Joined: 06/14/09 02:52 AM
Did you know that the fireplace build mode object comes in several parts? And that these parts can actually be separated? To learn how, read on!
The fireplace object consists of the following parts:
1 - The fireplace itself, where Sims can light the actual fire
2 - The chimney base, the area immediately behind the fireplace
3 - The chimney stack, the pipe-like part sitting atop the chimney base
4 - The chimney exhaust, the topmost part where the smoke is expelled
While in edit mode on a lot space, do the following:
1 - Go into Build mode and place a fireplace object
2 - Open the debug/cheat console window by pressing SHIFT + CTRL + C
3 - Type in the command "moveobjects on" without quotation marks
4 - Move the mouse pointer onto the chimney exhaust and click on it to select it
5 - Move the mouse pointer and watch the segment separate
6 - Press DELETE to delete the chimney exhaust or click elsewher on the lot to put it down
7 - Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the chimney stack segments
To separate the chimney base from the fireplace, do the following:
1 - Remove all chimney segments using the moethods described above
2 - Click on the chimney base exhaust hole and the chimney base is selected
3 - Press DELETE to delete the chimney base or click elsewher on the lot to put it down (if the UI glitches while deleting the chimney base, simply enter Buy mode and then go back into Build mode again)
By using the moveobjects command you can separate the chimney parts from each other and do the following:
1 - Remove the chimney entirely yet leave a fully functioning fireplace inside, useful if space constraints don't allow for a chimney piece to go all the way through the floors of a building. Who says a chimney must go straight up to the roof?
2 - Have TWO fireplaces back-to-back. Simply have one fireplace with all the parts placed on one side of a wall, and then place a second fireplace (without any chimney parts) behind the first fireplace. Note that the chimney will only exhaust smoke from the fireplace it is naturally anchored to, but this is purely cosmetic. It is also possible to have two fireplaces without chimney parts back-to-back.
3 - Make chimneys shorter by removing segments. This is useful if you don't want a chimney sticking too far out of the roof. As for longer chimneys beyond the six floor limit, it is not possible at this time since the chimney segments cannot be made to stack each other.
4 - Use chimney segments as additional architectural build mode objects. And yes, the chimney segments can be cloned by holding SHIFT while clicking. The rounded pipe chimney segments could be used as props for a sort of boiler or furnace room for example.
If you are experiencing crash issues when modifying or removing fireplaces that were created using the above methods and techniques, you can check out the following thread for a user derived solution:
Ahhh at last a way to get rid of that hideous space consuming chimney stack. Its annoying that I cant even recolour it (when so much else can be) to blend in. Thanks very much for the tutorial I have bookmarked it too. Will be testing this out on my current modern build.