
The Sims HomeCrafter
Readme Document
www.thesims.com
January 20, 2000
MAXIS

Overview
--------
Ever wondered how to hang wallpaper or install flooring in your own home? 
It's as easy as 1-2-3. Just follow these steps and you will be hanging wallpaper 
and laying floor in Junior's bedroom before you can utter the words "home improvement."

Tutorial
--------
For a step-by-step tutorial on The Sims HomeCrafter.

Instructions
-------
Instructions on the use of the The Sims HomeCrafter.

1. DirectX 
* DirectX 6 or higher must be installed in order to run The Sims HomeCrafter. 
  If you don't have DirectX 6 or higher you can download it from:
  http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp

* If you have installed any recent games you most likely have DirectX 6.
  Additional help with DirectX 6 may be found here:
  http://www.ea.com/tech_support/index.html

2. Interface
* The screen consists of the control panel on the left, the work area on the right, and the text description
  box on the bottom.

The Control Panel
****Each area of the Control Panel will be discussed starting from the top of the panel working downward****
* Zoom--->Click on the + and - buttons at the top of the Control Panel to switch between the 3 zoom levels.
  Plus [+] and minus [-] keys (on the NumPad) zoom screen in and out as well.
* Load/Import--->Click on the disk icon below the zoom buttons to load/import a floor or wall texture. A dialog
  box appears asking you to select the texture file you want to open. 
* Floor/Wall Window--->Beneath the Load button is the Floor/Wall Window. The up/down arrows to the right of the
  window cycle through the floors/walls that you have loaded into HomeMaster. Cycle through the various floors 
  and walls in order to use different textures in the work area.
* Floor/Wall Mode Buttons--->The two buttons beneath the Floor/Wall Window toggle between Floor and Wall modes.
* Floor Sound Buttons--->When Floor Mode is active, three buttons appear under the Floor Window. These buttons
  allow you to associate a Hard/Medium/Soft sound to your floors when Sims walk over them. Click on the Floor Type
  that you want before you export the floor.
* Save/Export--->Click on the disk icon at the bottom left of the screen to save/export a floor or wall. A dialog
  box appears asking you to save the file to your hard drive.
* Quit--->Click on the Quit button in the bottom left of the screen to quit The Sims HomeCrafter.

The Work Area
* Use the LMB (left mouse button) to place wall/floor tiles individually. You may expand the box multiple tiles by 
  holding down the LMB.
* Shift + LMB = Fill entire wall/floor.
* Ctrl + LMB  = Erase a tile. You may expand the box multiple tiles by holding down the LMB.
* Ctrl + Shift + LMB = Erase whole floor/wall.
* Directional Keys or holding down the RMB (right mouse button) move the camera around the work area.

The Text Description Box
***The Text Description Box allows you to customize every wall or floor tile
   you make. The text that you input into the Name, Price, and Description fields appears in the actual game!***
* Click on the blue box at the bottom of the screen that says *Click Here To Change* in order to bring up the 
  Enter Wallpaper/Floor Data Box.
* Name---> Enter a name for your Wall/Floor, up to 30 characters.
* Price---> Enter a price for your Wall/Floor, from $1-99.
* Description---> Enter a description for your Wall/Floor.

NOTE: This text data will only save if you export your floor/wall as a .flr or .wll file. If you export your
floor/wall as a .BMP, this data will not be saved.


3. Importing textures
* Use the disk icon in the upper right section of the screen to import a bitmap(.BMP) or JPG. All textures must 
  be 256 colors! 
* You may import BMP or JPG files from anywhere on your system.
* The import texture dialog box has a preview window built in (Note: it only can preview .BMP files).
* Recommended sizes are 64x64 pixels for floors and 128x240 pixels for walls. If you import a floor or 
  wall that is smaller, HomeMaster will stretch the image to the recommended sizes.
* Scale--->If you import an image that is different than the recommended size, clicking on the Scale button will
  stretch or downsize your image.
* Crop---> If you import an image that is larger than the recommended size, clicking on the Crop button will
  crop the image for you. It crops from the upper left corner of the image.
* Anti-Alias--->Check this box to anti-alias the image when importing...this will blend it to
  make it look better but will take slightly longer.


4. Exporting textures
* Use the lower disk icon to export a .WLL, .FLR, or .BMP. The current floor or wall that is in the Floor/Wall
  Window will be exported.
* When you export a floor or wall file, it will first look for a \\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\GameData directory 
  on your hard drive (of course you will have to have the shipping version of The Sims for this directory to exist). 
  If it does not find this directory you can save the file to any directory on your hard drive.
* Wall files are saved as *.wll files and can also be saved as *.bmp files. We added the ability to export a file 
  as a .BMP so when you send them to your friends or post them to a website, other people can modify them to match
  their home's decor.
* Floor files are saved as *.flr files and can also be saved as *.bmp files.

Remember!!!
* The tile that is currently in the Floor/Wall Window is the one that will be exported.
* The sounds of "hard, medium, soft" for saving floors refer to how loud the floor will be in the game. 
* Press the buttons to hear a sample floor noise level.


If you have any Questions or Comments regarding The Sims HomeCrafter, please send them to SimWatch@Maxis.com.


Now go have some fun refurbishing that old, neglected home of your's. Pretty soon you will be able to see your
terra cotta tile and chartreuse wallpaper come to life in The Sims!!









