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Sim State - The Sims 3 Open For Business Mini Expansion - Launch Trailer Available Now!

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  • KarritzKarritz Posts: 21,908 Member
    SPARKY1922 wrote: »
    Thanks for the extra info @Karritz

    Please let me know when your video is up I would like to watch it once it's done :)

    I had added this new mod to my 30 Grandchildren Sims 3 folder. When I wanted to launch that game I thought I'd better remove the mod as I have bakeries in various worlds in that save. So I made another Sins 3 folder and moved this save there. The Sim State mod is now in that new folder and not in my 30 Grandchildren folder.

    Currently I'm trying to finish my next 30 Grandchildren video. I'm also working on a nature video for my other channel. I also deleted all the video I recorded of this sim State mod in action.

    I was having terrible trouble with the lights going off for the entire lot and staying off. My sim was constantly complaining about it being dark. I added the buy debug lights throughout.

    Now I know a bit more of the way it works I will play for a few more Sim days and record video and post that. I also want to see if the repo man still comes even after she got the no more bills lifetime reward. I thought she'd paid the bill that came after she got that lifetime happiness reward and repo man turned up for the next bill. But the game had crashed so that might have cancelled the bill payment she made. If the repo man can't be stopped I won't go any further with the mod. This build is too complex for me to find what he's taking so I can replace it and the bills are almost 5,000 simoleans each time so I'd have to be doing money cheats all the time for her to pay the bills and the bills don't seem to be predictable. Hopefully the repo man wasn't affected by the mod.

    So it might be some time next week before I get this video up.
  • SPARKY1922SPARKY1922 Posts: 5,965 Member
    @Karritz

    I know you always have lots going on so I wasn't suggesting/hoping for a quick video I would just like you to let me know when you have one so I can watch it :)

    I wonder what's with the lights? and I totally forgot about the repo man lol

    I am hoping it works out the way you would like it to :)
  • GraceyManorGraceyManor Posts: 20,079 Member
    edited June 2021
    For anyone who's played with this, what is up with the yellow lights?

    Screenshot-5.jpg
    Its very distracting, is there a way to turn that off?

    Edit: figured it out, I had toggle set for sale on.XD
    Thought I was having some sort of lighting glitch lol.
  • KarritzKarritz Posts: 21,908 Member
    The video showing my experience and thoughts on the new Sim State mod is now ready for you to watch on YouTube.

    https://youtu.be/kVYkmJWRmZA

    It was made by Timecatcher who says they have now retired from mod making but will make the code available for someone else to take on the further development and support of the mod. I do hope someone takes up the mod as it does need some work but, once I got used to it I found it a lot of fun and I'll probably continue to use it in some of my future games. I've made a separate Sims 3 folder for games using this mod.

    The mod is available on Mod the Sims
    https://modthesims.info/d/656829/sim-state-the-sims-3-open-for-business-mini-expansion-v1-4.html

    The two bakeries I used in the video are available on the Exchange.

    Old Mill Tea Room and Residence:
    https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=8400389

    Fantacy Land Bakery
    https://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=8188930

    There are other bakeries in my studio but I didn't test the mod in any of them yet.

    Happy Simming
  • SPARKY1922SPARKY1922 Posts: 5,965 Member
    edited July 2021
    Thank you for doing this @Karritz :)

    EDIT: Absolutely wonderful informative video of this mod (love your accent-) I am still going to try and replicate the way you have tested this mod with a bakery as a business on both a residential & commercial lot as that is something I would like to test in my own game along with any noticeable differences between both lot types. The only other kind of store i would probably like to run is a kind of supernatural elixir store as both these two types of stores for me are a better choice than a build/buy mode with or without a savvy sellers rug as a business.

    One of the most frustrating things to watch was when you were constantly having to check something was for sale over and over that was supposedly still for sale due to it's green colour in the game. That looked very tedious and time consuming. I also was not keen about having food in the sims inventory to make something work (apologizes I forget the specifics I am going to have to watch your video again) I think after all your time testing this mod it could definitely do with a few tweaks just to make it less frustrating more than anything else yet the idea of this mod overall is extremely appealing and something I think I might still be prepared to put up with so I have the illusion of owning a business as like you I enjoy the gameplay of running a business more than I do about the business having to be realistic financially as I don't tend to play that way either.

    Do you think you will continue to keep using this mod after your tests? Also if you leave a business owner/family running a business such as the bakery and move on to play another family without a business but then send your new sim family to the business/bakery you set up with the earlier family is that earlier family still running the business when your new family turn up on that business lot? I only ask as its the one kick I get out of S2 when I set up a sim family in a business then send my new/other sim families to their store and get served by that earlier family..
    Post edited by SPARKY1922 on
  • KarritzKarritz Posts: 21,908 Member
    @SPARKY1922 I've been playing the game again this morning. Just for short time.

    I have no idea about what will happen if you leave your sims to run a business while you move on to another active household and send them to the business to shop. I do that all the time with my Savvy Seller and Bakeries but haven't tested it with this mod.

    I don't know anything about a sim having to have food in their inventory. I was showing the household inventory at one point and said something about things going into it when they are purchased. I suspect your townies are going to end up with full inventories after a while.

    I don't think anything much changed regarding bakeries. I haven't detected any changes yet. I didn't mark any of my baked goods for sale and they continues to sell as previously.

    I haven't tested if elixirs can be sold or not, but the jam and preserves sell well and are restocked using this new mod.

    HOWEVER - this morning I finally found out about the cost of restocking items. I couldn't see how the business paid for restocking but today I worked it out. The money comes out of the funds you deposit into the business with the computer.

    If you run out of money in the business account then the item being restocked is DELETED leaving you with a gap where it was. That'll explain why I kept finding empty spots around the garden.

    The employees restock whether or not there is money in the account and the things they try to restock get deleted. So, that means when you have two or more employees and they stand in line and all restock the same item then it is costing your business lots more than it is getting from the sales.

    As for increasing your margins. I still have not found any way to set a margin to apply to everything. There is a modify cost option in the pie menu you see when you set it for sale. I think that means the only way to increase the markup is by manually typing a price into each and every item. I have done that for only two items so far and it did change the selling price. It remains to be seen if it also increases the restocking price.

    I have two other items that have no selling cost and they have sold. I don't know if, when they sell, any money goes to the business. I don't know if any money is deducted from the business account when they get restocked.

    Having said all of this, I'd assume, if you were to leave a household running a business while you went and played a different household it is possible they will run out of money in the business account and the stop will end up devoid of items for sale when you get back to it. And I found there are times, when I have launched the game to play and checked if things are still set for sale, that almost nothing is still set for sale.

    So, at this point, I'd have to conclude this is an extremely HIGH MAINTENANCE way of running a business in the game and definitely needs a lot of work to make it a viable option for anyone wanting to play without having to resort to money cheats to keep the sims afloat.

    I'm going to play a bit more to try to work out what's happening with the 'modify costs' option.

    The only build I'd think of playing it with though is my Old Mill Tearoom and Residence as it operates exactly as I wanted it to when I made it except for all the financial issues. My household is definitely going broke fast so I'll need to use money cheats to keep them solvent.
  • SPARKY1922SPARKY1922 Posts: 5,965 Member
    Hi @Karritz

    I will check when I use the mod if leaving one business family is still there selling as they should when I send my new family of non biz sims to the lot when I start to play with the mod myself and I have to say if if that was so it would be really great feature of the mod :) however as you point out without supervision the sim family running the business could potentially run out of money so it appears this mod is only designed to be able to be played by one playable family in one world which means it's not going to work properly if that biz family is left to their own devices to go play another family not associated to the original business family..

    Its okay I thought you mentioned something about food in inventories that were transparent for some reason that you had to take some sort of action about but as I said I will watch the video a few more times I think to take it all in-)

    I may test elixirs sales and associated sales but not until I test the bakery as that would be my first love to try first-)

    That new find about the cost of restocking items is really good and I would have not thought to check that either but I am pleased you found it and pointed it out as I will keep a lookout for that when I start playing with the mod myself..

    I think from what you wrote about increasings margins I might leave that alone to begin with..

    I also agree that you found your lot and playability for the mod that made it work for you when you want to play that way and for me that possibly means I will probably use one world where I play a biz family and not change the active family so I can get as much out of this mod as possible :)

    Your testing on this mod has been invaluable :)
  • lanlynlanlyn Posts: 5,008 Member
    @Karritz I enjoyed watching your video on this mod. Very informative and detailed. I liked how you tested it with two different builds. I agree that the mod seems very "high maintenance." But it could be a lot of fun if a player is willing to put in the effort to keep items restocked, etc. Either that or run a smaller store, but that might not bring in enough money for a household to live on. The video was interesting to watch though--how the store is set up, managing employees, and so on.
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