Where to begin... I've been wanting to do this for a while but I was sort of in a slump when it came to simming (Life getting in the way, etc.). I just did a fresh install of the game as well after not having it downloaded since 2017, wow right?
I've been playing TS3 for the longest time but I've been wanting something different and seeing as I haven't played TS4 in YEARS, I thought "why not try it out again with a multitude of patches and see what's new while also try telling a story to?!". I also remember really liking building but back then the lack of CASt was a huge turn off for me, but looking at it now it kind of takes the pressure off 'being creative' if that makes sense.
And besides sharing screenshots every now and then I've never tried telling a story before but I think it will be cool, a way for me to get more out of playing the game.
This is also a *first* impression (since it's been so many years) of the game, different features, things that have been added or removed in the last few years, or just random things I notice.
I plan on doing updates a few times a week, but then again that depends on life. And even if no one reads this I'll just do this for myself as a creative outlet, LOL.
So enjoy... or don't, I can't tell you what to do.
Comments
Let's see who we're working with.
This is Hannah, artsy nerd. Loves music, hates the color black. I plan on starting her on the photography skill and eventually have her start an art/photo gallery. But we'll see where that goes.
Next we have Kole, aspiring chef. Was considering making him a 'bro' but settled on chef. Maybe a restaurant owner in the future?
And last we have Mae, future criminal mastermind. Might have her be a gardener on the side- after all the criminal career is not an active job and I want to be more involved in her life.
Continue reading below...
My attempt at bringing a more modern style to the home, not bad given the lack of funds.
Hmm, issues with shadows? Have to find a fix for this, they look way to pixelated. Not a fan of that.
*Kock Knock* "Welcome Wagons's here". Great
Really hoping none of my sims like fruitcake...
I think Mae found here first victims to complete her Mischief tasks for her job.
Bleh, shame we don't have enough Simoleons to refurbish the whole house.
"Is this really the kind of kitchen you want a future culinary expert honing his skills?" Sorry dude, were strapped for cash.
I feel drawn towards the dining room, we need to do something with it.
That's a little better.
I think for now a career in Business will suit Hannah, just to get her funds up.
Let's see how long it takes for Mae to become enemy #1 for this townie.
Kole ranting to Johnny about the ugliness of the house, once again, sorry dude.
Hannah looks so cute in her blazer, the chunkiness of the hair in this game isn't turning me off a whole lot. May dabble in some CC hair soon though. I need hair that doesn't look so... rubbery.
No money for a TV, this nice art piece will have to fill the empty space for now.
Hannah seems to like it, she does have the Materialistic trait so new things are always nice to her.
It seems like Kole likes fruitcake, you disappoint me.
LOVEEE how the shadows come through the windows!!!
Seeing all the set dressing and knowing I can't go there will take some getting used to.
Early morning chats with the roomie.
Maya's criminal job is a night job so she sleeps most of the day, which is nice. I like having the dynamic between the three of them.
Continue reading below...
Won't be seeing a promotion any time soon.
With Hannah at work and Maya still asleep I decided to send Kole to the museum in an attempt to get him inspired so that way he could begin on his aspiration cooking challenges.
I hate the 'I have to pee walk'.
This place is kind of boring, something I will do at some point is fill it with art that can effect emotions, then the museum will actually serve a purpose.
Yeah, this place ain't doing nothing for Kole.
Kole was at least able to meet some people while there, so it wasn't a complete waste of a trip.
The scene outside was a little different, every sim on the lot was fixed on this wheelbarrow, not sure why, lol.
And Kole had to see what the fuss was about .
This game sure is pretty to look at, shame all theses lots are blocked by a loading screen.
Maya finally woke up, and not in a good mood... I think Kole is the only one that wakes up happy, but he doesn't have a job currently so that would probably explain it, LOL.
With Maya being awake now and having work in a few hours it was time to get her daily Mischief tasks out of the way. And who better to do them on then random passerby's?
A little pleasant conversation, then going in for the kill!
Kole was finally inspired after reading a book!
Time to get cookin'.
Ah, yes; the public bench is better to take a nap on than your bed which is less than 50 feet away...
Hannah made it home, in an even worse mood than before she left.
Bad food definitely won't help a bad day.
Oop.
After a quick nap I decided to send Hannah and Kole out to the local Lounge to Hannah in a better mood and for Kole to meet some more people.
Not caring for the layout of this place. My list of lot 'renovations' is getting long.
Hannah autonomously went to the violin.
Not sure if that's for you girl..
Kole met someone new.
Hannah moved on to stand up comedy, I think this is working better for her.
It was time for Maya to head to work!
I figured it would be cool for her work (Criminal) outfit to be a disguise. She can't be recognized while doing illegal activities.
But the night wasn't over for Kole. Johnny Zest called him and invited him to "Knight Knight" at a bar in Windenburg...
And to my surprise, the Knights did not disappoint.
Thank you.
And one room has a single bed, the other has two singles. I kind of just let them choose where they wanted to sleep on the first night then made those their assigned beds.
I've been playing for a few days now and surprisingly I'm getting used to most of the things I was worried about disliking. One of my biggest gripes so far is how much sims gravitate towards their phone if they don't have any interactions queued. But that's very similar to real life, isn't it?
I finally bought some EP and GP and I wanted to dive into them using some new Sims.
Welcome Piper, Prue, and Phoebe, The Charmed Ones.
(I'm not liking how Piper turned out but I'll make some tweaks to her later on)
A before and after of me editing the house to make it a little more true to the actual house.
Continue reading below...
The living room is beautifully decorated.
Prue will be a collector of rare objects and artifacts. She will soon go on adventures to remote locations in search for oddities to put in her Museum/Art Gallery. This will be fun! But for now, let's read a book!
Piper is supposed to be the chef of the house, but since she and Phoebe went to bed already Prue took up the job to cook for the house. Just this once though.
Prue enjoyed her burnt eggs.
Piper and Phoebe finally woke up the next day, absolutely famished.
Piper woke up in a terrible mood, or is that just her normal face?
Phoebe aspires to be a best-selling author, we will begin that soon! But first you need to channel your inner Medium. We have to make sure the house isn't haunted by any spirits!!
And we're good! For now, at least. Hopefully no one has died on the lot yet. *cough* *cough*
Piper needed to practice her magical abilities, wouldn't want to be caught by a warlock with a low level magic!
I love how leveling up Magical abilities unlocks new spells! Some of these will be very helpful for maintenance around the house.
Phoebe got right to work on her writing.
"Phoebe, I miss Grams so much! Especially lately, I feel like she died so suddenly and just left us... we have these magical abilities but for what? We can't even tell anyone!"
"I know, but that's why we have each other, Piper."
Piper glanced out the window and noticed someone walking up to the house, strange, she didn't seem familiar... And following her a few more people.
"Let's see what this is about."
(I think this is just her natural face, LOL)
The strange people introduced themselves as just friendly neighbors from down the street, but something seemed off...
Prue took a liking to this one, but I just had to make some adjustments...
That's better!
After everyone having some disgusting fruitcake the guests finally left.
"These people are very strange", Piper thought.
Phoebe wen't back to practicing her writing...
"Phoebe, those people seemed weird. It was like they already knew us. But how could they? We've never met them before?"
"Yeah, it was really weird... But all I know is that one guy couldn't take his eyes off of you, and it seemed like you couldn't either!"
But as much as Phoebe was making light of the situation, she had a funny feeling about the whole encounter with the strangers. Or maybe it was just writers block...
Prue decided to go for a walk outside to clear her head.
"Hmm, strange. What's this?"
...
She found a strange crystal. Looks cool enough, let's keep it. Oohh! And some time capsules!
The time capsules contained some MySims figures, Prue displayed them on her bedroom dresser.
That night, Prue tossed and turned. She had weird dreams about the neighbors, some distant realm, and Grams...
She woke with a start! She heard a noise downstairs, but no one was there. All of a sudden she felt a weird warm sensation in her pocket. It was the crystal. She took it out, something told her to try and use her powers on it.
When Prue opened her eyes she found herself in a weird place, somewhere she hadn't been before, only seen, in a dream...
"What is this place?"...
A stranger walked over. Prue introduced herself.
"What is this place?"
"It's a safe place for all those with magical abilities. Maybe you should go inside and speak to one of the others."
The world itself is cool, but the building is a little lackluster. We can fix that later.
Prue walked in to the the building, it had a huge entrance.
And who do we see here???? The "friendly neighbors"?!
"I knew they were acting suspicious. Like they new something we didn't." Prue thought.
Prue went over to talk to Darrel, he didn't have much to say, but Prue found out that he was engaged to Emilia.
Don't be sad, we can get Emilia out of the picture soon enough.
She saw Grace pass by. Maybe she could tell her more about this strange place.
"Grace, you have to tell me what this place is, why I'm here. I guess it's clear now that I have magical powers but why was I called here?"
"This place was created years ago by... well, you'll see. You can hone your magical powers and learn new things, as well as meet new people. You're here now because she thought it was time for you to finally see this place. Just go downstairs and you'll see..."
Prue wen't downstairs unsure of what she was going to find.
Prue couldn't believe what she was seeing, it was Grams!
While Prue was shocked to see her, Grams seemed like she new Prue was coming, like she had been waiting.
Grams invited Prue to her living space a level lower, so they could talk privately.
"I have so many questions! We thought you were dead, but you're here. I just don't understand."
"Well dear, I hate to tell you but I am dead... I am able to live out my afterlife here because I created this place. I call it "The Realm"."
"But how? I know we have magical powers, but you must be really powerful!"
"Oh, I am. We come from a long line of magical beings, but we are being hunted and the real world is dangerous. I wanted to create a safe space for those who possess good magical powers to come and learn and be able to defend themselves against the dangers in the real world."
"But there must be some way you could come back to the real world? Piper and Phoebe need to see you!"
"I'm afraid not dear. But now that you know about this place you will be able to bring them here. It's time that you girls were able to access the full potentials of your powers."
"Prue, I can give you a piece of me to take back to the real world so that I can always be there to watch over you. Here, do after me."
...
"Woah."
"Pretty cool Grams."
Grams taught Prue a thing or two about potion making as well, something she can tell Piper and Phoebe about when she returns.
But alas, it was time to go.
"You must go Prue. Tell your sisters and and come back soon."
"It feels likes it's been ages since I've seen you. I'm so happy you're here though and we can talk."
"Oh dear, it won't be long till our next visit, and even better your sisters will be here too!"
"Till next-time Grams."
Wow, this kitchen needs some major work...
It seems as though Prue wanted an outfit change before going back to the real world. And she was a little sad about her departure from Grams.
No time had passed since Prue left the real world, everyone was still asleep and Prue was exhausted.
As exciting as the news was that Prue had for her sisters it would have to wait till morning.
My other stories will (eventually) get revisited.
Something I realized I haven't done, really ever, was play a sim from at least toddler to adult. I either get burned out or just bored. But I figured if I had more than one toddler, then that would keep things interesting, and challenging.
In my game Cassandra Goth has aged up to and adult and after being single for so many years but yearning to have her own family, so, on a whim, she adopted 4 toddlers.
Luna...
Marcus...
Jade...
& Milo.
...and the next, not so much.
My plan was to max each toddlers skills before aging them up to children. It was tough work for Cassandra.
She often put her own needs aside for the kids, which at times was shown clearly.
Right in the mess recently made by Luna...
Now seemed like a good time to hire a maid, and hope they did their job.
"You got a lot of work ahead of you."
Ah, yes, the old 'mopping up the leaves' trick.
Cassandra gained quite a bit of weight through the next few months. Often times she would only have time to eat a junk food before having to tend to the next toddler.
But taking some jogs around the neighborhood and running on the treadmill eventually trimmed her up back to a decent weight.
Looks chilly...
The toddlers, spent a lot of time sleeping...
Making messes...
Playing together, and building their skills up...
Autumn turned to Winter...
And one by one they were ready to move on to the next stage of life, childhood.
.
.
.
Each of the toddlers maxed out their skills before aging up, and the trouble of having 4 toddlers was finally mellowed out when they aged up to children.
I think Luna will be great in the medical field when she becomes an adult, I gave her the Whiz kid aspiration.
Not a good fit...but easily changed.
I noticed Luna usually had a bad temper, I'm thankful for the Parenting skill because Cassandra has had to use it quite a bit with these kids, especially Luna.
As a toddler, Marcus was quite the social butterfly. So why not give him that aspiration as a child.
Also, quite photogenic; perfect for becoming a celebrity later on on life.
Marcus proved to be very responsible, always taking out the trash and cleaning up around the house.
Luna always stayed on top of her school work.
Then it was Milo's turn to age up.
He was very playful as a toddler as was the first out of the group to max his motor skill, so he got the Rambunctious Scamp aspiration.
And last but not least, Jade maxed her toddler skills and was able to age up.
She had a good sense of style so I decided to give her the Artistic Prodigy aspiration and as an adult maybe she can be a style influencer, or maybe we could go the other way and she could be a famous artist.
With the kids being children now I was able to give parts of the house a makeover.
The dining area actually resembled a dining area now as before it was filled with high chairs and many, many toys.
The girls' room looked a lot nicer... and more personal for the girls because they could use their artwork to decorate the walls.
The kids really enjoyed each others company, they would often congregate to the girls' room to play together and chat.
The days were spent at school, doing homework/projects, and completing aspiration tasks.
The kids made a good friend, who happened to be a nearby neighbor, Evie. She would often come by after school to hang out.
The kids really enjoyed her.
One night the 'monster under the bed' made some appearances, not just in the girls's room, but the boys room as well.
Cassandra to the rescue!
The harsh blizzards meant Christmas was fast approaching.
And no one decided to wear the winter clothing...
But alas, it was time to open presents.
And waiting for... ?Santa Claus?
Last time I checked, Santa was supposed to have a white beard? Oh well.
.
.
.
With the kids having almost completed their aspirations it was time to create our headmaster for the Prep School the kids would be attending as teens.
Welcome Allen, and his daughter Lilly.
I moved them into a starter home in Willow Creek. They wouldn't be here for long though, just till Allen gets his Psychology Degree.
I added another room for Lilly, the layout turned out quite well.
Allen was accepted to Ubrite, he would start the semester on Monday.
I gave him the max amount of classes (4) for each semester, I was anxious to get the prep school started.
Lilly was given the Artistic child aspiration, between homework much of her time was spent at the crafting table, she quite enjoyed it.
First day of classes for Allen, and first day of school for Lilly.
Townie fashion is downright atrocious at times...
The weeks were spent with Lilly doing homework and projects...
...and Allen doing term papers and presentation boards.
Lilly continued to work on her aspiration.
At the end of the semester Allen took up knitting, he became quite good at it.
He would gift his knitted clothes to Lilly.
Lilly decorated her room with many of her drawings and creations from the art table.
The next week was more of the same with homework and presentations for Lilly and Allen.
Towards the end of the second semester I was getting bored with the grind of school and decided to send them both to the park to meet some new people.
Maybe not the best idea to do in the middle of a blizzard...
Lilly wasn't happy with the weather.
Oops.
And who is this we see? Luna!
I'm glad the game sent her here, it provided a natural way for her to meet Lilly and Allen, as they would be at the prep school together.
They both look upset with the weather conditions.
They met Yuki Behr, she seemed nice.
Lilly met Jade as well, they played on the jungle gym together.
And what is this that Allen sees in the distance...?
A wishing well!
He wished for money, since they were running low on funds.
...
Hmm, the conditions for obtaining the money was that Allen would have to blackmail someone. What's wrong with having one enemy, hehe.
That was a fun outing!
Lilly invited Luna over after school the next few days, they had a good time together and became friends.
It was nearing the end of the last semester and Lilly has almost completed her child aspiration.
Things are going smoothly.
Thank you! It's funny that you commented today as I was thinking about reviving this post to continue the kids stories, I have completed their semester at prep school and they have started University. I should definitely update this, lol.