EAxis House of Phail: Feb 09

[petalbrook]

I saw it fine, too.  And it is on Photobucket.

[Strangel]

That would be because they changed the link to a photobucket album. Keep up.

Chobeegal: Nice place! I'll be absconding with a copy once I've got the proper EPs.

[tryclyn]

Aw, much better.  I love the use of the green house parts in unexpected ways.

[Batelle]

After struggling for weeks to make anything remotely aesthetically pleasing, I have two versions of the same(ish) house for this month's challenge. I apologize for the lack of interior shots, the decor is standard issue quaint/country.

At $40,380 wanded, Violet Lane is neither a starter nor a full-on family home. 




Lot Overview: I tested it with a CAS family consisting of an elder couple, one adult, one child and a large dog and didn't encounter issues.  It has three bedrooms (one double), 2 and a half baths, a lockable stairwell, front fence with gate and a small garden out back. I may have broken the rules by replacing a portion of the original walls with half-walls, but it didn't change the dimensions or usefulness of the space one way or another.  I just wanted it to feel more open. 







After finishing Violet Lane, I was disappointed by the lack of space for a family to grow, so I went ahead and added some square footage, threw in a room for babies and a full bathroom on the first floor.  Then I decided to upload it, too.



Violet Lane Plus is $44,094 and has everything that Violet Lane does plus a nursery and full bath on the first floor and a large single bedroom on the second floor.  The basement also has open space for career rewards/aspiration objects.






Both lots are CC free. I have all EP's, SP's. 
Download: Violet Lane
Download: Violet Lane Plus

[CatOfEvilGenius]

oops, forgot to say which of Faizah's 3 lots I meant...

Faizah's cute entry *on page 1*, while not the most whimsical or fanciful, is the one that's most like buildings in my real life neighborhood.  Where I live, we have buildings like Faizah's that are several tiny studio apartments.  They have those exterior stairways.  No wood siding here, but slap some colorful stucco on that building, add some fancy exterior moulding, and it would look just like one of ours.  Hope this comment's not too off topic?  Has anyone tried playing Faizah's lot as apartments?  You'd have to squeeze in a tiny bathroom on each floor, of course.  Nevermind, the bathrooms are right there, how did I not see them?

*Cat wonders off to find here glasses*

[Faizah]

My entry on page 1 of this thread, or one of the two on page 5? I'm thinking you mean the first, from the gist of your comment (external staircases, tiny studio apartment-sized floors, etc) but the individual floors already have bathrooms.

[CatOfEvilGenius]

My entry on page 1 of this thread, or one of the two on page 5? I'm thinking you mean the first, from the gist of your comment (external staircases, tiny studio apartment-sized floors, etc) but the individual floors already have bathrooms.

Yes, the cute one on page 1.  Don't know how I missed the bathrooms.  Maybe got too excited about the stairs?  Clearly, I need to wear my glasses, they work better that way.

[Faizah]

I'd be interested in hearing about that too. I mean, it does seem like it would work, as apartments. (Two, the upstairs rooms, with the bottom level - kitchen/living - as communal, most likely.) If anyone wants to do that, excellent!

I'd convert it myself, but I've just had another idea for an apartment-style version of this lot. (I suspect I'll be offering this one in both dorm and apartment versions, but it all depends on how well the build goes.)

[Faizah]

As for that 'idea' I had... I present 10 Old Road, also in dorm and apartment flavour. (The pictures are of the residential version... The apartments include the bathrooms, the dorms just cover the bedrooms. In the case of the basement, the bathroom door was moved on the dorm version. The dorm version also has the dorm-chef stove.) I tried to give it an 'added on' look, with the three story part of the building obviously of different construction to the two story part, as if some enterprising sim had tried to add to the original, but was unable to find exactly the same materials.

Price: $54,777 / Rent: $363-$473

Sleeps 8 in residential, divided into four in the dorm and apartment versions. (Each area sleeps two, though dorms can only have one occupant.)





Basement:


First Floor:

(I recommend replacing the gnomes at the end of the walkway with The Cheat.)

Second Floor:


Third Floor:


Download the residential version.
Download the dorm version.
Download the apartment version.
(I have all EPs, FFS, GLS, K&B, H&M)

[Emma]

I love this version Faizah! I am definitely grabbing the dorm version

[Shiny]

I'm trying my hand at this, so I'm trying not to look at the previous entries yet. I have a hard time being creative with house building and decorating. It's been fun so far!

[rosess]

I have three lots for this month, all with different EP requirements, but all with those dratted trees.  I'll just post a quick look at the first two, and then show my favorite.

This is the base game version, with two bedrooms and a nursery, and a treehouse outside.  It's pretty basic; I just wanted the challenge of trying one without EPs.  I'm over it now.     [Full info]



10 Oak Overlook requires all EPs and M&G, and I have Christmas Party Pack installed.  This home was purchased and renovated by a family with small children.  They replaced the Tower of Hobbies ladders with stairs for safety, and converted the upper level into a large playroom.  There is plenty of room for fishing, too!  [Full info]



And now, on to the main attraction!

Ten Oaks Market - $29,536
DOWNLOAD
Zoned: Community
Created with: NL, Uni, OFB, Seasons
Custom Content: None
Some pictures taken with: danicast's recolor of chris997's Weather (not included)

Navigation: Viewpoints assigned!  Press 4-9 on your keyboard and your camera will automatically move to various preset playing angles.  If you'd like to see this illustrated in .avi format,  click here to view the movie (if that works), or right-click to save to your computer (~6MB).

Ten Oaks Market is both the most changed lot and the one that best keeps the spirit of the original.  As when making the Overlook, I was determined to move those trees one way or another, so they all went either up or down, and a river went right under the main building.  Moving the house to build under it was fun, and meant the house could keep its original look.  It is, as one might suspect, a community lot, though a few pictures were taken before the zoning committee met.







The store comes pre-stocked with goods.  The fish display is a little lean, but I expect most people will use SimWardrobe's Fish Packing Station.  Out on the back deck, try FREE SAMPLEZ! 



There are plenty of fishing spots available.



It's a romantic setting...



A mini-deck lets the crew keep an eye on the weather.



There are bathrooms in the main building....



...and for the fishing crew.  This would be a good place for fish packing stations, too.



Y'all come back, now!

[chobeegal]

Overlook will not download with either FireFox or Explorer. Message says page not found.

[rosess]

Whoops!  It's fixed, and also here.

[witch]

@loripanori: That's a nice solid family home. The white windows give it a lighter touch on the exterior. I reckon the inside is nice and comfortable.

Modern lot. Your red, white and black colour scheme is just stunning. I want to make a new family just so I can play it. It looks good and modern from the outside too.

@Emma: No, I can see you weren't too inspired by this one. Neither am I, I'm on my second try now. Perfectly serviceable house but not one of your best; although you've got some interesting stuff going on with roof shapes and frontage on the exterior and with the rooms on the second floor.

@Tingeling: Oh that's cool. I really like that inner city designer sort of look. I'm attempting something similar currently, which is why I haven't looked in the thread properly for a while, so as not to end up copying people's ideas. I think I like your dining room nook the most, the colours and setting just work so well together.

Old style house. Nope, this one doesn't tickle my funny bone at all. This is way too fussy for my taste but it would be great for elders.

Forest cabin. This would make a terrific vacation lot. I don't know how people can make such compact homes, I really admire that talent. Sometimes, when I've drawn a new foundation, I have to make myself delete at least a third of it so the building isn't even more monstrous than the ones I normally upload.

@twooflower: Wow. Totally farm cottage. You've really done the theme throughout so well. The green lounge is great.

@SalixTree: I would so love to see your hood. That's all.

@pbox: That house is just. so. compact. I have several of your starter type houses, but this is the best so far. You did manage to make the flora look just like it was planned. I enjoy the minimalist suggestion of your decorating style.

@Anebrd: A very good basic starter. Lots of houses in New Zealand are like that, it's our version of trailer homes I guess. They're just more likely to be painted and have cheap carpet.

Little white cottage. I like this much better although the interior colours are too strong for my taste. The white and red exterior is dead cute though.

Red ninja house of gaming. A surprise lot, this one!

@Kyna: Ahem, when you see my lot, please be aware I did NOT copy your lot. Honest. Actually I haven't furnished mine yet, so I'm not going to look at your pictures too closely.

@ajcrawly: Quite an eclectic baroque sort of house; I can imagine an eccentric living here. The central ground floor area is too dark and big, I'm sure something could be made of that space. I LOVE those new doors and the way you have the desk set out looks good.

Family home - nice lighting in the basement along with interesting room shapes. I like the library hall. The bay window looks good out front too.

@Cucumberpie: Aw, kitchy coo, how do you do! This would make a lovely wee farmhouse too. Very rustic.

@jim: Drool colours, drool balconies, drool lounge. I am also totally impressed by the kitchen. Jim, you really have a gift for style and colour.

@Faizah: Cottage hill. It's laid out well enough but unfortunately a bit beige for me. Not that that's your fault, it's just that my parents were very fond of beige and it's kinda put me off for life.

Pond Row. Now this is very country. I like it but wonder how the stair routing would go? Still I guess it would only be a small family. I like the top balcony amidst the roofs.

@chobeegal: I can see you put a lot of work into the lot. Interesting use of the greenhouse roof. I like the exterior.

@Batelle: This would make a good vacation home as well. I predict some of my sims are going to get mountain vacations in the near future - as a direct result of this thread.

@rosess: Blimey, you've been busy! Well, I definitely prefer the base game version, I think I'd go potty trying to get a camera angle on my sims in the other lots. 10/10 for imagination though!

[Faizah]

@Faizah: Cottage hill. It's laid out well enough but unfortunately a bit beige for me. Not that that's your fault, it's just that my parents were very fond of beige and it's kinda put me off for life.

Pond Row. Now this is very country. I like it but wonder how the stair routing would go? Still I guess it would only be a small family. I like the top balcony amidst the roofs.

Heh, well, I do have a fondness for shades of brown, and beige is one of those. But, noted. It is a little extreme with the beige, now that I take a look. That may be what was bothering me about that one, there was something 'off' about it, I just couldn't put my finger on it.

Pond Row really isn't intended for more than one or two Sims, as is, though the upstairs could always be extended where the roof is. But there shouldn't be a problem with the stairs, they're the modular type, which allow for multiple passengers at any one time. The only problem might be the roof-top landing not allowing sims to pass, being just one tile, but there's nothing to do on the roof but stargaze, so I don't imagine it'd be a high traffic area. And, of course, the stairs can be locked at ground level, to keep pesky visitors out. (I recommend setting the BUY in the stairwell bathroom to family-only.)

[rosess]

@rosess: Blimey, you've been busy! Well, I definitely prefer the base game version, I think I'd go potty trying to get a camera angle on my sims in the other lots. 10/10 for imagination though!

Yes, these aren't so playable as the ones without the trees in the way, and I just made them trickier.     The viewpoints trick is cool, though - the market in particular becomes much more playable when all the main camera viewpoints are automated.  I ran across that trick this month (wish I could recall where), and WOW does it make a difference.  Is it something everyone knew about but me?  (You click Ctrl-# to set viewpoints per lot, with # being 4-9, and then those numbers bring you back to that camera angle/floor level later.) 

I just installed almost all of the lots in their own neighborhood, and it's so diverse you'd never believe the houses started as clones.  I'll be moving people in tomorrow to check things out. 

[witch]

Actually I used to use the set camera angles several years ago, then forgot all about them until just recently. I probably saw the same thread you did. 

[Yecats]

I beat everyone to it!

The Campsite!  (10 Oak Street Campground.rar)

4 livable campsites, 3 with one tent, 1 with 2.  All colour coded for prettiness 



From the front of the lot.  There are communal BBQ, seating areas and 2 swings for entertainment.


 

Back of the lot - 4 showers and rear entry to communal food prep area. 

 

Floorplan from the top - just hidden: The blue & yellow tent.



Top floor of the common area.  Bookcase, TV, Sofa (for woohoo purposes too), Easel.  Door leads out onto the spacious balcony.



Food preparation area.  2 fridges, no stove (each campsite has its own table, bbq and streetlamp).  Stair access to the lounge and access to the showers out back.


If anyone wants to find a "rentable gate" to change the apartment doors, feel free. 

All ep's -pets & uni.  All stuff packs + store stuff.  Not all EP's needed. 

Rent runs from about $200 to $370~ a week.  All trees were left where they were, bar one, which was moved to allow access to the lot beside the house. 

[Bugger]

Woo!  See, I told ya I wouldn't steal it.    Looks good Yecats.  I think I may whip together one last lot to enter... I am thinking a beachy vacation lot.

[witch]

Very nice Yecats! Bit of a posh telly for a campground I reckon though, you're spoiling them. 

[Faizah]

I was working on another, a community lot, and I was quite pleased with the look of the roofing, here:


But I'm not so sure about the roofing in hood view...

[Emma]

@Emma: No, I can see you weren't too inspired by this one. Neither am I, I'm on my second try now. Perfectly serviceable house but not one of your best; although you've got some interesting stuff going on with roof shapes and frontage on the exterior and with the rooms on the second floor.

I've actually tried to make another lot but am so fed up with it all, I can't wait for March's HOF! I've given up for this month!

Faizah, that looks so impressive!

[Faizah]

Okay, so, I'd actually finished the lot when I exited out to hood view. I went in today and experimented with roofs (Really, spell-check? Roofs? Shouldn't it be rooves? No? Okay then.) since I figure this lot should look decent in the hood as well as in the lot itself. (Especially as the exterior is far more imposing than the interior.) I had to raise the roofing from the 10 degrees of the old picture to 35 degrees to make it not look horrible in hood view. (It could have gone down to 30 if I hadn't roofed over the food thing.)

Anyway, it's a comm lot, imaginatively titled Tomb of the Ancients. The blurb is as follows: Located deep in the jungles of your local neighbourhood are wonders and mysteries just waiting to be discovered by you, the lucky one millionth visitor!

Price: $45,281

(If you want to change the roof yourself, the cheat is roofslopeangle 35 where 35 is the degree of angle you are after.)



'Upstairs' (original building)


'Downstairs'


And the hood shot:


Download it here.

...

And I'm done for the month. Hurrah!

[jim]

Now this I like. Mr jim can't see a monument with a gazillion steps without pounding up all the stairs to see what's up there. Normally we just end up gazing at a lot of distance. It would be worth the climb to see his face as he entered this site of ancient rituals and mysteries, only to find  - a lavatory! Finally, something useful.