Ok all, I've got a CAW project in mind that is really just too big for one person if it's to be finished in the even vaguely forseeable future, and since it's also very much a 'fandom' thing, and I suspect there may be other MTS folks who share this fandom, I'd like to put it forward as a group project idea and see who there is who would be interested in it, and started this thread to basically discuss the project and coordinate (and maybe do a little fangeeking on the side as 'necessary':

I am a huge fan of the comic “Girl Genius” by Phil and Kaja Foglio. The setting is a fun steampunky one, the characters are a blast... I could go on and on. About a year ago, I wrote the Foglios and asked if they'd be OK with me making a Sims 3 Mechanicsburg and also Sims of their characters for it, to be shared freely through the community. I figured it was probably best to ask before using their creations and sharing all over =)

I got a very enthusiastic and fast response from them- they gave me permission to do this, not only permission, but they were looking forward to seeing the result, which is sort of a fanfic writer/fan's dream, for the original authors to be so interested in the fan-created works.

Unfortunately real life interfered, and this world was moved to back burner, but the release of the latest Girl Genius book this month got me enthused again- and made me think this might be a really nice co-operative project. Plus I'm not in classes this year, so actually have some time! Woo!

There is already some great steampunk CC out there, some of which is available for use in things like this thanks to generous creators, but there will need to be more to make even a loosely-canon Girl Genius world. There also will be a lot of little lots and houses and shops made, plus of course landmark buildings.

The timelines and locations will be very squashed together, because even if they don't really exist in Mechancisburg, there's some fun ones that should be included, like Transylvania Polygnostic and a Castle Wulfenbach (probably the 'old family' castle, since the airship'd be a little much).

Anyhow! Are there any people who'd be interested in:

**Making object meshes, such as the Heterodyne symbol as wall & floor decorations of various sizes, the Mechanicsburg lamposts, steampunky furniture or even vehicles, etc (or helping track down already made stuff that's free to be used)

**Making victorian-inspired/steampunk clothing that fits the Girl Genius world setting (or who'll help find already made stuff that's available for use)

**Making Sims! Girl Genius has a pretty big cast, and also even having townsfolk running around that have personality and look like they fit would be grand- here's a chance to put yourself into the GG world or try and lovingly recreate a favorite character! I'm planning that sliders will be used, and Missy Harriet's skintones will be the 'official' skins for the Jaegerkin

**Making lots! I'm working on a couple of possible layouts for the CAW map of Mechanicsburg, there'll be houses of all wealth or lack thereof levels, parks and rabbitholes needed, and of course as mentioned before, the 'landmarks' of the setting, although I kinda call dibs on actually making Castle Heterodyne and Madam Gkika's because, um, well, I've been making floorplans and ideas for about a year now for those places ^_^

I don't have pictures to post of the CAW maps just yet, I'm still really in developmental stages there, for those unfamiliar with the Girl Genius world but who'd like a project/like steampunk and sorta-Victoriana, the webcomic is found at http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104
There's also a Girl Genius wiki for more info! http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Th...ly_True_History

I think that the characters will translate pretty easily into TS3, since there's a kind of endearing puddin' quality to the art style already ^_^

So please reply if you have any interest at all in joining this project, and in what capacity you might! And also please don't blame me terribly much if you'd never read Girl Genius before, follow my link, and get hooked and lose most of the next few days reading archives, which I'm totally not rereading right now instead of working on anything. *cough*

HI Baka! *waves* Glad to see you've started your project. I'll join your group.
Please remember I am not a 'fan' of this stuff (I is a granny) but I will make a few meshes for you if you give me specific pictures of exactly what you want. Don't give me a picture containing everything - just a clip of that certain element you really want. I am just learning TS3 stuff so I am only doing basic objects at this time. Since I don't really care for grungy looking textures. I'll let other team members do the textures. I'll give you a good mesh with a clean and useable UV map.

You can do what you want with them. Keep them 'top secret' for this world's release or I can upload them here for anyone to use. I have a liberal mesh-share policy as long as it's a free site.

Thanks Porky! Since you're doing basic stuff, you might be good for the Heterodyne Trilobite heraldry items that would be found plastered all over Mechanicsburg buildings (and on sewer grates, etc)

http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Trilobite is the article about the Trilobyte, as you can see it's a really simple design, oval badge with, well Trilobyte on it. It would be very good as wall and floor decor item that is sort of a relief sculpture in several sizes. (is that specific enough for a thought or do you need more info?)

Well, that looks easy enough. Ok. A floor tile and a 'picture' in the form of a bas relief trilobyte I can also make a bas relief object that lays on the ground.

Make a folder for finished items where we only post stuff that needs testing by others. I have all EP's but I'll clone base game items for my creations. While I can get downright OCD on meshing vertices and uv maps, my textures leave much to be desired.

Do you have any other pervasive to this world thematic items you'd like me to try making?

Oh! And just to triple check.. Meshes for TS3, right?

Yes meshes for TS3, and do several sizes of them as mentioned. As for other possible things off the top of my head for pervasive/usefulness, there's a few other heraldry devices that would be useful as wall/floor decor meshes, though they wouldn't need as much variety in size as the trilobyte:

There's the Wulfenbach winged tower http://images.wikia.com/girlgenius/...ower_winged.png or http://images.wikia.com/girlgenius/...r-transport.png

The Jager badge: http://images.wikia.com/girlgenius/...ricon_trans.png


Those two above, Wulfenbach and Jagericon are probably the second most common for use, so could use some size variety, then there's the lesser ones that really probably could just be wall decor meshes and only need a large and a small type size:

Sturmvoraus badge of heraldry: http://images.wikia.com/girlgenius/...raus_winged.png

and the Geisters' Goddess image http://images.wikia.com/girlgenius/...sterGoddess.png

Decorative gears, pipes, and glass tubing or generic lab equipment would also be really useful, and I can hunt up gear pictures if you need, not specific ones, but like, little sculpted gears and pipes that can be hung on walls or put NEXT to other furniture and things so that it can help turn even normal stuff into something mechanized-looking. I'll try and find pictures or even sketch a rough of what I mean for you (or any other meshers who come aboard)

..y'know, it's more a recolor than a mesh, and I don't know if it'd be really just too small and detailed to do, but if a recolorist could make baseballs look like this:
http://images.wikia.com/girlgenius/...4/Sparkwasp.jpg

...it'd be pretty awesome. (and, in canon, SCARY)

Ok. I want to finish my current conversion project before I start on these. You can start making your world and I'll get working on thses items later.

that works well, it may be a bit before I get far with the world or work much- I just got swamped with some unexpected non-Sims "real life" stuff. I'm going to be really busy all this and next month and may not have much time to do things. (Thus the lack of finished FIRST world still, every time I sit to work on it, something comes up)

Probably not the baseball. Lots of in-game things call objects like glasses and balls from resources that aren't cloneable. I haven't looked at it specifically but I'll take a look.

Just looked. It's missing the txtc file but it has a texture... I'll play with it....