Help for the technologically challenged...

[Shewolf13]

I've done some searches and tried to check through the current topics, but I can't seem to find just what I need.  I would like to try to fool around with some mods, specifically the Story Progression mod (not sure which one to try yet, so advice and pros/cons would be appreciated there as well) and maybe the Woohooer mod, though not sure yet.  But I do plan on doing some Dynasty challenges.  I keep hearing people say they have two different files for that.  What do they mean by that?  I've tried to read some of the stickies here and find I have a hard time understanding them completely and am terrified I'm going to mess something up so I guess my questions come down to this:

1. Which story progression mod do you recommend?

2. How do I go about installing mods? (An extremely dumbed down version, please)

3.  How do I keep some saved games utterly clean of mods to qualify them for challenges?

I apologize profusely if this is a redundant topic, and if it is, if someone could point me to the right one, that would be great.  Thanks in advance!

[Trip]

1. Basically, the only two story progression mods out there are Twallan's Story Progression and the option with Awesomemod to implement an improved story progression. I far, far, far prefer the latter. It's customizable, not a core mod, and the only thing it does is overhaul story progression, while Awesomemod's progression is part of a much larger core mod. And Awesomemod's supporting forums are the scum of the simming community.

As for which part of Twallan's Story Progression to install (as you can see on the mod's page, there are a lot of things up for download), you need the base mod for your patch level, and everything else is optional. But let's get to how to install mods first.

2. Mods are easier to install than you think.

I quite like Jeana's thread on installing mods, but I'll summarize here too (more specifically for Windows, though):

• Go to your Electronic Arts folder, in Documents, and then to The Sims 3's folder.
• Inside of that, create a new folder called Mods.
• Inside of your new Mods folder, create a new folder called Packages.
• Download the Resource.cfg file from here. You can ignore their tips on editing Resource.cfg. I've never needed to edit it.
• Get a reputable program to extract .rar files. Jeana recommends 7-Zip on her thread and I concur. In order to extract Resource.cfg from the .rar, open 7-Zip, find where the .rar is (probably in downloads. On Windows, this is C:\Users\[user]\Downloads), highlight the file, and press "Extract." This will prompt you for an output path. Resource.cfg should be sent to your Mods folder (C:\Users\[user]\Documents\The Sims 3\Mods; again, for Windows).

After Resource.cfg is in it's proper place, get your mod packages into the Packages folder (they usually have to be extracted from .zip/.rar/.7z archives, so keep 7-Zip around) and they should automatically work.

3. Make Factory Reset folders. MoonsAreBlue has a thread on it, but I'll summarize again.

• Rename your usual The Sims 3 folder in documents, to something else ("The Sims 3 old" or something like that). When you start the game again, it will create a new The Sims 3 folder with nothing in it.
• Fill up the new folder with what you need for challenges/dynasties, keep your mods away from it, and rename it to something else and name your old folder to "The Sims 3" again to make it the one that the game will use.

Feel free to ask more questions if you need to.

[Shewolf13]

Thanks so much Trip!  You are awesome ^^  I do just have a couple of clarification questions.  I'm sure some of them seem to be common sense, but when it comes to computers and program files in particular, I tend to be ultra paranoid XD  So, with two different Sims 3 folders... how does that work when I want to play a certain game?  For example: if I create one new Sims 3 folder for a Dynasty file, and then have the other for my mods, will the game show both and only the file using the mods will have the mods?  This is the part I'm fuzziest on, I suppose.

Oh, also, I've heard a lot about Master Controller as well.  Is that a separate mod?  And if so, what does that do?  Sorry for all the questions XD  I would rather ask people in the know though, because when I try to experiment myself, it never seems to go well and that's when bad things happen.  I've already lost quite a few games due to playing around and screwing something up on my own...

[Trip]

The file that is named "The Sims 3" is the only one the game will recognize. So you have to keep renaming your stuff, which is a little annoying (especially when you forget to before loading the game), but it keeps things separate. If your mod-free folder is the one named "The Sims 3," the game doesn't see the other one at all and loads a mod-free game for you.

Master Controller is a separate mod. It does, well, a lot! It allows you to manually set relationships between sims, or change many aspects about them (family tree, occult status, job, LTHP, etc.), or remotely get their status, or a bunch of other things. Before this reply becomes a wall of text, I'll just link to its list of interactions and let you marvel at the power Master Controller gives you instead. It's a great tool.

[Shewolf13]

*jaw drops while reading* Oh my... *licks lips like a cat watching a little birdy* Ok, think I know the two mods I'll be playing with... From what I can see, Story Progression is more about letting the game go by itself and Master Controller lets you do what you will with it whenever you want?  Or is there quite a bit of overlap?

[Trip]

You could say that they're like that, yes. While there is an add-on for Master Controller that integrates parts of it with Story Progression, I've never used it and always used the two mods as separate tools.

Heh. I remember when I first discovered those mods. You really do feel powerful using them!

[Shewolf13]

Crimeny, I'm bad enough with micromanaging my Sims now... give me full control of the town too?  Oh the horror!  Thanks so much Trip, I really appreciate all the help.  I have to install everything to my hubby's computer since the laptop I've been using is starting to have some issues with Sims (need a replacement...).  He has an Alienware that runs it all quite well... but that means I gotta tell him about the differences in the files heh, since he has his own games there too.

EDIT:  So I decided that I can't wait, even though I really should be in bed since I have work tomorrow... but I am currently trying to install and test things out.  So you recommend NOT using the Story progression thing for MasterController?