Author Topic: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 (no, 16) clicks reliably - Partly Resolved  (Read 4262 times)

Offline Sita

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I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask.

It's a BUILD problem. I don't seem to be able to raise terrain JUST ONE CLICK. Every mouse click seems to raise a different amount, usually between 3 and 6 clicks. I can lower terrain easily using the stairs to get 4 clicks at a time. But how do I raise? Either by ONE click or by 12 clicks? (a whole floor)?

Has anyone found a workaround for this?

I'm satisfied it's not my mouse, as I've used various mouses and got the same issue with all. It more or less stopped me building for a long time. It's really an issue if you want to do anything complex, like ramps, or CFE builds.

Offline Twinmum

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 clicks reliably
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2015, 05:41:46 PM »
It's been some time since I played Sims 3, but I know what you are talking about. I'll have a play around later today (just having my wake up coffee at the moment lol) and see if I can recall how it was done or if there is a way to control it.
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Offline Twinmum

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 clicks reliably
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2015, 03:06:52 AM »
I found out how to do it. Was easy to remember once I started playing around again in game.
 First thing to remember, it''s three clicks that the stairs take, not four. When you start on ground, you need three lots of stairs to go from the ground to where the floor of a basement (using a foundation) would be, but you also need a set of stairs to go from the ground to the top of the foundation, so that's four sets of steps, so each set is three clicks not four.

Now to raise ground just one click...

In terrain tools, select the raise terrain button and select either the medium or the large square brush shape. The small square will only raise a corner, butyou want to raise more than that at once. Move the brush softness slider all the way to the right. Now just tap the mouse button to raise the land. It may take a few tries, but once you have done it a few times, it will work a lot more often than not. With just that slight tap on the mouse button the area raised will be equal to one click. You can play around and do that twice more in the same place (you might have to level it out so there is more area each time) After doing that three times, put some stairs from the top level and they should end where the ground level was originally.
 Hope this is clear, if yu would like some screenshots, let me know and I can take some for you.

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Offline Sita

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 clicks reliably
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2015, 12:03:42 PM »
ah numbers never were my strong point LOL.

So it's 16 clicks or steps for a whole floor.

I did discover one thing, which is that by laying down two walls parallel to one another, raising the ground between then and then with CFE and the level tool going from the TOP of the walls across the raised ground, you get the middle ground to the same level as the TOP of the walls, so I have the 16 clicks one now :)

I'll experiment with the single clicks some more. Thank you Twinmum!

Offline Twinmum

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 (no, 16) clicks reliably
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2015, 07:55:49 PM »
ah numbers never were my strong point LOL.

So it's 16 clicks or steps for a whole floor.

Actually, it's 16 steps to a whole floor BUT only 12 clicks... One step does not equal one click!
Another way to raise the level just one click is to use the smallest brush (square or round) and have the strength slider all the way to the right. Tap the mouse button and it will raise one corner point one click. Use the level terrain tool and mouse over one of the squares that touch the raised point. Now, keeping within that square move the mouse to the corner diagonally oposite the raised corner and click. That will raise that one square to be level with the corner that was raised one click.
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Offline Sita

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 (no, 16) clicks reliably
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2015, 07:34:09 AM »
That's the problem.

Tapping mouse button raises me more than one click.

Offline Twinmum

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 (no, 16) clicks reliably
« Reply #6 on: August 10, 2015, 07:41:35 AM »
Have you tried changing the sensitivity of your mouse? Also, are you sure it's raising more than one click? Remember, 1 click is higher than 1 step.
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Offline Sita

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 (no, 16) clicks reliably
« Reply #7 on: September 04, 2015, 07:42:42 PM »
Yeah. Thanks for trying. I've been fighting this for ages, and I was hoping there might be a workaround.
The single light tap still produces a variable height rise, whatever I do.

Mouse works fine, and sensitively, for all other applications, so I don't think that's the problem. Also I have some dim memory of this changing with a patch, well what a surprise.

I'll struggle on.

Offline Sita

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 (no, 16) clicks reliably
« Reply #8 on: August 10, 2018, 03:24:33 PM »
OK I finally found out what's wrong here. It's not me that's doolally. Sims 3 doesn't work quite the same as Sims 2.
I found this comment in a tutorial on Mod the Sims 2 by Plasticbox, a great builder.

 "(TS2 users: don't bother trying to make an "8-click deep hole", it won't work. Clicks aren't a precise measurement in TS3 anymore.)"

Phew!
The trick with using stairs to LOWER still works, for and 8-click hole it's two sets of steps, and so on.

Offline MeestorMark

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Re: Help with raising terrain by 1 or 12 (no, 16) clicks reliably
« Reply #9 on: October 23, 2019, 11:51:35 PM »
Been back into simming a bit. That leads to trolling old threads....

Seeing how you revived this thread after three years, I figured one year later an answer might still be welcomed.

My process is convoluted... a bit... but it's how I did it all the time. Sorry for being too thorough, but I just don't know how often you mess about with such things, so I wanted to be, well, thorough. :D

First, level the majority of the terrain in the area you are working at the base height you want.

Second, about five or so squares away, draw a straight section of wall for about 3-5 squares or so.

Next, grab the square terrain raising tool; the big version so it raises a larger area at once. About a square or so away from the wall you just made, raise the terrain up to near the height of the wall.

Now go up a level to the second story, so that you will see the little highlighted squares coming off the top of the wall. Grab the flooring tool and place one square of flooring on top of the wall near your raised terrain.

What are we at, step five? Anyway, grab your stairs tool, one step wide. Now draw a single section (four actual steps) of stairs down to the raised terrain so that the fourth step down reaches the ground. The game should level this square at the bottom of the stairs. We have now raised the terrain exactly three sections of stairs up from your base height. You can delete the stairs and the wall now if you want.

Next, grab the terrain leveling tool and use that square you made at the bottom of the stairs and drag out a 5x5 or so section of elevated terrain.

Back to the stair tool. On the elevated ground, drag down one section of stair. Now we are two standard stair sections higher than base. Do this one more time so that you are now one standard stair section taller with your terrain.

Delete all your stairs and level this new height over your 5x5 section of land.

9. I really need to number this step... and the next several. On the edge of this heightened area, draw a wall at one edge of the raised area. Two squares away from this wall, on your original land level, draw a parallel section of wall.

10. Now grab the terrain softening tool. The smallest sized circle always worked best for me at this step. Put it on the grid line on the terrain between your two walls. Hold down your mouse button to soften the points of the grid between the two walls. The game should pull this terrain up to make an angle between the two wall heights. Keep holding down the mouse button and moving it along the grid line between your wall sections until at least two points next to each other on the grid line don't move up or down any more at all, no matter how long you hold the mouse button. This new line of terrain is two steps taller than your base height. Smile to yourself. You are very nearly there. :D

11. Delete the wall on the top section of land.

12. Get that wall tool again. On one of those two points that would not move up or down anymore, click to start your wall, but drag it diagonally across one square in the direction of the raised land. The game will give you a flat square at this new height.

Delete the diagonal wall and terrain level your raised land to this new level.

Repeat steps 9 - 12.

That square of terrain you just leveled is now one step (you called it a click from TS2 days) above your original height. Do with it what you will, make it do your bidding, etc, etc.... Reading out the steps like this seems as if it will take forever to accomplish in-game, but it really doesn't. Maybe takes 30 seconds to a minute at most to get any level of height you want once you get the hang of it.  :D

Offline Sita

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Thank you! I still Sim, and will try this out soon.