If you are wondering where tutorial 101 is, there isn't one! Since there are plenty of excellent ones available on the net it is pointless to replicate those in my set. Upon writing this set of tutorials, I am assuming that you have done the basic Transmogrifier (From here on out I will refer to it as T-Mog) tutorials available freely from various sites on the net.

So now that you have made several recolours of the pink flamingo, made bookcases and other simple objects it is time to get to grips with more advanced issues on making objects for your game.

This first tutorial is not an actual object creation tool but a general tips, dos and don'ts with regards to making new objects. In future tutorials I intend to cover the more technical aspects, which are not covered so far on the net

Archiving and backing up your hard work!

I must include this section and I will try to also describe methods I use to ensure I don't lose everything I have made.

I am not paranoid but I am very methodical about saving and filing. Even then I have made several silly mistakes and lost hours of work due to many reasons.

Personally, I use WinZip to archive my work and I even zip up objects through the various stages of creation. Why do I go to such lengths? Well, often I want to undo something or the last stage of modification has gone wrong. Sometimes I merely want to try something different. It also saves me having to make a new clone every time I botch something up! I just unzip my last archived file and carry on from there.

I have two systems of filing. One I do right away after I clone a new base and through out the object creation process. With WinZip it is so easy! I just right click on my new object and say add to zip with the same name as the object file name. It takes one second and I have an instant back up along side my object.

My second, and more permanent filing system is my archive of all the objects, wallpapers and everything else I have created. Since I have more than one hard disk drive, I have it on a separate drive. The amount of sub folders you use is up to you. I create new folders for each theme and singular objects I sort them out by type.

Another good reason to do back ups as you go along is that I often get confused when doing multi tiled object and need to place a coloured dot on an object sprite to check where that tile lies within the object. I then import this temporary object into T-Mog and see where it is exactly. I don't want that dot on my final object so just in case something goes wrong, I have the zipped up version, which I can restore with ease.

Let me make a quick note about zipping up zip files and working with T-Mog or any program that "locks" an object while open. You MUST close these programs down before zipping up objects or you will encounter problems and faulty backed up files. Please don't learn this the hard way and always remember to shut down these programs, zip up your object and then re-launch the applications for further editing. It only takes a short time and you will be glad you did.

As I work with objects I also create templates and such for each object. These I save as templates together with the archived objects and it makes things easier the next time I decide to create a similar object.

When working with graphics it is a good idea to work in layers and also back up these images periodically. There is nothing more infuriating than to loose all your work due to a power failure or a system crash!

I usually create a template from the actually original object and then work with my new object graphics on several new layers. This way I can build up and use transparent and solid layers to create my effect. Let say I want to place a logo on an original object. It is far easier to place it on a separate layer. This way I can move it around and modify it easily all the while leaving my base image unaffected by my changes. I will probably go into more depth on a future tutorial on this subject so for now ... SAVE, SAVE, SAVE AND BACK UP FREQUENTLY!

Choosing a suitable base for your new Object

The first topic I want to cover is on picking a suitable base for your new object I cannot stress how important this is. To use an example I came across a while back is a beautiful set of Maxis matching counters, bookcases and other furniture items. What lovely artwork and attention to detail. I eagerly downloaded the entire set! I loaded the game to test them out and play around with them and realised that all the items in the set were based on counters! So this means that bookcases did not function as bookcases but as counters. So what this means is even though graphically it looked good, Sims were not able to read from the bookcases. If you are thinking, "That's not so bad if the object looks good", think a little further and imagine Sims now placing dishes and such on these "Bookcases" and having dirty dishes floating amongst the books and probably halfway between shelves! Not a pretty picture indeed.

Another common mistake is that incorrect bases are chosen for objects. One should not use objects that that "Die" or "Go off" as object bases for artwork or sculpture. When people use these bases what inevitably happens is that they copy the "Sculpture" graphic onto all the other stages of decay. So while the object always looks good, the game is still cycling through the various stages of the object. This of course means that as an object "perishes or decays" it notifies the game to lower room score. Do you want your priceless piece of art to really lower the room score? At this point if you have a maid, a neat Sim or even Servo the robot, your object gets tossed in the rubbish bin. From a priceless artwork to worthless trash!

How many rotations does the object really need?

When making a new object, think logically! If one is making a vase sculpture type object that really only has one view then choose an object base that also has only one view. An excellent base for this is the brass garden lamp. It can be placed almost anywhere and even on surfaces. It also provides automatic lighting.

The reasons why I am emphasising this is because of a very simple philosophy. I constantly hear people complaining about how long the game takes to load with all the third party objects in your downloads folder.

The game is methodical and reads the object with all its views. It then computes all the sprites and views so it can be displayed as an object in the game. If one uses a base with four views but your graphic is the same in all four views, the game computes four distinct views even though it still looks the same. By using a base with only one view or sprite the game will now load only one view and replicate it across all rotations. This seems like trivial nitpicking but now think about several hundred objects being loaded in this manner. This affects not only the loading of the game but also every time you rotate the room view. The game now has to show all the objects in the new angle.

If you are not sure how many rotations a particular potential object base might have then clone it and export it. Now you can see by the number of sprites whether it will make a good base or not.

How many tiles does the object require?

Another aspect, which is equally important when selecting a suitable base object, is how many tiles is this new object going to require. Even if you blank out the tiles which you are not using for your new object, the game still loads the views for it whether you actually see it or not! If you choose a six-tile rug as a base and your object only uses two, you are actually making the game compute a six-tile object.

There are many objects one can select as a base so just spend some time thinking about it. With each Expansion pack that comes out, more bases become available.

By following these standards you are also decreasing the actual object size in term of kilobytes and thus reducing bandwidth when it is downloaded from a site!

Does the object need animation?

If one is creating a static object then don't select an animated sculpture or a fountain as a base. To start with it means more sprites. Even if one does use it as a base one will have to align all the sprites that make up the animation or your object will jump around in the game as it cycles through the sprites of the animation. What a chore for no particular reason!

If the object does require animation then once again choose the right base. Take into consideration the interactions the object has with a Sim. Fountains, for example, allow Sims to sit on the edge and play with the water. Depending on what the new object will be, it could look decidedly odd when the Sims interact with it. Unless you are familiar with making modifications to the interactions (Affectionately referred to as hacking) you might consider the mobile sculpture that came with the original Sims. It makes for an excellent base for many new creations and the only interaction is "view".

How large is the final object going to be?

While I am not going to describe the inner workings of objects in this tutorial it is worthwhile mentioning the visual size of the object when selecting a base. One should try to choose an object base size is approximately the same shape and size as your new object. One of the reasons for this is that you will need a lot less tweaking of the z buffers of the final object.

Another aspect is that all objects have an invisible area around them that Sims cannot intersect while walking past. If an object base of a small chair is used and large chair is the end result, then it could mean that Sims walk right through the sides of the new object! Definitely not something we want to happen. You can adjust the tile width in T-Mog but this requires knowledge and time spent loading the game and instructing Sims to walk past it so you can check.

As creators we often come across images or ideas we want to recreate as an Object for the game. It might be a wonderful chair and one sets about "Transmogrifying" it! One might find that a chair is be too large and instead of forcing it to fit one could consider modifying it to become a loveseat instead. A piece of sculpture might require two tiles to avoid it overlapping onto another tile.

While on the subject of tile overlapping let me address it fully. As I am sure you are very aware, each multi-tiled object is actually separate entities. One could almost describe it as separate objects that have been combined into one visual image. Maxis original objects are usually neatly chopped to fit comfortably onto separate tiles. There are many reasons for this but one of the most important is due to how z buffers work. Z buffers only work within the specified tile, especially horizontally. The z buffers regulate how the object intersects with other objects, Sims and now pets too. The game computes each tile separately in relation to its surroundings.

When an object is larger than one tile it becomes almost impossible to tweak them into shape. The reason why is because the game "should" be reading a different z buffer for the bit that overlaps but isn't. This means that the z buffer that overlaps could be either to dark or too light and this leads to bleeding through walls or the commonly seen problem of Sims disappearing behind that section of an object.

When working with multi tile objects an excellent method is to try to centre the new object graphics precisely with the original base. Lets use a rug as an example here but please bear in mind that I will only be touching this subject lightly here and intend a far more robust tutorial on this in the future.

If one is not modifying the actual rug shape then there is no problem. Should a different shape be required then as mentioned before, choose an appropriate rug base to match the final object.

Centre the new rug with the old original. Use the original shapes of each tile part where ever possible only modifying the tiles where the shape is different. By using this method one insures that we have the least amount of z buffers and alpha channels to edit. This also means that the centre tiles of the rug remain exactly the same shape as the original. There is also no overlapping or shifting of each tile centre except for the outer lying tiles.

Aligning objects tiles in T-Mog

Don't we just LOVE doing this? Urg, it's the pits! Now that we have the collective moaning and sighing out of the way lets get on with it!

After years of making Sims objects I finally had a moment of enlightenment! I'm sure that it is no secret to many object creators but I never though of it myself. I use a large monitor with a VERY large resolution. This means that the actual T-Mog window is tiny on my screen. I used to spend hours squinting and trying to align the object tiles and still got an imperfect end result. The solution is so simple I was torn between kicking myself and exaltation!

When you are at the point where you need to align the sprites simply right click on your desktop (Windows OS) and drop your resolution as low as possible. Earlier versions of Windows allow you to drop right down to 640x480. Now you have your object larger than life on your screen and you can align it with precision.

I cannot stress the importance of neatly aligning your object tiles enough. It is one of the last steps of object creation and it can leave an otherwise excellent object looking shoddy if not enough attention is paid to it.

One must spend an equal amount of time on all the views as well as the smaller zooms. There is nothing worse than zooming out of the game and watching the objects become misaligned and distorted!

• The smallest zoom is approximately a third of the large zoom and
• The middle zoom two thirds of the large zoom.

One can also apply this to the numerical alignment in the Y adjustment of the object in its smaller views. It is VERY rough and further adjustment will have to be made using your eye in the game.

When radically changing object bases, all of the zooms and tile alignments often go completely off. I have found that I can visually judge how far an object needs to move by the game grid. This grid is always in view when you are in "Buy" or "Build" modes. I try to measure by looking at the diamond shapes it creates and move the object in T-Mog by half a diamond or a full diamond or however much needed.

If it helps you, then take screen captures of your object in the game in different rotations and zooms and paste these into your graphics program. Shut down the game and edit your objects in T-Mog while switching to your screen shots for reference.

There is no easy way to do it and it might take several attempts to get it just right. Get used to loading and closing the game lots of times during object creation! This is another reason why I back up my graphic templates and objects during creations. After a hard session of loading and closing the game your operating system can become unstable and crash either corrupting your object loaded in T-Mog or your graphics program being closed without saving.

Object descriptions and prices

This is such an easy task and is often overlooked by artists! Give it a name. As game players we can all relate to seeing an endless string of "Pinegulcher" End Tables! If you are creating a set, make part of the description of the object the set name. Use your imagination and name the object to what you see it as. It makes it easier to actually locate matching sets in the game when doing the décor of a lot.

My personal pet hates are paintings with no names or the original Maxis painting names! If you are stumped for ideas then use the original image name or artwork you worked from. If you are reproducing classic works of art then use the artist's and the painting name. You may just be educating some of us who do not know that particular piece. At least please list paintings numerically, or by hue such as "Blues painting #5" or something similar.

Try to put a little bit of info on yourself, the creator of the object. If you have an email or a site name then use it. It will make things much easier when trying to recall which site the object came from and who it was created by. If you like to be anonymous then just pick a nickname and use it for all your creations.

When cloning an object these descriptions along with prices and depreciation values are also cloned. It's ridiculous to clone an expensive painting to make a cheap poster and have it cost a fortune. Lower the price accordingly and pay attention to the depreciation levels. All this takes a little getting used to but it really makes a difference to many players who do not make use of "Aunt Rosebud's" endless trust fund and like to play the game realistically.

If a large set of paintings is planned then use a starting price and perhaps increase the price by one Sim Dollar for each section, for example by colour. Blue paintings could be 52 Sim dollars and green paintings could be 53 Dollars and so forth. It makes it much easier to select objects within the game. These are just guidelines and open to interpretation and application to each circumstance you encounter.

Setting room flags for new objects

Think logically and place the object in the appropriate menus. Let us say we are making a bathroom set. This typically can include bathroom sanitary fittings, fixtures, furniture and accessories. Remember that an object can be placed in more than one room or function flag. Over doing it and placing it in every flag is also silly and will actually be irritating in the game as well as increasing the amount scrolling through menus.

Often bookcases are made into towel cabinets. Why not place it the bathroom flag under "other"? Like this when designing a bathroom all the parts of the bathroom are within easy clicking range. It seems pointless to place a toilet paper dispenser cloned from a painting in the family room and under decorative and paintings. Rather file it under bathroom and under the "decorative section" stick it under "Other". Use your discretion and try to place your new objects under the relevant menu system, which is not always the same as the original object classifications.

Working with colour levels and Sims Objects

In this section I will outline some of my personal practices in working with graphics and colour reduction for the object sprites.

The native Maxis object sprites uses a 256 colours level. When you export or import the graphics into an object this is the level it must be at. While editing my graphics, usually in a template image with layers, I however, work in full colour.

There is an inevitable loss in quality when reducing an image from full colour down to 256 colour level. Some of these tips I am going to explain will help minimise this impact.

When working with an object that only has one tile in size this is not much of a problem. In a multi tiled object it is much more evident. Most graphic programs have different ways to reduce the colour level and you will have to experiment which mode works best for each individual object.

One method of reduction is by the "Nearest colour". This means that in a large area of similar colours, a medium colour is used for all these mild colour variations. An area in yellow with slightly lighter yellow speckles will be rendered as a flat yellow blended from the two yellow shades.

Another method of colour reduction is by "Error Diffusion". In reducing the amount of colours here we get a checkerboard of speckles. Let us assume we have a graphic with many different colours. We have to lose some of the colours in the reduction so the graphics program computes which of the subtle shades are closest to each other and uses them in a speckled manner to create a new shade. So to make a lighter shade of green the palette will use a standard green and speckle it with a very light colour to simulate the original light shade.

The only way to come to grips with this is to experiment. Try reducing an image with the different modes and see which one gives you the best end result and the least loss of graphic quality. There is no real hard and fast rule and all images are different.

Some of the more advanced graphic editors allow you to select an area using one of the selection tools and the program will pay particular attention to that section when reducing the colour levels. What this means in simple terms is that it will have less impact on that section and more on the remainder of the image which is unselected.

This is very useful in some instances. There might be a logo or picture on the actual object, which is more important than the actual object itself. By doing it this way it will keep that section as close to the original as possible and reduce the rest of the image with secondary importance.

Under most colour reduction operations there is often a slight over all hue change. There is no way around this but it can wreak havoc on our multi-tiled objects! A way to over come this is to firstly work with one view at a time. Once we have that view ready and edited to our satisfaction, reduce the whole object image (With all the tiles in one image) down to 256 colours. By doing this we have the whole view with the same hue and tone. Remember not to save your master template! Either save it as a new temporary image or JUST DON'T SAVE IT!!!!

Now go to your colours menu and save this palette from the image to your hard drive somewhere where you will remember. I place these all under the same sub folder of the graphics program and I just over write them as I make new objects.

Start chopping up this big graphic and paste it into your separate object sprites. You will need to increase each sprite to full colour, paste in your new graphic and then reduce the colour levels back down to 256 colours. The trick here is that instead of just dropping the colour level down to 256 colours, you now load that palette you saved from your master image! Easy isn't it? Now all your object tiles in that particular view will have exactly the same palette and thus the same hue all the while still being 256 colours. Repeat this for all the rotation views that make up the object.

Sizing your object to Sims proportions

We have all download objects that are way too large or too small in relation to the Sims environment! I even have one or two on my own site hehehe! Try to be logical and simply compare it to existing Maxis objects. If the new object is completely unique and there is no Maxis equivalent then simple think laterally and think of objects that would be similar in size in real life and then compare it to the Sims version. Even if you need to clone that object just so you can export it and use the graphic on a separate layer as an overlay for sizing, then do it. It is well worth the extra work.

I will be making available a graphic image with layers as a template for one tile creation but as of the time of writing this tutorial it is not ready yet so please download it once I have it ready. This little template will have a grid like the game uses and it will assist you to place and size your objects.

Time for some mental exercise! A counter, end table or small table covers the space of one tile in the game. If your object is such that it is placed on a surface then it should be scaled to fit comfortably on just one tile.

Some final suggestions

Start working with small one-tile objects and progress from there. My advice is to build up from small successes and boost yourself into more challenging projects. There is nothing more off putting than to get stuck in a complicated task and feeling hopelessly lost, unsure of how to go about fixing the problem.

When I first started making objects a few years ago it took me ages to progress beyond single tile objects. I tried to make a loveseat from the Sarrbach chair and failed miserably! I had no problem making the graphics for it but had no idea how to get them aligned in T-Mog. I kept making the separate tile graphics longer hoping that eventually meet in the middle and of course they didn't hehehe! There were no tutorials and I had no idea what the little buttons in the X and Y keys were for LOL!!!! Finally I realised where my mistake was and was able to move onto more multi tile objects.

Just have lots of patience and plenty of time on your hands and you will be making creative objects before you realise it!