Build-n-Share Weekly Challenge #42 - Heated Ambitions

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 03/24/10 10:48 PM

Welcome to the Build-n-Share Weekly Challenge!

The Build-n-Share challenges will be posted Wednesday of each week and run through the following Wednesday. Results will be posted approximately one week after all entries have been submitted in the Winner's Circle thread.

The benefits:
First place will be awarded at all levels. If there are at least eight entries in a category, up to four places will also be announced.

Weekly challenges also create an opportunity for community on the forum site. We get to know one another’s names, share news, builds, and positive words. This is a chance to get your name out there, and hopefully make a few friends along the way.

What makes this challenge different from all the other ones I've seen?
We have been hosting this weekly challenge since the first week the game was released. We have many levels of builders in our community and welcome them all. This group is truly a product of all its great members!

Within the first few challenges, our group was recognized by the gurus that be, who have helped the weekly challenges gain even more popularity be stickying both Build-n-Share threads. Since then, we have had at least one featured creation almost every week, and our list of featured members continues to grow.

With 3 successful collaborative neighborhoods (Gnomelandia, Summer of Love, and NYC) just about completed, Build-n-Share hopes to bring more creative challenges and new neighborhood ideas to the community with the help of our dedicated participants who willingly contribute and help each week to make sure each challenge runs smoothly.

The rules:
All entries must be original work. Any competitor who submits another builder’s work will be disqualified and banned from any future Build-n-Share challenge. These competitors will also be removed from the Builders' Boulevard related websites if they have chosen to join (membership to the site and the Yahoo! group are not required to enter a Build-n-Share challenge).

Please announce your official lot posting using the entry form below. Make sure to leave the "Official Entry" label big. If you need to reformat it, you can do this by highlighting the desired text and then selecting "Big" in the font box above. This will help us see the entries in a sea of posts with no pics to guide us.

Entries must be submitted by the deadline, 7 p.m. Wednesday evening (eastern time, USA).

A description of the three major level categories:

Beginner--I have a little experience, but I'm still figuring a lot of things out. I would not call myself an official "builder" at this point.

Intermediate--I have been building for awhile. I know the basics and maybe a little more. I enjoy building, but it is not my primary focus with the game.

Advanced--I know the Sims, and the Sims knows me. My name is familiar to a lot of veteran players, and I've competed in and won some building challenges and maybe even been recognized in a community showcase or two. I know most of the cheats AND I know how to use them.

Official Build-n-Share Animated Siggy
Want to represent Build-n-Share in your signature? Here is our official signature. Just copy and paste [*img]http://i854.photobucket.com/albums/ab105/anjubee/bns_fad
e.gif?t=1251688153[/img] into the signature section under "preferences" and delete the *.

Two additional opportunities:
Love to build? Come join us at http://www.buildersboulevard.com . The site offers an additional forum for advertising lots, share tips and tricks, and participate in collaborative neighborhood projects!

We also have a Yahoo! Group for builders. It can be accessed at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/buildersboulevard/ . You do not have to be a member to enter. This group will be used primarily as an announcement center and for some of our more complex polls, and possibly, databases.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 03/24/10 11:05 PM

This Week’s Challenge Specifics:
Challenge deadline: Wednesday, March 31st at 7 p.m. (Eastern time)

...

Heated Ambitions

After reading the latest interview with Grant Rodiek about the upcoming expansion pack this summer, Ambitions, I became really excited at the new gameplay features and thought it would also make a perfect building challenge now in preparation for the new expansion pack.

With the tools we have now, you can choose to build one of the following this week.

Fire Station - Try to build the most convincing fire station you can for your future firefighting hero.

Salon - Try to build a salon for your future stylist. Think lots of mirrors and spa-like amenities.

Art Studio - Try to build an art studio for your future tattoo artist or sculptor. Be creative with clutter!

Doctor's Office - You can either build a big hospital or just a small private practice office. Just make it look sterile!

Some notes:
There are no budget or lot size limitations this week. You should choose to build whatever size you have time for. The key here is to make your screenshots look as authentic as possible. Everyone should be able to tell what you're building just by taking one look at your structure or your interiors.

Please include the following info in your post:

Official Entry

Name:

Link to the posted asset:

Link to media (required):

Optional Challenges entered?:

Experience level:

Lot Name:

Lot address, size, and final cost:

Details and Rational:

Credit to any simmers for custom content you used:

To make it more searchable, we would highly appreciate it if you include Build-n-Share in the description of the lot.

Screenshots: Tips and Tricks

Since judging will now be based on screenshots, we figured this would be a good time to go over some tips and tricks in taking good screenshots to help showcase your lovely builds.

1) Camera Man Mode - This is a must in taking good shots! You will have to be in live mode to do this, but just hit "TAB" to enter this mode. Once you are in this mode, you can use the mouse to freely control the angles and use "W, A, S, D" buttons to move forward, backwards, and side to side. "Z" zooms in, "X" zooms out. "Q" moves up and "E" moves down. "C" to capture the shot.

2) Find the perfect angle - With photography, it is all about finding the right angle. Spend some time in camera man mode to find the perfect angle. Get down to a sim's point of view to take the best shots of rooms.

3) Walls up - Most people play with walls cut away, but when you are taking pictures of your lot, try to keep your walls up to make your shots look more realistic.

4) No grids - Unless you need to show the grid for a specific purpose, make sure no build/buy grid is visible when you take your pictures. You can avoid this by taking pictures in live mode or by hitting the terrain paint button in build mode.

Ok, those are the basics! If you want to further your simatography skills, we highly recommend you visit http://simatography.webs.com for more tips and tricks and to see some excellent shots taken by professional simatographers!

Please try to keep this thread as photo free as possible and either create a story, a slide show, a separate thread, or use the stickied photo thread to post shots of your lots!

Judges and Keepers of the Thread

Your official judges are Tota, Robodl95, and KitKat7145.

Your backup judges are Fidlerten and Robb.

Freynas is the official organizational guru collecting entrants' names, levels, links, and results!

Judges will post their results in the winner's circle thread: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/47204.page

Look for results typically a week after the deadline.

Big thanks to our judges and helpers!

Wish my laptop wasn't out of commission. A very fun idea, Anju!

Addict

This is a great challenge Anjubee. I have an idea for my design, I just wish I could find time to do it

Nice idea!

@SP- If you could check your Simatography inbox when convienent, that'd be lovely

Awesome! If I can't build what I've chosen, I should be whipped!

This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 04/02/10 02:11 PM

This message was edited 4 times. Last update was at 04/22/10 03:40 PM

Results

Beginner http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/825/47204.page

1st Place:Ecofriend2
2nd Place:Kiarane (Hospital)
3rd Place:Kirane (Fire Station)

Intermediate http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/825/47204.page

1st Place- Tristarin
2nd Place – CuddlesomeQtee
3rd Place - TIE! Scoiotollo & AlexKnr
4th Place – TIE! MsMcNeely & Karima

Advanced http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/780/47204.page

1st place: Linday

Yea!!! I am for sure entering this..i was going to already build a salon or art studio and this comp fits perfectly..Yea...I's so exited!!! Count Me In!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 03/25/10 03:11 PM

Official Entry

Name: WaylonWriter

Link to the posted asset: http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2151665

Link to media (required): http://www.thesims3.com/contentDetail.html?contentId=187524
Optional Challenges entered?: None

Experience level: Intermediate

Lot Name: 150 Ely Road Art Studio

Lot address, size, and final cost:
150 Ely Road, 20X30, $87,697
Details and Rational: Used objects and building supplies from both Sims 3 base game and High-End Loft Stuff. Has three stories, basement (living area), first floor (studio) and roof/deck.

Credit to any simmers for custom content you used: Didn't use any CC

Whew!

I guess I'd go with either the Spa or the Art studio.

I love this idea, I might just have to participate in this weeks challenge.

Great idea Anjubee.