Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Theorist
Original Poster
#1 Old 20th Sep 2014 at 6:49 AM
Default How to Eliminate "Ghost" Levels Above the Roof Level?
I often end up using the building cheat that allows up to 16 levels. Typically, I only need 1 or two levels above 4.
What ends up happening fairly often is that once the house is done I'm left with 1-3 "ghost" levels above the roof level that I have to click through just to reach the roof level. Not a big deal really, but is there a way to get rid of those unused levels?
Advertisement
Theorist
Original Poster
#2 Old 8th Nov 2014 at 1:58 AM
Mad Poster
#3 Old 11th Dec 2014 at 7:37 AM
Well, we can't have tumbleweed blowing through the streets of MTS...

What do you men, you have to "click through them to reach the roof?" Is your roof floating a few stories above your house? Or are there just unused, unoccupied levels filling the space above the roof?
Not sure I have any lots where I HAVEN'T used the "sethighestallowedlevel" cheat, so I'd like to think I know it fairly well, yet I've never run into this particular issue... The simplest solution that springs to mind is if you don't know how high you're planning to build, just use the cheat to add one floor at a time- that way you won't accidentally end up with extra levels that you weren't going to use in the first place. Can't say I've ever seen this problem myself though, so if you can show what you're running into, that'd be a big help!

Welcome to the Dark Side...
We lied about having cookies.
Theorist
Original Poster
#4 Old 11th Dec 2014 at 7:52 AM
Unused levels.

I sometimes build above the 4-story limit, but then decide against it and remove the upper stories, so the Lot is left with those additional levels where there is nothing. I don't know how else to explain it, but you got it right in your last two sentences.
My Columbarium has an extra level or two above the building because at one point I was going to make it 4 or 5 stories, but then decided on just 3 (well, 4, counting the foundation).
It's not something that is detrimental to the Lot, just a minor annoyance, but if there's a way to eliminate it, it would be nice.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 11th Dec 2014 at 5:50 PM
So you're seeing blank tiles (like what you get around the tops of walls or columns) appearing on otherwise empty levels? And it doesn't disappear if you've removed all the walls and columns and whatnot that would theoretically be supporting that level, I take it? What happens if you just use the "sethighestallowedlevel" cheat to REDUCE the highest level? If that doesn't do it, my thoughts next would go to some kind of stuck invisible objects on that upper floor...

Welcome to the Dark Side...
We lied about having cookies.
Theorist
Original Poster
#6 Old 11th Dec 2014 at 7:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Zarathustra
So you're seeing blank tiles (like what you get around the tops of walls or columns) appearing on otherwise empty levels? And it doesn't disappear if you've removed all the walls and columns and whatnot that would theoretically be supporting that level, I take it? What happens if you just use the "sethighestallowedlevel" cheat to REDUCE the highest level? If that doesn't do it, my thoughts next would go to some kind of stuck invisible objects on that upper floor...

No, you had it in your first post, quote:

end up with extra levels that you weren't going to use in the first place

They are just levels that a player can click through. Again, my Columbarium has four levels (the foundation and the the three floors), but a player can click through two additional levels on top of those because when I built the thing I used the cheat to go beyond the normal four levels even though I ended up not actually building them. So they are like "ghost" levels and I was just wondering whether there's a way to get rid of them - apparently there isn't.

I think you're thinking too hard about this, but there's no simpler way for me to describe it. Download my Columbarium and click through all the levels and you will see what I mean.
Mad Poster
#7 Old 11th Dec 2014 at 8:38 PM
Overthinking things? Me? ...yeah, I guess that's been known to happen...

I'm not in a position to download it right now unfortunately, so hopefully someone else will see this and be able to check the actual lot for you. I'm curious to see what it is now myself, since if there's really nothing at all on those levels, (even empty tile spaces that are just visible as part of the grid), it seems like it should disappear if you reduce the level count down to the 4 "real" levels you have...

Was there ever ANY interaction with these "ghost" levels as you were working on the construction? I ask because in my experience, you won't see any levels beyond one floor above the one you create... so did you build a higher structure on the roof at one point, and then destroy it? That's all I can come up with at this point- sorry!

Welcome to the Dark Side...
We lied about having cookies.
Theorist
Original Poster
#8 Old 11th Dec 2014 at 9:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Zarathustra
Was there ever ANY interaction with these "ghost" levels as you were working on the construction? I ask because in my experience, you won't see any levels beyond one floor above the one you create... so did you build a higher structure on the roof at one point, and then destroy it? That's all I can come up with at this point- sorry!

Yes, precisely, that's what I've been trying to explain.
At one point while I was making the Lot, I thought I would make it 4 or 5 stories. So I used the cheat to create a couple of additional levels. Later on, I changed my mind and never built them, or possibly deleted partial builds. I think I also needed an extra level beyond the normal 4 because I used Interior Foundations (stage tool) on the roof, which required an extra level.

But yes, now you understand. Players are able to click through a couple of levels above the actual building, even though there is nothing there, not even grid lines. Like I said, it's not a big deal, just a minor annoyance.
I'm frankly surprised you've never had this happen to you, as I know you've made some fanciful Lots. Maybe you just never noticed it.

As an aside:
This doesn't appear to happen when only the 4 normal levels are used. For example, in a normal 2-story house, a player would not be able to click higher than the two stories after the Lot is done, or maybe just 1 level higher, like you said. But it seems that once additional levels are created using the cheat, they remain, regardless of whether those additional levels are actually used for building.

Another considerations it that, as a Lot builder who frequently uses CFE, I often find myself needing more than the normal 4 levels, so I usually create several more to give me "room to work", so to speak. I then proceed to build as necessary, but the finished Lot may not reach as high as the highest level I used during construction. So again, that would be a case where I end up with "ghost" levels above the building.

Anyway, you seem to understand now.
Back to top