Going to start by answering gazania because I've been trying to write out a reply to the other three for two hours and gotten nowhere, and her reply made me laugh.



Thank you, really, thank you. I needed that laugh I'm thinking being dead last rather disproves the "one of the better builders"-thing, but thank you for reminding me that not everyone measures build quality the same way. It's nice to know I'm not alone I've never felt like joining a build contest before, because my priorities and preferences are different from what they generally focus on. This one had enough of the aspects I like to seem like it could be fun for me too.

The thing is, one of my main flaws is that I can't stand things that don't make sense. If I can't understand it, I don't know how to handle it, and it just becomes an enormous amount of frustration. If I'm going to have fun, I need to feel I earned my scores by the decisions I made. I can't feel that way about my score in the application round, because my decision to use SEP is giving me a penalty for playability when there is no playability problem. There's a disconnect between what it is and what it's judged as, and I can't move past that disconnect. The only thing I could think of to bring it back to something I can wrap my head around is to count it as illegal use of CC which by the rules set means I am disqualified. Yeah, it means I am out of the competition, but at least it's a consequence I understand and feel okay with

MystAngel, I'm not being hard on myself. I'm not trying to punish myself. I've just lived with myself long enough to know my limitations and what makes me happy, and going forward pretending that my score isn't bothering me is only going to cause an enormous amount of unhappiness. I understand that thematic building is the fun part for you, and that's great, but that's not it for me

Jo. I am not confused about the rules. I am confused about why you would claim my lot has a playability problem when there isn't one. I understand and agree with the decision that SEP to not be allowed, but that doesn't change that the object is functional without it. I was hoping that by explaining that to you, you would see that the scoring was incorrect and change it accordingly to 58, but you decided not to. That is your call, and I respect it. But that doesn't change how I feel.

Phaenoh, I appreciate that you've warned me that dropping out could disqualify me in the future. I am okay with that. I rather doubt there will be another one I'd want to enter, and I'd rather be happy now and take the potential future consequences of that decision, than continue feeling frustrated and upset. Maybe one day I'll learn to not care about things not making sense, but that's not going to happen by tomorrow. You are right though that it's not very kind to the people who wanted in. I apologize. I really did find the concept interesting and thought I'd have fun participating. If I could give my spot to one of you I would, but it's not up to me.

Thanks again gazania, took another hour but at least I managed to get something written down. :lovestruc

I have a question about my score – does it already have the 0.5 for flowers added, or is it the value before that? I also have a question for the first judge – I got 4 for playability, I assume 0.5 is for those flowers, but what is the other 0.5 for? I know the area near the stairs looks suspicious, but I tested it with a sim and they could reach all the rooms upstairs

And @joandsarah77 I’ve noticed that tagging with a @ doesn’t work if you add the tags while editing a post – you tagged me in one of your post but it didn’t send a notification to me, I only saw it because I follow the thread.

I am sorry there, but this is not a flaw. This is being logical, and knowing where you stand, where you are heading, and especially, why. It is a quality.(strength?)


Please don't. Continue caring about what's not making sense to you. This is who you are, and a mighty good thing. Learn to foresee better maybe? So you don't end up in similar situations, where you know nothing will make much sense... You seem to know yourself well enough.

Nothing's silly about that at all. That's how creation works. It doesn't matter if it's fine art, pop art, personal art, or practical art - the creator is engaged at a level that has been expressed through the ages as "putting heart and soul into" the work. It's not some rarefied special thing that only goes into Old Masters and Great Novels. It happens to knitters making socks and toddlers stacking blocks.

And it can be scary and uncomfortable putting that out to be judged. Because our society doesn't treat creation as a normal part of existence, most people are not practiced in separating their ego from the finished work, and hearing a critique can feel dangerously personal. This is why so many authors refuse to read reviews; why so many of the excellent fan artists you know refuse to engage with the industry that could bring their work out of the sheltered nook of fandom into the limelight of mainstream recognition. It's not usually even cowardice, just a recognition that they aren't ready to exercise professional detachment at the necessary level and would subject themselves to stresses they're not prepared to handle.

I'm regarding this contest in light of a critique group. Normally I don't do critique groups because I'm both secure and territorial about my writing ability. When I feel I need a second opinion it's because I recognize a weakness, especially in my knowledge base, and seek out someone with expertise to vet the bits I'm unsure about. And I have my husband the analyst programmer, in his persona as "ordinary reader," to read more complicated stories to catch continuity errors and areas of too much or too little exposition. When I try to critique other people I almost always do so at too high a level, as if I were editing for actual publication, and that's not generally the level critique group members need. But for Sims 2 architecture, I'm in exactly the right spot for a critique group to do me some good. I know enough that no one will have to sigh and patiently go over my baby mistakes, and I can even occasionally say something helpful or ask an intelligent question; I'm detached enough that criticism doesn't feel personal; and I have lots and lots of room for improvement.

So here I am. And here gummilutt isn't anymore, which on the one hand we'll miss her but on the other hand, our missing her isn't worth her stressing out. She's the best judge of whether she belongs here or not, and she can still read along and root for her favorites, and download the foundations to play with on her own with rules that make sense to her.

One thing I can bring you from the wider world of publicly-witnessed creation: There's always somebody who doesn't "get it." If you write picture books, you won't get much good out of a group made up of romance novelists. If the reviewer for your local paper hates genre fiction and doesn't understand genre conventions, your local paper's review of your cozy mystery with its sly homage to Sayers and Christie will be painfully clueless. If you write psychological horror, you shouldn't submit it to Harlequin. And even within your bailiwick, somebody'll miss the point. That's how audiences work. Some people just plain want something different, or are in a mental space that doesn't have room for what you did. And that's fine. That's normal.

It's totally up to you whether, in future, you try to accommodate those people, or not. Do I change the orange paint in the Rhodes trailer to please the orange-hating judge? Well, how bad do I want the point vs. how much I like the way the trailer looks now, taking into consideration the necessity of taking a new picture? If I decide to reupload pictures entirely, either because I go all-out for the no-CC bonus or because I decide to toss that to the winds in favor of shilling hard for the want points by pulling in mountains of milk crate furniture, planters made of household fixtures, and so on, yeah, I'll probably repaint the orange room. But if I'm not, well, what's another point on top of all the ones I'm blowing off, right?

This is where you figure out what kinds of hills you're willing to die on.

You're so right Peni. LOL. Had such fun with that stuff.

@gummilutt
Judges playability score stands. SEP is a mod allowing for corner counter use. I state very clearly under the playability scoring that mods to make objects work on corners are not allowed. Just because the ability can come with lots is neither here nor there. But because you forced it I will remove the no CC bonus (even though this does not come under it because it doesn't include mods, no cc means defaults, recolours, objects, floor, walls) I am sorry that you are confused, but this is way too much fuss over a simple ruling and trust me contests are full of them. I have been in many where I disagree with my score, I just accept it and carry on, please do the same.

@Peni Griffin - Creation certainly is a very personal thing, and how one deals with critique differs from person to person. However, creations not shared are not worth anything at all, and while it is not a pleasant experience to have a manuscript rejected, it happened to the best of the best in the past.

Building competitions are, for me personally, much more about the learning experience than about the critique, as well as an opportunity to improve my not so wonderful skills. And I really have learned almost everything worth knowing from the competitions I have taken part in as well as from the mods when uploading my lots. Before the Urban Revival contest, I had not only never built a Victorian, I had never heard of a painted lady in my entire life (it seems that there is none in my country). I have built grungy stuff for the first time. The points really do not matter to me - the learning does. It is fine to ask for a clarification, especially if it could help you to do better in the next rounds. (I can make a decent roof these days - not a spectacular one, but a decent one ).

Competitions are tough and it is up to you to make it fun. It is also a place where friendships are formed in a different way, and where you get to know people you normally do not chat with on the forums. And with others, you form a deeper bond.

As for the orange hating judge, I am convinced that she will not hold it against you, I believe I have gotten to know her well enough; she uses orange at times herself and I am sure I offered her a couple of virtual orange fermented drinks in the past .

Well if a judge doesn’t like something I do like and use, I don’t think I’m going to change that, I can put up with fewer points but get the look I want Like the tiki counters, one of the judges didn’t like them, but I used them again in the second entry and I’m not going to change them, I like them and I think they fit there

And gummilutt, if it’s going to give you more stress than fun, then indeed just playing around with the foundation as you like might be a better idea for you. But if you do it I’m sure you can post pictures here
I’m glad I did decide to participate because now I end up having more lots for my Strangetown sims, which is definitely useful The community lot from the last round will be useful too as I need more places for dates.

@Justpetro when is that bar opening I need a drink! Um .cough< I meant juice, yeah juice...

At this point it doesn't matter jo. Please understand that my last post was not intended to change anyone's mind. I meant what I wrote this morning, I was only explaining why I came to that decision. Nothing has changed.

Rosebine and Peni, thanks. I'm glad someone understands where I am coming from and why it's the right decision for me Lots of wise points in Peni's post.

It's empty, jo, I've... *hic* been it in, err, in it, quiiiiite a bit. *stumble* It unattended, ya' see?!

When I judge a contest entry I set myself some judging criteria so that I can be consistent when giving out marks. I obviously take into consideration the points that the host asks me to take into consideration as well as the requirements and for this contest the wants.

For build I look at the shape and style of house and the roof. Is the build interesting? Is the roof cohesive? Does the floorplan work?
For decor I look at the landscaping and the decor choices within the house. Does the decor go together well? Does it 'fit' the house? Is the planting sensible? Have you used terrain paint?
For playability I look at the layout of the house. Have you utilised the space well? Are there lots of empty unused spaces? Or is it too cramped?
For requirements I check whether the required elements have been used.
For wants (the nursery) I checked to see how many nursery items were used. A basic nursery with just a crib, or did you add a changing table, or wow me with added extras eg potty, toy box, toys, teddy etc.

That is how I score, I'm not going to go into individual scoring because it would take me far too long.

Here you go, Jo Fermented fruit juice bar is open for all!

gummilutt, well that's your decision. Do what you feel is right.

Thanks Petro, better watch out for Goldenbtrfly.

Wow, lots of good posts here. I never expected to read so many inspirational and introspective posts on a building contest!

I'm going to miss seeing your homes, Gummilutt. I do hope you continue to play along behind the curtain where you have your own adapted rules, so that it is fun for you! I, for one, am saving every foundation (hehe), so I can reuse them in the future to build different things. Please don't be a stranger.

No problem, restocked the bar after Goldenbtrfly abused it! Respect, and enjoy what you are doing, @gummilutt, I saw you are into another project already. But you will be missed

Days of trying to fix this lot to meet the budget and routing requirements, plus make a lot that I actually like, and I think I'm as ready as I'm going to be. I've done and redone the lot so many times to get the best routing, at least some objects with good environmental scores, squeezing stuff in, etc. that I almost killed the poor bird. A rotting bird would have made a GREAT picture! It would have stuck out, I guess, but not in the way I would have hoped!

No CC.

This had started out as a cabin, but I realized it would work better as a contemporary-style house. So a contemporary style it is!

Thank you to those who told me about customizing the SPOILER buttons. Now you can pick: babble or no babble!

Right. Let's begin.

Story under first spoiler.







About the real-life pet-friendly aspects referenced in the lot and my research into just what experts (or so-called ones) consider a pet-friendly house:

Hey ...I'm loading as fast as I can.

I had a blip there. Hopefully, some pictures will come.

My fingers are too slow.

@yavannatw The no CC bonus has not been removed. It is there for rounds 1,2,3 and 4. It is your choice to go for it or not.

@gazania there are no pictures and lol for a moment I am like why are you calling me by my full name. Have you been talking to my mother?

I decided to build no CC because I plan to upload my entries (just as they are, the edited versions with CC will be for my game only), and it’s incomparably less time-consuming to upload a lot without worrying about establishing who made all the CC I used and finding links to creators’ profiles/sites/blogs, testing what is included but shouldn’t be included, what isn’t included but should be included and so on. It’s a pain and I’d rather not have to deal with that, however I do plan to share something with CC at some point on my tumblr (I can’t here on MTS because CS conversions are not allowed to be included), but that won’t be soon and won’t be often.
But anyway, building no CC is a nice challenge (I really have enjoyed building the lots I’ve uploaded here, and the contest entries), and the bonus is a nice reward, I like it

No ... Newman ... Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Now let me stop babbling and get these pictures in before I lose my nerve!

Maybe this judge - whoever it may be - just thinks orange is a terribly tacky color to put on a wall. Maybe - if the build was supposed to be a bit tacky (in a most lovable outré way, of course) - maybe that judge would totally understand the use of orange in the build. Just... maybe (< orangest 'smilie' used here on purpose)




I laughed so hard at that I couldn't mash the "funny" button enough! LOL!
Juice sounds good to me right now - thanks, Petro

All 3 judges are totally and utterly impossible to tell apart. *that's my story and I am sticking to it*

Sorry, I must have misunderstood your previous post.

"But because you forced it I will remove the no CC bonus (even though this does not come under it because it doesn't include mods, no cc means defaults, recolours, objects, floor, walls) I am sorry that you are confused, but this is way too much fuss over a simple ruling and trust me contests are full of them."

I gather you just meant for gummilut, although she's withdrawn anyway.