Feedback (wish?) for lots
Hello, first of all, i'd like to apologize for my english, is not my first language, so forgive me. I play the sims from the day one, and, i don't mean the sims 4, but, the entire saga, i pratically...
Forum Discussion
If EA expanded on the lot types then there would be so many more possibilities, but right now the lot type restrictions limit the sort of combinations that players can make. As an example, I once tried to make a big multi-purpose lot but most of what I added got ignored by inactive sims since the objects didn't fit into the lot type I had selected. I wanted the main function to be a gym while also having a place for my sim to live, plus a club type area where sims could relax after their workouts or possibly just go straight there instead of doing anything with the gym side. Since I made the lot type a gym, almost every object for the club side was ignored. If I tried setting the lot type to something like a nightclub, bar or lounge then the gym side was ignored.
So here's my idea that will make multi-purpose lots possible, simply allow for multiple lot types to be selected. Obviously having too many could break things, especially seeing as how EA can struggle at times with basic concepts lol, but I'd say no more than 4 lot types at once which could potentially produce something like the example that @kaze_____90 gave. Heck even just 2 lot types at once could be nice.
EA_Solaire
Community Manager
Community ManagerHey there @kaze_____90,
Super great suggestion, thanks for taking your time to write this up!
Building is my favorite part of The Sims, and I personally have always wanted an All-in-One type of lot like this so we could create our own little mini-communities. I'll be sure to get this feedback sent on up! 🙂
Yeah, I "cheat" the system sometimes. I have "businesses" that I don't open that are my conservationist's home base for work, and our off-site collectable storage (my game got pretty laggy with everything on lot), etc. I've also had a family "living" over a vet clinic, their official residential lot is a tiny house but they don't actually go there and eat and sleep over the vet clinic. You just have to bring the kids there after school with the little lightning arrows, bring the spouse home after work with the lightning arrows, etc. (The advantage of this is that they have a designated "tot training tiny lot." I find toddlers stressful and love giving them tiny home benefits to skill them up faster!)
I also often don't move in Realm of Magic sages if my Sims marry them and instead have them move in as "roommates" so as not to break them. I've also seen people on YouTube, etc., build "apartments" or "duplexes" and use the roommate system to fill the other units and just lock the doors accordingly.
That said, you can live over a business/restaurant/cafe/vet clinic by owning an empty lot that's your "residential lot," but you can't have roommates on a non-residential lot.
In short: seconding the request for a "mixed use" lot where I can have a cafe/bakery/vet, live over it, and maybe even have a roommate!
I agree with you. For example I've just tried to make University dorms more interesting and the lot requirements were so restrictive I couldn't do anything I wanted to do so I get exactly what you mean. It would be great to be able to have multi use lots especially because it's not an open world it's a pain having to travel just to go into every single lot. The Generic option for lots hasn't worked well in my game as NPC Sims won't go there and I don't know why but they remain deserted if I've designated it as a Generic lot.
There are so many rules and restrictions. I don't know if it's the same on PC (probably not) but I'm on console.
In the university dorms I wanted to add a nice big kitchen and vending machines, entertainment area plus living quarters in the dorms but one dorm couldn't be edited and the one that I did edit just caused confusion for the NPC Sims for some reason. The same thing happened when I built an ice rink with a cafe area and a bowling rink with a bar and entertainment area, NPC Sims won't use it for some weird reason.
I have made some lots that combine stores and living areas plus craft spaces though and they've worked. I add an apartment or if there is space, a little house next to it. I've also made a large library/internet cafe with an outdoor art space. I've tried to add a vet's office to a ranch with a dog rescue shelter and training area and that only half worked. The vet office was deserted.
One lot that is ideal is in Island Living. There is one right above the road at the top left of the screen. It's big enough to add a retail store and a house with a garden and pool. I've called my store The Cavern and used the Island Living rock wall styles and stone flooring on an underground store. I've fenced off the house and locked the gate and had no problems with shoppers getting into the house. So it's a weekend retreat for my Sim family as well as a retail store.
The front street in Willow Creek is another good space to redevelop with retail lots with living spaces added. I've added an art gallery with a retail space plus small cottage on a larger lot there and it worked.
Oh, man, so, I've never lived in the dorms before and was going to try it (I've moved all my uni-aged Sims into a household together and will have them apply and attend and live in university housing together when their rotational time comes), and I was thinking that Zoomer's was going to be a blessing, but I never even THOUGHT of the Snowy Escape vending machines! That's GENIUS!
(And yes, on PC the dorms don't allow stoves unless you mod or cheat. I was going to have my culinary student make a lot of garden salad/caprese salad/sushi in the housing that has a kitchenette. I hear that's super-weird in other countries but in the US dorms are very "YOU MAY NOT COOK YOU'LL BURN DOWN THE DORM!!!" and people do things like make ramen noodles in the coffee maker, LOL.)
I have a couple of generic lots. One is a graveyard. As near as I can tell the generic lot type is "this isn't residential; please don't move a Sim in here, it's supposed to be public but you don't officially have this lot type..." as one got set residential accidentally and the game moved a Sim in as if it was a house despite it not having any of the things a Sim would need to live there (like, no bed, no kitchen...). Neither of them is really intended to have a lot of visitors so it works, but I think the game just doesn't know what kind of visitors would be appropriate and so just doesn't spawn any?
Er. I'm using a mod on the graveyard lot that does spawn mourners and I also gave it the spooky lot challenge in hopes that ghosts would spawn, but it would work as a graveyard without mourners without it. I've also seen people make their graveyards museums or parks to get around the "no Sims spawn" thing (fake tombstones count as sculptures so if you add some portraits and water damage to your mausoleum section that should do it); LilSimsie's graveyard on the gallery is a museum.
But I digress.
Yes, some larger lots would easily fit "multi use" type buildings. A lot of Sims worlds are very US suburban-feeling, but US cities like New York and European cities often have a shop/restaurant/cafe with apartments upstairs, or whatever.
