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Creating your own prop Families (updated)

Started by jeronij, December 25, 2006, 03:21:10 AM

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jeronij

CUSTOM PROPS FAMILIES

This is an updated tutorial, regarding the creation of custom props families. A request has been recently made in the forums, and this tutorial will include some information gently posted by members of this site. There is another tutorial by RalphaelNinja available at Simtropolis here. However this tutorial is a bit outdated.




How do I create a Props Family ?.

The creation of custom props families involves several steps. I´ll copy them fom a useful post by our member sam which is a perfect description of the process.
Quote
Below is the basic outline of how I do this:

Step 1. Ask Barbyw for an iid range for your prop families. (You only need to do this once, not every time you make a prop family). This way yours will not conflict with anyone elses. Do it here to avoid duplicities.

Step 2. Create descriptor files (or prop exemplar files) for the props you want in the family.

Step 3. Using Ilive's Reader open the prop exemplar for the first prop in the family (it will be the exemplar in the descriptor file)

Step 4. Add the Building/prop Family property

Step 5. Make the first rep of that property one of the iids in your range (all props in the family will have this number). Apply the changes.

Step 6. Copy this property (right click on it, and Copy selected property to folder)

Step 7. Save the exemplar and close.

Step 8. Open the exemplar for the next prop in the family, and copy the property from the folder to the exemplar properties list (drag and drop). Save the exemplar and Close

Step 9. Repeat step 8 for all props in the family.





How do I name my Families for use them in the Lot Editor ?.

As an aditional feature, I will explain  now how to name your families, so you can easily recognize them in the Lot Editor. This information was made available by GrampaAI if my memory does not fail. I have been searching Simtropolis for a related tutorial but without success. I hope GrampaAI does not mind this clear explanation. I remember he/she posted the information in a somehow "encrypted" way  :D .

To create the name for your family you have to create a cohort file, which contains the name as well as the famlily ID and the name you want to see in the Lot Editor.



The Exemplar Name property of the cohort contains the name that you will see in the Lot Editor.



You can copy and paste an existing cohort from any of my families and use it as the basis for your own family name. There are many included in my Street Side Mod. As you can see, the relation between the cohort ID and the family ID is quite clear. The cohort first digit is one value higher that the familiy first value. We dont have to worry much about this. All your family naming cohorts must keep the show TGI's and the only change will be done in the last three digits of the cohort Instance ID. Then, a cohort to name a family will always look like this:  05342861 67bddf0c b0000XXX , where XXX are the digits that relate the cohort with the family.

For the example above, the link is 3da and this gives you the Building/Propfamily property to paste to your props.



As you can see, I simply copied the Building/Prop Family property from the cohort exemplar to the prop exemplar.

I have to search for more info about how to define the value for the XXX. I dont remember now how this has to be strictly defined. I usually use the last three values of the family ID I am using at that moment.
For example:
My family range is  A0000300 to A00003FF
The family I am using is A00003DA
The cohort ID will be     B00003DA




I hope you find this updated tutorial useful: I want to thanks all the members mentioned in this tutorial for their efforts to arrive so far  ;D .
I am currently not active - Please, contact Tarkus for any site related matter. Thanks for enjoying SC4D :D


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GrampaAl

Hi:  Thanks for posting that information for everone.  Yes it was I who first discovered this, although it was in plain sight all the while.  Have fun with going the extra step.

DuskTrooper

Thanks for explaining the last step!  I have been creating my own prop families for a while now, but, I did not know exactly how to deal with the cohorts and such. 
Now, it should work out!

:thumbsup:
SC4, forevermore!

Alfred.Jones

Thanks so much for this tutorial Jeroni! I have always wondered how to make these

Sim City 4 Devotion

bat


RippleJet

Thanx Jeronij!

FYI, DarkMatter wrote another tutorial on the same subject (for buildings, not props, but anyways, same procedure) in his Official DatGen Help.

Although I prefer Reader, it was rather easy to follow his tutorial (for DatGen), just as it is to follow yours, Jeronij ;)

However, since DarkMatter's tutorial was written long (almost 3 months) before Barby's Prop Family Index was published on ST, he does not provide any information about that important step.

jeronij

Quote from: RippleJet on December 27, 2006, 07:31:06 AM
However, since DarkMatter's tutorial was written long (almost 3 months) before Barby's Prop Family Index was published on ST, he does not provide any information about that important step.

Hi RippleJet, thanks for providing this useful link !!!

Answering yout quote, that is why I called this one "updated"  ;D

I am glad you all find this tutorial useful. This is its main purpose  &apls
I am currently not active - Please, contact Tarkus for any site related matter. Thanks for enjoying SC4D :D


Autism Awareness;  A Father Shares
Mallorca My Mayor Diary