Tweaking the Neighborhood

[Puppetmaster1]

Hey everybody,

I had a question about tweaking the towns before starting a game.

How many empty lots do you leave?

What is the ratio of Starter to Family homes that you add?

Are there any other adjustments folks make before they start out?

Thank you

[Swede1992]

How many empty lots do you leave?

Actually, I usually claim just one lot for a new family (which I without exception create to my liking in CAS)

What is the ratio of Starter to Family homes that you add?

I'm not really aware of what you're asking about. I never add any new families except the one I am about to play if that is what you're asking.

Are there any other adjustments folks make before they start out?

I don't, but if you ask around, lots of people leave toddler stuff and such in the parks to make it easier with bringing flocks of toddlers everywhere (looking at you Pam ).

[Pam]

I don't, but if you ask around, lots of people leave toddler stuff and such in the parks to make it easier with bringing flocks of toddlers everywhere (looking at you Pam ).

Yes, I put cribs, toys, and potty chairs at the library and the park. Also, if I happen to visit a home that has an infant or toddler and no crib, I use testing cheats to give the baby a place to sleep.

[Joria]

Yes, I put cribs, toys, and potty chairs at the library and the park. Also, if I happen to visit a home that has an infant or toddler and no crib, I use testing cheats to give the baby a place to sleep.

Won't babies/toddlers die if they don't have a bed to sleep in?

I sometimes fix up the "park" areas with restroom amenities, including showers, and sometimes add things like picnic tables, grills or fire pits and one place I even left a tent.
My angler Sims love not having to go home when they are close to the red line after fishing too long.  I also put a large sandbox in parks with baby/toddler things in them so the kids will keep up with their skills and stay amused while whoever is watching them fishes or reads.

[Swede1992]

Won't babies/toddlers die if they don't have a bed to sleep in?

Heavens no. They will at gross neglect be taken away by social services; children are as young as 'mortal' sims can be.

[Pam]

Won't babies/toddlers die if they don't have a bed to sleep in?

They just sleep on the floor if there's no crib.  It's sad, but they survive ok.

[Mrs.Laphalot]

Are there any other adjustments folks make before they start out?

Arrrg! The library in the new Twinbrooks has no bookcase with skill books. That's a must edit in any new game I start. I don't play children sims that much, so hadn't thought about adding kiddie things to the public areas. Made a mental note of that for the future should I decide to play young ones. Hopefully my mentality doesn't suffer much more degrading.   

[Pam]

Arrrg! The library in the new Twinbrooks has no bookcase with skill books. That's a must edit in any new game I start.

Yeah, we've been complaining about the library since Ambitions came out.  It makes no sense to me and I hope it's a bug that EA will fix.  You can add the "Corral" bookcase either through Edit Town or by using "testingcheatsenabled true" and shift-clicking the library lot, then click Buy on This Lot.

[malteser60]

I think Puppetmaster may be asking those questions for a new world through CAW. Just to know how many starter homes to put in as opposed to the more expensive ones. That's the impression I get anyhow.

[Pam]

Oh.  Well, that puts a whole different light on the discussion. 

[Joria]

Maybe, but I'm going to look at it as in, tweaking regular, EA neighborhoods. lol

One thing that bugs me a LOT is the cemetery.  I don't know how many of you have ever been to a cemetery but the ones I've seen or been too normally are not all raggy, messy and gloomy.  And, since I really don't like ghosts moaning and swooping around my house, I wanted a lovely place to rest my dead Sims in.  So my personal, favorite tweak is to redo the cemetery in Sunset.  First I clean up all the trashy shrubbery, get rid of huge, hulking and/or dead trees and then I really go to work.  I even move the mausoleum so there is room for me to make a ten generation grave area!  When I'm done it looks more like a place you want to have a family picnic in, and I've noticed after I do that you'll find a lot more npc characters walking around looking at grave stones.  Oh, and Grimmy goes on a "pedestal", (small island), right in the middle of the pond.  I opt for the mood, "peaceful repose" when doing this.  Maybe I just like large, public gardens.

[Abigor]

Ha, pretty much the opposite from myself. I love making it dark and gloomy. I remove the living trees and add the dead ones. And play a bit with the buy/build mode so it would be really scary. I dunno, I guess I like making the graveyard the stereotypical undead/haunted place.

[Pam]

If I'm playing a multi-generational family, I usually make a private family cemetary on an empty lot.  It's usually across the street or next to the family home, depending on where they live.  I make it pretty and peaceful with trees, flowers, benches, fountain, and lighting.  That way I can keep my ancestor Sims close by in a nice place without having all the other ghosts there.

[Saltypaws]

I usually use the neighborhood on Pinnacle Point, but who's bright idea was it, when you start a new game, to put the Junk yard right at the end of that pretty street and moving it is a joke.  I have tried editing, moving, everything and cannot come up with a way to move that junk yard off of that street and it does not work well on hills, I found out, lol.

[Joria]

It's not quite done, but this is what I basically do for a "family plot" within the public cemetery.  I'll show by stages of completion.

First:  clean it up! Also, mow the lawn.




Next is a home for Grimmy.




Start brightening up paths and add a shrub or two.




Now for the family plots.  The founders are placed exactly side by side because of their great love for each other.  The family donated a ton of Simoleans to the town to be able to take up so much space just for their ten generations of Malenkayas.  Mom and Dad chose to have a spitting dragon fountain because of how much they loved Shang Simla.





And except for some final tweaking, that's it.