Suggestion SS plot layout/picture web resource

[rhn]

One of my biggest peeves with the SS suite and addons, is that there are simply SO many different plots. I just simply cannot keep track of all the different kinds, which have lead me to ignore some potentially great addons just to not get overwhelmed. And even so it is a frequent frustration when plots evolve into something that you didn't want(aka shifting theme, getting too large or putting props in front of doors etc.). Some mod authors will have some of their plots shown as pictures on the Nexus, but few bother to add the names of them. I thought about giving it a go making some city plans, but this issue is one of the things that have kept me from it so far.

What I am proposing is some sort of user/addon maker resource(wiki/spreadsheet/whatever) with some basic information about the different plots. A simple start would be an overhead looking picture of the plot fully levelled up, and the plot- and modname clearly stated. Bonus info like dimensions, available pathing, pics of each tier etc. would be awesome.

Is this something anyone is willing to help make happen? Any ideas on how to best implement it? Does it already exist by any chance?

 

[Tinuvia]

There is this page on the wiki. It hasn't been updated in a while, it's a huge undertaking. But if you are volunteering to at least do some updates, I'm sure the resident Wiki-master WetRats, or Kinggath, can give you permissions to post on the wiki. The wiki was meant to be an open resource for anyone to post information but got run down by spambots and had to be access controlled.

I also know that several of the most frequent Sim Settlements player that hang out on these forums have spreadsheets set up with detailed info on the building plans that might be used for either background info or as is. Though I'm not sure if and in what way the wiki can be a base for it.

 

[rhn]

There is this page on the wiki. It hasn't been updated in a while, it's a huge undertaking. But if you are volunteering to at least do some updates, I'm sure the resident Wiki-master WetRats, or Kinggath, can give you permissions to post on the wiki. The wiki was meant to be an open resource for any one to post information but got run down by spambots and had to be access controlled.

I also now that several of the most frequent Sim Settlements player that hang out on these forums have spreadsheets set up with detailed info on the building plans that might be used for either background info or as is. Though I'm not sure if and in what way the wiki can be a base for it.

Did not know that existed. Finding the wiki to be really difficult to navigate tbh.
It is a bit rough and outdated indeed. And the most the images are from weird and rather uninformative angles. But it is kinda what I had in mind, yeah.

I don't mind helping filling it out/updating it, if people think the wiki would be the best media for this kind of information. Had toyed with creating something like it just for myself.

If however I do undertake it, does there exist some way to force plots to level up? Like console commands etc. which would speed it up?

 

[Tinuvia]

This page was initially set to be deeply hidden to avoid spoilers, but I think nowadays many players would benefit more from actually seeing the buildings. It's a gigantic job keeping them updated and I think most addon authors would feel it as more time taken from actually delivering content. So finding volunteers to do it is the most pragmatic way as I see it.

You might check with @WetRats and see if he has other plans or ideas for the wiki. The benefits would be that the info is with all the other info and I think the formatting is better than on the forums. There might of course be other possibilities, if you had something else in mind?

 

[RobotsSmell]

You are so right about there being sooo many plots. But that was always the intention by KG, that once people started making add on packs, you would hopefully never see the the same building twice. This of course would fit in with wasteland lore quite nicely, as each settlement / settler would build there own home etc, wit whatever stuff was available.
Of course this also means that maybe the building materials would evolve with time as the building levelled up etc, and as more and materials were produced by the many industrial plots.
That being said, it can be overwhelming with so many plots available (that you don't know what will look like at final level), and sometimes the plots themes might not fit in with what you want for a particular settlement or play through.
I would always recommend having WV's (All in one), as a staple add on. It has so much variety and is done, in my opinion, to perfection. You cannot go wrong with this pack. Then, add a few more as your game progresses, manually picking the plots you want to check out. After a while I do think you get a "feel" for which mod authors you lean towards.
Many authors also leave out the final level plot images, so that its a surprise for the user when it completes. As @Tinuvia said, "spoilers!"
Yes there are console commands to level up the plots. They elude me at present, but are in the tool kit PDF's
Edit : Open console, click on utility pole, then:-
cf unlocklevel

 

[rhn]

This page was initially set to be deeply hidden to avoid spoilers, but I think nowadays many players would benefit more from actually seeing the buildings.

Yeah I am too perfectionist with my manual build settlements to let it be up to chance what plots I get. And specially interior plots with no consistency with pathing are quite annoying. And, yeah. If people are deliberately looking through the wiki for different plots, then I doubt they care about spoilers. And it would be a great tool for building settlements, and city plans too I would reckon.

You are so right about there being sooo many plots. But that was always the intention by KG, that once people started making add on packs, you would hopefully never see the the same building twice. This of course would fit in with wasteland lore quite nicely, as each settlement / settler would build there own home etc, wit whatever stuff was available.
Of course this also means that maybe the building materials would evolve with time as the building levelled up etc, and as more and materials were produced by the many industrial plots.
That being said, it can be overwhelming with so many plots available (that you don't know what will look like at final level), and sometimes the plots themes might not fit in with what you want for a particular settlement or play through.

I am mostly fine with the randomness with exterior plots. Residential plots anyway, when I use those I don't micromanage them much. Only issue there is height of the plots being rather inconsistent. Industrial plots are more consistent in size etc. and are unique enough to remember. My big issue are agri, commercial, recreational and/or internal plots with so many different styles, pathing and themes. If KGs original idea is supposed to have worked(for me at least), there should have been some standardized pathing and style choices in place. Like being able to specify a plot to choose only between plans with "right side pathing", "wasteland style" tags etc.

I will see if I cant set aside some time after Christmas to document some plots. Hopefully we can agree on a place to put them.

 

[pra]

There is this page on the wiki.

I had no idea this existed either.

I myself am just uploading pictures of my plots in all levels at this point. Also set up the L1 model as preview of the blueprints.

For interior plots, there is that WV nomenclature, which I wish everyone would use, including vanilla SS

Maybe it could become an actual SS feature some day, with keywords defining which directions are pathable. Would be good for city plans.

 

[rhn]

For interior plots, there is that WV nomenclature, which I wish everyone would use, including vanilla SS

Maybe it could become an actual SS feature some day, with keywords defining which directions are pathable. Would be good for city plans.

Always thought the abbreviations in WV were odd and somewhat unintuitive, but yes it is a heck of a lot better than nothing. If standards were established in SS itself, maybe the pathing points could also become somewhat standardized. As in the openings would match up with doorway walls placed either on right, left, front left or front right. That would go a LONG way towards making things much more user friendly.

 

[rhn]

So, I spent a night of insomnia grabbing pics of all the interior plots in the addons that I had installed. Put them into this as a reference "guide":
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sO03z4nKJpX_SqEJCzFiblCPORPY3OiMsyUTNrhpc8c/edit?usp=sharing
I mostly made it for myself as a help when building/designing settlements, so focus is on inspiration and overview over pathing to/from the plot. I have divided the different plots out into themes(Wastelander, Vault and Institute) for easy reference based on the settlement theme, purely based on my best judgement and personal use. Only made pics of T3 plots since they usually hold all the information needed, and it keeps it all simpler that way.

If anyone find errors or have suggestions, feel free to drop comments. I only documented the addons that I have installed atm. Not really browsed for new addons for a while, so if I missed something major I am open to suggestions.

If people feel this is useful, is there a better section of the forum where I should post a link to it?

(PS: I have all the pics in a zip in case someone want to do something more "official" with them, like the wiki etc.)

 

[MrCJohn]

This is awesome work BTW - I really appreciate the effort and share the same OCD (a bit).

A sharepoint site would be a great tool to setup a standard form/format and have people contribute to the form and paste their pictures and text descriptions. I don't think you would have too many cooks in this kitchen so herding few people wouldn't be so difficult

- or a shared location, with folders by add-on pack and within the add-on pack, the various plot types.

This could be done with Google Drive or some drop box @rhn you could setup and manage and just let people drop in the pictures, with the prescribed format of a view, for the access points within the plot.

Just a thought.

Maybe you could post a listing of the Add-ons you would want to add, with the interiors needing documented... and let people volunteer to help out.

I will volunteer to do one pack - just let me know which one would be next on your list...

And if some other people would volunteer, we could get this all filled out rather quickly.

John