Author Topic: Building Contest 2013: 1 - Suspicious Survivors: Home Sweet Stronghold  (Read 2312 times)

Offline Vinyl

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Home Sweet Stronghold
Lot Size: 30x30
Lot Value: $83,864 Furnished, $55,861 Unfurnished
Content Used: All Expansions
Number of Bed Spaces: 8
Description: This unassuming little bungalow with detached garage may appear like a normal home from the outside, but it functions like a fortress on the inside.  Designed and built with the agoraphobic militarist in mind, this house includes a library, anti-personnel electro-flooring in the entryway, full kitchen, bomb shelter grade panic room with self-sustaining aquaculture and mini-garden, four bedrooms, Red Alert(tm) light-based alarm network, two and a half bathrooms, secret one-way escape tunnel, laundry room, and a secure vault with automatic fire-based intruder retention technology.


The landscaping requires minimal maintenance.  There is room for a car to park in the garage, and another on the driveway.  An inviting bench and rustic decorations lend an air of the everyday to the home.  In the event of panic room use, the front porch lights and ground lights will glow red to signal the need for assistance.


The front door opens into a typical entryway.  The security and safety systems in place are hidden away from the eyes of anyone passing by.


Right on the other side of the entryway wall, the secure gating system and light-based alarm network wait primed and ready.  Easy to see red lights throughout the home instantly alert everyone to an arriving visitor, family member, or trespasser.  In case of intruder, or as an added layer of security when everyone is safely at home, the electro-flooring can be turned on for a massive blast of peace of mind.


Ease of movement guided the layout of the home.  Wide hallways and double doors ensure unobstructed access, in times of both haste and leisure.  Emergency wall-mounted phones are present in every room.  Muted, earthy tones in the common areas give the rooms a comforting, underground ambience.  All common rooms contain weapons - some are everyday items easily used for defense, while most others are hidden.


This bedroom features his and hers beds, rust-proof metal grating on the walls and floor, hidden weapons for easy access, a mini-gym, comfortable chair upholstered in military-themed waterproof material, and an aloe plant for emergency medicinal needs.  Like every window in the home, it's protected with Nev-R-Peek technology for complete security against prowlers, peeping toms, and nosy neighbours. 


The tranquil and very secure nursery can easily double as a butler's quarters.  Be it play time or nap time, the room has everything a growing child needs.  The chain link fence protecting the window also makes a great climbing wall for little ones!


The fully stocked bookcases hide secret access to the underground bunker and panic room.  They also offer a selection of light reading material.  An antique radio livens up game night, while the cast iron fire tools wait comfortably close at hand, ready to be grabbed in case of invasion.


The warm and inviting kitchen is a dream for the home cook.  Every kind of recipe can be whipped up in a flash on the ample counter space.  The cheerful high chair and entertaining peg box wait to greet a growing toddler.  The easily accessible calendar keeps appointments in order, while the knife block does double duty as kitchen must have and handy weapons cache.


The crown jewel of the home - the panic room - lies deep underground past a series of secret access points.  The panic switch fully locks down the room, signals for help via the outdoor lighting, and sets up an impassable barricade of fire in front of the access door.  The fully appointed room holds weeks worth of supplies.  A miniature garden grows fresh vegetables, while a fish breeding tank provides a renewable source of protein.  Salads and suhi can be quickly and easily prepared in the kitchenette.  The chemisty lab and workshop are practical, useful, and also a great way to pass the time.


A composting toilet and shower are tucked away behind privacy curtains.  Hot bunking allows for a minimum number of bed spaces, leaving enough room for a crib.  A small radio provides breaking news and soothing tunes.  The room also includes a spirit detector in case of paranormal invasion, a fire hose in case of spontaneous combustion, a stocked tool chest in case of emergency hardware repairs, a medicine cabinet in case of emergency body repairs, and a selection of popular magazines in case of boredom.  The door beside the crib leads to the secret escape tunnel, accessible only through the panic room.  The hidden route emerges in the garage - if the car is packed and waiting, fleeing town has never been so simple!

Notes: 
-This house features both player activated and automatic trap and trigger mechanisms.  The green wall switch in the hall by the entryway should reset everything to off/safe/hidden. 
-In general, switches are colour coded for player ease.  Green will unlock doors, make traps dormant, and hide secret doors and stairs.  Red will activate traps. Orange will activate a nearby hidden object.
-There is only one spot where a sim can't deactivate a trap on their own (lifting the lid of the treasure chest will trap them with flames), so watch out if your singleton is exploring the house for the first time. 
-If you wish NPCs to access the panic room, set the secret door in the garage to stay open (autoclose off) and keep the stairwells unhidden. They won't use the hidden bookshelf door, but will happily use the unhidden escape route.  Be sure to keep in mind using the green wall switch in the hallway will reset all access to the panic room, potentially trapping the butler down there!
-The automatic red alarm lights can be disabled by deleting the hidden floor switch in the entryway.  They'll act like regular lights after, but will still be red.  Alternately, you can simply delete them from the rooms.
-In test plays the bookshelf secret door often starts out misplaced, preventing sims from using it.  It can be fixed easily by using buy mode to pick it up and put it back in the same place on the wall. 
-There's also a chance the area behind the bookcase will be marked as ïnvisible.  If that happens, you may need to manually direct your sim to use the small stairs to the bunker door, and then the spiral stairs down to the lower level.  After that they should be able to "go here" directly to the lower level.

This build can be freely used in stories, etc.