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21 Animated Lot Based Effects, Down from the 'Hood

by Sophie-David Posted 4th Apr 2013 at 2:32 PM - Updated 13th May 2014 at 6:30 PM by Sophie-David : Posted Stinky Skunk Bugfix, May 25, 2013
 
111 Comments / Replies (Who?) - 44 Feedback Posts, 66 Thanks Posts
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Field Researcher
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#26 Old 6th Apr 2013 at 6:52 AM
Ooh, these are very nice. I think I'm actually most excited about the high clouds. Something with the Seasons engine changed the skybox for the game. There used to be some clouds in the daytime sky, plus many more stars and a visible moon in the evening. A placeable high cloud will be much more dynamic than a recolorable horizon object.
Field Researcher
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#27 Old 6th Apr 2013 at 10:27 AM
Oh I love it, I'm so excited to use it in my game ! I have a slight preference for clouds <3
Banned
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#28 Old 6th Apr 2013 at 1:44 PM
Thank you David. The fog is my favorite.
Test Subject
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#29 Old 6th Apr 2013 at 11:28 PM
These are bloody fantastic Sophie-David! Thanks!
epo
Test Subject
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#30 Old 7th Apr 2013 at 10:13 PM
Woah, these are really cool and useful!!! Thank you!
Theorist
Original Poster
#31 Old 8th Apr 2013 at 5:58 AM
Thank you, and you're welcome.
Test Subject
#32 Old 8th Apr 2013 at 10:38 AM
Thank you for these, David! I'm sure gonna try some of it in my next pictures.

(Lama)
Lab Assistant
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#33 Old 8th Apr 2013 at 4:53 PM
I can't wait to put an ominous red glow and fog in my (mostly evil) witches' village houses! And the beams are great for cinemas - all I need now are giant searchlight objects.

Thank you for making these!
Test Subject
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#34 Old 9th Apr 2013 at 7:21 AM
This is so cool, I can't wait to install all the effects. It's nice to see mods still being made for S2. Thanks for sharing!
Top Secret Researcher
#35 Old 9th Apr 2013 at 1:13 PM
This is unbelievably amazing! It was always so disappointing that no birds were visible in lots, this will add much more life to them. Seagulls are my favourite, too! (If you like the shore, you saw my latest set? ) I also like the clouds a lot, for the smog over my industrial areas.

One question: If I have a replacement, e.g. my UFOs for the helicopter, will that show up with this mod, too?

Check out Omicron-Simtauri, my new space project!

Newest creation on my Livejournal: Fish with party hats: Garland and default
Looking for an Underground Station? thread on GoS
Grungy cars! thread on GoS latest: VW Type 2 Two-Tones
Field Researcher
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#36 Old 10th Apr 2013 at 5:41 AM
I love this! Thank you soo much. These effects will be extremely useful for us Machinima makers. Graci!!
Theorist
Original Poster
#37 Old 10th Apr 2013 at 6:53 AM
Thank you all for the encouragement!

Quote: Originally posted by Psychosim
One question: If I have a replacement, e.g. my UFOs for the helicopter, will that show up with this mod, too?
I had a quick look at your replacement package, and I don't think UFO mod will apply to the Down from the 'Hood helicopter. My package makes a direct call to the effect itself - EP2_neighborhoodHeliCopterFx - and I don't think the UFO mod will change that. But why not give it a try?
Top Secret Researcher
#38 Old 10th Apr 2013 at 12:38 PM
I tested it, and sure enough UFOs appeared in the lot! So it seems your mod calls the effect which then calls the mesh and texture, which can be a replacement. Though I noticed that sometimes it would fly through the ground, and my mesh is at the same height as the helicopter's so I expect it to be the same with that. Is it possible to adjust the height?

(Now, if only there was a way to also make the game use the same varied terrain textures in lot view as it does in neighbourhood view, not the same for everything around, my dreams would be complete. )

Check out Omicron-Simtauri, my new space project!

Newest creation on my Livejournal: Fish with party hats: Garland and default
Looking for an Underground Station? thread on GoS
Grungy cars! thread on GoS latest: VW Type 2 Two-Tones
Theorist
Original Poster
#39 Old 10th Apr 2013 at 5:56 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Psychosim
I tested it, and sure enough UFOs appeared in the lot! So it seems your mod calls the effect which then calls the mesh and texture, which can be a replacement. Though I noticed that sometimes it would fly through the ground, and my mesh is at the same height as the helicopter's so I expect it to be the same with that. Is it possible to adjust the height?)
That's neat! Thanks for getting back to me, Psychosim.

The helicopter is one of the effects that is height adjustable - some of them such as the hot air balloon are not. I deliberately brought the default height closer to the ground so that I could see the helicopters more often, but in some lots I can imagine that this would put them into the ground. I will add an additional (original height) variant for this effect. A workaround for this problem is to raise the control tile higher within the lot - but in some lots that is not practical.
Gone Fishin'
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#40 Old 13th Apr 2013 at 12:25 PM
I didn't see this until now - but I'm so glad I did! Excellent for storytelling, and some of my lots have ponds that definitely need rising vapours - not to mention my graveyards that will be that much more eerie with some fog swirling around the headstones. Thank you very much for this!
Theorist
Original Poster
#41 Old 13th Apr 2013 at 8:35 PM Last edited by Sophie-David : 13th Apr 2013 at 10:41 PM.
You're welcome NixNivis.

I've been listening to some feedback and will be releasing a version of the fog that will be closer to the ground - more suitable for swirling around headstones!
Lab Assistant
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#42 Old 17th Apr 2013 at 11:30 PM
Thank you so much for another way to make my game and stories more entertaining.

I paired this with Psychosim's UFO helicopter replacement as described above and got some very amusing results. http://youtu.be/eJyiW5szYrs

Thanks again for creating some of the coolest stuff in my game ;-)
Theorist
Original Poster
#43 Old 18th Apr 2013 at 12:31 AM
Quote: Originally posted by BetsyJayne
Thank you so much for another way to make my game and stories more entertaining.

I paired this with Psychosim's UFO helicopter replacement as described above and got some very amusing results. http://youtu.be/eJyiW5szYrs

Thanks again for creating some of the coolest stuff in my game ;-)
Wow, that video was lots of fun - thanks for sharing!

I've been testing out lot based helicopters at different heights, so that each wave of machine comes in at three layers (if you use all three heights at once). This would be fun too if they were all UFOs, filling the sky in that way. That will be on the next 'Down from the Hood upload.

Quote: Originally posted by NixNivis
not to mention my graveyards that will be that much more eerie with some fog swirling around the headstones. Thank you very much for this!
I've done a lot of playing about with the cloud/fog effect, and although it is fully height adjustable above ground there is no way that this particular effect could be partially buried so that the fog would swirl around at gravestone height rather than completely blanketing all the buildings on the lot. Other effects can be partially buried, but not this one.
Field Researcher
#44 Old 18th Apr 2013 at 4:25 AM
These effects are just amazing, Sophie-David! Thank you so much! I wonder if the pigeons and crows could be recolored so they are all ravens/crows?

amor vincit omnia
Theorist
Original Poster
#45 Old 18th Apr 2013 at 9:15 PM
Quote: Originally posted by darkraven1753
These effects are just amazing, Sophie-David! Thank you so much! I wonder if the pigeons and crows could be recolored so they are all ravens/crows?
Thank you darkraven! I wouldn't try to go as far as differentiating ravens from crows, but I would very much like to default replace the Nightlife pigeons only with crows only. My particular interest is in the Sims 2 medieval game, and to me crows suit that atmosphere so much better than pigeons. My initial research seemed to indicate that it is impossible to this default replace this particular effect, but I haven't quite given up.
Top Secret Researcher
#46 Old 18th Apr 2013 at 10:22 PM
Well, I've seen the texture for the pigeons before, and as we have already established replacements seem to work with your mods. So a simple texture default replacement should do the trick. You just have to find the right texture.

Check out Omicron-Simtauri, my new space project!

Newest creation on my Livejournal: Fish with party hats: Garland and default
Looking for an Underground Station? thread on GoS
Grungy cars! thread on GoS latest: VW Type 2 Two-Tones
Theorist
Original Poster
#47 Old 19th Apr 2013 at 6:28 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Psychosim
Well, I've seen the texture for the pigeons before, and as we have already established replacements seem to work with your mods. So a simple texture default replacement should do the trick. You just have to find the right texture.
From what I've seen so far the pigeon effect is constructed in quite a different way from the helicopter effect. In any event it doesn't look like a simple DR, at least from what I've been able to learn to this point. But at the moment I'm focusing on a completer set for these effects, then I'll turn my attention to a possible transfiguration of pigeons.
Test Subject
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#48 Old 19th Apr 2013 at 9:19 PM
Awesome!!!
Test Subject
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#49 Old 21st Apr 2013 at 4:34 PM
I used a train one once and ive deleted the object but the train still rides through my lot..
Theorist
Original Poster
#50 Old 21st Apr 2013 at 8:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Daniiquee
I used a train one once and ive deleted the object but the train still rides through my lot..
I would guess that there may be a second copy of the train effect tile left on the lot - it may be hard to find if it blends in with the terrain. If you are referring to the steam train, it would take quite a while before it would reappear, so it would not be immediately obvious if it were gone or not.

Another approach is to simply delete the train file from the Downloads folder. In the case of the steam train the filename is sdSteamTrainFT.package and for the fast train its sdFastTrainsPets.package. When you reopen the lot you will see a patch of flowers where the effect used to be. Remove the flowers from within the game and then reinstall the train package in Downloads if you want it on other lots.
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