questions from a builder

Hi. Would recommend to ask this question on Reddit because there are a lot more people there

My suggestions and reasoning behind them:

1). Recently ts4 base game became free to play, so it is a good idea to make more base game compatible homes;
2). It is also a good idea to remodel homes of existing base game families while maintaining the same aesthetic/idea;
3). People may want to take challenges, so you can create lots to help them with that ( a home with many bedrooms for children of different age for 100 babies challenge, a shabby lot with basic necessities for rugs to riches, etc);
4). Once people will get bored of playing the base game, they will start buying the packs that are the most popular/interesting to them. They will start looking for « starter homes » to experience the new features in a new town. For this reason it is also a good idea to make base game + popular pack type of builds ( or base game + essential pack + some other pack) instead of using items from all packs you own. Some suggestions:
- Packs that introduce essential elements: seasons ( weather ), high school years ( high school ), cats and dogs (pets), get famous (fame system);
- Packs that cater to specific audiences: snowy escape ( people who love anime and Japan), werewolves (furries lol), cottage living (cottage core enthusiasts), vampires, realm of magic, etc;
- Packs that introduce big worlds with a lot of lots: city living, get together, island living.
As for other packs, I would recommend to not rely on them too much unless they just came out.
If the pack is new, you can offer people a lot to experience most of its features.
If it is dated, it is best to not choose important pieces of furniture from it. For example, you can put a knitting set from nifty knitting somewhere on the table. If a player has this pack, they will see it. If not, then they won’t even know it was there. But if you will put a coach from this pack in the middle of the room, the player will notice its absence;
5). As for things like laundry, I think it’s a good idea to always add a small room for it. If a person does not have the laundry pack, they can turn it into an office or a workshop;
6). As for the size, I think it is best to use small lots for one family only and bigger lots for multiple (or big families). I would save the biggest lot for community purposes, though. But it is also a matter of aesthetics. For example, small buildings with multiple floors and apartments suit Mount Komorebi. Lots with multiple small houses will work with Sulani or Henford-on-Bagley. Lots with multiple trailers/container homes in shabby worlds like Moonwood mill, Evergreen harbour;
7). As for aesthetics vs functionality, both so long the clutter does not prevent sims from getting to functional item. That said, I would recommend to always clutter the place (within reason) because this is what makes ts4 homes charming. This is also the reason why people download homes from others instead of spending all this time making an interesting home themselves