Apartment Life: Obligatory Hate/Love Topic

[socurious]

Even with moveobjects on I can't place the new shelves so that they are one above the other.

You press and hold Ctrl and Alt while having the object against the wall. First you'll want to use  [ ] to move it to the desired height then place it.

another dislike - my "plumper thumper" sectional sofa isn't a sectional.

http://community.livejournal.com/thesims2/5816437.html#cutid1  It's driving me nuts.

I can't even find the new sectional sofa. I've searched all over.

I've only played a bit but so far:

Like:
The walk to school interaction. I can have kids miss the bus and stay home for nearly an hour more doing homework then send them off without being late.
Most of the new objects are great.

Dislike:
How easy roommates are to keep happy. Mine is a drunk, she drinks at the damn bar all night then shakes her ass at the stereo all night. None of the neighbors seem to notice the noise either.
Not being able to modify the apartment how I want in build mode once someone is moved in. It's understandable but whats even more annoying is not being able to modify it without anyone in it unless you rezone, save, exit, reload. WTF EAxis?

I was able to modify an apartment complex after I moved my sim to the sim bin.  Once my sim was moved, all the npc's moved out too, and I didn't need to rezone to change anything.  Thanks for letting us know how to add and move stuff to the walls.  I'm larnin' so much!

[dusty]

Okay, has anyone figured out how to place two decorations on the same wall section yet?  I can move them up and down fine, but it won't let me place the second object.

Pretty sure this was already addressed in this thread, moveobjects on.

AL introduced a new feature - you press Ctrl and Alt together and then it will let you put more things on the same wall, without using move objects. 

[Yecats]

The apartment building tools was also covered in another thread, but to reitterate:

If your apartment is occupied, use boolProp aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false.

If your apartment is vacant, yet still zoned as an apartment, use boolProp aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false AND boolProp aptBaseLotSpecificToolsDisabled false.

This allows you to add and remove walls, edit the common areas and do landscaping, all while occupied with sims to test the functionality of adding that extra hot-tub to the basement.

[spaceface]

Having moveobjects_on is fun but when it means that actions drop from queues or environment scores are bottomed out because sims can't reach things, it causes a lot of stomping and general annoyance which is why I prefer to play with it off.

I will see what I can do tonight with control/alt and brackets.

Last night I had fun rearranging some apartment lots for my space colony 'hood. It is in permanent winter as terraforming is not complete so I used some of the Lot Bin apartments but added extra walls and some roofs to make everything under cover. An indoor playground works just fine, and I found the easiest way to build relationships, I put the "Don't wake the Llama" game in the playground as well and there are sims playing it at all times of the day and night.

I noted what some others have, that the school bus does not fetch children in the morning from that lot (Lot Bin lot) but it drops them off after school.

[jsalemi]

AL introduced a new feature - you press Ctrl and Alt together and then it will let you put more things on the same wall, without using move objects. 

Actually, that's not new -- it's been around since OFB or Pets.

[Zazazu]

Having moveobjects_on is fun but when it means that actions drop from queues or environment scores are bottomed out because sims can't reach things, it causes a lot of stomping and general annoyance which is why I prefer to play with it off.

That's not caused by having moveobjects on. That's caused by bad design. Interactable items should have a clear path to them.

[Alex]

Also, you just hold Alt.

[Dragon Slave]

I love how couples cuddle in bed after waking up.  It took me by total surprise when I skimmed the camera over the master bedroom and saw the wife in her husbands arms, her head on his chest.  I've wanted better cuddle in bed animations forever, this is way more than I expected from them

I also love ceilings!  I can finally delete all of those cumbersome cc ceiling tiles that always got in my way anyhow.  Someone mentioned how they don't disappear with walls down, but I think that's an advantage when you're trying to change the texture and the walls keep getting in your way.  If you don't want to see the ceilings, use the ceiling off option.  They're only there if you want them.

And the ability to place wall items at different heights helps tons.  You have no idea how many windows and paintings cluttered my download folder before, with the only difference being the height of the item.  Now I only need one of each variety, and [ ] with do the rest.



Yeah... as for things I don't like... I haven't actually played with apartment lots much... so I'm sure there's a ton of things that will get on my nerves that I just haven't discovered yet.  So far, I don't like how my sims have gained an obsession with giving friendly hugs.  Even my antisocial, ornery sims can't seem to resist hugging a sim they've just met... which obviously leads to failure.  This shouldn't be, I wonder if it's a hack conflict in my game, or a bug that needs to be fixed.   

And where did allmenus on go?     That was such a helpful cheat for storytelling.  Why did they disable it?

[jsalemi]

I haven't seen the cuddling in bed yet, probably because most of the time my sims go to sleep under sleepclock/BUY control, and as soon as they wake up they run to the bathroom. I'll have to give them a chance to sleep on their own one of these go-arounds and see if I catch it.

[Zazazu]

The cuddling is cute, but it takes them a year and a day to get up then. Not too bad with my work-at-home sims, but annoying for the ones that have carpools at 8 am and need a shower first because the kids tied them up the night before.

[MsMaria]

I've been reading these posts with dread and putting off playing as long as possible. I've spent the past weeks collecting mods and CC for the game but last night I decided to play for a bit. I purposely plopped the Orphan kids into a house to put off the inevitable frustration of apartments.

In doing so, I noticed a behaviour that quickly drove me to distraction. Every walk-by, after being greeted and talked to, walked straight into one of two bedrooms that were equipped with dressers and repeatedly changed clothes! Over and over and over. Four of the orphan kids did the same. Everyone lined up to change clothes. It was ridiculous! I finally deleted all dressers and the walk-bys. Bleh! I have never seen this behaviour in any EP before this.

Thank god I didn't start out playing an apartment, I would have deleted the entire building.
If someone has already posted this issue, many pardons for overlooking it and possibly getting a fix. I miss my dressers.

[Cappuccino]

And the ability to place wall items at different heights helps tons.  You have no idea how many windows and paintings cluttered my download folder before, with the only difference being the height of the item.  Now I only need one of each variety, and [ ] with do the rest.

Wait, what? Does that work with windows too?

[jsalemi]

In doing so, I noticed a behaviour that quickly drove me to distraction. Every walk-by, after being greeted and talked to, walked straight into one of two bedrooms that were equipped with dressers and repeatedly changed clothes! Over and over and over. Four of the orphan kids did the same. Everyone lined up to change clothes. It was ridiculous! I finally deleted all dressers and the walk-bys. Bleh! I have never seen this behaviour in any EP before this.

That isn't a known AL bork (never seen it happen in my game, with the orphans or any other residential or apartment lot), so you probably still have an old hack lurking somewhere that's causing it.

[moparopie]

AL introduced a new feature - you press Ctrl and Alt together and then it will let you put more things on the same wall, without using move objects. 

Actually, that's not new -- it's been around since OFB or Pets.

I was gonna say, I could have sworn I've been using ctrl + alt for a while now.

[Dragon Slave]

Wait, what? Does that work with windows too?

Er, no... it doesn't.  I thought I read somewhere that it did, but I just tried to use it now and it won't work.  Darn.

Something new I noticed just now, toddlers can cause a ruckus by banging pots and pans   And elders too   I wish the would stop demeaning elders.  Not everyone gets senile when they're old. And they have a tendency to whip the pans out from nowhere, and pull the attention from everyone in the room.  Real aggravating at parties.  I still like the idea... but I have the feeling its going to get old very soon.

[Menaceman]

Toddlers being able to bang pots and pans isn't an AL thing. I've never seen it myself but I do remember seeing a picture of it aaaaages ago. I think around about when Pets was out.

Is it just my AL game or has anybody else noticed the new love bed not giving out woohoo memories after the act has been committed?

[jsalemi]

I've never seen anyone bang pots and pans -- is it an autonomous thing, or can they be directed to do it?

[Dragon Slave]

Toddlers being able to bang pots and pans isn't an AL thing. I've never seen it myself but I do remember seeing a picture of it aaaaages ago. I think around about when Pets was out.

You sure about that   I could be wrong... but I've never seen it before and I have tons of toddlers in my game.  It seems real strange they'd wait till now to do it.

There are a few toddler toys made to look like pots and pans, cloned from the xylophone.  I had several of these in my gave at one point.   

To answer your question jsalemi, it's autonomous, like throwing a tantrum - and since it demands the attention of everyone in the room, there'll probably need to be a hack made to take the edge off of the nuisance.

[BastDawn]

That sounds like a Holiday Pack thing, for New Year's.

[Dragon Slave]

That sounds like a Holiday Pack thing, for New Year's.

They were having a new years bash, now that I think about it. I've had very few of those, so if it is part of the holiday pack, I could have easily missed it.

Why with pots and pans though? The noisemakers they use for birthday parties are so much more practical. I'll keep an eye out to see if it happens again. I'm still not entirely convinced.

[SnootCB]

It is definitely a New Year's party thing.

[Menaceman]

I think I've found another bug.
I got my one and only warlock to go to a community lot on an outing and the Gypsy Matchmaker turned up. My warlock couldn't greet her and so couldn't buy potions or talk to her. The only options he had were "Dismiss" and "Cast Spell..."

[J. M. Pescado]

Have you tried "Interact Without Greet"? It's an old shiny that probably will allow you to interact with them again. While not specifically intended as a fix, it probably will fix it as a side effect.

[Knukleur]

Like:

• I can design a lot with lots of high fun/comfort/skill facilities in the commons, and it doesn't raise rent values.
• Roommate candidates list seem to refresh with a range of career progress similar to my playable Sims.
• Moving a family out of an apartment due to a bug (or perhaps a misunderstood feature?) and then back in recalls the previous group of unplayable neighbors, with friendship levels preserved.
• Did AL fix the NL neon bars so they're actually illuminated or is my new monitor doing this?

Dislike:

• I can give low-rent Sims fancy-schmancy common facilities that they don't deserve.  Why, when I was your age...etc.
• Social groups don't seem exclusive enough.  None of my Sims ever seems to get rejected for using the "wrong" gesture or story.
• Such obvious phail in some of the pre-made lots; hallways to nowhere, rooms without windows, grills on tenant balconies BAD!
• Fitted closets seem way too expensive compared to racks placed in walk-ins. Sliding door hardware does not cost more than a refrigerator! Come to think of it, how come Sims can't keep there underpants in the refrigerator?

[Millie]

Like:

The apartment option in itself. I'm enjoying playing with that.
The idea of the witches. They are quite fun. I love the broomsticks!
Kids playgrounds. I've been wanting something like this for a while.
Trailer building accessories included! Yay!

Dislike:

Not being able to place objects outside. I have a sim in a trailer and can't place the telescope.
The no schoolbus thing. I can't seem to make him walk to school either, as his adoptive mum is at work by that point. Social worker will no doubt be taking him back soon. I can't see him getting into private school, as they live in a trailer and mum is only a low level job. By the time you take rent out, and nanny fees (which are incidentally all day, as when tracking schedule, she doesn't take into account school hours either?), you are left with nothing much to decorate up the trailer.
I bought some clothes for the lad when he was adopted - brought them back to the trailer, which has two walk in closets in there, and it gave the message 'great, one of your sims has bought clothes, now they need a dresser to put them in?)