#26
11th Jan 2008 at 6:06 PM
Last edited by Sophie-David : 11th Jan 2008 at
8:45 PM.
Reason: Files updated at 11:00 today - be sure you have the files dated Jan. 11, not Jan. 10
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Jan 11/08 Update: *Universal* Rooftop Antenna with Slots, Lightning Friendly
I have now added four container slots to the rooftop antenna. My purpose in this was to allow the placement of lights and a protective lightning rod on top of the antenna, as well as to prepare for the antenna to be truly "for the birds" of the upcoming
FreeTime expansion pack. My guess is that I will actually need to add special "bird slots" for them, but we will see.
The slots do work in all versions of the game, and the illuminated antenna mounted on the sloping roof in the fourth picture below is from the base game. Lighting would not be typical for a residential antenna, but would often be the case in commercial, industrial and aviation applications.
Two slots are located at the top of the support post and two more on the little (typically blue) box or balun. To keep it somewhat real, only lighter objects such as those you could put on tables may be placed in these slots. Each of the slot pairs is composed of one
table container slot, typically to allow placement of the
Seasons lightning rod, and one
ground container slot, useful for placing outdoor lighting.
When placing objects in these slots the table slot on the post takes priority. Once this is filled the table slot on the balun is next, followed by the ground slot on the post, and lastly the ground slot on the balun (the order changed since earlier today). Of course, if you are placing a "ground only" object it will ignore the table slots. If using a later expansion pack you may cycle through the slots by pressing the letter "m".
In the first of the attached pictures, lightning can be seen striking the base of the antenna. Even though most strikes will be taken by a lightning rod, randomness will still allow some strikes to the antenna itself, a realistic feature. Although the antenna is non-flammable, the ground or flat roof can catch fire in this situation, so it is a good idea to provide the fire fighters with access to a flat roof.
A setup involving three slots, two equipped with lighting and one with the lightning rod is shown in the second attachment. I would describe this as overkill!
The third picture shows that the antennas may been stacked on their slots up to three high, forming an impromtu stacked array.
Note that
move_objects on was not used for any of these placements: the game does allow the contents of two or more different type slots to fully overlap. Also note that the lightning rod or antenna may be placed in either a table or a ground slot, so please be careful not to place two of the same object in one physical location, simply because it is a waste of money! Since I thought it would be annoying and unrealistic, Sims themselves are not permitted to place objects in these slots.