Mods Dialog «12...Next Go

SimGuruModSquad

Hey guys, have been working on some mod/CC stuff today and it occurred to me that you might like to see the mods dialog. This will pop up by default when you start the game if you have mods installed. Or can be seen from the options menu. It's not in the Create A Sim demo, just the full game.

crinrict

I saw that when I got to play at Gamescom (- the mods itself of course). Really great that it's there but won't the list get really croweded there's a lot of cc in game (seeing that you also list cc under non-script mods).

Edit, also can you tell us if CC is never uploaded/packed with Sims in the first place or if putting it back to the CAS gets rid of it ? I kinda assume it's not in either of those 5 files we now have per household but only shows on the picture.

MomGinny

re: @crinrict's question: would repackaging your CC into one .package file mean that only that one file would show in the mod window?

edit: posted too soon

Jordwal

So if I have over 1000 non-script mods in my game they're all going to show up on a huge long list every time I start the game?

I realize that I can turn it off which is a good thing because it's not clear why I would want to load this huge list whenever I want to play Sims 4.

What would be more helpful is a feature I could use to open my mods folder and have the items in it on a searchable list that shows thumbnails. Sort of like what the Sims 3 launcher had only bigger and functional.

Jordwal

@SGT - I can't tell if it does anything other than make a list. If it's like the Mods nag screen we had in Sims 3 the answer is no.

crinrict

NVM me

SimGuruModSquad

Answers!

Yes it's just a list, so understood it may get crowded for some people and there may be room for improvement . You cannot disable anything from this list, it's just there to let you know the content the game has recognized. It also does not detect conflicts between mods.

Merging all your content into a single package file will result in one entry in this list.

CC is not packaged with a Sim, so if you remove the CC then Sims will revert back to Maxis-authored content.

Hope that clarifies things a bit.

Jordwal

Having a small amount of custom content for this game is kind of like being a little bit pregnant if you know what I mean. Most people who have "some" custom content have a whole lot of it.

Oh well. At least this time around we can turn your nag screen off. <shrugs>

crinrict

Thanks

So this time CC is limited to package files or are we getting something like sims3packs too in any form where cc will run rampage with downloads ?

It would also be great if we could delete CC from within CAS. Say if you download something and no longer want something, you can just delete it.

I know this might be a bit off-topic but can you tell us anything about the 5 files we now get for a household in the tray folder ? Why so complicated ? What file does what ? Is it always the same number of files ?

pbox

A (possibly) simple way to make this more useful for more people might be to just swap the lists around -- script mods first, then the other ones?

From previous games I seem to recall that script mods are the more varied kind, and don't tend to accumulate that much .. so it might be preferrable to have those listed first and then at the bottom the umpteen thousand recolors. Scrolling-wise, I mean.

simfeetunder

Scrolling-wise that'd make sense, or being able to collapse or expand a list. But I think some folks are considering that the game loading this list every time might bog it down further. I could be wrong though.

Also, I totally agree with @crinrict about the ability to delete cc from inside CAS, that'd be fantastic. Wouldn't help with other cc (couches, whatever) but one step at a time... haha

That reminds me, has anyone seen whether or not we will have a separate CAS from the game? While doing recolors I'm not going to want to load the entire game plus cas within it to test each item, a standalone would be helpful (or if we get to keep the demo...)

Jordwal

I was thinking that this gigantic list might make the game load time get bogged down. If it takes a long time to assemble the lists it really doesn't matter what order the items are in. If it doesn't do anything I'm not sure what the point of it is anyway. Like I said, at least we can turn it off, which is a nice improvement over Sims 3's nag screen.

Pbox makes a good point. I had completely forgotten Sims 4 did away with in-game recoloring. It is highly likely the number of recolors alone that people have for it is going to be even more formidable than the number of recolorable custom content items they had in Sims 3.

I agree with crinrict and simfeetunder. It would be great if we could delete cc from inside the game. Clothes, hair, and accessories from CAS and objects from the Buy catalog. That would be even better than a stand-alone functional tool that allowed us to peruse our mods folder and edit it and worlds ahead of a nag list that just delays my ability to get into the game.

ceejay402

thanks so much for this @SimGuruModSquad and i agree with others being able to remove CC in game is very necessary for cc management. and if its not possible to remove items like in sims 2 is it possible to have a sort of collection folder in game where you can add the cc you want to remove so that outside of the game you only need to review that folder' s content to remove

and lastly im not sure if this has been addressed anywhere else but are there any concerns with installing the base if you have a demo with cc if so are there any recommended steps, im guessing there shouldnt be but i thought getting confirmation wouldn't hurt. im also assuming one can keep playing the demo once the game is installed

garrison17

> @SimGuruModSquad said:
> Hey guys, have been working on some mod/CC stuff today and it occurred to me that you might like to see the mods dialog. This will pop up by default when you start the game if you have mods installed. Or can be seen from the options menu. It's not in the Create A Sim demo, just the full game.


Can you make a CAS program for Sims 4 for like Sims 2 that everyone can use- make the game useful-to all Simmers!

MyreMylar

I'm not sure I understand what the essential difference is between the mods folder (and sub folders) and what was shown of the in-game list. If you want to remove a piece of CC, why can't you just drag it out of the mods folder before you load up the game?

Maybe if the ingame list had more information on a loaded package than just the package names it would be more useful for custom content management. As described by the SimGuru it seems like a good way to confirm that the game has indeed had a go at loading a mod that you tried to install. 'Installing' and removing mods is so easy right now anyway.

pbox

@MyreMylar, you'd be surprised how many people seem to be unable to wrap their brains around such advanced concepts as "a folder" =).

MyreMylar

I've worked in tech support too

I guess I just doubt that there is much that Maxis could do to really help someone that was struggling with computing concepts like folders. Add a way to remove mods ingame and they probably won't be able to find the button, or will be horrified at the way it behaves. I mean people will still need to download these things and install them into the right place by themselves so some kind of computing competence is needed to get in the front door of using custom content. This is already possibly the easiest mod installation process I've seen for a game without requiring some kind of installer.

If Maxis wants to build an unnecessary file management UI into the game then fair enough but I expect there are more interesting things mod support people could be doing for a long while yet!

pbox

Well, *if* CC works roughly along the same lines as in TS3, and if this prompt is otherwise unobtrusive, it might still be useful as a reminder that I have / don't have my CC in, for me personally. I tend to forget when I've swapped it in / out, and the latter means CC objects are gone from lots and so on.

Other than that, agree with you fully.

crinrict

Well, my suggestions was for clothing and objects mostly and not mods. Of course it's easy to remove them from a folder but it would be so much easier if I wanna look through a lot of stuff in Game first and then deciding if I like it.

So if I see it in my game I can just get rid of it from there.

velocitygrass

It could also be useful for support. I vaguely recall cases where people forgot they put in a mod for something two patches ago and suddenly wonder why their game is broken. Now instead of relying on people remembering they have mods installed, a support person can direct them to the dialog and ask if they have something listed in the Script Mods section.

SimGuruModSquad

Yeah in-game management of cc/mods is something we have discussed but there are some technical issues with uninstalling content once the game has started so it actually ends up being a sizable feature. Managing the files in the Mods directory and restarting gives you the same result, although admittedly not as cool. Feedback registered, thanks.

I did not expect this thread to be so active... but I'm new here

crinrict

SimGuruModSquad wrote: »

I did not expect this thread to be so active... but I'm new here

Lol, yes, we user love feedback. So being able to actually talk to someone and give our feedback directly is something new and really appreciated.

Now, I hope that we get the same kind of feedback to our game problems once we have the games. I do plan on making a bug thread again (not sure where) but getting an active Guru in there clarifying stuff as well, would make me very happy.

gsmythe

An improvement to the Sims 3 Launcher would be welcome. Especially if it were a functional upgrade that isn't like the failed attempts that were made.

Srikandi715

gsmythe wrote: »

An improvement to the Sims 3 Launcher would be welcome. Especially if it were a functional upgrade that isn't like the failed attempts that were made.

Pretty sure Granthes's CC Magic will be back. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=461888 Especially since all indications are that the mod system is so substantially the same as before, that he won't even have to write a new program... a minor update to the TS3 version will be enough. That offers a lot more functionality in terms of organizing, searching, filtering, grouping, classifying, enabling, disabling, and generally managing mods than the TS3 launcher ever did.

Course I suppose EA could offer a tool with similar functionality. Doesn't seem likely but you never know! (Wonder whether Sims4Packs will exist? We still have zero info on the form EA-made DLC will take, right?)

pbox

Srikandi715 wrote: »

Pretty sure Granthes's CC Magic will be back.

Well that would be shiny . And it woud also mean the EA tool only needs one crucial feature: the ability to turn it off.

Jordwal

I thought the Launcher worked quite well. I would have liked it more if it had sorted things but it wasn't as bad as some third party tools I tried.