[solved] How to expose a basement so that it's visible from aboveground?

[Mugendai]

I've been trying to figure this out... Basically, I want to create a large, tall library with a really high ceiling (7 stories from the floor), but accessible from multiple floors. I planned on making it partially underground with four underground floors, reaching up to the roof, as the main building (a mansion) itself is only three floors aboveground, but the room itself is visibly tall.

The problem I have is that if I use the EA tool for making basement levels, the first basement level is covered by the terrain layer, and I can't figure out how to remove the terrain tiles so that I can see the basement from the first floor. I know there is probably some way to do this, because you can see the underground levels if you add stairs or use the pool tool. Neither work for me, of course, because I want wide, open space.

What I'm trying to build is the Voile Library in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a location in a series of video games called Touhou Project. Here's some image examples to show you what I'm talking about:

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/6840/sdmlibrarynight.jpg
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/634/voile.png

[BloomsBase]

I also have been struggling to do this......curious if it is possible.

[zonaxzynaphynx]

I found this out messing around by accident. Place basement. Go to basement and place stairs. Now you have 4 holes, but if you delete stairs the ground reappears. So continue and place a foundation 1 square away from top of stairs on surface ground and place a stair from foundation to beginning of basement stairs to combine one long stairway to bottom of basement. Now delete basement stairs. The little stairs from the foundation will hold the 4 open holes open. Delete little stairs and foundation and you will have 4 open holes. Repeat setup beside or in front of 4 open holes to make any size opening. Mess around and see what you can do. Here are two examples I did.

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=1748577

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=3867388

[birdyfly]

Will this thread help?
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=430919&highlight=basement

It is about walk-in basements and how to make them. :)

[Inge Jones]

I found this out messing around by accident....

Finally! An explanation I understood! I've been trying to work out what the tuts and pictures are trying to tell me for months. I obviously just needed it in plain words :D

[zonaxzynaphynx]

Here it is in picture form.

[BloomsBase]

I found this out messing around by accident. Place basement. Go to basement and place stairs. Now you have 4 holes, but if you delete stairs the ground reappears. So continue and place a foundation 1 square away from top of stairs on surface ground and place a stair from foundation to beginning of basement stairs to combine one long stairway to bottom of basement. Now delete basement stairs. The little stairs from the foundation will hold the 4 open holes open. Delete little stairs and foundation and you will have 4 open holes. Repeat setup beside or in front of 4 open holes to make any size opening. Mess around and see what you can do. Here are two examples I did.

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=1748577

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=3867388

Thank you :)

[Mugendai]

I found this out messing around by accident. Place basement. Go to basement and place stairs. Now you have 4 holes, but if you delete stairs the ground reappears. So continue and place a foundation 1 square away from top of stairs on surface ground and place a stair from foundation to beginning of basement stairs to combine one long stairway to bottom of basement. Now delete basement stairs. The little stairs from the foundation will hold the 4 open holes open. Delete little stairs and foundation and you will have 4 open holes. Repeat setup beside or in front of 4 open holes to make any size opening. Mess around and see what you can do. Here are two examples I did.

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=1748577

http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=3867388

Thanks, this worked for me! :)

[dcpuser]

bumping an old thread but how do you get the items in the basement to appear? I was able to remove the ceiling and able to look down from ground level but all I can see is the wallpaper and the ground tiles. I dont see any objects I placed there.

[Volvenom]

I don't really remember how it looks, but you may be hiding objects on different floors then the one your on? Have you checked your settings.

[lichtje]

Hello,
bumping an old thread but how do you get the items in the basement to appear? I was able to remove the ceiling and able to look down from ground level but all I can see is the wallpaper and the ground tiles. I dont see any objects I placed there.
As far as I experienced, some objects are just not meant to be seen outside the basement. Sims can be seen, some plants and some beds too, desks and chairs not. Some objects can't be seen at first, especialle plant, but they can be seen after switching modes.

I don't see a pattern... might be something in the programming of the objects no one payed attention to, because basements were not supposed to be seen from above.

Greetings
lichtje

[Tee Hee Hee]

Hello,

As far as I experienced, some objects are just not meant to be seen outside the basement. Sims can be seen, some plants and some beds too, desks and chairs not. Some objects can't be seen at first, especialle plant, but they can be seen after switching modes.

I don't see a pattern... might be something in the programming of the objects no one payed attention to, because basements were not supposed to be seen from above.

Greetings
lichtje

Two things to make them appear, firstly go to options and make sure that object hiding is turned off.

Then the sneaky part, if there isn't a complete wall in the "room" you're working on it counts it as outside and lights it as such but also enables you to see all the objects from the above ground floors. The hard part is hiding this break in the wall, I've usually put it below the stairs into the room where you can't see it but try experimenting and see what you can come up with :D

[luckylush]

Two things to make them appear, firstly go to options and make sure that object hiding is turned off.

Then the sneaky part, if there isn't a complete wall in the "room" you're working on it counts it as outside and lights it as such but also enables you to see all the objects from the above ground floors. The hard part is hiding this break in the wall, I've usually put it below the stairs into the room where you can't see it but try experimenting and see what you can come up with :D

I'm having a similar problem with my basement. My basement has four floors. From the top basement floor you can see all the way to the bottom floor. But from the ground floor, only the first basement floor is visible - everything below is replaced by blue.

Does anyone know how this can be fixed? Or is there a way to construct a basement where this issue doesn't happen? Or at the very least be able to see 2 basement floors down?

Thanks in advance.

[Tee Hee Hee]

I'm having a similar problem with my basement. My basement has four floors. From the top basement floor you can see all the way to the bottom floor. But from the ground floor, only the first basement floor is visible - everything below is replaced by blue.

Does anyone know how this can be fixed? Or is there a way to construct a basement where this issue doesn't happen? Or at the very least be able to see 2 basement floors down?

Thanks in advance.

Its a really annoying problem but from above ground the game only shows the first basement level...I've tried everything I can think of but all for naught. I think we're stuck with only seeing the first floor unfortunately.

[luckylush]

Oh well, thanks for trying though.

[Tee Hee Hee]

Oh well, thanks for trying though.

Don't worry if I find a way round it this forum will be the first to know :)