SimWardrobe

SimWardrobe, or Paladin's Place, was the home of many useful user created tools for The Sims and The Sims 2, up to and including Apartment Life. 'Paladin' created the site in 2001, but the site was not updated after October 2, 2008. In late June 2011, the site became unavailable for a while, but started operating again by mid-July 2011. In May 2015, the domain appeared to have expired, although the URL http://www.paladins-place.org/main.htm was still available. The domain was renewed in June 2015, but both domains expired again in June 2017. As of January 2018, the site is no longer available. Many of the website's downloads have since been archived on the Internet Archive. Additionally, archived copies of the site are still available on the Wayback Machine.

The site featured 'fixes' for Maxis created bugs, custom objects and a few lots. It also featured custom objects for The Sims, almost all of which were located in three "lofts" that used free hosting services. The services used by "Loft 1" and "Loft 3" no longer exist. Most of the pages in "Loft 2" could still be viewed, but the hosting service it used no longer allows the objects to be downloaded. The objects can be downloaded at SimThing.net.

There was an option to donate money to the site through PayPal, though it is not known if donations would reach the owner.

Clicking the 'Support' button on the site took users to what was the SimLogical forum. The link is dead, but clicking on the button would load a page which noted that 'Paladin' is retired and that support was not available.

A notable tool from SimWardrobe is the Hack Conflict Detection Utility which can detect any hacks and mods for The Sims 2 that may conflict with each other.

Availability
Downloadable content on the site did not require registration and was free as long as it was not re-posted elsewhere.

As noted above, the "lofts" with custom objects for The Sims no longer function. Those files are instead available here. As of January 2018, the rest of the site is no longer available, with most of its contents having been archived at Sim File Share.

Ads
The site features many in-line ads by Google.

The Sims
These tools do not require installation other than being extracted to a folder. However, since they are older programs, some require extra Visual Basic files which may not be present in versions of Windows later than XP.

SimWardrobe
The site's namesake program. This tool, for Hot Date and later, allows players to change the clothes of a playable Sim or townie. All clothing types can be changed. The player will be able to select which type of clothing to change, and will be able to scroll though a list of available meshes for that type.

This tool can also be used to change a Sim's body type.

The ability to change a Sim's clothes depends on an extra file (tabctl32.ocx), which may not be present in versions of Windows later than XP.

SimMetamorphoser
This tool allows players to change the head skin of a playable Sim or townie, which cannot be done in-game. (Note that it may not see Maxis head skins inside Maxis FAR files.)

It can also change a Sim's first name, gender, and skin tone, but cannot be used to change any aspect of the Sim's appearance other than the head. When changing gender or skin tone, it will automatically update most aspects of the Sim's appearance by applying default skins for the selected gender and/or skin tone. However, it will not automatically update the Sim's head or High Fashion skins, though it can be used to select a new head for the changed Sim.

NPC Replacer
This tool allows players to extract NPC character files from the Maxis FAR files, and change the clothes and head of those NPCs.

SimCategorizer
This tool allows players to change the price of an object, control where it appears in the catalog, and select which available community areas it will be available in. Players can also edit the description.

It can extract individual object files from a FAR file. (Note that this does not remove the file from the FAR.) It can even edit object files inside FAR files, though editing Maxis FAR files is not recommended. Players should note that object files in The Sims may contain multiple objects, and SimCategorizer cannot properly edit these files.

SimWallCat
This tool allows players to change the name, price, and catalog description of custom walls and floors.

Lot Manager
This tool allows players to copy lots from one neighborhood to another, or to copy lots to and from a storage location.

FAR Out
This is a tool for managing FAR files. It allows players to view FAR files and, extract individual files from them. It also allows players to create and manage their own FAR files. Players should use caution when viewing Maxis FAR files, as FAR Out does not protect them from changes, and files should not be added to or removed from Maxis FAR files.

The Sims 2
These tools do not require installation other than being extracted to a folder. In a support forum post dated March 4, 2007, it was noted that both the NPC Replacer and the Sims 2 Categorizer use a DirectX DLL (dx8vb.dll) that was not included with Vista. The download links in the archived post are dead. An update noted that, as of April 2007, it appeared that Vista would retrieve the missing DLL; however, it is not clear if it will currently do that, or if later versions of Windows will do it.

Hack Conflict Detection Utility
This tool allows players to scan their mods for The Sims 2 to see if any conflict with one another. The tool lists conflicting mods in the order the game loads them. For instance, if Mod A and Mod B modify the same code, and Mod B appears below Mod A in the utility, the code in Mod B will be used in the game.

Players should note that it has been known to stop responding if switched to the background.

NPC Replacer
This tool allows players to select a type of NPC and change the default clothes for that type. From the description, it appears to work by creating a default replacement package for that type of NPC, and does not allow customization of individual NPCs or of NPCs in individual neighborhoods. This may be why it cannot change NPC hair; even when a type of NPC has a default hairstyle, individual NPCs of that type may have different hair colors.

It only recognizes NPCs from the base game, University, and Nightlife, and does not recognize all of them. Also, the ability to manage NPC replacement packages depends on an extra file (comdlg32.ocx), which may not be present in versions of Windows later than XP.

Sims 2 Categorizer
This tool allows players to change the price of an object and control where it appears in the catalog. Players can also edit the description, and can change what the catalog says about motive effects. Note that changing what the catalog says about motive effects will not change the way the object affects motives.