Instructor
Original Poster
#1 Old 26th Aug 2019 at 6:39 AM Last edited by pancake101 : 26th Aug 2019 at 7:12 PM.
Default Halloween Hideaway- NEW WORLD - Looking For Testers!
Hello everyone! I've finally finished my Halloween World, and now am looking for anyone who could help me test it out and give me any last minute feedback! I am mainly looking for:
- Is the routing working (No stuck sims or animals, or un-routable buildings)
- Are the weather, lighting and water files all working properly (If you have any global lighting mods you may want to remove them so it does not conflict with the files for this world
- Any lot tearing I may have missed (I did a general sweep and corrected any i found but i still want to be sure)
- Any comments about the lots and areas that may need work or improvement
- And anything else you may feel I should be aware of!

This world requires ALL EXPANSION PACKS and all stuff packs EXCEPT diesel, and high end loft
Anyone willing to help test this world is greatly appreciated and will be fully credited when the world is fully released. Thanks!!
Screenshots
Attached files:
File Type: 7z  Halloween Hideaway.7z (29.64 MB, 20 downloads) - View custom content
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Top Secret Researcher
#2 Old 15th Sep 2019 at 6:45 AM
This is a really fun world with a convincing, consistent theme. The rabbit hole recolors are great , I especially love the arboretum. The tree light orbs are inspired!!

My two favorite lots are House on the Hill and Cabin in the Canopy- absolutely lovely!!

First the biggest problem I found. There are 2 criminal rabbit holes, Smugglers Lair and one at the Deja View Theater. This borked the criminal career in my game. The sim would get a notice that they were missing work. When I sent them, the notice said it is not their work time. Then they would take a job performance hit and eventually be fired.

There are fences that surround lots at the perimeter. This can lead to routing problems if a sim, especially a horse, spawns at the edge of a lot and gets stuck. Generally it is advised to leave 1 or 2 tiles from the edge clear of fencing.

When a lot is zoned a supernatural hangout it automatically gets happy hours, which is unusual when there is no bar on the lot. The only lot where it might cause problems is the Pumpkin Patch, where a barista bar is located. When the lot closes for a register that has a 24/7 NPC, it can break the link between the register and the NPC sim.

I suggest placing trash bins at Putrid Pond Park and Black Tide Beach.

The plants in the greenhouse of the alchemy shop go dormant because the roof is open. If you want to add a roof tile to prevent this, I think there is a way to add one even after cfe has been used. You may want to keep the glass roof effect at the cost of plants going dormant.

There were simfests at the stage!

I happen to like KPSP, and it is perfect for what you used it for. However, many don't have it, and so may not download your world, or if they do download it, who knows what items the game will use as a substitute.

Pictures below:
1- unicorn spawned! and the horses love this park and none got stuck!
2- the academy (very cool build) is a supernatural hangout with closing hours, and when they closed, my sim left by this door and got stuck
3- deer ate everything in this park
4- bar stool at corner table on left is not usable
5- Morbid Manor- sims cannot use tub
6- Dollhouse- sims cannot access fireplace
7- is there supposed to be something on the shelves that didn't make it through CAW export?
8- I would add fire alarms in residential lots, but that is a personal choice.

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Top Secret Researcher
#3 Old 15th Sep 2019 at 2:14 PM Last edited by Norn : 15th Sep 2019 at 2:29 PM.
Your world really gives a unique Halloween experience! I can only second what attuned said about the fenced in lots. An example is below
Here are first results for testing (in no particular order). The attached pictures are hopefully captured well enough to illustrate the issues:

- I liked that there were 2 starters available

- Cabin in the Canopy
  • attuned already mentioned the shelves
  • misplaced window (see pic)
  • the dining area could be set up better. (A) the sim went all the way to the coffee table to put down the serving plate because the center slot on the talble is taken by the vase and no other suitable surface was available near by. (B) the chairs indicated are not routable if the chairs at the table's head are in use (see pic, that explains it better)
  • My pet peeve: Terrain painting. That solid border looks weird (see pic). Why not use the same terrain paint as you used for the "roads"? More a matter of personal taste though.
  • It's a bit weird to have parking spots in a roadless world... You could use the space for something else, some playground stuff for example
- Trick N' Treats
  • Nice lot!
  • Never shall thy scarf flutter again in the wind! Poor scarecrow got his scarf trapped (see pic)
  • Bit of unpainted wall (see pic)
  • the tower looks comparatively blank, am I missing something here? (see pic)
- School
  • playground worked fine
  • got opportunities, everything seems to work well!
- Candy Corn Cottage
  • The back looks blank, do I miss some windows here? (see pic)
  • nothing else to report but I like bullet point lists
- Gym: nothing to report

- Academy
  • slipped tiles (see pic)
  • didn't enter the lot yet, so still needs testing
- House on the Hill
  • again a parking spot in a roadless world... see above
  • also terrain painting (see pic)
  • mailbox and bin look a bit out of place, maybe you can find better places for them? Also the mail carrier coulnd't put the mail in (see pic)
  • If that chair is just for decoration, remove the stairs maybe? Else, unroutable chair (see pic)

- The moon looks a bit chopped during half moon phase (see pic)

- Fixer Upper
  • fine example of what a fence on the edge of the lot does - ususally they would just walk around and enter at the front. Now they are stuck. It's stupid EA routing, but it's avoidable. Also maybe set the front of the lot so that newly placed sims don't try to enter from that side? (see pics)

And just for the fun of it:

Fun at the Last Hope Lighthouse


Veeery cool!


Just for consideration:
  • maybe you want to look into how to paint tile edges. It would make your lots look even better if they didn't have those light grey lines between floors.
  • there could be more equipment for kids on the larger lots with a kids bedroom, like a toy box. My kids were bored On the other hand, there are a lot of playgrounds, so I could send them there to hang out.

Hope this helps! I'll try to do some more testing in the upcoming week.
Top Secret Researcher
#4 Old 17th Sep 2019 at 10:58 PM Last edited by Norn : 18th Sep 2019 at 8:18 AM.
Just a quick one.

House on the Hill - floating tree

Found some more lot tears
- Theatre
- Beach

Also had a quick look at the Academy. Nice work! Nice wall plaques The names for the classrooms though? Come on, you can do better!
I also like the way you did the fireplaces. Overall it looked good without testing it in detail. But...
- too many chairs, too many tables and/or tables too close to the wall/other tables. Most of them will never be used and just raise the object count for the lot. If they are used, sims will get stuck because the chairs are way to close to each other and to the tables or walls. This applies to the class rooms but also to the main dinig hall.
- I would recommend to use skip level markers for the top levels
- already mentioned the slipped tiles
- edited to add: bit of unpainted wall in the front left corner
Screenshots
Top Secret Researcher
#5 Old 18th Sep 2019 at 10:22 PM
And another quick one

- Blood Heart Haunted Mansion
  • bit of unpainted wall
  • I would advise to put the rocking chairon highest floor to somewhere less remote or remove it entirely, or your sim will be busy going back and forth because it's pull is so strong
  • missing floor tiles
  • sim couldn't reach the bookshelf
  • also, those hidden doors don't work. Players will have to replace them manually. If you want to keep them, you should make a note on the release page
  • sims cannot use one side of the double bed due to the magic wand on the night table.
  • Bathtub not useable
  • that hollow at the entrance looks a bit weird, you could level the ground and make the stairs shorter
  • paper delivery happens at the back entrance. Set the front door to have it delivered at the front door
  • routing nightmare with all the doors and arches and narrow hallways and spaces. My sims constantly stop and complain or stand in each others way in this otherwise nice mansion
- Elixier Shop
  • unpainted walls
  • attuned already mentioned the harvestables will go dormant in winter
  • chair not useable
- Stuck sim at the lot edge of the Concert Hall


Top Secret Researcher
#6 Old 21st Sep 2019 at 5:31 AM
I tested all the residential and community lots, then fully populated the world with NRaas Debug Enabler. Now I am letting the world run, watching the sims have their lives, making sure, to the best of my ability, that everything works as it should. I will have a final report by Sunday.

I agree with Norn about too many chairs and desks or tables on community lots. They add to lag, won't be used, and can cause routing issues.

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Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 25th Sep 2019 at 8:03 PM
Final report Mostly small stuff.

The recoloured Willow is not seasons-proof. It's hard to see in the pic, I tried to make it a bit brighter.

Freaky Funhouse
  • maybe add a speaker so they can actually dance in that disco room? I tried to add a dance floor but it would require to rearrange the whole room.
Caroline Manor
  • Rocking Chair not useable
Crooked Castle Concert hall
  • my sims couldn't use the chairs in front of the stage, at least not for watching the show (no pic)
Gravestone Gallery
  • planter cannot be used by sims (they can only plant on home lot). So maybe just put something in?
Hair'n Scare
  • unpainted walls
  • I didn't have neither tatooist nor stylist at the salon. Same with the barista at the Pumpkin Parlour. As no other tester complained about that I assume my save got borked.
Library
  • reading room too narrow to be useable
  • different bookshelves spawn different types of books, so you might want to swap some of the bookshelves for others
Dollhouse
  • Lovely idea, but it's not very sim-friendly. Not that anything needs to be changed, it suits the world well. Just maybe give a heads up on the release page? (No privacy in bathroom, not seasons-safe, sims will freeze or sweat to death)
Nothing to report:
  • Freaky Festival
  • Lollipop Playground
  • Rickety Randel's Used Cars
  • Pumpkin Park
  • Misfortune Teller
  • Putrid Pond Park
  • Till Death Do you Part
  • Morbid Manor
Screenshots
Test Subject
#8 Old 28th Sep 2019 at 3:23 AM
This makes me wish I still played TS3. Which I would be glad to if my other laptop with ALL my TS3 contents are on. BTW it just needs a new fan, because it got overheated and turned on me!!!! LOL. Great job though. I love it!!!! I would love to help you out, but just can't now. Sorry.
Instructor
Original Poster
#9 Old 28th Sep 2019 at 11:32 PM Last edited by pancake101 : 29th Sep 2019 at 1:26 AM.
Default final copy with fixes for testers
Here is the next copy of the world for final testing for those testing the world! All issues addressed in this thread and others have been fixed and should work now!
Attached files:
File Type: 7z  Halloween Hideaway.7z (30.50 MB, 15 downloads) - View custom content
Top Secret Researcher
#10 Old 30th Sep 2019 at 4:47 AM
Downloaded and tested latest copy. Everything looks great! I checked all the lots, both residential and commercial, and all the changes work well. The game mechanics seem to be working as expected. I can't think of another test to run. I think it is good to go.
Congratulations!!

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Top Secret Researcher
#11 Old 30th Sep 2019 at 9:27 PM
Findings:

- Floating trees at the Blood Bank

- Typo in the world description

- still lots of slipped tiles at the Academy


Didn't have stuck sims so far, moon and the other fixes look good.
Screenshots
Field Researcher
#12 Old 2nd Oct 2019 at 10:55 AM
Would love to help test but I haven't got the Katy Perry stuff pack
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