No option for 'NPC Door' when building an apartment

Celticgamer0

Just as the title states. I have typed in 'testingcheatsenabled true' and placed the public and hidden room markers but when I 'shift-ctrl click there is no option for 'npc doors'. Am I missing something? I have searched the internet, but have come up with nothing that works.

Hthr0120

If memory serves correctly, the door has to be totally enclosed. By that I mean walled in or fenced in.

Celticgamer0

I made a trailer park and added a fenced in front yard... I might try enclosing it completely and seeing if that works

justdancerebecca

Had no idea this was even an option. Neat idea.

Hthr0120

Another thing is that if your house/trailer is on foundation than the fenced in area must be at the same level as the door. Here is a link of step by step instructions. This is how I learned. http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php?title=Tutorials:TS3_Sims_3_Apartments I hope this helps you out.

bklienhart

Yeah, that's how I do it, that tutorial. I put a fence right inside the door though, it doesn't have to be a wall.

HunterInShadow

Hmm, I've been thinking of building a motel style apartment complex, with bungalows acting as apartments. It would be much easier to do this kind of an open air build as an University Life style "apartment", where you build it as a regular residential lot and then rent the apartments to roommates. This means that your Sim will be acting as the owner/landlord of the apartment complex and gains income from his "tenants".

Of course, taking the UL route, you would need to have UL in the first place. It would be a lot easier way to make a trailer park/motel style build, without needing to worry about the correct placement of markers. However, it would mean that building and furnishing would take more time, since you'd have to build and furnish the NPC apartments too.

Annikaperi

These are great ideas. Sounds like fun. Too bad you can't designate who you want to have as your roommate.

HunterInShadow

Annikaperi wrote: »

These are great ideas. Sounds like fun. Too bad you can't designate who you want to have as your roommate.

Well, you kinda can, kicking them out is easy with the "Roommate... -> dismiss" function when you click on the roommate you don't like.

This will make the game generate a new one at 9.00 AM the next morning, up to your designated roommate limit (which you can set via your Sim's phone, in the "Real Estate & Travel -> Roommate Services..." menu).

You might also want plan ahead (think of how many "tenants" you want to have and build accordingly) and then set this as soon as your Sim moves in, so you get the numbers right. The important thing is to build the complex first (in Edit Town -> Build mode) and then move your Sim in. This way you can have everything ready without being restricted to your Sim's starting budget. When you're done building, move your sim in (you can do this with a fresh sim by using the "freerealestate on" cheat, or have a more experienced and moneyed Sim as the landlord).

Celticgamer0

I figured it out! You have to completely enclose the door before placing the markers, but once you place the markers you can delete the extra fencing and viola! Took me a bit of tweaking, but finally figured out the little loophole. With this you can interchange the liveable home with the NPC one.

HunterInShadow

Hmm, good point. I've been a bit dismayed of that little tidbit, because fencing in the NPC doors is a hassle.

You might still run into problems, such as the game nitpicking about "Your High-Rise building has no callbox" if you have placed an apartment wall-mailbox. Adding a callbox might be a good idea, but you need an elevator on the lot to make it work right outside Bridgeport (I had problems with this myself, until I tried it with an elevator, and it worked right). If it doesn't work right, the list shows a near-endless amount of NPC sims that don't actually live on the lot at all.

Then again, an elevator is something you don't actually have any need for in a trailer park. Haven't tested if an elevator shaft (the kind that has no door) would count as an elevator. You could easily camouflage this as an "outhouse" in a trailer park, or hide one in one of your communal buildings with a hidden room marker).

Ah, and I actually once tested having a roommate live in a neighboring apartment next to my Sim's apartment, in an NL style apartment complex. Worked beautifully, so you can certainly combine the techniques if you wish to do so. This way you could have both "tenants" and NPC Sims living on the same lot.

Sorry for rambling, I tend to do that a lot.