Scaling the Sims 4 to RL

For building I work on the basis of 1 tile = 1 square metre, but I know that is not really correct according to the size of objects in the game. Even a square yard would be too large, I think. A more accurate scale would be something like 1 tile length = 80cm (about 2' 7.5"), which is the width of a normal door.

By the way, if you look carefully, you will see that even though beds have a three-tile footprint, they are not actually three tiles long, but nearer two-and-a-half tiles. This would make them about 2m (6' 6") long in RL, which is a bit large, but still fairly realistic. The sims themselves are a little shorter than that - about 6'3" or 6'4" in RL, which is fairly tall by any standard, but not remarkably so. Even so, there are many objects in the game that are horribly oversized. The side tables and dining chairs are probably the worst of the lot. No-one I know has 80cm x 80cm side tables, or 60cm x 60cm dining chairs.

Getting back to building, though, I still find it easiest to allow 1 tile per square metre, partly because I am not about to do my head in with complicated conversions when I am following a building plan, but also because sims need more space to move around in than people do in RL. Similarly, when working with measurements of part of a metre, I find it better to err slightly on the side of generosity.

First, look at what lot sizes you have in your game. What you can use will help you decide how to scale things. I am not including height in my scales, as you can use any wall heights you want on any lot. Look at the smallest one and think 'okay, I must be able to fit all the basics in there and maybe a pool if I get lucky' then look at the biggest one and think 'okay, that one is going to be huge and I will have to fill it with extras', then look at the one you see the most of and think 'okay, that is an average size house.' This may/may not help.

A toilet is one square, but how much of it gets filled depends on the toilet. In real life, toilets tend to be about the same size. So just look at your own toilet and think how big it looks. Two-eight times your toilet's size will probably make a bed, depending on the type of bed. Bare minimum toilet room = 2 squares, 1 toilet and 1 door. If you want a bathroom featuring a toilet, maybe 9 squares is about average. But four square bathrooms are also doable and super fun to make. These examples are to celebrate the first ever item made for The Sims.

(the toilet scale just helps me, okay?)

When I'm building from plans, I generally divide feet in half; so if a living room is 12 feet wide by 10 feet deep, it's 6 feet by 5 feet in my Sim house. For really large plans that are mansions, I just cut the measurement down by a third. Any math more advanced than that plums with my head. :p

I've never been able to follow plans, sims furniture doesn't quite fit and I end up with a different shape than the plans.
if you succeed I would love to see pics.

"EmmaVane;c-15632944" wrote:
Gurus confirmed 1 tile = 1 square metre on these forums a while back.

A square meter, or square metre, is a unit of area. It is the size of a square that is one meter on a side. It is approximately 10.76 square feet. A square foot is a unit of area.

I use 2.5 feet per square side and have and no issues converting my Victorian era original plans to Victorian sim buildings. For those who have TS1, when laying out a house build mode gives you the square footage. I don't have it running at present so can't test, nor is it certain the square size remained constant, but it would be at least a close estimate.

I mostly just think of it as
''how many of this object I could fit in this size room irl''

like for example how many arm chair would fill out the room or how many stoves or whatever and then use that for tile counts

and if I have outsides of house I usually just try to make it look right from outside by using windows and door for scale

like for example if I have similar window and door in sims I just place those where they belong and then resize the wall to right size visually

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