TDRS: The Loser Challenge pt 3
Cassandra Goth can't get in and quickly loses interest, but a door-less room is not a barrier for Grim.
He gets strait to work harvesting Cedric's soul.
Alexus was mixing a drink at the time and brought it with her.
That's against the house rules, but she's off the hook for today.
So... drink up.
I decided that it was no longer necessary to keep Daniel in that room. The challenge is over.
I imagine cow plants are quite the helper for Grim. EA must have a cow plant death statistic somewhere.
Go get something to eat Daniel before you drop dead too.
Yep, Cedric is gone.
Grim isn't finished here yet.
I guess he want's to congratulate the survivor.
I don't think Daniel feels like celebrating.
Grim must be offering up some advice.
Disconcerting advice huh?
Doesn't help with future survival prospects?
Yes, it's called That Deadly Reality Show for a reason.
Alexus' passing by makes Daniel realize something.
He's the only guy left and is sharing a house with two cute women.
Swagger time!
[Swoosh!]
Riya's sadness colors her game play. I don't think she is getting much fun out of this.
Lucky for them they can now get a long break.
It's time to move on to the next house.
To be honest, this is all kind of depressing.
I was almost ready to give up on it, but when I think about it, if I burn through this, I should be happy to go back to my original game where everyone is alive and well. I should be really happy to see them all again.
Maybe we will have a game pack or EP by then that will make it much more enjoyable to play them again too.
Status Update
It looks like I will be taking a TS4 break.
I guess I am burned out, despite my Deadly Reality Show.
I want my sims to settle down and start raising familes, but I refuse to do that without Generations.
I'm dying to know what the next EP is, so much so that I really don't care about the next game pack.
The next pack would have to bring something like Apartments, Sims 2 style, to keep me playing. Whatever it is, it would have to be a big feature.
I believe I would be better off buying the next Game Pack and Stuff Packs together with the next EP, if that EP is Generations.
I have plenty to occupy myself with. There is still TS3 and a big library of Steam Games I could be playing. Plus I would like to repair and improve all my favorite TS3 story threads and also refine all the Sims game scenarios I have been dreaming up.
Status Update
It looks like I will be taking a TS4 break.
I guess I am burned out, despite my Deadly Reality Show.
I want my sims to settle down and start raising familes, but I refuse to do that without Generations.
I'm dying to know what the next EP is, so much so that I really don't care about the next game pack.
The next pack would have to bring something like Apartments, Sims 2 style, to keep me playing. Whatever it is, it would have to be a big feature.
I believe I would be better off buying the next Game Pack and Stuff Packs together with the next EP, if that EP is Generations.
I have plenty to occupy myself with. There is still TS3 and a big library of Steam Games I could be playing. Plus I would like to repair and improve all my favorite TS3 story threads and also refine all the Sims game scenarios I have been dreaming up.
I truly appreciate your sharing your sims lives with us. I have been fighting the boredom myself and even having to push myself to get in game and take part in this grow fruit challenge. I have planted the seed so at least it is in game.
Generational play is something I also love to explore in my game and it still seems several things are missing to make 'family life' truly come alive in Sims 4. Not going to lament about the non-life of teens or the lack of toddlers, plenty of threads for those topics.
Go have fun, recharge and hopefully something will draw you back. Preferably, for good this time right along with the rest of us. I really wish they would find the missing magic and pump it back into the franchise. Time will tell and until then, be well my friend.
Status Update
It looks like I will be taking a TS4 break.
I guess I am burned out, despite my Deadly Reality Show.
I want my sims to settle down and start raising familes, but I refuse to do that without Generations.
I'm dying to know what the next EP is, so much so that I really don't care about the next game pack.
The next pack would have to bring something like Apartments, Sims 2 style, to keep me playing. Whatever it is, it would have to be a big feature.
I believe I would be better off buying the next Game Pack and Stuff Packs together with the next EP, if that EP is Generations.
I have plenty to occupy myself with. There is still TS3 and a big library of Steam Games I could be playing. Plus I would like to repair and improve all my favorite TS3 story threads and also refine all the Sims game scenarios I have been dreaming up.
I truly appreciate your sharing your sims lives with us. I have been fighting the boredom myself and even having to push myself to get in game and take part in this grow fruit challenge. I have planted the seed so at least it is in game.
Generational play is something I also love to explore in my game and it still seems several things are missing to make 'family life' truly come alive in Sims 4. Not going to lament about the non-life of teens or the lack of toddlers, plenty of threads for those topics.
Go have fun, recharge and hopefully something will draw you back. Preferably, for good this time right along with the rest of us. I really wish they would find the missing magic and pump it back into the franchise. Time will tell and until then, be well my friend.
I consider the first two or three expansion packs the first act, as the meat of the series is in the second act.
The second act is where my addiction to a sims series accelerates and I am in overdrive by the third act, and pretty much sim crazy.
I never played the original The Sims game beyond trying the base game and returning it.
I was not ready for The Sims.
The Sims 2 had the best first act for me as I am a diehard University fanatic and I loved Nightlife with its restaurant dining and dating game play. The second act began with Open For Business which was another favorite expansion for me. I didn't play as many businesses as I did set up businesses for my other sims to shop for hard to get items. Seasons was another big one. Bon Voyage was OK, but I didn't like so much stuff happening offscreen. I loved that EP mainly for owning vacation homes on the beaches of Twikkii Island.
I am still amazed at how many Expansion Packs The Sims 3 had.
There are so many that each act has more content then the other games in the series.
However, my enjoyment for TS3 didn't take off until Generations added more family play and things for younger sims to do. Pets brought horses, which I really liked. Supernatural gave us a dedicated magic pack, unlike TS2. And then we got Seasons. I was loving TS3 by the end of the second act. I was in overdrive with Act III. I do wish Island Paradise was a vacation pack. I want my sims to visit from the other towns, not live there. I do have the traveler mod, so I can get around that.
The Sims 4 is the first Sims game that has me stuck after the first act.
There is so much I really like about TS4, but it's the absence of toddlers and old looking teens that has me refusing to play families.
I really like my YA sims, but I simply refuse to let them get married because I want to save them for when the game finally does get toddlers and hopefully tweens/pre-teens.
So Generations in the second act is a must for me personally.
I don't expect it will be the third EP, probably the fourth if it happens at all.
If I buy anything before Generations, it would have to be an EP with a big Dating feature like Nightlife had. This way I could let my YAs hook up into couples, waiting for Generations. If not that, then University, so my YAs can get more rounded with some education. Or Seasons, or Apartments. Real apartments, not homes on a tall foundation.
Get To Work is alright, but the interactive careers could not hold my attention.
I did like my sim running her own clothing boutique, but I had her sell it after I became bored with the routine of running it.
I love Get Together and the world of Windenburg. Forming clubs is a great feature and will have nice synergy with future EPs. However, they are not enough to keep me playing.
I have not forgotten Spa Day and Outdoor Retreat, but they kind of muddy the comparison when talking about EPs.
I do enjoy those two, but I haven't been using them lately. I haven't playing TS4 at all and have been playing TS3 instead. I might as well milk it until TS4 has a strong second act.
It would be a very cool thing if TS4 Generations could one-up TS3 Generations.
One annoying thing about TS3 Generations was the amount of activities that were off-screen and hidden away in rabbit holes.
-Prom
-After-school activities
-Boarding School
-Field Trips
I would love to see private schools and the headmaster scenario from TS2 brought back too.
It will be very interesting to see how TS4 plays out in three acts..
@CK213 ~ I always find your posts to be very insightful and this one is no exception.
I am also looking for some sort of fleshing out of generations. Sadly, I have not had an in game pregnancy or interacted with anyone younger than a teenager in several months (and those were accidents as you can't tell them apart from adults initially). This is not natural game play for me since I usually have 2-3 child households and chose one child to focus on as my next generation letting everyone else "go native" and develop based on their traits. TS4 does not make this easy and so I have modified my play to more of a storyteller/character creator.
I love your ideas of Private/Boarding Schools and would like to see regular After School Activities/Clubs return-may be able to add new school specific activites to flesh out the current clubs system. It would also be nice to see part time jobs return for more than just teens, especially elders since it just makes sense.
I am also not as enthusiastic about TS4 as I would have expected. I hold out hope they will finally listen to their players and give us more substantial additions going forward. I'm not looking for a complete rehash of TS3 (where's the fun in that) but there are always themes that reappear in each rendition in their own unique way.
Patch: Improved Graphics
I wanted to show shadows through the day, so I have a lot of pics.
It was past 3 in the morning when I went into the game, so I probably missed any good moon shadows.
Some of my shadows look really jagged, but this is a really nice improvement to the graphics.
Now I will probably start designing houses that create nice sun and shadows effects in the home.
Patch: Gender Bending
No controversy here, I really like this.
I have a lot more options now, I am using them lightly here.
I think Olivia is the girliest of my female sims, who better to try out the male content?
I really like the male hairstyles on her even though I don't use EA hair much.
This really isn't her style, but I can see this for other females and would probably be harder to pull off with just female clothes.
She's reminding of Ellen Degeneres for some reason.
This isn't Olivia.
I probably won't make male Divas, unless an EP comes along that just screams make a male Diva, but I did give an effeminate male a try.
I didn't spend a lot of time on him, but I think my approach will be to give him a feminine body and tweak it to be a little more masculine.
Giving him the female voices and walks didn't feel right to me.
I went for a higher pitched male voice, but avoided making him sound like a Smurf.
I opted for the normal walk.
I have more experimenting to do before I add one to my group of sims.
Are your settings on ultra high? I put mine on high and still saw a difference in the lighting. I would love to play on ultra high but my laptop would so freeze up.
About to go hop in game to test out these changes myself. Thank you for the preview and for all the great pictures of what to expect from the new shadows. I have to say, this is a very nice improvement indeed.
Hey CK! Making my first post on the new forum lol I didn't buy the sims 4 due to the lack of toddlers and the general feeling that it wouldn't be my thing. However, just wanted to let you know that i re-read your Generations thread over the last few days to get me through my exams and it brought back so many memories! It gets better every time. Just wondering if you have played them recently and if so how they are? I'm about to re-read University too!
Hey CK! Making my first post on the new forum lol I didn't buy the sims 4 due to the lack of toddlers and the general feeling that it wouldn't be my thing. However, just wanted to let you know that i re-read your Generations thread over the last few days to get me through my exams and it brought back so many memories! It gets better every time. Just wondering if you have played them recently and if so how they are? I'm about to re-read University too!
Hope you're well. Did you ever finish that novel?
Sarah
@sarahgordon
Wow you have been seriously missing in action.
You're AWOL, soldier!
Yes, the no toddlers deal is really bugging me and if it weren't for the Toddler Ideas thread I would have serious doubts if they will happen at all. I still refuse to buy anymore content until I know they will return.
I haven't played any of my Generations or University sims as I was worried about the stability of those old saves and started a new game.
I didn't finish Vael's and Amir's story like I wanted to. I would like to go back and update the University story with larger pictures and also to fix all the story links. Going over to a new forum broke all my links. I started it for my Supernatural story, but it's a lot of work even with my techniques for quick editing.
I would like to read the Uni story again as well. It was one of my favorites.
I'll do it while editing it.
If the next TS4 EP isn't Generations I might as well since I will have time on my hands.
I posted this originally in TS4 General Discussion and I am documenting it here in this thread, so it isn't lost to time. N.E.P.S. Another Simmer Mind State
There is P.E.P.S.
(Pre Expansion Pack Syndrome)
Well I think I have N.E.P.S.
(Nonexistent Expansion Pack Syndrome)
The symptoms?
You have your game the way you want it and you love it.
However, you can't get yourself to play it because it doesn't have the expansion pack features you need yet.
Your sims are great, but you don't want waste your sims on the game as it is.
You also don't want to experience any other content like Dining Out and Kids Room Stuff until you can play your sims the way you want.
So you don't really play.
All you do is check out what the latest patch has added, or try out new mods, or CC.
Or you simply visit the game from time to time because you miss your sims.
You take pictures, mess about...
And then you exit without saving because you don't have Generations, or whatever unannounced pack you desperately need.
This is related to N.E.F.S.
(Nonexistent Expanded Features Syndrome)
There is also N.E.G.S.
(Nonexistent Expected Game-play Syndrome) but, let's not go there.
I think I might repeat game play I have enjoyed in the past. [Another N.E.P.S. symptom?]
Olivia built and operated a clothing boutique from scratch. I became bored with it after a patch ruined her retailing mojo. It was like the game reset her business. So I sold it all off and used the money to buy her house on the cliff.
I will buy the business back, unfurnished, and play it again.
I did enjoy it while she had it.
The N.E.P.S. is strong with this one.
Another visit and wanting to play.
Olivia looking all serious.
But I can't take her too seriously, obviously.
I am going forward with her raising the money to buy her clothing boutique back. She got smacked with a $12,000 bill which set me way back, so she is painting and writing more stories like mad to raise the cash. She needed to get out and party after that.
Ah, poor Melonie asleep back there on the love seat.
I do have a ton of CC bookmarked, waiting to be tested.
I could do that too.
Sooo...
We just got a rumor of a teaser for a stuff pack with more yard stuff and no indication of the next EP...
[ Triggers another N.E.P.S. attack]
N.E.P.S.!
N.E.P.S.!
N.E.P.S.!
Generations! Seasons! University! Supernatural! Metropolis! Farm Life!
I know the game will be so much more enjoyable if I just had these packs.
The wait is torture.
Anyway, Bastet called asking if it was okay for her to drop buy.
Having Bastet over is only asking for trouble, but I like her anyway.
Gonna have to go to her house to make her give it back.
lol hopefully! Love your cat sims btw, just beautiful.
Ceridwen is the prettiest, but Bastet (brown skin) is my favorite.
I'm still not sure what to do with them, but I do find them entertaining..
I hope we get more content that I can use to add to them. A custom trait has helped.
Gonna have to go to her house to make her give it back.
LOL! She's a catburglar...
Yeah, I'm feeling a little bit of that too...both for unreleased stuff that I desperately want (werewolves and witches) and for released content that I can't get quite yet (Get Together). Even with the latest drama, I still love this game...
You are right on the money.
@SimsLovinLycan
You inspired me to send her out for a night on the town, getting some culture.
(Also, I would love to have some supernatural content too. I wish witches could turn their cat familiars into Cat Sims.)
At the Art Museum.
One of my sims has an art club that hangs out here. They are filling the museum with their art work.
Bastet lifting a painting here and there gives them more room for new creations.
It's a win/win situation.
That's something for me to do.
I should get old "Art Boy" and have him and his pals fill this place up for Bastet to get some choice items.
I would like to get her and her fellow catpanions out of that tiny house.
I wish kleptos could skill up and break into homes and closed community lots.
The deal is done!
She bought her old boutique and only has $2000 simoleons left in the bank.
Her next bill is probably going to get her lights turned off.
No worries!
This is Olivia Banks we're talking about.
Ugh! I get disgusted whenever I see this place.
This is Riya's Herbal Shop. I filled it with all her Herb creations.
A patch wiped it all out. Everything she made--gone!
Oh well, back to the house to make more money.
Now... what to paint?
Hey!
I am playing!
Am I playing?
Yes, I am indeed playing... and saving!
However this is still N.E.P.S. symptom #9: Playing a past enjoyed game play experience over again.
About to go hop in game to test out these changes myself. Thank you for the preview and for all the great pictures of what to expect from the new shadows. I have to say, this is a very nice improvement indeed.
N.E.P.S. Another Simmer Mind State Pt.3
Meadow Thayer N.E.P.S. symptom #10
You spend time in CAS making sims that you don't need, since your game is already loaded with CAS sims.
But who knows, a new town might appear and these stored sims may come in handy.
This one is based off a sim made by zuno3012.
I found her by randomizing from the gallery. I thought the orignal sim might make a great Meadow Thayer.
What do you think?
Do you see some Meadow in there?
@CK213 I haven't played with her since TS2 times but I haven't forgotten about her
I no longer have TS2 on my computer but, for some silly reason I deleted screen shots from the last time I played The Sims 2. I only have these shots still on Photobucket, so I can't go into depth on Meadow Thayer. I did play her at the very end of my time with TS2. That's probably why I was inspired to maker her now. It begins with...
Don Lothario.
I was playing Don in full Lothario mode.
But something occult occurred to short circuit his womanizing.
So Don stopped womanizing and raised his alien daughter.
I had the daughter interact with Meadow on one of her frequent pass-bys of Don Lotharios house.
They became friends. I have no pics of that. While playing another sim in University I added Meadow to my Uni group of sims.
Don ran into Meadow while shopping at one of my OFB stores.
It just seemed natural for her to become the step-mom for his daughter.
So I invited her home and eventually had her move in.
And that was the last game I played in TS2.
I never finished their lives. I think I will pick up where they left off, but first I will have to give Don and alien daughter. I will also tweak Meadow some more. I forgot what her YA self looked liked.
N.E.P.S. Another Simmer Mind State Pt.4
Get To Work!
I'm not sure exactly how many symptoms I have here for NEPS, but I will go with 11. Symptom #11: You are desperately driven to get creative in order to build new interest in the game.
And this is a good temporary fix for NEPS until your desired EP arrives.
A question came up on the forums today about the hate for Get To Work.
I replied that I did not like the linear game play. You are basically told what to do and you do feel pressured to do it because your performance is determined by it and you have your list of tasks and a time clock constantly displayed before you.
I was told it was a job, and you are told by your job what to do.
Well excuse me, but The Sims isn't my job. It's a game and it's my sim's job to do what I tell them to do.
So what if I am not interested in playing the way I am told? That's not fun. It defeats the purpose of playing: To have fun--enjoyment.
So It got me to thinking, how could I make Get To Work fun?
Well, I'll just do whatever the heck I feel like and try to make it a more interesting challenge than simply pressing any one of these three buttons (well... the game play basically boils down to that.) It's do this, this, or this. Now do this, this, or this.
So for now on, when my sim go to work, I will be playing them to their careers and their aspirations, their needs, their whims, their skills, and what ever benefits I want to get from the objects at work. The challenge will be to get as many combinations as possible with one action. So If I can contribute to their aspiration, their skill, and their career task with one interaction, that will be a winning move. There may be a day or two out of the week that I focus only on career tasks, but for the most part I will play how I feel and what is the most fun and makes the most sense to me.
And concerning what makes sense...
I hate getting career tasks that I don't want to do, or doesn't seem to have any connection with what's happening in the game.
As in the case where I was told to insult a sim's work ethic. Well that's out of character for my sim and everybody happened to be working hard at the time, so I ignored that task.
However, this happened:
Taking selfies on the job? Oh you slackers!
OK, now I can carry out that work task!
On a side note it was great to see Ling again. I haven't played her in quite a while.
Bladder issue.
They both have to go.
Classic sims.
Also Meadow Thayer is in the game now.
It does get interesting when a new sim hits town. I like seeing them going about their life and having my other sims get to know them.
Hey, Don Lothario! Look at Meadow, all grown up.
Don should remember her from his TS2 days, she kept walking back and forth in front of his house every dang day.
Maybe he should look her up now.
Olivia has her boutique back.
She's not starting from scratch, but she has plenty to do to get this place back to its prime state.
She's starting small, but she will be eventually selling a range of sharp party outfits again, as well as giving makeovers.
She looks like she is having a flareup of her own.
Check out faster, please.
It's great to drop in on Melonie and Ling.
Love that girly walk on particular sims.
I am attacking their aspirations. Ling needs to level up 6 skills to level 8.
Melonie needs to master her Charisma skill, so she will do that at the mirror while Ling works out.
How these two become a couple was a social interaction accident, but I am rolling with it.
I am enjoying Get To Work now that I am ignoring the to-do list when I don't feel like playing EA's way.
I will combine their careers with attending needs, satisfying whims, and going after aspirations whenever and however I can. This way everyday doesn't feel like the same old grind.
Other times, I'll just run the hospital as I see fit and if the to-do list happens to agree, fine.
Okay, that was a horrible surgery, but we will get better at this.
It's great to be discovering what this EP has to offer.
The to-do list and linear play was such a turn off that I stopped playing.
Check hotness?
Oh, I thought that might be a romantic social.
I hope this doesn't get back to Ling.
I have noticed a pattern happening with Melonie.
That's three times.
She going to become my Party 'till You Drop girl now.
And there is still all my other sims.
I found Zane away from home, hanging out here.
What are you doing out here with Kara, Zane?
I only caught them saying goodbye.
"Call me!"
Sending Zane home, I then recalled that he was rooming with Annie Mae because I wanted her out of Oasis Springs.
Comments
Cassandra Goth can't get in and quickly loses interest, but a door-less room is not a barrier for Grim.
He gets strait to work harvesting Cedric's soul.
Alexus was mixing a drink at the time and brought it with her.
That's against the house rules, but she's off the hook for today.
So... drink up.
I decided that it was no longer necessary to keep Daniel in that room. The challenge is over.
I imagine cow plants are quite the helper for Grim. EA must have a cow plant death statistic somewhere.
Go get something to eat Daniel before you drop dead too.
Yep, Cedric is gone.
Grim isn't finished here yet.
I guess he want's to congratulate the survivor.
I don't think Daniel feels like celebrating.
Grim must be offering up some advice.
Disconcerting advice huh?
Doesn't help with future survival prospects?
Yes, it's called That Deadly Reality Show for a reason.
Alexus' passing by makes Daniel realize something.
He's the only guy left and is sharing a house with two cute women.
Swagger time!
[Swoosh!]
Riya's sadness colors her game play. I don't think she is getting much fun out of this.
Lucky for them they can now get a long break.
It's time to move on to the next house.
To be honest, this is all kind of depressing.
I was almost ready to give up on it, but when I think about it, if I burn through this, I should be happy to go back to my original game where everyone is alive and well. I should be really happy to see them all again.
Maybe we will have a game pack or EP by then that will make it much more enjoyable to play them again too.
It looks like I will be taking a TS4 break.
I guess I am burned out, despite my Deadly Reality Show.
I want my sims to settle down and start raising familes, but I refuse to do that without Generations.
I'm dying to know what the next EP is, so much so that I really don't care about the next game pack.
The next pack would have to bring something like Apartments, Sims 2 style, to keep me playing. Whatever it is, it would have to be a big feature.
I believe I would be better off buying the next Game Pack and Stuff Packs together with the next EP, if that EP is Generations.
I have plenty to occupy myself with. There is still TS3 and a big library of Steam Games I could be playing. Plus I would like to repair and improve all my favorite TS3 story threads and also refine all the Sims game scenarios I have been dreaming up.
I truly appreciate your sharing your sims lives with us. I have been fighting the boredom myself and even having to push myself to get in game and take part in this grow fruit challenge. I have planted the seed so at least it is in game.
Generational play is something I also love to explore in my game and it still seems several things are missing to make 'family life' truly come alive in Sims 4. Not going to lament about the non-life of teens or the lack of toddlers, plenty of threads for those topics.
Go have fun, recharge and hopefully something will draw you back. Preferably, for good this time right along with the rest of us. I really wish they would find the missing magic and pump it back into the franchise. Time will tell and until then, be well my friend.
Thanks.
I'm back to TS3 for now. My sims are preparing to have children and I'm looking at traits according to birth order theory. It should be a fun experiment to see how I like it.
http://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/14704682/#Comment_14704682
I consider the first two or three expansion packs the first act, as the meat of the series is in the second act.
The second act is where my addiction to a sims series accelerates and I am in overdrive by the third act, and pretty much sim crazy.
I never played the original The Sims game beyond trying the base game and returning it.
I was not ready for The Sims.
The Sims 2 had the best first act for me as I am a diehard University fanatic and I loved Nightlife with its restaurant dining and dating game play. The second act began with Open For Business which was another favorite expansion for me. I didn't play as many businesses as I did set up businesses for my other sims to shop for hard to get items. Seasons was another big one. Bon Voyage was OK, but I didn't like so much stuff happening offscreen. I loved that EP mainly for owning vacation homes on the beaches of Twikkii Island.
I am still amazed at how many Expansion Packs The Sims 3 had.
There are so many that each act has more content then the other games in the series.
However, my enjoyment for TS3 didn't take off until Generations added more family play and things for younger sims to do. Pets brought horses, which I really liked. Supernatural gave us a dedicated magic pack, unlike TS2. And then we got Seasons. I was loving TS3 by the end of the second act. I was in overdrive with Act III. I do wish Island Paradise was a vacation pack. I want my sims to visit from the other towns, not live there. I do have the traveler mod, so I can get around that.
The Sims 4 is the first Sims game that has me stuck after the first act.
There is so much I really like about TS4, but it's the absence of toddlers and old looking teens that has me refusing to play families.
I really like my YA sims, but I simply refuse to let them get married because I want to save them for when the game finally does get toddlers and hopefully tweens/pre-teens.
So Generations in the second act is a must for me personally.
I don't expect it will be the third EP, probably the fourth if it happens at all.
If I buy anything before Generations, it would have to be an EP with a big Dating feature like Nightlife had. This way I could let my YAs hook up into couples, waiting for Generations. If not that, then University, so my YAs can get more rounded with some education. Or Seasons, or Apartments. Real apartments, not homes on a tall foundation.
Get To Work is alright, but the interactive careers could not hold my attention.
I did like my sim running her own clothing boutique, but I had her sell it after I became bored with the routine of running it.
I love Get Together and the world of Windenburg. Forming clubs is a great feature and will have nice synergy with future EPs. However, they are not enough to keep me playing.
I have not forgotten Spa Day and Outdoor Retreat, but they kind of muddy the comparison when talking about EPs.
I do enjoy those two, but I haven't been using them lately. I haven't playing TS4 at all and have been playing TS3 instead. I might as well milk it until TS4 has a strong second act.
It would be a very cool thing if TS4 Generations could one-up TS3 Generations.
One annoying thing about TS3 Generations was the amount of activities that were off-screen and hidden away in rabbit holes.
-Prom
-After-school activities
-Boarding School
-Field Trips
I would love to see private schools and the headmaster scenario from TS2 brought back too.
It will be very interesting to see how TS4 plays out in three acts..
I am also looking for some sort of fleshing out of generations. Sadly, I have not had an in game pregnancy or interacted with anyone younger than a teenager in several months (and those were accidents as you can't tell them apart from adults initially). This is not natural game play for me since I usually have 2-3 child households and chose one child to focus on as my next generation letting everyone else "go native" and develop based on their traits. TS4 does not make this easy and so I have modified my play to more of a storyteller/character creator.
I love your ideas of Private/Boarding Schools and would like to see regular After School Activities/Clubs return-may be able to add new school specific activites to flesh out the current clubs system. It would also be nice to see part time jobs return for more than just teens, especially elders since it just makes sense.
I am also not as enthusiastic about TS4 as I would have expected. I hold out hope they will finally listen to their players and give us more substantial additions going forward. I'm not looking for a complete rehash of TS3 (where's the fun in that) but there are always themes that reappear in each rendition in their own unique way.
Still waiting of for the "WOW!".
I wanted to show shadows through the day, so I have a lot of pics.
It was past 3 in the morning when I went into the game, so I probably missed any good moon shadows.
Some of my shadows look really jagged, but this is a really nice improvement to the graphics.
Now I will probably start designing houses that create nice sun and shadows effects in the home.
Seeking a Cure for PSC
From Lifehack.org - 20 Things About Highly Creative People
Simblr
No lighting mods.
My feelings for TS4 graphics just got a huge boost.
No controversy here, I really like this.
I have a lot more options now, I am using them lightly here.
I think Olivia is the girliest of my female sims, who better to try out the male content?
I really like the male hairstyles on her even though I don't use EA hair much.
This really isn't her style, but I can see this for other females and would probably be harder to pull off with just female clothes.
She's reminding of Ellen Degeneres for some reason.
This isn't Olivia.
I probably won't make male Divas, unless an EP comes along that just screams make a male Diva, but I did give an effeminate male a try.
I didn't spend a lot of time on him, but I think my approach will be to give him a feminine body and tweak it to be a little more masculine.
Giving him the female voices and walks didn't feel right to me.
I went for a higher pitched male voice, but avoided making him sound like a Smurf.
I opted for the normal walk.
I have more experimenting to do before I add one to my group of sims.
Hope you're well. Did you ever finish that novel?
Sarah
@sarahgordon
Wow you have been seriously missing in action.
You're AWOL, soldier!
Yes, the no toddlers deal is really bugging me and if it weren't for the Toddler Ideas thread I would have serious doubts if they will happen at all. I still refuse to buy anymore content until I know they will return.
I haven't played any of my Generations or University sims as I was worried about the stability of those old saves and started a new game.
I didn't finish Vael's and Amir's story like I wanted to. I would like to go back and update the University story with larger pictures and also to fix all the story links. Going over to a new forum broke all my links. I started it for my Supernatural story, but it's a lot of work even with my techniques for quick editing.
I would like to read the Uni story again as well. It was one of my favorites.
I'll do it while editing it.
If the next TS4 EP isn't Generations I might as well since I will have time on my hands.
N.E.P.S. Another Simmer Mind State
There is P.E.P.S.
(Pre Expansion Pack Syndrome)
Well I think I have N.E.P.S.
(Nonexistent Expansion Pack Syndrome)
The symptoms?
You have your game the way you want it and you love it.
However, you can't get yourself to play it because it doesn't have the expansion pack features you need yet.
Your sims are great, but you don't want waste your sims on the game as it is.
You also don't want to experience any other content like Dining Out and Kids Room Stuff until you can play your sims the way you want.
So you don't really play.
All you do is check out what the latest patch has added, or try out new mods, or CC.
Or you simply visit the game from time to time because you miss your sims.
You take pictures, mess about...
And then you exit without saving because you don't have Generations, or whatever unannounced pack you desperately need.
This is related to N.E.F.S.
(Nonexistent Expanded Features Syndrome)
There is also N.E.G.S.
(Nonexistent Expected Game-play Syndrome) but, let's not go there.
I think I might repeat game play I have enjoyed in the past. [Another N.E.P.S. symptom?]
Olivia built and operated a clothing boutique from scratch. I became bored with it after a patch ruined her retailing mojo. It was like the game reset her business. So I sold it all off and used the money to buy her house on the cliff.
I will buy the business back, unfurnished, and play it again.
I did enjoy it while she had it.
The N.E.P.S. is strong with this one.
Another visit and wanting to play.
Olivia looking all serious.
But I can't take her too seriously, obviously.
I am going forward with her raising the money to buy her clothing boutique back. She got smacked with a $12,000 bill which set me way back, so she is painting and writing more stories like mad to raise the cash. She needed to get out and party after that.
Ah, poor Melonie asleep back there on the love seat.
I do have a ton of CC bookmarked, waiting to be tested.
I could do that too.
Sooo...
We just got a rumor of a teaser for a stuff pack with more yard stuff and no indication of the next EP...
[
N.E.P.S.!
N.E.P.S.!
N.E.P.S.!
Generations! Seasons! University! Supernatural! Metropolis! Farm Life!
I know the game will be so much more enjoyable if I just had these packs.
The wait is torture.
Anyway, Bastet called asking if it was okay for her to drop buy.
Having Bastet over is only asking for trouble, but I like her anyway.
Gonna have to go to her house to make her give it back.
Ceridwen is the prettiest, but Bastet (brown skin) is my favorite.
I'm still not sure what to do with them, but I do find them entertaining..
I hope we get more content that I can use to add to them. A custom trait has helped.
You are right on the money.
@SimsLovinLycan
You inspired me to send her out for a night on the town, getting some culture.
(Also, I would love to have some supernatural content too. I wish witches could turn their cat familiars into Cat Sims.)
At the Art Museum.
One of my sims has an art club that hangs out here. They are filling the museum with their art work.
Bastet lifting a painting here and there gives them more room for new creations.
It's a win/win situation.
That's something for me to do.
I should get old "Art Boy" and have him and his pals fill this place up for Bastet to get some choice items.
I would like to get her and her fellow catpanions out of that tiny house.
I wish kleptos could skill up and break into homes and closed community lots.
The deal is done!
She bought her old boutique and only has $2000 simoleons left in the bank.
Her next bill is probably going to get her lights turned off.
No worries!
This is Olivia Banks we're talking about.
Ugh! I get disgusted whenever I see this place.
This is Riya's Herbal Shop. I filled it with all her Herb creations.
A patch wiped it all out. Everything she made--gone!
Oh well, back to the house to make more money.
Now... what to paint?
Hey!
I am playing!
Am I playing?
Yes, I am indeed playing... and saving!
However this is still N.E.P.S. symptom #9: Playing a past enjoyed game play experience over again.
@rsedorothy
Hi, I have been neglecting this thread. It's nice to see you.
@Prettyweed870
How did you like the new lighting?
http://i68.tinypic.com/fw297c.jpg
Yay!
Meadow Thayer
N.E.P.S. symptom #10
You spend time in CAS making sims that you don't need, since your game is already loaded with CAS sims.
But who knows, a new town might appear and these stored sims may come in handy.
This one is based off a sim made by zuno3012.
I found her by randomizing from the gallery. I thought the orignal sim might make a great Meadow Thayer.
What do you think?
Do you see some Meadow in there?
@king_of_simcity7
Ya got any Meadow stories?
I no longer have TS2 on my computer but, for some silly reason I deleted screen shots from the last time I played The Sims 2. I only have these shots still on Photobucket, so I can't go into depth on Meadow Thayer. I did play her at the very end of my time with TS2. That's probably why I was inspired to maker her now. It begins with...
Don Lothario.
I was playing Don in full Lothario mode.
But something occult occurred to short circuit his womanizing.
So Don stopped womanizing and raised his alien daughter.
I had the daughter interact with Meadow on one of her frequent pass-bys of Don Lotharios house.
They became friends. I have no pics of that. While playing another sim in University I added Meadow to my Uni group of sims.
Don ran into Meadow while shopping at one of my OFB stores.
It just seemed natural for her to become the step-mom for his daughter.
So I invited her home and eventually had her move in.
And that was the last game I played in TS2.
I never finished their lives. I think I will pick up where they left off, but first I will have to give Don and alien daughter. I will also tweak Meadow some more. I forgot what her YA self looked liked.
The TS4 Sim does look a bit like her
Get To Work!
I'm not sure exactly how many symptoms I have here for NEPS, but I will go with 11.
Symptom #11: You are desperately driven to get creative in order to build new interest in the game.
And this is a good temporary fix for NEPS until your desired EP arrives.
A question came up on the forums today about the hate for Get To Work.
I replied that I did not like the linear game play. You are basically told what to do and you do feel pressured to do it because your performance is determined by it and you have your list of tasks and a time clock constantly displayed before you.
I was told it was a job, and you are told by your job what to do.
Well excuse me, but The Sims isn't my job. It's a game and it's my sim's job to do what I tell them to do.
So what if I am not interested in playing the way I am told? That's not fun. It defeats the purpose of playing: To have fun--enjoyment.
So It got me to thinking, how could I make Get To Work fun?
Well, I'll just do whatever the heck I feel like and try to make it a more interesting challenge than simply pressing any one of these three buttons (well... the game play basically boils down to that.) It's do this, this, or this. Now do this, this, or this.
So for now on, when my sim go to work, I will be playing them to their careers and their aspirations, their needs, their whims, their skills, and what ever benefits I want to get from the objects at work. The challenge will be to get as many combinations as possible with one action. So If I can contribute to their aspiration, their skill, and their career task with one interaction, that will be a winning move. There may be a day or two out of the week that I focus only on career tasks, but for the most part I will play how I feel and what is the most fun and makes the most sense to me.
And concerning what makes sense...
I hate getting career tasks that I don't want to do, or doesn't seem to have any connection with what's happening in the game.
As in the case where I was told to insult a sim's work ethic. Well that's out of character for my sim and everybody happened to be working hard at the time, so I ignored that task.
However, this happened:
Taking selfies on the job? Oh you slackers!
OK, now I can carry out that work task!
On a side note it was great to see Ling again. I haven't played her in quite a while.
Bladder issue.
They both have to go.
Classic sims.
Also Meadow Thayer is in the game now.
It does get interesting when a new sim hits town. I like seeing them going about their life and having my other sims get to know them.
Hey, Don Lothario! Look at Meadow, all grown up.
Don should remember her from his TS2 days, she kept walking back and forth in front of his house every dang day.
Maybe he should look her up now.
Olivia has her boutique back.
She's not starting from scratch, but she has plenty to do to get this place back to its prime state.
She's starting small, but she will be eventually selling a range of sharp party outfits again, as well as giving makeovers.
She looks like she is having a flareup of her own.
Check out faster, please.
It's great to drop in on Melonie and Ling.
Love that girly walk on particular sims.
I am attacking their aspirations. Ling needs to level up 6 skills to level 8.
Melonie needs to master her Charisma skill, so she will do that at the mirror while Ling works out.
How these two become a couple was a social interaction accident, but I am rolling with it.
I am enjoying Get To Work now that I am ignoring the to-do list when I don't feel like playing EA's way.
I will combine their careers with attending needs, satisfying whims, and going after aspirations whenever and however I can. This way everyday doesn't feel like the same old grind.
Other times, I'll just run the hospital as I see fit and if the to-do list happens to agree, fine.
Okay, that was a horrible surgery, but we will get better at this.
It's great to be discovering what this EP has to offer.
The to-do list and linear play was such a turn off that I stopped playing.
Check hotness?
Oh, I thought that might be a romantic social.
I hope this doesn't get back to Ling.
I have noticed a pattern happening with Melonie.
That's three times.
She going to become my Party 'till You Drop girl now.
And there is still all my other sims.
I found Zane away from home, hanging out here.
What are you doing out here with Kara, Zane?
I only caught them saying goodbye.
"Call me!"
Sending Zane home, I then recalled that he was rooming with Annie Mae because I wanted her out of Oasis Springs.
Well here is another potential love interest.
"Blah blah blah, blah blah.
Blah blah blah blah blah, bla blah blah bluh. Blah blah, blah blab bluh blah. Blab bluh blah blab bluh blah."
"She's talkin' him to death!"
"Oh no... He's not going to like us anymore!"
"Stop talking for god's sake!"
"Her blab skills... I am in awe."
"..."
Yeah, especially with a cat girl prowling about.
I was playing Melonie when I saw Ceridwen walk right up and plant a kiss on Zane.
Soo...
NEPS is on the wane, but I am not cured.
Doctors prescribe Generations as a cure. ;