Revision as of 20:28, 16 July 2011

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Create a World (CAW) was released in late 2009 by EA's development team. The program, which is used by creators around the world, is the major tool required to create a world in The Sims 3.

As with a lot of EA's releases, there was no documentation provided that taught technique or anything beyond the extreme basics of the program. Of the information provided, only navigation of the user interface and a brief description of its features were covered.

This guide has been created in the hopes that it could fill in where EA's lack of documentation abrubtly ended. It contains all the information that is, currently, known about CAW as well as some techniques, tips and hints on painting, sculpting, routing and many other un-addressed features of the program.

If you have any issues on something that isn't covered in this guide, you can either PM TVRdesigns or, alternatively, go to the CAW forum which you can find under Create > Sims 3 > Create-a-World. or, for convenience, here

Word of Warning

Before you commit to reading this guide or making a world, you need to understand something; CREATE A WORLD IS VERY TIME CONSUMING.

For a WELL DONE world, it can take months, even a year to finish. You cannot, in any way, create a decently sized, QUALITY world in under a month. Because every task in CAW is tedious, even a basic map without lots will take you a month. This isn't to say that its not fun, it's very fun! However, if you hate monotony or you cannot stand doing tasks over and over, CAW is really not for you.

Key

This article uses acronyms, phrases, and colour codes which are explained below.

• CAW Create a World - Just a shortening of the program's name.
• EIG Edit in Game - This is pretty self-explanatory, it is the version of The Sims 3 that functions directly with CAW to allow you to build lots for your world.
• RED TEXT in screenshots indicates something is done poorly.
• ORANGE/YELLOW TEXT in screenshots indicates something that is acceptable.
• GREEN TEXT in screenshots shows a good outcome!

Programs

• Create a World is the main program used in this material and can be found here at thesims3.com
• S3PE is used to change things like sky and ocean colour in .world files. It can be found here at simlogical
• Photoshop .dds Plugin is a useful little plugin for Photoshop which allows it to read files in a .dds format. Find it here. Please note that this plugin is free, but Photoshop is NOT.

Paint Programs

• Paint.net is one of a couple of programs that can be used to edit terrain and road texture files. These are generally in a .dds format. Find it here. Please note, this program is free.
• GIMP is another program that can be used to edit terrain and road texture files. Again, in .dds format. Find it here. Please note, this program is free.
• Photoshop is, perhaps, the most well known of the paint programs, but it has one major drawback. It costs. A lot.

Planning Your World

Bridgeport's Main City Road Layout (click for full size.

A Little Extra Area in Twinbrook (click for full size).

Before you even open CAW, it is recommended that you have at least some idea of what your world is going to be, even if it's just "Desert," "Remote," "Small," or "Quaint Town". This will allow you to choose your world's size and map type easily.

Size

The first thing you need to decide is the size of your map. Sunset Valley, Twinbrook and Bridgeport are all Large maps, though they use up a lot of space around the edges in inaccessible hills. Do you want a small, cozy neighborhood that's just big enough to fit everything, or a bustling urban landscape with houses and businesses everywhere - or maybe a small town surrounded by wilderness? Once you get past terrain sculpting, you won't be able to easily re-size your world without losing work, so be sure of the scale!

Terrain

What kind of landscaping do you want? What trees do you want to use to compliment this? What kind if climate do you want? What sort of vibe? All these questions need to be asked when altering terrain. The way you sculpt your map will depend on what kind of area you are trying to portray. Some examples could be long flowing cliffs and hills or jagged, pointed mountains surrounded by desolate desert. The climate you are trying to show will also be reliant on what trees and architectural styles you want. Another thing to consider when on these things is the weather. Will it be a cold place or will it be heated? These are all factors in deciding foliage.

Buildings

This is one that is absolutely vital. Your landscaping can look absolutely gorgeous, but when it comes down to it, your world needs to have a good layout and nice buildings. To do this, you should have at least a small idea of what kind of street template you want. This might mean, for a city, you want close knit streets that intersect all the time, creating a sort of grid look. Conversely, it could mean you want one road running through your town with a few side streets running away from that.

Special Features

These are fun little nooks and crannies that you can put into your world for sims to explore and have fun with. For instance, there is a mine area in Sunset Valley and an old warehouse area with train tracks running through it in Twinbrook. This could mean you would like a little harbor area or a waterfall with a river running through your world. You need to have some good ideas for this, if you want your world to be interesting.

Distant Terrain

If you are going to make a world that is large, you might want to consider using "Distant Terrain." It becomes increasingly difficult to add these to your world in a natural-looking way if you have already sculpted your world. If you decide that your world needs distant terrain before you start it, you can make the land on the edges of your world meet up with the distant terrain to create a nice, flowing landscape.