Thank Grog It’s Firday…er…uhm…Turday?
Because we know that Act II is going to hit tomorrow, and we didn’t want this to get lost in the clutter of new posts about Act II (including the Calendar!), we are doing the Friday Filler on Thursday…which kind of kills the thrill of the work week being over. But, hey…I could just treat it like a Friday and start to “Get My Grog On” early! Sounds like a plan!
As intimated (briefly) in the last Friday Filler, I am going to start featuring some short videos to showcase some of the best of the best, in designing and innovative use of their tapping time. I was besieged (in a nice way) with replies…and had to remove the call to submit after only a few hours. But, I will continue doing this for the foreseeable future, as I LOVE seeing people that actually put time and effort into their designs (No PLOPPERS PLEASE). It also inspires me to make changes and additions to my own town.
So, let’s dive in. I think you are going to be amazed.
I realize that design is subjective. Not everyone has the same design aesthetics as everyone else. But, for me…what is important is answering the quetion, “Is this a Springfield in which I would like to live?”
For a town to be “livable,” it has to offer three key things…
1.Can you breath?? (I want to see lots of water, trees, flowers…real towns aren’t just expanses of green grass or dirt, broken up by roads. Well…except for Detroit…but I don’t want to live in Detroit).
2. Does the layout make sense? (Do roadways, buildings, utilities, and transportation actually come together to be a good municipal design?).
3. Does it offer unique, funny, fun, uses of the design tools to make the town fun and believable? Yes…these are fantasies…but can fantasy and reality mix? Is it going to be interesting to visit…even in the downtime?
Of the towns that I saw, (and some of these were referrals from players who said, “Mine is good…but you have to see THIS town!“) there were some really fun, amazing designs.
There were a couple that simply blew off my socks…and shoes…and part of my pants. There were also a couple that simply made me go…”WOW! This guy REALLY likes…” and seemed obsessed (can you say monorail?) with certain aspects of the game.
The most important aspect of these great designs…is that it was very, very clear, that these tappers love tapping…and creating…and evolving.
As part of this ongoing series, I will also show segments of my own town. I am doing this, because I feel strongly that “critics” should be able to prove that they are worthy of critiquing others. This comes from my hatred of music, media, and art critics who tear down artists, but do not have an artistic bone in their bodies. Those “Best 100 guitarist” lists in Rolling Stone made me cancel my subscription. But, I digress…
The point is, it’s only fair to critique, if you also put yourself out there.
So…let’s start with the fact that one or two of my neighbors have set a new level of aspiration and inspiration for me. I am, after telling the world that I love my town…now kind of unhappy with certain aspects. This is like almost any other social media situation where you end up becoming depressed, because you keep seeing your “friends” on trips to Europe, or the South Seas, or on Safari in Africa. At some point…especially if you are ensconced in your “man cave” writing a TSTO blog…you say, “ENOUGH!!! I can change! I am not that bad!!!! I want MORE!!”
But, as it pertains to this article and design concepts, if you are rational, you will look at some of these designs and say,” Damn…that is amazing…I need to get to work! I could do that!!”
But, some just can’t. Design aesthetics are innate. Yes…you can learn the basics, and even learn to copy certain aspects. But, some people just have a natural design creativity that makes you stand back (or hold your padular device at arm’s length), and say…”Holyfreakinshirt! That is beautiful!!”
But, before I go to the “gold standard,” I am going to show you a “total miss” and a “truly obsessed mono-railer” that needs to be seen. And, I will reveal my secret “peeing man” once and for all, so my neighbors can see it. Maybe then they will realize why I need to have it where it is.
BUT FIRST…A DISCLAIMER On Grading!
There is no “best way to tap,” as how you design and play is subjective and very personal. That said, I am going to be “grading on a curve,” with a “Gold Standard” at the top, and super-ploppers at the bottom. And to be fair…after seeing the real “Gold Standard,” (at least so far), I have to give myself a C- at best. Maybe even a D. So, no worries about those who left me feeling lacking when observing. I’m right there with you!
First… a True PLOPPER. Why even bother????????? Just jamming through the events, to move on to the next thing…and then just plopping it down, so you can move on to the next thing.
Now…our “Obsessed Monorailist.” One look, and you’ll get it. He has so much space dedicated to monorails…in a multi-rail fashion, that he loses some of the other design aesthetics. BUT MAN… I LOVE watching the various monorail lines interact. This guy has GOT to be a model railroad enthusiast.
Now…the GOLD STANDARD. It’s the details…so…many…details! I’m going to do a whole post on this town in the future, because she really does encompass the best of all worlds…a high % return on XP, without sacrificing incredible design aesthetics. It. Is. Simply. Gorgeous.
To share a couple of “insider details” on Ebron’s town…she frequently hits the “hard item limit.” This means she actually goes waaaaaaaay beyond the warning, until she gets the “Congratulations…you have placed the limit of (fill in the blank) items. Please remove or store items to continue” warning. It is currently at 10,700…she knows, because she just hit it again!
No worries…she just blows something up, and starts over…like Picasso…painting several paintings on a single canvas. She never stops creating.
But, what about her earning percentage, and hiding all of those Bonus % items in her town?
Quoting Ebron, “I’m at 1355%…add in 15% hidden from 3 SH modern mansions in my town and I end up at around 1370% bonus. I also have around 150% stored from SH and other various items that I pull out for a day when I farm RTTrucks (and then turn the collider on for a day)…The funny thing is…it didn’t take any more time or effort to reach this multiplier. I just played the game like everybody else, but focused my purchases for a year on only characters and xp bonus items. I bought mystery boxes (you’ll see there are quite a few news vans and billboards in my town) and multiples of “bonus % bargains” whenever I could find them. I think I have a total of 30 something mini-nukes hidden behind buildings somewhere.”
Hidden is right. Unlike loads of other towns I saw, where the “bonus area” is just a dumping wasteland, Ebron incorporates all of her earning power into her designs. More on Ebron on another post.
And finally…my “peeing man” revealed. I’m embarrassed to say, that it was one of the first weird features I designed…(when I got Springfield Falls), and has been part of my town since. I love the way the waterfall sets the concept…and still laugh when I see the “snake rock” nipples. Yes. I have the humor quotient of a 12-year-old.
This was fun...and I have a TON of other towns to show off.
Ok…sorry…but I was inundated again with my “challenge.” Full up. Will be looking at new towns for weeks!
Everybody…thanks so much for all your neighbor requests, but all my spaces are filled😁.
Ps…please use the “add me” page for future requests. I always check there first when a space opens up.😄
Hey, love the article and so nice to see that other people take time to create some really great towns. I would really love some neighbours who have beautiful towns as I love looking at all the creative and different things people do. If anyone is interested in adding me username is Mi33_Conduct
WOW! I loved this article!
Wow, there has been a great level of responses on this topic! I would be very keen to obtain some new neighbours so that I can gain some greater inspiration for my Springfield. I am currently maxxing out the available land so am looking for ways to better use what I have. I am currently reworking some areas of my town and trying to embark on a town ‘beautification’ project after viewing Ebron’s masterpiece! Please send me a neighbour request if interested in sharing some ideas. My username is justinhenr53
Hey, I tried adding you but it didn’t work. Are you maxed out on friends? Is it worth trying again? My username Mi33_Conduct if you’re interested.
I just checked and you’ve been added successfully, not sure what went wrong there! I like your Venice area, nice job on the buildings along the canals!
Hey thanks so much for adding me! I’ve just been to check out your town and It’s awesome. I also like your Venice, again great to see different ideas. Your Mount Fuji oriental bit is really nice and your festival area is awesome. Great job neighborino! So nice to see a town that has thought put into it! Thank you again!
Love what you’re doing here Patric. I’ve always wanted to see others towns and wish more would post screenshots on imgur. Thanks for all you do!
Or on Flickr. 😄
Hi greengirl…long time no “hear”😊. Funny you should mention Flickr…I finally updated my acct and added a Springfield Album to my Flickr page (acct name is EBron). I’m adding a whole town tour, a section at a time. Added around 45 pictures already and more to follow. Got so many requests for pictures, thought this would be the best solution…didn’t want to push our wonderful moderators “over the edge” with hundreds of pictures.
🤪🤪🤪You’re welcome Alissa.
The link to the album is
https://www.flickr.com/photos/143487056@N08/albums/72157667620657138
Sorry, I should have explained…The water mansion picture is the link…just tap on it
I get a “page not found” when I click on the image.
Sorry Lynn…You are the second person to get a bad link. I think you may have to have a yahoo acct to access Flickr (it is a yahoo company). If you register with Flickr (get a yahoo id), you can access any of the pictures there. I didn’t realize that “public access” to them only means within the yahoo community…sorry again.
So lucky to have Carie and Ebron as neighbors. They always have thoughtful and inspiring designs which I truly appreciate. ☺
Hi Greengirl, nice to have you as a neighbor also. I always enjoy seeing your town. 🌹🌝
She’s in the top 10% of best towns…glad she’s a neighbor!
Thanks for the nice post. Touring addicts towns seems like a nice feature for the blog.
Ebron is very deserving to be the first one. Her town and designs are always inspiring.
Look forward to see more towns in the future.
Thanks Carie…you’re one of my oldest neighbors and still one of my favorites ☺️.
Ebron, thanks enjoy having you as a neighbor also. I played the game without neighbors for the first year after I found the game. Neighbors make this game more enjoyable. Designing and the animation of the characters is what keeps me playing it. 🌝
Real fun article. It’s cool to see what others are doing with design. Gives some new inspiration too!
Feel free to have a look at my town, and let me know what you think (and as some extra motivation: I have a relatively big momorail ;))
Love that you’re doing this. Always great to see great designs. Although, I already see Ebron’s on a daily basis so I’m waiting for one I haven’t to blow me away.
I’ll formally submit mine soon but I got a few gaping holes at the moment waiting for all this event’s stuff to come in.
My town certainly doesn’t rival Ebron, but I do have “sections” in my town. I WISH we would get more room in Springfield Heights, because it’s not as wonderful as I’d like to make it. But I have sections like the “government” area, the “museum” area, the “school” area, “Houses” area… etc. I have a Halloween Zone, a Christmas zone and a little area for the smaller holidays. When things didn’t fit, I created a “Movie Studio” where the radio station and tv station and movie studios are and then you have your castle set, your japan set, your wild west set, etc. etc. I think my movie section is growing rapidly though with events like these that I might have to rethink and start setting up towns like Asia and the UK and stuff, but for now, it’s just gonna go to the movie set area.
I like the way you think!
I actually sat down with a pen and paper to plan out all the sections and looked up some of the buildings to see if they belonged in a proper area. Springfield Heights is kind of a mix but it’s meant to be the “fancier” or the schools and homes and restaurants and such. It’s also a pain in the butt when I have to move whole sections to make way for new stuff. But it’s the way I like my Springfield!.
Sounds like we think alike. I got a kid’s section, the casino strip, the arena & nightlife district, industrial section etc …
More Springfield Heights land, EA! More Springfield Heights! I now have more museums and churches than I know what to do with, and I’m OCD about color and scale. I need to report to the TSTOAddicts support group. Nope, can’t, have to get ready for Town Tours!
As the add said back in the 70’s “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux” that slogan can be applied to my Springfield design. A lot of my neighbors are ploppers and have felt pretty good about my town until viewing these amazing cyber cities. Oh well onward and upward! If only I could figure out how to place a gondola……………….
I have only just started designing my town. The events take up so much time that I just plopped. Also since I’m new to the game I never had enough money to buy land. Suddenly I realized I had millions of dollars and bought tons of land. Now I’m addicted to building. I made the Springfield heights section the Halloween area and ditched Springfield heights all together. I still need to buy land to build three more areas from past events. This event I have added to my Las Vegas/Epcot center area. Designing is a lot of fun
Oooh Town Tours will probably be my favorite TSTOAddicts feature. It looks like I better get busy so I can submit. I will have to visit some old showoffs for inspiration. I like to have a flow to my design and in some places Im just stuck. For instance my whole airport is in storage but I cant figure out how to incorporate it that makes sense. I’ve never been happy with my Homerpalooza area etc. I’m also desperately short of land in my SH area , I’m having to evict businesses as new content comes in that clearly belongs in SH ie. the auction house. Im glad I didn’t seal off my International area or I’d be in big trouble now. But enough about me and my design woes!
Of course Ebron is the Gold standard! I too stole some of the water design layering Patric. I predict Tapebelt is next. I have a few others I’d like nominate myself but someone’s name is slipping my mind, so I’ll come back to that.
Yes, I have discarded some plopper neighbors for that very reason, however some plopper types are very useful. I have two completionist neighbors, but Sonicboi is a designer so I know if I want to see something I’ll probably have to hunt for it. If I’m trying to decide on some new, limited time, premium content, I’m going to cruise to my other completionist, plopper neighbor where I can easily check out scale and color to see if I want to add it to my own Springfield. Another neighbor is a farmer and a $ accumulator with just a small road section for characters. But I frequently head there right away because I know I can find 3 of whatever I’m hunting right away and have a good chance of what I’m dropping off will be picked up. So ploppers, take heart- you can have great value as neighbors too.
A couple questions Patric, you are clearly making your own videos so I assume you are friending submitters to see their towns. It would seem people are petioning their own submissions through email. As of now, I haven’t even bothered to learn to screen shot since I changed tablets, let alone make a video, but my town needs work first anyway. However, I have had some neighbors who have had fantastic, creative, whimsical designs who have sadly stopped playing. Rather than delete them, I have hidden them from my friends list. How about an ‘In Memorium Honorable Mention” screen shot section? Would something like that be possible?
And when I am ready, what is the best way to put in my own submission?
TY- Sarah.
PS apologies to all you grammar purists cringing that I start my sentences with prepositions sometimes etc. Even though I coached English, I’m a little Samuel Clemens, a little ee cummings. Whatever is expedient.
Tapebelt is one of my neighbors too & has the most amazing town I’ve ever seen. Since they’ve been one of my neighbors I’ve literally spent hours scrolling around looking at everything! They’ve even created hillsides behind some houses. I sure hope Tape doesn’t mind us posting about this here… 🤔 RachelS
Glad to find this post here. Long time player and visitor to this site. Everything Patric stated about designing a livable Springfield is what drives me and has kept me interested in this game (even when they give us weird non livable items like from the Wastelands section). I have too many non playing friends and “Ploppers” so I’m looking for those designers like myself that find real enjoyment from this game. Look for me as bongobrun71.
Hey, thanks so much for adding me (Mi33_Conduct)! Love your town! I think your squidport is amazing, love the chocolate area, the buildings go really well together and you’ve done really well using the dam and waterfall to create a nature point up high. I’m sure I will see other things that I really love as I explore your town in more detail. It’s so nice to see towns that have thought behind them. Thanks again!
Glad to find this post here. Long time player and visitor to this site. Everything Patric stated about designing a livable Springfield is what drives me and has kept me interested in this game (even when they give us weird non livable items like from the Wastelands section). I have too many non playing friends and “Ploppers” so I’m looking for those designers like myself that find real enjoyment from this game. Look for me as bongobrun71.
Super fun post! I love seeing other folks’ towns.
Hi everybody…been overwhelmed (in a good way) with neighbor requests…22 at last count…but I have only 2 spots left. If you are a serious designer, please make a request on the ‘add me’ page with your id and I will add you if I can. If any of my current neighbors are not regular visitors and are willing to dump me, please feel free to do so…you won’t hurt my feelings and you can make a space for another tapper. Thanks for all the requests, I’ll try to get as many as I can added to the neighborhood.
I am so glad I beat the rush… 😉
Hey Enbron, wow ur town is nothing of what I have seen ever. I have taken some inspiration from your town to make mine look better 😂 I was wondering if you had a YouTube account so that you could show off some of your town since I don’t have you as a neighbor. Although I did send a request my name is cookie5869. If nothing of this is possible I am still appreciated that you looked at me comment. x
Sorry, no youtube acct, but I’m thinking of starting back with Flickr (I know, pretty old school…but I’m old, so it’s ok🤫). There is a TSTO page there already, so will probably add to that album..check it out😄.
Thanks will do x