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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 2:42 AM
Default Feedback Appreciated: Starter Row Houses
So, I decided that I'd quite like to try my hand at uploading a lot to Mod The Sims. I struggled to decide what kind of lot I wanted to build, but eventually I decided that I'd try to create something that I'd like to download (if I wasn't the creator, that is! :-D). I pretty much only download starter houses (i.e. priced below $20,000), so a starter house it was! But not just any old starter house - I prefer starter houses with at least two, preferably three bedrooms, even if they're not all furnished. So I decided to try to build a three-bedroom starter house. Three *double* bedrooms, even, because that suits my play-style best.

But what kind of starter house? After spending some time racking my brains, I suddenly remembered the lots that I'm most proud of having built - the row houses in my Pleasantview Island 'hood! So, a starter row house it is! Except that there's not much point just building one row house, because, well, they're supposed to come in rows, so I'm going to build three - a left-hand house, a right-hand house and a middle house. They will each have slightly different (but similar) floor-plans. And basements, just because!

Anyway, here are some pictures of my attempts so far - I've started with the middle row house, and I'd like to get this right (or at least fairly close to right!) before I do the other two, so that I don't have to rebuild all three lots if I decide to make any major structural changes. One change that I would like to make would be to alter the basement so that it has windows, to allow some light in, but I can't find a tutorial that explains it in a way that I understand. I know that I need to make the foundation "at least 6 clicks high", but I don't know how to do that..... If anyone can link to a tutorial that I actually understand, or explain to me what I need to do to make it work, I would be most grateful :-)

The property has basic furnishings - a small kitchen with fridge, cooker and sink, a bathroom with bath, toilet and sink, a dining table a four chairs, one double bed and a chest of drawers, a sofa and bookcase and a telephone and a smoke alarm. The entire inside of the property has lighting, including the basement and the unfurnished upstairs bedroom, but there are no lights outside (boo!).

I have used minimal custom content, but I failed to make it CC-free - I used two white wooden fences, a white stair recolour, a double door and a window. I think that that's it!

I don't have a lot of simoleans left for this property - once it is shrunk the lot will be worth $19,907 (I think!), which gives me a measly $93 to play with if I make changes or add anything to the property. What do people think the $93 would be best used for? I was thinking perhaps some more landscaping in the back garden. Or perhaps an outside light at the front?

All comments, advice and constructive criticism is appreciated (as is praise, of course!) :-D
Screenshots
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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#2 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 4:53 AM
Nice little lot Laura.

One way to save money would be to replace the fir tree with a hibiscus. Out the front I would remove 4-6 floor tiles directly in front of the landing and place flowers there since it looks a little austere. I don't know that you would have enough cash for small shrubs. if you can squeeze in a garden light I would.

I'm not keen on basements myself because of flooding- I tend to use beach hoods so I haven't built a basement in ages.
This might help http://sofysticated-sims.blogspot.c...e-one-with.html

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#3 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 5:49 AM
Thanks for the feedback, folks :-)

It turned out that I'd calculated the lot price incorrectly, so I had $1,093 to work with, instead of $93! So I added some flowers and two wall lights at the front, added a wall light in the back garden, swapped the sofa out for a nicer one and added a floor lamp to the living area. Oh, and a couple of vases of flowers on the dining table.

I now have two versions - the only difference is the way I did the flowers at the front. Which one do people think looks best? I can't decide....

It's now worth $19,818 (version 1)/$19,797 (version 2), so I have a few more simoleans to play with if anyone has any more ideas! :-)
Screenshots
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#4 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 6:13 AM
@olc to place tiles on the edges turn on move objects on.
To shrink a lot you use lot adjuster, it can shrink it so walls are one away. I mentioned this on your tiny apartment lot when I said instead of 6 tiles you could have 8 tiles.

laura, ya for extra cash. I would keep number two with the angled sides.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#5 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 6:16 AM
Like Jo said, I used the Lot Adjuster. It's available here :-)

Version 2 it is, then! :-) I shall have a think about whether or not I want to spend that extra bit of cash or not. Perhaps it would be nice for sims to have a little bit of money available to spend after they move in.....
Theorist
#6 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 6:20 AM Last edited by ScaryRob : 15th Aug 2015 at 7:05 AM.
Firstly, it's a nice-looking house with a simple and clean layout that looks like it will work. I like it.

Creating 6-click high foundations for sunlit basements is super easy:
1) Raise a small part of the terrain (at least 1 square) by 2 clicks and build a foundation on it.
2) Lower the terrain back down to it's normal level - voila, you've made your 6-click foundation.
That's the way it's normally done, provided you do it before you build the house.

Since you've already built the house, you would have to use CFE to raise the entire house foundation by 2 clicks, then turn CFE off and lower the surrounding terrain back down to it's normal level. Still easy, right? But wait, there's more...
It looks like you've already shrunken the Lot, which means the game will not allow you to manipulate any walls or foundations that are within 2 squares of the edge. This means you'd first have to unshrink the Lot, make the above changes to the house foundation using CFE, and then reshrink the Lot.

So, if you're comfortable using CFE and don't mind unshrinking and then reshrinking the Lot, by all means, use the above method to make a 6-click high foundation.

If it were me, I would rebuild, mainly because in my opinion shrinking, unshrinking and then shrinking again is asking for the Lot to possibly become borked in some way. Nothing against the Lot Adjuster, I use it often myself, but as I've said before elsewhere, in my opinion these kinds of third party programs should always be used carefully and sparingly. Using them in the manner described above could possibly be asking for trouble, imo.
Also, if you rebuild you won't have to use CFE to raise the entire house, but would be able to use the first method described above to make the 6-click foundation.

Edit: One additional suggestion: Since you're using a CC recolor of the stairs, why not simply use a CC stair that is open beneath? That way you could stack them atop one another and gain a row of squares for other uses, instead of having two stairs side-by-side. It would be more realistic too.

Edit #2: If you do CFE the entire house and raise it 2 clicks, make sure you save it immediately afterwards. This is because there are certain objects that don't like to be CFE manhandled and will sometimes crash the game. Unfortunately, you won't know this happened until you try to save, which is when you might hear that dreaded "ping" that tells you the game crashed. So, better to save right after CFE'ing, before you spend any more time working on it. If it saves OK, you're good to go.
Interior foundations especially don't like to be CFE'd - they absolutely hate it. Fireplaces also don't like it. I would maybe remove the stairs before you CFE, you can always easily plop them back in afterwards. Any exterior stairs that lead down to street level will have to be changed to 6 steps anyway.
Maybe remove the roof too, I'm not sure how well pitched roofs take to being CFE'd.
After you CFE, check over the entire house to make sure everything is at the level it's supposed to be.
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#7 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 8:11 AM
Nice lot! What EPs did you use?

Catalogue of Custom Neighborhoods for TS2
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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#8 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 8:23 AM
Thank you, ScaryRob! Very helpful. I think that I finally understand how to make higher foundations! I reckon that I will completely rebuild the place - I'll have to make some changes to keep it within budget anyway, if I put windows in the basement, so I may as well just build it again.

Jawusa, it requires all EP's and SP's. I would've liked to do it with just a few EP's and the IKEA SP, but the AnyGame Starter hates my laptop. It worked on my old one, but not any more.... :-(
Constant Contestant
retired moderator
#9 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 9:08 AM
I really like your little house laura. I like the CC that you have used, it really enhances the house. In my opinion I would use any extra money you have left on landscaping and maybe a TV.

Want a specific style of house or community building? Why not take a look at my profile and see what I build and then come ask me to make it!
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#10 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 11:09 AM
Well, I like your lot - it's aesthetically pleasing. Nice colour choice on the outside and I like the white detailing. For the record, I prefer the first flower picture but then I don't like things to be over symmetical. I wouldn't worry about a little CC - one or two items (or even five) is not the problem. 70 items is. Unless the lot is very very good, I would never download something with that many items, especially if I have to go and look for them (though you can avoid that here). Personally, I prefer unfurnished anyway since I nearly always strip out furnishings. Perhaps you could offer two versions: one furnished (or partly furnished if you want it to keep within cost) and one bare minimum (by which I mean bathrooms done and maybe kitchen counters and lighting - the sort of thing you'd get if you moved into a real house, at least most of the time).

I agree with Jo on basements - it makes your nice little house into a big one and, for me at least, that would defeat the point of having it in my game but, as you say, it fits your requirements for three sleeping spaces. Apropros of which, I agree with Rob about adding a window down there if you can. It's easy enough to do once you know how. I don't like lightless basements (I've built enough of those myself).

Otherwise, my only new suggestion would be to break up that ground floor area a bit - it's a bit cavernous as it is (though very playable). How about some half walls around the kitchen area with the diagonal bit being the entrance? It would help define the different areas of the space (lounge, kitchen, dining). Overall, an excellent first lot upload.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Theorist
#11 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 4:43 PM
Quote: Originally posted by lauratje86
Thank you, ScaryRob! Very helpful. I think that I finally understand how to make higher foundations! I reckon that I will completely rebuild the place - I'll have to make some changes to keep it within budget anyway, if I put windows in the basement, so I may as well just build it again.

I think that's a good idea, rebuilding is a snap.

Concerning basements, you're probably aware that foundations will not allow you to hang things on the walls, right? One way around that is to use the moveobjects cheat, but there's a better way.
I was going to post a little tutorial, but it seems my new game install will not let me take in-game pics the way I used to, by just pressing the PrtScn button on my keyboard, so for now I'll try to explain it in words.
In order to be able to hang things on foundation walls, you have to first put up regular walls. Here's how to do this easily.

1) Once you have your foundation laid out, remove the entire foundation.
2) With the foundation removed, install normal walls around the basement perimeter where the foundation interior walls would normally be.
3) Reinstall the foundation around the outside of the normal walls.

What you're doing, in other words, is putting normal walls all around the inside of the foundation, which will allow you to hang objects on the basement walls without using the moveobjects cheat. There's probably a pictorial tutorial somewhere that shows this, but it's real simple.
Theorist
#12 Old 29th Aug 2015 at 4:34 AM
So, is this another thread I killed?
Theorist
#13 Old 29th Aug 2015 at 5:09 AM
Quote: Originally posted by olc
can you explain it quite simple as you explained how tu put walls, but how to do basements?

We don't want to hijack someone else's thread, but what's so hard about basements? Just build a foundation and dig down 16 clicks and there's your basement.
Here are some of the best building tutorials where you can learn a lot of things, from basics to more complicated: http://mikeinside.modthesims2.com/
Bookmark that link, because it is hard to find.

Quote:
can you use elevators to go to the basement?

Sure, same as any other floor.

Quote:
final note as feedback, i think basements are useless. in my country 80% of all the basements are in old houses filled up with rats and other pests.

Well, yeah, in most areas of the world it's like that. What country? And what are some of the other pests besides rats? I'm having a hard time imagining worse things than rats.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#14 Old 29th Aug 2015 at 7:19 AM
One way is to use paint the foundation with a wall that has a skirting and dig down to the skirting.

I would not use lifts/elevators so much. Firstly only one sim can use them at a time which is annoying, sims always have a fear of them breaking and they can kill sims when they break. In a small house they use too much room and are rather unrealistic. I only use them on large buildings like a apartment building and even then I also add stairs.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#15 Old 29th Aug 2015 at 9:24 AM Last edited by maxon : 29th Aug 2015 at 10:37 AM.
Or use modular stairs - on open ground, placing a stair puts the bottom stair exactly 4 clicks down - do it three times. Personally, I do what Rob does. Not hard, you just need to be careful.

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Theorist
#16 Old 29th Aug 2015 at 2:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
I would not use lifts/elevators so much. Firstly only one sim can use them at a time which is annoying, sims always have a fear of them breaking and they can kill sims when they break.

Elevators can't kill Sims: http://cyjon.net/node/287

Quote: Originally posted by maxon
Personally, I do what Rob does. Not hard, you just need to be careful.

Actually, I mostly use the paint-with-trim method. I've used the stairs method too, if the project happened to involve stairs anyway.
Theorist
#17 Old 29th Aug 2015 at 6:35 PM
Quote: Originally posted by olc
16 clicks? i did a baseent of 6 clicks and it looks that works? i mean i can place windows and all with your walls technique and it looks ok. or did a do a useless basement?

Sounds like you did it right.

16 clicks is the height of a wall. A room has to be that high in order for Sims to use it. That's all I was saying.
From the top of your foundation to the floor of the basement should be 16 clicks. If you can install doors and windows normally, you did it right, because they only install on 16-high walls.
So if you made a 6-click high foundation, like I described above, you should then have to click another 10 clicks down to the basement floor.
If you followed my instructions above, it should be good.

Basement windows can be tricky, if you've never done it before. You have to make sure the square right outside the window is flat and at the same level as the basement floor. Then you install the window. After that, you can bring the square outside the window up to the ground (street level). My White Stucco #1, #3 and #4 Lots all have basement windows and you can download any of those to see how it should look. They all have NoCC versions.

Note that you don't HAVE to use 6-click high foundations, if you don't need sunshine to come in the basement windows. Like maybe if you want to make a basement for vampires.
Mad Poster
#18 Old 1st Sep 2015 at 11:25 AM
Laura,

How are you getting on with this? Judging by the response I've got for my first upload, there's a demand for starter houses for the larger family. It's a pity you can't run AGS, because those of us without the higher EPs, always only get ยง20,000 for a CAS family, even if there are 8 Sims in it.

I like the arrangement of your upper floor bathroom; it's better than a similar room in my house. I put the door in the end of the room, meaning that access to and from the bath is blocked by a Sim using the toilet. Yours should be comparatively free of routing problems, and I think I'll try to copy that layout in future 2x4 tile bathrooms, and wherever possible put the entrance door in the long side. So thanks for the inspiration!

I'm sure I've seen an illustrated tutorial on the technique that ScaryRob describes on post #13, but annoyingly I have no idea where I saw it. It's a good technique but in your case Laura, the cost of the additional walls would almost certainly put the house over budget.

In my own feedback thread Peni Griffin taught me a useful technique to cut the cost of foundations:
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
Handy money-saving tip which I routinely use on a new building; not so useful once it's started, but keep it in mind if you have to start over: Don't do a full foundation! Just draw the outlines in the foundations, then place the flooring. You'll have to do it in stages, but it's not that onerous, and may suggest variant floor treatments to you.
You might find this useful if you have to restart from scratch. I'll almost certainly use it in all future starter houses (or indeed in any house for Sims with a tight budget -- a condition that always seems to apply to most of my Sims!).

I haven't tried building anything with a basement myself, in part perhaps because my main 'hood is Veronaville with its notoriously high water table, but mist Real Life houses with basements that I can think of where I live, have an "area" on front of the house at (more or less) the same level as the basement floor. Access from the street to the ground floor of the house (the front door) is via a little bridge over this "area". I don't know how easy it would be to replicate this on The Sims 2, but it does mean that these basements have windows at the front, and often a door giving access to the "area".

Anyway, I hope you can go ahead and upload these row houses soon. I'm sure you'll get plenty of downloaders. And even people like me, who don't have all the EP's, can always "pinch" your ideas, even if we can't just download and use the lots. (Which makes me think there are probably a few lot builders that I ought to thank, even though I've never downloaded their creations.)

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Theorist
#19 Old 1st Sep 2015 at 2:47 PM
Quote: Originally posted by AndrewGloria
I like the arrangement of your upper floor bathroom; it's better than a similar room in my house. I put the door in the end of the room, meaning that access to and from the bath is blocked by a Sim using the toilet. Yours should be comparatively free of routing problems, and I think I'll try to copy that layout in future 2x4 tile bathrooms, and wherever possible put the entrance door in the long side. So thanks for the inspiration!

You can change it in your presently uploaded house. Just re-upload the new file, making sure to simply overwrite (not delete!) the old file and to keep the exact same filename so you don't lose your download count.

Quote:
I'm sure I've seen an illustrated tutorial on the technique that ScaryRob describes on post #13, but annoyingly I have no idea where I saw it. It's a good technique but in your case Laura, the cost of the additional walls would almost certainly put the house over budget.


Correct, she would probably not be able to afford the additional walls, or even basement windows, with this starter house.

Here are some overlooked money-saving techniques when building a starter house:

1) Wall paint with kick molding does not need the kick molding behind fixtures such as kitchen counters and bath tubs.
2) Foundations should be "hollowed out". That is, they are only needed around the perimeter of a house, regardless of whether there is a basement.
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