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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 21st Jan 2017 at 1:32 AM Last edited by suziblue : 21st Jan 2017 at 3:01 AM.
Default Camp Taylor (The Commune)
This is Camp Taylor, a commune for neo-hippies in a post-apocalyptic world. And yes, it is named after the infamous Taylor Camp in Hawaii, est. 1969. It is meant to house up to 16 sims when finished. I want it to look like it was thrown together using whatever materials could be scrounged or found. The thing I'm most unhappy with is the in-game limitation of all the roofs on a lot being the same, I'd really like ideas on ways to make at least some of the roofs look different from one another. Also think the landscaping and terrain painting is lacking a bit. Any other ideas for improvements are also welcome. This lot is in the world Lost Cove.

Right now it has four houses (well, four shacks), bathrooms/showers, and a communal food prep/dining area. General pictures of the camp (I'll give each house its own post):

Edit: On second thought, I think I can do two houses per post. Sorry about the deleted posts
Screenshots
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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#2 Old 21st Jan 2017 at 2:06 AM Last edited by suziblue : 21st Jan 2017 at 2:22 AM.
Default The Yurt and The Lazy L
House one, The Yurt
It's not really a yurt, but it's kinda fashioned after one. This is probably the least finished of the houses. I'll be adding clutter and wall decorations at the least.

House two, The Lazy L
I'm probably done with this one, but may expand the kids' room a bit while still maintaining the shape.
Screenshots
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 21st Jan 2017 at 2:21 AM
Default The Shack and The Camper
House three, The Shack
I feel that this house still needs something, maybe an annex on the side. On the plus side, I'm quite happy with the way the porch/roof turned out.

House four, The Camper
Although i like this one, I'm not sure I like it in the camp. Not sure if it'll stay.
Screenshots
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#4 Old 21st Jan 2017 at 2:58 AM
Default Communal Areas
There are communal areas for cooking, dining, showers/toilets since the houses [mostly] don't contain these. As well as a firepit and a bonfire site. At the back of the lot, past The Yurt, is a grove of trees where I'm thinking of building a treehouse. Or maybe replace The Camper with trees and a treehouse. Or both. Suggestions welcome
Screenshots
Top Secret Researcher
#5 Old 21st Jan 2017 at 4:53 AM
Quote: Originally posted by suziblue
There are communal areas for cooking, dining, showers/toilets since the houses [mostly] don't contain these. As well as a firepit and a bonfire site. At the back of the lot, past The Yurt, is a grove of trees where I'm thinking of building a treehouse. Or maybe replace The Camper with trees and a treehouse. Or both. Suggestions welcome


I don't know if your "Camper" has the kitchen layout of a trailer or not. How familiar are you with various trailers? Note to me your Camper is a Trailer in Americanese and not trying to be rude about what you call it. Trailers that I have seen have not had very good kitchen areas.

Also you could replace your Camper with an RV, Recreational Vehicle if you wanted an alternative.

for info on changing the Mac Open File Limit check out my post here http://www.insimenator.org/index.ph...html#msg1628939
Curiosity killed the cat,
but satisfaction brought it back.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 21st Jan 2017 at 4:01 PM
Quote: Originally posted by lordtyger9
I don't know if your "Camper" has the kitchen layout of a trailer or not. How familiar are you with various trailers? Note to me your Camper is a Trailer in Americanese and not trying to be rude about what you call it. Trailers that I have seen have not had very good kitchen areas.

Also you could replace your Camper with an RV, Recreational Vehicle if you wanted an alternative.


It is meant to be a camper, the kind you pull with your vehicle for vacation/holiday, other trips, etc. I am very familiar with campers since my parents always had them (and sometimes RVs). I see your point however, I did take liberties with the size, making it probably closer to a trailer (mobile home). I'll squeeze it down closer to the correct size and scale down the kitchen to be more accurate. It really should have the refrigerator mounted on the wall and a bit smaller, but I haven't found anything like that. I had made the kitchen bigger because it was meant to have been "improved" by taking out the seating for dining, but since I don't care much for it anyway...revision coming.
Top Secret Researcher
#7 Old 22nd Jan 2017 at 7:33 AM
Hi Suzi
I love this idea. It looks very rustic.

Two general observations: If you use a roof color that looks very old and faded, it will blend in and make it less obvious that all the roofs are the same.
Use one of the dirt terrain paints, instead of the sand, in high traffic areas.
For more info on terrain painting:http://www.modthesims.info/showthre...689#post5138689 post #2 and #4.

I like the yurt and the lazy L. I like the old, layered rugs. You might try mismatched furnishings, like two different tables, or different wall lights. I might even try different windows. The settlers might not have been able to find matching windows, but that might be an unsettling look.

I like everything about the shack, especially the front porch. The camper is different from the rest, but it could work. The kitchen should be smaller. University life has a small fridge that may be good there. I think I would place bunk beds. It seems a bit too "nice" compared to where everyone else lives.

The restrooms are just right. You may want to enclose the cooking area, so weather and wildlife are not a problem. Maybe several outdoor grills, like the bare bones community one?

I am looking forward to seeing an update.

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Top Secret Researcher
#8 Old 22nd Jan 2017 at 1:29 PM
Hi Suzi, looking great! I love lots like this.

If you don't want to use cc, you can always build roofs with cfe. Either as curved or angled roof. This doesn't work well on diagonal walls though, but it would allow you to use the full range of floor types and pattern as roof style. In this context a plain flat roof would probably work, too.

You can see an example of such a curved roof here.

Here is a tutorial how to work with cfe by armiel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOgQbEdQ4Bw

Let me know if you want to try it with cfe and if you want help.
dodgy builder
#9 Old 22nd Jan 2017 at 3:43 PM
You should use brown terrain paint where installations, houses or whatever meets the ground. If you don't do that they look like they float
Scholar
#10 Old 23rd Jan 2017 at 12:59 AM
Love these! Very creative! I would like to see the roof pieces on the Lazy L joined together. Looks like it would rain inside currently. Can you extend the diagonal piece one more tile (maybe two)?
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#11 Old 6th Feb 2017 at 4:17 PM
Default Updates to Camp Taylor
I have updates! Sorry to take so long, been super busy and had a sick kid. Anyway, here's what I've been doing. I liked most of the suggestions, so have incorporated them.

The Lazy L: I extended the back wall to the corner in the kids' bedroom, instead of having that little notch. The roof has been extended and the angle adjusted so it fits better, no gap. Also kids' bedroom rearranged, bedside tables in main room no longer match, further landscaping and terrain painting have been added. I changed the windows on the kids' bedroom, the premise being that this part was added later, so the widows came from different source.

The Yurt: Clutter added, more terrain painting.

The Shack: Only added/changed terrain painting. Interior not changed.

Overall: I changed the paths to blend better with the exposed dirt in the surrounding area. I think this gives a more subtle, natural look, but may do more to them. Added/changed some landscaping.
Scholar
#12 Old 7th Feb 2017 at 1:43 AM
Looks great! I would be concerned about the usability of the toy box and the crib - more so the crib. But, I see the baby in the crib so it must be alright. You did a super job with this!
Top Secret Researcher
#13 Old 7th Feb 2017 at 5:52 PM
It looks great! The Lazy L is so much better with the ivy and the plants. As SimmyRN said, it seems you made sure the crib is actually usable. Great use of cc! If you still want to work on that lot, you could recolour the mailbox. It's white doesn't fit the rest of the lot.
Top Secret Researcher
#14 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 2:39 AM
Very nice- you have really captured this lifestyle!

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Get in the swim- Mermaidia
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Top Secret Researcher
#15 Old 8th Feb 2017 at 8:19 AM
Wow really nice. You really captured the style you were looking for I think.

for info on changing the Mac Open File Limit check out my post here http://www.insimenator.org/index.ph...html#msg1628939
Curiosity killed the cat,
but satisfaction brought it back.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#16 Old 11th Feb 2017 at 4:38 AM
Thank you all so much for your comments and suggestions. The toy chest is usable, but gets in the way if being played with and another sim wants to pass, so I may tweak that a bit. I did notice the mailbox and changed it, but not until after I took the screenshots. I have also reworked The Camper, will post pics of that over the weekend.
 
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