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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 18th Nov 2009 at 9:04 PM
Default Patch building improvements
I hope it is ok to post this.
I've come accross the build improvements in the Patch we have to install before the WA expansion and some stuff really would be fantastic if it really works, especially the improvements of the STAIRS :

- New Basement Tool: Basement Tool allows you to build basements up to 4 levels deep under your lot. The tool builds under the current level. If you're underground already, you can hold the Shift key with the tool to build on the current level. Hold the Control key with the tool to delete basements.

- New Pagoda style roofs.
- Decorations may now be placed on roofs.
- Stairs functionality is now improved:
- Foundation walls can be adjusted with modular stairs attached.
- Stairs can be built over gaps.
- Placing stairs around objects that block their placement now give appropriate error messages.
- Stairs can be above and below each other.
- Stairs, fences, and gates can now be customized with textures, as well as being saved and shared with others.


Especially the one where we will be able to put stairs one above the other.
I hope it really works, that would really be a space-saver in buildings.
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In the Arena
retired moderator
#2 Old 18th Nov 2009 at 10:25 PM
Default my findings
Quote:
- New Basement Tool

Just tested with one underground level on an empty lot just to find out how to build; read some quirks on needing walls at top of stairs and not being able to go downstairs; haven't test in-game though. The stairs are being funky on me, so not ready to mess up any of my pre-patch houses. Will test on a brand new build project.


Quote:
- Stairs can be built over gaps.

Works - no need the sloped 1x1 tile anymore; so functionality as we expected from TS2 has been restored.


Quote:
- Placing stairs around objects that block their placement now give appropriate error messages.

Algorithm might be too overzealous now - no objects blocking placement but keep getting no intersection error msgs. My current workaround is to open the room so I don't get the auto-walls and ensure flooring above are always leveled before placement


Quote:
- Stairs can be above and below each other.

Big yay! Woot! Woot! Works on my 3 level-house. Still some quirks on order of placement ie top-down or bottom-up; mix of either direction is not playing well as sometimes get the no path thought balloon, so results still inconsistent.


Quote:
- Stairs, fences, and gates can now be customized with textures, as well as being saved and shared with others.

Works! Just tested on stairs and railings, confirmed CaST-able, haven't tested the export and share, though.

So, great news all around for builders. Hooray!
Field Researcher
#3 Old 18th Nov 2009 at 10:27 PM
I do NOT have the ep but I HAVE installed the patch.

Everything seems to be working just as stated, the only downside is all the work some have put into creating recolors of stairs and fences.

But I think they will get over it. lol

Basements work too.
Finally a patch with a purpose!

ClicknPsycho
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#4 Old 18th Nov 2009 at 10:46 PM Last edited by hazuitokage : 19th Nov 2009 at 1:51 PM.
Thank you for the report Ella !
I've seen something else that may render the waterfall trick inoperable though

- Placing pillars near steep walls will no longer turn those walls to water.

I've never used it, but it was a neat trick...

Edit :
This one on roof is interesting. :
- Roofs have been adjusted as to not cut through walls.
If it means some roofs now stand higher, that would be great -__- (like the round ones, for exemple, always too low on the wall for my taste, i always end up making a dummy level).

Recoloring of fences and stairs is a great option I think. I've made a few fences that I didn't share because I heard that function was coming. Just have to wait for the tools to be updated now ^^.
Scholar
#5 Old 19th Nov 2009 at 7:36 AM
This is great news. I made a load of stairs but not woried about it, they were good while they were needed but now it means the downloads folder can be a little smaller.

One question, can stairs be placed on the diagonal yet? I never got that to work
Lab Assistant
#6 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 12:07 AM
Quote: Originally posted by hazuitokage
Thank you for the report Ella !
I've seen something else that may render the waterfall trick inoperable though

- Placing pillars near steep walls will no longer turn those walls to water.


Flabaliki will be upset oh man I should make a water falls before i update . (Waiting for the patch(1.5/1.6)'s patch(1.7/2.2) patch I wonder what number I could be (plus AM is not updated and I don't think could live with out it)

Quote: Originally posted by fluttereyes
One question, can stairs be placed on the diagonal yet? I never got that to work


oh god I wish it would I would love to have diagonal stairs.
Instructor
#7 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 3:31 AM
I patched my game early this morning and absolutely love the new build mode stuff. I noticed that because you can recolor fences and stairs, we got several new patterns to use. I played around with customizing textures on fences and I love that if you build the entire fence first CASt does the whole fence at once. I wish the counters did that automatically.

I am also in love with how they reorganized the terrain paints. When I first went in I thought they were all gone and about had a heart attack lol.
Scholar
#8 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 11:14 AM
The waterfall thing, does it break the ones already made with the base game, does anyone know?

Lol, it would render a good few of my lots useless
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#9 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 3:21 PM
I doubt it will But better check I guess.
I should have made one too before. When I read this I thought anout the waterfalls right away. Maybe someone will find another way to make them... I hope anyway.
I sure wish there were diagonal stairs too...
I have received my WA and installed it, so i'm going to check everything today ^^.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 4:10 PM
While testing the new functions, did you all remove all CC or did you keep any of in your game? I am removing any stairs and fences I have, but haven't removed any patterns.

Resident member of The Receptacle Refugees
Let's help fund mammograms for everyone. If you want to help, Click To Give @ The Breast Cancer Site Your click is free. Thank you.
In the Arena
retired moderator
#11 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 6:13 PM
No WA for me (yet), patched to v1.7.9. And I have been selective with CC, since TS3 seems to be not-so-CC-friendly, waiting to see how an EP would affect it - my mods/packages is a miserly 90MB ATM.

I have my CC mostly intact (mostly build & buy items from here, a couple of the celebrity sims, some of the featured patterns + toolregame.com stuff by MelissaMel), after patching restored all except for awesomemod.

I started a brand new game since I can't play my awesomized 'hood, yet. I just loaded a house I had exported some months ago, and haven't played the patched game extensively yet, so unsure how the CC will appear in-game especially the stairs & roof recolors. Still fighting with the stairs and basement to behave! damn it! The stairs and railing testing were new ones, old ones can't be CaSt-able, which is pretty standard behavior for object-code changes.

I never got around to building waterfalls in TS3, so can't test that conclusively. And the roof cutting through walls thing, I'm still trying to recall how it was before, so I can't be sure if the supposed fix works. Anyone can direct me to a pic showing this on a pre-patched house? Never thought to test for diagonal stairs, but I think this one is still a no-go.
Scholar
#12 Old 20th Nov 2009 at 10:52 PM
I opened up and tested the lots that I built with waterfalls. They all worked fine and the waterfall still flows. I haven't tried to make one yet with the EP but I will, I love waterfalls on my lots.

I removed all cc, including all mods before installing the EP, I will put them back later and see how that goes. In truth I probably wont put them all back as some have been fixed by patches.

Just one thing I am noticing and it could be my graphics card, the game stops dead for a couple of seconds now and then, then goes back to normal. It only happens in the main hood and not in the holiday destinations, weird. It needs Gforce 7300 and I only have 7200 so it could be that I suppose.

Just down to building a few lots and seeing how it all works, the basement tool is so simple to use and does multiple levels underground, don't know how many. There are loads of new build content too, 11 doors and several windows for a start. New patterns aren't too bad. I think they gave us a fair bit of content with this EP, I'm relatively happy with it for now.

So how do we break it so we get the waterfall glitch again?
Pettifogging Legalist!
retired moderator
#13 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 9:22 AM
Thank you all for posting that info =). I'm on OS X, we don't have a patch yet, so this is all good to know. I'm of course looking very forward to being able to build normal, working stairs! No more silly excuses and workarounds for not being able to stack them! I didn't really want to patch post-1.2.7, but that would be too good to pass on.

One thing I'm curious about – there's a neat trick/exploit of the way stairs work in the pre-1.6 game, for building cfe stuff: you can flatten/lower walls by covering them with flooring and then using stairs to level down the flooring in situ (do you know what I mean?) – does this still work post-patch? Or do we now have to build silly pillars in holes again?

Stuff for TS2 · TS3 · TS4 | Please do not PM me with technical questions – we have Create forums for that.

In the kingdom of the blind, do as the Romans do.
Scholar
#14 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 10:43 AM
Plasticbox, sorry I don't know the cheat you're talking about so don't know if that works. What I will say to you is that doing this patch is actually beneficial this time, pain in the butt taking everything out to do it but just the recolour stairs and fence thing makes it worth it.
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#15 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 1:20 PM Last edited by hazuitokage : 21st Nov 2009 at 1:32 PM.
I know the method, I will try it and report ^^.
I didn't notice anything with the roofs so far… I wonder what that not cutting walls thing meant. They are as low as they were before anyway (or at least they look to be to me).

Has anybody visited a house with an basement pre-WA ? It would be one on a foundation of course, and I came across a slightly hilarious glitch : sims walking on water. Now pools and basement are supposed to be on the same level, but in the house I checked, the pool seemed to be still on the pre-WA basement level. My sim in there was swimming when I saved before, so when I went to check in, she was still there, swimming, when BAM, suddenly, after a turn, she is walking on the pool water ! Then she dropped again to swimming, then the turn (it's a small pool…) and BAM, there she is walking again, with that trail of froth around her shoulders (I guess it's the pool water animation for swimming) : here, a pict:

forgive the nakedness (I hope the bit of nipple showing is ok… I can blurr the picture if someone thinks it's too much skin, no problem.), this new sims inhabit a tentative roman (or greek ?) temple and spends her time bathing in the pool or playing with the sprinkler naked
… and now she walks on water, she is truly blessed by whatever goddess I choose to plunk in there, really



As I said, i think this is due to the presence of a foundation basement pre-WA style. Not sure though. I was wondering how it would work with a foundation. Will have to check that too.

Otherwise, the stairs do work well stacked over the other.
Fences and stairs need to be changed it you want the cast option. It won't work on them if they were placed pre-WA, they're not the same objects anymore. It's interesting in fences how they chose to entirely reduce a set to one castable fence, while they kept sets for some and just added a castable version (or rather replaced one of the set by a castable version).

Otherwise, I am happy to report that my cc works well in the same folder where it was before. I finally had the courage to put it back after playing the game vanilla first. I just lost edge scrolling for a while, but it must have been a mod. i removed some of them and now it works.
For the moment build custom content appears to be working anyway for me (i'm on windows 7, and I'm blessed with almost no glitches from the begining). Maybe I can list what build type cc I have that works, later ?
Alchemist
#16 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 1:29 PM
HT, I am *scandalized*!

OM
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#17 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 1:33 PM Last edited by hazuitokage : 21st Nov 2009 at 3:58 PM.
Teehee

… I hope nobody else is…

Plasticbox, here is what at get with cfe turned on and trying to place the stairs on floorboards. Though at first, it looked like the stair was going right trough the floor, once I placed it, it behaved accordingly :



I hope that is what you meant.
Pettifogging Legalist!
retired moderator
#18 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 6:13 PM
Ah cool. Yes, that's what I meant. Thank you! =)

Stuff for TS2 · TS3 · TS4 | Please do not PM me with technical questions – we have Create forums for that.

In the kingdom of the blind, do as the Romans do.
Scholar
#19 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 6:19 PM
haz, I'm not scandalised by your pic, I know it's not a real girl
Field Researcher
Original Poster
#20 Old 21st Nov 2009 at 7:35 PM
Well, plus she walks on water so she's pretty unreal yep .

Ok, I have more findings about basements, pools and foundations.
You can build a basement under a foundation, but the basement roof will correspond with the ground level, not the foundation floor. So in order to join your basement to the foundation level, you'll need to put stairs twice : one in the basement, and one from the foundation floor level to the ground. Pretty straightforward.
You can't build pools just next to a basement, there is always one tile between the two. No idea yet what happens with CFE on, though.
You can build a second basement just under a pool , on the other hand ^^.
I tried building a basement pool, but no luck. I didn't try any cheat though.
Scholar
#21 Old 22nd Nov 2009 at 12:34 AM
I guess we just need to play with this a little, it's made the game fun again now that we have something to play with
Mad Poster
#22 Old 22nd Nov 2009 at 5:57 AM
The one most fascinating thing with the patched base game, the "beautiful vista" buff stay on the lot, even if you plopped a house from the library and didn't make a fresh build. Yay, no more need for the Lotte Editor.

Since I have removed all my CC stairs, fences, patterns and quite a few objects, I have to edit all my lots. Since I totally rebuilt my 2 hoods, this will take a while. I will get to play around with the other new features and see how it works. If I find anything new, I will report.

Resident member of The Receptacle Refugees
Let's help fund mammograms for everyone. If you want to help, Click To Give @ The Breast Cancer Site Your click is free. Thank you.
Lab Assistant
#23 Old 27th Nov 2009 at 6:11 PM Last edited by the_alien_among_us : 29th Nov 2009 at 5:56 AM.
Quote: Originally posted by fluttereyes
So how do we break it so we get the waterfall glitch again?


World Adventures Waterfall Tutorial

look what I found. I was so excited I open up MTS before I read it.

:fake edit: read it, Ok its an adaptation of the TS2 waterfall tutorial.

:real edit: sorry for broken link fixed now, I must have been to excited
Scholar
#24 Old 27th Nov 2009 at 8:12 PM
that link isn't working for me. Is it not a real tutorial then?
Site Helper
#25 Old 27th Nov 2009 at 8:45 PM Last edited by Mootilda : 28th Nov 2009 at 5:57 PM.
You just need to remove the extra "http//" near the front of the URL:

World Adventures Waterfall Tutorial
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