College isn't all that bad once you find your rhythm, and learn time management. I went into the major the entire campus knows is seventy times as much work as any other, and I also tend to work very slowly at what I do. My roommate I never see doing homework, He's only up all night because of parties and such. But as for this world, yes it's taking A LOT of patience. The first day I started bulding buildings I spent sun up to sun down on one block (sherriff, diner, consign, other). I don't have nearly as much time as I used to, and I also had to take a break from this world to relax on some LittleBigPlanet 2.
But I have started forming Bird Leg Island a short distance away from the town. If you downloaded the test file, you probable saw my shaping the lake, (I learnt the pathway was placed too far to the right..) Also, the Island turned out larger than I'd like it to be, I tried to shrink some things a little bit. I haven't built the house or bridge, but I'll get to that soon. I'm just glad I learnt the secret to bypass the lot-over-water transparency effect. (Water Planes). I'll look into adding them before the next test release also.
I also am playing around with fog and trying to get rid of that horrible light fudging at 5:00am and 7:00pm. Fog made water bright milky sky-blue, and couldn't figure out lighting. Figured I'm going to have to open up those color ramps and give them another whirl.
Also read something about now being able to have multiple moons in the sky. That'll come in handy for another world of mine I put on the back burner.
Finally, I have been playing around with a possible fourth world in the works. I don't want to say what it is yet, not until I figure out the mechanics and start some building. Anyways, till the next time!
well the ones who party a lot are the ones who flunk out. Homework is the foundation to getting a good grade. The field of architecture is awesome but i just don't have the creative bone for that, i would design crazy looking things LOL^^. Hopefully u don't focus too much on ur fourth world just yet, i really love this one, the story behind it is cool and the atmospheric feel is amazing. Love that blue church lol, it has like a sinister, haunting feeling to it(lol and its a church). As your fifth world(lol yeah i know, long time from now) you should make like a 16th-17th century world, you know like with the fancy classical stuff, palaces and little merchants with shops and houses on top of their shop(like the times of king henry/king louis) just love that time, so fascinating. Ok ima shut up now lol, talk too much. Sorry i jump from one subject to another lol thats how i am
Well it's also freshman year and most students don't realize how much work is needed until their first test. But thing about architecture jobs is that they don't necessarily care whether or not I'm flunking physics, they instead want to see a portfolio of all my work. Basically, Grades aren't what they used to mean. I've only been toying with the fourth world in bits and pieces, I'm still unsure I'll even take it up in the long run. I've head ideas about some other cool worlds, too. That village from Uncharted 2 with Tenzin and the Tank. A post-apocalyptic futuristicly rebuilt world (Think Avatar + Total Recall (new one) + Skyland). Skyloft from Skyward Sword. I've even been messing with creating a world similar to Rapture. (Can't seem to figure out how to zoom past a water plane.) I've also thought about recreating my University, but I'll wait until some college based EP is announced to really consider that. I've also been back and forth on a layered city, a city above a city. I'll have to wait and see if a way to do that is available sometime in the future, because I would totally love creating that.
AS FOR UPDATES ON THIS WORLD
1. I built the inside of the building next to the sheriff station, completing that block.
2. I (hopefully) fixed the routing on the trail starting from the church to the firestation
3. I added a lot of routing paint where it was needed (too much running on the side of mountains
4. In a couple of buildings, I moved the shelves which were acting as a decorative object rather than an actual shelf. (Sims ca't route under them)
5. I shaped Bird Leg Island (had to rage quit on making the home, game kept freezing when i tried to move some ranch weeds, and I couldn't find them in the world editor nor pick them up.)
6. Made an attempt to fix the cross in the church, still having trouble finding the right objects to use.
7. Changed some things in the Hospital by decreasig the width of the stairs. (Made the operation room larger, and the work space bigger. Hopefully sims will also be able to use the elevator there, too.
8. Added a few secrets to the world which you should keep an eye open for
9. Some minor furniture rearrangement in various buildings. Mostly the city hall (Hopefully the second floor is now accessible).
10. Gave up on trying to build something on one lot, and turned it into an empty lot from builders. Also Added a second empty lot at the end of a road. Builders rejoice!
11. Started to build inside one of the stores, only managed to create a second floor and define the flooring/wallpaper
12. Added some parking spaces to various lots. Am considering combing two lots into one (junkyard and nearby building which has no purpose)
13. changed some lighting intensity in some areas (To match the game, and seem more realistic).
Here is a 30x30 lot a short sinuous drive from the churchside homes. It is one of the larger lots in the world as of yet, and is good for a player looking for a space bigger than what most sizes are in the town. (Which are fairly small to be honest.)
Here is a smaller lot on the other side of town, it's at the end of a road which passes by two homes. (One of the two homes feels more like a shack considering it's small size. These aren't millionaire homes, it's a small town and I'm "shrinking" things to fit the entire area into this world.)
Here is the inside of the Paint Jobs Garage. The roof of this building is accessible (It should be, at least). Maybe you'll find some extra fun things here if you take a look around.
Inside of the Grocery / Deli, those white circles are lighting (they don't appear during gameplay). This one was tricky because of how the foundation levels were used. I added a staircase on the side to open up the second floor (It's not there in the game, but I feel as if it adds a higher level of detail)
Here is the outside, you can see the stair case along the side. Upstairs is some crates and storage.
And finally, here is the revision to the hospital. Now the doctors have room to operate. The small stairs also makes the rest of the hospital appear bigger (optical illusions and such).
If this takes you a year to complete, then take a year. I really don't care how long it takes you because I know it'll be worth it. This is one of the coolest worlds I've ever seen built. And you're not even done with it! I really admire that your doing this while managing collage as well. You have a real talent man. I think if you showed future employers what you've done here they would be impressed. It's a great little piece you can add to your portfolio, even if it is a little different thing to do. Keep it up!
I've debated whether not I'll include this in one of my portfolios. I have five years left of college, so this world should totally be up in that time. I hope to finish it in a year, but I can't make any garuntees. I still have to learn how to sculpt custom distant terrain, and that could take a decent amount of time on it's own. I'm still making small updates to places every now and then, really trying to get the town nearly right before I start panning out further. This world will likely be finished after all ten EP's are out. I still don't intend to use stuff packs, but I'll likely have a downloadable lot with a pet store in it. (I honestly don't even know why I have the pet store stuff, i didn't pre-order pets. That and somehow getting a free 1000 Sim points are just some of the lovely benefits of my curiosity). I'm hoping to have the entire first town finished before 2013, once I have some time to buy seasons and supernatural. (I didn't get to go to wal-mart after all..) I've also grown used to the lack of sleep, and the constant amount of homework. I probably won't have much done this week, but my weekend shouldn't be too busy (as far as I know). Expect the next few updates being interiors of buildings and such. Even though I hid them, I'm still placing the rabbit hole rugs in spots. I won't have every rabbithole in this town, but I'll try to distribute them across the world. Likely there will be multiple rabbithole rugs, things like two city halls, two police stations, etc. I'm trying to stray away from using EA's gargantuan rabbithole buildings totally out of scale with custom built lots. I'm planning on remaking that watermill also, but am holding off to see how many lots the world will end with. I'm also keeping things from becoming too complicated so I can weave in these last four EP's, two of which I have no idea at all what they are.
I can't set a date this world will be fully completed, but I know it'll very likely be more than a year. Until then, enjoy the testing versions, and keep me informed of problems you find. Thank you.
Wow. I've never heard of Alan Wake, but I'm always keen to see new worlds, came in here and your screenshots really caught my eye. I love the small town feel you've got going, and I'm a huge fan of your builds.
WOW! Literally, WOW! This world looks AWESOME! I've just read through this thread, start to finish, and I'm so shocked you are still motivated to carry on despite starting college! I'm in university (UK), and I can't even imagine balancing studies and building a world. Hell, I get cranky when I have a full day of lectures. Well done you!
PS since I'm British, is college in the US equivalent to university in the UK? Noob, I know :oops:
Well i wouldn't know how to compare college as a whole to the UK, nor do I know much about UK college. I'm attending a private college with generally bright kids in an intense architecture program crammed into five years. Other colleges don't normally do as much for architecture, which is why my college grad's graduate with a master's of architecture instead of a bachelor's. And this is a college where I can get a professional degree in architecture. I do know other colleges are big party colleges or small local colleges, or online colleges. Honestly i felt as if Highschool was harder. I have a lot more work now, but it's largely just drawing, crafting, sketching, programming, etc. To give you an idea, I sleep on average four hours a night, and I sleep six nights a week. I had fall break so for a day I was actually able to get by having absolutely nothing productive done whatsoever (AND IT WAS AWEEEEESOME! I MISSED BEING LAZY!) It's mostly a matter of time management also, my laptop is always by my side, whereas my xbox and ps3 are a fifteen minute walk back to my dorm. I can open sims 3 and close it in less then a few minutes. But I still goof off on minecraft or work on my books in Word sometimes. I also am learning how to better schedule my classes. Tuesdays are the worst for productivity since every class and group i'm in is an hour or two from e/o. which doesn't give me enough time to really get in the zone with my work. But Tuesdays are when I mess around with Sims since I haven't got anything better to do. Speaking of which... Today is Tuesday.
EDIT: Also, my college is ranked #8 party college by some source i forget whose name. I think they said it was playboy or something like that. We used to be ranked #1, but then we got more serious. But that's New Orleans for you, don't need a reason to party. I can see it being true.
Gosh, it's always been my dream to live the american life of college/university :'). Sounds like this course will set you up for life! Mine is just a bachelors in biology and forensics, and is only three years And I get enough sleep (9+ hours). It sounds great fun up there!
Why? We are a new faniste and looking for great quality worlds. Your the second person I asked, and probably the last for awhile. Since you have testing open, it would be also categorized as Beta/Pending.
Been messing around with lighting parameters to try ad reach perfection, trying to get rid of that nasty lighting blip at 5:00am and 7:00pm. I actually put aside the old ones, borrowed Supernatural's, and tweaked them a bit. I'm having some very awful and awkward shading with water edges, and fog is making the water luminous. I still have the crisp shadows and nice lighting. Decided to make nighttime a little brighter, enough so you could see in the dark. But still have the night have a dark scary feel to it. Theses new color ramps also have a slight green tinge which I sort of like. I feel as if it resembles something more near the Pacific Coast, vs. Lucky Palm's Nevadan feel. I also changed sunrise and sunset a little to give more night, I believe it's 13 hours daylight, 11 hours night. It's still taking a long time to get these things right. I saw some pictures of this world on lower graphic settings with only one lot active, and I almost didn't recognize this world. I hope by the time it's finished, the average cheap computer/laptop can handle these high detailed graphics easily. I'm also FREAKING JAM PACKED with homework this weekend, next week, and most likely next weekend too! So progress is on a slow once again. (And by slow I mean basically put on hold because I would like more than four hours of sleep a night and possibly sleep more than six nights a week.) There's also some complications with relationships and such, so expect little progress updates for awhile. (I am sorry for this, but I do make efforts on this world still. The other one I was working on literally hasn't been opened in three months. ENJOY SLEEPING AND HAVING TIME TO HAVE FRIENDS AND TIME TO RELAX! or go to college and choose a not-intense major. AND DON'T TAKE A HARDER PHYSICS CLASS IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO!!!
I'm really glad that you decided to use the Moonlight Falls parameters because I love how Northwestern they look-the fog in the mornings, the overcast days-it's a really great base for the town's weather!
And if you're having a problem with daylight decreasing and increasing too fast at sunset and sunrise, have you tried changing the...crap, I can't remember-something like "light dominance time" or some crap like that (somewhere at the bottom of the sky setting INI)?
I've been messing around with the ini files yes, this jargon EA uses confuses me though. It's mostly trial and error with partial help from the internet. Problem with SN is that the water is very blue to begin with, whereas Bright Fall's has a dark black water. And the nights have a blueish tinge I never liked (the game has the tinge too, but it's not as colorful). Plus the game's shadow parameters start out very transparent, which I don't like. So it's a process of gives and takes, adjustments, trial and error. Seasons will bring a whole new challenge to the table, too.
Dear fellow simmers, I deeply apologize for the long delay of information and updates. Life's business has gone from bad to worse, allowing extreme minimal time of progress. This Thanksgiving Break, however, I have FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY managed to purchase supernatural (and seasons which came out like a dark horse). I've been playing them in small parts, and am liking what I see. Moving electrical units are going to come in handy, too. I'm also loving all the wooden twig furniture, should come in usefulness for another long delayed world of mine. I only have the next two days to work on this world, but my Christmas break will be long, and (hopefully) full of many updates to this world. I'm going to have to do an overhaul on many parts, testing to see how the seasons will affect certain terrains and trees. I'm also really glad I did not furnish a majority of the buildings yet.
Also, a note for a large portion of simmers...
Due to the increasing complexity of this world, and the projected time of completion, the cpu usage will likely be large. However, since this world will not be completed any time soon, and since computers are becomming bigger and better everyday, I'm planning this world on the usage of higher settings. I'm very sorry to all those who do not have faster computers, but in the possible year or more of creation, this number will hopefully decrease to a fraction of what it is today. I still plan to avoid any usage of store content, built-in mods (except for the rabbithole rugs), and stuff packs. however, all EP's will be used (I believe there are only two more left, anyways.)
Well Spring break is upon me, I fly home saturday and have six days to goof off. I'll be working parts on this world. I'll buy University to mess around for a bit. My architecture final is the 22nd, meanign after that, I have WAY more free time than I do now. So I'm happy to say I'm reinitiating this world for the summer! Hoo-raaaaaay! I won't be making any major huge changes until the summer, But I'll start sculpting the rest of the land and look into creating my own distant terrain. I still want to play around with seasons, supernatural, and now university to see what they are all capable of before really digging into the rest of this world. Thankyou everyone for your prolongd patience, the schoolyear is almost over, and the world-making is almost about to begin.
I guess I should also mention a few things I plan to do this summer, to help explain why progress might come to a slow despite a jobless 100 days.
In no particular order...
- Play all three Mass Effects in a row for an awesome Trilogy
- Play Tomb Raider
- Play Fallout New Vegas with all the DLC (And take intense notes for a giant world sized post-apocalyptic world)
- Start working on a massive post-apocalyptic world (Think Fallout Games)
- Bright Falls, Arcadia Update, (Possibly Seneriss), and debating the Wind Waker world for The Sims 3
- Visit my Nana who miraculously is still alive while I can
- Family Coming into Town
- Play some Zelda
- Play The Sims 3
- Write a book
- Paint and photoshop
- Enjoy Life and every moment I don't have to do homework
- SLEEP!
Hey everyone, sorry that I've been unable to upload any of the progress I've been making on this. I flew home to a storm of troubles with family and friends. I don't know that I'll be able to really dig into this as much as I had hoped this break, but I'll try when I have some free time. Thank you for understanding. Also, I'd like to ask for hope among the things happening in my life right now. A lot of things happening at once, not enough time to sort them all out.
EDIT: well, what I've managed to accomplish thus far include...
1) changing the parameters again (restarted from Moonlight Falls, changed shadow intensity, bloom intensity, and water darkness. I'm still having problems with the edges of water having strange opacity bugs) It seems a little foggy for the parameters directly from Moonlight Falls, will test in game later.
2) Removed non-greenish trees from outside the city (I believe it's mostly fir trees in game)
3) Changed the color of yellow cotton wood trees to a greenish tinge, might darken later on.
4) Attempted and failed to darken the street concrete and remove the saturation. (Something isn't working with the images i'm using, unsure what)
Comments
But I have started forming Bird Leg Island a short distance away from the town. If you downloaded the test file, you probable saw my shaping the lake, (I learnt the pathway was placed too far to the right..) Also, the Island turned out larger than I'd like it to be, I tried to shrink some things a little bit. I haven't built the house or bridge, but I'll get to that soon. I'm just glad I learnt the secret to bypass the lot-over-water transparency effect. (Water Planes). I'll look into adding them before the next test release also.
I also am playing around with fog and trying to get rid of that horrible light fudging at 5:00am and 7:00pm. Fog made water bright milky sky-blue, and couldn't figure out lighting. Figured I'm going to have to open up those color ramps and give them another whirl.
Also read something about now being able to have multiple moons in the sky. That'll come in handy for another world of mine I put on the back burner.
Finally, I have been playing around with a possible fourth world in the works. I don't want to say what it is yet, not until I figure out the mechanics and start some building. Anyways, till the next time!
AS FOR UPDATES ON THIS WORLD
1. I built the inside of the building next to the sheriff station, completing that block.
2. I (hopefully) fixed the routing on the trail starting from the church to the firestation
3. I added a lot of routing paint where it was needed (too much running on the side of mountains
4. In a couple of buildings, I moved the shelves which were acting as a decorative object rather than an actual shelf. (Sims ca't route under them)
5. I shaped Bird Leg Island (had to rage quit on making the home, game kept freezing when i tried to move some ranch weeds, and I couldn't find them in the world editor nor pick them up.)
6. Made an attempt to fix the cross in the church, still having trouble finding the right objects to use.
7. Changed some things in the Hospital by decreasig the width of the stairs. (Made the operation room larger, and the work space bigger. Hopefully sims will also be able to use the elevator there, too.
8. Added a few secrets to the world which you should keep an eye open for
9. Some minor furniture rearrangement in various buildings. Mostly the city hall (Hopefully the second floor is now accessible).
10. Gave up on trying to build something on one lot, and turned it into an empty lot from builders. Also Added a second empty lot at the end of a road. Builders rejoice!
11. Started to build inside one of the stores, only managed to create a second floor and define the flooring/wallpaper
12. Added some parking spaces to various lots. Am considering combing two lots into one (junkyard and nearby building which has no purpose)
13. changed some lighting intensity in some areas (To match the game, and seem more realistic).
Here is a 30x30 lot a short sinuous drive from the churchside homes. It is one of the larger lots in the world as of yet, and is good for a player looking for a space bigger than what most sizes are in the town. (Which are fairly small to be honest.)
Here is a smaller lot on the other side of town, it's at the end of a road which passes by two homes. (One of the two homes feels more like a shack considering it's small size. These aren't millionaire homes, it's a small town and I'm "shrinking" things to fit the entire area into this world.)
Here is the inside of the Paint Jobs Garage. The roof of this building is accessible (It should be, at least). Maybe you'll find some extra fun things here if you take a look around.
Inside of the Grocery / Deli, those white circles are lighting (they don't appear during gameplay). This one was tricky because of how the foundation levels were used. I added a staircase on the side to open up the second floor (It's not there in the game, but I feel as if it adds a higher level of detail)
Here is the outside, you can see the stair case along the side. Upstairs is some crates and storage.
And finally, here is the revision to the hospital. Now the doctors have room to operate. The small stairs also makes the rest of the hospital appear bigger (optical illusions and such).
This is very beautiful
I can't set a date this world will be fully completed, but I know it'll very likely be more than a year. Until then, enjoy the testing versions, and keep me informed of problems you find. Thank you.
PS since I'm British, is college in the US equivalent to university in the UK? Noob, I know :oops:
EDIT: Also, my college is ranked #8 party college by some source i forget whose name. I think they said it was playboy or something like that. We used to be ranked #1, but then we got more serious. But that's New Orleans for you, don't need a reason to party. I can see it being true.
I'm wondering if you mind if I feature your world here -- http://thesimstopicteam.webs.com
Why? We are a new faniste and looking for great quality worlds. Your the second person I asked, and probably the last for awhile. Since you have testing open, it would be also categorized as Beta/Pending.
So, whatcha say?
Great! Thanks! It should be up in a few
ETA:
Upon entering the world, I was blown away. I thought the pics were great, but the world itself was amazing!
I want to say another thank you- I feel like I'm special palying this world. Its that good!
And if you're having a problem with daylight decreasing and increasing too fast at sunset and sunrise, have you tried changing the...crap, I can't remember-something like "light dominance time" or some crap like that (somewhere at the bottom of the sky setting INI)?
http://modthesims.info/showpost.php?p=3834477&postcount=194
http://modthesims.info/showpost.php?p=3834832&postcount=198
http://modthesims.info/showpost.php?p=3547337&postcount=32
And agreed on the stupid blue night color-a really good color to use for reference is the night color from Jasumi's tropical weather:
EDIT - Can't install, it crashes the launcher everytime I try.
Also, a note for a large portion of simmers...
Due to the increasing complexity of this world, and the projected time of completion, the cpu usage will likely be large. However, since this world will not be completed any time soon, and since computers are becomming bigger and better everyday, I'm planning this world on the usage of higher settings. I'm very sorry to all those who do not have faster computers, but in the possible year or more of creation, this number will hopefully decrease to a fraction of what it is today. I still plan to avoid any usage of store content, built-in mods (except for the rabbithole rugs), and stuff packs. however, all EP's will be used (I believe there are only two more left, anyways.)
I guess I should also mention a few things I plan to do this summer, to help explain why progress might come to a slow despite a jobless 100 days.
In no particular order...
- Play all three Mass Effects in a row for an awesome Trilogy
- Play Tomb Raider
- Play Fallout New Vegas with all the DLC (And take intense notes for a giant world sized post-apocalyptic world)
- Start working on a massive post-apocalyptic world (Think Fallout Games)
- Bright Falls, Arcadia Update, (Possibly Seneriss), and debating the Wind Waker world for The Sims 3
- Visit my Nana who miraculously is still alive while I can
- Family Coming into Town
- Play some Zelda
- Play The Sims 3
- Write a book
- Paint and photoshop
- Enjoy Life and every moment I don't have to do homework
- SLEEP!
EDIT: well, what I've managed to accomplish thus far include...
1) changing the parameters again (restarted from Moonlight Falls, changed shadow intensity, bloom intensity, and water darkness. I'm still having problems with the edges of water having strange opacity bugs) It seems a little foggy for the parameters directly from Moonlight Falls, will test in game later.
2) Removed non-greenish trees from outside the city (I believe it's mostly fir trees in game)
3) Changed the color of yellow cotton wood trees to a greenish tinge, might darken later on.
4) Attempted and failed to darken the street concrete and remove the saturation. (Something isn't working with the images i'm using, unsure what)
5) Fixed some awkward tree locations.