Thanks @Pary
Your house looks beautiful! I could never build like that because I always fall into the trap of trying to make things symmetrical which leads to extremely boring houses Strange really, given my love of asymmetrical sliders for sims
I voted "No", but that doesn't mean I don't do it from time to time. It just isn't my favorite thing to do. It isn't even that rare that I remodel existing houses, for example because the family got too large or I need space for some skill items, or it turns out that, while the house looks pretty, it has usability issues. I usually keep the general look of the houses I remodel intact.
Just as a measure of how much I dislike building: In my current game, several adult kids are still waiting to move out because I postponed a necessary remodel of the house they are supposed to move to. I prefer smaller lots for this, because I don't feel the need to put everything on them. I usually don't care to do anything with the garden, other than place some stuff for the kids and reserve a space for planting the stuff that grows.
Decorating the inside meets a similar fate: I usually don't bother with anything that isn't strictly necessary. But then again, I'm not really keen on choosing clothes for the sims, either, so there's a general theme here .
Thanks so much! I really have to give a lot of credit for the inspiration to lewisb40 though. Lewisb40's building designs aren't boxy and boring (that's how they would have turned out if I had to build them myself). I also really appreciate how thoughtful and complete all the interior designs were as well. The interior designs really do look like some places I've seen on campus!
In my case, it depends. The best house I have ever built was a two story house; the "North Wing" consisted of a living room and kitchen/dining room with the floor above being the study and bathroom with a balcony. The "South Wing" consists of a studio and bathroom while the first floor was where a bathroom and the bedrooms were; both wings was connected by a corridor, which surrounded a swimming pool; the gym was in the basement. However half the time my builds tend to be boxes
In general on both TS3 and 4 I play mostly for live mode and playing the lives of my Sims. That being said I do enjoy decorating and occasionally building. I get frustrated with buy and build mode on TS3 because of the lack of search! It can be so hard to find what I'm looking for.
Thanks to this thread, i was motivated to try to build for a little bit, so i did just that. It have been somewhat fun, dare i say XD I can only do it in small doses before i start wanting to do something else though, and it can also get a little too frustrating sometimes.
YES! I love building lots! I really only play to play-test, and something usually happens to make me laugh while I'm playtesting, but building is what keeps me coming back. I've been trying for awhile to create a whole world, and I love the early part of laying out roads and lots, and I LOVE creating a series of lots that fit a theme and are designed to fit an area, but sculpting and painting just gets so TEDIOUS! If anyone loves world building but doesn't want to make lots, please let me know, and we can team up!
"No: You don't necessarily have to hate building, you could build on occasion but it's not one of your favorite things to do"
This alternative fits me best. Building, and doing it well, are big time consuming projects. This and then decorating. But it's so worth it when it's done and I'm satisfied with how it turned out. Sometimes I download lots and make modifications.
I am terrible at building so I chose No. I have attempted building a house before, but I lost interest in building it and just went back to playing all my various save files instead.
However, it's one of my most frequent activities, because I can't stop tinkering. I'll download a nice looking house, and then decide that routing would be better if a hallway were one square wider. So I widen it. Then I have to move walls and doors and rebuild other rooms, because now they're not the right shape. Some hours later, I'll get back to the gameplay that I was only going to pause long enough to fix the hallway routing.
"No: You don't necessarily have to hate building, you could build on occasion but it's not one of your favorite things to do"
This alternative fits me best. Building, and doing it well, are big time consuming projects. This and then decorating. But it's so worth it when it's done and I'm satisfied with how it turned out. Sometimes I download lots and make modifications.
This is how I feel now. I’ve successfully completed a build that I’ve been working on for about a week and I’m happy with it. I’ve finally learned the basics of building.
I don´t hate building, but I´m just not very good at it and lose patience really quickly. I do build houses for my families, because most of the premade or downloaded ones are not quite right for me, they do end up mostly boxy though.
Started experimenting with floorplans recently, which makes things easier, still not a fan of more than one floor, and too impatient to search everywhere for clutter just to make things look nicer.
I did build this one a while ago, which I´m kinda proud of, took me several hours and is still not really finished.
(That was the build during which I discovered that roofs can have different heights. Still very excited over that ).
Build it for my simself, so kind of a dream house? And not a box!
@Waterdragon - That is a very lovely house you have built, it has lots of character. I hope your Simself is enjoying it .
To everyone - What's so wrong with square shaped houses? IMO, with the right landscaping and internal design 'boxy' type of homes can look very nice and be very cozy. That is if they are not too massive in size.
@mw1525 - thank you, I had a test run with my simself and she seemed to like it very much.
The massiveness of the house is exactly the problem. I don´t mind box-shaped houses at all - I live in one and like it very much. But with my dislike for more than one storey buildings and the "natural expansion" that comes with my sims having hobbies, and my big concession for easy routing, I end up with houses that look like a warehouse.
I would have to take time away from my sims if I were building, and I have a fear of roofs. GEEZ @CravenLestat WOW, there's a good reason why I don't, others have the vision, creativity and the will.
I like to build, I'm just not good at it. I do love spending the time to build houses and every so often I come up with something great. The creative part of creating spaces for my SIMS is part of why I love this game and have been playing it for a VERY long time. SIMS 3 is the only SIMS game that I've felt that I have the creative freedom to do what I want.
@mw1525 Specifically, I want to learn how to layout a floor plan that is intricate than just a square or a rectangle. Of course when I look at floor plans, there are some that are comprised of many squares and rectangles to create different shapes and spaces, etc. There are also other shapes that can be achieved with TS3 such as (irregular) polygons, though there isn't any angle slider to be able to get various different angles for walls/half-walls/foundations and so on. I don't know the angles in TS3 but I guess it's either 90 or (-)45 or 0 degrees.
Not that it matters anymore but it would have been nice to pay just as much focus and detail on building as if partly a software for 2D to 3D floor plans and so on. While blueprints are a feature in TS3, you cannot create your own to save as a template and one cannot download someone else's.
Anyway to sum up, no there isn't anything wrong with square or rectangular residential/community lots. Personally, I just want to step out of my own comfort zone and learn to do something else.
“What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
Have any of you who don't like building tried to use the blueprints? I have found this to be a shortcut to building a home for my sim. I use one or two blueprints, redecorate or add my own building touches, and I have a pretty good house in far less time.
I like building to create layouts, especially public (community) buildings. I'm not always to fond of picking wallpapers and colours for the sofa etc., unless I have a very specific idea for a theme in mind. So yes it is one of my favorite things to do. I also like building worlds, I'm just not very experienced at it.
I’d love to dowmload your creation as I get quickly tired from building. D
I don’t hate building but I prefer to play in live mode than building for sure. I prefer to download community lots from other simmers but I usually build the houses for my sim families.
Comments
Your house looks beautiful! I could never build like that because I always fall into the trap of trying to make things symmetrical which leads to extremely boring houses
Zumi and the Winchester Brothers
The Watcher's Caretaker - A Limited ISBI
Just as a measure of how much I dislike building: In my current game, several adult kids are still waiting to move out because I postponed a necessary remodel of the house they are supposed to move to. I prefer smaller lots for this, because I don't feel the need to put everything on them. I usually don't care to do anything with the garden, other than place some stuff for the kids and reserve a space for planting the stuff that grows.
Decorating the inside meets a similar fate: I usually don't bother with anything that isn't strictly necessary. But then again, I'm not really keen on choosing clothes for the sims, either, so there's a general theme here
Thanks so much! I really have to give a lot of credit for the inspiration to lewisb40 though. Lewisb40's building designs aren't boxy and boring (that's how they would have turned out if I had to build them myself). I also really appreciate how thoughtful and complete all the interior designs were as well. The interior designs really do look like some places I've seen on campus!
Thank you! The nectar racks are one of the two basic models that came with World Adventures. I just recolored/textured them in CAStyle.
This alternative fits me best. Building, and doing it well, are big time consuming projects. This and then decorating. But it's so worth it when it's done and I'm satisfied with how it turned out.
However, it's one of my most frequent activities, because I can't stop tinkering. I'll download a nice looking house, and then decide that routing would be better if a hallway were one square wider. So I widen it. Then I have to move walls and doors and rebuild other rooms, because now they're not the right shape. Some hours later, I'll get back to the gameplay that I was only going to pause long enough to fix the hallway routing.
Started experimenting with floorplans recently, which makes things easier, still not a fan of more than one floor, and too impatient to search everywhere for clutter just to make things look nicer.
I did build this one a while ago, which I´m kinda proud of, took me several hours and is still not really finished.
(That was the build during which I discovered that roofs can have different heights. Still very excited over that
Build it for my simself, so kind of a dream house? And not a box!
My studio: http://www.thesims3.com/mypage/WatrDragon/mystudio
Just assume that every edit I make is because of typos.
To everyone - What's so wrong with square shaped houses? IMO, with the right landscaping and internal design 'boxy' type of homes can look very nice and be very cozy. That is if they are not too massive in size.
The massiveness of the house is exactly the problem. I don´t mind box-shaped houses at all - I live in one and like it very much. But with my dislike for more than one storey buildings and the "natural expansion" that comes with my sims having hobbies, and my big concession for easy routing, I end up with houses that look like a warehouse.
My studio: http://www.thesims3.com/mypage/WatrDragon/mystudio
Just assume that every edit I make is because of typos.
Send me a friend request for Simport
(psst.....hi friends
Not that it matters anymore but it would have been nice to pay just as much focus and detail on building as if partly a software for 2D to 3D floor plans and so on. While blueprints are a feature in TS3, you cannot create your own to save as a template and one cannot download someone else's.
Anyway to sum up, no there isn't anything wrong with square or rectangular residential/community lots. Personally, I just want to step out of my own comfort zone and learn to do something else.
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter”
I’d love to dowmload your creation as I get quickly tired from building.