Hello MTS!

I created a neighborhood a while back and while I'm enjoying it, there are a few things that I would've done differently, hence the reason for creating a new one now. My problem is I don't really know how to plan the layout of the new neighborhood (One of the problems of the old one.) I tried using SC4 straight off, but for some reason it's hard for me to plan with it. I've also tried planning using graph paper, but that doesn't work because of how SC4 places roads. I know how I want the neighborhood to look at the main square but don't really have a plan for the rest of the neighborhood. Are there any programs that can help me plan a neighborhood better? Or just any general tips? I prefer small lots, with the biggest probably going to be town square as a 3x3, with the average house being 1x2 (2x2 is probably the largest houses.) Any advice is appreciated.

I always try to plan from the middle , which it sounds like you're doing, out. I think about the overall feel/vibe of the place. Is it urban, suburban, rural, historically themed? Do I want to incorporate specific cc and hood deco ? How much space do I need? What's the terrain like, it it hilly or flat? How many playable sims/families do I want ? How many community lots and of what type? Can it handle growth (if wanted)? Am I making this hood for looks or for playability or a combo thereof? I haven't started making a really big new hood in awhile now, but it's always a fun endeavor. I'd definitely save and backup a bunch so you can return to a previous state without having to trash everything. I also like to make and keep a safe , basically unplayed, version of the final hood with all the lots and deco placed so I can restart it down the road if I want, saves a lot of time. Best of luck!

Dat city planning <3

You could try starting with some of the tiny hood layouts on MTS?

Fisher's Island: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=579355

Merrycliff: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=474876

Springvale: http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=350568

I *LOVE* Dinkytink's small hoods. Have used these often. http://modthesims.info/member.php?u=353379

This is how I learned it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv1jS9T2VUc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnG3_Vi_aPw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3pYkzlieT4&t=1663s

I hope it helps! I won't bother watching those videos, but they help me create my own road layouted world. Perhaps it can teach you do whatever you're looking for.

If you have a vast amount of land, try breaking it up into small areas or suburbs such as the rich/historic parts of town, the poor parts, modern parts, etc. Why not have an apartment complex? a seaside resort? Use some blank space as farmland or forest! You don't have to put a house in every plot. I usually place my town squares in the centre, but why not in front of the city hall? For communal lots, have a strip mall! Have two! Have a massive indoor shopping centre taking up 3x3!

I think I saw your neighborhood on the picture thread! Looks great! I think I'm going semi urban in this neighborhood, I really like compact neighborhoods. As such, I don't need a huge amount of space, meaning the terrain can be whatever I want on the edges of the neighborhood. I enjoy a smaller amount of playable families than the average simmer. I would like many of the playables to own businesses.

Even those aren't small enough for me! I enjoy REALLY small, compact neighborhoods where everyone can almost walk to each others houses.

I used these videos to build my first neighborhood! Jessa is amazing!

You too, Iroh.

After messing around in Simcity 4, here's what I've come up with so far:

Where you see that long stretch of road, there will be a tunnel to give the illusion of a connection to the outside world. A railroad is going to be parallel to the road running in the opposite direction. Right now the neighborhood is set to be called Pharlet, (Looked at two game names, Pharaoh + Gauntlet = Pharlet,) but I might change it later. I don't know if any one really cares about my neighborhood but it's fun to post about these things so enjoy?
Here's a closer look at the roads in the neighborhood:

Ah, well, the trick to those (IMO) is not to have too many roads. If you look at how houses are laid out in real life there are not usually four roads surrounding one house and in TS2 this looks odd.

I love that layout! You know the conversion for SC4 squares to Sims 2 squares, right? The single square in the center of your roads is equal to a 3X3 lot.

Yep! I actually changed a few minor roads because they appear even in SC4, but in the Sims 2 it looks wrong. The main 3x3 is going to be a central park!

I SC4 square = 3x3 lot in game?

Sometimes.

The conversion varies depending on whether the tiles in question are a road, right next to a road, or further away from a road... it takes some doing to figure out how things actually match up. A single SC4 tile surrounded by road, like in the screenshots above, will be a 3x3 square in TS2.

1 SC4 square = 2 sims 2 squares, +1 for the whole block. So a 1-square gap is 3 squares in TS2, a 2-square block equals 5 squares, etc.

It's a little confusing but not too difficult to get used to.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this, but you'll never have an even number of tiles between two roads in TS2, thanks to the conversion.

This explains it:
http://modthesims.info/t/467247

And this explains some more:
http://criquette-was-here.tumblr.co...ained-some-more

And this is useful too:
http://criquette-was-here.tumblr.co...roads-explained

:lovestruc @Mootilda & @criquette !