It helps to think of the home you are building as real, what would you want for a home you were buying or placing on the market? You would expect a kitchen sink. Would you place the fridge in front of a window? So don't think about building how you play sims but rather a real house to suit this family.

I deleted a tree and changed some wallpapers in order to afford the cheapest blinds (although in all honesty, I prefer the tree). Maxis window treatments are particularly ugly. It's only recently that I've accumulated some cc curtains and blinds and actually started covering some windows. Never bothered before that. And many of the curtains just don't fit particular windows. Whew. Pics retaken and uploaded. I think I will definitely hold off uploading until after judges' comments next time.

Table now has scores, simply click on 'score' to jump to round one scores.

Play alongs just click 'comments' to go to the post with your comments. I also gave you each a little MTS smilie. I wanted to use some I have saved but though I might mess up the table.

If you click on total you can put them in order to see where you are coming in the contest. Remember things can change -a lot.

@joandsarah77 I have a question: Is it OK to use the fix that restores the recolours for the Ergo windows? My round 2 build is currently using the black recolour - but its not too late to change if that breaks the no CC rule.

Yes I meant to mention that and forgot. Since Maxis supplied the recolours and then broke them, its fine to use the fix to restore them.

Jo, thank you for the play along comments. You were very gentle. And smilies are a cute detail.

Yes, I know about the foundation now. I interpreted an exception to the foundation rule wrongly, before you've explained it to me further. If I need something like that in future rounds, I will definitely use CFE-d wall. I've already used it in round two, around the stairs outside.


EDIT:


It is a wall you used "boolprop constrainfloorelevation false" cheat on, to level it to the desired height. For example, if you want the wall to be the same height as foundation, you build the wall, click the "level terrain tool", click the tile on a foundation level, and then drag it around to flatten everything.

I hope I've explained everything well. If there are English speakers around, they can add something or correct me.

I think I'm going to disqualify myself from the competition. You've ruled that SEP was not allowed and counts as CC, and CC was not allowed at all in the application round so I broke the rules. Unlike Peni who did it by mistake, I did it on purpose because I interpreted rules as saying it just had to be CC free when played. So it's only fair I get disqualified. I know it may seem overkill, but I'm the kind of person who thinks rules are important and I'm not going to have fun if I feel like I don't understand them. I have so little Sims time, I don't want to spend it on something that's not going to be enjoyable. And I don't want to be the person making Jo's and the judges lives unpleasant.

So thank you jo for the concept, I imagine the other contestants will have fun playing it. Thank you judges for the time. Good luck everyone!

Edit: Remembered I had an observation on scores, kind of like Phaenohs. This may already be obvious to everyone, but it wasn't to me. Don't think like a player, think like a builder. Don't approach the budget as "what do I need for this family now, and what can I leave for later when they have jobs and get more money?".

Noooo, gummilutt, everything can work out! You're not the only one who didn't understand the rules completely, there was a lot of confusion, most of us made mistakes unknowingly, but that's what application round is for, so everyone can adapt. It will get smoother in the rounds to come. After all, the real fun in these contests is thematic building itself, scores and rules are less important. At least, that's how I look at it. By the way, gummilutt, you're the one who told me not to be so self-critical and too hard on myself, and look what you're doing now. One little thing and you're talking about disqualification.

Love the judging comments of the playalong - WTG Jo.

@whoward69 A floor plan means the floor plan of your building. You need to fill the picture with your building so that we can see things properly instead of guessing what things are. You know what they are we don't.

You foundation shot is taken at ground level showing the outline of the foundation plus the entire lot. You don't need to be so close to flower beds to be able to tell they are flower beds. This lets us see the 'floor' plan of your garden and your foundation in one picture.

@gummilutt if you want to drop out of course can, but I would much rather have you stay. I don't think I have ever been in a contest where there was no confusion especially over no cc rules. As you can see it's slightly open for interpenetration unless the host can think of every possibility and cover them before hand.

@MystAngel You built a lovely lot. Thank you for explaining what a CFE wall is, I missed the question.

Thanks maxon.

@joandsarah77 Thank you for taking the time to write the comments for us play alongs and the smilies are also a very cute touch. ^_^ I actually didn't think to check whether the recliner works or not. Oops. I've been using the 45° cheat for so long and know whether the objects I usually use work with it or not. Which means I sometimes forget to test whether it's usable for things I generally don't use.

Round 2 - the Rodneys
No CC



Jane and Jason met in their favorite holiday location. Jason is a professional dancer who loves surfing, and he spents half the year (the cold half, obviously!) on the Tiki Islands as an animator/surf teacher/dance teacher. Jane is a gamer by profession but she just loves the beach. Both of them enjoy being outdoors as much as possible - which is why a BBQ and an outdoor sitting area is all they need in a kitchen. Well, and a Fridge to keep the Juice cold.

As soon as Orris and Paul laid eyes on the house, they knew it would be the perfect party pad. The boys have a lot of friends and they intend to make more - moving in day is housewarming party day, and the welcome wagon is invited!



Paul, lover of traditional jazz, big bands, Sinatra and old vinyl is hoping to snag a job in the music industry. Orris already has a position in his dream career- Slacker. (sigh).

Wow such interesting designs. I had a go at building for the hippies tonight, who bright idea was it to only allow $35,000! ... oh yeah me. Must have been crazy!

So does that mean we all get a raise? (only joking giggling whilst running away )
Scottiedoag

@joandsarah77
I just remember judges did not like a tv not against a wall..dangerous wires and stuff..I still have time to edit my livingroom in my second round entry, right?
Sorry for tagging you, while you are clearly in this thread. lol Won't happen again. I promise, almost.

You can change photos up until the round gets closed. That's okay, happens a lot. I'll be off to bed in a minute though. Different time zone to most people.

Hey she told me off once for a TV in the middle of a room!

This is why me wanna change it.
I did just that in first round..and repeated it is second. lol
i LOVE wires OK?
Colorful & tasty.

@gummilutt, no please stay! Contests are more about learning and playing along rather than very strictly adhering to rules! It does suck to have SEP disallowed, but we can get passed this, right? You are going to learn so much from this contest and your building and decorating skills are going to get a serious boost. Plus, think about all the other people who wanted to compete but missed out because the table filled up so fast.

Also, the rules for participating in contests say that if dropping out becomes a habit, you might be barred from joining future contests. Why run the risk by even starting down that road?

Please stay? :: puppy eyes ::

It would be a bummer altogether, because it's kind of cool competing with the better builders out there ... and gummilutt, you're one of the better builders.

I hesitated before joining. It feels a bit like that dream when I'm in my PJs here, because ... and this is going to sound silly, I know ... I'm putting out a tiny bit of myself out there, ready to be put under a microscope, and I'm generally reluctant to do this. I realized the one problem with my first build for this round that I yanked (besides the routing issue) is that when I finished, I took a second look at it while trying to fix my pictures and realized ... this lot wasn't me. I wouldn't want to live there. There was no ... really stupid here .... soul in my lot. I couldn't find a story for my Newmans because there was none. The lot was the result of sleepless nights and much frustration and trying to use things that would make it stand out, and it showed.

This one that I hope to submit (providing I don't kill the Newmans in the process ... I have just a little more to go, and I'm putting this one out! I promise, Paul and Joanne! Just hang in there!) has more of me in there. It will probably not get a 76+, since other people have different perceptions. But in my mind, while I tried to incorporate most of the judges' recommendations and believe I followed at least 90% of them (hopefully more), I still managed to keep "me" with those Newmans. Though right now, they're really ticked off with me!

While driving home, the song behind this lot came up on my player. I didn't even realize it was the song until yesterday. Yes! Exactly. I have the heart of the lot. I have the song. I have a story. Now to show all that!

For many of us, our lots reflect a little of us. At least that's what I see in most if not all of the lots here. Lots I remember the most, either from this contest or elsewhere, aren't necessarily the ones with tricks and snazzy stuff, but the ones with a story ... a heart, whether the person actually told a story or not. And gummilutt, your lots have that heart. I would hate not to see more of them.

I'm not sure how you'd balance scoring with a more "everybody just jump in and have fun" approach. If you're in a contest, you're going to get judged. Judges are human and have preferences. So am I, and so do I. It's not easy seeing a lot I spent many hours or even (in this case) days on being scrutinized for its flaws. But I entered knowing this would be the case, and I learned a couple of things already.

Built the walls for my lot, looking at it now I have no clue where to even start with a roof
Time to reconsider some of the shaping now that I'm actually remembering roofs are a pain in the butt

I updated my round 2 house, pictures and added a note to judges, in my text. No change in price. I am getting goOd.

I wanted to comment on houses, so I hid what I wanted to say behind a spoiler tag so judges or other contestants who aren't interested don't have to read/scroll past my ramblings. As usual, you guys are making some awesome lots, and I am still hand-wringing over here, but my lot has been done since this morning and now I just need to put on my big girl pannies, take pics and upload them for criticism, err, judging.

Jo also built a house?..Where? I wanna see it too.
I have one question for judge 1.
You gave me 4 for playability, could you tell me why please ? That might help me, as I do not see what would make this lot not 100% playable.
Thank you.