Ahanu Bay: A Work in Progress

So…I’m working on a second neighborhood in addition to Annabel Island. (You know, because I don’t have enough Sims projects going on right now. *weak laugh*)

The nifty thing about this hood, though, is that Fran will end up here eventually — so it’s a Fran project as well as a general hood-building project.

Having two neighborhoods in progress works out nicely for my Sims-related ADD (tm Kay). When I get the urge to play my Victorian Sims, I can visit Annabel Island, and when I want to play modern Sims, I can pop over to Fran and Ahanu Bay.

It’s all Jade’s fault — I am seriously hooked on hood-building! I haven’t gotten very far yet with either hood, but even the preliminary work — the planning, pondering, and downloading helpful mods and objects — is so darned entertaining.

Anyway, I worked on Ahanu Bay a little bit last night and thought I’d share it with you guys. Keep in mind it’s a work in progress, so it’s in the very early stages of development. I’m experimenting with building the hood somewhat organically; that is, I want the hood to grow from the Sims and from gameplay rather than the other way around.

Ahanu Bay
Overview of the hood

I’m using the Bluewater Village terrain, but I’ve redone the roads more to my liking. I wanted to have plenty of room for beachfront property and a little grid for the town proper. You can see my Mediterranean-style town hall in the center of the grid. The rest of the buildings will be placed on the streets surrounding it and along the shoreline.

I probably won’t use much of the rest of the land – I want to keep Ahanu Bay small and manageable. So as with Annabel Island, I’ll fill it up with trees, landmarks, and maybe the occasional “rural” home or business.

More about Ahanu Bay after the jump!

For my first “experiment” in this hood, I’m starting with 6 Sims I’ve dubbed “The Founders”. The Founders were randomly generated (using RandomStuff by Hook at MATY). I edited the config file to add my own lists, generated 6 Sims, and created them in CAS.

I made a few tweaks here and there, but kept the randomly rolled aspirations, astrological signs, and turn-ons/turn-offs. In some cases I also kept the randomly rolled names, skintone, hair color, eye color, hairstyle, and fashion style. I let the game choose their interests, but they all turned out to be very similar (everyone hates Work, for example — buncha slackers!) so I’ve modified those as well. Gotta have some variety, ya know.

Ahanu Bay
The Cottages

Each Founder lives in one of 6 tiny cottages in Ahanu Bay. I only have one cottage built, which you can see in the screenshot above. They’re all on 1×1 plots of land (thanks to MaryLou at MTS2), which funnily enough seem to add §400 to the Sim’s bank account instead of taking it away. So they’re all starting with 20,400. Beyond that, however, I’m not going to cheat in any of the Founder households.

My plan is to play them in rotation for awhile and focus on their Wants. I am hoping that eventually some of them will marry each other, have kids, start businesses, buy bigger homes, etc. After awhile I’ll throw some more Sims (some randomly generated, some not) into the bunch and see what happens. In this way, I hope, the hood will sort of grow on its own.

By the time Fran moves into town, these Founders will either be elders or have passed on to Sims heaven, a.k.a. The Great Tiki Bar in the Sky… *strums ukelele*

But for now, they’re young and spirited. Here are my 6 Founders:

Ahanu Bay

Patrick Glassman
Aspiration: Popularity
Astrological sign: Capricorn
Cottage: The Heliconia

Ahanu Bay

Danielle Greenwald
Aspiration: Knowledge
Astrological sign: Capricorn
Cottage: The Orchid

Ahanu Bay

Ailsa Morphew
Aspiration: Romance
Astrological sign: Taurus
Cottage: The Jacaranda

Ahanu Bay

Kelsey Pollitt
Aspiration: Knowledge
Astrological sign: Cancer
Cottage: The Waterlily

Ahanu Bay

Lorenz McSherry
Aspiration: Popularity
Astrological sign: Pisces
Cottage: The Mandevilla

Ahanu Bay

Brice Castillon
Aspiration: Pleasure
Astrological sign: Pisces
Cottage: The Begonia

It’s weird how my hood terrain is supposed to be “Lush” (that is, green), but if I’m on a lot by the shoreline, the whole hood — from that lot’s point of view — becomes sandy white. The inconsistency bugs the heck out of me, but oh well. I’m not re-doing the hood over again (this is my third iteration already!), and I like those shoreline lots.

Another note: I made the Sims look similar at least in facial structure so that they wouldn’t have completely bizarre-looking children. And who knows, they still might. (In which case, they’ll visit the good old plastic surgery machine. Ouch, that just sounds painful.)

Happy Simming!

Credits:

Hair
Danielle, Kelsey, Brice: NoukieSims2
Lorenz: HystericalParoxysm @ MTS2
Ailsa: JessicaRichie @ MTS2 (Mesh by Nouk)

Eyes
Gemstone Eyes by Bruno @ MTS2

Make-up & Brows
Helaene
Bruno @ MTS2
Just Sims 2 (Barcelonista)
Kamikitten
HystericalParoxysm @ MTS2
Lyran

Clothing
Patrick’s outfit by All About Style (based on an H&M Stuff Pack mesh)
Danielle’s shirt by HystericalParoxysm @ MTS2
Ailsa’s shirt from RockChickSims
Brice’s shirt by fanseelamb @ MTS2
Kelsey’s dress and Lorenz’s outfit from H&M Stuff Pack

Jewelry
Just Sims 2
ShiversTheNinja @ MTS2

Huge thanks to all of the creators listed above!

45 thoughts on “Ahanu Bay: A Work in Progress

  1. cool another neighborhood! but i wonder how Frans gonna end up there…when shes an adult?
    hope to see this neighborhood progress as you play!

  2. Kinda like a Boomtown, only not. With the starter sims, that is. I miss that hood… sigh. But I am looking forward to seeing what crops up from this.

    As for sims ADD… I think that’s why I have so much stuff. I get bored or distracted too easily, LOL!

  3. wow thats soo cool! are you gonna wright some stories for them? LOL xxxx cant wait for more xxxx

    sometimes even if you have two sims with the same facial structures the kids still come out strange looking. its weird.

  4. What a very exciting project! And I love the Sims-related ADD! That’s a good one! LOL As always, you have some very interesting characters I’m looking forward to getting to know!

  5. Did you somehow manage to find default replacements of bruno’s most magnifastic ( magnificent+ fantastic) gemstone eyes?

  6. It looks like you have enough variation in the facial structures to get children who look unique (from their parents) without looking completely… err… unique.

    I can’t wait to hear more about this project. I really want to do something like this myself, but I’ve found that I just about have to focus on one or two things at a time rather than having four or five projects going at the same time.

    Right now I’m playing around figuring out how to play with OFB (since I suck at it!), but after that I’m going to go back to my legacy for at least a couple of generations before trying something different.

    I don’t have SimCity 4, so I can’t make my own terrains, which is also very off-putting, because I hate the thought of repeatedly using the same terrains in my game. I’d make a request, but there’s almost no way I’ll get exactly what I want. I might just have to ask for the game for my birthday or something hehe. That’s later this month anyway!

    Yikes, this got long. I’ve got another question for you, but I’m going to ask it at Sim Scribes because I think it could spark a lot of discussion.

  7. I LOVE it when you work on a new neighborhood!!! Interesting stories, here we come! Plus the hair I immediately recognized, partly because Noukie Sims 2 is my new favorite custom content site ;).

  8. Pure awesome pawesome. I love it when you start up new projects, I always get inspired. :D *bonds in Sims ADD*
    And those eyes are preeeeetteeeeee. Thank you for the link! I was just getting tired of the old setup I had, this should put a new spark to things.

  9. Wow this almost makes me want to restart a new hood myself :) how great!

    So how’d you redo the roads for the terrain?

    Looking forward to see how this all progresses.

  10. Oooooo, I bet Fran’ll move here because it’s warm (all the time, perhaps???).

    About the founders-
    Patrick, well I’ll admit I’ve never liked that hairstyle, but he actually looks pretty good.
    Danielle, looks great, but her hair is a little wild.
    Ailsa, looks Maduessa-ish (she’d be great for a black widow challenge).
    Kelsey, is the most normal looking, but very pretty.
    Lorenz, is kinda cute.
    Brice, looks very juvenile (maybe it’s the freckles? the butterflies?).

    Can’t wait to see more of them!!!

  11. huh, nice looking chaps and girls. I’m building a custom hood too, it was fun and tiring at the same time. like yours a lot!I found it mind numbing when i build the business district and down town!!!! Wish i’m as creative and patience like you. Can’t wait to read more about fran!

  12. A very nice project. I do like the Bluewater terrain, and was trying to find a way to actually play Bluewater Village as my primary hood. But it was not meant to be, so I’ve just extracted all the shops and dumped them into Riverblossom. I can’t stand creating the coasts in custom Hoods, the section you’ve done looks fantastic.

    I noticed that oddity with the terrain when I opened a Downtown lot in my parent hood, everything turned concrete. It’s annoying but I find it less annoying than the few community lots I visited when it was heavy snow, now every time I go to them it’s heavy snow… even during summer.

    Another note I’ve just signed up for SimScribes, so Devin if you have any questions about OFB I can probably help out. I’ve several 10star businesses now (working on the get 5 top-rank businesses, the single hardest lifetime want in the universe) and that sim has currently earnt well over 10million.

  13. Would you consider putting this terrain up for download? It’s absolutely what I’ve been looking for! I wish I could have my little seaside village on a terrain like this, but I had to settle for only a few actual waterfront properties, but yours is perfect!!

  14. hey jen, i have recently decided to set up a blog. But everytime i go to upload or download a picture . most of them are missing. I dont know why and its stopping me from making any posts about my legacy as i have no pictures! argh! can anyone help ?

  15. A couple questions, yas….

    First of all, where are you hosting your blog? In order to explain how to link your pictures in, that’s key information.

    Secondly, where are you uploading your pictures?

  16. You blame Jade and I blame you for the Neighborhood obbession! I love it and I love the characters. I just posted a tour of my soon to be neighborhood and one of the houses. Glad I did it before coming over here! Yours are gorgeous!

  17. Thanks, guys! Glad you enjoyed this little blurb about Ahanu Bay. To answer some questions:

    Mao – Yes, it’s a lot like Boomtown, actually! I should read the rules for that; it’s been awhile…

    yaz – I probably won’t write stories about these folks, but I will share commentary on how their lives are going. And when Fran enters the scene, they may end up in her stories.

    winkling – I haven’t found default replacements of Bruno’s eyes…but I bet someone will make some eventually!

    Devin – I would be willing to try to make you a terrain, if you want! Even if it’s something complicated, I could at least give it a shot. And if it’s not what you want, I’ll just put it up for download on MTS2 or something. Also you asked if I rolled their aspirations — the answer is yes.

    Mandie – Nope, I hadn’t planned on joining SUN, but it’s a really cool site!

    PRMami – I redid the roads by copying and pasting the Bluewater Village terrain into one of my Sim City 4 regions. Then I went into it through SC4 and modified the roads before re-saving it. Copied and pasted back to TS2, and voila! Although it doesn’t necessarily work for all terrains — some of them don’t show up in SC4 for whatever reason. I haven’t quite figured that one out.

    Andrea – I would be happy to put this terrain up for download. I’ll do a new post about it!

    yas – Devin asked the right questions, and hopefully if you can give us the answers, we can help you out! You might also want to consider joining SimScribes — we’re building up some good resources for Sims bloggers there, and everyone is really friendly and knowledgeable.

  18. Actually, Jen, I just want the PV terrain, but smaller. Basically just the main grid part of it. I don’t want something overwhelming to fill up lol

  19. Devin – So just new roads on the Pville terrain? Any particular layout? I should be able to do that, I think!

  20. ok now im confused! um well my blog is on wordpress. And i was trying to use wordpress to download +uploadpics

  21. Hi Yaz,

    If you’re hosting wordpress on your own site/server, then your files are stored within that directory. I think they are in directoy you install it in/wp-content/uploads.

    Hope that helps.

  22. yes but what hapens is. I take some pictures for one of the familys. Then the only pictures that show up are the last 2 i took.

  23. Hey Yaz-

    That was happening to me too, an I found my pics in ‘My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Neighborhoods’, then in the particular neighborhood, then in storytelling.

    Hope that helps!

  24. Hey Jen, long time reader (never poster), and I have to say that Lorenz and Brice are gorgeous! =) Where are Jade’s tutorial’s for creating custom hoods? (I’m feeling inspired to create my own ‘hood). Keep up the good work!

  25. Awesome! It’s been a while since I’ve been here! hehe I’m getting into the ‘hood building thing aswell. Now that it’s my mid year break, feel like doing some comm. designing. Mine’s a modern ‘hood aswell, but it’s still into the modern houses and the traditional luxury plots. I’m not really into game play at the moment, just creating an ‘hood and all the buildings required for a “functional hood” heh look forward to how your story turns out, this sounds interesting!

  26. simlover- thanks i havn’t tried that yet. do i have to go on a specific neighboorhood to find them?

  27. omg thankyou sooo much jen. Now ive started my own blog! i am gona go work on an update now. My name links to my site thanks again!

    oh and simlover thanks for your help again,. Without you i wouldn’t have got any of my pics working!

    xxx yaz xxx

  28. It’s funny that while so many people love building, I HATE it.

    In TS1, my houses were boxes with a corner partitioned off for the bathroom. Really. My sims were constantly woken up by the TV.

  29. i dont mind building. If im in the right mood. lol

    My first post on my new legacy famaily is up now everyone! please check it out and leave comments xxx

  30. ok, i am so sorry im leaving LOADS of comments. BUT i need people to go on my site and tell me if they can see the newest pic on there. And if they can see the old pics. sorry again. but lindsey made a comment that she couldn’t see my pics. So i need to know which way works.

  31. First, I have a question– Do you know of a site with tutorials on how to start a customized neighborhood? I had Isle of Thyme bookmarked but it seems to have disappeared :(

    That little section you’ve made so far looks really cool :) Right now I’m building a Downtown area with shops and furnished apartments and all that stuff, but it’s taken me a year so far and it’s not even half complete!! o.o The patience and dedication you guys have to make these awesome neighborhoods always astonishes me, especially since they look so cool. Mine always look.. sparse :x

    ps. I heart Fran :D

  32. I’m JUST NOW getting around to checking this out, Jen. Don’t hurt me! *cowers in fear* ;O)) So … how do you modify the streets? Do you have to take it into Sim City 2000? Loving the beach front property idea.

    All of your founders are gorgeous in their own way. :O) No Family sims I see? ;O))

  33. I mean Sim City 4, not Sim City 2000. :O) In reading your comments to folks, it looks like I was was right! :O))

  34. Hi
    I am such a silent lurker, but I do come by to see what new. YOur new idea is really good. My own hood is based around a similar theme. Coming soon….
    It is nice to know someone is as fickle and changeable as myself.
    I am forever creating hoods, pictures stories and then delete. My daughter who also plays, has these sims going generations back, where she sticks to the same hood. Little bits of paper so she can keep track of who is who.
    Keep it up, as I find it entertaing and inspirational. Oh before I leave, it was Jade that got me in to to all of this, shame she went.
    Bye Hazy

  35. Hi!I’m new to commenting but I usually read EVERYTHING in your site!I’ve read all your stories about twice.I was just wondering, how do you set up a blog?I’ve never did one and am very curious.Please post a comment to answer back.Thanks.Bye

  36. ahhhh. jen your work is never done :) lol. My site has some posts now so please check them out.

  37. Big hellos to Janice!!! Welcome back!

    And also, a hearty Mt. Geneva welcome and hello to Lizzie, Hazy, Stacysaurus, and Anonymus. Thanks so much for your comments.

    Anonymus – If you want to start up a blog, you might want to join SimScribes as well, and also take a look at my post “Creating a Sims 2 Blog”. It’s a bit outdated now but might give you some helpful info. Most people use either WordPress (on their own webspace) or something like Blogsome or Livejournal (which is hosted). Take a look at some other blogs and decide what format you like best, and determine whether you want to spend money on your own webhost and domain name or not.

    Angelia – Ayup, I used SimCity 4 to redo the roads.

    And yaz, I promise I’ll visit your blog soon…gotta run home now!