LH Babble

[laura]

Oh good! That's actually probably a really good idea in most cases. Saves a lot of hurt feelings that way

[laura]

OMG, OMG, OMG, I actually managed to recolor a buyable sky!!! SQUEE!!! I made my space from the moon black sky, with an Earth-rise! OMG, I'm so stupidly, nerdily happy, lol!

Still tweaking it a bit, but I will share pics as soon as I get it just right!

I can't wait to make all kinds of skies now

[blackcat]

How?? Where?? Was it for the sky-thing that I use??? *excited* . I wanna make more skies, too!!!

*gives self sharp slap* Skies are NOT on the to-do list!! (nor is reading message boards, but... )

Sounds great, anyway, and I know you'd wanted to do something with the sky outside your moon base. I should have known you'd figure out something like this...

[laura]

Yup, the same one you have!

My only problem right now is trying to get the Earth right. It stretches out so much and looks really pixellated. And the first few times, I made it way, WAY too big, lol! The version I'm trying now is only 20 pixels in diameter, and I really don't know how much smaller than that I can go.

The clouds that come default with the mod look really nice, so I don't know why I can't get mine to look clear too. Hmmm :\

I thought I read once about someone trying to recolor skies and running into the same problem, with the stretching and pixellation. But I couldn't find that discussion when I looked for it just now.

Oh, and I should mention, I'm just recoloring over one of the default cloud covers - I should have done it as a separate recolor maybe, but you know, I didn't, lol!

[laura]

Oh hey, look, we have images! ;D


Okay, so here's my vision - There's the observation deck. It's a row of protected windows on the top level of the structure, while the other floors are all mostly below ground, with only those little round reinforced windows (do you see how scientific I'm getting here? lol!)

The troops would then be able to visit the observation deck whenever they have free time (and are on base), and it's a comfort for them to be able to sit there and see home, and not feel like they're so far away.

Keri, I imagine, spends a lot of time up here, since she's on base all the time. I already know she spends just about all her time calling home - and even sneaks calls home during her on duty time.


Her wants wants when she first arrived - Keri, honey, where do you think you are? This is the military, not a five-star resort!

She was pretty homesick, lol!


So, problem is then, my Earth looks like bunk, lol!


ETA: this is what I'm aiming for, by the way.


I got my flat black sky just how I want it, which is easy, you know, all black, lol! But I've finally gotten the Earth to about the right size, but the actual image size in this picture for that Earth is only 10 pixels in diameter, which of course is why it looks so stretched. That's just the nature of how the sky projection works, I'm guessing.

So sky objects, big fluffy clouds apparently look fine, little tiny detailed Earths? Not so much.


Plan B, lol, I might just recolor one of these Jupiter-looking lamps, and stick it far out somewhere in the right spot. That actually might solve all my problems.


And hey, look, there's Abandia City, lol! I just spoiled the whole illusion for you, didn't I?

***I'll cross-post all of this on the blog, probably after the current story set is finished. You know, because I'm all anal-retentive about not disrupting the narrative flow 'n stuff ***

[somuchsong]

LOL, those wants are just perfect for Keri, aren't they? I love that she's worried about a burglar...in space!

I have no idea why the Earth isn't working for you (I just posted a really newbie recolouring question at N99, so I'm not the person to ask!) but at least you have the black sky working for you! That's just what you were wanting.

[laura]

LMAO, a burglar in space! I know! Silly Keri!

I think it's just the nature of how the sky projection works, that such a small image is stretched across the whole big sky. It makes me wonder how big of images the default skies use? Anyway, I'll probably just have to work around it.

I edited the previous post to include an image of the actual Earth from the actual moon, lol!

ETA: Carla, I just posted my question at N99 too

[blackcat]

Lol @ Keri's wants!

The black sky looks great, and I think the recoloured lamp would work well as an Earth.

I guess it doesn't matter about the clouds being stretched too much in the original skies, because they're supposed to look a bit blurry and hazy... its only when you want something precise like the Earth that it becomes a problem.

For all the drawblacks I mentioned on my blog, one thing I really like about the cloud mod is that its not a global one - it only affects the lot its on, and you can delete it any time. That makes it ideal for experimentation.

[laura]

Thanks guys! And Illandrya, you're not far behind at all now!

I'm totally going to bed now, but I thought I'd pop these pics up here for y'all to see. This is a little closer to what I was talking about...




;D

[laura]

Yay! Wow, I need some confetti to throw for whenever one of you guys manages to catch up, because man that's a LOT! lol!

Awww, thank you so much! And I worked quite hard on that "poem about a freckle." Sometimes I try to make that English degree earn its keep, you know? I'm always ridiculously happy when anyone appreciates it

Thanks for reading, Illandrya! Glad to have you on board!

[laura]

Chandler shoots, and he scores? lol!

I ended up taking about a thousand pictures of these guys! It was very simple, but sweet, and seriously the most fun I've had doing a wedding in the longest time. I have so many shots to weed through. It makes me miss when they were all back in college together. Those were some good times


It's kind of bittersweet to see them all grown up (or well, as grown up as they'll probably ever get, lol!) and getting married and starting their own families - oh, *sigh* nostalgia

Better save some pics for the update, huh?

[heredoncove]

I love a wedding and this one looks like its going to be great!

[laura]

It's bus stop week in Lakeside Heights, lol! ;D




This is one of the very perfectly plotted bus stops Micah was working on for his recent story. It's part of my three-or-so-weeks of building/remodeling projects, and I totally plan on sharing an update of all the different bus stops I've added throughout the neighborhoods. There are about 14 in Lake City, 6 in Lakeside Heights, and 1 in Bluewater.

Also adding a metro rail to Lake City with 6 stops. And I might try to (fake) extend it to one stop in Lakeside Heights too. They usually make it out to the popular suburbs.

This is also part of Madison's final push for reelection in these last few weeks before the voting starts

I'm going to have to look back and see what she even promised last term.

Berjes is up to a few things with the hospitals too, lol!

If you're interested in the full agenda of everything I hope to work on for my three-week build fest, lol!
- bus stops and metro rail
- revamp of the Lake City hospital, and Lakeside Heights Womens Clinic
- a full tour of LCU (since I don't think I've ever done one before)
- updated maps and neighborhood pictures
- LH public schools rebuild (2 buildings - elementary and secondary)
- moon stuff - military base, and civilian tourist area

I will share pictures, of course!

I've been in an epic building mood lately, and I really only have enough free time in the week to finish my story updates as they're posted. So if I didn't slot out this build time for myself, it would never happen. So the next three weeks are building stuff, and then I'll be getting back to stories again (with the new chapter) near the end of the month.

[thelunarfox]

Oh wow, everything looks so good! I'm quite jealous of your building skills, and even your decorating skills.

[laura]

I think you mean you're jealous of my downloading skills, lol!

I do like to build, but there hardly a single building in any of those shots that I built. (The tall white one in the background of the second shot is mine.) I hardly have the time for it anymore. But you know, I sure can arrange them well!

Oh, I love that Gaiman quote in your signature!

[thelunarfox]

Yes, I am also jealous of your downloading skills. I can't seem to find what I need fast enough, so then I try to make what I need which I also lack the patience for, lol.

Isn't that quote great? Very Gaiman-esque.

[laura]

Sneak-peek of my bus depot/train station - I know I could have used the neighborhood deco ones. But for 1- they're too big for some parts of my town, and 2- I want to be able to have my Sims actually visit them for storytelling purposes.

Totally not done with it yet, or even close. The building is basically a shell right now, and it's taking me forever to build, lol! But I'll be using this one as a template for the other stations though, and I'll just tweak the decorating to suit each neighborhood's style.


View from the back, where the train platform is. I'm using Criquette's train set


Another one of my bus stops - a suburban one, which are much better-kept than my city ones This is in the Hazel Park neighborhood, and I put a little patio/garden behind it.

I was hoping to be finished with this whole transportation project soon, but then I just downloaded the motorway set last night, lol! I'm mostly done with my bus stops at least, so there's just the trains, and maybe I might do the motorway, or maybe I might save that for later.

[somuchsong]

Awesome! I'm so excited to see what you come up with during your build fest! I downloaded that bus stop, because it's the best one I've seen and I'm planning on adding them to Sullivan too. So far, there's a solitary one outside the hospital, which would be fairly useless!

It's so funny to read that Gaiman quote today. One of our politicians last night said something quite similar about the insane election campaign we have going on here. "Fiction has to be plausible" was his phrasing.

[blackcat]

This all looks so cool! I've decided that, as I recreate my hood, I'm going to pay more attention to stuff like this, especially in my downtown. The layout doesn't really work as a 'real' city, and I know the things I'd change but I'm probably not going to bother in this version of the hood.

Transportation stuff is a part of that, I'll probably use the motorway sets, and a more sensibly-placed train stations/bus depots etc.

[laura]

OMG, you want to know *real* dorkiness?

Right now, I'm actually graphing out my Lake City Metro rail map as it should correspond to the road maps of my neighborhoods, lol! I'm totally going to try to recolor a poster as a rail map for my stations.

There will be three lines: 1, west, through West Washington and Stoneview Court - 2, north/east, through the commerce district and LCU campus - and 3, south/east, out to Lakeside Heights.

Bluewater Township doesn't get a rail station, and they only have one bus stop, lol!

But otherwise, I might try to make up an image of all three of my hoods and how they relate to each other. Since I've got it all mapped out now.

Do I win a cookie for being the dorkiest Simmer this week? Really, I must, lol!