Packaging changes in Pets

You may have already heard that many BodyShop files created with Pets installed don't work for those who don't have the EP, and you also may have heard that meshes are also now included with packaged Sims. Today I confirmed another change in the packaging process with the new EP.

Packaging lots does not seem to suck in the entire contents of your downloads folder anymore. I clicked the wrong thing recently and packaged a lot when I meant to rename it (oops). But I noticed it didn't take the several years to package that I would have expected given the size of my downloads folder. I looked in the package file with CleanInstaller, and sure enough, it packaging only a limited set of custom content. New objects were included as always, with all their recolors as separate files, not just the ones actually used (I'm not sure if this was always the case). One exception seems to be one of Windkeeper's windows; perhaps that is just the way the object was created. Pescado's phone hack was also included, probably because there is a phone on the lot. I also noticed a custom shower that I know is *not* on the lot, though again perhaps that's an issue with that particular object.

In any case it's food for thought...perhaps building for upload does not need to be in a clean account any longer.

New walls from Jen--LitSim exclusive :)

Okay, I'll be honest--these took about five seconds apiece to do, once I figured out I needed to mirror and not just flip. lol But I needed them so I thought someone else might need them too.

This is just the four Maxis slanted clapboard sidings reversed. So these sidings slant the opposite way, letting you make neat zig-zag patterns or, what I wanted, make them meet under the point of a roof. This preview will explain better :P

There are four altogether: light wood, medium wood (shown above), aged white wood and new white wood. These are plain package files (not Sims2Pack files) so just dump these in your Downloads folder and you're good to go. Download the files here.

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Hi Folks - sorry I've been gone so long! I've moved house, but it takes so long to settle in.

I've just been having a sneek peek at The Pets EP, before I upgrade my PC and reinstall Windows etc. Something struck me which is true of the whole game, but particularly evident in The Pets - the quality of the animation. This is something we don't talk about much, but the game would be nothing without it!

OK, there are a few stutters and glitches, but just think how complex this part of the game is - every interaction with objects or other sims has several animations, and each of these has to run into each other seamlessly. With hundreds (thousands ?) of separate animations, this must have been quite a challenge both to plan and to implement.

These thoughts were prompted by watching a cute little Dalmation playing in the garden, turning in circles, barking, looking around ... it just seemed to be incredibly realistic! Well done Maxis.

omg!!

I'll try not to be too spoilery, but: there's a new "surprise" in Pets. I'm not sure what triggers it: I have the water tower, the new stone circle, and the crashed spaceship decorating my new hood. I've seen the surprise twice now (and I've only had the ep a couple of hours), but both times the surprise has been too fast for me to take a screenshot of. Agh!!

As soon as I can get a snap of it, I'll post it in my tsr profile screenshots. Maybe I should say "if I can". Just wanted to let everyone know because when I first saw it I loled! Really fun. :D