Work continues on Plumbridge Island, even though I didn’t get as much time to putter around with it as I hoped over my long weekend. I have finished the terraforming and the roads, at least, and done some preliminary terrain-painting. I’ve placed a few more lots as well and even added some trees. (LOOK! TREES!)
I reshaped the southwestern peninsula a bit and added a beach. There’s also a “harbor walk” (dunno what else to call it) made out of the France bridges. I’m not sure if I want to keep it yet or not, but if I do, I’ll post some pics.
I’ve also decided that Plumbridge Island is now a country unto itself, albeit a tiny one, kind of like Monaco or Liechtenstein, only much, much, MUCH smaller. It has a constitutional monarchy as well as an elected governor who oversees a group of councillors. I know, sounds a bit weird, but I decided I wanted some royalty on my island, so there you go. The military rabbithole will be located on the training grounds of the Royal Guard, near the Palace (a Victorian mansion that I am REALLY looking forward to building).
Speaking of Victorian mansions, I have been experimenting with the awesome Mansion & Garden roof conversion pack made by Goggalor at More Awesome Than You! I created a Second Empire-style house in Sunset Valley, which was great fun, but it’s a bit whimsical-looking; I’d like for the stuff on Plumbridge to look a little more weathered and realistic. Although my lighthouse is a bit on the fanciful side, and I don’t mind that, so who knows. I change my mind daily. I’m like the wind, baby!
Here’s a shot of the interior, which is more modern:
I’ve been experimenting with CAS a little, too. The two Sim-peeps below are currently checking out Niua Simoa (the beautiful world created by kiwi_tea) but will likely end up on Plumbridge Island as two of my main characters.
This is Arlene Pasko; she’s an artsy-fartsy writer type. Her hair is supposed to be a strawberry blonde (more like an extremely pale orange) but in certain outdoor lighting outside of CAS it looks pale pink. D’oh! So she might have a different hair color next time you see her.
This is Arlene’s brother Zack. He’s currently unemployed and basically following his sister around while he figures out what he wants to do with his life. Right now it involves sitting around the firepit on a tropical island, apparently.
Well, that’s about it for now. I’ve also been playing the game (gasp! Shock!) and exploring World Adventures, which is a hoot and a half. I decided to do a mini-challenge of sorts: I took a Sim, plopped him down on the most expensive lot (Legacy-style) and am trying to fulfill his “Seasoned Traveler” lifetime wish, which means he wants to reach Visa Level 3 in China, France, and Egypt. He’s already funded his second trip to Egypt solely on the earnings he made on his first trip. Turns out that adventuring can be a very lucrative career (and way more fun than watching the world zip by on triple-speed while your Sim is at his rabbithole job).
Oh trees, I love trees! :D When the ‘hood is done, are you planning to share it? I love and it’s not even half-done yet.
And your Sims are really cute! I love the color of their hair, how come I haven’t thought of that shade already? At the moment I’m also playing World Adventures a lot, it’s so much fun. I really think it’s the best vacation expansion pack so far, although I miss a lot of things we used to have.
P.S.: That converted roof is great! I’ll post the link at my site if you don’t mind. :)
I see you’ve posted the link to Goggalor’s roof pack. Cool! It’s an awesome set. I’m not sure if I’ll share my world when I’m done; it’ll probably be my main story-world so it might be weird to have other copies of it floating around! ;-) I think if I were building a world to share I would go about it a completely different way — probably more careful and methodical. I will also use a lot of CC in my world, so that makes it problematic when it comes to sharing. If I ever finish this one, though, I would love to build another that I could share. I think that would be a fun challenge!
Oh, wow! I like Zack but I really love Arlene. She’s awesomely realistic looking.
Can I ask what default skins and eyes you’re using, if any?
Thanks, Carla! I was going for more realistic-looking Sims, so I’m glad you like them. Zack looks a little less goofy when he’s not doing that smile. :-D As for the default skins and eyes I’m using, the eyes are Aikea Guinea’s Multifoiled Default Eyes, which I absolutely love for the subtle color variations in the irises. The skins are Aikea Guinea’s ‘Slave’ Skintones – Faces Only, and I’m using the body only defaults by HystericalParoxysm.
Oh, yes, Arlene is SO pretty! I always favor the more realistic-looking Sims, and she’s gorgeous! She kind of looks like Evan Rachel Wood.
And the hood is coming along beautifully too! I don’t think I commented on the other thread, but I meant to say that I’m from Michigan, so I love that you’re modeling this after Mackinac Island :)
Hey Laura! You’re from Michigan, eh? How cool! I’ve only been to the Ann Arbor area for karate camp many moons ago (like 1992!) so I’m looking forward to driving through the UP and visiting Mackinac! Thanks for the nice comments on Arlene. :-)
*splutter* *gasp* Looking good Jen!
I love that house, it’s so adorable, it looks like your getting the hang of CAST just fine too, jusging from the awesome interior :D I have the other M&G roof from MTS but I just realised the version you used has windows so I’m off right now to snag it up.
Wow Plumbbridge island sure is taking shape, how are you finding CAW now you’ve played with it a little more? I gave up on it so quickly, but seeing you and others mastering it and creating fantastic worlds is definitly inspiring me to give it another shot.
Side note – hmmm I don’t think I seem to be getting e-mail updates when you update anymore :( Lol I’ll just have to check back here more regularly then :D
Hi Linda! Thanks, I’m glad you liked the house! You’re an inspiration, of course, with your awesome building and decorating. :-)
Not sure what’s going on with the e-mail updates. :-/ Maybe try subscribing again? I need to overhaul my site and re-do a few things anyway, so maybe I can fix that.
As for CAW, I can totally understanding giving up on it. I gave up on it many, many times before something finally clicked. I think what helped me most was realizing I’m not going to create my perfect/ideal world right off the bat. I had to start with something a little easier. An island was the way to go, especially starting with one of the pre-made CAW maps. That gave me the basic shape, so I didn’t have to worry about making pretty mountains or working with a distant terrain. So as much as I’m enjoying Plumbridge right now, I know I’ll want to get back to making my “ideal world” at some point, maybe when they release a more user-friendly CAW. ;-) But for now it’s incredibly satisfying to work on my world in little pieces, and I look forward to having my very own custom world when I’m done. I’m not usually all that disciplined or patient, so it’s sometimes a struggle (I want to play with my world right NOW, not three months from now!), but I’m determined to actually finish something in my life, heh. Anyway, that’s a long answer to your question, but if you’re at all interested in creating your own world, I would keep giving CAW a shot. Start with something easy, like an island, and read the CAW-building threads at the official site and Mod the Sims for inspiration (I check those boards daily!). I dunno, that’s what works for me. :-)