@gazania you're only building for 3 families. You get to pick and choose which family you want to use. Some I made for base game players + others require certain EP's.

@kanzen You are welcome to join the play along if you like. This contest filled faster than a shop on a Black Friday sale.

@whoward69 Welcome to the play along.

@Pideli Any lot that is uploaded to MTS gets assessed for picture size and clarity, for building, playability, decorating (somewhat) landscaping and the roof. While a judge doesn't have to have any lots uploaded here they have to be able to show a lot that could be uploaded here.

@joandsarah77 ohh boy you got that right! Black Friday sale is indeed a great force to be reckoned with! I'm glad you got filled up so fast with new people with fresh new raw talent to enhance!
I can't wait to see their improvements over time <3

anyways here's my playalong~


Just click on the images below for larger pictures <3

Very lovely Kanzen! I love what you did with this.
Though your crib won't be usable with that huge teddy in front of it.

Here is my admission for emergency judge, sorry for the wait.

I apologize for doubleposting, but here is another picture:
Edit:I guess someone really dislikes my house

can always move it when I need to ))

@Emperor Crat welcome as emergency judge. Don't pay it any heed there's always someone around who likes to disagree with everything.

Finally managed to edit in the picture at foundation level, I hope it's not too late? But as you said, Easter and everybody is travelling

I'm a bit confused about the new timeline now. When is the next round going to start for contestants?

Here (at last) is my play-along entry:


Front View



I wonder how many of you knew it was my entry as soon as you saw the first picture. Jones & Moltke Construction Ltd., with their love of "Veronavillesque" mock Tudor have obviously been at work again. They specialise in affordable comfort so this is the sort of contract they relish. §25K is a large budget for them, and allowed them to include an attractive traditional fireplace as the central focus of the house. A traditional exterior, especially the façade, is combined with an innovative use of space inside, to produce an air of cosy comfort. All at a price over §1K below the Walters limit.

Notwithstanding what has been said about roof slope, I agree with the directors of Jones & Moltke that a Veronavillesque gable looks best with a slope of around 45 degrees, and with my EP configuration I have to use the same roof slope for all roofs on the lot. Initially I didn't like this roof, but placing the chimney in the "valley" between the two roofs seemed to make far more pleasing aesthetically. And judging by the pictures, the Walters seem to be happy with their purchase.

Dean (Family) and Janette (Fortune) are clearly very much in love with each other. They were all over each other when they moved in, and after much kissing and cuddling and a pillow fight in the street, they headed straight for the bedroom where they "made a baby". So it's Dean you see in most of the pictures. With a little Walters to take care of in her tummy, Janette has been taking things very easy! I think this is only the third or fourth pregnancy on my whole game, and I treat my pregnant Sims with the greatest of care.

With Sims living in the house, it has felt more like storytelling, and I kept pressing "C" for the in-game camera, when I meant to press Control-F10, the key combination I have set up for FRAPS. As a result I see I haven't got any pictures of the bedroom. I did take one of them just before they "made" their baby, but I hit the wrong key, and it was a little in-game picture. So I'll have load up the game again to take one. If I'm able to add another picture to this post, I'll do so. Otherwise it will have to be in a new post.

[EDIT] I see I've missed out the floorplan too. I did take one, but I failed to copy it from BMP to JPEG format. I'll add it ASAP.

[EDIT 2] I've added the floorplan now. I'll have to start up the game to get a bedroom picture so that will take a little longer. It will also bring me to the upper limit of 17 pictures.

[EDIT 3] I've added a picture of the bedroom. That makes 17 so I can't add any more.

Play-Along

Andrew, if you want to get rid of that valley, you can do so by deleting the mansard and creating it again, dragging it just a little bit further toward the gable. I don't think I've ever seen all three styles of roof on one building before, which makes it interesting.

Kanzen's house is weirding me out. The view through the windows makes it look as though the house is on a slab rather than a foundation, yet there's there steps. I have to look a long time till it stops looking like an Escher print. Maybe that's just me and my gravity perception problems.

Looks like you are right Peni. The floor is at same height the tree is..so on the ground. The bits of foundation was used as flower beds..but the house is on the ground. You can tell in every picture that shows the outside. Unless both our perspective are screwed up..

@AndrewGloria it looks like you have graphics issues (everything looks really blurred), would you like to try my Graphic Rules file and see if it helps?

If it was done on purpose, it's a clever effect. I can see the elevation if I look long enough, but only because I know for a fact, from the steps, that it's there. HugeLunatic's has some serious funk going on, too, though Voeille still takes the palm for originality.

Looking at all these variations is fun. My bungalow feels a little boring now. Cozy, though.

Really liking all the entries, good luck everyone!

I don't understand this, the foundation is the same.

@Voeille : I play on a netbook with an onboard Intel graphics chip. I've always played on low-resolution graphics. To try to force it to use high resolution graphics would probably burn out my graphics chip and destroy my computer. When I first came here several people tried to tell me I couldn't play The Sims 2 on my system. But I was already hooked. After nearly four and a half years I'm still playing on it. And vastly enjoying it! But I have to know its limitations. For me it means low-resolution graphics and no EPs beyond OFB. I'd much rather accept those limitations than have no game at all. . . .and no computer either!

In any case I'm short sighted, so, without my glasses I see everything over about a metre away slightly blurred.

@AndrewGloria I see, if it’s your machine then indeed you can’t do anything, I thought you were one of the people who had too new a computer for the game to recognise it and were stuck with low settings. I had that problem too.
And I know how it is to be near-sighted, I have -8 on one eye and -7 on the other, so I can’t do anything without my lenses. And it was a good idea to switch to lenses too, they’re much more convenient than strong glasses that made everything smaller. I remember that when I firstly put my lenses it I was shocked how huge everything seemed to be

I'm another one who considered entering, but came back to find all the spots had filled up, so here's my play-along entry.

Wow you guys have been productive while I was asleep down here. Just letting you know the play along table will close once I have 10. Thank you all so much for participating, I'm blown away how popular this is.

I will get to commenting on all the replies soonish.

I must say this round was extremely difficult for me. I almost never do starter lots and certainly never manage a limited budget. I suck at it. When I do build a starter home, I move a family in a half finished house, which I polish gradually during gameplay. So this was a real pain. I tend to make cluttered houses with a lot of furniture and decorations, and that's why I cannot be fully satisfied with the end result like this one. I looks too plain. But I guess that was the point. And a challenge.

I saw all the other entries and most of them are really good. Most are better decorated than mine. I think I made a mistake with making the house too big and robust, so I ran out of money pretty quickly. Others started small, so they had more money for indoor and outdoor décor. That was really smart. I didn't even have enough money for one lousy tree. All the landscaping I had to improvise with terrain paint.

I imagined my lot as a modest country house, built to fit a rural area. It provides everything for an expecting couple. It also has room for a dog. I didn't want to waste money on a TV or computer, since the couple will get one for free as soon as they move in. I provided a desk for it, of course .



EDIT: Edited to add a foundation level overview.

I really have no luck with these contests. I'm either late at start, or the contest lasts too long. But it doesn't matter, the real fun and challenge is always the building itself, while trying to fit the guideline the author imagined. That's why play-along section is absolutely perfect for me. I don't even have to post pictures, I can just build and be happy. Btw, Jo, I wanted to say I was really happy when I saw that you had become a moderator. You were always extremely helpful, both in feedback and in discussion rooms. I myself am not an active member, but you were always there when I had a TS2 question and always had tons of advice, not to mention extensive knowledge you have about this game. So this was a really good call from the MTS team.

EDIT: For everyone who celebrates - Happy Easter!

Play Along table in now closed.

You are free to still post your play along but you won't be added to the table.

Since we're allowed to put more pictures anyway, let me show you my first attempt at this round. I wanted to make a nice, cluttered mountain cottage. This is how I started:



I got a little carried away building and decorating simultaneously, so not only did I not have money for landscaping (I planned a loooooot of trees and bushes :lovestruc ), but I also didn't have enough money to finish a structure on one whole side of the house.



Yeah, that's how good I am with building under strict budget.

Plus that one has had foundation replaced with decking so you would lose your entire 5 build points if that had been an entry. The thing with starters is to keep them small, like Lunie's then it leaves you money for decorating. Your other house is lovely, just way too large to be a starter.

Also, thanks I just read your other post. I've been a queue moderator for about 3 months now.