Build-n-Share #51--Summer Camp

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 05/26/10 11:04 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 th em 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 five 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.

Beginner/Intermediate--I have a little more experience, but I'm just not sure yet about that leap up to "intermediate."

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.

Intermediate-Advanced--I'm getting pretty comfortable, but I want just a little more practice before entering on the top level.

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 *.

Build-n-Share Archives
Big thanks to Freynas for putting this together!
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/198045.page

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 4 times. Last update was at 05/26/10 11:13 PM

Summer Camp!
Build Deadline: Wednesday, June 16 at 7 p.m.
Media Deadline: Wednesday, June 23 at 7 p.m.

A 50-something woman sporting walking shorts and a cap walks through the door, beaming from ear-to-ear. This must be Sara Summers, the director of the new Happy Hills summer camp being advertised all over town. Today, however, the pitch will come from you as you work to become the chief landscaper, architect and designer for the camp.

Sara shakes your hand before taking a seat. Though it's only May, she seems to have a tan already. You think to yourself how glad you are you wore long sleeves today.

"I am so glad to hear of your interest in the project," she begins. "It is an undertaking with four different lots, I know, but Summer HIll just offers so many opportunities."

"So let me be sure I'm correct. You mentioned a girls' camp, boys' camp, pond for watersports and fishing, and an ampitheater. Those are the four you're referencing, correct?"

"Yep. The same. I'd like the pond on the middle lot, between the two camps to keep the boys and girls a little separated for most of the day-to-day activities. The end lot will serve as both an ampitheater for talent shows and common gatherings while also functioning as a social place for the occasional dance."

"How rustic are you thinking? They'll obviously know it's new."

"I'd like wooden structures with a somewhat lighter/brighter wood. Nothing too light, of course, as it will get dirty, but also nothing too dark, as I want it to remain cheery, too. I'd like the girls' camp primarily with deep blue accents and the boys' with dark greens."

"And what kind of structures would you like on each?"

"Well, for the two camps, I'd like at least three cabins: one for the younger children and one for the teens with another, smaller one with all of the amenities for each head counselor. Each of the campers' cabins should sleep 8. We'll also need a bath house, mess hall, and small clinic on each, too, of course."

"What about the pond area? Any plans for that?"

"I'd like a nice dock area. And maybe some seating to watch the events. That lot should have its own restroom and a couple of showers for boys and another couple of showers for girls. For the ampitheater lot, I'd like the open-air theater, of course, but I'd like the area around it to be a little wooded. Maybe with a little trail or something? It will need its own restroom as well, as we'll host events there. An area with picnic tables and some grills would be great, too. And it will definitely need to have great lighting for nighttime events."

"It sounds like the kids will have a lot of fun! Any other requests?"

"Hmm. Well, this is probably the toughest part, but the Summer Hill area is just so FLAT. I'd really like it if the camp could have a little more character with some small hills and a real woodsy feel. It shouldn't just feel like the valley but instead like the kids are really getting away. The only other thing is I'd really like all four lots to blend. They shouldn't look the same, but you should be able to tell they go together through similar building materials like the woods you use. I hope that's not too much?"

"I'm confident we can do it. You're giving us a little extra time, so that should definitely help!"

"As far as budget, I'll sock whatever I need to into the landscaping, terraforming, and all of that. The camp should be nice, but rustic. They should not feel like they're at The Ritz or something, so adequate and nice, but not too over-the-top on luxuries and furnishings would be nice, too."

“Wonderful. Well, I think I’m all set. Please let us know if you think of anything else.”

Ms. Summers stands, shakes your hand, and walks out.

***Obviously, this is a big one. You have three weeks this time. Additionally, you may, but do not have to, work with a partner or group. Feel free to advertise here for group members if you’d like. We will probably vote for winners for this one on Builders’ Boulevard, so make sure you really work hard on your media. This will be due the week AFTER the builds must be submitted. You can use photos or video to promote your camp.***

Additional Challenges:

Rather than providing a different challenge this week, for those who finish early, I’d like to recommend you check out Tota’s TOTA-LLY AWESOME neighborhood project on Builders’ Boulevard. We could really use some extra hands to make that project great as well!

Hope you enjoy this week’s challenge.

Addict

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/26/10 11:04 PM

Please include the following info in your post:

Official Entry

Name:

Link to the posted asset (link to lot):

Link to media (required for judging):

Optional Challenges entered?:

Constructive Criticism?:

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.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/26/10 11:05 PM

Judges and Keepers of the Thread

Your official judges are Tota, Robodl95, Robb, Cameonet, and KitKat7145.

Your backup judge is Fidlerten.

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!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/26/10 11:05 PM

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!

Hey addict, wanna check those deadline dates?

ROTFLOL Love the Tota pun

This message was edited 20 times. Last update was at 07/22/10 06:21 PM

I Like this but a bit confused. I started but does it have to be all on the same lot like 60x60 or 4 lsingle lots next to eachother?

quick question....any specific area we have to put this camp..or an easier way to have 4 lots free??

I think it's on 4 different lots since we can work in groups, how would 3 people be able to work on the same lot? Anyway, anybody want to team up with me,

I'll be partners with anyone but gotta warn ya I am a major beginner so I may not have the skillz like some of y'all

I like this idea! I will team up with other Beginners, since that is the level I am at. Anyway, I just request that I am NOT put on the lot with the pond since I don't have a clue on how to make a dock.

So why don't we start looking for groups by saying our level and then what we really are good at, or really suck at. I can start, if this idea is going to stick. It would suck if three people team up and NONE of them can do the pond, right?

Name: MaeMania

Experience Level: Beginner

Preference: Would rather not do the pond as I have no experience with making them look nice. My ponds are just holes that are kind of there and they are ugly. If you show me a tutorial I can do anything, especially since I have three weeks to learn!

Does that look like a good application (for lack of a better word) for partnership? Or should we start threads for each level?

This seems like fun! Seems challenging to team up because the builds need to seem like they go together... but teaming up seems the best idea!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 05/27/10 06:40 AM

hi people turn the page!