Good luck with the last round, @Pollino! Looking forward to seeing your creation

***********************************************************************************************************************
This round I've challenged myself to use vanilla Maxis assets. I cheated and used mods though- listed at the end.
***********************************************************************************************************************

Moira and Martha Stewart have both had successful careers, and decided to find a nice, normal community in which to set up a little business. So, when they found a vacant lot in the quaint little town of Strangetown, they thought it looked just perfect. Martha is a keen angler, so they built a fish farm and have called it 'Fishy Business'.








Thank you to @Justpetro for making this contest happen, and thank you to all the judges and participants for making it so much fun. All of the entries have been amazing!

Welcome to Round 4, @simsample!

Now that the Round 3 judging is completed, and there can be no suspicion that I might be cheating, here are the extra two pictures that I didn't use in my entry post. (They would have put me over the 20 extra pictures limit, but both show the open/closed sign far more clearly than the floor-plan where Justpetro somehow managed to find it.)


In my case the problem with windows in the front wall wasn't just a budget issue. Rather like the observatory, windows would have compromised the function of the function of the building. The purpose of windows is to let natural light into the building. But this building is a modern but largely conventional theatre. In a conventional theatre the stage is lit artificially with controllable lights, which are often very bright. The auditorium in contrast is usually only dimly lit during the performance, so that the audience can concentrate on the performance. (The auditorium lighting is usual brighter before and after the performance.) Natural light is usually as far as possible excluded, as it would make it harder for the audience to concentrate on the action on stage. Therefore Diana Silke's ClefStave theatre has hardly any windows. There are two very small windows at the back of the auditorium. The light from these windows may be a slight distraction for those sitting in the rearmost seats, but will barely penetrate into the rest of the theatre. There are also four very small "privacy" windows high up under the eaves. These are mainly for ventilation. They have metal grilles over them so almost no light will reach the floor of the theatre. (I actually added them to try to add a little interest to the blank grey expanse of the front wall.) Having decided to build the main theatre next to and parallel to the front street, that blank grey wall became inevitable. It was only at the last moment that I tried to ameliorate the issue. By that time the budget was almost all spent. I was only able to pay for all those posters (and the ventilation windows under the eaves) by removing two toilet stalls -- one each from the male and female toilets. I did find a much larger poster, that would have covered much of the wall, but it cost over two thousand Simoleons, so it was out of the question at this stage. In an earlier age they might have fitted dummy windows, blanked off on the inside so they let no light in. But modern architecture doesn't like anything that's non-functional. One of the judges suggested making it an "L" or "U" shaped building, but I think for a theatre it really has to be roughly rectangular. (L-shaped might work for a music venue, with two auditoriums looking at a single stage, but it wouldn't work for most drama.) Of course the building is L-shaped if you include the ancillary building (toilets, office and dressing room). With hindsight it might have been better if these had been on the other side of the theatre, moving the main theatre back nearer the centre of the site. This would made the view from the front street much less boring. But, by the time I thought of that, it was far too late for such a major redesign. Ialso agree with Judge 1 that an entrance foyer would have been a good addition. If the theatre had been further back, the entrance foyer too could have faced the front street, allowing the "bandatron" machine to be under cover.

Those little fences at the foot of the steps were a very late addition, and I don't like them either. Their purpose is indeed to keep the audience off the stage during a proper concert. The gates are left open at other times, so Sims can wander up onto the stage and play the instruments. We certainly don't want a repeat of what happened in 1969 at a notorious concert featuring Jefferson Airplane and The Rolling Stones, when a local chapter of Hell's Angels were engaged to keep fans off the stage! (There was considerable violence and several people died.) I don’t think there even is a chapter of the Hell's Angels in Veronaville. (I suppose it could be done with mickyss's motorbikes.) Those fences are from Phaenoh's playground set, and I think we will remove them until there is an advertised concert. The reason for choosing the purple stairs is that I thought they were a reasonable match for the auditorium carpets, and I liked the handrails that came with them.

I still haven't started on Round 4, but Andrew has spent a considerable time talking to the Stewarts, and no doubt he'll be in touch soon with my instructions. I really have very little idea what to build for this round. Not having Seasons, my only option is the nursery garden, and I've never done anything remotely like that before. I have met the Stewarts, and they seem a fun couple, but I hope they're still smiling when they see what I build for them!

If a build requires a large expanse of wall it's best to plan the build so that part is not facing the front of the lot, or cover it by using large murals, two tone walls or even some creeping plants like ivy. How the lot looks is an important as its form.
A large mural would have covered it nicely and made it more into "This looks like an exciting place, I wonder what is going on in there?" and less like a place you would cross the road to avoid.

When I first played OFB donkey years ago, I started with Florence de la Rosa. I wanted to put some pot plants outside to sell as well, and, not knowing exactly what I was doing, accidentally marked some of Florence's garden plants for sale. The first customer was Benjamin Long and when I saw him staring at the plant, it was the start of Florence selling a lot more plants than flowers

I thought it would be a good option for players who don't have Seasons.

Jo has good advice about long walls above. I will add that columns holding up a roof may also look nice.

@AndrewGloria, I will also recommend that you rather use the Uni stairs if in doubt (you have those) - they look functional, practical and weatherproof, and the grey is neutral. (I personally use them more often than not for that very reason).

Just as well. Garden gnomes don't make good husbands. Also, why are your fish invisible? XD



Why do the mystery shoppers always pick the most hideous outfits? XD

Only because I pressed the tab key to take the photo.


So that they blend in with the locals, of course!

Hey!

I'm nervous because I'm §20.000+ below budget yet I have nothing else to build. I'm perfectly happy with the way the lot looks and functions. Is there a penalty for not using the whole budget?

Not at all If you are happy with it, you can go!
I made the budget big enough, because the different types of farming have different costs, and I did not want anyone struggling with the budget in the final round.

I would do a last 'walk around the lot as a sim' and see if there are any areas that look bare or anything that you have forgotten both inside and outside. If not don't worry about it.

Lachlan Stewart has always loved fishing. Indeed, on their very first official date, his wife Kaylynn found herself knee deep in a freezing lake, learning how to cast. Luckily, she loved it, too.

Now, forty years later, Lachlan is about to live his dream. The old Fish Farm at Viper Springs has come up for sale and he has persuaded Kaylynn that they should buy it and run it as a business together.



Of course, this will involve a lot of fishing on Lachlan's part, to replenish stock.

But just as they were about to move in, a tragic house fire took the lives of Lachlan's cousin Bill and his wife Barbra, leaving little Lulu an orphan in need of a home. The Stewarts quickly made space in their rather cramped new house for the little girl.

Compulsory Images




Additional Images

Hello, everyone's entries look great!

I won't have an entry for the fourth round, sorry to drop out

Welcome to Round 4, @Aysarth!

@shastakiss - Apart from being sorry to hear that, I hope you are alright and well? We will miss your entry, but hopefully, you can still pop in. Thank you for the amazing lots you have built and I think everyone hopes that we will be able to download them some time.

Hoping the building is going well! I have looked at the Round 4 entries this morning and am impressed!

Our contestants keep bringing out the big guns consistently!

Thank you to all of you

(Understanding the killing Sims step too now )

I want to say again that I truly believe all of these entries are of such a high quality that MTS will publish them all. Without sending them back and telling you to change 1001 (or it has felt like that once when I started uploading) things first either. You can all honestly be so proud of your lots.

Hoping that you will fun until the end as well

Can you really only fit one fish in the Maxis display cabinets?

I can see the door to the customers' restroom, but I cannot see the room itself on the top down view. XD

I think it depends on the size of the fish?

I have not used that decra chill for years for fish, but I think you are right!

@Aysarth - can you add a pic of the floorplan there? (it falls under required pics, so it won't mess with your totals).

I am sorry to hear that, I hope you are okay.

Post now amended to add bathroom pic.

To reply to an earlier comment: Yes, the fish all count as large items for OFB displays, meaning only one per slot. To be fair, some of them are pretty large items.

Deadline is 5 days and 12 hours away, everyone!

I hope you are still enjoying the building!

Thank you, @Aysarth, for the screenshot.

I think I'm actually finished building. I've enjoyed this round far more than I anticipated. After all I do occasionally visit real life nurseries and garden centres and even buy plants there. So I've at least got a vague idea what they should look like. With a quite generous budget, I think we've built quite a nice house for the Stewarts. Maybe not quite a dream home, but certainly a big improvement on where they're living now -- an old industrial red brick house with no garden at all. Mind you, they'll have their work cut out. Just marking over a hundred plants and other items for sale will be a bit of a chore. And, since this is a residential lot, I presume all those flowers will need watered, and the shrubs will need trimmed, until they're sold. So about the first they'll do when they move in, is hire a gardener. And Jake Stewart will have to give up his job -- I fear he's not old enough to get a pension.

Probably I should take the essential pictures of what we've got now and post them. Then I can add more after the Stewarts have moved in and started in business.

I'm not sure how many of them will be moving in. Jake and Brenda for sure, and almost certainly their teenage daughter Gwendoline. Their adult daughter Katrina is engaged to the bloke next door, Zack Miller, and I thought she would move in with him. But time is tight for this contest, so she may just move with her parents. Once she sees the new house, she might just decide to stay with her parents, and ask Zack to move in with her! As far as running this business, I think it's a case of the more the better. Since it's the school holidays/vacation, Gwendoline will be available to help too. She too might "acquire" a boyfriend. Either Jerome Usher, the downtown boy she's going out with now, or maybe Bluewater townie Trace Randall (who I think might be a better catch!). There are four bedrooms in the new house, and they all have double beds.

Howard and Miriam Stewart love the outdoors. Fresh air, blue skies, and their favourite pastime... fishing! They decided to sell their small condo in SimCity and upgrade to their own little piece of heaven. To offset the property taxes they've opened a small business to let other sims come and enjoy the outdoors as well. Welcome to the Reel Catch Fishin' Hole!







Thanks to @Justpetro for hosting this contest and for our fantastic judges whose positions I have no desire to be in! Congratulations to all my fellow participants as well. Every entry was amazing and I've learned a lot from all of you.