Most builders are probably building for simmers who use the houses for background, scenery, type of pictures and not so much gameplay. I would know, i have tumblr and see these types of homes used often just for photography.
It’s totally acceptable for builders to limit the functionality of their builds to background props only.
I’ve seen incredible structures built by this community, some of them obviously impossible for a sim to live in, but they’d look great in the worlds and are extremely useful for storytelling purposes.
However, by sharing an amazing looking build on the gallery - a build that looks like it’s meant to be lived in- the builder invites millions of folks to download it from their gallery space. Community members expect to move in their households without issues and so they should. If someone doesn’t own all packs used in that build, the build may not look the same, but these things are relatively easy to check before download. A non functional build is not as easy to check.
So called experienced or popular builders who do not inform their audience do in my opinion not respect their audience. I say experienced because we can’t expect a beginner simmer/ builder to know all these things at once.
When saving a lot to the library on or off- line, there is a simple feature known as a description panel. That’s the very place for builders to communicate with their audience. It is also a tool very few people seem to use appropriately.
Instead of abusing hashtags, it should be used to tell folks the build has been play tested and is fully functional, or that it has been created as a background prop only. If the person who decides to download it doesn’t read the description and complains about non-functionality when the description clearly states no sim can actually live in that structure, that’s their issue. Not the builder’s fault.
It didn't occur to me to put in my descriptions that I playtest. I only build houses for my Sims to live in, so they get playtested as a matter of course.
I shared houses in the Sims 2 and Sims 3 sites and I don't remember this being an issue there. But, again, I've always been a builder and not much of a downloader.
Maybe it's a side effect of the gallery being much more in the forefront than it was previously? It was always just a side feature before.
It didn't occur to me to put in my descriptions that I playtest. I only build houses for my Sims to live in, so they get playtested as a matter of course.
I shared houses in the Sims 2 and Sims 3 sites and I don't remember this being an issue there. But, again, I've always been a builder and not much of a downloader.
Maybe it's a side effect of the gallery being much more in the forefront than it was previously? It was always just a side feature before.
I actually consider it my responsibility to playtest the houses I download. I am grateful to have that option. I always need to change out some furniture, add or subtract some items. The last house I downloaded was missing a refrigerator. I added one.
Most builders are probably building for simmers who use the houses for background, scenery, type of pictures and not so much gameplay. I would know, i have tumblr and see these types of homes used often just for photography.
That's exactly what i think is happening! Many of them are going for that magic screenshot. I was in Sims group on Facebook and fell in love with one simmers builds and signed onto her gallery and decided to fill Newcrest with her houses. 3 out of 5 of the houses I got from her had immediate pathing problems and once i started stripping clutter out of the way i found out the layout wasn't that great, it was just well decorated. She also used so sort of lighting that caused my pale sims to look like they were glowing or reflecting light. I heard that last problem is from a debug lighting object that makes spaces look really photogenic for screenshots.
I downloaded a basegame luxury house some time ago and moved a sim in today. She couldn't climb the stairs so had to scratch that. It seems to be stairs with glass panelling that causes an issue.
I downloaded a basegame luxury house some time ago and moved a sim in today. She couldn't climb the stairs so had to scratch that. It seems to be stairs with glass panelling that causes an issue.
One of the latest patches introduced a stair bug. If the top of the stairs is an open landing, they won't work anymore, no matter what railing was used. In this particular case the stairs may have been working at the time of creation if the build was created before the platform patch. It's a very frustrating bug which messed up tons of previously working lots.
I usually play test the ones I build to varying degrees. I have shared some on my gallery that I've had a Sim spend a life in. However, I somewhat recently discovered that at times creating Sim builds can be therapeutic for me. So I'll build a place I like, and although I may not have had a Sim full-on lived in it, I will thoroughly go through it and make sure things function. I also do mostly residential, so unless I have a party or something, there's often not many other sims in my houses at a time, so there's not usually a problem with spacing.
One of the latest patches introduced a stair bug. If the top of the stairs is an open landing, they won't work anymore, no matter what railing was used. In this particular case the stairs may have been working at the time of creation if the build was created before the platform patch. It's a very frustrating bug which messed up tons of previously working lots.
I was so frustrated when this happened! lol I had built a house in Sulani for a friend and tested it thoroughly. Well, friend didn't download and play it in their game for a long time after and they tell me "The stairs aren't working. My girl can't sleep." I was like "What?! How?! And then I discovered the bug and felt the need to go back through my builds and fix those that needed it. Thankfully I don't have a lot! lol
I downloaded a basegame luxury house some time ago and moved a sim in today. She couldn't climb the stairs so had to scratch that. It seems to be stairs with glass panelling that causes an issue.
One of the latest patches introduced a stair bug. If the top of the stairs is an open landing, they won't work anymore, no matter what railing was used. In this particular case the stairs may have been working at the time of creation if the build was created before the platform patch. It's a very frustrating bug which messed up tons of previously working lots.
I cross-referenced the builds that work with the build that didn't to understand what you meant by "open landing". This is a game-killing bug that needs to be squashed asap! I'm fine for new builds at the moment but any more needed and it's bungalows only.
I downloaded a basegame luxury house some time ago and moved a sim in today. She couldn't climb the stairs so had to scratch that. It seems to be stairs with glass panelling that causes an issue.
One of the latest patches introduced a stair bug. If the top of the stairs is an open landing, they won't work anymore, no matter what railing was used. In this particular case the stairs may have been working at the time of creation if the build was created before the platform patch. It's a very frustrating bug which messed up tons of previously working lots.
I cross-referenced the builds that work with the build that didn't to understand what you meant by "open landing". This is a game-killing bug that needs to be squashed asap! I'm fine for new builds at the moment but any more needed and it's bungalows only.
If I understand it correctly, right now the upper two squares of a stair needs to be inside a room to function. Aka if you pull out the edge of the landing so it sticks out a bit around the stairs, it works. Looks ugly, but works.
It also only is a problem indoors. Stairs in a garden or to a platform or foundation is not affected, weirdly enough.
Most builders are probably building for simmers who use the houses for background, scenery, type of pictures and not so much gameplay. I would know, i have tumblr and see these types of homes used often just for photography.
It’s totally acceptable for builders to limit the functionality of their builds to background props only.
I’ve seen incredible structures built by this community, some of them obviously impossible for a sim to live in, but they’d look great in the worlds and are extremely useful for storytelling purposes.
However, by sharing an amazing looking build on the gallery - a build that looks like it’s meant to be lived in- the builder invites millions of folks to download it from their gallery space. Community members expect to move in their households without issues and so they should. If someone doesn’t own all packs used in that build, the build may not look the same, but these things are relatively easy to check before download. A non functional build is not as easy to check.
So called experienced or popular builders who do not inform their audience do in my opinion not respect their audience. I say experienced because we can’t expect a beginner simmer/ builder to know all these things at once.
When saving a lot to the library on or off- line, there is a simple feature known as a description panel. That’s the very place for builders to communicate with their audience. It is also a tool very few people seem to use appropriately.
Instead of abusing hashtags, it should be used to tell folks the build has been play tested and is fully functional, or that it has been created as a background prop only. If the person who decides to download it doesn’t read the description and complains about non-functionality when the description clearly states no sim can actually live in that structure, that’s their issue. Not the builder’s fault.
That is a really good idea thanks. I enjoyed your posts too. I just try to use the playtested hashtag because of the search feature in the gallery. I hate hashtags because it is too much like Twitter. I rather have a more detailed search function instead and better filtering. Would be nice to have an option to block builds being reuploaded too because there is a lot of that happening in the Spark'd section of the Gallery. I don't want any of my builds be apart of that.
Post edited by Scobre on
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” –Helen Keller
I still dont think I'll be giving up my MOO any time soon! I hate to build without it, it makes everything look so blocky and unrealistic. Sometimes you just want furniture or rugs to be quarter of a square from where they are or windows to be slightly further over!
Besides its not the clutter, its what you do with it!LOL
Ive just downloaded a Steampunk Nightclub to the Gallery and it is littered with clutter.....coz, well steampunk! Things on top of things on top of things, etc! Point is that I made sure to leave the useable areas clear so when I playtested it you could comfortably fit loads of Sims without any issue. (only things that arent useable are the organs but they are sized up and in the roof but hopefully nobody would actually think you are supposed to use them!!)
The trick with MOO, since Sims 2, has always been to be conscious of functionality.
Will Sims interact with the item? Does it interfere with routing? Is it potentially game breaking? Is the lot worthless without the cheat?
I rarely use it at all, but if I do, these are what I think about.
The trick with MOO, since Sims 2, has always been to be conscious of functionality.
Will Sims interact with the item? Does it interfere with routing? Is it potentially game breaking? Is the lot worthless without the cheat?
I rarely use it at all, but if I do, these are what I think about.
Yes! MOO is great and I love it, but if the lot can't function properly, then it's not worth it. Use MOO responsibly!
I just finished building a home for my current sim family. It's a little haunted house tudor for my spellcaster. While building, I placed a sim on the lot and would switch to live mode when I finished a room to test it. I used MOO to decorate the center of the small dining table with some cute clutter, and I absolutely loved it. But when I switched to live mode to test if my sims would use the dining table, they wouldn't. I was really disappointed that I had to get rid of the decorations, but it was more important to me that the home worked properly.
I haven't uploaded the home yet. I like to have my sims live in the home for a couple of ingame weeks and actively play in it before I decide to share it. That way, I usually catch anything I missed during my initial testing.
Though I will say, if you build your own homes and lots to play in, and you use MOO, you can tell while building what will work and what won't. And if you're unsure, test it! (like my dining table... rip)
MOO is extremely useful, especially when you want to use shelves because shelves in Sims 4 are totally broken. Desks, however, are a TERRIBLE place to use MOO, especially if you want to use a computer there.
Prepping a list of mods to add after Infants are placed into the game. Because real life isn't 'nice'.
I have reused an existing build of mine (originally a gothic nightclub), removed all the CCs (there are no mods either) and uploaded it to the gallery.
Once again, after I had made all the changes, I play tested it over a few Sim-days, sending my Sim to use all rooms and pieces of furniture and appliances, bathroom fixtures, etc. It would appear everything is working just fine.
MOO is extremely useful, especially when you want to use shelves because shelves in Sims 4 are totally broken. Desks, however, are a TERRIBLE place to use MOO, especially if you want to use a computer there.
This is so true. If surfaces had all the right amount of slots people would use MOO a lot less.
Im currently kicking myself as Im in the middle of a 64 x 64 steampunk build and obviously it includes alot of clutter! Sooooo much testing (I will probably miss something though!).
Also Sims 4 is a little bit broken anyways. Ive made 2 staircases with open landings at the top and yet the 3rd one just wont co-operate...I had to leave a thin 'safety rail' to make it work (what!? its a thing!). Also sometimes you nudge a doorway to make it useable and when you log in again the doorway has moved back. Or today my Sim happily wandered through a living room on the second floor despite there being no floor (I swear there was a floor when I built it!).
In other words if you download a build and hardly anything is useable then its probably somebody who never player tests...if you just find something random then its probably just Sims 4 being Sims 4!
Rabooski always tests her builds! I never have issues with them.
I’m not famous but all of my builds are tested. #playtested is a thing...but I understand your pain. I once held a builders contest that was meant for gameplay because of my frustration
I honestly forget to put half the cheats needed to play those houses because they never put that you need to use those cheats before you put the house in game.
I do! Cuz I build for myself since I don't like downloading other people's work. 😂 But yeah, MOO is usually a problem which is why I rarely use it unless it's for landscaping.
Various angles of the interior: First Floor
Second Floor:
Parts of the house, during play:
Master Bath:
Dining Room
Formal Living Room:
From the fireplace:
From the Chess Set:
(Don't get excited, that fireplace is cc and I have removed ALL cc.)
Kitchen:
Front Foyer:
Keeping Room w/fireplace:
Music Room:
From the Opposite End:
Laundry Room:
My name is GalacticGal, the name of the lot is Flanagan. All cc items, including the luscious wood flooring have been removed to strictly Maxis made found in the game. It's a large lot, just be prepared.
Comments
It’s totally acceptable for builders to limit the functionality of their builds to background props only.
I’ve seen incredible structures built by this community, some of them obviously impossible for a sim to live in, but they’d look great in the worlds and are extremely useful for storytelling purposes.
However, by sharing an amazing looking build on the gallery - a build that looks like it’s meant to be lived in- the builder invites millions of folks to download it from their gallery space. Community members expect to move in their households without issues and so they should. If someone doesn’t own all packs used in that build, the build may not look the same, but these things are relatively easy to check before download. A non functional build is not as easy to check.
So called experienced or popular builders who do not inform their audience do in my opinion not respect their audience. I say experienced because we can’t expect a beginner simmer/ builder to know all these things at once.
When saving a lot to the library on or off- line, there is a simple feature known as a description panel. That’s the very place for builders to communicate with their audience. It is also a tool very few people seem to use appropriately.
Instead of abusing hashtags, it should be used to tell folks the build has been play tested and is fully functional, or that it has been created as a background prop only. If the person who decides to download it doesn’t read the description and complains about non-functionality when the description clearly states no sim can actually live in that structure, that’s their issue. Not the builder’s fault.
I shared houses in the Sims 2 and Sims 3 sites and I don't remember this being an issue there. But, again, I've always been a builder and not much of a downloader.
Maybe it's a side effect of the gallery being much more in the forefront than it was previously? It was always just a side feature before.
I actually consider it my responsibility to playtest the houses I download. I am grateful to have that option. I always need to change out some furniture, add or subtract some items. The last house I downloaded was missing a refrigerator. I added one.
That's exactly what i think is happening! Many of them are going for that magic screenshot. I was in Sims group on Facebook and fell in love with one simmers builds and signed onto her gallery and decided to fill Newcrest with her houses. 3 out of 5 of the houses I got from her had immediate pathing problems and once i started stripping clutter out of the way i found out the layout wasn't that great, it was just well decorated. She also used so sort of lighting that caused my pale sims to look like they were glowing or reflecting light. I heard that last problem is from a debug lighting object that makes spaces look really photogenic for screenshots.
One of the latest patches introduced a stair bug. If the top of the stairs is an open landing, they won't work anymore, no matter what railing was used. In this particular case the stairs may have been working at the time of creation if the build was created before the platform patch. It's a very frustrating bug which messed up tons of previously working lots.
stair bug and work around
I was so frustrated when this happened! lol I had built a house in Sulani for a friend and tested it thoroughly. Well, friend didn't download and play it in their game for a long time after and they tell me "The stairs aren't working. My girl can't sleep." I was like "What?! How?! And then I discovered the bug and felt the need to go back through my builds and fix those that needed it. Thankfully I don't have a lot! lol
Arliel322 on Origin
I cross-referenced the builds that work with the build that didn't to understand what you meant by "open landing". This is a game-killing bug that needs to be squashed asap! I'm fine for new builds at the moment but any more needed and it's bungalows only.
If I understand it correctly, right now the upper two squares of a stair needs to be inside a room to function. Aka if you pull out the edge of the landing so it sticks out a bit around the stairs, it works. Looks ugly, but works.
It also only is a problem indoors. Stairs in a garden or to a platform or foundation is not affected, weirdly enough.
As usual I have tried to avoid economical having to equal 'ugly'. I tried to give it some character.
New starter house uploaded to gallery, play tested:
Besides its not the clutter, its what you do with it!LOL
Ive just downloaded a Steampunk Nightclub to the Gallery and it is littered with clutter.....coz, well steampunk! Things on top of things on top of things, etc! Point is that I made sure to leave the useable areas clear so when I playtested it you could comfortably fit loads of Sims without any issue. (only things that arent useable are the organs but they are sized up and in the roof but hopefully nobody would actually think you are supposed to use them!!)
Will Sims interact with the item? Does it interfere with routing? Is it potentially game breaking? Is the lot worthless without the cheat?
I rarely use it at all, but if I do, these are what I think about.
Yes! MOO is great and I love it, but if the lot can't function properly, then it's not worth it. Use MOO responsibly!
I just finished building a home for my current sim family. It's a little haunted house tudor for my spellcaster. While building, I placed a sim on the lot and would switch to live mode when I finished a room to test it. I used MOO to decorate the center of the small dining table with some cute clutter, and I absolutely loved it. But when I switched to live mode to test if my sims would use the dining table, they wouldn't. I was really disappointed that I had to get rid of the decorations, but it was more important to me that the home worked properly.
I haven't uploaded the home yet. I like to have my sims live in the home for a couple of ingame weeks and actively play in it before I decide to share it. That way, I usually catch anything I missed during my initial testing.
Though I will say, if you build your own homes and lots to play in, and you use MOO, you can tell while building what will work and what won't. And if you're unsure, test it! (like my dining table... rip)
Once again, after I had made all the changes, I play tested it over a few Sim-days, sending my Sim to use all rooms and pieces of furniture and appliances, bathroom fixtures, etc. It would appear everything is working just fine.
This is so true. If surfaces had all the right amount of slots people would use MOO a lot less.
A small bedsit, economical starter home.
Play tested, no mods, uploaded to gallery.
New starter lot uploaded to gallery, fully play tested with no mods or CC.
.
Also Sims 4 is a little bit broken anyways. Ive made 2 staircases with open landings at the top and yet the 3rd one just wont co-operate...I had to leave a thin 'safety rail' to make it work (what!? its a thing!). Also sometimes you nudge a doorway to make it useable and when you log in again the doorway has moved back. Or today my Sim happily wandered through a living room on the second floor despite there being no floor (I swear there was a floor when I built it!).
In other words if you download a build and hardly anything is useable then its probably somebody who never player tests...if you just find something random then its probably just Sims 4 being Sims 4!
I’m not famous but all of my builds are tested. #playtested is a thing...but I understand your pain. I once held a builders contest that was meant for gameplay because of my frustration
Second Floor:
Parts of the house, during play:
Dining Room
Formal Living Room:
From the fireplace:
From the Chess Set:
(Don't get excited, that fireplace is cc and I have removed ALL cc.)
Kitchen:
Front Foyer:
Keeping Room w/fireplace:
Music Room:
From the Opposite End:
Laundry Room:
My name is GalacticGal, the name of the lot is Flanagan. All cc items, including the luscious wood flooring have been removed to strictly Maxis made found in the game. It's a large lot, just be prepared.
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/