#1 16th Jul 2024 at 4:13 PM
Last edited by ed95 : Today at 5:01 PM.
Posts: 183
[Testers Wanted] Sullen Hollow: a custom neighbourhood
So I've finally buckled up and encouraged myself to publish this neighbourhood I had sitting on a shelf!
SULLEN HOLLOW
Sullen Hollow is a little and old northern village, nested between the mountains and the Deep Lake. Don't let its quaintness fool you, though; this is quite an interesting place!
Moved-in Families Golden family - 21'663§ Life seems to smile at Sherri following her husband's suspicious pool ladder accident, with a queue of nannys at her disposal. With Dylan acting out, can Sherri teach young Finn to mantain the familial status?
Sherri Golden (Adult female, Unemployed. Virgo, Fortune aspiration) An introvert by nature, no one really knows if a friendship with Sherri is genuine. She enjoys apple juice and scratching her jewelry.
Dylan Golden (Teen male, Private School Student. Leo, Family aspiration) Dylan's schmoozer nature tends to easy things for him. But deep down, he wishes not everybody instantly liked him.
Finn Golden (Toddler male. Cancer, Grow Up aspiration) Finn finds it hard to behave goodly, but maybe with his brother's help he can beat the odds.
Killjoy Family - 324§ On the surface, Charlie and Peggy Killjoy seem to have a terrible life, but is their poorness a façade of something more sinister? And can Eve and Morgan make the right choices when it comes to love?
Charles Killjoy (Adult male, Drive Through Clerk. Pisces, Family aspiration) Since his parent Duncan died after going insane on the lab, Charles has felt an overwhelming guilt.
Peggy Lynn Killjoy (Adult female, Pickpocket. Taurus, Romance aspiration) Lazy and friendly, Peggy tends to think the worst of everyone. She enjoys painting her nails... when she's not sleeping, resting, or reposing.
Eve Killjoy (Teen female, Public School Student. Sagittarius, Fortune aspiration) Eve had it harder then her twin sister, so she says. Maybe she had it coming, you know?
Morgan Killjoy (Teen female, Public School Student. Sagittarius, Fortune aspiration) Morgan is impatient and agressive. She dreams of being a videogame producer.
Perky Family - 837§ Ariadne is ready to start a family of her own, but who will she let decide, her heart or her brain? And can Liv bounce back after the disappearence of his wife Ivy?
Liv Perky (Elder male, Unemployed. Taurus, Knowledge aspiration) Although rather aloof, Liv has brought his modern-style upbringing to his family and friends. He has an unusual fondness for squirrels.
Ariadne Perky (Adult female, Drive Through Clerk. Taurus, Knowledge aspiration) Ariadne is the noisy, taunting type. She always speaks her mind out.
Oliver Perky (Child male, Public School Student. Aquarius, Grow Up aspiration) As a child of older parents, Oliver has always been pretty self-suficient. His hobbies include astronomy and computer engineering.
Earthy Family - 998§ Wes is pursuing his dream of being a millionaire, while his son Walker follows his steps. And Wes seems to have left his ladykiller ways behind, but will his promise and money be enough to win Ariadne's heart?
Wes Earthy (Adult male, Junior Executive. Gemini, Fortune aspiration) Of course Wes misses family life since his wife's death, but he's been a little "distracted" since. Will he ever get another chance at true love?
Walker Earthy (Teen male, Public School Student. Scorpio, Knowledge aspiration) Since his mother passed away, Walker has thrown himself into books and work.
Casato Household - 1752§ Who knows the Casato family? Are their intentions genuine, or do they cover ulterior motivations? And what about the rumor that Ivy Perky was last seen climbing the stairs to Joe's apartament?
Joe Casato (Adult male, Vice Squad. Cancer, Family aspiration) So much work, so little time. When Joe isn't thinking about his job, he's thinking of Ariadne.
Köld Family - 514§ Was it just coincidence that the Köld sisters arrived on the eve of Ivy's disappearence? And what are those annotations they take anytime they leave their home?
Carly Köld (Adult female, Nurse. Pisces, Family aspiration) It's often said that Carly is too gullible, and she's quick to agree. She likes honey and dreams of a peaceful life.
Cindy Köld (Adult female, Lab Assistant. Leo, Knowledge aspiration) Deeply connected to her Scandinavian roots, Cindy likes reading and clam chowder.
Family Bin Families Perky Family - 20'000§ All Ivy claims to remember is a blinding light and then awakening in the middle of Sullen hollow's countryside. Are her intentions really sincere?
Young Family - 24'090§ The Youngs are simply one of the rudest families around. Who knows where their troublemaking ways have led them now?
Urbino Family - 27'120§ Mindy, Paul and young Darcy have decided to trade the fast-paced city life for some fresh air, and hope to make a nice home here in Sullen Hollow.
The nhood comes with a total of 87 character files: 15 moved-in playables, 6 sims in the family bin, 2 townies (the Katsaris siblings), and 1 NPC: Jake Wheeler, the newspaper boy (who's also involved in the plot), as you can see. The remaining 63 sims are ancestors, of which every playable has and should all be complete and safely resurrectable. Some of them also have personal bios. There should be no more NPCs or/and Townies.
There are 26 lots in the nhood: 4 commercial, 6 occupied, 15* (I missed one) unoccupied and 1 vacant ─plus the special hobby and magic lots.
Commercial lots
Main Street 33 A little house rehabilitated into a boutique and town square. Shop till you drop!
Main Street 29 "The Witch's Mall" has everything you need, and probably more. Help the local businesses by dropping by!
Main Street 25 When the weather gets chilly, forget about the park. Come to the Sullen Hollow Community Center and go swim in our climatized pool!
Woodland Park Take your family for a stroll, a game, or maybe for meeting... or evading your neighbours!
Occupied lots
Wright Lane, 21 ─ Golden Family Cliff's Garden
Legend tells that here there used to be a watching tower to spy on all the ships that crossed the lake. The turn-of-the-century manor that now sits in here has apparently kept the tower, for watching use, assumedly.
Sim Lane, 56 ─ Perky Family Perky Mansion
The old Perky mansion may be indeed the older building in all of Sullen Hollow. It used to be the center of the even bigger Perky Estate and fields, but over time, they've been all sold.
Woodland Drive, 9 ─ Earthy Family Park Ranger's House
This cozy little house was formerly the park ranger's house. It hasn't kept much of its original structure, though ─subsequent owners wanted a more "livable" interior.
Main Street, 17 ─ Köld sisters Burgundy House
One of the houses built along the Main Street development, this one is undoubtedly the most showy and charismatic.
Main Street, 15 ─ Joe Casato Cerulean House
The first house built in the Main Street development, this one is probably the most serene and friendly.
Woodland Drive, 5 ─ Killjoy Family Cape Cod Style Model B
Since Sullen Hollow is an ever-expanding community, come visit our low-income homes! Now with asbestos-less ceilings!
Unoccupied lots
Wright Lane 5 Crane Estate ─ 4 bdr., 2 bth., 2 half bth. 328'162§
The Crane Estate is assumedly "almost as old" as the Perky's, much to the chagrin of the Crane family. Its last representative, Alistair Crane, was in fact last seen climbing down the old well (now covered) to find the plaque that signaled the original establishment of the house, never to be seen again. The enormous house has been on sale since.
Wright Lane 10 Wilkins House – 2 bdr, 2 bth. 59'289§
This Colonial house was Sullen Hollow own very first Town Hall! It was however bought and repurpoused by Henrietta Wilkins, an old widow who, reportedly, "couldn't even fit a double bed" in it. Whatever meaning she had, this old house has an almost unused interior, ready for a big family.
Wright Lane 19 The Witch's House ─ 3 bdr., 1 bth., 1 half bath. 26'536§
Traditionally, this little house has gotten a quite unfair nickname. Part of Sullen Hollow's Old Town, this building has an interior almost as spacious as its exterior; just ignore the strange howling and lights on the lawn each midnight.
Sim Lane 13 Obsydian Cottage ─ 4 bdr., 2 bth. 34'161§
This little house used to be the cabin for the farmers who tended the Perky Estate, but right now it's been vacant for years, just waiting for a big family to dwell in.
Sim Lane 21 Ernest's Farm ─ 7 bdr., 2 bth., 1 half bth. 54'941§
The Ernest family established this farm on the land they bought to the Perky's, decades ago. As time progressed, they built on it in order to house the ever-growing Ernest clan; but they sadly and suddenly left town some time ago. As a result, this Farm has a well-tended garden and modern interior just expecting their new caretakers.
Main Street 19 Mint House ─ 2 bdr., 2 bth. 19'180§
The last house built along the Main Street development, this one is rightly the most creative and sunny of all!
Main Street 20 Traditional Abode ─ 3 bdr., 1 bth., 2 half bth. 28'036§
This house used to belong to a family of bakers, who refurbished it to their taste. So it may not be to the... taste of everyone, but it is indeed a good home for up-an-coming middle class-ers.
Main Street 22 Brick Courtyard ─ 3 bdr., 1 bth., 1 half bth. 16'213§
This little and cozy home was built with all the leftover bricks from the Community Center. It's never been occupied yet; don't hesitate and make this your own starter!
Lakeside Drive, 30 Cream House ─ 2 bdr., 2 bth. 17'839§
The most secluded house built in the Main Street development, this one is clearly the biggest!
Middle Street, 5 Indigo House ─ 1 bdr., 2 bth. 19'102§
The house with the best views from all of those built in the Main Street development. This one may be the most open and windy!
Middle Street, 7 16'036§ Lime House ─ 3 bdr., 2 bth.
The most friendly house built in the Main Street development, this one is without hesitation the most crowded, but funniest, one!
Middle Street, 17 Boston's Bungalow ─ 2 bdr., 1 bth., 1 half bth. 22'438§
This was one of the first modern homes of Sullen Hollow, and as such, it's not really a bungalow, nor a Boston-like house. Don't hesitate to enjoy its spacious interiors ─with room for expansion!
Woodland Drive, 3 Cape Cod Style Model A1 ─ 2 bdr. 1 bth. 12'092§
Not really a Cape Cod style, but this is a cheap abode that gets the job done. It's strongly advisable not to dig the septic tank below it!
Woodland Drive, 4 Cape Cod Style Model A2 ─ 2 bdr., 1 bth. 11'994§
A cute little house, just ready to receive an equally little family in its interior. And if you don't like your neighbourhood, just put some wheels on it and move it!
Elm Street, 10 Hunter's Shelter ─ 1 bdr., 1 half bth.
This was the improvised hunting shelter for the Winter, back when Sullen Hollow was a more rural town. But after the sighting of an strangely whiteish moose, all hunters left town, one by one. This shelter has been unoccupied since, maybe expecting for an specially shy (or secretive) sim.
Vacant lots
Middle Street, 3 An empty lot where you can imagine ─and make─ all your dreams come true!
The neighbourhood wheighs 65'5 MB, and you need all Expansion Packs up to and including Mansion & Garden stuff pack ─or the Complete Collection. I tried, however, to keep a base game ambiance, so you shouldn't worry about Stuff Packs. All sims and lots should be completely clean and have been minimally played. The ID of the nhood is SLHW.
I consider this 'hood "mostly finished"; I've playtested a little and it works pretty well on my game (only the Casato lot bugged out, for some reason); however, feel free to suggest ANYTHING, from technical aspects to storyline ones ─firstly, I need a better way to take photos, as you see!! This is my very first upload, so I'm testing the waters!!! If people get interested and is up to the standards, I would glady send it for download on the main site
As you can see if you peeked on the story, this all sounds familiar; let me know what you think of my idea. And just... enjoy it, if you find enjoyable!!
You can download the nhood and the terrain from Drive on the following links:
For the nhood, simply plop the folder on your EA Games/TheSims 2/Neighbourhoods folder of My Documents. For the terrain, put all the contents of my folder on SC4Terrains.
Thanks!!!
EDIT: Since I got bored, I made some more descriptions and photos, so you have a better idea of what you get with Sullen Hollow.
Edit:The landscaping and houses look amazing and I love the Golden and Killjoy family. I really like the bottom part of the map, maybe I would add a special lot in that area or some beach. But overall it looks amazing and I haven't even played it.
Maybe I would work on some good photos for each family album.
Oooh thanks a lot @Sokisims!! In my playthrough, tha Killjoys are the family I had the most fun with❤️ they're such a mess!!
Thanks for your feedback, I really was insecure about the houses. I would really want to make complete family albums taking photos on a backup version of the nhood, but I'm not sure about how to accomplish that.
I was thinking of making more lots on the, well, sullen area of the map. I also want to elaborate more the story, but just a little bit in order to make it ambigous.
Oooh thanks a lot @Sokisims!! In my playthrough, tha Killjoys are the family I had the most fun with❤️ they're such a mess!!
Thanks for your feedback, I really was insecure about the houses. I would really want to make complete family albums taking photos on a backup version of the nhood, but I'm not sure about how to accomplish that.
I was thinking of making more lots on the, well, sullen area of the map. I also want to elaborate more the story, but just a little bit in order to make it ambigous.
Again, thanks a lot!!
In my opinion, the best thing is to take screenshots with a program or windows and then take random photos in the game and with a photo edition program copy each screenshot into each snapshot and thumbnail file. This way you can choose each photo better. The quality is also better.
@sokisims, I experimented and what you said helped a lot!!! Btw, I'm really honored by you taking an interest on my nhood given the quality of the ones you've made here!!
@DinaMarBoobs, thanks for your help! I'm actually Spanish, so I can give you the text in the languaje you're more comfortable with for translation and make different versions of Sullen Hollow!!
I spent some time yesterday thinking about the story and I have it all clear now. I may write a couple of lines on the texts I already have, but I intend to tell it all through the photo albums, with higher quality screenshots. If I learn how to use it, I may also make some custom scripted events (flavor text) for each family.
As of now, I've updated the first post with photos of each built lot and more information on each family of the nhood. Thanks again for your interest!
Sign in to Mod The Sims
16th Jul 2024 at 4:13 PM
Last edited by ed95 : Today at 5:01 PM.
[Testers Wanted] Sullen Hollow: a custom neighbourhood
