kiwi_tea
27th Feb 2012, 04:19 PM
I am moving everything from the old thread into this new one with a better format. This will help me have a clearer vision as I put the finishing touches on this world, and really aid in the final push to get it released. The old thread will be deleted as soon as everything has been moved here.
Design Document:
Port Piston
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110304182550/pasimficandbeyond/images/5/5d/Beta1303.jpg
Theme: A world where pirates mix with steampunk/dieselpunk motifs. Seafaring and industrial, with a history as a port and a technological hub. A home of simbots.
Resources:
Required Expansions: WA, HELS, AMB, FL, LN, GEN, OLS, PETS
Store Content:
Free
The Sims™ Renault Eco Pack (http://gb.store.thesims3.com/renault)
Riverview (http://store.thesims3.com/riverview)
Ambitions Registration Pack (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12492&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:21267&pcategoryId=&ppcategoryId=12490)
Paid
Barnacle Bay (http://store.thesims3.com/barnacleBay.html?Intcmp=BarnacleBayLaunchBanners_Internal_StoreSmall_BBLaunch)
Steampunk (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12085&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18070&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12084)
Steampunk: The Return (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12201&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18279&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12084)
Steampunk Savvy (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12202&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18275&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12084)
Victorian Fashions (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12081&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18078&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12080)
Buccaneer's Bounty (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12666&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:23566&pcategoryId=12861&ppcategoryId=12665)
Lock & Keys (http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:21501&categoryId=&scategoryId=11960&pcategoryId=&ppcategoryId=&gender=female&startAt=30)
Baker Boy (http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:17241&categoryId=&scategoryId=11960&pcategoryId=&ppcategoryId=&gender=female&startAt=30)
(Everyone better hope I don't get enough money to buy Lunar Lakes because I want to incorporate the pipes from it into Port Piston!)
Custom Content: (optional) armiel's Traditional Piano (http://modthesims.info/d/460006)
Technical Challenges: Most have been overcome, but at this point: Making the world look smoggy.
Concepts:
Physical Description: Port Piston is an island, I like to think somewhere in the ocean between Bridgeport and Sunset Valley. The island is shaped like a seahorse, but that is not observable during most normal play. There are three distinct towns; Old Port Town, which is pirate themed; Botropolis, which is the economic and intellectual centre; Portside, which is industrial and has a tortured relationship with Botropolis.
Climate: It is very dreary and smoggy - smog, not so much fog, which provides one of the major technical challenges - a sepia tone to the air that isn't too overpowering. Dark seas.
History: It was initially a dumping ground for prototype simbots, and technically the town was founded by simbots, although most of that history was destroyed by human colonists. A lot of simbots still live there, descending from a group who call themselves the Golden Council. The official history ignores that the island was ever occupied by simbots:
"Many moons ago Admiral Landgraab harboured at the then uninhabited Port Piston on his journeys between Sim Nation and France. The island's rocky coves provided shelter from high seas. The island sat reasonably central to several shipping routes, and soon a settlers established a port. The small, prosperous town of Portside flourished, but at the same time pirates situated themselves on the far end of the island, hoping to plunder goods as ships came and left the ports. As the world beyond the island raced forward technologically, Port Pistoners tended to implement new technologies in archaic designs, and soon the island's innovation and unique aesthetic made it a technological hub in the Pasimfic Ocean. Nowadays a veritable city at sea, Port Piston bustles with its own unique flavour. Portside's low brick buildings set just metres above sea level contrasts starkly with the ornate towers of Botropolis on a coastal plateau, and above everything sits the majestic Cranial Rock Landing where Sims can find the mysterious Deathfish."
Inhabitants:
Lots of simbots. Lots of science fiction references.
Motifs:
Steampunk
- Rusted metals
- Cogs, gears, etc
- Balloons
- Steam vents.
Pirate
- Red stripes
- Ship wheels
- Aged woods
- Skulls
Design Decisions FAQ
This is just a section where I discuss my design decisions, to sort of make sure I have a broadly justified reason for them. Feel free to ask questions about the project.
(Q)Will you include POTC references?
(A)I won't be including any POTC references, mainly because I don't really know the films. I'm thinking more Orson Welles Treasure Island meets steam/dieselpunk dystopia. There will be lots of H G Wells and Robert Louis Stevenson references - Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde, Island of Dr Moreau, Long John Silver, etc.
(Q)"What's the white thing with holes in it about halfway down?"
(A) That's Cranial Rock Landing. It's a giant skull cut into the mountainside.
(Q)"You want to make this world for a big range of players - how much of the store content do you want to use? I mean, for example your world Niua Simoa was perfect even without the Tiki Set, will this be the case in this world as well?"
(A)I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do for my next project, and I actually decided to use quite a bit of store content for two reasons: (1) Barnacle Bay was offensively overpriced, and I want to add value to the purchase for those who bought it. (2) I felt like I wanted to use everything at my disposal for once. The world in its current form won't look very nice at all if you don't have all the store content and SPs that I'm listing as requirements. Another motivation to use the packs is that they were almost entirely gifted to me by forum users who enjoyed my worlds and wanted to see the content in Port Piston.
(Q)?
(A)
(Q)?
(A)
Design Document:
Port Piston
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110304182550/pasimficandbeyond/images/5/5d/Beta1303.jpg
Theme: A world where pirates mix with steampunk/dieselpunk motifs. Seafaring and industrial, with a history as a port and a technological hub. A home of simbots.
Resources:
Required Expansions: WA, HELS, AMB, FL, LN, GEN, OLS, PETS
Store Content:
Free
The Sims™ Renault Eco Pack (http://gb.store.thesims3.com/renault)
Riverview (http://store.thesims3.com/riverview)
Ambitions Registration Pack (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12492&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:21267&pcategoryId=&ppcategoryId=12490)
Paid
Barnacle Bay (http://store.thesims3.com/barnacleBay.html?Intcmp=BarnacleBayLaunchBanners_Internal_StoreSmall_BBLaunch)
Steampunk (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12085&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18070&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12084)
Steampunk: The Return (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12201&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18279&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12084)
Steampunk Savvy (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12202&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18275&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12084)
Victorian Fashions (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12081&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:18078&pcategoryId=12857&ppcategoryId=12080)
Buccaneer's Bounty (http://store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?categoryId=&scategoryId=12666&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:23566&pcategoryId=12861&ppcategoryId=12665)
Lock & Keys (http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:21501&categoryId=&scategoryId=11960&pcategoryId=&ppcategoryId=&gender=female&startAt=30)
Baker Boy (http://store.thesims3.com/productDetail.html?productId=OFB-SIM3:17241&categoryId=&scategoryId=11960&pcategoryId=&ppcategoryId=&gender=female&startAt=30)
(Everyone better hope I don't get enough money to buy Lunar Lakes because I want to incorporate the pipes from it into Port Piston!)
Custom Content: (optional) armiel's Traditional Piano (http://modthesims.info/d/460006)
Technical Challenges: Most have been overcome, but at this point: Making the world look smoggy.
Concepts:
Physical Description: Port Piston is an island, I like to think somewhere in the ocean between Bridgeport and Sunset Valley. The island is shaped like a seahorse, but that is not observable during most normal play. There are three distinct towns; Old Port Town, which is pirate themed; Botropolis, which is the economic and intellectual centre; Portside, which is industrial and has a tortured relationship with Botropolis.
Climate: It is very dreary and smoggy - smog, not so much fog, which provides one of the major technical challenges - a sepia tone to the air that isn't too overpowering. Dark seas.
History: It was initially a dumping ground for prototype simbots, and technically the town was founded by simbots, although most of that history was destroyed by human colonists. A lot of simbots still live there, descending from a group who call themselves the Golden Council. The official history ignores that the island was ever occupied by simbots:
"Many moons ago Admiral Landgraab harboured at the then uninhabited Port Piston on his journeys between Sim Nation and France. The island's rocky coves provided shelter from high seas. The island sat reasonably central to several shipping routes, and soon a settlers established a port. The small, prosperous town of Portside flourished, but at the same time pirates situated themselves on the far end of the island, hoping to plunder goods as ships came and left the ports. As the world beyond the island raced forward technologically, Port Pistoners tended to implement new technologies in archaic designs, and soon the island's innovation and unique aesthetic made it a technological hub in the Pasimfic Ocean. Nowadays a veritable city at sea, Port Piston bustles with its own unique flavour. Portside's low brick buildings set just metres above sea level contrasts starkly with the ornate towers of Botropolis on a coastal plateau, and above everything sits the majestic Cranial Rock Landing where Sims can find the mysterious Deathfish."
Inhabitants:
Lots of simbots. Lots of science fiction references.
Motifs:
Steampunk
- Rusted metals
- Cogs, gears, etc
- Balloons
- Steam vents.
Pirate
- Red stripes
- Ship wheels
- Aged woods
- Skulls
Design Decisions FAQ
This is just a section where I discuss my design decisions, to sort of make sure I have a broadly justified reason for them. Feel free to ask questions about the project.
(Q)Will you include POTC references?
(A)I won't be including any POTC references, mainly because I don't really know the films. I'm thinking more Orson Welles Treasure Island meets steam/dieselpunk dystopia. There will be lots of H G Wells and Robert Louis Stevenson references - Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde, Island of Dr Moreau, Long John Silver, etc.
(Q)"What's the white thing with holes in it about halfway down?"
(A) That's Cranial Rock Landing. It's a giant skull cut into the mountainside.
(Q)"You want to make this world for a big range of players - how much of the store content do you want to use? I mean, for example your world Niua Simoa was perfect even without the Tiki Set, will this be the case in this world as well?"
(A)I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do for my next project, and I actually decided to use quite a bit of store content for two reasons: (1) Barnacle Bay was offensively overpriced, and I want to add value to the purchase for those who bought it. (2) I felt like I wanted to use everything at my disposal for once. The world in its current form won't look very nice at all if you don't have all the store content and SPs that I'm listing as requirements. Another motivation to use the packs is that they were almost entirely gifted to me by forum users who enjoyed my worlds and wanted to see the content in Port Piston.
(Q)?
(A)
(Q)?
(A)