IllusoryThrall's Sims 4 Hub
- Challenges, Tips & Stories
Just posting that I’m once again working on my Nothing is free/Apocalypse challenge. I’ve got some more to write up and post into the first chapter, which I’ll be posting in the next couple days. What I’ve updated is the “welcome” page – mostly the rules and exceptions at the bottom of the page.
Ok, so I ran into some major issues with two of the lots, the main one being the City Hall – who would have thought a simple podium addition would cause so many problems! I spend three hours building, saving, testing, reloading, rebuilding, saving again, retesting.. rinse repeat. .. UGH. Truly no fun. I’m trying to keep the protesters off the lawn, but still allow collectors to get to the spawn points that are built on the lawn.. so far, it’s not working – but I think my newest idea might work. Out of frustration, I did some planning and brain-storming for a couple hours, and I have a pretty good plan for getting Sunset Valley made-over and uploaded. Split it down into 9, maybe 10 waves, adding all expansion pack features, and most premium (store) content features. Island Paradise adding water and partial water lots definitely threw a bit of a monkey wrench into my existing plans, but it definitely opened up some more options and abilities. Beyond all that, things went pretty well, and I’m heading back in-game in a moment to get back to work on fixing those lots. I just have to keep myself from working on the new ideas before getting the first wave finished and uploaded – or I’m going to end up back in the same old cycle of building, building, building, and never uploading a finished product.
As a “teaser” for the next wave, here’s what I’m working on after this: The Art Gallery (adding the ability for townies and playable characters to “donate” stuff, so it will look more like a gallery!! – of course, that means testing it, which should be interesting.. lol!); The Science Building (adding university science objects for the poor Sims who can’t afford the big ticket items!); Two of the fishing holes (very minor updates – Summer Hill gets the Lucky Palms wishing well, Crystal Springs gets the Fountain of Youth from Hidden Springs – the challenge was making it look like they belonged there…); Sunset Valley Community Church (a build done completely by me, set as a small park, works as a meeting/party/wedding venue… really, very pretty, and has been awesome in all the games I’ve used it in – had a few grooms abducted by aliens in the backyard, but really.. it should be safe.. *wink* .. I think.. haha!); and adding a community beach (my own build, will have instructions on where to place the lot, etc – used to replace the beach I sort of shang-hai’ed for my “Park” performance venue – figure having a non-showtime beach might be useful!). After that, I’ll be adding all the Ambitions lots – which are mostly custom builds by me designed to fit with Sunset Valley (suburban) theme.
Today, I’m getting started on uploading my Sunset Valley builds – which is the main thing I promised myself to get done before getting back to my challenges. I keep puttering around with them, improving, testing, building more, etc.. and procrastinating on actually uploading them. So, it’s way past time to get to work on it. My goal today is five uploads. More would be great, but I’m not stopping until I have at least five ready to go – and preferably the seven listed below. *determined face* .. lol. I’m going to start with some of my base game lot updates (the lots that are in the town center, mostly) – which are pretty much done anyway. I’ll do a listing below of the lots I have slated for this first wave of published lots with descriptions of some of the features I added or changed. (I will update with the exchange links and full descriptions when I have them completed)
After this wave, I’ll start working my way through each major expansion pack in each wave – I have not added every lot type to Sunset Valley, and each of the ones I DID add are specialized for something or other… for example, the bars are each designed for something – like a casino, a darts bar, pool bar, live music, or dancing.. or following a specific theme (based around which sims are attracted to that sort of bar or venue.) I wanted a town that had a bit of everything, and that I could go a certain place to do certain actions.. if that makes any sense. Anyway, time to head in game!
Day Two:
Waiting for dawn… it always takes the longest when you can’t seem to sleep soundly. Finally, I was able to hurry to the Junkyard in hopes of finding .. something to alleviate the horrid singed smell emanating from my body. After several hours of search, I found a cabinet in the shed there that held some “Shower in a Can” for fire emergencies at the Junkyard. Still feeling guilty about “stealing” stuff, I only took two. One for now, one for later emergencies.
By this time, my stomach was growling rather loudly, and it was actually cramping from hunger, so I hurried back home for my one daily bowl of soup… Chicken noodle.. cold.. again. Yum? .. no, not really.
Cold Soup… mmm… blech.
Immediately after breakfast (lunch and dinner!), I hurried back to my workbench. After clearing away the dust and ashes from yesterday’s adventure, I was ready to .. well.. begin anew. This time I wasn’t just going to dabble around, I was actually going to attempt to build something. (I have to do something with all this free time I have, right? .. and maybe if I get good enough, I can find a way to learn about what happened or find out if I really am alone… maybe.)
So. Paving the road with my good intentions, I set to work. .. And worked. And worked…. and then.. AHHHHH
fire! .. on my butt?
Hurriedly I grabbed the spare Shower in a can I had filched from the graveyard, and ….
Ahhhh.. cleanliness is next to inflammability.
Not to be deterred this time, I very determinedly went back to work inventing.. something.. anything. A piece here, a piece there, some careful blowtorch work, banging on it (and my thumb), tightening bolts and screws. It was starting to look like… a … Llama? .. Okay, we can work with that. Being hungry myself, I added him a nice bowl of .. something for a metal Llama to eat.. and wa-la. My first thing-a-ma-jiggy!!
Norman, my only friend
Well… I think I’ll call him Norman. He can sit by my lonely dinner table and make it less… er.. lonely. I hope. Feeling rather sad, I went to the other end of my hut to take care of necessary business.. and wouldn’t you know it.. with the way my day is going — I broke the toilet. I sat down on my bed and cried for a while, but that seemed pointless, so then Norman and I had a conversation about where things stood in our little non-world. We didn’t exactly come to any conclusions, however, so I went back to the scene of my immediate problem.. the toilet monster.
I contemplated, I muttered to myself… I racked my brain.. and then, just because, I couldn’t help simply screaming at it. It made me feel better at least, although it didn’t appear to unclog the toilet. It held the unrelenting silence back a little bit, as well. During my rant.. I suddenly remembered the toilet plunger in my parent’s bathroom. Checking the light outside, I saw that I had JUST enough time to race over and get it. I didn’t think they’d mind, under the circumstances.
Screaming at the toilet monster
Trying to remember what dad had always done for this problem, I started “plunging away” … I made a big mess and seemed to take forever, but eventually, I got it fixed. My one GOOD accomplishment for the day. Yay! On that note, while I still had brain power, I decided to read a little of one of the handiness manuals in my book shelf — perhaps I would be better prepared next time. .. Maybe. I finished the afternoon off with a round of darts – at the dartboard, not my glorified pantry/refridgerator. I was so hungry.. but I wouldn’t let myself falter. I couldn’t eat until after midnight. I’d made a promise. One meal a day. Gooo darts! .. I think I actually even got a little bit better…. maybe.
Day Three:
Apparently all my good intentions aside, I didn’t stay up for my soup at midnight, I ended up curling up in bed (after pulling a few darts out of the covers) and falling into a fitful sleep. Shortly after dawn, my belly woke me up and I forced down more cold Chicken Noodle soup. There HAD to be something better out there! Feeling refreshed, I put on my very best and went to check out the old diner’s supplies. Maybe they had something useful.
The Town’s old Boxcar Diner
Apparently, locked doors are not impressed by formal wear, and they had some sort of shielding on the windows, so I couldn’t break them. Sighing heavily, I decided to check the back shed door, and wandered through the mist around the boxcar to it.
The diner’s storage shed
Somehow, in their rush to go…. wherever they went, the diner employees hadn’t fully shut the door, so I went in and looked around. It took several trips since I had to keep running outside for air due to the rotten food fumes, but I at least explored as much as I could. Couldn’t find anything in the way of food, however, under one of the counters by the cooktop, I found an unopened four pack of showers-in-a-can. .. Someone obviously hadn’t been a very good cook here, and they’d been prepared.
Packing those up, I made a short detour by the junkyard for some more scraps and ideas for another invention. Ideas running around my head, I hurried home to try my hand at the inventor’s bench again. Things went considerably better today, and I didn’t have a single mishap while building what I’ll just call a “Claw Dipper”. I took it upstairs and attempted to use the lever action with the claw to help pull apart stubborn parts in the inoperable radio and phone. All to no avail, of course.
After a rather lengthy debate with myself, I decided studying some more handiness might help me out in the long run, and I finished reading the basic handiness book. Too hungry and tired to do much else other than think of midnight when I could once again eat my daily ration, I read one of the three paperback books I’d stolen from the school – “Where’s Bella?”. It seemed appropriate. Then, for lack of anything better to do, I took a nap until it was time to eat at midnight.
studying handiness
Day Four:
Started off the “day” at midnight with no sleep, but a VERY welcome bowl of .. yes.. again.. Chicken soup. Feeling quite refreshed, I set about for the day’s inventing – and managed to come up with a floor hygiene-ator.. or at least the plans for one. It certainly wasn’t going to work without electricity, though, so I sadly stored it away. Feeling maudlin now, and since the sun had finally come up, I headed out to do more scrounging.
Back of the bistro
Again, I lucked out with the back door of the Bistro. In haste to get away (I guess) they forgot to lock the door. Going through their stocks I found several packages of well-protected crackers, some tightly sealed and wrapped in plastic jars of jelly and peanut butter. Vaguely I remembered their new special had been some gourmet take on pancakes with PB and J. Weird, since these weren’t exactly brand name products… I grinned evilly, and packed up my goodies. On the way home, I stopped by my parent’s old house again – this time in search of a cookbook, and perhaps some information on food storage and safety after disasters. I had no idea whether the goods I’d gotten were even going to be edible – or how to put them together.
scrounging in mom’s pantry
I did manage to find some information that looked promising on my new food stocks, and the cookbook I remember her using all the time, so I headed home. Being back in my little underground bunker made me realize how badly I was smelling, but since I knew my “shower” resources were more than likely finite, I tried to avoid using them. I tried desperately to concentrate on the cooking book, but couldn’t, tried taking a nap, and couldn’t even stay asleep. My hunger had become almost a living thing… eating me from the inside. But promises were promises, and to survive, I HAD to stick to my rationing plan. Finally I buried myself in another of the paperbacks I’d snitched, “The Adventures of Raymundo” – which kept me occupied long enough to get me truly tired..
Reading a novel
and I finally fell asleep for a few hours.. and got some real sleep for the first time in days.
Day One:
I stood there, stunned at the silence and the utter stillness of the town.. and at the devastation I saw around me. Once I felt my feet could move again, I ran next door as fast as I could. Of course I still had my keys, and I quickly unlocked the door and raced inside, yelling “Mom? Dad?” over and over. My voice seemed to almost echo in the eerie stillness.
What would I do without them. As an only child, we had been so very close all my life.. maybe they’d .. come back? Maybe they had been hiding for the endless days of the roar like I had been. Maybe they hadn’t been bold enough – or out of supplies enough to have to venture out yet. My mind doesn’t even want to consider other possibilities. By the smells emanating from the kitchen, there hadn’t been time to clean anything out.. the power was definitely out… and all their things were still neatly folded in the dresser. I tried the phones – nothing… same thing with the radio.. but on the off chance I could somehow tinker with them and fix them – if only I had tools – I took them back to my shack. I also found my old bike in dad’s garage and brought that home.. how odd to call that horrid tiny place home.. But there is no way I’m staying above ground when it’s dark. The darkness is always worse with the silence. Not even crickets can be heard. Shaking myself free of my thoughts, I quickly biked to where my best friend, Becky, lived, and peered through every window. Everything was like they had just .. disappeared. There was even her favorite breakfast cereal congealed on the table as if she’d still been eating her morning meal. (ew!)
Seeing the rotten food reminded me that it was stupid of me to forget that my supplies were low. If I was to survive, I would need to find a source of food. And safe drinking water. Those thoughts turned into quick action, and I pedaled to the local supermarket. Seeing it utterly and completely abandoned was un-nerving. Spoiled produce was still on the produce stand, the daily special signs still posted on the board. Nowhere could I find a single evidence of even a struggle. The doors were locked up like someone had simply gone home for the day and never come back. I had never been a thief.. and I struggled with myself for long moments before I decided life and it’s continuation justified the means.
Stealing is wrong! — but I want to survive…
In the end, I did the unthinkable. I found a good-sized rock, and busted in the front doors of the store. After a quick look around, it was very clear that most of the foodstuffs were going to have to be ignored. “Ah! – Non-perishables!” I thought, and ran for the soups aisle. I grabbed as many as I could carry in my bike basket, and raced home with them. I planned to make at least four trips – two for soup, and two to carry bottles of untainted, sealed water. It was still sealed in bottles, as well as shrink plastic in those multipak trays, so I figured it was probably at least drinkable. The trips back and forth the the store were incredibly eerie. The fog, the silence.. the utter lack of any form of life – even most the trees were dead or dying.
I was going to have to ration VERY carefully though. Who knows how long these meager supplies were going to have to last me. Weeks? Months? Years?? With a shiver, I decided there were other things I needed to check before nightfall. Delivering my last load of food and water to my shack, I pedaled furiously to the City Hall. All Police and even Military matters had been conducted from there, and there were extensive basements. Perhaps they had a Green Cross shelter set up there? A spark of hope lit in my mind.. only to be fully doused by the complete abandonment of the only Government building our tiny little town had.
City Hall – abandoned too
Bitterly, I wondered to myself why Dad had made us move out here to the middle of nowhere so many years ago.
“I want to retire in a quiet place” he had always said, “With friends and fishing, hunting in the woods, and a nice quiet school for you to grow up in, Katie-baby.” I smiled fondly, remembering. With a sigh, I forced back tears and took a deep, even breath. Discipline. Practicality. I had always been good with my hands, and was always building little weird gadgets and tinkering with things as a kid – perhaps I could figure out this mystery – or at least fix the phones, radios.. anything to see if I really am the only one left. I couldn’t let my utter hopelessness completely consume me…. I HAD to do SOMETHING!
Spurred into action, I ran around the corner to the local school.
The school – abandoned, front doors locked.. but I knew another way.
Locked, of course. But I found a side door that wasn’t – we kids had always known that it was prone to not closing all the way, and we’d used that “entrance” on some of our weirder pranks – especially senior year. Now, however, my target was the library. I quickly pulled out every book I could find (and carry in one trip) that was about basic Handiness, Fixing Stuff, Jury-rigging stuff, and even inventing. Found a faded book of logic puzzles and a couple of small paperbacks for the long nights, too. Glancing at the afternoon sky, I knew I only had a limited time left, and I wanted to make two more trips, so I hurried home.
My next errand was to the old hospital/medical clinic. Had to break a window here, too, but I was starting to get a little more used to this breaking and entering thing. I didn’t like it – but I wanted to survive. Even if I’m the only one left, I want to live! I went through any unlocked cabinets I could find, collecting what appeared to be clean sheets and a blanket for the cot in my shack. I also found some sterile band-aids, wound dressing, bandages, scissors, and antiseptic. All medicines were locked up of course – and who knows what their shelf life was anyway… I didn’t want to trust those.
Ransacking the hospital – being prepared is my new motto.
Worrying at the already-darkening afternoon, I raced home with these supplies, then made quick work of a trip to the local dump. Perhaps I could scrounge something of use. In the little toolshed there I found a shovel, various tools that wouldn’t need electricity, matches, and .. torches? What did ol’ Jim (the town’s old handyman) need with torches?? Shoving the thought aside with the encroaching dusk, I scrambled around, looking through piles of other people’s trash, picking out scraps of things I thought I might be able to use. Pedaling as fast as I could, I raced home, and made it home before the shadows went past my shed door. Hurrying inside, stowing my gear, I descended into my lonely basement. The matches and torches quickly illuminated what I had only been able to feel before. I rigged up some holders for the torches, and started organizing and taking stock.
Taking stock… sad… but it’s what I have!
I was going to have to be VERY careful with my food and water supplies – because I had no idea how long they would hold out. I vowed to eat only one meal a day – and for now, that only meal was the various canned soups I had found. Perhaps another time I would check the Bistro and the Diner to see if they had any stock that was still good that I could pilfer. Beyond that.. I had the old fridge dad had abandoned down here .. – didn’t work, but it was mostly clean inside… so I put all my foodstuffs in there for safekeeping. The scraps I had found I tossed into the scrap bin on the old inventing bench that was down here from the hermit that had lived here long ago. Speaking of, I wondered if the nasty old sink and toilet still worked. The buckets I’d been using while trapped down here reeked, and I took them outside, dumped them, and put them far enough away that I couldn’t smell them anymore.
well.. the water runs.. it stinks, but it runs.
Well, at least the water works. The water smells of… undefinable substances, though, so I don’t plan to use it for much.. but at least I do have running water. I wonder if even boiling would sterilise it. However, I wasn’t desperate enough to try that out yet. The old bookshelf down here was quickly populated with my meager supply of reading materials, and I regarded the dartboard on the wall with a fond smile. Becky and I used to…. I blocked the thought. Until I found a way to figure out what had happened, or opened up communications with a world that may or may not even exist.. Becky, Mom, Dad, ol’ Jim, and the rest of the town members seemed completely gone. Thinking about it was self-defeating, and would only depress me. Having a moment to take my breath reminded me suddenly of the cellphone and walkie-talkie I’d had when I ran down here in the first place. During the roar, neither had worked.. and I’d thrown them at the wall in frustration.. Wonder where they’d landed. Scurrying around by torchlight, I located both and eagerly tried them out.
phone service? course not.
Again.. nothing. With a sigh, I decided I might as well tinker with stuff, see what I can do with it, and I headed for the invention bench. Many thumb-bruises later (from hitting it with things).. I felt I was finally getting a handle on this basic inventing stuff.
inventing can’t be so hard… right?
Time to try some of the tools down here in the cabinets.. hm.. soldering iron? Or blowtorch… Just what I needed. With a spark of ingenuity, I set back to work, determined to make something.. useful.
maybe this will make this work..
Ack… maybe a few too many sparks??
ooooops 🙁
Definitely too many. On that note, I had a lonely bowl of soup, washed the bowl as best as I could, and forlornly curled into bed. It took hours to fall asleep, and when I did.. sleep was definitely not peaceful.
It began with the ground shaking. Then the noises began. The skies darkened and everyone, including me, ran for cover. When I stopped running, I found myself alone, in the dark basement of a rickety shed. I could hear glass breaking, the shed doors opening and closing violently, the wind blowing… and then there was that awful roar. What it was, I’m not sure I’ll ever know.. but I cowered here, alone, afraid. It seemed like forever. My supplies wouldn’t last forever, and I began to worry. Just as it became dire, and I wondered if I should venture out… the noise stopped. Silence. Cold, dark, eerie silence. I couldn’t even hear any wind. Carefully, slowly, I ventured outside, hoping against hope that it had been a dream. What I saw confirmed the nightmare – but it only got worse. Everyone else was.. gone. Completely, utterly.. gone. I could find no trace of friend, foe, or even creature. What now??
Name: Katie Jeffries Age: Young Adult Traits: Disciplined, Eccentric, Handy, Social Butterfly, Insane Lifetime Wish: Monster Maker Friends and Family: unknown Skills: none Money: who cares? Who would take it?
>> Next
Work, work, build house, try to find a suitable hubby, learn skills, run out of money… rinse repeat.
Oops… Repo-man. .. My table!? Really??
And then, because I was so shocked, and laughing so hard I cried.. I watched the above repo-man go into the unfinished “bedroom” and repo my Monarch butterfly. Worth a whopping 0 simoleons.. and he TOOK MY BUTTERFLY!!!!! Seriously, just the thought of it still cracks me up. This was a sim-memory I simply had to share with my entire family. It even topped my daughters’ “almost catching the maid on fire” while playing her ISBI game on sims 2 (she couldn’t resist after watching me play … lol. Anyway, on her challenge, her teenager decided to cook something – who knows what, I think it turned out to be rather crispy chili con carne, but the stove caught on fire… and the maid was there… and the counter by the stove was apparently dirty, so the maid was merrily cleaning said counter with the fire blazing practically on top of her. Unfortunately, the Fire Dept. showed up too early and saved her before she died… but Devvie (my daughter) was quick enough to get a screenshot proof on it. But still.. the butterfly repo totally won the day. I was still laughing about it four hours later when my husband got home from work. 🙂
Ok… tangent averted, back to the game. She’s a gardener, so I was trying to learn gardening without buying a book/tv or having to go to class – which is easier said than done.
.. get used to seeing the swim-suit. She seems to like it.. a lot. At least for gardening and daily house work (especially while pregnant later… yikes) I had a lot of trouble finding a suitable guy for Colette. The one I liked the sim-looks of the most (thinking future generations here!!) was this Gray Winters chap.. unfortunately… he was working as a mixologist at the Local Watering Hole – Alligator Sally’s. (Dont ask- downloaded lot from another town, but it fit in the spot I had for it, and it works.) As my luck would have it, mixologists are notoriously hard to pin down to get to know. Talking to them at the bar is hit or miss, usually miss.. so I tried phoning him, with little success. I had to get her up early for work and phone him before he went to work at 10 am – which didn’t help Colette’s sleep “pattern” any. Tried finding other guys, but every even partially suitable candidate ended up being vampirized by Colette’s “night-loving” boss. Finally, I decided to invite him over before his work-time one day, and put some time into a “get to know you” session.
Turns out, ironically enough, he had very recently changed jobs, and was now an acrobat .. well at least he can stay to chat awhile – but there goes my one command for his lifetime… 🙁 (he won’t be able to stay an acrobat, because I can’t command him to go get gigs and such – so I’ll have to change his job). During this “chat all afternoon” day, I attempted to get him to marry Colette. However, a slight issue turned up after he’d accepted the “let’s date seriously” question and moved to the “let’s get hitched later” one. Turns out.. he’s insane.. and he said no. Well, doesn’t that beat all. I manage to pick the one guy in town who happens to also be insane!! So, he may have said “no”. But he didn’t mean it, right?? So the next day, I invited him out on a REAL date, saved up enough money from work to pay for both a cheap dinner and a movie – and then tried proposing again.. and this time I got an agreement.
Colette’s Hot Date
.. And an instant wish to throw a bachelorette party. Err.. ok. So I admit, I hadn’t tried one of these in game yet since I got Generations, and I immediately invited Colette’s “friends” (read: co-workers and boss – who are mostly vampires due to the above-mentioned boss) to a party. Of course, after paying for the date, there was no way I could afford to rent a venue, so I had the “party” at my .. well, “home”. Okay, at least it has walls and wallpaper now! (sorta) Colette’s first wish upon starting the party was to ask someone to make a toast.. so she did.
After this, at least one of the other guest showed up.. followed by a screaming fire truck.. wait.. a WHAT? … (daughter was at this point bored of her sims and heading to “play in her room” .. I convinced her to come back to see what the fire truck was.) .. Yep, you guessed it. Stripper. Who decided the house was so horrible he wasn’t even going to dance.. picked his stereo back up .. and ran outside to play in the garden sprinkler. Between various vampires falling asleep on the floor, and the fireman in the sprinkler.. the party ended up verging on disastrous.. and Colette spent the rest of the weekend trying to catch up on sleep and house chores so she could have a decent wedding. Then, I waited another couple of days to save the simoleons to rent a venue for the event. It turned out lovely!
Colette’s wedding .. oo the shore.. the venues in the background…
Colette’s wedding close-up
And hey, he even agreed! Yay! .. and moved in with.. oh joy .. a whole 2, 347 simoleons! (hey, I can finish the bedroom!) .. and buy a cake!
Mmm. Cake.
Then, tried to do the whole traditional wedding dance.. which turned out so awful I didn’t bother taking a picture.
“I’d rather have salad” says Gray…
However, once I got the wedding toast from the bartender.. Gray’s comedy began.. and he immediately avoided the drink, and ran for salad… what? .. yep. Salad. .. ooookay. So he ends up with the “stuffed” moodlet (ok, I peeked, I admit – I was already hav
ing trouble non-micromanaging by this point).
I send Colette home – Gray stays at the party venue… errr… hey.. it’s my wedding night… (clueless me sits there for a while, then figures out I can use the phone to “Call Everyone Home”… oo!) .. Yep. Little hearts all over the bed, and a lullabye plays. Yay! Baby on the way! Did I mention her lifetime wish is to raise five kids? Oops. Silly me. His, aparently, is to be a monster-maker. Yeah, right. Not going to happen. So he’s eccentric, insane, loner, genius.. what better place to stick him than teaching kids, right? Sure. Only I didn’t think about the Charisma requirement. (roll eyes). Oh well, he’s used his one action to switch from being an Acrobat.
Stay tuned for the generation one babies! Girl or boy? What do you think??
(Edit: 11/27/13 fixed images)
The tiny pictures I posted really didn’t do these lots justice, so I took a few extra pictures.
Download links and lot info can be found in this blog post.
Edits: As you know, the actual file for this was lost.. however, based on the pictures I took, I really think I can rebuild it, and will be trying to while I’m doing lot testing this week. (12/3)
Well, I spent a couple days building this. I’m not sure exactly where the idea came from, but I started building a coffeehouse from scratch to see if it 1, worked and 2, could be done easily… and somehow it morphed into one of my most ambitious builds ever. I ended up including a “frieze” – a quarter-level floor in-between the first and second floor .. which I’d never attempted before, but had been reading about in advanced build tutorials. Also, I installed a split-level “half grand” (my definition.. lol.. is a grand staircase that doesn’t “split” into two..) staircase that didn’t interfere with the outside walls – something the perfectionist in me is glad to see works. .. and also, something I’d only read about recently. That being said, I’m running through some final tests today, and with any luck, I’ll be uploading it for those who would like to download it. Meantime, however, I’d like to show it off! 🙂
Front lot view
Right side view
The back view
First floor walls-up overall view
Second floor walls-up overall view
Upstairs walls down view one – this shows bathroom layout
Walls-down view of upstairs again.. this shows the little sitting area outside the bathrooms.
Upstairs sitting area close-up
Upstairs balcony outside the bathrooms – note even the ceiling has been matched – perfectionism = attention to detail!
The upstairs balcony looking down at the “half-grand” staircase and the stage below.
I’m really not sure why the stairs are showing so dark.. I do have light squares there – but they didn’t seem to turn on.. will be investigating that before uploading. 🙁 grrr.
The downstairs “reading area” – including the ubiquitous and annoying spawned proprietor – proving the place works. 🙂
Most of the furniture is from the “Regal” set from the store. I used NO CC in building. Overall, I think it turned out extremely nice. My initial plan was for a small rural – style coffee house, and I ended up with a fancy Victorian Tea House … *shrug* will have to try again for the rural idea. (chuckles). The floor tile and pattern were hubby’s idea – I think he had a good call there. I didn’t get the rest of the downstairs pictures yet, will post those later. I also have to test that the stage is actually work-able. The sim I had visiting to test isn’t a performer, so I couldn’t test that part yet. I did make sure that all five of the stage floor seating area and the stage have NOTHING blocking them – I’ve read that can be a major (even game-breaking) issue when performing/simporting with custom venues. I’m positive the venue will require the regal set, pets, and world adventures.. but a couple of the wall hangings may have been from generations. I tried to be very specific on what I was using to decorate, to allow for the fewest requirements possible. Anyway.. more to come! Tell me what you think!
This was the challenge that launched this blog. “Play notes: Falconvale is played based on the “Nothing is Free” Challenge Rules, which are found here on ModtheSims.com. It’s the brainchild of the brilliant Avalikia, and basically takes the old Build a City Challenge for Sims 2, and makes it more suited for the Sims 3 playstyle. There have been other “morphs” of the BACC for Sims 3, but most simply take the old rules and plop them onto the Sims 3 game engine – which isn’t the same style of gameplay at all… and to play the Sims 2 style you need extensive mods to change the aging and gameplay style back to the sims 2.. which seems sorta silly to me. This Challenge seems to be the best way to run BACC for the Sims 3 game engine, and I fell in love with the challenge as soon as I read it. That being said.. welcome to Falconvale.”
Unfortunately, this save file ultimately got corrupted by an invisible friend bug, and I was never able to recover it. Loved it while it lasted, though.
(more…)
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!
Chapter One – Starting Anew
November 2025 Dev DiarySuperSweetBot Commands for Mods & BroadcastersOctober 2025 Dev DiaryProgress Report!Hacking Situation ResolvedHey all…
Welcome to my new webhost!!
Progress Report on Not So Berry & TimelineExtended Not So Berry 2.0 is coming!!
OMG A Thrall Post?? What?Not So Berry Updating
Jaynie’s Gems: By-The-NumberToday
