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- Other - [Testing!] Electric box, power generator, and more
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I've been meaning to rethink cheap rent. I made separate object for that, but since it requires other objects, having separate agreement object is kind of excessive - I could just recalculate the rent through the electrical box. On the other hand, what if someone wants cheap rent on a lot, but doesn't feel like having an electrical box on that lot. May sound cheaty, but the cheap rent can be justified by some other means. So I think, cheap rent agreement will be a really independent buyable object.
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Yeah, I haven't implemented the money thing in the end. Back then I was too excited to stick all the stuff I can think of in one mod. Not any more. I've been meaning to rethink cheap rent. I made separate object for that, but since it requires other objects, having separate agreement object is kind of excessive - I could just recalculate the rent through the electrical box. On the other hand, what if someone wants cheap rent on a lot, but doesn't feel like having an electrical box on that lot. May sound cheaty, but the cheap rent can be justified by some other means. So I think, cheap rent agreement will be a really independent buyable object. |
I can think of quite a few reasons for a place to have cheaper rent. Inconvenient location, landlord escaping a vacancy tax, old but well maintained, murder, other deaths (culture plays a role here), oversupply of housing (consequentially undersupply could lead to higher rents), set up by an employer, supernatural hotspot (Depends on the culture of the neighbourhood), nearby crime, etc.
But yeah everything looks great so far.
WowoW it's a badly hidden owo UwU Yeet skeet Idk what I'm doing
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Posts: 1,530
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Temporarily unavailable. It had a bug, so I took it down for further development.
***
- Reduce the price of residential or fraternity lot. Place it on unoccupied residential or fraternity lot. Clipboard's value will immediately change to -5000, making the lot this much cheaper. Then you can move your family in.
If you buy a clipboard when the family already lives on a lot, it will lower the bills, but won't give your family any cash.
- Reduce the price of community lot. Place it on unowned community lot. Clipboard's value will immediately change to -10000, making the lot this much cheaper. Then you can direct a sim to buy the lot.
You may buy a clipboard on already owned lot, but there's no point in reducing the lot price this way.
- Reduce the apartment rent price. Place it in current family's apartment and click on cheap rent interaction. You'll see the new rent in text notification. After that you can sell the object or use it as a decoration. To go back to normal rent price click on corresponding interaction.
Note: rent calculation takes into account the value of basic items: light fixtures, counters, plumbing, fridges, stoves, even cars. I don't have the full list, but you get the idea: whatever usually stays in unfurnished apartment is accounted for in the total price. Other types of objects are ignored even if you've already furnished the whole place.
You may place a clipboard in unoccupied apartment, but you still need to move your family in there before you'll be able to recalculate the price.
Electrical box of power problems
You'll find description in posts #12 and #17.
What changed:
- Removed the "Get cheap agreement" interaction, as I remade the whole cheap price mod (see above).
- Fixed a bug: now if there's already food in the oven, microwave or toaster when power goes off, sims will be able to get it out. Thanks to franfeliano for telling me.
- Made a way for more advanced users to add GUIDs of custom objects to the list of objects to have disabled interactions during power outage (hope this made sense ). Thanks to maxon for the idea. If you have a unique custom object that proved to be unaffected by the mod and you want that object to be unusable during power outage, this is for you.
1. Open "electricalbox...package" in SimPE.
2. Open Behavior Constant (BCON) #107F called "Custom GUIDs for disabling interactions" in plugin view.
3. Insert GUIDs starting from line 1.
Each object will take two lines. First object will take lines 1 and 2. Start with last 4 symbols of GUID and then put first 4 symbols on the next line. Be sure to put values in the Hex box. Picture example GUID 12345678:
So on you continue. Second object will take line 3 and 4, third - lines 5 and 6. You can fill in a lot of GUIDs. The limit is line 127 (7F).
4. When you're finished, take note of the number of the last line you filled. Put that number in line 0 (labeled "Line count"). This is important!
Examples:
a) if you stopped at line 4, put "4" in line 0.
b) if you stopped at line 14 (E), put either "E" in the Hex box, or "14" in the Dec box of the line 0.
5. You may write labels, too. For that open Behavior Constant Labels (TRCN) #107F called similarly "Custom GUIDs for disabling interactions". Select a line and type your text in a box to the left.
The back-up candle
Both file and description remained in in post #12.
Watering can of fertile land
This watering can represents good soil. As long as it's on your lot, it increases quality of growing garden plants and orchard trees, so they produce better crops. Weeds, ivy and other plants are going to love it here, too. Nature really flourishes on fertile land, it's alive and raging! Although, it does not relieve you of the need to take care of your garden, so be prepared to work.
Buy watering can in gardening section, general misc. or through collection. Place it on any lot. As it costs 5000, it will increase lot price and will affect bills, but you won't be able to sell it for that price (how can you sell fertility of your land just like that?).
ADDED LATER:
The mod has settings - mild flora and aggressive flora. Aggressive flora not only has higher chance of spawning, but is also very penetrative and is able to grow no matter what. Let me show you how it looks:
-> -> ->
Affected types of plants:
- Base: weeds and some water plants.
- Seasons: harvestable plants and orchard trees.
- Bon Voyage: grass and tiny decorative thing.
- Mansions&Gardens: ivy, shrub and and some water plants.
Want to include more? You can! The mod has place for new GUIDs, where you can add maxis/custom plants for fertile land to spawn. Think grass, flowers, seaweed, or even shrubs and tree sprouts. If you don't have M&G you should really get some custom wall ivy, it looks awesome.
The edits are similar to what I wrote for the electrical box (see above). In this case there're 4 BCONs:
#100A "GUIDs for spawning flora - Ground Low" - put GUIDs for grass and smaller plants, that will look fine if sims step over them.
#100D "GUIDs for spawning flora - Ground Bushy" - put GUIDs for bushier and higher plants, that shouldn't be intersected.
#100B "GUIDs for spawning flora - Wall" - for objects with wall placement (like ivy).
#100C "GUIDs for spawning flora - Pond" - for plants that are supposed to go onto water surface.
Note: for multi-tile objects use ONLY master GUID (there are GUIDs for each object's tile + master GUID).
- You'll notice I've already filled in a few. I've labeled them, so you can see what's what, add or replace if you want.
- All 4 BCONs have corresponding TRCN resourses with editable labels.
- Remember order - last 4 symbols and then first 4 symbols of GUID.
- And remember to adjust line count.
I'll write a better tutorial later.
Lot traits collection file
A convenient way to find all the objects from the set in one place. Note: this file is placed in the Collections folder.
Look for this icon in game:
By the way, I'm not entirely satisfied to call it "lot traits", but it kind of fits the idea. Each object represents some quality/property. I need some kind of name for the set anyway.
Before you download anything, please read the "Before you download anything" note in post #12!
Also, don't forget to delete the old files, except for candle that hasn't been changed.
***
maxon, just saw your post about higher rent. Sounds like a logical expansion to the mod, I'll see if I can make it.
***
watering-can.zip (61.7 KB, 156 downloads) - View custom content | ||||||||||
115378 2017-07-20 14:07 watering-can-1.1-lamare.package --------- ------- 115378 1 file |
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Description: Updated July 20 | ||||||||||
lot-traits-COLLECTION.zip (2.2 KB, 132 downloads) - View custom content | ||||||||||
3155 2017-07-18 04:42 lot-traits-COLLECTION-lamare.package --------- ------- 3155 1 file |
Posts: 1,530
Thanks: 15762 in 75 Posts
Actually, that bug pushed me to find a better and more flexible solution for rent alteration. I'll upload it for further testing as soon as I work out a few lower and higher options.
Electrical box and watering can will get updated too, but later on. I want to improve sim reactions for the box and for the can to add more sophisticated rules for plants placement.
***
Also, got a report on a few other things, so these things are next up:
- christmas tree - to include into electrical system
- strange shadow on water plant put on the ground - I'll remove the plant from the watering can's list
- issue with lamps not lighting if they are bought during power outage - to investigate
- finish electrical box's text notifications
+ another way of disabling incoming calls
+ let buy meter only on private lots
And a few suggestions to consider:
- sim can hit a wire during digging, be electrocuted and cause a black out
- ghost can damage the electrical box
Posts: 2,278
Do lightning rods on the roof lower chance of power outage?
Do the solar panels work to lower bills with this object before and during a power outage (yes, I know it's solar power, but I'm a blonde and I got questions) I actually use the modded solar panels.
Can the electrician be called to repair unit, or is this a resident only job?
Is the phone outage only for landline phones, or does it somehow affect cell phones too?
Now I'll have to hire a nanny, she loves breaking the trash compactor and a few other things and I used to loooove making her fix them.
I really love this object, you put a lot of common sense, realistic ideas into it. Thank!
When you forgive, you heal. When you let go, you grow.
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Do lightning rods on the roof lower chance of power outage?
Sort of, but not directly. If you have placed electrical box outside, it is vulnerable to lightning strikes, which can damage the box itself, all electronics and cause a blackout. Lightning rod would lower the chance of a lightning to hit the box, so in this case it makes a difference. Although, gravestones and trees might do a better job attracting lightning, I don't know. But if your electrical box is inside, the lightning can't get to it anyway.
Do the solar panels work to lower bills with this object before and during a power outage
They're independent objects and yes, they lower the bills. In fact, that's about the only thing they do. I was considering making power available to solar and windmill owners when there are problems with centralized supply, but I'm scared of doing all the research and calculation :O
Stored power is supposed to decay if not used immediatly. battery capacity should be somehow limited. And who knows how many more details there are.
Can the electrician be called to repair unit, or is this a resident only job?
Yes, you can call repairman or apartment landlord. Even to install upgrades.
Is the phone outage only for landline phones, or does it somehow affect cell phones too?
Only for landlines, but I can't remember whether I tested cellphones to confirm that they work or not. I will have to check that.
ETA: Cellphones don't ring. Well, then I'll find another way to stop incoming calls coming through landlines.
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When you forgive, you heal. When you let go, you grow.
Posts: 1,530
Thanks: 15762 in 75 Posts
Posts: 1,530
Thanks: 15762 in 75 Posts
Requires Apartment life
Be sure to delete any previous versions, back up your data, use in a testing hood, wear helmet.
Download link: --- find updated file down the thread ---
What it is
It is an object - clipboard - found in Misc./Misc. No global overrides.
What it does
Allows rent tuning. It has a few interactions for altering the rent price and one secret feature that may pop up in certain circumstances and surprise you.
Info: Show current rent
Shows how much you owe and how much you would've owed if you weren't landlord's lover
Also shows current object's setting: normal default / custom / based on lot qualities
Recalculating rent. You only need to do it once, it sticks. But you can change it anytime you want.
Each time you change it you will get a blue pop-up reminder to put your car in a pocket.
Above, you see that blue pop-up. Yellow text notification belongs to "Info: Show current rent" interaction that ran a minute before.
So, what options do you have?
Recalculate rent based on lot qualities
Takes into account my other mods in progress: electrical box, pipeline, air-vent. Each one makes your rent cheaper. This interaction will not be very useful before I finish those mods, but it works.
Example. Normal rent was §1162. I changed it to "based on lot qualities" while having electrical box on the property. Sim had no additional bonuses or penalties. New rent became §1084.
Aha, you say, I'll buy a dozen electrical boxes, get myself cheap rent and then sell them -- what happens then? Well, the mod monitors the situation from time to time, and if your apartment deserves higher rent, it will be recalculated.
I'll delete it!
If you sell the clipboard, the rent will be recalculated by default.
Besides, if you wanted to cheat, you could just say so.
Custom rent options...
You can go higher or lower -- up to tree times the initial price.
More examples of range:
option | 33% | 46% | 60% | 73% | 86% | default | 113% | 126% | 140% | 166% | 200% | 250% | 300% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
example 1 | 1255 | 1757 | 2258 | 2760 | 3262 | 3763 | 4264 | 4766 | 5268 | 6271 | 7776 | 9532 | 11289 |
example 2 | 117 | 164 | 211 | 258 | 304 | 351 | 397 | 444 | 491 | 585 | 725 | 889 | 1052 |
On custom setting, the mod won't bug you about what's fair, so yes, it can be cheaty. But it's you who clicked 33% rent option, so don't look at me.
Recalculate rent by game's default
Explains itself.
What about that surprise feature?
Do you really want to spoil it?
Ok.
No?
What counts: broken objects, roaches, bunch of weeds, flood of puddles, power outage, water outage. Not necessarily every type, but there should be a lot of problems. Also, you have to have unpaid rent waiting in your mailbox (otherwise there's nothing to pardon) and not bad relationships with landlord (friendship further boosts the chance).
In short, try to get your place as trashed as possible by next monday, do not rush to pay rent, invite your landlord and make puppy eyes. Fun is guaranteed. Success is not...
And, yeah -- DON'T TELL ANYONE
I may have forgotten little details, but I hope I covered all major stuff.
Questions, suggestions, complaints -- bring them all
@gummilutt, you were interested in rent, so you're welcome to take a peek.
Creations can be found on my on tumblr.
Custom rent options... You can go higher or lower -- up to tree times the initial price. |
I love this! EAxis rent has always seemed way too high to me, so it would be great to be able to customise it to lower it for all lots and lower it even more for lots which are supposed to be for poorer sim/in not-so-nice areas of the 'hood etc.
I was wondering, though, if it would be possible to provide a few even lower options - say, 25% and 10%? Perhaps even 0% as well, if that's doable? I would like to be able to set the rent as being very low (10%, probably) for sims who live on military bases, to simulate the bulk of the cost of housing being paid by the military (their employer), with military personnel only paying a very low rent.
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Meanwhile, I'm back to work on the electrical panel & stuff. Can't wait to show you what I've got. Added a bunch of new features, including what had been suggested and two new objects.
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Thanks to all the people who already tested and made suggestions
Here's what's new:
Electrical box
New items that play with the system:
- Christmas trees turn off when power is off.
- Holiday garlands, tree decorations and reindeer don't glow without power.
- Cheap small stereo boombox now works without power, as if it used batteries.
- Fountains don't work without power, except for 3 fountains that look natural. Custom fountains may look like they're frozen, because I don't know what effects they might use to turn them off.
- Elevators also stop without power. May break and fall down with sims inside if they're in use the very moment power goes off. In apartments they don't break at all and only stop if power outage affects the whole building (not local).
- Elevator asked for additional global override (Elevator - Can Get Out? 0x42484156 0x7FE6B74C 0x0000204B). Now there are total of 8 overrides in the mod. Still pretty good for a gigantic mod like this.
Backup power sourses:
- Wind & solar back-up comes into play during long power outages caused by an external event (e.g. blizzard blackout) or digging accident with breached wiring, given there's inverter installed and nothing broken in the electrical panel that would prevent it from supplying power.
- Wind turbine may stop if wind speed is very low. One turbine is big enough to power any lot as long as there's wind.
- Solar panels work only in daytime. Their efficiency depends on sky clarity and season. Apartments need 1-2 solar panels. Other lots need 2-4 solar panels. Large ground solar panel is counted as 2 panels. Small roof panel equals 1.
- Solar panels and wind turbine come with the game, I haven't modded them - new logic is inside the electrical box mod.
- Portable power generator working on fuel is coming soon.
Ghost haunting:
- Ghosts can possess electrical box and do pranks in it.
- Angry ones only cause bad stuff, happy ghosts have a chance to do something good as well as bad.
- I'm not telling what they do.
Changes to electrical box itself:
- Additional 1-tiled shape to choose. Could go in smaller homes/businesses.
- New upgrade - power inverter.
- Money-saving meter is gone. Didn't play nice in apartments where negative values caused enormous bills (32,767$ bill anyone?).
- Electrical box reduces lot value if area and/or building condition are set to bad (-2000 for each bad setting). Doesn't work on apartments because of the bills. When you build a lot without a family, electrical box randomizes it's settings (since you can't access pie menu without sims), so you can preinstall electrcial box with bad settings to reduce lot value before a family buys it.
- When you load a lot you get reminded if there's a power or phone outage and what's the reason, if possible.
- Fixes: cell phones receive incoming calls during landline phone outage, etc.
Digging accident
Standalone global mod. It works nice with electrical box, but is independent and optional.
- Sim may hit a wire during digging, be electrocuted and cause a blackout. The chances are shared with pipe accident.
- When sim hits a wire, it needs to be fixed by an autorized repairman (npc). You don't just fill it in and all well! You have to report it to utility company or wait till they find out about the leak/blackout and locate you themselves. Exceptions are dorms and non-livable lots.
- I plan to make broken pipe require fixing too and it's actually already works. You'll be able to experience it as soon as pipeline mod is finished.
- If you don't have electrical box on lot, there'll be no blackout, and the dirt pile will not have to be fixed. Just electrocution.
- Pregnant sims don't get electrocuted, if they're alredy showing. It seems to be a game-wide rule and I decided to go with it.
Resources:
Dig for Stuff - Find Object | 0x42484156 0x7F084A90 0x0000200D
Interaction - Fill In - TEST | 0x42484156 0x7F084A90 0x00002009
[Object functions] | 0x4F424A66 0x7F07D5D8 0x000041A9
dirtPileLarge_cres | 0xE519C933 0x1C0532FA 0x0B51A8DE 0xFFB52471
Bone names | 0x53545223 0x7F07D5D8 0x00000090
Anims - Object | 0x53545223 0x7F084A90 0x00000086
Anims - Adult | 0x53545223 0x7F084A90 0x00000081
Added:
Function - Repair | 0x42484156 0x7F084A90 0x00002080
Function - Repair - TEST | 0x42484156 0x7F084A90 0x00002081
Event - Repair - Start | 0x42484156 0x7F084A90 0x0000208D
Event - Repair - Stop | 0x42484156 0x7F084A90 0x00002090
CT - This file is in place Lamare | 0x42484156 0x7F084A90 0x00002092
Candle
Candle now has about 50 hours to burn. After that, it turns into candle-end (or whatever they call it in english) and can be thrown away.
Rent agreement
- New custom lower rent options including absolute ZERO
- When your rent = 0, the mod marks it as paid, so you don't have to check in at the mailbox and get landlord reminders for nothing. You can still see an option on the mailbox a couple of hours after midnight on monday, but the mod should turn it off soon.
- Fixed clipboard's mesh position to be centered and facing.
- Still no global overrides.
_______
Testing environment Check for conflicts, backup your hoods before using. You know the drill. If you already have these mods, they might reset themselves due to update. The safest option is to remove them and save the lot before installing updated version, but it might be OK even without re-saving.
***
TO DO:
texture pixelation + bumpmap
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Now to what's new:
electrical box:
Look for description and new file in the next post.
- interactions work for maxis candles and torches, lamps outside apartment (when power is off only in current unit) and registered custom non-electric lamps
- there is a way to register custom non-electric lamps by editing the mod using SimPE (electrical box will treat them more appropriately if you do)
- flickering lamp event is purged, I'm sorry (it caused weird shadows, I couldn't avoid them)
- new thing instead of flickering problem: a lamp may suddenly go off and require light bulb replacement to be ever turned on again
- hot tubs are now usable during power outage, but sims will be soaking without lights and bubbles
- only current apartment has power, when backup power source is active during power outage
- hiding settings do not hide anymore
- fixed typos, weird repair interaction, wrote some new dialogs, countless little things here and there
Overrides: yes, added some minor overrides (hottubs, neons)
bill penalties:
One of the main reasons why it's taken me so long to post update; it's a whole new feature!
Red bills have new consequences, if sims don't pay them.
If there are either electrical box or pipeline (unreleased) on your lot:
- next day after first delinquent notice - power is turned off
- the next day - nothing (planned - water is turned off)
- the next day - phone is turned off
- the next day - repoman finally visits: all unpaid bills except the newest ones are destroyed, their value translates into repossessions the repoman performs; utilities are restored
If there are neither electrical box nor pipeline (unreleased) on your lot:
- each of the 3 days after first delinquent notice - bill amount is adjusted by 10%
- the next day - repoman finally visits: all unpaid bills except the newest ones are destroyed, their value translates into repossessions the repoman performs
Note: pipe mod is in the works, so no water outages, yet, but there will be.
Known issues: once after installation of the mod, existing bills may jump out of mailbox on the ground, but that's OK. The bill and it's amount should stay intact.
Overrides: yes, one overriden BHAV.
Requirements: AL/M&G/UC, until I have more info or someone brave tests it on lower version.
digging accident:
- some changes about apartments, like, if the faulty dirt pile is on neighbor's territory, it won't be taken into account when another family is played at the moment
Overrides: yes, see previous post
Requirements: AL/M&G/UC, until I dig into other EPs' code and have more info
solar-wind-rebate:
Optional global mod for M&G owners - if your neighbor has solar panels or wind turbines, you don't get energy rebate; in other words, refund only concerns the apartment, in which solar panels or wind turbines are actually located.
It's a separate and independent file that can be used with or without the electrical box. Electrical box itself can totally live with or without it, as well.
Overrides: yes, three BHAVs for each object (small solar panel, large solar panel, wind turbine).
Requirements: M&G
question:
Anyone experienced errors with rent clipboard?
_____________
I know, this set of mods could use some clear organized description. The thread is all over the place, as well as my own notes, desktop and room. But I'm working on it, slowly moving towards upload time. There are SO many details. Good news is the mod gets more and more polished and I'm starting to see the end of the tunnel! In the meantime, I hope you like new additions. My sims will sure pay their bills less often from now on
Thanks again to everyone who helps me test it.
bill-penalties-1.zip (660 Bytes, 293 downloads) - View custom content | ||||||||||
1308 2018-01-11 20:03 bill-penalties-1-lamare.package --------- ------- 1308 1 file |
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solar-wind-rebate.zip (413 Bytes, 249 downloads) - View custom content | ||||||||||
744 2017-12-26 19:22 solar-wind-rebate-current-apartment-lamare.package --------- ------- 744 1 file |
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I'll edit this post for bugs or suggestions when I try the mod out.
Edit 1: I have a suggestion to do with bills, maybe if a sim has the "Repoman!" memory 3 times (Or some other repossession counter) their bills will get reduced by 5 - 10 %, and if they are unemployed an extra job will be added to newspapers and computers. But, if they get that memory again, the bills will go up by 5 - 10 % from the base number, not the discounted number. As well, the job finding objects will get their job count reduced by one (Yet again from the base number), and power and water will get cut off from 12am to 5am, with telephone being cut off from 9pm to 12pm the next day.
After paying the bills on time for the next week the services will get restored for those times, and after paying on time for the week after that the jobs and bills will go back to normal. This event can happen again each time you get the memory again, and the bill price will go up by 2% each time.
If somehow, you get the memory again (5 times, you must be really bad at this...) your sim can apply for Hardship and bills get reduced by 20% from base number and the money from jobs increases by 5%, however, to apply the household funds must be under five thousand simoleons and you have to reapply every 14 sim days. If while getting money during hardship you reach 7500 simoleons you must end the hardship within 3 days, on the 3rd day you will get a notice telling your to end Hardship contract, and if you don't with 11pm the same day the repoman will come to repossess 1000 simoleons the next day due to you committing fraud? I don't know a better way to put it. If the repoman can't repossess anything and there isn't 1000 simoleons in the family funds, he will walk off and your bills will by 3x as expensive for the next sim week
This stuff would be hard to implement, but it is something to think about. This could be some sort of uber utilities and realism mod.
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SparkySays, glad to hear.
I brought new version of electrical box. Changes are not that big. I found yet another object that needed turning off (neon coffee table). It's covered now. I changed how electrical box affects lot value again. Changed short circuit logic a bit. Oh and I added shadows.
First draft of electrical box's full huge description.
Experience power outages, phone line disconnections, burnt bulbs, tv antenna problems and different wiring related accidents. Upgrade and maintain electrical panel for better protection, tinker it for fun, build skill and hobby. Dive into the world of fuses, breakers, shorts and spikes.
Electrical box is a detailed mod about electricity and a new object you can interact with.
First and foremost, or "Tell me the basics, and I'm off to play"
1. Are you playing Ultimate Collection or have AL/M&G as your latest expansions? If not, make backup of your good 'hoods and test first. You don't need all EPs for this, and I worked on making it compatible with any setup, but I only tested on UC. If your latest EP is UNI or NL, don't even bother to download.
2. Run HCDU+ to make sure there are no conflicts and don't forget to clear game's cache.
3. Get related mods and objects, if you'd like: links here
4. Buy electrical box in misc. electronics and place it on a lot you want to be affected. In apartments, it has to be on private territory. From then, it does its thing and you can do things with it.
5. If you decide to delete the mod, make sure all lots have power on, before you uninstall. There's a debug interaction on electrical box, if you need it.
6. I can't promise there won't be bugs. There probably will be updates. We tested it a lot, but it's a complicated mod, so let's be realistic. If you catch any errors, please let me know and I'll do my best to fix them.
7. You may think, it's that unused power outage scenario. No. I did use bits of unused in-game code, but this mod covers a lot more objects and does a lot more stuff than that scenario.
Although I took inspiration in real life, this mod is by no means an accurate representation of physics of electricity. It is a game. If you're interested in how things really work, ask professionals and - please - always read manuals.
So here's this thing's manual, I guess. I wouldn't want to give out too much and spoil unexpected fun, but what're you gonna do. If anything, read the headers.
Power outage
Loss of electricity is the most complicated thing about this mod. To give you some sense of the level of detail: when power is out, water in a hottub stops bubbling and fridge motor goes silent. Sounds, lights, interactions, textures, effects, animations - I've tried to make it look like it's for real. Has support for business objects, too.
There are prolonged power outages that may happen as a consequence of thunderstorm, blizzard or random event. Those are the ones you have to wait through and can't really do anything about them. There are also those that you can do something about, because you are directly responsible for them: digging accident and unpaid bills. More on them in their respective threads.
Usually power outage affects all object on a lot. Apartments are special. Unless it's centralized power outage or digging accident, apartment neighbors have electricity in their flats as well as common areas. So, if you haven't paid your bills or have a breakage, only you suffer. Respectively, when you use backup source to power your own apartment during total blackout, common areas and neighbors are not powered.
Objects that will NOT work, sound, animate and/or emit light, if power is off
Computers (can be repaired)
Arcade games
Stereos (can be repaired), except for cheap small basegame boombox (see it as working on batteries)
Pinball machines
Karaoke
Bowling lane
Plastic surgery kit
Vending machines with sweets and drinks
Electro dance sphere
Garden sprinklers (can be repaired)
Cash registers, except for the antique
Electric guitars: usual and career reward
Synthesizer (can be repaired)
Microphone
Treadmill
Bandatron selling tickets
Biotech Station
Polygraph
Candy Factory
Surgical Dummy
Kiosk with portable electronics
Ceiling fans
Videogame console for TV
Televisions (can be repaired)
Coffee makers and espresso machines (allowed to juggle cups)
Dishwashers (can be repaired)
Microwaves (can be repaired)
Toaster ovens
Food processors
Ovens (allowed to cook on stove-tops)
Christmas trees and glowing reindeer
Elevators (can be repaired; work in apartments if power is off only in current apartment)
Objects that WILL work, but with no effects, if power is off
Fountains (no spraying, but actions are available)
Hydroponic garden (no light)
Racks for magazines and videogames (no light)
Aquariums (no light and bubbles when possible)
Holiday garlands on walls and trees (no glowing effects, but viewing is not restricted)
Hottubs (no light and bubbles)
Sims' plumbobs (no glow)
Some shop signs and exit sign (no light and glow)
Neon counters, bar and coffee table (no light and neon, but interactable)
Stacking blocks (no color changing for club thingies)
Business Car Display (turns off lights and rotation)
Objects that WILL work fully, if power is off
Fire alarm (see it as working on batteries)
Juicer (see it as mechanical)
Fire extinguishing sprinkler (set off by heat, not power)
Photobooth (see it as working on accumulators)
Phones (although they usually look as radio phones, I decided to pretend they work the old fashioned way, and make the telephone line disconnection a separate event)
Wireless mobile electronics
... etc.
Custom objects
If an object of certain category operates pretty much like maxis clone, it should behave as intended. Those categories of objects are:
Coffee makers and espresso machines
Dishwashers
Microwaves
Toaster ovens
Food processors
Stoves
Hot tubs
Cash registers
Garden sprinklers
Lamps (no distinction for candles though, unless you register them in the mod)
Computers
Pinball machines
Stereos
Other objects like musical instruments are done by GUIDs, so custom ones won't be recognized by the mod, unless you modify either my mod or the object itself. Mini-tutorials on how to register custom objects in the mod, see below.
If you encounter any errors caused by the mod conflicting with a custom object, please let me know.
Emergency power sources
Power backup comes into play during long power outages caused by an external event (e.g. blizzard blackout), unpaid bills or digging accident with breached wiring, given there's nothing broken in the electrical panel that would prevent it from supplying power. You have almost no battery capacity, so if the backup source stops producing energy, the power will go back off in a few minutes.
Wind & solar are parts of M&G expansion, although, what makes them useful is functionality performed by electrical box.
- They switch on automatically and require special equipment - inverter - installed in the electrical panel.
- One wind turbine is big enough to power any lot as long as there's wind. It may stop if wind speed is very low.
- Solar panels work in daytime. Their efficiency depends on sky clarity and season. Apartments need 1-2 solar panels, other lots need 2-4 solar panels. Large ground solar panel is counted as 2 panels, whereas small roof panel is 1.
- See also: energy rebate fix.
Portable gas power generator is an object made by me that you can download separately.
- It works on fuel that costs money. It doesn't need inverter, but it needs to be turned on manually and refueled in time. It makes noise, can break and be dangerous due to exhaust and so on. You can plug in up to 6 items per generator at the same time.
Bike generator is also a separate object, cloned from the Free Time bike.
- Doesn't make noise and a lot less dangerous than gas generator, but there is a trick - sims have to workout to make power. You may connect up to 3 individual objects per bike for them to be powered. More on generators later.
Electrical problems
Power tripping
If the lights went off, you don't always know what happened right away. So, first thing you do is check the electrical panel. Sometimes you may find blown fuses or tripped circuit breaker there. You won't be able to use electrical objects until you fix it. But the tripping itself is usually a consequence of something else. By disconnection of supply, electrical panel protects wiring and equipment on the lot from damage when it detects a problem. Different things can be a reason for that: short circuit in a faulty appliance, overload in peak hours, lightning(?), fire in electrical system, sim's doing, poltergeist.
Voltage surges
There are very fast and very big voltage spikes that can happen during storm, remote event, or direct lightning strike to the electrical box (if you placed it outside). These can potentially break all your electronics and fry your electrical panel, unless you have surge protector installed. Electronics in this case include stereos, televisions and computers.
Minor power surge may happen during peak hours. Default protection acts by temporary turning off power, so that abnormal voltage doesn't hurt electronics and appliances. It's usually more or less brief, sometimes repeated.
Peak/busy hours are 3 hours between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. everyday.
Short circuit and overheating
Short circuit is a dangerous event caused by broken electrical gizmo. Electrical box usually reacts by turning off power. If you ignore the signs and keep turning the power back on before fixing the culprit, you may as well be asking for trouble. Should overheated wiring start to burn, you'll be looking at fire. To make you feel better, though, you don't need to worry every time something breaks around the house - it's not always short circuit, and even when it is, you have means of avoiding destruction.
Another way overheating may happen is when you set stuff on fire while cooking, etc. Again, electrical box will try to shut the power. But if something is wrong with it, it may fail to disconnect, which leaves your other electronics and appliances vulnerable to damage and may lead to more fire.
To sum it up, worst case scenario: broken objects, damaged electrical box, destroyed upgrades, fire. Best case: simply tripped power.
Breakable electrical objects that count:
- television
- computer
- microwave
- trash compactor
- dishwasher
- hottub
- elevator
- robot base station
- synthesizer
Landline phone problems
These include:
- External phone outage for a breif or long time (because of storm/snow or random).
- Sporadic phone interruption during conversation (during rain/snow, by sim/ghost or random).
- Local malfunction in telephone wire that you have to fix (by sim/ghost or random).
- Unpaid bills penalty.
Cell phones are not affected by any of these problems.
You get small compensation if the outage is too long.
Static noise on television
Annoy sims during rain or snow, or caused by sim/ghost, or randomly.
Burnt light bulb
If a lamp went off and can't be turned on, it is probably a sign of burnt light bulb. Sims may not like it. The chance of this event is affected mostly by building condition and how new the lamp is (if lamp's value deprecated). New bulb costs 10 simoleons. It should not break again for at least few days after replacement.
Chances of incidents and damage they cause are affected by installed equipment, building and area conditions, hidden faults and sim's qualities. Consequences vary from nothing noticeble to electrical box damage, fire and fried electronics.
You may want to know every little % chance and what factors are affecting it. And I am really afraid that you'd ask. Gives me chills as I type this. I suggest that we go over the major things here.
Building and area conditions
- Area condition affects external events, e.g. accident on a power plant. Bad area means more likely power/phone outages and longer downtime, more severe and repeated power surges during busy hours, worse phone line connection, etc.
- Building condition represents local state of utilities on the lot. Bad building means more often and dangerous short circuits, worse outcome in case of voltage spike, higher chance of blown fuses or tripped breaker, more problems with phone wiring, TV antenna and burnt bulbs, etc.
You get the idea. Set conditions to how you see the given lot in your head.
Reducing lot value
Bad conditions reduce lot value and therefore affect lot price, bills or rent. Lot price matters when family buys or sells residential and community lots. Bills will be reduced on residential, frat and dorm lots, but not apartments. Apartments get lower rent if electrical box is properly preinstalled beforehand.
If a family buys cheaper lot or rents cheaper apartment this way, it will cost them money to change conditions to normal. They can get around money charge, if they're poor or sneaky.
Technical notes:
- You buy electric box for §0, then its value changes. Base value is 0. Bad conditions add -1500 each (-750 for apartments).
- When you build a lot without a family, electrical box randomizes it's settings, so you can preinstall electrcial box with any settings you want. In apartments, place electrical box after you've changed lot zoning to aparment or click on it with hand tool before going to neighborhood view. This way electrical box will be a part of basic furnishings and lower the price when sims rent the place.
- Apartment bill calculator doesn't like negative values, so electrical box's value will reset to zero while in live mode and won't affect bills in apartments.
- If you see negative rent or extra large rent, it probably means you went to far on reducing it.
Upgrades
You start with simple cheap equipment, but there are more advanced pieces that do a better job:
- Circuit breaker. Old-fashioned fuses protect circuit from overcurrent, but they take time to replace when they've blown. With circuit breaker, you can quickly switch it on, should the power trip. You also can switch if off any time you want, e.g. to avoid electrocution when repairing electronics or appliances.
- Surge protector. Default voltage control relay protects your stuff from minor power surges by shutting it down until voltage goes back to normal. But it can't stand against swift voltage spikes that can happen during storms. Surge protector takes care of those. You'll have to buy new one from time to time for it has limited load.
- Power inverter. Allows to use solar and wind energy as a backup during long power outages. Comes with everything you need, except an actual solar panel or wind turbine.
There are circumstances in which equipment fails or goes out of order and needs replacement. For example, a sim may bork it during tinkering, a ghost may displace it, it may get damaged after lightning strike, fire, etc.
Repairing
Basically, it works like repairing any other object in the game, but with some details. Different incidents cause different damage to the electrical box, which affects amount of work to repair it and sometimes visual effects. Not everyone knows how to repair or even open it. In case of failure, sim can be electrocuted, unless electricity isn't delivered to the box (external power outage).
Installing upgrades works as repair. You can hire repairman or call landlord to do it! And you honestly should, if you have low skill.
Maintaning & Tinkering
Maintenance is important. Connections need to be twisted from time to time, and all that. Ignoring it may end up in breakage and hidden faults. Maintain interaction builds mechanical skill and tinkering hobby. If it is not available, it means the box doesn't need it. The higher the skill the less time it takes to do the job. Maintenance level may also be affected by repairing and ghosts haunting. Tinkering is not necessary, but it raises fun and hobby. It can substitute maintenance, though it has lower impact. At both interactions sims have a chance to fail and break something (and get lectured!) or reveal and fix a hidden fault.
Hidden fault
Even if you think your electrical panel is in order, there's still a risk that something is not quite right. You may see it as a wild card in a bad way, but it's not random, actually. It sometimes occurs as a hidden result of repair (nobody's perfect), lack of maintenance or ghost's mischief.
The more neat and skilled in mechanics a sim is, the less chance he or she will do a half-assed job. The same qualities are good for catching hidden faults during maintenance/tinkering.
Faulty electrical panel may let you down in critical times. For example, circuit breaker or surge protector may fail when expected to do their jobs.
Interactions list
Animated:
- Repair - repair phone wire, change blown fuses, repair circuit breaker, adjust new equipment, finish the fixing, tackle all the problems
- Maintain (raises mechanical skill and tinkering hobby, improves box's maintenance, a sim may reveal hidden faults or break something)
- Tinker for fun (raises fun and tinkering hobby, while at it a sim may do maintenance, reveal hidden faults or break something)
- Switch circuit breaker On & Off
- Look inside (if the box is open, sims may autonomously get curious, especially, if they love tinkering or aspire for knowledge; after that they may proceed to tinkering, if they are enthusiastic enough)
- Close (because sims leave the box open if they didn't finish repair, and sloppy sims leave the box open anyways)
- Look around, Stop, Whine, Be Scared (hidden reactions)
- What's the problem with the phone/electricity? (sims can try and investigate it!)
- Manual Power/Phone Restriction (if you play a challenge and rolled a random event, you can manually shut down power or phone - why not?)
Instant:
- Upgrade - buy circuit breaker, buy surge protector, buy power inverter
- Set area condition - normal or bad
- Set building condition - normal or bad
- Set object model - 1-tiled or 2-tiled
Debug:
- Power On & Off
- Phone line On & Off
- Show stats
- Induce - breakage, power outage, short circuit, burnt light bulb
Other details
- Sims react on suddenly turned off lights, burned electric box and whatnot. Reaction type depends on their location, age, personality, mood, aspiration score.
- Electrical panel can't be put in inventory, sold in business, stolen or repossessed.
- Angry and happy ghosts may have different impact on it.
- etc...
Technical mumbo-jumbo about resources
- I've made as few overrides as possible to avoid conflicts and inconveniences. Mods that alter the same resources may conflict with mine.
2 - BHAV | Is Power On? (global check) 0x7FD46CD0 0x0000025C
3 - BHAV | Events - Sound - Loop Start (fridges) 0x7F9A5330 0x00002060
4 - BHAV | Visibility - Unhide - SO (restocking for sale) 0x7F905E60 0x0000100D
5 - BHAV | Function - Cook - TEST (stoves) 0x7F033984 0x00002001
6 - BHAV | CT - Get Cook Types - Temp 3 (stoves) 0x7F033984 0x00002035
7 - BHAV | CT - Get Cook Types - Temp 3 - Auto (stoves) 0x7F033984 0x00002022
8 - BHAV | Elevator - Can Get Out? (elevators) 0x7FE6B74C 0x0000204B
9 - BHAV | CT - Water - Start Bubbling (hottubs) 0x7FEABABA 0x00002025
- The following do not override existing resources, but if some mod creates a resource with the same Type-Group-Instance as one of these, it may conflict with mine. The chance of that happening is low.
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F16C853 0x0000166E
---- STR# | 0x53545223 0x7F16C853 0x00000087 (subset names)
---- STR# | 0x53545223 0x7F16C853 0x00000088 (material names)
Extra files for neon club coffee table:
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F69580C 0x0000166A
---- STR# | 0x53545223 0x7F69580C 0x00000087 (subset names)
---- STR# | 0x53545223 0x7F69580C 0x00000088 (material names)
Extra semi-globals for lamps:
---- TTAB | 0x54544142 0x7F60C397 0x00000056
---- TTAs | 0x54544173 0x7F60C397 0x00000056
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F60C397 0x00002256
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F60C397 0x00002257
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F60C397 0x00002258
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F60C397 0x00002259
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F60C397 0x0000225A
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F60C397 0x0000225B
---- BHAV | 0x42484156 0x7F60C397 0x0000225C
How to add custom objects to the system
If you have a custom object that proved to be unaffected by the mod and you want to include it, this is for you. Make sure it is really not affected though. Most custom objects already are.
I. Including custom electrical objects.
Following steps will make an object unusable by sims when power is off: all interactions will be anavailable.
1. Open "electric-box...package" in SimPE 2. Open Behavior Constant (BCON) #107F called "Custom GUIDs for disabling interactions" in plugin view.
3. Insert GUIDs starting from line 1.
Each object will take two lines. First object will take lines 1 and 2. Start with last 4 symbols of GUID and then put first 4 symbols on the next line. Be sure to put values in the Hex box. Picture example GUID 12345678:
So on you continue. Second object will take line 3 and 4, third - lines 5 and 6. You can fill in a lot of GUIDs. The limit is line 127 (7F).
4. When you're finished, take note of the number of the last line you filled. Put that number in line 0 (labeled "Line count"). This is important!
Examples:
a) if you've stopped at line 4, put "4" in line 0.
b) if you've stopped at line 14 (E), put either "E" in the Hex box, or "14" in the Dec box of the line 0.
5. You may write labels, too. For that open Behavior Constant Labels (TRCN) #107F called similarly "Custom GUIDs for disabling interactions". Select a line and type your text in a box to the left.
II. Excluding custom non-electric lamps.
This will make a lamp immune to power related situations: it won't turn off during power outage and won't need bulb replacement.
The steps are the same as for objects above, except the table you will be filling is #107A "Custom GUIDs for non-electric lamps".
Maxis lamps are already covered, don't type them in (unless you discover I missed some).
In case you're wondering, example GUID is Adele's prop candle.
III. Changing the objects.
If you're an object creator and want to update your object to recognize electricity, simply add power check in BHAVs, where it's due (global op-code 25C - Is Power On?). Things to keep in mind: sim interactions (both guardians and actions), standby functionality (main), lights, animations, effects, moving textures, sounds. Think about how power going off would affect all those aspects, and make needed changes.
Did you know that ... ?
- Not all events have notifications. Things like short circuits, hidden faults, busy hours surges, and so on, happen quietly, waiting for you to notice them. Or not...
- Circuit breaker comes with ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). If CB is installed and not broken, sims will never die of electrocution during repair/tinkering electronics/appliances, even if they got a little shocked and burnt. You can avoid electric shock at all by turning the breaker off - if power is off when your sims are repairing stuff, they have no chance to even get electrocuted. Also, with CB, there will be no fire after electrocution. How to tell that you were saved: if the power was on, but suddenly went off during repairing/tinkering, it might be that CB reacted to leakage current and cut the power. Exceptions are elevators and servos, and also sims may still die from holiday reindeers, evil kites and digging.
- In the early days of electric box there was a flickering lights event. It was awesome and very atmospheric, until I realized that turning lights off and on too often sometimes causes weird graphical artifacts, like big dark shadows that only go away when you move around some furniture. Even though the glitch didn't seem to be harmful, I decided to remove the flickering lights.
_____________________________
I also brought power generator. I was meaning to post it a while ago, but I can't help to procrastinate from writing a description... It's the worst part of modding.
Power generator and fuel can are custom objects that provide a backup power source and do more than that.
Buy them in Misc-Misc. section.
Requirements: UC/AL/M&G until I implement EP checks to make it more compatible and safe for other configs.
Both objects are in the same file. They are self-contained in terms that even though they are designed to work with electrical box, they can be used with or without it.
Description.
- Can break and be fixed. Protect it from rain, snow and puddles.
- Can act up on turning on. False start can be amusing.
- Can create fuel puddles. Sloppy sims have more luck.
- Can be hot. Let cool down before refueling or repairing. Accidental spillage of fuel on hot generator may cause ignition. Trying to repair hot generator can be uncomfortable.
- Can be dangerous due to exhaust. Don't run power generator inside or near windows, doors or stairs that lead inside. Or do it and experience carbon simoxide poisoning. Too much of it can kill you pretty fast! Should you feel fatigue, nausea or vomit, try to get some fresh air outside and rest. Carbon simoxide can accumulate, so don't think that once you turned off the generator it is suddenly all OK. It requires time to ventilate.
- Can work 6 hours straight (on one full refill).
Fuel can provides fuel for portable power generator. Costs $30 and contains enough for two full refills.
You can save a few bucks buying it beforehand, but you don't have to. How refueling works. If you have any fuel cans on the lot or in your inventory, you will use those. If a fuel can is too far away, you'll pull fake one from your back, but the fuel will still be subtracted from the real one. If you don't have any fuel in stock, you'll refuel for money using fake "accessory" fuel can and pay fixed fee ($20) no mater how much fuel your generator needs. With fuel in stock, on the other hand, you only use the amount of fuel your generator needs, which is more practical.
Used fuel cans will be thrown away in garbage. Sloppy sims may think otherwise.
Caution: flammable substance.
In case you're wondering.
Gas emitter is invisible object without form that you can not buy or sell. It's the thing that accumulates carbon simoxide from nearby generators and manages it's effects.
I might have forgotten something, but the basics are covered. If you have questions, please ask.
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Posts: 978
I noticed that the wind turbine can supposedly generate power for one lot (regardless of size and actual number of electrical objects in use?) unless the wind speed is too low. How is the wind speed measured? I was under the impression that wind technically doesn't exist in-game, so I'm somewhat confused.
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Wind speed is determined either by weather controller or climate controller, forgot which one. Wind turbine picks it up and changes its speed accordingly.
Posts: 978
I especially like the idea of the digging accidents (it's more realistic than finding treasure in some hoods and I ban treasure digging to avoid it, so it's nice to have another outcome) and the bill penalties. That'll give them more incentive to pay them on time. The solar-wind rebates are great for some of my more "green" houses too.
(Sure, their possessions will be taken away, but it's also realistic to have the power and water cut off one by one as time goes by. It never made sense to me that there aren't other consequences for skipping them.)
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Stand up, speak out. Just not to me..
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Testing in a new hood: lights went off, options on box were "tinker for fun", "upgrade", and "settings" which is grayed out (disabled). Had sim tinker (4 mechanical) nothing happened. Later had her tinker again and got message "power outage due to event that happened last time you checked {meaning?},2 hours to wait. |
That message is supposed to show up when you load the lot to remind you that the power is off (due to event that happened last time you played that lot). Is that what happened? If not, I'll try to investigate it.
@Bananensap, could you please upload the log file or post its contents (under a spoiler, 'cause it's long)? I'd like to know the object that the mod choked on.
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