How big is the region that sim city generates? (And other custom 'hood performance questions.)

[lytefoot]

So, please forgive me if these are really stupid questions. I'm fairly new to Sims 2 (I downgraded from Sims 3, got sick of seeing how much cooler the stuff out for sims 2 was... anyway).

Since I don't much care for getting into the pool at the shallow end, I'm starting to plan a custom 'hood, and I'm wondering about a couple of things.

1. Is it better for game performance to have more smaller lots, or fewer larger lots? How many lots is too many? How many is too few for an interesting neighborhood?

2. How big is the map I get out of sim city, in Sims 2 squares? (I'd like to obsessively plan things out on paper before I start doing anything--it has the advantage that I can do it in boring classes.)

3. If I'm building sub-hoods for use with one neighborhood, do I need to go through all the stuff in this tutorial: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=420196? Or do I only need to do this if I want to make a template that can be added to many neighborhoods?

[Mootilda]

1) As far as I can tell, the number of lots doesn't make that much difference to performance, since only one lot is loaded at a time. The size of the lot can make a huge difference though. Most neighborhoods seem to have several dozen lots... perhaps 30-40 including community lots.

2) 128 x 128, I believe. You should be aware that you need to create a small SimCity (64x64) and then TS2 will stretch your terrain, so there's no way to get an exact layout. Two roads side by side in SC4 turn into two roads with one tile between them in TS2. Two roads with one tile in SC4 turn into two roads with three tiles between them in TS2.

3) You can just add an empty subhood to your neighborhood and start building. You only need that tutorial if you intend to use your subhood in multiple neighborhoods, or if you want to share your subhood with other people. Using the tutorial gives you a lot more flexibility, though... if your subhood turns out well, you may wish that you had created a template instead of attaching it to your neighborhood.

[lytefoot]

Thanks very much! I'm trying to think of something more intelligent to say here than just "thanks"... I think I probably will try to build the sub-hood as a template. I'm making a rural suburb that makes a good place to be from (lots of woods, farm houses, trailer parks), and I'll likely want to reuse it.

[MAB-2000]

About drawing on paper:draw them into neighborhood tiles not lot tiles this will make it easier!
Neighborhood tiles=10 x lot tiles

meaning

1 Nghb tile = 10 Lot tiles

I HAVE MADE SOME EXCELLENT HOUSES IN BORING CLASSES,THE LAST 5 YEARS I'VE BEEN PLAYING TS2,NOW I NEED TO CONCENTRATE MORE ON MY EXAMS!! LOL