Editing the video files

Gangreless

Scholar

Original Poster

#1

22nd Jun 2009 at 8:26 PM

Editing the video files

So I was digging through all the folders in the program files and found the one that controls the video effects. In this folder is also the files that control the movement of the sun, moon, lunar cycle, etc.. It's all extremely user friendly (a shock indeed considering all the hoops we have to go through to create cc). It has a lot of comments in the file on what the values do. For example, in the SkyCommon file:

Quote:

[MiscSkyParams]

;; Radii of the sun, sun glow, and moon in metric arbitrary units
SunRadius = 280
SunHaloRadius = 0 //this does not do anything
MoonRadius = 200

;; Number of degrees off the sky's "equator" for the sun and moon. An offset of 0 would indicate
;; tracking the equator exactly. Values approaching 90 become fairly degenerate; with the sun rising and setting
;; near the same pole in the sky. A strong astronomical argument could be made that the Starfield and SUn offsets should be
;; identical, but they can be tuned separately anyway...

Also in the same file:

Quote:

This value will skew the sun and moon lighting directions towards the horizon. This currently
;; affects only the light, and not the actual sun or moon position. More oblique angles give more dramatic shadows
;; and lighting. Values approaching zero will spend very little time lighting from the center of the sky. A value
;; of one indicates a homogenous circular lighting track. Values above one will be increasingly averse to horizon
;; lighting.
HorizonLightSkewFactor = 0.5

You can also change the time for sunrise/sunset, again, just in this one file! This is so much more user friendly than trying to change settings in Sims 2.

Just within this one file I can see many options for customizing the scenery, could make for some amazing videos/pictures.

Don't forget to backup any files you mess with, it's not my fault if you screw up your settings. Have fun!

C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\GameData\Shared\NonPackaged\Ini

Quote:

;; Pick a new weather type every N hours
WeatherRandomizeInterval = 8

WEATHER! I smell an expansion pack!

☠ Creator of the Sparkly Things ☠
In Soviet Russia, the Sims mod you!
ZOMG Patterns! ZOMG! Patterns! the Group!
Awesomeness: When I get sad, I stop being sad and am simply awesome again. True story.

Gangreless

Scholar

Original Poster

#2

22nd Jun 2009 at 8:57 PM Last edited by Gangreless : 22nd Jun 2009 at 9:09 PM.

By changing the values in the SkyCommon file to

SunriseTime = 0.5
SunsetTime = 23.9

I was able to make darkness last for less than an hour. This is especially useful if you want to make some Alaskan or Siberian Sims or, if you're like me and can't stand the outdoor lighting. Now it's always bright! This always helps A LOT with the lighting inside if you have a couple windows in each room.

It's also possible to make it nighttime most of the day by reversing and tweaking these values.

☠ Creator of the Sparkly Things ☠
In Soviet Russia, the Sims mod you!
ZOMG Patterns! ZOMG! Patterns! the Group!
Awesomeness: When I get sad, I stop being sad and am simply awesome again. True story.

Shikonah

Field Researcher

#3

22nd Jun 2009 at 10:30 PM

Sounds pretty neat -- though I'm guessing it only applies to the whole game instead of each save-slot? Regardless, sounds like a fun thing to toy around with.

Gangreless

Scholar

Original Poster

#4

23rd Jun 2009 at 12:20 AM

Yes, it would apply to the entire game. It's easy enough to play around with, I've submitted two versions to the upload queue, very small changes that make the sunset/rise times use daylight savings or iceland. Basically, with daylight savings, it makes the sun rise @ 0530 and set at 2100.

☠ Creator of the Sparkly Things ☠
In Soviet Russia, the Sims mod you!
ZOMG Patterns! ZOMG! Patterns! the Group!
Awesomeness: When I get sad, I stop being sad and am simply awesome again. True story.

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