Welcome to the Eastlands Let’s Build Version 1.0!*

By jje1000 and Nilxis

THEME AND ENVIRONMENT

Based on a combination of Turkey, Jordan and a number of other Middle Eastern nations, The Eastlands is a diverse place, with a diverse culture and people.

We figured it would be important to show the Middle East as more than a setpiece most gamers usually see out the barrel of a gun, or some Orientalist fantasy off the pages of A 1001 Nights (although we’ll get to that later)- it’s by means no utopia, but hopefully a place that reflects the old pluralism that seems to be rapidly disappearing around the region these days.

Anyways, we need to finish and test this world and it’ll hopefully be with your help! We have a thread at Mod the Sims (here), where you can discuss any sort of issues with us. Let us know if you run into any glitches.

DETAILS

Large world, with 99 lots.

We have used Ouerbacker's Whour/Pumice Valley as a base to create this world.



WORLD BUILDING 101

1. Lots that need to be furnished/built are numbered. Let me know which lot you want through the map letter (A, B, C, D, E) and the number (i.e. A5).
2. Some lots have specific requirements! The MTS thread has more details on those, as well as on the City Building Styles.
3. Send jje1000 a message here for which lots you want to help finish!
4.To see the lot claim list, please follow the MTS thread here, which will be continuously updated.
5. Included are a userpreset file which has saved wallpapers, floors and furniture for easier building. Remember to back up your existing userpreset file if you’re using the new one!
6. When you’re done with the lot, upload the library file to any filesharing site of your choice, and send jje1000 the link.
7. Please also check to see if there are any issues with the world. Report any issues to jje1000.
8. The lore of the world, along with streetnames also need to be worked on! Please message jje1000 if you want to help out!



SPECIFIC LOT REQUIREMENTS

We suggest you use the Userpreset file we have provided. Remember to back up your existing preset file before placing the new one in.

Map A- Oasis



-Lots 1-4, 6-8 are farm compounds. Think either 1-story stone houses, or 2 story Concrete/cinder block buildings with balconies, all securely walled around with room for farm equipment. Also this.
-Lot 5 is a waterside house for an archaeologist.

Map B- Ruins



-Lots 9 needs a ampitheatre tomb basement (think the underground portions of the Colosseum. Keep the entrance discreet.
-Lot 10 needs an underground Romano-Christian tomb built into it. The entrance should be built into the above-ground tombs.

Map C- City



-Lots 11-20 have more modern 1-4 story apartment buildings, usually 1-3 “buildings” per lot. Check lots 21-23 for inspirations.
-Some of these may need to be converted to community buildings. Keep the ground floor largely free for this purpose.
-Lots 11-12 needs to have the buildings decrease in height closer to the oasis, usually ending in 1 story garages or gardens. Check lots 51-52 for inspiration.
-Lot 11/12 will be a fire station, depending on whether or not a fire engine can fit onto the lot.
-Lot 15 may be a school house. It will be a single building with a yard.
-Lot 17 needs to be built symmetrical to the road in front of it. It may be a police station. It will also have a yard.
-Keep the heights of lots 16-18 around the height of the retaining wall.
-Lots 21-23 need to be furnished on the inside.
-Lots 18 & 22 are rabbithole lots, and should contain rabbitholes in the basements. We will let you know additional details later on.

-There are a series of non-numbered lots (labeled only by their size). Not all lots here need to be built on, and so select a lot base on its size.
-These are suburban house lots, and take the form of a walled compound. They’re usually 1-2 stories, with balconies. The buildings are pushed close to the edge of the lot to allow room for a courtyard, and are surrounded by an independent wall.

Map D- Suburbs



These are also suburban house lots like those described above, but the buildings here are slightly smaller than the ones in Map C.
24 is a military base.

Map E- Old Town



-Lots 25-34, 37-38, 40, 42-49, and 51-52 need to be furnished on the inside.
-Lot 30 is a residential lot. Furnish only the apartment building beside the mosque.
-Lots 37 and 43 are community lots. Furnish only the mosque.
-Lot 49 is a church. Furnish both the church and the building beside it. Some meeting rooms, a kitchen and a library would fit into the building beside the church.

-Lots 34-36, 39, 41 and 50 need to be built.
-These take the form of old 1-3 story buildings, built out of stone and wood, with oriel balconies and the occasional modern building mixed in.
-There is also the same sort of building height decrease as you get close to the road. Check lots 38, 40, 51, and 52 for inspirations.
-These will also need to have courtyards mixed into the blocks. Check lots 28, 29, 42, 44, 51 and 52 for courtyard inspirations.
- E39 & 41 can be similar to 52 in that they consist of several separated buildings with walled gardens. E39 will need a small courtyard as well.
-Lot 35 needs to have an building shell built in half of it, with a player-owned empty lot in the other half facing the road (using a fence).

City Styles & Examples

Reference this map to see which lot styles go where!



Suburban Examples:
Here are some quick examples of suburban/farm houses that I adapted from Jawusa. They're split into two groups- historic & modern

Historic:

Modern:


REQUIREMENTS

All expansions up to Island Paradise, with the exception of University are highly suggested. Monte Vista is required. Also included is a custom distant terrain mesh which is needed if you want the dramatic canyons to appear! You will need to place that file into the Packages folder.

DOWNLOADS

You can grab the world here: Download Link

STORE CONTENT FIX

If some of you are missing some objects, here is a package that contains the objects used in the world.

To install, place into the Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages folder.


We hope you’ll like the world- please share and enjoy!

If you have any problems or questions, leave a comment here or send us a message.

Happy simming!!



* The name Eastlands is a placeholder, and will change in the final version.

Some more pictures here:

http://potato-ballad-sims.tumblr.com/tagged/eastlands
http://nilxis.tumblr.com/tagged/eastlands

LOT CLAIM LIST
Check the last pages for more information.


LORE DEVELOPMENT

- An unholy union of Turkey and Jordan
- Diverse
- 1001 Nights (modernized?)


OUTSTANDING ISSUES (To-Do List)

- Alternate version of the world with location-accurate trees (pines and more deciduous trees).
- Finish lots
- Add pigeons (and other additional details)
- Add street names
- Check for any issues


STORE CONTENT FIX

If some of you are missing some objects, here is a quick patch that should fix some of these issues. This patch also fixes some of the other issues that came with the default store packages.

To install, place into the Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods\Packages folder.

The lighting and the desaturated sky...this is awesome.

I got thirsty just looking at the screenshots. I could feel the heat on my skin.

Wow!
(I know the smilie isn't accurate, didn't want to fill with blanks)

@jje1000: You might want to correct this link. Scratch that, all links have a slash too much at the end.

@tsyokawe & @flammen

Thanks!

Also the links are fixed (I knew that they were broken but I didn't have the time to fix them just yet)

WOW!!!! This is gorgeous. Can't wait for you guys to finish this.

It looks beyond amazing! I love the sandstorm!

Some time back, I changed Al Simhara from vacation destination to a normal world. Then, I placed new lots (also in middle-eastern theme).
So I could help you with the lots by uploading some of my middle-eastern themed lots. But first, I have to find my edited Al Simhara. Well, it's also possible that I don't have it anymore; it was a long time ago when I did this and I didn't upload that world. It was just for personal use.

I'll let you know once I find it.

Seeing as this one is a native of a Mid-Eastern country (Egypt, for those that still don't know), he would love to help. There are a few lots this one has had saved that with some minor edits would fit fine in the suburban compounds section of world. Can also help with the Lore and street/lot naming too if needed.

I know nothing about what residential homes / apartment buildings are like in the Middle East, but I would love to learn, I have a lot of time on my hands these days, and I would be honored to be a part of a project like this. I volunteer for two or three apartment buildings (any ones are fine) and/or two or three suburban homes.

Also, if at any point you think you might want help populating this world, please please please count me in! (I'd probably be a lot better at that than building!) I might even look into creating more and more varied styles of headwear for both men and women: I know you probably want to limit the amount of CC you use, but it's really a shame we don't have more diverse styles of headwear already available for the game.

@lisfyre, @Jawusa & @Harvee

Thanks!

Let me know when you get the lots

@Spoonsnthings

It's never too late to learn! Let me know which lots you want to work on

There will probably be a populated save version of the world down the road once we get everything sorted out- and it will use CC.

The world's looking great but I'll suggest more layered sand terrain painting on the outskirts; currently from the screenshot I can see repetition of patterns of the sand.

Absolutely gorgeous so far! Great work so far, and so good to see the two of you working together

It's looking great already!

As for me I'm working on"furnishing" Lot 21. I say "furnishing" because it really is completely blank inside, not even any dividing walls. And it's frustrating trying to figure out how to structure the floor plan.

Is this supposed to be a residential lot at all? I ask because there's a lot of balcony area that is partitioned off into little blocks.



I was first going to divide each large room down the middle to make two long rectangles that might each make a doable (if cramped) apartment unit. But then having multiple balconies that were all partitioned off at intervals for no reason would be strange. If this were a residential apartment lot, I would assume that each balcony belonged to a different apartment unit... except that would mean each apartment unit would have to be awfully small, wouldn't it?

It would make sense as an office building, for example, with little offices that each have their own balcony. But this was marked as a residential lot and it has a mailbox on the first story so I assume it's supposed to be an apartment complex.

I know I shouldn't require handholding, but I would like a bit more of a clue as to what to do with this building. Even just someone who can tell me how Jordani / Syrian / Turkish people use their balconies, so I can take it into account.

@HarVee- No CC is being used.

@Spoonsnthings- it could also work that each balcony leads onto a separate room.

Well, guess the windows from UL and Showtime will have to suffice then.

Yeah, that's the idea, I figured. One more question: how many units did you plan to have in that building? Or, to phrase it differently, how many bedrooms do you want one unit to have?

Also, for some reason I can't find the UserPreset file in the zip file you had up for download.

It was me who prepared the links, sorry!

Thank you all for your comments and help

@SimsMatthew, I think we can fix that by adjusting some textures a little bit.

Judging from the size, it looks like it would hold about 4 units. 2 on each of the upper floors essentially.

I thought so too but I've subdivided the second floor based on the partitioning of the balconies and I'm not sure this will work.



Each unit will need a bathroom/restroom/washroom, bedroom, kitchen area, dining area, and living area. So far there isn't room enough to have two of each kind of space. In addition, all of the external walls are punctured by windows and doors, so it's challenging to find places to build the bathroom (privacy) and kitchen (places to put all the appliances and cabinets).

Since space was tight I used a spiral staircase to gain access to the second floor, but I don't think that's right: spiral staircases are a European thing, aren't they?

Watch what you say there. For one, this world has a mosque (in addition to a church), so it's not exactly free of "Islamic stuff". The only reason your comment would make sense is if you were actually equating Islam with terrorism, which is such an ignorant association to make that it's not even exasperating anymore.

FYI one of the worst things ISIS is doing (besides killing people) is destroying and vandalizing cultural icons including old mosques and Islamic relics. So yes, by your criteria ISIS is doing the world a favor by ridding the Middle East of "Islamic stuff".

IMO you don't need to plan out every compartment, since only one is playable with Late Night. I would focus on making one unit large enough to be playable (maybe 2-bedrooms + bath & kitchen), and just make the rest as 'plausible outlines'- aka not too small. Basically use two of the balcony compartments for one apartment.

I would also use an elevator instead of a spiral stair.

Thank you for the response. I also noticed there is a rooftop area with a door... do you want me to make it accessible?

Your choice

Just remember that these shells were designed outside-in!