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Community & Social => TS2 Creating Tutorials => Topic started by: shastakiss on May 09, 2017, 08:21:30 PM

Title: Grid Adjuster Tutorial: Little Decks How-To
Post by: shastakiss on May 09, 2017, 08:21:30 PM
A friend asked about the little decks in the lake houses from untidyfan's Christmas in July gifts (http://digitalperversion.net/gardenofshadows/index.php?topic=31220.msg693602#msg693602) and I'm very happy to share the little bit I know. I started working with the Grid Adjuster one morning and had worn myself out, the how-to info and comments were so math-y (?)... Thankfully, JustSimAround came in wearing a cape! I was so happy for their super-hero help, it was really fun to figure it out together  :)

1. Download Mootilda's Grid Adjuster (http://modthesims.info/d/327439) (GA)
It has so many possibilities for builders! So far all I've really explored are walls less than 4-clicks tall though.

2. Load your game and start building
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%201_zpsvebuf4ig.png)
You don't have to fiddle with constrainfloorelevation, just regular height walls for your deck. You can also use the foundation tool, GA sees either as a 'level'

(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%203_zpsxwwe9vfs.png)
fig. 1
For the decks, I've made it so I can try several different sizes/layouts. You can bulldoze/sledgehammer the less-than-4-click walls after you've used GA but adding them after you've grid-adjusted is a pain.*

(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%202_zps3oqkblxs.png)
fig. 2
I've added the main floor with doors/windows and interior layout but it's not necessary, it's just how I build.
(Since I'll also be shrinking the lot using Mootilda's Lot Adjuster (http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=384656), I've got floating floor tiles and a roof already too but that's not necessary either.)

3. Make sure you know what neighborhood/subhood you were in and what you named the lot, save and exit the game.

4. Open GA, navigate to the lot you just built
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%204_zpsfsxdtycq.png)
Okay, GA says I have three levels. Think of them as level 0 to 0, level 1 to 1, etc.
Level 0 - the ground. I haven't learned much about it yet (basements and negative elevations?) except that it is NOT the starting point for little decks  :blush
Level 1 - the decks (fig. 1)
Level 2 - the main floor (fig. 2)
Level 3 - must be the roof, right? Still learning :|

5. Adjust your grid
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%204b_zps4lbxllsn.png)
1 stair = 1 click. Even though my deck will only be 1-click tall, I have to give sims 2-clicks worth of stairs first (they just can't use less than two). So my elevation for the little deck level is 2.
Do not tick "Relative to current elevation" by the way... I'm sure it's useful for something, but not for this.

6. Click finish, quit GA, and reload your game.
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%205_zps4ucquzgi.png)
Hot mess house! It's just temporary though.

7. Add modular steps from the 2-click deck down to the ground, you might have to turn on the moveobjects cheat.
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%206_zpsezbmc2es.png)
Since I'm using invisible steps (with an invisible description ha) by Cyclonesue here (http://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/248878), the pink tiles show where I placed them. I may not keep one set of steps but it's better to place it now and bulldoze it later than try to place it later.

8. Save and exit your game. Open GA again and navigate to your lot.
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%207_zpsudqdw61i.png)
Adjust level 1 to have its 1-click elevation. Finish and exit GA.

9. Reload your game.
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%209_zpszwoh4b8i.png)
Hot mess house part ii! Just grab all your floating objects and they'll snap back to normal.

10. Familiar part - furnish, decorate, landscape...
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%2010_zpsm3qlqoae.png)
I ended up deleting all those just-in-case deck walls from fig. 1 after all :B

I mentioned in the readme with untidyfan's gift that the animation will be off a little when your sim goes up two invisible steps to land on a one-step tall deck. I'm more interested in little decks than perfectly animated sims so it doesn't bother me. Lots of room to experiment with two-click tall decks and correct animation though (and even using visible steps with them). Below is where I tried a two-click deck with exposed 'supports', I think I might like it more with some floor edge hiders.

(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%20extra_zps1iueqeqx.png)


* Grid Adjuster automatically creates a back-up. If you need to backtrack while learning new stuff, find your lot (mine was here):
Documents \ EA Games \ The Sims 2 Double Deluxe \ Neighborhoods \ N001 \ Lots
Change the extension on N001_Lot371 (or whatever) from .bkp to .package to revert to an earlier version. Thank you, Mootilda.

LARGE DOG EDIT: I found out that large dogs can't live in houses with one or two-click decks, their actions just fall out of their queue. Small dogs and cats will use the little stairs, no problem. Toddlers will too with rebecah's mod (http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=283783) (I haven't tested it with kittens or puppies yet but I'm pretty sure they'd be fine too).
HugeLunatic has some non-animated modular steps with an invisible recolor (http://sims2artists.com/index.php?topic=4558.0) that work though! :omg The steps are exactly the same except step 5 below is 4 clicks and in step 7 you're adding Lunie's steps from the 4-click deck down to the ground.

5. Adjust your grid
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z43/snoopy1625/tutorials/ga%20tut%204c_zpsjem4dr5o.png)
Large dogs need 4 clicks! Sims and pets will just magically appear *poof* on the little decks using the non-animated steps.
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