Welcome to the Build-n-Share Weekly Challenge!
The Build-n-Share challenges will be posted Wednesday of each week and run through the following Wednesday. Results will be posted approximately one week after all entries have been submitted in the Winner's Circle thread.
The benefits
First place will be awarded at all levels. If there are at least eight entries in a category, up to four places will also be announced.
Weekly challenges also create an opportunity for community on the forum site. We get to know one another’s names, share news, builds, and positive words. This is a chance to get your name out there, and hopefully make a few friends along the way.
What makes this challenge different from all the other ones I've seen?
We have been hosting this weekly challenge since the first week the game was released. We have many levels of builders in our community and welcome th em all. This group is truly a product of all its great members!
Within the first few challenges, our group was recognized by the gurus that be, who have helped the weekly challenges gain even more popularity be stickying both Build-n-Share threads. Since then, we have had at least one featured creation almost every week, and our list of featured members continues to grow.
With 3 successful collaborative neighborhoods (Gnomelandia, Summer of Love, and NYC) just about completed, Build-n-Share hopes to bring more creative challenges and new neighborhood ideas to the community with the help of our dedicated participants who willingly contribute and help each week to make sure each challenge runs smoothly.
The rules
All entries must be original work. Any competitor who submits another builder’s work will be disqualified and banned from any future Build-n-Share challenge. These competitors will also be removed from the Builders' Boulevard related websites if they have chosen to join (membership to the site and the Yahoo! group are not required to enter a Build-n-Share challenge).
Please announce your official lot posting using the entry form below. Make sure to leave the "Official Entry" label big. If you need to reformat it, you can do this by highlighting the desired text and then selecting "Big" in the font box above. This will help us see the entries in a sea of posts with no pics to guide us.
Entries must be submitted by the deadline, 7 p.m. Wednesday evening (eastern time, USA). A description of the five major level categories Beginner--I have a little experience, but I'm still figuring a lot of things out. I would not call myself an official "builder" at this point.
Beginner/Intermediate--I have a little more experience, but I'm just not sure yet about that leap up to "intermediate."
Intermediate--I have been building for awhile. I know the basics and maybe a little more. I enjoy building, but it is not my primary focus with the game.
Intermediate-Advanced--I'm getting pretty comfortable, but I want just a little more practice before entering on the top level.
Advanced--I know the Sims, and the Sims knows me. My name is familiar to a lot of veteran players, and I've competed in and won some building challenges and maybe even been recognized in a community showcase or two. I know most of the cheats AND I know how to use them.
Official Build-n-Share Animated Siggy
Want to represent Build-n-Share in your signature? Here is our official signature. Just copy and paste [*img]
http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab105/anjubee/bns_fad
e.gif?t=1251688153[/img] into the signature section under "preferences" and delete the *.
Build-n-Share Archives
Big thanks to Freynas for putting this together!
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/198045.page
Two additional opportunities
Love to build? Come join us at
http://www.buildersboulevard.com . The site offers an additional forum for advertising lots, share tips and tricks, and participate in collaborative neighborhood projects!
We also have a Yahoo! Group for builders. It can be accessed at
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/buildersboulevard/ . You do not have to be a member to enter. This group will be used primarily as an announcement center and for some of our more complex polls, and possibly, databases.
Comments
Build Deadline: Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m.
Media Deadline: Wednesday, June 23 at 7 p.m.
A 50-something woman sporting walking shorts and a cap walks through the door, beaming from ear-to-ear. This must be Sara Summers, the director of the new Happy Hills summer camp being advertised all over town. Today, however, the pitch will come from you as you work to become the chief landscaper, architect and designer for the camp.
Sara shakes your hand before taking a seat. Though it's only May, she seems to have a tan already. You think to yourself how glad you are you wore long sleeves today.
"I am so glad to hear of your interest in the project," she begins. "It is an undertaking with four different lots, I know, but Summer HIll just offers so many opportunities."
"So let me be sure I'm correct. You mentioned a girls' camp, boys' camp, pond for watersports and fishing, and an ampitheater. Those are the four you're referencing, correct?"
"Yep. The same. I'd like the pond on the middle lot, between the two camps to keep the boys and girls a little separated for most of the day-to-day activities. The end lot will serve as both an ampitheater for talent shows and common gatherings while also functioning as a social place for the occasional dance."
"How rustic are you thinking? They'll obviously know it's new."
"I'd like wooden structures with a somewhat lighter/brighter wood. Nothing too light, of course, as it will get dirty, but also nothing too dark, as I want it to remain cheery, too. I'd like the girls' camp primarily with deep blue accents and the boys' with dark greens."
"And what kind of structures would you like on each?"
"Well, for the two camps, I'd like at least three cabins: one for the younger children and one for the teens with another, smaller one with all of the amenities for each head counselor. Each of the campers' cabins should sleep 8. We'll also need a bath house, mess hall, and small clinic on each, too, of course."
"What about the pond area? Any plans for that?"
"I'd like a nice dock area. And maybe some seating to watch the events. That lot should have its own restroom and a couple of showers for boys and another couple of showers for girls. For the ampitheater lot, I'd like the open-air theater, of course, but I'd like the area around it to be a little wooded. Maybe with a little trail or something? It will need its own restroom as well, as we'll host events there. An area with picnic tables and some grills would be great, too. And it will definitely need to have great lighting for nighttime events."
"It sounds like the kids will have a lot of fun! Any other requests?"
"Hmm. Well, this is probably the toughest part, but the Summer Hill area is just so FLAT. I'd really like it if the camp could have a little more character with some small hills and a real woodsy feel. It shouldn't just feel like the valley but instead like the kids are really getting away. The only other thing is I'd really like all four lots to blend. They shouldn't look the same, but you should be able to tell they go together through similar building materials like the woods you use. I hope that's not too much?"
"I'm confident we can do it. You're giving us a little extra time, so that should definitely help!"
"As far as budget, I'll sock whatever I need to into the landscaping, terraforming, and all of that. The camp should be nice, but rustic. They should not feel like they're at The Ritz or something, so adequate and nice, but not too over-the-top on luxuries and furnishings would be nice, too."
“Wonderful. Well, I think I’m all set. Please let us know if you think of anything else.”
Ms. Summers stands, shakes your hand, and walks out.
***Obviously, this is a big one. You have three weeks this time. Additionally, you may, but do not have to, work with a partner or group. Feel free to advertise here for group members if you’d like. We will probably vote for winners for this one on Builders’ Boulevard, so make sure you really work hard on your media. This will be due the week AFTER the builds must be submitted. You can use photos or video to promote your camp.***
Additional Challenges:
Rather than providing a different challenge this week, for those who finish early, I’d like to recommend you check out Tota’s TOTA-LLY AWESOME neighborhood project on Builders’ Boulevard. We could really use some extra hands to make that project great as well!
Hope you enjoy this week’s challenge.
Addict
Official Entry
Name:
Link to the posted asset (link to lot):
Link to media (required for judging):
Optional Challenges entered?:
Constructive Criticism?:
Experience level:
Lot Name:
Lot address, size, and final cost:
Details and Rational:
Credit to any simmers for custom content you used:
To make it more searchable, we would highly appreciate it if you include Build-n-Share in the description of the lot.
Your official judges are Tota, Robodl95, Robb, Cameonet, and KitKat7145.
Your backup judge is Fidlerten.
Freynas is the official organizational guru collecting entrants' names, levels, links, and results!
Judges will post their results in the winner's circle thread: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/47204.page
Look for results typically a week after the deadline.
Big thanks to our judges and helpers!
Since judging will now be based on screenshots, we figured this would be a good time to go over some tips and tricks in taking good screenshots to help showcase your lovely builds.
1) Camera Man Mode - This is a must in taking good shots! You will have to be in live mode to do this, but just hit "TAB" to enter this mode. Once you are in this mode, you can use the mouse to freely control the angles and use "W, A, S, D" buttons to move forward, backwards, and side to side. "Z" zooms in, "X" zooms out. "Q" moves up and "E" moves down. "C" to capture the shot.
2) Find the perfect angle - With photography, it is all about finding the right angle. Spend some time in camera man mode to find the perfect angle. Get down to a sim's point of view to take the best shots of rooms.
3) Walls up - Most people play with walls cut away, but when you are taking pictures of your lot, try to keep your walls up to make your shots look more realistic.
4) No grids - Unless you need to show the grid for a specific purpose, make sure no build/buy grid is visible when you take your pictures. You can avoid this by taking pictures in live mode or by hitting the terrain paint button in build mode.
Ok, those are the basics! If you want to further your simatography skills, we highly recommend you visit http://simatography.webs.com for more tips and tricks and to see some excellent shots taken by professional simatographers!
Please try to keep this thread as photo free as possible and either create a story, a slide show, a separate thread, or use the stickied photo thread to post shots of your lots!
Beginner
Angelnga169
Link to the posted asset:
Summer Hills -POND - http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2458138
Amphitheater - http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2458139
Boys cabin - http://www.4shared.com/file/JoHWabUl/Summer_Hills_boys_cabin.html
Girls cabin - http://www.4shared.com/file/miCmv_0W/Summer_Hills_girls_cabin.html
Link to media: http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=220317
Constructive Criticism?:Yes please
Izzie_110
Link to the posted asset:
girls camp: http://gb.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2462747
boys camp: http://gb.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2462745
ampetheatre: http://gb.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2462744
lake: http://gb.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2462749
Link to media: http://gb.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=220176
Constructive Criticism?: Yes please.
MaeMania and Joshoku
Link to the posted asset:
Girl's Camp - http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2491224
Boy's Camp - http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2491216
Lake - http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2502856
Amphitheater - http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2502847
Link to media:
Constructive Criticism?: yes
Beginner - Intermediate
jessk328
Names/links to lots:
Happy Hills Girls Camp http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2491910
Happy Hills Boys Camp http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2484051
Happy Hills Pond http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2484064
Happy Hills Amphitheater http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2484049
Link to media:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFAeYIdeX0M
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX-4DnIH63s
Constructive Criticism: yes
kimwriter75
Link to the posted asset:
Happy Hills Cherry Tree Camp for Girls - http://www.mediafire.com/?wwzmgntomn5
Happy Hills Pistache Tree Camp for Boys - http://www.mediafire.com/?zyq3lmijtmn
Happy hills Azaleas Amphitheatre - http://www.mediafire.com/?mjmzv2ewlcu
Happy Hills Oak Tree Pond - http://www.mediafire.com/?yzon1tgqtj2
Link to media:
Amphitheatre - http://www.slide.com/r/jMVk92TO0z-4X-Qpunva0LxBQFQzbLsL?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
Pond - http://www.slide.com/r/cpv9KVJB3j9XRRKFy-d7_1Z5-NsOWPab?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
Boy's Camp - http://www.slide.com/r/uJlR6fzV1T9DjCVn3Rg93WarwWWAwdU_?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
Girl's Camp - http://www.slide.com/r/YL-8FKvZvz_WHfcOb6xibUj-xpC_2FWu?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original
Constructive Criticism?: Yes
snakecharmer
Link to the posted asset:
girls camp- http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2454265
boys camp- http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2454262
Lake- http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2454266
Ampitheatre- http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2454263
Link to media: http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=219574
Constructive Criticism?: yes please
tigerlily75de
Link to the posted asset:
Boys Camp: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2477410
Girls Camp: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2477520
Little Woods and Amphitheater: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2477433
Summer Hill Lake: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2477416
Link to media: http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=221427
Constructive Criticism?: yes please
xxmccxx
Link to the posted asset:
Amphitheatre : http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2436064
Girls cabins : http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2436054
Pond : http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2436080
Boys cabins : http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2436073
Link to media: http://creationsbyios.blogspot.com/2010/06/bns-51.html
Constructive Criticism?: Yes Please
Intermediate
mryjn1976
Link to the posted asset:
Amphitheatre:
Girls cabins:
Pond:
Boys cabins:
Link to media: http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=221127
Constructive Criticism?: SURE
Intermediate - Advanced
Anartistica
Link to the posted asset:
Happy Hills Girls Camp: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2495391
Happy Hills Boys Camp: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2495363
Happy Hills Amphitheater: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2495359
Happy Hills Pond: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2495398
Link to media:
http://picasaweb.google.com/annheinis/Girls?authkey=Gv1sRgCOnn8KaNt9raSw#5483491448646244114
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/120/205412.page#2647638
Constructive Criticism?: Yes please!
Team SKJ - Sherry1968 built, Kitkat landscaped, jasnik82 decorated
Link to the posted asset:
Girls' Cabins: http://www.mediafire.com/file/mxzyjryqi2k/Happy Hills Girls Cabins.Sims3Pack
Boys' Cabins: http://www.mediafire.com/file/zdzgom00ffi/Happy Hills Boys Cabins.Sims3Pack
Lake and Stable: http://www.mediafire.com/file/jmnmfwtzjym/Happy Hi...s Lake and Stable v2.Sims3Pack
Outdoor Theater: http://www.mediafire.com/file/wiyjymm0kmk/Happy Hills Outdoor Theater.Sims3Pack
Link to media: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/220454.page#2706142
Constructive Criticism?: Yes, Please
Advanced
ZYIsSims
Link to the posted asset:
Lake: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2468752
Girls Camp: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2468880
Boys Camp: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2468872
Amp: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2468901
Link to media: http://s220.photobucket.com/albums/dd126/silviaBroome/BnS51/?albumview=slideshow
Constructive Criticism?: Always
Results:
Beginner - Judge: Robodl95 http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/1005/47204.page
1st place - Angelnga169
2nd place – Izzie_110
Beginner - Intermediate - Judge: KittKat7147 http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/1065/47204.page
1st place - Tie: xxmccxx & Kimwriter75
Intermediate - Judge: Tota
Please visit: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/1035/47204.page
Intermediate - Advanced - Judge: Tota
Please visit: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/1035/47204.page
Advanced - Judge: Tota http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/1035/47204.page
1st place - ZYIsSims
So why don't we start looking for groups by saying our level and then what we really are good at, or really suck at. I can start, if this idea is going to stick. It would suck if three people team up and NONE of them can do the pond, right?
Name: MaeMania
Experience Level: Beginner
Preference: Would rather not do the pond as I have no experience with making them look nice. My ponds are just holes that are kind of there and they are ugly. If you show me a tutorial I can do anything, especially since I have three weeks to learn!
Does that look like a good application (for lack of a better word) for partnership? Or should we start threads for each level?
Alex
This is 4 lots. It's the entire Summer Hill area (the spot in S. Valley where there are 4 huge 60x60s all in one plateau...the area where the Altos and Landgraabs live). If 60x60s are too big, you can find another area with smaller lots that can allow for this type of set-up, but it should be 4 lots. Also, if those houses are filled and you don't want to bulldoze, you might want to consider creating a separate building 'hood so you can bulldoze away without losing any families.
Hope this helps!
Addict
Can't wait to start. Great challenge Addict!
Won't be able to start till tomorrow but my summer holidays start then so I will have loads of time to do this. I might even make people to fit into it!
Don't think I'll work in a group either...done it before and it just made things a lot more complicated.
Just one thing Addict, is this a community or residential lots or does it matter. I'm guessing the pond and amphitheater lot are community and the other two are residential.
So glad we have three weeks
Alex
It might be summer holidays but in Ireland it is probably still colder and wetter than your winter! That is why I'll have so much time for the Sims.
Good luck with finding your inspiration!