Only one Sim at a time can use a staircase, even if multiple Sims are travelling in the same direction. As houses cannot be higher than two stories, staircases are only ever used to connect the first storey with the second storey. Staircases in The Sims consist largely of straight, one-piece stairs of a fixed height. The Sims 2: Open for Business, The Sims 2: Apartment Life, The Sims 3: Late Night and The Sims 3: Into the Future allow players to add elevators to lots, which can be used as an alternative to the stairs. This saves space, and allows players to add upper floors to smaller houses. They have a 2x2 footprint on both levels, along with an extra square on each level that's reserved for the landing. The Sims: Unleashed, The Sims: Superstar, The Sims 2: Apartment Life, The Sims 3 and The Sims 3: Generations add spiral staircases. The first square on the lower level and the fourth square on the upper level is reserved for the landing, and players may change the floor covering on these squares. These spaces must be left clear both above and below. Stairs must have at least one floor tile available at the bottom and at the top, and the length of the stairs will take up the necessary number of floor tiles on any floors it passes through.Ī basic straight staircase is one square wide, five squares long on the lower level, and four squares long on the upper level. Stairs can consist of either basic, one-piece staircases that are of a fixed length, or of modular stairs that consist of multiple different pieces and can extend to any length. Sims will use staircases automatically when routing between floors. Staircases are build mode objects which allow Sims to travel between different floors on residential or community lots.