Creators FAQ:

Where can I get SimPE?: http://sims.ambertation.de/

Where are there more resources for creators and hackers: Here is a short list - there are many. many sites with great info and tutorials - These are the ones I hit regularly.

http://www.modthesims2.com/ (the whole darn site - lol!)

http://p207.ezboard.com/fseabreesfrm83 (requires ez-board sign-up and membership in Seabree's forum)

http://p218.ezboard.com/bstarlightsims (N99 - requires ez-board sign-up and membership)

http://forums.thesimsresource.com/index.php (TSR forums)

Is there a list of Sims2 creators somewhere; like the one at Sandshifter's site for the Sim1?: Yes, the fabulous HoneyB has started a list so that we don't overlap each other from the very start. She's keeping track of our sites and prefixes! Thank you HoneyB! :) Here's the link:

http://theblist.com/Sims2FilenameData/

Can I recolor or retexture your base objects?: Yes with credit and provided the base object is offered for free, just please be sure to read the readme in the base object download - it has all the info. Paysites, donation sites etc. may retexture or recolor as long the final product is significantly different, credit and the fact that the base object is free is obviously posted right next to the recolor.

How do I check my recolor in SimPE or do I have to load the game each time I want to check?: you can now check both original objects and most recolors in SimPE. To check a recolor, click on Material Override, the Plug-in View tab. At the bottom right is a button called Preview. SimPE will run through quite a bit of files, but eventually, you'll get a reasonable preview of your object. You can spin and move the object around using the mouse - hold down the btns to rotate and get a better view. I've had some trouble with windows and this preview option, but most things seems to work OK.

Where are the right skins to zip? I zipped the package, but downloaders say they aren't showing up in their game. The correct package is in your "saved sims" folder, not in your downloads folder anywhere - argh. This could have been more obvious, eh? Also, it will look totally wrong and have a long string of numbers in front of it, but that's the one you want.

How do I fix the thumbnails for my recolors? The first time I checked the object it was all wrong. I've fixed it now, but the thumbnail still shows the old version: I'm not sure why everyone is so concerned about this as each person's game will create a new thumbnail when the game is started (after a recolor is installed). No matter what it looks like in your game, it will look like the final product in your downloaders game. However, if you want to fix your own game, just copy Thumbnails package called "DesignModeThumbnails.package" from your
C:\Program Files\EA Games\The Sims2\TSData\Res\UserData\Thumbnails folder
to your "...My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Thumbnails" folder.

The original one (from the Program Files area) will most likely be much smaller than the one you are replacing - don't worry. By doing this copy and paste, you are deleting the thumbnails the game has created for your downloaded objects and replacing them with the default file. When you page through the catalogs in game, they will be recreated. Note that this process may slow down game play a bit on older machines, but only the first time you click on an object with downloaded recolors. LOL - For my beds for instance tho, it took long enough for me to check my drive light and make sure my game hadn't crashed.