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Round Robin Build Exchange

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  • creativemetaphorcreativemetaphor Posts: 1,543 Member
    @ADWilson No worries on not having pictures, sounds like you've done a LOT of work to keep you busy!! That list of rooms is amazing!

    For the 'open space' I could see a workshop area, or maybe a student lounge? Locker bay? (not changing room but where students can keep books between classes)
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    edited February 2017
    ADWilson wrote: »
    Big Open Space on the 2nd floor ~ NEED IDEA ON WHAT TO DO WITH IT!
    Well... you might consider a place for toddlers, perhaps? Or a play area? I know you have the playground outside, but what about indoor play stuff for when weather is bad?

    Hey, here's a thought to make your life even MORE complicated - have you considered putting a seasonal marker on the lot, to make it so there's different playground equipment outside during the winter? (Aren't I terrible?)

    How about a teacher's lounge? The teachers need a place to hang out and chill. :) (Coffee maker, anyone? They have to have their coffee!)
  • ADWilsonADWilson Posts: 6,755 Member
    edited February 2017
    @creativemetaphor ~ Funny you should mention 'locker bay' as I was just looking at the Chaos Free Cubby (comes with Aurora Skies Gold/Tiny Prodigies Learning Center) and wondering if you have it. Would like to put lockers in the hallways, but if you don't have the cubby, no problem because I found a locker that came with AMB.

    Maybe I'll go with the idea @MiaSkywalker gave for a teacher's lounge. I guess because I'm not a coffee drinker I didn't think of coffee makers being needed by the staff LOL

    Indoor play stuff? Hmm... not sure what this would be. I guess my main thing is trying not to have too many repeat areas and have each space be somewhat unique. Obviously the 2 generic classrooms are going to be the same.

    Have never used a seasonal marker but since creative's letter doesn't list Seasons as being owned, I'll definitely table this idea (although it's a pretty neat one!).
  • cianeciane Posts: 16,996 Member
    Hi @Kgaff. I've added furniture and done some CASting now. It looks like this:
    https://iamciane.wordpress.com/builds/kgaff-country/
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    ADWilson wrote: »
    Maybe I'll go with the idea @MiaSkywalker gave for a teacher's lounge. I guess because I'm not a coffee drinker I didn't think of coffee makers being needed by the staff LOL

    Indoor play stuff? Hmm... not sure what this would be. I guess my main thing is trying not to have too many repeat areas and have each space be somewhat unique. Obviously the 2 generic classrooms are going to be the same.

    Have never used a seasonal marker but since creative's letter doesn't list Seasons as being owned, I'll definitely table this idea (although it's a pretty neat one!).
    I don't drink coffee, either. But I know most of the world can't wake up without it. :)

    Indoor play stuff could include that blocks table (you know, the one that both toddlers and children can use), the costume trunk, the toy box, and the dollhouse. Probably various stuffed animal toys, as well. Maybe not so useful for teenagers, but for the younger kids it would be useful. If you don't already have a room with a TV, you could include one in there, and maybe a stereo, if you don't have one elsewhere. Of course, you might have speakers in every room, to pretend to be the loudspeakers, but really it would be just to give you music in every room. :)

    Another thought for the teacher's lounge; you might do something to lock that door so only adults can use it. If creative has the movie venue, then you could use the ticket door (I forget what it's called) to make it so only adults can go in there. I use that door all the time to lock teens and children from bars. (And then they route fail and get mad that they can't get in. Well, it's a BAR!) A TV would also be good in the teacher's lounge, so adults aren't forced to watch cartoons with the kids all the time.

    No Seasons? Well, darn. Hey, Creative! If you have Sims on Steam, all of the EPs are selling for $5 each. I know that in the past if you had the Steam version of any EP you would get a code you could also enter on the site, which will essentially give you the Origin version as well. I do not know if this is still true. It's something to consider, though, because all of the EPs bring something new to the game. Even EPs that I'm not thrilled about (like Showtime) have outfits, hairs, build items, and buy items, that will do all sorts of things for you. For instance, Pets is a great EP for making medieval or rustic builds, and Showtime has really good stuff if you want to build something tropical.
  • creativemetaphorcreativemetaphor Posts: 1,543 Member
    edited February 2017
    @MiaSkywalker that'd be awesome... if I had Seasons... :* Not sure how that'd work.
    Teacher's Lounge would be cool, too!

    @ADWilson but Yes, I do have Tiny Prodigies!
  • creativemetaphorcreativemetaphor Posts: 1,543 Member
    @MiaSkywalker I will check if Steam purchases translate to Origin! That would be awesome. Though just due to my old machine already lagging and crashing with just the few I have I'm not sure I'd want them all!

    I wish EA would release stuff packs for the *stuff* from expansions without the additional gameplay. I'd love that!
  • creativemetaphorcreativemetaphor Posts: 1,543 Member
    @ciane Wow, that's awesome! I love the exterior shots, and the hay tucked under the porch! B)
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    ciane wrote: »
    Hi @Kgaff. I've added furniture and done some CASting now. It looks like this:
    https://iamciane.wordpress.com/builds/kgaff-country/
    Ciane, that is really coming on well! (I just realized I now have three instances of your site up.) So, the walk in basement is where the pet beds are? Great idea, and great use of the walk-in basement! The soft gray colors are really nice, and work really well here. I agree with you about the stone walls - they're really beautiful.
  • creativemetaphorcreativemetaphor Posts: 1,543 Member
    @MiaSkywalker @ciane Good news! Saving and *shutting down* saves my saves!!! :mrgreen: Who'da thunk?? Thank you so much, that would have had me practically in tears trying to figure out what I was doing wrong!
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    edited February 2017
    @ADWilson:

    I want to check with you on a couple more things. First, are these bedroom colors/styles good for you?
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    Believe it or not, the two beds have the same bedspread pattern. One of the beds must have a higher multiple than the other, or more specular lighting overlay, because they look like different shades. They aren't, though.

    Now, which type of tile do you prefer?
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    Did some color changes to match the overall decor better.
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    I tend to like smaller tile, but not everyone does. If you prefer larger tile, I can play with the colors on the other (right side) tile, and see what I can come up with. I have decided I'm only going to keep one bathroom, I just want to figure out which type of style you prefer.

    Edit: A close up of that pattern, so you can see what I meant. (In an earlier post.)
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    Another question: Would you like me to upgrade anything? I usually upgrade at least the fireplace to fireproof, and I can do the main stove as well. I won't if you don't want me to, though.
    Post edited by MiaSkywalker on
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    @MiaSkywalker I will check if Steam purchases translate to Origin! That would be awesome. Though just due to my old machine already lagging and crashing with just the few I have I'm not sure I'd want them all!

    I wish EA would release stuff packs for the *stuff* from expansions without the additional gameplay. I'd love that!

    Oh! I just remembered something that someone mentioned to me once. (And that I should remember, since I have so many Steam games.) In order to buy any of the EPs, you'll have to buy the base game first. That would be an additional $5, but I think that in order to buy all the other EPs for $5 each, spending that first $5 is worth it. :)

    I really LOVE all the expansions and stuff packs. Each of them brings something fun, unique, and/or useful to the game, even the ones that I once thought that there was no way I would ever want it. In a way it's going to be tough when I have to build for you, because I'm going to have to make sure I turn off the expansions and stuff packs you don't have, so I don't inadvertently use those items. But that will just make it more challenging. :)
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    I think that this is mostly finished now. I want to get the bathroom the way @ADWilson wants it, and I want to turn the other bathroom into something else (maybe a nursery or pet room), but other than that, and any fixes and tweaks I might make, this is pretty much done.

    So, here are some pictures for you, some of them to show off the nice view you get from this lot. :) These aren't the final ones I will make when I upload it, because it isn't entirely finished.
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    I expanded the kitchen a bit and added the pizza oven. Because, you know, pizza.
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    Yes, I put my name on this. :)
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    I realized right before I took this picture that I had forgotten to cover both floor and ceiling for the walkway. Fixed it now.
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    Does anyone know why this happens? I thought it was from using MOO to place the plants, but I didn't use MOO to place these.
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  • creativemetaphorcreativemetaphor Posts: 1,543 Member
    @MiaSkywalker just got a bundle price of base game, Pets, Generations, and Seasons for $13!!
  • ADWilsonADWilson Posts: 6,755 Member
    @MiaSkywalker ~ Wow :)

    Nice bedrooms! I really like the look of the layered rugs. The pattern on the bedding is pretty... love the flecks of blue throughout the green. The wood sculpture/divider next to the twin bed is a nice touch and one I never thought of doing before now.

    Bathroom: If tiling, I tend to use the smaller tile as a backsplash in the kitchen and more often than not, the larger tile in bathrooms. You can continue playing with colors if you'd like or you can go with the scheme shown in the 2nd picture (blue and green with a 3rd color that might be light green or a cream color, can't really tell).

    Upgrading: I think my were will be a handy fellow so please just upgrade things to fireproof and leave the rest for him to do. It has been quite some time since I upgraded anything (current legacy family is on the 7th generation with the 8th generation heir having been born).

    The view... oh my! BEAUTIFUL in all directions!!! I want a cabin like this for myself :mrgreen:
  • ADWilsonADWilson Posts: 6,755 Member
    @MiaSkywalker just got a bundle price of base game, Pets, Generations, and Seasons for $13!!

    Does this mean I can add things from Pets, Generation and Seasons to your build? I'm thinking buy mode items... not playing around with trying to teach myself how to use seasonal markers at this point in time.

    So... sitting here looking at the open space... ideas began to percolate and I'm going to do some rearranging so I can fit in the workshop classroom (basement!) ~ preschool classroom (formerly known as generic on the 1st floor) ~ student lockers/cubbies will be in the hallways ~ student lounge (not quite, but am taking part of the library space and turning it into small study rooms and maybe make a reading circle) ~ computer lab/journalism classroom (formerly generic on the 2nd floor) ~ teacher's lounge (formerly big open space).

    That is unless I come up with something else while doing this doing ;)
  • creativemetaphorcreativemetaphor Posts: 1,543 Member
    @ADWilson Not quite yet, I want to make sure a/ that the steam purchase *will* translate to origin, and b/ that I ccan even run them all at th same time. I might have to pick and choose. Will let you know.

    And :lol: the rearrangement sounds fun!
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    edited February 2017
    @MiaSkywalker just got a bundle price of base game, Pets, Generations, and Seasons for $13!!
    Yay! I really hope you can translate those over into Origin. Heathermione got all of her Sims 3 stuff through Steam a while back, and was able to translate it over. She said it goes one direction (Steam->Origin) but not the reverse. But since that was a couple of years ago, I just don't know if it still holds true. I hope it does!

    What I've found is that if I hold back on the CC, I can use all the store stuff and EPs/SPs. I do have a very powerful computer, however. (Mods don't seem to take the same amount of RAM as CC, which is why I differentiate between the two. To me, a mod is something that changes game play, and CC is something cosmetic.)
    ADWilson wrote: »
    @MiaSkywalker ~ Wow :)

    Nice bedrooms! I really like the look of the layered rugs. The pattern on the bedding is pretty... love the flecks of blue throughout the green. The wood sculpture/divider next to the twin bed is a nice touch and one I never thought of doing before now.

    Bathroom: If tiling, I tend to use the smaller tile as a backsplash in the kitchen and more often than not, the larger tile in bathrooms. You can continue playing with colors if you'd like or you can go with the scheme shown in the 2nd picture (blue and green with a 3rd color that might be light green or a cream color, can't really tell).

    Upgrading: I think my were will be a handy fellow so please just upgrade things to fireproof and leave the rest for him to do. It has been quite some time since I upgraded anything (current legacy family is on the 7th generation with the 8th generation heir having been born).

    The view... oh my! BEAUTIFUL in all directions!!! I want a cabin like this for myself :mrgreen:
    Yeah, Fireproof is an absolute necessity. I found that out the hard way, when I was playing a house with a fireplace that hadn't been upgraded, and the room caught on fire! Geez, you know, things don't catch on fire QUITE as frequently in RL as they do in Sims! My testing witch has both a handiness of 10, and a spellcasting of 10, so I can upgrade anything I want. :) You can still get the upgrade credit for fireproof, if, when doing the handiness achievement, you change the upgrade to one of the others, then change it back to fireproof. Then, of course, if you ever get the Fireproof Home LTR, you can always change the fireplace to something else.

    I know what you mean about the views! The great thing in S3 as compared to S4 is that the views in S4 are flat and fake. The views in S3 come from real landscaping features built in to the neighborhood. EA did a really good job on HS! I hadn't realized how good, until I was taking these shots. :) I'm probably going to have to look at the scenery in some of the other worlds as well. I bet it's just as breathtaking in DV and AS. :)

    I think I'm going to remove the bathroom I had put next to the front door. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do with that area yet, but I really don't think that with this small of a home that they need more than one bathroom. Although there ARE two bedrooms, and room enough to sleep four, it probably wouldn't really be used that way for a while. (And by that time, one or more of your Sims would have a Steel Bladder, right? Mine always do.)

    ETA: I forgot to mention - the sculpture on the other side of the bunk bed is actually pragmatic. I learned on a forum (and confirmed through testing) that when you have a bunk bed, your Sims will climb to the top bunk THROUGH A WALL. You can prevent this if you place something against the other side of the wall or between the bed and the wall in the room where the bed resides, which then forces your Sim to climb to the top bunk only from the side you want them to. Those dividers are useful for that, as they don't take much space, and give you an environment boost as well. :)

    I've told you before, I'm pragmatic to the point of OCD at times. This is one of those times. :)
    Post edited by MiaSkywalker on
  • ADWilsonADWilson Posts: 6,755 Member
    Not quite yet, I want to make sure a/ that the steam purchase *will* translate to origin, and b/ that I ccan even run them all at th same time. I might have to pick and choose. Will let you know.

    And :lol: the rearrangement sounds fun!

    Okay, will wait for the green light from you before adding anything from those packs and continue working on classroom placements today. So glad I ran ideas by you because I'm liking these rearrangements :)
  • ADWilsonADWilson Posts: 6,755 Member
    Yeah, Fireproof is an absolute necessity. I found that out the hard way, when I was playing a house with a fireplace that hadn't been upgraded, and the room caught on fire! Geez, you know, things don't catch on fire QUITE as frequently in RL as they do in Sims! My testing witch has both a handiness of 10, and a spellcasting of 10, so I can upgrade anything I want. :) You can still get the upgrade credit for fireproof, if, when doing the handiness achievement, you change the upgrade to one of the others, then change it back to fireproof. Then, of course, if you ever get the Fireproof Home LTR, you can always change the fireplace to something else.

    I know what you mean about the views! The great thing in S3 as compared to S4 is that the views in S4 are flat and fake. The views in S3 come from real landscaping features built in to the neighborhood. EA did a really good job on HS! I hadn't realized how good, until I was taking these shots. :) I'm probably going to have to look at the scenery in some of the other worlds as well. I bet it's just as breathtaking in DV and AS. :)

    I think I'm going to remove the bathroom I had put next to the front door. I'm not entirely sure what I'll do with that area yet, but I really don't think that with this small of a home that they need more than one bathroom. Although there ARE two bedrooms, and room enough to sleep four, it probably wouldn't really be used that way for a while. (And by that time, one or more of your Sims would have a Steel Bladder, right? Mine always do.)

    I've been lucky to not have fires happen, unless sims eat stuff that has the ghost chili in it. Oooh... haven't played a witch in a long time so maybe another starter will have one of those ;)

    I do like the views in 3, but haven't had too much of an issue with 4 as I don't compare it to the other versions.

    One bathroom is fine for now. I will probably start off with just the were and play a solo sim for a while since I usually quickly pair them up and get a family going. It might be a nice change of pace to play differently :)

    Would you believe I don't get Dirt Defiant, Hardly Hungry or Steel Bladder? I'm so mean to my poor sims... making them work, do chores, etc. LOL
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    @ADWilson:

    Oh! One more question. (I keep meaning to ask but keep forgetting.) Do you want me to change the color of the curtains in the main room from white?
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    edited February 2017
    ADWilson wrote: »
    Would you believe I don't get Dirt Defiant, Hardly Hungry or Steel Bladder? I'm so mean to my poor sims... making them work, do chores, etc. LOL
    Haha! Well, I often end up with LTR points to burn. You'll notice the Alchemist cabinet in the attic; it's full to the brim of all the potions my testing Sim had on her. Among others you'll find Wish Enhancement potions. I think those normally double how many LTR points you get per wish; I've modded it so it gives 10x. *coughs* Yeah, I do like cheating, if I'm the one making the cheats. :) (It's a hacking thing. When I was in college, we used to use a hex editor to hack saves in games that we played, just to figure out the code. That's what hacking used to be, and I was a hacker back in the day. Now hacking refers to something completely different, but old school people like myself always thought of ourselves as hackers back then. If I'm not the one making the cheats, I rarely use them. It's all about the fun/challenge of changing the game myself. :) )

    Speaking of that cabinet... I've also included in it one of each type of plant (except herbs) of Perfect quality, for the time when a later generation might want to learn gardening. There are four each of eggs, cheese, patties, steaks, life fruits, and flame fruits. There are various fruits/vegetables in the refrigerator of Excellent quality (that's the quality that the harvest stands provide), although no meats. You will definitely want some meat for your were; they like to eat raw meat all the time. In fact, you might NOT use any of the veggies in the fridge; you might find it fun to not bother with the cooking skill with him, but just have him eat raw meat all the time. It's a little more costly overall, but weres get some nice buffs from eating raw meat. :)

    Weres are fun; you can have them run off and find collectibles all the time. I find them particularly useful in a household of two or more; you can focus on the other Sim while you have your were run off and collect stuff; he will gain in his lycanthropy skill (iirc) along with his collecting skill while he's at it. I have some mods that make it so the other supernatural types don't freak out when he howls at the moon, but humans still get the terrified reaction. It's always a lot of fun to terrify the neighbors. :naughty:

    There are some other Easter eggs throughout the house. Some you can see in the pictures; others won't be quite so obvious. :)
  • ADWilsonADWilson Posts: 6,755 Member
    Oh! One more question. (I keep meaning to ask but keep forgetting.) Do you want me to change the color of the curtains in the main room from white?

    How funny! I saw that the curtains are white, but the color really didn't register as I was busy admiring everything else. Hmm... maybe something cream/tan/beige so that it doesn't stand out like white does. White gets dirty or yellows in rl so I can't imagine Mr Were wishing to fuss with that nonsense ;) lol

    Oh my! Potions and plantings and Easter eggs... sweet!!! Thank YOU :)

    Getting really excited to play this... haven't had a were in a really long time and the things you mentioned sound fun to do. Terrifying the neighbors indeed >:)
  • MiaSkywalkerMiaSkywalker Posts: 3,436 Member
    ADWilson wrote: »
    Oh! One more question. (I keep meaning to ask but keep forgetting.) Do you want me to change the color of the curtains in the main room from white?

    How funny! I saw that the curtains are white, but the color really didn't register as I was busy admiring everything else. Hmm... maybe something cream/tan/beige so that it doesn't stand out like white does. White gets dirty or yellows in rl so I can't imagine Mr Were wishing to fuss with that nonsense ;) lol

    Oh my! Potions and plantings and Easter eggs... sweet!!! Thank YOU :)

    Getting really excited to play this... haven't had a were in a really long time and the things you mentioned sound fun to do. Terrifying the neighbors indeed >:)
    By Easter eggs, I don't mean *literal* Easter eggs. I mean fun little things that when you come across it you'll say, "What's this? How neat!" At least, I hope so. :) I tend to put things like that in my builds, fun little things people can find while they play. :) (Of course, they'd need the right EP/SP/store items for them to show up.)

    I have yet another question for you; do you have any suggestions about which mailbox I should use? I have just left the default one in for now, but it's... boring. I'd like something more rustic, but I can't think what would work best. Any suggestions?
  • ADWilsonADWilson Posts: 6,755 Member
    By Easter eggs, I don't mean *literal* Easter eggs. I mean fun little things that when you come across it you'll say, "What's this? How neat!" At least, I hope so. :) I tend to put things like that in my builds, fun little things people can find while they play. :) (Of course, they'd need the right EP/SP/store items for them to show up.)

    I have yet another question for you; do you have any suggestions about which mailbox I should use? I have just left the default one in for now, but it's... boring. I'd like something more rustic, but I can't think what would work best. Any suggestions?

    Yes, I knew what you meant by Easter eggs :) To be honest, I totally forgot about the ones found during springtime at the festival since I'm currently playing Riverview and that festival lot gives routing errors when I try to hunt eggs. It even messes up when I try to get a group to the photo booth without sending sims to a spot nearby.

    Mailbox. Mailbox. Looking through buydebug I found one that might work with a re-color, but am not sure where it came from since it doesn't seem to be something that can be individually bought.
    Junk-Free Mailbox

    If you don't have it, there is one called modern mailbox (store item) but not sure what it came with.

    Hmm... what does the Hidden Springs one look like? Just peeked and it's not bad. So worst case scenario, just go with the default one and make it look rustic.
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