This is my first shot of a residential lot I would like to upload to MTS, but I would like some feedback beforehand.

My concept for this home was to replicate a modern Chateauesque home from a site called floorplans(dot)com, using the floor plans provided as guidance to create a closely identical structure with several alterations. Although the mansion was originally built to seem quite new and contemporary, I wanted to retain the ancient charm of what chateaus have looked to my knowledge. This involved using aged wood, stone, or brick textures, and I only placed older furniture (whichever was available for Sims 2 UC without any CC whatsoever) in some rooms that would compliment the mansion's age. Only the two garages and the helipad outside the front courtyard pose a reminder it is indeed the current century.

The only concern I am aware of is how the texture in front of the garages are distorted because I followed a tutorial to attach them to the mansion's foundation. However, I think putting a single color paint or plaster will throw off the balance of the garages from the rest of the chateau, yet that's my opinion.

I have some screenshots of what the mansion looks like in completion.

I always use plaster on attached garages but that is up to you- as all suggestions.

I would not have the stairs and hole in the roof. I would use stone.

I would remove the helipad. Most people do not use helicopters and it just looks ugly.

Add terrain paint under the plants especially the trees.

I would swap all fixed staircases to modular ones.

I would use less modern doors out to the patio.

I would remove the columns sticking out of the roof.

Floor plan pictures and a closer shot of the rooms would be helpful. I would suggest using the shots here you plan to use on your upload since this is your first upload here.

I’ll add my two cents:

• I’d change that red fence, it doesn’t seem fitting.
• More plants! Any house looks better with a nice garden, especially if you add to it a good use of terrain paints

Thank you all for the suggestions.

I applied the changes necessary to help improve the lot and the mansion. After removing the helipad, I used that area to develop a lovely garden with ponds and willow trees included; I also updated some wall textures inside a few rooms and gave the ceilings an older wood appearance than just plain white. Then I replaced those purple trees out front with apple trees to present a small orchard.

Here are some new screenshots of the new chateau; I will not include any topview shots I took onto this thread but I will do so when the chateau is ready to be uploaded.

Looks good, just add a railing around the stairs in the second last picture.

For your upload you may want to remove the two large trees, take your picture and use the undo button to place them back, this is so downloaders get an unobscured view of the front.

I really don't like the long metal railing on the roof. Wouldn't shorter fence be more apropriate? Though it'ss a personal taste as well as post lamps. I think it looks nice, layout and garden. I do not consider myself interior specialist so I can't comment or suggest anything considering that. Maybe it's best to leave it as shell? That interior balcony and arches... gorgeous.

It's really dark! Don't forget to put the lights into it.

I am about ready to upload this project and see if it passes with flying colors. I gave the mansion a few more updates as according to more recent feedback, and I've added some older furniture to show players the basic concept of this aging chateau.

Thanks again for the help.

Your Pics are to small they look like there around 600 x 400 or something like that, they need to be at min. 800 x 600.
MTS2:Creator Guidelines/Screenshot Basics http://www.modthesims.info/wiki.php...reenshot_Basics

Oops, afraid I already submitted the project last night. Well, if it does get rejected because of that then I'll know what to expect. Now I don't feel so confident.

Don't worry about it. If it's rejected, they'll tell you why and you'll have a chance to fix it. Most rejections aren't rejections, but requests for changes or better pictures.

I always find taking the pictures the hardest part. Read the guidelines more carefully and run pics by here, you'll get it on the second pass, probably.

So, after reading the results of my first upload, my main problem was indeed the screenshots but it also seemed the rooms might be a little too big. I asked to have it rejected so I can work on a completely new slate from the ground up. I am honestly not too disappointed at all, and I know what else needs to be done. Wish me luck. I am sure this improved chateau will be even better than ever.

That's the spirit! You weren't as done as you thought you were, is all.

Large rooms are fine- if there is a purpose to them being large. Often filling them the way you picture the lot will help you know if the rooms are too large or not. If you are uploading a house just as a shell it can be hard to tell and better to go a little smaller.

Picture size was why I mentioned retaking your pictures, sorry I didn't make it clear as to why. Do you have a screenshot program? I use Fraps free and now I change them to jpgs with FastStone photo resizer, also free. I use to do them one at a time in Gimp but FlatStone lets me do them all in one go, saves so much time.

This looks nice so far !

• I find the rooms too large actually but I'm the only one concerned as it depends on people's way of playing and or furnishing.
  What I'm saying is that you can unfortunately not please everyone. However, despite the subjectively oversized rooms, I quite enjoy it !

• You may find me too meticulous but - even if I like what you have done so far - I don't understand the reason why you consider this Chateau as a modern one. Would you mind explaining your view, please ? I'm interested in getting your opinion.

I send you my regards and my best wishes for next year !

PS : I'm sorry for some mistakes I could have possibly made in this post but I'm French so - sometimes - it's quite complicated to write well.

Your English is very good. If your first language is French and you are using words such as meticulous and subjectively then I'm impressed.

As to pleasing people, they only have to please the mod queue enough to get their lot uploaded.

"Meticulous" and "subjectively" are transparent words actually, so that's not very difficult for me to speak most of the time. Sometimes, I do terrible mistakes when I'm not focused enough.

Pardon ? I don't understand your second sentence, would you mind rephrasing it, please ?

Creations waiting for a moderator to look them over are said to be in the queue (line up) They only have to please the moderator (queue mod) who is looking at it. If they are happy it goes up. Is that clearer?

<you make us sound terrible>

The upload has to meet the Creator Guidelines. It has nothing to do with whether we like it or not.

Lol, that wasn't meant to sound terrible. Yes meet creator guidelines, but it's the queue mod who accepts it or not.

Oh, ok ! It's clearer as for me, thanks for rephrasing !

Just as an update for this home, I finally got around to rebuilding this mansion altogether. I have made the lot smaller (now a 4x4) and everything should be more compact and reasonable. Also, it is no longer a modern chateau but rather the garages are the only modern additions to such an old mansion. It is now known as the Normandy Chateausque Mansion; I tried to find an easy enough French name for it.

The logic behind this many double beds was I had originally planned, even with the old mansion layout, to make this a full house for the maximum of eight Sims. It will also provide more than enough room for whatever pets like human beds and visitors who want to spend the night. Each bedroom has their own bathroom; the remaining square rooms are for whatever they can be used for to suit the household and guests. Like with my previous Benson Manor project, I sectioned off the downstairs bathroom into three enclosures. Reason for the grimy walls is to show the mansion's actual aging, like it just hasn't been tended to in years.

The room next to the kitchen is supposed to be some kind of a dance floor. Something fun for Sims to do as they party, and then they will enjoy a more peaceful time in front of the fireplace.

I have realized after constructing this entire mansion and laying down furniture, however, is how small the dining room is for such a large family. I previously had one table with four chairs. Typical setup. Afterward, I tried to salvage as much room as I can in the dining room by being able to place three tables and six chairs, which is still not enough for a family of eight. I suppose if the Sims would be smart enough to walk outside to the back porch and eat where there is plenty of room, then I made the dining room ugly for nothing.

Suggestion: Switch the dining room and the dance room, which is plenty big enough for big tables and moreover in a better position for actual use, relative to the stove. You can even steal some space from the kitchen and hallway to make the dance room bigger, if you like. That kitchen could be shorter by the width of the hallway and not even lose any counter space.

Or - this actually makes more sense in terms of historic usage - make the dance room the dining room, the big room with the fireplace a ballroom, and the dining room a den/sitting room. It's far cozier and more private for that purpose than the fireplace room, and it's a logical place for the household offices, where the butler used to keep accounts and strain wine and do all the organizational stuff butlers did.

I think you'll find it plays better that way, too.

I tried out your second suggestion and also renovated the kitchen to make it a little smaller.

The rooms do look much improved this way, and there's enough room in the new dining room for ten people. I did have to shrink the balcony over the new ballroom to make it a tad larger, so the modular staircase right next to the mezzanine might look a little strange. The new den is what I am most impressed with.

And I did add the railings next to the staircase before someone gripes at me about it. I simply forgot them in the last shots. :p