Sims 2 has nearly come of age

I know I am out here in dangerous anorak land, but I've been following the progress of Sims 2. FOr me the game is not worth playing until fans can make architectural features and archane items of furniture.

This is not a simple thing. Maxis had not released tools that would make it possible to attach 3d and texture files to the game's programming. But there are serious modders among the Sims fans, and even before Sims 2 came out there were forums and communitites dcevoted to hacking and modding the game. So they've been working on the problem even as Maxis is probably also working on the problem -- I mean Maxis repeatedly promised such tools but they've been pretty quiet about it lately, so I assumed they've been running into problems.

A month or so ago the first hacks -- lockable doors, other patchy type of things -- showed up. Somebody figured out how to make other paintings than the game originally allowed. And, a triumph of monumental proportions -- earlier this week I saw the first "retextured" Sims 2 items. It's just a little thing, introducing new colors and patterns to the skins of some of the 3d objects in the game, but it took hard work to accomplish.

And today I read that Maxis has released the tool for importing wall, floor, and "ground cover" textures.

We're on our way.

I'll be buying Sims 2 sometime in the forseeable future, I guess . . .