Solved (see below) - Selected objects must be deletable by pressing Del Key.
(at the moment you have to right click select delete and confirm to do this, too much clicking... blegh)
- Map/world tool must indicate where North is.
(I plopped an Antique Train just to remind me where North is)
- Camera must have a 'reset' button to return to the default view.
(It helps when you have at least one specific view of the world you're creating. Right now, it looks like you're playing billiards lol X3)
> Grid must be visible upon placing roads. (they say it's easier to place it with 'snap to grid on' But I can't see the grid underneath the road)
> Road tool must at least behave like the Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop
>> Double clicking the point should 'reset' the curve thing back to straight (like the Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop)
I'll sort this out as I gradually use the tool and post whatever improvements it may need on.
Nothing. Just play with it for a while. It's actually very basic, and very similar to building a house. You just need to get used to how to place roads and use layers.
Here are a few things I can think of from what I've seen so far...
1. Mac Compatibility so that people such as myself can actually use this tool without spending over $100 dollars to upgrade an eight-year-old PC
2. If it's not already included, the ability to "lock" layers; think Adobe Photoshop
3. Again borrowing from Photoshop, give us two types of "locks;" one that "locks" a layer from being edited at all, and one that "locks" a layer from having already placed content moved
4. Tutorials for different skill levels; explain what layers are to "beginners" who've never heard of them, offer "intermediate" users slightly more advanced pointers, such as detailed instructions on creating roads, and offer "advanced" users tutorials that might be less CAW-specific and more "design oriented" overall
5. It should be possible to manually enter the dimensions of a lot rather than creating said dimensions while placing the aforementioned lot; a "create-a-lot" window that would allow one to customize the size of the lot, and then drag it onto the map might also be worth considering, especially for beginners
6. Another "lot placement" concept; perhaps a "lot map" could be created using a program such as Adobe Photoshop. For example, a "blue" square PNG file could be created with accurate dimensions, and then imported into CAW as a residential lot, or a series of blue PNG files could be imported as one giant PNG file, which CAW could then convert into lots, much the way terrain is mapped in grayscale
7. Video tutorials for CAW--beta might be helpful to some users; it's a lot easier for some people to learn how to do something once they see someone else do it than it is to try and learn how to do something just by reading about it
Unfortunately, until I can actually use CAW, I can't say much more other. Right now my critiques come from reading other Simmers' feedback, the manual/tutorial EA provided, and looking at screenshots of the tool itself. While I don't think I'll really have a problem using it, I can see where beginners might stumble, and where "advanced" users might just want some creative tips that they might have overlooked. I hope that at least some of my suggestions are useful for the final version of CAW.
1. A startup tutorial would have been great to have once we leave the beta version. Like someone else posted once you get past the steep learning curve the designer becomes easier to use. BUT…
2. Load time - I’ve clocked my load times from CAW to edit in game at an hour and twenty minutes (large map, if I was going to F-up I was going to do it big) which has thoroughly killed my interest in continuing to design.
3. Preloaded community buildings with their minimum lot size attached to them through the designer. Additionally I think as you place a community building you should have a pop-up asking if you would like to keep the default lot size or input a larger size.
4. Lots snapping to a road’s edge. I’ve tried to create lots on a curved road and I am having trouble getting the frontage of the lot to match the edge of the road I think it would be nice if the road would straighten itself along the width of the lot.
5. Pictures of objects which I think is the top request ATM.
@CeloM
How big is your map? I created a simple one from a "TinyFlatMap_100" file and I'm guessing it took me 3~5 minutes before I can see it. I have a couple of browsers and an antivirus open when I did that though.
Just in case, my specs:
Pentium DC E2200
2gb ram
8500gt @ 192.6 driver
no overclocked hardware.
Windows XP sp3
I think CAW is pretty userfriendly already.
It's pretty basic.
Read the manual, then just do a testmap. Experiment and try out.
Keep the manual open so you can have a peek when you have questions.
You'll get into it in no time really.
-Esc (deselecttool) is your friend!
-Move object tool is your friend.
-The Grid is your friend.
-Layers are your friends.
The only thing that bothers me it that the rotating tool
is NOT very subtle and I can't edit a lot's properties?
Like the size after placing it.
What would make it more user friendly for me is if ALL rabbitholes
were available in CAW it self, in their own section.
Edit: a water/pond tool like in the base game would be great!
I dont understand whats so hard about it. you click the roads tool drag roads, drag the blue line to make lots click trees and spawners pretty simple
That's really not true. There's also lining things up properly, adding finishing touches like effects, trains, bridges, river rapids, waterfalls...landscaping, terrain painting, camera and sim routing...
If it was just roads, trees and spawners all of our worlds would look exactly the same. What about lots and placing lots correctly, having enough space/room to build on and the fact that the downloaders of the "worlds" will still need residential lots as well? There's traffic signs, there's lighting...I could go on, but I'm sure you get my point. To make a world that is truly playable and enjoyable takes time obviously, and a little skill. Period.
I know its not just roads and lots and stuff, I was just saying it cause thats what most people have a problem with, like someone else said you need to have the manual, I keep it open while I'm building.
I see quite a few people who are self appointed serious business people.
I'm in advanced classes, and I'm still stumped on CaW. I stayed up to 3AM trying to work out the CaW tools. The guide didn't really help me, so I'm waiting for detailed fan guides.
IT'S A GAME!!!! WE ARE NOT DEVELOPERS the create a world tool shouldn't be that hard and complicated!!! CAW should be like another mode like buy or build... not in the game of course but much easier. When i tried i didnt know where to start and i cbf sitting there for hours trying to figure it out... its a game i wanna go on it, have fun and get off. not spend ages fiddling around with this CAW!
It would be easier to place lot sizes like 60x60 and 40x30 and the option to create a size.
I would also like to put lots I already have in the game and place it instead of an empty Lot.
I really want a full Sunset Valley/Riverview this goes along with my first and second suggestion of placing pre-set lot sizes and placing pre-made lots because I am really bad at making worlds and would rather just edit small things in Sunset Valley. :P
I'm a 3D animator by trade, so I know a lot about many different types of software. I found it pretty simple to figure out, but somewhat tedious to use because of the different lagging issues, not rendering certain items, etc.
Two things that I think would make it more user friendly for the masses:
1. An in-game walkthrough. This would let you build a small world but be guided as to exactly what to do and how you know when you've done it correctly. You should be able to do it in stages like 1. Terrain, 2. Roads, etc in the order you should use to make the world.
2. More presets where everything is set up for you and you can change it, or terrains with the routing all set up, or roads set up with blank lots. There are lots of possibilities, but I think presets would make a lot of people happy (especially if it means we get more EA towns!)
I think it's pretty cool for a BETA tool,and I'm sure they'll polish it up and release it as an expansion. But for all the people complaining: remember, it is FREE!
Sorry if this is already posted, it half ten and I couldnt be botherd to read all 5 pages. If and when the tool is made more user freindly it must still remian powerful, easy to place road still need to be easy to bend (in fact reoads should be like the spine in spore, that would be great). If things are made easy all the tools still need to be there.
Oookay... I have had NO problems with the CaW tool. It took a little while for me to figure out how to make normal roads into dirt roads, but after I figured out that, I made a small, ~15-lot town in 3 days. Maybe 24 hours' time, actually, because it took only half of two of the days. The only problem I've had is making it actually work in my game, which seems to be glitching over this. :roll:
Anyways, I, personally, have no idea what anyone means about this not being user friendly. It takes a little getting used to, but after that, it's easy sailing. I can't wait until it gets out of beta and stops glitching. My only complaint, other than things one would expect in a beta program, is that you can't add Sims to the town yet. That might come in later versions, though... So no, I'm happy.
Oh! The camera doesn't move around very well. It's all... unwieldy. Again, something I am 99% sure they'll fix when it gets out of beta. It's very annoying, though.
we who think it's easy actually didn't gave up after only 3 hours. we tried to understand the program. this is how you usually learn things, you know.
i don't understand why people give up this easy and want everything to be a piece of cake.
if roads are going to be placed easier we will also probobly lose the advanced ways a road can be placed. that would suck.
Comments
#1 A place on the exchange for people who know how to make height maps so people can download them and make their own city.
#2 A place on the exchange for people to upload and download addon textures for CAW that users create.
While I think CAW is a brilliant tool (for some), I just couldn't get it to work.
So I uninstalled it as well (Im just not very good at design and computers).
I really liked the way it was in sims 2, so I hope they'll bring that back.
Solved (see below) - Selected objects must be deletable by pressing Del Key.
(at the moment you have to right click select delete and confirm to do this, too much clicking... blegh)
- Map/world tool must indicate where North is.
(I plopped an Antique Train just to remind me where North is)
- Camera must have a 'reset' button to return to the default view.
(It helps when you have at least one specific view of the world you're creating. Right now, it looks like you're playing billiards lol X3)
- Road tool
(tutorial hereL The proper way your roads should look with screenshots, Tutorial)
> Grid must be visible upon placing roads. (they say it's easier to place it with 'snap to grid on' But I can't see the grid underneath the road)
> Road tool must at least behave like the Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop
>> Double clicking the point should 'reset' the curve thing back to straight (like the Pen Tool in Adobe Photoshop)
I'll sort this out as I gradually use the tool and post whatever improvements it may need on.
I do think that the tool is easy to use, considering how simple the UI looks like. It just behaves oddly from time to time.
1. Mac Compatibility so that people such as myself can actually use this tool without spending over $100 dollars to upgrade an eight-year-old PC
2. If it's not already included, the ability to "lock" layers; think Adobe Photoshop
3. Again borrowing from Photoshop, give us two types of "locks;" one that "locks" a layer from being edited at all, and one that "locks" a layer from having already placed content moved
4. Tutorials for different skill levels; explain what layers are to "beginners" who've never heard of them, offer "intermediate" users slightly more advanced pointers, such as detailed instructions on creating roads, and offer "advanced" users tutorials that might be less CAW-specific and more "design oriented" overall
5. It should be possible to manually enter the dimensions of a lot rather than creating said dimensions while placing the aforementioned lot; a "create-a-lot" window that would allow one to customize the size of the lot, and then drag it onto the map might also be worth considering, especially for beginners
6. Another "lot placement" concept; perhaps a "lot map" could be created using a program such as Adobe Photoshop. For example, a "blue" square PNG file could be created with accurate dimensions, and then imported into CAW as a residential lot, or a series of blue PNG files could be imported as one giant PNG file, which CAW could then convert into lots, much the way terrain is mapped in grayscale
7. Video tutorials for CAW--beta might be helpful to some users; it's a lot easier for some people to learn how to do something once they see someone else do it than it is to try and learn how to do something just by reading about it
Unfortunately, until I can actually use CAW, I can't say much more other. Right now my critiques come from reading other Simmers' feedback, the manual/tutorial EA provided, and looking at screenshots of the tool itself. While I don't think I'll really have a problem using it, I can see where beginners might stumble, and where "advanced" users might just want some creative tips that they might have overlooked. I hope that at least some of my suggestions are useful for the final version of CAW.
2. Load time - I’ve clocked my load times from CAW to edit in game at an hour and twenty minutes (large map, if I was going to F-up I was going to do it big) which has thoroughly killed my interest in continuing to design.
3. Preloaded community buildings with their minimum lot size attached to them through the designer. Additionally I think as you place a community building you should have a pop-up asking if you would like to keep the default lot size or input a larger size.
4. Lots snapping to a road’s edge. I’ve tried to create lots on a curved road and I am having trouble getting the frontage of the lot to match the edge of the road I think it would be nice if the road would straighten itself along the width of the lot.
5. Pictures of objects which I think is the top request ATM.
@CeloM
How big is your map? I created a simple one from a "TinyFlatMap_100" file and I'm guessing it took me 3~5 minutes before I can see it. I have a couple of browsers and an antivirus open when I did that though.
Just in case, my specs:
Pentium DC E2200
2gb ram
8500gt @ 192.6 driver
no overclocked hardware.
Windows XP sp3
I AGREEE!!!!
Try using wireframe view......you can line things up much easier
It's pretty basic.
Read the manual, then just do a testmap. Experiment and try out.
Keep the manual open so you can have a peek when you have questions.
You'll get into it in no time really.
-Esc (deselecttool) is your friend!
-Move object tool is your friend.
-The Grid is your friend.
-Layers are your friends.
The only thing that bothers me it that the rotating tool
is NOT very subtle and I can't edit a lot's properties?
Like the size after placing it.
What would make it more user friendly for me is if ALL rabbitholes
were available in CAW it self, in their own section.
Edit: a water/pond tool like in the base game would be great!
If it was just roads, trees and spawners all of our worlds would look exactly the same. What about lots and placing lots correctly, having enough space/room to build on and the fact that the downloaders of the "worlds" will still need residential lots as well? There's traffic signs, there's lighting...I could go on, but I'm sure you get my point. To make a world that is truly playable and enjoyable takes time obviously, and a little skill. Period.
I'm in advanced classes, and I'm still stumped on CaW. I stayed up to 3AM trying to work out the CaW tools. The guide didn't really help me, so I'm waiting for detailed fan guides.
I would also like to put lots I already have in the game and place it instead of an empty Lot.
I really want a full Sunset Valley/Riverview this goes along with my first and second suggestion of placing pre-set lot sizes and placing pre-made lots because I am really bad at making worlds and would rather just edit small things in Sunset Valley. :P
Two things that I think would make it more user friendly for the masses:
1. An in-game walkthrough. This would let you build a small world but be guided as to exactly what to do and how you know when you've done it correctly. You should be able to do it in stages like 1. Terrain, 2. Roads, etc in the order you should use to make the world.
2. More presets where everything is set up for you and you can change it, or terrains with the routing all set up, or roads set up with blank lots. There are lots of possibilities, but I think presets would make a lot of people happy (especially if it means we get more EA towns!)
I think it's pretty cool for a BETA tool,and I'm sure they'll polish it up and release it as an expansion. But for all the people complaining: remember, it is FREE!
Anyways, I, personally, have no idea what anyone means about this not being user friendly. It takes a little getting used to, but after that, it's easy sailing. I can't wait until it gets out of beta and stops glitching. My only complaint, other than things one would expect in a beta program, is that you can't add Sims to the town yet. That might come in later versions, though... So no, I'm happy.
Oh! The camera doesn't move around very well. It's all... unwieldy. Again, something I am 99% sure they'll fix when it gets out of beta. It's very annoying, though.
THIS.