While the Sims is showing its opening screen and loading its game files, texts scroll though the bottom of the screen. These texts are different for each game version. The Deluxe strings, I liked. The Unleashed strings, I could live with. The Makin' Magic strings I found a bit over the top. These strings are accessible to the user, so I can, if I like, alter them to "Hard disk thrashing..." "CPU groaning under load..." "Hard disk thrashing some more...". The automatic backup principle doesn't apply here, though, because (for easy updating when a new pack is installed?) the file feeding these strings to the startup screen is not inside a FAR file. If I want to keep the original, I'll have to make a backup.
A Sims installation consists of very many IFF files of all sorts and sizes. Some of these IFFs contain practically nothing but strings, translated as completely as possible in all available languages. They are found in the GameData directory, in unarchived form. The most comprehensive strings IFF, which also takes care of the startup strings, is "UItext.iff". Opening this file in IFF Pencil shows an endless row of headings that allows me to alter the strings for buy/build mode, the Create-A-Sim screen, and so on; I could personalize every message, tooltip and dialog of the game here. The string block I'm looking for is #155, "splashprogress". Block #164, "signs", allows me to change these pop astrology signs, to, uhm, Chinese astrology signs? "Born in the year of the Dragon"? Scrolling down further, I can see the Function subsort strings where I could change "Entertainment" to "Shiny toys".
Not all files here should be tinkered with. "Behavior.iff" and game-specific files like "magic.iff" are best left alone, although "behavior.iff", which is used by IFF Pencil to attach meaningful phrases to code, can always be perused for better insight in the game's inner workings. In game versions earlier than HD/Deluxe, opening "careers.iff" lets me directly alter jobs and descriptions: for later versions I have to find "work.iff" in ExpansionShared. "Live.iff" lets me alter, among other things, the name of tourists, townies andsoforth created when a new neighbourhood is initialized - so it's no good altering them when the NPCs have already been created. There are report card strings where I can change the grades to something numerical, although I can't do anything about the military school string: that's in "pedportal.iff" (and how I'd love to change it to "I'm off to the army to learn to shoot people! So long suckers!") and the silly line about getting 100 bucks from grandpa (which most of my kidSims don't have) is in "carportal.iff" along with the chance card texts.
Looking beyond the GameData directory: each UserData[nn] directory has its own set of IFF files, notably "Streetnames.iff", where street names can be changed. House names and descriptions can be edited in the house IFF, but if I feel like changing "Gunther Goth Highway" to "Penny Lane", here's where its done. In "LotZoning.iff" I can rezone lots without having to start the game. In "LotLocations.iff" - but I'd rather leave those alone.
Depending on the expansion packs installed, each UserData[nn]
folder may also contain the files "DTDesc.iff", "VIDesc.iff", "STDesc.iff"
and "MTDesc.iff". These are the lot descriptions that appear when hovering
over the lots in Downtown, Vacation Island, Studio Town and Magic Town.
For the enlarged neighbourhood that comes with UL, there is "NeighbourhoodDesc.iff".
This one has the descriptions for the Community shops and houses, but can also
be edited to show a popup description for the humble home of Bob and Betty
Newbie. These files can be edited directly by hand, or in the game when
building on a lot; the user will be prompted to enter a description for the
lot. Editing directly has the advantage of being able to save the description
to all languages, where, if using IFF Pencil, one should remember to copy
and paste the descriptions into the last four language slots by hand.