Game objects that I can't find.

[ladydragon76]

I hope I'm placing this in the right area.  I'm wondering what cheat I need to enter to view objects such as the picnic blankets like at Sunset Valley's Central Park, or road grates.  When I eyedropper these items the Build menu pops up, and opens the Community Objects window under the "infinity"/everything tab, but the objects aren't actually there.  I'm guessing there must be some code that needs entered in the cheat box?  Can anyone offer me some guidance?

Thanks!
-LD

[Seabody]

Picnic blankets are part of the picnic baskets.
If you sort by function, they are in recreational items. The icon is a rugby ball (is it also called a football? I call it a rugby ball.)
The LN road grates (subway grates) are in decorative.

If necessary, then buydebug is your best bet.
Press Ctrl+Shift+C
Type testingcheatsenabled true
Press enter
Press Ctrl+Shift+C
Type buydebug on
Press enter
In sort by function, there is now a ? (question mark) tab. This is the debug items. In it are things like tomb objects, Apartment markers, plants, spawners etc.

To turn off:
Press Ctrl+Shift+C
Type buydebug off
Press enter
Press Ctrl+Shift+C
Type testingcheatsenabled false
Press enter

Hope this helps.
Seabody.

[BellaClo]

The picnic basket, which apprears at some random moment (*) on the central park or the beach, is a specific object that we don't have in our game files. (* From what I understand, they appear when some inactive Sims on those lots are hungry)

More accurately, we have them in our game files, since they pop up once in a while, but we can't access them. Even with testingcheatsenabled + buydebug, you won't find them anywhere in the build/buy menus. The one mentioned by Seabody is only for residential lot. Somenone corrects me if this has been changed with a recent patch.

The community lot picnic basket can be enabled through a 3rd party package that you put in the Mod folder. I've never used it myself, but it seems that this package just 'unlocks' this item so that the player can access it. (edited by moderator). If you are ready to use package files, just pm me and I will send you the links.

[ladydragon76]

Ah! to the picnic baskets! I hadn't even thought to look there.  But no, the subway grates aren't the same as road grates.  Unless... *goes to look*  Nope Subway Grates are definitely not the same as Road Grates.  And hmm.. No looking here this is a Public Picnic Spot.

I have TCE true, buydebug on, and under the rugby ball, on a community lot I don't even have the picnic basket.

Ooo!  I just found the road grate. LOL.  You were right about that being in buydebug.  Still scouring it for anything that looks even remotely like a picnic basket.  I also haven't been able to find the apartment building mailboxes.

*adding as I see I got another response*

Ok, to the picnic spot.  Are the apartment mailboxes like that too?  Would explain why I haven't been able to find them for the apartments I've built.

Thank you to both of you.  Apparently I just missed the road grate on my first dig through.  I'm new to serious building, trying to design an island, and am now wondering.  Is there a list of objects we will see but can't access?

*hugz!*
-LD

[Saltypaws]

The community lot picnic basket can be enabled through a 3rd party package that you put in the Mod folder. I've never used it myself, but it seems that this package just 'unlocks' this item so that the player can access it. (edited by moderator). If you are ready to use package files, just pm me and I will send you the links.

It is not a good idea to discuss mods or third party content on the forum.  What you do with your game is your fine.  Third party content has caused so many problems for so many people.   Just be careful of using mod site names in your posts.  If you have any questions, just ask.

[ladydragon76]

Personally, I avoid it like the plague.  The offer was appreciated though.

*hugz!*
-LD

[BellaClo]

Sorry that I have 'crossed the line'. I wasn't sure and hesitated a lot. Now, it's much clearer and I will pay attention not to mention 3rd party content on this site, at all. Sorry again 

[Hosfac]

The picnic blankets you see in Sunset Valley park come with the Fuzzy Logic Picnic Basket that is located in the regular buy menu.  It's in the Outdoor tab under Outdoor Cooking.  You do not need a mod to gain access to them, but it costs 100 simoleans to set it up.  The reason they seem to spontaneously appear in the park like that is because a few sims actually have one in their inventories.

[malteser60]

I second Hosfac with the picnic baskets, located in the regular buy menu. When you buy them the basket is all shut, put it in your sims inventory, go to a park (for e.g.), drag it on the ground then click on it, pay the 100 simoleans to set it up, and the basket will 'open' and the blanket will appear.

I've also seen the mailboxes somewhere, i'm pretty sure of it. I'm not being much help though as I can't remember where and I'm at my gran's house with no sims to check.

[Hosfac]

Are the apartment mailboxes like that too?

Actually, the reason you haven't been able to find them has to do with the fact that they're not available.  Believe me, I've scoured the buy menus and the internet both looking for answers on this very subject.  I, like Malteser60, was under the impression that mailboxes would be in the buydebug menu somewhere, but they're not.  My guess is that EA removed this option from the game due to the issues caused by deleting mailboxes.  I would imagine that having two mailboxes would cause problems as well, although I've never tested it so I don't know for sure.

[malteser60]

Sorry Hosfac, you're right. It's not the mailbox that I've got in my mind, but the callbox. I've been getting the two confused.

[ladydragon76]

Thanks guys!  And for the picnic baskets, I was in town edit/build-buy mode on a community lot.  It's probably as stated by BellaClo, and one of those locked up by EA type items.  Good info to have, and at least I know I'm not just missing them in my blurry-eyed searching. 

And since I'm here, and have asked two others in PM's:

For you builders and incredible interior designers out there, do you have any sources for floorplans or interior decorating reference sites?  I hope that's ok to ask on the forum?  Mod's please nudge me if it's not.  I don't mean anything 3rd party, I just mean resources from real life stuff to look at for inspiration.

Thanks all!
-LD

[Hosfac]

Thanks guys!  And for the picnic baskets, I was in town edit/build-buy mode on a community lot.  It's probably as stated by BellaClo, and one of those locked up by EA type items.  Good info to have, and at least I know I'm not just missing them in my blurry-eyed searching. 

I'm not totally sure what it is that you're trying to do.  Are you trying to put the picnics down on the community lots so that they stay there?  If that's you're intent:  that's not how they work.  Once you pay to lay out a picnic, it's only out for a limited time.  After that time expires, the basket folds itself up.  It's also quite possible that the picnic baskets fall under the same category as stoves do.  You can't put them on community lots, either.

[ladydragon76]

I'm talking about the "Public Picnic Spot"(s) that you will see with testingcheatsenabled true and buydebug on, and look at a community lot such at Sunset Valley's Central Park.  I'm thinking that those must be locked by EA.  I hadn't realized that there were objects in the game that we could see that we couldn't access via build/buy mode even with cheats on.  I've had some sleep, did some digging online, and from what I can see the only way to get the Public Picnic Spots, The Food Trucks.. things like that is with a 3rd party cc thing, and I don't use those.

  I love this game.  I learn new things every day. Literally.

-LD

[Hosfac]

Ok, I had never looked at a EA created park in edit town mode with the cheats on, so I didn't even know that those markers existed.  One way you could get them is to open up a fresh town and enter edit mode with the building cheats activated.  Build in a park that has them, then demolish everything on the lot except those markers and save the lot to your bin.  It would work better if you could find a smaller park that had at least one of them, and if you wanted more, you could probably clone them.  You can place a lot from your bin into any lot that is the same size or bigger.

I had read somewhere that there is allegedly a way to get the food trucks without using mods, but anyone I've ever known who has tried it has not been successful.