Machinima Tips Photography And more‌
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The next season will begin in December 2014
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Letter from the editor I am excited to launch this first issue of what we hope will be a monthly release. The Sims community moves so quickly with new photos and machinima and stories being shared on our sites every day. We want to expand our issues to include more member talent showcases, and up to date information on helpful tips and tutorials for your projects. I hope you enjoy this first issue of our new project. We really want to focus more on giving you a chance to be involved, so look inside for many different opportunities to create, showcase or advertise your stuff so we hope you will join us.
Assistant Editors for this issue
PeacemakerIC
Jorgha Haq
Major contributors this issue Gus Rockman, The Elonian Cass, TenderWolf, PibSims, Demeter GrayLeeStudios Front cover image by Demeter - from the Darkside Challenge
AT THE MOVIES Each of our Simatography magazines will have a theme. We chose “at the movies� for this issue because we were looking back at the years we had with The Sims 3 and realized that the possibilities have become endless. With The Sims 3 and The Sims 2 you can create pretty much any film genre so this excited us. As film makers and story tellers there is nothing holding us back from creating to the extent of our imaginations. With the Sims 4 we have some limitations right now, sure, but remember that it was exactly the same when The sims 2 or 3 first arrived. We took time here to show the potential of this new game platform.
We hope you will find our various film themed photos and articles inspiring. We also really hope that you will consider joining us each month in our theme challenges. You can submit anything you create - machinima, advertisements, custom content, stories, photos etc. Check for more information towards the back of this issue and you will discover that our theme for November through December, to publish in our next issue, will be‌
Winter Traditions Photo by Demeter
By Demeter
AT THEWithMOVIES Rick Shawn By Pibsims This is Sim Movie Review and I'm your host, Rick Shawn.
Tonight I have three actors who have just finished filming what should be this year's holiday blockbuster, The Well Beyond Time. I'd like to welcome Marta Tomasi, Jack Harkness and Sam Grant to the studio.
I would like to say for all three of us that it's a great pleasure to be here. Not a problem. Now, this movie is set in? We filmed most of it in Egypt.
My character is Professor Rhonda Masket, and my speciality is ancient languages including Egyptian hieroglyphs. The story starts with me finding a parchment of ancient hieroglyphs tucked in the back of an old book that I just purchased.
That seems convenient. We’ll get back to that. I manage to interpret the parchment and learn that there is a hidden treasure within the Sphinx. So I’m determined to find the treasure and retrieve it to put on display in a museum somewhere. I travel to Egypt and set up in the main tourist camp area. Now what Rhonda doesn’t know is that my character, Gabriel Spinner, hide that parchment in a book that he knows she has been wanting to buy. He does this because he can’t find anyone else who could read it. [Evil chuckle] Spinner is not about to donate the treasure to a museum, he wants that treasure for his own. So, Sam, you are playing the villain again?
Yes, that's right. This is the third movie where you are playing the villain. Aren’t you tired of it yet? Actually, it’s the fourth time I’ve been the baddy. But it’s better to be a villain than to be unemployed. It’s that laugh of yours, Sam. Sends chills down my spine even when I know you’re not in character. I must say is that it’s a good thing black suits me. Every director seems determined to make the villain wear black. What else should a villain wear? Canary yellow? Shocking pink? [laughs] I don't know, but when you see someone dressed in black you should run the other direction. Well, if Marta is our hero and Sam is the villain, that must make Jack the love interest. Sort of. My character is Jonathan Hawk. He does become the love interest because…well, here’s the clip.
But it doesn’t take long for my character to start falling for her wit, charm and determination. It helps that I can read some of the warning signs left in the Sphinx. After I’ve saved his hide a few times, he is a little more reluctant to be a spy. My understanding is the on screen romance isn’t the only one. That’s true. Jack and I started dating part way through the filming.
: They’ve been appalling. During the love scenes, the director would yell cut and they would just keep smooching. Plus we had to announce ourselves whenever we went
around a corner, just in case they happened to be there. Not a fan of true love, Sam? True love is fine as long as you don’t force everyone else to put up with it. Coming around a corner to find the two of them slobbering on each other was getting old. Sam, you are just an old grouch. No wonder you always
play the villain. So, are there wedding bells in the near future for you, Marta? Jack? We haven't made any plans yet. But we haven't ruled marriage out either. We both need a bit of time away from the set and the paparazzi before we can decide. All right then. One last question for you. I've heard
that this movie was cursed. Is that true? Well, we did have an unusual number of equipment breakdowns. Almost every day, something didn't work right. Cameras, lights, vehicles and even our phones would just stop working for awhile, and then start working again for no particular reason.
At least you were out of the worst part, Sam. While you were stalking around outside muttering your plans, things down in the bowels of the set were dangerous. Sometimes the rigs we had set up for traps in the Sphinx would go off when they weren't supposed to. One of the stunt people had to be hospitalized after getting second degree burns from a fire trap.
Was that the worst injury? I'd heard that there were multiple deaths. Thankfully, no one died. The burns were the worst injury anyone suffered on set. But the equipment failures made every day a pain in the backside. We had to do a lot more takes than usual and you had to worry whenever you went near any of the rigs. But we are sure that the movie will be fun and exciting to watch. Well, what we've seen of the movie looks fantastic. I would recommend that everyone go to see it in the 3D version while they can. I'm sure I'll see you all again when the sequel comes out. Thank you, Marta, Jack and Sam for coming. Thank you, Rick. I've had a great time and I'm sure everyone will love the movie. Special thanks to our audience. Next week, I'll be reviewing “The Fantastic Sims�. Be sure to watch.
strives to be a truly international festival, but the truth is that we at Simatography are almost all english speaking and our site is an english language site. We do accept all nationality of film makers, but we cannot always provide the support that we would like, simply because we cannot always translate all of the important information. The great staff at All About Sims proposed a sort of partnership or friendship that helps us connect their German speaking community with the English language SIFF. A big Thanks goes to King Leo, Moni Bee and our very own long-standing SIFF patron Titus Linde for helping to keep this connection alive. If you are a german player, be sure to check out All About Sims. If you know german language machinima makers they can use all about Sims staff as a resource to help them if they need anything explained before entering SIFF. We look forward to seeing more international machinima makers at our festivals. Join our partner page Filme mit Sims and share your latest machinima with us https://www.facebook.com/groups/simsmachinima/
www.allaboutsims.net If you have an international Sims fansite with an active machinima community, contact us at simatography@gmail.com to talk about how we can partner together to help your machinima makers ‘ films more recognition in the English language community.
Machinima Series Update The Sims 4 is the new kid on the block, but the Sims 2 and 3 machinima makers are With Tabby Lloyd still giving us a run for our money. I have been a bit behind on my viewing, I am sad to admit, so my planned article isn’t as full as I hoped, but here are a few on my personal weekend watch list. I promise to have more next issue. The Hollow Tower by The Elonian Cass This series premiered not long ago at SIFF and blew both the judges and the fans away. I am excited to see that it is still going strong with a 3rd episode recently released. Watch the series HERE on YouTube
Daryl - The Walking Dead - by Jellysimwich An interesting concept - a graphic novel style format shown as a machinima. Check it out if you are a Walking Dead fan like me.
See all episodes HERE on YouTube
If you were a fan of Cleverbox’s series Alone, then don’t miss the new production of it coming soon in The Sims 4. Watch the trailer here… Alone - the trailer on The Sims Central Our goal is to showcase many more Sims Series’ with each monthly magazine. If you have a Sims Series’ and you release a new episode then be sure to share it with us through YouTube or Twitter (by tagging @simatography)
Read it on ISSUU
Dark side Challenge 2014 Regrettably we were not able to run a broadly advertised or wide-spread challenge this season, but we didn’t want to just miss it completely. Each year we invite the community to join in on our little celebration of Halloween with a little spooky fun. Turn the page to see what our contributors have in store to scare and delight you this year. Banner by Jorgha Haq
Fairy’s Blood - by Demeter
By Jorgha Haq
MJSimKat - Pumpkin Patch Horror ameangelofsin - Do You Believe in Demons?
CatKetty - In Costume
By Demeter
Watch this high-energy Sims 2 and 3 MEP compiled by SagaWorld Productions and an awesome group of movie makers
Watch Get JINXED HERE A creepy little short inspired by The Walking Dead by Apocalyptic Dog Films (warning - not suitable for all viewers)
WATCH IT HERE
Tali Morgan has always been a master of the creepy when it comes to machinima and she came through again for us this round. (Not suitable for all viewers)
Watch Little Girl HERE
Another horror short to scare you Do You Believe in Demons by ameangelofsin (Not suitable for all viewers)
Watch it HERE
By Morathami
By TenderWolf
By Jorgha Haq
Filmore Noir and Shantel Potins Watch for our duo of celebrity watching media spies as they bring us updates on the latest news on Sim Celebrities, machinima makers and more coming in our next issue of simatography magazine - december edition.
Read up on past issues HERE on ISSUU
Presented to you by Demeter, Nanami and CatKetty
Bollywood - the Hindi film industry version of Hollywood. Bollywood film style is all about a vibrant display of colour, dance and drama in some definitions, but in fairness the Hindi film industry is well established in the world film community, with many celebrated and world renown film makers and actors, and some of the greatest films seen on the international film festival circuit.
Attention to detail in costume design can make or break your machinima, so if you are ever inspired to create a bollywood style film, here is some inspiration.
All outfits available in t various Sims expan Supernatural and
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the Sims 3 store or in nsion packs such as World Adventures
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A Sims 2 Machinima Retrospective By: Jorgha Haq
We are two months into the fourth incarnation of The Sims but ten years ago something phenomenal happened in the world of The Sims 2 and machinima. A group that calls themselves Rooster Teeth launched something called The Strangerhood Who or what is Rooster Teeth? Rooster Teeth is a small independent production company out of Austin, Texas that has made a name for themselves doing machinima, live action shorts, animated pieces, podcasts, and Achievement Hunter. or “Let’s Play” style videos. They are really big on something called the Internet. You may have heard of it. Rooster Teeth ventured into the world of mahcinima with Halo in an ongoing voice over series called Red vs. Blue, a civil war story that spoofs not only sci-fi but military life. Episode One aired in 2003 and continues today. 11 years is quite a long run for a TV series. That’s totally amazing for a machinima series and should speak volumes for the unique entertainment that Rooster Teeth produces.
weird, wonderful, mysterious, and nearly deserted suburb known as The Strangerhood. None of them have any memory of how they got there.
The Eight Assorted Stereotypes or The Cast: Griggs - “The Tough Guy” - Griggs claims to be a champion “nerd puncher” with the world high score in the sport. It’s easy to come to the conclusion that he is a war hero who maybe didn’t return unscathed. He talks to a garden gnome that he refers to as “a stupid leprechaun” and subscribes to a number of conspiracy theories.
Nikki - “The active energetic personality” - it is eventually revealed that Nikki is Grigg’s daughter. Griggs has no recollection of his relationship with Nikki, or who her mother is. He’s just worried he’s going to have to pay child support. Nikki is more curious than everyone else on the hows and whys of the groups arrival in The
Strangerhood and sets out to find the answer.
Sam - “The Straight Man” - because every comedy needs a straight man as a foil to everyone else. Sam believes his name is Sam because it’s the name he finds written in his underwear. Despite this, the only “normal” one of the bunch and the only one aware of what is going on around them. Wade - “The Stoner” - Wade insists that his name is Durnt, despite a name tag on his shirt that says differently. He sounds like the stereotypical surfer dude/stoner/hippy and comes complete with memories of things that never really happened. At one point in the story he becomes the unofficial police officer of The Strangerhood. Catherine - “The Dumb Blonde” She is very superficial and Judges people based solely on their appearance. This is the main reason sheclaims to have been married to Dutchmiller before their arrival in The Strangerhood. He’s the most good looking person there - outside of herself. Dutchmiller - “The Preppy” - Dutch get’s excited over trivial things, such as the mail and is overly charismatic. Enjoys Japanese cuisine and culture and has a rare
neurological disorder that makes him think he can do anything. Tovar - “The Confused Ethnic Minority” Tovar talks with a funny accent, refers to himself in the third person, is absent-minded and claims that being sexy in his country is a crime. He also claims to have a twin named Tobar. Despite this being the truth, people don’t believe him. An accident with the technology that brought everyone to The Strangerhood divided Tovar into two identical looking people with two very different personalities. One is “pure moron” while the other is “pure evil.”
Dr. Chalmers - “The Elderly, Curmudgeonly Intellectual” - Is easily irritated with everyone and always finds something to complain about. He often plays chess - against himself. When not playing chess he collects refrigerators obtained through kleptomania. A strange and omnipotent voice talks to them, and helps direct -or misdirect, as the case may be - their lives. The Omnipotent Voice is, in fact, the reason they are all there. They are all part of an elaborate scheme by future world television executives to come up with new ideas. During the course of the show there is a murder mystery, a reality show TV task, and a secret affair as their lives take a series of Unexpected, and sometimes expected, twists and turns. The Strangerhood is a satirical spoof on American TV merging a reality show with a sitcom. In fact, it was filmed in the same style as a sitcom would be, utilizing four standard camera angles. Each of the 17 episodes run about 5 minutes each.
The BBC gave The Strangerhood a less than favorable review in 2005 saying it lacked any character development. The idea of what The Strangerhood was supposed to be may have been lost on the BBC, as character development wasn’t supposed to be as much as a focus as the stereotypes picked for each character, It was the Exaggeration of these stereotypes that made The Strangerhood the satirical Machinima classic that has cemented itself in Sims pop culture with thousands of loyal fans. It has even garnered it’s own page on TV Tropes. Earlier this year, Rooster Teeth started an Indiegogo campaign to help fund their first full length live action film, Lazer Team. It was announced that a second season of The Strangerhood would be made if the Indiegogo campaign reached it’s goal of 2.25 million US dollars. That goal was surpassed and, much to the delight of Strangerhood fans, it was announced in October, on the 10th anniversary of The Strangerhood’s launch, that a second season is in production. If this screen shot of Wade made In the Sims 4 found on TheStrangerhood2.com, Season Two will be done in The Sims 4 and will have at least some of the original characters. At this time only four episodes are planned. If you have somehow missed out on the machinima gem that is The Strangerhood you can watch it here along with the six episodes of Strangerhood studios, two minute shorts created on request for The Independent Film Channel..
With Minraed Arzhel
, who has been well know n in the Our guest this month is machinima community for his outstanding Sims 2 machinima. At this past season of SIFF he surprised us with a jump right into The Sims 4, taking a win for fan fave in the Sims 4 machinima category. Let’s see what we can learn from him about filming with the challenges of a new Sims platform. The release of The Sims 4 was such a huge deal to me as It would be the first time i’d be playing the famous simulation series since day 1, and I knew I had to try making something with it. The making of Lolita, in a new and cheat-lacking game in a machinima context, like the Sims 4 was an inevitable challenge, but one that granted me the basic knowledge of film making in the game, which I’ll be sharing (well, some of it!) In the description of the music video uploaded to Youtube, I mentioned countless problems with the parameter usage, I cannot tell if those were caused by my lack of experience with Sims 3 (where the game may have had some improvements in this department I am unaware of) but nonetheless, if there’s something you should know of is if you’re planning to do some machinima in this present installment, the keyword .’ There will be plenty of camera-going-nuts moments and just plain here is ‘ not obeying you for time to time. Until we get proper mods and cheats for the game, a huge problem standing in the way of filming are the sims themselves and their mechanics like if you’re trying to film sims standing up just casually chatting, they will go over your orders and just go somewhere else, like sitting on the couch or just hang out somewhere else but where you really want them to be. (even with Free Will off there’s always something)
Either you decide to be ambitious or just try it out, filming will always have it’s perils and right now it’s too early to judge a newly released game like TS4 by it’s currently filming tools. I do can help you out make this experience feel more enjoyable though: - Get rid of the plumbob by using the cheat menu (ctrl+shft+C), type in “testingcheats on”, then type in “headlineeffects off” (this is new from a recent patch, and was not available during the filming of this machinima) - While using the preset camera positions try not only pressing it’s key but keep holding it (e.g. hold the 5 key until the parameter ends) you’ll notice the end result will be smoother and will give a much more professional look to your machinima. - Filming is only a small part of machinima making, there’s plenty you can do in the editing phase, you don’t need to push yourself to extremes - adding a coloring, an overlay or even a few fitting transitions can go a long way and really make up for whatever you think it could be lacking in your machinima.
This incredibly detailed video by Jor'gha HaQ has all the basics to get you started on TS4 machinima making and then some. Watch it HERE
No Drift Camera Mod from MTS Get it HERE Here is another camera mod I wish I had during filming for Lolita See it HERE on YouTube Click HERE to visit The Elonian Cass
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By: Jorgha Haq
Peacemaker, Jorgha, and Gus check out the Sims 4 landscape from Umbridge Manor.
It’s been two months since the Sims 4 has come out, and in that two months a lot has already changed. Updates have been made to fix bugs and update cheat commands. Pools and ghosts have been added and we know a bit more about making machinima. Many have seen the first version Of this article when the game was brand new and it took a little more creativity to get what we wanted out of the game machinima wise. Consider this printing Tips, Tricks and Machinima Bascis V2.0. The first piece of advice that is going to be doled out is to play the game. Just sit down and spend a few days doing nothing but playing to get a feel for the game. While it is a Sim game, and game play is basically the same it does have a different feel to it. At this early stage we are also working without game mods so it is important to know how the game and your sims behave. While it is difficult to film machinima without mods, it’s not impossible but you have to know what the game can and can not do. The only way you are going to discover that is to play.
The first thing we need to talk about are the game options. If you don’t know where to access these, in the upper right hand corner of the screen are three little dots. Click on them and you will get your normal Sims menu. Click on options.
The Sims 4 was designed to play on lower end computers so having things running at high should, in theory, should not be an issue for anyone. If you play in window mode, make sure you Revert to full screen mode to prevent black Boarders on your videos when it renders to YouTube. There doesn’t seem to be much difference between full screen and windowed full screen. It should also be noted here that Laptop Mode was designed for those who do Black frame from recording in window mode not own gaming laptops and lowers the render quality. This means putting your game in this mode, despite your graphic settings, will result in lower quality pictures and video. For those of you who are running the game on older nongaming laptops, check your computer specs against the game requirements before changing this setting. At the very least you will experience lag and at the worst you could damage your computer.
Best quality photos and videos are always going to be obtained by putting all the graphics settings at their highest setting and having the screen resolution set to the highest allowed by your computer.
For the best quality video it’s always best to record at a large capture size as an uncompressed video. Depending on your video editing software, some programs will not open a Sims video file unless it is recorded as uncompressed. EA seemed to consider everyone doing Let’s Play videos when setting up the video capture. This just means you need to double check your video capture options. Make sure that capture UI is unchecked and that you uncheck or check whatever sounds you want to record. This time around we are given the option of what we want to record sound wise and what we don’t instead of recording everything or nothing at all. The cool thing about this is that by recording the sound effects, most of them will no longer have to be inserted post-production. It also means you have the ambient sounds you would expect. For example, filming outside will now give you the sounds of crickets, birds, and frogs in the distance. You can also see that there is a TS3 camera mode. Spend some time with this. While it does function like the cameras in TS3, it’s not a perfect recreation. Compare it to the default TS4 camera. You may find yourself switching between the two camera functions during filming.
types in “testingcheats true” in the command console Shift Clicking on Sims: Ÿ Reset Object – Resets Sim Ÿ Add to Family – Add the Sim to the current family Ÿ Cheat Motive > Make Happy – Sets all motives to full and sets Mood to Happy Ÿ Cheat Motive > Enable Motive Decay – Allows motives to change dynamically Ÿ Cheat Motive > Disable Motive Decay – Allows motives to remain static Ÿ Shift Clicking on Objects Ÿ Reset Object – Rests Object Ÿ Shift Clicking Dirty-able Objects Ÿ Make Dirty – Makes object dirty Ÿ Shift Clicking on Dirty Objects Ÿ Make Clean – makes object clean Ÿ Shift Clicking Mailbox: Reset Object – resets Mailbox Ÿ Shift Clicking the Ground: Teleport Me Here – Teleports selected Sim as close to the clicked spot as possible Ÿ Shift Clicking Sims:Modify in CAS – Allows editing of everything but name change and inherited traits The following cheats are NOT official but it is reported that they work. USE WITH CAUTION! “Sims.remove_all_buffs”–Removes all moodlets/emotions “Sims.add_buff [buff, low/high]”–Adds a particular buff to the sim (spelling is very important) sims.add_buff confidenthigh OR sims.add_buff e_buff_confident (This enables the cowplant essence effect, powerful and longer lasting) Ÿ Energized: EnergizedLow or EnergizedHigh (do not stack, high gives +2) Ÿ Flirty: FlirtyLow or FlirtyHigh (do not stack, high gives +2) Ÿ Inspired: InspiredLow or InspiredHigh (do not stack, high gives +2) Ÿ Focused: FocusedLow or FocusedHigh (do not stack, high gives +2) Ÿ Playful: PlayfulLow or PlayfulHigh (do not stack, high gives +2) Ÿ Sad: SadLow or SadHigh (do not stack, high gives +2) Ÿ Angry: Social_Angry, e_Buff_Angry, feelingangry, unfaithful (these all stack) Ÿ Happy: Social_Happy or e_Buff_Happy (these two stack)
ŸEmbarrassed: e_buff_embarrassed, peedself (these two stack) ŸUncomfortable: e_buff_uncomfortable
Skilltypes are in two varieties. AdultMajor and Skill. Leaving the Adult off should still allow the command to execute. “Stats.set_skill_level <skilltype> 1-10” –Adjusts a sim’s skill level Major_Fishing Major_Mischief Major_Guitar Major_Reaping? Major_Programming Major_Gardening Major_GourmetCooking Major_Comedy Major_Charisma Major_Writing Major_VideoGaming Major_Violin Skill_ Child_Mental
Major_RocketScience Major_Painting Major_Piano Major_Piano Major_Logic Major_Handiness Major_HomestyleCooking Major_Bartending Skill_Child_Social Skill_Child_Motor Skill_Child_Creativity Skill_Fitness
EXAMPLES: “stats.set_skill_level AdultMajor_Programming 10” or “stats.set_skill_level Major_Programming 10” Modifyrelationship YourSim(first name) YourSim(last name) TargetSim(first name) TargetSim (last name) (-)50 Track_type” –Modifies relationship between two sims Types of relationships (friends and romance): “Friendship_Main and Romance_Main” Examples: “Modifyrelationship Beatrix Monroe Alexia Mercado -50 Friendship_Main” [For negative friendship] and “ModifyrelationshipBeatrix Monroe Alexia Mercado 50 Romance_Main” [For positive romance] To make your video files bigger, you'll need to adjust a small detail in The Sims 4's Game Files
. For a full list of cheats visit the Simatography Forum
It is almost impossible to make machinima in any Sims game without cheats or knowing keyboard commands. Here is a list of most of the commands you will need to know to get started making machinima in The Sims 4. (List was compiled from various Internet sources) Ÿ Switch to next Sim in Household: (Space or N) Ÿ Switch to Specific Sim: (Click Sim portrait) Ÿ Lock Camera to Sim: (Right-Click Sim portrait) Ÿ Center Camera on active Sim: (Enter) Ÿ Camera mode: Tab Ÿ Pause Game: (P or 0 or ‘) NOTE: Once you enter camera the P button no longer works. You will have to use the 0 (zero) key to pause and unpause the game. Ÿ Regular/Fast/Ultra Speed: (1/2/3) Ÿ Move left/right: (Arrow Left/Right or A/D) Ÿ Move forward/back: (Arrow UP/Down or W/S) Ÿ Move Faster: (Hold Shift + Camera Mov’t) Ÿ Zoom in/out: (Z/X or +/-) Ÿ While in camera mode Ctrl + 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 will set the camera position just as it does in TS3 Ÿ Help – Lists all available commands into the command console. Ÿ bb.showhiddenobjects - TS4 version of buydebug Ÿ resetSim {FirstName} {LastName} – Resets the Sim. Ÿ fullscreen – toggles full screen on or off. Ÿ headlineeffects{on/off} – Hides all headline effects. THIS HAS BEEN FIXED TO REMOVE PLUMBOBS Ÿ Death.toggle – Disables Death so that Sims don’t die. Ÿ FreeRealEstate {on/off} – Can be entered at neighborhood/world. If on, all homes are free. Ÿ motherlode – Provides 50,000 Simoleons Ÿ kaching – Provides 1000 Simoleons Ÿ rosebud – Provides 1000 Simoleons Ÿ Pressing Shift + ] – Increases the size of objects Ÿ testingcheats {true/false} – Enables use of further cheats Ÿ Entering “testingcheats true”, then entering “cas.fulleditmode” allows all CAS abilities. Ÿ Interaction Cheats are available by Shift + Clicking on objects and Sims once the player
To edit your video size, open the folder where you install your Origin Games and then go to The Sims 4 > Game > Bin > res. In the "res" folder, you'll have to open a configuration setting file called "VideoRecording". To make a video larger, simply rename the "Large =" section from 1024 to any bigger resolution you want.
MAKING MACHINIMA Now that all that is out of the way we can talk about actually filming in the game. Without all cheats and mods that we are used to in The Sims 3, filming in The Sims 4 is going to be a time consuming process that is going to take a bit more patience. It’s really a throwback to filming in The Sims 2 in a lot of ways. If you’ve never made machinima in The Sims 2, you’re in for a ride. One of the little details about The Sims 4 that lends itself to picture taking and video filming happens once you enter camera mode. Thought bubbles and skill bars magically vanish. They will not show up in your pictures and neither will your plumbobs, now that the hideheadlines cheat command has been updated.. One of the first things you Are going to want to do is Turn off free will It will save your sanity. It took me a good five minutes to get the staff to stop playing musical chairs long enough to get this Picture. There are two ways to Tell your sims to sit. There is the“sit” function and then, if you are working with a group of sims, there is “sit together: Keep this in mind. It’s the difference between sims sitting on opposite sides of the room or actually sitting together. Sit, when used ndividually with a group of sims chatting, they will play musical chairs and sit in nearly every available chair present until they find one that is just comfy enough on their pixilated butts. For anyone wondering, they are having a very Intense conversation about cupcakes. Ryan takes his cupcakes very seriously. One of the most aggravating things to get used to is the lack of the “moveobjects on” cheat.
getting a sim where you want them is a lot of telling them to “go here” until they are positioned Just right.
Ryan has wandered off to set Sims on fire, because he’s like that. However, he is still needed.. The Great Cupcake Debate had not yet come to an end. One of the things that EA browbeat us with in all the promo stuff was multi-tasking. This is going to be an awesome thing in the world of filming machinima. Everything is now going to be more fluid. A few “go here” commands to get Gus and Jorgha positioned just so and they can continue their debate about the best sort of cupcake with Ryan while he continues to kill his sims..
Now is a good time to bring up lighting since this picture is on the dark side. This is a function of each light in the game having it’s own unique brightness dimmer. No number of lights in a room seem to fix this. There is a lighting mod to help fix this over at ModtheSims. Shift clicking on any lamp will bring up this menu where you can adjust the brightness and colour. This mod does come with a caveat. Some people find it way to bright.
You have the option to change just one light or all of them. This slider functions both with and without the lighting mod.. This has to be done in live mode. The dark indoor lighting has been a big complaint and one that EA said that they would address. In one of the last updates we were given the wonderful invisible lights that we came to love for picture taking and filming machinima in The Sims 3. They come in both ceiling and wall Variety and in nearly all the same sizes and shapes that we have in TS3.
The only problem is, this isn’t The Sims 3 where just one ambient light can make a world of difference….
…but 25 of them will. Because 25 invisible lights Looks much better than using 25 ceiling lights. Good thing these things are free since so many of them are needed. A note should be made that the lights can not be put flush against the walls now. The lights can be found in misc. lighting while using the command They can also be found along with a lot of other neat things when using the debug sort. Things found using bb.showhiddenobjects Invisible Lights Frog Hideouts Dig Sites Food Objects Babies (proving that they are indeed an object) Mixology Bottles & Ice Cubes Toothbrushes Air Horn Ponds Pepper Spray
Stun Gun Cell Phones Microscope Slides Craft Table Tools Craft Table Sculptures Paint Brush Sheet Music Collectables Abandoned Mine Plunger Fishing Sign Tons of Other Stuff
To bad we don’t have mods to be able to use these items to their fullest for pictures and machinima but they can be used as clutter, becase there is never enough clutter…
Now, this is where things are going to get tedious filming, and this is why you really need to spend some time playing to get used to interactions and what is what. You are going to have to actually play to get sims to do what you want. Without animation codes to type into the animation player you are going to have to play and get two sims relationships up, or low, enough to be able to get them to do what you want. Some of those things are going to be related to emotional states as well, as some interactions are only available if a sim is feeling a certain way. This means if you need romantic interactions, there is no “faking it” with animation codes. While it is awesome that when sims going out into their world, the lots aren’t empty, it does have a drawback. You can’t really stop a sim from engaging in a group conversation. This has also been brought up to the Guru’s and put on the “To Do List’ to look at. A group conversation will always override a one on one conversation. Keep this in mind when staging things where You want sims in the shot in the background but not interacting with your active sims.
Here the staff members have been sent to the park, along with Mr. Luchador, the designated keeper of the Plumbob. He’s off hunting down food. This scene didn’t go as planned. I wanted another staff member playing chess with Ryan but the guy in the red hat forced his way in there. Forget using cheats to control NPCs. It’s not going to happen so plan accordingly. There was no way possible to have just the staff chat with each other in this situation and it turned into one huge group chat with everyone talking at once. The next thing I know, in a case of The Sims imitating life, Jorgha gets mad (I had to check the moodlets, it had something do with Cassandra) and runs off to kick something. It’s the park and the only
kickable things around are trash cans. I thought that a picture of the trash can kicking was taken but it’s missing. This is going to be a problem while filming because many times you are only going to have one chance to get a take. Angry at the park means trash can kicking. Once the trash can is kicked, the anger abates. This means that in some cases you are only going to get one chance to film something because it may be difficult to restage. This was all done autonomously. I did notice that the game has it’s own idea on routing and she ran to the other side of the park, passing up three cans on the way, to kick the one farthest away. Recreating the event using cheat codes and turning off free will I was able to direct her to the can I wanted kicked. It needs to be mentioned here that if you use cheat codes to achieve a certain emotional state, you need to use cheat codes to turn it off. A note on free will. In the game options you have the option to turn off free (it’s located under ‘gameplay’) will for your entire active family or just the sim you are controlling. The free will option only affects your active sims. NPCs on the lot will continue to go about their business in the background
Some things wil just have to be faked as best as possible. Say you need a sim talking to the camera You. wil have engage her or him in talking to another sim on the lot. Not being able to use move objects means getting creative with camera angles to cut the second sim out of the shot. Hopefully this guide wil get you started on making machinima in The Sims 4. Even with the limited resources we have available at the moment, a little time and patience wil go a long way to making someThing totally amazing.
Mods and Cool Things You May Want No Mosaic - http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=533172 Time Changer - http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=533026 No Blur in the Distance - http://linna.modthesims.info/download.php?t=532909 No Intro - http://linna.modthesims.info/download.php?t=532966 Forced Super Speed - http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=533752 No automatic Fatness / Muscles http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=534028 No Fade Objects - http://linna.modthesims.info/download.php?t=533846 Full House Mod: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=536556 Emotional Overcharge: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=539636 Walks Disabled: http://linna.modthesims.info/download.php?t=539218 Empty Version of Neighborhoods: http://tinyurl.com/oavpp52 New Social Event - Destination Party: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=535751 Unlock Decorative Vehicles: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=534655 Kill Sims: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=534853 Advanced Debug Cheats: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=532735
Buff Emotion Changes: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=534445 Move Objects On: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=535846 SPECIAL NOTE: The gallery will remove all objects that are placed using this cheat and it DOES NOT work on Sims.
Photography
By Minraed Arzhel
I can already feel myself wanting to write paragraph after paragraph of tips and information, but we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cover it all at once and who really wants to READ about photography when we can look at pictures. So I hope that these simple tips and photos will help you get started in overcoming the challenges of starting your photography skills in the new game platform. Yes, we have limitations, for now, but it is not impossible to get some great shots. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I discovered.
- follow your sims around and see what they do. Let them repeat the actions in different locations until you get the scene you like best.
- Once you have your sim in position, go back to build mode and change up the lighting around the area to see if you can improve the look and feel of the shot. - avoid taking full-screen shots of a scene if it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all worth capturing. Look for what is really interestingâ&#x20AC;Ś
and get your camera right in there to capture the scene and action in the most interesting way. Move your camera around until you get that money shot.
Have your sim use an object to find interesting animations and poses. Then, move in close and that object will fade away, leaving you with the sim clearly visible and ready to Move that camera around; get creative with camera photograph. angles. Cropping - Sometimes you just have to know when to crop out the stuff that takes away from the photo.
- Assess the scene. This is too busy, with too many distractions, but this is where your sim is so you have to work with it.
- Move some things around, decide what you want to show in the photo. For this shot I want to show my sim in action as an artist. Notice the lights added to the floor as well for better lighting when she is in position.
- Get your sim approximately in position and reassess the surroundings. Move things around a bit more if needed.
Using pause/unpause (~ key or pause button in game) let the action play out frame by frame. Look for the perfect bit of the animation for a great photo. Many of the game animations are hilarious, many are fantastic for photos. The following series was taken in stages as the animation played out.
- After a few minutes I found a great shot that really shows off her artistic personality. Here is the money shot. - Our artist takes her art seriously and I wanted to portray this in the photo and I think it worked out well. Pose player will come along soon, we can be sure of that, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t underestimate the awesomeness of the game animations. Play with your sims, see what you can discover, and make some great stories.
Meanwhile, back at headquarters… We are always trying to keep things fresh, interesting and challenging over at our home site so there is always something going on between SIFF cycles to keep our creative juices flowing. If you haven’t been by in a while, or if you have never been there at all, be sure to check us out. Here are a few things you will find…
Coming SOON a new photography club - watch for details in the December mag
ADVERTISE YOURSELF click HERE to find out how you can advertise in our magazines
MACHININMA CHALLENGES
PHOTOGRAPHY AND STORY CHALLENGES
Visit us at simatography.webs.com today
The Sims International Film Festival and the Battle of the Bands will be here before you know it. In fact, sign ups for the Battle of the Bands start 15 Dec 2015. We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to see to see who turns out this season. There have been some changes made and put in place for this season. There will now be mandatory photo Prompts to encourage consistent participation to counteract the steep decline in submissions as we reach the voting stage. We also want to enforce that the Battle of the Bands is not a popularity contest; it is about creativity through photography. Check out the rules document if you are planning on joining.
Join our monthly theme Something for everyoneâ&#x20AC;Ś Advertisements - Machinima - Photography Story Telling - Custom Content - Poses - Animations or anything you can think of that fits the theme (Flip the page for some examples) Contributions will be showcased in our next magazine in December Find the details HERE
Exclusive giveaway Enter this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theme for a chance to win the Island Paradise EP We have one copy of Island Paradise to giveaway to one lucky participant in this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenge. When you submit your contribution to the theme, just let us know if you want to be added to the draw. Give your sims the gift of a summer paradise vacation to escape the winter blues.
Snow play by Jorgha Haq If you don’t have snow in Winter where you are, then don’t worry. It doesn’t have to be a snow scene.
A greeting and a romantic winter scene by Demeter Let your imagination run wild with this theme.
#15 Sorrow by Demeter
We have not given up on the 100 theme challenge, and even though things have slowed dow n, it is still open and people are still adding their photos to the collection. Here are some of the most recent additions. Why not join in? We welcome all versions of The Sims so we would love to see Sims 2 and Sims 4 in the mix.
#19 Music by CatKetty
Click HERE to join in
# 94 The Visitor
The most common theme used in the past little while and what a great variety on the theme. Clockwise from top left Ninisims, ZoeyZuko, Jorgha Haq, Titus Linde
#12 Fire Top by InfiniteSaxa Below by Jorgha Haq
#13 Water Above by InfiniteSaxa and Below by Jorgha Haq
Above #4 Dance by Green Girly Below #21 Pets by Titus Linde
Above #22 On the Job by Goldysch Below #34 LOL by ZoeyZuko
Above #28 Goodbye by Titus Linde Below # 24 Home by Petalbot
Above #7 Friendship by ZoeyZuko Below # 19 Music by Goldysch
#1 Flowers by Green Girly
#23 Oops Above by Petalbot Below by Goldysch
Read it HERE on issuu
Updated SIFF rules booklet will be available soon. Watch for it on our channels, or in the nex t Simatography magazine in December. Minor changes were made to some of the details, but the basics are still the same so you can definitely start planning your project.
NEW for SIFF Next Seasonâ&#x20AC;Ś Voice actors will be able to submit their SIFF voice acting parts for best voice actor. Sims 4 machinima will be joining in on the mix. Machinima masters will be separated out into fulllength and short-length categories. Machinima series will be separated into established seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and new starting seriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Watch for all of the details coming soon!
http://www.cafepress.com/simatographystuff