Creating an Apartment on the Beach or Uneven Terrain

[Mootilda]

According to the readme that came with Apartment Life, there is a problem with beach apartments:Note that zoning a beach lot into an apartment lot will severely corrupt the ocean and lot terrain and is strongly not recommended.However, I have only been able to find one small problem with beach apartments. That problem is easy to fix using the Apartment Life version of SimPE.

Note that this same problem occurs if you try to create an apartment on uneven terrain, or if you create an apartment with a basement.

There is no problem adding a residential beach lot to your neighborhood, building an apartment complex on that lot, or using the "changelotzoning apartmentbase" cheat to change the lot from residential to an apartment building:
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/5/8/9/2/5/2/MTS2_Mootilda_817458_BeachApt.JPG

The problem occurs when you move a sim into the apartment building. The lot terrain drops down several stories, so that neighboring lots are up on hills and the water is hovering in the air:
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/5/8/9/2/5/2/MTS2_Mootilda_817459_BeachAptProblem.JPG

Simple Fix:

If you have installed a patch for Apartment Life, or if you have the Mansion and Garden Stuff pack, then you may be able to fix this bug in-game.

Just pick up the occupied apartment building in the neighborhood view and then place it down again in the same place. That's it; you've fixed the problem.

If the game allows you to pick up the lot, but doesn't allow you to place it down again, press the esc (escape) key to abort the move.

Thanks to J. M. Pescado for suggesting that I look into what happens when an occupied apartment is moved in the neighborhood.

Not-So-Simple Fix:

If the simple fix doesn't work for you, then follow the rest of this tutorial:

When this problem occurs, save and backup your game.

Be sure that you have the latest version of SimPE (0.72 or later). You must have a version which is compatible with Apartment Life, or you can destroy your entire neighborhood.

1) Start SimPE and open your neighborhood using the menu: Tools / Neighborhood / Neighborhood Browser, then select your neighborhood from the ones displayed. Alternatively, you can use the menu: File / Open, then select the appropriate neighborhood package. You will have to use the second method if you are using the AnyGameStarter or BaseGameStarter.

2) In the Resource Tree (left pane) of SimPE, choose "Lot Description (LTXT)". In the Resource List (right pane), click on the "Name" column title to sort the list of lots. Scroll down until you find the name of your beach apartment.
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/5/8/9/2/5/2/MTS2_Mootilda_817460_SimPEFindBase.JPG

You will notice that there is at least one other lot with the same name, but with a number tacked on the end of the name. That is because AL will spawn clones of your lot for each playable family which moves onto the lot; the lot name for each of these clones will be the apartment name, followed by the family number. You want to choose the unoccupied apartment base, the one with no additional family number at the end of the name.

3) At the bottom of the window, choose the "Plugin View". Information about your lot will be displayed in the bottom pane. Select the information labelled "Z:" at the top right side of the bottom pane. This is the correct elevation of your lot. Copy this number to the clipboard by holding down the <ctrl> key and typing "c". Or, write down the number so that you can type it in later.

4) Now, select the occupied apartment sublot in the Resource List, the one with an additional family number at the end of the name. You will notice that the Z value does not match the one from the apartment base in step 3. This is the bug.

If the apartment sublot Z value matches the apartment base Z value, then you may have selected the wrong sublot. See whether there is another lot with the same name, but a different number on the end.
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/5/8/9/2/5/2/MTS2_Mootilda_817461_SimPEFindSublot.JPG

5) Select the incorrect Z value. Copy the correct value from the clipboard by holding down the <ctrl> key and typing "v". Or, type in the number that you wrote down in step 3.
http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/5/8/9/2/5/2/MTS2_Mootilda_817462_SimPEFixSublot.JPG

6) Click on the "Commit" button, then save the neighborhood package using the menu: File / Save.

If you've followed these instructions correctly, you have now fixed the bug for this family. Run the game and play the family to ensure that everything looks OK. If you move another family into this apartment building, you will have to make this change again for the new occupied apartment sublot.

Thanks to Inge Jones for asking me to look into this problem.

[CTNutmegger]

Thank you so much for this, I've been saving beach real estate just for condos and now I can have them. I'll give it a good test tonight as soon as I can start the game. :D

How they managed to screw up something like this is beyond comprehension. :rolleyes:

[Mootilda]

I'll give it a good test tonight as soon as I can start the game.Excellent. Please let me know if you have any problems with the tutorial, or if you find other beach apartment bugs that I missed.

How they managed to screw up something like this is beyond comprehension.It's clear that they didn't actually test beach apartments until it was too late to fix the problem. So, they stuck a note in the readme instead.

I'm really hoping that the fact that it is such a tiny easy-to-fix bug will mean that it will be fixed in the patch. What I can't figure out is why they bothered to change the elevation after cloning the lot... there's no reason for them to touch that field at all!

[HystericalParoxysm]

Ooh, lovely! I was hoping someone would fix this. You kick ass, Mootilda. :)

[Elven_Ranger]

Marvelous! Thank's for this :) I'll be trying it soon as I start my game thismorning :D

[frillen]

Thanks a lot for this info Mootilda :up:
I'll probably wait for an official patch to fix this problem because I want my creations to be as easy as possible for others to use - But it's great to see that there are people here who can do what EAXIS so obviously couldn't :jest:

[SJActress]

For the first time EVER, I will be able to use SimPE. I am a moron when it comes to that program, but your instructions were so clear (and you provided the REASONS for doing each step!) that I couldn't possibly fail!

I'm off to make some Hawaii styled condos! Thanks so much for this tutorial. :up:

[sinajax]

Thanks so much. You've helped a ton.
EA sucks it if they don't fix this in the patch.

[cookniro]

Thankyou. I built my first apartment complex on my island and it sunk. It was not a beach complex, either. The water was a small pool shape above the mail box and the complex was 10 or so clicks below ground. I'm am so happy for this fix because it was a very elaborate and beautiful complex. Kudos to you
:)

[Mootilda]

I'll probably wait for an official patch to fix this problem because I want my creations to be as easy as possible for others to useUnfortunately, there's no fix for beach apartments in the first AL patch.

[frillen]

Unfortunately, there's no fix for beach apartments in the first AL patch.And it's not only beach lots, apartments built on uneven terrain have the same issues...
I guess EAxis imagine that all apartments is placed on completely flat terrain :wtf:
Hopefully there will be a fix for these terrain issues in patch 2 or 3 :rofl:
There seems to be a lot of unadressed issues still!

So until then I will enjoy your wonderful guide in my own neighborhoods, but sadly I won't be uploading my beach apartment project until users can move sims in without the lot sinking!

Thanks for the info on the patch Mootilda :up:

[Mootilda]

Thanks for the info about uneven terrain. I was wondering why cookniro was having problems. It all makes sense now. I've updated the tutorial.

I was really hoping that EA would fix this in the first patch, because:

1) They knew about it well in advance; early enough to get something into the readme.
2) The fix is very simple.
3) This fix is best done by the game, rather than by a mod.

But, at least they now allow people to move occupied apartment buildings.

[mangaroo]

I hope someone takes the brave first step of uploading a beach lot apartment and linking back to your solution, Mootilda. I don't build, but I do have several "regular" downloaded apartments floating in space because they were placed on uneven territory, so I can't wait to fire up the latest SimPE and fix them at last. Thank you!

[Mootilda]

If you had the links to those downloads, I'd be happy to post in those threads and point people to this tutorial.

[cookniro]

Thankyou thankyou thankyou

[Pythia]

Thanks for this Mootilda, it's proved invaluable in fixing my first apartment lot. The odd thing about it is that the lot was neither a beach nor uneven, but still it sank when I moved the first tennant in. I don't know if anyone else has had a flat lot have these issues? For reference it was a Plasticbox lot that I converted int apartments.

[Mootilda]

Very odd. Looks like the entire sublot-creation logic is bad, even though it sometimes works. Did the lot have a basement? Perhaps you could give the the link, so that I can take a look at the internals of the lot package.

[Pythia]

Thanks for the reply. Heres the link to the original lot Backdoor Lane 10 (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=215023)
The lot does have a basement under one of the houses. Are you thinking that was the reason it sank? It'll be interesting to find out why. Apartment coding has been done so badly it's unbelievable.

[J. M. Pescado]

Does the sublot creation logic continue to fail if you have P1 and simply pick up the lot and move it and then move it back? It seems the sublots correctly move when you pick up an apartment and move it: Does moving an apartment suffering from such a thing correct the problem, or will it recorrupt a lot that was previously fixed?

[Pythia]

As I haven't patched I can't test or answer that one. I can't move apartments.
I can say that basements seem to be the corrupting factor. I've tested a few other buildings by turning them into apartments and all the ones with basements sank. Buildings just on a foundation with no basement were fine. So it seems that basements should be added to the list. The game obviously sees them as uneven terrain even though the rest of the lot is flat.

[Mootilda]

The lot does have a basement under one of the houses. Are you thinking that was the reason it sank?Yes, having a basement means that the lot is not completely 100% flat. So, that's the reason that you experienced the problem.

Does the sublot creation logic continue to fail if you have P1 and simply pick up the lot and move it and then move it back? It seems the sublots correctly move when you pick up an apartment and move it: Does moving an apartment suffering from such a thing correct the problem, or will it recorrupt a lot that was previously fixed?Good question. I'll check it out.

[Update:]
Moving an occupied apartment seems to resolve the bug. Moving a fixed occupied lot does not recorrupt the lot. Updated the original post to reflect this new information. Thanks, Pescado!

[ingeli]

Good new info, but the simpe method will still be useful for those lots that can not be moved (like those carefully adjusted and moved with Lot Adjuster, to really complicated places :P).

[JakkieS]

Thank you for such a great and easy to follow tutorial! It worked brilliantly and looks lovely now. Just so everyone knows, it seems that the second AL patch borked things again. I wasn't able to just lift the occupied apartment lot and place it again to fix the problem :(

[Mootilda]

Sigh. So, the patch 1 "fix" was a fluke, not a plan... Sigh.

If the second patch doesn't fix the problem, then it's unlikely that EA is even trying to find a solution. It would be so simple to actually create the sublots correctly in the first place, so that no additional fix was necessary.

Just to be clear: when you create an occupied unlevel apartment, you can actually move it within the neighborhood, but the terrain discrepancy remains? Or, are you having problems moving these apartments at all?

Updated the tutorial with this new information.

[JakkieS]

I have problems moving it at all, it seems stuck in place. But it seems to only affect my one apartment beach lot, it is the biggest and most involved so am not sure if that is the problem. The other one I created as a test seems to be moving around fine and no discrepancy.

[fernandez1985]

Thank you thank you thank you THANK YOU!

Did I mention Thank you!!! That was soooo frustrating before!

[aelflaed]

Hooray for this! I now have AL, and have successfully made a beachside apartment.

Just in case you didn't know, the pick-and-drop method still works with patch 2 installed. Much faster than messing with SimPE. Thanks.

[Mootilda]

That's really odd... I remember testing the pick-up and drop method using patch 2 and it didn't work for me. Guess that I'll have to try it again.

Are you using the patched EXE directly? Or, have you downloaded an alternate EXE? (I'm not quite sure how to ask this, since I want to avoid banned topics.)

[aelflaed]

I have an ordinary, out of the shop game, patched as per Eaxis.

I used the trick several times last night, same lot each time, while I learned how to build a successful back yard. Ther terrain drop was quite obvious each time a sim moved in, and was fixed by picking the lot up and dropping it int the same place again, from hood view. Just to be clear. It certainly works for me so far.

[Mootilda]

Well, that's great (if EA didn't break things again with the second patch). I'm not sure why mine didn't work.

[aelflaed]

Maybe it was a one-off.

[Lisen801]

Hi Mootilda I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this. I have a city with many houses with basements---

[Mootilda]

Just in case you didn't know, the pick-and-drop method still works with patch 2 installed. Much faster than messing with SimPE. Thanks.Well, I tried this again with my AL patch 2 + M&G. No problems with the pick-and-drop method.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

[Liza495]

I had an enormous problem with a loco-plus apartment lot (the only one at that site) having the floating water issue in the basement. That's why I googled and found this topic to see if there's a fix.

None of the two methods described by the OP helped for this apartment lot, even not converting it to residential.

However from scanning the content of this lot with Sims2Pack Clean Installer I found two hack packages (of a hack unknown to me) that I removed. So I reinstalled the "cleaned" lot and placed it on a hill high area of my neighbourhood that also has beaches. And the floating water issue was fixed - at least for this apartment lot because even for residential lots I build and don't convert to apartments I had this floating water issue for which the pick-and-drop method is of little help to me.

In fact the apartment I'm talking about wasn't sinking at all and only had the floating water bug in the basement and as long as I kept the two hack packages in the downloads folder. I never experimented this with any downloaded house from anywhere and at this proportion ! But I discovered one other option to use with SimPE :)

[aelflaed]

Well, I tried this again with my AL patch 2 + M&G. No problems with the pick-and-drop method.Thanks for bringing this to my attention.No problem. Thanks for all the upkeep on this!

[Mootilda]

I had an enormous problem with a loco-plus apartment lot (the only one at that site) having the floating water issue in the basement. That's why I googled and found this topic to see if there's a fix.

None of the two methods described by the OP helped for this apartment lot, even not converting it to residential.Sounds like this might be a separate issue; there is a known problem with all types of lots with basements when placed "too close" to the neighborhood water level.

I have a theory about this issue and a potential solution... I've been thinking about investigating, but haven't been able to reproduce the problem. If someone could provide me with an example of this (neighborhood and lot packages), I'd be happy to look into it. [Update: thanks to plasticbox, I've got a repro case.]

[natigirl101]

:rofl: Thanks so much for your help! I was able to download the 2nd patch for Apartment life and I couldn't move the apartment/beach lot. But I installed Mansion and garden stuff and it worked! I am so excited I can't wait to start building some beautiful beach front apartments!! :bunny: