AwesomeSpec v5: House Building In ZOMGPETZ!!!111oneoneone

[J. M. Pescado]

So, here's the diagram for AwesomeSpec v5: What the general topology of the house should conform to in order to be considered properly awesome.

Areas not drawn to shape, size, or scale. Positions are entirely relative except where noted. Areas may be combined if function is not impeded or duplicated for redundancy during actual implementation.

Note the following:
1. The distance between the vehicle depot (you may or may not have an actual garage) / the schoolbus unload area (mailbox) and The One Desk should be kept short.
2. The One Desk should be located near sim parking areas, so that returning larvae will be able to locate instructors in close proximity.
3. Visitors should be confined to the main deck so that their movements may be observed at all times. They should be physically prevented from reaching areas where their activities can be disruptive, consume resources, difficult to interrupt, damaging to themselves or other sims, or not easily observed.
4. At least one bathroom should ideally be near the larva facilities, and one, preferrably more, should be visitor-usable.
5. A minimum front perimeter fence running from the very left of the lot to the very right of the lot should be maintained. It should not be broken except by lockable gates, or by merging into walls or impassable foundations. Areas of the lot that cannot be included inside the perimeter fence should either be paved over or disrupted by the placement of driveways, yard objects or fence edging such that no contiguous 2x2 areas remain. Flowerbeds must not be outside the perimeter.

[OpiumGirl]

Great info but there's one thing I'm not clear on....what does "The One Desk" mean.  Does it mean there should be only one desk?  Does it mean it is the closest desk that the sim will choose?  Or is it....something far more awesome than I can comprehend?

[J. M. Pescado]

Great info but there's one thing I'm not clear on....what does "The One Desk" mean.  Does it mean there should be only one desk?  Does it mean it is the closest desk that the sim will choose?  Or is it....something far more awesome than I can comprehend?

The One Desk is the desk that every single sim in the family will choose as the homework dropoff beacon, regardless of whether that desk, or any desk, is actually available for doing homework on (it doesn't matter where sims do homework, the rate doesn't change). Ideally, it should be the only desk, or all desks should be there, to minimize confusion. Otherwise there's a chance that a new desk placed inherits the lowest instance number and becomes The One Desk.

[OpiumGirl]

Ah, okay, that makes sense....
No wonder why my sims were obsessed with taking a long walk three stories up whilst ignoring a perfectly good desk set next to the kitchen door...sometimes the way the sims decide certain routes to things is just pure evil.
Thanks for clarifying.

[Database]

My (half-done) adaptation of the AwesomeSpec. Only have a picture of the base area for now. Also, I only have Basegame and Uni installed right now, hence no garage.

[miros]

My strays and wolves are still digging holes on the grass just past the sidewalk on the far side of the street...

[J. M. Pescado]

That is not normally possible. I have never observed that on my lot.

[miros]

That is not normally possible. I have never observed that on my lot.

Will get a screenshot next time it happens...

[dizzy]

What do you need a huge foyer for? I generally make those 4x4 at most.

[J. M. Pescado]

It's not really huge, necessarily. Rooms are not drawn to scale, so the sizes of the boxes don't signify anything, they just have to be big enough for me to write in. 4x4 is a reasonable size, although I tend to go a little larger simply because of the needs of the room. Mostly, it serves as a gathering point so that guests can be rounded up and bother each other without immediately scattering to the 4 winds.

[V]

Does it have to have a 2nd Floor to be Awesome?

[J. M. Pescado]

Does it have to have a 2nd Floor to be Awesome?

No, but the barracks has to be located somewhere, and since it is typically unsightly and not at all interesting to watch, to reduce the groundspace needed, it is typically relegated to a non-visible deck so that the important things remain visible.

[Database]

Next version!

Room Plan
Room Plan 2 (Barracks)
Outside View

This is as good as done, aside from teh playtesting, to make sure I haven't done anything stupid. It seems to have the Pescadoian Seal of Approval, anyway.

[dizzy]

Nice, but those rooms are pretty big. For good lighting, you'll need the inner lights on even during the day (which you were probably going to do with the bathrooms, as well). You'll also want to make sure your sims are highly active so they can run everywhere.   

[J. M. Pescado]

Nice, but those rooms are pretty big. For good lighting, you'll need the inner lights on even during the day (which you were probably going to do with the bathrooms, as well).

That's pretty much a given in nearly any house in TS2.

You'll also want to make sure your sims are highly active so they can run everywhere.   

That's pretty much also a given. Lazy sims take hours to get anywhere, and making a tiny house simply means you lack space to hold all the necessary items and have massive traffic issues.

[Lana B]

Is there actually an "AwesomeSpec v3: House Building In NL"?

[J. M. Pescado]

Yes, but it was never posted as a public thing. It's basically the same thing as above, minus the addition of the perimeter fence.

[twistingsims]

This is absolutely awesome!!

I've always wondered what a real playable house could or should look like, layout and all.  This has definitely helped my decision on what kind of houses I either want to download or build myself.  Since the contest of awesomeness, a while back, I actually used a couple of the houses from that contest and what a difference it has made.

The baby stations/nursery idea is definitely a great idea and I now use it all the time!!

Thanks! 

[kutto]

Quick question: Why put the cribs in a separate room than the nursery?

[twojeffs]

To keep multi-spawn from constantly waking each other up.

[kutto]

Hmm. I suppose I never noticed them doing that before. I guess I keep my toddlers on a fairly similar schedule.

[Orikes]

Anything new we should keep in mind for Seasons AwesomeSpec?

[J. M. Pescado]

Anything new we should keep in mind for Seasons AwesomeSpec?

AwesomeSpec 6 does not represent a noteworthy departure from 5. All the same rules apply, as all Seasons-related activities are optional, but you will obviously need more space for additional career rewards, which you hopefully planned ahead for. If you have backyard space, you can add an additional backyard greenhouse. If you had a basement or free space on the ground floor, you can even build an indoor garden or fishing area.

[dizzy]

Does an indoor fishing area still freeze over in winter?

* dizzy goes to try this out

[J. M. Pescado]

Does an indoor fishing area still freeze over in winter?

* dizzy goes to try this out

Yes. A Fix for this is being investigated. The benefits of an indoor area are mostly that you're not outdoors, subject to the vagaries of weather and temperature.