So I've changed my mind about "just a room" , and agree that it needs to be the whole house. What about this idea? Provide a starter house (just your basics but fully furnished) on a small lot. Challenge: your single sim has married, the new spouse already has a child and 2 pets, and will soon have twins. How can you change the house to happily house all of them? While leaving room for a driveway and room to play outside. No limit to what you could build; could make a basement, move foundations, add stories, etc. Money?

SimPearls has the DOTY (Designer of the year) going on where they decorate rooms. You could look for some inspiration for how to run the contest, and maybe how to build it up there? Themes and such, maybe?
https://simpearls.co.uk/simpearls/index.php?board=205.0 (login required)

I don't want to be a judge but I might have some ideas for prompts or themes. It is late and I should go to bed, but I will come back over the next couple of days and see what ideas I can come up with.

oh man I do miss contests. I learned a lot from fellow simmers and judges of how the game functions because of it, and it made me a better builder with routing and anti-stomping in mind xD
seeing the other contestants builds also expanded my world by showing me what was normal to them. this item is here because of course it always has been in their lives.

I would love another one, even as just a play along with how busy I am these days

a no-CC would probably be the most challenging yet most fair and inclusive + with the perks of easy uploading on MTS
when I first built a no-CC dorm years back, I was surprised by all the fun things that were hidden under my massive CC downloads. I never knew all my favorite pieces now are actually maxis!

I was playing a while ago, and my (very old) computer started lagging on a large lot; I quit and then had a couple of ideas for contests.

The lag started me thinking of small builds. A contest could be entirely builds of small lots of various types, with limited content/prices, and restrictions on the number of floors and footprint of the building. Can we make a playable apartment on a 1x3 lot? What about a crafting business with a store and separate crafting area, and living space for a family on the second floor and some garden/yard space, on a 2x2 lot? That got me thinking of using lot adjuster and a different contest idea.

A contest could be made to explore some of the external tools available - I'm thinking about lot adjuster (with the portal revealer in downloads) and grid adjuster, but there are probably others. Rounds could require doing things like moving lots off the road and moving portals, building 2 or more lots that appear to have connected buildings or be one building, building one-click basements.... This contest could also include doing builds that use constrainfloorelevation, like attached garages, or building over water on beach lots. I'm not saying that each round would only say to use a particular tool in one way, but that it be one requirement as part of a more extensive set of guides for the lot and the contest theme. For example, if the contest theme was community lots, the guidelines for a park might include it either off the roads or have roads on more than one side; one round might require involve a row of shops that appear connected but are actually 2 lots; a night club could have a basement.... I know that this idea could scare off some people, but if there are links to tutorials and the tools and "how-to" discussion during the rounds is encouraged I think it might be welcoming to those who want to improve as well as interesting for more experienced builders. I know I'd like to see what people are able to create and would participate if I'm available.

One contest could be to build lots for various themed types of neighbourhoods, but doing so entirely cc-free (or maybe with only recolours of maxis items). So one round could be for an apocalypse 'hood, one for a fantasy/medieval, one for a sci-fi/space 'hood, stone age 'hood, various decade/specific historic time periods, supernatural sim settings,.... Or the rounds could be set up as a particular type of build (eg. a residential lot for 3 described sims), but the contestant can pick from a list of themes for their build. The host would have to decide what themes to include and how contestants would use them (a different set of choices each round or one master list for all rounds; can contestants use the same theme more than once, or do all rounds have to be different?). I think the challenge of making something that would fit in a themed 'hood but not using cc could lead to some creative uses of what we have available.

I think a hobby themed contest would be nice. I really hate the hobby lots that come with free time, but like the idea of them and have never bothered to replace them with my own lots. I do build community lots for most of the hobbies, though, and have my sims with those hobbies have outings at them. I'd love to see what other people come up with for either replacements of the free-time hobby lots or for general community lots each focused on one or two hobbies.

@stitching
All past contests, as far as I know, allowed using the Lot adjuster and the Grid Adjuster and I am pretty sure the portal revealer was never banned (of course, it is not always needed).

Thank you for your suggestions, I am looking carefully at all of them

@kanzan - Good to see you around We had some fun back then indeed! I hope we will get there again.

@simsfreq - looking forward to your ideas here!

Tagging @CatherineTCJD because I need your input, Cat

Thank you for tagging me
I actually had a contest idea I started putting together before Z tried his Olympic one. When his fizzled, so did my plans...
My idea was a Flip-It/Forget-It type thing, where I would provide a specific shell, and contestants could decide what to do with it.
High scores would go for most creative uses and interior designs. And I would have the fun of seeing what people could do with my builds!

I have read what everyone said above - very nice input, so far. ...and it's exciting to see some interest in contests again!

I think it is important to offer a variety of contest types.
I'm a builder (my eyes literally glass over when someone mentions anything CAS related.) So, of course I prefer building contests.
But - there should also be offerings for the decorators, CAS sim makers, photographers, and storytellers.
NOTE - I separated "decorators" from "builders". Decorating is not building, it is interior design. They go hand-in-hand, but are very different.

Although I prefer to build with much less CC these days, I know how hard it is to go without it - especially when you are used to using it!
The problem with using CC in a contest is if you also follow a budget. CC is never the same price as the EAxis basics.
Budgets are also a problem when doing something like a no-slope basement - because walls cost $70, and foundation costs $4 - and a no-slope basement uses both.
A "dug" 10X10 basement will cost $280 (40 wall sections). That same basement, as a no-slope, will cost $680 (40 wall sections + 100 Sq ft of foundation.) It adds up!
Not to mention (well, actually TO mention) ...those of us who've recategorized all the maxis stuff so it makes more sense finding things in the catalog. We've repriced all the maxis stuff anyway ...And starting a new game "folder" won't change those price/recats. So "budgeting" can really be a problem.
I hate working with money-constraints. *le sigh*
But, then again, some people find it fun to balance their books in a game.
We all play the game differently.

I think the best solution to the CC-conundrum is to define a limited pool that is allowed for that specific contest. And that would be at the hosts discretion.

Another sticky-wicket is judging. To make it fair, there really must be a standard rubric that every entry is judged by; and, it must be available for all to see.
Judges really should do more than just fill in the numbers. Comments are extremely helpful for contestants. If you don't know what you did "wrong" (or right!) then how can you improve (or do it again?)
I don't mean for Judges to write books! Just a few words that justify the score given, is fine.

I agree with what was said above - judging and the next round can happen simultaneously.
BUT - judging should finish a few days before the next round closes. So people have time to incorporate any new information gained from their previous round's score into their new entry.

I am supremely happy to see interest in contests again!
Let's DO this!

OK so my brain was running last night as I was falling asleep I swear sometimes ADHD is an asset because all these ideas...

I had these thoughts:

Aspiration-based builds - set some criteria for each of the seven in-game aspirations and contestants pick one (or perhaps two?) aspirations per round and design their lot with that sim in mind according to the wants that sim rolls (which I have lists of because I used them for another project I did) and avoiding fears that aspiration has. Stuff like Romance sims want to snuggle up by the fire, so you need to include a fireplace, bonfire or campfire, Family sims really like having family dinner so you need space for this to happen, Knowledge sims need some kind of equipment to accommodate or create a supernatural. Fortune sims love luxury and status but they fear loss, so must have security related items e.g. burglar alarm.

Interest-based builds - this is a bit more vague, and I haven't really fleshed it out but I have been playing more with interests recently and I really enjoy it so I wanted to put it out there as an idea.

From the cradle to the grave - create lots to suit sims in all different stages of life, probably community lots, maybe some residential. For example, a birthing centre or hospital or maternity clinic. A child-focused community lot with facilities for children and toddlers. A birthday party location. A teen hangout space or youth club. Some kind of educational facility e.g. a library, museum, playable school, adult education centre. A singles bar. A date location. A wedding venue. Large event space (e.g. family reunion, anniversary party). A retirement day centre. OAP residential home. And some kind of cemetary or crypt or crematorium/funeral space.

College campus buildings - did this already exist? I feel like it might have done but if not, it would be fun to build stuff like a library/dorm/cafeteria but also various classrooms for each major.

Bringing careers to life - creating community lots to represent the various "rabbithole" careers within the game, using chance card or job description text as the prompt (which you can access from the Wiki). For example, in the first three levels, the Artist career mentions "Dave's Art Emporium" (sells canvases, charcoal, has spare canvases lying around); "the streets of SimCity/the main drag", where you sit on an upturned plastic bucket, and "Lucille, Largest Llama in the World" roadside attraction - which has a small booth/stand selling wooden Llamas and an easel to draw charicatures.

I made a list of these for my game a while ago though not quite as specific:


I think the careers one is my favourite and I have half a mind to go through and collate all the descriptions of each workplace from the career descriptions.

Thank you, @CatherineTCJD - I appreciate your feedback! I will contact you in due course about that creative contest you had in mind, it sounds good to me

I agree, the input from judges has to be more than just numbers (I think it always has been in the past). As for budgets - I think a budget limit is only a problem if the budget is too small Owned businesses are expensive, and especially playable ones (I made a mistake with some of my own by making it too small, now the shoppers queue on the tiny sidewalk ).

@simsfreq - Thank you so much for your valuable input! There was a contest for Uni lots some years ago; and it can be seen in the contests threads here: https://modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=518453

I like the idea of doing something similar again, but I also think, because there has not been a contest for a long time, one should start with something where the lots will be used by players (I do hope contestants will upload their lots)! Not everyone likes to play Uni (even though I personally love it). I want to go through all the suggestions carefully, discuss it with more simmers and will make what is hopefully decisions which may appeal to most.

Anytime

Ah yes sorry the Campus one was the one I half remembered. That must have been where I got the idea! I agree it doesn't make sense to re-do an old contest theme.

Re college lots: I ALWAYS build my own dorms; more fun stuff, more "learning" stuff and at least one room with a double bed - my colleges are where future couples find each other, and some sims decide they are attracted to their own gender. But maybe that's more decor than build

Some really interesting ideas being mentioned, I love reading what everyone has been brainstorming. I think the hobby lots idea has a lot of potential, though some compromises will have to be made as we can't renovate every single hobby lot or the contest would be extremely long. Maybe contestants could choose a subset of hobby lots to renovate?

Thank you for mentioning this, I'm very much on the builder side of things - just look at any of my recent posts on the Houses & Landscaping thread! I find myself building shell after shell any time I come across a new building I find interesting, but to actually decorate it can take literal years - once I even found myself finishing a house 5 years after the shell was complete!

Budget had completely slipped my mind, yes it is a big thing. There is some very cheap $1 walls and floors around and $2 fences etc. When I am doing up a house the fence in particular is a HUGE saving. In a contest that would allow someone to decorate the house way above where it should be.
There are also cheap walls around now too. Lunie I think made those?

The only solutions I can see is:
1.You have a bonus for CC free as I did in the past to try and make up for it. Part of this is a honour system as nobody can tell if cheap walls were used. Same goes for other means of devaluing the lot.
2. You don't have a set budget but either have it open or use some other metric.



Say what sets are allowed? Like Better bathrooms, Bespoke and Icads woods? That is a possibility I hadn't thought of. I can see people pushing for more sets, but that could work. I found no matter how much I thought I had all my rules cut and dried people would probe them and find loop holes.



I wasn't suggesting no comments, only that I find comments hard to write. Apart from obvious things such as "The porch could do with more space for routing" type comments I always end up saying boring things like "This is so pretty/ lovely' half of the time. :/



I agree.

I also like the idea of the hobby lots, since that seems like something that does a good job with giving some clear direction while still allowing for lots of creativity in how contestants choose to pursue things!

I'm not sure why price really needs to be a limiting factor though... it seems like especially given all the issues with pricing of CC items or re-pricing of catalog items, if you want to keep the scale of builds limited, it's better to just impose size limits with the lot size or the guidelines or whatnot (though I also had fun in Karen's vacation contest trying to do a big grand hotel within just the timeframe of a single round, and I'm still pleased with how it came out!). I mostly just don't see that a price constraint would improve the contest, so I'd be reluctant to include it as a requirement in the first place.

And just to throw another half-baked idea out there for builds, what about having people build franchises? So for instance, a 'fast food' franchise (read: McDonalds) could have the requirements of stuff like "must include a food service counter rather than maitre'd podium, must include a large outdoor sign using X item (my immediate thought is the huge diamond light, but whatever), and must prominently feature the corporate color scheme of red and yellow." It doesn't limit people architecturally that much, so there'd still be plenty of room for creativity, and it still links things together for the round, and if people upload their entries later, it would mean that other players could actually go in and have a number of franchise locations that all felt different but like they were part of the same parent company! It also seems like coffee shops (read: Starbucks), grocery stores (read: Kroger), bus stops (read: any metropolitan transit system) and that kind of thing could be used in that same kind of framework.

I would love more filler lots, lots that go in-between or fill out spaces in a hood that regular houses or business lots don't fill. Lots in odd sizes like 1 by 4. Things like small gardens, walkways, memorials, bus stops, car parks, alleyways etc. Even something like 'shops' or a row of 'shops' without actual filled in buildings, just basic shells with interesting fronts to place to fill out a business district.

oooh yes agreed @joandsarah77
I call those pocket parks and I've made a few for myself. I love putting them in between apartments or businesses for some airflow, greenery, and places for sims to rest and sit~
it also gives me apartment sims a pretty view instead of the next building's wall
gameplay-wise, im sure they'll survive without such things but it feels lovely to have them around!

I'm also interested in University type buildings, Hobby lots, and Catherine's Flip it or Forget it

And maybe, a "Community-Betterment" theme?
like Adult Learning centers for sims who want to learn skills but can't afford the florist or toybench etc
or Community Gardens where you can pick fruits and vegetables for free? (I downloaded one but I can't remember who made it or how)

stuff like that :3

Thank you, all of you! I still want more feedback from more players

1. I have thought of a limited pool of cc (I mentioned Honeywell's Bespoke Build Set) - but I also think one could just make the budget limit bigger. We all know that it is hard to build a pretty starter - we all use the same basic stuff from the catalog. I admit always being surprised that the lots are actually quite different from each other. Perhaps one could also just allow a number of cc items per round - I will think about it. It may be possible to impose limits without limiting the budget.

2. I have been thinking of community lots since I thought of hosting a contest - business hoods, Nightlife hoods (including for families) etc. That will include hobby shops or lots, at least in one round, I think.

3. I think filler lots are quite nice, but I am not sure one could run an entire contest using tiny lots.

4. An idea is emerging in my brain, thanks to all of you. Let me ponder for a while

4.

Sounds like building to me

Not to toot my own horn (Okay kind of am) I have both type of lots uploaded here. My last lot was a Hobby lot that I did as a request for Gummi and I have a community garden lot with a short tutorial on how to make it harvestable.


There is that, they would be small.

Please toot your own horn I have built 4 hobby shops also uploaded on here (Let me toot along).

There's a McDonald's sign here. Everyone could include that. https://web.archive.org/web/2009021...d=&p=view&uid=5

When it comes to franchises, I think contestants should have a wide choice. I don't think 10 or more McDonald's builds will be all that interesting

Yeah and with a quick Google search I already found signs for KFC and Pizza Hut.

And considering there were a few builds already made for downloading, contestants should not be limited to franchise buildings because they almost all look alike in real life.

Maybe a Pizza Hut/Domino's would be more apt.

Originally posted by joandsarah77


I would get into contests myself (and I have built filler lots.) but I use a lot of CC that is not necessarily available to download, so I refrain from entering, even when the entries are only for the contest, not for downloading.

CC is a tricky subject and I wouldn't want to inflict my taste on someone else.