Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
These days TSTO seems to be all about the downtime. That dreaded word so many long-time players hate to see. Let’s face it, these days even when there’s an event (or mini-event) going on there’s still LOADS of downtime in TSTO. It’s funny because we used to crave downtime because the events were so intense we wanted time to figure out what to do with the items. With event tasks becoming more mundane with every update, it can leave some Tappers frustrated at the shell of what TSTO used to be.
This game used to spark ingenuity, creativity, and fun with players. If we wanted a design, or particular “look”, in Springfield we had to think of creative ways to make it happen, as we weren’t just given the item. Things like drive-ins, parking garages, skyscrapers, and more…now they’re a staple in the game, but “back in the day” we used to have to come up with creative 3D designs to make these ideas come to life in our town.
It’s time to go back and see if we can reignite that creative TSTO spark for many of us…and bring back the reasons many of us fell in love with this game in the first place.
Over the next few weeks (or months), as time allows I’m going to be going back into our archives and breathing new life into design posts from 5-6 years ago. Ideas to get the “creative juices” flowing. Or, as Patric might say, this is my own version of DID…
Let’s start at the very beginning…because it’s a very good place to start. Back in 2013, (I still can’t believe I’ve been doing this for that long…) I wrote a post about Building a Better Springfield, and tips you could use to help build your very best Springfield. One of the first tips I gave was about the Neighborhoods in Springfield:
It’s All Good In The Hood: Consider The Neighborhood
House farming does have its perks, if you do it right. While I’m not a house farmer myself (come on EA give us more houses!) I do have neighbors who are. When done right house farming can make your Springfield look like it has nice neighborhoods where people would want to live. Don’t just stick houses here and there around Springfield, and don’t stack them all up on top of each other either. Consider your placement of each house, and how it will fit in a neighborhood setting.
Tip: Keep all of the ‘special houses’ together (Flanders, Simpsons, Wiggum, Skinner, etc) and keep the other houses together, in multiple number (Purple House, White House, Brown House, etc).
Even though house farms aren’t all that popular these days, I’m still a big fan of Residential Neighborhoods in TSTO. When I design my Springfield I always picture myself as a resident in my town, and how I would want/expect things to look. This applies to houses as well.
Think about how houses are in most towns. Houses aren’t just stuck here and there around a town. In real life, houses are generally built up to make residential neighborhoods. Of course, there are exceptions to this of course, in particular, if you live in the country. BUT for the most part, in real life neighborhoods exist. You generally have a neighbor next to you.
And, In real life, or at least where I grew up, houses face each other. You have 2 sided streets & cul-de-sacs. Places that feel like a neighborhood, and not just a row of houses.
One of my biggest pet peeves in TSTO is the inability to rotate buildings 360°. Even more frustrating, the inability to rotate 360° means you can’t make double-sided streets in your neighborhoods, which in turn means you can’t really create realistic-looking neighborhoods in TSTO.
However, there is a way to still create these realistic neighborhoods in TSTO despite not having 360° rotation. It just takes a little TSTO trickery, in the form of clever tree (and other object) placements. If you aren’t already doing this in your Springfield, here’s how you can create these realistic double-sided streets in your TSTO….
First up, you’ll want to line a series of houses on either side of the street like you normally would.
I’ve found that the houses that work best for this design are the ones I have shown here, (although you’ll see further down I switched out the purple house for the Wiggum house because the driveway on the purple house creates some issues). Any of the other houses make it difficult to hide the front side of the house to create the 2-sided street illusion.
Next, you’ll want to use pine trees to cover up the front side of the houses, to create the 2-sided street illusion.
Personally, I’ve found that the $135 trees work the best because of their size, but you can use a combination of any of the trees you’d like as long as they fully cover the doors and garages.
Then, simply start placing the trees to cover up the doors, windows & garages.
Play around with it a little bit, see what works best for your design. You don’t have to completely cover it, just cover it enough so it no longer looks like the front of the house. 
Finally decorate the houses as you normally would, treating it as if it were the backyard.
So now that we’ve covered 2-sided residential streets…let’s talk about the cul-de-sac. After all, that’s the most desirable home location…isn’t it?
Cul-de-sacs are pretty simple to do in TSTO, as they’re basically just circular roads with houses around them. So start by placing the road around in a circular shape, going off of the 2-sided street in this case).
Then simply place the houses around the road, in whichever order you’d like them.
Here I’ve got the Simpson house right in the center, with Flander’s next to them (of course). I then went with the Cool Brown house on the right side, with the purple house set a little further off the street, using the pavement as an extended driveway. 
And use trees to cover up any doors and windows to give the appearance that the front of the house is really the back of the house. In this case, it’s only the Cool Brown house that needs to be covered. 
And just design as you normally would…
Finally, you’ll want to put some decorations into the little center island created when you made the circular road. In this case, I used some of the Valentine’s Day decorations. 
And there you have it…a 2-sided street leading to a cul-de-sac residential section of Springfield!
Hopefully, that was the start of reigniting that TSTO creativity in some of you…
Thoughts? Comments? Do you do this in your town? When was the last time you worked on your residential areas of Springfield? Sound off below you know we love hearing from you!
Residential Neighborhoods in TSTO, yep that’s me (L-EA-Z-Y even gave Tappers concrete retainer walls so that you can create those Southern California mid-century themed communities 😉 )
Not being able to rotate Homes, Businesses, Decor 360° is one of the things that frustrates, along with Item Limits (and that kinda stopped my Neighborhoods and Main Streets and School Zones – but I’m willing to start over – no nuking – provided I don’t get bounced out of the Game App when editing).
I encourage all to look at TSTO as a virtual zen garden – it’s there for you to have fun creating Neighborhoods and Communities – and let’s hope L-EA-Z-Y increases the Item Limits soon (I miss having more plants and trees and gardens) ☺️
I’m not very creative, but I really love to see the results of those more creative than I. I hope this inspires you creative types to do bigger and better things in your Springfields and then show them off! The things people do to create 3D designs never ceases to impress me, even after I figure out how it’s been done, the end results are just so cool.
~MIB👤
Love your houses facing each other tip! Duh… never thought of that one! In all fairness,designing has always been my main reason playing this game but I just don’t feel much like it anymore. I wish we had more everyday buildings and such for prizes instead of all the creatures and such! Just the ranting of a retired lady lol. Cheers!
I tried contacting EA but there was nowhere to explain my issue.
First I struggle with keeping the game on my phone. It constantly tells me I need to update it and then it take a good 45 minutes to reload the game. Meaning most of theses tasks I can’t finish in the allotted time because I don’t have the time to sit for that long and wait for a download again. Yes I have already deleted the app and redownloaded and also logged out and in. It’s what they always tell me and it never helps. It’s a huge glitch and no one ever seems to have an answer that fits.
Second. I wish the game had cash land again. I have more characters making money and nothing big to spend it on anymore. I never used to just throw buildings in a corner but now there isn’t enough land to do anything with them. Getting one measly token every few months for a spot of land sucks.
Third. I wish more characters could help at the recycle and trash centers to create more options for donuts and more could help at krustyland. Basically I wish more characters had more to do than just throw them on a 24hr job and they don’t add to the game other than obscene amount of worthless cash.
Fourth. I wish there was a way to trade items with fellow game players. Would be helpful to keep the game fresh or if you have enough of a certain item you can sell it for donuts.
I’m hoping someone knows how to contact EA easier than I found and could make any one of these happen. Been playing this game for at least 7 years and I too remember the good times and crave for them back.
This would apply to your first point…
http://tstoaddicts.com/2018/11/14/why-does-tsto-re-download-every-time-i-open-my-game/
Beyond that, the other items are just wishes for the game. Posting those here is a good start, as EA does check in here. Can’t say they’ll happen…as people have been asking for them for years, but at least they’ll be seen. 🙂
Alyssa
I playfully heckle EA on Twitter and Facebook if there is a problem (or glitch) until a tech support listens to me via private message …. I also use both to compliment when EA does something cool! I hope EA listens to what you have to say (you got great ideas to bring life back into TSTO).
@EAHelp on Twitter
https://facebook.com/TheSimpsonsTappedOut/
Nice, will keep the tips in mind, good ideas 😉🌲🌲🌲🌲🏡🏡🏡
Perfect timing Alissa. I was just thinking I would do a redesign to get ready for the THOH event. Should have a good week to work on it.
Nertz….wish i had thought of this yrs ago….before my town became the clusterpluck if stuff it is now! I love the idea of SEEING the backyards! Guess thats why you make the big bucks! 💰
I may have to start a new improved subdivision….hmmmmm.
Hear that loud bang? Its my brain…..😏
lol yea me and Mr. Burns swimming in the money pool…
Excellent, (tents fingers together)
sandytoes74
It’s you trying to will EA to make that vacant Land next to Springfield Heights available (I do it often when frustrated by my “plop and deal with it later” technique of late – cause look at that empty space that we can’t use Land Tokens on). 🤔
This is something that I miss from neighbor events. Remember when events would send you to random people’s towns? You could see a lot of creative designs that you’d never think of doing.
my mind is blown… never thought of this… now I have to redesign my town all over again… dah daah daaaaaaah!!!!
If only they gave us 360° on the houses it would be awesome. It is THE one thing I would like to see above anything else. I’ll take mini events for 6 months of the year for it.
Whoa whoa whoa….Lets not say things you can’t take back. Lol🎃
Calm blue ocean
NicoRox13
Land Tiles you can put in the Ocean to build an Island that you can put stuff on (yeah! that would be nice!)😀
This post reminds me I should move a neighborhood or two from the center of my Springfield to a more outskirts area.
As my Springfield has grown, I havnt relocated or placed Basic houses in the outskirts.