Play Themed Versions

[ancienthighway]

Requires Windows, any variation.

This utility is designed to make it easy for you to play different themes in The Sims 2.  It requires you to have at least two separate The Sims 2 folders, one for your normal game, and one named The Sims 2.<theme> for your themed game.  The same with any script files for modular stairs or fireplaces or anything else in the Script folder that you want to separated by theme.  If your themed games aren't in separate folders now, the most time consuming part of using this will be to set up your themed folders with the appropriate custom content.

Why should you use this?  By using themed folders, you can reduce the amount of CC in your Downloads folder.  That custom car is out of place in your Victorian themed neighborhood, just as the carriage is out of place in the modern neighborhood.  Themed folders will make sure you don't have any incongruities like this.  You'll find your themed custom clothes and hairstyles much faster not having to wade through all the other themes you have.

Why not just have separate Downloads folders to separate the themes?  Swapping Downloads folders in and out will increase the chances of corrupting the group.cache.  We all know how easy it is to delete that when we have problems.  You end up with all of your themed collection files in every game.  I don't know what would happen if you use one for a theme that you aren't playing.  I don't want to find out.  I don't care to find out what happens in the Thumbnails either.  There's also custom Paintings and SavedSims and PackagedLots.  Basically every folder could have things you want for a particular theme.

OK, so how do you use this thing I say you can't live without?  After setting up your folders and a couple of things I give you step by step instructions to do, all you do is click on an icon, type "play <theme>" and your Victorian themed game starts up.  Or your Medieval game.  Or your Fantasy game.  <theme> is whatever stylized game you play.

The folders would be something like this:

EA Games/The Sims 2  This one is the plain ordinary, no themed set
EA Games/The Sims 2.victorian  This one is, duh, the Victorian themed set.

Run my program "play victorian" and the game starts:
EA Games/The Sims 2.original  This one is the plain ordinary, no themed set
EA Games/The Sims 2  This one is the Victorian themed set.

You quit the game:
EA Games/The Sims 2  This one is the plain ordinary, no themed set
EA Games/The Sims 2.victorian  This one is, duh, the Victorian themed set.

[JacobM]

that looks really good. i think i'll try it. thank you.

[aelflaed]

How far is this different from using the AnyGameStarter to set up themed games? Good idea, anyway.

[ancienthighway]

AGS will let you pick and choose EPs/SPs.  This will use all EPs/SPs each time.  Also last time I looked at AGS, you were limited to 3 or so "versions" of the game.  With this, you can have as many themed versions as you want.  ZZ at Simbology had over twelve themes on her list of themes she plays, and this will handle every one of them.