• Welcome to SC4 Devotion Forum Archives.

And now for something completely different : Altensimmen in Sims 3 - Update 17

Started by carlfatal, June 04, 2014, 03:04:06 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

sunv123

I remember playing Sims 2 and the original Sims (to build houses of course ::)) as a kid so this brings back alot of memories.

Really nice and original work here, keep it up. :thumbsup:
Provo, a city apart Updated July 4.

carlfatal

Heya again!

Like always, answers first:

@Catty,
I have to thank you!
I am happy, that people normally playing SC4 DO look into here, that alone is more, than I have awaited. There also would have been a chance, that members here would be angry about me invading their beloved game with something, they were not interested in.  ;)

And yes, the plants were the first thing, that made me into an addicted. I like, what I can do with them, and things like the weed around this lamppost happened first without any conception, and then - wow, I found another feature to create something, that is not intended by EA. So I can say, I often detect things by doing wrong, and then I can use the mistake as a new feature.
The sidewalks: I am not happy with them too. First thing is: they are flat, there is no border, as you can see. And if I use the cobblestone for them, the missing border let the whole thing look messy and awful. So I decided for now to stay with the concrete tiles till I´ll find something better. Good thing is, I can change the textures on the existing streets without the need to replace the streets themself.

@Jmouse,
thank you too! It is very nice to hear, that you like the way, I am telling my "story" with this "game". I try to give interesting informations about the possibilities here, and also I hope, that I can show pictures, that tell more than my humble words.
And another thanks for your commendation fo my landscaping. In the simforum a few days ago we had a discussion about how 3D works, and for what you need a mesh. And the most people don´t know, that landscaping is kinda 3D design. I feel very proud, that you like my work here.  ()stsfd()

@vortext,
hey, thanks! I mean, I am working there a lot, and I needed a place to rest in between. Till now this is the only building finished from inside.  $%Grinno$%

@sunv123,
thanks and welcome to my blog! I hope to see you again.  :)

Ooohkay - so to the next update, less pictures but much more details. I am still mostly working on the old town center. By now I finished all the inner parts of the most houses (not furnished). This was a damn lot of horrible work, as the most houses are much too small for the requirements of this game. But I don´t want to bore you with lots of empty apartments, and cause I also started the detailing of the outside there, I will show first pictures of backyards today.
The main aspect here is the same I had in SC4: fighting the grid. The grid is the most common and most dangerous enemy we have in Sim games, wether SC4 or CIM or just in Sims 3. I tried to let the borders of the lots disappear, I mean: where would you find absolutely rectangular lots in this world? I gave my best but still I have to look wether this new idea will work ingame as well as on the pictures.

First an oversight of the whole town again, as it looked today in the early evening:


First view, and like always I find the mistakes at first on the pictures: the small witchy house on the right should have a steeper roof. This will certainly be changed:


And here - I think I need to learn how to make really good pictures, but hopefully it shows the intention:


This one is better:


And from another side:


Another garden, the lane in the foreground leads to the marketplace. The mailbox - I have no clue, why I forgot to put it to the place it should be. It looks a bit lonely here - but again, it´s work in progress and this will change soon:


The next backyard in a row. Luckily I can use the swing here not only on lots, so this one is placed in CAW between two lots. My intention here is to design the whole garden as a part of the left house with the staircase tower.


Something different: the marketplace is nearly finished now:


This corner was an eyesore to me before. I really like both houses here, but without the garden everything here looked disconnected. Now it is much better and more realistic:


The other way round:


The former indifferent place became a real lane now:


The other end. Now it looks like I wanted (if I don´t count the point, that nearly no wall or fence is available in CAW, they only work on lots):



And the last picture, a garden near the river. Unfortunately there is a little glitch above the retaining wall here. Like I said: the mistakes I mostly detect after hours when looking to the pictures:


That was all for today, I hope, you like it. I am back as soon as possible. But now I need more time for smaller parts, as the details need their time to be created. Thanks You for visiting!


catty

That overview doesn't really give you the sense that things have changed, but I still like seeing it, but your third and fourth picture is where you start to see how much detail you can add to these cities

... I must admit its tempting me to get CIM1 back up and have another go at my work-in-progress city ...

I think I said it in my last post, but if not I really love those sunflowers   ()stsfd()  and I think picture 10 has come out great, the way the hedge is running between the two properties, the only bit that's didn't look right is I would have expected to see a path, stepping stones or something like that outside the door rather than it just opening up onto lawn.

And as for the last picture I don't think I would have noticed the glitch if you hadn't said something.

Great update thanks for sharing   &apls

-catty
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.

Jmouse

I thought I had posted here, but I switched computers recently, so apparently I didn't get anything posted. I pretty much remember what I liked about this update, though. The level of detail you've achieved is amazing, and the second through fifth photos are beautiful. The flowers, lampposts, signs and even the trashcans look great. Realism is all the rage these days, so seeing photos which have a kind of surreal feeling to them is refreshing. After all, these are games, and there's nothing wrong with playing them like games. Thanks for posting this. You've made me want to go out and buy the game. :)

carlfatal

Heya!
At first - like always - answers and a big thank you for looking into here. Around 1300 views - much more than I did expect!  :thumbsup:
And don´t be shy, ask me, what ever you want to know. I am the one, who invaded a foreign land with pictures, that may wonder and confuse the old inhabitants. So this is your damn right to do!  ;)


@catty,
thanks, and yeah, the overview is more for the completeness. Also people may have a better chance to know, where the part is, I am currently working on. I am not sure...  ::)

Details - indeed, Sims, if you count 2 or 3 - both games allow a level of detail, that is only camparable with the Elder Scrolls series. In the end is was the reason, why I started with buying all the addons, as often they brought new stuff for building.  $%Grinno$%

CIM - hey, I would be very curious about pictures of a town, you build with it.  :thumbsup:

Ah - the sunflowers - I really waited for that!  :D
A few months ago - short before starting my world here - I saw pictures in the SimForum, created in the CAW and sunflowers. I was stunned, I love sunflowers and the level of detail was - crazy. I asked, if they were downloads, but I´ve got the answer, that they were part of the basegame.
I have no clue, why I did oversee them for such a long time, but from this moment on nothing could prevent me from cluttering around with these plants.  :D

The missing path: I usually make pictures after I finished a "day´s work". I look to them not only to show them online, meantime this is a very handy tool to look for things I have to change. And here you saw a mistake long before I did. This will be changed, I still have no idea how, as it is a small garden - it will need some concentration and meditiation to get the right decision here. So a big thank you to make me aware of this! I need critics - I want to reach the best I can do.  :)

@Jmouse,
thank you!
Yeah, the level of detail is unbelievable, and cause of this and the very realistic looking faces of the dollies, this game is called an uncanney valley by it´s enemies (mostly players of Sims 2).  $%Grinno$%

Your second point - I must contradict: I do build as realistic as I can. During the second WW the most rural towns were not bombarded, so the historical substance was still there after. And while small towns often only have a small amount of money to work with, the buildings are in a pretty well stand, cause they count as historical monuments.
Recently things change, also in Germany things now only shine, where the light is, and we can see first quarters I would call slums. But this small town here is favored: the nice landscape around makes it into a touristic place too. So people her can have a work (mostly).  ;)

Buying Sims? It is a game without rules, if you don´t create them, and that is what I personally love. And I like playing with dollies from childhood on. I did it with a lot of RPGs (especially Elder Scrolls), and here I do it much more serious with a virtual dollhouse game. But I should say, that I payed much more than 200 euros for the base game and the addons I own. This game is expensive, really expensive. If you really want to get it, the most important site (like simptropolis for SC4 (to be honest, SC4D is much more exclusive ;)) is MTS, then I would recommend to look for MATY, one of the most important and most hated modding sites, go for simlogical, where you will find the most important modding tools, and look for nRaas to stay with a clean game all time. Like SC4 Sims like to corrupt it´s own saves for example.  ;)

SO - But I am not here only to answer - I am here to show you at least a few pictures. I am currently building the inside of all the historical houses. This is like playing a strategic game to me, as the faccades are finished. And today I was working on the "Schlossplatz" and the small baroque "palace" (what people of the landed gentry in the 18th. century may have called palace) :

The "Schlossplatz", like it looked this evening:


A view form the back ( I have to admit, I don´t like the four windows risalit here, but the windows themselves only work in this constellation):


The staircase, I am not really happy with it, and I am sure I will change some parts here again:


The palace is one of the most expensive buildings here. I was standing in front of the fence - would I ever be able to live in a mansion like this?


Something different: so the "Wallgasse" looks now: 


Hope you like it. Seeya soon in Altensimmen!  :)

catty


I'll pop back later to comment on your update in the meantime

QuoteCIM - hey, I would be very curious about pictures of a town, you build with it

I'll add a couple of pictures tonight once I have access to my home computer, in the meantime here's one I have on flickr
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.

Jmouse

Quote from: carlfatal on August 06, 2014, 02:27:23 PM
I do build as realistic as I can.

Oh my goodness, I didn't explain my opinion very well. The primary definition of "surreal" is "artistic style." The structures and props in the game seem to have a kind of artistic style to them, or maybe it's just that they're not what I'm used to seeing. Your last photo is so realistic I feel like I could walk right into it. I think your city building is outstanding – and it's a lot better than mine. It's fascinating that you can take the roofs off of the houses and create the interiors. BTW, what is the purpose of the white circles in the next-to-last photo?

catty

Back again love the details but I'm not sure I would have the patience to do the inside of the houses as well, anyway I promised to be back with some screenshots of my CIM1 building attempts, which proved a bit difficult as with one thing and another I haven't been taking any pictures   :-[

Had a look at my existing cities and they are all completely build up except for the latest one which is still a blank canvas, so went back and had a look at the screenshots I took at the same time as the one I attached in my last post and found these, the graphics isn't great as I have everything turned down or off as I prefer speed to looking spiffy, have uploaded them into an album over at CB

http://city-builders.info/cb-albums/item/85-catty-s-pictures/user/catty

This first shot is putting some houses together to make a residential apartment building



These next couple of shots were taken at the same time as the picture in the last post





These next couple of shots were taken in the same location, but in the game as I wanted to see how things were looking in that area





This last shot was taken in another city and I was building a church and graveyard, CIM1 doesn't have any gravestone props so I had to use milestone markers from the road menu to get the right effect, you wouldn't believe how many I had to delete cos they weren't properly lined up with the others



I shall now return us to SIMS 3   :thumbsup:
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.

vortext

hey, cars!?!  ???

Somehow I expected to see horse drawn carriages but that might've been my own bias at work. .  :D

I like that small shed structure though it seems a bit out of place. Unless the surrounding area is awaiting further integration into the village of course, which isn't unlikely given the amount of detail you have to work on. It's simply mind boggling .  . but fun to watch. Keep at it!  :thumbsup:

btw, I like those CIM pics too, Cathy!
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

catty

Quote from: vortext on August 07, 2014, 10:26:09 AM
...btw, I like those CIM pics too, Cathy!

I've got a lot better at it since those pictures were taken, as I just starting a new city so I'll try and remember to take some pictures this time round.

:)
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.

carlfatal

Okay, catty, I cannot be quite after seeing these wonderful pictures.  &apls
At the first view I thought, it would be CIM2, cause of the mostly US-American buildings. Seems, there is a big modding scene out there. The only one I know is ArkenbergeJoe (yes, the one, who was one of the starters of what we now know as the NAM-Team).  $%Grinno$%
But I never did expect to see such wonderful 20 to 30th centuries pictures. Only the cabs look a bit odd.  ;)
Very nice the picture with all the people around the fountain, one of the most important assets of CIM, this crowding life, some times a bit too much - like near the bus station. It seem, that you need a tramway here, tramways always are THE solution (i really miss them in Sims 3, and if only as deco like in Sims 2, they would be nice).  $%Grinno$%
Nice idea with the gravestones - I definately love this kind of use. Customizing is king, and you did a good job there.  :thumbsup:

I can only say, make a blog with it. Nobody can play 5 good games at the same time, but looking for pictures is mostly not a problem. I look for modelrailways, all kind of townplanning, architecture, and also into some blogs for games I like to play like RPGs, GTA series, Sims, Sc4, although the most of them are not on my hardrive currently.  :)


So, back to Sims 3:

@catty again, now Sims related,
The inside... Sims players play with dollies, the relation is a very private often, you never would really harm your dollies, would you?
We play different styles, we like to give them challenges, and they have some kind of genetics and personality, that gives them a more "alive" feeling, and so we respect them. Sounds strange in a way, but if they die, they die...  &ops
Seen this way a Sim in my opinion needs a home, that matches his wishes and thoughts. I cannot prefurnish, I only bild the layout, white painted walls, doors, staircases, and the bathrooms are decoreted with flagstones. The players themselves have to create a home for their dollies here later on. Like I will do, when I´ll start to populate this town.  ;D
But I must finish all community lots completely, and that is not only funishing. There are options for seasonal changes also, chairs and desks for the outside only in the spring and summer, in autumn a circus and in the winter you can do some snowboard stuff. I never worked out all the possibilities you´ll have, if you only create one lot.  :o

Also it can be very challenging to build the inside of a house, if you have the facade done and don´t want to change it. It is like a strategic game in a way then.
So building houses here doesn´t need more patience than every other aspect of the game. It is one of the main parts of it.  :)


@Jmouse,
thanks a lot for your comment here. I think, I know, what you mean. I use a lot of custom content, that I choosed, cause it looks as realistic as possible. But the light...
At the moment I use the given light options, I need to change them later, cause they are useful for building and painting, but the atmosphere is unreal though. The adjusting of the light will be done with S3PE and a Hex-editor.  ;)

You did build cities in SC4, and, as I have to say, very nice ones too, but sims 3 is different as the focus lays on lot building. Like I said above, we play with dollies in doll houses, and we like to give them nice homes. And only a few players like to create completely self built neighborhoods for their games.  ;)

The white circle is the painting tool. It is the only way to get rid of the grid in "build mode" on a lot. Working with the CAW gives you the ability to "edit in game", but in build mode only.  :)


@vortext,
hey, nice to read your comment and to see you again. For sure there are cars, and although I hate real cars cause of the cool ones are old and need a lot of dirty work (and new ones are boring and similar, I like to have at least one Sim, who is addicted to dream cars like a 53´ Corvette. One first garage is built, but pictures will come later - not before it is really finished - that is a very serious job here.  $%Grinno$%
Like you did write, this shed and it´s position aren´t final. I thought about some kind of deco building here and placed it until I find a better choice. This part will see some changes soon.

Okay, and although I first thought not to show these pictures here, I think you´ll be interested into - again unfinshed - insides. First a complex of three houses on one residential lot, something, that needs to be modded later as an apartment (a special feature).
The lot from the north side:


Here seen from the "Schlossgasse":


The backyard without any details, and only so you can see the strange parts at the staircase. This part of the house is built with a cheat known as "constrainFloorElevation". This cheat allows you to change the height of walls and build half landing stairs for example. But the textures on the wall will look strange, depending on, what kind you use (wood, stone, wallpapers). With framework it is acceptable, and I will only place some plants at the ground to cover this part:


The attics:


First floor:


Ground floor:


Start of the stairs:


The staircase from above:


Two views I love: First floor:


Ground floor:



And then I worked on the church, nothing spectacular, as it looks like a typical protestant church. It shall be changed into a catholic one as soon, as I find stuff to decorate it. But for a first impression the pictures work. The surrounding area also is not finished, but buildings like this need a lot attention and passion indeed.
The lamps - there are no cables for high ceilings, so it looks a bit odd to see them unconnected. That´s Sims, it´s still a game though...
Also you will see some minor oddity, where the windows are, they simulate thicker walls. Ingame this looks good but in buildmode or town view it looks a bit strange. And these are the only church windows anyone did till today. So I stay happy with these.  :)

Okay, here the inside from southeast with the organ and the old, gothic tower behind. The church may be built between 1648 and 1700:
:

Here a view to the choir:


The ground floor of the tower with the sacristy:


View from the "Kirchstrasse" with busstop, parking space and first deco elements like the little fountain:


From the north side:


The lines, you can see, mark the lot borders, they are invisible in game view (town view or the close Sim view).

Buildings like the church need lots of hours. It is one of the first buildings and I changed parts so often, I can´t count. But this process is something I really appreciate. To have an idea of a building and then trying to realize it, especially if I know, that I need tricks like the "constrainFloorElevation" cheat, cause these tricks makes it much more interesting to build.

Yeah, again I only hope, you like it, seeya soon!  :)

catty

Those house insides especially the church are stunning, the amount of detail and how close you can get to things is just mindblowing, I found myself counting the nails in the timber floor   :thumbsup:

And I'm   ()stsfd()   with the flowering tree just outside the church its gorgeous    &apls

Quote from: carlfatal on August 07, 2014, 05:06:29 PM
Okay, catty, I cannot be quite after seeing these wonderful pictures.  &apls
At the first view I thought, it would be CIM2, cause of the mostly US-American buildings. Seems, there is a big modding scene out there. The only one I know is ArkenbergeJoe....

I've got CIM2 but my computer really struggles to play it, and there is something about CIM1 that I really like I think it satisfies the model village builder in me, as for ArkenbergeJoe I've got some of his CIM1 Custom Content, the red tree in the bottom right-hand corner of this picture



and the red tree in the middle of this picture are his



Quote... tramways always are THE solution (i really miss them in Sims 3, and if only as deco like in Sims 2, they would be nice)...

well as you can see from the above picture you do have trams in CIM1 and they are fully functional, you can run them anywhere including along roads, for me its trains



QuoteI can only say, make a blog with it. Nobody can play 5 good games at the same time, but looking for pictures is mostly not a problem. I look for modelrailways, all kind of townplanning, architecture, and also into some blogs for games I like to play like RPGs, GTA series, Sims, Sc4, although the most of them are not on my hardrive currently.

We do have blogging software on my website, but I've been using it for SC3K technical documents (... which I should finish doing), I got rid of the traditional forums as we have the same problem of users who don't seem to know what a computer keyboard is for   :(   ... so we are going to replace the MD's etc with either personal pictures albums which is where I'm posting the above pictures or in the Groups over here

http://city-builders.info/cb-groups

Some of the groups can only be seen by the person who set it up and the people they have invited to join it, the last such group was for Italian players.

Anyway enough of the site detour and back to this site and a message for everyone here who is reading this post, if you want to see changes on this site, if you think we can do something better or shouldn't be doing it at all then let me know via a PM, I make no guarantees but if I agree with you I will do some jumping up  &hlp  and down on the admin boards about it.

-catty
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.

Jmouse

You're doing a fine job of interior decorating, Carl. I love the church, and the magnolia tree in front of it is beautiful. And once again, the details are fascinating. Do you create some or all of the custom content for your city? BTW, where does the spiral staircase in the third-from-last photo lead to? Now catty, why did you have to mention those nails? Trying to count them is going to drive me NUTs. :party:

-Joan

Schulmanator

See the all-new National Capital Region!:http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=15118.0

carlfatal

Quote from: catty on August 08, 2014, 03:15:30 AM
I found myself counting the nails in the timber floor   :thumbsup:

Don´t do it. That is, what this game did make to me, counting nails...  $%Grinno$%

Btw, nice pictures again. The crossing looks strange - but like a flower...  :D And I bought this game only, cause I wanted to build tramway lines. I loved it.  ()stsfd()

Quote from: Jmouse on August 08, 2014, 05:10:09 PM
Do you create some or all of the custom content for your city? BTW, where does the spiral staircase in the third-from-last photo lead to?

Hey Joan,
Never, ever I made models by my own! But I should explain.  :-\
The models used in SC4 are into the BAT imported 3D models. The model itself - without textures - is only a mesh. A Sims creator also creates a mesh at first (with blender or milkshape), but the difference here is, that it can be textured differently later. Makes sense, as the model isn´t a completely designed building like in Sc4 for example. It can be a skirt, a hat, a car, a chair, a window - everything.

I am able to create a mesh, I mean, I am able to create a landscape, and that is the same like a house or clothes, but texturing is something, that scares me...
Some months ago I found a nice picture set of typical 50´s pinups as jpgs, and I tried to convert them to use them on a picture frame out of the game.
The pictures work - modding was easy - but they all look odd, cause I was and am not able to work with any program like PS or Gimp. I am able to change the size of a picture in Irfanview, but I cannot cut out a scene for example and other stuff like that.  &ops

So for me it is enough to build houses and create lots or landscapes. The only thing I do, is modding models for other purposes, if I like to have them as models in the CAW for example. Then I do something comparable to making MMP´s in SC4. The tool for this is S3PE, also useful for modding SC2013.

The spiral stairs - lead to the gallery, where the organ is.  ;)


Quote from: Schulmanator on August 10, 2014, 06:33:44 AM
Cool pictures! Very nice!
Thanks a lot! If the cat likes the place, it cannot be that bad...  ;D


Okay, here we go with some pictures, I´ve made today. I worked on the last houses, and I continued detailing the spaces, where I try to fake other lot sizes and forms, than the game uses. This includes the river banks as well, but here the lot borders are open, no reason for fencing at all.

The river seen to the bridge:


Another part:


Not a good picture, especially as I would like to see some fog here. But this will come after finishing everything else:


Although the mass of details vanish in overviews like this, I like them. And so you have to look at them:


The next two pics show the exactly same. But my computer is not the newest one, and loading the models will need a while sometimes. I hope, that ingame people will not have to face this problem.

First picture, loading not finished:


Half a minute later:


Another not rectangular garden (the hedge is the only object I can use for borders like I want):


View from another ankle:


Some steps further:


This garden now is finished, now a terrace is, wher plain green was in front of the door before:


Another view to show more of the flowering stuff:


A garden near the river, in the background the church. The terrace is acessible via stairs or from the basement:


A new attempt for the cloister, only a first shot The objects on the left side are horse boxes I use for comparing sizes:


The church with two naves, gothic style, only a trial:


And at least two pictures of the market place:


And yes, the kids play hopscotch here  ;):


Yeah, that´s for today. I hope, you like it!  :)

compdude787

Check out my MD, United States of Simerica!
Last updated: March 5, 2017

My YouTube Channel

Jmouse

That first photo looks like a museum-quality painting, and the second and third are almost as good. I like the reflections in the water of the first one a little better, though. I continue to enjoy seeing the flora and foliage in your game and the up-close-and personal look of everything. The last two photos are really nice, too, and there's nothing wrong with using hedges. They fit in quite well with the overall atmosphere of your game.

catty


Having one of those periods that mean I keep turning up in the topic to post and then I have to stick it back to unread so I can try again later, this time I'm determined to post   ;D

Picture 10 garden is   &apls  I like the path addition and the garden seat next to it looks great as does the additional flowers, its the little details that are   ()stsfd()  like the barbeque, seat and umbrella on the patio of picture 12.

-catty
I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?" DEATH thought about it. "CATS," he said eventually, "CATS ARE NICE.

vortext

Took me a while to notice any difference between the 'loading' pictures. Apparently windows take a long time to load (pun intended  ;D).

The shore flora looks very nice and the water itself is gorgeous. Such a shame SC4 doesn't have water reflections. .  :(

Everything is shaping up really nice, I'm looking forward to see the cloister get developed!  :thumbsup:
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

romualdillo

Great work Carl!! &apls

What will the cloister be? Are you planning to do a functional cloister in a residential lot? It will be funny to have some nuns in the city!! Where did you get the vaults and columns?? I made something similar for The Sims 2, the nuns had a little orchard and sold sweets, but now we can't have business in residential lots...  &mmm

BTW:

Quote from: catty on August 07, 2014, 04:15:58 AM




Does anyone know where can I get similar cars for SC4? I mean atomatas and props... I've searched a lot, but I couldn't find anything similar...

I like your pictures a lot, Catty!!