Show me your Britechester

JAL

As requested by @CK213 in the "show me your magnolia promenade thread (which I'm still hoping for more posts in), it's time for Britechester.

This is probably the world where I, personally, struggle to find something to really change, as any change means loss of residential lots of which there are far too few. I do love the look and feel of Britechester though, and really which they had made it a bigger world. But I do look forward to seeing what people have made of what there is.

JAL

As I said, I struggle to find something to really change here, other than improve on what is already there. So on the surface, my Britechester looks like it always has (with Plumbob's map replacement to make that always so much prettier).



The one major change I've made in town is to make the two smaller dorm-buildings residential, as that was what I missed most in town. After trying to play them as dorms once, I realised that for me, those two houses didn't feel like a dorm, but more like home, but with all the downsides of a dorm (no stove, long time to get to class), as well as all the downsides of your student living at home (not feeling as if you're in the mix of student life). Turning these two into something else felt like an easy decision.

I am especially proud of my make over for the Foxbury one:

I tried to keep with the mid-century modern feel of the house and I have to say I like what I got. At one point it would be interesting to actually play the house. As it is I have reserved it for those in the teacher career, thinking living here is a perk that comes with the job.

Otherwise my fixes are mostly to the interior of the houses, like adding thermostats everywhere so that no one freezes to death inside their dorms or need to sit with jackets on in the library. In each of the dorms I've added tables for having dinner or studying, a research computer, some games for socialising. Generally just trying to give people more things to do in the dorm. It looks a bit different in different dorms, but here is one example from Tidal tower:



The large table creates the ability to call to meal when someone brings in food (as they do) which makes time for socialisation. It's also a good study spot.

One of the buildings I've changed most in is actually Larry's Lagoon (the Foxbury Commons), turning it into a high tech study hall with lots more options for both study and play than there was before:

The food area has been made bigger and I've added a bar for possible parties:



I've added foosball table and a movie theatre size TV:


Upstairs I've added more computers and research computers:


I also added a debate podium, for why should Britechester be the only university who can debate things?


I added more technical equipment, such as a microscope, the weather machine, the scientist station and analyser and more robot building stations throughout.


And finally a telescope on the balcony:

I've added a few things to Darby's Den as well, but not nearly as much as there wasn't as much empty space to fill there. But in general, the commons are where my students are most when in uni, so they are now equipped with the things they need.

Another building where I added a lot of things is the library:

First of all an observatory outside (as well as some yoga mats for classes):


I also added some gardening boxes for biology sims to build their gardening skills on:


As well as some outdoor chess-tables and study tables for summer, spring or early fall students. Inside there are more research machines and computers, but most of the changes are to the upper floor where I added things like an archaeology table, a robot making station and a scientists lab. All in the name of knowledge.

Other than these changes I added a dancefloor and some games to the pub, and that's pretty much it. I haven't touched any of the other buildings yet, so I really look forward to seeing what everyone else has done with Britechester.

CK213

I like what you have done with those two homes JAL.
I haven't touched them. I looked at them once. I will do something about them eventually.

Most of what I've done was related to Britechester Campus. I love that school and have played it the most.
I played Drake and Wyvern dorms and realized very quickly that they would need a very extensive makeover.

I did not like the public spaces and did not like where the elevator was placed.
I would find I was often surprised by sims that I did not see enter the dorm or sims that have left.

The dorm made me want to send my sims to the Student Commons, but that wasn't a fun lot to play either.


I like having active dorms.
I want the public spaces to be fun and I like to put in social and skill objects that support education and dorm life.

Anyway, on to my changes.
OMG, this is going to be a long post.


My intent with my Drake and Wyvern renovations was to make the two dorms unique to each other.
Drake has a darker theme and is designed to support sims pursing a standard degree. It supports science with fun objects.
Wyvern has a lighter theme, supports sims going for a Distinguished degree, and has objects for the arts. Both have 8 beds.

I would need to have two levels.
One for study spaces and the other for rooms and student entertainment.

Drake

Wyvern

My sims in Drake.

Drake gets long shadows in the evening.
Wyvern gets them in the morning.

The lower level is for studies and skill activities.


The upper level is for recreation, privacy and sleeping.
Dormies will still be pigs.


Scruberoo!


This dormie has some unfortunate CC CosPlay footwear.


Right this way.




We will give her some new sports wear too.




She likes it.

Now that my dorms were updated, the Student Commons really needed some attention.

1st floor, cafeteria and student lounge for socializing and debates.
Plus an additional rest room.

2nd floor.
-West: Study area
-Center: Chess, poetry reading and comedy routines, desk for homework
-East: Game room, plus easels for art students.




Basement
-Bowling ally, and a bar that does not get a mixologist NPC


Bowling did not come with University, but I feel it should have. Probably because I used it so much in TS3 University.

Gibbs Hill
I made major changes here because I needed a place to locate my Uni prep-school for teens.
I also wanted to put in some Foxbury and Britechester themed student stores.


I love my Uni prep-school.
I get to have a half dozen of the world's teen under one roof and it serves as a great Uni rotation point.
A library used to be here. I moved it to Windenburg.

It's basically a house, but instead of parents, there is a school student counselor and school administrator.







The intention of these lots is to have access to certain items while your sim is locked out of buy-mode during their time at University, or have access to items that are difficult to acquire by normal game play. The Prices are more expensive than buy mode. You can have someone own the shop and reduce the price, but it will still be more expensive than buy mode. The point is accessibility through game play instead of cheats. You can also purchase themed clothing, or set up your own styled looks.

This is Britechester's student store.


Did you forget something before packing your sim off to Uni?
Or maybe there is something here that you did not know you needed. There are plenty of inventory based items here to explore.


Foxbury.
The same store, but with a Foxbury theme.

Custom Dorms
I love custom dorms built from scratch. Unfortunately mine tend to be large and Britechester has no large lots.
I really wanted them in Britechester, but I had to go outside of Britechester. I just consider them and extension to the schools.

I can't play Uni without the dorm I created for The Sims 2 University. Huge nostalgia feelings.
I located it in the Windenburg countryside. It feels like it's close to Britechester.

1st Floor:
-Foyer
-Dinning Hall (The cafeteria object has been removed since it's not needed)
-Library/Study
-Science Lab
-Greenhouse
-West Wing: Arts area
-East Wing: Fitness and Wellness


2nd Floor:
-Social lounge
-Coed Dorm rooms
-West Wing: Female Dorm rooms
-East Wing: Male Dorm rooms


3rd Floor:
-Sealed magic chamber (sorry, no potion making) Teleport to get inside
-"I solemnly swear I am up to no good" storage room.
-Movie night theater
-Party Lounge

I've only started playing my Foxbury dorm recently.
The only location I had left was Brindleton Bay.

elanorbreton

Ooh, I love to see what people have done! Here's mine, there's not massive changes:


The dorms, I just re-did the insides a bit.
My Darby's Den is by @CK213 so you have already seen that above
Pepper's Pub is by @ehaught58 except that I added a phone box in the corner... cos... Bristol lol.


The library, I recreated from Sunset Valley in TS3:

Then I re-did the Foxbury Commons:

Upstairs:
Lab:


Library/study area:


Downstairs:
Kind of a reception area for greeting new/prospective students: (for storytelling screenshots)


Play room:


TV room:


Canteen:


Overhead:

tatselk

So far, I've only done 2 builds for Britechester.

They are heavily inspired by the Oxbridge-style collegiate gothic architectural style.

1. Darby’s Den Redux

The new Darby’s Den now has lots more amenities, like a debate room, an art studio, a music room, a gym, a pool etc.

Showcase | Gallery link





2. Britechester Academy

Replaces the library.

It still functions as a library but it is set up more like a school.

My headcanon is that it is a sort of posh private high school that is affiliated with the University of Britechester.

Showcase | Gallery link

JAL

@CK213 wow, you've put so much thought and effort into Britechester! I'm impressed.
@elanorbreton that canteen looks so realistic. I love it!
@tatselk I love the Oxbridge touch, and really like the idea of Darby's Den having more space and things like music rooms and the likes. I tend to prefer Foxbury because I like the commons much more. Maybe I'll have another go at fixing Darby's Den.

CK213

JAL wrote: »

@CK213 wow, you've put so much thought and effort into Britechester! I'm impressed.
@elanorbreton that canteen looks so realistic. I love it!
@tatselk I love the Oxbridge touch, and really like the idea of Darby's Den having more space and things like music rooms and the likes. I tend to prefer Foxbury because I like the commons much more. Maybe I'll have another go at fixing Darby's Den.

I am putting a lot of sims through university, so I've had plenty of time to think about it.
@tatselk Britechester Academy fits in so well with Britechester Architecture.

tatselk

@JAL Thanks! I do prefer the original Foxbury commons to the original UBrite one.

But I hardly ever play on the Foxbury campus since the routing issues with the terrain means that my Sims are perpetually late for everything/travelling to and fro. -_-''

@CK213 Thanks for the kind comment!

Simmingal

Mine at the moment is like this

UBrite

hangout was made into soccer field instead cause I really wanted one
(but also I do wonder if i should find a way to add basement cause... weather)

as for the dorms they are identical in exterior I don't think i changed much


and also the dorms layouts are kinda same but I furnished them little bit differently


(I still need to test routing and all tho cause I haven't been to uni much yet )
and then theres the house lot that i changed into more camping vibe when I was playing my BFF Incident


insides are kinda hard to take pics of but basically its just rooms and toilet





oh and cowplant is still there

Foxbury

hangout is pretty similar i can't remember what i edited about exterior but i did simplify it bit i think


insides was changed completely

wanted it to feel more school like
downstairs has like big cafeteria and some hangout space


with stage for graduation parties

aaand as for the house lot


i just edited it somewhat to feel more like party place


and I saw someone did similar layout for first floor which i liked so i shamelessly copied


additional building is just for any skill items i may need

the dorms are again somewhat identical but also not


one of them is more complete than other

I am still considering what i could change for the less complete one

I think I might do some couple beds or something

aand as for center I haven't really done much

except kicked out pleasants cause they live in windenburg now with their parents
and i did make this shell before but idk if i will just build yet another house on that lot and suffer



will eventually attempt to build some stuff in center too though lots here kind of frustrate me

CK213

@Simmingal I love those micro-buses.
Soccer/football field looks great too.

MoonlightGraham

@Simmingal I love that football pitch (soccer field) you made. If Sims could only play a real match on it, that would be even better. I suppose they can juggle the ball, either alone or with someone else, there. Still, it's a great creation.

elanorbreton

Simmingal wrote: »

Mine at the moment is like this
hangout was made into soccer field instead cause I really wanted one
(but also I do wonder if i should find a way to add basement cause... weather)

Totally awesome!

Simmingal

Working on these lots today
its gonna be fraternity and sorority house next to each other
cause whoever thought thats good idea

the small lots are really driving me crazy though
aand I need to find Elderberry new house

also I didn't know university housing can only be one uni
so I guess one of them is gonna be foxbury and other ubrite which shall be interesting

also I like to think the buildings used to be one bigger building
but middle part was demolished for some reason
and the fountain was built in its place

CK213

elanorbreton wrote: »

Ooh, I love to see what people have done! Here's mine, there's not massive changes:

Library/study area:

I love this area.

JAL

@elanorbreton I agree with CK123, that space is beautiful.

elanorbreton

@CK213 @JAL thanks, peeps xx

haisin

Currently there are two bars in Gibbs Hill because they make good hang out places for students I still have the old Elderberrys in their house. Lilith Pleasant has Becca Clarke and Felix Psyded as her roommates. I thought it would be fun to have Felix haunt the Pleasant house if my students visit there. Someday I may renovate those houses. I didn't change the library much, but added an archeology table, globe bar, water balloon bucket, dumpster and some other things there, so that it would be more interesting.

I did some small renovations to UBrite dorms such as added some games, closet and video station and changed the floors, but that's pretty much it. I wanted the dorms to be a bit boring so that the students don't spend all their time there I found a very nice Darby's Den by Drowsysalts from the gallery and added something little there too such as a pee bush and lounge chairs to the backyard. The pretty Darkwing House is by raemadeline.

My favourites are the tower dorms of Foxbury.

My Tidal Tower is Briny Tower by FanniMani. I edited it somewhat and still haven't had anyone live there, so I might have to change some things later. I'm a bit worried that they eat outdoors, but there's a roof and some heaters so it might be okay.


And my Briny Tower is Tidal Tower by sleepingquill, but I edited it too and added a sauna and storeroom which has a bubble blower. No one has lived there after the renovation, but I think it will be fun

Oh and my students can apply for exchange, because I have UBrite commons and dorm in Windenburg and Foxbury commons and dorm in Mt Komorebi.

JAL

I was so inspired by some of your creations here that I decided to have a go at expanding Darby's Den. I wanted to keep it as close to the original as possible, so I simply added a second floor. Here is the result:





On the second floor I added rooms for working on skills related to the distinguished programs on Britechester - music, debating/public speaking, comedy, art, as well as an office for teachers (I intend to use that as a club room for teachers so that they'll hang around doing things like grading homework or mentoring students.)

tatselk

@JAL Love your idea of adding an office/ a club room for teachers! I think it would make the Education career feel alot more immersive

Simmingal

figured I could add some telescopes to my dorm roofs

and I also realized under roof space is kinda wasted and it be nice to escape meteors in (sims logic am i right)
so I added entrance n all

now I just need to think what I want to actually put there but idk
suggestions?

JAL

@tatselk

tatselk wrote: »

@JAL Love your idea of adding an office/ a club room for teachers! I think it would make the Education career feel alot more immersive

Thank you! I'm hoping so too, it's one of the work from home careers I find myself hardest to get into. Most of the other semi-active careers have tasks which takes you away from home in one way or another, at least at times, so I'm hoping having an office will feel more "real". I have a sim right now who is in the social media career and I have quite enjoyed bringing her to the office I built, even if she's just doing what she would be doing at home on a computer, there is also interaction with others, drinking coffee with the coworkers, going out for lunch...all the stuff that makes a work place something different than working from home.

My plan now is to create work places for all the semi-active careers. As mentioned I have one for techies and in the same building I have a "lawfirm" and a "campaign office" for politicians, in Sulani I've rebuilt Caldera Camp to a Marine Lab for conservationist and this will be the teachers' lounge and I am working on an office for Style influencers in Willow Creek at the moment. Engineers naturally use Larry's Lagoon so that's easy enough, freelance painters can use the art centre and freelance writers a library. Programmers share an office with the social media people. I'm still pondering what to do with critics, but I have yet to play one so I don't really know yet.

@Simmingal - maybe a music room? Karaoke machine and musical instruments, a sofa and some chairs for hanging out? Or make it a workshop and move up the more practical elements from downstairs (the florist tables, bonsai tree (that could even be outside). Perhaps a few flower boxes as well on the roof for those biologists or chefs to be? I would probably close of the sides, as they are too narrow for anything worth while, other than possibly the stairs to get up.

haisin

@Simmingal Ooo I really like the ladders there and the telescopes and safety area idea! I'm gonna copy that I would make the escape area a secret dusty hang out with spider webs and old things and something fun and questionable to do... like add a bubble blower and a closet or a globe bar or something Oh or séance table!