Making your NRaas settings global in Sims 3 (tutorial and DL)
After making this tutorial, I found out the tuning files for some of the mods (including Master Controller and Register) weren't fully up to date on the NRaas site. I'm happy to report as of 2/13/26 that they have all finally been updated!
I updated my own tuning files linked in this post, so please DL those if you were using my older ones :) If you made your own tuning files for Master Controller or Register, please remake yours using the new tuning files on the NRaas site, sorry for the inconvenience!
Hey so if you didn’t know, you can modify the tuning files that NRaas provides on their site as templates to make your preferred settings for each mod global without having to manually set them up each time upon entering a new save or world!
The thing is, I couldn’t find any tutorials online to make this more accessible for people (I had to figure it out on my own), so I wrote up my own tutorial, which will be at the bottom of this post ⬇️
The benefit of using tuning files instead of the other method of importing settings at the Town Hall is that these will immediately apply without having to adjust or import any settings in-game, permanently eliminating an extra step!
If you add any of these tuning files to your Mods/Packages folder, they’ll become the default settings for whenever you make a new save, but will NOT apply to existing saves, which already have their prior settings written into their nhd file, unless you click Reset Settings for the particular mod at the Town Hall
If your preferred settings differ from mine, I recommend following the tutorial below to make your own tuning files. I just thought I would drop mine here for convenience’s sake, or for people don’t want to mess around in S3PE themselves
It's recommended to clear your script cache when installing any of these tuning files (!)
My Master Controller Tuning
Compact Outfits - False -> True
Compact Accessories - False -> True
Compact Hats - False -> True
Multiple Makeup Per Location - False -> True
Download (Updated to V135)
V2: I've uploaded an alternate version that eliminates an annoyance that comes up if you also use NRaas Integration. MC has a feature where you can choose a party filter before inviting your guests, which is meant to come up when throwing a party through the MC menu. But if you also have Integration installed, it'll come up every time you throw a party, even through the phone. I wasn't aware of how to disable this until recently! All other settings are the same from V1
Use Party Filter - True -> False
Download V2 (V135)
My Register Tuning
Paparazzi are annoying. And reducing the amount of wild/stray animals in your world is helpful for performance. I chose to reduce them rather than eliminate them (aside from Wild Horses, which have especially bad routing issues). But I kept the possibility of there being a Unicorn just for fun :)
Allow Paparazzi - True -> False
Maximum Wild Horses - 4 -> 0
Maximum Unicorns - Kept at 1
Maximum Stray Dogs - 6 -> 2
Maximum Stray Cats - 6 -> 2
Maximum Deer - 3 -> 1
Maximum Raccoons - 2 -> 1
Download (Updated to V81)
My Woohooer Tuning
Autonomous Woohoo - False -> True
Allow Teen Woohoo - False -> True
Allow Teen Skinny Dip - False -> True
Risky Woohoo Pregnancy Chance - 10 -> 15
Teen Risky Woohoo Pregnancy Chance - 10 -> 15
Unlock Actions for Teenagers - False -> True
Download (This tuning was already updated to V130 when the guide was made, but I changed the risky woohoo pregnancy chance for teens to 15% as well, unlocked actions for teenagers, and added the version to the file name)
The Tutorial
You will need the program S3PE which you might already have if you've ever merged CC before.
This tutorial should cover everything you need to tune all NRaas mods EXCEPT Story Progression (Edit: and Retuner, which should follow the same instructions as SP). The reason is the tuning for that mod is much more complex. You can still tune it, but you will have to go in game, navigate to SP, and Export Tuning which will generate a Script Error Report in your The Sims 3 folder (which is actually just the tuning that includes all of the modules you have). Then copy and paste that into the empty XML in the template in S3PE. Those are the only steps that differ. If anyone wants a more in-depth tutorial for tuning SP specifically, let me know!
With that out of the way, let's begin!
It's actually pretty easy! I will be using Master Controller as an example, but NRaas has provided tuning templates for basically all of their mods
Step 1: Navigate to the main page for the mod. Scroll down past all of the modules until you reach the Tunings section.
The file you want to download is the first one in the image below called NRaas_MasterController_Tuning_V135.zip
Once it downloads, extract the folder to get to the contents.
Step 2: Open S3PE and drag and drop the package file into the blank section on the left.
You will get this popup. Just click Next.
When it asks whether you want to auto-save after each package is imported, click No.
Now you should get a page that looks like this:
Click on the item with the tag XML, and the tuning settings will pop up on the right-hand side. Now right click that item and then select Notepad.
Boom. Now you can edit any of the default settings you want to change in this text document.
Let's say you want to allow multiple accessories per location. Just find that line and change False to True.
Once you're done editing, Save, and then close out of the notepad.
You will now get this popup from S3PE. Click Yes to commit changes.
Now, you will see the initial XML file crossed out, and a second one (which is your edit).
Now all you need to do is click File, then Save to overwrite the original template, or Save As to give it a custom name, just make sure you're only putting one tuning file per mod in your Mods/Packages folder.
That's it! As stated before, these will be your default NRaas MC settings without having to do a thing in game :) Hope this is helpful!
I've been thinking of making this mod for a long time now.
The business as usual oven is alright, but it's lacking some of the things that I really want in a restaurant. So, in true Phoebe style - I've made my take on it!
Of course, this is heavily inspired by Ani's Business as Unusual Oven, Sims 2 OFB, and Sims 4 Dine Out!
I wanted to expand the flexibility of working at a restaurant so there are new roles, including being a chef, a waiter, a greeter, and a bartender.
Bartender was a last minute addition but I really wanted a way for active sims to moonlight at bars without me having to direct them. Technically, this should mean you could run a bar instead of a restaurant too...
Dining out with groups, or with a date, is made easier as you can be auto-seated at an appropriate table.
Sims won't autonomously make themselves broke by trying to order food that they can't afford.
And there is slightly more depth to if a sim enjoys their dining experience and the benefits of that (though this only really involves tipping rn so is pretty surface level).
Business management is almost the same as in my Boutique mod however I've handled bosses working much better. Your sim can own multiple restaurants without actually working there as an employee - you can also set the owner as an employee if you DO want them to work.
You can set shifts, days off, work outfits, wages, all that normal stuff.
As much as I wanted to revamp a bunch of animations too, if it ain't broke...
Anyway, as you can see from the mish-mash of pictures, as few as they are, I've started testing this in my main world which means unless I have another last minute spark of inspiration, we should be pretty close to the mod being released!
I've been running with Same Energy Gain for Every Bed for a long time because after the base game, almost every new bed is cloned from the same midrange bed, and otherwise traits are pretty random. But the game is really SUPPOSED to be about starting with cheap crap and working your way up. As I've gotten more and more into adding additional constraints to make my sims work for every luxury, the fact that there's no rational path to upgrade beds and appliances from low-quality to high-quality is really bothering me.
So, I mapped out the spread of bed/appliance stats related to price in the base game, where the progression made some kind of sense. Then I re-categorized all the other objects of that type based on how their price relates to that base game range. I also got deep into the buy mode catalog to make the catalog cards tell you which items count as "cheap" and give off the related moodlets (e.g. "Uneven Cooking", "Tastes Like Fridge", and something about bad sleep from a cheap bed). Catalog cards also tell you other traits of the item, such as what kind of freshness a fridge offers and whether a stove increases cooking speed.
The goal here is for you to be able to take a game from dirt poor to wealthy and have the more expensive stuff you buy actually be better than the cheaper stuff. It's also trying to provide some transparency on what you're actually buying.
sooo you can just add new pattern categories in MaterialCategories.xml and make a new string for them... ????
BUT:
idk what the footsteps are doing (i tested with a fabric, which is hard to hear anyway)
anddd I would test with wood next, but it's kinda weird right. so I made a Lace category and moved fabricEP4Lace_2 from Fabrics into it. And it's all fine, but if I select it after placing it, it treats it as a customised Fabrics pattern (whether or not I customise it). and I don't know why, so I guess there's something else somewhere, but I don't know where.
sick right? if it worked properly
(I'm not even sure where the fabric swatch vs plain white vs plain black vs plaster behind (vs slightly thicker rock behind?) gets defined...)
Uh-oh! Finally decided to tread the old familiar paths of S3pe, no doubt Milkshape and TSRw will follow. . .
This weekend’s project:
Replace the default names of certain community lots; the Gym will become ‘Soldier Barracks’ and the Art Gallery will become ‘Church’. This will add Medieval realism to my game not only in map view, but by clicking on my Sims who are artistic and/or athletic and having them ‘Go to Church’ or ‘Go to Soldier Barracks’
Had some great starter tips from @danjaley though I know this is gonna be long and hard because now I’m seeing other things I would like to fix too along the way. Like everything else that I needed for my game, I’m sure I’ll succeed in the end 💪
I looked into the creation of custom WA keystones and treasure components. Turns out it can easily be done through XML tuning.
I’m considering making a small mod that adds other gemstones and metals to the list of possible treasures. Maybe include a couple of generic named keystones also?
(Not sure how many people are still invested in making Sims 3 tombs :P)
