Re: Building blueprints
vecki
> I know some people like to use real blueprints to design their Sims
> houses.
>
> I'm interested in free sources of blueprints. In particular, I'd love
> blueprints of a multi-story beach house on stilts, a brownstone
> duplex, and a multi-story office building.
>
> Any suggestions?
> Gwen
Here's the one I use a lot: http://www.architecturaldesigns.com/
It talks about selling them but if you click on View Details you can
get a printable version that works pretty well.
~*~
vecki
Engram
I thought I had more but those bookmarks obviously blew up with my previous
HDD at the end of last year.
Some brownstones:
http://www.reinventokc.com/floorplans.asp
http://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan_details.asp?PlanNum=3659
And another one with various plans: http://www.fentonmill.com/
As Jeanie said, they all want you to pay for the actual blueprints, but all
of them offer free previews of the plans, which you can then use to build
the houses.
Cheers!
Engram
Jeff Zeitlin
While I don't recall seeing any plans for the type of houses the
original poster specified, I've found a lot of nice plans at
http://dreamhomesource.com, and have converted a number of their plans
to Sims2 lots.
FWIW, I've found that when converting plans, Sims2 build mode should be
assumed to be one square = 2'6" (or one square = 75 cm, if you use
metric). It's not perfect - Sims2 is internally inconsistent with any
fixed measurement for a square size - but it makes the result look
reasonably good and plays well.
--
Jeff Zeitlin
jzei...@cyburban.com
kat
The problem I have sometimes is that I need to insert an extra square to
allow the stairs to be built or a door to be placed, where the game wouldn't
let me do it otherwise. I usually think of 3 feet to a square when I need
to allow for that.
--
kat
>^..^<
Jeanie
centimeters. I just use them as squares. One square for a door,
usually a blank square between the door and a window, three squares for
a sofa, etc. In order to be playable, a sim bedroom must be a minimum
of 4x4 squares for a double or 4x3 for a single room. Bathrooms must be
2x3 if they include a tub/shower and 2x2 if they are 1/2 baths. For
traffic sake and playability, it is best to have at least two squares
open at the head and foot of any stairs. Hallways should be at least 2
squares wide. I've found that these tips make for much more playable
houses.
Jeanie
kat
I design my own that way too. It was when I tried to convert my own house I
ran up against the problems I mentioned.
--
kat
>^..^<
maxon
news:49f261d5$0$4965$ec3e...@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...
> I don't bother with worrying about converting sim squares to feet or
> centimeters. I just use them as squares. One square for a door, usually
> a blank square between the door and a window, three squares for a sofa,
> etc. In order to be playable, a sim bedroom must be a minimum of 4x4
> squares for a double or 4x3 for a single room. Bathrooms must be 2x3 if
> they include a tub/shower and 2x2 if they are 1/2 baths. For traffic sake
> and playability, it is best to have at least two squares open at the head
> and foot of any stairs. Hallways should be at least 2 squares wide. I've
> found that these tips make for much more playable houses.
Yes, I do something like that and then fiddle with proportions to get things
to look like the picture (if there is one).
Best wishes
maxon
Engram
news:49f261d5$0$4965$ec3e...@unlimited.usenetmonster.com...
> centimeters. I just use them as squares. One square for a door, usually
> a blank square between the door and a window, three squares for a sofa,
> etc. In order to be playable, a sim bedroom must be a minimum of 4x4
> squares for a double or 4x3 for a single room. Bathrooms must be 2x3 if
> they include a tub/shower and 2x2 if they are 1/2 baths. For traffic sake
> and playability, it is best to have at least two squares open at the head
> and foot of any stairs. Hallways should be at least 2 squares wide. I've
> found that these tips make for much more playable houses.
Those are the approximate proportions that I use as well. I find that they
make for very useful minimum room sizes.
Engram
Lydia Dustbin
"kat" <kat....@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:75g3qiF...@mid.individual.net...
>>>
>> I don't bother with worrying about converting sim squares to feet or
>> centimeters. I just use them as squares. One square for a door,
>> usually a blank square between the door and a window, three squares
>> for a sofa, etc. In order to be playable, a sim bedroom must be a
>> minimum
>> of 4x4 squares for a double or 4x3 for a single room. Bathrooms must
>> be 2x3 if they include a tub/shower and 2x2 if they are 1/2 baths. For
>> traffic sake and playability, it is best to have at least two squares
>> open at the head and foot of any stairs. Hallways should be at least
>> 2 squares wide. I've found that these tips make for much more
>> playable houses.
>>
>
> I design my own that way too. It was when I tried to convert my own house
> I ran up against the problems I mentioned.
>
into a livable Sims residence.
It usually turns a humble dwelling into a mansion-sized estate though. You
should see this poky place in the game. Living room's big enough to hold a
dance inside.
.
I mean, my landing is exactly two doors long by one wide and that has the
stairs on one side square and a door on every single one of the other walls.
8)) (three beds, bathroom and an airing cupboard.)
Nice going, which ever architect designed this house. 8(
.
GbG
kat
Sounds exactly like the landing in my son's house. At the top of the
stairs, door to the left, door in front, beside another door and to the
right the bathroom door and a cupboard door over the stairs. For some
strange reason the airing cupboard is in the small bedroom.
--
kat
>^..^<
Jeff Zeitlin
>Jeff Zeitlin said:
>> FWIW, I've found that when converting plans, Sims2 build mode should
>> be assumed to be one square = 2'6" (or one square = 75 cm, if you use
>> metric). It's not perfect - Sims2 is internally inconsistent with any
>> fixed measurement for a square size - but it makes the result look
>> reasonably good and plays well.
>The problem I have sometimes is that I need to insert an extra square to
>allow the stairs to be built or a door to be placed, where the game wouldn't
>let me do it otherwise. I usually think of 3 feet to a square when I need
>to allow for that.
Yes, there are issues with that; as I said, it's internally
inconsistent. For example, single-square doors actually seem to want
you to assume 3 ft (90cm) per square, but sizing the room and
positioning the furniture at that assumption makes rooms too small and
cramped. OTOH, at two feet (60cm) per square, rooms are too big and
furniture is too small.
There's also other minor issues like not being able to have a door open
up right onto the top square of stairs, or to have two doors opening up
onto the same hallway square, both of which are real-world
possibilities.
(Side note - from what I've heard about Sims 3, the build-mode
assumption sounds like it's going to be about fifteen inches (35-40cm)
for a build-mode square.)
--
Jeff Zeitlin
jzei...@cyburban.com
Jeff Zeitlin
>I don't bother with worrying about converting sim squares to feet or
>centimeters. I just use them as squares. One square for a door,
>usually a blank square between the door and a window, three squares for
>a sofa, etc. In order to be playable, a sim bedroom must be a minimum
>of 4x4 squares for a double or 4x3 for a single room. Bathrooms must be
>2x3 if they include a tub/shower and 2x2 if they are 1/2 baths. For
>traffic sake and playability, it is best to have at least two squares
>open at the head and foot of any stairs. Hallways should be at least 2
>squares wide. I've found that these tips make for much more playable
>houses.
And this is OK when you're doing your own 'free builds', i.e., not
specifically trying to convert a floor plan. My rule of thumb is
unneeded in such cases; it only becomes important when you're working
from an existing floor plan and want to come as close to duplicating it
as possible.
The original poster's question suggested that s/he intended to do floor
plan conversions, so I mentioned that rule of thumb.
--
Jeff Zeitlin
jzei...@cyburban.com
kat
Jeff Zeitlin said:
> "kat" <kat....@ntlworld.com> wrote:
>
>> Jeff Zeitlin said:
>
>>> FWIW, I've found that when converting plans, Sims2 build mode should
>>> be assumed to be one square = 2'6" (or one square = 75 cm, if you
>>> use metric). It's not perfect - Sims2 is internally inconsistent
>>> with any fixed measurement for a square size - but it makes the
>>> result look reasonably good and plays well.
>
>> The problem I have sometimes is that I need to insert an extra
>> square to allow the stairs to be built or a door to be placed, where
>> the game wouldn't let me do it otherwise. I usually think of 3 feet
>> to a square when I need to allow for that.
>
> Yes, there are issues with that; as I said, it's internally
> inconsistent. For example, single-square doors actually seem to want
> you to assume 3 ft (90cm) per square, but sizing the room and
> positioning the furniture at that assumption makes rooms too small and
> cramped. OTOH, at two feet (60cm) per square, rooms are too big and
> furniture is too small.
>
> There's also other minor issues like not being able to have a door
> open
> up right onto the top square of stairs, or to have two doors opening
> up onto the same hallway square, both of which are real-world
> possibilities.
When I tried to build my own house I was confronted with trying to get an
internal door and the bottom of the stairs into one square. That square
also needed to take part of the 2 square wide front door. The stairs were
also on the long side. Moved back another square they were even worse! My
hallway is long and thin. The 2 squares for the front door is right, so
that gives me a one square wide strip which is rather small for a playable
sim house.
I was able to build it, to demonstrate to a friend how it had been
originally, how it is now, and how it will be if our architect ever does
what he is supposed to be doing and finalises the plans. but the front door
got placed with move objects on and i wouldn't want to try playing it.
Making it so that doors can open and sims can walk through makes the place
massive.
--
kat
>^..^<
DeAnn
>
> - Show quoted text -
I find sims' pathfinding has improved a lot with the later
expansions. Now sims will often negotiate a one-wide hallway or get
to chairs on the side of the table against the wall and so forth. I
have one house I like with a narrow hallway that generally works
fine. Except when there are toddlers or nannies. Somehow, toddlers
and nannies not only cannot walk past other sims, but they also seem
to block them from passing by. In that case, I open another doorway
so sims can find a second path out of the hallway and back bedroom.
I remember in sims 1 having a small bath with just a toilet, 1x2,
and having two sims get stuck, one trying to get in and one (the
playable one) trying to get out. They fell asleep on each other's
shoulders waiting for the other to move! At least when they woke up
the blocking bloke moved.
Jeanie
Yes, I understand that. I was just saying that I just the floor plans
as a sort of visual guide for building what I hope will be a playable
house and in order to do that, the "rules" I go by are necessary. I
have found that there is a happy medium there somewhere, and I honestly
have never tried to figure out how "big" a sim square is. I worry more
about how big a door is, how many squares I have to have for staircases,
that sort of thing. Yet, my houses usually end up looking a lot like
the floor plans I started with.
Jeanie
Jeanie
You can always use moveobjects on to place doors at the head or foot of
stairs, or across from one another in a narrow hallway. They won't be
easy to play that way, however, and sometimes you end up with just the
frame of the door showing on the wall as if the wall ate the interior of
the door or something. It's still usable but looks bad.
Jeanie
kat
That's what I found too. You have the choice. if it's just to build you can
make the house look right, but to play you need to alter it.
I built a house form a plan yesterday. A nice 2 bed 2 bath with den and
living area. I had to make it less oblong and more square to get the stairs
in, and even then ended up with smaller bathrooms and a bigger den. And I
found that some times that roof slope thing won't let you do what you want.
I'd wanted a high roof to get the bedrooms in, but it would only allow me 52
degrees. So I just had to build the upper floor and use more roof bits. It
ended up /very/ tall, but quite nice.
--
kat
>^..^<