sharonxyz , Pary, Starsaphire2, Batsheba.
I'm uploading Caldey Isle Beta to my mediafire account as I write this.
I'll provide download info to your pages when it is all done.
Batsheba, I'll message your Simblr.
I'm so excited
Hi Simmers.
I was just checking my Caldey Isle Beta upload to double check that all my testers had downloaded.
I was surprised to see my world had been downloaded 11 times instead of the 4, I was expecting
Sorry you eager bunnies. I've now disabled link.
I'm testing before general release, so that the finished world will play, look & run as well as possible.
My testers are not just looking for problems but will be contributing to the overall finished world.
If anyone reading this has downloaded Caldey Isle Beta already, you might as well fess up & join in the testing.
There are resource & reference materials that go along with the Beta.
The testing is underway. Looking forward to getting a new perspective of my little Island.
I the meantime, I still have a couple tombs to finish/test & a festival/tournament lot to flesh out.
Seasonal markers are a tedious bit of kit. You kinda end up building the lot 4 times
I am having such a blast, I've been playing on Caldey Isle all day! It is fantastic as a roadless world, as it takes a few seconds to run anywhere, and a minute more if they are just walking! Horse Approved too! Finished one tomb, one I did not test previously. I'd call it hard, but I'm not great at tombs, I just love them. For those simmers who are not into tombs, fear not as they are not required to enjoy Caldey Isle, it's more like the tombs are a hidden game within the game. Stella, I think you are better at tomb making than EA...well, you make ones more challenging AND I adore the colorful dialog you surprise me with constantly (that's dialog in the upper right corner). A tomb has never made me laugh before this
A quick note about the business rabbit hole. The original one used for a very long time has a quirk to it; a sim must always enter the front of the building and exit out the back door. So arranging it so requires a lot of underground space; instead I like to use the Island Paradise version which is simply part of a two rabbit hole strip mall (has a book store attached). Not sure of this, but I believe Moonlight Falls is similar. Day one I usually send my sims to classes which is a great routing check.
As for the Festival Lot, I found this interesting: while it's clearly not finished, the stage you placed is correct and a Simfest was announced! So we had to visit the lot and my gang went on an Easter egg hunt. They were having so much fun I looked through what Seasons has to offer for festival activities. Keeping in mind the style of the world, medieval of course, I played a bit with the look of the props and such. The water balloon fight area, for lack of a better name, is easily converted to wood. As for the water balloons, they play that anywhere autonomously, so it's gonna happen They love Horseshoes which looks great as is. I tried several items, trying to stay with EP content and if it colored well, the golfing range is a hit. Photo booths are a stretch for medieval worlds, but at least the drapery can be fixed on the Seasons version. Just realized that although I didn't try it, the SOMPA mod by VelocityGrass might get rid of the gaudy decor on the booths, etc. Stella, I'd be happy to test some festival stuff out for you in terms of looks, although I have no experience with seasonal markers so defer to one who has.
Clearly too much play is being had, but I just have a childish thing about playing in my games LOL. I think I've been having so much fun playing of late that I haven't done a build myself in ages.
I adore all the architecture and am enjoying the lovely, roomy Lallybrock where the horses have room to play in the yard without routing issues. Stella, some of your homes have this way of being incredibly large while feeling so cozy and I adore self-lighting fireplaces as they are so welcoming and give such a warm glow to the room. Everyone, not just my bookworm, loves to sit and read by a fireplace. I just love this world so much!!
Hi Sharon,
Don’t worry about it, just playing in the world for now. A world should be fun to explore & play in.
You must have done the Odd Curiosity Shop tomb.
I built the original a couple years ago & I did a complete overhaul of the tomb for Caldey.
I’m glad you got a giggle out of the trigger dialog. I try to write tombs as if your Sim is talking to you or the Watcher is following your progress, dropping comments along the way.
Unfortunately the Mine tomb & the Standing Stone tomb can’t be run yet. You can visit the mine & collect resources but the ladder to the lower levels is not rout able. Structurally everything’s in place but triggers, traps & treasure have not been set.
The Standing Stone lot should not be accessible until the hidden island challenge has been completed.
I’ll look into changing out the business rabbit hole. I was hoping Sims would be able to deal with the routing. AEs rabbit holes are an epic fail.
The festival lot can be your legacy on Caldey Isle.
The festival is bare bones at present & I’d be happy to have you work on it. I can give you links to tutorials & talk you through the mechanics of seasonal markers. The biggest difficult is that the initial lot can only utilize period appropriate EP content. Later I plan to have a version of this lot using store content. I’m not committed to the present layout.
The jousting area is the tie in for the buried equestrian rabbit hole. The 3 small open stalls were planned for placing the seasonal booths. The performance stage is good for bringing Sims to the lot throughout the year. I can add tomb elements to the lot when you’ve done the festival building.
Thanks for for the update. XO StellaT.
Hey Stella I would love to talk to you someday about how hidden islands work I have no clue about them. It is funny I really do not play the sims 3 at all and yet here I am trying to build worlds for it, kinda crazy huh......lol
I read the official walkthrough/instructions on making a seasonal lot. Then I went to see what you've done thus far. The lovely awnings and stalls you have in progress were made in construction mode. In my research, it seemed best to just skip Construction mode, as it is simply what one sees on one single day after each season, beginning at 3am and ending at the following night's 3am at which time, the next seasonal festival will appear. My thought was for a seasonal Festival (as opposed to another seasonal lot) that the construction phase was not necessary. From what you had completed, it seems that those things should be included in common mode, as when creating for one season the construction mode work will NOT be visible. Any regular features that you'd like in all seasons need to be in common mode, the only way to view them (albeit transparent) when creating the Season at hand.
Now as far as I know, and I did read carefully, if you want the awnings at all festivals, they would need to be re-created in common mode. If what you had in mind for example was awnings that change colors with the seasons, then one would build the stalls in common mode MINUS the awnings. Then place awnings anew for each season. This of course can be done by copying your style or any style desired and add awnings in each season, changeing colors each time they are placed depending on that season.
I've noticed your nearly finished stalls are only in construction mode. I rather like them, as you are very talented. So I would copy elements used, make note of placement, and then build them myself from scratch in common mode. I hope it's clear that I am speaking of the small kiosks, not the buildings behind them.
You may know this, but anything created in build mode, e.g. walls, windows, doors, arch ways, roofs, must be done in common mode. Fireplaces and firepits too! I was surprised by the firepits! Oddly, COLUMNS are changeable. Awnings were not mentioned specifically. I studied SimGuru Semedi's tutorial where he then demonstrates on May Glen Park in Sunset Valley. I mention the build mode items specifically, as I noticed when you were working in construction mode, some windows are transparent. This won't be the case in the four seasons which comprise most or all of the time.
If you were following a tutorial that is more thorough than the one I studied, please post a link to it. And let me know if and why you would like a construction mode, if that is indeed the case. My thought is that a fair can be altered in the wee hours of one night and next day tada, new seasonal festival!
I hope I make sense here, and will hold off on working on the lot until I know what your original plan was with what you had begun. Buildings too, I'd love to know what you had in mind.
And PLEASE tell me if you have a jousting simulation in mind, as I am at a loss for that. I certainly understand wanting to tie the festival park to the rabbit hole (which must also be placed in common mode!) AND if you are planning a tomb below, It should be built during common mode as well. I would keep this tomb to a small one, as simutaneous seasonal transitions and tomb solving could cause a major lag/freeze. Whew, lots of details to this stuff! I am happy to do the lot for you, but would need your imput and ideas at the start since changes are complex or impossible, as far as I know.
This is the url of the tutorial I studied. I cannot seem to put a proper link in these new forums (while it seems to be a link, it doesn't work, so copy and paste it in your browser):
Hi FLSRider. Hidden/uncharted island markers are an interesting little bit of kit.
I started experimenting with using them when nikel23 unlocked the markers & posted this tutorial.
It's a good place to start if you're thinking of adding this feature to your world(s).
I have a few additional observation/suggestions from my in game testing.
One of the biggest issues I found was, positioning the marker was kinda vague & a bit of a bother to reset.
That said, I think it's worth it. The uncharted island markers are an added layer of detail I can add to my world building.
Caldey Isle was the first time I was able to test run the more involved option of 5 map pieces challenge.
If you have questions, I'd be happy to pass on what I know about the markers.
It is funny I really do not play the sims 3 at all and yet here I am trying to build worlds for it, kinda crazy huh......lol
Not crazy at all. I've never unlock more than 2 hidden island on Ista Paradiso. Most of my interactions with these markers comes from experimenting, testing & world building.
All my game play is centered around lot & world testing. That's my kind of fun
Hi Sharon.
While testing, I noticed things missing from the Festival lot a while ago.
So went back to tutorial & I made the unhappy realization that construction mode was not the same as common mode.
I wanted to get the beta out so let it go thinking I'd work on it later or optimistically hoping that one of you would really want to take it on
Tag you're it
I hoped deleting the Seasonal lot marker would be a quick fix, If not I have an earlier lot version built without the marker.
I used the same SimGuru Tutorial as you but I built this lot very quickly & didn't pay enough attention to marker settings.
As mentioned earlier this lot is just bare bones, plenty of options open.
Since Caldey Isle is a horse friendly world I need some public event featuring riding.
Even though the jousting lanes are not practical, the directional racing posts & lanes should imitate the charge.
I set the balconies on surrounding buildings for spectators. VIP(royal) viewing long side balcony.
I was thinking the tomb elements on this lot would be more like Easter eggs.
Each season a different door or hidden area becomes visible/accessible.
Thanks for doing all your work & research. XO StellaT
Hi Stella, deleting the seasonal marker in the this case was a complete success! So I'm working on common mode, today finished the little kiosks with awnings on both sides. My idea worked very well, I used the hanging lanterns, two per kiosk with the poles moo'ed in the centre and one lantern to each side. Just the right height and perfect lantern placements. Sometimes problem solving is very rewarding
Hi Sharon. Deleting the marker has worked for me in the past. Now you have the bones to add your magic.
As I've said before I'm not committed to anything that exists right now.
Change the buildings, layout, whatever will fit your vision for the lot. You can even name the lot ,festivals & shops.
I know you've been living on the island long enough to have a good sense of the place.
You should also think ahead to this lot down the line with store or cc content.
As I mentioned in a previous post, this lots tomb elements will consist of Easter eggs about Caldey's backstory.
I can fit them in to anything you build.
XO StellaT
I'm fairly new to the seasonal fair aspect, as for my own bells and whistles I freeze (so to speak) Spring as my eternal season and that allows me beautiful graphics with little freezing (mainly only freezes when a unicorn shows up, as they always do...and to think they were once elusive:)) What I do know is for what my sims wish when we visit a spring festival. One thing that SEEMS essential, though I don't think anything is exactly essential besides the Seasons EP and the seasonal marker, is the one booth where sims exchange tickets for prizes and I think they also have food too. I'll have to pick one and see how I can alter it to look less garish. Spring involves dancing and music, egg hunt (autonomously occurs), and I believe eating contests are for all seasons. I don't see why apple bobbing can't also be year round as it has a certain medieval flair in its simplicity of props. Was thinking water balloon barriers for all but winter. I need your opinion on this, as I am loathe to tear down your beautiful building unless necessary: skating and ice staking rinks are often used, but I just can't see it on Caldey. If a blacksmith crafted ice skates, it would be a frozen pond, not a rink. Roller skating just doesn't seem appropriate. Therefore, to my imagination, a pond for fishing and ambiance for three seasons, and having it freeze over in the winter for skating might be doable. I'm just not sure how large a pond is needed for the sport and again placement. Your three little buildings in the back right are done, as you started those and I picked up the thread. I want the stage as it does work showtime style. I imagined changing the stage decor seasonally, yet I'm not so sure that would work, as the Showtime mechanics seem to want to clear the stage in the hopes of the active family decorating and performing. Unless you know, I may just have to try it. Without Construction "season" I'm guessing I could shorten each calendar season to 2-3 days to watch the changes made. I'm throwing a few things out there for you, Stella, so if anything appears now as impossible, you can warn me now. Are we for now using JUST EPs, or SPs too? Thanks for playing 20 (or so) questions with me ~Sharon
Hi Sharon. All the things you've mentioned seem do able.
If you turn off rain, hail, snow, etc. you should have few issues with rendering once world has made seasonal transition.
A pond on the lot would be a great idea. It doesn't have to that big to allow basic skating.
Millers Vale pond can be skated on, but there's no couples skate options. I imagine you'd need a pond similar in size to the rink, to allow all skate options.
Where to put it though?
The best option would probably be to remove building(s) front right. Make that whole corner a nature area.
Fishing throughout the year & skating in winter. You might consider a picnic, barbecue or bonfire here as well.
The bathrooms don't have to stay where they are. Consider splitting up & added to buildings around jousting list.
The performance mat for Showtime is the only part that the player/performer controls.
Everything else on that building can be modified by seasonal marker. Unfortunately, the area in front of stage will need to be left for spectators(seating?)
Dancing is a big part of socializing/courting all year round. The seasonal dance mat is big maybe in the center of lot.
This lots layout has nothing to do with historical reality, so it's more a matter of fitting in activity venues & basic needs fulfillment while leaving adequate space for routing.
Some plantings & landscaping can soften the overall layout later.
It rains a lot on Caldey, consider some covered activities.
I just want to say Thank You for all of the info you all have put in here. I realize that this is mostly a discussion on these specific lots and world but the info here is priceless. Plus the pics are gorgeous!
Hi kdluvshersims. Threads on this forum are an amazing building resource, glad to be able to add to this pool of knowledge.
Worlds for me are like 3D interactive paintings. I try to post pictures that bring the viewer into the world with me
Hi kdluvshersims. Threads on this forum are an amazing building resource, glad to be able to add to this pool of knowledge.
Worlds for me are like 3D interactive paintings. I try to post pictures that bring the viewer into the world with me
Statements like yours make me want to learn CAW...and then I regain whatever sanity I have that remains I want to learn everything, but lately something with what seems like a teensy weensy learning curve technical procedure has been making me nuts for about a week, and CAW would probably have me institutionalized, so perhaps next year..
Stella, this is such an interesting town. I've continue to approach your world in my normal play mode, just to scratch my head and say...'nope, this world isn't meant to be a cookie-cutter hood.' So I'm on my 3rd restart with a different sim and this one is actually exploring and going through all the tombs.
It was late and my office lights were low and my house was quiet. All had gone to bed. Exhausted from banging on walls and moving statues, my sim had just crawled into bed at the Odd Curiosity shop, the spooky tomb music was echoing through the floorboards....when suddenly the music changed to ....wait for it......yes...the piped sounds of Festival Day! My sim sprang (fully dressed) from the bed in complete and utter shock. I don't think I've conveyed this scene with the right amount of nuance, but it was hilarious!
Thank you for coming up with a world, which pushes me to play in a slightly different style. In the future, I promise to keep a better eye out for unpainted walls.
Hi sharonxyz, Starsaphire2. Great to hear from you.
I've been taking your input & adding the new details to Caldey.
I changed up rabbit holes in the Civic Center, now Sims will route to map tags.
Added a new comm. lot with Fortune Teller & Vault of Antiquity. (Caldey seems like a good fit for Supernatural theme)
I've moved the hidden island marker further away from mainland. Pary mentioned there were issues with camera routing on lots close to marker (Sims will move through area, but camera can't follow).
I've been forcing my Sims to create Easter eggs to hide around the island.
If any of you testers would like to make an Easter egg please do.(i.e. books, paintings, sculptures, nectar, anything you can name or customize.
Been working on the unfinished tombs. Hopefully I can get those out for testing soon. I have to work on the" bring urn to cemetery" link for the Odd Shop & Mine Tombs. Luckily I have the small fenced crypts next to chapel that can be rebuilt for that purpose.
I'm looking for ideas for the remaining open areas. Some are quite big & I'd like to make use of a few.
I could add more fields/crops, trees/ground cover or maybe more lots. A few small parks & beaches might be a nice idea, since there are none on the island as yet.
Sharon I've spent some time with your festival lot(2 seasonal transitions so far).
Some issues with routing but nothing that isn't a quick fix. I'd reallocating main building interior use in common mode. The weather is kinda tragic on Caldey. Need things to do inside). I'll email you pics & details of what I had in mind.
Comments
I'm uploading Caldey Isle Beta to my mediafire account as I write this.
I'll provide download info to your pages when it is all done.
Batsheba, I'll message your Simblr.
I'm so excited
I'm off to playtest !
PoppySims Archive
InnaLisa Pose Archive
Devolution of Sims - a once customisable open world sandbox which has become a DLC Party catalog in a shoebox
I ♡ Pudding
Congratulations on the excellent work!
Id: SimDels
BSR
I was just checking my Caldey Isle Beta upload to double check that all my testers had downloaded.
I was surprised to see my world had been downloaded 11 times instead of the 4, I was expecting
Sorry you eager bunnies. I've now disabled link.
I'm testing before general release, so that the finished world will play, look & run as well as possible.
My testers are not just looking for problems but will be contributing to the overall finished world.
If anyone reading this has downloaded Caldey Isle Beta already, you might as well fess up & join in the testing.
There are resource & reference materials that go along with the Beta.
I the meantime, I still have a couple tombs to finish/test & a festival/tournament lot to flesh out.
Seasonal markers are a tedious bit of kit. You kinda end up building the lot 4 times
A quick note about the business rabbit hole. The original one used for a very long time has a quirk to it; a sim must always enter the front of the building and exit out the back door. So arranging it so requires a lot of underground space; instead I like to use the Island Paradise version which is simply part of a two rabbit hole strip mall (has a book store attached). Not sure of this, but I believe Moonlight Falls is similar. Day one I usually send my sims to classes which is a great routing check.
As for the Festival Lot, I found this interesting: while it's clearly not finished, the stage you placed is correct and a Simfest was announced! So we had to visit the lot and my gang went on an Easter egg hunt. They were having so much fun I looked through what Seasons has to offer for festival activities. Keeping in mind the style of the world, medieval of course, I played a bit with the look of the props and such. The water balloon fight area, for lack of a better name, is easily converted to wood. As for the water balloons, they play that anywhere autonomously, so it's gonna happen
Clearly too much play is being had, but I just have a childish thing about playing in my games LOL. I think I've been having so much fun playing of late that I haven't done a build myself in ages.
I adore all the architecture and am enjoying the lovely, roomy Lallybrock where the horses have room to play in the yard without routing issues. Stella, some of your homes have this way of being incredibly large while feeling so cozy and I adore self-lighting fireplaces as they are so welcoming and give such a warm glow to the room. Everyone, not just my bookworm, loves to sit and read by a fireplace. I just love this world so much!!
Just a quiet evening at Lallybrock on Caldey Isle...
Don’t worry about it, just playing in the world for now. A world should be fun to explore & play in.
You must have done the Odd Curiosity Shop tomb.
I built the original a couple years ago & I did a complete overhaul of the tomb for Caldey.
I’m glad you got a giggle out of the trigger dialog. I try to write tombs as if your Sim is talking to you or the Watcher is following your progress, dropping comments along the way.
Unfortunately the Mine tomb & the Standing Stone tomb can’t be run yet. You can visit the mine & collect resources but the ladder to the lower levels is not rout able. Structurally everything’s in place but triggers, traps & treasure have not been set.
The Standing Stone lot should not be accessible until the hidden island challenge has been completed.
I’ll look into changing out the business rabbit hole. I was hoping Sims would be able to deal with the routing. AEs rabbit holes are an epic fail.
The festival lot can be your legacy on Caldey Isle.
The festival is bare bones at present & I’d be happy to have you work on it. I can give you links to tutorials & talk you through the mechanics of seasonal markers. The biggest difficult is that the initial lot can only utilize period appropriate EP content. Later I plan to have a version of this lot using store content. I’m not committed to the present layout.
The jousting area is the tie in for the buried equestrian rabbit hole. The 3 small open stalls were planned for placing the seasonal booths. The performance stage is good for bringing Sims to the lot throughout the year. I can add tomb elements to the lot when you’ve done the festival building.
Thanks for for the update. XO StellaT.
I read the official walkthrough/instructions on making a seasonal lot. Then I went to see what you've done thus far. The lovely awnings and stalls you have in progress were made in construction mode. In my research, it seemed best to just skip Construction mode, as it is simply what one sees on one single day after each season, beginning at 3am and ending at the following night's 3am at which time, the next seasonal festival will appear. My thought was for a seasonal Festival (as opposed to another seasonal lot) that the construction phase was not necessary. From what you had completed, it seems that those things should be included in common mode, as when creating for one season the construction mode work will NOT be visible. Any regular features that you'd like in all seasons need to be in common mode, the only way to view them (albeit transparent) when creating the Season at hand.
Now as far as I know, and I did read carefully, if you want the awnings at all festivals, they would need to be re-created in common mode. If what you had in mind for example was awnings that change colors with the seasons, then one would build the stalls in common mode MINUS the awnings. Then place awnings anew for each season. This of course can be done by copying your style or any style desired and add awnings in each season, changeing colors each time they are placed depending on that season.
I've noticed your nearly finished stalls are only in construction mode. I rather like them, as you are very talented. So I would copy elements used, make note of placement, and then build them myself from scratch in common mode. I hope it's clear that I am speaking of the small kiosks, not the buildings behind them.
You may know this, but anything created in build mode, e.g. walls, windows, doors, arch ways, roofs, must be done in common mode. Fireplaces and firepits too! I was surprised by the firepits! Oddly, COLUMNS are changeable. Awnings were not mentioned specifically. I studied SimGuru Semedi's tutorial where he then demonstrates on May Glen Park in Sunset Valley. I mention the build mode items specifically, as I noticed when you were working in construction mode, some windows are transparent. This won't be the case in the four seasons which comprise most or all of the time.
If you were following a tutorial that is more thorough than the one I studied, please post a link to it. And let me know if and why you would like a construction mode, if that is indeed the case. My thought is that a fair can be altered in the wee hours of one night and next day tada, new seasonal festival!
I hope I make sense here, and will hold off on working on the lot until I know what your original plan was with what you had begun. Buildings too, I'd love to know what you had in mind.
And PLEASE tell me if you have a jousting simulation in mind, as I am at a loss for that. I certainly understand wanting to tie the festival park to the rabbit hole (which must also be placed in common mode!) AND if you are planning a tomb below, It should be built during common mode as well. I would keep this tomb to a small one, as simutaneous seasonal transitions and tomb solving could cause a major lag/freeze. Whew, lots of details to this stuff! I am happy to do the lot for you, but would need your imput and ideas at the start since changes are complex or impossible, as far as I know.
This is the url of the tutorial I studied. I cannot seem to put a proper link in these new forums (while it seems to be a link, it doesn't work, so copy and paste it in your browser):
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/604761.page
Thanks!! xox
sharon
I started experimenting with using them when nikel23 unlocked the markers & posted this tutorial.
It's a good place to start if you're thinking of adding this feature to your world(s).
I have a few additional observation/suggestions from my in game testing.
One of the biggest issues I found was, positioning the marker was kinda vague & a bit of a bother to reset.
That said, I think it's worth it. The uncharted island markers are an added layer of detail I can add to my world building.
Caldey Isle was the first time I was able to test run the more involved option of 5 map pieces challenge.
If you have questions, I'd be happy to pass on what I know about the markers.
Not crazy at all. I've never unlock more than 2 hidden island on Ista Paradiso. Most of my interactions with these markers comes from experimenting, testing & world building.
All my game play is centered around lot & world testing. That's my kind of fun
I'll put a pretty picture or some witty banter in later
While testing, I noticed things missing from the Festival lot a while ago.
So went back to tutorial & I made the unhappy realization that construction mode was not the same as common mode.
I wanted to get the beta out so let it go thinking I'd work on it later or optimistically hoping that one of you would really want to take it on
Tag you're it
I hoped deleting the Seasonal lot marker would be a quick fix, If not I have an earlier lot version built without the marker.
I used the same SimGuru Tutorial as you but I built this lot very quickly & didn't pay enough attention to marker settings.
As mentioned earlier this lot is just bare bones, plenty of options open.
Since Caldey Isle is a horse friendly world I need some public event featuring riding.
Even though the jousting lanes are not practical, the directional racing posts & lanes should imitate the charge.
I set the balconies on surrounding buildings for spectators. VIP(royal) viewing long side balcony.
I was thinking the tomb elements on this lot would be more like Easter eggs.
Each season a different door or hidden area becomes visible/accessible.
Thanks for doing all your work & research. XO StellaT
As I've said before I'm not committed to anything that exists right now.
Change the buildings, layout, whatever will fit your vision for the lot. You can even name the lot ,festivals & shops.
I know you've been living on the island long enough to have a good sense of the place.
You should also think ahead to this lot down the line with store or cc content.
As I mentioned in a previous post, this lots tomb elements will consist of Easter eggs about Caldey's backstory.
I can fit them in to anything you build.
XO StellaT
If you turn off rain, hail, snow, etc. you should have few issues with rendering once world has made seasonal transition.
A pond on the lot would be a great idea. It doesn't have to that big to allow basic skating.
Millers Vale pond can be skated on, but there's no couples skate options. I imagine you'd need a pond similar in size to the rink, to allow all skate options.
Where to put it though?
The best option would probably be to remove building(s) front right. Make that whole corner a nature area.
Fishing throughout the year & skating in winter. You might consider a picnic, barbecue or bonfire here as well.
The bathrooms don't have to stay where they are. Consider splitting up & added to buildings around jousting list.
The performance mat for Showtime is the only part that the player/performer controls.
Everything else on that building can be modified by seasonal marker. Unfortunately, the area in front of stage will need to be left for spectators(seating?)
Dancing is a big part of socializing/courting all year round. The seasonal dance mat is big
This lots layout has nothing to do with historical reality, so it's more a matter of fitting in activity venues & basic needs fulfillment while leaving adequate space for routing.
Some plantings & landscaping can soften the overall layout later.
It rains a lot on Caldey, consider some covered activities.
Worlds for me are like 3D interactive paintings. I try to post pictures that bring the viewer into the world with me
Statements like yours make me want to learn CAW...and then I regain whatever sanity I have that remains
Batsheba's photos of Caldey have been amazing!
It was late and my office lights were low and my house was quiet. All had gone to bed. Exhausted from banging on walls and moving statues, my sim had just crawled into bed at the Odd Curiosity shop, the spooky tomb music was echoing through the floorboards....when suddenly the music changed to ....wait for it......yes...the piped sounds of Festival Day! My sim sprang (fully dressed) from the bed in complete and utter shock. I don't think I've conveyed this scene with the right amount of nuance, but it was hilarious!
Thank you for coming up with a world, which pushes me to play in a slightly different style. In the future, I promise to keep a better eye out for unpainted walls.
I've been taking your input & adding the new details to Caldey.
If any of you testers would like to make an Easter egg please do.(i.e. books, paintings, sculptures, nectar, anything you can name or customize.
I could add more fields/crops, trees/ground cover or maybe more lots. A few small parks & beaches might be a nice idea, since there are none on the island as yet.
Some issues with routing but nothing that isn't a quick fix. I'd reallocating main building interior use in common mode. The weather is kinda tragic on Caldey. Need things to do inside). I'll email you pics & details of what I had in mind.