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Nichaedemus's avatar
16 years ago

Power Building Tip: Manipulating Fireplaces

Did you know that the fireplace build mode object comes in several parts? And that these parts can actually be separated? To learn how, read on!

The fireplace object consists of the following parts:

1 - The fireplace itself, where Sims can light the actual fire
2 - The chimney base, the area immediately behind the fireplace
3 - The chimney stack, the pipe-like part sitting atop the chimney base
4 - The chimney exhaust, the topmost part where the smoke is expelled

While in edit mode on a lot space, do the following:

1 - Go into Build mode and place a fireplace object
2 - Open the debug/cheat console window by pressing SHIFT + CTRL + C
3 - Type in the command "moveobjects on" without quotation marks
4 - Move the mouse pointer onto the chimney exhaust and click on it to select it
5 - Move the mouse pointer and watch the segment separate
6 - Press DELETE to delete the chimney exhaust or click elsewher on the lot to put it down
7 - Repeat steps 4 to 6 for the chimney stack segments

To separate the chimney base from the fireplace, do the following:

1 - Remove all chimney segments using the moethods described above
2 - Click on the chimney base exhaust hole and the chimney base is selected
3 - Press DELETE to delete the chimney base or click elsewher on the lot to put it down (if the UI glitches while deleting the chimney base, simply enter Buy mode and then go back into Build mode again)

By using the moveobjects command you can separate the chimney parts from each other and do the following:

1 - Remove the chimney entirely yet leave a fully functioning fireplace inside, useful if space constraints don't allow for a chimney piece to go all the way through the floors of a building. Who says a chimney must go straight up to the roof?
2 - Have TWO fireplaces back-to-back. Simply have one fireplace with all the parts placed on one side of a wall, and then place a second fireplace (without any chimney parts) behind the first fireplace. Note that the chimney will only exhaust smoke from the fireplace it is naturally anchored to, but this is purely cosmetic. It is also possible to have two fireplaces without chimney parts back-to-back.
3 - Make chimneys shorter by removing segments. This is useful if you don't want a chimney sticking too far out of the roof. As for longer chimneys beyond the six floor limit, it is not possible at this time since the chimney segments cannot be made to stack each other.
4 - Use chimney segments as additional architectural build mode objects. And yes, the chimney segments can be cloned by holding SHIFT while clicking. The rounded pipe chimney segments could be used as props for a sort of boiler or furnace room for example.

If you are experiencing crash issues when modifying or removing fireplaces that were created using the above methods and techniques, you can check out the following thread for a user derived solution:

http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/465551

The methods and techniques described here only work in the Sims 3 as far as I can tell. That's all for now folks! :D
  • I have moveobjects on (also tried with and without testingcheatsenabled) and I cannot get the selection at the fireplace exhaust but on the hand and all it will do is move the whole fireplace, it will no separate them... what am I missing?
  • :D thankyou i've noe just redeocated and revamped living room bedrooms and my basement cinema n dining room :)
  • blunote00 wrote:

    Here you go...
    This is a quick and dirty just over a minute. I remembered to turn off the music in my game options, so hopefully the video quality is a bit better. :-) In order to do this you must have testingCheatsEnabled true and moveObjects on. I also show the part about removing the brick part of the fireplace and leaving the rest. Both fireplaces will function as they normally do.

    How to stack fireplaces on top of each other in a two-story home.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWtVHM3mfD4

    Edit1: Clarification & typos
    Edit2: fix video link



    If you are just making a multi-story fireplace, you can do that w/o any cheats. Any of the single flue fireplaces should work, haven't really tried it with a double flue.
  • Very helpful indeed. i dont mind having the chimney stack however its ugliness ruins ho uses totally. would be great if we were able to paint the chimney stack in matching bricks to the houses. but pulling them apart also solves the problem of ugliness :) thank you.
  • For some odd reason since the install of SN, the fireplaces will no longer come part for me, has anyone else noticed this?

  • Jessa_Dakkar's avatar
    Jessa_Dakkar
    Seasoned Newcomer
    They come apart for me, hope you get it sorted. Have you tried starting from removing the cap first?
  • I can pull the fireplace away from the chimney but now when I delete the chimney parts - everything goes :(

    I've tried all the different fireplaces and tried deleting while in buy mode, with move cheat on and off.

    Edit: NVM I was hitting it with the hammer instead of picking the bits up and pressing delete - its early, forgive me lol
  • hello i am a newbie at building, ur link was vey informative but i have problem,i have put a fireplace at my home,than with "moo" i placed all the pieces where i want but my problem is Chimney's top stoped after 2nd floor,(i have an attic and i donot have LN)so unable to pass/more till roof :/ therefore my attic is under smoke! Do you know how can i solve it? :oops:
    ,
    thanks...