15 replies to this topic

[cadiva]

This is a very basic walkthrough of how to use the new cheats for Apartment Life that EA haven't put on their official cheats list. The two cheats are:

"boolprop aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for occupied apartments"
"boolprop AptBaseLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for unoccupied apartments"

Now, because Maxis haven't said exactly what these cheats do and which one should be used when, I'm obviously telling anyone who wants to use them to back up their game before making any drastic changes using this boolprop coding. To back up your Saved Game you need to either copy or rename the existing EA Games folder found within your My Documents folder or User\Documents in Vista.

So, to get started: Pick your lot and remember that using beach lots can cause serious problems when converted into apartments so avoid those for the moment. Make sure your lot is flat. You can alter terrain levels after you've built the apartment but don't start off with a wobbly lot otherwise you can have similar problems with holes than from using beach lots.

Start your building. Here I'm doing a trailer park style complex with outdoor facilities and a fishing lake, alongside a community garden and some fruit trees.

There are three trailers, each of varying standard and size and don't forget to equip the bathrooms and kitchens with the basic amenities. Just remember that only the basics will remain when you rent an apartment - cooker, fridge, counters, sink, smoke alarm, toilet, bathroom sink, shower, bath etc.

Anything extra you put in, like dishwashers, blenders, will disappear when the Sim rents the apartment. You can, however, choose to fully furnish an apartment and then, when an NPC Sim rents it and you visit, you will see all the objects you placed in there come back into view. Make sure to fill out any community area you want.
You can also use the boolprop testingcheatsenabled true cheat to rent a furnished apartment. Switch the cheat on and Shift + click on a door and choose Rent Furnished Apartment. Remember to turn the cheat off afterwards by changing true to false.

To make an apartment an apartment, you HAVE to use the Unique Separator door and it has to be the ONLY door into the apartment unless you are building a self-contained patio or balcony. There can be NO gaps around your balcony or patio fencing otherwise it will be treated as part of the community area and not part of your Sim's apartment.
Currently, the patio or balcony seems to have to be on the same level as the apartment itself. You cannot have modular stairs from a foundation down into a garden area unless you fool the game into thinking it is part of the apartment by using the foundation tool to create a retaining wall surrounding the garden and dropping the floor level slightly.

One thing to bare in mind is that you cannot use the little fences that came with Pets (if I remember rightly) that are often used to provide edging inside houses to divide off rooms from each other without using a wall. It's called the The Great Divide by Divisive Divicrats and comes in about six different colours. If you use the fencing, the apartment will treat the space contained within it as common ground. You can use half walls inside however.

Once you're happy with the set up of your apartment complex EXIT the lot and save it while it's still a residential property. Then put a copy of the house into your Lots Bin using the Move to Bin tool. Place the lot back in the game and then PACKAGE it to file, so you have a saved version of the original residential property in your Packaged Lots folder.

Go back into the lot and open up the cheat box type CTRL + Shift and C. Change the zoning using the changelotzoning apartmentbase cheat. Some people need to type it in capitals ChangeLotZoning ApartmentBase. Go back into the lot and make sure that it's changed correctly. Before rezoning a lot using this cheat, make sure there are no Sims currently living in the lot.

Once you've created your lot and have entered it as an apartment and then realise you've forgotten to add something in, then you can use the build/buy tools mentioned earlier. Use the AptBaseLot when there are no Sims in the lot, and use the AptSubLot when you have Sims living in it.
However, remember that making any significant changes using the AptSubLot cheat when you have Sims living on the lot can cause problems and render some rooms in your apartments part of the community area if you fiddle too much with the walls.

For a full series of pictures showing this apartment complex in more detail, visit the PhotoBucket Album.

Maxis have also created an official walkthrough pdf which can be downloaded (you'll need Adobe Acrobat to open and read it) and MaxoidRain has been answering your Apartment Life questions here at TSR so if there's anything else you're still confused over, why not pop and see if she's answered your questions here.

[puddintain]

"boolprop aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for occupied apartments"
"boolprop AptBaseLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for unoccupied apartments" don't work.
boolprop testingcheatsenabled true doesn't either

[cadiva]

puddintain said:

"boolprop aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for occupied apartments"
"boolprop AptBaseLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for unoccupied apartments" don't work.
boolprop testingcheatsenabled true doesn't either

Yes they do work. You may have to capitalise them however.

[Syndica]

Hi there,

thanks for the cheat codes, I will try them tonight. But I do have to ask what type of lot do i start out with or do i have to start out AL lot?

thanks

Syndica:ty:

[cadiva]

Syndica said:

Hi there,

thanks for the cheat codes, I will try them tonight. But I do have to ask what type of lot do i start out with or do i have to start out AL lot?

thanks

Syndica:ty:

Start with an ordinary residential lot and then when you've finished building it, you change it via the changelotzoning apartmentbase cheat. You have to then save and exit the lot for the changes to show up.

[marie2820]

puddintain said:

"boolprop aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for occupied apartments"
"boolprop AptBaseLotSpecificToolsDisabled false/true" "Enables/disables Buy/Build tools for unoccupied apartments" don't work.
boolprop testingcheatsenabled true doesn't either

Confirming they do work, I have created about 25 apartments and in some cases have had to tweak them using these cheats :)

[shelllharn]

hi there can u help me plz i have used the changelotzoning apartmentbase cheat and it comes up invalid apartments plz send me a pvt message

[Elut]

If you can take some pictures of the lot we might be able to see where the problem is:D

[Tabby Cool]

Michelle, did you use the correct door for each apartment? Each apartment can only have 1 door and it must be the Unique Separator door that came with AL. You can't have a front door and a back door like you might have in real life, just 1 door leading into each apartment. You can have a door leading out onto a patio/balcony, but that area must be fully enclosed with a fence or wall, otherwise it will be treated as part of the communal area and the apartment will be invalid.

[mrscrockett01]

I've used the cheats on vacant and occupied lots to correct things like missing closet doors and being able to furnish upstairs balconies. No problems at all.

[sims2addict06]

Hi there, I am pulling my hair out, I am trying to edit an occupied apartment...nothing major, However, I have tried all the cheats as mentioned above to the letter but nothing. What am i doing wrong? I make sure I have the capitals in all the right places, and the spaces as well but still nothing. Please help.

[sims2addict06]

Yay!...after much researching and trial and error I have finally managed to edit occupied apartments..I don't know if it's the same for everyone but here's what worked for me. Pay special attention to caps:

boolprop aptSubLotSpecificToolsDisabled false

took me two full days of internet searching, forum reading, trial and error combinations of caps and spaces. One wrong capital can render it useless.

[Illiana]

It is not a good idea to change apartments with sims in it, though as it can cause problems. :confused: It is always best to remove your sims from the complex, change the lot to residential, and makes your changes. Once the Apartment lot is the way you want it, transform it back into an apartment and move your sims back in. There are tons of posts on the build thread about this very thing if you're interested.

If you're not, then I wish you luck and hope things work out ok for you.

[xtcrmr143]

YAY! I just bought AL last night, and was flabergasted to figure out that I couldn't remove any doors or add windows! I can't wait to get home now and try out these cheats.

Thanks! :rah:

[babygirl.16]

Okay i'm really confused.
I bought AL a few days ago
and i've edited apartments by using changelotzoning residential
and then changelotzoning apartmentbase

however, when i've changed it to an apartment and enter the lot either with or without a family
there is no apartment mailbox, it's just normal.

i dont know if this is the right place to post this.


also, this is a littlle unrelated but when i found a roommate using the computer, their picture came up but the actual sim was nowhere to be found.

[Bornagainmomma]

Tabby Cool said:

Michelle, did you use the correct door for each apartment? Each apartment can only have 1 door and it must be the Unique Separator door that came with AL. You can't have a front door and a back door like you might have in real life, just 1 door leading into each apartment. You can have a door leading out onto a patio/balcony, but that area must be fully enclosed with a fence or wall, otherwise it will be treated as part of the communal area and the apartment will be invalid.

I finally updated to Sims2 apartment life & for the life of me I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong. I have the special doors in place on the front & back of the small condominiums but I now find by your explanation that I can only have one separation door per unit, with all 4 units surrounded by a screened in porch, But I guess I'm going to have to do it differently. And remove 1door from each unit to have it become valid.

Thanks again ever so much.