Is there something blocking access to the beds that I can't see, maybe?

Try removing the dressers/wardrobes and see if that helps first. Could that violin be an issue too...maybe? If not, is there something on the walls hanging really low over/around the body of the beds?

If there's nothing blocking the beds and sims can use them when directed, I wouldn't worry about it. My sims ignore beds in favor of napping on the couch or somewhere else aaaaallllll the time. Drives me nuts. I even tried a no napping mod but it didn't work. Roommates who can't be directed seem to love to do this as well.

Speaking of silly roommates who can't take care of themselves, were the sims that died roommates or regular playables? After playing an apartment yesterday, the roomie my sim had, Camryn Lee, I think, would spend all day/night entertaining herself in the poker lounge or whatever, but when it came time to eat something, she preferred to not eat and loiter by the vending machines instead of making food in the kitchen. So maybe vending machine advertising is stronger than the fridge? But also, if they are hungry enough, maybe sims can't finish getting something to eat out of the machine because they interrupt themselves to do the hunger desperation wave? That's my theory anyway. It's hard to tell because I wasn't paying attention but I'll keep an eye out in the future.

@Karen Lorraine @PenelopeT all the beds are perfectly accessible when sims are directed to use them. They just...really prefer the couches for some reason.
@Phantomknight the sims that died were all playables. I ran my playtest with free will on and let them do their thing. They just stood there in front of the vending machines - browsing for hours on end until they passed out, slept on the concrete, complained about being hungry and eventually died on the spot. There were no blocks on the paths. Those vending machines are just too enchanting!

I played an apartment with a vending machine outside before. http://modthesims.info/d/319166 but I didn't get such a weird death inducing vendo-fascination! It's probably because I was playing with an older family with the parents knowing how to cook in that apartment while in today's playtest I used 6 fresh CAS sims without a skill to save their life =)) heck one of them set the microwave on fire!

Do you maybe have a mod that prevents autonomous refrigerator use?

Honestly playables are super dumb on free will and should not be left without orders.

Would a studio apartment with two beds count as a double-bedroom (maximum rent being 2000) or as a single-bedroom apartment? My layout can fit either 2 beds or a bedroom with walls, not both.

Those vending machines are a pain. Sims will stand there staring at it for hours on end rather than do anything else at all. It's ridiculous. I don't bother with them any more.

My understanding has always been that studio, one bedroom, and two bedroom are separate distinctions. That a bedroom isn't really a bedroom unless it's closed off with walls and a door. That said there does seem to be a new trend of not totally sealing off a space with walls or even a door and calling it a bedroom. I was looking at apartment buildings for inspiration and saw that a few times. Usually there was at least a wall to give the feeling of a separate space though. I'm not a judge though, so these are just my impressions, obviously. Can you do the one bedroom and stay under 1000? You only technically need a single unit having one bedroom, the rest could be studios.

I already have four 1-bedroom apartments (T1, as we call them here). For the final two units, I wanted to make them a little bit bigger. They are the units in the highest floors of the building, and as there's an elevator there, they would typically be slightly better than the rest. That's why I wanted to know if a studio layout with 2 beds would count as a 2-bedroom apartment, because then I could have 2000 simoleons for rent. A studio (T0) doesn't have any separate bedrooms and would normally use the 1000 simoleon rent for 1-bedroom apartments because usually there's only one bed there. That's why I'm asking if I can use the 2000 simoleons for the 2-bed studio. I intend to give the beds some sort of privacy, though.

I asked this question, or something very like it for my round 2 in this post. I believe the consensus was that as long as it was staged as two bedrooms it could use the 2 bedroom price restriction:

and


Once I explained that I had planned on a wall separating the space, much like Magnolia mentioned, @CatherineTCJD was more on board. So again, I think the key would be to define the space as actual bedrooms--and not just a bed in the middle of a living room or kitchen--and you should be fine. If you're curious, I did use the layout with a wall in my round 2 entry, my units 2A and 2B in building 2.

A "Studio" apt should be one room (well, plus a bathroom) with 2 areas - one for the bedroom, and one for the living/kitchen. IF you have a second bed in there - it would be more like for a guest (not a permanent resident) or an emergency crib.
Phantom's unit that he asked about earlier was a 2 story loft with a bed on each level... it still felt that the downstairs bed was a glorified couch.

I think Gummi's intent on the rent/bonus is for it to be 2 separate bedrooms. Not a bend in the rule

@kestrellyn I don't D: they attempted to cook something but always leave the stove or microwave in favor of the siren-song of the vendo from hell!

@yavannatw I suppose I should get rid of them q A q


concerning the lack if bed use:
is it...maybe...a factor that none of my CAS sims are related or friends and are shy about room sharing?

I mean...sims do that "ew no way!" reaction when they have to share a double bed with someone they're not in cahoots with. With that in mind, I used separate single beds but I guess they still won't use it hahaha maybe if I turned them all friends something might change.

stay tuned folks!

That would really suck if that were the case. Logically single beds should be fine. Double beds no, that makes sense. But single beds really shouldn't be a problem. Here's hoping it's just random chance.

Btw, as a fan of tight spaces I love your layout. It's super cute! :lovestruc

@Magnolia aww thank you! The layout was originally from my awkward romance comic where the characters move to their first home together. The two extra bedrooms are supposedly the girl's study (shes a med student) and the guy's...guy room lmao
gotta have separte spaces for a harmonious romantic co-existance amirite?

however that layout was made for 2 comic people in mind who arent as dumb as sims. (I certainly wont draw them setting the microwave on fire------no wait that might actually be a funny twist hahaha)

so I might expand it a bit...give those dumb sims some room to move and act less dumb

kanzen, I also forgot to ask if you have any sleep mods. Sometimes, depending on the mod, sims who don't have an assigned bed yet are more prone to sleep on the couch than on a bed.

But yeah, I may be starting to agree on the vending machines. Sims are fascinated with it. They can be so weird sometimes.

Also...

Regarding beds and sofas, beds have a sort of broken ownership code in them which I think is the reason roomies never use them autonomously. If you use controlpets cheat to direct a roomie to a bed, they get smarter about using them. Especially if you have Smart_Beds mod.



Two beds in one room counts as one bedroom. That's specifically why the requirements say "2 bedrooms" and not two beds As Catherine said it's not meant as a way to be able to cheat the rule and build more expensive/fancy than is the purpose in this round, but to give you guys the option to build roomie-friendly if you want to. This is the only round with a "real" restriction on rent where you have to really think about your choices, so I would like to see you guys work within the constrictions of the challenge set and find a way to do something you are happy with that meets the money requirement. If you want to do a true studio apartment there's always the coming two rounds with more generous budgets.

Everyone is in agreement that you more than deserve an extension, so you will get scores for this round even though it is "late". Hope your Crohns calms down. I have an aunt who has Crohns, no fun at all.

ah yes...the Smart Beds mod! I forgot about that! Yes I do have it and after making the silly lil pixels relax on their respective beds for a bit they now use it........10% of the time. Hey, better than nuthin!'

Oopsie - sorry! You should be Phantom "Knightress" - oh ye female of the Most Noble Order

FYI everybody - I got about halfway with the judging for round 2; and now I'm "going dark". I will be out of town for the weekend with no PC/internet. I will finish the scores when I get back on Monday. Hopefully Gummi will have them by Tuesday, and they won't be late ...hopefully.

Those of you who pray/believe/or send positive vibes... please send them my way this weekend! I've been having severe issues with my heart/blood pressure lately - the Dr's are trying to track it down - but, I'm really worried about the stress levels this weekend. It's started already - we get to drive 2 hours through a heavy thunderstorm to get there. Yikes! Please pray :lovestruc Thank you.

Sending positive vibes your way! Hope it all works out for you Catherine <3 And if ever you have to do that drive again, please drive safely and don't rush through a storm QUQ

--

playtest report: now that the bed and vending machine issues have been resolved I now have a new problem.
DOGS. strays rolling on my petunias!
The flowers die and I can't really buy and place new ones in a public space while playing my sims... the problems never end, aye? Note to self: avoid putting flower beds where strays can reach em in an apartment lot.

I still haven't seen my flowers die or be watered after about two sim weeks of play when they are elevated outside on the stage tool. No strays roll in them either. I wonder if putting them there makes them immortal?

Hope you feel better Cat! Be safe!

*strokes my imaginary beard*
I do have a habit of putting my flowers on stages and foundations (strays have rolled on flowers on foundations btw) but I have yet to see flowers die on stage tools...
prolly because all I do is build rather than play the game lmao

Eh, the landlord'll fix it.
I have yet to find the will to fiddle with camera mods again. But I need to get on it.

Recommended rent is 1k per bedroom, does this equate to 1k per sim for round 3? If I have 4 roomies, is rent at 4k?

The 1k per bedroom rent was a special restriction for round 2. Presumably round 3 will use the rent recommendation from the main body of the first post, which was



For round one, people were being restricted to 6k for all multi-sim apartments no matter how many sims were living there, so I assume it will be the same for round 3.

Thanks for that. I finished building just now, but I have still some extensive play testing ahead, due to the extensive use of quarter tile placement, moveobjects and 1-tile spaces. Most things I have used before separately, but with so many possible playability problems together, I have to test the lot quite a bit.
As for roomies using beds autonomously, am I the only one whose roommates sleep in their bed without ever having to use controlpets? Granted, sometimes they go and run errands, but they mostly sleep at home, at least for me.

@CatherineTCJD sending love your way. Having recently spent a week in the hospital myself, I know first-hand how bad being sick is. I wish health problems to no one. I hope you feel better soon.