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#1 Old 15th Sep 2020 at 5:03 PM Last edited by zoe22 : 28th Aug 2021 at 3:48 PM.
Default [27/08/2021 - Testers wanted!] New version of my Off-Grid Plumbing mod
NEW! 27th August 2021 New versions for testing - please see post https://modthesims.info/showthread....995#post5770995 for details

------------------------------------- Old stuff below :P---------------------------------
16/05/2021 New versions for testing - please see this post for details. Thanks!
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Hey there,
So I have been working on a new version of this mod for quite a while now. As I mentioned in the Future Plans section of the description, I really wanted to have a more realistic way of representing water in the game. So rather than having buckets that need to be used all at once, I made a version which uses pails that can be filled up at the well, and then depending on the interaction, a certain amount of water in the pail will be used up.
I had some problems with it, but I think I have it working now so there shouldn't be any weird behaviour, but because the original versions had problems I didn't even notice for a long time (and still has a couple of minor things I need to upload the fixes for :p), I figured I would get this version properly tested before uploading it officially.

I tested this version on a longer-term basis and found some issues, and I have tested the fixed version in a short-term way, and all seems to be working right, but I would really appreciate some external testers just to make sure I haven't missed anything.

Details 
I separated this version of the mod into 4 parts - there is the main package with the interactions, ITUNS, etc.., the well itself, the water storage barrels, and the pail.
It works in effect the same way as the original one, in that each plumbing interaction has a certain amount of "water" which is required to complete the interaction. The difference is that instead of buckets, you need to purchase pails, and then fill them up at the well. The pails have a certain capacity (currently set to 3 and isn't tunable at the moment) which is tunable (kmaxAmount in xml called Sims3.Gameplay.Objects.Miscellaneous.zoeoe_WaterMod.Pail) default set to 5, and so then the amount the interaction requires is taken from the pails. Water can also be stored in the barrels once you have collected it in the pails, and like with the original, all sims in the household can use the water from the barrels.

The amount of water each interaction uses is as follows, but is also tunable (in the FW_Interactions package, the xml file called zoeoe_WaterMod.Interactions):
    <kWashHandsWater value="0.25" />
    <kFlushToiletWater value="0.25" />
    <kWashDishesWater value="0.5" />
    <kSpongeBathWater value="0.5" />
    <kTakeShowerWater value="2" />
    <kTakeBathWater value="3" />
    <kTakeBubbleBathWater value="3.5" />
    <kScubaAdventureWater value="4" />
    <kBatheLargeDogWater value="2" />
    <kBatheSmallPetWater value="1" />
    <kUseAllInOneBathroomWater value="2" />


The pails can be dragged into sims' inventories, or can be Put In Inventory with the interaction. Once the pail is in the inventory, the sim can Collect Water, which will make the sim go to the well and fill up the pail that was clicked on. If the sim has multiple pails, you can click on the Well and Collect Water, to fill up all pails in the sim's inventory. You can't fill up a pail that's already full, and if you don't have any pails, the interaction on the well should be greyed out, as well as if all the pails in the inventory are full.

The barrels and the pails have an immediate interaction called Check Water, which will tell you the total amount of water in them, as well as the available water. There is an explanation of what this means in the original description, under Technicalities, but it's basically for when sims start their interaction, the water needed is locked so other sims can't use it before the sim actually reaches the object and uses up the water. It also means if the interaction is cancelled, the water should become available again.
There are still a few things I need to clean up, such as the Check Water notification using the old text which refers to buckets, as well as the greyed out message for when there are no pails to fill at the well not being localised, but they hopefully won't be a problem to fix.

Installation
This new version will conflict with the original ones, so if you have been using them, you'll need to uninstall them and delete your script cache. Remember that if you are going to play without the mod in a save that was affected by the original mod, you'll need to reset the town before uninstalling to make sure no sims are using the custom interactions. This will be the same for this new version too.

To install the new ones, just place the 4 packages in your Mods folder. You could merge them if you want, but for testing purposes, it's probably easiest to keep them separate, and it makes it easier to edit any of the xml or ITUNs to tune the interactions how you want them.
It would probably be the safest option to play with this mod in a brand new save, just in case there is a problem, it won't affect your beloved sims, but as long as the old versions and this versions have been unistalled correctly (resetting the town first) there shouldn't be anything more disastrous than a bunch of proxy objects filling in for the removed ones.

You will find the objects in the misc decor section or sculptures - there is the well, the barrels, and the pail.
Note that the barrels require WA and the pail requires Pets, because they are objects cloned from those packs.

Testing
The main function of the mod should be working fine, but of course I'd appreciate some extra opinions :p
The difference with this mod is that there are no bucket objects, and so the water is really just a number, so my main concern is something messing up directly with using water, but there are also some general things which will apply to the original mod too. 

So here are some questions:

Do all the water collecting interactions work properly?
Are there any blank strings, for the interactions or notifications?
Do the plumbing interactions only work when you have the required amount of water?
When you have enough water, do the interactions use up the correct amount of water properly?
Do you notice any issues with the locked water - when you stop an interaction, is the water made available again?
Are all the interactions autonamous as expected - eg do sims use the shower on their own when their hygiene is low, and does the water get used up properly?

Only active sims are affected, so do sims who come over to visit use plumbing objects as normal without your water being taken up? This might be a bit hard to test, because showering and stuff will be "inappropriate behaviour", but you could check when a guest is using the toilet, if before and after they flush, if the water in the barrels has gone down.
Are there any issues with non-active sims using plumbing objects? If you have NRaas error trap or Overwatch, do you notice any strange behaviour when sims are using plumbing objects?

Weird mod conflicts - this is the part I am most dreading, as @Franklee300 actually found some weird conflicts with NRaas WrittenWord, and the mod that stops the toe tapping animation. 
We figured out that NRaas Shooless conflicted with my mod, but that's because they both replace the plumbing interactions, but my mod should not affect bookstores, or the jazz files, so I really have no clue why my mod would cause problems. What I'm hoping is that something else was going on there, and messing up in the way that sims 3 just does sometimes, but I figured I would use this opportunity of hopefully getting some willing testers to check this out if you do play with either of those mods. 

And lastly, any other small issues, or ideas to make it function any better in some way?

I know this is a lot to look out for, but what would be great if you could basically play as you normally would, maybe with a big family, maybe rotationally - basically play for a while and see if you notice anything working incorrectly, any weird behaviour, or if there is something that doesn't work as intuitively as you want. 
And if you can be bothered to set up scenarios to test specific situations, that would be great, but it's just really to check that in a general play session, things are working fine, as well as on extended play.

I would really appreciate anyone who can help out with this

Onto the files:
There are two versions of the scripts - one in which all plumbing objects in the world are off-grid for the active sims (All), one in which only the lots with either a well or a stack of barrels are off-grid (Specified). So if you play rotationally and only some households will be off-grid, you want the specified version, and you will need to place a well or just the barrels and have the well elsewhere, in order for the plumbing objects to require water.
So to install you need to put in your mods folder the 3 objects, and one interactions package

Thanks so much!
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#2 Old 27th Oct 2020 at 12:30 PM
So hello,
I can't believe it's been so long But anyways I finally cleaned up this version and finished it off, so it should be ready to properly upload!
I fixed all the strings, made the max amount of water per pail tunable and a couple of other small things.

So I will hopefully upload this version this week when I have some more time, but I'm thinking that I can keep this thread for any problems with/feedback for either versions. So if anyone does find an issue or experiences unexpected mod conflicts, you can still post here and I can look into it. (Hopefully not tho :P)

There are also some other things to be worked on, as there are a couple of issues I need to upload the fixes for with the bucket version, and I am also wanting to add laundry to the replaced interactions for being off-grid for both versions. I will try to upload the fixes when I upload this pail version, but the laundry part will probably take a while.
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#3 Old 8th Nov 2020 at 5:26 PM
I'm glad you like this new version. Do you mean the pails to carry the water? (As oppose to the buckets of the old version which are the actual water).
Either way, I don't have an idea on how that works actually. I can look into it, and if there is some property to add to the objects then I could do it but if it involves editing the registers themselves then it's not really something I want to do. Maybe there is a mod which allows catalogue objects to be sold at the consignment store?
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#4 Old 16th Nov 2020 at 7:59 PM
Soo I finally got round to uploading the fixes for the old version and the shiny exciting new pail version. Hopefully everything is all good!

And @Wojtek it seems like it has something to do with the NGMP resource, which may be easy to add? I found this thread: https://modthesims.info/showthread....020#post4599020 but I don't really have the time right now to work it out fully
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#5 Old 21st Nov 2020 at 11:55 AM
Well that makes some sense, as they don't belong to the sim :P
But maybe there is a flag for that which you can change in S3PE though I can't see one myself unfortunately.
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#6 Old 21st Nov 2020 at 5:38 PM
I mean it would be possible, but it would mean making another version of the script, changing the function that checks if the lot is off-grid.
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#7 Old 16th May 2021 at 5:07 PM Last edited by zoe22 : 27th Aug 2021 at 4:11 PM.
I have updated this mod to be hopefully a little more easy to use and update, however I would really appreciate some testers just to make sure it's all working properly.

The functionality is exactly the same, but I have reorganised the code and made 2 versions instead of 4 - now there is 1 version that uses buckets and 1 version that uses pails, with the global/non-global setting being a toggleable switch within each version. This means you can have global settings in one save, and non-global in another, all with one version of the mod.

How it Works
If the settings are set to global then all plumbing objects are off-grid regardless of whether the related mod items are on the lot. So you will need to put down a well somewhere in the world in order to collect water to use the objects.
If the settings are set to non-global then plumbing objects on a lot will only be off-grid when you add the Functional Well or a Barrel Stack to that lot.

(so it works the same as before, but the global/non-global feature is determined by a setting rather than a mod version)

You can change the setting in a save by shift-clicking on a Functional Well with testingcheatsenabled, and "Turn Global Setting" On or Off.
When you change the setting in-game, it should persist for that save, so you shouldn't need to change it each time you reload.

[added for clarity]*****
The default setting
There is a tunable value called kIsGlobalDefault (in Interactions XML with other tunable values) which determines what the setting will be when you load a save with the mod for the first time. Currently it's set to False/non-global so nothing will feel any different (ie nothing will be off-grid) until you add a well or barrels to your lot. If you then want a save to be off-grid regardless of if a well/barrels are on the lot (ie a save with the Global setting), then you can use the setting on the well to make it Global, and it should persist for that save.

Alternatively, if you always want your lots to be off-grid when you load a new save, you can set kIsGlobalDefault to True to make the setting be automatically set to Global when you load a new save, so any home lot you play on will be off-grid without needing to add a well/barrels unless you change the setting for that save.

However, I suspect most people will want the default to be non-global, so that way you can ignore off-grid functionality until you want it by adding a well/barrels or by changing the setting to Global.
*****

So there are now 2 versions instead of 4.
The difference between the two versions of files is whether water is collected via the buckets or the pails, and has nothing to do with whether off-grid functionality is global or not.
The global/non-global function is handled by the in-game setting and the tunable value for the default setting when you load a new save.

To Test
If you'd like to test, please just make sure that the settings work how you want them:
-default tunable value works as expected
-the global/non-global setting persists for each save
and of course that the existing functionality works as normal.

Again I really appreciate some testers just to make sure I haven't missed anything in my own testing
If these new versions work out, then it should make it much easier for me to update the mod with new off-grid interactions (my next plan is to add washing machines to it) so let me know that it all goes well! Or not well, but hopefully that won't be the case :p 
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#8 Old 17th May 2021 at 2:34 AM
Happy to test! Going to use it to do some farming gameplay in my game, because I need to see the countryside *somehow* during this lockdown period. Thanks for the mod!
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#9 Old 2nd Jul 2021 at 5:02 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Wojtek
I mean the new ones. I use Arsil's cooler mod which is available for download here at MTS and I managed to add her ice packs to the general and food registers using the chewing gum mod. It didn't work with your pails. I'm probably going to figure out how to do that soon.


Hey @Wojtek I know it's been about a million years :p
But if you haven't managed to add the pails to the store and still want to, I figured out how to use the NGMP resource for a different project:

With Arsil's Grocery store loader there is this:
<Grocery>
<GameObjectName></GameObjectName>
<TabName></TabName>
<ProductVersion></ProductVersion>
</Grocery>
And what you put in GameObjectName is needed for the NGMP.
The NGMP has a NameHash and Instance. The NameHash is the hash of your GameObjectName and the Instance is the instance number of the object's OBJD.

I haven't tried it with the pails but hopefully it should work fine!
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#10 Old 3rd Jul 2021 at 10:59 AM
Hmm I'm trying to think what the easiest way to do that would be without having to make an entire third version...
Actually with the new version it should be a lot easier to implement so I could maybe do like an add-mod which would have the water pump, and if it's installed then the rest of the mod would take that into account when doing the water calculations. I guess refactoring everything really does help :p

Okay I will add that to the list of things to do for the next update though I don't know about adding custom objects to the workbench, maybe adding the resource key some how?
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#11 Old 27th Aug 2021 at 12:57 PM Last edited by zoe22 : 27th Aug 2021 at 4:34 PM.
I have made some updates to this latest version and I would really appreciate some testers because I want to make sure that 1. it works and 2. replacing previous versions (on the official upload page) works

Old news:
-Global and non-global versions have been replaced with an in-game setting that will make the save global/non-global as per the selected setting. The default setting is defined by a tunable value.

New news:
-Washing Machines are off-grid.
Note, only the washing machine "Do Laundry" interaction has been replaced, so sims without necessary water can still try to "Do Laundry" via the hamper, and will end up throwing the clothes on the floor. If they do have the water needed, they will do laundry as expected. I could replace the hamper one too though, but I want to check if other mods do the same, possibly Buzzler's housecleaning one?

-I made an add-on to ani's Bucket of Water mod, which will add a "Collect Water" interaction to all of her wells in the world which is animated (!!) and will either add one of my buckets to the sim's inventory, or fill up any pails, depending on which version of the off-grid mod is installed.
Note, it REQUIRES ani's mod to work, and the original function of her mod is untouched (Collect Water is my interaction used for off-grid plumbing objects, and Draw Water is her interaction used for her custom type baths).
Her mod is also COMPATIBLE with mine without this add-on, but if you have the add-on, it means you can have an animated well instead of my silly one, and can both collect water for off-grid plumbing and draw water for medieval baths without needing two types of wells in the world.

-I made a "Water Pump" object which will make an otherwise-would-be-off-grid lot be on-grid. This is just a rock because I can't clone that water-pump decor object, but you could clone any object you want and make the OBJK the water pump's one (or use transmogrifier I think). @Wojtek there you go :p

- I also recategorised the plumbing objects to be in Misc Plumbing/Misc Storage/Outside-Lawn Decor (depending on object) so it's easier to find. I've been meaning to do this for ages but I guess I just kept forgetting :p

The files:
zoeoe_FunctioningWellBUCKET - water takes the form of buckets, 1 bucket = 1 unit, interactions require a certain number of units
zoeoe_FunctioningWellPAIL - water takes the form of a number stored in a pail, each pail has a max capacity, each interaction will involve part of a pail's contents, a whole pail, or several pails of water
Pick ONE of the above
zoeoe_FW_aniBucketOfWaterMod_addon - requires ani's bucket of water mod
zoeoe_FW_WaterPump_rock - if you want to make a lot on-grid when it would otherwise be off-grid
Screenshots
Attached files:
File Type: zip  zoeoe_FW_Files.zip (2.69 MB, 29 downloads)
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#12 Old 4th Nov 2021 at 7:00 PM
Soooo it's probably about time I actually get round to uploading this next version officially. I've had a couple of people reporting that it all seems to check out okay and I haven't found any bugs myself, so the next thing on my list is to upload it properly :p

With this thread revived, if anyone is having any issues or suggestions, feel free to report here and I can look into them
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