Building Challenge #5 - To Serf, with Love

[suzetter]

The Winner of Building Challenge # 5 (by a landslide I might add)is ....

GHOST!

Congratulations Ghost!, yours was the house people wanted the most for their Medieval Sims.

Thank you to everyone who participated in my "Letters to..." challenges. I really enjoyed our time together. Now I am ready for a break and looking forward to partcipating in (rather than running) a few challenges. I may resume my "Letters to..." challenge series at a later date and will keep you all posted.
:) Suzetter

To Serf, with Love

The Honorable Custom Sims,

We, ascendants of the Sims you have so gloriously helped these nigh six months, beseech you to work your magic yet once again for we find ourselves in a grievous state. Our people wander into strangers homes and sit uninvited for a rest, cook meals from food that is not theirs, and gain knowledge reading (and often keeping) books that belong to another.

Oh, for the love of all that is good and holy, what events have occurred to make our transgressions so vast and so common? Why have we lost all decorum? The answer is as plain as the face of the merchant’s daughter -- we do not have sufficient housing for our people. From Lords to Serfs, the Sims of our time wander about aimlessly trying to survive their homeless state. Oft they can be seen huddling in groups about the church where they go to flee the dark and cold of night.

My kingdom for a hovel!

There is but one castle and only one castle may there be in this realm for this Keep to hold steadfast and true but there is need for all other manner of dwelling from house to hovel. From Squire to Sorcerer, from Bard to Bailiff, our shire needs homes for all.

Wouldst thou most gifted and talented builders kindly alleviate our plight and build dwellings for our people?

Royally yours,
The Once and Future King



Objective:

Build a Medieval House of any style other than a Castle or a Castle Keep


Requirements:

You must use a square lot measuring either 20x20 or 30x30 or 40x40

It must be an original build.

You may not use most modern conveniences** or appliances in your build (no modern lighting, food processors, etc) or modern materials (no plastic, vinyl, etc).

**Exceptions to this rule so your Sims can eat and bath--you may use a refrigerator, a sink, a toilet, and a tub (but no stoves, no showers, etc).

You can use content from EPs/SPs but no store content or any other cc of any kind. There is a lot of wonderful medieval cc out there but that is too easy. The objective is to create as medieval a home as you can with only the game/ep/sp content. And while the end result may not be strictly medieval it should certainly convey the essence of medieval.

Your build can be for a peasant or a lord or a wizard or a blacksmith but you must incorporate the below fabric pattern in your home décor (it can be re-colored).

Once the entry list has been closed, you may post eight (8) 200kb photos of your build taken in daylight and pix must include an overview shot of the lot along with floor plans for each level of any structures on the lot and a street level (sim view) pic of the front of the lot. The rest of the pix can be of your choice. Use of the required pattern must be readily visible in one of the photos. Always make sure there are no grid lines in your pix and post pix as attachments (not embedded in the copy or linked).

So unleash your inner Merlin and have fun!

If you would like to enter this challenge please sign up by 11/20/11.

:)

Challenge Participants:
1. Dantes
2. Ghost
3. Lady Magical
4.
5.
6.

[Dantes]

Nice challenge. Why not.

Big medieval house, but not a castle. That's right? A Medieval castle, it's a big house with high walls around with a bridge. So, no walls around and no bridge if i well understand.

[suzetter]

(11-05-2011 09:57 AM)Dantes Wrote:  Nice challenge. Why not.

Big medieval house, but not a castle. That's right? A Medieval castle, it's a big house with high walls around with a bridge. So, no walls around and no bridge if i well understand.

Yay, Dantes glad you joined -- you're on the list.

Big Manor house for a rich nobleman is fine, even moat or short walls are okay just not something with so many levels, wings, turrets, patrol walkways that it is actually a Castle. Also, the property cannot be bordered with high walls (Castle Keep). Big and fancy is just fine but the build must be a home not a fortress*.

*Castle/fortress: a large fortified building or complex of buildings, usually with tall solid walls, battlements, and a permanent garrison, built especially during the Middle Ages

Hope this clarifies for everyone what is meant by Castle in this challenge.

Tradesmen and peasants need homes as well so houses for all echelons of medieval society are sought.

[Dantes]

(11-05-2011 10:29 AM)suzetter Wrote:  Hope this clarifies for everyone what is meant by Castle in this challenge.

Yep. Perfect. That is going to be very stimulating for the brain to make that without CC. :wacko:

[Ghost]

I've been avoiding all video/computer games for a while because I noticed that I was starting one without even thinking about it, and then playing for several hours without paying attention to the time. So I'm getting things back under control. I would like to participate, though.

(That pattern is rather fancy to be in a serf's hut, though. The only way you would get something like that in medieval times as far as I can tell would be to have lace backed with fabric, or to embroider it. Anybody less than middle class wouldn't be able to afford lace. And when you are working on your lord's land, working your own plot of land, raising your children, and keeping your house in order you aren't going to have much time to embroider.) (Maybe someone has enough talent for lace-making that the "waste of time" isn't a waste after all?)

[suzetter]

Very intricate designs were possible on looms so that pattern could be woven and it looks sort of Celtic to me. You don't have to use a lot of it but we have to see it in the house. A wash cloth, a table cover, a bedspread (popular handmade wedding gift for centuries)...whatever. Could even be used as a painted surface on something--it's the pattern that matters. So what if the game calls it fabric -- game also thinks its okay for sims to use the toilet with their pants up. In some ways we must suspend disbelief (like we often do when watching a movie).

Glad that you're joining in Ghost and like that you're thinking of something for the serf class. You're on the list.

:)

Edit: Uh, you'll be on the list once my OP is unlocked. (??)

Regina -- Help! There's some wierdness going on here. I couldn't go into my Original Challenge Post to update the entry list just now. Attached are screens of the error messages I got when trying to update that post via full edit or quick edit. I do need to be able to access that OP for the challenge run to upate the entry list, correct or add information and make announcements that pertain to anyone considering entering or actually doing the challenge since having the announcements mixed in the thread doesn't ensure everyone sees it. I don't know who set it like this but this has never happened before. Can you fix this? Sorry to bother you but thanks for your help in correcting this.

:shrug:

[Regina]

Sorry about that, Suzetter. I'm experimenting again. :bag: Try it now.

[suzetter]

OMG! You Rock! That was so darn fast-- Thank you!

:hug3:

[Regina]

Yes, fortunately I happened to be here when you posted.

After a spate of posts that were edited with spam links weeks after they were posted then not discovered for a few more weeks I decided some type of editing limit is probably in order. I'm just not sure how long that limit should be and wasn't sure who all it affected as I seem to be able to edit anything no matter how old it is.

[suzetter]

I extended the entry date. I started one myself just for fun and it is very challenging. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

[Dantes]

Less difficult than i believed. WA offers us interesting opportunities. If that can favor new entries...

[Ghost]

I'm glad we aren't getting too picky about historical accuracy. I don't have Pets, and there is no good "animal door", so bedding down in the straw with the animals is impossible on a number of counts. But I carved the pattern on the dining room table, and on the dowry chest.

(Lettuce, onions, and potatoes are somewhat accurate, but those "beans" are rather fat and yellow. )

[suzetter]

We can't really be authentic without having a chamber pot, larder, water basin, or fireplace cooking pot. So allowances must be made because the sims need to eat, wash, and use the lavatory. But there are plenty of players who simulate medieval without cc. Also, after the last patch I think a lot of people are rethinking their use of cc.

[Ghost]

If we don't get any more contestants, this isn't going to be much of a competition. I don't mind second place, but not in a field of two! Can we get a few more entrants, please?

[Dantes]

I find the idea very interesting. I propose that everybody builds one for the simple pleasure. I am going to make it. Competition or not.