Builder Checklist for Sims 4

• Are rooms the appropriate size for the home and household needs?
• Do you have floor tiles in all rooms? (Unless you’re intentionally using cement flooring –  as in a garage or workshop.)
• Do all walls have wall coverings/patterns?
  (Don’t forget the walls behind large windows.)
• Are the windows well-situated per the rooms that contain them?
• Add frames (& select color) to wall photos.
• Add frames to wall paintings, if desired.
• Are decorative items well-placed, balanced, conveying the personality & style you’re aiming for?
  Tip: If you’re light on decorative items and money, try adding debug & hidden objects!
• Are there enough bathrooms for the size of the family?
• Does the kitchen have a ‘backsplash’ type of wall pattern behind the stove and countertop wall?
• Is there a wastebasket?
• Did you add a smoke alarm for the fireplace & stove, &/or add a sprinkler system?
  Tip: I’d also add them in any room with incense since they frequently catch fire.
• Does your woodwork match (as much as possible in Sims 4). Make your best effort at consistency.
• Add curtains to windows per your design intent. Some window styles, build styles, and budget builds will have no curtains by design.
• Did you add TP, hand towels, and bath towels in the bathrooms and kitchen?
• Do all of the faucets match in the bathrooms? (Tip from MerryWiddow)
• Can a Sim cover all of their basic needs on the lot?
• Do all rooms have appropriate lighting?
• Do rooms have appropriate content for their purpose?
• Does the style match throughout the house? (Tip from MerryWiddow)
• If you have a washing machine add one or two laundry baskets in the bathroom. (Tip from kreatora)
• Do stairs, decks, stairwell and ladder openings have railing, fencing, &/or walls/half-walls?
  (Unless you left them off intentionally due to a style/function choice.)

Roof:

• Check roof lines – make sure they’re balanced and flow.
• Add Roof Trim.
• Add a chimney, whether or not you have a fireplace.
  I add mine above the fireplace for realism… but as my friend kreatora just reminded me, I should mention that this is not necessary. The chimney will produce smoke when you use the fireplace no matter where you place the chimney. His recommendation is to “place them so that they blend in nicely with the roof. Forget about realism.”
• Are the eaves consistent?
• Do roofing patterns match? (Unless by design.)
• Do roof seams match?
• Make sure roofing decorations are not cluttered.

Walls:

• Do all walls have your wall covering?
  Don’t forget the walls behind large windows and on the outside of all roofing sections.
• Did you add your foundation choice to all sections?
• Are your windows placed in a balanced, consistent manner… and do they all work well together?
• Do your window colors match &/or work well together?
• Do your door colors match &/or work well together?
• Have you set the front door? (Tip from MerryWiddow)
• Is your front door well-situated, balanced in placement, & striking?
• Did you add Exterior Trim on any raw edges (ie: on balconies/porches/decks)
• Did you add Friezes, if appropriate?
• Consider Spandrels or other trim on the front porch or other areas that make sense. Are they added in a manner and of a style that fits the build appropriately?

Miscellaneous:

• Is there a trashcan?
• Have you taken the garbage can away from the curb. Hide it out of site. Make sure that the area around the garbage can is clear or on upload it will revert to the front of the lot. (Tip from MerryWiddow)
• Is there a mailbox?
• Did you add useful and decorative items to the porches and yard?
• Do you have columns added to any areas that would logically need the support?
• Is there lighting at the front and back door and on any main deck(s)?

Plants, Lighting, & Sculptures:

• Are the trees and plants balanced and well-placed?
• Do the plant types chosen make sense? (ie: Palm Trees & tropical plants are appropriate to desert, tropical, and mild climates, etc.)
• If you added live plants, are they harvested (so they don’t cost the downloader extra money)?
• Are yard sculptures well placed & selected for the build, layout, and functions of the yard areas?
• Is there lighting that accents the functional design of the yard?

Terrain:

• Is there a sidewalk or path to the front door?
• Are there additional paths, stepping stones, or terrain paint added to any logical locations per design intent and utility?
• Are any terrain paints applied in a careful and attractive manner? Do they compliment the yard and home design?
• Is there ‘dirt’ &/or wood-chip paint added to plant bases, building bases, sculpture bases, etc.?
• If terrain height is used, is it done in a way that does not delete things when placed, looks attractive and interesting, compliments the layout and home, and is routable where needed by Sims?

Miscellaneous:

• Is it fully landscaped leaving enough room for children at play if applicable? (Tip from MerryWiddow)

Always placement test and playtest a build before you share it to the gallery. Especially if you use MOO (Move Objects On), ‘Alt’ placement, and certain hidden objects.

Placement Testing:
How to Placement Test: https://sherigr.com/sims-4-cheats/move-objects-on-moo/#placement-test

• Turn off the MOO (Move Objects On) cheat before saving to your home to the library or the gallery.
  MOO should be off when you placement test and playtest, and when save to your library to share to the gallery.
• Check for deleted items when your home is placed from your library.
  TIP: If you cannot tell if anything has deleted, compare the home’s price from before you placed it on a lot (while it was in your library)…
  … to the home’s price when you choose to re-upload from the lot to the library….
  If the price is not the same, something has deleted that has value.
  
• Check that items don’t shift when the home is placed from your library.
• Placement test on different lots, various sides of the street, and different worlds.
• Make adjustments as needed and re-test.
  I do this for days sometimes. This is not the fun part of this process, but it’s very important.
• Continue this cycle as long as it takes until you can successfully place the home with no issues on various lots.

Playtesting:
How to Playtest: https://sherigr.com/sims-4-cheats/move-objects-on-moo/#live-test

• Is the layout efficient or does it take them an hour to walk from one side of the house to the other? (Tip from MerryWiddow)
• Check for routing issues – make sure your tester Sims are able to easily route to all areas and items.
• If you used Debug items, test anything that a player may assume is not decorative to be sure your tester Sims are able to use the item.
  For example, there is a bench, café chair, café table with umbrella, a round side-table, a fireplace, and a chimney (which won’t make smoke) in debug. If you use any of these items players may be upset their Sims cannot use them.
• If you used Debug items, test for odd routing behavior.
  Make sure Sims aren’t walking through fencing, bushes, cars, etc. If they are you can add items that they will route around to stop this (non-debug items), or sometimes just adjusting placement a bit to open up a direct route works.
• Are your Sims able to use all items in the home that are not decorative?
• Make adjustments as needed and re-test.
  I do this for days sometimes. This is not the fun part of this process, but it’s very important.
• Test the mailbox. Make sure the Mail Carrier can access it.
• Test the wastebasket. Make sure the Sim can empty it into the trashcan.
  Hint: A Sim cannot empty a wastebasket if there’s not a proper trashcan on the lot. There are some trash receptacles that look like a trash can but are actually a wastebasket.
• Is your Sim getting the ‘Decorated’ or higher moodlet? Watch your Sims moodlets as they walk slowly from room to room. (Tip from MerryWiddow)
• Have walls up and do the tour from Sims eye view. You will see things there you will not see from looking down from a bird’s eye view. Tour the exterior of the house too. (Tip from MerryWiddow)

In the Build Mode ‘Lot Info Panel’ pop-up:

• Set the ‘Lot Type’.
• Set the ‘Lot Traits’.
• Name the lot.
• Enter the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

From World Map View in the ‘Lot Detail Panel’ pop-up:

• Name the lot.
• Add a description.
  Note: If you save this lot to the library the description will show up there also. You can also change the description in your library, as long as the lot’s not currently shared with the gallery.

It’s all about The Thumbnail. Staging is everything:

If you don’t have a great thumbnail, it won’t stand out in the gallery, & players will never even click on it to check it out – no matter how amazing your build is! (Tip from – kreatora)

• Location, location, location.
  It matters little what your favorite lot is when you’re prepping for the gallery. Before saving your lot to the gallery find a lot where the lighting is great for this particular build’s layout. Which world it’s in, which street, side of street, and surroundings all matter. A lot.
• Choose the best season.
  If you own the “Seasons Expansion Pack” it’s wise to change the season to summer in most cases, for the Gallery thumbnail and upload. To change the season:
  ♦ With your lot open and paused in live mode, press Shift+Control+C to open the cheat console box (upper left of your screen).
  ♦ Type the following in the cheat code box, with the appropriate number added instead of “X” (then press enter):
  seasons.set_season X
  IMPORTANT: Change X to 0 for summer, 1 for fall, 2 for winter, 3 for spring.
• Weather is important if you own the Seasons EP. (I use a sunny day, but occasionally use a partly sunny day on a very bright lot.)
• Lighting inside and out should be the best you can manage.
• Time of day matters. 2:00 is usually my target time for the perfect lighting.
• The layout of trees and other foliage on lot should balance and compliment the home.
  Check the appearance of the thumbnail and additional gallery images in your library to see if trees are blocking too much of the home in the screenshots. Reposition as needed.
• Adjust content on adjacent lots if needed.
  If a home or trees are blocking yours in the gallery images, bulldoze them. Add trees on adjacent lots that frame and compliment your home.

Description:

• Choose your words carefully. Keep players and what they search for in mind.
• Be accurate. Don’t include information that’s not true.
• Be brief.
• A useful and interesting description will attract and draw in players.
• Add a handful of carefully selected #tags.
  Make sure they’re not overdone and are accurate. Don’t tag packs you didn’t use.
• Name or tag packs in your description of they involve key build or content items.
• #NoCC – I add this tag since I use no CC (Custom Content) in my game. This is reassuring to some players and some will search for tags like this.
• #playtested – I add this tag to my descriptions to let players know that I have play-tested the build, which is also something some players look for.
• Give credit where credit’s due. If you use something in your lot that someone else made and they’re okay with you using it (like wall photos & paintings), tag them in your description. This is considered appropriate, respectful, and is expected etiquette.
• Renovations – If its a renovation of a Maxis lot, name the lot it’s a renovation of. Add the #Reno tag. Don’t take credit for something you didn’t create. It’s just bad form.
• Don’t steal others’ work – If the build is not a Maxis lot, and someone else made it, don’t re-upload it without their permission. Players work hard on their creations and feel you’ve stolen them when you do this.
• Tag yourself. Add your own tag to your description. (ie: Mine is #SheriGR )

Final Version:

• Your final library save should not be a played at all. I do this re-placing the most recent unplayed version in cycles as I find things I need to tweak, fixing them, saving this version to the library, then re-testing.
• This assures your best presentation. The plants have no fruit (which would make the lot cost more money), there are no items of trash and dirty dishes laying around from the tester Sim, and the clutter and other items I so painstakingly placed are exactly where I want them. It also means there are no dirty and broken items on the lot, which I’m sure you could imagine would not be a nice welcome to a player downloading your lot.
• Or… if you upload a version you’ve played in…
  ♦ Check for and do any needed repairs.
  ♦ Check placement of all objects in the home.
  ♦ Harvest all live plants.
  ♦ Remove anything on the lot that may count as Custom Content.
  ♦ Make sure nothing’s left in or on the oven or grill.
  ♦ Has your Sim cleaned the house? (Tip from MerryWiddow)
  ♦ Don’t upload a lot with a crime scene that’s not cleaned up (seriously… it happens).

Once your lot has been properly tested and uploaded to your library, it’s time to share to the community gallery:

What To Consider:

The time of day, how many people are currently in the gallery, and the day of the week are important considerations for when to uploading to the gallery.
(Tip from – kreatora)

Ways to help others see and check out your lot…

Screenshots & Slideshow:

• Take screenshots for a slideshow where others can easily ‘tour’ your build.
  Read about recommended techniques, plus hosting your images and slideshow: https://sherigr.com/tutorials/take-screenshots-sims-4/
• Take some screenshots showing Sims enjoying your home.
• Take top-down layout shots of the different floors.
• Include comments to explain & enhance the images.
• Example of a slideshow: https://imgur.com/gallery/WLK3hG9
• If possible include a link to the slideshow in your lot’s description in the gallery. If not add it to a comment there.

What to Share:

• Share a catchy comment or summary paragraph about your build. (Intent, purpose, what makes it interesting, etc.)
• Your listing’s link (from the browser gallery: https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/pc/gallery).
• Your slideshow link.
• Screenshot highlights, as relevant.

Where to Share:

• Your social media, particularly if you have gamer-oriented profiles.
• Relevant threads on the forum, such as:
  ♦ Share Your Newest The Sims 4 Creations Here! (BreeMiles)
  ♦ Starter Homes Thread (elanorbreton)
  ♦ Affordable Family Housing Challenge! (Sweet_Italy)