4t2 Crystal Creations Edits + Books & Things
I'm on a mission to make my favorite objects more usable for my own decorating style, and I thought I'd share some things I've made plus a few 4t2 conversions.
Brace yourselves--long post and lots of stuff to download below the cut!
First up, the Athenaeum Bookcases:
Every time I went to place these bookcases, I felt that there was too much negative space. So I added a shelf to the master, filled it with more books, and changed the slot placement. I separated the ladder and books from the second shelf and made a different set that I think works better for making walls covered with books.
Athenaeum Shelves Pair (left) and Master Athenaeum Bookcase Master (right)
Here's how the slots go:
Lots of objects fit in the them!
But while Sims 2 objects have relatively standard sizes and fit in slots sized this way, 4t2 conversions are oversized by approximately 10-15%. Am I the only one who's noticed this size difference?? Which brings me to the crystalline vivarium--I resized and included it. I did test other 4t2 objects not resized, and lots still fit.
Crystalline Vivarium (resized)
While I was at it, I made more shelves! A single tile filled with books, and an empty one.
Athenaeum Shelves Empty (left) and Athenaeum Shelves With Books (right)
And here's the separated ladder with slots so you can place even more books on it! Slots are slightly offset from center in an alternating pattern. I think this makes for better decorating. I've needed a decorative ladder too so i was really happy with this.
The books originally on the ladder are now separate and included.
All Athenaeum add-ons shown are repo'd to the included master file and its recolors. You will need my master file for this set to work because I changed the textures to accommodate the extra shelves and separate objects.
Athenaeum Bookcases and Crystalline Vivarium were originally from this set by @tvickiesims.
After making all these objects, i removed the Athenaeum Ladder Bookcase from my game. If you keep it and also have my master file, it will look weird because of how I altered the textures for more shelves.
2. Tufted Loveseat Add-ons:
The Crystal Creations set comes with a loveseat, but I found sofa and armchair add-ons in @anachrosims' Dark Academia Part 3 set, so I converted the meshes to TS2.
They are repo'd to the Tufted Loveseat.
I made my own recolors of the Tufted Loveseat and merged them with the mesh. It's included if you want them. (Armchair and sofa will still work with the original Tufted Loveseat from Tvickiesims' set linked above if you don't want the version with my recolors.)
3. Rugs
I was inspired by Anachrosims' set, so I made some recolors of TS4's Fleur-de-lis Area Rug and put them on the IKEA Uldum mesh.
Shown here on one of hafiseazale's Ikea ULDUM Rug Add-Ons
4. 4t2 Books and Edits
->Pen Your Point Stationary 4t2 originally by Anachrosims
This is essentially a resized and separated piece from The Protector in this set by @lordcrumps. It has all the original colors, deco only. I didn't repo it because I don't have that object in my game.
->Tomestack 4t2 originally by Anachrosims
The Tomestack has my retextures of The Pile from the 4t2 Booknook Kit by Tvickiesims. Slots are on top of each pile!
If you'd like my new textures on The Pile mesh as well, I've included the file. GUID is unchanged, and mine replaces the original mesh and its recolors, so make sure to remove the original Pile file if you have it. I did my best to remove texture crunchy-ness on the pages.
->The Taller Pile and The Shorter Pile (add-ons)
Original The Pile (far left) The Shorter Pile in (middle), and The Taller Pile (far right). The Shorter Pile has its textures repo'd to original Pile. I needed more variety in the taller one, so it is NOT repo'd and has my textures.
There are slots on top of all, meaning you can now get a lot of variety in book stack height! There is a trick to stacking them indefinitely--you have to start with the stack you want on top first. Place it onto the one you want below it. Once you have two together, place them onto a third, then place the set of three on top of a fourth, and so on.
->Buzz of Desire Bookset 4t2 from The Bridgerton Bundle
I edited the pages on this recolor to be a tad less obnoxious, but left the rest as is.
->4t2 Books Retextured + Recolors
From another set of conversions by Tvickiesims: the Functional Book Piles set.
Base Game Books
R1-R3 are included in the BG Books replacement file with the mesh. 1-5 are additional, separate recolors I made. I spent way too long trying to get the textures nicer than they were but I love these books now😊 I also added a slot on top of them!
Gently Used
These were a smaller version of the BG Books, so I messed with them too.
Again, R1-R3 are included in the Gently Used replacement file with the mesh. 1-3 are additional, separate recolors. They have a slot on top too.
All books were cloned from one of Tvickiesims' functional book piles, so they all function like bookcases. They can be placed on coffee tables, dining tables, desks, counters, shelves, and the floor and still function.
Important: I edited the UV maps for both of these meshes so my recolors will look weird if you don't have my meshes! (They're included.)
I think that's it! These were all projects I did to practice retexturing and meshing, so please let me know if you see any issues or have any questions! I try to meticulously check my work, but sometimes I think I stare at these things too long and could have missed something. If there's a gap in a mesh or weird shadows, please let me know! I won't be offended because I see someone pointing out a mistake to me as a sign of respect. A scholarly sort of thing--so I can improve.
DOWNLOAD ALL (Mediafire)
Swatches included, everything labeled as best as I can.
