Come back on in the morning and find the thread has been invaded by Donald Duck orange juice. O.O

I've gotten mine done! It's available here: http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=593722 $35k x4 = $140,000. No CC.

LOL! Jo... I just couldn't resist
...and I didn't want to hide it behind a [spoiler ] tag either

I think I've finished the house. Final(?) price §34,472. I think I'll leave it at that rather than add clutter right up to §35,000. The way I'm playing it, I give the Elliotts the §35,000 as their starting funds, and I reckon they need something to live on for the first few days. Unlike most Sims, Mr. Elliott can't just find a job in the morning paper -- he has a school-age child to look after. As it says in the spec that Jo gave us, he has to work from home. I don't know a way to earn money working as a web designer at home in The Sims 2, so he'll probably write novels on the computer, and we'll pretend he's designing websites. It takes a while to build up the skill to earn decent money from novel-writing, so I reckon they need some money to live on meantime. I've actually given him a second in-game way to earn money at home, but you'll have to wait till I upload the lot pictures to see that.

All being well I'll try to take the pictures and move the Elliotts in tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get my play-along entry posted in the next couple of days.

Another bit of good news ... I'm re-taking pictures a whole lot faster and replacing them a whole lot faster. I know the angles I want to take now since I've taken so bleepin' many of them. Actually, I don't know if that's good news, but it's ... news.

I love your playalong Phaenoh, especially the garden area - so pretty.

And I am not even starting to judge until the round closes

Sorry to break the no-question streak, but I have one.

Do Iayout pictures need to include custom easel paintings on the wall, or are judges simply looking at the layout and nothing else in that shot? If so, then I would have to use a layout picture of the occupied lot, since Paul would start his portraits after everyone moved in. After so many retakes, though, one more is no big deal.

I have a question/request for you too, Jo, can the next foundations be on sun-facing lots? Everyone's pictures will look a lot better with the front lit up by natural sunlight.

gazania what you show in pictures is up to you. You want the judges to see as much as possible.

Phae, I already have all the lots packaged. Unfortunately sun facing is one big thing I always forget about, always. I frequently am kicking myself later over not having a sun facing lot. So some might be and some not, but you are free to make yourself a sun facing replica.

Jo, I did actually ask a silly little question about the ban in custom paintings, in post #757, which you appear to have missed:

"What if they paint pictures of each other? After all (as I understand it), CC is allowed in Sims, and they might paint a picture of a Sim wearing CC clothes and accessories."

I don't know how to make a lot face the sun. Many of my lots which are facing one way in Neighbourhood View are facing different way in Lot View.

I probably wasn't clear.

I try to take the layout, foundation, price, back view and other basic, set-up pictures in the empty house first. There are no paintings there because no one is there.

When I move everyone in, that's when I prefer more up-close and personal shots. Part of the reason is to show the judges that the Sims can move freely in the house with no routing problems that I can see at the time. It's an initial way for me to test the playability of the house as well. In the meanwhile, , Paul paints his family's pictures. They aren't in the layout shot, which has the unoccupied house.. I like to put the pictures on the wall because the walls need more decoration.

Are the judges going to take points off if they see no paintings in the layout shot, but see the paintings on the walls in the up-close and personal shots? There really isn't any way I could put the paintings in a house where no one's lived yet. The other option would be to take a layout shot of the occupied house, but I haven't seen too many of those pictures here.

The direction of the sun hitting the lot is set you you place down a blank lot. So if you are thinking about it, put up a wall and see which side the sun is on, front or back. You will find all the lots on that road facing that way will be the same, so if its in shade try the other side of the road. I can never remember this ever, even though I do from time to time tell myself to check before building.

That's okay since I said cc on sims doesn't count. They will be in the screenshots on the sims anyway, right.

gazania, we would rather your shots be taken with the house complete. (apart from the price) Please take your price before moving in sims. Judges don't want to see one thing then realize another picture shows something different.

OK ... then I'll take the layout shot with the Sims in it. The only difference I made between the empty house and the occupied house was the portraits. I learned my lesson about trying to switch between houses! Many extensive retakes can be a valuable lesson

However, I will do that later. I need a long break. I just spent almost an hour trying to get two Sims to sit down for thirty seconds without their trying to get up. What a hassle this time! This was the living room shot. It was important to me to make sure the routing is good in this room now because I had a problem there, and to also show the judges the layout as well. And it's not helping that my computer is going snail-slow right now! Things were so stressful that I accidentally killed the bird during one photo attempt. I go to take the cut-away scene of the bird and the bathroom after trying over and over to get two Sims to keep their butts on the seat in the living room, only to go to the cage location and find the bird on the bottom of the cage, happily decomposing. THAT would be a contest-winner for sure!

Aww, poor bird. Remember with sims to turn free will off, that will help for shots to keep bums on seats.

That's because of a bug in the lighting file. Maxis made them backwards from each other. It's an easy fix in a text file. http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=325634

Beautiful lot, @Phaenoh. I intend to put it in my hood, it will become the third ap...art...ment I there. Jo's one for those down on their luck and one built by a judge hating orange are the other two

Second round:
This house is made for the Elliott family
while I made the pictures some textures where glitching because my PC can't run sims 2 good in window mode (plants and some roof part)

Hi

@joandsarah77 -After finding out I still had CC from Life Stories in m game files, I went back and checked my 1st Entry house and see I did use a light from it. That means I lose the No CC points.

Thanks and sorry, I thought I had removed it all or that I knew what was CC and what wasn't. Oh, well.=D

Sorry Sweet Mystre, but thank you for being so honest.

Got to do the right thing. I have it all cleaned out this time so no mistakes.

I'll be working on my new pictures today.

That is a very pretty lot, @cowplant-simmer

Phaenoh, this fix you linked..do you think it still works for downloaded small lots made to always have a sunny facade? (facing sun..) http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=251798
Cowplant-simmer, I SO love your back..side..front? yard! I love how everything is placed...picture 16 is my favorite. I saw it and thought..oh..I'd like to be there.

Can the monkey bars be used on the diagonal like that? I had no idea.

It would be the only playground equipment that can..if it can.

I'm feeling for ya. Gotta love retakes.

FINALLY, after what I really, really hope were the last freakin' renovations and retakes (PLEASE let those be the last ones ... I'm apparently bordering on accidentally killing my entrants here*), I can actually sit back and enjoy the other entries. The judges are going to have a hard time this round again. Many lots show some great gardening skills. The hippies' lots showed some real outside-the-box creativity. Some lots are comfy-cozy or the type of lots a partier or a bachelor would love. Some are great for a large family, whether the family members are human, four-legged, feathered or squeaky. I picked out one or two entries previously, and I shouldn't have. ALL entries here show something unique and fascinating. As Phaenoh wrote, it's in the details. Everyone here has managed to convey their families' stories and that's important. While the build is the first and main consideration, the families themselves are also significant. Who are these Sims in your mind? What would they like and want, outside of the basic contest requirements?

Great work, fellow contestants! Hopefully, we'll see some great uploads on this site once this is over.

As for free will on or off ... I use either for stories. For the Newmans, I was hoping to catch some spontaneous moments with the animals. I sure got that! Be careful what I wish for. Sorry, birdie. You were nearly toast. I also got one spontaneous moment that I might share after the scoring. My response to the scene was, "Oh, HAY-ELL no!" I was tempted to use it as one of the pictures, but unfortunately, I didn't capture the objects I wanted to show.

*Actually, there is one picture I'd like to retake with the lights on, since while most look OK in daylight, which is my preferred lighting, this one looks a little dark to me. But one retake with everything as is. Without the need for humans or animals in the picture. And the old one will do just fine if my birdie croaks again.