Pizza Hut/Dominos are also franchise buildings.

Noone has to download your contest entry, so I wouldn't worry about everyone not liking your CC choices. Those who do will appreciate it and those that don't will download something else.

If you're not going to upload the lot, then you don't have to track down where all the CC came from - but, you'll probably have to field a lot of WCIF requests from viewers.

If we have enough people involved in "contesting" again, maybe we could run a Progressive Dinner style contest?
The way I'm envisioning it, it would be a major event... which, I don't think anyone is ready for it yet.
But, here's the idea:
- The first 3-4 round would be for the builders - to build a shell with 'built-ins', plumbing, and electricity, etc. (Enough so rooms are clearly determined, and maybe add landscaping too?)
Whichever build/builder has the highest score at the end of all the rounds wins - and that lot moves on to the next contest.
- The next 3-4 rounds would be for the interior designers - to add color, furnishings and 'set the stage'. Each round could cover a different style: residential, community, Victorian, MCM, city, rural... Highest score wins - and the now decorated lot moves on to the next contest.
- CAS. Create the sims who will inhabit the space. I have no idea how many rounds that would take, or even how to set up the contest (My eyes are glassing over as I type...)
- Then we have the photographers (this might only need 1 round?)
- Then the same lot would move on to the story-tellers (again, maybe only a 1 round contest?)
...in the end, we should have a truly spectacular Inhabited Lot! And several people who have gotten to know each other through the competitions here on MTS.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch: I found all the shell lots I had prepped for the Flip-It/Forget-It contest I was working on. (I started on it in 2017!)
The contest is far from being ready to launch! It should appeal to both builders and interior designers. It might could be presentable in a month - maybe?
Each round/shell represents a different era/environment. I have a dessert complex, an old Southern, a modern city house, and a motel. And the contestants can decide if they want to flip it, or forget it. I'd planned for 4 rounds; and total scores would be based on 3 rounds (because you could decide to 'forget it' once.) You can 'flip it' into a community lot or a residential lot, the choice is up to the contestant.

I definitely don't see one single contest coming together from all of these ideas lol, but I don't think that was necessarily the point anyway? There's lots of contest fodder out there, and it certainly seems like there's enough interest to try something again though - I don't have the right headspace for hosting or competing right now, but judging seems like it could actually be a lot of fun, so I wonder if @justpetro, do you want to start narrowing in on what to actually do for the first new contest? That way people can start looking at things in a more concrete way, and then (hopefully) pull from all the ideas here again for future contests too!

If we are to do franchises, personally I would prefer made-up franchises, since not all franchises are familiar to everyone worldwide - I have never set foot in a "Kroger". It would be fun to imagine sim-specific ideas such as a Grilled Cheese based fast food restaurant, a Freezer bunny themed kids' play space, something Llama related, a plumbbob theme, space/alien theme etc. Mainly because you'll have all kinds of deco which already has these images in, within the game, so people don't need to go hunting for CC, and it could be fun to use things that usually get overlooked because of how garish they are.

The only thing I can see which might create a problem here is if most of the content in a certain theme came with one of the EPs that not everyone has. I know a lot of people are playing the UC or Super Collection, but not everyone is.

From my search, a lot of people have already done McDonald's etc. anyway. Sims themed franchises would be cool.

If a theme has stuff from an EP then just make sure that CC is allowed, so those without the EP can supplement.

CC tastes do vary a lot, and I wouldn't want to have to hunt down things I don't like to use. I'm comfortable with three types of guidelines for cc in contests:

1. No cc, with allowance for people who have edited prices in the catalogs or done things like change the lighting in game - changes that are in the program files instead of downloads are are a pain to remove, but mostly don't change the overall look of the build for contest purposes - up to the host how pricing changes would affect judging.

2. CC limited to the above, plus recolours of existing objects allowed; no new meshes. I know floors and walls may have varying prices, so for this, price limits don't make sense. I'd include terrain paint in this.

3. CC limited to particular sets, such as Honeywell's Bespoke sets. For this sort of limit, I'd be willing to even have a different set for each round. It might be a nice way to spread awareness of interesting or useful cc, while it being easy to remove if the cc isn't to my preferred types.

I wouldn't be comfortable with a general "all cc is OK". There is too much variety out there and I think it would be very hard for judges to compare builds. The contest might also deteriorate into "who can find the most relevant/attractive cc" on a given theme, and focus on creative use of the materials available get lost.

A couple of thoughts after reading the replies:

If I am going to host the first contest in a long time, I want it to be appealing to beginners, because if we want contests to continue, we will need beginners. Because of that, I would like to make the contest relatively simple (still allowing, of course, for creativity). I think Jo's Community Spirit succeeded in doing that (@joandsarah77) and also had a good number of play-alongs. I think more complicated contests can follow, of course.

No cc does not mean one has to change the lighting in the game. It simply means no cc build or buy objects. It also allows for extracted objects and may allow for store (now free) and pre-order items. I will consider all the ideas on here.

Some cc also needs particular expansion packs and stuff packs - you see where this could be going. I honestly do not want to have so many rules that nobody pays attention to the actual builds.

I don't think one can make an exception for cc if anyone does not have all the expansion packs. With the UC, one gets them all. But that has crossed my mind, and that is partly why I am thinking of allowing some cc for all. One can also state what players need in order to take part in the contest (eg. if there is going to be businesses, you need OFB. OFB also has the flowers and toys and robots, so it can actually be used for hobby lots, as can the easel and the piano from the BG).

I think one can come up with lots that don't need all the expansion or stuff packs, but I don't think it is practical to not allow all the items available if you have, say, the UC. It is quite hard - you cannot even use the AGS without Mansion and Gardens. And, as I said back when I personally was the only one in my first contest with the UC - it is here now, players use it, we have to make provision for it. (Back then, @AndrewGloria saved me by posting a pic for me with the BG bedding, because there was NO way to find it in the UC). I don't intend to make these things hard for contestants, if you don't have all the expansion and stuff packs, then you use the ones you have.

Some cc is also only usable with expansion packs, so those will be out completely. I don't think one should fall into a conundrum where there are so many rules about this cc and that cc that nobody wants to build anything I like to keep things straight and simple myself.

Edit - Forgot to answer Zar @Zarathustra - I am going to start writing down a thing tomorrow, there is indeed enough fodder here

I did mean CC for all, not just those without EPs.

Hear me out: relay contests! Like the 4 x 400 metre relay in the Olympics! It's extremely impractical but it would be fun in an ideal world.

Re community lots: I have mod that allows learning on community lots; maybe lots of people have this so it would be OK? Funny thing, if you add a putting green, you can ask the Charlaton to give lessons, and he seems like a nice guy. And I make some of mine "pet friendly" by adding things for THEIR needs (food, litter boxes,etc). Add the blender and have your female pet get pregnant! My big Summer Park has a burger stand, pool, fishing, playground, and a wedding arch (and yes, total strangers will whip into formal wear to celebrate with the couple).
I changed Maxis big "box store" to include band instruments, a restaurant, and a food-judging table (plus all the usual)
These 2 builds go in each of my hood, along with a place to adopt babies & toddlers, and a graveyard.

The CC we are talking about are build and buy items, things that make the lot look pretty, not mods.



Thanks Justpetro I think it was my best contest. I know in my other contest where we made over houses, I would pick differently now, some were too large.
I would definitely aim things at the smaller more beginner friendly end.
I would not have eliminations because contests simply can't take that these days. It was a bit different back when they got 50 entries. It was to think of the judges more than anything.

Wow, so many cool ideas in this thread! I have to admit, I have thought long and hard about hosting a building contest in the past--to the point that I have written up rules and an introduction. I'll never forget commenting about missing contests a few years ago. I sorta wondered out loud when the next contest would be because we haven't had one in a few years. And then Peni replied to me that if I missed them, I should host one. Well, I took that seriously and started planning, but I've been too chicken to follow through. I've been trying to work up the nerve to host a Downtown renovation contest for a long time. What has held me back was the time commitment and the judging.

I have never judged before so it makes me nervous. Maybe it's because one of the contests I was in (Apartment Mania) had builders with skills that were so close and hard to judge. I think a few simmers got hurt feelings and thought they received less points than they thought they deserved. I do think judging in that contest was fair, and that it was probably just that skill levels were really close so you had to be really thoughtful with your build to stand out. But considering that I want to foster a sense of community, it just makes me nervous to judge. Even if I don't actually do the judging myself, the criteria I set could lead to some hurt feelings. In any case, that made me think long and hard about judging criteria and what I would ask for.

I eventually settled on three categories, Innovation, Design, and Playability/Functionality, for 10 points each, and a Bonus point category. These were based on my personal views and what I saw in previous contests. I also really wanted to include a Cohesiveness category, but I was unsure how to incorporate this in a practical way for judges. I really like the idea of building a set of buildings that go together and trying to aim for cohesive lots, but that can mean something different to everyone. Real life towns don't always use the same building materials in every lot so I worried that might be too limiting. And then for judging, well, you can have Cohesiveness within a lot but also across lots. And how can you really judge Cohesiveness until you see everything together? So I was thinking that metric might have to be on hold or only used for certain contests. And then I'd do Bonus points for things or details I wanted to reward but might be too limiting for contestants or too tedious for judges to check.

I'll put my descriptions for each metric under a spoiler in case anyone would find it helpful.





And then there's the time commitment! My original idea was rather long so I was worried about how long the contest would go and whether I could really commit to such a timeframe. As a contestant, I have to say I like the idea of two week rounds because sometimes you just need the time. You need time to be inspired, to research, to try out different options, to cc hunt. Then of course there's real life. Sometimes there's work or school or both and then there's health concerns and family, etc. So I get wanting two weeks, but it makes the contest really long depending on the number of rounds. You'd want at least 3, right? But 5 or 6 rounds at 2 weeks is like 3 months--way too big of a time commitment. So I settled on four rounds, but I worry about that too. Hmm, thinking it through now, I might go with 10 or 11 days so that you can wrap in 6 or 7 weeks.

And so this year I dusted off my contest plans again. I'm working on my simming computer and it's out of commission right now, so I had thought that maybe hosting a contest might be fun if I couldn't actually play. A few weeks ago I was revisiting my idea and getting bogged down in logistics. I'm a planner by nature so for me I'd love to see a Hosting kit and/or a Judging kit to help simmers get started contest planning.

It could have tips on how to structure the contest, sample timelines, and pratical tips for things like how to make a table in your forum post, how to set up a timer/countdown, ways to stay updated on the thread, etc. It could have sample judge score cards and tips for what kind of criteria to use and maybe a considerations list for new, anxious judges. I'd love past tips from other hosters and judges, if we could put that together. I think that sort of hosting kit would help a bunch of people get going--speaking from my own experience, it's easy to think up an idea for a contest. It's the planning details and admin work that you can easily get scared by, and start to find overwhelming. I think if we can put those things together (or maybe publicize them, if they already exist), then simmers might be less intimidated by hosting.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents--back to reading this thread. I still have to soak up all the ideas from page 2 and 3, .

Hahahaha, the Charlaton giving lessons have never crossed my mind (I use that putter too)

The putter is a career reward and not custom content All the career rewards have always been allowed. If you place the plant or the blender, judges won't know the difference - that plant is maxis Uploading a lot with mods is not allowed on MTS for good reasons, players normally have their own.

For some reason that made me think of defaults, you may not want to allow those unless you are allowing CC.

Agreed, thought about that too earlier. I remember how I would forget to put my 3 defaults back and could not understand why my lots look different after a contest

I don't think that these are good ideas for bonus points, because most people wouldn't include them unless the specific assignment called for them.

There are lots of community lot ideas that don't need to be a business and unless the contest calls for an OFB business then community lots can also work just as well with an NPC run business.

Pets aren't even allowed on community lots without a hack and not every community lot would be pet friendly anyway.

Toddlers can't go to community lots without a hack, so toddler items would be wasted for a lot of people. Also, limiting people to 'family friendly' or 'romance' excludes a lot of other purposes for lots.

Pets can too go to community lots without a hack! If you take your pet with you, other pets show up. You only need a hack if you want pets to show up regardless of whether you take a pet there or not.

A lot off these ideas would be good ways to limit and distinguish one round from another. This time, we're making lots suitable for taking your pet to. This time we're making lots sims could reasonably hope to buy and run themselves. And so on.

Unless people don't have Pets or OFB.

Yeah, I meant unless you take your pet there.

What Peni says - a variety of lots is the goal

Hey hey could someone summarise what has been decided for us old and late (as in tardy not yet dead) members?
I read that some at the beginning of the thread were saying that they had an inclination toward sim contests, so one idea I have would be to have some rounds for sims as well as building. Like, round 1- build a house. Round 2- make a sim who would be likely to purchase that house. That type of thing? Or maybe you have already ruled this out, I dunno as I have 69 posts to read and dinner waiting!

Hello, @simsample - hope you had a lovely week.

I made some lists already and hope to have a concept for a contest for you to look at on Monday or Tuesday.

The ideas in this thread are far too many for one single contest I honestly hope it will take off and contests will become a regular thing again.

Brilliant! Yes had a great week, you have all been busy I see!

I mentioned a 'Progressive Dinner'-type thing in post #52: https://modthesims.info/showthread....530#post5953530

Thanks @CatherineTCJD I had missed that! Rereading now!

I don't think our first contest should be that involved...
But it is something we could grow into!