Hi, I’m Jason Sterling and recently I did an article outlining some of my favorite build contests on the Sims Forum. I decided to join the Build-n-Share (BnS) #85 contest for the Sims 4 ending on January 10th 2018 and chronicle my build for it here. As always, I hope you’re inspired by what you see and read but even more so I hope you’ll be encouraged to join up with a contest yourself in the future. The first three articles will follow my build. The final article will showcase all the entries from the contest. This third article in the series is about the exteriors.
There is a brief tutorial during this article and you will need the following cheats to follow it:
Press CTRL/SHIFT/C while in build mode. Then enter the cheat in the command box that appears in the upper left corner. Press CTRL/SHIFT/C to close the command box.
- bb.IgnoreGamePlayUnlocksEntitlement (IGUE) Unlocks all items tied to in game advancement from the start
- bb.ShowHiddenObjects (SHO) Displays all hidden objects for use in building such as ponds, dishes, bottles ect.
- bb.MoveObjects (MOO) Allows the free movement of all build/buy items within the build and activates the height slider that raises objects up and down. Press the “ALT” key with the number “9” for up and “ALT” with the number “0” for going back down.
- I will also be shrinking and enlarging objects using the “[” key to shrink objects and the “]” key for enlarging them.
I was able to quickly dispense with the exterior cladding of the structure. The bricks I applied at the start to mark the original walls seemed to make sense as a permanent solution. I paired those with the copper roof and was largely satisfied with the exterior of the main structure itself. I was still left with three areas of concern however with the remaining large lot.
- The Greenhouse
- The Pavilions
- The Annex
The Greenhouse:
- I designed the greenhouse in the style of a folly. In this case a delicate, Neo-Palladian structure. I was pleasantly surprised how well the windows from Glamour Stuff outfitted the steampunk style.
- The interior as it is shown here is still a WIP. I plan to fill it with harvestables of mature size. I placed the radiators to keep the interior warm during the winter and the table is just a place for rest and contemplation. The small outlined portion of this picture shows an attempt at giving the carrot plant a more industrial look. I don’t love it and I doubt it will make the final cut. That’s okay. In nearly every build I have cases like this where I try something and ultimately reject it. It does function like a normal carrot plant though and is something I will consider for the future.
- The view from above highlights the Palladian nature of the structure and shows the use of the “dance floor” skylights. Honestly, I use the dance floors more for glass roofing than to actually dance on-lol.
- I love the lit orange finials (the Uncomfortable Magic Bean enlarged) topping the newel posts and the small flower bed fencing. However, it didn’t survive saving and re-downloading. It dropped to the ground instead of remaining in the air. That’s okay too. It’s part of trying something different using cheats. As well, I somewhat anticipated it due to the fact that a foundation is being used. Anything elevated, that is not over a foundation, will not maintain that position upon saving and re-download when a foundation is being used. Again,that’s okay. I always find it better to try and fail than to not try. The final stand alone shot, next, shows the re-worked fencing for this building.
Tutorial for Anchoring the Newel Posts with the Transparent Foundation:
In the end there was no saving the finials lining the top of the small flower bed fencing and I took the opportunity to change it completely by lining up the Saladin’s Chain object in a shrunken form with the Saladin’s Hammer object intersecting it as a finial detail. However, the orange finials could be saved on the newel posts. In order to anchor them I needed to create a foundation underneath them and then erase the foundation visually.
- I drew out a foundation covering the entire corner and linking the two post shown together using the “Fence for Window Shopping”.
- I then changed the cladding to the transparent “Foundation_EP03 Shell” found by activating the SHO cheat.
- It removes the sides of the foundation visually but leaves the image of sky on the ground. We can remove this by deleting the floor as shown.
- Once the floor is removed you can see the dirt flooring I had in place from the start. You can still see the sky graphic along the interior walls of the foundation but that it fully covered once I returned the original landscaping.
The Pavilions:
- Overview shot.
- The large yard begged for a pool and pavilions for outdoor living. That’s somewhat outside the typical Victorian design but I created a couple of folly style buildings book-ending the pool with what I think of as a Victorian idea of an exotic, “oriental” style. This pavilion houses the hot tub or as my sim David thinks of it, “The Turkish Bath”.
- The opposite building is outfitted as the “Coffee House”.
- To maintain the Victorian feel I eschewed a more modern pool furniture set up and instead did concrete park benches. The newel posts are both decorative and act as nighttime lighting. They
are a simple build. The “Immacu-Light Pawn” is shrunken down, inserted into the Classic Bollard” and then elevated to create the ball light source on the top. You can see the same thing on the roofs of both the pavilions as well. The black and gold tie into the inspiration piece. The gold gives the appearance of gilding during the day. Unfortunately, they too fail to stay elevated when saved and re-downloaded. The stand alone shot shows much the same solution here as I used for the fencing around the greenhouse.
You can see where I used the same fencing and sequence as above to create a foundation. The “Pawns” are now anchored to the foundation and will not fall during saving and re-download. I very much like this solution for this build. The new fencing visually ties in well with the overall theme and the objects I really wanted to work, do work.
The Church:
- From the start I was struck with how the Annex resembles a church with it’s long narrow form and bayed front.
- I settled on using the space as a meeting house for my club of inventors and forward thinkers, The Futurists. The more I considered it the more I felt like emphasizing the churchesque nature of it to create a Chapel of Science.
- To that end I added the leaded, stained glass windows and created a form of modern steeple on the front.
- I can’t add additional windows during the contest but afterward I will add further windows along the side of the building to suggest a church to an even greater extent.
And that is it. My build is essentially finished. I only need to take around three hundred pictures (lol) and fill out the form on the Sims Forum! Tomorrow look for an article showcasing all the other entrants in this contest and a final article in the near future announcing the winners.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this article. Please use it and your imagination for inspiration in your builds. You can see me on Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/jasonanthonysterling and Follow along on Twitter: @JasonSterling70
