Hello all, I'm looking for advice as I get cracking on a project I've wanted to do for a while, which is to create re-usable batches of townies like what Queen of France did here:
http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=570154

I really enjoy creating townie sets for my neighborhoods, but it takes foreeeevvvveeeer, and so I'd very much like to be able to re-use them. And maybe share them.

I'd like to create both a base neighborhood version and a subhood version as she did, which will be two different processes to get it set up.

In researching best practices for doing this I found that there have been some fairly recent discoveries in terms of getting neighborhoods entirely clean and avoiding corruption from @Jawusa and others. So I have a few questions because I want to make sure I'm working with the most recent and accurate information.

I'm thinking this is the process I would follow:

1) Create the template. Use Mootilda's tutorial http://modthesims.info/t/420196 to create an empty main hood or subhood template. (For a main hood template we would skip steps 2 and 3 in the tutorial and leave it as N001.)

2) Create the sims. Make a bunch of sims and turn them into townies.

3) OPTIONAL: Create NPCs by following Jawusa's instructions here http://modthesims.info/showthread.p...030#post5015030

-- QUESTION: Is it acceptable to use the townie gun to generate the NPCs to be edited, or is there another preferred way?

I think i would probably only include NPCs in the main hood template, not the subhood template. If someone's adding townies via subhood we can probably assume they already have NPCs in their neighborhood.

4) ??? Deal with the lot in the template hood if necessary. QUESTION: the neighborhood will now have one lot in it which has been used to move the sims in and turn them into townies. Should I delete that lot and if so what process should I follow to ensure that doesn't cause problems? Or, should I just leave it alone?

5) Install the template/add the sims. For a new neighborhood with these sims in it, install the main hood template as the N001 template.
OR, to add the sims to an existing neighborhood, install the subhood template and add that subhood to the neighborhood you want the sims to go in.

-- QUESTION: Is it still considered acceptable to delete a subhood after using it to add sims?

I think that's about it -- am I missing any vital steps?

I think if you replace N001 with Jawusa's N001, which is completely empty, you need to make the townies in that N001 - they should then show up in all hoods. I don't think it really matters what method you use - the game picks up the townies from the N001 template.

Perhaps somebody with more knowledge can confirm this, but it seems logical to me since new custom hoods use the Pleasantview townies.

Yes. I'm afraid I'm not explaining it very clearly. You'd want clean templates installed first. The N001 that you create, and put sims in, will be in the directory where playable neighborhoods go. It will draw from whatever templates you have installed (in my case I'd be using Jawusa's) when it gets set up. Once you've made all the sims and turned them into townies, you'd copy that N001 that you've been working on into the place where you put your templates. That's what I was getting at in Step 5. Then, when you create a new neighborhood -- the one you're going to be playing -- it will populate with all the shiny sims you just created.

Yes, it's safe to delete the subhood after adding the sims. No need to worry about that!

One day, I'll post a clear tutorial of creating NPCs, so everyone can follow it!

I don't think the NPC Maker gun creates proper NPCs? But maybe I'm totally wrong.
I'd still let the game generate those NPCs naturally in the game and then, make-over them using SimPE.