This thread is a compilation of some very useful info about creating a world, here in MTS, and also around the web.

Some very important threads get lost in the amount of posts in the Create-a-World forum, so this is a place to find them easily.

This thread also holds links to some very common issues/questions, so check them out before posting on the forum

Common issues
These pages are know technical issues and solutions for running CAW, and also some most common issues you may experience in CAW itself.

Technical:
CAW not running? CAW running slowly?
CAW version mismatch

Other:
Brown Mucky Uck Texture Solution
Elevation issues with lot placing
Land disappears in EIG/turns blue when zoomed in

General CAWing:
These are general CAW pages, for creating your world. They do not require you any extra knowledge, or tools besides CAW itself and a graphics editor.

Exporting world:
24 bit .png - how to make one in Paint.Net
24 bit .png for CAW thumbnail - don't wanna make one? Download one here.
How to export the world for play and share

Other:
CAW Content list
Distant terrains - cordinates
Layers- How many should you use?


Tutorials:
Caw tutorials (links)
Overall tutorial to Creating Sims 3 Worlds
Routing - basics to sim routing

Advantaged CAWing
These are more advantaged CAW pages, all though you must not be frightened by the word "advantaged". It's only there to separate these pages from the general ones, since you can create a world without any of the following pages, and cause most of these pages require you to use additional tools, such as s3pe.

Heightmaps:
16 bit Heightmaps - making a custom heightmap in Photoshop
16-bit .png support~Found a free EASY conversion program
How to create a world using real world height data

Other:
Adding water planes
Editing premade worlds
Larger world size - work in process
Making custom Distant terrains
Modding objects to show up in CAW Metadata
Modding the Create-a-World Tool to Unlock Hidden Features
Populating Worlds in Create-a-World
Prepopulating worlds
Sea, Sky and Light parameters


This post will be edited when new important threads/posts are found. If you find something very important about CAW when surfing around web, please post the link below and we'll edit it in this post.

The look of this post change along with new links added, so if you can't see a link earlier posted on a spot it used to be, check out the headlines. I don't wanna clutter the post by making the headlines before they have content under them.

Hey Armiel, I have a whole bunch I'd like you to add, please!

http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=441595
http://www.modthesims.info/m/showthread.php?t=453513
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...g_Sims_3_Worlds
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title...3_CAW_Tutorials
http://customsims3.com/forums/thread-92.html
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=439329
http://pasimficandbeyond.wikia.com/..._Create-a-World
http://pasimficandbeyond.wikia.com/...Distant_Terrain
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=426932

I also added a link in the forum announcement:
http://www.modthesims.info/announce...ouncementid=148
And there are some other resources listed there, too!

Do any of them cover the ubiquitous question "How can I make a 16bit png?"

http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/po...61.page#3772698
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/po...61.page#3736582
http://www.modthesims.info/m/showthread.php?t=382629



Perhaps we should add a tutorial to the Wiki here! The trick is, you need to remove the alpha (so you have 3X 8bit channels =24bit)

Aha! Good old Paint.net to the rescue again!

Heh, Simsample, I added your links in, though you could have just edited the post

Any mod can add link to the post, just keep them in alphabetical order (I try, I might fail), and feel free to add more headlines if needed. Right now I have separated the stuff to 3 main groups - issues, easy stuff and harder stuff.

Oh I got mixed up. It was the 16bit pngs for height maps I was talking about. I think Simsample thought I meant the 24bit pngs for the thumbnails.

Ah, sorry Inge, I misread! For 16 bit heightmaps you need to choose greyscale and choose 16 bits per channel (no alpha) as then you just get one channel=16 bits (as opposed to 3X8 bit channels =24 bit for the world thumb).

A bit here about it:
http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title..._.28Optional.29

And more in the links in the first post.

And a helpful tutorial here:
http://builders.forumotion.net/t115...rld-height-data


Ah, but I didn't like to sice you made it so neat!

Ahaha, I see. Alright, I'll keep adding the links

Thankyou for this post, it is VERY useful!!!

Added links to the Super CAW tut, and to my DT tut.

Hi Armiel

TS3CC has moved. Here is the new link for the height map tut;

How to create a world using Real-World Height data by Napalm_VFR

Thanks

Updated - thank you

I am trying to figure out if there is a way to place lots on "un-routeable terrain", but I can't find an answer on here and the link provided on this thread labled as "Editing premade worlds" doesn't work.

If you are playing the game, and go into Edit Town, and use the World Editor, then no, you can't place those lots on unroutable terrain. The "Editing premade worlds" does work, I've done it many times, It is just a bit tricky if you're not used to where all the files are, and not familiar with s3pe, and caw. If you need help with that tutorial, post in that thread, and I'll try to help you through the process.

Editing pre-made worlds

When I said that it didn't work, I meant the link. But since you offered to help, can I ask you a question? When it says open 'CAW', what does it mean? The World Editor? Never mind, I figured it out.
I have The Sims through Steam and the World Editor doesn't recognise that I have the game, so I can't use it. Is there any place I can find a pre-made world that is large and little to no 'Unroutable' areas?

Pixie_child, Create-a-world will not work with the Steam version of Sims 3, although you should be able to use your license keys to download the game through Origin, should you wish to.

For world maps, look here:
http://customsims3.com/forums/forum-54.html
Mirrored here:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/553768.page

No way to place lot on unroutable terrain without editing in CAW, but bear in mind that sometimes if you delete a lot in-game and then try to place another one in the same location, the game may assume that the terrain is occupied even if it is not. So in that case, saving and reloading the save can help.

The link for "Editing premade worlds" seems broken.

The working link was posted later on the thread, but never updated on the main list. Is fixed now.

Hey guys and girls!

It's been a while since we've updated this thread, so I figured to bump it up to ask if anyone's learned/found any new tricks and tips for CAW that we could collect here. Or even old stuff that is not yet listed, but could be generally useful. I'm also a bit outdated on what's going on in CAW in general, so there might be posts/research threads on this forum that would be helpful to be gathered in one post.

If you do have something to add, please post a link, and I'll update them to first post when I spot the replies.

Happy CAWing, and thanks in advance!

Argh.

I need to convert a 16-bit-image into a 24-bit-image - any ideas? I tried both photoshop and gimp, but both don't have that function...

I found this but I'm not sure it's what you are looking for:
"A 24 bit tiff means a color mode of RGB (3 channels) and a bit depth of 8 for each channel which is the definition of a 24 bit tiff, but if you are talking simply bit depth, that 24-bitt tiff could be called an 8 bit tiff.



So is your 16 bit tiff under Image menu in Photoshop RGB mode/16 bpc?



If so, just change it to rgb/8 bpc. That would be the 24 bit tiff you want"
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1808856

Does that help at all?

I wanted to add this resource for anyone who is just getting into CAW.

All EA world resources- textures, CAW files and Lite CAW files. Also copies of the CAW program for various patch versions.
https://cawster.wordpress.com/

I started a world back in 2014, than had to make a longer pause because of RL time and infrastructur constrains. When I wanted to pick back up, the game had th 1.69 update and me a a windows 10 installation (meaning the one that made that latest patch necessary). The CAW was also updated, and I can open my started world just fine - with the real problem that it lacks the contents of the two store cities I heavily used the content of, Roaring Heights and Monte Vista and replaces all of those with placeholders from the basegame, completely ruining my work.

Is there any trick to get those back into the game. I wouldn't even mind if I had to redo them, but I cannot build the world I had in mind without those. Everything including old saves of test runs of the world run fine in the game proper.

I'm running the game under patch 1.69, and when I try to use "Edit in Game" in CAW, Origin starts up. I've read a bunch of threads, and most of them have one person saying that we have to buy a new copy of the base game. Seriously? Buying all eleven expansion packs wasn't enough?! I'm supposed to buy the base game a second time, just to have CAW actually work?

Is anyone running CAW under the 1.69 patch and having EIG work?

I've removed all custom content, and I just reinstalled the game from the ground up about a month ago, on a brand new SSD. New install, no mods folder ... why isn't it working?

I also tried SuperCAW, and it does exactly the same thing as regular CAW -- "Edit in Game" brings up Origin.