WEEK 1: Moods, Motives and AdvertisementsAuthor: Grapholina
Hello, everyone and welcome to class. Before we start, I'd like to take a few minutes to give you a brief outline of what to expect over the next 4 weeks. We will be covering a great amount of information that on the surface may appear useless, and probably not a lot of fun. Nevertheless, the information is necessary so as to give you a solid hacking foundation from which to build on. As you go through the different class levels (Entry, Intermediate, Advanced), you will no doubt recognize why we covered what is contained here. The most important thing you should keep in mind is that you are here to learn, and therefore you should take your time with the lessons. Go over them until you are sure you understand what we are covering, and if at any point you are the teensiest bit unsure — about anything — you should stop right there and contact me so that I can explain things. It is better to catch possible future problems early on. First, There are game players. Typically people who play the game for the sake of playing and generally do not like getting involved in either object creation or object hacking. And, A BIT APART FROM THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE There are object makers. These folks are involved in the “creative” factor of the game. The people you find in this category are creative. They recolor or alter Maxis created objects to provide the Community with “new looking” objects for the game. In rare instances, an actual object maker will pop up. These folks have the skills and tools to create, through a 3D program, a new-looking object. The reason I say “new-looking” is because no matter how unique an object looks, the fact still remains that the new-looking object still sits atop a Maxis base object, so while the object looks new, it is indeed still the same old sofa or the same old TV. And still further apart and smaller in numbers, there are object behavior modifiers (hackers). This is where we fit in. People involved in this sector of the game are logical creatures; creative, but in a different way. Hackers will modify the code of a Maxis base object to enhance the object’s functionality, or alter it to the extent that it is no longer recognizable (i.e., SimSlice’s Rejuvenator). Once again, keep in mind that hackers seldom, if ever, create “new objects” (since that would require creating completely new code for new behaviors). All hackers merely borrow Maxis’ base code and alter it to suit their needs. To continue, rarely will you come across a person who is all three: Player, Object Maker, and Hacker. Some try, but don’t come across well, and the reason is the processes involved (left brain/right brain governed skills). Hence, if one of these creatures pops up in the Community, he/she is indeed a rare individual. Aside: It irks me beyond belief when I hear a person say, "That is mine, I created it, and it is copyrighted. You cannot duplicate it!" Excuse me? All you did was change the behaviors around a bit, and although the idea for the fountain that oozes out gold coins may be altogether yours, ideas are not copyrightable. If you would like to copyright an object, you may do so, providing that Maxis releases its rights to the base and its proprietary code. The copyright fee is $20 - $40 per item. If I were to go to all that bother, I would be issued a certificate bearing a copyright number for my object. Whereupon, I would proudly display it with the object and issue the order that the object may not be duplicated. Bottom line: if it pleases you, and you are skills-wise able to create an object — Do so. Too many of us are unjustifiably intimidated by the arrogance without basis of the more well known. |