Why does locking doors/gates not work?
I have an enclosed area for horses and mini sheep. The sheep will escape and horses will randomly not be able to enter their own stalls anymore. It's frustrating. I have some questions, I hope somebo...
Forum Discussion
@Vyo4Yes, a whole new menu is something I would love to see too! The current system is just like it was trying to find a specific friendly social interaction from the dialogue menu before the current, updated system. I really like your mockup menu otherwise but having tick-boxes for locked AND unlocked is unnecessary and confusing. When trying to find out the lock configuration of a specific door/gate I need one question answered: Is it locked for subset x of sims? Yes or No? --> I want to see just one tick indicating "Yes, it's locked for subset x of sims.". If the box is unticked, I know it's not locked then. (Not "yes it's locked" AND "no it's not unlocked" at the same time so it's easier )
Also, it would need to be able to manage and communicate all the exceptions we want to set for doors. So for example, I want only a certain employee to be able to get through a specific door (gardener can go to the shed but I don't want the nanny there) or I'll allow only a certain pet through a door (my indoor cat can sleep on my bed but I don't want the dogs to get on the bed) so it should be possible to set the locks as such and later see how they are set up.
Therefore I'd have it set up as groups and then you could set exceptions. Maybe if there was a second tick then it could be for exceptions so if you check that too, then it would open a menu for selecting specific sims.
The biggest problem with the current system is indeed that there is no way of knowing how the lock configuration is set currently so it's incredibly hard to find out why, for instance, my sheep keep escaping.
On a separate but related note, I feel like the gendered toilet doors aren't functioning properly either. I hate it when teen boys enter girls' shower rooms in my highschool build, it feels like harassment honestly. So I'd love too see a gendered lock too to be able to have proper "no boys allowed!" areas.
edit:
Other suggestions for improvements:
- Have it accessible from build mode. For the very least, I should be able to see the lock configuration by hovering over or clicking on the door in build mode too. Doors should retain their locked state even if moved around.
- Doors should be able to save their lock configurations so that the door could be temporarily unlocked if necessary. This would really help with all sorts of routing bugs as well as unusual or unexpected yet "normal" gameplay situations. Also it seems there's some sort of a bug with doors unlocking themselves after travelling so this should also help with such issues. A door could easily be reset with its proper lock configurations by unlocking it and then resetting the locks. Managing locks would be a lot less tedious if we only ever had to set them once. (Have you watched James Turner's Horse Ranch a.k.a. Door Lock Simulator let's plays? It's a good demonstration on how frustrating it is to deal with these locks that unlock themselves and are confusing to deal with in the first place!)
- With saved locked configurations it would be great if we could apply that configuration to another door by copying and importing the list.
- Locks should be possible to be set for invited and surprise guests alike (surprise guests being those that just come to your door knocking)
- Locks should be possible to be set based on gender. I suggest females, males and custom gender to be the options.
- It would be great if doors/gates could be locked all at once or just that level at once. This could be used as a shortcut for setting many doors for the same or almost the same configurations.
@siirysiir LoL what a Duh! moment, of course there'd need be only one column for Lock. I fixed that in this new mockup.
I've made some changes:
- Simplified wording. Realized that the wording could be further simplified by removing the need to say ALL of something. It's assumed that ALL Chickens would be locked out. So just listing "Chickens" should suffice.
- If the box for Everyone is checked, then all subsequent boxes should auto-check. Then the player can uncheck exceptions.
- Added submenu, the same seen as the Select Sim pop-up.
- Added Ages. Personally, I think specifying Ages would be good for some situations. Like, if someone wanted to create a Child Only clubhouse on the lot. Or a Toddler Only play area at a pretend Day-Care. I read more about Baby-Proofing (I usually don't bother with it) and learned it locks for Infants and Toddlers, but allows an older Sim to come and go freely. Added a Helpful Hint Hover-Over icon for user-friendly explanation.
- Added Visitors section. This would be great for home businesses, like Yoga Instructor, or Stay Over Guests. Included Club Members too, so you're not cornered into just using the Club Door if the room you're meeting is temporary.
- I tested the gendered doors and they did work for me, so I left off gender in this new mockup.
- Accessible from build mode. AGREED! -- Same with Lighting. Would love to adjust Lighting color and brightness while in Build Mode.
- Save locked configurations... apply to another door by copying. AGREED! -- However, I can see this as being coded as a temporary Save To Clipboard with the intent of copying the lock settings and pasting it onto another door(s).
Here is an updated version of the Lock Door Pop-Up mockup. This lists all the possible options for locking. Didn't know where to catalog Celebrities, so I put them under Occult. Keep out Judith Ward!
@Vyo4 Your mockup looks absolutely brilliant!
1. I absolutely agree with the simplification! I basically worded it the same on my paper mockup including the animals being just one category. Partly because I didn't know which animals are considered pets anyways but it got me thinking.. that's basically something the devs know but us players don't have a clear distinction in the game! So why should we even have them in separate categories, why not just have everything under "Animals" as it's the simplest solution. I'd like to think that categories that seem intuitive to players would be the best solution.
2. I'd love to see options greyed out when they're not applicable as it is in many of the UI choices already in the game but ofc I can't come up with any examples right now. 😅 What I mean is that if you check Cats under Animals then the option All Animals would become greyed out, just for clarification.
6. I feel genders would be helpful not only because inevitably the bathroom doors sometimes bug out but because the only ones we have are very modern and don't suit any other styles. They don't look good on more traditional onsens. It would be consistent to have the gender options on all doors, not just a few. I also want the peace of mind knowing that, for example, my teenage girls can change & shower in peace at school without the possibility of an older male teacher walking in to look at decor in there.. It just.. creeps me out. :/
I feel like another section, perhaps Other Sims might be needed as we still have some other groups of sims, the most recent addition being Tenants. I'd probably categorise it so that we'd have animals, household, clubs, employees, other sims, occults, ages, genders and guests. Probably not in this specific order but anyways! I'd have it something like:
Other Sims:
Roommates
Tenants
Landlord/lady (not sure if they follow employees categorisation and it makes sense to me to have them separate)Teachers
CelebritiesI could see Other Sims including visitors and clubs as well. I'd personally prefer them separate though.
Another category could be Service Sims that are not hired. These would include Vendors (I'm aware they can be hired but the issue is usually with the ones that spawn independently in the world), Mail Carriers, NAP Investigators, Master Gardeners etc. I'd love to stop the mailman entering homes to judge décor, it's creepy. The Landlord/lady would optionally fit this category too.
I see a design strength in having these clear, separate groups because it's a) clear and easy to understand for the player and b) it would be easy later on to expand these categories with additions from new DLCs! Like if we got something like news reporters as NPCs I'd put them to Other Sims, but nurses who visit to take care of elder sims, they'd obviously go to employees same as... chimney sweeps. :D (Burglars don't go to any group because they can get through any door, right?😉) I hope the Sims team would consider these suggestions!@siirysiir Great suggestions and feedback! I've updated the mock-up, attached.
Thought of more scenarios where Gender specifications would be useful such as having a Male/Female wing at a Boarding School or Prison. And we already have Male/Female wall decals in the game. Added genders to the new mockup.
Did some testing as well on a new category: Hired Staff, see my findings at the end. This category is different than Hired Services as Hired Staff are hired by clicking on an item or hired through a Social Event.
Sprinkled in some Questions needing feedback within some of the categories.
(?) = Tooltip
Global Choices
- Apply to All Doors
- Apply to All Gates
Restrictions
- Invite Only
- Knock to Enter
- Baby-Proof (?)
- Male
- Female
(?) Baby-Proof: Restricts Infants and Toddlers from exiting. Allows Caretakers to enter and exit. Toddlers may try to escape.
Lock For...
- Everyone
- All subsequent boxes become checked
- When an exception is made, the Everyone box becomes unchecked.
- Household Members
Categories:
- View ALL
- Ages
- Visitors
- Hired Services
- Hired Staff
- Pets
- Occults
- Miscellaneous
Specific Applications: (by Category)
Ages
- Infants
- Toddlers
- Children
- Teens
- Adults
- Elders
Example of Use:
- Make the EZ Exit Window only accessible by escaping Teens.
- Child-only clubhouse.
IDEA Click > Sneak Out Window - The EZ Exit Window should have the option to Click > Sneak Out Window. Otherwise my Sims will ignore the EZ Exit Window and exit via an exterior door. All doors of the room have to be locked to make the Sim exit out of the EZ Exit Window.
Visitors
- Invited Guests (?)
- Stayover Guests
- Club Members
- Roommates
(?) Invited Guests: Social Events invitees, visiting family, visiting friends, visiting neighbhors, stay-the-night dates.
Animals
- ALL Animals
- All subsequent boxes become checked within category.
- When an exception is made, the ALL Animals box becomes unchecked.
- ** This rule would apply to each "All" option within each category.**
- Cats
- Dogs
- Horses
- Chickens
- Mini Sheep
- Mini Goats
Hired Services (?)
- ALL Hired Services
- Gardener
- Maid
- Nanny
- Butler
- Ranch Hand
- Eco Inspector
(?) Hired Services: One Time or Reoccurring Services hired through the phone.
Example of Use:
- Gardener only in yard or farm.
- Nanny only in nursery.
- Ranch Hand only in barn, corrals.
Hired Staff (?)
- ALL Hired Staff
- Caterer
- Mixologist
- Entertainer
- Comedian
- Violinist
- Pianist
- Organist, Vampires
- Vendor (Cafeteria), High School Years, Discover University
- Vendor (Boba Tea), High School Years
- DJ, Get Together
- Barista, Get Together
- Chef, Dine Out
- Yoga Instructor, Spa Day
- Message Therapist, Spa Day
- Animal Tender, (Social Event) Horse Ranch
- Grill Master, (Social Event) Horse Ranch
(?) Hired Staff: Staff hired through an item or Social Event. Not to be confused with Employees (Retail, Vet Clinic, Restaurant)
Example of Use:
- Caterer restricted to Kitchen.
- Staff Entrance - Staff can only come through the side door.
- Staff Quarters - Staff only bathroom.
- Stage entrance/backstage - Musicians only.
IDEA Staff Only door. Similar function as the Club Door in Get Together or the Wolf Graffiti Industrial Door, Werewolves.
Occults
- ALL Occults
- Vampires
- Werewolves
- Spellcasters
- Aliens
- Mermaids
- Fairies :-)
Miscellaneous
- Celebrities
- Tenants
- Landlord
- Patchy
- Flower Bunny
Example of Use:
- Flower Bunny stays outside to drop flowers.
- Patchy stays in the garden.
QUESTION: Should Celebrities be included? They are really only a Community Lot problem. Can't lock doors on Community Lots.
Public Service
- Mail Carrier
- NAP Civic Inspector
QUESTION: NAP Civic Inspectors are supposed to enter the residence? To check that appliances are up to code?
QUESTION: Bug? Might be a bug where Mail Carriers enter the home? I've personally not had that happen, but I've seen Let's Plays with it happening.NOTE: Didn't include Public Service on this mock-up version.
Experiment: Hired every available Staff at one time.
Observations:
- Certain types of Hired Staff will wander away from their post. Sometimes they will leave to watch another Hired Performer (DJ), play on the computer, or just... cross-stitch.
- Caterers wander off after cooking a dish.
- Musicians might wander after finishing a song.
- Comedians might wander after finishing a routine.
- Oftentimes the wandering Staff will return to their post to perform another song/dish/routine.
- A staffed DJ Booth will pull away other Hired Staff from their posts.
- Staff that tended an object did not leave their post until their shift ended.
- Stall Vendors didn't leave their post until their shift ended.
BUG: The DJ Booth remained on after the DJ ended their shift. No option to Click > Turn Off. Had to Reset Object to turn off effects.
@Vyo4 The mockup looks great and those are some great additions! I really appreciate the work you put in making it! ^^
Especially agree on the Highschool EZ Exit window! I remember now that I've had issues with random sims CRAWLING IN FROM MY TEENAGER'S BEDROOM WINDOW like if that's not creepy then I don't know what is! If I remember correctly it's the sims with no boundaries coming to ask to be best friends by intruding my house through a window. :D So I'd really appreciate more options on locking those and more over an option to direct a sim to climb through it any time. (I often use a mod that let's you do just that when playing with teenagers, can highly recommend!)
To your questions:
- Celebrities disrupt gameplay by making sims stop what they are doing to react to the celeb posing. I know this is intended but on some lots I'd rather choose to not have it. It takes long enough to dine at restaurants already without the interruptions and I don't see why Judith Ward needs to visit my scrungy public pool with a filthy laundromat. (I wish we could stop celebrities visiting some lots altogether but I'll at least lock them out if possible!)
- NAP inspectors aren't that big of an issue. If you talk to them they might start considering themselves as "normal guests" and do whatever weird stuff visitors tend to do.
- Yeah not sure if it's a bug or not with the mail carriers. I've seen it in my game (and let's plays too) where they come inside to judge décor. Just don't buy Dream Home Decorator and you'll be fine. :D
And to the Sims team, Please make doors/gates on community lots lockable! There are several good reasons:
1) This would help a lot with keeping staff at their posts to keep gameplay.. well, playable with staffed objects staying occupied with hired or automatically hired sims. Also works the other way around so patrons won't walk behind the counter to the bartender or barista's side to get their drink.
2) we can build performance stages for lots like lounges and nightclubs and it would be best to be able to lock doors/gates to the stage so that unskilled sims don't go there to plunk the piano and ruin the ambiance. Only performers need to get there.
3) some players like to pretend their sim is the owner of, for example, a bar and they "live" in a flat above the business. Giving us the option to lock doors on community lots would give more opportunities for various creative gameplay ideas like these. Like in the bar example we could make the flat only accessible to the "bar owner" and patrons and bartends would stay on the business side.
4) Creating proper changing rooms. I would like to be able to assign changing rooms to male/female/nonbinary sims separately. It's especially disturbing when adult male sims can enter spaces that are meant for little girls. Certain horrible real life things are luckily not possible in the game but the anxiety arising from situations as described is very much real. The threat is so real in the real world that even in a simulation game it's impossible to forget its existence. We often play this game to escape the real world and to feel safe and relaxed.
5) Creating new custom lot types. The lot types currently don't support some gameplay that simmers want to have in their games but using locked doors/gates creatively could make it possible to build new types of lots. Examples: cemetery lot with a locked private family mausoleum, a secret vampire hangout on a community lot where other sims couldn't enter (think Werewolves pack bar lot but for vampires!) or a magic boarding school with separate dormitories for boys and girls.
