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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.
By chance would you consider adding washing machines to the list? I use an off grid (aesthetically) washing machine and your mod works on my CC sinks and bathtubs so I think it would work with this washer too!
Even if not, I LOVE this mod! It adds so much more to the lifestyle of my sims!
I may have missed something in the description and got a little confused. I have the specified installed, does that mean each time I start up my game I have to replace all plumping objects to the interactions to show up? is there an easier way?
By chance would you consider adding washing machines to the list? I use an off grid (aesthetically) washing machine and your mod works on my CC sinks and bathtubs so I think it would work with this washer too!
Even if not, I LOVE this mod! It adds so much more to the lifestyle of my sims!
I may have missed something in the description and got a little confused. I have the specified installed, does that mean each time I start up my game I have to replace all plumping objects to the interactions to show up? is there an easier way?
@ravierae094
Hi there, sorry for the confusion. No, you don't need to replace the objects every time you start up. It's only objects that have been placed pre - mod install that won't have the new interactions stuck to them, so they won't check for water or use up water. But once you replace them, they'll use the new versions of the interactions and as long as the mod is installed they should keep them without you needing to replace them. Hope this clears things up
@michela1390
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.
Your mods are very interesting!!! Thank you!! I'm still wondering if this is how much harder I want to make my sims' lives, but in any case, it's a great idea!!!
Is there a way to use this AND stay on the grid? Like, still have plumbing work as usual but ALSO have a functioning well?
As in like, having a well that you can collect buckets of water from, but they are just decorative? With the mod how it currently is no, but if you really want just the well with the buckets, I could make a version without the plumbing replacements for you.
Though maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean, as I'm not sure what the point of a bunch of useless buckets would be
#64 28th Jun 2020 at 10:11 PM
Last edited by Franklee300 : 28th Jun 2020 at 11:10 PM.
Posts: 11
First, I want to thank you so much for making this mod. I really love the extra challenge it adds to my game. Since the second update I have had an odd issue. The space on the menu that normally says use the toilet (or in the case of sponge bathing, sponge bath) is now a blank blue circle. It still functions correctly, but there's no longer any words there.
I don't know if anyone else has experienced this issue, or if it's just me.
EDITED:
The mod conflict I mentioned originally turned out to be a different mod.
I just realized my above post could be confused for me saying the missing words from the menu were a mod conflict. That is still an issue I am having. Before I thought it was clashing with a coffee mod. Sorry for my wording.
First, I want to thank you so much for making this mod. I really love the extra challenge it adds to my game. Since the second update I have had an odd issue. The space on the menu that normally says use the toilet (or in the case of sponge bathing, sponge bath) is now a blank blue circle. It still functions correctly, but there's no longer any words there.
I don't know if anyone else has experienced this issue, or if it's just me.
EDITED:
The mod conflict I mentioned originally turned out to be a different mod.
@Franklee300 Hi there, sorry you're having this problem. I will look into this soon. I did notice when I was testing a new version (not been uploaded) that there was a problem with the Repair interaction name on the toilet (and probably other Repairs too) and have not had a chance to fix it yet. Though I believe that it was only a problem with the repair interactions, not the other ones like Use toilet and Sponge Bath. (Though there was actually a separate problem with the sponge bath interaction but that didn't affect the name for me).
I will double check the versions this weekend hopefully to see if it's the same in my game, though i don't think it was when i tested them.
But would you mind giving me some more info?
Is your game in English or another language?
Is it just those two interactions or all of them that are missing the names?
And what game patch are you on?
It might be easier if you PM instead of replying on this thread
Another awesome sandbox mod! Is there any way to turn it off in game on the fly? Without having to quit/restart and then add/remove the mod from your Mods folder?
This is probably similar question to the one up mine and maybe I just don't get the description right, but is it possible to have this mod working just in one world (saved game) and not in the others? For example I have an (survive mod) island world where this would be awesome improvement for my gameplay, but it seems kind of weird to have my sims collecting buckets of water to use toilet/bath in, for example into the future/modern themed, world. Thank you very much in advance for the answer.
@Maxi1999 and @Amira11thank you for your kind comments
There isn't a way to completely shut off the mod without taking it out of your mods folder.
However, if you install the Specified version of the mod then only lots that have the functional well or the stack of barrels on the lot will require buckets of water to use the plumbing objects.
So if you want to keep the mod installed all the time, but have saves where you don't want to play off-grid, you can just not put any wells or barrels in the world/on the lot you're playing and your sims can carry on as normal.
However, an important thing to remember is that even if you don't have a well/barrels on the lot and so that household is not off-grid, the interactions are still replaced with my custom ones. The difference is that the custom interactions will check if there's a well/barrels on the lot, and if not then it will ignore the need for buckets.
What this means is that if you have played in saves when the mod has been installed and you want to uninstall it, you need to reset your town for every one of those saves in order to make sure no sim is using a plumbing object.
The fact that buckets aren't required to use the objects may be misleading to think the custom interactions aren't being used, but as long as the mod is installed they are being used, and so uninstalling with sims doing those custom interactions may break something.
Hope this explains it
@Maxi1999 and @Amira11thank you for your kind comments
...So if you want to keep the mod installed all the time, but have saves where you don't want to play off-grid, you can just not put any wells or barrels in the world/on the lot you're playing and your sims can carry on as normal.
...
The fact that buckets aren't required to use the objects may be misleading to think the custom interactions aren't being used, but as long as the mod is installed they are being used, and so uninstalling with sims doing those custom interactions may break something.
Hope this explains it
Thank you very much, that's exactly what I wanted to know, this is really great mod, so I am looking forward to playing with it. Thank you for your hardwork and fast reply.
@Maxi1999 and @Amira11thank you for your kind comments
There isn't a way to completely shut off the mod without taking it out of your mods folder.
However, if you install the Specified version of the mod then only lots that have the functional well or the stack of barrels on the lot will require buckets of water to use the plumbing objects.
So if you want to keep the mod installed all the time, but have saves where you don't want to play off-grid, you can just not put any wells or barrels in the world/on the lot you're playing and your sims can carry on as normal.
However, an important thing to remember is that even if you don't have a well/barrels on the lot and so that household is not off-grid, the interactions are still replaced with my custom ones. The difference is that the custom interactions will check if there's a well/barrels on the lot, and if not then it will ignore the need for buckets.
What this means is that if you have played in saves when the mod has been installed and you want to uninstall it, you need to reset your town for every one of those saves in order to make sure no sim is using a plumbing object.
The fact that buckets aren't required to use the objects may be misleading to think the custom interactions aren't being used, but as long as the mod is installed they are being used, and so uninstalling with sims doing those custom interactions may break something.
Hope this explains it
Update 16/11/2020 - New versions and fixes:
How does it work?
(see below for Future Plans)
To Uninstall
28th Mar 2020 at 7:28 PM
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