Hi!
How would you recommend someone learn to make mods for the sims 4? Do you have any tutorials or tips? Or would you be willing to make your own?
- trashypanda
Thank you for asking!
I do have some tips for people who want to get into modding. It took me a while before I got comfortable with the game’s xml, but it’s something anyone can learn with persistence and by going at your own pace.
YouTube Modding Tutorials
Serra, AKA @xosdr
Serra is an active content creator and sims 4 modder. She has a playlist full of mod tutorials for the sims 4 on her channel, and she does reply to comments when she can. I’ve found her tutorials helpful, especially in the beginning when I didn’t know what the heck I was looking at.
Pixified Tips
She is another content creator on YouTube who makes mod AND blender tutorials! Very helpful for people wanting to make CC. Her tutorial style is different from Serra’s since she gets straight to the point and lists off steps in bullet. If you like your tutorials to get straight to the point, then I recommend her videos.
Lot51 Tdesc Builder
The Tdesc builder is a modding website/tool that lets you create tuning files AND search tuning files within the sims 4. It even provides templates for creating your own files from scratch. This tutorial by Waffle’s Mix-Ins will break down how the website works, and how to use it. Lot51 is great, practically essential for making tuning mods, but it can’t make custom content, or recolors. You’ll need a different tool for that.
Sims 4 Studios
This is the sacred forge. Sims 4 Studios lets you import xml files for models, textures, data, anything you need to make a comprehensive mod for the sims 4 (except script mods. Those are different.) And unlike lot51, which is a template website, S4S lets you type the tuning yourself. It can be more convenient, especially when you need to copy/paste large batches of text. You can download it here!
Crack Open a Tuning File 👀
While learning how to mod, I did use sims 4 studios to open the tuning files to see what’s in them. At first, I had no clue what I was looking at, but it helped me get familiar with the structure a little bit. It also made all the numbers look less scary. The goal at first is not to understand everything, but to understand what you need to change, so the mod can do what you want. Once you’ve at that point, you can further customize mods so that they’re more tailored to your experience, BUT DO NOT REUPLOAD OTHER PEOPLE’S WORK!
That is much rudeness.
The Creator Musing Discord
I guess I would call this the social hub of the modding community? Here people post their links, share their WIP’s, and ask modding questions when stuck on their projects. There are recognizable names in this discord like Little Ms Sam, Spinning Plumbobs, PandaSama… and me! ✨
I’ve tumbled in there with my silly questions so many times. Getting creator wisdom from people who are familiar with the game’s systems is probably the most valuable resource on this list. You can click here to join!
These are all the resources I use, so I hope this helps!
Have fun modding!!!
