Hello! *Witty title* Hello, I'm Crashing_Hawk . Just so you know, that username wasn't intended to sound arrogant at all. It was meant to explain that I'm Not Cool. Anyway, hello. I own Sims 2, Pets, OFB, and Seasons, and I am buying Bon Voyage on Friday. I once owned Uni but had to get rid of it when my computer crashed. It turned out not to be my games' fault anyway. :knockedout: I love the Sims and it's the game I'm best at (but considering my lack of skill in all other games, that isn't saying much) though I can't build or do 'technical stuff'. In fact, I don't even know what I mean by technical stuff. Nice to meet y'all.
Oh, I dunno, Crashing Hawk is a rather cool name ... at least as cool as Surprised By Witches. Have to laugh at the idea of being best at playing the Sims .... I know just what you mean. I can't win any ordinary games either. I always win at playing with my Simmies, except when I let them win because they're cute or because they made me laugh and spray tea all over my keyboard.
Or like muffin_tacos. Or Jazz, thats a cool name too. Now who said that??? Must have been my egotistical side talking. Mirelly, ive always wondered, how did u get that pic of those sims on your avatar so big? Mines so small, i'd like it bigger but i don't know how! Also, welcome Crashing_Hawk!
I used Paint Shop Pro to make the avatar ... but the sims in the pic are shown actual size ... you need to get in nice and close when taking pics and (very importantly) be sure to check your settings in game to get the best picture quality before snapping. Don't be surprised if what follows ends up in the FAQ ... Setting up the game for high quality pics If your computer is not the best the game will have set the graphics to modest or low levels to allow the smoothest play and to conserve system resources. However if you want or need a high quality image for particular purposes then while the game is paused with sims still posed for that perfect shot you can go into the setting menu [f5] (or the (...) button on the game interface and bumb up the picture and camera settings a notch of two (look first at the texture control in the video settings but feel free to experiment ... just remember what you do so you can set it back when you have your pics) If you want to use the in-game snapshot mode you must also check the camera settings to make sure that your settings are to take the largest, best quality pics possible. These won't affect game performance (except when taking pics ... but larger, better quality pics will eat up more hard disc space if you take lots of snapshots ... just bear this in mind.) Pic taking tips First pause the game to set up the shot Next learn to use the free camera Press the [TAB] key to enter free camera mode [Q]/[E] then moves the camera down/up [A]/[D] moves camera left/right [W]/ moves camera in/out [*][Z]/[X] zooms in/out [*]Third make sure that walls are up before snapping [*]If you want a single shot only you could use the [Print Scrn] key and then exit straight to an image editor and use the paste button to turn the screen capture into an editable image. I can't help with picture editing. Suffice it to say that how you edit depends on what you use. Windows comes with MS Paint which is very basic GIMP is a completely free open-source package but can be complex to master Paint Shop Pro is the marketplace-leading proprietary product with a modest price ... but 80 quid is only a modest price if you have 80 quid handy ... PSP can be downloaded as a free trial though. I bought mine years ago and have resisted all urges to upgrade it (I have 7 and it's now up to XI (11)) ... it does what I need.
:listen: Do my ears deceive me or did someone (*ahem* Jazz) say my name was cool? LOL. I like nearly everybody's names on here. They suite everybody perfectly. Crashing Hawk is a great name. Luv it! Mirelly, I think Jazz meant the actual size of your avatar. But that's some nice tips about photo taking there. I use Adobe Photo Shop 7 or something and it rocks. I couldn't live with out it. *sends love to my photo shop* LOL. Oh and I nearly forgot the most important thing about this post: welcome to World Sims, Crashing Hawk! Hope you have a nice time with us lot.
LOL but if you crop a crappy image down to minute size and then call it an avatar what can you expect? The only way to get a 90 by 86 pixel image with clear (non-fuzzy) detail is to crop an area from a clear (non-fuzzy) original pic. If you make too small a cropped bit then that's not my fault ... and if the detail is too fuzzy that can't be improved (after the fact) either. To get a nice avatar you need to start with a large, detailed, up-close, screenshot. Sorry if that wasn't clear in my first response.
Yay, thank you for for all the welcoming! I apologise I didn't reply for a while, I've spent the last few days in a constant panic-attack writing history essays. I can laugh now... but at the time... :knockedout: Yep, usernames are all cool and individualised. I just realised, having named myself already, that calling myself 'Hawk' with a dramatic adjective beforehand might come across as arrogant. Photoshop... I really suck at that. I can do Warioware games, they're okay... but 'winning' is easy in the Sims, because your Sims are the ones who lose. >=D Unless - like you said Mirelly - they're cute. They can live, the cute ones.
The 'cute ones' are the ones who marry, have kids, get pets (usually too many pets)... I can never bear to shatter their fragile little lives! I invent special homes where I can vent my Sim-related anger... :devious: The Sims that 'move in' (but don't move out...) are usually total weirdos. Y'know, the biggest and widest possible eyes... massive noses... but tiny little heads. ALL the proportions being totally wrong. They are the ones who do my bidding. :mischievous:
LOL! Come to think of it, I've never made a "weirdo sim" before. Everytime my brother watches me play it he's like "Can't I make a funny family? Please, please, please." So I gave him his very own neighbourhood for his sims which he named "Weirdo Town". LOL. Now ain't that cute.
