FAQ

This FAQ is meant to answer some common question regarding the Roman Sims. Look here before you e-mail me with questions.

How do I install the files I download from this site?

This varies depending on the file type. All files are saved in ZIP format, so if you don't have an extractor, download one HERE. Once you have the files extracted, they will need to be saved in different places in your main Sims directory.

Wall (.wll) should be installed in:

gamedata/walls

Floors (.flr) should be installed in:

gamedata/floors

Skins (.cmx, .skn and .bmp) should be installed in:

gamedata/skins

Houses should be installed in:

userdata/houses

If you want your house in a different neighborhood, (Livin Large and later) choose the userdata folder with the number after it that corresponds to your neighborhood.

Objects (.iff) should be installed in:

downloads

Note: In the downloads folder you may create a sub-folder for your download if you chose. Anything in the download folder should work.

Hey! I saw the cool objects you are making for your site with that Transmogrifier program. Can I get it, and if so, where?

Sure. It is available to everyone. Just go to: http://www.lushcreations.com/SimTransmogrifier.htm  There is also a great tutorial for the software at that location.

When are you going to make more of those House of the Dolphin stories? Those were awesome!

The short answer is, no time in the foreseeable future. Why? Imagine having to think up a story, then write it down, then set up and take pictures for it in the sims, often with lots of post production. Then on top of that, make several high-quality downloads. It's just too much work and too much trouble. So... please... don't bug me about it anymore! ;)

I would like to make skins / walls / floors. How can I get started?

My best advice is to start at the source. Maxis still provides the best utilities and instruction in creating these elements. You can download programs for doing all these things on their site. Skins, which are second only to objects in difficulty of creation, are the hardest to master. Maxis offers a simple program called Sim Show which still does a very good job with this. They also offer a very useful and detailed tutorial which shows you the steps involved in creating your own skin.

I really want to know how you are putting those holes in your roofs. That is really neat! How do I do it?

I perfected this technique since so many Roman houses have enclosed gardens and compluviums. It is difficult to put into words, but basically, the rooms with holes in them are not actually rooms. There is a wall tile missing somewhere to prevent them from being roofed over. I can create the hole on the second floor by building a ring of pillars above the area I want to cover and leaving one tile open. The pillars, since they are on the second story will be automatically covered. I sometimes create the illusion of having a roof on these non-rooms by building true rooms on the floor above these open spaces. The best way to understand this is probably to download one of my houses and see exactly how I built it and experiment around with adding and taking away walls in different places and observing the result.

I downloaded some of your skins, but I can't find them in the game!

Please, please, PLEASE make sure you are looking under the right skin tone! The majority of my work is designed for the medium skin tone and won't show up anywhere else. If this isn't the problem, check carefully that you have copied ALL of the files that came in the zip to the gamedata/skins folder. More complex skins that require their own meshes will not show up, or worse they could crash your game. 

Help! I've downloaded a house file but it won't show up in the neighborhood!

This is a common problem. Many people contact me wanting to know why a house won't display or a house causes the game to crash. The only advice I can offer is to make sure the house is in the userdata/houses folder in the Sims. In addition, to try and delete and re-download/ install the file. In addition there seems to be some problem if you have deleted your mail box, or downloaded some custom body meshes, certain houses won't display. I can't explain why, but this could be a possible problem.

I downloaded some of your wall and floor tiles and I installed them in a house fine, but when I saved the house and went back into it again, the tiles returned to a default pattern? What gives?

This is a common problem. It has to do with the wall and floor tile limit in the Sims. If you have too many wall or floor tiles installed, some will default back to a standard pattern. You can have 90 wall and 63 floor patterns in the catalog at any given time. The only solution is to delete some tiles until you get under the acceptable limit. If you own Living Large, this will cease to be a problem.

I still have a burning question. How do I contact you?

Be sure the question was not answered above. If not, I can be reached here.

Curious about the Creator of this site? Here's a little info on me for anyone who cares.

Name: Christianne, but most people just call me Christy

Age: I'm 20 years old, half way to 21! :-D

Location: Ohio, in the middle of mediocre middle-America.

Pets: I've got a cat named Leonard and an iguana named Shorty. (He's hardly short!)

Current Occupation: I'm a college Junior who attends Denison University. When I'm not in school, I like to work on web design and my site and I hold a pretty full-time job working for the web services department at my school.

Favorite Color: That's tough. I love deep midnight blue though.

Favorite Food: I like so many! I love food and cooking and trying everything! Still, I think my all time favorite thing has got to be a good Greek salad and fresh homemade bread. yum. Oh yes... and milk. It's all I drink.

Favorite Book: That's an easy one. Lord of the Rings hands down. I don't even want to debate that with anyone... it's not a point I argue. Love it or leave me alone. ;-)

Favorite Music: I'm varied in my tastes, I like all sorts of music but mostly on an indivual song basis. I guess if there's one group which I adore completely and love all of their music, it has to be Simon & Garfunkel, hands down my favorite lyrics.

Favorite Computer Game: The Sims is of course awesome, but my favorite game of all time has got to be Ultima 7. I love most all computer games, but that one is in many ways a forerunner of The Sims and allowed an amazing degree of control and detail, unusual for its time. Other great games include Baldur's Gate, any of the Old Sierra adventure games, Diablo II, Age of Empires, any Sim game... oh the list goes on and on.

Hobbies and Interests: I love to do lots of things and I like trying new things too... well, as long as I can still be shy. I love to read. I love computers both for playing games and doing graphic and web design. I'm also something of an artist: I enjoy drawing and sculpting and love to work in the family woodshop. I play the harpsichord and piano as well, albeit not so well. And of course, I'm a great fan of ancient history, especially Rome... you probably figured that already though. Basically, I have a healthy interest in about everything... there's just too much out there to limit oneself! 

Me Online: I love to chat! So, if you want to IM me about stuff on my sites or would just like to talk, that would be great. I also have an online journal if you are interested in the details of my mundane but occasionally amusing life.

Anyway, here's all my screen names if you want to talk to me.

AIM: satsobek
Yahoo: carminiasecunda
MSM: beall_c@denison.edu (my e-mail address)