Visible Ceiling Tiles v.2.1 - 2/14/05

by jgwhiteus and Inge Jones



INSTRUCTIONS:
Place the .package files in your My Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2/Downloads folder. The tiles
will appear in your "Decorative - Miscellaneous" category in Buy Mode, costing $1 each. These
are also available on community lots; they appear in the "Miscellaneous - Decorative -
Miscellaneous" category.

There are both full tile and triangular half-tile versions (for diagonal spaces)
included in this package.

If you have also downloaded the Ceiling Controller object (which is recommended), it
will also appear in your "Decorative - Miscellaneous" category.

If you make or download any re-color packages for the tile, they can go in a sub-folder in
your Downloads directory (e.g. My Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2/Downloads/Recolors) and they
will still be accessible by the game.



GENERAL:
These are visible ceiling tiles to give the appearance of a ceiling in your game.
They will conceal the upper floors when in camera-man mode and when the game camera
is on ground level. They can be re-colored to match your walls (default color is "Paste").

It is highly recommended that you download the companion object, the Ceiling Controller,
developed by Inge Jones of www.simlogical.info. This object is available in the same thread
that these tiles came from on www.modthesims2.com. The controller object will allow you to
reveal and conceal the tiles, reveal and conceal all ceiling objects (including lights),
and to delete individual tiles or delete all tiles in a room or on the lot.

There are two versions of the tile available:

1. "Transparent" - completely invisible from the top and sides. Extremely small "clickable"
area (for picking up object) in the middle of tile so as not to interfere with gameplay.
Can be deleted with the Ceiling Controller object or with lots and lots of patience in
searching for the clickable area.

2. "Visible Dot" - clickable area is visible as a small dot (same color as the bottom texture)
on the top. Much easier to pick up for deletion - just zoom in and place the cursor over the
dot. Dots may be revealed and concealed with the Ceiling Controller object (though the tiles
themselves will also disappear). If you don't mind seeing the dots or don't mind using the Controller object to reveal and conceal the tiles, you should definitely go with this
version.



PROBLEMS / OTHER NOTES:
- These tiles do not have a thumbnail image in the Buy Mode catalog - the default texture and
any re-colors appear as empty boxes. This is due to the fact that the tiles are pretty much
invisible from above. It is unknown when this issue will be resolved; in the mean-time,
you will have to test placing the tiles to see which color you have selected. Set the camera
to ground level and go to "walls down" mode for the best view.

- In this latest release, lighting and shading have been re-enabled to take into account light
sources, as walls and floors do. This effect is not perfect; it appears more angular than the
smoother light effects for walls and floors. You may occasionally see the outline of an
individual tile standing out; try rotating the tile and see if the effect goes away.

- Because lighting/shading have been re-enabled, it is no longer necessary to make re-colors
several shades darker than the wall textures in order to "match" the walls. Now, you can
simply use the same color as the wall texture (though the ceiling will often appear naturally
darker than the walls unless near a light source in the game).

- Made EP-compliant (hopefully) with SimPE v.015



THANKS:
- Inge Jones for all her work, ideas, and advice in the development of this object. The
object would not be possible in its current form without her insights and patience. 

- Everyone at www.modthesims2.com for the MTS2 Mesh Tool and the invaluable advice,
information, and support provided there.