More from 'At Home w/b5'

Creating in 3D, I am still inspired by my own things - it certainly makes it easier to study and compare for accuracy. The problem is that most of what I want to create also has high poly counts. What that means is that those who's computers are already taxed by the game would have a relatively hard time also placing items with high poly counts.
There is this 'rule' uttered on different sites that says you really should keep the poly counts below 1200 per tile - it's a general rule of thumb, for something that is used a considerable amount like say a dining chair, you'd hope for lower numbers. Decorative items used just once can go higher but still - it is advised to keep the numbers low.

So how does one get lower poly counts and still retain the detail they want/need to create an item accurately? Have yet to see a decent tutorial on the subject. There is something in Milkshape that helps lower polycounts via DirectX but it's a gamble how it will turn out. It might alter the overall look in a very bad way (well, might is being kind - it absolutely kills it).

So here it is - the dress form from my dining room. It is built around the game version, but adds the cap/finial and cage/base. This is what 4000 plus poly count looks like. The left side (which I think has about 45000 poly count)  is just after I painted the dining room portion of the "L" that makes my dining/living room - you can see the blue tape that doesn't work at the bottom - sorry for an older picture - I haven't cracked the camera out since the tree fiasco.

This will be a future release, but only after I can cull together a few more items into a AHWb5 set. Warning labels will be posted - this is not going to be altered for the computer challenged. I have a few ideas for other items in the set but still working out the details.

Other news - I am flummoxed by the pillows I have created - every sofa I try them on (barring the one I imported to get the proper height) they sit too high. These are all EA sofas - what gives? I will have to notice whether or not the sims float above the cushions in game. I am going to have to find a happy medium.