Backdoor Lane 46 -- Fake Rowhouse

Requires NL.
Custom content included: Open Underneath Wooden Stairs by crocobaura -- please follow the instructions in the download thread if you want to install these properly. This lot will work fine if you don't, but you won't be able to select them or use them in other lots (they won't show up in the catalogue, which is what the installation procedure is for). Included as a separate download is frillen's Invisible Driveway -- put it in your Downloads folder before attempting to play this lot.


Update, 2008-05-26:

This seems to work fine. The perpendicular-walls-shrinking feature has been included in LotAdjuster 1.1, which was released yesterday.

LotAdjuster download thread
Here's a tutorial on how to build row houses like this one: Fake row houses

Thanks to all testers!


Description:
After it's become clear that shrinking lots right up to the edge of a building is not a safe thing to do, but shrinking up to one tile from the edge does work, we're one step closer to real rowhouses now -- and probably as close as we'll get: this lot is shrunk with v1.0.0.13 of the LotAdjuster, which allows perpendicular walls at the edge of a lot. With edge-to-edge front and back walls, and only the (hidden) side walls at 1 tile from the edge, it's possible to build a quite convincingly "fake" rowhouse like the one I am uploading here. It's not all that unrealistic in my eyes -- party walls shouldn't be as paper thin as normal maxis walls .. and the one tile empty space is useful for hiding basement slopes.


Known issues:
For a list of known issues that can occur on small lots (or any lot at all) that have nothing to do with the shrinking, please see this post

Do not redistribute this lot without mentioning that it's shrunk; please link back to this thread if you do.


For sims that are sick of living in the suburbs, Backdoor Lane provides an alternative: a couple of small town lots with a more urban look and feel. They fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, creating a maze of backyard gardens and interconnected alleyways when placed in a tightly spaced neigbourhood. Most of them work as corner lots as well as facing the street, creating a very different impression depending on how you place them and what's on the lot next door.


Backdoor Lane 46:
A city house on a 1x2 lot, furnished for up to three sims with room for more. Kitchen/dining and bathroom on the ground floor, living room and three bedrooms upstairs, empty basement. Small garden and one driveway in the backyard, car included.

1 x double bedroom
2 x single bedroom (1 empty)
1 x bathroom
1 x kitchen/dining
1 x living room
1 x basement (empty)

All basics included, with lots of stuff on top. And it has unannoying basement windows!

Playtested for a couple days in Base+NL with no hacks, no crashes or problems found. Playtested by others as well (not sure about their game configuration).

Please note: If you want to make structural changes to this lot, be aware that the last two tiles from the edge are unbuildable in exactly the same way as on all other lots, which includes the outermost tiles of the house in this case. You should be able to modify all inside walls since they're perpendicular to the lot edge, but not the left and right outside walls (parallel to the lot edge), the "fake" front and back walls, the roof, stairs, half walls, foundations, or floor tiles on level 1 and up. However, you can *delete* all of that -- so in order to use this house at the end of a row, you can just remove the bits of fake wall on one side and the last tile of roof .. it should look quite OK then.


See also:
More information for those who are curious about the lot shrinking issues:

Discussion: Lot Size, Orientation, Rotation, etc. -- Research thread @ mts2; the first post has lots of relevant pointers
LotAdjuster download thread -- only post there with issues related to the tool itself!
7PM crash thread @ MATY (historical; zombify at your own risk)
Tutorial: Building to the edge of a lot (EXPERIMENTAL) -- historical, needs an old version of the LE (not available anymore)
Test upload by myself, 2008-04-13
Test upload by aelflaed, 2008-04-17
Test upload by niol, 2008-04-18


Thanks:
This is entirely based on the work of Mootilda and others, I only have the honor to introduce it to the public. Thanks to Mootilda and the fearless testers who've spent so many hours crashing their games during previous research: aelflaed, Inge Jones, MaryLou, niol, Mutantbunny, Rascal, Simsample, KariMinger/Zazazu, DocDoofus, behold_the_muse, baratron, dizzy, ladykatsim, JMP, ebonyspiral, MadameMim, ikbod, mildlydisguised, Emma, Quinctia and everyone else.

Lot Size: 1x2
Lot Price: 46.188§

Custom Content Included:
- Wooden Stairs Open Underneath by crocobaura