Latest Project - Breckenridge Manor

With the popularity of my Pettibone home, I thought I would give a more traditional brick house a try. I am really glad I did! This home is, I think, one of the best I have done so far. :D (Yeah, I'm modest too.) Some facts: -It is base game only - Yup! No EPs needed! -It is Maxis only - No custom content of any kind. -It is going to be expensive...so what else is new? -It is on a Medium sized lot - 4x3 -The garage is EP ready, but will be a good place to put reward objects as well. -2 floors Right now, the exterior is pretty much completed except for lighting, but I still need to finish the rest of the interior decor. It should be available sometime within the next week or so. Here are some sneak peeks. I do hope you like them! UPDATE: I finished all the landscaping on Breckenridge, and she passed all of the testing phase. She will be available for download on the 25th. :D Happy simming! --Illiana

Upcoming Contemporary

Just wanted you all to know that I am diligently working on a new base game only home...yup, no EPs needed, although the garage is EP ready. Here's a quick sneak peek. It still needs some landscaping, but the inside is completed, and as usual it will be Maxis only - No Custom Content. You should see this for download in a few days. Hope you like it!

--Illiana

ZIP not found...Fixed!!!!

UPDATE -
Apparently, TSR has been slaving away to try to fix the server problems that are occuring. Thank you TSR for being so quick to respond! :D

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(Earlier Today...)
Grrrrrrrr!!!!!!! Well, once again the servers are acting up. I am sure TSR is working on it, but until then you can still OPEN the tutorial. You'll just have to wait a bit to actually download it to your own computer. I will update as soon as I have more news. Sorry all...

--Illiana

New Tutorial - New Home!

One Tutorial...coming up!

Well, I've been busy studying, reading, asking questions, and experimenting to find out all I can about beach lots. There is information out there, but it is scattered and sketchy. So I've taken the information I gathered and created a tutorial to better explain how beach lots work. It has information for both downloaders and creators, so hopefully it will help someone out there. I sure wish there'd been one when I was experimenting with my own lots. LOL! Anyway, the tutorial "The Hidden Rules of Beach Lots" is due out on the 13th. I do hope it helps!

By the way...a HUGE thank you to gamelia for making the suggestion to create a tutorial. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have thought to do it. :) Thanks Gamelia!





New Lot...and it's just Base Game!


Fresh out of testing, comes this cute little 2 bedroom suburban style home. It is due out on the 18th, and is base game only...yup, no EPs needed! Nice, huh? Bet you thought I'd given up on base game homes. LOL! I just adore how the interior of this home turned out, and I sure hope you like it too. :)

--Illiana

ReUpload - New Lots

TSR has graciously admitted there was a server glitch this weekend, and has fixed the problems. So, the Sea Witch has been reloaded. Sorry I removed it, but you all know how I feel about people trying to download a file that doesn't work. If it doesn't work, I don't upload it. Period.

SEA WITCH (AGAIN) - A reminder about beach lots - DO NOT turn them to place them. Once you take the lot out of the bin you must place it in whatever direction it is already facing. So if you take out the lot, and it is facing AWAY from you, you MUST place it on a spot that is also facing away from you. If you turn your new lot or the neighborhood to place it, you are asking to crash your computer. It's all tied into the animations for the beach itself. Sorry. We just build 'em, we didn't code them.

NEW LOTS - There won't be a long wait on the next two lots. They are due out on the 12th. (Tomorrow)


OLD SEA DOG SALOON - I realize that some of you think that I am suddenly building nothing but custom content lots or beach lots lately, but I promise that isn't the case. ;) Many of the SAs have decided to create some beachy themed stuff with summer here and all, and I just didn't want to be left out of the pack. LOL! I promise...I am going to try to avoid beach lots for the rest of my TSR existence...or until they do another one of these at least. Hateful, horrible, glitchy things...

Anyway, since all the other SAs are making beautiful, magnificent, and gorgeous lots, objects, and sets, I thought I'd try something different. Something that evoked the feeling I get when creating beach lots...A dive bar! Perfect! Thanks to drewsoltesz I even had a name for it...The Old Sea Dog Saloon! (Hey, it's on a beach and you can eat there, though I wouldn't recommend it.) It's great for sims who like to hussle pool, brawl, play poker, lounge in the hot tub, and then brawl some more. A word of caution with this lot - READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!! They are there for a reason. Thanks.

I do have to say that I did have a lot of fun taking pictures of the sim I created to test this one. I called him Crusty SeaDog, and he looks as mean as his name. LOL! I think I took more photos of him than the lot! Hope you like it.




COURTYARD CONTEMPORARY - You will be happy to know that this lot is NOT a beach lot, and does NOT have any custom content. :D YAY! I really like the way this home turned out. The courtyard is lovely, and the bedrooms are spacious. See?! Told you I would get back to normal soon. LOL!

Thank you for your continued support, and dogged determination to stick with me through this beach lot thing. I am SO ready to make some good old fashioned Contemporary homes. LOL!

Thanks again!--Illiana

Beach lots...go figure!

As we ALL know, I just ADORE beach lots...not! Don't get me wrong, beach lots look great when you build them, and they stay looking great as long as you don't move them...unfortunately the point of building them, for me, is to share them with you - and that means they have to move. The tricky thing with beach lots, and the reason they are in their own category in the lot area of the game, is that the lots do not completely adjust to the builders changes the way regular lots do. They adjust from the street end only. The beach NEVER adjusts to anything the builder does to it. It stays the same height depending on the spot you place the lot. What does this mean for downloaders? It means that you can place your lot, enter it to view it, and it will look great from the street...then when you look at the beach area you may find that items are floating and the stairs don't reach the beach! This is NOT the fault of the builder...it is a fault in the game itself. The beach areas do not adjust, so if you choose a new spot to put your beach lot, and the beach area is LOWER than your original lot's beach was, you get items floating. It can be a real pain in the tuckus to place them so that they look like their preview pics. Worse case scenario...beach lots can crash your game if they aren't placed properly or in the right lot. Some beach downloading tips for you: 1 - ALWAYS read the notes or special instructions when downloading a beach lot. Believe me, you will be a much happier beach lot owner if you do. And for the love of pete...follow those directions! 2 - When placing your beach lot, do NOT turn it or try to place it in any other direction than the way it came out of the lot bin. For some reason the game prefers that you take out your beach lot and immediately put it down from the street end without moving it about. If you do turn it or move it around to place it, you may just find it crashes your game! So before ever placing your lot be sure you know where you are going to put it and have it lined up before hand. 3 - If you place a lot and notice that items on the beach are floating in midair - don't panic. This just means that you have accidentally placed your lot on a beach which is lower than the builder created it with. Bulldoze the lot and try in another spot, or, if it's just a few items, simply grab them and set them down where they belong. Why am I going to all this trouble to write down beach downloading tips? Simple. I have created a new beach lot that has ruins set up in the ocean itself called "Lair of the Sea Witch". Cool huh? However, if my downloading instructions aren't followed you may find that it becomes a floating ruin...and many items cannot simply be plunked back down to beach level. Is it worth all the hassle? I think so! But, if nothing else, at least you'll have a better idea of what to do when downloading any other beach lot. :D Here's a quick preview pic of what I consider one of my most challenging lots... One last thing about this lot - As you can see it is landscaping heavy, so if you have an older computer, or just a laptop, I would NOT recommend downloading this one. One cool thing though...even with all of the plants there is NO need for a gardener on this lot. It is entirely decorated with trees. :D Hope you all enjoy the lot...I sure enjoyed creating it! :D --Illiana

Sea Witch...

For those of you who are wondering where the Sea Witch lot went, it would appear that due to technical difficulties the Sims2Pack file seems to have disappeared. :( This appears to be a site issue, and not a creator issue from what I have read in the forums. The staff will be in soon, and then I am sure they will help us all get this sorted out.

Until then, I have removed the file completely and will try again after we have figured out what the problem is. Thanks for your patience, and sorry for any trouble.

--Illiana

Polls and...Slums?!!

Poll Results: Well, with 121 people voting this time, here are the results of this months polls. Question 1: I am fine tuning...Which types of homes are you most interested in? Contemporary 29.75% - (36 votes) Ultra Modern 20.66% - (25 votes) European Luxury 19.01% - (23 votes) Country 14.88% - (18 votes) Cottage 8.26% - (10 votes) Victorian Era 5.79% - (7 votes) Question 2: Which lots do you prefer to play? Medium (3x3 - 5x3) 55.37% - (67 votes) Small (1x1 - 3x2) 20.66% - (25 votes) Large (4x4 - 6x6) 11.57% - (14 votes) Beach - Large 6.61% - (8 votes) Beach - Medium 4.13% - (5 votes) Beach - Small 1.65% - (2 votes) Thank you to all who participated! I will keep all of this information in mind while building. :) Fair Warning - Juhhmi the Slumlord Homes: I was just going to surprise everyone, but the shock might do you all in...so in order to prevent any heart attacks here's a little warning about an upcoming group of houses I'm putting together. First a little background... I entered a FABULOUS building challenge on the forums by the lovely Gamelia. In her particular challenge we had to build a home specified by another player. It was great fun, but MY challenge involved the building of a slum home. Yup. Slum home. The nastiest, dirtiest slum home you could make too. LOL! Well, since you can't have just one slum home, I am currently creating another couple of houses to go with it for a grand total of 3. These WILL have some CC. Sorry folks, but Maxis just can't make the items I need to build these homes. However, if...for some UNHOLY reason...you are interested in them, Cyclonesue makes some fabulous grimy bits and pieces that would decorate these homes in proper disgusting style. Here's a little picture of exactly how bad it's going to be. ;) Well, you can't say you weren't warned! LOL! Not to worry, I'll have some pretty contemporary homes started right after these are uploaded. Promise! --Illiana

Upcoming Series:

I have had a few people inform me that they would love to see a series of homes done in a contemporary style with matching elements. As I am first and foremost a creator for the players, I thought I'd give her a shot. ;) So here are some sneak peeks of the upcoming series I am currently working on. Bear in mind, these are just pre-test peeks so little things can change here and there, but the overall look will remain the same.

Contemporary Suburbia - A neighborhood series:

Plan:
4 Homes of various lot sizes and prices.
1 Community Lot - Mini-Mall
EPs: Uni/NL/OFB
They will all be Maxis only - No Custom Content (Yup, no CC)
They will all be fully tested before uploading.
They will all be fully furnished and ready to play!


Hope you all enjoy the series I have planned, and that you have oodles of fun playing these homes! Thanks for your continued support, and wonderful compliments. YOU are the reason I love to build!

--Illiana

Milestone - 50k Downloads?!

I cannot believe that I have reached 50,000 downloads! You are all absolutely wonderful, and I thank you from the bottom of my pea-pickin' heart! It is so wonderful to be appreciated for doing something you love. For me, that is building. :D I have lots of projects in mind, and a possible series in the works, but we'll see how that goes. Thank you again for your support and your fabulous compliments! They really are appreciated...and I am NOT just saying that. :D

--Illiana