CFE (constrain floor elevation) is a somewhat controversial builder's trick. It takes quite a bit of practice to master, and it gives with one hand while it takes away with the other. CFE can create problems, floating tiles, difficulty with recoloring, renovation constraints. Yet there are many builds that would be impossible to create without it. Many players do not download anything built with CFE, because of the difficulty involved in making changes to the structure. Where do you stand, CFE- love it or hate it?

It has to be the PERFECT moment to use it, and even then, it should only be used sparingly, but there are times where it's exactly what the situation requires, and nothing else will work. Knowing which situation you're faced with is a crucial skill.

Both, the triangles it leaves behind really annoy me. I only ever built one split level house because it was so annoying to do. Good for making a dummy level to raise a roof above a window or to bend a bridge or attach a garage.

I uploaded a CFE lot recently. http://modthesims.info/d/625925/moo...ding-beach.html and yes the triangles on the tent annoy me and I dislike the neighbourhood view, but I wanted a shaped marque so not much option.

When I download a lot which had CFE work I do not plan on altering it, but that doesn't stop me downloading it. I have a lot of Plasticbox's split level houses since I didn't have to build it!

I have nothing about CFE`d levels. Also it gives you advantage to change stairs direction, make awnings, weave shapes, bridge effects can happen. Very useful tool so why not to use it.

Totally agree Zarathustra, CFE is exactly what's needed at times, but best not to use it unless required, imo.

Jo- love the wedding pavilion- so very lovely!

Victor, very useful yes, but lots of disadvantages also. I believe that if you are uploading something for others, you should take your downloaders into consideration. Build what you love, but remember the players also.

I build lots with it and I build lots without it. It is useful for many things. I do search my lot many times looking for floating tiles hoping I got them all before upload. I generally try to leave a warning in my descriptions if I have used it so downloaders are aware. The people who built this game must have felt that it was useful to have in the game as well. I'm just grateful EA included it in game as opposed to selling it seperately to you as a cheat pack.

I do not think there are many builders who can TRULY use CFE and if someone can then they should definitely use it. I would never want Tee Hee She to stop using CFE, it is what makes her different and I believe that offering something different should be the goal of every creator.

There will surely be people who would not download a lot because of CFE but the same number of people will download a lot just because of the CFE since it gave something special which they might have not seen before.

I personally enjoy using CFE because it opens an entirely new world for a builder. When CFE is what can help me achieve my vision, I will never hesitate to use it. It surely has its disadvantages. You already mentioned some so I will just add that extensive use of CFE slows down the game and can make it crash even.

BTW: I would like to share my floating tiles “remedy” for sims3 here (I already shared it in another thread but just in case someone missed it)

1- "unpaint" all ceilings (not deleting the floor just removing the ceiling paint by holding ctrl + shift)
2 - remove spiral stairs or ladders (modular stairs don't seem to matter) Then leave to play mode.
If one has done those steps correctly (no ceiling is painted anywhere and there are no stairs) the ceiling "regenerates" and there are no holes and no floating tiles anymore. They will disappear before your eyes once you enter live mode (this is quite satisfying to watch .
You can then enter build mode again and paint all the ceilings and add stairs. Sometimes this causes floating tiles to appear at other places but don´t panic you just have to repeat the previous steps and they will eventually be gone for good I promise.
I never had to repeat it more than three times It is important to never delete the floating tiles with the hammer tool or with any other method. If you do or did in the past this method will no longer work on the lot.

That's a lot what I did several years ago before this site been abandoned. I can't expect how to do this potato shape without CFE. Sure you can use CFE a lot but need to test mush close before uploading.

I didn't really hate it, but more like was scared of using it. I'm a fan of modern architecture, and I'm always on the lookout for modern houses online for building inspiration. I get discouraged building a specific house if it needed CFE to achieve the look. But now I'm starting to learn using it, thanks to the speedbuilds I'm watching on Youtube, and reading tutorials on MTS too. And I should say I'm on my way to loving it