OFB for Builders

[myskaal]

http://snootysims.com/hunter-mail2.php

*sniffles*Now I know that the modding community came out with these ideas a good long while ago but I can't help but get a little warm fuzzy that Maxis finally decided to include these options as defaults. My architect self just says JOY! The split level feature is looking especially nice. No more gapping holes for certain leveled stair cases. Oh yes.

Next expansion.. Spiral Stairs! Woo!

[JaneSims]

Thanks for the link. This looks good. I am actually praying for some descent clothing meshes. I know- silly me!

[Grater]

The bay window in the roofs-examples house looks cool.

[JenW]

I'm psyched about the split levels too...now I can finally have a proper raised dance floor! I love the bay window too, I'm very excited about that.

I have seen a few new clothing meshes, and some are very nice! There's a knee-length dress I'm really excited about especially.

[flowerchile]

Might be able to delete some less than desirable downloads at last.   

[ZiggyDoodle]

Thanks for that link.

Maybe a few Buckmeister Fuller domes will pop up in my 'hood.  Wonder if there will be triangular windows....

[Wolfee]

Thanks for the link. This looks good. I am actually praying for some descent clothing meshes. I know- silly me!

Well judging from the few examples shown, I wouldn't hold my breath 
I did like however the new objects , roofs and split level plans, plus that wallpaper looks nice( from the bedroom picture)

[Renatus]

I seem to be missing something in regards to the clothing that comes with the expansions, as to me it generally seems to be well-designed and well-skinned (although I could have lived without those two really uninspired fanmade outfits that came with NL). It's not all stuff I would personally wear but then, I don't make all of my sims little clones of myself. The clothing all seems appropriate for the expansion packs - all of the wannabe hippie stuff for Uni students looked right on from what I've seen on college campuses, and raver and pop-music-inspired clothes for Nightlife are right on from what I've seen in clubs.

I do have to admit I'd be a lot happier if they'd include more long skirts for females of all ages, though. I wonder if any of the expansions will have bohemian-inspired clothes...

[angelyne]

This is pretty exciting news.  I've been meaning to recreate my split level RL house for a while, but it's really impossible to do perfectly.  You always get gaping holes .  I can't wait for this expansion.

Are they usually on schedule with them?

[MutantBunny]

I've been building with the new split level in my head: stairs in a corner. The tool looks like it will allow for one landing four steps up--same height as the foundation tool is now. So to go circular: do you think the level tool will allow multiple levels on itself? You know two levels for the next four steps in a circular style stair case, then three for the next set to the next landing and then up to the second floor?

[BlueSoup]

Are they usually on schedule with them?

Oh, the EP will be out on the release date, even if it's a bugtastic mess!  I've not seen them delay one yet.

[Inge]

I was wondering that myself, MutantBunny.  Two of those on top of each other make an exact half-landing height

[MutantBunny]

Yes, it'd be nice if Maxis thinks aobut that.

Or maybe the level tool will allow us to assign height?

[idtaminger]

I seem to be missing something in regards to the clothing that comes with the expansions, as to me it generally seems to be well-designed and well-skinned (although I could have lived without those two really uninspired fanmade outfits that came with NL).

Well designed??? 90% of Maxis clothes look like they came out of the clothing bin at the salvation army. Or from the street. Whichever place has uglier clothes. I mean, *this* : http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2006/023/reviews/929998_20060124_screen007.jpg , is their idea of a presentable outfit!!!

These screens I'm seeing though, those interiors - they're, dare I say it?, rather well-designed. Maybe they got someone w/ at least an iota of taste this time.

[Renatus]

... Your point? The pants are a little too baggy, but that's how many, many girls and women in Scandinavia dress. I know it is popular to look down one's nose at the tunic/dress over pants in the States, but it's cold enough here it is a perfectly sensible fashion option. Even with the sandals and sleeveless top, I see girls and women dress like that in late spring or early summer.

It must be one of the nerdy game developers dressing her, though, because no woman in her right mind would wear a baseball cap with nice clothes like those. 

[Ellatrue]

I thought it looked alright, but the lace on top should be cream or something, not pink- it clashes...

[idtaminger]

... Your point? The pants are a little too baggy, but that's how many, many girls and women in Scandinavia dress. I know it is popular to look down one's nose at the tunic/dress over pants in the States, but it's cold enough here it is a perfectly sensible fashion option. Even with the sandals and sleeveless top, I see girls and women dress like that in late spring or early summer.

It must be one of the nerdy game developers dressing her, though, because no woman in her right mind would wear a baseball cap with nice clothes like those. 

It's not the tunic over pants thing that's the problem here. Heck, that was even a hot trend for a while. No, it's the way that Maxis utterly butchers each and every trend that they dump in the game. Tunic over pants were actually even quite popular w/ custom creators, but in their hands, the stuff actually looks *presentable*.

I always get really annoyed w/ each ugly outfit that Maxis throws out, b/c w/ their huge development budget, you'd think they could hire someone with some shred of fashion sense. And on top of that, w/ each new EP, you merely add to a ton of crap that you'd never put on your sims that's filling up your game, and there's no way to delete it.

[Paperbladder]

Them calling that raised level thing "split-level" irks me for some reason.  It's not like it puts it on another level or makes it compatible to put on a hill or something.  It's interesting, but calling it "split-level" seems kind of wrong to me, since I have lived in at least 3 houses that ARE split level and that usually means there's a stairway in the front of the house that divides the house into a lower region and an upper region.  I really don't see how raised floors have much to do with that.

About the Maxian clothing, I think it's much better than most of the crap the community makes.  I think people hold that grudge just because TS1 clothes suck, so they don't think TS2 clothes are any better.  I personally would rather have the Maxian Clothing than Custom Clothing, because it probably won't make my game explode.

Also, you know those screenshots are doctored and they have godly cards running it right?  They probably won't look that nice when you get the game if you don't have the best hardware.

[qvcatullus]

I don't know -- I love being able to make my sims dress as poorly as possible. Then I can laugh at them.

[nectere]

I have to disagree on the rage against Maxis' fashion sense. The name of the game is custom content for a lot of people. It doesnt matter if Maxis provides the best textures, and in a way, its better if they dont, as it only encourages the custom content creating community (say that three times fast) to come up with much better textures for the same mesh, rather than having to make whole new meshes with new textures. Its pretty obvious that Maxis has scouts checking out the custom content and new meshes that enter the community, they in turn use those same concepts to provide same or similar ideas in the next pack as part of the core game. Meshes that are part and programmed in the core game are likely to load a lot faster than meshes that are made by the community as add ons. At least in my experience and opinion.

Truthfully, I really dont like any of the textures that Maxis uses for much of anything, but I do like the meshes and that is the important part, the hard part. The fun is getting to recolor them and add my own sense of style or enjoy the style of others who have all the time in the world to make really great recolors. In that way, the sims has something for everyone, you can play house or color, or you can build stuff, or invent stuff. Its all good....except for the bugs, but then that gives people like Pescado something to do as well - for the programmer types...as well as the super creators who do it all i.e. new meshes with new textures, functions, and anims etc. And of course everyone then has to upgrade their computer etc so that industry wins as well lol. Its quite the mixed bag of tricks.

Just my unsolicited opinion.

[eaglezero]

I always get really annoyed w/ each ugly outfit that Maxis throws out, b/c w/ their huge development budget, you'd think they could hire someone with some shred of fashion sense. And on top of that, w/ each new EP, you merely add to a ton of crap that you'd never put on your sims that's filling up your game, and there's no way to delete it.

I ALWAYS wish I could delete Maxis stuff -- there are tons of walls, floors, and clothes that I will NEVER use and it makes me crazy just to look at them! Like, I understand that they're there because people want "realistic" sorts of things and lots of options, but it's useless for me personally because I like everything to be slick and pretty and kind of cartoonish. Oh well. I've learned to live with it, but it's frustrating.

[MutantBunny]

Same here: I'd love to be able to dump a lot of the maxis shit--I'd start with the bad hats and then the wall papers and floors.

It drives me nuts they put in new wall papers and floors in each EP! At least the new clothing adds more meshes to work with. But the w and f only add what maxis thinks the w and f should be--and that is bad!

[JadeEliott]

I seem to be missing something in regards to the clothing that comes with the expansions, as to me it generally seems to be well-designed and well-skinned (although I could have lived without those two really uninspired fanmade outfits that came with NL).

Well designed??? 90% of Maxis clothes look like they came out of the clothing bin at the salvation army. Or from the street. Whichever place has uglier clothes. I mean, *this* : http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2006/023/reviews/929998_20060124_screen007.jpg , is their idea of a presentable outfit!!!

These screens I'm seeing though, those interiors - they're, dare I say it?, rather well-designed. Maybe they got someone w/ at least an iota of taste this time.

I must have shite taste in clothes then, cause I like that outfit. I think it's pretty.

*shrug*

[eaglezero]

Same here: I'd love to be able to dump a lot of the maxis shit--I'd start with the bad hats and then the wall papers and floors.

It drives me nuts they put in new wall papers and floors in each EP! At least the new clothing adds more meshes to work with. But the w and f only add what maxis thinks the w and f should be--and that is bad!

The bad hats, yeah. I have a grand total of three sims with hats, and they all are wearing variations on this hat.

What really drives me crazy with the walls is how it's like, here's a wall, here's a wall with a thing at the bottom, here's another color of thing, here's that same wall with a thing at the top, and another color of thing, here's that wall again with a thing at the bottom AND the top, and another color of those things as well. I'm like, jesus, the only one I use is the one with the thing at the bottom AND at the top, so why do I even have the rest of them?

[cabelle]

I wish we had the option to delete certain Maxis stuff too. The first items on my dumping list would be those silly toddler tuxedos.   If they had to exist, why not make them a certain formalwear item for weddings/celebrations? I hate it when my babies spin into a toddler wearing one of those tacky outfits. I want my toddlers wear realistic toddler clothing.