Open for Business Version of SimPE
Get down to Business 
! SimPE 0.56 has finally arrived. That is not just an update, which makes SimPE work with The Sims 2 - Open for Business, it also contains plenty of new Features, that are useful for everyone.
Let me introduce the Changes for The Sims 2 - Open for Business first.
SimPE can now read and change OFB Neighbourhoods. The Sim Description Editor got a new Tab called Business, that allows you to change the lot a Sim is working on, the salary and the current assignment.
Using the More… Button, you can now open the Memories, the hidden Skills (like the learned to walk skill of a Toddler) and the Business badges for a Sim.
The Sim Memory Editor has been completely rewritten. The Sim Listing is now sorted by Households. You can select the displayed one in the ComboBox at the Top of the List.
The Sim Browser was extended too. You can now filter the List of Sims by NPCs and Townies.
SimPE can now export and import compiled LUA-Scripts. LUA-Scripts an extensions to the SimAntics, which can be used instead of BHAVs.
Numenor found out how you can change the size of an Object on shelves. Changing the Size makes Objects place able on shelves. The new Shelve Scanner in the Scan Folders Plugin uses his descriptions to read and set this value.
If you do not want to change your Objects using SimPe, you can download Numenors original Global Hack for this from this thread. The hack will however change all installed Objects.
Another new Scanner reads the Vertex and Face count of an Object. This count is also displayed in the SimPE Preview Dock.
This Release of SimPE contains two completely new Mesh import/export Plugins. One is working with dotXSI Files, the other, created by Skankyboy, deals with .smd Files.
Both can handle multiple bone assignements, and should be valuable for everyone creating body Meshes.
Skanksboys .smd importer can also import/export the Morph data of an Mesh, and create normal maps.
The 3D Preview in the GMDC Plugin of SimPE was also rewritten. It not only previews the Mesh itself, but also the skeleton and the Vertex assignments. It can also render transparent parts of the Mesh like glass or shadow planes.
A double click on the Preview opens the Settings Dialog, where you can tweak the Preview panel.
Object Workshop got some new features too. When you select the new Option Pull #Str-Linked Resources , OW will pull all resources that are referenced form the Text List 88..
In addition to that, the Object Workshop now handles normal maps correctly and SimPE remembers your last Settings.
There is a new Tab called System Check in Extra->Preferences…. It allows you to validate and fix your SimPE Settings. This is especially useful, when Object Workshop or Wizards of SimPE do not work as expected.
The System Check is also available in Wizards of SimPE. You’ll find it on the Options page.
There were another bunch of smaller changes and fixes, that I don’t want to mention right here.
I just wanted to thank the people of GameStar for publishing SimPE on the cover mount of their latest issue
Numenor is working on the CEP 4 at the moment. We keep you posted about the progress.
I would like to thank everyone that helped developing this Release. Especially atavera, Carrigon, Echo, IgnorantBliss, Inge, jaxad0127, jfade, Morague, Numenor, PAF, pljones, skankyboy, SnowStorm, tickleonthetum and tiggerypum, who helped to create the QA-Version.
The next SimPE Release will introduce some more features for The Sims 2 - Open for Business, like an Editor for Customer loyalty.
SimPE classic is no longer part of our Releases. As a surrogate you can change the look and feel of SimPE to classic. (In the Startmenu with SimPE->Theme->classic, or by executing SimPE classic.bat in the SimPE Directory)