MorePopcorn

Hey! I'm Poppy and I make stuff for The Sims 2. I don't take requests but I'll happily answer questions.

[dimond3d]

Hello, The Sims lovers! 🥰 Any vacation plans? Because the journalist trio in the next episode of the SIMWOOD series have their hands full!

This time, the studio is investigating one of the oldest families that helped establish it. There is a dark curse hanging over the entire family, and its last remaining member seems to be hiding in a hotel with a rather familiar name, White Oleander.

This episode took me about 5 months of work and is absolutely packed with references and easter eggs for both The Sims 2 and The Sims 2: Castaway 🐒

As previously, the episode is available with two audio options: POLISH and ENGLISH. I would be absolutely thrilled if you checked it out! ❤️

[morepopcorn]

Part 2 is here and this is not where I saw this series going. Amazing work!

[morepopcorn]

Hi, Poppy. I'm running HCDU through my build and buy cc after coming across a game crashing error with something else unrelated to this message.

Well, one of the reports I got was a conflict between your simple counter solution and the Glimpse of Freedom arch add-on released by Huge Lunatic on MtS (https://modthesims.info/d/360209/ofb-international-window-extras-part-ii-arches.html). I seem to be able to use both in the same lot without problem (unlike the conflict that crashed my game earlier), but I thought I should tell you in case there's something less obvious that I'm missing. From the report, it looks like they have the same ID number for SHPE and Group: "SHPE: 0xC743 - not loaded (0x1C050000)".

I also have the same type of conflict being reported about a Holy Simoly's Industrial Stairs (right side) and the 59º roof piece from Honeywell's Bespoke set, so your answer might help me there as well.

Finally, thank you for your hard work. Your many creative add-ons have finally convinced me to try the (honestly, overwhelming) nooks and niches set.

Sul sul NosferatuSim!

I took a quick look at the conflict and this isn't one you need to worry about. When searching for a resource like an SHPE, the game looks for a combination of the instance (high) and low. In this case, although the instance numbers are the same, the instance (high)s are different, so the game won't confuse them. As you've noted, both objects work quite happily on the same lot.

Thank you for your kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying the Simple Counter set - it's one of my favourites and there are more items on my to-do list, pending me picking up some more skills...

[morepopcorn]

Restaurant Podium Default Replacement

Yesterday I actually wrote down a list of everything that's sitting in my WIPs folder and uh... it's getting a bit out of hand. So here's something I could cross off quickly. This is a default replacement for the restaurant podium that came with Open for Business, matching the rest of the Simple Counter Solution set. The podium from Nightlife is not affected.

I thought about removing the book, but there's an animation where the Maitre D' checks reservations and it looked silly without it.

Download: SFS | MTS

Required: Simple Counter Solution, BB’s Niche, LC’s 4T2 Shadow

[picknmixsims]

SceneGraph Plus V2 - Sounds Updated

SceneGraph Plus V2.7

While working with @morepopcorn to make linking sound resources easier, it was discovered that neither HLS (UNK 0x7B1ACFCD) nor TRKS resources are needed to play custom sounds from BHAVs. (It was not investigated if they are still needed for custom sounds references from animations to play.) See their post about it.

This means that the Sound ID text resource (STR# 0x4132) entries can link directly to audio (MP3/XA) resources.

Audio resources do not have a name (unlike object, coding, scenegraph, etc resources) - just a TGIR value.

When working in SimPe, without a name to "Fix TGI" with, it is necessary to manually generate the I and R values and enter them via the Resource tab.

SceneGraph Plus (prior to V2.7) does make this slightly easier, in that you can select the Audio resource and enter a unique name in the Name: text area and it will automatically fix the I and R values. It is however open to mistakes, as there is no easy way to copy the required names from the STR# 0x4132 (Sounds ID) text resource.

SceneGraph Plus V2.7 adds a new way of working with sound resources. To enable this, from the Mode menu make sure Advanced is checked, then, with no files open, from the Options menu check the "Sounds skip TRKS and HLS" item.

Opening a .package file containing a STR# 0x4132 (Sounds ID) resource will now show it linking directly to audio resources.

Normally when shift-dragging a resource over a missing resource, the link in the parent to the missing resource is changed to the TGRI/name of the dropped resource. However, as audio resources do not have a name, this behaviour has been changed.

When dropping an audio (MP3/XA) resource onto a missing child of a STR# 0x4132 (Sounds ID) resource, the sound name in the STR# entry is used to rename (and automatically fix the I and R values of) the dropped resource.

As there is no easy way to disambiguate multiple audio resources in the same .package file, it is probably best to keep each audio resource in its own .package file, as then the name of the file can be used to identify each MP3/XA sound.

[morepopcorn]

[morepopcorn]

Sims 2 Custom Sound Tutorial

There's an easier way!

As I work on the recording booth for the Fame Mod, I have been making a lot of custom sounds. I followed two tutorials that do things slightly differently, one by Hexameter and one by Carrigon, and also made a silly mistake (thanks for pointing it out, @picknmixsims). All this combined to lead to a discovery; you don't need a HLS (UNK) or a Track Settings (TRKS) to make your sound package work.

A functioning sound package needs only:

One or more MP3/XA audio resources in group 0x0B8AB3CD. Their instance numbers must match the names you want to use to refer to your sounds in an object's Sound ID List (STR# 0x4132).

A single audio INI resource in group 0xADD550A7 (which looks to SimPE like an MP3) that tells the game your package contains sounds to index.

Here is the manual way to do it. This is not a tutorial for beginners. I'm going to assume you know your way around SimPE, when to commit and so on.

In your object, make a list of the names for your new sounds. The STR# must have the instance number 0x4132.

Either in your object in or a separate package (whatever you prefer to keep things tidy), import your new audio file. It can be an MP3 or an XA. SimPE will add it as a 'user defined' resource.

Fix the TGI: Change the type to 0x2026960B (mp3 or xa sound file). Change the group to 0x0B8AB3CD. To find what the instances should be, go to the Finder tab at the bottom of SimPE, switch to TGI search, and enter your sound name in the name box. This will generate your instance high and low numbers.

Add the audio initialiser. This is a file in .ini format that tells the game there is audio in your package that needs to be indexed. You only need one initialiser in your package, no matter how many sounds you add. Fix the TGI: Type is 0x2026960B (mp3 or xa sound file), group is 0xADD550A7, and for instance numbers, hash the name of your package (just to generate something unique).

Download: Audio Initialiser on SFS

And here is a template with a sound and the initialiser already in the right format and groups. You just need to replace the audio in group 0x0B8AB3CD with your track and fix the instance numbers. (William has something in store for this!)

Download: Audio Template on SFS

Bonus picture of Julian standing in the wrong place as the recording minigame takes shape. Slots have not been my priority. 😅

[morepopcorn]

SCS Reception Desk

It's been a while since I did an SCS add-on, and this has been in my WIPs folder for a while, but @teaaddictyt prompted me to pull it out again this weekend, so here is the finished product: a reception desk that combines with the Simple Counter Solution set.

It has lots of slots for a cluttered look. It's on three tiles so you'll need to use quarter-tile placement for it to connect up with the counter pieces.

Download: SFS | MTS

Required: Simple Counter Solution, BB’s Niche, LC’s 4T2 Shadow

[spockthewok]

Sims 2 Object Limit Fix

Soooo... I didn't intend for two highly requested fixes for The Sims 2 to drop within the space of a week and a half, buuuut...

Here's where you can download an experimental patch to fix the so-called 'object limit'!

https://github.com/spockthewok/TS2ObjectLimitFix

(Ultimate Collection only at the moment, I'm afraid).

The good news is:

Both @lordcrumps and @teaaddictyt have tested it with stupidly large CC folders and report that it works.

There isn't a dissertation the length of Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' you need to read through to understand wtf is going on.

The crashing wasn't caused by some hardcoded object limit at all! (That I know of).

An explanation of the issue for programmers:

And for everyone else:

The code for the Build/Buy menu was missing basic checks to confirm that the data it was trying to do things with was actually valid. No, I'm not joking.

Basically, it appears that all of the objects you can buy in the game are stored in something you can think of as being like a big, long list, which grows in size with the more custom objects you have.

The only purpose of the code that this plugin patches is to sort the items in the list into some kind of order. This is done by assessing if the value of the previous item in the list is larger than that of the item currently being looked at, and swapping their position if this is true (also known as an insertion sort).

In short, the game wasn't asserting that the data it was about to compare for sorting was valid before accessing it, and then promptly blowing up when it tried to do so and discovered it wasn't.

I imagine that the odds of the game making an oopsie and dumping some funky data into the list increases with the number of objects it is having to process - this might be why this issue only presents itself to those using multiple GB of Build/Buy CC. It was much easier to patch the code encountering the bad data within the list than to try and hunt down the mysterious culprit putting the data in there to begin with, so this is all the information I have at the moment unfortunately.

Either way, one of the first things you're taught when learning to code is to ALWAYS check that the data you're operating on has been initialised (i.e. it holds some kind of value). I guess someone at Maxis must have skipped that lecture :D

Is the 255 objects per subcategory limit theory true?

The Downloads folder I was using for testing had ~672 objects in the Deco/Misc subcategory (Maxis objects included). With the patch, I can freely navigate throughout the entire subcategory with zero crashes, so I guess not?

What about the whole OBJD limit thing?

People have varying beliefs of what the limit on OBJDs might be, but HCDU reports my Downloads folder had an OBJD count of 20,787. Again, without the patch the game would crash when switching categories in the Build/Buy catalogue, with the patch, no crashing.

If you want to hear my opinion on whether such a limit exists, watch this video.

Do I even need this patch if I don't use much CC?

As it adds some fairly important crash-prevention checks to part of the Build/Buy menu's functionality, I'd probably recommend using it anyway, just to be safe - we all know how much this game loves to crash!

Aaaah! I'm still getting crashes with the patch!

I'm aware that a few of you CC addicts out there have Downloads folders larger than the total size of everything ever uploaded to the internet, so if you still experience crashing in Build/Buy mode with this patch, please take a look at the mod's GitHub page and send me over the information requested there. Fingers crossed that shouldn't happen, but if it does, I'll try my best to investigate :)

Anyway...

Will

(I wish I had looked at this for my dissertation, as it was literally only a day's work).

[morepopcorn]

[morepopcorn]

Pinterest Me Core Tag Game

Thank you for tagging me, @teaaddictyt! I had fun!

★ RULES: type “me core” in pinterest and pick nine photos!

I will tag @deedee-sims and anyone who wants to play can consider themselves tagged!

[dimond3d]

Hello, The Sims lovers 🥹 After months of work, the first episode of a new series is finally here — a nostalgic tribute to the golden era of the game and Studio Town from the original title.

This new story explores the lives of characters, creators, and Sim actors whose brightest days are behind them, as they search for a new path after the fall of STV Studios. Told through a slightly twisted lens, with a touch of dark humor and a wink to the audience, the series playfully parodies familiar stories we all know.

So hop on the nostalgia bus for anyone who misses the Superstar expansion pack, and imagine how it would look in The Sims 2 edition. I’d be incredibly grateful if you gave it a few minutes ❤️

This series is available in both POLISH (original) and ENGLISH. However, this is my first attempt at recording English dialogues, so please don’t be too harsh — I did my best! 👉👈

[morepopcorn]

omg this is AMAZING

[morepopcorn]

Sims 2 Fame WIPs

If you watch Tea Addict's Twitch streams (and if you don't, you should), you may have heard us mentioning a Fame mod in passing.

This is in the earliest of stages and is completely subject to my whims about what I feel like working on, but since I've posted WIP pictures in various places and because someone on Reddit asked, I'm sharing an update here, too.

Under the cut is a window into the chaos that is my WIP folder.

Custom phone call where you can sign up for an agent and opt into the fame system. Your Sim won't get famous unless you want them to. My husband made the icon for me 🤩

Recreation of the buffet from Superstar. Took a pause on this while I learnt about how to do shape keys in Blender from a Discord thread where I bothered Latmos about it 7 months ago. Will add cucumber sandwiches and other such delicacies soon.

Recording Studio booth - not functional yet. Need to work out why the sounds are playing so fast.

Theatre marquee that lights up correctly thanks to Crisps&Kerosene's extended standard material shader. Bonus director's chair as a dining chair and a bar stool, and advertisement bench in the background.

I'm taking my time, switching tasks to keep things fun and learning new things when I need to. I'll post occasional updates when I have something cool to show.

[brandinotbroke]

Spockthewok (aka Will Nixon) wrote a master's thesis on pink flashing, figured out the cause and potentially found the first genuine fix.

The fix itself (along with the thesis for those interested) can be found here:

A patch to fix the 'pink soup' bug in The Sims 2. Contribute to spockthewok/TS2MemCapRemover development by creating an account on GitHub.

[episims]

Functional Butterfly (& Firefly) Habitat + Caterpillar Incubator

I fell in love with these 4t2 conversions by @tvickiesims at first sight and just had to make functional versions.

When your sim manages to catch butterflies or fireflies, they can be moved from the jar to this habitat. Insects housed in the habitat will stay alive; if the habitat is outdoors, they will hibernate if the temperature drops below freezing.

Each habitat can house 3 batches of butterflies and 3 batches of fireflies, counted separately. You can make space for new batches by releasing the insects from the habitat.

The caterpillar incubator provides an alternate way to get butterflies. Stocking the incubator costs §18, after which you can watch the caterpillars evolve into adult butterflies over the following days.

Be cautious about leaving adult butterflies in the incubator, as they won't survive there forever. The butterflies can be either moved to a habitat or released into the wild.

If an incubator is outdoors and the temperature drops below freezing, the metamorphosis will stop progressing, unless it's already finished, in which case the adult butterflies will die.

Sims can view occupied incubators and habitats, autonomously too. Cats might find them interesting as well. About everything gives nature enthusiasm, and all interactions are available children up.

🦋 Download (SFS) (alternate)

The files are compressed. Requires Pets and Seasons. The incubator won't work if you don't have the habitat in your downloads as well.

The habitat is a global mod that includes overrides for the bug jar and will conflict with other mods that alter the same resources. I haven't found anything that conflicts but as always, run HCDU to be sure. These can be used alongside Vickie's original conversions.

Many thanks to Vickie for letting me use her gorgeous conversions, and to @gummilutt for the help with testing!

[yayxstitch]

[morepopcorn]

Hi Poppy ! Writing to you about your Jumbok IV default replacements. Just like you did when you added a step to the pyramid pieces, I'm trying to create 2 versions of them with one and two steps. I adjusted the pieces in Milkshape to get new meshes, but I can't get the original texture maps to appear on the new meshes when previewing the gmdc in simpe and the new pieces are invisible ingame. Is this a problem you encountered when creating your set? Thanks for your attention ! ^-^

Sul sul!

When I made my pieces, I did default replacements, so I didn't need to worry about the textures because that was already sorted for me. If you're making add-ons, you'll need to make sure you use the repository technique to link them to the master mesh, which is the inside corner of the pyramid.

Lunie has a tutorial on the repository technique, or you can use William's Repository Wizard tool to do it automatically!

[morepopcorn]

Tag Game

I was tagged by @grilledcheese-aspiration!

blog name origin: Popcorn was taken. What's better than popcorn? More popcorn.

go-to order(s): My treat is a cardamom bun for breakfast.

overused emojis: 🙃

comfort TV show/movie/book: I'll just leave this here...

current song on repeat: Honey, Are You Coming? By Måneskin.

current hyper fixation: Back on Sims 2 again lately.

oddly specific thing that brings me joy: Nuthatches eating upsidedown.

something i did as a kid that i do now: Play Sims 2!

phone wallpaper: A photo of me and my husband on holiday.

early bird, or night owl?: Early bird.

what is your profession and do you like it?: I'm a programmer. I like it a lot but sometimes (a lot of the time lately) I use all my programming brainwaves at work and I don't have any left for my modding projects.

I am going to tag @teaaddictyt, @deedee-sims and @gummilutt but feel free to ignore, I will take no offence. If you are not one of these people and you want to play, then I am tagging you too 😊

[harmonyckrs]

The (Un)Official Pleasantview Ship Tournament - Round 1

(nobody yelled at me for not including their ship, so I'm assuming we're good to go)

Welcome to the (un)official Pleasantview Ship Tournament! This tournament will take place throughout the entire month of March, with each round lasting around one week each.

May the best ship win :)

Round 1 Matches:

Mortimer/Bella VS Mortimer/Dina

Daniel/Mary-Sue VS Daniel/Kaylynn

Don/Kaylynn VS Don/Cassandra

Don/Nina VS Don/Dina

Dustin/Angela VS Dirk/Lilith

John/Jennifer VS Coral/Herb

John/Brandi VS John/Cassandra

Skip/Brandi VS Darren/Darleen

Brandi/Dina VS Brandi/Darren

Cassandra/Darren VS Cassandra/Mary-Sue

Lucy/Alexander VS Lucy/Beau

Alexander/Beau VS Angela/Meadow

Don/Daniel VS Dustin/Dirk

Dirk/Angela VS Dustin/Lilith

Daniel/Nina VS Don/Bella

Kaylynn/Brandi VS Kaylynn/Cassandra

[thesimcommunity]

EA Announces The Sims 4 Marketplace and "Moola" Microtransactions

EA and Maxis have announced today a new The Sims 4 Marketplace. Where players can purchase additional sets, CC and content for the game in e

[teaaddictyt]

You know what's interesting to me...

When the sale of EA was announced, the community railed and put immense amounts of moral and ethical pressure on many creators and members of the Sims 4 creator network to withdraw from the network, to stop supporting and promoting EA, and to take a stand against the company and enabling it's profits.

Now, EA have brought it quite a number of fairly big name Sims 4 CC creators and plan to profit 70% of a US dollar from their content.

In my mind, this is even more directly "supporting" EA and enabling their profits than making Sims 4 video content on YouTube. Will there be any pressure, moral and or ethical, put upon these creators?

(FWIW, I hate this entire thing 🤣 am I surprised? No. Am I horrified? Yes.)