The Sims 4: Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff/Lots

The Sims 4: Oughties Big Rapids Living Stuff comes with several custom lots, all of them inspired by either the Dozerfleet founder's past living experiences, or by needs for Sorbet, or by needs for Blood Over Water. Many lots were considered for this pack, but only a few were manageable for re-creation and inclusion by the summer 2020 original deadlines.

Rules for adaptation
Adaptation of lots had to meet the following criteria:


 * 1) Can at least fit on 64 x 64 in-game tiles, preferably with a 1:1 or near-1:1 scale ratio for re-creation.
 * 2) * This quickly ruled out Meijer, Wal-Mart, the FLITE Library, the Ewigleben Sports Complex, and any Ferris dorm that wasn't North Bond. North Bond bends the rules, given it was truncated by a few rooms and included anyway.
 * 3) Must look as period-accurate as possible.
 * 4) * This meant that the Big Rapids Cinema and its attached strip had to be reverted to somewhat resemble 2007-2010 appearances, and that the AMC Classic 4 paint job effects needed to be undone in builds.
 * 5) * Boost Mobile is given a free pass in the stuff pack build. In reality, its large sign wasn't present on the building until some time after the game's targeted time period.  The earliest date for its large sign according to Google Street View is actually 2014 - within the domain of Merre's Echo; but still well after the events in either Sorbet or Blood Over Water.
 * 6) * Anything post-2020 is especially off limits for pack depiction, as Merre's Echo cannot show that version of any location to anyone. Her domain is tied to the life of Merre Bowmaster, so she can only show those she gives visitation to glimpses into Big Rapids from 1983 - 2020.
 * 7) ** Even then, her domain is faint in the years 2002 - 2005, as Merre was living with her then-husband Joe in another state at that time.
 * 8) Residential lots needed to be either already relevant to Blood Over Water or Sorbet based on historical precedent, or else had to be somewhat easily made retroactively relevant for comic creation purposes.
 * 9) Residential lots not visited or visitable in the past or present by Dozerfleet needed to have sufficient internal photography available on realtor websites to make re-creation in the game of a reasonable proximity to the real life house a logistically-feasible goal.
 * 10) Commercial lots within the game's size limits needed to meet similar criteria as residential lots for ease of visit.
 * 11) * Given past visits and existing photos, Whitmer unconstitutional lockdown protocol-era Mancino's was given a pass on strict adherence to this rule.
 * 12) Any building or building interior needed for Sorbet or Blood Over Water that would prove too complex for a full-scale build, would be used in those comics as a series of sets instead.  No full-blown lot build of these buildings would be made, nor included in the pack.
 * 13) * This ruled out the IRC building, the Rankin Center, the old Music Building, the Rec Center, the Starr Building, the Williams Auditorium, the Blue Cow, and Star Shooter's. Szot's was also almost not included, due to complexity.
 * 14) ** Dairy Queen was left out, due to the game not allowing brazier mechanics in Dine Out to happen normally - which was also an issue for the Grillitan Diner pack.

Residential lots
The following is a list of residential lots included in the pack. Please check the articles on each location for expansion / game pack / stuff pack and other DLC or CC requirements for each.

Community lots
The following is a list of non-residential lots included in the pack. Please check the articles on each location for expansion / game pack / stuff pack and other DLC or CC requirements for each.

Rejected lots
Sadly, many other lots were desired for re-creating the Big Rapids experience, only for these to not work out.


 * Star Shooters is more popular with the student body than Szot's, but was not accessible for photography.
 * Lack of workable photos online also doomed this bar's chances for inclusion, as did lack of a proper-sized lot space in the Blood Over Water save file.
 * Custom objects and signage also would've proven difficult to replicate, dooming this bar to not be included.
 * The Blue Cow Cafe was rejected for similar reasons.


 * Both Aaron Stefflin and Meredith Celestine were attending the Music Industry Management major at Ferris in their time period, as the program had come to be known from 1995-onward. In 2019, the program was renamed the Music and Entertainment Business major, and assigned to the College of Business.  The Music Building and College of Business complex, which merged in 2008 with the IRC building, were all considered, but ultimately discarded due to lot size and complexity.


 * The Timme Center was also considered, but scrapped due to having no gameplay purpose in Discover University mechanics.


 * The Rankin Center was ruled out almost immediately, due to its bizarre architecture being deemed too difficult to work with in a Sims environment. Worse, it was eventually torn down and replaced with the University Center.


 * The FLITE Library was attempted in the PS4 version; but this model was scrapped when it became clear that the real building was much taller than what Sims 4 would allow for with its floor limitations.


 * Merre's old house at 617 Ives Ave. was also considered; but it was ruled impractical to make. Not only was the house decrepit and structurally unsound, but horribly cluttered.  With only two brothers and a niece still alive, it was seen as respectful not to show the house in its broken state in-game.


 * Wal-Mart, Big Lots, Meijer, and other stores were deemed too large to be easy to replicate.


 * Also, the other dorms at Ferris apart from North Bond would've all required significant landscaping, as well as a massive lot size, to even be crafted.
 * Brophy / McNerney was quickly ruled out, in spite of its Dozerfleet history relevance.
 * Therefore, sadly, the only on-campus building to get a proper release was North Bond Hall.
 * Even then, it was only the actual north wing of the Glenn C. Bond Hall that got adapted. The game didn't have any lot sizes large enough to include the volleyball pit, basketball court, obelisk, lobby, nor the South Bond wing.
 * Reverse-engineering of South Bond is possible for players from the North Bond build; but with some key issues to address.
 * First of these, is the fact that it will have the same size condensation issues as the North Bond build.
 * Second, there is no road by the south wing's main exits.
 * Third, custom third party bunk bed sets would be required for proper housing of students in South Bond, as only North Bond has single resident rooms.
 * While a later patch to The Sims 4 remedied the bunk bed issue for many players, it would not have remedied the other logistical issues with trying to make South Bond.