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Mad Poster
#26 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 2:25 PM
I don't know about the wiki. So much of this is subjective.

You should have playground equipment for the kids. But you need to take care where you place the playground, and the rest of the common area, in relation to the apartments.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
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Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#27 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 2:41 PM
I always have some playground equipment- just not the swing because adults go silly for it.
What's wrong with fountains? Soap? Matter of opinion.
Teddy bear? If that's about the sims talking through it, there's a mod to stop that.
I like both grills and stereos *shrug* It's all personal preference.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Field Researcher
#28 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 3:36 PM
The only thing my dorms have in private rooms are double beds.

Everything else is in common: hot tubs, instruments, computers, easels, chess tables, exercise equipment, bubble blowers, etc., etc.

Admittedly, I don't have many dormies in my dorms (usually all playable occupied), but with so many entertainment options, I don't find students to obsess over one, even if I let them have free will for a bit.
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#29 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 3:42 PM
Yeeesh! This is all too confusing! I guess it all depends on the sim's personality on whether they will obsessive about using an object or not. :/

Its just that I don't want to build an apartment and later on finding out that I will regret the fact that I placed an object in the common area when I've moved in several people. :/
Mad Poster
#30 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 3:51 PM
Keep a residential copy of the building in your lot bin. Then if you regret anything (or find that you made a mistake, like not putting chairs at the chess table or whatever), you can move everybody out, revise it, bulldoze it, install it, and move everybody back in.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#31 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 4:05 PM
As for Wikki: these are all just preferences; some don't like ANY musical instruments, I make a "music room" with EVERYTHING. I always put bookcases in the cafeteria; more than ONE or they will get in each other's way. It's the best way to keep everyone together for "research" and homework. And for that same reason, I remove desks from rooms. Yes, you'll get homework all over, but that way my controllable can "help with homework - for $". I also remove the wardrobes; there is one CC "coat rack" where they can buy any outfit (they'll need it!) right next to a mirror near the entrance. I also create a "Bonus bedroom" - at least ONE room with a double bed; hay, I DO send them to college to find future mates! And TV's and other games? Well, they DO need fun things to do! And for my controllables, I include lots of things to look at to increase happiness. I also like to have some other, better, skill building stuff; I always stick a basketball hoop outside. AND SOME BENCHES! ALSO I always hire a maid.

I also have "special dorms": one for future gardeners, with "Seasons" gardening stuff. One for "proper ladies", where only girls can go; they have a separate oven so they can learn cooking better. And they have to do their own cleaning and toilet-plunging.

Yea, personally I LIKE them (the uncontrollables anyway) to walk around in PJ, stinking and passing out.

Stand up, speak out. Just not to me..
Scholar
#32 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 8:36 PM
I almost always put grills and stereos and playground equipment in the common areas of my apartments, and also gardens. I like getting the neighbors to interact over these things. Also, it allows me to make smaller apartments, which allows me to make the whole apartment lot smaller.

With dorms, I am also a person who mainly makes the dorm rooms into sleeping rooms and puts almost all the skilling objects in common space. SInce sims have to get cleaning skill points to advance in most majors and careers, it's really not a problem to occasionally set one of them to "put away all books." Having just one of the big skilling objects and just two to four computers in the dorm, again, allows the dorm to be a smaller space altogether, which makes it more functional in several ways. and also allows me to include some open for businessobjects as well, so they can rack up a talent badge or two, maybe.

I did spend my last tour of University ordering the playables off the musical instruments all the time, but they were happy, successful students for the most part (except for the single sim I had earmarked to drop out of college anyway, and honestly, I kept him sewing all the time so he would be a tailor when he dropped out of fashion school).

I guess it's all in how you like to play. I like certain kinds of chaos but not others. So Sims who want to swing on the swingset at two in the morning amuse me, but I hate slap fights.
Mad Poster
#33 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 10:09 PM
Quote: Originally posted by M.M.A.A.
Yeeesh! This is all too confusing!

It's confusing if your focus is on creating a list "things not to place", as your topic says, but that isn't really feasible, due to the differences in subjective preferences this thread has illuminated.

A more useful guide might then be, perhaps, a list of questions players could ask themselves about any items they're considering for public spaces, to see if they can live with the outcome.

Of course, there are a few things that should probably be avoided universally, like anything that might get moved and can't be repositioned by the player, such as the teddy bear. A proper guide would definitely list those specifically.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#34 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 10:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
Keep a residential copy of the building in your lot bin. Then if you regret anything (or find that you made a mistake, like not putting chairs at the chess table or whatever), you can move everybody out, revise it, bulldoze it, install it, and move everybody back in.


This a thousand times. I always make and place a copy, of any kind of building into the bin and play test first. But apartments are vital.
Dorms are no where near as tricky as apartments because firstly they are just dormies and for the most part expendable. Apartments on the other hand can be filled with playables who are non controllable. If they kill themselves that matters! Dorms you can simply take away a hot tub of death, apartments you can't except by using a cheat which does not always make the apartment happy.

My hostel on here does have a bubble blower up on the roof, maybe because it is such a trek (done on purpose) I haven't found it to be a problem. Sims seem to use the dartboard near the front door far more, so placement matters.
My other apartment on here just has BBQ area and chess. I find those to be safe, so I'm not sure why some don't want BBQ's? I've only ever seen the landlord use it and I do have an outside fire alarm.
I just tweaked a downloaded apartment which had tiny rooms and lots of common area. I wanted it for families so now there are three apartments and not as much common area. The chess, easels, play ground and pool are all being used well. It's been great to see the kids from the three different flats use the playground at the same time. I've had no trouble so far.

In the dorm I just uploaded I didn't include any exerciser equipment except for a pool and no instruments. I gave them a mahjong table, pool table and a large TV. So far they ignore the TV room. The arcade games see some use but not a huge lot. The pool table and mahjong table seem to be the preference.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
#35 Old 28th Oct 2013 at 10:23 PM
Another thing about stereos is that your sims are prone to break out into smustling on the lot. It doesn't matter if they're in their own apartment or outdoors near the stereo. Constantly I'll be trying to get a sim child to interact with the kid they brought home and they won't stop smustling long enough to listen to me. Lord have mercy.

The hot tub and grill aren't so bad for me, though. The only annoyance is that the playable family has a tiny four-person kitchen table (their family is small, as is their kitchen), so when someone cooks too much food, or there isn't counter space for the serving dish, they walk allllllll the way outside to the common area to put the rest of the food on the tables out there. By the time they get back, the rest of the family is almost done eating.
Scholar
#36 Old 29th Oct 2013 at 7:08 PM
There's probably a mod to stop sims from putting food on outside common area tables, but for me it is an annoyance I just live with. I used to go around with move objects and move or remove all those plates but now I leave them for the sims or landlord to autonomously clean up.

I have never had an outside fire from the park grill (which is the only one I use in an apartment lot). I do put a fire alarm nearby, usually a custom one that looks like a dinner bell or something.

As for smustling, I like it. I've got mods that make it a social activity and also make it build body, so that makes it more of a sensible activity for sims.
Mad Poster
#37 Old 29th Oct 2013 at 7:43 PM
I have one apartment complex with a party room that has a full kitchen, a dartboard, an aquarium, couches, restrooms, and books. I regret the aquarium because you can't keep it stocked with fish. But everything else is working out for me, except that sometimes people go all the way to the party room to get a kid a bottle. But it gets the kid out of the house, anyway.

The same place has a courtyard with a pool, play equipment, hot tub, and chessboard. Neighbors often spend all day in the hot tub, which at least makes them easy to find and is only problematic during thunderstorms.

Positioning is probably the most important thing. I don't in the least mind instruments in common areas - but when I took a couple to the fancy hotel in Three Lakes, they got a room at the front of the hotel, which is right next to the piano, and some tourists with no creativity points got on it and would not get off. It was so nerve-wracking they had to change venues. If it, or the room they'd chosen, had been on a different part of the lot, it wouldn't have been loud enough to bother me.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#38 Old 29th Oct 2013 at 10:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by lucy kemnitzer
As for smustling, I like it.


I do too, I think it's hilarious. The only time I don't care for it is when a kid does it as soon as they get off the school bus, blocking the steps to other children who need to get off. Then I find the bus sits there for ages and suddenly I have children appear all over the street. One particularly large family, who also constantly brought other kids home, had this every day. There may even be a 'move away' mod, I should look into it.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#39 Old 29th Oct 2013 at 11:30 PM
Have somebody attempt an interaction. Even "call over" will break it up.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#40 Old 29th Oct 2013 at 11:54 PM
Good idea, I should try that.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#41 Old 30th Oct 2013 at 7:49 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
I have one apartment complex with a party room that has a full kitchen, a dartboard, an aquarium, couches, restrooms, and books. I regret the aquarium because you can't keep it stocked with fish.


Yeah, I DLed a lot with a communal bird cage and thought it would be cool to have a communal pet, but you can't stock the cage.
Mad Poster
#42 Old 2nd Nov 2013 at 7:56 PM
In a community lot bird cages are stocked, but not in apartment common areas?

Stand up, speak out. Just not to me..
Inventor
#43 Old 3rd Nov 2013 at 1:01 AM
I like playing my Uni subhoods a lot. However, I totally hated playing the dorms. Now I just build regular houses for my sims - with all the regular stuff in the common areas. Other sims on the campus come to visit every day. If there is something I don't want non-household members to access, I lock the doors to certain rooms, or lock the doors to the house. If they leave homework around, my sims make money or friends helping them with homework.

In every lot I build, sims have the option to grill. It doesn't cost anything for them to fish - they don't have to buy rod, bait, license. If my sims are saving for something, they will eat a lot of fish. When guests are over for meals, they almost always grill and serve fish for the guests so they won't empty the fridge. Some sims I will make selectable so I can direct them to help clean up after they've been given a free meal. Or if they spend a lot of time at my playable households fishing, I make them selectable and grab a fish or two out of their inventory to give to the playable household members.

For community lots, I always have only a grill outside with the tables and seating within a few tiles. Also, I include an outdoor sink for washing up and a trash can or compost bin. The only community lots that may not have a grill outside in common areas are the owned business lots, especially if it is a restaurant/cafe. Usually the owner puts some ready-to-eat plates of fish in the inventory, so they can put out a plate or two and send an employee to lunch in the employee-only break room. Most of my poor sims would starve if not for the parks with fishing ponds and bbq grills. Most new sims take too long to catch fish at home, but they can build relationships at community lots while they learn to fish. Then they can grill and serve what they have caught while relaxing and socializing over their meal before they go home.

I like having the instruments on my community lots. They take up too much space in most of my houses, so I send them to the community lots to build up relationships while playing the instruments. They can also make money with the instruments. For home, they can build creativity with a small easel and paint. They can decorate their bedrooms with their crappy paintings.

Almost all my sims get double beds when they become adults. They might even have double beds in my Uni houses. Most of my community lots have a woohoo room, maybe two. Because it just comes in handy at times. Other times, i have community lots just for adult sims.

I love having the hot tubs in homes, Uni houses, and community lots. It's an easy way to build relationships and have all the sims easy to find.

Even in my medieval hood, all these things are allowed in my game, sometimes just on community lots. Location of the items are more important than whether or not my sims can have them. If it is possible to lock the item within a gate or in a room, I'll use it. My sims rarely get to have a tv or stereo on their home lots. If they are going to sit around and veg, they can go to a community lot to socialize. Or I'll make them open a business to use up any extra cash.

I allow my sims to be as social as they want to be, so having bedrooms just for sleeping or intimacy works best for my play style. All the other stuff they can do in the common areas of their households or on community lots whether they are popularity sims or not. If they are extremely shy, I might designate them as the household gardener, cook, maid, nanny, fisher, or whatever. But they can't really hide away in their bedrooms or a closet with their favorite toys.

The one thing my sims will make me crazy about in common areas is the bar. They will drink themselves silly. The bubble blower, not so much as I rarely put that on the first floor, I make them go out of their way to get to it. No matter where I put the bar, it becomes a problem, so I use that only on community lots, and usually just places where it is adults only.
Forum Resident
#44 Old 5th Nov 2013 at 8:16 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Charity322
Grills are okay as long as you add a smoke alarm or sprinkler before you move anyone in.


I usually add both, to give the game a sense of realism (in real life, the fire alarm goes off and summons the fire department when a sprinkler goes off). In restaurant, hotel, hospital, prison, boarding school, military, and college kitchens, I put the sprinkler(s) directly above the stove and pretend it's an Ansul system. One of these days I'll actually start tinkering with object creation and make a real Ansul system that creates a bigger flood and makes everything in the kitchen dirty, just like real life.
Test Subject
#45 Old 8th Nov 2013 at 5:28 PM
I've never put a bubble blower in a common room before but then again I don't think I've ever had a bubble blower in my game full-stop. I'll make sure not to from now on, except in houses.

My sims in uni (Fricorith Tricou, his half sister, and his fiance) all love dance contests and have high creativity points so I put a DJ booth in their dorms and it turned out to be a really bad idea. It's ok when sims with high talent use it but otherwise it's a real pain, and it's annoying when sims use it for a matter of seconds, then stop, then start, then stop, etc. I ended up just deleting it. Same goes for the musical instruments.

I don't mind the music players so much and find the sim dances real funny - I love making my sims dance together. But again sims who randomly decide to turn it off and on again are awful. And I hate how the latin station seems to always play by default. I don't particularly mind the music on it, it just gets a bit repetitive that every time you turn it on (or go into a community lot) it's the one playing.

That aside I've never really had any problems, except when a sim of mine is using a chess table, a non-playable comes along and joins in, and then almost instantly quits.
Lab Assistant
#46 Old 8th Nov 2013 at 6:55 PM
Quote: Originally posted by M.M.A.A.
Ok, so, I understand that there are many objects that you should preferably NOT place in the common areas:

- Vending machines
- Grills
- Stereos (that's for sure!)
- Music Instruments
- Bong Bubble blower
- Fountains
- Toy bear
- Exercise machines (that's what we have separate gyms for)
- TV
- Hot tub (we don't want combustion or anything of that sort)
- Computers (I get sick of them playing SSX)
Any more?

And things that you need in a common area are:

- Seats (like benches)
- A table (especially for the Sunday Block parties).
Any more?

Now, what about:

- Bookcases
- Playground items
- etc...? Any more?

P.S. We should definitely create a wiki page for this.


The bookcases in my Uni 'hoods, just make the dormies flock to the chairs, and if that's not there, they either play with the 52 card pick up table or play chess. Also, I try to delete all the arcade games coming with the premade dorms.

Basically, all things that give fun are no-gos. Also bookcases.

Желаю счастья и успехов для всех олимпийцев - I wish you happiness and success for all Olympians
Formerly "ZedzKay" - Thank you Leefish <3

I live on the forums.
Thank you to all creators for the CC that is available for me and for everyone
Mad Poster
#47 Old 8th Nov 2013 at 7:08 PM
If you don't want to see the neighbors, Kay, don't use dorms and apartments! Sheesh.

I find that sims are far more likely to interact with other sims than with objects. I have a bubble blower in Urele-Oresha-Cham that hardly anybody ever uses, and I don't remember the last time somebody trekked all the way upstairs to the poker table in the attic, though it was a pain when I had it on the first floor. I have a bubble blower in a bar/restaurant that gives me hilarious visuals. It's easy enough to block the date from getting on it by interacting with him or her.

I don't see why some of these things bother people. Many of them are convenient. I put a "don't wake the llama" game in the common area of a duplex, which means I don't need to hunt around for the inactive household when playing the active one. If you switch the station of a stereo in a dorm, it will save with that station on. I don't put them in the common areas of apartments because then it won't save when I change it and the resultant smustling epidemics will cause routing failure, but I always have them in dorms.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Scholar
#48 Old 11th Nov 2013 at 1:27 AM
I avoid placing the stereo in apartment common areas. I find it annoying because a turned on stero on the roof can be heard in the bottom apartment (probably not by my sims, but by me), especially since the townies always seem to manage to pick a different station than the one I chose for my resident family.

Also I´m wary of the model train set. It´s supposed to catch fire 2% of the time, but in my games it´s been more like 20% so far. So I´ll always make sure to have a sprinkler right above the blasted thing.

I never have sinks, either, anywhere. What are they for anyway? If their hygiene drops too low, sims got to take a shower or a bath, there´s no need for them to wash their hands after each slice of pizza or toilet use. That´s just a waste of time in my book (simsbook, not real life!!!). In my main hood I have two sinks in the museum, so my sims can visit, try them out and shake their heads in disgust at the nonsense their ancestors placed in their homes.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#49 Old 11th Nov 2013 at 3:12 AM
Some people are very OCD about having sims wash their hands after using the toilet. There is even a mod out there that makes sims wash their hands straight away after using it. In my own game I find sinks annoying. My sims use dishwashers, showers and baths unless I want a sim to only has a sink and spounge bath because he's so poor. That is amusing..

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#50 Old 11th Nov 2013 at 4:59 AM
I have a mod that makes sims wash their hands after masturbating. XD Although they shouldn't be doing that in the common area anyway lol.
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