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Bil Simser is working on a The Sims toolkit called
"Blueprint." The toolkit will be able to do many tasks for expanding The
Sims game. A beta version is available at http://www.simfreaks.com/blueprint/.
 The
screenshot gives you a feel for how the program is laid out and the interface to the
Prefab Factory portion of the program. The list on the left is a list of libraries.
Each library contains various objects, displayed as icons on the right. Each object
has properties and a short description. The hope is that you'll be able to trade
individual objects or entire libraries of prefabricated objects with each other on the
net to populate and expand your Sim world. Click on the thumbnail for the full version
of the screen shot.
 Here's
the new screenshot for blueprint showing the DesignShop centre, a small paint program
to alter or enhance your floor, wall and object textures. You can see the texture
browser along the bottom of the screen. Click on the thumbnail for the full version of
the screen shot.
 This
image shows off the Object Maker interface where you can build your own furniture and
appliances for the Sims. Objects are created in 3D form using primitives (the buttons
on the right that are blank are cube, pyramid, sphere and cone). These primitives are
stretched, squashed, added to, subtracted from and generally mulled about until you
get the shape you're looking for (say a bookcase). You then apply a texture to the
object in the Texture Maker interface to make it look real (up until this point, it's
just gray blobs). Objects are saved in a "blueprint" format for export later
into The Sims. You can also import objects from other 3D packages like 3D Studio MAX
and Truespace. Click on the thumbnail for the full version of the screen shot.
While some of the concepts here are speculation at this point, one feature that is
being currently researched is the ability to clone existing objects from the game. You
will then be able to modify the object (within certain restrictions) and then export
the object for use in the game (or to trade with your friends!).
Due to the number of emails and requests Bil's received. He created a mailing list to
handle any info, announcements or questions you might have about blueprint, a new tool
for building objects in The Sims.
To subscribe to the mailing list, go to this URL: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/blueprint
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