Cave Dwelling - Basegame Family Starter (unfurnished) -Please Redownload - Updated 19/7/07

UPDATE 19/7/07 - I have added a file containing the CC for this lot. I apologize for not including it originally - the lot must have looked pretty strange!

Please download the CaveCC file below as well as the lot file.

Please do report any problems with my lots.

Description:
When I started playing Sims 2, I wanted to build a cave. I saw a couple of cave lots others had made, and they were basically boxes with flat rooves and standard doors and windows, not very cavelike really. I decided it wasn't possible with the technology available, and gave up.

However, I've done a lot of research since then, and a lot of building, and learnt a few tricks. Also, the wonderful team of people on the Simstones project have made some excellent 'hole-in-the-wall' doors and windows, just perfect for caves. So, here is a starter home for you Neanderthal types.

A quick tour of the mountain...

A rope bridge offers access from across the gorge. There is flat ground, protected by a rocky spur, outside the cave complex, which is entered at the upper level. The caves offer two stories of roomy mountain interior, with natural light provided by rock fissures.



On the upper level is a large cavern, suitable for gatherings of hunters, with a large fissure on one side that could be enlarged to access a small flat area, perfect for a private balcony. Inside, a small grotto near the entrance could be used for bathing, with water pumped from the river.

Previous inhabitants have left behind a ladder, leading down into the bowels of the earth (well, the lower caverns, anyway). At the bottom, a roomy sleeping-cave opens out onto the river, with space among the ferns for a mooring, or a bit of fishing if the mammoths aren't biting.

A smaller cave on this level could easily be fitted with a cistern and pipes.

Rumour hints that there are still undiscovered caverns in the mountain -maybe a couple of intrepid explorers could open them up for more settlers.

Sleeps two, but with exploration could sleep eight.

Notes for players:

This house is NOT weatherproof. Although I only have the basegame, I have it on good authority that a roof which has been mucked about with like this will not keep out the snow. For users without Seasons, no problem.

My sims have lived in the house for a week. Check my screenshots for decorating ideas - the house is unfurnished, but looks good with the Simstones furniture available here on MTS2. I have placed floortiles to indicate my plan for different areas of the house, but feel free to alter things to suit your needs.

Having said that, the upper level will require Numenor's Unlevelled Walls if you wish to partition the main cavern. Normal walls will not work, due to the roof shaping, so get the hacked wall from MTS2, or accept my layout.

Downstairs is at standard height, so renovate as you like. In my game, I turned the ladder cave into a hall, put a second door out at the end of the bathroom, and divided the 'hidden' cavern into three bedrooms, one with private access to the bathroom. You could even put in a hot spring.

The floors and walls have been done in stone and dirt-look textures (floors and wallpapers, NOT terrain paints). Landscaping is mostly with terrains, but there are two patches of ferns for gardening sims to look after.

The lower caverns are mostly built of foundation, so objects requiring wall placement will not go onto the outside walls. Use the moveobjects trick, or place those objects against interior walls.

The bridge looks good with lighting. Lamps can be placed at either end of the bridge without a cheat. (Try the Simstones bowl-torches for a great primitive effect.) Unfortunately, lamps will not place in the middle of the span without rebuilding the bridge completely.

The lot is a bit laggy. I believe this is due to the random levels of the mountain roof, and I have made that roof as small as I could to minimize the effect. I also made sure the living areas are all on the main level, so there is little need to pan around or change levels, which will make the lag less obvious. If you have a better system than mine, it may not show at all.

Lot Size: 3x3
Lot Price: $15,418, unfurnished

Additional Credits:
Recommended Items - Furnishing collections from the Simstones Project
http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=172481

Thanks specifically to Teko for the Jungle Walkway tutorial.
Thanks also to all the helpful people who have written tutorials on various aspects of building for the game - I have learned from many of you.

Custom Content

Yggdrasil's Large Outdoor Fern (http://www.spiffysims.com/index.php)
Scattered Rocks by Nengi65 - Updated URL - the other one was broken - (http://www.exnemsims.com/forum/show...highlight=ROCKS)
rocks from Outdoor Set 5 at 4ESF (http://www.4eversimfantasy.net/outdoor5.htm)
Simstones doors, arches and windows (MTS2)
Targa's Ladder Stairs (MTS2) http://www.modthesims2.com/member/s...ead.php?t=96542

Brasstex's Triple Arch matching default floor (MTS2)
"the Square Amicus" tile by Parsimonious (http://www.parsimonious.org/decorating2/ftile/1.shtml)
Worn floor by Komosims (http://www.komosims.net/)
Horizontal Thatch and Clay Floor, from the Peasant Pack (MTS2)

"Tuscan Sun" wall from Parsimonious (http://www.parsimonious.org/decorat...asonary/6.shtml)
'Yellowstone 2' wall by Neffie (MTS2, came with a lot)
Tan gator hide wall by CC (Simstones Project)
TS2D_wall_fantasy_011 (from http://www.thesims2download.it)
Textured Taupe wall by Amanda (MTS2)

Terrains by Margierytka - trawka Nr 3, kamloty (MTS2)