MGTV Renovation - Sim State Dorm

In the past year, Sim State University has experienced a dramatic drop in attendance. Most teens either prefer to attend a community college in their hometown or dive straight into the working world. Desperate to increase attendance and save the university from financial ruin, the Dean contacted MGTV, hoping that a renovation of the campus' most popular dorm will attract more students.

When the team first arrived to assess the dorm, we were amazed at how dated and impractical the dorm was. It had almost no landscaping, the exterior was very bland, and we couldn't figure out why there was such a huge chunk of foundation needed for just a chess table, two chairs, and an easel. The interior was actually worse than we thought. The floors were worn and water damaged in some areas; the paint, tile, and wallpaper was boring and dull. Most importantly, the floor plan wasted tons of space that had great potential. Although this dorm is named after the university and should reflect that, it was very clear why there weren't any occupants. We said goodbye to the old Sim State Dorm and began demolition right away.


My goal was to retain as much as the old exterior walls as I could so that it felt like a true renovation and not a total rebuild - but then I noticed that the back left corner of the lot was not flat and would never be. Thank you, Maxis. Instead of using the Lot Adjuster, I plopped down a fresh untouched lot and recreated the foundation. I went to Texas Women's University here in Texas, and I loved the dorm life. There was always something going on, something to do, and I wanted to recreate that exciting dorm life for the students at Sim State.

On the first floor, the computer lab and cafeteria are the first to greet the students. The cafeteria seats 14 and offers a coffee maker and hot chocolate maker. While discussing paint colors with Dean Landgrabb, she revealed that Sim State Dorm was where the first official Fighting Llamas sport teams lived on campus. In honor of its impressive history, a gym was added to help the students prepare for the various athletic programs now available. The sleeping quarters sit at the back of the building, to minimize invasion of privacy of any visitors. There are 18 dorm rooms total, 9 upstairs and 9 downstairs. Each set of 9 has its own common area, and every room has a University issued bed, desk, and dresser with a walk-in closet. Though the walls are painted a basic white, students are allowed and encouraged to repaint and style their rooms to their liking, so as long as they return it to its original state upon graduation.

Upstairs, there's a huge lounge area has a pool table, game table, bar, and TV - perfect for hanging out and making new friends. The art room doubles as a library, ideal for those college research groups. There are 3 telescopes placed in different locations maximize seeing that celestial shower or getting that close encounter with those probe obessessed aliens. A courtyard was added around the historical Weeping Willow, and includes chess tables and plots for a vegetable garden. All skill building items are available to ensure the best GPA possible.

Lot Size: 3x3
Lot Value: 300,355
Number of Dorms: 18
Packaged in a clean, empty neighborhood; copy play-tested for three sim days.

Known Issues:
~Right away, I realized that even though the lot was only 3x3, the foundation takes up about 80% of it. There will be some lag for the older computers. I made use of every inch of the foundation. Playing with the walls down helped a lot.
~If you prefer more space for the bathrooms, you could easily take out two of the dorm rooms on each floor and make a suitable bathroom to fit your needs and taste. Then that allows you to demo the current bathrooms and use that space for something else, like maybe a sauna for your more pampered students or OFB benches to get that headstart on the craftables needed for that future business.
~The shrubs are surrounded with the short white brick fence, which produced some foot stomping and arm flailing when I tried to trim them. You can either remove the fence, or install a Perfect Garden mod like this one.
~Because I used the value shower instead of the communal one (I prefer a curtain, thank you) sims shoo each other when trying to take showers. You can either swap out the showers for the communal one, or install a No Shoo mod like this one.
~During play testing, I didn't get any "Class starts..." notifications and my sims wouldn't go to class autonomously. I had to make them go. So either their motives were at the level of "Hell no, I won't go!" or there was an underlying issue. I made this lot without any mods installed, and I'm patched up. It may just be a fluke but if not, let me know if you get this same issue even after using maxmotives right before class starts. I'm able to work on fixing it as soon as I'm told about it.

Custom Content (Included in separate folder):
- Louvre Sliding Closet by Shakeshaft
- Flat Screen Computer TS3 Conversion by Amovitam
- Designer Cabinet by CTNutmegger
- Polished Boards in Beech by Holy Simoly
- TS3 Blinds Conversion by Amovitamin
- Louvre Sliding Closet - White by Shakeshaft
- EP9 Standard Issue Desk Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Coffee Table by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Chair by Veranka
- TS3 Toilet Paper Roll by Amovitam
- SS Modern Window, Black Recolor by Pimp-My-Sims
- Quiet Morning Wall in Blue by Lina
- EP9 Standard Issue Chair by Veranka
- Maxis Match Clapboard Siding in Cream, Right by iCad
- EP9 Standard Issue Coffee Table Small by Veranka
- OFB International Window Extras, Embrasure Mid by HugeLunatic
- Maxis Match Clapboard Siding in Cream, Left by iCad
- OFB International Window Extras, Embrasure Short by HugeLunatic
- SS Modern Window Frame by Pimp-My-Sims
- EP9 Standard Issue Chair Recolor by Veranka
- Another Pixel Anachronism: Yasimo F# Symphonator Keyboard by Nysha
- Lack Dining Table by HugeLunatic
- EP9 Standard Issue Double Bed Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Small Coffee Table Recolor by Veranka
- Quiet Morning Wall in Beige by Lina
- Quiet Morning Wall in White by Lina
- EP9 Standard Issue Double Bed by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Desk by Veranka
- Quiet Morning Wall in Green by Lina
- Maxis Match Clapboard Siding in Cream, Center by iCad
- Quiet Morning Wall in Yellow by Lina
- EP9 Standard Issue Coffee Table Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Dinning Chair by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Wall Shelf B Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Wall Shelf C by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Wall Shelf C Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Sofa by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue End Table by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Dinning Table Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Dinning Chair Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Sofa Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Sofa Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue End Table Recolor by Veranka
- EP9 Standard Issue Wall Shelf B by Veranka

Used/Pictured but not necessary:
~ White Roof Trim Defaults by Phaenoh - The roof trim will revert to the fugly Maxis trim and be, well, fugly.

For Best Results:
* Put the contents of the CC folder into your downloads folder.

*Please make sure you have the latest CEP by Numenor installed to ensure all recolors appear properly.

*Hit the thanks button.

Additional Credits:
HGTV for inspiration, StephSim for MGTV, Download Organizer by Delphy, and Maxis for ugly lots with horrible layouts.