New Walls, new challenges!

Hi Everyone! I hope you’re doing well. I’d like to start by thanking you all for the enthusiasm around the projects I’ve been developing for The Sims 3! I loved going through all the positive comments and questions. Today I’m here to answer one of the questions I’ve received the most. This is an extremely valid and super important question!!

After all, the modular pieces we’re developing, although they may look like walls, are essentially: Pillars. This works well for two reasons: It prevents Sims from walking through the wall and it gives us a base to build floors on the upper level.

However, there’s also a downside to this approach: Since it’s not an actual wall mesh, the game is unable to recognize a space as a proper room. In other words, interior lighting is not enabled.

Now, remember when I mentioned that there are both pros and cons to this approach? The main advantage is that: Even though the room doesn’t enable indoor lighting, by using modular walls you’ll be able to build Windows (which are wall openings — I plan to include some frames with this set to make it all even better), and when sunlight passes through these areas, we get a jaw-dropping lighting effect! Very reminiscent of what The Sims 4 brought. Or even what The Sims 3 renderings once made us believe we would have.

Check out the image below:

(On the left you can see that I built modular windows using our walls.) Although the result is much more charming at first glance, it’s important to remember that lamps won’t light up the space (at this point it almost feels like a win-or-lose battle with The Sims 3).

(On the right, interior lighting is possible because all sides of the room were closed with a wall), so you can see that while the result is okay, the furniture shading leaves much to be desired.

In this image, can we say that modular walls came out on top?

Now here’s a nighttime result:

Although I’m tempted to say the left side takes the lead, the truth is that the right side (traditional indoor lighting) manages to give more depth to the scene at night. That’s because, in the left image, the shadows we had on the furniture during the day don’t really stand out at night.

I suspect many will still prefer the left scene, precisely because it brings more… “Clarity” xD There’s a reason why I choose to place fewer streetlights in my world — nighttime outdoor lighting isn’t always a benefit when the lot edges end up looking broken because of it.

Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Soon we’ll dive into the topic of Snow. Yes, there are issues, but I’m working on creative and aesthetic solutions to deal with them. Hopefully I’ll be back with good news!!

I took the opportunity to grab two more screenshots. The first one shows what a Sim looks like inside a lot with modular walls. The second one shows how they look inside a traditional room.

The Same, but at Night:

I placed all the images at the top of the post so you can also view them in full screen <3
If you have any questions, please let me know. I’ll be happy to answer!!