So, I'm not much of a builder. But I decided to give it a go in the spirit of the Tiny Living contest. (Really not expecting to win or anything, just for fun. I'm way too amateur, lol.) I figured I'd make it a little easier by limiting myself to base game items and making it a starter build with no cheats, no MOO, just simplicity.Well. First off, it would seem that there are some categories in build mode that won't let you select "base game", so I had to ignore everything with an icon in the corner and try to work around it. In the end, I wound up with four different pack items in there somewhere that I couldn't find, so I deactivated those packs in Origin, tweaked the build, and uploaded it. Turns out, the price of the lot was off too, once you place it down, so it just went over the starter price. Gaa!I was going to leave it be, but it bothered me, because I had written in the description that it was a starter. So I decided to tweak it further. I figured that while I was in there, I'd make it a 100 tile lot, like the challenge in the pack. So I deleted the porches and made a couple little finishing touches, tested the build, it stayed within starter price, so I uploaded it. Now it's showing that I used something from Outdoor Retreat! I'm about to send a Sim to set this place on fire, lol. You'd think that I'd just give up by now. But it's going to bother me. So off I go to try to pick out that OR item and send it to the Abyss. I feel bad for the Gurus for being spammed by the hashtag and downloading all of the lots to look at. They're going to be like, "this one again?? *eye roll*. If anyone sees @SimGuruNinja , send him my apologies, lol.

"LiELF;d-971245" wrote:So, I'm not much of a builder. But I decided to give it a go in the spirit of the Tiny Living contest. (Really not expecting to win or anything, just for fun. I'm way too amateur, lol.) I figured I'd make it a little easier by limiting myself to base game items and making it a starter build with no cheats, no MOO, just simplicity.Well. First off, it would seem that there are some categories in build mode that won't let you select "base game", so I had to ignore everything with an icon in the corner and try to work around it. In the end, I wound up with four different pack items in there somewhere that I couldn't find, so I deactivated those packs in Origin, tweaked the build, and uploaded it. Turns out, the price of the lot was off too, once you place it down, so it just went over the starter price. Gaa!I was going to leave it be, but it bothered me, because I had written in the description that it was a starter. So I decided to tweak it further. I figured that while I was in there, I'd make it a 100 tile lot, like the challenge in the pack. So I deleted the porches and made a couple little finishing touches, tested the build, it stayed within starter price, so I uploaded it. Now it's showing that I used something from Outdoor Retreat! I'm about to send a Sim to set this place on fire, lol. You'd think that I'd just give up by now. But it's going to bother me. So off I go to try to pick out that OR item and send it to the Abyss. I feel bad for the Gurus for being spammed by the hashtag and downloading all of the lots to look at. They're going to be like, "this one again?? *eye roll*. If anyone sees @SimGuruNinja , send him my apologies, lol. I don't know why ... but somehow ... I think he knows. :DAnd also, building IS hard. It does not come naturally to me at all. But once in a blue moon, when inspiration hits me, I like to believe that I produce something half decent that others will enjoy in their game. That being said, I am sure your build turned out great, you obviously put a lot of thought into it. Good luck with the contest!

"Netzspannung;c-17367784" wrote:"LiELF;d-971245" wrote:So, I'm not much of a builder. But I decided to give it a go in the spirit of the Tiny Living contest. (Really not expecting to win or anything, just for fun. I'm way too amateur, lol.) I figured I'd make it a little easier by limiting myself to base game items and making it a starter build with no cheats, no MOO, just simplicity.Well. First off, it would seem that there are some categories in build mode that won't let you select "base game", so I had to ignore everything with an icon in the corner and try to work around it. In the end, I wound up with four different pack items in there somewhere that I couldn't find, so I deactivated those packs in Origin, tweaked the build, and uploaded it. Turns out, the price of the lot was off too, once you place it down, so it just went over the starter price. Gaa!I was going to leave it be, but it bothered me, because I had written in the description that it was a starter. So I decided to tweak it further. I figured that while I was in there, I'd make it a 100 tile lot, like the challenge in the pack. So I deleted the porches and made a couple little finishing touches, tested the build, it stayed within starter price, so I uploaded it. Now it's showing that I used something from Outdoor Retreat! I'm about to send a Sim to set this place on fire, lol. You'd think that I'd just give up by now. But it's going to bother me. So off I go to try to pick out that OR item and send it to the Abyss. I feel bad for the Gurus for being spammed by the hashtag and downloading all of the lots to look at. They're going to be like, "this one again?? *eye roll*. If anyone sees @SimGuruNinja , send him my apologies, lol. I don't know why ... but somehow ... I think he knows. :DAnd also, building IS hard. It does not come naturally to me at all. But once in a blue moon, when inspiration hits me, I like to believe that I produce something half decent that others will enjoy in their game. That being said, I am sure your build turned out great, you obviously put a lot of thought into it. Good luck with the contest!Thanks! I've just been meaning to try my hand at building because there is so much neat stuff in build/buy. I actually really got into it! But I don't know if it's something I'd do regularly, I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of options (which is why I decided to do a limited build) and that one little simple house took me about nine hours of indecision, lol. I think I'm going to end up changing this little house again with pack items for my own use. Or maybe I'll just try another one when I have time. I've always had respect for builders but oh, they are truly exalted in their talents! <3 Can't wait to see the awesome builds on the livestream! (Watching later in the day, after work.)

I’m not good at building either, especially small houses. But I did mange to build a nice house. I think I called it «Tiny starter house», but it costs maybe 3-4 times as much as a standard starter house.But it was fun, even If I don’t win.I didn’t limit myself to only basegame items, but I did try to make things match, like windows & doors matching, interior matching etc. It’s hard and frustrating when not everything has the same colour options, even within the same pack.

"xMarianx;c-17367835" wrote:I’m not good at building either, especially small houses. But I did mange to build a nice house. I think I called it «Tiny starter house», but it costs maybe 3-4 times as much as a standard starter house.But it was fun, even If I don’t win.I didn’t limit myself to only basegame items, but I did try to make things match, like windows & doors matching, interior matching etc. It’s hard and frustrating when not everything has the same colour options, even within the same pack.I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! It's really difficult to stay within the boundaries of a starter house. It forces you to keep it simple and there are so many fun things I came across that I really wanted to use. I think I may stick to the small lots for now until I'm more used to the build tools. This upcoming pack might actually be good for me in that regard. ?Matching doors and windows is really tricky, I agree! Along the way I had to expand to a general color scheme of about four or five colors to get any kind of balance because I actually didn't want to match everything too closely (I wanted a quirky house) but I also didn't want it to look like a color wheel vomited all over the building, lol. I probably shouldn't have limited myself to the base game because there were other styles that could have gone together better, too. I think I actually had a more difficult time with styles than colors, as far as base game is concerned. Anyway, good luck to you in the contest! Maybe for the next one we'll both be more experienced. ☺️

there is that thing in gallery that has like "show used items" though it only shows that after you've already uploaded which is pure annoyingit is very hard to make just base game house tbh when packs obviously got all kinds of cool stuff :sweat_smile: also some items steer ridiculously pricy on the catalog so you might have just used very pricy fridge or expensive railing or something of the sortalso trashbins are surprisingly expensive idk whats up with thatnot to talk of landscaping if you used someit gets easier with time reallyI used to suck at building but now I'm rather addicted with it

Omg building is hard! Lol | EA Forums

59 Replies

ChampandGirlie
New Spectator
6 years ago
Back in the day, I basically always built. My play style was to play one random family as they made progressively more money. They always moved into a ridiculous mansion that I built myself. I remember that their houses were so big that it would take forever to walk to the commute from wherever they were in the house. "Sorry boss, it takes me 45 minutes to walk from one end of my house to the other."

In this version, I switched my style to playing a lot of different households of different types. They all end up in different lots and locations. I haven't emphasized building but I'm willing to be less rusty as I have time. I tried entering this challenge. I can see if I have a photo of my result. I think I'm pretty creative aside from roofing and getting bored while decorating. I pushed through for the challenge.

Anyway, I like thinking outside of the box. Sometimes I renovate, sometimes I download and lately, I'm willing to build a bit more when I have the available lots for it. It's all a matter of what I have time for. I'm not as familiar with some of the advanced tools.

Also, my prior play style explains why I didn't get that attached to the pre-mades. I was always playing with my own sims on lots that I built. In this version, I've used more pre-existing lots and made more of a complex rotation.
fullspiral
6 years ago
"LiELF;c-17367831" wrote:
"Netzspannung;c-17367784" wrote:
"LiELF;d-971245" wrote:
So, I'm not much of a builder. But I decided to give it a go in the spirit of the Tiny Living contest. (Really not expecting to win or anything, just for fun. I'm way too amateur, lol.) I figured I'd make it a little easier by limiting myself to base game items and making it a starter build with no cheats, no MOO, just simplicity.

Well. First off, it would seem that there are some categories in build mode that won't let you select "base game", so I had to ignore everything with an icon in the corner and try to work around it. In the end, I wound up with four different pack items in there somewhere that I couldn't find, so I deactivated those packs in Origin, tweaked the build, and uploaded it. Turns out, the price of the lot was off too, once you place it down, so it just went over the starter price. Gaa!

I was going to leave it be, but it bothered me, because I had written in the description that it was a starter. So I decided to tweak it further. I figured that while I was in there, I'd make it a 100 tile lot, like the challenge in the pack. So I deleted the porches and made a couple little finishing touches, tested the build, it stayed within starter price, so I uploaded it. Now it's showing that I used something from Outdoor Retreat! I'm about to send a Sim to set this place on fire, lol.

You'd think that I'd just give up by now. But it's going to bother me. So off I go to try to pick out that OR item and send it to the Abyss. I feel bad for the Gurus for being spammed by the hashtag and downloading all of the lots to look at. They're going to be like, "this one again?? *eye roll*. If anyone sees @SimGuruNinja , send him my apologies, lol.

I don't know why ... but somehow ... I think he knows. :D

And also, building IS hard. It does not come naturally to me at all. But once in a blue moon, when inspiration hits me, I like to believe that I produce something half decent that others will enjoy in their game. That being said, I am sure your build turned out great, you obviously put a lot of thought into it. Good luck with the contest!

Thanks! I've just been meaning to try my hand at building because there is so much neat stuff in build/buy. I actually really got into it! But I don't know if it's something I'd do regularly, I'm a little overwhelmed with the amount of options (which is why I decided to do a limited build) and that one little simple house took me about nine hours of indecision, lol. I think I'm going to end up changing this little house again with pack items for my own use. Or maybe I'll just try another one when I have time.

I've always had respect for builders but oh, they are truly exalted in their talents! <3 Can't wait to see the awesome builds on the livestream! (Watching later in the day, after work.)

I enjoy building in S4. It's so much easier than in 2 or 3. And thank goodness for that! Because I make a lot of mistakes, and in the old games you had to delete and restart. With 4, you can just "fix" it!

I'm by no means a good builder, but I have a lot of fun with it and I like giving my sims homes that are tailored to them and who they are.

Just keep trying and have fun with it!
ChampandGirlie
New Spectator
6 years ago
Ok, I found screenshots. This was my tiny house. It's a yoga retreat that looks a bit like an interconnected yurt. I moved in a hippie-ish sim. I'm getting into a busy phase so eventually, I'll get around to playing it. I usually try to have different scenery and styles.

That was me trying to be less "boxy". Anyway, it's just a matter of what I have time for and concentrate on. I pushed myself in terms of playing around with the landscaping a bit. I'm not great at roofing and I'm sometimes lazy about decorating, but this one worked for me.

https://i.imgur.com/xx2Bfhc.png

https://i.imgur.com/fYYNz3L.png

https://i.imgur.com/EHK7cCV.png
OldeSimsFan
New Traveler
6 years ago
What may help is to visit your local library and go the the section where they have books on architecture. You should find all sorts of ideas and inspiration just from the photos, and there are bound to be floor plans in at least some of the books. Learn about what has already worked and go from there. Caution, this can be addicting.
LiELF
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"Admiral8Q;c-17368509" wrote:
I've looked into this. From what I see, you can select a filter for "basic game stuff only", here:

https://i.imgur.com/xS33MhG.png

(I used the lightning bolt because it's way cooler than an arrow) :)

I chose toilets. So any toilets with the blue circle icon from expansions and packs are removed and I can't build them, even accidentally.

https://i.imgur.com/Rxv5upf.png

You can chose each pack individually or in a combination. Also with or without base game stuff.
For "Get to Work", there is only 1 toilet available. For "City Living" there are 4 toilets. 5 if you select both packs. That's without the Base game selected, select that and you'll get all the base game toilets PLUS any toilets in packs you select on the filter.

https://i.imgur.com/1RcT3m5.png

Thank you, I did use the check box for base game when it appeared, it was just that for some of the build categories, there wasn't a drop down menu at all, which is weird.

I really appreciate everyone's input and encouragement (and pictures!) <3

I sort of started last year by decorating and saving a couple of rooms, one of them was part of Simarchy's Apocalypse room challenge. Starting small like that really helped me make the most use out of a small space under a topic I really liked, and allowed me to get familiar with the collections of build/buy items. I have a Witch's kitchen room that I did (pre-RoM) in someone's Salem Witch House build because the original creator of the house didn't furnish it. That was fun to decorate. I also really like to landscape-ish because there are never enough plants and trees (which I just have to have, lol) and I almost always find myself adding more and getting crazy with the greenery. It's doing the heavy work like building the shape of the house and applying roofs that I struggle with. You know, the main part, lol.

I think I'll definitely take the advice to look up some blueprints. Practicing with something to reference will help me get used to the build tools for sure. :)
JanuaryGarnet08
New Spectator
6 years ago
I started three different tiny houses for the contest and wound up bulldozing them all and rage quitting. Not because of any game flaw, but due to my own ineptitude. I’ll just stick to renovating and decorating.
LiELF
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"Pamtastic72;c-17368902" wrote:
I started three different tiny houses for the contest and wound up bulldozing them all and rage quitting. Not because of any game flaw, but due to my own ineptitude. I’ll just stick to renovating and decorating.

I totally get that feeling, lol. I mean, the one I finally managed to finish is pretty simple and a little strange. But at least I've graduated from making a box with windows, lol.
Admiral8Q
New Spectator
6 years ago
"OneAdorkableGirl;c-17368663" wrote:
I have to have spacious houses with room for Sims to do things, but not be super empty, but not cluttered, either.. and I can't play in houses that literally have no room to see the Sims in their space and take pictures.

That's basically how I tend to build also. ;)
Admiral8Q
New Spectator
6 years ago
In the pictures of the last one I worked on, I wanted to expend outwards as little as possible. Didn't want basements either in this house. So, built upwards. Roughly the goal was to make it as toddler&kid friendly as possible. I know there are big stairs since it has the highest ceilings, but toddlers gain movement skill on stairs. Still, toddlers can spend their whole time on the second floor now. That's why I put the writing stuff for Connie right there. The big stereo is there too playing kids music. She and anyone else on the computer can also easily socialize with the children. Only thing is that food needs to be brought up. But that's easy, you can just take a dish of meals and move it up anytime. Don't need a sim to do it.

I finally got the yard a bit built up, again mostly with children in mind. I originally put that hedge and gate up because of so many NPC's constantly walking back and forth through the yard. Even though it's a game, that made me nervous.

As for landscaping, I recently had a "Eureka" moment a few days ago. I found it very irritating before, but now I love doing it.

Now that Connie's filthy rich, I've been replacing so much of the cheaper stuff with the more expensive stuff.

Here she is!
Connie Calhouni

Best Selling Author
Active
Bookworm
Self-Assured

Currently writing "Blue Shoe, Too Shoo". A children's book about a blue shoe that wouldn't go away.
https://i.imgur.com/C8GfzDA.png
catitude5
6 years ago
The trick to building is keep doing it. The more you do it, the more you learn, the better you get.

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Omg building is hard! Lol

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