I dont understand the MOO hate TBH. Are people really using it in a way that affects builds so badly?
I always use it and mainly for decorative touches (yes...that means clutter!). Things like putting stuff in corners of rooms/tables or maybe resting a picture on a fireplace for example. I just dont like the showhome look where it doesnt look lived in.
Having said that some builds on the gallery are purely there because the builder wanted to share their 'art'. Mostly you can tell which ones would be playable and which would be a PITA. Personally I have an entire High Street with multiple shops and venue types (including a bank with a heist being planned in the flat above!!LOL) on the Gallery which would clearly not be suitable for an average family to live in. Although I have moved various sims into the flats and venues and it all works fine.
Also I always make sure I have a sim wander around my builds and check pathing before I post them and if Im going to be restricting access to an item (chair in front of a bookcase for example) then I will make sure there is still another useable version somewhere in the build.
Just wanted to say that whilst decor colour choices etc is petty to complain about, hole in the ceiling are a major issue that can kill your sim if you have seasons. I remember having to fix James Turners witch house because missing ceiling was freezing my sims.
Just wanted to say that whilst decor colour choices etc is petty to complain about, hole in the ceiling are a major issue that can kill your sim if you have seasons. I remember having to fix James Turners witch house because missing ceiling was freezing my sims.
Also note that I freely admit that the decor colour (I love the British spelling, btw) is purely a matter of personal taste.
Just wanted to say that whilst decor colour choices etc is petty to complain about, hole in the ceiling are a major issue that can kill your sim if you have seasons. I remember having to fix James Turners witch house because missing ceiling was freezing my sims.
Also note that I freely admit that the decor colour (I love the British spelling, btw) is purely a matter of personal taste.
Oh yes, I wasn't talking about you in particular I often think when I upload my build, every one is going to hate the colour choices lol. I've started leaving a room or two empty to make it easier for people to change inside as I'm sure every thing get deleted.
@trophy it doesn't matter if it's a house premades live in; it is still impractical to use and it still has a large number of the exact things she harps about when listing "EAs bad builds" and stuff on her channel.
The TV bench instead of a dresser for one, three HUGE bathrooms, the platforms that literally only exist as flower pedestals, taking up play area. And other issues.
It is a beautiful house, but it is better as a post card than as a house to actually play in.
I removed my comment because I thought why bother? In the moment I wrote that I was so discouraged by this thread and frustrated by the nit picking. Why not upload one of your builds so we can see what we are doing so wrong.
The thing that really annoys me the most is the amount of lights and inside columns builders use in their builds.
Ugh, columns drive me crazy. I don't understand why people are so obsessed with them.
IRL we don't have lights brighter than over an autopsy table on a TV thriller in every room.
This is what a normal IRL livingroom looks like. You decorate with lights as much as everything else (stock photo borrowed from the Internet):
I, for one, use the same things in the game. I admit part of it has to do with how good your graphic card is; some very low end cards cannot render gradual lighting and shadows correctly and then you either have PITCH BLACK or DECENT and nothing else. But.
Ooh, yes, the indoor columns are a pain, it takes forever to figure out why something won't place correctly. lol
I have to disagree with you there about what IRL living rooms look like, I don't sit in the dark and I hated it when the housing decorating trend started removing overhead lights and going with 'accent' lighting in living rooms, you can't see squat and it makes doing anything aside from watching tv or staring at the phone difficult. I work on different projects out in my living room and for the most part, they require better lighting. This is why I like good lighting in my game too. lol
People don't really care about pathfinding in the game but a lot of it is on EAxis, the game doesn't make sense to start with. Why do paintings have footprints ? Or why is the small clutter slot so rarely used ? So people start using moveobjects to make it make sense, and they never stop.
I mostly use Alt and F5 to decorate, but it's useless in the face of "forbidden" things like place pictures in a staircase.
I care about pathfinding enough to turn it off afterwards, but when painting a wall at the other side of the house manages to delete the items placed with MOO, you get discouraged easily.
People don't really care about pathfinding in the game but a lot of it is on EAxis, the game doesn't make sense to start with. Why do paintings have footprints ? Or why is the small clutter slot so rarely used ? So people start using moveobjects to make it make sense, and they never stop.
I mostly use Alt and F5 to decorate, but it's useless in the face of "forbidden" things like place pictures in a staircase.
I care about pathfinding enough to turn it off afterwards, but when painting a wall at the other side of the house manages to delete the items placed with MOO, you get discouraged easily.
Exactly. There are a lot of things that either are weird choices by the devs (why are some things smaller than others not fitting on small shelves, while bigger things are? That must be a decision, but I cannot fathom why?
As for paintings... I fully understand that all paintings that have a frame thick enough to clip has a footprint. I really have no issue with the fact that you can't put a thick golden framed portrait behind (as in actually behind) a dresser. But there are so many many paintings that could just be re-coded into posters or decals.
I understand the use of MOO for these things. I do it myself. But again, there is a huge difference between using MOO to get a potted plant on a bookshelf, and MOO to make a solid counter out of two tables, or to force a doorframe into a space that then will bug out and you cannot use or even fix properly. Or, again, put a too low hanging lamp over a single bed so your Sim can't climb into bed...
Edit: And yes, I maintain it is always a bad idea in an official build.
The thing that really annoys me the most is the amount of lights and inside columns builders use in their builds.
Ugh, columns drive me crazy. I don't understand why people are so obsessed with them.
IRL we don't have lights brighter than over an autopsy table on a TV thriller in every room.
This is what a normal IRL livingroom looks like. You decorate with lights as much as everything else (stock photo borrowed from the Internet):
I, for one, use the same things in the game. I admit part of it has to do with how good your graphic card is; some very low end cards cannot render gradual lighting and shadows correctly and then you either have PITCH BLACK or DECENT and nothing else. But.
Ooh, yes, the indoor columns are a pain, it takes forever to figure out why something won't place correctly. lol
I have to disagree with you there about what IRL living rooms look like, I don't sit in the dark and I hated it when the housing decorating trend started removing overhead lights and going with 'accent' lighting in living rooms, you can't see squat and it makes doing anything aside from watching tv or staring at the phone difficult. I work on different projects out in my living room and for the most part, they require better lighting. This is why I like good lighting in my game too. lol
Oh, I have never been in a livingroom where the ceiling light is removed, it's just that normally it is not turned on unless you are cleaning or looking for the TV remote
@trophy it doesn't matter if it's a house premades live in; it is still impractical to use and it still has a large number of the exact things she harps about when listing "EAs bad builds" and stuff on her channel.
The TV bench instead of a dresser for one, three HUGE bathrooms, the platforms that literally only exist as flower pedestals, taking up play area. And other issues.
It is a beautiful house, but it is better as a post card than as a house to actually play in.
I removed my comment because I thought why bother? In the moment I wrote that I was so discouraged by this thread and frustrated by the nit picking. Why not upload one of your builds so we can see what we are doing so wrong.
I dont think anyone is saying that anyone's builds are terrible, I have to admit although the builds looks cool , it's not functional in live mode and it's a little bit of a pain, sometimes when you place lots you just want them to work as they should without you having too tweek it
I playtest my builds (unless I forget). I use moveobjects but mostly to place clutter (not too much or the lot can get laggy).
For restaurants, I try to keep the number of tables low (the last restaurant I made has 7 or 8 tables), and to not place them too close from one another.
Also if people don’t leave comments to tell me when there’s a problem, (even if you playtest, you can miss stuff) I can’t always know it and fix it.
"Move Objects" doesn't mean "Everything works". The problem is your Sim being able to reach it. Like the reason your Sim might not be able to use a computer is usually first and foremost because your Sim can't sit in the chair in front of it.
Prepping a list of mods to add after Infants are placed into the game. Because real life isn't 'nice'.
I was really surprised that the game-changers were allowed to use MOO for builds that were to be packaged with game packs, because of the problems it can cause I think MOO should be left up to the players after purchase.
As for the gallery uploads, I wonder if it would be possible if MOO was treated like CC where it has a ticky box that labels and flags it clearly at the menu prior to upload. That way it would be identified and more easily searched for or eliminated from search criteria.
I've seen some amazing and gorgeous builds using MOO but they can sure be troublesome or even corrupt a save too. De-MOOing a gallery build or a MOO build that came with a pack can be hit or miss success wise and it can take quite a bit of time purging it.
I'd still like to see a challenge where builders rebuild all the Sims 4 lots across all the worlds with no MOO or alt placement what so ever.
Oh, I totally understand the problems with builders overusing the MOO cheat and how it can cause all kinds of routing issues for people who download those builds. It has gotten a little out of hand with many builders who don't play the game and just want to build pretty looking lots without taking into account the play-ability of said build. It is a problem with gallery uploads and builders need to be notified of these issues so they put more importance on gameplay rather than esthetics. MOO is a useful tool, I can't imagine building anything without it... but like everything else in life, moderation is the key to success in any venture we undertake.
But what bothers me is when I see people criticize others' hard work for trivial things like holes in ceilings (a well known issue caused by the new platform tool), or "wasted space", etc etc. That type of snide disdain is uncalled for, and childishly petty. There's enough pettiness and 'us vs them' ridiculousness amidst the sims community as it is without having to fan the flames even more with this kind of garbage too.
Showing a little appreciation once in a while will encourage others to want to share. Showing disdain and contempt will only encourage them to stop sharing.
If you have no appreciation for the builds people are sharing and are too frustrated with having to move a chair or change a wall or fill a ceiling hole to better suit your own tastes and play style... then stop downloading the hard work of others and learn how to build for yourself.
People who don't build and can't be bothered to learn how are in no position to be criticizing others. Beggars can't be choosers.
But more importantly: Stop with the ❤️❤️❤️❤️ hatefest, ffs. Just. Stop.
I mean isn't that what the Sims 4 is, a dollhouse that is just pretty to look at and take pictures of? Simmers have been begging for clutter with every pack and now it is slowing down their computers. It's just like they get what they ask for. Yeah exactly it is over little things that are a easy fix. It discourages me as a builder to want to share with others and honestly start using CC instead. Until the Sims 4 starts being about gameplay well build mode is going to reflect being about CAS and clutter only. We are just seeing the side effect of it now. I've seen James and Deli stream and think they are a sweet couple. I've seen Deli criticized by her followers for not being 100% positive about a pack before too. It is just tough seeing fellow builders especially that don't have as big of a following being criticized for their work especially when Gurus encourage the use of clutter and debug items for the Spark'd challenge submissions. I'm a gameplay and builder myself but I have a full time job too and volunteer work and well don't have all the time in the world to 100% perfect every single build. There is going to be bugs especially with stairs and how Sims reset while using them. Whole routing is honestly buggy with the Sims 4 and can take several playthroughs to get it right. Why sometimes I have to go back and reupload my builds. There is one build of mine I forgot to paint a wall and still have to fix too. I'm never 100% happy with any of my builds and constantly fixing it. It is the curse of being a builder. But yes thank you for the lovely post. It is nice to be appreciated for building too. At least I can let James and Deli know a few of their followers are attacking many of their friends' builds now over minor MOO fixes.
I admit I mostly use MOO for things I know won't affect gameplay like making landscaping on areas that aren't paths and curtains and wall lighting and rugs. It's really hard with many of the clutter is super big, so having to put it on surfaces and resizing it just so Sims can walk by it. Clutter alone can cause routing issues regardless of how it is used. Actually might be a good hashtag to have in Gallery is #noclutter.
Post edited by Scobre on
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I always use MOO when I build, and when I'm done I place my lot in a save file where I have a sim that I will send around the built to see if they can reach everything and then I upload or adjust when they can't and then upload.
I think the biggest problems here are twofold and connected. Leaving the "Official but not following Maxis Standards" new builds aside, because they are not as bad as pure gallery builds, it's the combination of Clutter and MOO. And with Clutter I mean all clutter, not just what is categorized as "Clutter" by the game. An abundance of plants placed with MOO is Clutter in this regard for example.
First of all pathfinding and actual physically impossible to use objects of course, most often thanks to MOO and no testing.
Second adding 10 000 pieces of clutter making not only the lot difficult to use on low end computers, but also very often it's the clutter that pushes the "Starter home" (according to the builder) into a price range where you literally have to cheat to use it as a starter home.
(People calling things starter homes that isn't is a related can of worms just like people just assuming you always have MOO enabled).
Third, with the platforms now introduced, is the "Platforms EVERYWHERE" problem. And this is a problem I also see with say James' lounge in Snowy Escape; the stage looks great, but since it is treated as a separate room by the game, if you Perform on the piano, the townies walk up on the stage to listen, they don't sit on the couches since they are in a "different room" so unless they have no choice, they will walk up on stage (and I realize he couldn't know about this beforehand).
Fourth: The Medical Examiner's lighting phenomenon, where builders somehow desperately need everything to be brighter than the sun. I have literally removed two thirds of the lights from the Mansion I now have remodeled just to get beautiful and realistic lighting in it.
Fifth: Houses that are so dependent on MOO that if you place them unfurnished and try to furnish them without MOO, it is literally impossible to get full functionality since you cannot get a functioning kitchen in without MOO for example with whatever room dimensions and door placements chosen by the builder.
I think these are my most persistent pet peeves at the moment.
i used to create lots and used to be reasonably good at it, i stopped at the end of 2019 because i was thinking to myself: "why bother?", it isn't going to get noticed least of all by Maxis.
I still make lots, but i don't do them for the gallery any more. If i'm really into it, i can fill it out really well, from basics to clutter in the right places. However i can go for just the basics as well.
occasionally i run into an issue with a door that won't let my sim though and that has been my biggest issue in some of these lots i build up after doing my testing.
Third, with the platforms now introduced, is the "Platforms EVERYWHERE" problem. And this is a problem I also see with say James' lounge in Snowy Escape; the stage looks great, but since it is treated as a separate room by the game, if you Perform on the piano, the townies walk up on the stage to listen, they don't sit on the couches since they are in a "different room" so unless they have no choice, they will walk up on stage (and I realize he couldn't know about this beforehand).
Townies don't sit and listen to music, they always come up to whoever is singing or playing music and stand around. That's also how they tip. If you don't want them climbing on the stage you need to place the instrument close to the edge, so townies can be near without wanting to climb on stage.
Have you checked out Maxis Favourites lots? They are reviewed by Maxis and said to respect their building standards.
Third, with the platforms now introduced, is the "Platforms EVERYWHERE" problem. And this is a problem I also see with say James' lounge in Snowy Escape; the stage looks great, but since it is treated as a separate room by the game, if you Perform on the piano, the townies walk up on the stage to listen, they don't sit on the couches since they are in a "different room" so unless they have no choice, they will walk up on stage (and I realize he couldn't know about this beforehand).
Townies don't sit and listen to music, they always come up to whoever is singing or playing music and stand around. That's also how they tip. If you don't want them climbing on the stage you need to place the instrument close to the edge, so townies can be near without wanting to climb on stage.
Have you checked out Maxis Favourites lots? They are reviewed by Maxis and said to respect their building standards.
I understand that, but it is all much more obvious when there is a "stage" that nobody respects (unlike in Sims 3). I should have been cleared tho; the problem is literally the Platforms Everywhere part.
There is a reason sunken livingrooms and stuff from the late 60s early 70s disappeared. They are very very impractical both for everyday use as well as say for cleaning (having to carry the vacuum down some steps for example and they literally halved the usable space in a room even talking IRL.
@Beardedgeek Before we were given platforms in the game, my Global Superstar has had this problem. He's hardly ever 'alone' on the stage, in fact. I've had to take measures, such as locking the stage door for everyone but Erik, but unfortunately, this isn't a fail-safe. Since on the other side of this venue is the only bathroom, I have made the mistake, trying to be nice, by not locking that door. This is what I ended up with just the other day. I am inclined to 'fix' this situation by doing a very slight remodel on what I think is supposed to be a 'dressing' room. I'll add another door that blocks Sims from entering the stage.
In some cases I've been able to use the rope line to keep out everybody but my Rock Star, (unless, of course Judith shows up). But, it is and has been an ongoing problem, at least for me.
@Beardedgeek Before we were given platforms in the game, my Global Superstar has had this problem. He's hardly ever 'alone' on the stage, in fact. I've had to take measures, such as locking the stage door for everyone but Erik, but unfortunately, this isn't a fail-safe. Since on the other side of this venue is the only bathroom, I have made the mistake, trying to be nice, by not locking that door. This is what I ended up with just the other day. I am inclined to 'fix' this situation by doing a very slight remodel on what I think is supposed to be a 'dressing' room. I'll add another door that blocks Sims from entering the stage.
In some cases I've been able to use the rope line to keep out everybody but my Rock Star, (unless, of course Judith shows up). But, it is and has been an ongoing problem, at least for me.
I think it has to do with how different objects work to an extent. Karaoke machines has a "viewing distance" (they are seriously coded so that spectators don't come closer than three or maybe two squares unless they can't avoid it) that actually makes stages work while for some reason pianos in longues still have the "street musician" thing trigger and Sims climb on top of each other to go and the artist using the instrument, which is awfully lazy coded.
Still seems kinda nitpicky to me to complain about something that is free and optional...You dont have to use builds from the Gallery after all. Besides you can always just place the lot unfurnished then you get a nicely designed house but all the fun of furnishing it yourself!
I dont think its always the builders though that are the problem. Ive playtested builds, put them on the gallery then found that the Sims suddenly cant walk a certain way when they could before. Or Ive thought there was plenty of room in a kitchen but didnt account for all the sims deciding that they would all try and eat standing right in front of the fridge (why bother creating a breakfast bar or a dining room?).
I feel like you need to put at least 2 squares around everything or just leave giant open spaces in every room. weirdly I hate this look in the Sims but thats how my house actually looks!LOL
I have to confess, there are some builds that I just want to "know how they did that" sort of thing. If the build is complex with lots of rooms, tiny little rooms and bookcases, (who puts bookcases in every room in the house??), once I've figured out how they built a certain feature, I'll delete it.
I certainly appreciate the builders who put empty shells down, I can decorate myself is great without rearranging the whole house to do it.
There are very talented builders on the gallery and there are simmers who like radically different things, that's why the gallery is so popular. I don't nitpick creations, I just delete them.
In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
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I always use it and mainly for decorative touches (yes...that means clutter!). Things like putting stuff in corners of rooms/tables or maybe resting a picture on a fireplace for example. I just dont like the showhome look where it doesnt look lived in.
Having said that some builds on the gallery are purely there because the builder wanted to share their 'art'. Mostly you can tell which ones would be playable and which would be a PITA. Personally I have an entire High Street with multiple shops and venue types (including a bank with a heist being planned in the flat above!!LOL) on the Gallery which would clearly not be suitable for an average family to live in. Although I have moved various sims into the flats and venues and it all works fine.
Also I always make sure I have a sim wander around my builds and check pathing before I post them and if Im going to be restricting access to an item (chair in front of a bookcase for example) then I will make sure there is still another useable version somewhere in the build.
Also note that I freely admit that the decor colour (I love the British spelling, btw) is purely a matter of personal taste.
Oh yes, I wasn't talking about you in particular
I removed my comment because I thought why bother? In the moment I wrote that I was so discouraged by this thread and frustrated by the nit picking. Why not upload one of your builds so we can see what we are doing so wrong.
Ooh, yes, the indoor columns are a pain, it takes forever to figure out why something won't place correctly. lol
I have to disagree with you there about what IRL living rooms look like, I don't sit in the dark and I hated it when the housing decorating trend started removing overhead lights and going with 'accent' lighting in living rooms, you can't see squat and it makes doing anything aside from watching tv or staring at the phone difficult. I work on different projects out in my living room and for the most part, they require better lighting. This is why I like good lighting in my game too. lol
I mostly use Alt and F5 to decorate, but it's useless in the face of "forbidden" things like place pictures in a staircase.
I care about pathfinding enough to turn it off afterwards, but when painting a wall at the other side of the house manages to delete the items placed with MOO, you get discouraged easily.
Exactly. There are a lot of things that either are weird choices by the devs (why are some things smaller than others not fitting on small shelves, while bigger things are? That must be a decision, but I cannot fathom why?
As for paintings... I fully understand that all paintings that have a frame thick enough to clip has a footprint. I really have no issue with the fact that you can't put a thick golden framed portrait behind (as in actually behind) a dresser. But there are so many many paintings that could just be re-coded into posters or decals.
I understand the use of MOO for these things. I do it myself. But again, there is a huge difference between using MOO to get a potted plant on a bookshelf, and MOO to make a solid counter out of two tables, or to force a doorframe into a space that then will bug out and you cannot use or even fix properly. Or, again, put a too low hanging lamp over a single bed so your Sim can't climb into bed...
Edit: And yes, I maintain it is always a bad idea in an official build.
Oh, I have never been in a livingroom where the ceiling light is removed, it's just that normally it is not turned on unless you are cleaning or looking for the TV remote
I dont think anyone is saying that anyone's builds are terrible, I have to admit although the builds looks cool , it's not functional in live mode and it's a little bit of a pain, sometimes when you place lots you just want them to work as they should without you having too tweek it
For restaurants, I try to keep the number of tables low (the last restaurant I made has 7 or 8 tables), and to not place them too close from one another.
Also if people don’t leave comments to tell me when there’s a problem, (even if you playtest, you can miss stuff) I can’t always know it and fix it.
Silly things like 4 square outdoor potplants used indoors with MOO, and filling a bedroom or bathroom so sims can't even get in the door.
I find a lot of this lately, must be new kids on the blocks huh?
Do we fix the builds or use TS4 tools to delete from our internal gallery?
As for the gallery uploads, I wonder if it would be possible if MOO was treated like CC where it has a ticky box that labels and flags it clearly at the menu prior to upload. That way it would be identified and more easily searched for or eliminated from search criteria.
I've seen some amazing and gorgeous builds using MOO but they can sure be troublesome or even corrupt a save too. De-MOOing a gallery build or a MOO build that came with a pack can be hit or miss success wise and it can take quite a bit of time purging it.
I'd still like to see a challenge where builders rebuild all the Sims 4 lots across all the worlds with no MOO or alt placement what so ever.
I admit I mostly use MOO for things I know won't affect gameplay like making landscaping on areas that aren't paths and curtains and wall lighting and rugs. It's really hard with many of the clutter is super big, so having to put it on surfaces and resizing it just so Sims can walk by it. Clutter alone can cause routing issues regardless of how it is used. Actually might be a good hashtag to have in Gallery is #noclutter.
I do playtest but invariably don't notice errors until after I've uploaded to the gallery...DOH!
I will fix my upload, reupload and apologise........kinda hope I will be forgiven because I do put a lot of work and love into my builds x
First of all pathfinding and actual physically impossible to use objects of course, most often thanks to MOO and no testing.
Second adding 10 000 pieces of clutter making not only the lot difficult to use on low end computers, but also very often it's the clutter that pushes the "Starter home" (according to the builder) into a price range where you literally have to cheat to use it as a starter home.
(People calling things starter homes that isn't is a related can of worms just like people just assuming you always have MOO enabled).
Third, with the platforms now introduced, is the "Platforms EVERYWHERE" problem. And this is a problem I also see with say James' lounge in Snowy Escape; the stage looks great, but since it is treated as a separate room by the game, if you Perform on the piano, the townies walk up on the stage to listen, they don't sit on the couches since they are in a "different room" so unless they have no choice, they will walk up on stage (and I realize he couldn't know about this beforehand).
Fourth: The Medical Examiner's lighting phenomenon, where builders somehow desperately need everything to be brighter than the sun. I have literally removed two thirds of the lights from the Mansion I now have remodeled just to get beautiful and realistic lighting in it.
Fifth: Houses that are so dependent on MOO that if you place them unfurnished and try to furnish them without MOO, it is literally impossible to get full functionality since you cannot get a functioning kitchen in without MOO for example with whatever room dimensions and door placements chosen by the builder.
I think these are my most persistent pet peeves at the moment.
I still make lots, but i don't do them for the gallery any more. If i'm really into it, i can fill it out really well, from basics to clutter in the right places. However i can go for just the basics as well.
occasionally i run into an issue with a door that won't let my sim though and that has been my biggest issue in some of these lots i build up after doing my testing.
Townies don't sit and listen to music, they always come up to whoever is singing or playing music and stand around. That's also how they tip. If you don't want them climbing on the stage you need to place the instrument close to the edge, so townies can be near without wanting to climb on stage.
Have you checked out Maxis Favourites lots? They are reviewed by Maxis and said to respect their building standards.
I understand that, but it is all much more obvious when there is a "stage" that nobody respects (unlike in Sims 3). I should have been cleared tho; the problem is literally the Platforms Everywhere part.
There is a reason sunken livingrooms and stuff from the late 60s early 70s disappeared. They are very very impractical both for everyday use as well as say for cleaning (having to carry the vacuum down some steps for example and they literally halved the usable space in a room even talking IRL.
In some cases I've been able to use the rope line to keep out everybody but my Rock Star, (unless, of course Judith shows up). But, it is and has been an ongoing problem, at least for me.
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/
I think it has to do with how different objects work to an extent. Karaoke machines has a "viewing distance" (they are seriously coded so that spectators don't come closer than three or maybe two squares unless they can't avoid it) that actually makes stages work while for some reason pianos in longues still have the "street musician" thing trigger and Sims climb on top of each other to go and the artist using the instrument, which is awfully lazy coded.
I dont think its always the builders though that are the problem. Ive playtested builds, put them on the gallery then found that the Sims suddenly cant walk a certain way when they could before. Or Ive thought there was plenty of room in a kitchen but didnt account for all the sims deciding that they would all try and eat standing right in front of the fridge (why bother creating a breakfast bar or a dining room?).
I feel like you need to put at least 2 squares around everything or just leave giant open spaces in every room. weirdly I hate this look in the Sims but thats how my house actually looks!LOL
I certainly appreciate the builders who put empty shells down, I can decorate myself is great without rearranging the whole house to do it.
There are very talented builders on the gallery and there are simmers who like radically different things, that's why the gallery is so popular. I don't nitpick creations, I just delete them.