Spaik's Blog

Well, it's still cold enough here to enjoy a heavy coat, but the weather is changing and the trees start putting the first buds forth.

I keep being busy with my job, so I'd rather schedule all the free sets for the whole spring now. I've decided to offer the Sintesi series (one room and two recolours each month) so that those of you who don't have a subscription will be able to get all the matching sets. Thus, the free sets for the next four months will be as follows:

From March, 4 to April, 1 the free sets will be:

Sintesi Bedroom - MESH Set
Sintesi Bedroom Blue for Boys
Sintesi Bedroom Pink for Girls

From April, 2 to April, 29 the free sets will be:

Sintesi Modular Living Room - MESH Set
Sintesi Modular Living Room - Blue REC
Sintesi Modular Living Room - Pink REC

From April, 30 to May, 28 the free sets will be:

Sintesi Study - MESH Set
Sintesi Study REC1 Blue
Sintesi Study REC2 Pink

From May, 29 to June, 26 the free sets will be:

Secure Sentinel Outdoor Lamps
Homespun Banner...less Outdoor Lamps
Round Corner for Steadfast MS - Set

Hope you enjoy them! Silvia

The "Christmas freebie" poll is closed. 143 people took part in it (thanks to you all) and the result is so clear that it can't change in a few more days. Here it is: I'm sorry for the quality of the poll result, but I don't have much time lately, so I just took a screenshot of it :-) So, starting from 9 December, the following sets will be free for a month: Winding Staircase set Modern Balustrade set Modern Floors set The following set will also be free for a month starting December, 6th. Christmas Stocking Set I hope you'll find it useful to decorate your Sim's fireplaces. Enjoy!

As you have probably already seen, I've set up a new poll that will run during November. It's addressed specifically to non-subscribers and it's meant as a Christmas gift for you: I'd like you to choose the sets that will be free during December. The choice that gets most votes will be set free the next month. If you're a subscriber, and you want to vote for kudos' sake, please select the last option I've added and let non-subscribers choose their favourite freebie. I've already made a selection of the most popular stuff I've released, but if you'd like to have something different free, you only need to write it here. Just remember that I cannot set free the creations that have been published lately (for example the new Winding Staircase for AL or the Brick Patio). Anyway, I'll take your choices in consideration for the future schedule too. Here are the small previews of the poll alternatives; since I have more creations available this year, I've included three sets in each choice (and I may also add a bonus, but I'll see afterwards). Winding Staircase set & Modern Balustrade set & Modern Floors set More Grille Half Walls Set & Ambra Staircase Set & Novara Terrain Paint set Secure Sentinel Outdoor Lamps & Blazin Buckaroos Outdoor Lamps & Homespun Banner...less Outdoor Lamps Stare Stepper Staircase Add-Ons & Grille Half Wall set & Cielo Outdoor Lights Glass Half Walls Set & Retro Plastic Hallway & Retro Walls and Floors Set Malva Fences&Gates Set 1 & Malva Fences&Gates Set 2 & NH Ancient Buildings - Set 2

I've been so busy lately, that I forgot to set something free, but I put it right now. The free sets for the next two months will be:

From October, 14 to November, 11 the free sets will be:
Country Modular Stairs and Fences
Round Corner for Country Modular Stairs
Enhanced Perfectly Plank Half Walls Set

From November, 11 to December, 10 the free sets will be:
Rhomb Staircases and Fences
Tiny Centurion Half Wall set
Novara Stone Floors Set

This time it's full of different types of build mode stuff that's been quite appreciated.

As I did last year, I will also publish soon a poll to let you choose the free items for the month of December, as my Christmas gift for non-subscribers. Enjoy!

Yes, it's exactly as you read it! I'm tired of free sets. Well, no, I'm not tired of setting my sets free, I'm tired of seeing just the news about free sets in my blog. So I've decided to talk of something else for once. That is my Brick Patio series: yes, it's not just a set anymore, it's going to become a series of sets. And it's so strange given the way it's born. Some time ago I thought that it was nice to have a few items to make a patio; this is used a lot in Italian modern (and not so modern) buildings, so I see that kind of elements a lot in my life. When I had finished the meshes and tested in game, it came to my mind that one could reach the same result using the "invisible" door-arches by Windkeeper and so I was very close to bin them. The only thing that kept me from deleting the files was that I put a great effort in making them join seamlessly with Maxis walls and I thought that maybe someone could be interested in them. Just when I started getting comments of people saying that door-arches need a tile on both sides, I realized that they couldn't be used the same way as these useless things I had made. I must admit that I felt really silly, as though I had never played the game. But at the same time I thought that if people (that is you) liked them, maybe I could expand on them. I had withheld a 2-storey column from the first set because it couldn't be used with the same arches: so the most obvious thought was to complete the 2-storey set. And here it is, with the matching arches 2, 3 and 4 tiles wide. (ceiling tiles shown in picture are courtesy of Cyclonesue: go grab them because they're amazing!) And then our most wonderful forum admin, Tug©, asked me a one tile arch, and no matter how I made it, it never seemed to look right, basically because the column I had made was off-side, to avoid seeing it from inside the walls, and this didn't go well with a small, very curved arch. So I gave up and made a completely new set of column and arches, exactly as wide as the game walls, that could be place wherever someone wanted them to be without problems. And here's the result. Yes, the optical illusion makes the one-tile arch look strange next to the other, but they are exactly as tall. All the meshes will use the repository and borrow the texture from the first column, so I won't clutter too much your downloads folder with recolours. I'm still tweaking the set, but it will be released soon. In the meanwhile you can enjoy the new recolours I've made, and also those made by Hatshepsut. Hagerks2 will also make some recolours of these soon.

Once more, here are the free sets for the next two months:

From August, 14th to September, 11th the free sets will be:
The Sentry Add-Ons
Ferrara Brick Floors Set
Round Corner for Wooden Modular Stairs


From September, 11th to October, 9th the free sets will be:
Ye Olde Armoury
Ye Olde Armoury - Lightwood REC
Ye Olde Armoury - Black REC

Hope you like the choices. I'm trying to vary the kind of free items and to set free always different things. Enjoy!

I'm still missing the time to update the blog, but I'm updating the freebies, for all of you who can't afford a sub.
The free stuff for the next two months will be as follows:

From June, 18 to July, 16 the free sets will be:
Enzo Dining Room
Enzo Dining Room - REC2
Enzo Dining Room - REC4
This dining room hasn't been all that popular, but it's got a shelving unit with a lot of space to put clutter, that has been very appreciated, and it's perfect for modern houses. As usual, it's a piece of modern italian style.

From July, 16 to August, 13 the free sets will be:
The Spike Light - Outdoor Lamps
Preventek Tri-Luminlight Outdoor Lamps
The Sentry - Set
These Maxis-matching lamps have been quite popular, and the fences set was one of my "best sellers", when it was first published. Hope you like to see it free again.

I'm also setting free forever some of my oldest sets, but you'll have to check in my minisite, because it would be a long list to put here. Enjoy!

My latest tutorial has just been submitted. It's about adding a group, or subset, to an object mesh and if you have a look at it, you'll see that it's based on my Forked coffee table. I made this table, and the matching lamp, on purpose for the tutorial, trying to make un unusual shape, but yet in my own style. And to allow you to follow the tutorial easily, all the set will be free forever, starting from tomorrow, so that everyone can download it, and if it's the case, extract the mesh from the package and try out the tutorial.

I haven't had much time to update the blog lately, but I've updated the freebies all the same.
The free stuff during the coming Spring will be as follows:

From March, 24 to April, 21 the free sets will be:
Cielo Outdoor Lights
Cielo Outdoor Lights - Recolour set
These outdoor lamps have quite un unusual shape, taken from an Italian designer, and are perfect for modern homes or futuristic settings.

From March, 25 to April, 22 there will be another free set:
Modena Pastels - Set
simple walls and floors that look definitely better in game than in the preview.

From April, 21 to May, 19 the free sets will be:
Modern Staircase Set
Modern Staircase Recolours Set
This staircase, together with the recolours, was one of my "best sellers", when it was first published. Hope you like to see it free again. And I'll probably add a surprise set to these later on. You'll have to check my minisite.

From May, 20 to June, 17 the free sets will be:
Altitude Attitude Add-Ons set
Folding Staircase set
Softened Stone Set
Another very appreciated, and unusual staircase, plus some Maxis revamps and some stone floors.

After this period, I think I'll change the kind of free items, just to be sure you don't get bored of staircases. That's all. Enjoy!