@Avatarit, thank you... That's how I felt about my grandparents trailer when they still lived close by to us until they moved about 2-3 hours away from us. But now at least by having the recreated trailer in one of my saves, I feel closer to it again even though I believe that it has been removed from the trailer park that it was in and have been sent to get destroyed as it was old and not worth trying to save at that point.
Now I do need to try to re-build my childhood home as I had lost that build when my hard drive had died on me just a few months after building it...
Hi! I was wondering do you guys know how to resize objects like in sims 4 like I know you can do ALT to move the object outside of the normal blocks but how do i make objects bigger, smaller, move them around on the wall, etc
One of the things I enjoy the most in TS3 is the building. I have many ideas for lots I want to use in my game, I have many objects to choose from that would fit nicely together (at least in my mind), but it's like the building from scratch does not turn out as expected....
I feel like I could really use some tips / techniques for the whole building and decorating process.
I see some amazing creations out there, obiously it's a matter of talent too, but I think something more "structured" could help me advance.
Could you share your process of building? Or any general tips and advices? Your input would be very appriciated.
Give your skills time to grow.
Don't tackle a job that is bigger than your skill base and expect to succeed.
As many have said ... Keep routing issues in mind (give your Sims enough space).
Look around in the Creative Corner and see what works in certain builds.
Ask the builder if you like something and don't know how it was done.
When starting ... Don't get overwhelmed by all the choices and options.
Keep it simple until you learn how to use more complicated patterns, textures and devices for building.
It is better to build a simple, awesome outhouse ... Than a terribly ugly mansion.
Hi! I was wondering do you guys know how to resize objects like in sims 4 like I know you can do ALT to move the object outside of the normal blocks but how do i make objects bigger, smaller, move them around on the wall, etc
That was something new added to Sims 4. It doesn't work in Sims 3 unfortunately.
You can use ALT+click-drag to move pictures higher or lower on the wall; likewise with display shelves. But the resizing thing is a Sims 4 command which unfortunately doesn't work in Sims 3. Believe me. I'd love to have the wall-TV grow to enormous sizes.
Post edited by Nikkei_Simmer on
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
Many simmers build for humans. I do not. I build for sims.
I don't build closets cause sims don't use closets. In general I don't build rooms that sims will not use.
I study the paths that sims follow and try to arrange furniture and appliances so that different paths do not cross ( cuts down on the number of sims' collisions and all the foot tapping and other wasted time sims spend trying to go where they want). The kitchen is the primary room I use this principle on to avoid the crossing of the "food prep path" with the "clean up the dishes path" with the "get leftovers from the frig path" with the "just passing through to get outside path".
I don't decorate or add "clutter" if it does not have an environmental value. If the environmental value for a room reaches a certain number sims in that room get a positive moodlet - decorated (can't remember the value). If the room has a higher number they get a nicely decorated moodlet. And higher yet sims will get the beautifully decorated moodlet, worth 40 points. Getting positive moodlets helps a sim accumulate happiness reward points. I try to have the bedrooms generate the beautifully decorated moodlet because sims spend so much time sleeping. I also like to build great rooms or combo kitchen/dining rooms because there are so many things there to add to the environmental value.
I like to use the furniture and appliances that will generate the highest levels of comfort, hygiene, energy, etc for my sims that they can afford even if it does not look as good as a cheaper model.
In general I try to build what will fit into the town or the neighborhood.
Auto-roof almost always creates plum looking roofs.
Someone like me! Lol this is what always puts me off of downloading houses build by players. Even though they look great, they waste soo much space with stuff sims can't use.
Tips from me would be to put furniture down to measure the size needed for rooms. Start by laying out the floor. Try using house plans online if you want to build a specific style.
Use MOO to place decorations but make sure everything is functional. I only use MOO when I went to place decor toys in a pile or decor that don't fit as nicely as they could.
I did a room today but don't have pictures right now.
Many simmers build for humans. I do not. I build for sims.
I don't build closets cause sims don't use closets. In general I don't build rooms that sims will not use.
I study the paths that sims follow and try to arrange furniture and appliances so that different paths do not cross ( cuts down on the number of sims' collisions and all the foot tapping and other wasted time sims spend trying to go where they want). The kitchen is the primary room I use this principle on to avoid the crossing of the "food prep path" with the "clean up the dishes path" with the "get leftovers from the frig path" with the "just passing through to get outside path".
I don't decorate or add "clutter" if it does not have an environmental value. If the environmental value for a room reaches a certain number sims in that room get a positive moodlet - decorated (can't remember the value). If the room has a higher number they get a nicely decorated moodlet. And higher yet sims will get the beautifully decorated moodlet, worth 40 points. Getting positive moodlets helps a sim accumulate happiness reward points. I try to have the bedrooms generate the beautifully decorated moodlet because sims spend so much time sleeping. I also like to build great rooms or combo kitchen/dining rooms because there are so many things there to add to the environmental value.
I like to use the furniture and appliances that will generate the highest levels of comfort, hygiene, energy, etc for my sims that they can afford even if it does not look as good as a cheaper model.
In general I try to build what will fit into the town or the neighborhood.
Auto-roof almost always creates plum looking roofs.
These are the ideals I stick to when building as well. Sometimes however, I use clutter, mainly if I am building something post apocalyptic.
Most of the time though I just build mainly for function and try to make things look attractive through the use of colour and pattern.
I also always avoid using and downloading anything that has used CFE. I have had some dreadful experiences with builds that make use of this cheat, and sometimes it has been clear that the builder really didn't know what they were doing at all.
The amount of routing errors & fails, lag and what not caused by some of those builds was incredible, and I now always give anything that has used CFE a wide berth.
Not to mention that when I see a build that has used it, and the wall coverings are mangled off in a different direction than the rest of the wall.. well, it looks ugly and unattractive.
I build with simplicity. None of my houses or community lots look utterly amazing in design, but they all function with no problems, while trying to look homey and welcoming.
Thank you all!
Question, I guess MOO=move objects on, right?
What's CFE?
Moo is move objects on
CFE is ConstrainFloorElevation. It is a dangerous one to use. It should be True all the time but if you make it false you can do a lot of amazing things. If you made it false and forget to set it to True Sims will sink below the ground.
> @ciane said: > kalabenson wrote: » > > Hi! I was wondering do you guys know how to resize objects like in sims 4 like I know you can do ALT to move the object outside of the normal blocks but how do i make objects bigger, smaller, move them around on the wall, etc > > > > > That was something new added to Sims 4. It doesn't work in Sims 3 unfortunately.
thank you guys for your help <3 and 🐸🐸🐸🐸 i really wish we could do so in sims 3... is there a mod for it or is it just a thing id have to live with :// xD
On the first page, I saw it was asked about deciding on lot size. If you are really not sure about lot size it is best to start on the smaller side of what you think you will need. You can always move your lot to a bigger lot if needed, but you can't move a bigger lot to a smaller lot. For me, I usually have an idea of what I want to build before hand and then kind of map my lot out into grid as below.
This particular lot was a 50X50. I used the white tile to mark the boundaries of the lot and then by counting tiles determined the center and marked the center of the lot in white tiles as well. The red tiles represent the building area for my house. That way I was able to be sure my house was mostly centered on my lot and there was enough room for what I wanted in the back and front of the house (in this case, a greenhouse, Gazebo and family cemetery with a front yard with raised terrain and a foggy pond.
Here is a few more WIP (work in progress) pictures of this particular build to the finished build.
I also like to build the shell and then work on the inside (figuring out what rooms I want and placing them). That is easier for me, although I have seen videos where people have rooms essentially placed by using objects in advance of building the shell.
Other tips off the top of my head would be:
1. Auto roof is fine when starting out, but you will get better results learning to do the roofing yourself.
2. Don't forget the landscaping. Framing your house with trees and such can make a huge difference and don't forget the terrain paint to add realism.
3. Learn the building cheats. MoveObjects on is pretty much a must for really nice looking landscaping. Great for furniture placement too
4. The fog emitter found in buydebug can be placed to create some nice effects, such as fog. There are literally hundreds of different animation effects the emitter is capable of (you can make waterfalls with it, custom fireplaces and more).
5. Master Create a style. A brilliant tool that will really make your interiors come alive. With it you can mix and match different sets that you wouldn't even think go together. The only gothics object here are the windows and the curtain. I used create a style to make a rustic gothic kitchen
6. Playtest, playtest, playtest, especially if you are using cheats. I always play with a sim (or family) on my lot from the very beginning when the lot is totally empty to the finished product. Pay attention to routing, invite sims over for a party etc., If you have used MOO to place furniture make your sim use it, see if they can upgrade it etc.
Edit:
7. Oh my, I forgot about lighting! Lighting makes a huge difference on the interiors! You can change the colors of the lights. I tend to use a combination of white light and flame. You can also adjust intensity of the lights. I almost always make use of the custom setting so I can set my own intensity. Intensity in the custom setting allows for settings any where on a scale from 0 to 5 (i stay in the 0.01 to 1.5 range). Also, if have a dark area and don't want to place a regular light or lamp, buydebug has invisible lights with the same customizability as regular lights).
I learned to build starter homes on very large lots as my sims would quickly run out of room on a smaller lot if I chose to use a small lot.It works better if they have a large lot to begin with as they would only need to expand the house when they need a bigger house instead of moving to another house.
I also like using EA worlds for building as it also means being able to make a family active to route test the build before it's used in other games.
@Avatarit here is a little tutorial on customizing lights
1. If you are in live mode, you can simply click on the light.
2. If you are in build mode, hold down Ctrl + Shift and click on the light
3. A menu like this will pop up.
4. To set color, click on set color and another menu will pop up.
5. Choose the color you want, and then this menu will come up.
6. Choose which lights you want to apply the color to. I always just cho0se "this light" to apply it to just that one light. Lights in my rooms are not always one color.
7. Or if you wanted your own color for a light, instead of selecting a color, choose "custom color"
8. When custom color is chosen and you have told it what lights to apply the custom color to, you will get a pop up like this where you will enter the RGB code for the color.
9. How do you get RGB codes? If you have a photo editor like Photoshop, paint or Gimp, you can create your own swatch and it will tell you the RGB code.
10. Setting light intensities: Click the light if in live mode. Hold Ctrl + Shift and click the light if you are in build mode to get to this menu:
11. Select "set intensity." You will get a menu that looks like this:
12. Select the intensity you want. If you don't want EA's dim, normal or bright setting, Select "custom intensity." You will get a pop like this:
13. Select which lights you want to apply the setting to. If you have selected "custom intensity" you will then get a pop up that looks like this:
14. enter a value anywhere from 0.0 to 5. Here is a guide to the scale to give you an idea of where EA's Dim, normal and bright fall on it.
Dim = 0.6 on the scale. If you want dimmer than that input anything from 0.01 to 0.5
Normal = 1.0. If you want just a little dimmer or brighter than normal enter anything between 0.7 and 1.6
Bright = 1.7 If you want brighter than bright enter anything between 1.8 and 5. I've not used anything higher than 2.0, so I don't know how bright a 5 is.
I am by no means a gifted builder with a huge following. I build only for myself and usually build using house designs from books or the internet. As someone else already said, 2.5 ft per square is a good measure. However, sometimes the half foot makes it tough and I round to 3 ft per square. You can usually eyeball it and see where a fudge will completely ruin the layout or where it is helpful. Graph paper is your friend. Obviously you don't need to add all the closets and utility rooms in a sim house, you frequently have to add in walls to hide fireplaces and get creative with stairs. It is easier to tweak a design on paper than in the middle of a build. I will draw out my houses while watching television. :-)
I place a tile every tenth space around the edges to mark off the lot and also mark the center of the lot before I start building.
Frequently, on a new game, I will buy the lot and put down the garage and have my sims live in the garage while they build the wealth to continue building. The ground floor may be built all at once or in stages. I usually incorporate the basement early on since it is such a pain to add later, but it remains not much bigger than the flight of stairs until much further along. Stories and landscaping are added as money permits.
A lot of good advice here, I especially agree with @cwaddell. Build for sims, not humans. Just be observant of how sims tend to route & try to avoid problematic arrangements. You can get pretty fair-sized households to work in rather smallish spaces if you're mindful of your arrangements.
Also I will add this mod --> Blueprint Maker.
Great time saver for trying house layouts etc. instead of building a room over & over just make a BP of it & try it in different positions!
Comments
Now I do need to try to re-build my childhood home as I had lost that build when my hard drive had died on me just a few months after building it...
http://store.thesims3.com/myWishlist.html?persona=lisasc360
My stories on this site:
https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/991317/my-sims-stories/p1?new=1
Give your skills time to grow.
Don't tackle a job that is bigger than your skill base and expect to succeed.
As many have said ... Keep routing issues in mind (give your Sims enough space).
Look around in the Creative Corner and see what works in certain builds.
Ask the builder if you like something and don't know how it was done.
When starting ... Don't get overwhelmed by all the choices and options.
Keep it simple until you learn how to use more complicated patterns, textures and devices for building.
It is better to build a simple, awesome outhouse ... Than a terribly ugly mansion.
.
That was something new added to Sims 4. It doesn't work in Sims 3 unfortunately.
Store Install
Unlocked Stencils
random legacy
Always "River McIrish" ...and maybe some Bebe Hart. ~innocent expression~
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
Someone like me! Lol this is what always puts me off of downloading houses build by players. Even though they look great, they waste soo much space with stuff sims can't use.
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
Use MOO to place decorations but make sure everything is functional. I only use MOO when I went to place decor toys in a pile or decor that don't fit as nicely as they could.
I did a room today but don't have pictures right now.
complete forum tutorial
Thank you @MDianaSanders for halloween-fying Golluma
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
These are the ideals I stick to when building as well. Sometimes however, I use clutter, mainly if I am building something post apocalyptic.
Most of the time though I just build mainly for function and try to make things look attractive through the use of colour and pattern.
I also always avoid using and downloading anything that has used CFE. I have had some dreadful experiences with builds that make use of this cheat, and sometimes it has been clear that the builder really didn't know what they were doing at all.
The amount of routing errors & fails, lag and what not caused by some of those builds was incredible, and I now always give anything that has used CFE a wide berth.
Not to mention that when I see a build that has used it, and the wall coverings are mangled off in a different direction than the rest of the wall.. well, it looks ugly and unattractive.
I build with simplicity. None of my houses or community lots look utterly amazing in design, but they all function with no problems, while trying to look homey and welcoming.
PoppySims Archive
InnaLisa Pose Archive
Devolution of Sims - a once customisable open world sandbox which has become a DLC Party catalog in a shoebox
I ♡ Pudding
Question, I guess MOO=move objects on, right?
What's CFE?
Moo is move objects on
CFE is ConstrainFloorElevation. It is a dangerous one to use. It should be True all the time but if you make it false you can do a lot of amazing things. If you made it false and forget to set it to True Sims will sink below the ground.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuW44b3uCMtCSaq4gwC8EZg
> kalabenson wrote: »
>
> Hi! I was wondering do you guys know how to resize objects like in sims 4 like I know you can do ALT to move the object outside of the normal blocks but how do i make objects bigger, smaller, move them around on the wall, etc
>
>
>
>
> That was something new added to Sims 4. It doesn't work in Sims 3 unfortunately.
thank you guys for your help <3 and 🐸🐸🐸🐸 i really wish we could do so in sims 3... is there a mod for it or is it just a thing id have to live with :// xD
Store Install
Unlocked Stencils
random legacy
This particular lot was a 50X50. I used the white tile to mark the boundaries of the lot and then by counting tiles determined the center and marked the center of the lot in white tiles as well. The red tiles represent the building area for my house. That way I was able to be sure my house was mostly centered on my lot and there was enough room for what I wanted in the back and front of the house (in this case, a greenhouse, Gazebo and family cemetery with a front yard with raised terrain and a foggy pond.
Here is a few more WIP (work in progress) pictures of this particular build to the finished build.
I also like to build the shell and then work on the inside (figuring out what rooms I want and placing them). That is easier for me, although I have seen videos where people have rooms essentially placed by using objects in advance of building the shell.
Other tips off the top of my head would be:
1. Auto roof is fine when starting out, but you will get better results learning to do the roofing yourself.
2. Don't forget the landscaping. Framing your house with trees and such can make a huge difference and don't forget the terrain paint to add realism.
3. Learn the building cheats. MoveObjects on is pretty much a must for really nice looking landscaping. Great for furniture placement too
4. The fog emitter found in buydebug can be placed to create some nice effects, such as fog. There are literally hundreds of different animation effects the emitter is capable of (you can make waterfalls with it, custom fireplaces and more).
5. Master Create a style. A brilliant tool that will really make your interiors come alive. With it you can mix and match different sets that you wouldn't even think go together. The only gothics object here are the windows and the curtain. I used create a style to make a rustic gothic kitchen
6. Playtest, playtest, playtest, especially if you are using cheats. I always play with a sim (or family) on my lot from the very beginning when the lot is totally empty to the finished product. Pay attention to routing, invite sims over for a party etc., If you have used MOO to place furniture make your sim use it, see if they can upgrade it etc.
Edit:
7. Oh my, I forgot about lighting! Lighting makes a huge difference on the interiors! You can change the colors of the lights. I tend to use a combination of white light and flame. You can also adjust intensity of the lights. I almost always make use of the custom setting so I can set my own intensity. Intensity in the custom setting allows for settings any where on a scale from 0 to 5 (i stay in the 0.01 to 1.5 range). Also, if have a dark area and don't want to place a regular light or lamp, buydebug has invisible lights with the same customizability as regular lights).
I also like using EA worlds for building as it also means being able to make a family active to route test the build before it's used in other games.
by the way how do I customize the lighting?
Thanks all again, I'm reading every comment and you all have great inputs!!
1. If you are in live mode, you can simply click on the light.
2. If you are in build mode, hold down Ctrl + Shift and click on the light
3. A menu like this will pop up.
4. To set color, click on set color and another menu will pop up.
5. Choose the color you want, and then this menu will come up.
6. Choose which lights you want to apply the color to. I always just cho0se "this light" to apply it to just that one light. Lights in my rooms are not always one color.
7. Or if you wanted your own color for a light, instead of selecting a color, choose "custom color"
8. When custom color is chosen and you have told it what lights to apply the custom color to, you will get a pop up like this where you will enter the RGB code for the color.
9. How do you get RGB codes? If you have a photo editor like Photoshop, paint or Gimp, you can create your own swatch and it will tell you the RGB code.
10. Setting light intensities: Click the light if in live mode. Hold Ctrl + Shift and click the light if you are in build mode to get to this menu:
11. Select "set intensity." You will get a menu that looks like this:
12. Select the intensity you want. If you don't want EA's dim, normal or bright setting, Select "custom intensity." You will get a pop like this:
13. Select which lights you want to apply the setting to. If you have selected "custom intensity" you will then get a pop up that looks like this:
14. enter a value anywhere from 0.0 to 5. Here is a guide to the scale to give you an idea of where EA's Dim, normal and bright fall on it.
Hope this helps.
I place a tile every tenth space around the edges to mark off the lot and also mark the center of the lot before I start building.
Frequently, on a new game, I will buy the lot and put down the garage and have my sims live in the garage while they build the wealth to continue building. The ground floor may be built all at once or in stages. I usually incorporate the basement early on since it is such a pain to add later, but it remains not much bigger than the flight of stairs until much further along. Stories and landscaping are added as money permits.
Yes indeed!
Also I will add this mod --> Blueprint Maker.
Great time saver for trying house layouts etc. instead of building a room over & over just make a BP of it & try it in different positions!
Enjoy!