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Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#1 Old 24th May 2018 at 7:49 PM Last edited by darkflwrs : 20th Jul 2018 at 7:55 PM.
Default New Orleans World Testers Needed
Update: 7/20/2018 New iteration of the world and new screenshots. Fixed the train tracks and road leading out of town to go through tunnels so it's not just a blunt end. Still having some issues with the coffeehouse rabbithole not being routable. One tester removed the stage in front of it and that seemed to work, but that is an EA made lot and I've never had any issues with it in other worlds, so any advice on this would be helpful. I couldn't find any issues with the routing in CAW. All feedback is greatly appreciated!

Reasons cited for rejection:
I had some issues with my custom content that I believe have been resolved. I have gotten rid of more than half of what I originally had, though I know it's still a good amount, it really is necessary for the architecture of New Orleans. I tried to make it as easy to get as possible by making the item names be a link to that object or the object's set page.

I was rated 1 star for my Lots. It simply says they need more work without any specific information. This is the main thing I don't understand. Maybe my photos didn't represent the work I put in well, but I used zillow and recreated real homes from New Orleans including landscaping and furniture. I actually had to go back and simplify the insides of these homes because I was trying to reduce my CC. I had tried to copy exactly what was in the homes so I had downloaded rugs and other decor items that closely resembled the real items, this seemed a bit over the top so I simplified. I feel like my lots are a strength of this world and really need help figuring this out.

My screenshots were cited for being distorted due to zooming out too far so I have retaken them and would like some feedback on them as they are now. They are all the largest allowed. I had some trouble because several of the lots are 64x64 and getting that all in one shot without many obstructions was hard since there are a lot of trees. Please let me know what you think!

I received 93 out of 125 points.

Screenshots
Attached files:
File Type: rar  New Orleans.part1.rar (50.00 MB, 15 downloads) - View custom content
File Type: rar  New Orleans.part2.rar (17.26 MB, 16 downloads) - View custom content
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Instructor
#2 Old 25th May 2018 at 4:01 AM
As far as I can see, the houses look much like simple boxes. The backyards and such also lack detail.
You can also consider more landscaping (with terrain paints applied) to consumer more space of the lots to reduce the emptiness.
Some parts of the world somehow look, again, a bit too empty, possibly because you may as well add more terrain paints around roads and to sculpt the landscape in greater detail.
I'm no good world builder though so please take my opinion casually!
I can see you have put a lot of effort into the world though, so good luck!
Mad Poster
#3 Old 25th May 2018 at 6:45 AM
I really like much of what you have done and can tell you have worked very hard on this. But I did look at the world and commented in your original thread that this world looked unfinished at the time. It looks like you have made changes. I think you had a port with no access as I recall and that is gone. I agree that more exterior landscaping and décor is needed on some lots. And I agree that more terrain painting is needed. This is a really good start but it looks not quite ready yet. I do not remember what the lot interiors were like.

Keep going!
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#4 Old 25th May 2018 at 9:27 AM
I went and checked your CR. I mostly do sims 2, so if something doesn't apply to sims 3 disregard it. It looks like a very nice world and you mostly scored very well so I am sure you can fix these issues up. On the lot area, It says they need significantly more work. Could you post pictures here of which particular lots you think those might be including the floor plans?

The required front picture of a lot the requirement is the building not the garden on either side. An overhead shot is useful to show off all the garden. Going by the notes you took the shot either down too low or too high. For example is picture 7 a front shot? If so it is too far away and too high up. The note also says bits were cut off, it's important to get an angle that doesn't cut parts of your building off while also not using the zoom back key too much. Too heavy use of X or Z in cameraman mod will cause fisheye. With wide lots only go back as far as you can before fish eye happens and then go slightly left or right until it all comes into view. I don't know if sims 3 has camera mods, but they do help in sims 2 with these two issues.

Picture 13 the garden here looks a little too light on. You will want to add some to the back and dirt terrain paint under plants will immediately improve the look of any garden.

Edit: The pictures here look much improved over the others that I am looking at. You pulled back until houses on either side showed which isn't needed and caused the fisheye. Example, blue house with a white fence. Take off cameraman mode to rest then turn it on, only go back until all the front is shown. Basically, let your lot fill the screen. Above is a lot better but you can still aim to get lower and closer.
Screenshots

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#5 Old 25th May 2018 at 1:58 PM Last edited by darkflwrs : 25th May 2018 at 2:21 PM.
@joandsarah77 thanks for looking at my rejection message! I did retake my pics to try to fix the issues mentioned. The house pic you attached is an area with row houses that are all very close to each other, there's no way to take a picture of those houses without showing the others. Its so hard to get a decent picture that shows the whole lot on my larger lots. I did do some higher up angles on a couple like the cemetery and city hall cause it seemed like the only way to show them without obstruction.

Like here:


is this okay or no? I'm going in right now to take more pictures of lots to show the details.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#6 Old 25th May 2018 at 3:38 PM
Here are some additional screenshots with some floor plans. These larger houses were not in my original post because getting a front view of them is very difficult since there are so many trees on these lots and on the sidewalks around them, which is the way they are in real life. Maybe you guys can look and see if any of these would be good to add to my upload since I wasn't sure. I can definitely add more details of houses though it's not required, but if people are interested then I'd be happy to include them. The last house, I had to take pictures in the dark because the time of day, the light was so bright through the window it created a glare off the counters. It's fine the rest of the time, but I just didn't feel like speeding through the day to change the sun location so I just switched to night mode.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#7 Old 26th May 2018 at 2:13 AM Last edited by joandsarah77 : 26th May 2018 at 2:25 AM.
The city hall shot is a nice shot but it doesn't count as a front shot. You want to add to it, not replace. The front shot is meant to be taken in front, going somewhat left or right for a wide lot like that and much lower down. Right now you are in what we call helicopter mode. Instead, think of your cameraman more on a scaffolding on the road or on the opposite footpath. For most lots you want your camera to be about the same height as a sims head at most double sim height. That lot will require you to use that zoom back key but stop just before any fish eye. Fisheye can have the effect of making people looking over your pictures feel slightly dizzy, which is not what you want.

Yes, you will see some of the lots next door but you don't need to show that much or gain the fisheye. That is caused by clicking X too many times. A lot of this is practice.

One way is to check other uploads for good examples. http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=612308
http://modthesims.info/download.php?t=612016

Looking above, see your very first picture, you are on the cusp of fisheye. Click the Z key once to move closer. You don't even need the pool in your front shot. I know its confusing, but you only need the building.
I took that and draw on where the front shot is. To show all the lot take another move angled helicopter shot as an extra shot. The mistake is trying to show all your lot on your front shot, that can be impossible.

next house, you might want a tree to the left the yard is a little bare. Add dirt terrain under your tree and shrubs. If you see room ad a few shrubs or flowers on all the lot that look a little bare.

Does Sims 3 have a time cheat? Like set it for the best time of day for the light?
Screenshots

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#8 Old 26th May 2018 at 7:50 AM
I have one suggestion for some of the pics. Crop them to focus in on what you want to show and get rid of the excess.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#9 Old 26th May 2018 at 8:34 AM
You can't just crop them, that could make them too small. Even if they were still within the recommended size of 800 by 600 they would not be nearly as good as they could be. Pictures can be up to 2560x1440; the bigger the better for viewing. It's really learning how to use the camera, it's a bit of a learning curve. My first lot got cr'd 3 times for pictures and I had a hard time getting it right, these days it's easy. Just takes practice.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#10 Old 26th May 2018 at 9:21 AM
Wouldn't it depend on the pic sizes whether they can be cropped or not and still be good pics? Also, as this is a world submission, pictures of the individual lots are not even required, correct? I just looked at some of the worlds accepted here and there are no pics of individual lots that are posted which are done in the same requirements as for individual lot submissions. I ask this as I eventually hope to submit some worlds here.
e3 d3 Ne2 Nd2 Nb3 Ng3
retired moderator
#11 Old 26th May 2018 at 2:08 PM
@daisylee
Yes, it is required that 5 community and 5 residential lots are showcased.
https://www.modthesims.info/downloa...209#post3734209
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#12 Old 26th May 2018 at 3:06 PM
I got some feedback from the moderator who moderated my world so that definitely helped me understand. I kept thinking I had to show the whole actual lot, but I don't which will be very helpful in taking better pictures. My other issue, in the case of the city hall and many other locations, is that trees across the street from the lot block my front view. I was told I can delete these items to get the shot then add them back, easy enough for the houses because the trees are mostly on the lot itself, but like in city hall the trees are not on a lot. They are across the street and are just world objects. All this feedback is very helpful guys! I'm starting to see what I can do. @joandsarah77 what did you think of the other houses in those extra screenshots I posted? One of the comments on here was that the houses looked like simple boxes, but I really don't think that's true. I can see some roofing issues I have and am fixing those. I think I'm just feeling kind of down because each of those houses took several days to make using zillow and i tried to be so accurate. It's disappointing when the thing you felt was one of your best items gets negative feedback. I will post more pics soon to get opinions on if I'm moving in the right direction.
Mad Poster
#13 Old 26th May 2018 at 6:48 PM
Quote: Originally posted by simsample
@daisylee
Yes, it is required that 5 community and 5 residential lots are showcased.
https://www.modthesims.info/downloa...209#post3734209


Thank you for the reply. I sent you a PM to not hijack this thread.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#14 Old 30th May 2018 at 12:36 AM
Ok, I tried to take some more shots again. One thing I'm having a problem with is that one of the cc windows I've used in most of my houses doesn't show up unless you are right next to the house, which doesn't work for screenshots...not sure what I can do about that. I tried editing the windows to see if that would fix it but to no avail, I didn't see anything about this issue on the page for the download. It works fine on the lot or even playing the game, but in camera mode it's invisible. The window on the second floor of this house are an example:


Ya'll let me know about these other screenshots.
Top Secret Researcher
#15 Old 30th May 2018 at 3:23 AM
Hi darkflwrs
This is a beautiful world and I am glad you are sticking with it so it can be made available for download here.

I have a suggestion. We have a group, made up of all levels of builders, led by some very experienced builders. We have over 500 downloads all together, and we have at least 5 people with TS3 worlds available for download at MTS. If you want to join the group, you will be able to get consistent, directed help. Follow the link in my signature, and post a new thread with TS3 in the title. Best of luck!

Need help building? Mentoring4Builders: Click Here
Get in the swim- Mermaidia
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Scholar
#16 Old 30th May 2018 at 4:10 AM
Quote: Originally posted by darkflwrs
Ok, I tried to take some more shots again. One thing I'm having a problem with is that one of the cc windows I've used in most of my houses doesn't show up unless you are right next to the house, which doesn't work for screenshots...not sure what I can do about that. I tried editing the windows to see if that would fix it but to no avail, I didn't see anything about this issue on the page for the download. It works fine on the lot or even playing the game, but in camera mode it's invisible. The window on the second floor of this house are an example:


Ya'll let me know about these other screenshots.


Those screenshots are much improved! Good job! I'm shooting in the dark here, but does it make any difference if you disallow object hiding in the options settings? Hopefully, some other players will have suggestions.
Mad Poster
#17 Old 30th May 2018 at 7:14 AM
Those screenshots look much better.
How odd about the windows.
Top Secret Researcher
#18 Old 30th May 2018 at 7:30 AM
I don't think there is much you can do about those windows. If changing the settings for lot visibility doesn't help it's a sure sign that the mesh doesn't provide all required definitions. I have no clue about meshing but as far as I know one object requires 2 or 3 types of meshes - one high-detailed for close-ups and one or two with lesser detail for distance view to save computing power. Some of the EA meshes are the same. The only have the part for the closeup view but render really badly or like a hole in the wall when looked at from a distance.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#19 Old 30th May 2018 at 6:25 PM
Thanks for all the replies! In gonna find out if those shots would be a problem for uploading. It really narrows which houses I can show because a lot use those windows as they are a common style in New Orleans.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#20 Old 3rd Jun 2018 at 5:44 PM
Hey guys, so I have sims file share with the CC for anyone who wants to test the world, please PM me for the links!
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#21 Old 9th Jun 2018 at 1:21 AM
Still looking for more testers and feedback for this world! PM me if interested in testing so I can give you the CC! Making good progress with the current tester I have and more than one would really help!
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#22 Old 30th Jun 2018 at 5:13 PM
Hey guys, original post is updated with current world file and all new screen shots. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! I've updated the terrain sculpting and painting and fixed routing issues. Let me know if you guys see anything to fix, or if you think it's ready for upload!
Mad Poster
#23 Old 30th Jun 2018 at 7:05 PM Last edited by daisylee : 30th Jun 2018 at 8:05 PM.
I have too much going on to be a tester now but will poke around a bit. Downloading the new files now.

I am back after a very quick look around. I see you have done a lot since last time. I think the terrain painting you did looks nice. The overall city looks more filled in now.

The few things that I think may still be needed or that I noticed:
1- Maybe pull the camera routing in tighter above the swamp so we do not see the road just end out in nowhere?
2- I saw at least 4 houses with no landscaping or just a tree or 2. e.g. Miramontes. My guess is the admins will still comment about that?
3- It is probably just me but the train tracks to nowhere and coming from nowhere just do not make sense. And the pier out on its own with no access does not make sense to me either.

But overall it looks very good and I can see that you have worked very hard on this. I especially like many of the lot descriptions. Overall, it looks darn good.
Lab Assistant
Original Poster
#24 Old 30th Jun 2018 at 11:38 PM
Quote: Originally posted by daisylee
I have too much going on to be a tester now but will poke around a bit. Downloading the new files now.

I am back after a very quick look around. I see you have done a lot since last time. I think the terrain painting you did looks nice. The overall city looks more filled in now.

The few things that I think may still be needed or that I noticed:
1- Maybe pull the camera routing in tighter above the swamp so we do not see the road just end out in nowhere?
2- I saw at least 4 houses with no landscaping or just a tree or 2. e.g. Miramontes. My guess is the admins will still comment about that?
3- It is probably just me but the train tracks to nowhere and coming from nowhere just do not make sense. And the pier out on its own with no access does not make sense to me either.

But overall it looks very good and I can see that you have worked very hard on this. I especially like many of the lot descriptions. Overall, it looks darn good.


Yeah, the road bothers me but I don't know how to edit anymore....the intention was to have a road going out of town like the EA worlds do, maybe I should get rid of it. I don't know. I have to be careful because there is a lot out near there, so I can't do routing paint that far in.
Miramontes is an EA home...I used like 4 premade homes to fill in the gaps, I didn't think I'd have to go back and edit those. Also, the moderators don't test the actual world. They literally just look at your pictures and files, that's what I was told.
There's nowhere for those train tracks to go...the distant terrain object starts on either side...that area is the corner of the playable world. If I make another world I'll plan stuff like that out in more detail. To me it was just the aesthetic, just matching the train tracks in the French Quarter...I wasn't think about it like it needed to look operable. And, even if there were access to that pier...it's just an object, it has no function in the game. I just used it to make it seem like the river would have boats coming in and out.
Mad Poster
#25 Old 1st Jul 2018 at 7:37 AM
A lot of folks including me have used the train tunnel to make it look like the road heads into hills. My guess is that after giving a 1 star lot score they may look at lots pretty carefully? My total guess is they do not approve worlds this size looking at pics of just 10 of the lots? But I may be 100% wrong. They can let you know if they want more to be done on some of them.

Maybe it is just me, but I would either just run a road to the pier or delete it? It just looks very strange sitting out there all by itself, to me. IMO our eyes should go to all the other things you have done so well, and not be drawn/distracted by that? Others can weigh in on this.

I hope others download the latest version and can give you some feedback. It is looking good.
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