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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 15th Apr 2017 at 3:59 AM
Default The Town of San Simeon (Due for remake)
This is my first time posting here and I'm still learning the ropes. First of all, a little introduction. The world build is based on my own home country, the Philippines, set in the late 18th to early 19th Centuries. To my knowledge it was one of the earliest attempts at creating a Filipino-themed world (though hardly the first to make the familiar Colonial Filipino houses). The full name of the province is Nombre de Jesus, whereas the main city is named San Simeon. It is a saved rebuild of a hollowed out Isla Paradiso from Island Paradise and was made with the World Bundle, Movie Stuff, Fast Lane Stuff, 70s 80s and 90s stuff, and all expansions short of Into the Future, plus a smattering of custom and store content (I watched a lot of ads for this build).



It is the first of my two attempts at a Filipino themed save in Isla Paradiso; my other one was built on the same place (and takes place in the same continuity, story-wise) but takes place in the 14th Century, a two centuries before the colonial era.

If I manage to succeed in creating the separate world versions, I might make (and possibly upload) two versions of the world :D.

I originally made this for an attempt at a historical legacy challenge. It is initially a save and not a full-on world (more on that later). My main difficulties had been in designing the interiors and populating the areas, though this is mainly because of the scale of the project. Besides a remake and rebuild, I am also planning to have it turned into a downloadable full world. Feedback is appreciated.

Inspiration
I drew inspiration for many of the structures from photographs of historic structures from the following places:
  • Pre-WWII Manila, particularly around the old city of Intramuros
  • Taal, Batangas
  • Vigan, Ilocos Sur
  • Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar (A living history museum)
  • Images from the Ayala Museum's famous dioramas

Although most of the structures were my own, I am not above adding structures created by others, though this might change should this become an actual downloadable. I had contacted Amichan619 to use two of the structures used in his town San Felipe as add-ons. I was pleasantly surprised to know that Amichan had known of my build.

Background
I mostly work in world conversions, taking pre-built worlds and altering them to suit my purposes. It's... not quite CAW. The entire process seemed too difficult at the time and this seemed like the easier proposition initially. Only when the nonremovable bits proved too troublesome did I ponder on building on a fresh world. In any case, the world is due for a remake.

A little history regarding the build. As mentioned, I was inspired to build it from scratch for a historical legacy challenge (it adds versimilitude). Familiarity plus the opportunity to portray my country's culture and history led me to choose this milieu, pegging my legacy at the end of the 18th Century during the Spanish era. My tumblelog has the complex mess of rules just to ensure accuracy. Of course, one of the appeals of a legacy challenge was to start from nothing, a difficult proposition for the Philippines that hadn't had a setting fit for a settler narrative since before the Spanish arrived.



Indeed, I ended up creating the second world, Kedatuan, out of a desire to fully start from as bare a slate as possible and because I needed to build less for it and because it allows me to build the community gradually. Essentially, Kedatuan (Malay for "Principality") is San Simeon before the Spanish came, a settlement established in the 14th Century by a political alliance between Southeast Asian kingdoms.
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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#2 Old 15th Apr 2017 at 4:01 AM
Highlights

Churches


Iglesia de San Simeon, inspired by part by the Manila Cathedral and St. Augustine's Church


Iglesia de San Jacinto, based (almost directly) on St. Joseph's Parish in Las Pinas City, my current town of residence and home to a pipe organ made of bamboo.

Residences and Domestic Architecture



Other Buildings of Note

Mercado de Agua Marina, a conversion of OnePracticalGhosts's Sea Spray Shops


Parian Cemetery, inspired by portions of the Manila Chinese cemetery, Chinese gardens in general, and the Forbidden City.


Casa de Romano de Oriente (Jesuit museum) and movie theater. The Jesuit house was inspired by Casa Bizantina at Las Casas museum.


St. Mary's Academy


Fort St. Simeon (The Governor's Office). This might be a misnomer since it's not actually fortified. The actual fort would be built further down (though I'm considering building it up).
Mad Poster
#3 Old 16th Apr 2017 at 11:36 PM
Definitely loving the new setting!

If this helps, I have a Isla Paraiso CAW file with some buildings you might find helpful!

http://potato-ballad-sims.tumblr.co...-years-gift-for
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#4 Old 17th Apr 2017 at 8:17 AM
Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
Definitely loving the new setting!

If this helps, I have a Isla Paraiso CAW file with some buildings you might find helpful!

http://potato-ballad-sims.tumblr.co...-years-gift-for


Thank you. I've seen your Isla Paraiso thread recently (it's even set at roughly the same time as I originally pegged San Simeon to be at, give or take 10 years). It's also the reason why I'm considering building the fort up the hill instead of down by the coast as I originally intended, though the jury's still out on that one.

I may be using your lighting mod in some of the pictures.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 18th Apr 2017 at 7:41 PM
Here are a few of my CAW edit-in-game builds thus far.




I find it incredibly easy to do what I call gut-and-finish, wherein I take a preexisting house in a TS3 world and modify its exteriors and interiors. This was how I built the original save's business building. In this case, the edited Isla Paraiso had a cluster of unfinished buildings close to the port. I added a few architectural flourishes here and there...



And we have the seaport market district!

This basically became the area surrounding the Spanish custom's house (which one is the customs house I am currently not sure). This represents my first non-CC attempt for the project; the only non-expansion item are the stained glass windows used in the main building which I think might be the best candidate for the customs house. All in all, I liked how it turned out, especially since I'm usually so keen on defaulting to the CC cornices/friezes I used in the initial build. The Spanish colonial gateway arch is my personal favorite, especially since it turned out so well.

Essentially, this will become the place to put the WA registers, save for the one with the books. and perhaps also serve as the consignment store, if I don't put it on a dedicated market lot. Also, is the shiny, well-maintained look of this part of town sensible or should I make it more grungy to highlight the whole market/port feel of the area?

I still haven't figured out how to make the terrain not look like mud.
Mad Poster
#6 Old 18th Apr 2017 at 11:42 PM
You need to clean out your Documents CAW folder except for the User folder the textures and worlds are located in. Also delete your world cache folder in the main Sims Document folder.

If that doesn't work, there should be a textureslist .ini file inside the world file that also needs to be deleted (it'll regenerate). Back up the file though.

I'll check and find out the exact files when I can.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#7 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 1:49 AM
Quote: Originally posted by jje1000
You need to clean out your Documents CAW folder except for the User folder the textures and worlds are located in. Also delete your world cache folder in the main Sims Document folder.

If that doesn't work, there should be a textureslist .ini file inside the world file that also needs to be deleted (it'll regenerate). Back up the file though.

I'll check and find out the exact files when I can.


What folders should get the axe, specifically? I parked many of the world building files outside the CAW folder and edited from there. Could this be a contributing factor?
Mad Poster
#8 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 2:24 AM Last edited by jje1000 : 19th Apr 2017 at 3:06 AM.
Ok everything in the CAW Documents folder except for UserToolsData (presuming all your world files are in there)

Then inside the world file itself (using S3PE), a _KEY file called TextureDatabase (will regenerate itself). I think the issue comes from the database corrupting and not loading the textures properly.

As always remember to backup your file.

Tip for eliminating stray texture files: If you have the textures saved and linked to the world file, you can also delete all the named texture _IMGs (the linked images will reload)- sometimes after you change a texture image, the actual file remains in the world- deleting them will reduce the file size.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#9 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 4:12 AM Last edited by joeabuy1000 : 19th Apr 2017 at 4:39 AM.
I tried doing these. The problem's still lingering. Should I do these in a particular order? Should I instead manually change the main texture files?
Test Subject
#10 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 6:48 AM Last edited by paul_dion011089 : 19th Apr 2017 at 6:50 AM. Reason: Spelling and additional words.
Great work. I liked the fact that you utilized EA content for the colonial architecture especially the walls and the capiz windows. It perfectly captured the look and feel of Calle Crisologo in Vigan and some buildings in Intramuros to a lesser extent.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#11 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 8:27 AM
Quote: Originally posted by paul_dion011089
Great work. I liked the fact that you utilized EA content for the colonial architecture especially the walls and the capiz windows. It perfectly captured the look and feel of Calle Crisologo in Vigan and some buildings in Intramuros to a lesser extent.


It was very fortuitous, really. Getting the look was largely the product of trial and error. The walls were very tricky: it took awhile to get the right swatch of paneled walls to make the second floors and to add sufficient masonry detail to the first floors (this is especially apparent in Vigan, where the first floors weren't usually flat). The first floor windows are even more of a challenge. My best results were from using conversions from Apartment Life or by alternating between wall and grill fence and hiding the joins in an arch. The Spanish windows I used for the customs house are, admittedly a bit too big.

When improvising the look of the Capiz windows, I needed to find content that fitted at least two of three criteria:
  • Small square panes
  • An appearance that evoked or wouldn't look out of place in the 19th Century
  • Translucence

The Supernatural windows were incredibly close in appearance to the capiz windows, differing only in that they used transparent glass. The perfect combination of all three was actually a sliding screen door, one that I couldn't use for all the builds (though they work beautifully for the larger buildings with the requisite tiny balconies, like those imitating Casa Manila in Intramuros and Casa Bizantina at Las Casas). In general, I found the Supernatural stuff to be some of the most helpful when making the build, if only because that pack had an antique old world look as part of its theme. The Edwardian window was a very recent experiment inspired by the stained glass also used at the time.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 12:06 PM
Re: the mud issue. I've repeatedly tried deleting the TextureDatabase, with each successive one creating the same black and mud world each time. I've checked multiple times. It's not even regenerating the TextureDatabase _KEY when it apparently was supposed to. Having it refresh on its own is probably the key here, no pun intended. I repeatedly deleted my files and have a backup stashed somewhere.

Perhaps this may be a compatibility issue as well. My version of CAW is 0.2.0.197, whereas my version of the Sims 3 and its plethora of expansions is the non-Origin version at 1.67.2.024001.
Mad Poster
#13 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 5:52 PM
Hmm, regardless this should have been the answer:

http://modthesims.info/t/448987

Also try clearing your worldcache files in all folders.
Top Secret Researcher
#14 Old 19th Apr 2017 at 9:08 PM
Have you tried to reassign the textures to their respective layers? Brown mud means that caw doesn't find the textures. They are stored on absolute paths, and the one from jje1000 is probably a different one than yours.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#15 Old 20th Apr 2017 at 3:08 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Vincent T.
Have you tried to reassign the textures to their respective layers? Brown mud means that caw doesn't find the textures. They are stored on absolute paths, and the one from jje1000 is probably a different one than yours.


I have considered this possibility. Would the files need to be changed in S3PE or in CAW?
Top Secret Researcher
#16 Old 20th Apr 2017 at 7:31 AM
In CAW. If you don't have the textures, maybe jje1000 can provide them or you can get them from the original world file with the help of s3pe.

In CAW you can check which textures are required by looking at the path (my game is localised but I'm sure you will find your way). Right click on a terrain layer in the terrain tools to open the window. This is also the place where you would re-assign the texture.


Now that you have the name of the texture you can look for it in the original caw world file with s3pe. Export and save it to your own Source textures folder (you can also make sub-folders). Now re-assign the texture by opening the above window and clicking the little button with 3 dots on the right of the path.

I would recommend not only to delete the key ressource but all IMG-ressources once. This usually reduces file size quite a bit and also removes unneeded stuff from your world file. For this it would be necessary that you have all required recolours, lighting colour ramps and textures (roads, terrains) available for re-import into the world file, especially if you edit a world made by others. Here is a tutorial which also adresses the brown mud issue. You can find all required files with the method I described above.
Screenshots
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#17 Old 20th Apr 2017 at 9:44 AM Last edited by joeabuy1000 : 20th Apr 2017 at 12:55 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by Vincent T.
In CAW. If you don't have the textures, maybe jje1000 can provide them or you can get them from the original world file with the help of s3pe.


The original file came with them, hence why I thought about the files being misplaced somehow. I'll be trying this out within the next few hours. Thanks.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#18 Old 20th Apr 2017 at 7:31 PM
I managed to replace all of the textures. The world finally looks verdant. I've spent some of the time after re-replacing the textures completing the port, the details of which will be chronicled shortly.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#19 Old 20th Apr 2017 at 8:41 PM
Default The Port
So here's what I started with:



Then, I goofed at the textures a bit and the shore looks less "fancy Philippine rural island that hotel developers long for" and more "the coast of Manila". This too was eventually resolved.



I first started with a large central staircase, which was really difficult to place. I planned to have a stone staircase. After telling myself, "I'd hate to be the guy who had to carry the undoubtedly heavy trade goods all the way up those stairs," I asked my dad, a civil engineer, whether it was plausible. Now, asking my dad for help when making Sims 3 buildings is a double-edged sword. On one hand, he is an engineer and knows what he's talking about when it comes to how buildings and infrastructure work in real life. On the other hand, he doesn't play Sims 3 and isn't very good at history. So his advice, while helpful, also entailed building something with more modern sensibilities. It was his idea to build the stairs parallel to the walls instead of perpendicular to them, and because of this the stairs had to become wooden.

It was a long process.



It became a modern leisure port and tourist area; currently missing are the many kiosks catering to the local and foreign tourists.



I'll be altering it a bit later to make it less... well... safe for people to walk in.



Enjoy it in full color!
Field Researcher
#20 Old 21st Apr 2017 at 7:49 PM
I love it when people build worlds in a style or theme that hasn't been attempted before (or barely attempted), and San Simeon is looking great
You're doing a great job with the buildings, both the interiors and the exteriors look very authentic.
Keep up the great work!

Find all my creations here:
My blog: Nilxis Designs // My Tumblr page: http://nilxis.tumblr.com
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#21 Old 22nd Apr 2017 at 8:12 PM Last edited by joeabuy1000 : 23rd Apr 2017 at 7:28 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by Nilxis
I love it when people build worlds in a style or theme that hasn't been attempted before (or barely attempted), and San Simeon is looking great
You're doing a great job with the buildings, both the interiors and the exteriors look very authentic.
Keep up the great work!


I appreciate the feedback a lot, especially coming from people who've created rather spectacular worlds themselves. I've jje1000 to thank for lending me the de-modernized version of Isla Paradiso (and for the lighting mod that I now use extensively in my saves).

The authenticity bit is what gets to me. I did a lot of research for the whole project (San Simeon and its prequel of sorts the Kedatuan) to approximate the look of the buildings as close as I can, within the limits of what the game had on hand.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#22 Old 23rd Apr 2017 at 7:55 PM
The deleted message was about a post that didn't quite format the way I wanted it. I'll be reposting a different response in a while.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#23 Old 24th Apr 2017 at 5:37 PM
Default Center building conundrum (now with pictures)


The world file I'm editing has in it a large building embedded in the plaza. I hoped to keep it since, with luck, I can make the structure(s) blend into the city and keep it looking nice and built up. However, I'd also like to give the structure a purpose, one that would suit a building its size. My first attempt was to turn it into a large-ish structure in the city center, as seen below; I plan to give it a further baroque makeover. It would house at least two rabbit holes.



Historically, a building this size is often reserved for the government or the church, both of which have already been represented by the school and the civic center. The missing rabbit holes remaining (science lab, hospital, sports center) either don't fit in the current time frame or are functions that require being paired with a school. Now, this leaves me with three options:
  • I could keep the building like this and sacrifice either one of the original functions of the rabbit holes to create a new school building or a new government house.
  • I can split the buildings stylistically (that means only one of them can keep that dome) and use them as distinct buildings
  • As above, but with the requisite uni assignments added, thus making it the provinces local college.

I'll be experimenting with the options and present the results.

Because it was a structure built on a plaza (the designated "big park" and festival ground) it might preclude turning it into the art gallery (which will instead be filled by St. Simeon's Church).



Here's a general idea of what it'd look like eventually. This building is the Canary House, an exclusive lounge (i.e. where the hacienderos go when they want to block of the blight of peasantry and simply going to Europe or maybe just Manila is out of the question).
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#24 Old 7th May 2017 at 10:34 AM
A few more updates. Bit busy at work so I wasn't able to add a few things, but I did add a couple of things to the city. I went through with the Plan B restoration while placing the Plan A one in the bin.



Anywho, this now represents two different buildings. The first building retains the architecture of the original one but is scaled down whereas the latter one takes the appearance of a smaller Colonial Filipino building. Given their proximity to the Jesuit Library, I would surmise that they are also one of the buildings owned or operated by the Church (or just the Jesuit order, which in the town's lore had either been kicked out or just returned from being kicked out by the Spanish government). The Jesuits occupied an intellectualized cultural space similar to the Peterans in the Sims Medieval, to put it simply. Thus, every building with an academic or scientific bent would probably be Jesuit institutions.

The arch is a reference to the one in the customs house.



As for the Customs House itself, its proximity to both the sea and the parian mean that it could very well be given one of two names.
  • Oficina de aduana, the Spanish term for "customs house"
  • Alcaiceria, the silk market complex, of which the customs house would be just one of its buildings.

Alternatively, the actual town's alcaiceria can be placed as a dedicated Chinese market somewhere near the Parian, though I kind of squared the Parian to be nearly completely composed of residential buildings to put the townies in.

Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#25 Old 24th May 2017 at 9:10 AM
Default Adding minimal CC buildings to the town
For the town to be available to people other than myself, I would have to make a minimal-CC version of the entire build. This is going to be challenging, especially since I aimed for authenticity, which demanded a lot of CC in many places. Sims 4 conversions, for instance, looked the most authentic in the interiors of the houses, and the churches alone use multiple variants of custom and store content to look right. For it to be playable people other than myself, I would have to first reduce the amount of custom content/store content used, which should make it more accessible to other players and make it less of a chore to include/cite them all.

In the meantime I'll try to get clearance from the still-active CC users and, if possible, figure out how to compress the CC into a single file for convenience.

For the moment, I've committed to minimum CC building for the moment to reduce the number of homes I have to redo whence the time comes to minimize the CC and store content. The results have been surprising, to say the least. I'm working on the exteriors for the moment, working on the interiors not long after. Reimagining the buildings does let me rework them to make them look more realistic.

Assuming my work doesn't swamp me again, I should be able to introduce an unpopulated Beta version sometime in June for those interested in play-testing. In the meantime, here are a few minimal/no CC exterior builds I've had made. The number refers to the amount of CC and store content I used on the exteriors.

Casa Simeon, an affluent home
No CC; No store content.


Casa Romano de Oriente, the Jesuit library
CC (6); Store content (2)


Casa Honorata, the salon (right)
CC (~3); No store content

Casa Hilera, a townhouse (left)
CC (1); No store content
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