bringing up daysies

my Seasons lot is nearly complete.  i’m just now putting on the finishing touches.  it actually didn’t come out like i had expected.  i did alter the floor plan (from my townhome one) a bit so it’s easy for my Sim family to move around.  i do need to work on the landscaping a bit more, but when Seasons comes out, that’s when i’ll have a better idea.  i can’t wait to have my own garden!

anyway, i tried cluttering up my kitchen counters with the standard moveObjects on and boolProp snapObjectsToGrid false, but for some reason, i still couldn’t place things on the edge of the counters.  so i played with the magisplay (that came with OFB) and the invisible recolor of that, and now i could put 6 things on my counters.  it was definitely better than one.  however, the magisplay was being a bit finicky.  you could only place items in a certain order: left rear, left front, mid rear, mid front, right rear, right front.  you couldn’t skip around.  the only way around that was to put random things on the slots you don’t want, so you could fill up all 6 slots, and then delete the things you don’t want.  it’s kind of a waste of time, but it’s doable.  the only drawback is that when you have a magisplay on a counter, it renders the counter unusable.

there is a way around that… with the use of the fabulous “One More Slot Package” objects.  Ariffrazalin released a few a while back, and JohnBrehaut1 added a couple more.  since i’m not being so lazy with decorating, i can finally put these to good use to make my Sim family’s home much more homely.  once you put the following in your Downloads folder, you can find them in the Buy Mode catalog under Surfaces, then Miscellaneous.

OMSP for end tables
OMSP for tables and desks
OMSP for coffee tables
OMSP for beds and counters

there are tutorials in each thread, and they’re self-explanatory.  however, if you want to see a step-by-step guide, involving Sims, read HP’s tutorial here.  you only need to use the magisplay tray with the OMSP if you are moving Sims around for unique pictures, but you only need the OMSP objects for everything else.  i can’t wait to try this out!

[edit] wow, it’s a lot of fun decorating with OMSP!  scattering things here and there really adds character to your Sims’ homes.  the OMSP isn’t actually a new concept.  other creators have been recoloring things invisible to achieve this.  however, with the OMSP, you can still use these surfaces… to cook, prepare food, clean, do homework on, etc.  and it’s a whole lot easier to use these “stick” things and then recolor them invisible later.  that’s what makes the OMSP special and essential.  i’m hoping that there will be one made for dressers (not the tall armoires).

i figured it would be best to stick this in the “handy how-to’s” category, but i think it’s handy and it’s so easy on how to do it!

i can’t believe i never posted about this sooner, but since i’ve been playing the game recently, i’ve noticed that it looks really odd to take pictures with the ceiling gaping wide open.  this is very beneficial for the movie maker and the avid picture taker, but it’s useful for all… so, if you’re needing an alternative, an easier method to placing those ceiling tiles one by one by one by one… grab these “bottomful” floor tiles from HystericalParoxysm and you’ll save yourself from carpel tunnel syndrome!  just place one tile, shift+click and you’re good to go!  and for those of you who like to film music videos, you can place these tiles above stages (before or after building them), whereas you couldn’t with those ceiling tiles.

if you want to learn how to do it yourself, check out this thread for the know-how.

ooh, i just found this and had to blog about it…

there’s another hidden cheat… where, if you turn it on, it’ll enable ALL interactions between objects and Sims.  read the explanation and “how to” over here.  it’s a great tool for movie makers.

edit:
after taking another look at it, you have to enable testingcheats to be able to turn on this cheat.  i don’t like that cheat at all.  i think i’ll stick to downloaded hacks (as i’m sure Squinge has enabled most, if not all these animations with his hacks).  but for those of you who are more daring than me, i say go for it. 

i tell you, we have the best of the best on MTS2.  tkdjunkie (fellow staff member) created this very handy how-to and now i can replicate the stairs i have in my house!!!  i can’t believe i didn’t see it until tonight.  i just stumbled upon it.  i’m gonna have to try it out and maybe i can finally finish the replica of my house.  *crosses fingers*