Venues and Real Estate

[Carl]

It's been a long couple of weeks for me having started school back, but with Metro giving me a little info to go on, I managed to pan out the rest for this guide. Thanks, Tom. I feel Real Estate gets overlooked a lot, and rather than rework the career table I'd already designed I replaced the page to buyout properties with Firefighter and a link to Real Estate/Venues is now found on the navigation bar. That should give this lucrative money-maker the attention it deserves.

I finally got around to making the updated guide to Real Estate and Venues post-patch. The page is no longer outdated and covers all the bases I can think of. I even threw in some tips at the end. If you have something to add, or are intrepid enough to let me know about the Venues you can purchase in France (Nectary) or China (Garden and Dojo), let me know. If you bother, send me the data on what you'll need to add to those particular spots.

The guide covers Sunset Valley, but players of any town should get enough understanding. There's too much variation to say just what you'll need in the end for a Venue to be fully upgraded. For example, the Library in Sunset Valley has everything it needs (value, objects) to start at level 3. As such, it'll pay off fastest but is one of the more expensive pieces of Real Estate to purchase.

Let me know what you think, and certainly post suggestions and corrections here. I'll try to get on them as soon as possible.

This concludes Ambitions coverage, short of TommyT likely posting a guide to Tattooing in the game. We're wrapped and ready for Late Night!

[LlamaMama]

Thanks, Carl. I'm looking forward to reading it. I've just fully-upgraded my first property, but don't really know what or why I'm doing.

Edit: I have a question for anyone who might know. I hope it's okay to ask here. Where do I look to see which specific items are required (picnic tables, toilets, etc.)? I can't seem to find that info. Clicking on the map icon just told me a simoleon amount I needed to spend, no mention of items.

[Carl]

Ones you don't own yet, you'll only get a Simolean amount to initially buy the property. Afterward you can see what's needed for upgrades with the cell phone interface or clicking Real Estate and upgrade requirements on the property's map icon. Sometimes the objects are already there depending on the town and Venue in question and you'll just need to throw money at it. For example, I just needed to throw another $60,000 or so of Art at the Sunset Valley gallery to improve it. Keep in mind what I mention about depreciation at the bottom of the article. So, if you see no items needed and just cash, it's got all it needs and just needs some added value. Art, upgraded facilities, etc.

So my $60,000 worth of art was actually 15% more due to depreciation upon leaving buy mode, so I really needed to add about $69,000 to ensure it didn't drop back to two stars. It's a bit buggy in that it'll initially say it's fine and upgraded, then you'll look to see it's still a 2-star locale. Thankfully depreciation only kicks in one time then is locked in. I'm not sure it's the same way for furniture at home, and think those depreciate more over time and lose value in some cases. Every item has a hard-coded lowest amount it can depreciate to.

By the same vein you're not going to see your paintings go up, so once it's in the venue and you get past that initial drop in value for the object you're good and don't need to worry about the star rating dropping unless you remove a required item in a later renovation. Using your own paintings is a great way to get good stuff in there, as you eventually get tired of buying the expensive Puck painting and putting it in a bathroom just to up the value

[Storyteller]

I noticed in the guide that you mentioned upgrading the cemetery required a mausoleum.  It's my understanding that you can find that building under the community objects tab when you enter build mode.  It's the same place you can find the community picnic tables (free), the community trash cans (also free), the park grills and other large buildings.   You don't need buydebug for that.

[Metropolis Man]

Fantastic article, Carl. You really fleshed it out with so much more info. And the timing of this is perfect with all of the Dynasty investment requirements. Trump says, "You're Hired!"

[Swede1992]

Great that you wrote this Carl. I think several here really appreciate it.

[Happytime]

Thanks very much for your work here, Carl!

I'm excited about (eventually) purchasing a "Venue" and improving it, the Guide provides some great information.

  -- Happytime