) value = Y * 10 + 1

'Lot Texture Map' (4B58975B): Width (Offset 72) value = X * 10, Height (Offset 76) value = Y * 10

The changes in following resources are a little bit more complex.

'2D Array' (6B943B43):
Width (Offset 81) value = X * 40 + 1, Height (Offset 85) value = X * 40 + 1
All instances of this resource, except '3B76', stores 16 values of byte per tile (4 * 4).
Because we change the Height from 3 to 1 we just have to cut the file about 2 * (3 – 1) * 40 bytes (X * difY * 40). Changing width would be a little bit more complex because you have to do it line-by-line.

Instance '3B76'
Width (Offset 81) value = X * 10 + 1, Height (Offset 85) value = X * 10 + 1
This is store one float value per tile.
So we have to cut it the same length as the other instances.

'3D Array' (2A51171B)
Width (Offset 81) value = X * 10, Height (Offset 85) value = X * 10
The instances of this resource stores Data with individual length per tile and layer. Because our lot is empty there is only one layer and so the changes are not as complex as on lots with buildings.
We have to delete (3 – 1) * 10 * <Length of Data> line-by-line along the width.
The length of Data (in byte) for the individual instances is shown in following list.
'00': 6
'01': 4
'03': 1
'09': 8
'0A': 8
'0B': 8
'0C': 4
'14': 16
'15': 4
'1B': 8

Portals
Now we finally have to move some of the 'portal- objects'. Different to other objects the positions of the portals depends only from values in XOBJ (584F424A) resources. On empty lots (and each other except some from Maxis) the instances of this resource for portals are '03' up to '08'.
The position is stored in two float values (X, Y):
Y with offset 80
X with offset 84
We have to subtract from Y-values greater 10 : (3 – 1) * 10

That's it!


I hope someone can understand my gibberish.

thank you Andy, I am happy to know that somebody can do it !
If I must do it? ..I'll be back in few months...when I could do it !
thousands of thanks again !

Andi8104,

a series of lots of thanks... danke.... merci....!




NOW, I want a neighbourhood with small blocks in various sizes with only 1 lot at a time surrounded by the roads... Say, H x W (where H = W = 1 -6)... The best is for all the cases...! Then, something may happen, right? :D

Thank you both.


Hmm…
Why not? Have a look at the lot '55 Woodland Drive' from Brandi Broke in Pleasentview.
If you jack it up, you'll see there are two roads to border if you'll place it.
You can define this with the value of 'U10' in 'Lot Description':
'01': above
'02': right side
'04': below
'08': left side
looking from default direction, witch you get if you'll place a new empty lot.
You can combine by add the values…

Andi,

Is there any chance that this tutorial you just gave, could in turn change the road back to it default location.

I have successfully created My Swimable Sea, But when I used 1.1 to make the lot, my road is in the middle of my SEA. LOL

The First two pictures, Show what is now the ROAD... In these pictures I use the leveling tool to lower the land. I picked these for here, to clearly show the road...





Ok, I know this is not the best picture, Grrrr.. But as you can see... The road is not where it shoud be... Sadly. **Only wished I would have had 1.2 at time I made this lot.**




Ok, So is there any way using SimPE or otherwise I can return the ROAD to where it belongs... and since the road is a 'T' would that make any more of a problem.



On empty lots (and each other except some from Maxis)

My Lot is not empty...
Problem ???

And using, these formulas how would you really know where the road portals are suppose to be, cept maybe starting at
X offset 0 and
Y offset 0

loading the game and seeing where it is,
then again changing it in intervals till you get it where it needs to be???

Am I asking too many Questions ??
Please help if you can... If not maybe I just need to start over... Grrr and LOL.
Thanks Andi

Hmm…
Maybe you can do that, if you are familiar with changing values in Hex-view from SimPE. But I can't give you a complete instruction, because there are many things in the resources that I haven't decrypted.

As I remember right, the floors are stored in Instance '00' of '3D Array' resource. But I don't know which values you have to store for roads.
BTW: The offsets in my post above are not offsets for the values itself but describes the position in the files. Have a look at MTS2 Sims2Wiki:
http://www.sims2wiki.info

A great problem is that each resource of the lot uses his own coordinate system (shame Maxis for this). So for each resource we have to identify how to interpret the values. Also it depends from the value of 'U11' in 'Lot Description'.
For example the following graphic shows it for 'XOBJ' resource:


I don't know if this would help you, but I can't explain it better.
Sorry!

Thank you very very much !!!
Great explanation.

I'd like to know how to make lot templates, and can they be sloping and still be a template?

Well I trashed that lot, and placed a New 5x6 lot in which solved the problem for this lot.

Worked great cause I got some great screenshots to post my tutorial,

But anyway, If I can fiqure out how to accomplish the changing of roads, I still would be interested.

I have worked many times with HEX, Just not in the sims. I have modifeied the Dos Command Interpretor among other programs this way.

You still have to know what you are looking for and the values.

What I will have to do, Is make a lot, and use your tutorial here on it, and get familair with the Values, and Maxis defaults, and stuff.

This could come in handy.

Now, If you either "accidentally" or "urposly" change the road token values to another location, can you upload them for others to use, or would this cause a problem wth there game, would it even clean install?

Has anyone successfully hacked the values of the driveway to allow more customization. The reason I ask this is with some of the road bugs in 1.1, The right hacked drivway peice could be a great inmprovment.

And it bugs me that in the Sims Everything is SQUARE. In our world, alot of it is, But there are some great stuff that aint so square.

Anyway enough for now...

~peace
~SirCoffeeBear

you know what I was just thinking, In Sims 1, The road was a "hidden Token" the reason I say this, is althoguh I was not interested in the item, there was a download to make carpool go somewhere else, rather than o the road. Now this token did not move the road, I rember then saying that. Besides all this,

What are the chances that MAXIS has a "Hidden Token" for the "CARPOOL"
You would be the quickest to know this, as you have been modifing, these values to create your program.

We know the mailbox, and Trashcan are tokens in such, And if you look at my last screenshot above, The "UFO" still knew where the road was even if the Cars, sims, and stuff thoght it was located in the back.

I am pulling at strings here, But if the UFO, knew where the front of the lot was, and that the road was really suppose to be there, would that not create the ability to simply correct the road offset,
Or vice versa, mess up those that Deliberatly change the road values.

So one of the people here create there perfect home, with the road in the middle of the lot, and everything goes well, then some of the stuff will be still off. The UFO for say would be choosing a "NON ROAD" spot to spit your sim back onto... Actually this could be neat anyway, 'cept if it spits the sim in the middle of a building or such.

Enough rambling, (LOL) But if there are hidden token, to make them movable would be easier for the common player, than HACKING the HEX values. And again maybe that is the easiest way.

I need to get more up on sims 2 codeing, Grrr.

~peace and thanks

Me too.


TheCoffeeBeer

So far I know there's no explicit "Hidden Token" for the road. But it's an assembly of floors, textures and some Portal-Objects.
These objects are:

Portal-Pedestrian
Portal-Car-Start
Portal-Car-Stop
Portal-Car-Service-Start
Portal-Car-Service-Stop

You can change the position of these objects in XOBJ-resources with instances 03-08, as I described in post above.
My program do nothing otherwise with roads.

So, arethe terrain tiles and floor tile involved in the portal functioning pathway?

No, I don't think so.
There are stored in other resources (3D Array and 2D Array).
The program move them like normal floors and terrains.

I just can't find the lot file, is it one of the unknown file?

Is that file more specific to NL and post-NL lots? I'm using the bae game copy...


Addd: after the following post:

Thanks, merci, & danke...

I'm still lot-modding noob...

In SimPE resource tree the 'Lot'-file is shown as 'UNK: 0x6C589723'

There's a new Version of LotExpander: 1.2.1

The "can't wait for approval link": http://rapidshare.de/files/31238935..._1.2.1.zip.html

It comes with a few bug fixes for the 'over the road' option.
E.g. I solved the problem with the portals reported by Numenor.

The other problem with the driveway Numenor described in this Post, can't fix by me. I think there is something hardcoded in game averting it.

But here is a workaround to place some driveway(-extensions) on the other side of the road:

You have to unlock the sidewalk floor pattern as described here

With the Cheat "moveobjects on" you place this sidewalk pattern on the 2 Tiles shown in following picture:


So now you can place driveway extensions on your lot.


If you are finish you can delete the sidewalk patterns.

This is truly a great program... now I need Lot SHRINKER!! I blew up Ajay Loner's Strangetown lot so hugely (and proceeded to play his home business quite a while) that I'm LOST on the lot! LOL!!

Good luck as you continue to further develop this great tool.

chaisipper

So you are not the first, who asking for shrinking lots, I'll working for it.
Maybe it's a feature in next release.

The Shrinking Lot option will be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!!

just found this tool and is much appreciated will play later after i get back from work...i do hate it when i find something new to play with and work interferes

a Lot Shrinker would be fantastic i must agree