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Physical footprints (build mode) need to be changed on a lot of older items
Beardedgeek
Posts: 5,520 Member
Typical examples: A lot of base game lamps and stereos have HUGE footprints, like the two very very small radios that really should be able to fit on a fireplace shelf for example but doesn't since their footprint is twice the size needed.
It is extra frustrating since neither lamps nor stereos are interacted with in any way, so they don't need to be "touchable" by the characters.
Edit: come to think of it; the smallest flat screen TV should also fit perfectly on all shelves in the game, but doesn't.
It is extra frustrating since neither lamps nor stereos are interacted with in any way, so they don't need to be "touchable" by the characters.
Edit: come to think of it; the smallest flat screen TV should also fit perfectly on all shelves in the game, but doesn't.
Origin ID: A_Bearded_Geek
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Comments
Yes, and exactly. Somewhere around Island Living (and especially, of course Tiny Living) the footprints got smaller, but most of the older stuff even from semi-new expansions require HUGE spaces for no reason.
Oh one more thing: Why are so many plants floor only, when they clearly are small enough to fit on a table?
In TS4 for some ridiculously odd reason, the developers thought it would be a good idea to make slots in different sizes and objects categorized according to slotting behavior. In previous games, anything that could snap to a slot .... could snap to ANY slot, there was none of this asinine size/category requirements for objects.
In TS4, If an object is categorized as:
0 - will not sit on a surface (which is what floor plants are categorized as, regardless of their size)
1 - will sit in small, medium, and large slots
2 - will sit in medium and large slots
3 - will sit in large slots only
Surfaces have different types of slots, in S4S they are represented by cylinders in different colors for the different slot sizes.
All base game shelves have only small deco slots, so only objects that are categorized as a "1" will snap to those slots
In S4S, you can tell an object's slot category
TVs need a special slot on surfaces for them to snap, because of needing to be repaired.
I don't know anything about this kind of stuff, so find it very interesting. Is it something that would be easy enough for developers to change? If so, perhaps it could be included in a future update.
Changing object slot sizes is super simple, it's just a matter of changing the number to a "1", which would allow that item to snap to any slot.
The problem would be the massive amount of objects in the base game and in the packs that would need changed. I'm not sure if the devs have some way to do a batch edit of all objects or not. I only know how to change it in Sims4Studio (S4S), which requires you to go in and change every single item one at a time.
I'm a build/buy CC creator, so whenever I clone a deco object from the game to replace with my mesh, I always change it's slot size to "1" so that it can be snapped to any slot regardless if it's an EA table/shelf or creator's CC. So they will work on any surface and not just the slots on my surfaces.
There is this one item from Outdoor Retreat that pops up every time I decorate a kitchen too, it's this stack of pans, and it does not even fit on a corner counter! Ooh and also the scales!
@Chicklet453681 I don't think the slot sizes are the problem. That is how they can ensure that a big object that physically would not fit on e.g. a shelf, cannot be put on a shelf. It's actually quite important to keep everything making sense. After all a dinner table is bigger than a shelf, so they should have a bigger slot size.
The problem is that the objects have footprints of too high categories. If all of the small items actually had the smallest footprint, then it would all work out logically.
See I disagree, to me this is just one more way EA/Maxis is forcing restrictions on players and blocking our creativity. Why should they be the one to decide what we, as players, think is appropriate or makes sense? If I want to place the big pig statue on a shelf, then I should be able to. Especially since they implemented the ability to shrink/enlarge items.
The other problem is that some things that are small enough visually (without using the enlarge/shrink function) to sit on a shelf or table, have been categorized as only using Medium/Large slots so they will not snap to those "small" slots.
In the other sims games, objects either snapped to a slot or they didn't. Regardless of the size of the object or if it made "sense", they were either tagged to snap to slots, or they weren't. And we had no problems with that in the past.
And I think you're referring to "footprints" when you say a dining table is bigger than a shelf. It's not the footprint of the surface that causes the issue with things not snapping to slots, it's the slot's assignments that are on the table or shelf. A table has many different slots, slots for eating (where the sims plates/bowls/cups go), slots for the chairs to snap to, and then slots for deco items.
I was referring to deco items that snap to deco slots, those are categorized in 3 different sizes and will only snap to the appropriately assigned slots. We can enlarge/shrink deco items to make them the appropriate size to sit on a shelf, but unless they are categorized as a "small" deco item, regardless of the size of the object, they will not snap to those slots.
-plants/flowers
-lighting incl candles
-clutter
-wall decor
-toys incl dollhouse
@Vivid love/hate those pots; don't fit anywhere
@Chicklet453681 much appreciation for the deco slot breakdown!
I looked at the items you mentioned that wouldn't snap to corner counter slots in S4S (Sims4Studio), and these are prime examples of things that should be able to fit on counters (or other surfaces) with no problems. But, the devs categorized each of these with a slotting behavior of "3" .... which means these items will only snap to surfaces that have a "large deco slot".
Counters have no "large deco slots", they only have "Medium" (dark blue cylinders) and "Small" (yellow cylinders).