☆☆ Sims 4 Quality Control Practice Challenges ☆☆

QC Competition Guide
Welcome to the QC Competition Guide, we hope this guide is helpful for you to understand what the judges look for when judging your entries. We find a lot of new people that enter competitions really don't know whats expected of them and it can make them quite nervous. So hopefully this will answer most questions you may have, but please don't hesitate to message or post any questions you may have to any of the judges.
I can pretty much guarantee if you study this guide and do the best you can to make sure your build is free of errors and such you will be winning some challenges. It is very rare we come across entries that have no issues.

The main thing to remember is that even though this challenges are competitions, winning is not everything. Remember winning or placing can be the difference of 1 point which is absolutely nothing on the scale of things when working with an overall score of 100 per judge for building comps. So even if you don't win it does not mean your build/entry is not absolutely spectacular.
In all my time of judging I can be 100% honest when I say I have not come across any entry that I have not liked. They are all amazing and even if you are having trouble with placement or any area doesn't mean its amazing.
We hope for people to have fun if your not enjoying it there is no point doing it. Our aim for the challenges is to help people improve, push them out of their comfort zone to try new things with building and to meet new people on the forums who are addicted to sims like most of us. Winning would be on the bottom of the list.

Judging
Since the QC comps started we have some amazing people to join the judging panel, we don't always agree and have the same likes and dislikes when it comes to builds which I feel makes the judging more fair. We do however try to keep personal preferences out of our scoring, I am always saying just because we may not like a style or color scheme doesn't mean it is not great.
We do however look for styles and color schemes to flow through out the build, so it doesn't matter if your style is to build with bright colors or nice earthy tones as long as it flows nicely you wont be punished with scores for your own personal tastes.

Challenge Requirements:
Make sure you double check all the challenge requirements as there is large penalities for missing them. If you have the wrong lot size or not within the budget requirements you will not be eligible to win or place in that particular challenge

Necessities
These are items that sims need to live day to day, you will lose points if you are missing any of these necessities. Some maybe cosmetic but really who can live without toilet paper?

ROOMS

• Bedrooms - bed, dresser
  
• Bathrooms - sink, shower or bath, toilet, toilet paper, towel rack
  
• Lounge - lounge chairs
  
• Kitchen - oven, sink, fridge, bin, empty counter space (at least 1)
  
• Dining room - table and chairs
  
• Study - desk, chair, bookcase
  

Please be aware that pools placed in rooms or using the fountain tool will not upload with your room, so they can not be judged.

Overall Lot entry necessities
Houses must have at least 1 bathroom, 1 bedroom, kitchen/dining and lounge. Rest is optional
A mailbox in a suitable position
At least 1 bin on the lot (indoor or outdoor)
If there is a fireplace on the lot make sure there is a chimney

Room challenges
Standard room challenges should easily be attached to a building or house with windows not being used on the same wall as entrance doorways. Also avoid putting windows on all walls making it difficult to attach to a house or building.

Placement
We are very picky with placement when judging as the name says its Quality so we want to see things looking realistic as possible, though we don't expect everyone to be perfect even us judges make mistakes. Basically any solid item should not be sticking into another solid object.
We do encourage creativity though so if you are creating something new by combining two objects that is fine as long as its done right and looks like it belongs together.

There is not a straight line of things we will pick on and things we wont as it does vary from challenge to challenge.
An example where the rules might bend a little is if you have built a house say to look like its in the mountains and you oversize rocks and stick them through walls to make the walls look like its made of those rocks. We wouldn't critique that as long as you have done your best to make it look natural.
On the other hand if you were to just place a rock near a wall and it was sticking in we would probably take points off for that. Its not always easy to avoid it when creating things to look natural and you wont be penalised for that, like making a natural pond with rocks surrounding it wont be marked down.

Each placement error found will lose one point off your scores to a maximum of 15 points for the build challenges and a maximum of 10 points for the room challenges. Individual judges may score lower on your overall score if placement errors have exceeded those amounts

While judging once a judge has found 15 errors they will stop looking for them or listing them and we will let you know in the feedback that there was more but they may not be listed individually.
Trust me when I say the points add up and can be the only thing preventing you from a win, its a shame when an amazing build doesn't win because of placement errors that can be avoided easily.

A list of some common placement issues we find are:

• Landscaping plants and flowers sticking into walls of buildings
  
• Rocks sticking into walls or outdoor lighting
  
• Plants/flowers sticking out of solid rocks (not realistic)
  
• Plant pots inside rooms sticking into walls
  
• Curtains sticking into any items placed near them
  
• Rugs placed under solid objects like walls, counters, showers, baths, toilets ect....

Play ability
We suggest that everyone play test their builds with a sim to make sure all usable items can be used, it is very common especially when using moveobjects cheat that items can prevent another item to be used. Sometimes it doesn't even look like its in the way but maybe blocking it's required area to be used.
Trust me when we say we understand play testing is boring, I myself dislike play testing my own builds but find it doesn't bother me when judging other peoples.
A tip from me is build your lots with an active sim on the lot then you can flick over to play and test during building, I normally do this when I have finished with a room. It saves you having to do the whole build at the end.
Some play ability issues we commonly find is:

• An unusable mirror, remember sims use them for charisma skill so we do like to see them usable. Though depending on the challenge and if its used to create something new we don't always stick to this rule.
  
• Chairs, we have found some that cant be sat on from either items to close blocking or not placed correctly at a table (make sure they snap in to the table so both can be picked up together)
  
• Another common issue is stairs not being able to be used because something is placed on the wall next to them preventing access, this will make your whole upper floor unplayable and will lose you quite a bit of points. We suggest while sim testing to make sure sims can enter all rooms.
  

Another huge issue we find is items dropping when moveobjects cheat has been used and items have been raised off the ground. If you have done this please save your build to your library, bulldoze the lot and replace your build. Check to see if anything has dropped out of place, it can cause quite a lot of issues with other items being usable.
I suggest if you do raise items like this to check out the Decorations by using basement spaces linked below in the Tips and Tricks list

Creativity
When we changed the judging breakup with scores we added the creativity score, out of 15 for build challenges and 10 for the room challenges. What this means is we want to see your unique touch, what sets your entry apart from everyone elses.
Creativity comes in all different ways such as:
Design - shape and architecture of your builds, obviously you will get a higher score for experimenting with shapes than doing a plain square shape.
Creative decorating - we love seeing unique creations, feature walls, combining several objects to decorate or to create something new. Make sure you take care when doing this as it needs to look like the objects belong together and not just stuck together in a messy fashion.

Even though each challenge has a requirements list try to add more, make it your own, make it unique. It will help your creativity scores adding more than whats required.
For example we may do a park challenge asking for a play ground, a bbq area and some toilets. That's pretty easy to do right? But what will set it apart from the rest. How about including a gazebo for chess players or easels for painters, or maybe even a nice natural looking pond with a fishing sign for people to fish. The options are endless just push your creativity to the limits you may surprise yourself what you come up with.

Interiors and Exteriors
Make sure your styles and color schemes flow, you don't want to have one room looking modern and another room using antique items. Your rooms don't have to be all the same color but just make sure it flows through out the house, try not to have one room all done in purple then another in blue and a third in red. A trick to making them flow is say you have a nice purple and white lounge but you would like to do a yellow bedroom or study, decorate it with some touches of purple in the bedroom or some yellow touches in the lounge.
Breaking up walls especially with the exterior with more than one wall covering really gives the builds more character, they can look quite boring all the same color and texture.

Another area we really look for is bareness, anyone can make a room and put the bare essentials in and there is probably another 1000 rooms exactly like it. Decorating and filling bare areas gives your room or build its uniqueness. This includes landscaping, exterior walls even roofing. So try not to leave big bare areas or bare walls.
I always say when you think you are finished your build go back and spend some more on decorating. I zoom out at the end and go through every level and look for bare spots and bare walls, also is a good time to check placement and see if you notice anything sticking into other things.

Lighting is another area included in the interiors and exterior, we always check the overall night view of the exterior, make sure to add exterior lights to the exterior walls and some garden lights through your landscaping. It can really bring builds alive and give an amazing night view.
On the interiors make sure rooms are well lit, I have hardly ever found a room that doesn't have a ceiling light bright enough. Set your game at night time and view the rooms to look for dark spots.
Lights also double as some great decoration especially on exteriors, but even on the inside a nice table lamp or standing lamp can add that little bit extra decoration.

Clutter is another area that can really give your entry some personality and uniqueness, some people don't like using clutter because its messy but it doesn't have to be.
Its only messy if you place it messy. A tissue box placed on a table or shelves, some soap and toothbrushes in the bathroom can really help make the build look lived in but be neat.
Or maybe you have a messy teen or child that lives in one of the bedroom, clutter it up with some dirty laundry on the floor, some books lying around, toys randomly on the floor.
Also don't forget using the bb.showhiddenobjects then in the search bar type DEBUG and select the *DEBUG* will give you so many amazing clutter and decoration items.

Tips and Tricks
I will be 100% honest here, if you do not learn to use bb.moveobjects and the ALT button tip you will always have some placement issues in your builds.
For example one of the main placement issues is pot plants placed near walls, the default tile that the game places some of the pot plants on will stick leaves through the walls. You will lose points for this.
ALT button - When placing an item on the ground or walls hold down the ALT button and you will have complete freedom to place this object so you can move it away from walls or other items so they are not touching.
bb.moveobjects - Using MOO as we call it for short, hold down the SHIFT, CTRL and C buttons to open the dialogue box at the top.
Type bb.moveobjects and enter. Hold down SHIFT, CTRL and C buttons again to close dialogue box.
Now you can use the 9 key to raise items higher or the 0 button to lower them back down.
So say you want to put a shelf on the wall but its to low, turn on MOO and hit the 9 button til its in the position you want. To have compete freedom where to place it hold down the ALT button and move it where you want it.

Now to have complete freedom say to place an object on a counter or shelf that the game doesn't allow you to place there. Turn on MOO and raise the item to the level of the counter or shelf using the 9 button. Make it high enough so that it's at the level it looks like it is sitting on top of the counter or shelf.
Once you have it at the right height hold down the ALT button and move it into the position you want on that shelf or counter.

Enlarging objects - this is a great tool to make items look more realistic, or simply for something different. I love enlarging plants and flowers to add a different look to landscaping. To do this pick up the item you want to enlarge then press the SHIFT button and ] button. The more times you press ] the larger the item will get. To shrink the object back down press the .

Be careful using MOO as it can create more placement issues as you will now be able to place any object on top of or in, sticking in or sticking through any other object.

We encourage everyone entering the competitions to learn to use these tricks as it will improve your placement and allow you to be even more creative.
All the judges and myself are more than happy to help you so please feel free to ask.

Attention to all areas
Another issue we sometimes come across is sometimes people pay more attention to say interiors and the building itself but put hardly any effort into landscaping. We judge all areas and check them thoroughly. So make sure you give as much attention to landscaping, roofing, exterior walls, interior walls, decoration everywhere, clutter and so on.
Usually this maybe because someone is not as confident in one area than another and that is fine the main thing is that you at least attempt it than leave the area bare. The practice challenges can definitely help on your weaker areas.

One last piece of advice, I would suggest making a check list that you can over view once you finish your build.
It will help you to make sure you don't forget things
An example of a check list could be something like this

Check List:
Mailbox in suitable postition
Bin on the lot
No bare spaces or bare walls
All necessities on lot
Check night view (no dark areas)
Interior lighting (no dark areas)
Everything usable
No placement issues

You could expand your list to include items such as
Landscaping is well decorated
Exterior walls of build decorated well (no bare spots)
Interior style flows
Color scheme flows

Your list can be as big or as small that suits your individual needs.

I hope this gives you more of an insight to how to win the competitions and improve the quality of your builds, please feel free to ask any questions or help at any time from the judges

Hi everyone,
as some of you may know I sometimes message people, mainly novices or intermediates that have been entering for a while but we feel could do with a bit of help improving in the areas that maybe holding them back from winning some challenges or more challenges.
We will be playing around with some shells with decorating and clutter filling, making sure that there are no bare areas and making the most of budgets.

I am happy for anyone else to join in with this not just to learn but to teach also because I know I don't know everything so feel free to follow on and decorate the shells also and post pics.
This is not a challenge its just for us to learn and give tips to each other to improve. So there is no winners or prizes just learning and tips.

The other advantage of joining in is you will get a bit more of an insight into what we look for while judging.

Also anyone participating that has uploaded their creation please add #QCpractice to your upload

Please copy and paste this form and fill it out and add it to your post with each challenge part
ENTRY FORM
Origin ID:
Challenge/Part no:
Lot name and town that you built on:
Would you like feedback (must supply gallery link if yes):
Gallery Link:
Pictures: As many as you like

(Let me know if you would like your feedback to be private and mailed to you otherwise it will be posted on the thread).
Also make sure if you request feedback that you include a gallery link.
Check out this forum thread for maps of town names for the Original Lots used: Maps of The Sims 4

All challenges can be done at any time as there is no time frame, older challenges can be found in the post below

No current challenge but if you have not already completed any of the practice challenges please check out the post below and try out some of the old challenges.

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Always save your build to the library, bulldoze the lot and replace your build to see if anything disappears or moves.

https://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.png

TIPS:
Get creative, try create out of the box decoration that gives your house personality and different from a normal plain house with the basics.
One thing we find is when using standing plant pots that most of them if placed on the tile the game places it next to a wall more often than not it will be sticking through the wall so hold the CTRL button down on your keyboard and move the item slightly away.
Cheat bb.moveobjects aka moo is great tool for decorating and placing items on shelves, or making things look more creative.
Always PLAY TEST everything, especially if you are using Moo make sure everything that can be used is able to be used. Make sure to double check that nothing is sticking into other things, hold down the Control key on your keyboard to move items away slightly to a better position to prevent this.
When you think you are finished go back and decorate some more lol.

When your finished zoom your camera out and look for bare areas that could be filled, this also means bare walls and overly empty spaces.
You don't have to over decorate but you don't want big empty gaps
Try not to rush as that usually leads to finding placement and play issues.

Always save your build to the library, bulldoze the lot and replace your build to see if anything disappears or moves.
There is nothing more annoying that downloading a beautiful house from the gallery to find that hardly anything can be used.

https://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.png

Feel free to do any of the older challenges at any time and if you would like feedback just let me know



So we are starting off small with a 30x20 lot
Download shell here

Firstly we are doing the landscaping as it was my weakest part of creating and steskens would like to learn more with it to.
Dont touch the shell exterior or inside yet we will get to that later.
Feel free to post pics once your done and if you would like some feedback just let me know happy to download and check out in game and give advice. Also would love some more experienced creators to have a go and post pictures with tips to help our less experienced builders.

Part 1: Landscaping
So requirements will be to have:
1. Terrain paint pathing leading to the front door from the street and from the front of the house around to the back off the house (you can go around either side of the house.
2. Some garden beds, up against the front of the house, side of the house and rear of the house and some in the yard itself (anywhere you like). Garden beds can include things like rocks, flowers and shrubs ect....
3. A small water feature in the front yard, made with either fountain tool or pool tool, try make it look natural by lining it with plants, flowers and rocks and I suggest to help with the natural look dont make it square. You can decorate with fountains or lilies or anything you can think of.
4. In the backyard - Outdoor seating and bbq area, so make sure you have a bbq and table and chairs
5. In the backyard - a small veggie garden

Ok remember these are all about decorating and using clutter, so do your best to try be creative and feel free to ask advice anytime.

Dont touch the exterior of the house or inside yet just concentrate on the landscaping and things above, I will do the same and will post pics.

There is no budget for these so let your imagination go wild, the goal is to decorate.
Tips:
Make sure to double check that nothing is sticking into other things, hold down the Control key on your keyboard to move items away slightly to a better position to prevent this.
Also using the bb.moveobjects cheat will help with this
Landscaping does not have to be perfect, sometimes being messy with flowers and such can give a more natural and real look.

Feel free anyone to add more helpful tips on this subject

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Part 2: House Exterior and Roofing
Download shell here or continue on with the your shell from part 1

Ok so now we can work on the roofing and the exterior of the house
1. For the roofing itself I would like everyone to use at least 3 pieces of roofing but you can use as many as you like.
2. Use some kind of roofing trim
2. Exterior of house use at least 2 different wall coverings (this helps to break up the look and give it more texture)
3. Use some wall decorations or planter pots on windows
4. Use more than 1 type of window

Tips:
Dont be afraid to use items to decorate your roofing to suit your theme, using debug items on shops like an oversized coffee cup for a coffee shop. Also make sure to remember to use a chimney of some sort if you have placed a fireplace on your lot.
Another style to give more life to your roofing is to build a roof top garden or put a swimming pool on your roof.

Anyone that is wanting some in depth feedback please ask or message me and I am happy to download your lot and discuss it with you.
Also again for those more experienced builders please have a go, show pics and share your tips.

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Part 3: Interior design
Download shell here or continue on with the shell from parts 1 & 2.

Ok so time to give that house some inside life, so this is all about decorating for now so please don't add any walls try and use what is in the shell.
One thing we all need in our life is a bit of clutter hehe.
My first tip for any interior is Decorate! Decorate! Decorate!

So you need to decide on your style/theme you are going for and try keeping within that style/theme through out the house so that it flows nicely.
Also you need to decide who you are building for, is a family going to live here with kids? Is it for a bachelor or bachelorette? Maybe a young married couple? What about housemates?

So with your post please include what style/theme you went with and also who you decorated it for (how many sims and what ages/sexes are they?)

So the requirements for this part of the challenge is:
1. 2 bedrooms (state who they are for)
2. shared bathroom
3. kitchen
4. dining area
5. living room
6. study nook

Make sure you concentrate on these areas:

What we want to see in this challenge is the use of clutter to give this house some personality and a lived in feel to it. bb.showhiddenobjects and debug items are your friends.
Fill bare areas

Required items
1. Clutter
2. at least 2 different floor coverings in the open living/kitchen area
3. at least 2 different wall coverings used in the open living/kitchen area
4. wall decoration of any kind
5. some pot plants/flowers used

Make sure the house has all the necessities needed to live day to day.

TIPS:
Get creative, try create out of the box decoration that gives your house personality and different from a normal plain house with the basics.
One thing we find is when using standing plant pots that most of them if placed on the tile the game places it next to a wall more often than not it will be sticking through the wall so hold the CTRL button down on your keyboard and move the item slightly away.
Cheat bb.moveobjects aka moo is great tool for decorating and placing items on shelves, or making things look more creative.
Always PLAY TEST everything, especially if you are using Moo make sure everything that can be used is able to be used.
When you think you are finished go back and decorate some more lol.

When your finished zoom your camera out and look for bare areas that could be filled, this also means bare walls.
You dont have to over decorate but you don't want big empty gaps
Try not to rush as that usually leads to finding placement and play issues.

Your House should now be complete, make sure you sim test finished houses as decorating and moving things around can sometimes affect other items and make them unusable.
There is nothing more annoying that downloading a beautiful house from the gallery to find that hardly anything can be used.

https://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.png



We will be working on a 30x20 lot again but we will attempt a few different things.
Download shell here Shell has been supplied by the lovely @crysk

Firstly we are doing the landscaping.
Dont touch the shell exterior or inside yet we will get to that later.
Feel free to post pics once your done and if you would like some feedback just let me know happy to download and check out in game and give advice. Also would love some more experienced creators to have a go and post pictures with tips to help our less experienced builders.

Part 1: Landscaping
So requirements will be to have:
1. A pool (not square) with some kind of feature decoration, such as you could leave sections of land in the centre and make a centre piece decoration with plants or fountains. Or decorate the pool to look more natural like the natural pond from challenge 1. Or decorate the back side of the pool with statues, flowers or fountains.
2. We would like to see at least 3 different terrain paints used in the landscaping, can be used for pathing or creative paint used to make the flower beds and gardens more natural.
3. Add another area for sims to use, it is up to you what it is. It can be a bbq area, a kids play area, a veggie garden, a activities area with such things like chess and easel or anything you can think up just be creative and try think up something that sets your practice build apart from the others
Ok remember these are all about decorating and using clutter, so do your best to try be creative and feel free to ask advice anytime.

Dont touch the exterior (incl patio) of the house or inside yet just concentrate on the landscaping and things above, I will do the same and will post pics.

There is no budget for these so let your imagination go wild, the goal is to decorate.
Tips:
Make sure to double check that nothing is sticking into other things, hold down the Control key on your keyboard to move items away slightly to a better position to prevent this.
Also using the bb.moveobjects cheat will help with this
Landscaping does not have to be perfect, sometimes being messy with flowers and such can give a more natural and real look.

Feel free anyone to add more helpful tips on this subject

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Part 2: House Exterior, Patio and Roofing
Requirements are
1. Lattice style roofing on the patio (Lattice roofing tutorial here)
It doesn't have to be completely open we would like to see some different styles of lattice roofing as long as some of it is open.
2. At least 2 pieces of roofing
3. At least 2 different wall coverings on exterior
4. Rooftop patio usable by sims (this can either be on the 2nd floor or top roof).
5. At least 2 types of windows

So the main focus of this challenge is to learn the lattice roofing and a decorative rooftop patio. Feel free to ask any questions or for help along the way

Please attach this form when posting your challenge
Origin ID:
Challenge/Part no:
Lot name that you built on:
Would you like feedback:
Gallery Link:

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Part 3: Interior design
From time to time in challenges I see people create rooms that are just to big and they end up having trouble decorating them which leaves them looking bare, so we would like to see you create your rooms within the shell and decorate it without anything looking bare. You may decide on the type of rooms and number of bedrooms/bathrooms.
Also we are going to try some different types of decorating.
Requirements are:
1. In the kitchen we would like to see a creative counter island, decorate it so it doesn't look like a plain round island. We are looking for out of the box designs that are still functional.
2. Create your own shelving and use bb.moveobjects to put items onto the shelving. We would like to see this in the kitchen and any of the other rooms.

Tip: To do this press SHIFT, CTRL and C on your keyboard then type bb.moveobjects. Press SHIFT, CTRL and C to close box again. Place your shelving, then select the clutter item you would like to place on the shelving. Press the 9 button to raise the item from the floor to the level of your shelf, once you have the level hold down the ALT button on your keyboard and move the mouse til the item is in the spot on the shelf you would like it then press the left mouse button to place. Make sure the items are NOT sticking into other items.

3. Create some feature walls, this can be done in several ways. You can create your own bedheads decoration at the top of a bed. Decorate a feature wall in the living room around a fireplace or behind a television.

https://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.png




You be the judge!
One thing us judges all agree on is since we started judging we see things differently now when looking at builds. We are always looking for placement issues, or items that don't work because of placement.
This challenge is to try test your eyes for when you test your builds.

@pebblycat built a house but I don't think its up to the quality control standard, I keep telling her there is lots of mistakes and errors but she doesn't believe me. So I need your help, there are 20 faults with this house and we would like you to find as many as you can, hopefully all.
They range from all different types of mistakes like unusable items, to placement issues, missing things, bareness and so on.
Some are more obvious than others, can you find all the mistakes and judge pebblys house?

We have some signature banners for people who give this a go which will have the following gold stars on them.
if you find
1 gold star: 3 - 6 errors
2 gold stars: 7 - 10 errors
3 gold stars: 11 - 14 errors
4 gold stars: 15 - 18 errors
5 gold stars: 19 - 20 errors

Now the house that pebbly built is base game items only so that anyone can do this challenge whether you have any of the packs or not.

Instructions:
The lot that you will place the house on is the Daisy Hovel (30x20) in Willow Creek.
Before placing the lot press SHIFT, CTRL and C button at the same time to open the chat box on top
Type bb.moveobjects.
Also if you need more money to buy it type in the chat box the cheat: testingcheats on (enter)
Then type money 90000 (or the amount you need) hit enter.
Press SHIFT, CTRL and C button at the same time to close chat box.
Download @pebblycat's house here: QC Practice Challenge 3

Make sure you have a sim on the lot to sim test.
Find the 20 mistakes/errors but do NOT post them here as that will spoil it and make it easy for others.
Once you have found as many as you can you are to private message @pebblycat with your list to get your score and get the full list.

We will award your siggie on the thread.

I warn you though pebbly is a tough judge and shes done an impeccable job and creating this issues with her house, even myself and @lisa17ann didn't find them all hehe.

PLEASE READ: Again do NOT post your list on the thread as it will spoil it for others please message @Pebblycat privately

https://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.png



For this challenge I would like you to create your shell. Also this challenge will involve building on stilts and to work with different shapes.
We will be changing the order in the way we build this time.

To be built on 30x20 lot

Part 1: Shell and raised foundation
This challenge we are going to build on stilts, so the house itself will be built off the ground. Also I want everyone to experiment with shapes, the shell itself for the house can NOT be square. Lets create something different as I notice some people always do the same shape or always do square houses. So push yourself out of your comfort zone.

1. Create your elevated base for your house on stilts, use the patio tool to build it and create its shape, add your stairs. (Stilts should be 1x1 square wall pieces or 2x1 at most to leave plenty of room on the ground floor for decorating). Don't worry about doing fencing types or trims yet we will do that in part 2.
2. Build the shell of your house on the patio area, make sure its not plain square, we would like to see experimenting with shapes. At least 2 floors but you can go higher if you like. (I have challenged myself with 3 floors)

No decorating yet just leave your entry as the patio landing, plain fencing, stairs and your plain shell.
Once you are done if your wanting feedback please upload and post with your entry form.

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Part 2: House Exterior, Patio and Roofing

So let's up the difficulty a bit, this challenge is about pushing your limits. Try create something you haven't created before. Think up a creative theme and let us know what it is with your entry and photos. Experiment and decorate I would rather see you over decorate than have things looking bare.
Remember to be careful with placement you don't want things looking unnatural by sticking into other things

1. Creative theme and style (think outside the box rather than a normal looking house)
2. Use at least 10 pieces of roofing to create new shapes
3. Use roof and exterior trims
4. On the exterior of the house use some decoration that is not windows or lights
5. At least 2 types of windows
6. Add a balcony/patio on 2nd or third floor of house
7. Patio activities, give your sims something to do out on the balconies where they can enjoy the views.
8. Night view well lit

You may also adjust the shape and size of your stilts to match your exterior they don't have to be square as long as they don't take up to much space on the ground floor.

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Part 3: Interior design

So this challenge so far has been all about experimenting, so that's what we are going to do hehe
I would like you do experiment with some items for decoration purposes, to use two different items together to create something new. Now there is a fine line between looking like something new and decorative and looking like one item sticking into another item. The reason I say for decorative purposes is if you do this with usable items you run the risk of making them unusable and we don't want that.
1. Create some decorative pieces using more than one item together
2. At least 1 bathroom
3. At least 1 bedroom
4. Kitchen and dining (together or separated up to you)
5. Living room
6. At least one activity room of your choice (can be any type of activity as long as its a room sims can do something in)

Tips: Try to keep your overall theme of your interior the same so that it flows but you can use different wall coverings and flooring to break up solid colors. Also remember to check each room when finished for any bare areas that could be filled.
Lastly test and check everything works and that nothing is sticking into something else (thats not meant to be :) )

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Part 4: Landscaping

Detail and decoration
In this challenge we are going to really get picky with detail and decoration. Really push yourselves to dress up the ground floor of your build.
1. Pathing running around the ground floor (preferably terrain paint)
2. A center piece feature on your garden, this can be a custom fountain with decoration or a garden center piece with a statue. We would love to see detail and creativity using several items to create your center piece feature.
3. Garden lighting, impress with that night view especially since the garden is under the build it will need to be lightened up.
4. Plenty of flowers, plants, rocks or decoration. We want to see detail and effort to dress up this garden to suit the theme of your build.

Tips: Think unique, what will make your build different from the rest? Make it eye catching always zoom out and think does this look appealing.
One thing I always do is make sure the gallery picture looks appealing, though make sure your decorate all of your build not just the front view. If you are wanting downloads remember first impressions count so having beautiful unique landscaping, exterior and great gallery picture really help.

https://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.png



ROOFING CHALLENGE
A lot of people I know hate roofing, me included. It was always my weakest point but I pushed myself to do as much of it as I can to get more comfortable with it, even though I am still not an expert it did help me improve a lot.

So for this challenge you are to download the shells below:
Download --> QC Practice Ch 5

To be placed on a 30x20 lot

There is four small shells that we are just going to use to create some creative and interesting rooves. Each one is a different shape and I would like to see 4 different types of roofing.

1. Use a minimum of 3 pieces of roofing on each shell
2. Use roof trim

A tip I have learnt with rooves is the more pieces you use the more creative and detail it looks.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone and try create some roofing you have never attempted before.
I have posted my examples on the thread without using decoration but you are welcome to use some on yours.

Lets see how creative you can be with roofing
If you say yes to feedback on your form please make sure you include a gallery link so I can download and look at them in game.

https://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/8jDDqcu.png

This post here is purely so I can keep track of peoples entries (I keep losing them in the thread hehe), also so I can keep track of who has had feedback done already.

Feel free to look through them as they have tons of great ideas. Just click on the blue words for what you would like to view in the thread.

Challenge 1
@popettypop2012 - Part 1, 2 and 3 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶ feedback 3 ✶✶ crysk feedback ✶✶
@Liziann1 - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ feedback 1, 2 and 3
@soulfull - Part 1 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶
@Paigeotto - Part 1 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ feedback 3 ✶✶
@kimartist - Part 1 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶ Part 2 & 3 ✶✶ feedback 2 & 3 ✶✶
@arintia - All parts ✶✶ feedback all parts ✶✶
@Alli-beagle - All parts ✶✶ feedback all parts ✶✶
@coolsim9999999 - All parts ✶✶ feedback all parts ✶✶

Challenge 2
@Cbear13 - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ Part 4 ✶✶
@crysk - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶
@lisa17ann - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶
@Artemis_Dreamer - Part 1 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶ crysk feedback 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶
@chips46 - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶ Part 3
@emere - Part 1 and feedback 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ feedback 3 ✶✶
@VioletRed - Part 1 and feedback 1. Also crysk feedback ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 and feedback 2 and 3 ✶✶
@Amiejaidenalbie_1988 - Part 1 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶ crysk feedback 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶ crysk feedback 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ feedback 3 ✶✶
@steskens - Part 1 and feedback 1. Also crysk feedback ✶✶ Part 2 and feedback 2
@popettypop2012 - Part 1, 2 and 3 ✶✶ feedback 1, 2 and 3 ✶✶
@Pwhiskers - Part 1 and feedback 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶
@Xenami - Part 1, 2 and 3 and feedback 1, 2 and 3 ✶✶
@Paigeotto - Part 1 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ feedback 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ feedback 3 ✶✶
@coolsim9999999 - All parts ✶✶ feedback all parts ✶✶

Challenge 3
Entries were privately mailed to @Pebblycat

Challenge 4
@Cbear13 - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶
@Xenami - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶
@Amiejaidenalbie_1988 - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Feedback 1 & 2 ✶✶
@Pebblycat - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶
@crysk - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶
@emere - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Feedback 1 & 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ Part 4 ✶✶ Feedback 3 & 4 ✶✶
@chips46 - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ Part 4 ✶✶ Feedback, all parts ✶✶
@lisa17ann - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶ Part 4 ✶✶
@VioletRed - Part 1 ✶✶
@Soraya4sims - Part 1 ✶✶
@fabtiffsim - Part 1 ✶✶ Part 2 ✶✶ Part 3 ✶✶
@coolsim9999999 - Part 1 ✶✶ feedback 1 ✶✶

Challenge 5
@Cbear13 - Roofing challenge ✶✶
@VioletRed - Roofing challenge ✶✶
@lisi_ja - Roofing challenge ✶✶
@chips46 - Roofing challenge ✶✶
Challenge 5 roofing feedback for above entries

Here is @crysk practice challenge 1 - part 1

"crysk;14628653" wrote:
Like already mentioned before use the pool or fountain tool to give them a more natural form. Use plants, rocks and those newish edges to conceal the edges of the pond. Using the bubble and mist emitter thingies might add to the natural look as well. You could also use the different fountains to create small waterfalls for ponds.
The cheats bb.showhiddenobjects and bb.moveobjects are really usefull for landscaping. As well as using ALT for placing more acurately, SHIFT for placing more than one item and F5 to have items snap to the grid in smaller steps than usual.
Be carefull with terrain paint. Use the slider to make the edges more blurry. Using the smallest avaiable option allows for adding the flower paints more selectively. Mix different paints to make it look more natural.


1. Use the fishing signs (sorry my game isn't in english, so I don't know the items actual name) to add some fish to your pond. Since the fish do appear a bit behind the actual sign you might want to keep checking in live mode where they actually do appear. The pond needs to be large enough for this or you might have some fish jumping out of the ground outside the pond, which would look plainly weird. If you have enough space besides the pool it will even be useable. I didn't have enough space here to place the sign so it could be used. You might cover them up with a rock or plant in that case.
2. Use items from the debug menu to add more variety, here it is that log Sims sometimes catch while fishing, as well as some twigs. Also if you try to build a starter home and want a pond you might want to use one of the debug ponds (costs nothing and your Sim can fish without leaving home).
3. Even with the more natural edges for ponds and pools it does seem a bit weird to have a sharp edge like that. So cover it with some terrain paint like in 4.
http://i.imgur.com/IipdV4m.jpg

5. To give the pond a more natural look use the different water colors.
6. Another way of creating a more natural look is using natural wall paint and floors. By the way you can use roof paints in rooms as well to use them as flooring.
7. There are two plants your sims are able to swim through, you find them in the pool section. Of course you may add other water plants as well or elevate rocks, but keep in mind your Sims wont swim through them, only around them.
8. Keep an opening for your Sims to leave and enter the pond, if you use the pool tool.
http://i.imgur.com/IyJ0sOD.jpg

9. Use basement space to create new plants. For smaller items you might want to add some light in the basement or they will look dark. I noticed that you can't light up all plants.Her I used indoor plants from the deco section, you could also place a tree in there to make it shorter. Another good part of using basement space is, that your Sims can walk through the shrubs you create, though it might look a bit odd if they walked through a tree trunk :wink:
Enlarging objects is also a great way to clutter up some space without using too much cash.
10. I used moo here to create a different counter space. Since placing the edge counter in the main counter make the main one unusable for your Sims I cluttered it up with some items. In general you could use moo to fuse objects and create something new.
http://i.imgur.com/tEWClnF.jpg

11. You do not need to buy planters for your harvestable plants. You can create your own planters with terrain paint and walkover fences.
12. harvestable plants may be used for landscaping as well. Just make sure to place them in a way your Sim can reach them.
http://i.imgur.com/ea6xHjC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SuKpQfZ.jpg


Now did I forget anything *ponders* Ohhh right if you use so many plants as I did for my Oneiro Therines Nyktos, make sure to test the paths you created. I had to change plants there more than once in order to have the Sims walk on the paths.

Here is @crysk practice challenge 1 - part 2

"crysk;14658916" wrote:
hmmmm I once again noticed that I suck at roofing :cold_sweat:
these are the two versions I'm most satisfied with

http://i.imgur.com/LowY2wr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HRdbRNm.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1y3tkoh.jpg

Here is @steskens
Practice challenge 1 - Parts 1 & 2

"steskens;14658808" wrote:
Practice Challenge
Part 2: House Exterior and Roofing

I used 4 separate pieces of roofing

https://thesims.com/en_GB/gallery/8EC337D3EC2B11E58B67084593B40FFF?category=all&searchtype=ea_origin_id&sortby=newest&time=all&searchquery=steskens&max=50&maxis=false

Still not satisfied with part 1, but here's my part 2. About the windows; I normally put those after I made the interior so maybe I replace them when starting with interior part :sweat_smile: *
http://i.imgur.com/fyTR1Nl.png

*Please use MoveObjects, Showhidden and IgnoreGameplay