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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 3:39 PM Last edited by JMarcos123 : 3rd Mar 2013 at 6:18 PM.
Default The Sims 2 'hood - Waterview - Basegame
Obs: This is not the unreleased maxis neighborhood "Waterside". Is a custom hood by me "Waterview".
Situated right between Pleasantview and Strangetown, Waterview is a middle-class district that offers several commercial spots. Even being a very busy city, this place is the right choice if you want a peaceful place to live.
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Site Helper
#2 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 4:09 PM Last edited by Mootilda : 3rd Mar 2013 at 5:40 PM.
First, this isn't how neighborhoods are shared at MTS. Go to the Create -> Creator Guidelines section and read about the requirements for neighborhoods.

Then, use the Create -> Upload Items wizard to properly submit your neighborhood to the upload queue, where it will go through our normal acceptance process.

I've downloaded your neighborhood and will let you know about any problems that I find.

Did you get permission from the creators to share all of their CC? For example MaryLou says that you can share her work, but only if you give her credit. Yet, I don't see anywhere where you credit her work or give the links to her downloads. Since I only checked one creator, I expect that there are others who would (at least) like credit for their work.
Quote:
It's ALLOWED: to include my creations in your lots, BUT the lots must be uploaded on 100% free sites (except the Exchange), and you must provide credits and a link to the download thread.
It's also a really bad idea to share hacks like this, since hacks are often EP-specific. Besides, your neighborhood can't possibly require triples and quads. You should let people choose their own hacks, except in the rare cases where they are actually required.

You might be interested in my article about creating a neighborhood for sharing. These aren't rules, but just guidelines for avoiding the Pleasantview townies, extraneous files, shredded character data, hood corruption, etc. that I found evidence of in your neighborhood.
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=455403
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#3 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 6:14 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
First, this isn't how neighborhoods are shared at MTS. Go to the Create -> Creator Guidelines section and read about the requirements for neighborhoods.

Then, use the Create -> Upload Items wizard to properly submit your neighborhood to the upload queue, where it will go through our normal acceptance process.

I've downloaded your neighborhood and will let you know about any problems that I find.

Did you get permission from the creators to share all of their CC? For example MaryLou says that you can share her work, but only if you give her credit. Yet, I don't see anywhere where you credit her work or give the links to her downloads. Since I only checked one creator, I expect that there are others who would (at least) like credit for their work. It's also a really bad idea to share hacks like this, since hacks are often EP-specific. Besides, your neighborhood can't possibly require triples and quads. You should let people choose their own hacks, except in the rare cases where they are actually required.

You might be interested in my article about creating a neighborhood for sharing. These aren't rules, but just guidelines for avoiding the Pleasantview townies, extraneous files, shredded character data, hood corruption, etc. that I found evidence of in your neighborhood.
http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=455403

OMG thanks for the advertence mootilda! I super forgot to remove my mods from the downloads folder before i posted! also i'm going to put the neighborhood in the downloads section (with the credits for the CC of course ), as soon as uploading is turned back on. But other than that, what did you think about the neighborhood overall?
Site Helper
#4 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 6:22 PM
I have only just started looking at it, so let me reserve my comments for now. Your best option is to post in Create -> Creator Feedback to get feedback on your work before uploading. I love the idea of downloading occupied neighborhoods, so I'm always happy to download and look them over.

Did you make all of your houses? If I'm correct, you seem to have used other people's work without their permission, and without credit or download links. For example:
http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=454897
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 6:28 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
I have only just started looking at it, so let me reserve my comments for now. Your best option is to post in Create -> Creator Feedback to get feedback on your work before uploading. I love the idea of downloading occupied neighborhoods, so I'm always happy to download and look them over.

Did you make all of your houses? If I'm correct, you seem to have used other people's work without their permission, and without credit or download links. For example:
http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=454897


Red diamond path? i have this house in the bin, but i didn't place it in the neighborhood. Am i wrong?
Site Helper
#6 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 6:38 PM Last edited by Mootilda : 3rd Mar 2013 at 8:44 PM. Reason: Clarification
I haven't had enough of a chance to look at your neighborhood completely; that's why I asked. It was in your Downloads folder, so technically shared without permission. I'm glad to hear that you made all of the lots yourself. Removing the unnecessary stuff from the Downloads should definitely help.

I tend to start by looking at the files in Windows Explorer, SimPE, the HoodChecker, and other tools, then moving on to looking at the neighborhood, houses and families, then finally play-testing, so I'm just reporting things as I see them.

You might want to ask the moderators to move this thread to the Creator Feedback forum, and you might want to provide more information about the neighborhood. A few pictures of the families and lots would help; I wasn't sure initially whether the neighborhood was occupied or not.

Does your neighborhood require any CC? I'm having problem figuring out exactly what I have to install.

It's a pretty neighborhood. I love all of the parks and the variety of buildings. However, your lots could really use lighting. Some of the ones that I've looked at so far have no lights at all; although that may be because I didn't know which CC was required. Are you interested in comments about specific lots and families, or just more general comments?
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#7 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 7:58 PM
I've moved this thread to the Creator Feedback Forum, as per Mootilda's suggestion, since you're not advertising your own site (which is what the free content updates forum is for). Do bear in mind that, while we love to have nicely-made full 'hoods uploaded, we do require that any CC is included only if you have permission (or if the creator's policy says they're happy with sharing), and with proper credit to the creators. Creators put an awful lot of hard work into making their CC (as you know by now, having made a 'hood!), and it sucks when someone else shares your CC without even acknowledging your hard work; we don't want to put creators through that horrible feeling.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Site Helper
#8 Old 3rd Mar 2013 at 8:28 PM Last edited by Mootilda : 4th Mar 2013 at 2:04 AM.
Do you know what you did to create so many missing sims in your neighborhood? The HoodChecker finds a lot of them. It's a simple fix to remove those bad references, but I'm wondering whether the error messages are an indication of some larger problem.

Several of your lot names are too long for my computer. When loading the lot, the lot name goes past both edges of the window without wrapping. You might want to shorten the lot names and move some of that text into the lot description instead. There are also some lots where the name or description doesn't make sense, for example "1x2 by MaryLou" or "...". I know that coming up with clever names can be a challenge, but people rely on the lot names and descriptions, especially for the community lots.

Looks like you've missed at least one reference to "Melbourne".

I don't know whether there are any rules against "shell" houses in uploaded hoods (that is, houses without any interior walls), but you might want to warn people that some of the houses aren't ready for move-in. I know that was an issue for people with the fixed Riverside, and Mark finally decided to finish them all inside.

There's at least one house with an attic, plus the A-frame. Have you considered weather-proofing of your lots? It looks like most of your lots would be weather-proof by default, but I believe that attics and A-frames need to be made with normal walls if you want them to work properly with Seasons.
Scholar
#9 Old 4th Mar 2013 at 5:18 AM
Hey, this looks really nice. Im interested to see its development.
Site Helper
#10 Old 4th Mar 2013 at 6:00 PM
Yes, it would be nice to see pictures of the families and lots.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#11 Old 4th Mar 2013 at 7:26 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
Do you know what you did to create so many missing sims in your neighborhood? The HoodChecker finds a lot of them. It's a simple fix to remove those bad references, but I'm wondering whether the error messages are an indication of some larger problem.

Several of your lot names are too long for my computer. When loading the lot, the lot name goes past both edges of the window without wrapping. You might want to shorten the lot names and move some of that text into the lot description instead. There are also some lots where the name or description doesn't make sense, for example "1x2 by MaryLou" or "...". I know that coming up with clever names can be a challenge, but people rely on the lot names and descriptions, especially for the community lots.

Looks like you've missed at least one reference to "Melbourne".

I don't know whether there are any rules against "shell" houses in uploaded hoods (that is, houses without any interior walls), but you might want to warn people that some of the houses aren't ready for move-in. I know that was an issue for people with the fixed Riverside, and Mark finally decided to finish them all inside.

There's at least one house with an attic, plus the A-frame. Have you considered weather-proofing of your lots? It looks like most of your lots would be weather-proof by default, but I believe that attics and A-frames need to be made with normal walls if you want them to work properly with Seasons.

Oh yes the empty houses :/ i made them for some sort of "decorations" to the neighborhood.
And yeah, the neighborhood was going to be named "Melbourne", but in the last minute i changed it to Waterview.
It seems like i still have a lot of stuff to do for this neighborhood to be actually done.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 5th Mar 2013 at 12:56 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
I haven't had enough of a chance to look at your neighborhood completely; that's why I asked. It was in your Downloads folder, so technically shared without permission. I'm glad to hear that you made all of the lots yourself. Removing the unnecessary stuff from the Downloads should definitely help.

I tend to start by looking at the files in Windows Explorer, SimPE, the HoodChecker, and other tools, then moving on to looking at the neighborhood, houses and families, then finally play-testing, so I'm just reporting things as I see them.

You might want to ask the moderators to move this thread to the Creator Feedback forum, and you might want to provide more information about the neighborhood. A few pictures of the families and lots would help; I wasn't sure initially whether the neighborhood was occupied or not.

Does your neighborhood require any CC? I'm having problem figuring out exactly what I have to install.

It's a pretty neighborhood. I love all of the parks and the variety of buildings. However, your lots could really use lighting. Some of the ones that I've looked at so far have no lights at all; although that may be because I didn't know which CC was required. Are you interested in comments about specific lots and families, or just more general comments?

Oh yes, one thing that i always forget to do is to put lights in the lots and houses i build.
And yeah i would like your comments, as I'm really a beginner at this uploading stuff . Any help will be welcome.
Mad Poster
#13 Old 5th Mar 2013 at 8:44 PM
Making anything always takes longer than you think it will. Eventually you learn to factor that into your time estimates; but it will still take longer.

We create in a certain frame of mind, very freewheeling and focused and "hot,"; but in order to share what we make, we have to prepare the creation in another frame of mind, very analytical and methodical and "cool". You've got the draft of the neighborhood, so now you need to put your brain into cool mode, read the Creator Guidelines for neighborhoods, print them out and keep them for reference, go over what you've got point by point. You may find you have to start over to build it without the missing sims or this or that; but it isn't really starting over, it's just revision.

I recommend making back-ups of each phase of your neighborhood and packaging each element suitable for packaging as you complete it. That way you will have each stage of development available for reference and, if necessary, to keep you from having to go back to square one each time you find an error that can't be retroactively fixed.

Above all, remove your ego from the process. You don't want to be perfect the first time. You want to have a good neighborhood that people will enjoy in the end.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Site Helper
#14 Old 8th Mar 2013 at 8:12 PM Last edited by Mootilda : 9th Mar 2013 at 8:06 PM.
For the most part, your houses are nice. I particularly like the way that you've mixed styles in the neighborhood, yet it seems to work.

As a general rule, it's better to use connecting (modular) stairs than the one-piece fixed stairs (aka staircase). That's because multiple sims can use the modular stairs at a time, whereas the fixed stairs can only be used by one sim at a time. I haven't play-tested all of the lots, but my guess is that the fixed stairs in some of the houses will cause routing issues.

100 Pleasantview Road: I find it odd to see a bedroom without a window. In many places, that would be against the law, due to fire issues. I think that the house would work better if you could move the small bedroom back to the back wall and add a window or two. Moving the bathroom forward to fill the space also seems to make that bathroom more accessible.

If that doesn't work well because of the difference in the sizes of the two rooms, perhaps the small bedroom could be moved to the front left and the master bath moved next to the other bath?

105 Pleasantview Road: The interior paneling doesn't seem to match the style of the house. Such a large house also seems to deserve more than one bathroom; I'd suggest at least a powder room downstairs.

RL 1x2 by MaryLou: Missing wallpaper and flooring, plus the previously discussed issues of the fixed staircase and lot name.

Boutiques (fashion): It probably makes sense to have a cash register downstairs, so that people don't have to go upstairs just to pay for their clothes. Most businesses want the cashier near the doors, so that people won't walk out without paying. Perhaps just flipping things, so that the clothes were upstairs and the cashier and change rooms were downstairs? You may also have an issue with the fixed staircase in that building.

I think that I'd also move the urinal to the other side of the door. As it stands, everything in that washroom is on one side of the door and the other side is unused. Moving the urinal will balance things out and give the person more privacy.
Mad Poster
#15 Old 9th Mar 2013 at 2:51 PM
JMarcos123, just as Mootilda said before, introducing us to the families is also a priority. :D
Site Helper
#16 Old 9th Mar 2013 at 7:31 PM Last edited by Mootilda : 11th Mar 2013 at 7:55 PM.
Originally, JMarcos123 shared the neighborhood here, which is probably why he didn't bother to post pictures. I grabbed the neighborhood before it was removed, which is why I've been able to make specific comments. I believe that the neighborhood was removed because
1) It was in the wrong forum and
2) It contained other people's work without links or credit.

JMarcos123, have you read the Creator Guidelines for neighborhoods yet (found under the Create menu)? It can help if you take some of those pictures and post them here, so that people have something that they can comment on. If I were you, I would start by documenting the families and their lots. It will also give you practice taking pictures, which you'll need before uploading.

Some general comments, followed by a few specific comments...

There are four main ways (that I know of) for creating a neighborhood story: the neighborhood story itself, the descriptions for the individual families, the individual sims' bios, and the memory system. Peni did a wonderful job commenting on the neighborhood story for Riverside and she might be willing to help if you could post what you've got.

I'd really like it if you would pause all lots before saving. I just hate it when the lots play when you enter them. For example, I started to load a lot, but was called away. By the time I got back to my computer, there was a message "If your intention was to kill all of the sims on this lot, congratulations!".

Many of your buildings have pseudo-driveways. However, some of them don't seem to be the correct size for the Nightlife driveways. You might want to consider changing these so that they can be easily replaced by the standard 5x8 driveways for people who have Nightlife.

While toilet rooms are wonderfully compact, there's a certain ick factor to having no sink available on several of your community lots.

Freshest groceries: I really like the covered front entrance on this building. However, I'm afraid that the bench right in front of the double door will cause blocking issues. Perhaps it would make sense to move or remove the bench?

Culture Residence North and ... South: Missing wall covering on the attic walls. No way to use the pool. Upstairs bathroom may need a second door, so that guests and second bedroom have access. Would you consider flipping the floor plan for one of the houses, to make it more unique?

Artwork: Missing wallpaper in downstairs toilet room.

Old Farmhouse: There's an unfinished floor tile sticking out at the back of the house, with no obvious purpose.

60 Main Street: It seems odd that a mother and teenage son would live in a house with just one (double) bed.

275 Summer Hill Lane: No wallpaper in upper hall. Pool is a death trap: board to get in, but no stairs to get out.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#17 Old 23rd Mar 2013 at 6:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Mootilda
Originally, JMarcos123 shared the neighborhood here, which is probably why he didn't bother to post pictures. I grabbed the neighborhood before it was removed, which is why I've been able to make specific comments. I believe that the neighborhood was removed because
1) It was in the wrong forum and
2) It contained other people's work without links or credit.

JMarcos123, have you read the Creator Guidelines for neighborhoods yet (found under the Create menu)? It can help if you take some of those pictures and post them here, so that people have something that they can comment on. If I were you, I would start by documenting the families and their lots. It will also give you practice taking pictures, which you'll need before uploading.

Some general comments, followed by a few specific comments...

There are four main ways (that I know of) for creating a neighborhood story: the neighborhood story itself, the descriptions for the individual families, the individual sims' bios, and the memory system. Peni did a wonderful job commenting on the neighborhood story for Riverside and she might be willing to help if you could post what you've got.

I'd really like it if you would pause all lots before saving. I just hate it when the lots play when you enter them. For example, I started to load a lot, but was called away. By the time I got back to my computer, there was a message "If your intention was to kill all of the sims on this lot, congratulations!".

Many of your buildings have pseudo-driveways. However, some of them don't seem to be the correct size for the Nightlife driveways. You might want to consider changing these so that they can be easily replaced by the standard 5x8 driveways for people who have Nightlife.

While toilet rooms are wonderfully compact, there's a certain ick factor to having no sink available on several of your community lots.

Freshest groceries: I really like the covered front entrance on this building. However, I'm afraid that the bench right in front of the double door will cause blocking issues. Perhaps it would make sense to move or remove the bench?

Culture Residence North and ... South: Missing wall covering on the attic walls. No way to use the pool. Upstairs bathroom may need a second door, so that guests and second bedroom have access. Would you consider flipping the floor plan for one of the houses, to make it more unique?

Artwork: Missing wallpaper in downstairs toilet room.

Old Farmhouse: There's an unfinished floor tile sticking out at the back of the house, with no obvious purpose.

60 Main Street: It seems odd that a mother and teenage son would live in a house with just one (double) bed.

275 Summer Hill Lane: No wallpaper in upper hall. Pool is a death trap: board to get in, but no stairs to get out.

Hmm, actually i removed the link, and i will share the neighborhood when it is actually finished. And oh, by the way, thanks for the advices you've been giving, and sorry for the delay to reply.
Locked thread | Locked by: spladoum Reason: Useful neighborhood-creation advice.
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