The Simlogical Security and Dresscode system

 

Warning!

 

Introduction

The Simlogical Security system allows you to choose, on a room-by-room basis which Sims should be allowed into which room on a lot.  This is achieved by making choices on a Room Token's menu about which Sims should be allowed in the room.  Having done that, the Simlogical Security doors will check whether there is a token in the room the Sim is trying to get into, and query the token about whether that Sim is allowed in at that particular time.   If you have the University EP, you will have the additional benefit of the excluded Sims not being aware of most of the objects behind that door, and of being able to set up to 6 times a day when the access conditions of the token may automatically change.   Remember, the actual locking out is done by the modified door, not by the token.  Using a normal door into a room with a token means the token will be ignored! 

The Dresscode system mentioned in places in this document will be coming later, and will offer the ability to specify outfits that should be worn in controlled rooms.

 

Installation

Having read the Warning! above, install the files into your My Documents\EA games\The Sims 2\Downloads folder.   You may use subfolders, and I advise you to do so.  If you are worried by the global patch, do not install it.   You can just use ijSecurityDoorWalnut.package and further styles of modified non-global security doors will be made available over time.

 

Setting up the room tokens

You place one Room Token in each room you wish to restrict access too.   If some rooms are only accessible via one door - for example you have an apartment with a front door, a lobby and other rooms leading off the lobby, then it would be sufficient to place just one token in the lobby which will control access through the front door.

Apartment number...

Each token starts off black in colour, which shows it has not yet been set up.  This is also a helpful indicator during play to show if a token has somehow reset itself unexpectedly, or if you have chosen to reset it.  A token that has not been set up is inactive, and will not exclude any Sims, but nor will it allow any if there is another token in the room excluding them.   When you have made the first setting on a token, it becomes white, to represent a "Standalone" token (ie one that acts independently of all other tokens).   If you like, you can assign it to an Apartment Number, or colour group.   When you have two or more tokens set to an Apartment number/colour other than white, you only need to make a setting on one token, and the setting is passed to all the other tokens of the same colour - ie they act as a group, excluding the same Sims at the same time as each other.

Access...

This is where you make a manual choice about how the token decides who has access.   You can change this at any time, although if you have the timer running it will override your choice when it is time to operate the next automated setting.

You can choose between:

  Free access All Sims included.  Takes no notice of your keyholder or ban choices
  No access All Sims excluded.  Takes no notice of your keyholder or ban choices
  Named only Sim only allowed if on the named individuals list.   Ignores any ban settings
  Any non-banned If they're not a type of Sim that is banned, they are allowed.  Ignores named individuals settings
  Non-banned plus named Same as any non-banned, except if a Sim is on the banned list BUT is a named individual, he too can come in.
  Named if non-banned Only named are allowed in.  But if a named Sim is a type of Sim that matches a banned type, he cannot come in.
  Bar named The only Sims excluded are those named as individuals.
     
  Enable/Disable NPC override When NPC override is enabled, NPCs can pass at any time.  All other settings are ignored when an NPC wishes to enter.  If disabled, the NPC must go through the same tests as any other Sim.  Cannot be changed by the timer
  Enable/Disable privacy This is useful for bathrooms.  All the normal checks are carried out, and if the Sim is allowed in on normal access rules, a final test is done to see if any other Sim is already in the room.  If it is already occupied, entry is barred.   This is the one setting that does not spread to other tokens in the same apartment group.   Cannot be changed by the timer.

Bans...

Use this section if you are interested in excluding whole types of Sims, for example ban all children, or all males.   Bans overlap, so if you ban females, this will ban female adults, female children *and* female NPCs (unless you leave NPC override on).

Named...

You can have four named individuals per apartment or standalone token.

Auto...

This section of the menu is only enabled if you have the University EP.  The numbers "Auto.../Setting 1" to "Auto.../Setting 6" on the menu mean there are up to 6 opportunities in each day to automatically change Access level.   It does not matter what order you use them in, or whether you use them all or if you leave gaps - you can use setting 2 and setting 5 and leave the others unset if you like.

You will need to "Enable timer" if you want the Auto settings you choose to do anything.   And of course "Disable timer" if you want to revert to purely manual control without deleting all your Auto settings.

Example:  Go into Auto.../Setting 1 and click on Time...   That will give you a dialog box where you can choose which hour of the day you want something to happen.   You will need a Sim free to interact with this option, because it is a dialog box.   After Accepting the time, go back into Auto.../Setting 1 and click on one of the options of things that can be made to happen.   These are basically the same range of options you could have chosen manually under Access...   If you have chosen "3" under Time, and click on "No access" for the action, then every day at 3am, the token will automatically switch into "No access" security level, if you have the timer enabled.

Timed Settings Report will give you a dialog box showing all the times you have set up and what you chose to happen at those times.  As this is an interactive dialog box, you will need a Sim free to operate the interaction.

Reset...

  Reset token Reinitialises everything on selected token, removes it from any apartment group it might have belonged to, and turns it black.  Reset token behaves as if it is not there - does not take part in security decisions
  Reset apartment All member tokens remain in apartment group and keep their colour, but all other settings return to default values, and auto timings will be deleted.
  Reset all tokens All tokens on lot reinitialise and become black and inactive.

Current Sim's Access Rights

Whenever you click on a token, a top-level menu option also spells out for you whether your selected Sim is allowed or excluded by that particular token at that particular time.   This option is for display only, and does not offer an action.   It is helpful for diagnosing problems like if you notice your Sim not being able to interact with certain objects.  The fridge is notorious for confusing users of this Security system, as it does not show all its meal options if the selected Sim cannot get to either it or any of the cookers or counters.

 

Setting up the doors

You only need to use a Security modified door into a room with a token in it.   For example, if you have an apartment, where the only way into the apartment is through one door, then you can control access to that apartment by a single token in the inner lobby, and a Security modified door as the front door.   The other doors inside the apartment can be normal doors.

If you have two or more ways into a restricted area, then each of these ways in will need to be through a Security modified door, otherwise your excluded Sims will simply avoid the doors that are locked against them and make their way into the room through the non-modified door.

It does not matter which way round a door is placed.  If a Sim is one side of the door, it always checks the tokens on the opposite side to see if he can go through.  If there are two tokens in a room, if one bars the Sim, while the other allows the Sim (unless it's a black token), then the Sim may pass through the door.

Instead of using special modified Simlogical Security doors, you can use the global patch ijSecurityPatch.package, which makes all normal doors into Security doors if there is at least one Token on the lot, or allows them to continue to work like Maxis originals if the lot does not have any tokens.   Please see compatibility section below.

Special note about diagonal doors:  With my current level of knowledge, it has not been possible for me to get diagonal doors to work with this system at all. At best they ignore the system, at worst they can refuse to open at all or lock up in an "in use" mode.  If you use the global patch, it is best to avoid using a diagonal door if the room either side of it contains a security token.  It's fine to use diagonals between two non-tokened rooms.   If you do get diagonal problems, no permanent harm is done to the lot, and you can delete the stuck doors with the "move_objects" cheat.

 

The Controller

This is an optional object.  If you use it, it offers the ability to hide and unhide the room tokens, in case you think they look ugly.

It also offers some whole-lot override functions

  Emergency lockdown all Sets every token on the lot (apart from black ones) to No Access.  A token's timed automation does not run during an emergency and it will remain No Access until the emergency is over, or until you manually change the access on it, or until you reset it.
  Emergency unlock all Sets every token on the lot (apart from black ones) to Free Access.  A token's timed automation does not run during an emergency and it will remain Free Access until the emergency is over, or until you manually change the access on it, or until you reset it.
  Emergency over Sets every token on the lot back to the access level it was at immediately before the emergency.  If there should have been a timed switchover of access level during that time, this switchover will have been skipped for this day.  Tokens which have been manually configured during the emergency may or may not be set back to pre-emergency access level, depending on what has actually been done to them in between times.   To prevent surprises I recommend you do not configure or reset your tokens during emergencies.

The controller can also help you to get Sims out of rooms they are not meant to be in, if they were already in a room before it closed access to them.   Use "Security check now" for a one-off check, or you can enable auto security checking, in which case once an hour just after the hour, all rooms will be checked for unauthorised Sims.   Unauthorised Sims will be told to come to the controller that is doing the checking, so it needs to be somewhere they can all get to.

 

Compatibility with other hacks

ijSecurityToken.package, ijSecurityDoorWalnut.package, and ijSecurityControllerShrub.package re-use the GUID numbers of my earlier Sims 2 Apartment system.  Before installing the new system, you must delete AptDoorWalnut.package, AptToken.package, and AptControllerShrub.package from your downloads folder.

The tokens, master controller, and individual security doors should not clash with anything else, although you can conjure up all sorts of interesting access situations by using other locking doors, and other access controllers in combination.   But no widespread problems or clashes should be caused unless there are global patches installed that affect doors.

JM Pescado has a security system also (you may like to compare the function of his with mine in case you decide you prefer what his offers).  If you use the Simlogical Security tokens and modified individual doors on some of your lots, you should find the Pescado system works fine on the other lots.   However, if you have ijSecurityPatch.package in your downloads folder in order to make normal doors work with the Simlogical system, then you will find that the two systems clash throughout the whole game, and you will have to delete either ijSecurityPatch.package or the files for Pescado's system.

Technical details

The following resources are modified by the ijSecurityPatch.package

  BHAV #2002 Init Common.  I have set the route-blocking flag.  This will clash with any other patch that modifies BHAV #2002
  BHAV #2009 Portal Test.  It checks to see if there is a security token on the lot.  If there is it calls all the simlogical tests for access.  If not, it continues with the normal portal test code.   Any other patch that has modified BHAV #2009 will clash.
  BHAV #200A Portal Function.  It checks to see if there is a dresscode token (not yet released) on the lot.  If there is it calls all the simlogical outfit changing functions.  If not, it continues with the normal portal function code.   Any other patch that has modified BHAV #200A will clash.
  BHAV #21D0 New semi-global created by myself.  Unlikely to clash with any other patch unless by an unlucky coincidence they happened to make a new one with the same number.
  BHAV #21DA New semi-global created by myself.  Unlikely to clash with any other patch unless by an unlucky coincidence they happened to make a new one with the same number.