Converting Real-Life Floor Plans to Sims 2 - Scale?

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Jeff Zeitlin wrote:
> For those of you who build your Sims houses based on floor plans from
> real houses: What scale do you use? I find that objects seem to be
> built on the scale 1 square of lot = 3 ft (or 1 m for you metric
> types), but when I plan out space on that basis from given
> measurements, the rooms come out too small for the objects that I
> want/need to put in them; a better scale for space seems to be about
> 2 sq = 5 ft. Am I missing something when I work at the smaller (1 sq
> = 3 ft) scale, that would let me fit everything in? Or does this
> perceived discrepancy between space scale and object scale really
> exist?

I don't really use a scale. I use 1/4 inch graph paper to draw it off,
considering one square on the graph paper to equal one square in the game.
Look at your house plans. You can tell which windows are one tile and which
are two tile. The area between the window and the door is probably one
square, maybe two squares from a window to the corner of the room. Hallways
must always be at least two squares wide, bathrooms must be at least 2x3,
with 3x3 more workable. Remember that your staircase will need a minimum of
5 squares.

Keep in mind, too, the size of the furnishings. Single beds are 1x3 and
need a 2x3 area to be usable. Double beds are 2x3, but need an area 4x4 in
order to be usable. Adding a dresser (2x4) means a usable bedroom should be
a minimum of 4x6.

Not all house plans convert to sims houses well, but with a little
adaptation, most will work. I usually take along a house plan book, my
graph paper, a pencil and a ruler when I go babysit my grandchildren. I
then slip the finished sim plan into the house plan book next to the real
house. That way, I've got the exterior picture to go by when I'm doing
roofs and patios and such.

Jeanie

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

"Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote in message
news:Gjgbe.20225$NU4.8667@attbi_s22...

>
> Not all house plans convert to sims houses well, but with a little
> adaptation, most will work. I usually take along a house plan book, my
> graph paper, a pencil and a ruler when I go babysit my grandchildren. I
> then slip the finished sim plan into the house plan book next to the real
> house. That way, I've got the exterior picture to go by when I'm doing
> roofs and patios and such.
>
Cooo. Such dedication! 8)))

Roofs are the big bugbear when you are trying to keep to a plan. The angle
of slope can make mincemeat of an exterior view. It is a pity we don;t have
more than once choice of roof slope. <sigh>
Oh, stop moaning, Granny! As someone pointed out, the building tools alone
knock spots of some of the so-called house design programs you can buy. And
when you add furniture and can cruise the rooms at ground level!!!

Then there are the straight stairs.....

Granny.

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

Some house plans translate easily into sim houses, and some are
impossible. Others get greatly distorted if you try to make a usable
sim house. I find that using 2'6" to 3' is generally about right for
the translation. In sims 2, the sims will be able to use chairs placed
against a wall (wall,chairs,table,chairs, open space), and sometimes
can get through diagonal corners. Sometimes they will pass each other
in a one wide walkway, but sometimes not.

I generally use furnishings to help scale a room. If you want a
useable double bed, then the room has to be 4x4, for example. However,
the sims have used a double bed with the headboard in a bay window
(where the floorspace next to the headboard is cut at a diagonal to
make a half-space. Often, I mimic closets by putting a 1x2 bump out of
the room, which can be used for a dresser.

Getting a very sim-usable house that looks more or less like a normal
house is a bit of an art and a bit of a learned skill. And learning to
use that silly roofing tool is a trial. One thing I had to work on was
to learn Not to try to "fix" a problem area by making more space
(making stuff larger). I guess I had to unlearn some bad habits
acquired in sim1 house building!

I have found it very helpful to try to keep floor plans as small as is
"workable". And to run some "trial" sims in the house as future
ghosts, operating mostly in autonomous mode at triple speed. This
gives good visual feedback on how well the sims pathfinding works with
a house layout. And, it makes the house much less expensive when the
permanent family moves in!

An example of a house inspired by a real floor plan and layout is my
"Colonial Victorian' that I uploaded a while ago to the sims2.com site.
Alas, I don't have a link to the actual floor plans for comparison.
But if you take a look at the house, you'll see that all the rooms
are--individually--quite compact. Yet the layout is very usuable (and
is one of my favorite houses because of that). If you want to look at
it, search for "ghosts" and lots without families.

Are you having in specific problems we could help you with?

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

The thing is we had different roof slopes in Sims 1 - I wonder if it was
more difficult to do with Sims 2. I'd like it back too. I've been building
a lot of university buildings - large you know - and the roof can end up
being enormous if you're not careful.

Best wishes
Maxon


"Granny Grumpling" <marrowjam@[reallywild]blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:yOmbe.19775$G8.9593@text.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>
> "Persival" <noemail@nomail.com> wrote in message
> newsrmbe.21530$r53.11434@attbi_s21...
> >
>
> >> --
> >> Jeff Zeitlin
> >> jzeitlin@cyburban.com
> >
> > I just eye-ball-it.Real houses and sim houses are so different that
trying
> > to force a scale on it would be futile. I mainly just get an Idea of the
> > house and make it as close to the floor plan as I can. Maybe oneday they
> > will give us adjustable pitches for roofs ,then I could realy "go to
town"
> > ,not to mention stairs with landings.

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

> I generally use furnishings to help scale a room. If you want a
> useable double bed, then the room has to be 4x4, for example.
> However, the sims have used a double bed with the headboard in a bay
> window (where the floorspace next to the headboard is cut at a
> diagonal to make a half-space. Often, I mimic closets by putting a
> 1x2 bump out of the room, which can be used for a dresser.
>
> Getting a very sim-usable house that looks more or less like a normal
> house is a bit of an art and a bit of a learned skill. And learning
> to use that silly roofing tool is a trial. One thing I had to work
> on was to learn Not to try to "fix" a problem area by making more
> space (making stuff larger). I guess I had to unlearn some bad habits
> acquired in sim1 house building!

This is something I do, as well. When you have two bedrooms with an
adjoining wall, you can make it much more interesting by putting that 2
square jog between the rooms for dressers. Now that there is the clothes
rack you can use as a dresser, it's even neater. If you use the moveobjects
on cheat, you can hang curtains over it, making it look like closets did
back when I was a kid -- they all had curtains instead of doors. I've
discovered that putting the two bedrooms across from each other at the end
of a 2 square wide hallway, with the "closets" butting together at the end
of the hall makes for a very workable plan, also.
>
> I have found it very helpful to try to keep floor plans as small as is
> "workable". And to run some "trial" sims in the house as future
> ghosts, operating mostly in autonomous mode at triple speed. This
> gives good visual feedback on how well the sims pathfinding works with
> a house layout. And, it makes the house much less expensive when the
> permanent family moves in!

This is absolutely true. If you are using the game just for building
purposes (and I do have one neighborhood I use just for that with no sims in
it at all -- it's called Mortgage Row) you can build wonderfully complex
houses with roof decks everywhere, houses in hillsides, houses on stilts,
all sorts of wonderful things. But they simply aren't very useful for
playing the game. The smaller the better if you are actually going to play.
With this games ability to get close in on your sims, it is impossible to
keep an eye on everything in a humongous house. If it takes them a sim hour
to get from the bedroom on the third floor to the carpool or school bus,
they'll miss it. Having bathrooms with only one door is inviting trouble.
That sort of thing.

Jeanie

Archived from groups: alt.games.the-sims (More info?)

"Jeanie" <Nobody@home.com> wrote in
news:BCtbe.16917$c24.356@attbi_s72:

> Yesterday, I spent over two hours trying to follow three different
> tutorials (not at the same time!) on how to make bent stairs with
> the modular stairs. All the tutorials are for circular stairs,
> though, and I just wanted mine to go up halfway, bent, then
> continue to the second floor. Apparently, this is beyond my
> rather limited range of intelligence. What's worse, I'd like to
> have them inside a house on a foundation with a front veranda.
>
> I guess I can't have everything I want. LOL In this case, I got
> the veranda but no bent steps.
>
There is a tutorial for "bent steps" as you call them on this
website:

http://mikeinside.modthesims2.com/ [...] index.html

--
Mike
He's as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
Nowhere Man can you see me at all?
- Lennon & McCartney, "Nowhere Man"

I know this posting is old, but I always us a standard size for certain rooms and areas. 6x6 = bedrooms; 4x4 = full/jackandjill baths; 4x6 = master baths; 3x3 = for half-baths, 6x8 = formal dining rooms and master bedrooms with fireplace. 4/5-tiles = wide for the hallways and foyers(depends on how many doors for the front door) and 2x3 = closets. Hopefully this was helpfull for any others who might want help.