Carl and Pam's The Sims Community
The Sims 3 => Sims 3 - Gameplay Help and Discussion => Sims 3 Building and Construction => Topic started by: Seabody on May 06, 2011, 05:54:03 PM
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I suck at building. My houses are usually just a box with random shapes sticking out of the sides. Does anyone have any tips that I could use so that I can build as well as (or nearly as well as) some builders here, like danefaith, samoht04 and Ausette?
Any tips would be much appreciated.
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There are two things I can think of that might help you. The first is to start small, build a small cottage or whatever takes your fancy really but don't overwhelm yourself with large rooms or a huge mansion. The second thing is landscaping, spending sometime on improving your landscaping will help the curb appeal no end. Good landscaping can help disguise a very boxy looking house. ;)
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You can make a box look like a home! ;) Take a look at my Pieces Dynasty house, I've managed to add some variety to it by performing some architectural tricks. I think it turned out quite well, but yes, I am really bad at landscaping, even if I know how to do it.
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Check out these building articles from the guide. There's 3, with the first being for basic building:
http://www.carls-sims-3-guide.com/articles/homebuilding/
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I feel guilty now, I tend to just build by trial and error until I get something I like :D. I definitely agree with the others here: start small and check out the awesome building guides. I also like looking at real life buildings for inspiration (not to copy directly from, just to get ideas), and you could probably look up pictures and floorplans online too. The main thing though is to keep trying. I've been playing The Sims series for ten years now and building for about five, and I've improved enormously over that time. I shudder to remember the "houses" I made in The Sims 1...
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I know a topic just like this was started recently. If anyone finds it, please post the link and I'll merge the two topics. We don't need duplicates of this sort of thing.
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@Pam, I googled '"building tips" site:www.carls-sims-3-forum.com', as "Building tips" is the most likely phrase somebody would use in a topic of this sort, and there appears to be no match, bar results like "I found the Immortal Dynasty challenge while browsing the guide for building tips", or "Thanks for the basement building tips".
The only real result I got was the board description for this board.
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Yeah, I know. It probably wouldn't have a title specific enough to be searched. That's why I asked for the link if anyone happens upon it. It wouldn't be easy to find.
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I have found this (http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/index.php/topic,2884.0.html) topic while browsing the board, also this (http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/index.php/topic,1683.0.html) one, and this one (http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/index.php/topic,1456.0.html) might come in handy too.
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I shall throw some pictures together to show you what you could do with a Box Shaped House. :)
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Great links, Chronic. Thank you.
Thank you to samoht04, as well. :)
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Thanks for that link to the Building Sites and Inspiration thread Chronic! How I didn't see that when I looked at this board earlier is beyond me.
I bookmarked it - it's good stuff.
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You're welcome. :)
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Okay so here is one Box that I turned into a House.
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-955.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-956.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-960.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-965.jpg)
And here is what I ended up with, the landscaping is rushed though but I hope it gives the idea of a finished house?
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-966.jpg)
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I love it Tom. Especially the final shot. Well done.
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Thanks Chronic!
This one isn't as good as the other one and I just wanted to show that sometimes a Box is actually a good design for a Modern House.
This one was done with PlaceFriezes True and ConstarinFloorElevation False to get the Wall Heigts on the Stair Well.
Before:-
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-969.jpg)
After:-
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-975.jpg)
Upstairs, showing Half-Floor Stoor Well:-
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-977.jpg)
Downstairs showing the Entrance and Carport:-
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-976.jpg)
Carport has a Pool Wall, the Pool can't be used though.
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10010/Screenshot-970.jpg)
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Tom, that's exactly what I'm talking about! The only time I tried a modern house, it turned sour. It looked horrible. There was too much room.
I especially like the first house.
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I find it important to do a little study on architecture. Familiarizing yourself with the little intricacies that define a house as a certain "type," can be very useful to putting together a project.
Think of some of the terminology you might have heard over the years to describe houses. Cottages, colonials, ranches, bungalows, etc. etc. etc. What exactly makes a bungalow (http://blog.oregonlive.com/hg_impact/2009/04/bungalow.JPG) different from a colonial (http://www.txinfo.com/brykerwoods/News/images_OWAHD/1936_ColonialRevival.jpg) or a ranch (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/RamblerHouse.JPG)? The architectural elements.
Now the above is by no means a quiz, but just some fuel to pique your investigative interests. ;D Wiki surf the above housing types. When you come across the the names of building elements you're unfamiliar with, follow the link and take a look-see, and then go back and look for that element in the picture. You'd be surprised at how quickly you start to recognize patterns amongst buildings which share architectural style.
While I'm by no means an expert on the nitty gritty history and details, if you have questions feel free to shoot me a message. I'm sure I can help you in your investigations to some degree.
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I wouldn't shy away from boxes completely. They can still make lovely homes, especially with the right landscaping. Ranch style houses, for example, tend to be long rectangular shapes and I love to build Ranch houses. I think the best way to figure out how to build is to browse house plan sites. That way, you can familarize yourself with how real houses are laid out and get a feel for proper dimensions and what not. I would try converting a few simple, and small, houseplans into houses in game. (I tend to halve the dimensions for conversion. So a 12x12 bedroom would be 6x6 in the Sims). I am not the best builder, but that is how I have learned to improve. I agree with starting small. Trying to build a mansion is much harder than a small cottage, at least to me, and it is harder to figure out where I have gone wrong. Good luck with your building and have fun. ;D
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Thanks to the Sims, I've gained a serious appreciation for the creativity that goes into real world architectural design. When I first started building houses in Sims 1, they were pretty much just boxes. After I got tired of the box-houses, I started looking at how Maxis did the other houses in the neighborhood. And then I started looking at real houses and thinking: How could I do something like this in the Sims? From there, I started investigating why architects did certain things instead of just what they did and came to discover that architectural design is an art of both form and function.
But don't sell the boxy houses short, because simplicity often works the best. The house I've built for my Immortal Dynasty is little more than a giant box, and it's one of my favorite houses to play in (although I haven't done much with it lately because I've been busy goofing around with other things). It's what's on the inside that counts. ;)
Here's a few images from when the actual building was completed. While I've made a couple of minor adjustments (mostly interior decoration), almost nothing physical has changed since I finished it.
(http://llnw.thesims3.com/sims3_asset/sims3_asset/media/shard000//shard000/819/951/007/00/screenshot_original.jpg)
(http://llnw.thesims3.com/sims3_asset/sims3_asset/media/shard000//shard000/662/951/007/00/screenshot_original.jpg)
(http://llnw.thesims3.com/sims3_asset/sims3_asset/media/shard000//shard000/624/951/007/00/screenshot_original.jpg)
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All this chat about "box-houses" inspired me to fool around with a 10x10 square. Below you can see the result. I went for Modern Minimalism - a style very much befitting a simple square in my opinion.
Be aware though that it lacks any landscaping and an interior. I was aiming to create a starters house - as per someone's request in our request thread. I'm terrible at keeping budget though and this house sits at 16.000 unfurnished :P Even without the carport I won't be able to furnish it, hence I didn't finish. It'll probably be forgotten while I try to create a 16.500 budget-house. Still, it's an example of what you can do with a 10x10 square!
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10108/Front_View.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10108/Rotation_1.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10108/Rotation_2.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10108/Rotation_3.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10108/Rotation_4.jpg)
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10108/Top_View.jpg)
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It seems most of my houses tend to be box shaped also and usually with a flat roof. But the nice thing about a flat roof is when your family gets bigger and you have more people driving cars you can put parking spaces on the roof. :) It doesn't even require a cheat code to do.
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Seabody, I'm not good builder in aestetic way such are those you mention in the begining, but I do have something to add.
There is a huge difference between practical and functional houses and those that are beautifull to look at but not so easy to play with. Builders you mention are great in both, but they are both talented and informed and have years of practice behind, so don't try to immediatelly recreate one of their masterpieces.
I don't like huge rooms, and when it takes Sim hour to get from bedroom to the kitchen. Also, huge rooms always look empty so I tried to learn building practical homes, using space to have everything functional and easily accessed and to have a nice look at it while playing it. That is why I never put trees next to the house - it block the view when you play. I also rarely buy only decorative objects and those I don't really use (I do the same in RL hehehe).
take the advice you get, to study around real homes to see what is where and try to understand why. Next one very important is what danefaith told you, try learning what is belonging to what style - that is making huge difference when you build. Also, try to have the idea what you want to build when you start - modern home, cottage, boungalow or mansion.
I usualy build one room at the time, and add/remove walls as needed. Start with whatever you have the best idea what will look like. For example, when I was building this mansion I started with pool area and pond because I knew how I want it to look like, and then start with building house starting with entrance and stairs. Then tried to get the simetrical look with living area on one side, and private areas on other(bedrooms):
(http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4156/screenshot352w.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/98/screenshot352w.jpg/)
Back view:
(http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/5827/screenshot28ys.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/4/screenshot28ys.jpg/)
Front view:
(http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/3839/screenshot29q.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/218/screenshot29q.jpg/)
With this one I start with kitchen and dinning area, add the entrance and stairs, then bedrooms on second floor. Again, looking for simetry (which is not modern style).
(http://www.carls-sims-3-forum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10038/7.jpg)
(not really masterpiece but it is not ugly looking to me at least and is very very functional with everything 4 Sims need, plus it is not expencive)
This one was different because I had to start with underground area for aquarium, so I had to use above space respectively:
(http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/5211/screenshot243g.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/screenshot243g.jpg/)
(http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/3397/screenshot244.jpg) (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/843/screenshot244.jpg/)
That didn't turn out well cause I made huge square of fondation and build from there, instead from actual parts of future house.
If you're not planing to upload houses to Swap Shop for someone request, I guess the best goal should be to make a house that you like to play with, evene if it doesn't look amazing to everyone. Playing with different patterns, using ALT and moveobjects on you can arrange furniture in unusual way, and using your favorite color and theme will make you happier to play with.