From SC4 to TS3: low-wealth shacks

Every time I played SimCity 4, I felt an irresistible urge to build / recreate the SC4 lots in the Sims - because these tiny little lots on the pixellated screen looked so carefully detailed, designed with a kind of personality that you could guess what type of sims lived there. I especially loved the low-wealth starter zones of SC4, with their characteristic elements like pampass grass, garden gnome, cheap recliners, clotheslines, chickencoops, even "old appliances" aka rusty bathtubs and washing machines thrown into the backyard.



Of course they are not a challenge architecture-relatedly, they are very simple shacks, almost box only. Instead, the difficulty is furnishing and decorating them so that one can keep the theme and the low-wealth atmosphere without becoming too pretty /too matched, too arranged. At least, this was the real challenge for me in this project.



All these shacks are fully decorated which means they are technically not starter homes (above 20,000). All of them are 1 bedroom/ 1 bathroom only. I playtested the clones of them and (fingers crossed) I haven't found any routing issues.

Small Duplex:
Lot size: 20 x 30
Furnished: 37,143
Unfurnished: 23,010
It looks like two separated home, but of course it's a home for one household (a single or a couple): the pink building is the living area, the blue one is the "plumbed" one (kitchen and bathroom). Recommended for sims who are interested in learning nectar-making: there is a nectar maker machine inside.

White Cottage:
Lot size: 20 x 30
Furnished: 23,246
Unfurnished: 14,578
I happily arranged "old appliances" and a garden gnome ( and clotheslines) in the backyard, as an "hommage" to SimCity 4. It seems the sim who lives here have some artsy tendencies, the decorations are sculpting-themed, and I put a street art kit into the living room to encourage artistic skills.



Small Modular Home:
Lot size: 20 x 30
Furnished: 27,587
Unfurnished: 17,816
I had to recreate this one for the characteristic "dirt patio" in the backyard that is also an iconic element of low-wealth lots in SC4. The resident here surely likes to drink, as there is a juice keg, and a fully stocked nectar rack on the lot. :P



No CC. EPs needed: World Adventures, Late Night, Ambitions, Generations, Seasons, Showtime, University Life, Island Paradise. I hope there is no Store item packed accidentally.


Lot Size: 20x30
Lot Price (furnished): 37,143
Lot Price (unfurnished): 23,010

Additional Credits:
To the Maxis team of SimCity 4, for the design of exteriors.