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Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 14th Aug 2009 at 10:40 AM Last edited by VladCrau : 14th Aug 2009 at 11:05 AM.
Default Help me build a castle! Mk.2
It seems my first "Help me build a castle!" thread wasn't that successful.
Anyway, now I do have something to show. Look at the pics at tell me if I should continue building or scrap the thing and start over.
Also, I'm still waiting for name suggestions.
Screenshots

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
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Typical
#2 Old 14th Aug 2009 at 11:14 AM
No offense, but it looks a little boxy and boring, IMO.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#3 Old 14th Aug 2009 at 11:45 AM Last edited by VladCrau : 14th Aug 2009 at 11:56 AM.
I suspected someone would say that. Well, it's really just the fact that I want to include so many things, like peasant shacks and a tavern/kitchen, and I want to take advantage of every single possible tile on the lot.

EDIT: Anyway, the castle it's not anywhere near completion, so it does look like a box right now. The walls, for example, are going to be covered with a siege-proof roof (sort of... ).

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Test Subject
#4 Old 14th Aug 2009 at 12:10 PM
Hi VladCrau,
I'm a big fan of medieval architecture and would be glad if I could help you with that castle, but how the hell can one give you tips if he doesn't have a clue what you're going for?
Maybe it's better if you completely drop this one as it's - sorry - pretty boxy, unattractive and also much too huge. No one needs THAT much space and lots as huge as this will be difficult to play. I think you should try a different outer wall shape, what about an octagon/whatever? Also pay more attention to the landscaping: A little fortress on a hill or an island in the middle of a lake might look cute. But remember to keep it playable
I found that making myself a list of the rooms needed for my sims and the ones that usually can be found in medieval castles is very helpful, too. This makes it easier to decide which rooms you leave out or turn into something more useful and thus keep realism and playability balanced (a throneroom, for example, only serves for storytelling or decorative purposes. I usually make big dining halls out of them. :P).
Ugh. I hope I helped you at least a bit with my babbling. It would be great if you could finish this project...MTS need more medievalness!
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#5 Old 14th Aug 2009 at 12:23 PM
Now that's what I call creative criticism! Thank you, Simulitis! I'll scrap this one and start over, based on your suggestions.
About the castle being built on a hill: That was actually what I planned to do in the first place, but I found it to be somewhat difficult, so I decided to go for a flat base. But now, that I found another fan of medievalness , I'm gonna take another shot at it.

Thank you again! I'm hoping you'll check out this thread once in a while to see whatever updates I'll post. It would be nice to have someone helping me out, for a change.

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#6 Old 15th Aug 2009 at 4:26 PM
Okay, here's a VERY BASIC idea based on Simulitis' suggestions.
Screenshots

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Test Subject
#7 Old 16th Aug 2009 at 1:12 PM
Wut? My post was being helpful? Wait. I need to mark that day in my calendar. =D
...hmm. Now on to the important things. That's a really nice start! I like your mixing of wooden and stone walls. To my little knowledge, the basic structure looks authentic and medievalish, too. But:
1) Isn't the gate you used here a garage door? Can sims walk through it?
2) I know you already said this is only a sketch of what you want to do later on, but the rooms are still boxy. :P
3) Thou shalt not alter the terrain on an 1-tile wide area around the lot border! 'cause according to the guidelines, uploaded lots must be completely flat. You'll have to get rid of the water there.
4) Imagine your fair ladies having to pass the dirty kitchen first in order to get to the upper floors. If I were one, I'd definitely prefer a seperate hallway.
5) Where do you want to put the bathrooms? In medieval castles, as you might know, the loos were some kind of bay windows over the moat.
6) Umm. Minor problem: The stairs connecting the bridge with the island. I think they look awkward. Perhaps re-build the whole thing on a foundation, like that, you won't need them.
7) Another minor problem: The roof texture doesn't fit imho. Red tiles might eventually look nice. If the maxis ones are too bright for your tastes, you could try Mia's fabulously weatherbeaten ones instead.
Enough griping for today. Hope it is of some use.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#8 Old 16th Aug 2009 at 4:51 PM
Simulitis: "Hope it is of some use"?! It IS of great use! You're being too modest.
Now to answer your suggestions, my "fair lady" :
1) Yep, the gate is a garage door. It's from "The Dark Project" of The Guild Masters, and it's made by Fresh Prince. As far as I know, it's not hacked in any way that might prevent the Sims passing through it like through any garage door. I felt it suited a castle better than any door could...
2) Working on that...
3) I'll rebuild everything on a 5x6 lot. That way, maybe I'll have enough room for both the castle AND the lake
4) I was actually aiming towards a ... "tavern feeling", if you may. You know, kitchen on the ground floor, offering access to the upper dormitories. I'll just make the tavern a separate building ('cause I'm not giving up on it, no matter what!)
5) The bathrooms where to be added later, after I would have sorted out the terrain, but since I'm rebuilding everything...
6) I thought they looked awkward. You see, I had a bit of a problem combining foundations with regular walls, so the bridge ended up being separate from the castle, and I choose those stairs because they were the closest to stone. And... I don't know if it's such a good idea to build the ENTIRE castle on foundation, because I still want to have an inner court, like in the pics of my previous post. Wait... my light bulb just turned on...*writes down brilliant idea*
7)Red tiles were my first choice, but I thought it looks too... roman. Anyway, I'll give it another shot.

Well, off I go to rebuild... Wish me luck!

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#9 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 10:12 AM
Okay, here's a little update
Screenshots

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Typical
#10 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 10:15 AM
Hm, I don't like that roof, maybe a darker colour??
Lab Assistant
#11 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 10:28 AM
I don't like the roof either. Now it look like a house than a castle. Try to minimize the roof, and use darker color like your pic in post #6.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#12 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 10:39 AM
Hmm... Okay, got it. More work on the roof. But other then that...?

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Typical
#13 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 11:31 AM
Well... I'd use a flat roof, with some turrets.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#14 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 11:46 AM
Working on it...

EDIT: I'm waiting for feedback on the castle itself, not just the roof.

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Me? Sarcastic? Never.
staff: administrator
#15 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 2:34 PM
Gonna agree on the roof color, mia86 and Lethe_s both have some really nice roof colors.

Otherwise this is nice. It seems a bit boxy, yes castles can be boxy, but it seems a little too boxy. Could be the roof making it seem like that.

The little square building way out at the end of the bridge, maybe build it as an octagon and use one of the octagon roofs.

The outside wall with the roof, I like it but something seems off. Maybe try a lower roof pitch? And at the corners have one more level up of walls topped with either a small hipped roof or a fence. So it kinda resembles guard towers.

The main roof I would try using a flat roof and surround it with fencing. Preferably a fencing that has large end/corner posts.

Numenors recolorable wooden stairs with his aged wood recolor would look really good in there. I have a matching fence and column to that as well. If someone doesn't happen to have those stairs the game will substitute the ones you are using.

One last thing, I think wood floors on upper levels would make more sense? Admittedly I have not been in any castles but I would think most upper levels would be wood.
Field Researcher
#16 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 3:22 PM Last edited by Serena_Moonstone : 17th Aug 2009 at 3:36 PM.
Ok I like where you are going. I do think you can do an outer wall with stuff inside. That is how I have done my castle. I've been slowly working on it for 2 years. I'll put up some pics and maybe it will inspire you a bit. It looks really awesome if I say so myself. I don't mind if you copy it.


Oh and I do agree about the wood floors. I have wood floors on my second floor, except on the battlement wall...as this would be able to support it. I made recolors of lots of things for my castle. I basically took the reichenstien wall from the sims 1 and recolored a bunch of cc to match. I plan on uploading it soon...that might help too. I also suggest buttresses and/or flying buttresses. Most stone structures need some kind of support. I have recolores Lethe_s buttresses. I have also recolored some stuff from the fairybulosa build set, and am planning on recoloring UK1967's medieval wall.

Also my bf made a suggestion to me last week, I don't know if this helps you, but he said it should have gargoyles.

Anyways.. You'll see when I post pics...I hope it helps you. I should have them up tonight or tomorrow.
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#17 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 3:42 PM
HL: -Yeah, it does look kinda boxy, doesn't it? I'll change the roof and add some "guard towers", maybe that will break the monotony.
-About the floors: I've visited a few castles in my life, and I must say that the flooring really depends on the time in which it was built. More recent castles would have less problems with heavy floors, because of the newer materials or various technologies being used. And, most of the times, in a "all-stone castle", wooden floors are used when building something around the castle AFTER the castle itself has been completed (like that small room with 2 beds above the kitchen in the inner courtyard).
But I'll definitely take your suggestion into consideration. Who knows how it'll turn out?
Serena: I had a bit of a problem with outer walls. On one hand, it was REALLY big and (I'll admit it!) not very practical. Yes, realistic, but not practical.
My very first idea was to build a castle that would go with that hack that allows you to have 30 sims or something like that. That way, you could have king+queen, guards, chefs, slaves etc. But, for me at least, the game was lagging just by using the castle in it's early form (see first post). So, that lag, combined with the lag from the hack, would make the castle close to suicide.
I might still do a castle like that some day, but when I'll have a computer that allows me that

EDIT: HL, that tower at the end of the bridge is supposed to be something like a dungeon tower. You know, if a visiting sim bothers you, you just lock him in a cell and see how long he can survive. I'll make it bigger, 'cause at the moment it has just 1 cell at the bottom level.

EDIT #2: Gargoyles? Sounds interesting, but wouldn't those go with a more gothic building?

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Field Researcher
#18 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 3:52 PM
Yeah..that's why I haven't uploaded it...I could really lag a game..thankfully I have 3 Gbs of mem and a 2.2 Gh processor. My graphics card is the one who suffers on that lot. I think it works pretty well for my needs. I have 1 servant and the royal family living in it.

I might suggest if you want a lot with serfs and more playable characters...build a apartment castle. (if you have AL) That way you can assign certain "areas" to the royal family, or serfs. I got the idea from someone here who made a medieval village apartment lot. It would lag less for what you want to do. Hey now I'm inspired to try this... It's so crazy it just might work....lol.

I will still put up some pics anyways... And I just might try and re-format my castle into an apartment lot.


As for gargoyles..I guess it depends on if you use a flat roof or a peaked one. Flat roofs would need something to drain water...but Idk if you want to go into that much detail, but yes, gargoyles are a bit more gothic period...I kinda mixed both in my castle..I also used flying buttresses. I know it's a bit weird.. but it looks awesome. I wasn't going for perfect period realisim.


Quote: Originally posted by VladCrau
Serena: I had a bit of a problem with outer walls. On one hand, it was REALLY big and (I'll admit it!) not very practical. Yes, realistic, but not practical.
My very first idea was to build a castle that would go with that hack that allows you to have 30 sims or something like that. That way, you could have king+queen, guards, chefs, slaves etc. But, for me at least, the game was lagging just by using the castle in it's early form (see first post). So, that lag, combined with the lag from the hack, would make the castle close to suicide.
I might still do a castle like that some day, but when I'll have a computer that allows me that
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#19 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 3:59 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Serena_Moonstone
Yeah..that's why I haven't uploaded it...I could really lag a game..thankfully I have 3 Gbs of mem and a 2.2 Gh processor. My graphics card is the one who suffers on that lot. I think it works pretty well for my needs. I have 1 servant and the royal family living in it.

I might suggest if you want a lot with serfs and more playable characters...build a apartment castle. (if you have AL) That way you can assign certain "areas" to the royal family, or serfs. I got the idea from someone here who made a medieval village apartment lot. It would lag less for what you want to do. Hey now I'm inspired to try this... It's so crazy it just might work....lol.

I will still put up some pics anyways... And I just might try and re-formatt my castle into an apartment lot.


I know that lot, I've seen it as well. It's really good.
But the ultimate castle feeling would mean controlling all of the inhabitans, while the apartment idea would only allow 4 families, with little interaction compared to what I'm aiming to. Anyway, I guess it's better than nothing.
I can't wait to see your castle. I've got goose bumps because of the expectation!

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Field Researcher
#20 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 4:02 PM
I really wish that were possible aswell..I would have a bunch of servants and guards if I could.
Scholar
#21 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 5:03 PM
Can you post more pictures?From newest I see that's still veeeery boxy-sorry!
Castles are hard work,even the smallest.Your courtyard is dark,you need to delete one part of foundation so that sun can shine there.And why everywhere you use the same wall paint?Make some octagon towers,I see you have Ofb,use the tower-like roof and make some areas leeeeeess boxy.Look at real castle and fortress pictures to find inspiration.Also,moooooooore windows.And add some details to whole lot.More items in rooms,trees and shurbs outside....
Hope this helps
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#22 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 5:37 PM Last edited by VladCrau : 17th Aug 2009 at 6:53 PM.
Wow, pegasus, those are a lot of suggestions! In order:
1) It's the most light I can get in the courtyard. It's been even worse. In the beginning, the courtyard was completely surrounded by walls, thus becoming a room, thus being dark. As you can see, the access to the back yard is made trough a mock-arch, to allow light to get in the courtyard. Hope that makes sense.
2) I use the same wall paint, because it's a medieval castle. They didn't have much in the way of decorating, except for stone and wood (I'm talking about earlier castles, not the more recent ones). That's why I alternate wood and stone, Sorry if it looks repetitive, I'll see what I can do about that.
3) Octagon tower... check! I'll get right to it!
4) Details like furniture and plants are to come at the end of the project, not in the middle of it. Right now I'm building, not decorating. I'll get to that later. Sorry.
Thanks for your suggestions.

Now guys, let's see how many of your ideas I can apply... Check for updates later.

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Top Secret Researcher
Original Poster
#23 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 6:51 PM
Update

As you can see from the pics, the roof is now black, the dungeon tower is octagonal, but, for the love of Bella Goth, I have no idea what to put as roof for the walls. Whatever it is, it has to go with whatever I'll put over the wooden dormitory, but I don't what roof there should be there either .
Anyway, I've added pillars ( I believe they're actually called corbels, right?).
There's also a pic with a sample of the walls, so you guys can see it close and maybe give me an idea or something.

I'll call it a day now. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." See you guys tomorrow!
I can't wait to see Serena's pics...
Screenshots

I don't give a f*ck, God sent me to piss the world off!
Forum Resident
#24 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 7:07 PM
I think the flat roof looks pretty good, but you might want to put a fence or something around the edges.

I'd like to see some conical/octagonal/'pointy' roofs in there on towers. That would make it look more...castle-y.

Good luck!

Does reading dumb signatures make you feel powerful in some way?
Scholar
#25 Old 17th Aug 2009 at 7:38 PM Last edited by pegasaus : 17th Aug 2009 at 8:21 PM.
Look at pictures,I see that you have Mansion and Garden,so to make roof higher on towers,use angle roof tool.And for courtyard walls,on top use short fence mixed with half wall.When you delete the foundation as I showed,sun will come to courtyard and you will have an arch for your sims to walk under
Screenshots
Locked thread | Locked by: Yogi-Tea Reason: do not delete - contains useful infos & links (uploaded but still useful to lot builders)
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