Hi

I've very much improved Sunset Valley by (so far):

- adding two new suburban areas (one with foggy weather and one for horses)
- recoloring the WHOLE WORLD in order to get rid of this annoying green
- sculpted some more areas
- inserted a few little "secret" not-playable places on the maps that would just make you smile

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EPs included: Ambitions, Pets.
NOT included are TA, NL, Gen. and ST.
NOTE: While I might in the future add Generation to it, I will never add Show Time, just so you know it....
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[Apri 6th 2012] on comment #43 you find a mediafire link to the BetaWorld i'd like you to test / to build in it!
[Mai 5th 2012] A LOT OF CHANGES have been made since I first posted here, and I must admit I am quite bad with editing posts and explaing everything (also due to quite little feedback). Here are some first (old) pics:



Here is my fav last picture:
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg21...jpg&res=landing

Thank you in advance for any feedback / comments / help!

It looks great! I hope you can find someone with good game graphics (I don't have it, my computer is kinda slow ..)

brilliant idea!!! sunset valley is my favourite, but ive played it so much now i feel its a bit boring!! :D

thank you!
about craggles, yes, that's pretty much what i was thinking.... but i just love it, the other worlds are cool but don't provide me with the same kinda "familiar" feeling of sunset valley. what kind of improvements would you do if you could? i was thinking about re-painting the whole world using softer palettes, some falling weather that looks great on appalloosa plans... but than i would some good ones that i still haven't found/created.

Ok - sorry for the double posting, but it doesn't make sense to modify the other, since they goes on two different questions.
I made some in-caw pics (so with better resolution and no building stuff) of further improvements done on the "plants"-side. Still I can't find a strategy to put the trees, as you will see they are placed quite bad. Editing I also thought about which community lot i might build, tough the .world file gets corrupted as i try to play the in-game mode and add my in-game-made community lots, so i am not able to save the world with them - that's a very big problem! maybe someone want to collaborate and help me with that?
Anyway. Here are the picture: you will see that i tried to focus on the trees layout and that i learnt how to "paint" the terrain (i still have to find a better solution for the rocks behind the camps: any suggestion is more than welcome!). plus, i tried pre-painting the park areas so that I can put the spawners outside the community lot and spare on building areas (maybe that way the lots are less heavy? dunno). Let's copy some img-url...
Thank you again!

are those trees ok?

I cant think of anything to suggest that you're not already doing!! do you plan on putting buildings in it as well? or just having a blank map? I'd be more than happy to build some community lots/houses/whatever for you whats your view on CC in this world??

well... my caw crashes when i try to add some comunity lots. any lots actually. that's why there's a fall that ends in the grass... but, if your caw doesn't collapse, i would really appreciate if you would build any no-CC lot with me for that world. i already created a few that fits for the rabbitholes (twinbrook's rabbitholes) but i just can't add them to the .world file (i only play with them in my in-game version of the world, no chance i can export it).

today i finished the world. i think i could either re-paint it all over again in falling colors, or just let it as it is. i also deleted all spawners and added just once-per-kind. it's for MB-economy.... here's a panoramical view, but there's no big change as in the previuous (except maybe for the trees...). what do you think? is it complete now?

I downloaded it, but you have pets i take it? I dont, so I'm assuming thats why it wont open!! silly Craggles. I'm getting a shiny new pc at the end of the month so I'll download all the things and buy pets at the same time so I can help out and it looks pretty done to me!! do you want the same kinda theme as the old sunset valley, building wise?

and I dont know about you but Iv'e always liked the idea of having shops on the sea front, like where the right hand house is facing the beach? like a restaurant and spa and maybe cinema. But thats just me :P

I'm of two minds about this world. I love the extension where the military base used to be, the one where the stadium was, not so much. Not that it is there, just that the area looks awkward. Especially the way the road in bends. I'm also unhappy to see that many of my favorite lots have been replaced. (Especially those along the seafront.) You may be better off in using the large chunk of land to the left of Sunnyside Strand (looking in from the sea) for extra lots rather than subdividing the pre-existing lots.

Craggles, yes, i have ambitions and pets, nothing else. i could create a neutral-version of the world with just base content, but neither the sizes of the lots are going to be stable. i took a look at your creations and i really liked them (tough you used much WA stuff, which i don't know) so please, if you find any inspiration, than i will just shape my lots to fit your ideas. they are quite all pretty flat anyway.

kattenikin, i am thankfully for your comment, but i wish you could give me more specific hints about what you would do to get the whole thing better, if you could. I have to agree with you that the streets on the "horses-addressed" flat-land are quite poor in terms of creativity. do you think i should try to shape the way to that part of the world more naturally? (the perspective of the picture kinda plays a big role in that anyway...) I also thought i might put the circle-sized streets in the very middle... but than it would look too "controlled".
about the lots, i had to delete them all, for crashing issues. the lots-sizes are also random. i am considering your suggestion and i've already added some more beach-lots, but i wanted to have a plan in my mind before modelling them.
for example, those are some lots i made with the base-game at the very beginning, and they were a group of three colonial houses on the left side of the seaside...


also another idea was to layout the big lots garden as following - i was inspired from the goths lot

so... planning the lots before shaping them stable.

i like it a lot!! though now i look properly, i know what kattenjin is talking about with where the stadium used to be. i like the idea of it, but it doesnt quite sit right. i have no experience with CAW though so i have no idea of how to help

haha i dont only make things with WA!!! theyre just the only ones I've uploaded for some reason!! I'll put some others on here for download when i FINALLY get a day off work :D

There are two lots with red outlines. Maybe they are too near to other lots?
This happened to me too, when I worked on an expanded Sunset Valley in CAW. Some of the lots outlines turned red.

Yes, they are too near, but still working (actually working on normal sunset valley)... they are not a problem tough.
does that seems more natural now?

and those are your seaside lots

This will be awesome once it's done. It's a really good idea! I think it's starting to look better.

Much better. Although, I could quibble that you don't need the road on the left, and you could just move that one lot in closer to the circle/square. The little "bump" in the road may possibly create routing issues to that lot.

Actually, I was refering to the 1 through 9 Sun Song lots. Replacing lots in-game is actually quite simple, so I can always change whatever is there in the final version.

Did you start with the empty Sunset Valley template that comes with CAW? If so, and you would like to actually have the "real" Sunset Valley lot placements, there is a thread here: http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=447707 that tells how to edit pre-made worlds. You also mention CAW crashing, have you made it Large Address Aware? If you search the wiki there are 3 or 4 threads on how to do this. It may solve your crashing problem.

Out of curiosity, are you trying to give Sunset Valley enough lots so there is at least one of each sub-lot type, and one for each type of rabbit-hole?

EDIT: I must admit that after I made this post I was quite curious as to how many new lots would actually be needed. If you are willing to "sacrifice" 7 residential lots for commercial lots, you can get in each type of "special" lot except for the 9 types of bar/club/lounge; without adding in any new lots. They are even "logical" sacrifices, that don't really change the look of the town too much.

Even if kchaos had just added in the new lots in the new sub-divisions, that would have been 19 new lots to play with, more than adequate to remove the need to sacrifice any lots at all.

well... i just draw down a map. i do only have ambitions and pets, and i was kinda thinking to exclude others ep from *my* version of the world. since i won't be able to add anything from ln or wa or generations. but there will be space for converting lots into those other special ones...

that's a legend:

1 art gallery
2 beach
3 fire station
4 fishing
5 graveyard
6 gym
7 junkyard
8 laundromat
9 library
10 parks (also cats/dogs)
*petstore
11 pool
12 salon
13 stadium (RH)
14 theatre (RH)
15 science building (RH)
16 criminal building (RH)
17 bookstore (RH)
18 police station (RH)
19 school (RH)
20 horseswhatever (RH)
21 buisness (RH)
22 academy (RH)
23 city hall (RH)
24 day spa (RH)
25 hospital (RH)
26 market (RH)
27 bistro (RH)
28 horse trainings

and the map:

I think you missed the Military Base, which since you have Pets, isn't a problem, just replace the City Hall RH with the Public Services RH. The Public Services RH combines City Hall, Military Base, and Police into one RH. That would also let you use your current Police lot for something else.

Since I have all EPs and SPS, I'm not sure which RHs come from which, but there are: combined Bookstore & Spa, Supermarket & Diner, Business Office & Restraunt (bistro), School & Stadium (which I know is Pets) and the afore mentioned Public Services Building. (There are more, but those are the ones I find most usefull for Sunset Valley. The ones from LN don't really fit in all that well.) Remember, you can also combine RHs on one lot, thus needing fewer lots, which I've noticed helps a bit with lag. So, you could for example combine # 14 and #17 as one lot. Another neat trick is that you can put RH buildings on "special" lots. For example, I have a Bookstore/Spa on my "Library" lot, which lets my sims buy a book, walk to a bench in front of the bookstore, sit and read the book AND get the speed bonus from being on a library lot.

Looking at your project has made me re-install CAW myself to create my own version. Don't worry though, I won't be putting it for upload as I'll probably use CC and store items, and I can't be bothered to follow "the rules" on DLC to do so.

In case you are interested in having spaces for them, the "missing" lots/Rhs are: Acadamy, Chineese Garden, Nectary, Diner, Movie Set, Military, Consignment Store, Hangout. The only decent Movie Set I've seen so far is the EA one which is 64x64. Oi!

The 9 club/bar/lounge types from LN are: Sports Bar, Dive Bar, Local Watering Hole, Dance Club, Poolside Club, Disco Club, Fusion Lounge, Vampire Lounge, Exclusive Lounge. I don't really think one of each would be necessary, maybe 4 lots to mix-and-match.

EDIT: By the way, what is the "Acadamy" RH? I looked and couldn't find one.

2nd EDIT: Have I driven you crazy yet? lol!

the academy is the military rabbithole lot and my list comes from ambitions, that has a magnificent decadent style.
also, i won't be using any LN content neither i was thinking to actually build anything, just checking if there is enough space for them.

thank you thank you thank you thank you!! I have been looking all over for this!!

Hi

So, I finished the mapping, now it's time for testing it and start building... i won't be able to add any lots to the .world file tough, so if i don't find anyone who helps be with that i will just add some instructions about where to put the lots. that is actually good, because in that way anyone would be free to fill the world as he/she wants.
i think craggles still wants to help me building? your few lots are very good, well structured, nice style... I'd love to see some of your works in "my" world, if you can.

here's a download link. you need ambitions and pets to play, nothing else.
http://www.mediafire.com/?dv395g9ykgd2pgv

and some other pictures, rather illustrative than "beautiful"...

there are enough comm lots for ambitions / base game / pets comm lots, considering not to use multiple rabbitholes. so........
any comments?

i'd love to help!! but i dont have pets so you'll have to tell me some lot sizes and what you want them to be and what sort of style :D

right now I'm in the middle of this ancient theme and I'm building a villa after that (a couple of days hopefully) I can help you

PM whatever you need me to do, and I'll post the images of what I've been doing for you on here if you like???

great thank you so much...
maybe we stay in touch somehow outside here, it's a feedback thread, i don't really want to go off topic and being kicked out
also i live in germany, so we kinda have similar timezone. well, just check your PMs!

I gave the Beta you uploaded a shot, and I must say it's quite impressive. I have all the Expansion Packs and found there was a generous amount of space to add Late Night/Generations/World Adventures Venues as well.

A couple of things I noticed that you might want to address..

Unless you are planning on providing Community Lots with the neighborhood, you may want to resize lots for optimized compatibility with the EA Hood versions. For example, The City Hall property you provided is sized at 32x64. However, the EA City Hall properties for Twinbrook and Sunset are sized at 48x64 and 34x64. So neither of those premade City Hall properties can be simply dropped into place.

Furthermore, I had to use Awesomemod to make a custom 34x64 size property, and even then, found that after removing the one that you had put there initially, the new lot wouldn't fit, as the game kept saying 64 across was now somehow "too big" and was intersecting the road. To be fair, I'm pretty sure that was because the lot was snapping to the road in a way that didn't allow me to place correctly, a typical problem that I've had before with other lots that don't snap correctly. Users who don't have access to Awesomemod/Inge's lot sizer and CAW may find the potential of this new world extremely limiting, far more then the original Sunset, even.

So if you just upload a template and/or don't provide custom made properties to fit, keep in mind you will likely want to resize lots for EA Hood placement. Otherwise people who use the neighborhood will have to make a good portion of the Community Lots from scratch, or else go under the hood in CAW themselves to fix it.

One more thing I would suggest, that area with all the foq is quite cool, I plan on importing TB families like the Curious family and Juan Darer to live in the area, and add a hidden vampire lounge...anyways, I would suggest you put the diner here in this new area, since you haven't seemed to have found a place for one yet. It would be especially appropriate to place the Twinbrook Diner "Brunton's Boxcar Diner" seeing as the back hills of this new area include an old railway with an abandoned boxcar decor (coincidentally the real Brunton's Boxcar that supposedly inspired said diner).

Otherwise, good work! I am eager to see what the finished product will have in store.

thank you mariomaster. i'll have to check the lot size while thinking at each building....
btw, in my in-game i've tried to build something. i'm quite proud of a little but comfortable home and the library.









UPDATE
checked map for comm lots sizes

HELP!

I need someone who can add some pre-build lots in my empty world: my caw crashes and after that I cannot open the files anymore. and no, I didn't find a solution, neither by my self or in the forum. I think it's just that my laptop is too slow for catching up with all the stuffs....

Thank you in advance.