What is the ideal lighting for you?

Simmingal · February 23

I have realized builders have very different opinions on how to light their builds so which is your preference?

Ellupelluellu · February 23

Other?

Warm lights or candle light.

Simmingal · February 23

Moody lighting (No extra saucers)

Ellupelluellu wrote: »

Warm lights or candle light.

Would think that rather moody but yes I probably should have added it as separate option

crocobaura · February 24

Saucers but layer with wall/table/floor lamps

I prefer rooms to be well lit, so will usually opt for the ceiling lights, but often will also add table lamps, floor lamps, candles, etc. trying to create a cozy ambience.

Lenny_Ogg · February 24

Lighting is a challenge for me since I play Sims of all skintones. When it looks right on Jack, Ji Ho is glowing like beacon -.-
While building I throw saucers everywhere and replace them by adding all kinds of lights and adjust the brightness and color.
Or here, their sweatshirts omg
Lighting is really a nightmare in this game, I can't remember having these issues in the other sims games.

I try to go with the vibes of their rooms

Vlad's room is darker

The Holo Library

Depending on the mood I turn the ceiling lights off

And I'm always amazed by the sunlight shining in 🌤

EnkiSchmidt · February 24

Saucers but layer with wall/table/floor lamps

Saucers all the way! Then move_objects decorative lamps over the saucers, but those stay off. That tiny ceiling saucer we got in a free update was so much welcome

I also change the lighting from yellow to grey when I start playing a household.

bshag4lv · February 24

Moody lighting (No extra saucers)

For me it's depending on the room. Bathrooms tend to get the bright lighting whereas the living room, more subdued, same with the bedrooms. I have used the tiny saucer on large rooms when I don't want to hang 40 lamps.

PandoraTO · February 24

Other?

I place ceiling statement lighting where I want it, then I place table lamps/floor lamps/ candles/wall fixtures where I want them. Then I fill in any areas that need more lighting with small saucers. I try to use as few as possible, and I adjust the tint and brightness if necessary. In a home, tho saucers are usually too white or bright by default for anywhere but a bathroom.

Also, I usually do this after I’m done painting the walls and placing most of the furniture. And unless it’s a windowless room, I change the clock to nighttime so it’s dark outside.

haneul · February 24

Saucers but layer with wall/table/floor lamps

I constantly turn lights on and off as needed, while adjusting brightness and warmth, just like I do IRL. I use a variety of lights in my builds.

Kita5399 · February 24

Saucers but layer with wall/table/floor lamps

I use the saucers mostly, but add other lamps for decoration purposes. I have rather poor vision IRL, so I really need a lot of lighting to see anything clearly (this goes for my real home as well).

JustMeAlb · February 24

Saucer the whole house

I'm a lazy builder. In the few cases it turns out to be a more interesting play or build I'll go back through adding more variety of lighting as well as landscaping and more decorative items etc.

rosemow · February 24

Saucers but layer with wall/table/floor lamps

I like ceiling lights as well as table, floor, wall lights, as they give light but also are nice decorations.

Simmingal · February 24

Moody lighting (No extra saucers)

I usually add 1 saucer/room first furnish most of the room
and then go and replace the saucers with other lights hoping to leave no saucers

I only really ever leave saucers in if I can't come up with what type of light i really want at the moment
/ rooms are very big or very small (as in where can i fit light anyway)
or if I am going for super bright or modern commercial space

I just feel it looks bit jarring at night with saucers
and during the day you get extra light from windows
so it can easily start looking overlighted
like with the shirts in @Lenny_Ogg s screenshot up there

then again I recently realized that maybe it is because I don't use much overhead lights irl either
and I don't live in super sunny area

so like I feel if you were to play my lots in sunny room with all lights on
it would be like "Gal why don't we have any lights on"

as for colored lights only if its scifi techy build tbh I just often forget its even option

and outside i try to match neighborhood
but it drives me crazy that the lights only turn on at night
and there is no way to turn them on during say evening time or darker weather

musteni · February 24

Moody lighting (No extra saucers)

I hate layered (MOO) saucers the most, but I also hate the saucers if there are too many. It makes sims look weird in screenshots. I am usually fine with one saucer per room though, so it's not like I completely avoid them.

Aaleyn · February 24

Other?

I like using different ceiling lights, as well as table, wall and floor lights.
(Choosing the lights depends also of the size of the room/area, and also that does the room/area have windows or not).

When I'm building: I place temporarily saucer lights everywhere in the building, and later I replace them with the lights that I want to choose to each room/area.
I like the rooms/areas to be well lit, but I often adjust the brightness or the color (or the scale of warm or cold light) of the lights to be more suitable for the ambience that I want to have for the room/area.
I also test the chosen lights in different times of the day in build mode, especially also to see how it looks in the night time, that there is enough light during the dark time as well.

haisin · February 24

Moody lighting (No extra saucers)

musteni wrote: »

I hate layered (MOO) saucers the most, but I also hate the saucers if there are too many. It makes sims look weird in screenshots. I am usually fine with one saucer per room though, so it's not like I completely avoid them.

Yeah I often go and delete the layered saucers if I notice them. I love the gallery builds, but extra saucers must go.

I should probably focus on lighting more. My sims' homes are sometimes a bit dark and I never remember to adjust the lighting.

SERVERFRA · February 24

Any of the above but change colors for every light in live mode

Along with off-the-grid lighting.

elanorbreton · February 24

Moody lighting (No extra saucers)

I don't like ceiling lights being in the way and I don't like things to be overly bright. I use a few of the tiniest saucers, scaled down to dots, just one here and there such as above the kitchen cooking area or stairway. I never ever use ceiling lights in bedrooms and rarely in the living room, just table or floor lamps.

I have to admit, it frustrates me when I download a house that has lights mooed on top of each other and everything is mega bright.

SweetieWright_84 · February 24

Other?

Whatever matches the build and/or gives the best light. I care more about seeing my sims than setting a mood.

Smellincoffee · February 24

The super subtle saucer. Everywhere.

SimplyJen · February 24

Saucers but layer with wall/table/floor lamps

First I place the ceiling lights, sconces, and lamps where they would be in a realistic setting. Since lighting has never been great in this game, I then layer those lights with saucers to fill any void of light in the room. I change lighting color depending on the mood I'm going for, style of build, and for candles I use yellow lighting.

I love that I can change light settings through build mode with the Better BuildBuy mod. Anyone remember the struggle before they made changes to the lighting and before we got the cheap saucer light patched in? Before the changes, I had a §1 CC saucer light and I also used the debug lights when those were added too.

lanlyn · February 24

Other?

I choose a mix of light sources: wall, ceiling, table, floor. And I usually set all lights in a house to Neutral White. I prefer colors of furniture, walls, etc. to be true. Sometimes, I'll go for a mood, but not often.

I also use the auto-light setting but place permanent candles around the house and set them separately to "on" so there's always a little light in darkened rooms. Candles don't use power.

SimplyJen · February 24

Saucers but layer with wall/table/floor lamps

lanlyn wrote: »

I choose a mix of light sources: wall, ceiling, table, floor. And I usually set all lights in a house to Neutral White. I prefer colors of furniture, walls, etc. to be true. Sometimes, I'll go for a mood, but not often.

I also use the auto-light setting but place permanent candles around the house and set them separately to "on" so there's always a little light in darkened rooms. Candles don't use power.

Same here for candles and also night lights.

CAPTAIN_NXR7 · February 24

Other?

I take lighting very seriously, it's all about the mood baby! It's all about setting the stage for DRAMAH.

The way I incorporate lighting into my builds entirely depends on when, where, what, who, how and why.

For me, building a structure is the same as creating a sim; it's all about character. It's all about story.
My version of The Sims is pure fantasy, full of supernatural drama, packed with conflict and a hint of horror, so there HAS to be something extraordinary about both my builds and my sims to make a story worth exploring.

I have different saves for different eras: past, present, future. None of them take place at a specific time. “Past” is everything between late medieval and the end of the 2nd Industrial Revolution. Remember it's all fantasy, so in my game that means a healthy mix of Swords & Sorcery, Wild West and Victorian Steampunk. “Present” has all the modern technology and “Future” is either Post Apocalyptic with many abandoned buildings and lots of miserable sims, or Sci-Fi where neighborhoods become different planets and homes are either spaceships, dusty huts or ominous looking temples. Bit like Star Wars. Yeah. Very much like Star Wars. 😏

There are no bright saucer lights in my “past” builds. In present day builds these lights only exist in modern bathrooms, or occasionally the kitchen. I rarely use them in sci-fi builds. Saucer lights are handy to temporarily brighten up a place while building, but they’re hard to find in my final builds.

I always highlight certain outdoor areas with the “invisible” spot lights that can be found in debug. I use the coloured ones from Jungle Adventure and Strangerville extensively.

Oh, darling, my! Is that a family graveyard? No, Buttercup, it's a GREEN family graveyard.

Another question I have to ask myself is wether or not we're dealing with an OFF THE GRID lot. For example, ancient castles or medieval farms are off the grid by default, so I only use the lights that are available in the off the grid category to keep things consistent.
I sometimes have a THEN and NOW version of the same build, such as a Victorian mansion. The THEN version that lives in my “past” save would have candles, lanterns and perhaps some antique wall sconces, that is- as long as the household can afford electricity, powered by a generator, whereas The NOW version would be entirely connected to the grid.

Oh I wish, I wish, I WISH that changing the light's colour and intensity was accessible from Build Mode. Sims 3 had that part right. What exactly was the rationale behind the decision to putting this wonderful feature in LIVE mode?! Who knows, but it's darn tedious and double yargh.
I do change the colour and intensity of the lights in every single room of a build before I move in a new household.
The way that I work with lights is also one of the reasons I wanted custom ceilings. I was losing my mind before the ceiling revolution, but not anymore! See below.

Feeling immersed so I do. 💚

MDianaSims · February 26

Moody lighting (No extra saucers)

I mostly just use the saucers during building. But always replace them with lights that fit with the interior of the room.
I never layer lighting, I prefer to build without move objects altogether.

AncientMuse · February 27

Other?

It really depends on what I'm building...

Residential homes tend to be well lit with a combination of light fixtures in each room and outside. Retail shops will usually get lots of lighting, museums and libraries will get mood lighting and spot lights on certain things. Fantasy, sci-fi, historical builds get mood lighting and colour changes. Each build is different.

@CAPTAIN_NXR7

Twisted Mexi's BetterBuildBuy mod lets you change the colour of lights in build mode. His mod also sorts the entire debug/live edit catalogue into proper categories and the items are even named properly... so super easy to find all debug stuff. It also gives the option to turn moo on/off with a simple click of the mouse (I always leave it on). And the mod also now has a 'favourites' category where you can flag stuff from the bb catalogue and it will add it to your own favourites section. There's a bunch of other great stuff it does too (filters each kit separately, deletion protection, ignore locked items, etc).

As someone who spends oodles of time in build mode, his BBB mod is an absolute must-have for me!

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What is the ideal lighting for you?

What is the ideal lighting for you? 83 votes

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