Upcoming Submission News, Feb. 16th, 2009

Hello, everyone!

I hope I haven't left too many of you hanging, since I was uploading lots nonstop for a while then suddenly seemed to disappear. Nope, no disappearing here - I really did have to take my time with the lots I've just submitted to TSR, considering two of them are academic buildings completely stocked up with much of what your students are probably looking for, including use of several career objects. Here's the skinny:

1) School of Creativity: This lot has three very different performance halls, one for actors/comedians/poets, one for jazz/country/rock music, and one for classical music, each with its own dressing room/green room backstage. In addition to that, there is a writing lab with a corner for a poetry jam, as well as a music technology lab, costume shop, dance studio, art studio, and art gallery. This lot, by far, took the most time, since I was being picky about the layout for the performance halls. I'm happy with it, though, and hope you will be, too!

2) School of Knowledge: This lot's focus is for more right-brained Sims and has a heavy focus on the logic skill, although there are some things that improve other skills as well. Since the logic-based items in the game seem to take less space than creativity-based ones, and since both schools have the same floor plan, I used the extra space to house the campus store, computer lab, and library. In addition to these rooms, there is a medical lab, science lab, astronomy lab, lecture hall, and drafting room.

3) Arboretum: Whenever I do landscaping, I try to use very few plants that actually die or cause weeds, hence my focus on trees in this park. However, I have also included the fruit trees and garden plots from Seasons, not only for color, but also so your Sims can improve their gardening skill. I took the time to actually play through the lot so I could save it with all of the plants being in bloom at the same time at a "thriving" level - hopefully, they will indeed appear this way when other people download it (more on how I did this later). Also, the juicing stations I built into the park should also appear pre-stocked and ready to make about eight different juices, since I doubt many of you will keep your Sims around long enough to witness the entire lifecycle of a garden in order to get produce. HOPEFULLY, my plan worked. Hopefully. Also in the arboretum are grills, a few tents, campfires, a huge lake for fishing, an overlook with a telescope and easels, hammocks, etc. Plenty to do!

LATER ON..........

Expect only two more lots after these three to go with Linden College. I've got the gym and the technical school underway (the technical school having a focus on mechanical/cooking/cleaning/other remaining skill points and badges), and after that, Linden College is SO done! 

The three lots described above will be published in a few days, so check back soon!

*Yawn!*

Upcoming Submission News, Jan. 25th, 2009

Still chugging away at finishing up my Linden College series. If you're interested in something other than Linden College, I will have something different up soon, but I'm trying to get this finished first. The next upload you'll be seeing here is my Greek house. It's smaller than other Greek houses I've made for myself in the past. This should make it easier for the sims living there to actually get from point A to point B without jumping through hoops. If you're looking for a place that can handle a party, though, not to worry - this house actually CAN handle a big bash, because although the actual size of the house is not that large, the lot size IS large, and the backyard definitely has plenty to do. Perfect place for a pool party, if you ask me. 

Planned on having my apartment complex up as well, but I would like to do some more testing with apartments combined with the university EP to see what kind of things come up besides what I've already discovered. I've got a thread going regarding my findings here. Please, if anyone else has done testing using apartments in a university, I'd love to know what discoveries you've made!

Lastly, for those of you who ARE interested in something not college-related, the first lots I have planned for after this Linden College business are a set of two lots that are largely inspired by the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion - my favorite building in Dallas, TX. 

Happy downloading!

Inspiration

I like to give credit where credit is due, and you should all know who has given me new inpiration regarding roofing lately. The first time I saw those European roof decorations combined with Asian roofs was in the Snowflake Drift lot by tlc10175 on EA's The Sims 2 Exchange (see her Sim Page here). No, not to worry - I didn't copy her lots! I don't do that. No, these are definitely my own creations here - I've just been curious to see how far I could take that kind of thinking regarding roofs. So please, if you like what I've been doing with the roofs in Linden College, you should check out her stuff!

Happy Inauguration Day!

I've enjoyed watching inauguration coverage and slacking off today....have you all had a chance to slack off today, too? I hope so. Everyone needs those days, and today was the perfect day for it! However, if you have a sudden burst of energy around, say, midnight tonight, you should definitely check things out here, because new downloads will be published. Horray! Also, if you haven't had a chance to take my poll, check it out! It's only one question - a short one, I swear! Results are deadlocked as to what people prefer in their lots, and maybe the next few of you can solve that dilemma for me. :) In the meantime, take care!

Upcoming Submission News, Jan. 18th, 2009

For those of you who haven't checked it out yet, my first two university lots (dorms and a restaurant) have already been published. The next two are on their way! One of them is just a simple historic marker - not much to it, but I figure every university ought to have one. The tower is a good place to get some fresh air, play a little chess, or enjoy the view six floors up. The second one is a lot I am particularly excited about. Since gaming degree programs don't seem to be particularly common in real life, I tried to make something that would cater to my gamer students without making an actual school for gaming. I decided that my school's secret society would be the place for my gamers to fulfill their dreams. You can almost think of it as a Free Time secret hobby lot for gamers that is made specifically for the university level. It has everything a gamer could possibly want, in addition to some career rewards that enforce the lot's secrecy (such as a couple of cow plants near the entrance and the lie detector so your Sims can practice feigning knowledge of the lot's existence). ;) I hope you'll enjoy it!

Upcoming Submission News, Jan. 11th, 2009

Wow.....with the release of TSR v7 Beta and my need to explore it, I've had no life today. As far as uploads are concerned, you might be interested to hear you have an entire university to look forward to. It all comes hand in hand with my renewed interest in actually playing the game - I had to have someplace new to send my young adult Sims! For this, I created Linden College, and the first two lots should be up in the next week or so (as long as they get through "pending" on the submissions page). Those two lots are.....

1) A cozy little restaurant (which can really be used anywhere, but the architecture matches that of the other lots at Linden College).

2) A dorm with room for eight students - these rooms are separated into two buildings (both on the same lot).

At least half of my university lots are going to be only one story - my intent is to keep travel time short for our Sims as well as load time by keeping the lots relatively small (for their purpose, anyway). The other university lots I have already completed but are going through testing are a group of apartments, a secret society, a fraternity/sorority house, and a "historic landmark" (reminiscent of a belltower). The lots I have left to build are my arts/science/mechanics buildings, a gym, and a park. After that, I will consider my university to be finished (hopefully). Stick around! :)

Making a comeback....

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been here for a while - I've been trying to get all my playing in on my newer expansion packs before The Sims 3 is released, since I haven't had Free Time or Apartment Life for very long, and I have a feeling that once the next game is released, I'll forget the expansion packs I've just spent money on ever existed. That's how they get you. But not to fear! Since I've created all new lots in order to get my play on, I have a few that I would like to upload for others to enjoy. They are custom content free - I'm on a mission to prove that you can make gorgeous lots using nothing except what's already given to you in the game. It can be done. This should definitely make my next few uploads problem-free in your game, and will prevent you from having to sort through custom content you don't want during installation. I'm curious as to how many people are interested in this method, so if it does interest you, let me know! There might also be some lots that are only furnished with toilets, counters, etc....basically the things you would see in a house when you move in real life, just to add some more realism to the game. Stay tuned, and happy new year!