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ktarsims · 8 years

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Pattern Hoarder Tutorial

A brief introduction: Hi! I created this guide to help other people who hoard patterns like I do. There are other tutorials out there for most of the things this tutorial will describe, but I have brought together several things from separate tutorials (as well as added a few things of my own) that are only all needed because I use several hundred custom patterns in my Sims3 game. It took me a while to figure all of this out and develop a good strategy for how to keep track of everything, so I hope this will be helpful to others who love the wonderful creativity of their fellow simmers and the patterns they upload to share with us.

This tutorial is intended to show you not only HOW to convert .sims3pack pattern files to .package files that will work in your Sims 3 game, but also how to organize and keep track of your pattern collection to make it easy to give credit to pattern creators and remove patterns you no longer want.

Addendum: If you, like me, got starry eyed at all the wonderful patterns you found, and downloaded them and installed them before you found this guide, and without recording the creator's names, etc... you may find it easier to start over from scratch by deleting all your installed patterns and re-downloading them in small batches. But if you are insane like me, you will instead spend several days or weeks hunting down all the patterns you downloaded to figure out who created them and add the creator names to the file names so you will never forget again.

Assistance Loved!: If you notice any errors or think there's something left out that would be good to include, please do drop me a note. I'd be happy to update the tutorial and add your name in 'References and Credits' section at the end. ^-^

Index of Sections:

Tools

Setup and Organization

Methodology

Converting to .package Files

Editing Pattern .package Files

Multi-Layered Patterns: Extra Steps

Installing Pattern .package Files

Testing & Finishing Touches

References and Credits

Section 1: Tools

To do everything that will be discussed in the later sections, you will need a few user-created pieces of software.

Required: Delphy's Sims 3 Pack Multi-Extractor - http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=364038 Delphy's Multi-Extractor is used on .sims3pack files, to get the .package files out of them.

Required: s3pe - Sims 3 Package Editor - http://www.simlogical.com/s3pe.htm s3pe will allow you to edit the .package files.

Required: Framework setup folder for Sims 3 Mods - http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files

Required: A program for un-zipping compressed files. I use 7Zip on my Windows PC: http://www.7-zip.org/ Other recommendations and instructions here: http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Extracting_From_Archives_Using_7-Zip

Optional: CC Magic - Custom Content Manager (Highly recommended! Especially if you are using a lot of CC! 3 CC Magic Tutorials linked in the last section.) - http://modthesims.info/d/461888

Useful Reference: Pattern categories list and how I categorize patterns

Section 2: Setup and Organization

Download 7zip and install. (Installation instructions on the 7zip site.)

Download the Framework setup folder, and follow the instructions on the download page to place the Mods setup folder in the correct folder on your computer.

In your Documents folder, create a new folder for storing Sims3 related files. Mine is titled: 'Sims3DownloadFiles'

Download Delphy's Sims 3 Pack Multi-Extractor and place it inside your new folder.

Use 7zip (or whichever program you've aqcuired) to unzip/extract the Multi-Extractor .exe file from the .rar archive file. Extract the .exe file directly to your new 'Sims3DownloadFiles' folder. The Multi-Extractor does need any additional installation. For ease of use, I right-clicked on the .exe file and selected 'pin to start menu' to give myself a shortcut from the start menu to use the program. According to preference, you can also simply create a shortcut on the desktop, or pin it to the taskbar.

Download s3pe. Place the downloaded file in the same folder as the Multi-Extractor. If you have Windows, you can download the Easy Installer version of s3pe, and simply follow the directions after you run the .exe file. Otherwise, follow the other instructions on the download page. The Sims 3 Package Editor (s3pe) will install similarly to most Windows programs, and automatically generate a shortcut in the start menu. I, of course, once again pinned it to the start menu, but this is personal preference.

If you want to use CC Magic, this would be the time to download and install it. In section 9, I've linked to three separate tutorials on how to install and use CC Magic. In this tutorial, I will focus more on how to install .package files in folders in the Mods folder, for those who don't want to use CC Magic.

Section 3: Methodology

After much trial and error, many mistakes, and tons of frustration, I came to the following conclusions:

It's polite and respectful to give credit to the creator of the pattern when you use it on a piece of furniture or piece of clothing and upload it to the Exchange or elsewhere.

Because the in-game interface does not display file names or any titles when you are in CAS, if you do not make preparations ahead of time (or have a photographic memory), you may have much frustration, irritation, and difficulty in figuring out which creator a pattern you used in game belongs to.

Therefore, the steps below - while they take a little time, can save much future frustration and time.

In your Sims3DownloadFiles folder, create another folder titled 'Pattern Images'.

Inside the Pattern Images folder, create an individual folder for each category of Patterns within Sims3. In these folders you will later put the image files you will save from each pattern that you install. I file the images by category rather than by creator, because in CAS, the only clue you get is what the pattern looks like and what category it's in.

Whenever you download a new pattern, ALWAYS make sure the name of the pattern creator is part of the file name. If it isn't, re-name the file and put the pattern creator's name into it. There's a screenshot of one of my Pattern folders below. Note how I added in the creator's name followed by a dash before each pattern name.

Decide how you're going to organize your .package files. Personally, I use CC magic, but I also keep a backup of all the .package files in separate folders. For any pattern creator that I have more than a dozen of their patterns, I create a separate folder. I also keep patterns obtained from different places in separate folders - so any patterns from ModTheSims or TheSimsResource are in separate folders from the patterns I downloaded from the Exchange.

Create a folder on your Desktop to use as a staging area for Patterns you are currently converting. You can name it anything you like. Mine is named '6365476' (long story).

Fabric

Weave_Wicker

Plastic_Rubber

Tile_Mosaic

Abstract

Metal

Carpet_Rug

Paint

Miscellaneous

Theme

Wood

Leather_Fur

Geometric

Masonry

Rock_Stone.

Section4: Extracting .package Files

Thanks to Delphy's Multi-Extractor program, Extracting the .package files from the .sims3pack files is the easiest part of this entire process.

Place all the .sims3pack files you want to extract .package files from into the staging area folder on your desktop, and then open up the Multi-Extractor.

Check the box near the bottom that says, 'Rename files on Save'.

Set the Multi-extractor to extract from and to the same staging area folder on your desktop.

Click Extract.

The process usually only takes seconds (even if there's quite a few files), and afterward you will have both .sims3pack and .package files (with the same name) in your staging folder.

Section 5: Editing Pattern .package Files

Here begins the slightly more complex bits of the process of making patterns usable as .package files in your game.

Open up s3pe.

In the top left corner, select 'File -> Open' and navigate to your folder with all the patterns you are converting. Select one, and click 'open'.

The very first thing we are going to do is find the Tag that reads 'ICON'. Find it, and then right-click on it, and select 'Export -> To File'.

Navigate in the window that pops up to the same staging folder you are using for the .sims3pack and .package files, then rename the image file to the same name as the pattern, and click 'Save'. Now you'll have three different types of files with the same name in your folder.

Next, find the _IMG Tag that has an Instance number beginning with 7EDD (ignore the 0x in front of everything). Most of the time, there will only be one _IMG Tag starting with 7EDD and it will end with 6CE. If there is more than one _IMG Tag that starts with 7EDD, you will need to take some different steps, outlined in Section 6: Multi-Layered Patterns. Please finish looking over steps 5 and 6 here but do not complete them if you are working on a multi-layered pattern. Instead, when you've read these steps, then skip to section 6, as the naming conventions for various layers is way more complex in a multi-layered pattern than for a single layered pattern. This section will continue as if there is only one 7EDD _IMG Tag. Once you've found the right Tag, double click on it to bring up a new window.

In this window, you'll do four things. First, check the box that says, 'Use resource name'. In the 'Name' field below, type in a unique name for this pattern. I usually just use the file name I'm already using for the pattern, because that's easier for me to keep track of and ensure it's unique. Next, click the FNV64 button next to the name field. This will generate a new number in the 'Instance' field. Fourth and last, copy the new number that was generated, omitting the 0x at the beginning (just highlight and ctrl+C). That's everything for this window. Now you can click 'OK' to close it.

Now you'll find the _XML Tag with a Type number of 0333406C (again, ignore the 0x in front of all the numbers). When you've found it, right-click on it, and choose 'notepad'. This will open up a text window in Notepad that you can edit.

Inside the text document, find the original 7EDD.....CE number. You need to replace this number with the number you copied from your edited _IMG file.

After you've pasted in the new number, look near the top of the text file for 'Res_Key' followed by a string of numbers. In some patterns, there is a space after the colon and before the last string of numbers. If you find that here, delete that space! That space is what can cause the 'materializing materials' issue that can crash Sims3 games. (If you do find it and remove the space, you'll have to do the same in the PTRN tag file. PTRN File shown in step 11.)

Finally, take a moment to look up at what the assigned category is for this pattern. Do you agree with it? If yes, choose save from the file menu, and then click the red X to close it. S3pe will bring up a notification window to tell you the resource has changed and ask if you want to committ the changes. Click yes. Move on to step 12. If you want to change the category, look at step 11 instead.

To change the category for the pattern, you will need to refer to a category list (Here is one that I made, if you want to reference it) to make sure you have the capitalization and spelling exactly right. Any mistakes will result in the pattern showing up under the 'Miscellaneous' category. In the XML file, before you save the changes, simply type the new category between the quotes. THEN you will save the XML, close it, and commit changes as directed in Step 9.

To complete the category change, or if you found the materializing materials error in your xml file, you will also need to edit the PTRN Tag. Right-click on the PTRN Tag and choose 'notepad' just like with the XML file. You'll find the category name between quotes again. Change it like you did in the XML file, remember to remove the space from the RESKey if needed, then save and close and commit just like with the XML file.

Now your edits to the .package file are complete. You will see Tags with lines through them that are the original versions of those Tags before you edited them. Just go up to the top menu in s3pe, and choose 'File -> Save'. Your .package file pattern is now ready to install.

Section 6: Multi-Layered Patterns: Extra Steps

Before starting this section, read through the first six steps of section 5 if you haven't already, and then come back here. The steps here detail differences in steps 5 and 6 from the previous section, plus extra steps that must be taken.

If your pattern has more than one _IMG Tag that starts with 7EDD, you have some extra editing to do. Please pay close attention to the instructions here, as there are more rules to follow when re-naming the _IMG Tags for multi-layer patterns than for single layer patterns. Every _IMG Tag that starts with 7EDD (They will be CF, CC, or CD when there are more) will need to be edited and re-named. Each layer requires a unique name, but also a similar name. Keep in mind the following:

Every _IMG tag must have a resource ID that is different from all the other _IMG Tags in pattern .package files that you've installed.

The re-naming requires a specific schema, to ensure the layers are displayed in the correct order in-game.

Every time you edit a 7EDD _IMG Tag, you will need to follow this up with editing the _XML file 0333406C and inserting the new resource name where the 7EDD number used to be.

Multi-layer patterns also require you to edit the non-7EDD _IMG Tags, if you are going to have more than one of them installed at a time.

Whether you edit one IMG Tag at a time and update the _XML file after each one, or edit all three and then update the _XML file is up to you. I've taken to keeping an open notepad document while editing a pattern so that I only have to edit the _XML file once.

Here's what a .package file with multiple layers looks like in s3pe:

The BASE or bottom layer in a pattern is ALWAYS the 7EDD IMG tag ending in CE. Re-name this one first, and append a 1A to the end of your name.

After re-naming it, click the FNV64 button to generate the new Instance number you will paste into the 0333406C _XML file. (See the previous section for images.)

For the other layers, append the same two letters to the end of your name that the original Tag contained. Make sure that aside from those two letters, the name you use for these layers is the same as for the first layer, includng capitalization and spacing! Like this:

After re-naming each layer, be sure to click the FNV64 button to generate the new Instance numbers.

Now you need to edit the two remaining _IMG tags. I don't think the naming schema is quite so strict on these, but I also haven't tested just putting in random names, so I can't say for sure. In any case, one of these tags, the one starting with 9CC - is the RGB mask used for that pattern. The second, starting with AC9, is the Specular layer.

These _IMG tags also need to be edited inside the same _XML file as the others. You'll find the references to them underneath all other _IMG tag references, so scroll down a bit to find them.

Once again, as you re-name them, make sure you don't get them mixed up. It's important to replace the old number with the correct new number inside the XML file. I re-named mine using a similar naming scheme as the other _IMG Tags, but instead of 2 letters or numbers appeneded at the end, I added 'Mask' or 'SPEC' depending on which one I was re-naming. Using practical names like that also helps me keep track of which tag is which, even after they've been re-named and have new numbers generated.

As before, once you've typed in the unique resource name, be sure to click the FNV64 button to generate a new Instance name, which you'll paste into the XML file.

If you've been recording your new numbers in a notepad doc like me, then when you're done you'll have something that looks like this (with a couple extra references for the mask and spec tags):

Take those numbers and edit the _XML Tag as directed in steps 7 and 8 of section 5 for single layer patterns, but make SURE that you replace ALL of the IMG Tag numbers with the CORRECT replacements. Getting these mixed up will cause the layers in the pattern to display incorrectly, or might cause the pattern to display as all black, etc.

If you've been editing each IMG tag and updating the _XML in between, you'll have a lot of crossed out XML files like this when you're done (that's normal, so don't worry about it).:

Everything else for a multi-layer pattern is the same as a single-layer pattern. So look over steps 9-12 in section 5 to learn how to edit the category if desired, fix the Res Key if needed, and save the .package file with s3pe. Then you're done!

Section 7: Installing .package files to the Mods folder

Other people have already written excellent tutorials on this, so I am going to link you to a few of the excellent tutorials that already exist:

http://modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Installing_Sims_3_Package_Files/Setup_and_Files "Then, you just put any .package files you've extracted into your Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages\ folder - that's the same place as the NoBuildSparkles.package and nointro.package files are. You can cut and paste them into the folder - just move them from whereever you extracted them, or extract them straight into that folder."

http://www.thesimsresource.com/helpcenter/view-post/post/23074/InstallingTheSims3Downloads "You can now place your downloaded package files in the Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Mods/Packages folder."

http://simswiki.info/wiki.php%3Ftitle%3DGame_Help:TS3_Organizing_Custom_Content It is worth noting here that you can create organization folders inside your packages folder in your Mods folder, so you can easily have a 'patterns' folder inside your packages folder, and then create another folder for each pattern creator or each category of pattern inside the patterns folder. You're limited to a 'depth' of three or four folders inside other folders... but this is usually sufficient. (Their page explains it better!)

https://ohmysims.tumblr.com/post/24336581511 <- This one is actually one of the better ones for how to organize your CC. <3

Section 8: Testing & Finishing Touches

Assuming that you have followed every direction perfectly and correctly, there really wouldn't be a need to test out newly installed .package patterns. Since I am all too aware that I am human and constantly making mistakes or forgetting to follow a step now and then even when I know a process well, I -always- test every newly installed pattern that was added as a .package file after installation. It is recommended (though not required) that you have a separate Sims 3 folder for testing. Either way, be sure to keep your un-tested .package files in a separate folder (either in CC magic or in your Mods folder) from the rest of your .package files.

Testing is simple, just fire up your game, go into CAS - either for furniture or clothing, it doesn't matter, and find the pattern you've just installed and test it out. If it displays as expected, hurrah! File the pattern image file and backup .package file in the folders you previously created for that purpose, delete the .sims3pack (or file it along with the .package file if you prefer), and once you've closed the game again, place the .package file in its proper place in your Mods folders (or in CC Magic).

If it doesn't display as expected, you may have to go back to steps in section 4-7, and re-edit the .package file and try again.

Some more esoteric issues that I have encountered:

-The Pattern has a custom mask or specular, requiring those layers to get the same re-naming treatment as the 7EDD layers.

-The Original Pattern has the same exact original name as another pattern (the launcher doesn’t care about this, but once converted to package files it matters), requiring the Name hash to also be redone.

-Some TSR patterns I’ve encountered did not seem to have the same resources inside them, and sometimes seemed to contain no images after conversion to package file, so I was unable to convert them. If you know how… let me know!

If you can't figure out what's gone wrong, feel free to message me and ask for help!

As a note, patterns installed as .package files will not have the little purple asterisk indicating they are custom content. Instead, they'll have the blue folder just like any patterns you've re-colored and saved.

Handy Tip: For fast game loading when testing any custom content, try Fuzzy Logic's CAS world: http://fuzzylogicdishwasher.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/world-for-sim-and-clothing.html

Section 9: References and Credits

Many thanks of course to the creators of the Multi-Extractor, s3pe, and CC Magic! <3 I also wanted to credit the various original tutorials from which I pulled information in creating this tutorial. The following tutorials were referenced when I was originally learning how to do all of these things! CC Magic Tutorial: http://liegt.tumblr.com/post/44841006536/i-mentioned-that-i-used-ccmagic-to-make-my-game-so CC Magic Tutorial: https://nonasims.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/tutorial-getting-started-with-cc-magic/ CC Magic Tutorial: http://games4theworld.bestgoo.com/t15843-how-to-use-cc-magic Tutorial on converting/editing Pattern .package files: http://simplyimaginarypeople.tumblr.com/post/124563189329/patterns-to-packages Tutorial on converting/editing Pattern .package files: https://ohmysims.tumblr.com/post/122673018070 Fixing the Materializing Materials Issue: http://modthesims.info/t/481604 Tips for organizing Custom Content: http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/?topic=9190.0

MANY THANKS to: SemaviLady for helping me out with finding places I needed to clarify portions of the tutorial! <3 Bily_jednorozec for bringing it to my attention that I hadn't provided a list of the categories with proper spelling!

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