Build a House in the Sims 2
Building a house in The Sims 2 may seem like a difficult and tedious process. The Sims 2 gives many building tools and options, especially with the variety of available expansion packs and there are so many things to consider from walls to flooring to decoration and more and it can be overwhelming. But with these directions you can make anything from a mansion to a clubhouse with ease.
Steps
- Plan the size of your house. The most important things to consider are the size of the family and how much money you have. A house with 2 people would most likely be smaller than a house with 8 people, but that's the creator's choice. Each family starts out with $20,000, however with some money cheat code (motherlode), you can have up to $999,999,999 at a time. Also, think about if you want a garden, pool, backyard, etc. Make a sketch or "blueprint" of what your house is going to be like.
- Decide how many rooms there will be. Bathrooms are generally smaller (unless it is a public bathroom) and living rooms tend to be larger. Have bedrooms for each Sim, unless they are married or in love. Teenagers, children, and babies/toddlers get their own room unless you want them to share.
- Click on the "Lots & Houses" icon and then click on the "Empty Lots" symbol. Lots range from very small (3 x 1) to very large (5 x 6). Just remember that you can create two and three story houses, so don't choose a huge one for a small family.
- Choose between terrain or foundation. To some people, using foundation is much easier to create a house with. Drag over the area you want the house to be located. Include any decks and porches you want to include on the ground level. Lay a driveway and/or garage before lying foundation. If you want to have a garden or a front yard, start the foundation a few tiles away from the mailbox area.
- Put up the walls. Using the wall tool, outline the physical shape of the house, leaving any decks and porches you want outside of the walls (note that having a foundation requires steps to get into the house, so leave a small porch for the front door and any other doors!)
- Create rooms by adding walls inside the house. Using diagonal walls makes for an aesthetic structure, but remember most items cannot be places on a diagonal wall.
- Add windows and doors. Windows add "environment" to a Sim's mood. Make sure that you have a door to each room, as you can also use arcs in living rooms and kitchens. Style your house with glass doors on study rooms or offices.
- Add paint to the walls and flooring. Try to choose colors that would match in real life, such as brown tile in the kitchen, wood deck outside, tan carpet in the living room, or just go wild and mix everything in one room!
- Add furniture. Put couches, TVs, bookcases, or arcade machines in the living room, add a trash can, an oven, a fridge, counter tops, and a telephone in the kitchen, and put toilets, sinks, and showers in the bathroom.
- Add a staircase if you want a second story. There are two ways to do this: you can use the full staircase tool to place a staircase, or you can use the mini staircase tool. To use that, go up a level and place floor squares where you want the staircase to reach on the second floor, and then go to the staircase tool, choose the type of stair you want to use, and place your cursor over the landing. This will not work if there is not enough room to construct the staircase.
- Place the exterior walls for the second floor. Second floors can by dynamic, since you don't need them to match the first floor. You can also place decks on the second floor.
- Place the interior walls on the second floor, creating the rooms you wish to have. You will need to place floors in all of these rooms as well. You can place a simple wooden floor in the rooms you wish to have, then edit them later.
- Use the roof tool to create the style roof you'd like. You can use the auto roof maker, or you can go in and customize your roof with different shape. You can always go back and change the color and shape later.
- Create an outside environment. Lay out some tile or gravel, put out some nice chairs, buy some exercise equipment, and set up a garden or some trees. You may even want to build a greenhouse.(If you have Seasons) If so, build a room and put some gardens in there and maybe fruit trees.
- Use the fence tool to create fences. Place barriers where necessary for decks and porches. You should also use the step tool to place staircases where they are needed. Dress up a garden using the flowerbed fencing.
- Get lights set up. Be creative with the lights considering what you want the theme of the room to be. And stop with the boring ceiling lights. Experiment with wall lamps, table lamps, and maybe some floor lamps.
- Have fun and remember that creativity is key! Use split levels, or bridges, maybe add a swimmable lake! The Sim's houses are designed by YOU the way YOU want it to be! Most importantly, it's okay to go crazy with your house. As long as the sims are able to get into every room, and have what they need, you can go wild with the house!
Tips
- If you're going for realism, keep a few basic things in mind
- The living room is in the front of the house
- The bathrooms are usually in the back, around a corner or behind plants if they have normal sized windows and if they're in the front, they'll have small, high-up windows.
- Furnish your house as you build the rooms to reduce the amount of blank space and "don't know what to put there"s. If you run out of room or don't need as much space, you can make the room smaller or bigger now, rather than having to after your house is all done.
- Do not make the entrance to a room such as the living room through a more private room, such as a bathroom or a bedroom. Use common areas such as hallways or other public rooms to connect rooms.
- Kitchens are generally in the back of the house, but some are in the front.
- Allow about 3 tiles across in hallways. Sims need to move around and if they are blocked, they'll get frustrated and start waving their hands at you.
- If you run out of money, get a decent paying job and work until you get enough money to keep improving your house.
- Vary up the structure of your rooms. A square or rectangular house with all square or rectangular rooms is boring. Put in a diagonal wall here, maybe add an L-shaped extension. For more advanced techniques, try half-walls, modular stairs or split-level homes.
- Surf the internet for examples of other Sim homes people have made. Draw inspiration from them.
- Allow a realistic amount of room in each room. An average piece of furniture requires the use of 4 squares on the grid. Overly large rooms will appear empty.
- Take into consideration the aspirations of your Sims when you furnish your house. A knowledge sim will definitely need bookcases, telescopes and things of that nature that a family sim might not need.
- If you're confused on how to use the controls or what the tools do, then try the tutorials that come with the game. (When the screen comes up after the game loads, there should be an icon of blocks. Click that).
- If you don't have much money, consider using alternative items. You don't need top-of-the-range items, a stereo can be used instead of a TV, basic chairs can be used instead of a sofa and sims can share a bedroom.
- The more houses you build, the better the "feel for home design" you will have. The more families you have living in your neighborhood, the more chances of them interacting with each other.
- use the cheat " motherlode " to get 50,000 money right away.Press ctrl, shift, and c at the same time and type in motherlode in the box that should come up
- To use the Boolprop cheat go Ctrl,shift and c at the same time.then a box should come up.Type in boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true and go into neighborhood and back (if your in neighborhood already just go into the house)
- To make objects diagonal use the cheat: Boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation true. Copy and paste if this is hard to remember. Use < > to rotate diagonally, because the mouse won't work.
Warnings
- Building a house in The Sims 2 has advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you have enough money to build and fill the house with things you know your Sim or Sims will need. (Make sure or your Sim or Sims will not be very happy).
- Remember to turn off the boolprop cheat. If fail to do so it could corrupt the game.
- Using the boolprop allow45degreeangleofrotation cheat will make some objects work and some won't. Some will glitch.
Things You'll Need
- Obtain the game. ( The Sims 2)
- Simoleons for building the house
- A family to decide how you're going to make the house.
- Creativity
