Hey Stella, if you are interested in ideas for more lots, I'd say the world could use a couple of inexpensive starter homes, even the tenement apartments are very spendy. My play style is very predictable: I start out on a medium size lot with some trees, a pond, a fire-pit, and not much else. I prefer the lot to be away from anything that restricts my view to it or makes the camera go insane. Often I pick a lot a little ways out of town and I usually place (or build) a small consignment store and pub closer in, at the edge of town. If I don't have a consignment register somewhere close by, I'll add the sellers cart to the nearest community lot where it doesn't look too out of place. The second or third generation usually moves into the lot next door.
For a less modern world I try to fit in (on whatever lot they look best) these items: a pizza oven, the fountain of youth, a crystal ball, the one arcade game that tests your love, a popcorn machine; a wedding arch and the alchemy book stand (usually at a church); life guard chair, bonfire, a massage table and a sauna, juice keg and ping pong table and horseshoe pit. And for kids: tree house, fort, hopscotch, soccer and sometimes a roller rink or bowling alley - dependent on whether it fits the mood of the town, and the lemonade stand. I often add a shell and bottle spawner to the beach. I wish there were more indoor family oriented games like the domino table! I do enjoy the festival lots with apple bobbing and egg hunts.
I usually also add a run-down, dark and dismal looking factory, which houses a couple of inventing benches, a sculpting station, a gem cutter, and a glass blowing station on the main floor, and then upstairs there's a drafting table, bookshelves and desks, and maybe a chemistry set with them bones.
If you can find the elbow room, it's hard to beat that giant balloon for visual beauty! If my courting sims are lucky, they go on a ride from one spot to another, say from a mountain viewpoint to an island spot for a picnic-getaway.
for my own amusement, I also look for a rather threadbare (old elegance) restaurant with an upstairs room for a private eye, or a dance studio, or whatever comes to mind...but this is probably way more info than you were wanting...and honestly, there are lots of wonderful vacant upper rooms just waiting for me to fill with such things.
I completely understand if you don't want to fill your world with store items, these are just some of the things I tend to add to my games if I have space for them.
Hi Starsaphire2
The initial build for Caldey Isle doesn't include store content or CC. Most lots I've tried to leave space for players to add this stuff in later.
I haven't added markers & NPC doors to most of the tenement lots yet. I wanted it to be easy for testers to open them up & poke around in them. There are a few small units that will run you around $20.000.
I'll definitely add a couple small empty residential lots & I'm removing buildings from unfinished lot on central plateau. So in total 5 empty residential lots.
I can add an inventing bench, sculpting station, gem cutter & drafting table to the Odd Shop & Reading room comm. lot. Once the tomb is completed players can empty out the storage room to add a glassblowing station
The Grog & Perch would work for your threadbare restaurant idea. It has several balconies/galleries overlooking open main floor. There's plenty of rooms upstairs to customize. I'm thinking of switching out the theater for the criminal/theater rabbit hole.
Even though there's only 1 consignment store on the island, I wouldn't worry about additional venues for selling. I think the existing rabbit holes & registers will make buying/selling goods quick & easy no matter where you live on the island.
I'll definitely be adding a couple beach lots for placing bottle/shell spawners but kind at a loss to think of what else to include.
Pre industrial societies didn't have much time for lounging & sunning at the beach. Folks went to the shore to work beach combing, fishing & occasionally a little ships salvage.
I personally don't have the air balloon. I was not impressed with the balloons actual mechanics.
If only one could look out while floating around the island it would made for a lovely view.
Maybe I'll add a viewing tower lot to the castle keep with the potential to tether a balloon.
There's also the 2 headlands either side of Port Merry Bell Bay that are unused at present. I could squeeze towers at these locations.
Starsaphire2, if I add the towers, you'll need to test them with balloons for me.
You are right, the hot air balloon would have been dazzling if our sims actually floated over the land. I would be happy to test out the platforms for the balloon. And I agree about not adding much to most beach lots; I like a rugged, empty beach. Though I did turn one of the beach lots in Midnight Hollow into a strange medicinal spot for improving one's health in the natural springs (hot tub). It was all about long skirts, big hats and riding those little swan boats in MH's odd lighting, it was pretty surreal.
Love the placement of the lots, especially near the lighthouse. That area is so picturesque, sharks and all. And, of course, the apartments aren't set yet! Silly me, I should've realized.
Hi Stella, Putting more activities indoors shouldn't be a problem as: a) There aren't that many actual things to do outside and some are a tight fit; and b) it struck me that there should be more for children to do. In keeping with the time period and how sim children behave, they would like to play chess and dominos and have toy boxes, toy ovens (they could sell baked goods at their little table perhaps), dollhouse, etc., all in door stuff. The pie-eating stand is squished in somewhat, that could be indoors; The dance floor outside should stay, but a second one inside might work, though it's big. In the spot where I have the water ballooon fight arena, it's still good for that for two seasons and in winter they used it for snowballs; autumn it's where the haunted house goes. One idea I ditched due to space was a broom flying arena; it looks good esp. after SOMPA, and anyone can fly a broom. Just putting that idea out there. For the grown-ups, the kissing booths can be out year round (I like how they look).
Jousting seems like a player prompted role acting feat; there's room for it but no way to say 'do it' Same with a thought of race winners from the rabbit hole taking a victory lap....uh oh, just realized something. a person needs to ride their horse into the rabbit hole!!! Horses of course don't do stairs, so now you may want to rethink the equestrian location. Sorry I didn't think of it sooner, I've played equestrian sims but not recently. Personally I'd teleport them down LOL but that's not for everyone. And immediately after a race, the sim rides out of the building and let's the horse graze and drink while on horseback for a bit.
This might fill some unused space. If so, a horse ranch goes well next to a rabbit hole, as it's the only place sims can practice the jumps and longer sprints.
Really excited about this world. Would like to recreate the Outlander senerio. I have made a draft of the story line. Problem I am having is figuring out how I will make Claire disappear into the future while I have Jamie marry Lehair(?) ( I know that is spelled wrong!) Anyone else going to do the story line? If so I would appreciate some ideas. Can't wait until the world is finished. Looks really beautiful!
Hi Sharonxyz
The past few days I've been testing world with a horse again.
The racing posts work as a loop meaning horse & rider can train for racing on festival lot.
This is not really necessary since the they can improve this skill while travelling around island.
I'm fine with you just removing them. There's things that would make better use of the space.
I've now done all seasons on Festival lot.
All year round, weather plays a big part of all activities on the island.
In the fall it's hit & miss being able to harvest pumpkins for carving. BuyDebug has harvested pumpkins you could scatter around plantings.
The tester & wild horses has been steadily eating up all plants on lot.
You were quite right about not being able to get horse to Equestrian rabbit hole without teleporting. Not much help for it.
There's not a lot on the island that could accommodate that rabbit hole on the surface & neither option fits world theme even remotely
I could put a new comm. lot back of Smuggler's Bay to add a jumping course.
Hi Moinesse
Caldey Isle being an island, might not be a perfect fit for the Outlander story, but with a little creative editing you can make it work.
This is my Lallybroch in an actual highland setting.
Caldey's standing stones are not like Craigh na Dun's setting, but if your willing to overlook these differences, Caldey is set in the approximate right location & time period for the story.
Hi king_of_simcity7, jobug1015.
Sorry I missed your posts. Thank you for your kind words.
I'm looking forward to getting my little world out there, but I'm still working on finishing details & adding improvements to make Caldey Isle a unique, compelling place to Sim in
Actually IMO I think Caldey Isle would be a perfect setting for the series . Its beautiful , for one thing , Lol . The era setting is perfect and I can overlook the fact that it is an Island . If there are no dive spots I can make a small one . Jamie went diving to retrieve the Jewels , so a dive spot would be necessary . I can't think of anything else that would be missing . You have a castle I believe . So I can work his capture and interment into that . I can also do a small amount of editing for other things . I have looked for other worlds to do some stories , but your world is the only one that really fits into several story lines that I would like to try . Thank you for being such a good Artist , and talented enough to create such a wonderful beautiful world .
Hi Moinesse.
I'm happy Caldey will serve your story purposes.
A dive lot shouldn't be a problem.The waters off the coast are very deep.
You can have a look at the map here, if you see a likely spot I can tell you if the terrain will accommodate a dive lot.
The rocks to the right of Falls Bay are partially rout able & already have gem spawners placed. If you didn't want your Jamie Sim donning a wet suit, I could place a hidden tomb lot there.
The rock pools surrounding this area are rout able for boating/swimming/snorkeling
A hidden tomb sounds exciting! But please don't do any extra work on my account. The rock pool area looks great for my needs, and I don't intend to add a large dive plot, just a small one near land, 30x30, or even smaller. I love your pictures, they are so crisp and clear! You have done so much work on this world and put a lot of detail into it, and I imagine a lot of time. I really have not seen another custom world as intricately detailed as your. Ty for your talents.
I've been filling up the empty spaces around the island.
15 new lots; all but one are comm lots. There's now a dedicated equestrian lot with training for jumping, beaches, parks, viewing towers & a hot springs.
I hope to post pics of the new developments soon.
I've almost finished the building on all the new lots. Here's a few pics of the new additions.
I have very little left to finish up on the island.
I'm waiting on what testers come up with.
In the meantime I'm keeping busy with writing lot descriptions & tomb trigger text. Testing/finishing/fixing tombs.
Of late I've been adding a vast number of cut stumps to the wooded areas......... all the wood for those fireplace has to come from somewhere
Wow, beautiful! I can't wait for this world. Hurry testers!! lol. The pictures look so real, almost as though they are of a RL area. Wonderful work! Thanks
I should have let you know that I emailed you a festival lot update a couple days ago. It just occurred to me that it may have gone to your spam folder! If that happened and it's deleted, let me know and I can resend. Talk soon!
sharonxyz my lovely, Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.
I've been distracted.
The new lots I added recently were build in game on lots added in CAW, so not much new to see in CAW yet.
I'm still in the process of adding all the new & altered lots back into CAW, but I still have so many lot descriptions left to do.
Lot naming/addresses would be a whole lot simple if I could decide on names for the main roads.
Names like "Coastal Road" is kinda uninspired
I've resorted to finding proper names for most of the lots. Found a site that has a vast assortment of clique English house names
I'm also still trying to get the treasure chests to lock.
I made a small world in CAW to work on all the tombs.
It was suggested that setting locks in EIG was needed to get chests to lock.
Nothing conclusive so far.
I've now abandoned the idea of adding cut stumps to the island.
After 2 episodes of graphics card failure & some foot stomping I decided this little detail will go unrealized.
I still haven't forgotten about getting you the tricked out Lallybroch.
Finding exactly which save has the finished lot, moving cashes, cc, dlc in & out is proving more challenging than I initially anticipated.
Some of the cc I made, but didn't uploaded to blog, needs work.
No worries I'm working on it.
Wow, this is just stunning! As an avid Outlander fan, I have been looking for a long time for the perfect place to start a JamiexClaire story, I can't wait for this to be ready
Hi Stella, I got a bit behind when life threw me some unexpected curves, but can now say I have installed my first real fireplaces on the festival ground...the fact that you provided the placement for them and the chimneys was an enormous help. I'm currently making the indoor areas a bit more inviting and then just need to adjust the plants and pumpkins. I may try a fence to keep the horses from devouring the veggies, but in my own experience they open gates and go on in! I'm not even sure if the active sim can lock a garden gate at a community lot. In my own game I make it simple by using a mod that does not allow horses to eat gardens. I also am thinking of clearing any plants and lily pads for winter so that the pond will freeze and folks can skate. Your skaters looked beautiful skating at the bigger pond you added, so my wee pond may only suffice for fishing. I did however make it the area of the smaller skating rink, so I think skating is doable. If you have any ideas on this, let me know.
I'm not sure if you have seen the second version of the festival which I emailed to you. In it I replaced the jousting rails with some more activities and something I sorta love but is merely decorative: a giant chess board. Frankly I can imagine being of that much earlier time and marveling at such large intricate carvings of stone chess pieces!! Since I left the fairly hidden horse stalls where they were, for the use of avid festival attendees who arrived by horse, I may simply turn the chess board ninety degrees to give the horses an aisle leading to the stalls.
I also may add some more flowers, I just need to make them seasonal and not common, as I'd like the change to be a little evident at least!
Are you giving us a second beta with all the changes or concluding the world on your own? I'd love to see what you've done!
Hi Stella, I just emailed you the Festival Square final for Caldey Island. I made lots of improvements! I left underground for you in case you need another nook
My Sims and I are awaiting this beautiful world , they are all packed and ready to move . I am so excited to see and play in Caldey Isle . The work you are putting in to it , is astounding . Thank you for making and sharing this world .
Comments
For a less modern world I try to fit in (on whatever lot they look best) these items: a pizza oven, the fountain of youth, a crystal ball, the one arcade game that tests your love, a popcorn machine; a wedding arch and the alchemy book stand (usually at a church); life guard chair, bonfire, a massage table and a sauna, juice keg and ping pong table and horseshoe pit. And for kids: tree house, fort, hopscotch, soccer and sometimes a roller rink or bowling alley - dependent on whether it fits the mood of the town, and the lemonade stand. I often add a shell and bottle spawner to the beach. I wish there were more indoor family oriented games like the domino table! I do enjoy the festival lots with apple bobbing and egg hunts.
I usually also add a run-down, dark and dismal looking factory, which houses a couple of inventing benches, a sculpting station, a gem cutter, and a glass blowing station on the main floor, and then upstairs there's a drafting table, bookshelves and desks, and maybe a chemistry set with them bones.
If you can find the elbow room, it's hard to beat that giant balloon for visual beauty! If my courting sims are lucky, they go on a ride from one spot to another, say from a mountain viewpoint to an island spot for a picnic-getaway.
for my own amusement, I also look for a rather threadbare (old elegance) restaurant with an upstairs room for a private eye, or a dance studio, or whatever comes to mind...but this is probably way more info than you were wanting...and honestly, there are lots of wonderful vacant upper rooms just waiting for me to fill with such things.
I completely understand if you don't want to fill your world with store items, these are just some of the things I tend to add to my games if I have space for them.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
The initial build for Caldey Isle doesn't include store content or CC. Most lots I've tried to leave space for players to add this stuff in later.
Pre industrial societies didn't have much time for lounging & sunning at the beach. Folks went to the shore to work beach combing, fishing & occasionally a little ships salvage.
If only one could look out while floating around the island it would made for a lovely view.
Maybe I'll add a viewing tower lot to the castle keep with the potential to tether a balloon.
There's also the 2 headlands either side of Port Merry Bell Bay that are unused at present. I could squeeze towers at these locations.
Starsaphire2, if I add the towers, you'll need to test them with balloons for me.
Love the placement of the lots, especially near the lighthouse. That area is so picturesque, sharks and all. And, of course, the apartments aren't set yet! Silly me, I should've realized.
Jousting seems like a player prompted role acting feat; there's room for it but no way to say 'do it'
This might fill some unused space. If so, a horse ranch goes well next to a rabbit hole, as it's the only place sims can practice the jumps and longer sprints.
Food for thought, talk to you later
Anyone else going to do the story line? If so I would appreciate some ideas. Can't wait until the world is finished. Looks really beautiful!
The past few days I've been testing world with a horse again.
The racing posts work as a loop meaning horse & rider can train for racing on festival lot.
This is not really necessary since the they can improve this skill while travelling around island.
I'm fine with you just removing them. There's things that would make better use of the space.
I've now done all seasons on Festival lot.
All year round, weather plays a big part of all activities on the island.
In the fall it's hit & miss being able to harvest pumpkins for carving. BuyDebug has harvested pumpkins you could scatter around plantings.
The tester & wild horses has been steadily eating up all plants on lot.
You were quite right about not being able to get horse to Equestrian rabbit hole without teleporting. Not much help for it.
There's not a lot on the island that could accommodate that rabbit hole on the surface & neither option fits world theme even remotely
I could put a new comm. lot back of Smuggler's Bay to add a jumping course.
Caldey Isle being an island, might not be a perfect fit for the Outlander story, but with a little creative editing you can make it work.
This is my Lallybroch in an actual highland setting.
Caldey's standing stones are not like Craigh na Dun's setting, but if your willing to overlook these differences, Caldey is set in the approximate right location & time period for the story.
Sorry I missed your posts. Thank you for your kind words.
I'm looking forward to getting my little world out there, but I'm still working on finishing details & adding improvements to make Caldey Isle a unique, compelling place to Sim in
I'm happy Caldey will serve your story purposes.
A dive lot shouldn't be a problem.The waters off the coast are very deep.
You can have a look at the map here, if you see a likely spot I can tell you if the terrain will accommodate a dive lot.
The rocks to the right of Falls Bay are partially rout able & already have gem spawners placed. If you didn't want your Jamie Sim donning a wet suit, I could place a hidden tomb lot there.
The rock pools surrounding this area are rout able for boating/swimming/snorkeling
I love your pictures, they are so crisp and clear!
You have done so much work on this world and put a lot of detail into it, and I imagine a lot of time. I really have not seen another custom world as intricately detailed as your. Ty for your talents.
15 new lots; all but one are comm lots. There's now a dedicated equestrian lot with training for jumping, beaches, parks, viewing towers & a hot springs.
I hope to post pics of the new developments soon.
I have very little left to finish up on the island.
I'm waiting on what testers come up with.
In the meantime I'm keeping busy with writing lot descriptions & tomb trigger text. Testing/finishing/fixing tombs.
Of late I've been adding a vast number of cut stumps to the wooded areas......... all the wood for those fireplace has to come from somewhere
sharonxyz my lovely, Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner.
I've been distracted.
The new lots I added recently were build in game on lots added in CAW, so not much new to see in CAW yet.
I'm still in the process of adding all the new & altered lots back into CAW, but I still have so many lot descriptions left to do.
Lot naming/addresses would be a whole lot simple if I could decide on names for the main roads.
Names like "Coastal Road" is kinda uninspired
I've resorted to finding proper names for most of the lots. Found a site that has a vast assortment of clique English house names
I'm also still trying to get the treasure chests to lock.
I made a small world in CAW to work on all the tombs.
It was suggested that setting locks in EIG was needed to get chests to lock.
Nothing conclusive so far.
I've now abandoned the idea of adding cut stumps to the island.
After 2 episodes of graphics card failure & some foot stomping I decided this little detail will go unrealized.
I still haven't forgotten about getting you the tricked out Lallybroch.
Finding exactly which save has the finished lot, moving cashes, cc, dlc in & out is proving more challenging than I initially anticipated.
Some of the cc I made, but didn't uploaded to blog, needs work.
No worries I'm working on it.
I'm not sure if you have seen the second version of the festival which I emailed to you. In it I replaced the jousting rails with some more activities and something I sorta love but is merely decorative: a giant chess board. Frankly I can imagine being of that much earlier time and marveling at such large intricate carvings of stone chess pieces!! Since I left the fairly hidden horse stalls where they were, for the use of avid festival attendees who arrived by horse, I may simply turn the chess board ninety degrees to give the horses an aisle leading to the stalls.
I also may add some more flowers, I just need to make them seasonal and not common, as I'd like the change to be a little evident at least!
Are you giving us a second beta with all the changes or concluding the world on your own? I'd love to see what you've done!
Let me know what you think?
Sharon