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Update 16/11/2020 - New versions and fixes: Fixes:
- Fixed an issue with the sponge bath interaction, which should use up water buckets properly now
- Fixed an issue with the string for the Unclog interaction
- Fixed an issue where if you cancel an interaction before it started, it would unlock buckets that were locked for a different interaction New version: - A new version which implements water in a different way - instead of using buckets that are created by collecting water at the well, you need to buy pails which can be filled up at the well. Interactions will use a certain amount of water from the pails
- The pail object is a clone of the milk pail from pets, and therefore requires pets (for now). Polycounts: High/Low 930/446 and can be found in misc decor
- Please see this thread for more details on how everything works including default amounts of water required for each interaction and capacity of pail
- Also, if you run into any issues or have feedback, feel free to post on the above thread Other: - I have renamed the files to hopefully make things more clear. V1 is the version that uses buckets, and V2 is the version that uses pails. I also called them global and non-global rather All and Specified because I feel like it's more clear what it means. There is a global and non-global option for each version of the mod. Only pick one of the 4 files. - If you are replacing a version of the mod that is used in a save, I would recommend resetting the town before removing the mod to make sure no sims are using any plumbing objects. You could also delete the associated objects like the well/barrels/buckets. I'm not sure exactly if anything terrible would happen especially if you have nraas ErrorTrap, but if you want to be safe then take the extra precaution
- Hmmm I think that's it
Important Update 21/05/2020
I didn't realise this before, but reloading an off-grid save made it so the custom versions of the plumbing interactions were no longer being used (unless you quit to main menu and reload), and buckets were not staying in the barrel stack through quitting and reloading the save.
Both of these things have been fixed thanks to Battery.
And in fact, objects that were placed pre-mod install do not need to be replaced to get the new interactions anymore.
i'm sorry that I didn't catch this before, but hopefully it should now be sorted
UPDATE 23/02/2020:
I've done some stuff.
There are now two versions:
FunctioningWellAll - works in the same way as the previous version in that once installed, all objects with interactions affected by the mod require buckets of water, whether on your home lot or off.
FunctioningWellSpecified - Only lots with a well or barrel stack on it will be affected - The interaction definitions are replaced same as usual, but when checking for/using water, if the lot the object is on doesn't have a well or stack of barrels, it will be classed as "on-grid"(?or something?) and buckets of water aren't required or used up.
For both versions, it's still only the active household that is affected, non-active sims can still use all plumbing stuff without buckets of water. Please note: If you have the Specified version of the mod, objects that don't require the buckets, because the lot is on-grid, still have the custom interactions, and so if you are uninstalling, you need to make sure those objects are not being used when the game is saved - It's a good idea to reset your town. Also note: With the Specified version, objects in a save pre-install will need to be replaced to get the custom interactions, just like with the All version, and the old one. Once the custom interactions are working properly, you can turn your lot on and off-grid ( adding/removing well/barrels) without needing to replace the plumbing objects.
I've also added some things to both versions:
The All-in-One-Bathrooms are now off grid.
The "Put In Inventory" interaction has been added to the buckets, so you can pick them up off the ground.
Aaaand I think that's it
What is this "Functioning Well" you speak of?
It's a well! That functions!
The idea of this mod is to basically make life more difficult for your sims - Instead of being able to just use objects like showers and sinks with their invisible plumbing, your sims must first collect buckets of water from the well in order to flush the toilet, take a bath, wash dishes etc...
It's great for off-grid/ living off the land/ old timey pre plumbing era gameplay.
How does it work?
The well object itself is the decor object "The Old Dried-Up Well" from The Sims 3 Store, that comes with the Brunch at the Old Mill set.
Except it's no longer a decor object, or dried-up! Your sims can and need to actually collect water from the well in the form of buckets.
Each bucket is like one unit of water, and different interactions require a different number of units (or buckets) of water to be used. (See the Interaction List below for details)
The interactions that involve some kind of "plumbing" are replaced with new versions, that check if your sims have enough water before letting your sims do the interaction. If your sims have enough water, they can use the object as normal, and the required buckets of water will be used up.
Sims can either use buckets of water that are in their own inventory, or buckets can be stored in the stack of barrels object to be accessible across the household. So if you don't want to have to keep collecting loads of buckets for each sim, you can just collect loads of buckets of water and store them in the barrels, and all your sims will be able to use plumbing objects as normal for as long as the buckets last. Note about the barrels: The stack of barrels is the decor object from WA, but works as an inventory to store buckets of water instead. It requires WA for now, but hopefully soon I will try and make it base game compatible. If you don't have WA you can still use the mod, but each sim will have to have buckets in their own inventory to use plumbing objects.
The well can be found in Decor Misc/Sculptures for 200 simoleons. You can place it on a community lot instead of buying it with your own funds.
The barrels can be found in Decor Misc also for 200 simoleons. These need to be placed on your home lot.
The bucket can be found in buydebug for 0 simoleons too.
It's also only active sims that need buckets of water to use stuff, so the rest of town shouldn't be walking around with terrible stink clouds around them all the time.
Technicalities
Collecting water from the well:
To start with, you'll need to collect water from the well, otherwise your sims will be living a pretty nasty life!
The well has one interaction, "Collect Water", which is available to human sims aged child and up.
I have no animation experience, I'm afraid, so all that happens is that sims will walk up to the well and do a "swipe" animation, and a bucket will appear in their inventory.You can do this as many times as you want and have as many buckets in your inventory at once as you want.
Using the barrels:
The stack of barrels allows all sims in your household to access buckets of water to use plumbing related objects. It has two interactions -
"Add Water" moves all the buckets of water from your sim's inventory into the barrels' inventory.
"Check Water Amount" tells you both the total number, and available number of buckets in the barrel.
The total number is both the buckets that are free to use for interactions, and buckets that sims will need for their current interaction, but haven't actually been used up yet. See below for more of an explanation.
Doing the replaced interactions:
If you have enough buckets, you will be able to use the replaced interactions. Once the interaction starts running (your sim begins walking to the object), the number of buckets required will be "locked", which means they won't count as buckets available to use for other interactions. Once the actual animation starts, the buckets are then destroyed or "used up".
This means that if you cancel an interaction before your sim has actually interacted with the object, the buckets can become available to use for another interaction, and at the same time, sims can't start interactions if the only buckets that are there are ones that are already being used for another interaction. Sorry if this is confusing - it's not crucial to understand, just an explanation of how it works
Interactions that are replaced
All the interactions that are replaced in this mod to require a number of buckets in order to be used:
Wash Hands > 1
Wash Dishes >1 (Clean Up interaction is replaced to call the new wash dishes interaction)
Spongebath > 2
Flush Toilet > 1 (Use Toilet, Clean Toilet, Repair Toilet, Vomit (in toilet) are also replaced so sims will only automatically flush afterwards if they there is a bucket of water available to use)
Take Shower > 3 (For your very flammable sims, please note that they will need 3 buckets to Put Out Self, just like a regular shower. Same with Shower WooHoo )
Take Bath > 4
Take Bubble Bath > 5
ScubaAdventure > 5
Bathe Large Dog > 3
Bathe Small Pet (cat or small dog) > 3
Use All-in-one-bathroom > 4
The numbers of buckets required for each interaction are tunable - see Tunable Values below.
There are some plumbing objects that are not affected (sims will be able to use these without needing any buckets of water). Some I may add in the future, others likely not (see below for Future Plans)
Hot Tubs, Dishwashers, All-In-One Bathrooms I feel aren't so important because they probably wouldn't fit the playstyle anyway...maybe I'm just lazy?
The Outdoor Shower and Public Shower from the Store aren't affected because they don't count as regular showers, but I may add these in to also require buckets.
Tunable Values
The number of buckets required for each interaction are tunable. If you want to change them, open the package file and find the resource called zoeoe_WaterMod.Interactions. Right click on it and click on Notepad, and adjust the values as desired. To clarify, the number is how many buckets the interaction takes up. It has to be a whole number - you can't use half a bucket!
updated to support:
French - SecretX
German - KittyTheSnowcat
Russian - Knight
Polish - Wojtek
There are a few strings in this mod that can be translated. If anyone is interested in translating them, the main strings (interaction names etc) are in the STBL resources called zoeoe_WaterMod_strings. There are also the other STBLs for the object names and descriptions.
Installation
To install, just put the package in your mods folder. Only one version at a time
If you want all plumbing objects in the world to be off-grid for your active household then use the ALL version.
If you only want plumbing objects on lots with a well/barrel stack to be off-grid, use the SPECIFIED version. Please note that objects already in the game before this mod is installed won't be affected. You need to sell and buy new ones if you want sims to need buckets to use them.
I'd recommend starting an off-grid save after you have installed this mod, or if you have a save started, don't build your house until after the mod is installed. That way you won't have to replace all your sinks and showers etc to get them to function properly off-grid. Not relevant anymore, the off-grid plumbing interactions should work straight away.
I would also recommend taking the mod out if you are playing a save that's not off-grid, so nothing strange happens
To Uninstall
Before you take out this mod, if you are planning on playing without the mod in save that has previously been affected by the mod (so you have been playing off-grid in), make sure your sims are not interacting with any plumbing objects when you save, otherwise the objects may become unusable. If this does happen, they should be okay if you sell and replace the objects, but I haven't tested this extensively so be warned!
It's a good idea to reset your town/reset all sims before uninstalling to make sure no sims are using objects affected by the new interactions.
Conflicts/Issues
This is a full script mod, and doesn't override any core files or resources. However, on load it does replace the interaction definitions of the interactions listed above. So if you have a mod that also does that (though I don't know any that do), either mine or the other mod likely won't work.
NRaas Shooless is an example of this. If you have both installed, the interactions affected by Shooless (Shower, Use Toilet, Spongebath) will no longer be "off-grid". The interaction names for Use Toilet and Spongebath show up blank too.
One thing to note is that because this mod changes the interaction definitions, if you have mods that adjust the ITUN files of one of the interactions that are replaced, it won't have an effect. You can edit my custom ITUN files to your liking though, they are in the package file
If you do find a conflict, let me know.
The only other thing I have found is that if you have nraas WooHooer installed, the shower WooHoo won't work even if your sims have enough water. They do the social interaction and just stop. It does work if one sim is already in the shower though, so nothing too disastrous
Resources Used
With this mod, there are three objects: The well, the bucket, and the barrels.
The well is the The Old Dried-Up Well decor object from the sims 3 store. [You don't need the one from the store to use this mod]
Polycounts same as original: High LOD 990, Low LOD 413
The bucket's mesh comes from one of the decor objects from Pets, that has two buckets stacked. The smaller one rotated to be upright is the one in my mod.
Polycounts: High/Low LOD 364, (it just has the one LOD as cloned from bubble bath)I used the Metal Eroded Texture by Giles Hodges for the bucket.
The stack of barrels is from the decor stack of barrels from World Adventures.
Polycounts same as original: High LOD 1596, Low LOD 540
Future Plans/Ideas
I've been working on this for quite a while now, and so I really wanted to get what I've done out before it drives me insane, but even though it's pretty much done, there are a few things I feel could function in a better way. I'd also be happy to hear any ideas/preferences that you have for how this could work. Here are just some things I have thought about:
Revamping the way water is represented. I know it's not particularly realistic to have buckets as the smallest unit of water, but it was the easiest way I could think of implementing this system. I think a better way would be to have a sort of "pail of water" that you can buy, and then fill up from the well, and then interactions could use up a certain portion of water from the pail. This is something I'd really like to do but I think would be a big job!
Which sims and which objects are affected. Currently it's only active sims that need buckets of water to use all plumbing objects in the world (at least ones that the interactions have been updated properly). This doesn't make complete sense, as they'd be using water from their home lot for objects in different locations. I may change it so only the home lot is "off-grid", or sims will need buckets in their inventories to use plumbing objects off their home lot. Or should all sims in town be affected and go round smelly? That might be preferable for a medieval village ?
A modern tank. It might be a good idea to also have a more modern looking way of storing water on your lot, for a modern off-grid style play, rather than using barrels.
Eco-friendly sims. I was going to have a different number of buckets for eco-friendly sims using the shower, but in the end didn't get round to it. This is something I could add in, and maybe other lower values for other interactions if the sims is eco-friendly.
Anyway, sorry for the huge description
If you have any problems, or feedback, please let me know, and I'll try to fix it.
I hope you like it
Additional Credits:
A big thank you to Battery for all the help with my many struggles. I also used S3PE, Buzzler's STBLize tool, and Visual Studio 2017.
one question though, if i have this installed i know it only affects the active sim but, does this also means if i play multiple families then each family i move to will need buckets of water?
If you've started the save before you installed the mod, then existing objects won't have the new interactions attached. So if you play with a new household in the world and their objects are from pre mod install, then I don't think they will need buckets to use them. But if you buy new objects, or the save is made after installing, then yes, your sims will need buckets to use the objects with replaced interactions. Hope this helps explain it
I have so much admiration for this kind of mod, this is unexpected and functional still in 2020. You made my day <3 Thank you so much for sharing your modding talents with us.
#29 8th Feb 2020 at 7:04 PM
Last edited by Lilithmae1231 : 8th Feb 2020 at 7:31 PM.
Posts: 87
Thanks: 608 in 7 Posts
So, I placed the well on my lot and had my sim collect water from it no problem, but oddly enough none of the interactions are actually using up the buckets of water. My sim used the shower, sink and toilet all without the units of water I collected changing at all.
The interactions where grayed out before she collected water, though, so that part is working fine for me.
Edit: Okay, I sold and bought a new shower and sink and that fixed it. Weird. Maybe it was because I placed the well after I had placed the shower and sink? *shrug*
So, I placed the well on my lot and had my sim collect water from it no problem, but oddly enough none of the interactions are actually using up the buckets of water. My sim used the shower, sink and toilet all without the units of water I collected changing at all.
The interactions where grayed out before she collected water, though, so that part is working fine for me.
Oh dear...
Were the buckets in her inventory or in the barrels?
Edit: Okay, I sold and bought a new shower and sink and that fixed it. Weird. Maybe it was because I placed the well after I had placed the shower and sink? *shrug*
Glad that sorted it out. I don't think that it would be because the well wasn't placed first, as the objects' interactions aren't affected by the well, but the pure script part of the mod. Then again I'm not 100% sure
Did you start your save before or after you installed? And if before, did you place the sink and shower before or after installing?
Okay, I forgot to replace the toilet so I tried it without collecting any water and it worked as if I didn't have the mod. Sold it and placed a new one and the flush interaction was grayed out properly. It was a new save after installing the mod and an empty lot, btw. XD
Okay, I forgot to replace the toilet so I tried it without collecting any water and it worked as if I didn't have the mod. Sold it and placed a new one and the flush interaction was grayed out properly. It was a new save after installing the mod and an empty lot, btw. XD
So it only worked when you added the well to the lot and then replaced the objects? That's weird... I'll have another look at it soon
This mod is amazing! I like the storage feature, and in case no one else has said, Sandy over at Around the Sims has a bunch of base game friendly storage options! Not sure if her water well for the garden set is one, but I'm sure either she can mod it or we can use transmorgifier to do that!
[email protected] Just a small scripting suggestion, to allow only some lots in the world to require the replace interactions (i.e. requiring buckets of water before use), while some other lots do not at the same time, would you consider adding a scripting check for presence of your well doing a "foreach" lot check in the world on loading of the world before replacing the interactions globally? So that some lots are "offgrid" but some aren't
Alternatively you might consider that adding a check that the conditions are only replaced if there's a well on the lot.
Just so in case you want, you can look at my petrol mod to see how it is done.
I haven't been modding so long so I'm afraid I can't be more technical, but that's as far as I can rmb
@SimsMatthew thank you for the suggestion!
My concern about non active lots being off grid, is that non active sims won't autonomously collect water, and so they won't be able to wash dishes, shower, put themselves out if they're on fire etc. Though I'm not sure what inactive sims even get up to, like do they actually cook food and get themselves set on fire?
The other thing is that when I replace the interactions, I change the interaction definitions of the existing interactions rather than removing the original interaction and adding a new one to the objects. I'm not sure if this is possible to do for only objects on specific lots.
One thing i might be able to do, is to to make it so you can disable/enable the mod in game, so the sims you are currently playing can either be on or off grid without needing to uninstall the mod. Not sure if this would work, but I could try it out
Anyway your petrol mod looks awesome! Can't believe I haven't seen it before :D
@SimsMatthew thank you for the suggestion!
My concern about non active lots being off grid, is that non active sims won't autonomously collect water, and so they won't be able to wash dishes, shower, put themselves out if they're on fire etc. Though I'm not sure what inactive sims even get up to, like do they actually cook food and get themselves set on fire?
The other thing is that when I replace the interactions, I change the interaction definitions of the existing interactions rather than removing the original interaction and adding a new one to the objects. I'm not sure if this is possible to do for only objects on specific lots.
One thing i might be able to do, is to to make it so you can disable/enable the mod in game, so the sims you are currently playing can either be on or off grid without needing to uninstall the mod. Not sure if this would work, but I could try it out
Anyway your petrol mod looks awesome! Can't believe I haven't seen it before :D
Don't quote me but I recall that if you actually hide the EA set of interactions (i.e. the set that doesn't look at whether you have the buckets of water), instead of removing them, since there are pre-existing ITUNs for them, autonomous sims (non-active) still can well-use them. You can just choose to "hide" them for your active sims. If you want you can look at my Coffee strings mod for an example. Non-active sims can autonomously brew coffee on their own (without using my version of choosing the coffee ingredients), but this action is now hidden for active sims so active sims must pick through the ingredients. In the same vein, you can copy off the original interactions for your new ones with the check for water added. This resolves the active/non-active issue.
Re the disable/enable, my proposal is to do it by a lot-based check of the Water Well object so it's not global (some lots in a world may be off-grid, and others may be not). But just my thoughts.
Re the disable/enable, my proposal is to do it by a lot-based check of the Water Well object so it's not global (some lots in a world may be off-grid, and others may be not). But just my thoughts.
Perfect idea. Goes well with ani's The Woodcutter’s Tree mod.
I created a Polish translation and attached it in my reply. Thanks for the mod. It's gonna be perfect for my Twinbroke project. However, instead of using the well I'll convert the Sims Castaway rain collector system and change its OBJK.
I've always wanted a mod like that! But would it be possible to have some option on the pie menu so that we could choose whether the shower will use the system or not? Thanks for the mod !!
I've always wanted a mod like that! But would it be possible to have some option on the pie menu so that we could choose whether the shower will use the system or not? Thanks for the mod !!
Unfortunately, I don't think this is possible. The way it works is that it replaces the interactions themselves, rather than interactions attached to specific objects - so it's kind of an all or nothing situation. One thing I am thinking of doing is making a second version of my mod, and to have specific "off-grid" objects that are the only ones that will need buckets of water from the well.
This is neat! I only recently looked at the well on my sim's yard and wished it could function... What a timing!
But as SimsMatthew suggested, I would also like it to be possible to choose whether the mod effects are in use, for example, if there is a well in the lot, then the watering system is affected, and if not, then everything works as usual without the need of any water buckets or restrictions. I play rotationally in so many different households and lots in one game save / world, that this mod would be most thrilling for some and completely cumbersome for others (like sims living in a high rise apartment building).
Question: Is it possible to add a master switch of this mod to the mailbox? I have a MTS mod that can restrict the use of all cell phones in town with a switch on the mailbox. I think it would be great to do the same for this mod so that a pre-modern living like a island-colonizing save of mine can have progression on technological advancement.
I have high hopes for this mod. The restriction can be expanded to electricity with the mailbox switch I mentioned, and gives us the true "Off-the-Grid" lifestyle we've been waiting for.
@AngieMFAK77 you don't have to choose! All you need to do is edit the ITUN file in my mod's package file for the custom sponge bath interaction to change who can use the interaction
@AngieMFAK77 you don't have to choose! All you need to do is edit the ITUN file in my mod's package file for the custom sponge bath interaction to change who can use the interaction
AAAHHH! So I downloaded S3PE (It's been years). Deleted out the need trait inappropriate with "None" -
Update: and can now sponge bath requiring water!!
Thank you x
Update 16/11/2020 - New versions and fixes:
How does it work?
(see below for Future Plans)
To Uninstall
8th Feb 2020 at 4:37 PM
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