Sometimes, I get an idea that I really haven't thought out at all. One of those "I'll just do this" moments where the 'just' ends up being anything BUT 'just'! If I kept a diary, the entries for the last week would go something like this...

[Mon am]: Woke up with a bright idea - a new swing for industrial lots! Something with weights, hooks etc, something that looked as though a baddie Sim had MADE it into a swing when it wasn't meant to be.

[Mon pm]: Made a mesh for the weighing hoist swing. Now time to make a clone of the Maxis swing (fellow artists are now scratching their heads and wondering why I work backwards - should have cloned the mesh first, blah blah - I know)

[Tues am]: Realised that I was now going to have to split my mesh into a million different pieces for the various subsets. Okay, fine, but what are all those 'null' meshes? Ignore for now and press on.

[Tues pm]: Load up my game and look for Mr Gieke in my neighbourhood. He never does anything worthwhile, so maybe he'd like a new swing. Firstly, the swing had the most hideous texture problem (still using the Maxis textures despite me adding my own) and although Mr Gieke gleefully rushed to the swing, he stopped short of it and froze - literally! As did my game! Something seriously wrong here. :-(

[Weds am]: Dissecting the package, I see that the cloned BHAVs are a veritable mess, referencing the GUIDs of the original Maxis swing. Spent a horrible, HORRIBLE morning going through each and every one laboriously looking for and correcting GUID references. But I spotted and fixed the texture problem, so my temper softened by a minute degree. I realised I'd embarked upon a most foolish venture and I really SHOULD just stick to decorative items in future...

[Weds pm]: The swing works, fully animated, all pieces connecting when adding extra swings too ! Mr Gieke loves it (though would rather be playing chess). BUT, the texture is STILL all wrong and horrible (looks like a yellow, red and blue chequered court jester!). This impacts on MY colouring as I turn from red anger to purple rage. And an even worse problem has materialised: the swings replace the Maxis swings!!! Spent the next ten minutes moaning and wailing at the world in general about this life crisis, then more productlively rechecked all my GUIDs (MsBarrows will tell you how often I can forget those!) but there is no problem at all.

I did some forum hunting and virtually wept when I discovered this is an age-old problem with cloned swings that most people, including some notable creator-gurus, have not yet been able to solve. All but one of the few custom swings out there all carry the same warning: will replace the Maxis swings. But one didn't - just one, so it HAD to be possible. Back to my package again. Got nowhere. Gloom blankets the house (or my corner of it at any rate).

[Thurs am]: Write a weeping, wailing, plea to fellow artists with knowledge of BHAVs and GUIDs. Whilst waiting for miraculous help to descend from the skies, I start the whole project over again with different clone settings and, this time, the textures on the second swing are finally right (phew), but had this cured the problem with overwriting the Maxis swings? In short, no. Even the dogs are creeping off into hidden corners now as an air of thunder descends.

[Thurs pm]: Determination strikes! I start the whole project over AGAIN by cloning the bonus Seasons swing instead - a good idea from Simaddict99. Alas, Maxis has changed the swing set-up for their new swing and I realised that I was going to have to remake all my meshes and animations - aargh!!! Oh well, but after a fraught day of that, I realise this third swing is even worse than the last (which at least worked)! My latest attempt is a real mess and will have to go.

[Thurs eve]: No-one's able to throw any light on the problem; miraculous help from the skies is rather silent on the subject. I return to the second swing and try some good suggestions from AnoeskaB who has looked at the package for me, but the stupid, hateful, horrible, really-making-me-screaming-MAD swing STILL replaces the Maxis swing!!! No-one has any other ideas. There's nothing left to do. After a week of creator-hell, I discard my attempts, vowing NEVER to touch swings again. I load up my game to ensure everything is restored back to normal and that my Maxis swings have returned...

No Cyclonesue swings, but no Maxis swings either!

Instead, I seem to have Targa's tree swing (Targa does mention that this tree replaces the default swings - it's just that I never knew I even had any custom swings)! Was it THIS swing all along that was replacing the Maxis set and not mine??? I removed Targa's swing, recovered my last-working swing from the recycle bin - and lo and behold, not only does the swing work perfectly, the Maxis swings are intact too!!!!!!

And so I've done it. I'd probably done it on Tuesday if truth be known - grrr). That will teach me for not emptying my downloads folder when I test stuff (well, I expect it won't, but there we all are). I'm putting the swing through some testing with expert testers. All being well, this will be out in a couple of weeks to be downloaded by all three of us who like peculiar items!

...but I'm still wondering whether my vow of NEVER AGAIN still remains regarding swings after this!