Updated: Get Where You're Going -- Walk Around & Through Blocks

Update: If you have game set-up of earlier expansions, the Collection file for this set probably is not working for you. There is now a new Collection file download just for these people: BaseGame_&_OFB_Collection_Files.rar. There are two clearly labeled folders in it. If you do not have OFB, use the BaseGame Collection Files. If you do have OFB, use the OFB Collection Files. I am sorry for not discovering this oversight sooner.





Hello! For the clutter-aholics out there I have a few more shelves for you all: Walk Around Blocks and Walk Through Blocks.



So what are these things, anyway?



Well, they are pretty much what the name implies, but here are some pictures to illustrate. Behold, the hall of teddy bears!







Look at the space between those bears, and yet still the Sim can’t pass! How many times have you furnished a room beautifully only to find it just wasn’t playable because of stupid situations like this? (I can’t be the only one who fills hallways with teddy bears…right?)



Enter the Walk Around Block!







Here all the bears have been placed on the standard Walk Around Block. As you can see by the shabbily drawn path now the Sim walks between and around the bears. You know, like any normal person would be able to do. Silly EAxis.



Now the Walk Through Block








In this picture all the bears have been placed on the standard Walk Through Block. Note that this time the Sim took a straight path right though the bears. This block has full Sim and Object intersection, so anything placed on this block will be ignored by Sims.

While that might sound pointless to some, it is very useful in certain situations, like when you are trying to furnish a small house and there is just not enough room to ‘legally’ hold everything you need. One tile objects can be stuck on these blocks and then crammed very close together without blocking Sims’ paths.



Is there anything else they do?



Why yes, there is. These blocks are very strong—see their bulging biceps! They have to ability to hold almost any one tile object, making them essentially weightless and able to be placed on any other surface. So if your deco is too heavy to go where you want it to go, just put it on one of these blocks and lift the where you want it to go. (If you have AL, my Standard Shiftable Shelves do this too, and they shift up and down walls – w00t!)







And like the last set, these also hold Sims without the game crashing that happens with the OFB magisplay.

There are two sizes, one fairly small. There is a comparison picture below to give you an idea of the sizes. And, of course, they all have invisible recolors. I'm not gonna make you have my tacky paint job laying all over your house.



So what’s the catch?



There are some things to note:

• Only 1-tile objects can be held, and there are even exceptions to that:

  They won’t hold tables and some 1-tile coffee tables

  They won’t hold anything that requires placement only on a desk/coffee table/ end table, like table lamps and small electronics.

  Update Instead there are two separate sets especially for this purpose, which are grey instead of black. The End Table Walk Through set is base game compatible. All objects are usable from these blocks.

  The End Table Walk Around set requires OFB. Sims will walk around these and even step over them, which looks much better for smaller items anyway. The catch is that the objects placed on these are NOT usable. I know, I know, that sucks, makes them pointless, etc, but there it is. Coffee tables don't want to be 'walked around' and OFB magisplays don't want objects to be interacted with. *shrug* I will be trying to see if I can get it to work, but no promises.

  Alternatively, if you don't want four more blocks added, you can just grab the End Table Shelf from the Special Slot OMSPs here. It functions exactly like the Walk Through end table block, has an invisible recolor, and can be stacked on the standard Walk Around Blocks.

  
  
• If you overlap the Walk Around Blocks there leaves no room for the Sims to ‘walk around’ the objects, so don’t do that because it defeats the purpose. You can get things pretty close though.
  
• There may be some Sim/Object clipping with the Walk Around Shelves, depending on the size and shape of the object being walked around. Obviously if you use the Walk Through Shelves there will be huge amounts of clipping. You should decide whether you can live with this or not.
  
• Most objects can still be used while on these blocks. I haven’t tried every single thing in the game though, so if something doesn’t work I’m sorry in advance for not letting you know.

Wait--what's the difference again?


Just to recap:

The Walk Around Block causes Sims to visibly alter their path to 'walk around' an object. Some objects, like the teddy bears shown, block Sims' paths even though it looks like they shouldn't. When placed on the Walk Around Block the Sims will step around these objects instead of doing the stomp dance.

The Walk Through Block causes anything put on it to become intersect-able with Sims. They will walk right through it as if it isn't there at all.




There are four of these, two sizes each (eight, if you included the End Table Sets). They can be found under Surfaces > Miscellaneous for $0.


There is a Collection File included in the download. This goes in My Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Collections. If you don't have AL, you might need the separate Collection files download. There are two clearly labeled sets in it--one for those with OFB and one for those without it.


There is also a set that will ONLY show up in the Collection Folder, if you don’t want things cluttering your catalog. You must have the Collection File to use this set, and with these you won’t be able to use the eye dropper to get another block—you’ll have to pull one from the collection.


Only download one file of each set! They have the same blocks, same GUIDs, but one set shows in the Buy Mode Catalog and the Collections folder and the other shows ONLY in the Collections folder--not in the Buy Mode Catalog.





Okay, to try to ward off any more confusion...


Here is a break down of what are in the downloads:


Through & Around Blocks.rar has four blocks, two each that allow Sim walk-though and Sim walk-around of objects placed on them. There are four because there are two sizes of each, one biggish, one smallish. But they won't hold end/coffee table restricted items like table lamps and small electronics.


EndTable_WalkThrough_Blocks.rar has two blocks which will hold the end table restricted stuff the original four won't hold (but not heavy stuff or Sims), and when placed on these blocks Sims will walk through them.


EndTable_WalkAround_Blocks.rar has two blocks which will hold the end table restricted stuff the original four won't (but not heavy stuff or Sims), and when placed on these blocks Sims will wall around or step over them. These require OFB and Sims can NOT use objects placed on them--they are just for looks.



ThruAround_NOT_in_Catalog.rar
EndTable_walkThru_NOT_in_Catalog.rar
EndTable_walkAround_NOT_in_Catalog.rar

--These three are the same as the above three files except they DO NOT show up in the Buy Mode Catalog--they ONLY show in the Collections Folder.

If you want these to show in your Buy Mode Catalog, ignore the downloads that say "NOT_in_Catalog".

If you don't want these cluttering your Buy Mode Catalog (but still want them) these three are the downloads you want.

The download BaseGame_&_OFB_Collection_Files.rar has two more Collection file sets in it for people without AL. Both are included: if you have OFB, use the OFB Collection Files; if don't have OFB, use the BaseGame Collection Files.


I am very sorry for the confusion.




The Walk Around Block was cloned from the lawn gnome. The Walk Through Block was cloned from the Moroccan end table. Both are base game compatible.

The End Table Walk Around Block was cloned from the OFB magisplay and therefore requires OFB.

Polygon Counts:
All have the same poly count:
Face Count = 12, Vertex Count = 16

Made with Blender

Additional Credits:
The OMSPs used in the picture are from JohnBrehaut1

Thank you Numenor for the AnyGameStarter, and for the advice on how to make compatible Collection files.

Thank you eletrodj for all your input and advice in tweaking these. I do appreciate it.

Many thanks to Numenor and fisheyes for their information and tutorials on slots.

A ton of thanks to Bobcatben for his SMD importer/exporter for Blender! Thank you!

And boatloads of credit and thanks to MTS--without all the great tutorials on this site and the help forums, I would be totally lost.