@Sweet Mystre I was responding to your post directly after the scores. Far from nit picking I really like your house. But I won't try and help again.

This is my modern house for the Evans family

A note btw, to accurately take a picture of the back, I had to delete a tree, then undeleted

Thank you? but maybe you could have noticed how I was taking all the rest of the feedback and given it too me a little less public.
I won't ask any other questions. I've learned my lesson well.

We need a "groovy" button for the Rhodeses.

Every writer who seeks professional publication goes through a phase of trying to get blood from a stone, looking at their form rejections and wailing "Why?" But when they don't get a form rejection - when they get that much-desired editorial comment! - they then wail: "But, but, that's all wrong!" Or "But what does that mean?" Or "But this story fits your guidelines exactly!" And a surprisingly large number don't realize that getting any editorial comment at all is a huge step forward. So either they quit going down that road (maybe going for non-traditional publication, maybe writing for themselves alone, maybe giving it up as a bad job and taking up knitting - all legitimate choices), or they keep plugging away, rereading and revising or abandoning each story every five, or ten, or fifteen rejections depending on - oh, all sorts of things! - and then, one day, they Get It. They read a comment and instead of "that's all wrong" they think, Ah, okay, this editor didn't get the joke - don't send her anymore humor! Instead of "But what does that mean" they say: "Oh! Rhythm! What can I do about that?" Instead of "this story fits your guidelines," "I straitjacketed myself there and it shows. So what do I do about that? Is this market just not right for me?"

And at that point, we realize that the editors are telling us as much as they have the time to tell us, as clearly as they can; but we lacked the experience to understand them. (Also, less experienced editors need to learn how to speak usefully to authors! Experienced editors are much more cogent and useful.) Once we have put in the time and gained the experience and maturity we need to speak their language, then we begin to profit by our rejections, and then we begin to sell, not in a predictable way, but in a more controlled and comfortable way. We start matching this editor's needs so well that we become their go-to writer for special problems and opportunities, and we follow them to markets we would never have submitted to before when (as all editors inevitably do) they change house. We realize that another editor wants something we simply cannot write, and don't waste our time (and theirs) by submitting to him anymore. We stop writing to guidelines, and start matching guidelines to the work we do, submitting more intelligently. The whole process gets much less stressful.

And given that all creative processes have an underlying unity, I think a lot of the problems people are having here in understanding the rules and the comments, and in communicating their confusion in a productive way, are a result of this being a beginner's contest. It's the first one Jo's run, and the first one most of us have entered, and we are not all speaking the same language or starting from the same assumptions. That's nobody's fault. Next time, we will all know better and do better.

One great confusion seems to be on the line between "realism" and "playability." And yet this seems to me the central problem all sim building has to solve. The building has to look believable to people who live human lives; and at the same time be fully functional for the sims, and give the player an enjoyable play experience. We all solve that problem in slightly different ways, and put the line in a slightly different place. Some people never put sinks in bathrooms; some people install mods forcing sims to wash their hands after using the facilities; none of us would move into a house without a bathroom sink. When we speak of "realism" in sim houses we don't mean complete unplayable verisimilitude; we mean a realistic aesthetic, something that convinces us of the reality of the home in the same way that a fantasy author's use of dialog, character, and sensory detail convinces us that Oz or Middle-Earth or Narnia are real enough to accept for the duration of a story. In the same way that the charming and realistic animation of the sims convince us that our sims are real enough to love and invest our time in.

That's what we've got to sell here. Make the judges feel at home.

That is exactly right.

Sweet Mystre anyone else. If things are asked publicly I tend to post back publicly, if things are pm'ed I tend to pm back.

Penni your post is very excellent and spot on. I think every contestant should take a look through it, because the point is well explained.

Thank you to all three judges for doing an awesome job. I know how hard it is and really appreciate how you are all getting things done in what is quite a speedy time frame with comments for everybody. :D

Oh now I want a Groovy Man! button all your fault I just wanted to say that yet again you have put things in a light that isn't always obvious! I think we need a new phrase for such things. It should be "doing a Peni"!
I raise a nonfermented juice to you
Scottiedoag
P.S. I've always wondered what sort of thing you write over several years and if you have a pen name but that's a whole other story.

Dear Judges: Good luck again. You'll need it. There is not a single bad or blah entry here.

Justpetro, you had mentioned that you would incorporate some of your country's culture into your build, and I'm glad you did. It gives it a warmth that I think really enhances the build. I want to go though that house and sit on that outside patio! Fetch the fermented juice, please. One tiny note ... as already mentioned, your price picture has grid-itis. Unless you're dealing with the Lamberts (henceforth associated in my mind with the phrase "herding cats"), which you're not, it should be easy to fix in the next few days. The last thing I want to see is a .5 deduction for something that I think I've done so far in every single round (but fortunately caught ... so far. Fingers crossed.)

Voielle ... You do know you're a tough act to beat, right? Or even try to beat? Let me compare it to this: Gazania: makes a two-layer cake. Voeille ... makes a seven-tiered wedding cake. With three flavors of cake. And sparklers. And adorned with fresh flowers, preferably not near the sparklers.

Scottiedoag ... I'm glad you went with the factory. I'm not a judge, but I really, really like this entry and the story. I wanted to see where you went with this, and wow!

WHoward ... my reaction to your pulling your last upload (cover your ears, folks, please) .... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Please reconsider uploading it again. I really look forward to your interpretations of each family and how they affect your build, because you think so much outside the box. I look forward to your humorous comments. I would truly miss you here. You helped lighten the mood a few times already.

Me: Got into a panic mode when she wondered if she could even put wood fencing on a concrete slab. Found out people can do this in real life. Thank you, Pinterest.

I've judged once before, it's a huge undertaking and I don't consistently have the time for it, so I don't generally go for judging. Mad props to those who are frequent judges! I was also a Lot Queue moderator when I was made staff ages ago, and participated on the judging panel for many of the MTS Calendar contests, so plenty of XP over the years. The last contest I was in (besides my own recent bad-lucked clusterfuck) was one I had to back out of. I was only doing a play-along for Karen Lorraine's Campus Constructors but still, I take play-alongs seriously too. Before that, I was a judge for jones' Build a Business, before that I participated in jones' Veronaville Home Makeover and Pleasantview Home Makeover. A good while before that I hosted a scrapbooking contest, and I started my contest career as winner of w_sims's Foundations for Families Contest.

I'm really glad you like my Artist Train Station, that was the entry that secured my win! I was nose to nose with the rest of the pack up until the last round, but then the judges awarded me top marks for that round, 6 points more than the next contestant. That was enough over all to pull me up for the final win and earn my little blue ribbon. I love that lot bunches too, but I regret that I used so much CC. I've since redownloaded it into a CC-lite game I'm doing and the lot is practically unusable and has lost all it's coolness. It's party why I've been trying to more with less CC lately. It was also a nightmare trying to upload it. It kept crashing people's games. Eventually I just had to rebuild it from scratch.

About Peni's post, please can I hit both, love and agree? multiple times, THAANK YOU!! :D

Thanks for the judges and the comments I know the grill was waaaayyy a long distance from the dining area but lol, that was the only thing I managed to put to that completely not usefull extra balcony And about playability, if I forget the bbq, my problem is and will be the too much open space that is most likely never changing

Phaenoh ... I wouldn't consider your contest a clusterfuck. Why would you write that? But it was very, very difficult and extensive. I'm glad you didn't accept me, though admittedly I was grumbling at first (until I saw the first round). It's way over my head and ability right now. You were right. But I really enjoyed looking at the results. You brought out some pretty outstanding results among the contestants. How would that be a failure?

Kukamuukaanmuka ... you submitted your entry? Where? Where? I wanna see! (Cranes neck) I really look forward to your stuff as well.

Oh ... your last round. Awww ...

My laundry and dishes ... if I wish real hard, will you go away? Please?

Because my 3 month contest took 6 months? Because only 4 of the 12 contestants even finished? It was plagued from the start, I submitted it in late spring, so it was supposed to be a summer contest, but it got missed in the queue. After that it was just bad lucked delay after another, losing judges left and right. It was rough. We did get some really amazing lots out of it, but I lost a lot of good people on the way. I tried something new and it didn't go so great. Lesson learned. I am glad I did it, but I have a long list of things I would have done differently. :/ I *really* love contests, and I love coming up with contest ideas, but after being 2/2 on weird prolly-dont-do-that-again contests, I'm rather hesitant about my next idea.

Well, it was tough. And with the time limits, crap happens. If I recall, certain people had real-life situations that wreaked havoc.

Personally, if I ever, ever start a contest (truly unlikely), I would just limit it to short rounds. One contest idea actually intrigued me ... you had to build a lot within a pretty short time limit. What can I tell you? My attention span is not always the greatest. I just hope I can stick out this contest. I hope to, even if the next two entries ARE Box Motels. But even in my case, Real Life is making life really stressful for me right now. All I can do is just stick through one round at a time. I got through most of this round. Now to focus on the rest of this round and at least make a basic Round 4 entry that I can post before I have to go out of town in a couple of weeks or so. Round 5 is too far away for me right now.

The only time I ever, ever won a contest here (back in 2007-ish, before the achievement pictures, I think) was only because everyone else dropped out and only two of us were left. The thing is that the host continued and some people stuck it through to the end. Even if it was only four for you, it was a heck of a contest!

My only advice ... and I'm hardly qualified to give any ... is to perhaps simplify the rounds to at least accommodate intermediate-level builders. I still wouldn't be able to enter (certain building tricks still frustrate the crap out of me. no matter how hard I try ...I'm never happy with my results), but it might encourage more people to stay in there.

Peni ... Add one more thing, I believe ... realism, playability AND creativity. If you entered this contest, you can build a box house, and it could meet the criteria for realism and playability. Quite a few real-life houses are actually pretty boxy in layout. I've looked through at least a hundred or so house plans, and dozens of photos and saw this. Many houses stress function over form. If I made a house with four box rooms and a connecting hallway, it would be realistic. It would be playable. But it needs something more. My biggest weakness is the third one ... sticking in that something more. I envy so many of these entries because they have incorporated that element.

gdayars ... I could imagine any athlete or like fitness-conscious individual wanting to stay in that place. And I like that you incorporated more than just the basics. This place is sleek, useful and attractive. After all, all work and no play ....

@gazania, to be honest I did wondered why you kept changing your entry so many times NOW I do understand, as current one is my nro 17

buut yes , off to bed,

In this entry, I thought I had alll the pictures taken last night until I realized that I cut off the top of my canopy. I didn't fully roof-up!

And then there's the porch railings. Razzem-frazzem porch railings. I'm going to be dreaming of porch railings (Just kidding, judge. Porch railings are indeed a good idea!)

So I must be crazy, because I went ahead and completely changed my plans from what I had yesterday, . I was a bit unsure if a family like the Lamberts would move into so modern a home, plus yesterday's build was so similar to my second entry that I went ahead and tried to give a more traditional home another go:


I'm hoping it's okay to add the two extra foundation squares for columns. I wasn't sure whether that was allowed. Now I just have to figure out how to furnish a four bedroom, two bathroom house on $14,000. I suspect some of my outside decor will have to get the ax.

@Phantomknight Extra foundation squares for columns isn't allowed as per the rules. Walls, CFE'ed down to 4 clicks is. You will see a couple of entries with columns saying 'I used CFE wall', including my own round one play along.

Just a quick question .. . though not officially a gazebo, the foundationed pavilion (or canopy) in my entry does serve the same functions. It's not part of the main house, it's open, and it cannot serve as a room or anything else other than a pavilion. That is allowed, correct? If not, I'll see if I can finish the Lambert house and switch that one over to the entry.

(Post 1343. I've been pretty gabby in this thread.)

Thanks, Jo. I'll use CFE walls instead. My budget's not going to like it, though.

All these houses are just WOW! And so different from each other I am so glad I am not a judge today. It never ceases to amaze me how that foundation leads to all these different interpretations!

@gazania - thank you - I tried to remove the grid-itis from the price pic, but nothing of the posted advice seemed to work I have not tried the recoloring tool yet, so I will do that and, if it works, replace the pic (thank you, @yavannatw ).

@Phaenoh - your contest kicked me out of my comfort zone, taught me a gazillion things I did not know, made me built things I had never attempted before and I think I went from 14 in the first round to 20 in the last one That contest meant a lot to me, so I, for one, do not regard it as a clusterfuck First church I had ever built (and that one, boy, I struggled)! First factory, first Painted Lady (Me: Build a What? First try - You: that wall paper is ridiculous ) - and then you made me build an apartment too! I learned more about building in your contest than during years of playing, other contests and reading tutorials combined. Trust me, your contest had very positive consequences for at least one contestant!

The fermented fruit juice bar is open, special drinks for the judges after hard judging

[FX: Best Arnie voice]I'll be back!

See you all again when the Round 4 foundation is posted. I just need a (self-enforced) break ...

Edit:

I haven't, it's just the images are no longer taking up MTS bandwidth, but my own.

When Wendy died, Big Jim sold his business and the apartment and moved to the country. The old place was too full of memories and it was time for a fresh start for him and the kid. Big Jim planned on working from home, so he could be there when the kid came home from school.

A good thing about the new house was the lockable shed, where Big Jim could work on his bike. The bike is in the shop right now, following a disagreement over right of way with a VW bug. But Big Jim can't wait to try it out on those long, straight country roads.

(Some folks suggested Big Jim should fence in the porches to stop the kid falling off. Big Jim reckons if the kid fell of those wide porches he'd have been smoking something. Besides, a fall that low won't harm him}.





Big Jim decorated his bedroom in his favourite colour, red. Wendy preferred pink, but, well. The kid was allowed free reign in his own room too, although Big Jim hates the result. After all, the kid has to live with it. They decorated the rest of the house in a way they both liked.



Both guys have space for their hobbies. Big Jim has his shed, where he can tinker with his beloved bike and the kid has the garden. The kid is really into flowers and butterflies, not to say dancing and the colour pink. Big Jim is cool with this. The kid will grow out of those things. Besides, they were Wendy's favourite things too and, well, the kid misses her.

We are missing you.

Looking forward to your return!