Size of build mode square answerred by original The SIms

Oldeseadogge

To pick up from a post recently closed by a moderator...

Was motivated by the discussion to get my TS1 going again as I remembered it told you building areas. Each sim has as one of its data panels what it thinks of the lot, which includes the size of the building(s) in square feet. Went into the Newbie household and once finished with the tutorial built a simple 1 square addition. Then went back into live mode and checked the panel. The house was 9 square feet larger, so 3 feet per side of the squares.

Someone in that discussion mentioned the devs said the area is 1 square meter. This makes sense with the TS1 figure as that is the closest ready to hand metric equivalent to 1 square yard/9 square feet. So, thanks to the first version of the game, we know the dimensions we have to work with in planning our buildings regardless of which system we use.

nerdfashion

This is super helpful! Thanks for figuring that out.

thecatsred

I think this can work really well for smaller houses, though larger ones can get out of hand fast.

The "method" I've used to recreate / work off of RL floorplans is I base things on some of the furniture, knowing how many squares they take up in game, and start "measuring" based off what I know. This helps keep the house in a scale for Sims, while also keeping the ratio of the rooms consistent.

So I look at things more like this:



Here is a base house I just grabbed offline. I know that a stove and sink are both 1 square. I know each counter is 1 square. I know the laundry stuff is 1 square. I know tubs are 2x1, toilets are 1, double doors are 2x1, fireplaces are 2x1, and so on. I mark these off either in an art program, or just mentally.

Once I get a feel for one room, also taking into account how sims move (needing .5 space around things) and the flow of buildings, I do this:



Once I'm in game I can decide if I want to push or pull rooms around a little to make them bigger or smaller, but take the dining for instance - 5x5 is lovely for a cozy dining room. A table is 1x3 normally, with chairs on both sides it's a 2.5/3x3 - giving 2 squares of space around each side of the table for decor or walking room.

The bedroom is 7 wide, so a 2x3 bed will fit in there nicely, with room for many other goodies. That 3 wide window pop out on top can have a bed right in the middle of it. It feels sims-scale, though there's always freedom to move things around. Even the stairs scaled in appropriately once I got a feel for the kitchen space. (normally where I start, or a bathroom!)

This is the easier method for me because I'm very visual, and I'm terrible at math. So this helps me get a quick handle on scale without worrying about weird numbers at all.

Happy building!

Oldeseadogge

Lucky you, being able to see things that way! About the only time I can do that close to successfully is guesstimating the size of actual buildings from outside, taking a standard window as 1 square and going from there. When working from plans I nearly always use period Victorian, and they almost always are in feet only, say 20 x 18 or whatever. I often go with 2.5 feet per square side, which works reasonably well most of the time and provides a larger house with more sim movement room.

Oldeseadogge

nerdfashion wrote: »

This is super helpful! Thanks for figuring that out.

Most welcome!