So all I am reading in this place is about making sims and game play....being that I do not have a computer to run the Sims 3..(Yet)....I am really interested in how the build mode is in the game. Did they fix some of the things they didn't fix in sims 2, i.e. garages attached to houses with foundations, and better basements?! I personally love building houses in the Sims 2, however was always wanting to do more then what the game allowed. So for those lucky enough to own a computer that is sims 3 friendly...please share your wisdom! :P

You can't still have an attached garage with a foundation (through normal play, I haven't tried a boolprop type code, since I haven't looked it up yet..)

I've found that there is a lot more freedom with the placement of, well, everything and makes the building of houses much quicker and easier-once you know where everything is.

I think once EP's come out, it'll only get better.

The game's build mode actually took a few steps back... The only real thing to get happy about is the CASt mode... The half square placement mode is nice too, but since it only applies to stuff you can put on the ground, it is VERY limiting still... (Wall mount items in buy mode works too, just not build mode...) This means you can't center a 1 tile window and doors in a two tile space...

Not to mention, you lose half walls, lose a whole lot of cheats like individual slopes on roofs, and the elevation cheat is still up in the air as for its usefulness...

There is currently NO way even with cheats to build a proper garage with door next to a house with foundation... However, the added improvement to allow parking space anywhere is nice... No more locking in the same driveway each and everytime...

A big bummer for me personally was the loss of the ability to place multiple items on the same wall at different heights... Loss of diagonal pool pieces makes back yard pools a bit limiting as well...

You also lose a lot of the two story windows / doors...

Still can't connect counters to islands...

The drag a wall thing is questionable... It's probably times easier to not drag the wall and just build it the old fashion way... Aiming the dragger takes time, and at times it moves the objects / windows / doors so out of place it's messier than when you first start... Not to mention anything attached to a diagonal wall will not drag...

The tables + chairs move option is nice though, now you can move all tables with their accompanying chairs together instead of one by one...

Free spin 360 placement mode is also nice with native sim interactions for all things diagonal is a huge plus... Although I don't have too much use with the 360...

Having just ONE stair option is also a big bust... No spiral stairs, can't split stairs, we're stuck with the 4x1 tile wall stair option only... However, all stairs have the option for you to eliminate the wall tiles that are under them to make them look like floating stairs...

Having the mailbox / garbage can moveable by default is also a good change, but not game breaking...

Overall, CASt is providing enough pluses to make building in TS3 more satisfying than in TS2... When you build the perfect house but the inside looks like a complete disaster is depressing to say the least... At least now you can have a "decent house" with a GREAT looking interior everytime!!! Just the kitchen matchingness alone is worth the price of admission...

The stock game is CRYING out for object addons though... If you're waiting for the game to experience a ground breaking build mode... Look elsewhere... However, if you want a different flavor of build mode than TS2 with some nice ups... This game has a bit for starters...

I however, expect MANY changes sooner than later for this to really take off to expectations to a lot of builders...

Edit: One BIG BIG problem right now also is with the game's open lot system... Make sure before finish your house, FLATTEN your ground (level it)... There have been many roofs that have been denied access to build because of "uneven base..." You CAN however use a cheat after the fact to flatten the ground, but people who don't use the console will find this a very distracting thing especially after spending countless hours on a house just to find out you can't roof it...

Meh, it seems the same only a bit worse to me.

Snapobjectstogrid false has been replaced by another cheat which does not let you free-style move objects on walls...like window coverings that don't fit. But otherwise objects seem to come in 2 sizes and you can move them anywhere. You can put more than one object on a small table and rotate freely.

We STILL cannot build proper landings. You still cant stack or adjust foundations to make an 8 click high landing for an L stair. While constrainfloorelevation still works, it seems to behave differently on the floors above so I have yet to test if attached garages are possible the old fashioned way. I know you can still do sunken rooms the old way.

The UI is really cool. You can hand match every window and door. You can even make them one color on one side and another color on the other. Roofing seems a bit more intuitive but there don't seem to be dormers anymore. the selection of outdoor plants is really amazing.

Create A Style shines in build mode as well as in Create A Sim. Objects have shape and surface divisions. Two coffee tables of different shape are two different objects in the buy catalogue. Two wall coverings with different divisions of area are different objects in the build catalogue. A wall covering with texturing divisions defined as top moulding, chair rail, bottom moulding, top section and bottom section can be an near infinite number of walls. You could have natural wood for the mouldings, or paint, or tile, or metal. The top section could be patterned wallpaper and the bottom vertical planks. You no longer need 500 different wall coverings in your catalogue to get a respectable range of choice.

Most windows allow you to texture the outside frame, inside frame, mullions, and glass all separately.

There are various ways to copy a style you've created from one object to another. It could be easier, but it works.

Split levels? No.
Better basements? No. Exactly the same, except it looks like you don't have to be as precise lowering your terrain.
There are cheats, but they are still awkward.

Roofs are better than base TS2. More variety in the base, and with cheats you can mix pitches.

Pulling an entire wall over when you realize you've made a room slightly too small is brilliant.

Going back to a very limited selection of stairs is aggravating.

TS3 build mode improved over TS2? Yes.
Some wishes still unfulfilled? Yes.
Some issued addressed in TS2 withheld until we fork over more money for an expansion pack? Yes. (The bastards! )

There are size variations using the same plant as well... Some of the bigger shrubs and for sure the banana leaf plant can be bigger / smaller... Though I would rather count this as an object thing and not an engine thing

We need more engine type fixes / changes...

Biggest thing should be foundation / garage fix... EVERY house should be built with a foundation...

As I have been reading all of these gripes, a lot of them didn't come with the base TS2 game- and while there are certain things I hoped for that would be there for the TS3, it is a pattern EAxis has done with TS1 and TS2-and now onto TS3 where they gradually bring back the the 'nice' things... like split/spiral stairs, different pitched roofing and (what I miss most) the butler.

they'll come. just like they've always come. the game has only been out 4 days.

I have good faith it will... However, that's the gripe most players have at the moment with the base TS3 game... This isn't NEW code they're developing... It's merely putting what's already developed INTO the new game...

I mean things like half walls being taken out is totally unacceptable since you'd think that's something you can easily put in so long as you "wanted" to...

Things like connecting foundation to non-foundation walls is brand new and acceptable to be lacking in the final release... I would wait dearly for this change... Same with L and U shape stairs...

I still like the new build system... Having good looking themed houses beat having ugly houses with superb architecture anyday :D

P.S. About dormers... You can still build them... They're merely walls with a roof sticking out of a roof... In fact, every dormer I've built in TS2 were self made, I never used the pre-made ones... They are the EXACT same thing...