Hi Lorin! Nicely decorated, you managed to get quite a number of objects and deco item in. Great to have you along. :D

I agree, I'm jealous of the number of objects and decorations you managed to squeeze in. I especially love the bedroom. This screenshot looks beautiful. I remember I also wanted those towels in the bathroom, but the item was simply too expensive for my lot.
Managing a tight budget is definitely a separate skill. Although, it reminds me of real life a little too much .
I wish we had some kinds of bargains in game, sellouts with lowered prices of the furniture. But that would look like cheating too much. The true art is to work with what you have and still manage to shape it into something beautiful.

Quick question about the kennel, should I roll the pet house ... kennels are not required, correct? Though with so many pets, I might have to use those, anyway, if Lady Luck is not in a good mood with me ... I've been cramming on pet-friendly houses so much that if a neighbor asked me for some tips, I could recite several of them without much of a pause! (It's a longer list than I thought. Much longer.)

One thing with the pet house is that this would probably work better with a larger lot. I would have to see what size we'll have to work with. Certain of these families would need a larger lot, so if the next foundation is small or medium, I'll go to a coin toss between two or three families, rather than dice. (Please be small or medium, please be small or medium ... )

Second round foundation has not been posted yet..right? I was SO busy uploading stuff on here (submit page opened all night...)that I lost track of time...lol

As far as I know - no. Jo said in about 18 hours, and that was... approximately 9 hours ago?

I'm just hoping there is no limited budget this time.

When I got back to this thread my browser opened at page 15 and man oh man you guys really take this seriously..
I mean yeah we doooo take contests seriously but the honest sharing of thoughts and feelings as a contestant and as a builder is really something else - insecurities and all.
We're going up close and personal here and I think that's great since I haven't encountered such posts from contests I've entered before.
I'm not going to lie, there are obvious beginners among the entries, however you can see that they did a really good job to the extent of what they know and can for the time being. That what's making it so exciting to see their improvement and I can't wait to see how they'll do in the next round!

Yes, kanzen, you're right. This really wasn't time and place for such discussion, and I apologize because I feel responsible as someone who initiated it. I hope I didn't suffocate the thread. I do tend to get a little personal and emotional on forums generally (not to mention lengthy and boring ), but game forum is definitely not a place for such communication and I regretted it as soon as I changed mood. Once again, I apologize to everyone who come here to feel relaxed and lighthearted and just have some fun. I'll try to control inappropriate impulses from now on.


Of course, we can't say all entries have the same quality. I'm actually wondering what kind of judge would I be. I'm generally gentle by nature and wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I can be a little picky too. I hope I would succeed to choose the right words and be both honest and considerate. By the way, I already have some favorites.

Let me just put it this way ... if certain entries get to the top, I would not be shocked. However, judging from a judge's comment already, I don't believe the point spread will be so large that someone else can't take the lead this round ... and it could very well be a beginner. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case throughout the contest.

I actually would want a budget limit, by the way. I think it would help keep things from getting too out of hand. Just not 25K this time .... a slightly higher budget would be nice! I kept going juuuust over, and it was almost making me hit my head on my desk. My family kept hearing me exclaim, "You have got to be kidding me! How much more can I cut?" But cut I did. : )

To all the new contestants and beginners:

The secret of doing well in a building competition is not being a master builder.
Make sure you meet the requirements. Keep within the budget. Take note of what the judges say, but you don't need to give up doing your own thing, ever.
Do your best, but make sure you have fun. Because what is the point of doing anything if you don't have fun?
That is all

Ehrm.



Strange to find obvious beginners in a beginners contest.

Yeah, call me a grump, but something about how you said that really rubbed me the wrong way.

The only building contest I followed carefully was Build a resort (or something like that). And Zarathustra won that one. His builds were my favorite then. Along with cutsocks' who didn't finish the contest, if I remember correctly, but was doing very well in the rounds he participated in. Both are some of my favorite builders around here (I could even say master builders ), so I would say judging was pretty fair there.


This is the most important rule. Who is not having fun should be disqualified immediately. .

@MystAngel thank Lordie we aint judges lmao
Its alright dont beat yourself up about it. I'm glad it got brought up cos while all the things said resonate with us as builders, it feels better to know that someone else feels the same that you're not alone in the struggle.

I hope the budget limit stays (raise it up a bit but dont remove) it adds spice to the contest. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember other contests having it.

@gummilutt
Sorry about that~ I missed the part about the skill level required and I haven't seen about 80% of the participants in the previous contests before. I'm glad they're out and about tho! sorry again

The Walters' baby has arrived!

I do feel intimidated being in a contest against obvious talent, I won't lie. I figure, hey! I have entered now, so all I can do is see it through and see what happens. I don't expect to win, but I will have fun and follow what Justpetro said. I have already learned about taking pics, not using auto-roof, and making somewhat of a porch! It can only get better, so... *deep breath* I'll keep trying!

I just need to stay out of the fermented juice bar since it's unattended. *hic*

The building contest I entered previously had some of the better lot-builders out there. Even entering, I knew I didn't have much of a chance. One entrant was Riekus13. 'Nuff said. When I saw he entered, I almost wanted to throw in the towel. His lots make my jaw drop. (He is also one of the classiest acts I know.) Yup. He got the 1st spot. No surprise there!

Just a sample: https://riekus13.tumblr.com/post/15...e-at-livingsims

Yeah. Like I was going to beat that!

But y'know? If it wasn't for that contest, I wouldn't have my Owl Cafe. (No, I didn't use animals in it. I held off on that. I used owl decor.) I use it in all my hoods, even the Uni and Vacation ones, It's one of my favorite lots. Maybe others might think, "Meh!", but I like it. It makes me happy to use it, and I learned so much while building it. It makes me wonder if I actually won something in the long run, even if I don't have bragging rights. (And it looks 200% better than the Box Motel. 300%. That might not be saying much, though ...)

So if we find ourselves using and enjoying our lots after the contest, even if we don't ace the Top Three spots ... perhaps even uploading them for others (I can't, unfortunately), and we had fun and learned stuff ... did we really lose so much? It's not like there is a money prize here or anything!

I think an issue is what one might find to be asoectual, another night find to be detrimental or redundant (regarding furnishings). Personally, I have an unshakable disdain for crowded, overdecorated houses and I value open space. I suppose, therefore, my entry seemed 'bare' to some.

I think that two things judges are going to look for first are :

1. Did you read the freakin' instructions? No, no one is going to make exceptions for you, even if your lot is so awesome that people are bowing at your feet, crying "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

2. Can you play this lot? If you drop in a Sim or two or three, will they be able to walk around and socialize without the stompies? The judges may overlook a piece of decor that you can move in twenty seconds or less. However, if you have to reconfigure your whole house for your Sim to go to the bathroom, you have a problem.

Everything else is secondary to those two things.

Personally, I prefer plans with open layouts, and houses that are easily expandable, whether you build up or add an extension, because I'm a bit lazy and hate moving my Sim families if they over-grow their lots. Give me room, lots of room! One exception occurs when I purposely build historical- or retro-based houses. I had to construct more limited layouts when I made my vacation hood for instance, which has a historic district with architecture dating from 1700 - 1750. Some building styles then had more limited floor plans than others. It was a delicate balance for me to try to stick with the period's styles while not making the houses too restrictive, and quite a challenge. I will also overlook certain limited floor plans if there is at least room for me to build a detached garage or other ancillary building nearby and expand on that.

Building contests like these foundation challenges are one of the best and easiest ways to improve your building skills when you are first starting out. I'm glad to see so many newbies in the contest. It will be exciting to see how much they improve from their first house to their last.

For everyone who says they aren't looking at entries to make sure they don't accidentally copy, either stop doing that, or make a conscience effort to REALLY look at all the other entrees after you have finished yours. I've always learned more from how other people chose to approach these projects than I ever did from judges comments. And don't just look at 'the good ones' either. Look at the ones you don't think are so great and figure out what small things you could do to improve their version without compromising their idea. That exercise will help you in the future with your own lots.

It's a good habit to try to learn at least one thing from every entry, no matter how small. Maybe its just that you've forgotten that this object exists, or that diagonal entry hall looks really cool echoed with the kitchen diagonal, or a neat way of arranging a flower garden, or loving a color combo, a texture you've never thought of for a ceiling, a chair that now that you see it is perfect for a nursery, the surprising realization that building up is within the budget, a clever way of using diagonals and that swoopy asian roof, multiple exceptionally well coordinating wallpapers, fun color combos and a clever way of showing a baby is expected, a neat closet trick, a whole house color palette, an awesomely clever unconventional family makeup, that flower beds can be inside, that these brick colors look awesome when used all together, or that terrain paint is free before you move sims in and you can do bunches with it. If you didn't guess, this is what I got out of this round's entries. Do you have a similar take-away?

I don't look at the entries until AFTER I make my lot, so I don't indeed find myself copying someone else. I try not to even go here until I have my house about 90% done, and initially, I look at just the instructions to see if I missed something and ask questions, if necessary. However, be it curiosity or just seeing if I nailed the major points, I have looked at all of the entries afterward in great detail once I posted my lot. And yes, details in each really stood out. There wasn't a single lot here, beginner or advanced, that I didn't look at something in it and think, "clever", "pretty" or "niiiiiiice". That's why I'm puzzled that some see such a clear delineation in these lots. I think all have their good and bad points. Some have a simpler layout or style, but that doesn't make them better or worse. It's a style. A bungalow architectural style isn't better or worse than any other style here. It's a bungalow.

That might be what judges might be observing as well. You did a bungalow. Great. How well did you do a bungalow? You did a modern style. Fantastic. How well did you do that? Mixing styles can deduct points UNLESS you manage to integrate them into an eclectic, pleasing presentation. I find that a little difficult to do, preferring to stick with one style, but I have seen others pull it off really well, so even that could actually gain points.

Excellent advice from Phaenoh

I guess I'm the only one who prefers clutter. :lovestruc (when I don't have to worry about budget, of course). Despite such inclinations, I always make sure all objects are accessible and nicely usable, but I usually playtest with only 2-3 sims. I'm a typical builder and decorator type of player, so I rarely do anything else in game, and almost never play large families. Since I usually build for my own needs, I don't make sure there's space for a lot of sims at the same time. The only exception are businesses. I play a lot of OFB lots and often build them, and absolutely always make sure the business is fully functional. I will try to exceed myself when I build a house for the Lambert's though, that will be the biggest challenge for me.

Regarding contest and competition... I don't know, I'm just not a competitive person. I always compete only with myself: try doing my best and investing the maximum of my current abilities. Like I said, I'm my worst judge. I never look at others as competition so I was generally never made for sports or school science contests the teachers always pushed me in. This building contests are simply fun activities for me, because I love building infinitely. I also love challenging and thematic building tasks, and I absolutely adore watching others' creations, so Sims contests are perfect for me. I also have no problems with cheering, promoting and openly supporting other creators and their creations if I find them better.

@Phaenoh , brilliant post. Really deep, profound and helpful analysis.



This is an especially good advice. That's how I noticed my biggest mistake. When I analyzed other entries, I saw that those better decorated than mine, have significantly smaller building structure. And that's how I learned that I could have saved some money for decorating and landscaping if only I had made my structure smaller.

One of my biggest oopses was the computer. I forgot about Mr. Humble! That was more money I could have used toward building the lot.

Other questions.

Four are going to require structures outside the main house; one is going to require a shed. Two must have ... presumably? ... an outdoor pool (though anyone playing Mr. Landgrabb's house knows you can put one inside, too.) Is a shed or pool in the same category as a gazebo? I'm hoping a tree house isn't, because if they are not and I roll/get heads on a coin concerning any of these, building these lots could be more of a challenge than I thought!

Nope! Cramped and cluttered is my aesthetic (which is why Karen is one of my favorite lot builders, and why I would have liked to see her in the contest to see what she'd do with the limited budget and set size (Not sucking up to judge, she knows this already)). Having such a huge foundation on such a small budget was tough. I really dislike big empty spaces, so that's why I intentionally gave my lot two large verandas. I knew with that large a foundation and that small a budget it would end up looking very empty if I put walls around the entire thing. Mine is still more empty than I'd like it, but I made sure the empty area was in the middle so that it was at least functional for parties and big gatherings. Could perhaps have given it a bigger bathroom, but that's the size I usually have in my game and I very rarely get traffic jams (except for parties, but those are not space-related, they are privacy-related). I'm really impressed some people managed two floors on that budget. Walls are expensive!

Appreciate the apology kanzen. I can understand your comment if you had missed that part of the description. I imagine most contests are more build-creator-stuffed.

Phaenoh and Gazania really hit the nail on the head. I did notice something about every single entry that made me find something cool or unique to appreciate. Good points, thank you.

I love the two story starters from those that managed to make them. Haha, I didn't even think that was possible until you contestants did it! I find it incredible to pull a second level off under such budget constraints. Pffft, I can furnish it to the moon and back later if it means I don't have to expand myself when the family grows. So to me, YES, bring on the two story ones. It's nice to have a choice of a single or double story when starting out.

(Quick side question - if a lot is accepted here (in this contest), does that mean it *should* make it through the upload process?)

@joandsarah77 Well..that was a wonderful, brilliant idea you got there. Everyone is having fun, everyone will learn and be encouraged. Some even opened up about things they might not have. This always feels good.
This building contest was a success from the start, and I am sure will continue to be once all done.
A beautiful win-win. I hope you're proud of you!, I know I am.