Residential Row Houses

[Simaddict1000 1]

Here's my idea

Wall to Wall houses for your cities!

Not all cities are metropolises with towering skyscrapers..... so I'm trying to make more lots for your more realistic

cities.

I only have one model done so far ( it took like 6 hours and i spent all day on it ) so i hope u like it!

of course there will be more models then just this one and they will each have multiple recolors.

I'm also debating if they should be 2 story ,as shown here ,or 3 story homes...

any and all comments and critiques are appreciated

[boon1234 9]

Nice work! The one problem I have is the roof's incroguance with the next's building roof (see the gap). The texture could be less extreme I think, too. But great work, I'll download them.

[madhatter106 3,903]

A basic shingle texture for the roof would be better. Even the standard Maxis shingle texture that comes with the BAT would work, as it would match those of the in-game buildings. The porch texture could also be improved - planks and a welcome mat would be great!

The one thing that bothers me in the modelling is that the bay windows seem to abruptly end after the second floor, and then the gable is flat; but I don't know if they do that in "real life," so it might be just me...

[spa 968]

The texture need work, but others have already commented on that side of things. Something else I think you should look like is the size. These are way too big to my eye. I think you need to really scale them down. The tile limitations that maxis left us with can make fitting buildings wall-to-wall challenging and I can see that this style isn't going to do well on a standard wall-to-wall 1x2 setup because the building will either be too big or too squashed and wide. I would suggest either putting two of them together on a tile (8 units across for each building) or making them 12 wide so that you can put 4 together wall-to-wall on a 3x2 lot. It's what I had to do when I made my Garrison Woods set and looking back today, I think I still made them too big!

[Francis90b 748]

Not bad, but there are some things you really need to correct. If those are rowhouses, that means that they have to be W2W on two sides.Taking this into account, where are the windows on the right side of your buildings supposed to look? You might give up with the "rowhouse" concept, and keep those windows on the side walls after having made created room on both the sides of the building.I believe it is the only solution that would work in this case, Another point is that the details of those buildings could be modelled more accurately.For example the transition between the bow window and the gable on the top of it is pretty unrealistic and too sharp, and the same could applied at the gable topping the porch Try this pic for references: Textures might improved as well, but this is a secondary problem for now.

[nofunk 1,933]

I think that the windows on the sides of the building are fine. If they are in the middle of the row, you won't see them, but if the house is on the end, the windows will add a nice finishing touch to the block. I do think you need to give some attention to the other things people have brought up, such as the textures and the scale. Overall though, good work! I think this is a very promising BAT!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

I'm with nofunk regarding the windows in the side walls. In fact, my very first thought when I saw the picture was  "Wow, these will look great both in rows AND as single buildings!"

[Simaddict1000 1]

Well heres what i got so far

First off i created some recolors of the house.

I also added shutters to the windows 

I bumped out the back

I also added a dormer to the top floor- i was trying to figure out how to add a roof above the dormer- if i left it alone it looked really weird so i decided to make it just a facade IF YOU WANT ME TO REMOVE IT then say so and if u like it I'll keep it

these houses now sit on a 1x3 lot and im trying to get the stairs to sit just on the edge of the sidewalk but its difficult

i am also going to be extending the roof above the entrance so it meets to bow windows

THANK YOU for so many comments guys     the support is appreciated

Ignore the lotting for now im just trying to focus on the bat and will return to lotting later.

If you guys think that this model is ready then ill start on another to add variety to your neighborhoods tonight

@ madhatter106 -  working on the textures for the welcome mat- rite now it just looks like a block of color so im workin on that before i add it in

again thanx for the comments and critique  keep em coming  

[Jasoncw 11,839]

I think what Madhatter meant about the roof and bay windows wasn't about the porch roof, but about the roof directly on top of the way windows.  He was saying that the roof should be more like this image where it follows the bay shape, instead of sticking out, like how you have it now or like in this image.  At first I assumed that the former was incorrect, but when I saw the photo Francis posted, and especially later when was trying to find examples, it turned out that both ways were very common.  You learn something new every day I guess.

I don't know if you're using any reference pictures to guide you, but I think it's always a good idea to use them.  Here's a flickr group for victorian houses which might help out.  http://www.flickr.com/groups/50675280@N00/pool/

For the dormer you added, I think that it really needs the roof.  But it might be better to remove the dormer all together.  If you look at your most recent picture, you can see that the dormer is not casing a shadow on to the roof of the house to the right of it, because it is a different building in the game.  I think that looks un natural, so if you have something in that spot you'll want to do it in such a way that it doesn't cast a shadow on the other roof. 

Something else is that I don't know how often victorian row houses are wall to wall like that.  Usually it seems like they are detached row houses (they have gaps in between each building).  If that's the case, then it could help solve the scale problem, since you could scale each one down so that there was a gap around it on the lot, and so it would be scaled better while still fitting evenly on the lot.  If that's not the case and the rowhouses are indeed "attached," I think Spa's solution is a good idea.

 

Let me know if you need me to clarify anything.  The houses are coming along well so far. 

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Yeah, that style of bay window is very common, I see them all over the place here in NJ.The closest thing to a Victorian row-house like that would be some kind of townhouse or small apartment (2-3 units), but nothing like what you have showed. Those buildings, however, were shaped and scaled like any other house, simply divided by a small interior partition (and maybe a little bigger to accommodate).

Of course there are Victorian row-houses, but those are sometimes semi-detached too. Examples here and here. And more can be found in any old American city (but they are famous in Philadelphia).

If you want to continue in the W2W effort, I would take it in the above direction. If you want to make single family homes, I'd say look at the examples given by Jason and others. Both have a lot of beautiful material to work from, and both are dearly needed in game.

[SimFox 800]

I really feel the need to add my voice to the choir urging you to shring building (by about 50%) as is it looks way out of the place. But it is a very nice and competent model...

[Simaddict1000 1]

Just a really quick little update 

I'm going to make these detached houses ive decided

in order to do that i was going to have to rescale everything and decided it would be more fun to just throw away everything and start from scratch again

so far  i have only the top floor bay window ( ive been working for ever and am exhausted...who new batting would be so hard)

Its loosely based off of this picture here ~~~ www.flickr.com/photos/anomalous_a/4372405164/in/pool-50675280@N00

thanks to jasoncw on simtropolis for finding that great link to those pictures

so pretty much i just wanted to show you guys what ive been working on so you didn't think i abandoned it er sumthin....

hope to have the rest of the house finished by tomorrow

if you can think of anything to add/change to this so far just let me know ( besides the pick and green i didn't texture it yet)

[Jasoncw 11,839]

What you've done so far is looking good. If you're not already, I think you'll be surprised at how much better this attempt will be than your last one.

[SimFox 800]

Nice!

But your windows are inside-out, aren't they?

[Spike345 20]

I very much approve of this project, keep of the good work. I also suggest making a corner version where the bay windows face the corner of the property. Also, when lotting perhaps include a version where the garages are at the back of the property so a sort of alley way can be achieved. Good Luck and I hope to see this through!

[Simaddict1000 1]

@ Jasoncw - yeah i like this one soo much better......parts of it at least

@ Simfox - thanx for pointing that out i feel like a complete bonehead for not noticing

@ Spike345 - Love The Alleyway idea and definitely will be making corner lots...need to first work on these houses tho - this is only my 5th Bat I've ever made

 

Ok so i got about 80% of this house done but.....something just doesn't look right.  iv'e been looking at it for way too long tho and can't pick it out for myself.

( on the second floor the window is intentionally left opened but the angle at which the window frames swing out makes it impossible to see them....just noticed i have to fix that.)

[T Wrecks 10,209]

 I'm not sure... it's very hard to tell for me, because I'm absolutely not familiar with American architecture. One thing that somehow looks odd is that the front is so intricately detailed and complex, whereas everything behind is your average box shape. Maybe some bay windows at one side of the building, a side entrance covered by a small roof, or any other such detail might help? Or a T- +- or L-shaped gable? These are just some things that come to my mind. It might be utter nonsense because I don't know the first thing about architecture... just trying to help. I suppose you have tried looking at photographs of some real-life counterparts already, correct?

EDIT

A chimney at the side or at the back of the building might also help.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

How wide is a single door? 1m wide by 3m tall are the dimensions I use, but yours seem much wider then they should be (unless they are double doors).

That being said, I think the building as a whole is disproportionate. Here is the building you are working from, and here is an areal view. The real thing is between 20 and 30m deep (depending which unit on the block) and only 6.25m wide! You are tacking on one detail without keeping the rest of the design in mind, so it looks rather unbalanced, like T-Wrecks said. I think you need to pay more attention to a reference so the design stays grounded in reality, or at least something that will look lively and detailed in game.

I think you are making great improvements and the new building is lovely, but you need to keep working

Best of luck,

-Todd

[nofunk 1,933]

I agree with T Wrecks and SimHoTToDDy here. I'm also not sure that a house of this style would have a pitched roof, but regardless, I think the proportions are what make you sense that something doesn't look right.

The modeling, however, and even the textures, are very good! Just fix the proportions and this is a winner.

Also, I'd love to see you complete the previous wall-to-wall project. They have a definite new urbanist / infill feel to them.

[xxbydesign 1]

I think this is an excellent idea because it's not a "new" one. Maxis provided a few w2w residential options, but not many, and if given the choice the game engine prefers to build towers, but a lot, A LOT of cities have relatively "low" residential neighborhoods. I would love to see a range of styles for rowhouses assigned to different stylesets so you can viusally tell when different rowhouses were built. Keep up the great work!

@Spike345: Corner properties with overhanging bays/window boxes would be a great addition. Unfortunately I do not know if there is any way to restrict a particular building to only developing on corner lots. Does the game system recognize when a model is only intended for use in zones with two sides adjacent to a road? And wouldn't the bay window be a part of the buidling model and not be allowed to overhang the lot? I'm very new to modeling and would maybe like to add my own creations to this thread. Any assistance would be welcome.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

@ xxbydesign: The information whether a lot should grow at straight road sections or at corners is contained within the lot file(s), i.e. it can be modded. "Straight" lots may grow on corners (that can be annoying), but corner lots can't grow at straight sections.

As for overhanging bits, there are several ways. One is to use an invisible dummy as the actual building (in a technical sense)  and place the structure (your house) on the lot as a prop. Then it can overlap the edges of the lot. The only disadvantage is that it will look a bit weird during the construction phase.

Another way is to render the model, create a desc file, and then edit the building dimensions in the desc file to trick the Lot Editor into thinking the building was smaller. The disadvantage of this method is that it affects the shadows a building casts, but at a smaller scale, it should hardly be noticeable.

The third (and probably preferred) method is to render your BAT off-center. This way, you can have the grey box that represents your building in the LE straight in the middle of the lot, whereas the building actually overlaps the edges.

You see, there's no need to worry about the issues you raised... there are plenty of ways to make things work.

 

[Spoonman 0]

Fantastic work. I'm very excited about this project since these types of W2W Victorian houses are quite prevalent in my city (Toronto, Canada). Here are a couple sample images:

This particular example shows semi-detached houses, but these could easily be adapted into continuous rowhomes (notice the shared portico between two "sister" houses). I agree with some of the other comments that it might be a good idea to cram two properties onto 1 tile to scale it a little better and give it a slimmer profile. Also, I find your original design in which the rear of the house was flat and boxy (rather than featuring another bay and gable) somewhat more realistic, and the alleyway idea is a great one.

Any chance you'll be modeling a masonry version as well, such as the ones pictured above?

[Simaddict1000 1]

 Just wanted to give an update on my progress.

I am putting 2 houses on each lot

I'm also adding a garage on the ground floor.

Mostly I'm wondering how the scaling looks so far

 

@SimHoTToDDy - thanks for pointing that out- i never realized how narrow those houses were

@Spoonman - yes i want to eventually have masonry versions as well - i still haven't even finished my first model yet tho so it's gonna take some time

 

Thanks to everyone else for your support and input.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Scale is looking WAY better.

I really like what you are basing these off of, just remember that most of them have a pitched roof (although having a few with flat roofs would be cool, just like the real ones).

Cheers

-Todd

[slystone2 20]

I just want to second nofunk's comment about you finishing the W2W residentials, they do have that "New City" look that is increasing in popularity in the suburban midwestern U.S. (or was until the housing market collapsed)

I thought they where coming along quite nicely, my only criticism is the curved stairway that overlaps the sidewalk - just doesn't look right to me. Otherwise, keep up the good work

[torontomapleleafer 0]

VERY nice houses so far, really looking forward to seeing these complete! They were look great in my city. Also, a Garage would be epic. I also agree with Nofunk as well, but the first houses you made at the beginning is what most of the new houses here look like. I love how you are putting so much detail into the second version of the houses, though the first set was fine in my opinion, I rather liked them. A little over-scaled they were, but great none the less. Hell, versus the Maxis version, anything is better than what they have in the game...

BTW, I have been looking for houses like these, like the first set of houses on here, where can I find them? The new ones with the Urban/Suburban feel to it. The kind found in the new suburbs. That's the kind I'm looking for. If anyone could help me, that would be wonderful.

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Wow, that last pic looks very promising! You've been making huge process in so little time. I just love the intricate front details, you did a very good job on them IMO. To me as a European, the shape and general style of the buildings are totally alien, but that doesn't mean that I'm not looking forward to adding these to the American tilesets! I hope you keep regular backups of your models - keep up the great work! 

EDIT

Yay - I just noticed the old smileys are back!  

[Simaddict1000 1]

Tah Dah!

It's modeled heavily after the rowhouses in San Francisco as well as some of the older Victorians in my hometown.

Any thoughts?

 

If you guy's like it I'll put it into lot editor and move onto the Next BAT.

My goal is to have at least 10 different models based on San Franciscan Architecture.....each with multiple recolors...so about 40-50 different buildings.....Kind of Ambitious but i think I'd like to do that

After that Houses based on Toronto

And then New York.....

I'm getting excited about this

Hope you guys like it!

[T Wrecks 10,209]

As a general rule, Id wait before exporting them. You may make further discoveries and improvements as you work your way through the remaining models, so I guess it might be better to make sure all buildings are finished and as good as you can get them before you export. Imagine you find out that you'll have to re-scale again... then you could make all lots you've made so far once again.

I also think that the rooftops are lacking some little details. The satellite photoe Todd linked to revealed that there's at least a little window and one or two other pieces of roof junk up there, and I think they could really make a difference, even though they're so small. The pitched roof could also benefit from a gradient. The flat roof looks fine, I'd just add said bits of roof junk and make the outlines a bit darker.

 

[Simaddict1000 1]

Hi - ok so this project has not been abandoned!

My computer keeps getting sick with the same stupid ( inappropriate language used here) virus that makes it impossible to open anything without getting a popup that says " this file is infected and cannot be used safely- would you like to purchase some antivirus software to combat this problem".

Lucky for me my parents are caring and loving people .....yeah no.

They thought the virus crippling my computer was a good thing and that it would be beneficial for me to stay way from the computer for a while.

In short they refused to get it fixed until earlier today.  Luckily for me none of my files were too badly damaged except for Google chrome which now crashes every time i use it.

So I'm eager to get back to work and just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not done with this yet and will hopefully have an update by tomorrow-or today..depends on when you're reading this