Long as we're doing download sites

[Sagana]

What are your favorite places to download lots? I'm looking for some that are different than what I normally get. (I prefer that they not be on the biggest lot size, fully furnished with everything under the sun, and cost a billion trillion simoleans cuz my lousy video card can't handle it, but I still like to look and dream )

Oh and do you have different sites you like for community and/or university lots?

[veilchen]

Lets see now, who can I remember off hand?

Reggikko and Emma have marvelous lots on their page at the official board. You can get to them by clicking on the links in their respective signatures. Both offer great starter homes with potential.

Witch is another great builder. Some of her lots are very intense, but she has quite a few interesting lots to offer.

JoanE of the invisible house fame also has some nice lots, but I can't remember her official board username, maybe someone else will, or maybe I'll come across it.

JadeEliott builds, but I'm not sure whether that's neighborhoods only or individual lots. He or she has the street-parking tutorial posted here, you might find out there.

Simmiecal has a template lot for streetparking on her/his site, there might be some more goodies. You can get the link in JadeEliott's street parking tutorial, just scroll down until you find it.

If I find some more interesting lot/lotbuilders, I'll let you know :D

[radiophonic]

I prefer modern homes, and thus:

I like Hügö's lots quite a bit: http://www.xn--hg-gkaw.de/index.htm
Reflex has some interesting houses to try as well: http://www.reflexsims.de/
And lastly, Tribeccasims has some nice Eichler style homes: http://www.tribeccasims2.com/

There's also Sim Estates for more traditional style homes: http://simestates2.planetthesims.gamespy.com/

[gali]

Why download lots? You miss all the pleasure of the game - being trained as an architect....

I never download lots. I make one packaged lot for a family, one - for students (which I can turn to a dorm), and one - for elders (smaller) - and all of my sims live in that kind of lots.

I prefer to download objects, walls, and floors - and to decorate, and re-decorate my lots, each 6-7 sim days.

[Sagana]

Thanks!

Witch has some wonderful lots - I downloaded all her starter ones when she posted here awhile back. I should have mentioned that my computer is allergic to the official board - it locks it up. (The computer that's connected to the net is a mac, and it just doesn't play well with that site.)

Tribecca is the one I don't have bookmarked and have been trying and trying to remember Thank you!

I do build some of my own gali, but I'm not an architect and it takes me a long time. I don't mind using nice ones from other people when I can. And it's fun to see what other people like

[cwykes]

I don't download many lots because they are nearly all too big to be playable and too expensive for Sims to buy without cheating.  Who moves rich sim families anyway?  If they run out of space, you extend.  Before NL you couldn't move without losing career objects or cheating to get them back and depreciation means they lost out moving.  OK, so the problem has gone with inventories - or it would if they weren't buggy.  But how often do you want to move an established family?  When the kids grow up and you move them out, you need Starter homes, just like for new sims.   

I look around occasionally out of curiousity.  I visit TSR regularly anyway and I've been to simestates2.  I take the odd lot from a site whose objects I like to see how they use them - 4eversimfantasy for example.   I built my own set of small starter homes and community lots with water and willows and cycle through those when I start a new family.  they have a distinctive unified look on the 'hood screen. They're on TSR.  I'm cwykes there too.  I'd love to know how they work in NL where you can see next door.  When I get fed up with water and willows, I'll do another themed set.

There aren't many small community lots around either.  That's what I built first, when my PC was really graphically challenged.  The maxis lots took for ever to load, so I didn't use them.

[Sagana]

Yeah, I'm looking for smaller or medium-sized things also. I'll download a big lot to see how it works and because it's really cool, but only put it in a test neighborhood as I can usually feel the slowdown just clicking on it in the bin, without even placing it :)

I have been moving families up lately tho. I like to redecorate anyway and as I can keep things I really want now (as long as it doesn't go buggy on me) I don't mind so much. And my built-on additions aren't as nice as a new home that's intended to be a bit bigger.

If I can get the exchange to work for me (big if :), I'll check out yours in NL and post some pics for you. Water and willows is about perfect for what I'm working on - and especially if you've got some community lots. Since NL I'm having a better time with community lots - I can play downtown pretty well. And there are some out there I'd never be able to manage myself - I found a train station, with trains, and a bus depot :) tho I haven't put them in yet and dunno if they'll crash my game. It's worth a try tho.

PS - I really love Hügö's site as well. I'd never been there before. Thanks so much. <happily spending hours looking at everything> :)

[radiophonic]

Why download lots? You miss all the pleasure of the game - being trained as an architect....

Oh, I do my share of building. In fact, I enjoy it more than playing with the little lives at times.
The only thing that gets me is that I can't share them due to the "Do not upload...do not this...do not that". :/

[cwykes]

I have been moving families up lately tho. I like to redecorate anyway and as I can keep things I really want now (as long as it doesn't go buggy on me) I don't mind so much. And my built-on additions aren't as nice as a new home that's intended to be a bit bigger..................

If I can get the exchange to work for me (big if , I'll check out yours in NL and post some pics for you. Water and willows is about perfect for what I'm working on - and especially if you've got some community lots.

They're on TheSimsResource not the exchange.  I know that's a pay site, but they come up free quite often. Actually they are all in the free section at the moment, so help yourself!  All maxis content, base game only required.
http://www.thesimsresource.com/profiles/view.php?mid=427711

Re extending, yeah I know what you mean.  You can add rooms, but it's expensive to make existing rooms bigger and turning a bungalow into two stories is always a problem - the stairs never fit.

[Motoki]

Doesn't TSR have some thing where if your lot is in some competition they have it stays free or some such thing? I thought I remembered hearing something about that.

[cwykes]

Don't know - I've never tried a building challenge.  I searched lots for the word challenge and they weren't all free.
the current one is the add a room challenge.  Maybe it says somewhere - or might appeal to the other Simpotents   
http://forums.thesimsresource.com/forumdisplay.php?f=535
One thing that irritates me is they still call it a starter home in the exchange, but it costs about 60k by the time they've added rooms...

I know I've got 2 days free downloading because over 10,000 people downloaded my lots (that's chicken shit on TSR).  I posted them there because I've always been a download junkie and I figured I owed them.  I also know, cos I asked, that they are still mine to give away.

[Motoki]

I also know, cos I asked, that they are still mine to give away.

I think you have to be a "featured artist" for them to demand exclusivity, although I've even seen them let that requirement slide if they wanted someone badly enough.

[Zandi]

I also know, cos I asked, that they are still mine to give away.

I think you have to be a "featured artist" for them to demand exclusivity, although I've even seen them let that requirement slide if they wanted someone badly enough.

Yep, that's the deal.
It's starting to make me sick to see more and more people like  DH and other truly great creators getting sucked in by these  fuckwads.

Echo has her stuff  like all over the place. I know I got her rug meshes from her own site and some of the other creators who make must have thingies don't get stuck in the exculsivity pit but they do have their TSR slaves who happily go about making things for them because they are too ignoarnt to realize how badly they are being used.

PS: remember the bullshit when they got Secret Sims entire collection and suddenly if you had any thing on an SS base you had some TSR flunky demanding you remove those objects now because the bases were no longer free to use? That shit put me off ever making any thing for any Sims game ever again. And the idiots like Shorty Boo who think they are the end all be all of content creation and bitch if something that looks remotly like something they did is on the exchange with out the discription of the sim some how crediting them even if they didn't make a fucking thing on the sim have convinced me Steve Buttfuck over there isn't the only one who needs a good boot up his ass.

But yep the well trained little sheepies will forever defend no matter what.
But think about it people memberships are what now $8 and they have how many members?
Trust me bandwidth cost aren't that high.
Steve has a nice proffitable busness going there.

[nectere]

One of my favorite places to go for inspiration is http://www.webalice.it

[simmiecal]

Lets see now, who can I remember off hand?

JadeEliott builds, but I'm not sure whether that's neighborhoods only or individual lots. He or she has the street-parking tutorial posted here, you might find out there.

Simmiecal has a template lot for streetparking on her/his site, there might be some more goodies. You can get the link in JadeEliott's street parking tutorial, just scroll down until you find it.

Jade has said that she gets a her lots (that you see in the pictures she's posted here) from Erwinsims at TSR.
http://www.thesimsresource.com/profiles/view.php?mid=660800
Most of his stuff that I have downloaded of Erwin's (as best as I can remember) is free of custom content.
If you are looking for urban style buildings, I also like many of the lots by Shakeshaft and Cyclonesue at TSR.

The only lot I currently have up for download is the one with the street parking. As part of our little group neighborhood exercise, I generated a lot of custom neighborhoods. I plan to put some of those up for download very shortly.

(PS - Simmiecal is a girl.)

[veilchen]

Thank you simmiecal, I hate assigning the wrong gender to people

Reg and Dylan are working on getting their own site together. It's slow going though, they live down New Orleans way, need I say more?

I absolutely love Reg's houses, she has a southern style of building. Too bad about not being able to get to the official site, Emma's starter houses are great, couldn't do without them now.

By the way, thanks a heap for starting this thread Sagana, now I have more things to look at and download. I'll get you for this 

[Sagana]

Why you're very welcome. I just knew you'd appreciate it

<tiptoeing through tsr>

by the by, say hello to my grandson, Jamie... he doesn't wanna sleep so granny can build sims stuff but he's way too cute to be annoyed at.

PS - Your lots are great looking cwykes. I particularly like the farmer's market. What a cute idea. Unless I'm missing something only one of them is in the free rotation right now (grabbed but I'll keep an eye out and pick-up the others when they turn out so I can see how the river looks in my hood (I really need some like that - to be a "canal" out to the sea.)

[JadeEliott]

"JadeEliott builds, but I'm not sure whether that's neighborhoods only or individual lots. He or she has the street-parking tutorial posted here, you might find out there."

Jade Eliott does build houses:

http://photobucket.com/albums/b390/JadesHouses/

There are two there for your viewing pleasure.

SimmieCal does the best terrains, just so you know.

Thanks for mentioning me.

P.S.: I am a she. I am surprised folks keep getting this off or putting s/he in doubt, because my name sounds very girly to me. Jade, first name, Eliott, last name. Hmmmm.....

[ari_]

oh my, that Harp House is *nice*. Do you have it available for download?

[MsMaria]

oh my, that Harp House is *nice*. Do you have it available for download?

Yes, do you? *stares at Jade  with puppy dog eyes*

[JadeEliott]

No, I am sorry, I do not.

[MsMaria]

Alrighty, then.

[ari_]

then may I ask how you got the flat-ish roof? I can build the rest of easily since you have pictures of the floorplan, but I have no idea how to get roofs like that. Which is why I'm so interested in the house...

[JadeEliott]

roofSlopeAngle [15-75]

I lowered the roofs with the roof cheat.

:-)

[ari_]

oh, thanks - I'll have to experiment with that!