EAxis House of Fail: October

[jim]

I've grabbed this. I particularly like the entrance, and that moody blue flooring. Very stylish.

[SalixTree]

There are really just a few items, like 2 office chairs, a magazine rack, and the glass walls. Use clean installer and just install the lot, you won't loose much in the translation.

Minena, nice looking house, very nice! .. but I counted 40 objects, 95 recolors,and 3 floors. I would say that's way too many CCs. I just trashed about 500 downloads out of my folder recently, don't really want to be adding more. A better way to do these challenges is to put your download folder on your desktop, and then go build. Or offer up both the lot with and without CC.

Tryclyn, that's gorgeous, very scientific looking! Where did that peacock in the 2nd pic come from?

[keirra]

Trycyln, I just played your lot. My sim family is enjoying it very much. I really like the pool and the changing table in the bathroom is a great idea.

[tryclyn]

   jim, The version that i was working on before this one was actually the red cement flooring instead,



  but when I saw mitchellcjs's I abandoned it and started a new house.  Glad I did because I like the changes that I made along the way.

  SalixTree,   In the catalog it doesn't look much like a peacock.  I was just clicking everything greenish and found it.




  witch,  I actually snagged the greenhouse roof idea from someone else elsewhere when I noticed how awful the huge peak looks most of the time.  I really need to figure out how to make the damn thing one sided or at least more gently graded.

  keirra and mitchellcjs,  The changing table in the bathroom idea came about while trying to adhere to awesomspec and I liked how it worked.  Last month I forgot to put it back in after I had to fix the external wall that had moved in error.


  -edited because photobucket seems a bit stupid at the moment.

[SalixTree]

Pretty peacock. Must be from a stuff pack or expansion I don't have.
That lot defo looks better in its final blue state. I downloaded it, but it crashed my game, unfortunately. I was hoping it might just load by some off chance.

[snowbawl]

Yeah, any house built using Emma's flattened lot will crash my game. 

[Mootilda]

Yeah, any house built using Emma's flattened lot will crash my game. 

I believe that Emma created the flattened lot using all EPs.  If you don't have all EPs, it will crash your game.

However, it's pretty simple to flatten the edges yourself using the LotAdjuster.  Just use the advanced flatten-edges option.

[Emma]

Yeah, any house built using Emma's flattened lot will crash my game. 

I believe that Emma created the flattened lot using all EPs.  If you don't have all EPs, it will crash your game.

However, it's pretty simple to flatten the edges yourself using the LotAdjuster.  Just use the advanced flatten-edges option.

Yep, sorry. It is ridiculously easy to flatten it yourself though.

[snowbawl]

It's okay...I don't especially need a flattened lot.  I am fine with a few lumps and bumps.    I was just saying that anyone using the pre-flattened lot needs to know that their house will not work in everyone's game.  No biggie...and no need to apologize.

[Bugger]

Have completed 2nd lot that I will actually upload when I get the chance.  It is a flat lot, but not Emma's.  I just took the original curious house and recreated it on a flat lot.  Then I ditched the stupid platforms and created a house that is better suited for my three freaky brothers.  Will post today.

[tryclyn]

  Okay, so now I try to flatten a lot and it works.  I have no idea why I could not get it to work earlier this month when I wanted it to. 
   Even if one were to use a flattened lot from base game, another who does not have all EPs would not be able to use a house made-over in an all EP game.  Or am I mistaken.  Would AnyGameStarter make a difference?



  edit to match tenses

[Emma]

I don't think so Tryclyn. They'd have to have all the EPs/SPs listed to be able to use the house anyway.

Okay, here's my attempt. It is actually my third. I have found this house very hard to modify in a style that pleases me, for some reason. I tried to make a quirky funny house instead of my usual type of styling-ie plain. LOL!

This requires all EPs/SPs and costs §203k (not wanded) furnished. It has 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, a downstairs nursery and all skilling/hobbying equipment. I didn't keep all those platforms, but there is a 4th floor platform accessible from the 3rd floor where there are 2 telescopes. Meh, here's some pics, in the form of a slideshow (click the pic):



Download if you wanna.

[Mootilda]

 Okay, so now I try to flatten a lot and it works.  I have no idea why I could not get it to work earlier this month when I wanted it to. 
   Even if one were to use a flattened lot from base game, another who does not have all EPs would not be able to use a house made-over in an all EP game.  Or am I mistaken.  Would AnyGameStarter make a difference?

If you create a lot using the BaseGame Starter or AnyGame Starter to run only the base game, then that lot will be compatible with everyone's game, no matter which EPs or SPs they have installed.  If Emma had created her flat-edged lot using the BGS, then everyone could have used that lot for the challenge, no matter what EPs / SPs they have installed.

Of course, once someone modifies the lot using additional EPs or SPs, the lot is no longer base-game compatible.

Lots are always forward compatible, but never backwards compatible.

[Bugger]

Forgive me - I know the pictures are absolute shite.  In a rush, and didn't want to clog the post with more pictures than this.  I kept the house pretty modern feeling, with walls of windows and the greenhouse that goes up two floors.  The first floor has 1 garage, formal living area, dining area, a "floating" kitchen and two 3/4 baths.  Upstairs are 3 rooms for your alien babies, large enough to house them as kids/teens I think.  1 full bath on that floor.  Also a kitchenette and family room so maybe the nannie will stay upstairs while she's supposed to be watching the kids.  You'll notice I have a gate installed close to the stairs, this is to help keep visitors confined to the first floor without using a door.  (the house is not awesome spec).  Third floor has three bedrooms and three full baths for the brothers.  Where the desks are located is where I was going to put a walk in closet, but decided to change it at last minute.  Lots of open deck space on the different rooftops for whatever, and telescopes scattered about.  I think the lot is $266,399 unwanded.  The only CC in this should be the freestanding showers... both from Simptopix at MTS2, (I can't build a house without em) the window fix, so you aren't staring at ungodly red windows, and numenor's slot enabler.  I think that's it.  Either way, download at your own risk.  I wasn't very thourough about checking for other hacks. (lazy bliss is lazy)

If you find any, please let me know and I will disable the link til I get it cleaned up better.
http://www.mediafire.com/?zhjmz1y5zw4

ETA:  All EPS, all SPs except holiday, teen stuff and K&B.

[Emma]

 Okay, so now I try to flatten a lot and it works.  I have no idea why I could not get it to work earlier this month when I wanted it to. 
   Even if one were to use a flattened lot from base game, another who does not have all EPs would not be able to use a house made-over in an all EP game.  Or am I mistaken.  Would AnyGameStarter make a difference?

If you create a lot using the BaseGame Starter or AnyGame Starter to run only the base game, then that lot will be compatible with everyone's game, no matter which EPs or SPs they have installed.  If Emma had created her flat-edged lot using the BGS, then everyone could have used that lot for the challenge, no matter what EPs / SPs they have installed.

Of course, once someone modifies the lot using additional EPs or SPs, the lot is no longer base-game compatible.

Lots are always forward compatible, but never backwards compatible.

I downloaded the BGS and tried to flatten the lot, but it just didn't work. Oh, the edges were flat, but the actual tiles that had stuff placed on them wouldn't go to the same level. CFE did not work. Any suggestions? This is bugging me, I think I have missed something obvious

[Mootilda]

I downloaded the BGS and tried to flatten the lot, but it just didn't work. Oh, the edges were flat, but the actual tiles that had stuff placed on them wouldn't go to the same level. CFE did not work. Any suggestions? This is bugging me, I think I have missed something obvious

Interesting.  Let me try this with both AL and TS2 and see what the difference is.

It's possible that CFE wasn't added until a later EP.  Would people want a completely flat lot, rather than just a lot with flat edges?

[rufio]

Lots are always forward compatible, but never backwards compatible.

I do not have BV or FT, but I have noticed that with the Clean Installer I can still install lots made with those EPs, just with the EP-specific stuff missing.  Is this a VBT?

[Mootilda]

Lots are always forward compatible, but never backwards compatible.

I do not have BV or FT, but I have noticed that with the Clean Installer I can still install lots made with those EPs, just with the EP-specific stuff missing.  Is this a VBT?

Do you have AL?  Since lots are forwards-compatible, you should be able to use BV and FT lots when running AL.

If you are actually able to use BV or FT lots when running Seasons, then you are very lucky.  However, as long as the game doesn't care, I wouldn't worry about it.

There are several reasons that a lot crashes with an EP which was released later than your latest installed EP:
1) The lot contains one or more new records types, and your latest EP doesn't know how to handle those new record types.  For example, Seasons added a new Weather record type.
2) The lot contains one or more known record types, but they have a newer internal format which your latest EP doesn't know how to handle.  For example, apartments require additional information in the lot description.  So, EA had to modify the format of that record.
3) I've heard that other stuff, such as missing meshes, can sometimes cause problems.

So, I suppose that it's possible that a specific lot will be backwards-compatible, because it happens to have no new record types and no new record formats.  However, this is very unlikely.

I downloaded the BGS and tried to flatten the lot, but it just didn't work. Oh, the edges were flat, but the actual tiles that had stuff placed on them wouldn't go to the same level. CFE did not work. Any suggestions? This is bugging me, I think I have missed something obvious

I just tried CFE with BGS running base game only and it worked fine.  I'm not sure why yours isn't working.

[Update:]
OK, here's the flattened base-game-compatible lot.  Here's what I did:

1) Run the base game starter to create a base-game-compatible version of the maxis-made lot.
2) Run the LotAdjuster to flatten the edges.
3) Use CFE to flatten the rest of the lot.
4) Run the clean installer to remove the Curious brothers.
5) Run dbpf-recompress to re-compress lot.
6) Remove most of the jpgs to reduce the size of the lot package.

I don't usually package occupied lots, so please let me know if I need to do something else.

[Another update:] Just for future reference:
The last two steps aren't actually necessary; I was just trying to reduce the size of the packaged lot, so that I could upload it here.

[Emma]

Oh well I dunno Thanks for your help Mootilda.

[rufio]

Do you have AL?  Since lots are forwards-compatible, you should be able to use BV and FT lots when running AL.

Yes I do; but when I was installing with the EAxis installer, it would tell me that those lots needed EP material that was not installed, or something like that.  I've been a little worried if Clean Installer shouldn't have rejected them too.

[witch]

@Emma: Wow, that is a change from your normal style! I like the dining room and the garden room the best. A lot of the décor is too dark for my taste.

@Bliss: LOVE the three storey greenhouse! I used that idea ages ago in a plant sim house I built, but I'd forgotten about it since. Not sure about the toxic green nurseries. 

@Tricyln: There is a cheat IndividualRoofSlopeAngle It takes any setting from 15 through to 75 degrees.

1) Make your roof. Make sure you are still clicked on a roof making tool.
2) Type IndividualRoofSlopeAngle 20 (for example)
3) Use the roof tool to click on the roof.

I have it in my userstartup.cheat file as roof. So I only have to type roof 45

[Emma]

Cheers witch, yeah it looks really dark in the screenshots, I think it is because of the dark ceiling tiles and the wooden floors I used. It doesn't look so dark in-game. I'm not using this house for the Curious Brothers though, I have a family that would be perfect for it! They have just had twinz and already have a couple of kids.

[Mootilda]

Yes I do; but when I was installing with the EAxis installer, it would tell me that those lots needed EP material that was not installed, or something like that.  I've been a little worried if Clean Installer shouldn't have rejected them too.

When a lot is packaged, EA writes version information into the Sims2Pack.  They don't actually try to determine whether each EP or SP is necessary, they just list every EP or SP that is currently installed.  When you use the EA installer, it accepts or rejects the install based on that version list.

The Clean Installer is more forgiving, but it also does not attempt to determine which EPs and SPs are necessary.  Instead, it just removes the version information completely.  So, if an EP is necessary and you don't have it, the game will crash.  However, if the game doesn't have any problems with your lot, then you've got a valid set of EPs and SPs installed.

If you have an EP (ie, AL) which was released later than the latest EP or SP used to create the lot (ie, FT), you should be fairly safe.  This is true even if you have none of the EPs which were actually used to create the lot.  I've even seen the game say something like "You must have uninstalled Seasons since this lot was created, so I'll fix the lot for you", and then delete that extraneous Weather record from my lot, making it compatible with my FT-only installation.

[PirateFaafy]

Curse you, Bliss, for pulling off the glassy thing way better than I did

This one really does have a lot of opportunity, judging by the entries. I'd never be able to decide who wins if I were a judge.

[HomeschooledByTards]

I'd never be able to decide who wins if I were a judge.

It's a good thing this isn't a contest, because everyone always makes such fantastic lots. I wouldn't be able to judge either.