Thanks so much CK! I have never paid that much attention to the Behr sisters either, but always liked Candy, seeing her at the clubs all the time. I think they are worth looking into and since I have done a re-eval of my number of sims I was playing, there may be room for these charming ladies.
Yeah, it's kind of sad though.
In my original save, Candy was part of my Comedy Club club, so she was hanging out a lot with my sims when they were young adults.
Now it looks like Yuki will be the one to hangout with my sims.
Well, at least I won't feel like I am completely repeating past game play when my sims grow up.
There will be so much new content for them.
It looks like I skipped through Spring to Autumn very quickly, but I actually got in a lot of simming.
I needed to age up the toddlers in the Brown, Ramaswami, Chen, and Noble families, as well as get the parents started in their careers.
The Brown family still had the problem of an unfinished house.
They were scavenging up all the collectables in their neighborhood, but it wasn't enough, so I sent them to the park.
The wishing well happened to be in an amiable mood.
So I had Darrel risk a wish:
5000 Simoleons.
Celebrate good times, come on!
No more grey walls and floors.
They also got some basic appliances, plumbing, and beds.
Priya Ramaswami lived just down the street, so I had Leah stop by for a visit.
There daughters will be playmates.
I never got in a play-date though.
Before I knew it, it was time for Monique to age up.
Loves skating.
It feels a little strange playing the Ramaswamis.
Riya going to grow up to look exactly like Priya.
I feel like I am playing a grown up Riya who has a daughter.
We are into Summer now, and Bob Pancakes has either lost his mind, or wants to prove he can eat other things besides pancakes.
Riya seems a little freaked out that mommy is eating daddy's face.
I didn't take many pictures, but I did capture a few moments.
I believe I sent Priya out in this storm to harvest flowers, but she slipped on a mud puddle.
And then slipped again on her way back after I decided there was too much lighting going on.
A think shouting a few forbidden words is in order.
Domestic bliss?
Finally, time to age Riya up.
And there you are.
Summer was ending by the time I got to the Chen family.
Grace Chen received an invitation to meet up for Ladies Night in a Windenburg pub.
Since it was raining, I figured why not.
My focus has been on all these children forming friendships, but I think I should have the parents form some as well.
Don't call it a comeback.
This was planned.
I felt sorry for ther long walk in the rain.
Sims needs cars, or a least working taxis.
All these toddlers, and I still have a few more to go.
I am glad to see Ling finally age up.
This moment was so funny to me, as I have mentioned before.
I had such a hard time finding a hair style that looks right on young adult Ling.
I kept returning to the same short hairstyle every time I tried something new.
So, short hair it is.
I moved on to the Noble family by the start of Autumn.
They are on vacation in Granite Falls because Petunia Noble has the Collector aspiration.
The first thing she needed to do was catch several fish.
You guys get to do whatever you want.
They did venture out with her into the deep woods.
But actually collecting something would only get in Petunia's way.
They hung out here.
Yep, roasting bugs is on her to-do list.
Maximus came out to toss a log on the fire for her...
..., but he wasn't going to watch her eat those bugs.
She also had to identify a certain number of wild plants.
Alright, vacation is over.
Taker her home before she wanders off and gets lost in the woods.
Enjoying seeing all of your regular characters growing up . Love the name Petunia Noble! And I must use the shorter hairstyle on my gals more - it looks great.
Enjoying seeing all of your regular characters growing up . Love the name Petunia Noble! And I must use the shorter hairstyle on my gals more - it looks great.
I am so glad I did this.
They are going to experience most of the packs before they start families of their own, especially University. They will also have more depth to their lives with all these back-stories. I will probably have to freeze time until we get Uni. Meadow and Zane will probably make it to young adults while most of the others will be frozen as teens.
Love the update! I had to lol at Priya...poor thing! It started raining when my sim was at her campfire in the backyard, roasting marshmallows when the puddle next to her caught fire! I wondered if it was raining gasoline!?
In my games, I deal very little with toddlers and kids, mostly singles and couples. I have a couple of tots, just to remind myself how cute they are, but don't play them very often.
I'm not too much of a family player but love to live vicariously through my wild sims, lol.
Edit to say, love the pic with Bob...thanks for the laugh!
In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
"Mom, you still haven't told me where we are going. It seems exciting.
What are we going to see?"
"We are going to visit a dream."
"Oooh! Okay. Let's go!"
"This is it? Your dream is the beach?"
"That's part of it, but it's mainly something near the beach."
"Oh, okay."
"I have yet to see it up close, but I think we can get a much better view."
"It's just around the bend and up the hill."
"Oh, coming this way was a great idea!"
"Hey, wait for me!"
"My my, things have changed since I was away at Selvadorada."
"It's blue!
Brindleton Bay Blue. Such a subtle change, but it works. A modern house that doesn't look so out of place in Brindleton Bay. They even changed the fencing and railings to something more common to Brindleton Bay. I knew it could be done."
"Wow! That's a big house!
It is a house, isn't, Mom?"
"Yes. It's my house."
"WHAT? This is our house?"
"Well... no. That's where the dream part comes in."
"We have to come up with the money to buy it. Until we have it, it's just a dream."
"Oh... it's so pretty.. and I really like the pool. It must cost a lot of money."
"Don't become so sad on me, Olivia. You can't let the difficulty of the dream get you down. Dream big.
It's something to be happy about and you can't give up on it. Your father and I are working on ways to get the money."
"Great! I want to help. What can I do?"
"The usual stuff: Get good grades in school, clean your room, eat well, make friends, get plenty exercise, and be happy."
"I don't think that's going to roll in the simoleons, Mom."
"Perhaps not, but you being healthy and happy is more important than this.
Let's go look at the other side."
"Wow, what a grand entrance. You walk down the corridor and then enter into a very large space."
"I like that sun symbol, Mom. Does it mean something."
"It could have many meanings: Life, power, energy, nurturing..."
"I have been tempted to take an official tour of this place, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, not when we are so far away from our goal.
Anyway, let's look at what's on the other side. I have no idea of what's over there."
"Oh my..."
"Oooh... what pretty flowers, and it smells so nice over here."
"Mom? Is something wrong?"
"No..."
"Mom...?"
"Huh?
Oh! Sorry, I zoned out for a moment."
"Ha that was weird! I felt like you had left me behind even though you were sitting right here."
"In a way, I think I did."
"When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary place that I would go to. It was full of flowers and I swear I could smell them. It smelled as wonderful as this place does. It seemed so real to me at the time. It had more birds though. It was an Alice in Wonderland kind of place, and for a moment, I felt like I was there again."
"Only, it wasn't as weird as Wonderland.
Hmm.. let's go deeper."
"Oh! Look at this!"
"Wow! It's so open and full of light when the sun hits it right. And the bedrooms and other private spaces are upstairs and closed off. Is that the kitchen and dinning room off to the side? I bet it is."
"Hey, let's take a picture together of us here."
"There we are, living in our new home. That's the beginning of making it a reality."
"Yeah, I see it."
"I can't let this place slip through our fingers."
"Your father is right."
"Selvadorada is the key to unlocking Brindleton Bay Blue."
Love the update! I had to lol at Priya...poor thing! It started raining when my sim was at her campfire in the backyard, roasting marshmallows when the puddle next to her caught fire! I wondered if it was raining gasoline!?
In my games, I deal very little with toddlers and kids, mostly singles and couples. I have a couple of tots, just to remind myself how cute they are, but don't play them very often.
I'm not too much of a family player but love to live vicariously through my wild sims, lol.
Edit to say, love the pic with Bob...thanks for the laugh!
That was so unexpected. I had to laugh to because I did not expect her to slip like that. And then she did it again.
The lighting is intense in TS4. I was surprised at the crystals left behind.
I didn't check al the food that was lying around, but Bob did make several that I did check.
I had Priya pack some lunches from it.
Omg, I love that house! You sir are some kind of builder! Way too big for my sims, the biggest family I have so far is three, lol.
I think that's what I like most about your updates, besides the pics of course, it has to be the perfect balance of pictures and dialogue. You are a great storyteller.
In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
Omg, I love that house! You sir are some kind of builder! Way too big for my sims, the biggest family I have so far is three, lol.
I think that's what I like most about your updates, besides the pics of course, it has to be the perfect balance of pictures and dialogue. You are a great storyteller.
Yeah, it's big.
I meant for Olivia to bring up the fact that is a bit large for the three of them.
Ann was to tell her that they needed the space for her future sisters and brothers.
Thanks. I try to keep the dialogue light because the pictures are also telling the story and it all makes for a quick read.
I also put the dialogue first because pictures can say lots of things, probably even things that aren't part of the story you are telling. So dialogue first helps keep things on track.
"I also love the ambiance of Forgotten Hollow, Caleb."
"There is comfort in the darkness.
I feel very much at home here."
"You seem to know a lot about us, Cassandra."
"What would you say interests you the most?"
"Uh... your immortality and indestructibility?"
"Uhhh!"
"Hi! I'm Cassandra Goth."
"Lilith Valetore."
"Pleased to meet you, Lilith."
"Cassandra, getting back to what you said before, as wonderful as it sounds, we are not indestructible. I see it as a good thing, because living without fear would probably make a long life quite boring."
"Oh, I see."
"Alright, I will admit that I am only on Volume 1 of the Encyclopedia Vampirica...,"
"...but the book has opened a whole new world for me.
Vasmer Balke is a fantastic writer."
"Cassandra Goth, you get out of that chair right now!"
"Mom?"
"I got a phone call and was told you were here in Forgotten Hollow, consorting with vampires!
I couldn't believe it, but here you are."
"Aww, mom!"
"Don't you... Ug! Get yourself home, now.
If I ever find you here again, four walls will become your world and day and night will become strange concepts."
"These are my friends and you are embarrassing me."
"These are your leeches and I am saving you from being bled dry.
Home! Now!"
"And you, I don't know how you got into her head, but stay away from my daughter, or you may find yourself awakening in chains beneath the ultimate sunlamp."
"Don't you threaten me!"
"I am not threatening you! I am promising you."
"Look, we did not seek out your daughter. She sought us."
"It is you who have to keep her away from us."
"Wow, Caleb, that's one brave woman coming into Forgotten Hollow in a red dress.
My thirst levels have elevated just looking at her. I know who I will be thinking about when I drink. What do you think of her?"
"I think I will be seeing her in my nightmares, Lilith."
Oh wow! Oh boy, is she in trouble now. But it is so natural, Cassandra is a Goth, inside and out and so it would be natural to seek out the darkness. I never thought of Cassandra but it makes sense. I don't pay a lot of attention to the Goths as I played them extensively in Sims 3 and never thought about them in Sims 4.
Great update!
In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
Lightning, thunder, and rain, the perfect weather for Cassandra Goth's mood.
She was still furious from yesterday's dressing down she received from her mother in front of Cabel and Lilith.
Round two started when her mother returned home, but that was nothing compared to being embarrassed in front of people that you are trying to impress.
"#@&#^$! She actually called them leeches to their faces."
It's time to get out of here. She needs to get out there and appear strong to Caleb and Lilith:
She would look weak if she approached them days later like she was in hiding, waiting for the coast to be clear.
Yeah. Risk it.
If she can just avoid walking into her mother while sneaking out...
Wait.
She'd better take an umbrella.
Nobody in the dining room?
Good.
She wouldn't have to go to Forgotten Hollow to find them.
There are other places.
San Myshuno: Uptown.
P.U.R.E. nightclub
They are here. She initially felt a moment of relief, but now she was feeling panicked.
How was she going to pull this off?
Perhaps with just a look?
"You!"
"You stay away from me!"
"Caleb... that little incident yesterday was nothing."
He ignored her. That wasn't the reaction she had expected.
She was relieved when Lilith came over to sit with her.
"Caleb wants nothing to do with you, Cassandra. Your mother made quite the impression."
"Vampires are afraid of my mother?
I know she can get scary sometimes, but wow."
"Our kind have heightened survival instincts. We can sense which people are merely a trifle and which are dangerous.
Your mother is dangerous, where you are concerned."
"In that case, she will become a protector of vampires instead of a threat, if I get what I seek."
"You want to be turned.
That would indeed make her a protector of vampires.
Well, at least a protector of you. I doubt your mother would forsake you if you became one of us."
"Darklings like you wander into Forgotten Hollow from time to time, but few have what it takes to become a creature of the night. All they have are their fantasies. I do sense determination and a force of will about you however. Traits from your mother, I suppose. You aren't one to be trifled with either. You don't want just romance, you want power."
"But this is problematic, Cassandra. The fallout could be quite dangerous to all involved. You cannot be associated with us, therefore cannot be turned and cannot have the guidance that you would need."
"Nothing can be done? No... I guess not. How can you turn me without being involved with me, Lilith?"
"'No', indeed, Cassandra. I can't see..."
"What?"
"Oh, Cassandra... I've just had a thought."
"What? You know a way around this?"
"Oh, this is brilliant! Count Straud will love this!"
"Count who? Will you tell me already, I am dying here."
"There is a vampire in hiding. He is living in the house of a much respected woman and only a few people know what he is. His name is Zane Delacroix. We can't touch Zane, for this woman has something on the master vampire of Forgotten Hollow, Count Vladislaus Straud. For that reason Peregrine house is off limits to all vampires.
We can't touch Zane, but you can."
"Me? What can I do? I'm not a vampire."
"You have yourself and the Encyclopedia Vampirica. This woman is Miss Alma Faye Peregrine and you can slip beneath her radar and teach her ward, Zane Delacroix, the things she will not. I have seen him. He's quite handsome, and I think he will fall for you, with a little tuning from me."
"Use the Vampirica to teach Zane how to turn you and you will have what you want without any connection with us. The two of you can help each other and explore your powers. Just make sure your mother knows that it was Zane if she discovers that you have been turned."
[Gasps]
"Oh my god, it's getting late! I have to get back before I am discovered missing!
But yeah, Zane Delcroix, I know of Meadow Thayer, who lives in the Peregrine house, but haven't had much contact with Zane. Meadow is pretty popular."
"Good. Find a way to befriend the Peregrine household, teach Zane what he needs to know to turn you, and you will become one of us.
After that, your destiny is yours."
"Okay, thank you Lilith."
Oh wow! Oh boy, is she in trouble now. But it is so natural, Cassandra is a Goth, inside and out and so it would be natural to seek out the darkness. I never thought of Cassandra but it makes sense. I don't pay a lot of attention to the Goths as I played them extensively in Sims 3 and never thought about them in Sims 4.
Great update!
I don't even have to pretend because I've seen her attracted to darkness without any help from me quite a while ago.
Apparently Cedric was at death's door due to starvation. He didn't show any outward signs of it.
"Do I detect the aura of Death?"
Cassandra Goth is attracted to darkness like a moth is attracted to light.
I knew you were dark, girl.
She can't get into the scene however. The door has been removed.
Zane is a vampire?! I did not know that! Or did I? (Memory like a sieve...) Cassandra will be the perfect creature of the night - she's more than half way there already Miss Peregrine's a sly one, hiding Vlad... Why?! Does he have something on her?
Zane is a vampire?! I did not know that! Or did I? (Memory like a sieve...) Cassandra will be the perfect creature of the night - she's more than half way there already Miss Peregrine's a sly one, hiding Vlad... Why?! Does he have something on her?
I had to edit the last story for more clarity.
One page 1, Vlad attacked Miss Peregrine. One day Miss Peregrine was lacking money, so she visited the wishing well. She received damaging information to blackmail Vlad, and thus Vlad has put her off limits for all vampires. This puts Zane off limits too as he is under her protection and she wants him raise Zane to be a nice vampire and basically hide it.
Zane is a vampire?! I did not know that! Or did I? (Memory like a sieve...) Cassandra will be the perfect creature of the night - she's more than half way there already Miss Peregrine's a sly one, hiding Vlad... Why?! Does he have something on her?
I had to edit the last story for more clarity.
One page 1, Vlad attacked Miss Peregrine. One day Miss Peregrine was lacking money, so she visited the wishing well. She received damaging information to blackmail Vlad, and thus Vlad has put her off limits for all vampires. This puts Zane off limits too as he is under her protection and she wants him raise Zane to be a nice vampire and basically hide it.
Ah yes, re-reading page 1, I do remember (despite sieve-like brain...)
All Hallows's Eve, other wise known as Spooky Day, is happening in Brindleton Bay.
And there is a spooky black cat outside the house.
Ug, that's not spooky.
That's just disgusting.
Ann Banks is in the middle of decorating.
That should do it.
I like the spiderwebs.
Roger and Ann are going Star Wars. A space smuggler and a space princess, I think their costumes are perfect for them.
They are taking every opportunity to build their Logic, handiness, and fitness skills for their return trip to Selvadorada.
Olivia had a limited choice of costumes, I chose the hot dog.
I've heard about sims just barging into the house to get candy, so I just set the candy bowl outside to stop that.
"Ah!"
Ya know, I thought this thing was funny at first, but I don't think I want a bunch of tense sims around the house because of being frightened.
It needs some mixed reactions and the candies should have different effects as well. They are tense for 4 hours.
I think she deserves some swing time.
I am glad to see swings return, but I wish sims had the ability to just hangout and chill on the swing.
I liked that in TS3.
Ooh, a trick or treater.
I think Olivia is regretting her costume. Spooky costumes are so much cooler.
Her other choice is Yoda.
Well it fits with the family theme. Why not?
It's Cairo Firenze.
Okay, this is a good use for Spooky Day. It will bring sims that can be potential friends for the sims I am playing.
This should be called Trick And Treat.
Olivia offers him the grand opportunity of pushing her on the swing.
The candy bowl has him all tense.
This girl making a slave of him doesn't help either.
They just met and she already has him pushing her in a swing.
Well it's Olivia Banks, she has great expectations, and is destined to be a future snob.
Not horribly so, but definitely after the finer things in life.
He'll be crushing on her anyway once he sees the face under that mask.
Too bad Cairo doesn't have a Lando Calrissian costume. He's a future ladies man.
Okay, this was a surprise.
I didn't expect ghosts to start coming out.
Meeting ghosts is one of the traditions.
Sorry, Cairo. Olivia is swing and run.
And there are plenty to meet.
Hey! He destroyed one of their pumpkins.
What a mean ghost.
They also have a celebrating around a bon fire tradition.
I had them do it at the Ancient Ruins.
That was alright, but I think I might throw a party on Spooky day, especially after my sims have more friend contacts.
That candy bowl will be there mostly for atmosphere and attracting trick or treaters, but my own sims will not be using it.
It is now Saturday and the Banks are using there day off work to build their fitness skill.
Hi, Meadow.
I wonder what I will find when I return to Peregrine house. I'd better check all relationship panels.
Ann has some serious motivation to get rich quick in Selvadorada now.
She's probably thinking about Brindleton Bay Blue right now.
"Mom!"
Yep! Daydreaming about that house, her concentration is off.
I haven't done a Spooky Day holiday yet - must do that. I tend to find the holidays an odd mixture of fun and stress (for me!). I've decided that for families larger than two or three, I need to turn off autonomy for the holiday as it drives me nuts when everyone goes off and does stuff completely unrelated to the holiday goals when I've carefully set activities up that they should be doing! My inner control freak coming out I guess
I haven't done a Spooky Day holiday yet - must do that. I tend to find the holidays an odd mixture of fun and stress (for me!). I've decided that for families larger than two or three, I need to turn off autonomy for the holiday as it drives me nuts when everyone goes off and does stuff completely unrelated to the holiday goals when I've carefully set activities up that they should be doing! My inner control freak coming out I guess
Yeah, it can get nuts, especially if you are trying to take pictures for a story line and the sims decide they want to do something else.
It's complicated because I am playing and story telling at the same time and I don't want to turn off autonomy.
I can start playing my sims now because I finally posted all the pics I have taken so far.
I think I have 4 more toddlers that need playing, so they can age up to the child stage.
You are looking at what I will be playing on my next break from TS4
I have a condition where, if most of my sims are teens and we still don't have University, I am putting the game on the shelf.
I will only play if I want to add some story elements, some other new pack arrives, or if I am simply missing my sims.
When University arrives, I will start playing my sims again.
But most of my sims are children still, so It's not a problem yet.
No Man's Sky is a controversial 2 year old game. It's a space exploration game that had some very high ambitions that it did not live up to. So it got a lot of bad reviews and I decided not to buy it. But now, the developers have updated the game to the point where it is near its original vision. I bought it at half price on Steam. I haven't downloaded yet, because I don't want to get caught up in it until I have advanced my sims as far as I can. Also, it's probably best to play after more patches to this huge update have been added.
I am looking forward to No Mans Sky and it will be the perfect distraction as I wait for University.
I have taken quite a few pictures and was shocked at how bad they look.
I don't have a direct comparison, but this picture is sharper and has better details and less jaggies.
You can really tell when the pictures are full resolution.
[Update]
Yeah, the effect from the patch is on the left.
A Fraps screen capture is on the right.
I don't know if I should stop playing until it's fixed or keeping going and post low resolution pictures.
The perfectionist in me can't bare the thought of putting those images in my thread.
Oh that's annoying! I think they're aware of it from what I've seen in other threads... not that that's a guarantee it'll get sorted quickly! But I think the Devs realise how important our screenshots are to us, so fingers crossed for a speedy fix.
Oh that's annoying! I think they're aware of it from what I've seen in other threads... not that that's a guarantee it'll get sorted quickly! But I think the Devs realise how important our screenshots are to us, so fingers crossed for a speedy fix.
I hope so.
I wish they would also tweak the graphics a bit.
TS4 screenshots look like they were taken through a dirty window.
I edited the above image in Photoshop for brightness and contrast, shown below.
I tried sweetfx and I believe there is another one, but I can't be bothered to fine tune it to get the look I want.
Screenshot looked nice, but my in-game image was so sharp, sims look like cutouts against a background world.
I batch process my images to reduce the size for uploading. I think I will also process for brightness and sharpness too.
But I am not doing anything until this blur issue is fixed.
I don't know if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, (or what it involves or what you need!) but I see them often when I'm shopping for CC on this site:
Comments
Yeah, it's kind of sad though.
In my original save, Candy was part of my Comedy Club club, so she was hanging out a lot with my sims when they were young adults.
Now it looks like Yuki will be the one to hangout with my sims.
Well, at least I won't feel like I am completely repeating past game play when my sims grow up.
There will be so much new content for them.
It looks like I skipped through Spring to Autumn very quickly, but I actually got in a lot of simming.
I needed to age up the toddlers in the Brown, Ramaswami, Chen, and Noble families, as well as get the parents started in their careers.
The Brown family still had the problem of an unfinished house.
They were scavenging up all the collectables in their neighborhood, but it wasn't enough, so I sent them to the park.
The wishing well happened to be in an amiable mood.
So I had Darrel risk a wish:
5000 Simoleons.
Celebrate good times, come on!
No more grey walls and floors.
They also got some basic appliances, plumbing, and beds.
Priya Ramaswami lived just down the street, so I had Leah stop by for a visit.
There daughters will be playmates.
I never got in a play-date though.
Before I knew it, it was time for Monique to age up.
Loves skating.
It feels a little strange playing the Ramaswamis.
Riya going to grow up to look exactly like Priya.
I feel like I am playing a grown up Riya who has a daughter.
We are into Summer now, and Bob Pancakes has either lost his mind, or wants to prove he can eat other things besides pancakes.
Riya seems a little freaked out that mommy is eating daddy's face.
I didn't take many pictures, but I did capture a few moments.
I believe I sent Priya out in this storm to harvest flowers, but she slipped on a mud puddle.
And then slipped again on her way back after I decided there was too much lighting going on.
A think shouting a few forbidden words is in order.
Domestic bliss?
Finally, time to age Riya up.
And there you are.
Summer was ending by the time I got to the Chen family.
Grace Chen received an invitation to meet up for Ladies Night in a Windenburg pub.
Since it was raining, I figured why not.
My focus has been on all these children forming friendships, but I think I should have the parents form some as well.
Don't call it a comeback.
This was planned.
I felt sorry for ther long walk in the rain.
Sims needs cars, or a least working taxis.
All these toddlers, and I still have a few more to go.
I am glad to see Ling finally age up.
This moment was so funny to me, as I have mentioned before.
I had such a hard time finding a hair style that looks right on young adult Ling.
I kept returning to the same short hairstyle every time I tried something new.
So, short hair it is.
I moved on to the Noble family by the start of Autumn.
They are on vacation in Granite Falls because Petunia Noble has the Collector aspiration.
The first thing she needed to do was catch several fish.
You guys get to do whatever you want.
They did venture out with her into the deep woods.
But actually collecting something would only get in Petunia's way.
They hung out here.
Yep, roasting bugs is on her to-do list.
Maximus came out to toss a log on the fire for her...
..., but he wasn't going to watch her eat those bugs.
She also had to identify a certain number of wild plants.
Alright, vacation is over.
Taker her home before she wanders off and gets lost in the woods.
I am so glad I did this.
They are going to experience most of the packs before they start families of their own, especially University. They will also have more depth to their lives with all these back-stories. I will probably have to freeze time until we get Uni. Meadow and Zane will probably make it to young adults while most of the others will be frozen as teens.
In my games, I deal very little with toddlers and kids, mostly singles and couples. I have a couple of tots, just to remind myself how cute they are, but don't play them very often.
I'm not too much of a family player but love to live vicariously through my wild sims, lol.
Edit to say, love the pic with Bob...thanks for the laugh!
"Mom, you still haven't told me where we are going. It seems exciting.
What are we going to see?"
"We are going to visit a dream."
"Oooh! Okay. Let's go!"
"This is it? Your dream is the beach?"
"That's part of it, but it's mainly something near the beach."
"Oh, okay."
"I have yet to see it up close, but I think we can get a much better view."
"It's just around the bend and up the hill."
"Oh, coming this way was a great idea!"
"Hey, wait for me!"
"My my, things have changed since I was away at Selvadorada."
"It's blue!
Brindleton Bay Blue. Such a subtle change, but it works. A modern house that doesn't look so out of place in Brindleton Bay. They even changed the fencing and railings to something more common to Brindleton Bay. I knew it could be done."
"Wow! That's a big house!
It is a house, isn't, Mom?"
"Yes. It's my house."
"WHAT? This is our house?"
"Well... no. That's where the dream part comes in."
"We have to come up with the money to buy it. Until we have it, it's just a dream."
"Oh... it's so pretty.. and I really like the pool. It must cost a lot of money."
"Don't become so sad on me, Olivia. You can't let the difficulty of the dream get you down. Dream big.
It's something to be happy about and you can't give up on it. Your father and I are working on ways to get the money."
"Great! I want to help. What can I do?"
"The usual stuff: Get good grades in school, clean your room, eat well, make friends, get plenty exercise, and be happy."
"I don't think that's going to roll in the simoleons, Mom."
"Perhaps not, but you being healthy and happy is more important than this.
Let's go look at the other side."
"Wow, what a grand entrance. You walk down the corridor and then enter into a very large space."
"I like that sun symbol, Mom. Does it mean something."
"It could have many meanings: Life, power, energy, nurturing..."
"I have been tempted to take an official tour of this place, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, not when we are so far away from our goal.
Anyway, let's look at what's on the other side. I have no idea of what's over there."
"Oh my..."
"Oooh... what pretty flowers, and it smells so nice over here."
"Mom? Is something wrong?"
"No..."
"Mom...?"
"Huh?
Oh! Sorry, I zoned out for a moment."
"Ha that was weird! I felt like you had left me behind even though you were sitting right here."
"In a way, I think I did."
"When I was a little girl, I had an imaginary place that I would go to. It was full of flowers and I swear I could smell them. It smelled as wonderful as this place does. It seemed so real to me at the time. It had more birds though. It was an Alice in Wonderland kind of place, and for a moment, I felt like I was there again."
"Only, it wasn't as weird as Wonderland.
Hmm.. let's go deeper."
"Oh! Look at this!"
"Wow! It's so open and full of light when the sun hits it right. And the bedrooms and other private spaces are upstairs and closed off. Is that the kitchen and dinning room off to the side? I bet it is."
"Hey, let's take a picture together of us here."
"There we are, living in our new home. That's the beginning of making it a reality."
"Yeah, I see it."
"I can't let this place slip through our fingers."
"Your father is right."
"Selvadorada is the key to unlocking Brindleton Bay Blue."
That was so unexpected. I had to laugh to because I did not expect her to slip like that. And then she did it again.
The lighting is intense in TS4. I was surprised at the crystals left behind.
I didn't check al the food that was lying around, but Bob did make several that I did check.
I had Priya pack some lunches from it.
I think that's what I like most about your updates, besides the pics of course, it has to be the perfect balance of pictures and dialogue. You are a great storyteller.
Yeah, it's big.
I meant for Olivia to bring up the fact that is a bit large for the three of them.
Ann was to tell her that they needed the space for her future sisters and brothers.
Thanks. I try to keep the dialogue light because the pictures are also telling the story and it all makes for a quick read.
I also put the dialogue first because pictures can say lots of things, probably even things that aren't part of the story you are telling. So dialogue first helps keep things on track.
"I also love the ambiance of Forgotten Hollow, Caleb."
"There is comfort in the darkness.
I feel very much at home here."
"You seem to know a lot about us, Cassandra."
"What would you say interests you the most?"
"Uh... your immortality and indestructibility?"
"Uhhh!"
"Hi! I'm Cassandra Goth."
"Lilith Valetore."
"Pleased to meet you, Lilith."
"Cassandra, getting back to what you said before, as wonderful as it sounds, we are not indestructible. I see it as a good thing, because living without fear would probably make a long life quite boring."
"Oh, I see."
"Alright, I will admit that I am only on Volume 1 of the Encyclopedia Vampirica...,"
"...but the book has opened a whole new world for me.
Vasmer Balke is a fantastic writer."
"Cassandra Goth, you get out of that chair right now!"
"Mom?"
"I got a phone call and was told you were here in Forgotten Hollow, consorting with vampires!
I couldn't believe it, but here you are."
"Aww, mom!"
"Don't you... Ug! Get yourself home, now.
If I ever find you here again, four walls will become your world and day and night will become strange concepts."
"These are my friends and you are embarrassing me."
"These are your leeches and I am saving you from being bled dry.
Home! Now!"
"And you, I don't know how you got into her head, but stay away from my daughter, or you may find yourself awakening in chains beneath the ultimate sunlamp."
"Don't you threaten me!"
"I am not threatening you! I am promising you."
"Look, we did not seek out your daughter. She sought us."
"It is you who have to keep her away from us."
"Wow, Caleb, that's one brave woman coming into Forgotten Hollow in a red dress.
My thirst levels have elevated just looking at her. I know who I will be thinking about when I drink. What do you think of her?"
"I think I will be seeing her in my nightmares, Lilith."
Great update!
Lightning, thunder, and rain, the perfect weather for Cassandra Goth's mood.
She was still furious from yesterday's dressing down she received from her mother in front of Cabel and Lilith.
Round two started when her mother returned home, but that was nothing compared to being embarrassed in front of people that you are trying to impress.
"#@&#^$! She actually called them leeches to their faces."
It's time to get out of here. She needs to get out there and appear strong to Caleb and Lilith:
She would look weak if she approached them days later like she was in hiding, waiting for the coast to be clear.
Yeah. Risk it.
If she can just avoid walking into her mother while sneaking out...
Wait.
She'd better take an umbrella.
Nobody in the dining room?
Good.
She wouldn't have to go to Forgotten Hollow to find them.
There are other places.
San Myshuno: Uptown.
P.U.R.E. nightclub
They are here. She initially felt a moment of relief, but now she was feeling panicked.
How was she going to pull this off?
Perhaps with just a look?
"You!"
"You stay away from me!"
"Caleb... that little incident yesterday was nothing."
He ignored her. That wasn't the reaction she had expected.
She was relieved when Lilith came over to sit with her.
"Caleb wants nothing to do with you, Cassandra. Your mother made quite the impression."
"Vampires are afraid of my mother?
I know she can get scary sometimes, but wow."
"Our kind have heightened survival instincts. We can sense which people are merely a trifle and which are dangerous.
Your mother is dangerous, where you are concerned."
"In that case, she will become a protector of vampires instead of a threat, if I get what I seek."
"You want to be turned.
That would indeed make her a protector of vampires.
Well, at least a protector of you. I doubt your mother would forsake you if you became one of us."
"Darklings like you wander into Forgotten Hollow from time to time, but few have what it takes to become a creature of the night. All they have are their fantasies. I do sense determination and a force of will about you however. Traits from your mother, I suppose. You aren't one to be trifled with either. You don't want just romance, you want power."
"But this is problematic, Cassandra. The fallout could be quite dangerous to all involved. You cannot be associated with us, therefore cannot be turned and cannot have the guidance that you would need."
"Nothing can be done? No... I guess not. How can you turn me without being involved with me, Lilith?"
"'No', indeed, Cassandra. I can't see..."
"What?"
"Oh, Cassandra... I've just had a thought."
"What? You know a way around this?"
"Oh, this is brilliant! Count Straud will love this!"
"Count who? Will you tell me already, I am dying here."
"There is a vampire in hiding. He is living in the house of a much respected woman and only a few people know what he is. His name is Zane Delacroix. We can't touch Zane, for this woman has something on the master vampire of Forgotten Hollow, Count Vladislaus Straud. For that reason Peregrine house is off limits to all vampires.
We can't touch Zane, but you can."
"Me? What can I do? I'm not a vampire."
"You have yourself and the Encyclopedia Vampirica. This woman is Miss Alma Faye Peregrine and you can slip beneath her radar and teach her ward, Zane Delacroix, the things she will not. I have seen him. He's quite handsome, and I think he will fall for you, with a little tuning from me."
"Use the Vampirica to teach Zane how to turn you and you will have what you want without any connection with us. The two of you can help each other and explore your powers. Just make sure your mother knows that it was Zane if she discovers that you have been turned."
[Gasps]
"Oh my god, it's getting late! I have to get back before I am discovered missing!
But yeah, Zane Delcroix, I know of Meadow Thayer, who lives in the Peregrine house, but haven't had much contact with Zane. Meadow is pretty popular."
"Good. Find a way to befriend the Peregrine household, teach Zane what he needs to know to turn you, and you will become one of us.
After that, your destiny is yours."
"Okay, thank you Lilith."
"Wow, this is it. This is the way"
"Zane Delacroix.. who knew?"
I don't even have to pretend because I've seen her attracted to darkness without any help from me quite a while ago.
I had to edit the last story for more clarity.
One page 1, Vlad attacked Miss Peregrine. One day Miss Peregrine was lacking money, so she visited the wishing well. She received damaging information to blackmail Vlad, and thus Vlad has put her off limits for all vampires. This puts Zane off limits too as he is under her protection and she wants him raise Zane to be a nice vampire and basically hide it.
Ah yes, re-reading page 1, I do remember (despite sieve-like brain...)
Alright, back to Let's Play mode.
All Hallows's Eve, other wise known as Spooky Day, is happening in Brindleton Bay.
And there is a spooky black cat outside the house.
Ug, that's not spooky.
That's just disgusting.
Ann Banks is in the middle of decorating.
That should do it.
I like the spiderwebs.
Roger and Ann are going Star Wars. A space smuggler and a space princess, I think their costumes are perfect for them.
They are taking every opportunity to build their Logic, handiness, and fitness skills for their return trip to Selvadorada.
Olivia had a limited choice of costumes, I chose the hot dog.
I've heard about sims just barging into the house to get candy, so I just set the candy bowl outside to stop that.
"Ah!"
Ya know, I thought this thing was funny at first, but I don't think I want a bunch of tense sims around the house because of being frightened.
It needs some mixed reactions and the candies should have different effects as well. They are tense for 4 hours.
I think she deserves some swing time.
I am glad to see swings return, but I wish sims had the ability to just hangout and chill on the swing.
I liked that in TS3.
Ooh, a trick or treater.
I think Olivia is regretting her costume. Spooky costumes are so much cooler.
Her other choice is Yoda.
Well it fits with the family theme. Why not?
It's Cairo Firenze.
Okay, this is a good use for Spooky Day. It will bring sims that can be potential friends for the sims I am playing.
This should be called Trick And Treat.
Olivia offers him the grand opportunity of pushing her on the swing.
The candy bowl has him all tense.
This girl making a slave of him doesn't help either.
They just met and she already has him pushing her in a swing.
Well it's Olivia Banks, she has great expectations, and is destined to be a future snob.
Not horribly so, but definitely after the finer things in life.
He'll be crushing on her anyway once he sees the face under that mask.
Too bad Cairo doesn't have a Lando Calrissian costume. He's a future ladies man.
Okay, this was a surprise.
I didn't expect ghosts to start coming out.
Meeting ghosts is one of the traditions.
Sorry, Cairo. Olivia is swing and run.
And there are plenty to meet.
Hey! He destroyed one of their pumpkins.
What a mean ghost.
They also have a celebrating around a bon fire tradition.
I had them do it at the Ancient Ruins.
That was alright, but I think I might throw a party on Spooky day, especially after my sims have more friend contacts.
That candy bowl will be there mostly for atmosphere and attracting trick or treaters, but my own sims will not be using it.
It is now Saturday and the Banks are using there day off work to build their fitness skill.
Hi, Meadow.
I wonder what I will find when I return to Peregrine house. I'd better check all relationship panels.
Ann has some serious motivation to get rich quick in Selvadorada now.
She's probably thinking about Brindleton Bay Blue right now.
"Mom!"
Yep! Daydreaming about that house, her concentration is off.
I have to whip these sims into shape.
Yeah, it can get nuts, especially if you are trying to take pictures for a story line and the sims decide they want to do something else.
It's complicated because I am playing and story telling at the same time and I don't want to turn off autonomy.
I can start playing my sims now because I finally posted all the pics I have taken so far.
I think I have 4 more toddlers that need playing, so they can age up to the child stage.
You are looking at what I will be playing on my next break from TS4
I have a condition where, if most of my sims are teens and we still don't have University, I am putting the game on the shelf.
I will only play if I want to add some story elements, some other new pack arrives, or if I am simply missing my sims.
When University arrives, I will start playing my sims again.
But most of my sims are children still, so It's not a problem yet.
No Man's Sky is a controversial 2 year old game. It's a space exploration game that had some very high ambitions that it did not live up to. So it got a lot of bad reviews and I decided not to buy it. But now, the developers have updated the game to the point where it is near its original vision. I bought it at half price on Steam. I haven't downloaded yet, because I don't want to get caught up in it until I have advanced my sims as far as I can. Also, it's probably best to play after more patches to this huge update have been added.
I am looking forward to No Mans Sky and it will be the perfect distraction as I wait for University.
Loved the Cassandra update...Bella gonna be upset.
It seems like the latest patch has messed up screenshots.
My images now look blurry.
It's been verified by SimsCommunity
http://simscommunity.info/2018/08/01/the-sims-4-screenshots-have-become-blurry-with-the-latest-update/
I have taken quite a few pictures and was shocked at how bad they look.
I don't have a direct comparison, but this picture is sharper and has better details and less jaggies.
You can really tell when the pictures are full resolution.
[Update]
Yeah, the effect from the patch is on the left.
A Fraps screen capture is on the right.
I don't know if I should stop playing until it's fixed or keeping going and post low resolution pictures.
The perfectionist in me can't bare the thought of putting those images in my thread.
I hope so.
I wish they would also tweak the graphics a bit.
TS4 screenshots look like they were taken through a dirty window.
I edited the above image in Photoshop for brightness and contrast, shown below.
I tried sweetfx and I believe there is another one, but I can't be bothered to fine tune it to get the look I want.
Screenshot looked nice, but my in-game image was so sharp, sims look like cutouts against a background world.
I batch process my images to reduce the size for uploading. I think I will also process for brightness and sharpness too.
But I am not doing anything until this blur issue is fixed.
http://sssvitlans.tumblr.com/tagged/s4ReShade
And I did see a tweet from a Guru saying the blurry screenshots would be fixed in the next patch, so presumably sometime later this month.