Object limiter

An object limiter is present in all console versions of The Sims, as well as The Sims Social. The object limiter limits the number of objects that can be placed in a house and warns the player if nearing the limit. Starting with The Sims 2, the game will compensate for going over the limit by setting one of the items in the house on fire (The Sims 2 Castaway). In The Urbz: Sims in the City, however, objects are not set on fire if the player goes over the limit.

The object limiter was created so the game doesn't crash due to using more RAM than available on the system and the game can perform well on the console hardware.

Console games are usually limited to about 100-150 objects. In The Sims Social, players can place up to 800 objects.

Object limiters are not present in Windows and Mac OS X (except The Sims Social) games as consoles tend to have less memory and fewer resources compared to PCs. For example, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 both have 512MB of RAM (with the PS3 having its RAM split 256MB for the operating system and 256MB for developer usage). The Sims 3 on PC/Mac requires 1/1.5GB of RAM. As this is much more memory than the console, The Sims 3 for console has the object limiter due to the smaller amount of RAM whereas the Windows/Mac OS X version doesn't, especially since they can be upgraded to wider extent instead of being limited to a set amount with consoles.

Although Windows and Mac OS X have no object limit, the games will slow down (as with most games) if there are a lot of objects and Sims loaded (The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories resolve this by allowing objects on inactive floors to be hidden). Windows and Mac OS X can support up to 2,500 walls and 2,500 objects but that number is not legitimately possible aside from in The Sims 3 Generations, where the player can legally have 8 Sims, a 60x60 lot, 9 floors and about 500 objects.

Trivia

• Windows and Mac OS X have no object limit but there is a Sim limit. The game only allows up to 8 Sims.
• In The Sims 2 for PSP, the object limiter is known as Feng Shui. However, it simply does not allow the player to buy more stuff, rather than setting the object on fire.
  • It was also used in The Sims, The Sims Bustin' Out and the GBA version of Pets.
• The object limiter in The Sims 3 for console is similar to the Feng Shui although it is still referred to as the object limiter.
• In The Sims and The Sims Bustin' Out, it was known as the Feng Shui. For unknown reasons, it was called the Fire Code in The Urbz: Sims in the City, The Sims 2 and The Sims 2 Pets, although some versions still use the original name. In The Sims 3 and The Sims 3 Pets, it was renamed to Fire Meter.
• If a console game is played using an emulator, there will still be an object limit regardless of the host system, as the data and programming of the base game is not changed by emulation.