How to edit sim data files without S4S?

Question

Hello,I'm a newbie to modding and also a little dumb (not sure which issue is getting in my way more) but I want to make a custom trait anyway. I thought that the best way to learn would be to clone a trait in game and then tweak it a lot and see what happens.So, I thought I would extract a trait and replace the instance ID's with ID's that I generate using Zerbu's mod creator. That should work to clone a trait, right?Anyway, when I was playing with Zerbu's mod creator, I noticed that if I loaded a trait package into Sims 4 Studio, the trait would no longer appear in game. I'm not sure why. I assume a bug with S4S of some kind. BUT, I don't know any other way to edit data files except for with S4S, and I'm pretty sure that I need to make simdata files match the xml file instance ID, so I can't go about my cloning experimentations.Any help would be appreciated.

ingejones · Answer

You have reported/asked about this problem at the S4S forum, haven't you?  You definitely need to do that first.

xombiesue · Answer

"IngeJones;c-15972629" wrote:You have reported/asked about this problem at the S4S forum, haven't you?  You definitely need to do that first. Hello, IngeJones. Thanks for the reminder. I could have sworn that I read that someone else already made a thread about it, but I can't find it now, so I must be thinking of something else. I will do exactly that.

lonewatcher · Answer

I believe S4PE can edit data files inside packages, though the UI isn't nearly as user-friendly as that of S4S.

Also, DataFileTools by Velocitygrass can edit extracted data files.

BTW, What do you mean by "instance ID", the string or the number? You just need to make it match the instance number, the data file works perfectly well with a mismatched instance name string. And matching the instance number doesn't require editing the actual data file, just changing the instance inside the package (done in S4S by changing the instance in the "key" item of the data tab in the warehouse view, and in S4PE by double-clicking the resource in the list).

orangemittens1 · Answer

Hi @zombiesue, the tools made by Zerbu, in some cases, use code conventions that are different than the conventions EA uses. Sims 4 Studio is coded to recognize and produce content that conforms to the standards of the game files only. We do not guarantee that Studio will work with tools that use code conventions that are unlike those of EA, nor will we consider modifying it to do so. It is our team's opinion that EA sets the standard, and CC/Mods (and by extension, the tools used to make CC/Mods) should adhere to that standard. For this reason, it is not unexpected that Studio didn't work well with content created using a tool that produces atypical code, and this is not a bug. Rather, it is a consequence of the principle that underlies Studio's design.

xombiesue · Answer

"DarkWalker;c-15983582" wrote:I believe S4PE can edit data files inside packages, though the UI isn't nearly as user-friendly as that of S4S.Also, DataFileTools by Velocitygrass can edit extracted data files.BTW, What do you mean by "instance ID", the string or the number? You just need to make it match the instance number, the data file works perfectly well with a mismatched instance name string. And matching the instance number doesn't require editing the actual data file, just changing the instance inside the package (done in S4S by changing the instance in the "key" item of the data tab in the warehouse view, and in S4PE by double-clicking the resource in the list).Excellent, thank you.

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How to edit sim data files without S4S?

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