It depends whether they are set to a 1x1 tile (can always be rotated), a 3x3 repeat (can usually be rotated 180 degrees, sometimes 90 depending on pattern) or a 5x5 repeat (can almost never be rotated). I found this when I was making my patterned carpet sets.

If it's something suitable for all the families you've picked to build for ... I am truly stuffed!

Wow, Phae, this looks really cool! I personally don't like yellow (or orange) so I almost never use those colours in the sims either, but it makes your modern building look really welcoming!

Another fantastic lot, Phae!

I have a theory of what joandsarah77 could do, and it would indeed be sinister. Something suitable for all families could be a park, museum, recreation center .... or all of the above. Or even none of the above.

RIght now, though, Round 4 is concerning me. I tried my hand at the Rhodes family, and while the result was OK, I wasn't that thrilled with it. The trick is trying to come up with a lot that isn't a potpourri house (It has been done already by Peni and MystAngel, and far better than I would) or a shipping-container house (I winced a bit when I saw JustJones' entry, because I also thought that a shipping container house would be great for the Rhodes if I rolled them. Ah, well. You snooze, you lose, gazania! That would be a really tough lot to beat.) Obviously, not a former factory .... scottiedoag did a great job with that, and I doubt I could top that either ... and am not even going to try! And both Greenplumbbob and TheFlyingRaccoon already did the other approach I considered, and better than I would have as well (all-natural building materials). I could go with a more subdued hippie look (the look I've actually seen several times in real life), but Mordant17 cornered the market on that one.

I kinda have another idea, but some may not like it very much, and I can't get it to work the way I want it to, anyway. And I have one I'd love to do (my third idea, and it hasn't been done ... yet), but it would need a certain kind of foundation, and I would have to use CC. (Which is probably WHY it hasn't been done yet.)

The Rodneys, or for that matter, Mr. Evans (the one the dice eliminated, but at this point, I would consider cheating a little!) ... I don't feel very much for either. I don't give many parties (not recently ... I used to, though) and I admit I'm not very sporty. The Lamberts ... I did them already in my alternate entry, and I admire those who did. That family is tough! Since I have another shortened round, I doubt I could give them the attention they need. I couldn't completely finish my alternate lot this time, and I had an extra day or two more than this time. This round will be even shorter because of my obligations.

In short, I have lot builder's' block! (Clunks head against desk.) I can only hope that the new foundation does one of two things:

1. Makes me go, "AHA!" and inspires a flurry of activity or
2. Makes me go, "What the .... " and I throw caution to the wind, like I did with the alternate Lambert lot. Whether my lot was good or bad, at least it inspired me to do SOMETHING!

And Kukamuukaanmuka ... I am really oblivious! I never noticed that every one of your lots has been an urban lot so far! Cool!

Gazania, I suggest you walk away from building, thinking about building, looking at building plans, etc., until the next foundation goes up. You've been flogging your brain for weeks now and it's no doubt sick to death of building. Give the poor thing a break and let the backbrain simmer over the remaining families, so when it sees the foundation it'll have the connections all ready to make.

I'm doing the Newmans for Round 3, regardless of budget or foundation shape. I've known which families I would build for since I read the descriptions, just not in what order. So I'm relying on my backbrain to know what to do when I see what I'm working with.

Well, baking stuff and a little more yoga seemed to help the other two times! And my family doesn't mind eating baked goodies and seeing a much-calmer gazania!

The Newmans are a pretty cool family to do, once you figure out the specifics. I'm looking forward to seeing your entry.

I like Phae’s apartments, that building would look nice on desert Grass too in fact; but I’m biased because I don’t like concrete terrain, it just looks so unpleasant I should finish my default replacements at some point.

I don't like the concrete terrain either, but it tends to work for city photos. My downtown that I'm building now is on grass. I save the concrete for my lunar vacation hood and default it out to that texture.

gazania, I believe you've already built a house for the Rhodes couple. If so, I suggest you play them. If they're anything like my hippie couple, and you spend a few hours with them, they'll teach you how to chill out and forget all about building till Jo puts the foundation up.

You'll have your nose back to the grindstone soon enough -- It's only a day and 10 hours till we get the Round 4 foundation.

P.S. Don't spend too much time on the bubble blower, or you might not be able to build at all. On the other hand some say it's great for inspiring creativity. . .

I was feeling uninspired by my twenties hood so went to building a new castaway style one instead.

Built a tree house

So going to be working on that hood and my dress a doll til foundation.

@Phaenoh - concrete or not, that lot - I think you just hit the ball out of the park!

@gazania - I know how you feel - so many special lots for these families And the number of usable stuff in the maxis catalog does not help at all!

Relax though, and think of me. Here, the modern hippies are weird and a Cape Dutch gable can be on a modern house. How I am going to come up with an original idea is beyond me at the moment, so I am going to listen to AndrewGloria and have a play session later (after I have done my actual work ).

Lots and lots of orange cocktails available in the bar. Cat, thinking of you, I live in a place where it can get really hot too (well, it's Africa ) - so I hope you get some rain.

I haven't officially built a place for the Rhodes ... yet. I've submitted ones for the Walters, Newmans and Elliotts, and my alternate almost- completed one for the Lamberts. I've been playing around with a place for the Rhodes, but while the foundation in this round might have worked, this build really, really depends on a boxy foundation. The next foundation might not be boxy.

I might submit the original concept for my Rhodes just for fun here later, though, if I don't go with this idea. It is offbeat, but possibly not in a good way. Some may disapprove.

It's just that I had a better picture of what I wanted for my families in the past. This round ... not as much. Maybe I'll make some bread to go with the fermented beverages. Cheese and fruit, anyone?

I can't imagine what it would like to live somewhere where it's really hot - it's been 21C here today, and everyone's been moaning. It's the humidity that's the real pain though - the internet tells me 78% here today, which means absolutely nothing to me except that it's quite near 100, so it must be bad.

I have no idea which family I'm going to build for next - I'm not particularly drawn to any of them (I think it's the lack of kids), but I'm off work all of next week, so I'll have plenty of time to figure it out...

Thank you! It rained all night!!! It's not over 85 yet today, so I can get some judging in, I hope, before I have to shut down my PC. Now it is REALLY humid though - whew! Everything is sticky
PS - I love your "hippie" pix - that could soooo easily be my aunt and her hubs! LOL! (My Mom claims I take after her. LOL!)

@Phaenoh Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous! I love the colour combos.

My entry for the third round is as finished as it's going to be. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm not quite satisfied with my house (especially the ground floor), but I also have no motivation to go back and change things around. But it's not all bad. I really like the outside area with the playground and the three house and the twin's attic room. ^_^

Just letting you know I was really sick yesterday and I'm not well today, so if I don't answer that is why.

Hope you feel better soon!

Take time and get better. No worries, this isn't as important as your health.

If we continue to run on schedule for the rest of this contest, what will our last day to submit round 5 be? I just learned I'm moving in a month (as opposed to 2 months from now when I was expecting to). What date will round 5 be announced? I'm trying to plan ahead.

Thanks Cat.

Sweet Mystre, One of these 24 hour vomiting bugs I think, slowly on the mend.

Round 4 should be up tomorrow? I haven't checked the clock. So 4-5 weeks? Somebody with a clear head can do the maths lol.

I feel your pain. When I had to move a few years back, the central air in the house was broken and it was hitting high 90's in the house during the day. It was torture to do anything, and most packing or whatnot was left for the evening when it was a bit cooler. One day it was so insanely hot (the day right before the move) that we went and stayed at my brother's place that wasn't too far away. The next day when we got the keys, guess what we did? That's right, turned the central air on and let it get frosty cold. Please be sure to stay as hydrated as possible, run those fans and use a cool washcloth on your forehead and neck if you can. It really helps! Hang in there!




Sending some "Get well soon" wishes your way. I hope this passes as quickly as possible for you! Take all the time you need, I'm just building all the extra homes for the Round 3 foundation to stay busy and inspired (and work on my roofs! yikes!).

I wrote it on my personal planner, but I could be wrong. Round 4 starts this Wednesday and ends June 7th (Wednesday).

Three days from June 7th is June 10th. I would guess Round 5 starts then. Two weeks from that is June 24th. Strange to think that in a little over a month (allowing for the final judging), this whole contest will be over.

@Jo, for your table (edit my post to grab the code): entry

It's prolly too much hassle now, but in the future, instead of putting 'entry' as the text, you could put each family we picked. That way viewers can easily see all the same families from the same round and compare apples to apples. Or if they have a fave family, see how they look in each round with each different foundation.