I'm afraid I'm going to have to be about a day late on my entry. I'm nearly done but not quite, and then I need to playtest, take photos etc. Really sorry about this. And I've really no good excuse, just poor time management on my part and like others I've been feeling really burnt out from all the decorating. The building is fine, I love building and that usually goes quick, but the decorating is such a slog. Still, I'm really excited to show you guys my entry though! It's pretty different from my usual builds and I think it's actually turned out quite well! I should be able to post it tomorrow around this time. And I don't mind losing points for being late, it's cool, I understand.

Oh my gosh, this I have no idea why I thought it was a good idea to do so many units again, but, oh, man, was it a mistake. It was such a chore yesterday and I only got done because I made myself sit down and do it all. It was basically kitchen, kitchen, kitchen, bathroom, bathroom, bathroom, bedroom, bedroom, bedroom etc. Definitely not. fun. The gemini in me wanted to stomp away and cry/rage so many times, . I knew I wouldn't have the energy for extensive playtesting either, so I told myself to forget the complicated, off grid, quarter tile placements and to just simplify as much as I can. It's a miracle I got done about midnight last night. I really tried to keep up the personality in each unit... but it was hard. I was definitely burned out when taking pictures and I don't even know if I got the best shots--everything all looks the same to me now and so boring.

Anyway, I definitely don't wanna see anymore shelves, bath towels, or seasons kitchen deco for a long, long while! So I feel ya and keep your spirits up!

Lol, right? I'm definitely going to need to put this game aside for a bit. Mercifully my round 4 is a modern build and thus less cluttered by design. Still it's a lot of pulling a million things out over and over to see what works with what, and what goes with what, and this wood doesn't match that wood, and would these people really put that out, and ack! I'm tired. The finish line is near though! I'll be happy to see it Thanks for the encouragement!

Oh whoops I'm late! I'll post it sometime before the end of the week.

Same here. I will finish the last two apartments now and post my entry sometime during the afternoon. Since I won't (again) be playtesting my lot, I stayed away from my usual love of cluttered spaces, of trying to fit as much in as little space as possible. These apartments are meant to be roomy and breezy. But more on that went I post it!

I still haven't done a thing hahaa geez ^^" I've been so busy with work idk if I can catch up
but good luck to everyone =D

Round 4 - The Vortex Tower
 

Enter the Vortex Tower! Located on a 3x3 lot, this 10-storey apartment building features 6 modern and comfortable apartments for the middle to upper class market, starting out at §3211 per week and with a Penthouse costing §7436 per week. These prices are a fair trade for what the Vortex Tower provides: roomy units, equipped with top-of-the-range appliances and electronics and decorated with stylish furniture, meeting fire and safety requirements; two elevators, as well as stairs in case of emergency; and large communal areas with a high-tech media room, a security office, a bar, a lounge and 4 bathrooms. We are sure you'll enjoy the urban life here at the Vortex.

The 6 units are named as follows:
- Unit A: second floor
- Unit B: third floor
- Unit C: fourth floor
- Unit D: fifth floor
- Unit Plus: sixth floor
- Penthouse: seventh, eighth and ninth floors

Units A, B, C, D and Plus have the same floorplan, but Unit Plus is more upscale than the other four and comes with a higher price tag. Hence the 'Plus' instead of 'E'. Nevertheless, each unit has its own unique decorations. The Penthouse is meant for upper class tenants and has visible luxury troughout, namely in the extensive marbled walls and floors in the kitchen and bathroom and in the overall decoration of the ensuite bathroom upstairs. Every unit is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment except for the Penthouse, which has 2 bathrooms instead. The Penthouse is also the only unit without a smoke alarm, instead having a sprinkler to avoid long climbs by the fire department.

Take a look at our promotional photographs to see everything the Vortex has to offer. Don't be left out. If the end of the world comes, you'll be safe in the Vortex.









And finally, our satisfied tenants left some feedback.
T. Christensen: "These apartments are great. They're spacious and comfy, perfect for my mother's recovery after her back surgery."
H. Jones: "I'm in this world to have fun. The Vortex Tower is a great party place!"
N. Prescott: "Whatthef#!@ever! My family owns this place! I will sue you if you don't leave me alone!"

I hope you like this lot. I had a lot of fun building it and it turned out just like I had envisioned it. But it sure was tiresome.

hot damn @yvelotic2001 I'm in love with this! :lovestruc

The Vertical Garden
 

Vertical Garden:
Lot Size: 2x2
Apartment Rent: Two-Bedroom - $3340-$3371

I decided to try something different from my usual builds and try my hand at a modern, "futuristic" building. This lot is directly inspired by a very real place called the Vertical Forest located in Milan, Italy. It was just such a cool look and concept that I needed to recreate it. Hopefully I've done it justice.

There are 6 units. Each apartment comes with two bedrooms, a combo kitchen/dining room, two bathrooms, a living room, four balconies(yes, four balconies, lol ) a fire alarm, phone and trash compactor. The fire alarms are above the fridge, the phones are in the kitchen/dining room on the wall(except unit 2, which is on a table in the same room), the trash compactors are in the counter next to the stove. There is a burglar alarm in the lobby.

The common areas feature a coffee bar and seating, a computer and reading area, and a rooftop lounge with a hottub and bar.

Notes:
- This lot is fully playtested.

- This lot REQUIRES a gardening mod; either one that allows tending inaccessible plants or one that removes the requirement entirely. I decided that the hit to playability points was worth it this time since it's the lush raised beds that really sell this look.

- The floorplans are all identical, but for each floor I rotated the floorplan counter-clockwise so I could have the location of the balconies vary on the exterior to allow for two and three floor gaps between balconies for the trees. The only difference between the units is the location of the front door.







And the apartments!

@Charmful I'm so glad you love it! I loved your build too, it reminded me of my own build for Round 3. I would love it if you were to upload it, they would look nicely next to each other. And I will steal your idea of using the back of bookcases for deco panelling for the future!

@Magnolia As usual, great build! It is definitely different than what you've showed us so far and I love it! I especially like the outside with all the overhangs and large vegetation. I've been meaning to build a "green" apartment myself for ages, you just gave me another incentive!

Now that we've got that mushy sh!t out of the way, I feel like stage diving! Let's thrash this place! Seriously though, I've inserted several references to a certain, let's call it, thing (as to not make it really easy to know what you're looking for) in my entry for this round - which, I think, is now at its final description. If you can find them all, I salute you. HINT: Two of those references are in this post.

P.S. I forgot to add solar panels to my build. I always do, not only because they provide a bit of rent relief, but because I'm an eco-friendly builder. But I guess with the hurry of trying to not go far past the deadline, I forgot to add them here. For such a high-tech place, solar panels would have made sense, but oh well.

@Yvelotic2001 - Wow, that is such an fantastic build layout. :lovestruc Love what you did with the decorating too - you made use of items I forgot were even in the game (looking at you H&M dressing curtain thingy). Well done!

@Magnolia - Such a unique build, and that use of landscaping is ingenious...love it! I can tell you really put some thought and lots of time into this build. Really great work! :lovestruc

@Magnolia your flooring work is superb!!!! i love all of the units! the colors are so harmonious

@Yvelotic2001 @PenelopeT @kanzen Thank you, you guys! I'm so glad you liked my lot!

And good job to everybody! You have all made some really beautiful and impressive builds throughout the rounds! Definitely cause for celebration, I think

I have messaged Gummi to see what's happening.

In other news: My entry is finished and I will be posting pics tomorrow as it is far too late to do that now!

I've fixed the scores that needed fixing. Yvelotic got an additional 0.5 points from judge 3, and three of you had your totals lowered 1 point as I had summed it up wrong. I'm sorry about that. First page table updated with round 3 scores and round 4 entries. Judges have received their score cards and judging timer is up.

It's been some next level stuff lately. My RA amped up the volume yet again and the new medication we started made my skin come off so been a lot to deal with. Will do my best to finish off contest as soon as possible after scores come in.

Wow, Gummi, you just cannot catch a break this year. If you have to delay posting scores to put your skin back on, then you do that. We can wait as long as you need us to.

It's by no means anybody's contest at this point, but the point spreads are such that the top three contenders could easily be in a photo finish. Magnolia does more original and striking stuff when she's burned out than I do when I'm fresh! It's an honor to trail this pack and I look forward to seeing some of these apartments in the Downloads.

ah it's such a bummer that I won't be able to finish this contest qAq there's too much workload lately

anyways ive learned a great deal from this contest and discovered new tricks in building and decorating thanks to the talent gathered in this place ^^

good luck everyone!!

Aw, thank you, you're so sweet! To be fair though nothing I've done is really original. Lol, I can copy something well enough, but coming up with something original out of nothing is definitely not one of my strengths. I'm honestly in awe of those of you who can do that!

@gummilutt Take it easy and don't worry about it. My mom has RA and I get how horrible that disease can be. Take care of yourself first, we can wait.

Clare Apartments
 

These are very late - sorry, time got away from me! The building was inspired by new job's Headquarters.

All apartments have phones and a trash chute. There is a communal swimming pool with a BBQ area and some seating around the back of the building.












@gummilutt please can you add me to the table

I am wondering how the judging is going?

What I see I have still 2 days to get it done. (based on the timer in first post) . Nearly there, sudden change at workhours is now atm causing some delay, but will be at time.

Dunno about others.

Going OK on my end with the judging. I'll have it done on time this time (knock on wood).

Haha, I know - "If you have time to upload a home, then your judging should be done", no? If it is any consolation, it took less then 10 minutes because that home has been done for months (including screenshots and it being zipped and all!) and I am a slacker when it comes to uploading. If that was in poor taste to upload something, my apologies. Life has been really heavy lately and I just needed something fun and easy to do.

How is the judging going, folks?

I think we're all done - Gummi is in the midst of moving, and has also been sick. I'm sure as soon as she gets a chance, she will post the final tallies.
This was an extremely close race - all ya'll brought your A-games to the very end. Congrats!

Will hopefully have scores posted today, or tomorrow at the latest. Had to bring forward moving so been going back and forth to pack up things and move to storage, and of course caught a cold right before so been yet another rough week.