Coming Together!

 Alot has happened in Summerset Bay since I last posted.  This is probably going to be lengthy and wordy, but I promise I'll have pics at the end.  I can honestly say that I am very very close to finished.  Meaning that I hope by tomorrow to have it in my game so that I can start play testing everything.  Let's start where I left off with building.

Building is probably my favorite aspect of the game.   However, if I do hours and hours of straight building without breaks for other aspects of game play, I do get burnt out.  I was also becoming extremely overwhelmed.

I said in my last post that it's easy to get absorbed into decorating with the new create-a-style.  The more I thought about it, yes, it is easy, but I'm also doing probably a years worth of building in an eighth or less of the time.  

I'm basing my progress on how I use to build TS2 worlds.  Building a TS2 world has become rather easy for me.  All of my base buildings are created.  I have the community lots I want already built.    So, that when I decide to start a new neighborhood all I really do after figuring out lot placement, is to redecorate the lot in order to fit the theme of the new neighborhood.   With TS3  I have to start from scratch, and that takes a very long time.  Especially with someone like me.  Which is why I was getting burnt out.

That's when I decided to organize myself.   I started with a check list to help make sure I don't miss anything painfully obvious.   

Community Lots

Community Lot Names

Street Names

Spawners

Lighting (streetlamps)

Routing

Create More Nooks

Now that is a very very basic version of the check list I made for myself.  The real check list is far more detailed.  For example, under community lots, I then had another list of all the community lots left to build.  For street names, I made a mini map of Summerset Bay with roads clearly marked for naming.   Anyways, you get the idea.

Now rather than work on straight building of community lots first, I started placing all the streetlamps. Then after I place those, I'd build a lot.  Then I'd go through and check routing, then build another lot. This way I was still building without overwhelming myself with straight building.   I think that also helped to give all of my lots a bit more decorative variation.  

But of course in all of this I ran into a snag.   The original beach area near downtown was not turning out the way I wanted it to.   For three days I did my typical build a road, destroy a road, build another road in the same place and destroy the road.  I finally found a new layout that I liked.  I really really like.  Then I built another lot.  Are you seeing a pattern here.  

At that point I had all the things on my check list done except a few more lots, spawners, and the nooks. 

Last night I finally placed spawners and worked on the nooks a bit more.   So this morning all I have left to do is lot building.   And not alot of lot building either.   I believe I need to create the Art Gallery, and a few more residential housing.

This is where I want to mention this sort of goes against my normal play habits. I have never completely built a world before playing.  Normally,  I build very basic community lots, a few furnished houses and just tons of unfurnished, unlandscaped homes.   With townies needing furnished homes I can't do that.  Which is another reason I believe I feel a bit overwhelmed.   

Now though, I feel like everything is under control.  I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I know this will be very rewarding when I go to play my world.   And as promised a bit of pic spam.