I'm so used to Sims 3 building that I'm (personally) having a hard time with Sims 4 building. I like to personally place every wall, window, fence, column, etc. But Sims 4 seems to really want you to simply use the feature of dropping down pre-made rooms (furnished or not) and dragging them into place. But I don't like that.Building the "old fashioned" way is more my style. :'( I'm really trying to like this game but considering how much time I spend building, it's not going so well in that department.So, here's a few questions that I have regarding building, any help would be appreciated. (IF this is in the wrong forum, my apologies and thanks if it gets moved to the right place.)1 - Are there no octagon-shaped roof tools? I'm not seeing any, but what if I want to build a Victorian home?2 - How do you activate auto-placing windows? (Although I like to place them this is a feature I haven't tested personally)3 - How come if I edit walls after placing them, the gray tiles that allow you to either add a 2nd floor or place roofs disappears? I can't seem to place tile down to cover an area on my own. (pic below for clarification. The yellow area shows where the gray tiles/roof appeared after enclosing a room. I edited the space in red to add that angled wall/bay window but no tiles appeared so now I can't place roofing there.) 4 - How do I create a second floor landing that opens to the foyer below? Like a 2-story entry to a home... The gray tiles (mentioned above) also appear when I don't want them to and if I try to delete them, all of them in the area are deleted. That's all I can think of for now, but if I think of more things I've come across I'll add them in hopes to get answers. Thanks for reading and for any help simmers can provide.TL;DR - Building in Sims 4 is harder to me, any tips?

Hello!I haven't dove into the build mode much as of yet, having to much fun playing, though I do love to build! :p Might I suggest that you also post this in the creative Lots section of the forums. There are a lot of really nice people there and they will have the answers you seek! :) (Urm not saying there are not really nice people here :D )Happy Simming! :)

1. No..there are currently no octagon or cone shaped roofs. You can use the hipped roof and curve it to get an interesting shape..you cal also put a couple of roof sections together. Builders in the Lots section of the forum have been coming up with all sorts of creative ways to handle this...I would suggest you pop in there :) http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/curvedroof.png2. to activate auto windows, click on the room symbol next to the window that says "by room". This places windows at regular intervals by room...not the whole house. Everything in the new system is room based. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/autowindow.png3. the section without roof tiles is not being considered part of a room. Since everything is room based, in order to fill that in it needs to be part of a room. I would go and place an octagon room shape there and it will fill in. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/fixroof.png You should be able to place roofing over it by simply hitting page up or page down until you are on the right level. Once the grid is visible, you can place a roof. 4. Because of the room based build system, you can only delete all of the floor tiles of a "room" or none. No in between. So the area that you want to be an open must be its own room and then you can delete the space. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/rooms.png So basically the landing or loft must be seen by the game as a complete room and the empty space itself is another complete room...if that makes sense. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/loft.png

"Cinebar;12674674" wrote:I was not able to expand the foundation by holding down the shift key as promised. It wouldn't do it correctly. I wanted a porch on the side which didn't have steps, so I followed the lessons/tips. It didn't work. I also find I don't there is no auto roof choices for a simple house. I am used to finding the one I think works best and then clicking auto roof like in TS2. I always had to turn them off in TS3 because they were on by default. I found there are many things I can't do in this game the way I could in TS2 for sure, and or even in TS3. It was annoying and frustrating for me. I'm not a great builder, never claimed to be, but there are many features from the TS2 building options and old tools I am so used to I found the new drag and drop not worth the trade off. Like placing tiles to stop at the edge of your picture there. I was unable to do many things like that in this game.ETA: speaking of roofs stopping where you decided they should, I also had problems with trying to get one on one lot to expand to the green edge, it ended just about 1/4 inch and no matter how much I pulled it would not go all the way to the green line where it should have expanded. I just gave up on that one and bulldozed the entire house.I am not sure I understand what you were trying to do Cinebar...if you can show me a picture, I would be happy to see if there is a way to do it. :)

"ruthless_kk;12674907" wrote:1. No..there are currently no octagon or cone shaped roofs. You can use the hipped roof and curve it to get an interesting shape..you cal also put a couple of roof sections together. Builders in the Lots section of the forum have been coming up with all sorts of creative ways to handle this...I would suggest you pop in there :) http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/curvedroof.png2. to activate auto windows, click on the room symbol next to the window that says "by room". This places windows at regular intervals by room...not the whole house. Everything in the new system is room based. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/autowindow.png3. the section without roof tiles is not being considered part of a room. Since everything is room based, in order to fill that in it needs to be part of a room. I would go and place an octagon room shape there and it will fill in. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/fixroof.png You should be able to place roofing over it by simply hitting page up or page down until you are on the right level. Once the grid is visible, you can place a roof. 4. Because of the room based build system, you can only delete all of the floor tiles of a "room" or none. No in between. So the area that you want to be an open must be its own room and then you can delete the space. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/rooms.png So basically the landing or loft must be seen by the game as a complete room and the empty space itself is another complete room...if that makes sense. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/rooms.png @Ruthless_kk Thank you so much for the answers to their questions! :) I have copied and pasted all you answers in my notes for future reference. I love your Legacy blog and your builds grace my hood beautifully! Thank you! :)

"PEACHES327;12675026" wrote:Thanks Ruthless, for the tips! Having the mindset that everything is room-based makes a huge difference, but I'm a little disheartened at the same time that making certain spaces is going to either be impossible or harder than it has been in previous generations of the Sims games.I think it is a payoff....a couple things might be more tricky, but there are SO many things that are easier. It is just like anything new...takes time to get used to it. :)

Questions about Build Mode | EA Forums

16 Replies

terrylinn
11 years ago
Hello!

I haven't dove into the build mode much as of yet, having to much fun playing, though I do love to build! :p
Might I suggest that you also post this in the creative Lots section of the forums. There are a lot of really nice people there and they will have the answers you seek! :)

(Urm not saying there are not really nice people here :D )

Happy Simming! :)
Luv2play24
New Spectator
11 years ago
good morning, 1 - I've been trying to figure out how to make an octagon roof too & haven't figured it out, I don't see any in that shape to start with 2 - when trying to place a room full of windows just to the left of the windows to choose from is a picture of a single window & a room, those will allow you to either place 1 or full room. 3 - the only thing I can think of is placing a small flat room & maybe it'll let you put a roof then ? There's a few things I don't like about the floors & how they work now..which goes into 4 - I haven't had any luck with that either, I've seen people say to make it into a room & then delete floor & then remove extra walls but it still wasn't working like I wanted.

Hope I was able to help a little. :)
Cinebar
11 years ago
I was not able to expand the foundation by holding down the shift key as promised. It wouldn't do it correctly. I wanted a porch on the side which didn't have steps, so I followed the lessons/tips. It didn't work. I also find I don't there is no auto roof choices for a simple house. I am used to finding the one I think works best and then clicking auto roof like in TS2. I always had to turn them off in TS3 because they were on by default. I found there are many things I can't do in this game the way I could in TS2 for sure, and or even in TS3. It was annoying and frustrating for me. I'm not a great builder, never claimed to be, but there are many features from the TS2 building options and old tools I am so used to I found the new drag and drop not worth the trade off. Like placing tiles to stop at the edge of your picture there. I was unable to do many things like that in this game.

ETA: speaking of roofs stopping where you decided they should, I also had problems with trying to get one on one lot to expand to the green edge, it ended just about 1/4 inch and no matter how much I pulled it would not go all the way to the green line where it should have expanded. I just gave up on that one and bulldozed the entire house.
ruthless_kk
11 years ago
1. No..there are currently no octagon or cone shaped roofs. You can use the hipped roof and curve it to get an interesting shape..you cal also put a couple of roof sections together. Builders in the Lots section of the forum have been coming up with all sorts of creative ways to handle this...I would suggest you pop in there :) http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/curvedroof.png

2. to activate auto windows, click on the room symbol next to the window that says "by room". This places windows at regular intervals by room...not the whole house. Everything in the new system is room based. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/autowindow.png

3. the section without roof tiles is not being considered part of a room. Since everything is room based, in order to fill that in it needs to be part of a room. I would go and place an octagon room shape there and it will fill in. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/fixroof.png You should be able to place roofing over it by simply hitting page up or page down until you are on the right level. Once the grid is visible, you can place a roof.

4. Because of the room based build system, you can only delete all of the floor tiles of a "room" or none. No in between. So the area that you want to be an open must be its own room and then you can delete the space. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/rooms.png So basically the landing or loft must be seen by the game as a complete room and the empty space itself is another complete room...if that makes sense. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/loft.png
ruthless_kk
11 years ago
"Cinebar;12674674" wrote:
I was not able to expand the foundation by holding down the shift key as promised. It wouldn't do it correctly. I wanted a porch on the side which didn't have steps, so I followed the lessons/tips. It didn't work. I also find I don't there is no auto roof choices for a simple house. I am used to finding the one I think works best and then clicking auto roof like in TS2. I always had to turn them off in TS3 because they were on by default. I found there are many things I can't do in this game the way I could in TS2 for sure, and or even in TS3. It was annoying and frustrating for me. I'm not a great builder, never claimed to be, but there are many features from the TS2 building options and old tools I am so used to I found the new drag and drop not worth the trade off. Like placing tiles to stop at the edge of your picture there. I was unable to do many things like that in this game.

ETA: speaking of roofs stopping where you decided they should, I also had problems with trying to get one on one lot to expand to the green edge, it ended just about 1/4 inch and no matter how much I pulled it would not go all the way to the green line where it should have expanded. I just gave up on that one and bulldozed the entire house.

I am not sure I understand what you were trying to do Cinebar...if you can show me a picture, I would be happy to see if there is a way to do it. :)
terrylinn
11 years ago
"ruthless_kk;12674907" wrote:
1. No..there are currently no octagon or cone shaped roofs. You can use the hipped roof and curve it to get an interesting shape..you cal also put a couple of roof sections together. Builders in the Lots section of the forum have been coming up with all sorts of creative ways to handle this...I would suggest you pop in there :) http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/curvedroof.png

2. to activate auto windows, click on the room symbol next to the window that says "by room". This places windows at regular intervals by room...not the whole house. Everything in the new system is room based. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/autowindow.png

3. the section without roof tiles is not being considered part of a room. Since everything is room based, in order to fill that in it needs to be part of a room. I would go and place an octagon room shape there and it will fill in. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/fixroof.png You should be able to place roofing over it by simply hitting page up or page down until you are on the right level. Once the grid is visible, you can place a roof.

4. Because of the room based build system, you can only delete all of the floor tiles of a "room" or none. No in between. So the area that you want to be an open must be its own room and then you can delete the space. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/rooms.png So basically the landing or loft must be seen by the game as a complete room and the empty space itself is another complete room...if that makes sense. http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd250/ruthless_kk/rooms.png

@Ruthless_kk Thank you so much for the answers to their questions! :)

I have copied and pasted all you answers in my notes for future reference. I love your Legacy blog and your builds grace my hood beautifully! Thank you! :)
Peaches327
11 years ago
Thanks Ruthless, for the tips! Having the mindset that everything is room-based makes a huge difference, but I'm a little disheartened at the same time that making certain spaces is going to either be impossible or harder than it has been in previous generations of the Sims games.
ruthless_kk
11 years ago
"PEACHES327;12675026" wrote:
Thanks Ruthless, for the tips! Having the mindset that everything is room-based makes a huge difference, but I'm a little disheartened at the same time that making certain spaces is going to either be impossible or harder than it has been in previous generations of the Sims games.

I think it is a payoff....a couple things might be more tricky, but there are SO many things that are easier. It is just like anything new...takes time to get used to it. :)
LiniSim
11 years ago
I loved to build in the Sims 3, and to edit the entire town. No more of that! The camera angles take some getting used to and I end up in the street when I want to go upstairs in the house. And I can't get rid of that floor "grid", does it stay there or is there a way to get rid of it, like in Sims 3?
ruthless_kk
11 years ago
"nickibitsward;12675126" wrote:
I loved to build in the Sims 3, and to edit the entire town. No more of that! The camera angles take some getting used to and I end up in the street when I want to go upstairs in the house. And I can't get rid of that floor "grid", does it stay there or is there a way to get rid of it, like in Sims 3?

Turn the grid off by hitting G