Tutorials:Creating Sims 3 Worlds
Contents |
Introduction
Create a World (CAW) is an EA created tool which allows players to create their own worlds (neighborhoods) for The Sims 3. With almost limitless possibilities, you can sculpt the world to your exact design. But it can be complicated to use, and there's a lot of things to consider when making a world. This tutorial will take you from start to finish so you can make your very own worlds for your game and for others to use.
A Word of Warning
Creating a world is time-consuming. It can take a loooooooooong time to create a good world - it would be very surprising to see a full world including decorated lots created in under a month of dedicated, regular hard work, and for most people it would probably take longer. Each individual part really isn't that difficult and some of it is quite relaxing and enjoyable, but it is tedious. And you really can't halfass it. If you want to create just a blank map, that can take less time, but you really still have to do a lot of the tedious parts even then too.
Making your very own world from scratch is a rewarding and overall fun experience, but if you're doing more than just playing around - if you truly want to make your own full neighborhood to the quality of Riverview or Sunset Valley, then you are committing a serious chunk of time to this to do it right.
Skill Level
Average computer user-ish. Most of the Create a World interface is pretty easy to use, once you know where everything is. You'll need to know basic stuff - finding particular folders, moving files around, not using your mouse as a foot pedal. For custom textures and such, it can get a bit more advanced, but none of this is rocket surgery. It's just kind of complicated but not -hard-.
You Will Need
- [Create a World] - A free download. Download it, run the exe. This is PC only - Mac folks will have to use Bootcamp or something like that.
- A fully updated game: Run the game's Launcher and Update your game. You may have to update EA Download Manager to do this. You may also have to update expansions separately from the base game. Update everything.
- Remove your mods: Sometimes, mods can interfere with CAW working properly. Temporarily remove the contents of your Program Files\Electronic Arts\Mods\Packages folder to somewhere else. Files installed as sims3packs are probably okay.
- Photoshop or a graphics editor (optional): If you want to truly customize stuff, this can be helpful but isn't strictly necessary to make a new world. You'll need a DDS plugin (google Photoshop DDS plugin or Paint Shop DDS plugin or whatever you're using) to save some images.
Make a Plan
If you're going to do a complete neighborhood, before you ever open CAW, you should draw out a basic outline (at least in your head) of what kind of neighborhood you want to create. Having a solid plan before you start will help give you a goal and direction as you work - really necessary for a long haul project.
- Size: How big do you want your neighborhood?
- Style and Theme:
- Terrain:
- Special Features:
