Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.
Henford-On-Bagley and Down the Hogwarts Rabbit Hole I Go
CK213
Posts: 20,537 Member
Join me in my descent to a place I did not expect to go this year. 
I sent my sim on a trip to sell vegetables in Henford and had them explore the land later.
There is a 64x64 property and I was wondering what I should put there. It then crossed my mind that it would be a perfect location for Hogwarts.
But Hogwarts was the problem. As much as I like to build, Hogwarts would probably take a lot of my time.
Fortunately other simmers don't have that problem, so I went to the gallery. Wow, this is convincing enough to draw me in.
But being a builder myself, I immediately began changing things. First deleting details I felt were unnecessary. This build has wonderful details, but too much. I need the place to be playable, so I removed enough stuff to make it still feel nicely detailed. Then I added some portals to blend in Realm of Magic game play. Never mind that "no one can apparate into Hogwarts" rule.
Ooh, and I can play with the new pond items.
And this is where my trip down the Hogwarts Rabbit hole begins. I want to play this--play it in a big way.
"I do like the swans.
They are a nice touch."
?
Albus Dumbledore.
You can't have Hogwarts without Albus.
Thanks to the gallery, you can have both .
Albus and Hogwarts Students.
You can't have Albus without students, and you can't have students without teachers.
How am I going to play this without it feeling really lackluster? Albus Dumbledore, 7 students, no teachers.
But this office... so nice...
Approving the list for those Hogwarts' letters?
BlickBlock, of course.
Oh, I want to play this.
I want to fill all the magical-leaning worlds with Potter characters, and I want the students. I want the teachers. I want the families, but how is this going to work?
I have to run a trial.
Yep, snatch up all the available teens in a save-as version of my current game.
"What? No sorting hat?"
Yeah... the luster is lacking. I did see mods for a sorting hat, House traits, and buffs. I may check them out later.
I may go without and just play a non-canon version of Hogwarts using existing game play.
All the students are currently squibbs.
Dumbledore gives them the Rite of Ascension to unlock their magic.
There will also be no Patronuses.
But there will be familiars, according to associated houses.
Gryffindor!
Ravenclaw!
Slytherin!
Yeah, it's not a snake, but a reptile all the same.
That skull was a no-go, just because they are Slytherin, doesn't make them Death Eaters.
There are more Slytherins here.
Houses are going to be tiny, mixes of 4, 3,2 1, or no members. There are mods to increase household size, but one I saw said that it will be bumped down to 8 if you go into CAS. But I am also worried about lag, with a lot this large and detailed. Hugo? What are you doing here? Where is Max? How did I make that mistake? Well, you are going back. Send your brother.
Gamma has to go too.
She's an alien and has no magic to unlock.
So I brought in Max, and Monique as replacements.
Monique is sweet, and the lone Hufflepuff.
More Hogwarts Tweaking.
This build is really wonderful, but as I played, I found myself wanting to change things and add things. (rabbit hole descent)
First off, one of my changes needed to go.
This convenient portal is great at getting my sims deep into the building quickly, but also anyone else who happens along.
I put it inside to keep out trespassers.
I added a new green house, as the original was really modern, and was built only with windows (no walls) with MoveObjects on.
So the windows couldn't be hidden and I wasn't sure if it was functional. I wanted something more ornate anyway, like the movie.
This is different, but interesting, I may use it on my other sim's lots.
I felt the need for Hogwarts themed CC. Perhaps too much...
But something else began to bother me. These bricks. I know we have some more like the movie, so I set about replacing interior bricks. I left the exterior alone. And wasn't there some wood paneling in the dining hall?
So I added this. Nothing like the movie, but oh well.
And I added a fireplace because all I had was a huge hood flue.
Perhaps the fireplace got bumped out because of the MoveObjects construction. I ended up building this monstrosity to hide the gaps I created in the ceiling. Probably should have left it alone.
Gryffindor Common room.
I added a few CC items to complete it.
Ravenclaw Common room.
I'm not sure if this was supposed to be Ravenclaw's common room, because it seemed unfinished. I added their color theme, a staircase and the bedroom on the upper floor, toilets, and showers.
Slytherin Common Room.
It's in the basement where the common room love was given. The Slytherins are living very well here.
A wall seems to be missing wallpaper. I will have to fix that.
And Hufflepuff somehow brought the sun to the basement.
It feels so sunny here despite being in the basement. I love all the plants.
And do we have our first Uniform? Yes.
This Slytherin is visiting the Ravenclaw bedroom for some reason. Which brings to mind, should I not allow visitations?
The population is so light, I might want the traffic. Do I use computers, because I can set who can use them and thus influence where sims are?
Lots of questions.
Gameplay
It is really strange to have a school of magic where the majority of student time is spent in Muggle Studies.
I guess I could pretend they are off to class with Hagrid, or out in the fields and forest with Professor Sprout. Yeah, that will do.
And being the only educator, what does Dumbledore do?.png?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
What I am having him do, the moment the students come in, is gather them in a group and have them come to this classroom.
I order them to do their homework together. Instant class room activity. I then have Dumbledore help any student that has the lowest grade or progress level. Once everyone is at A and B grade average, I will have them alternate between doing homework and practicing magic and potions.
I am working on an approach for the entire education process involving rotating 24 students, or more, through Hogwarts.
The goal is to play many characters and have them interact with as many students as possible despite not being able to attend all at once.
When they leave Hogwarts, they should all be at the Adept Level of magic at least. I want to leave room to reach the Master and Virtuoso levels outside of Hogwarts.
That is what this trial run is all about, Figuring it all out before I commit to doing the real work.
I need to bring in another group of students that will be on another lot.
I will form them into House Clubs and I can invite the clubs to Hogwarts to help the school feel more populated. Other students will come to Hogwarts on their own because of friendships, being given a key, and after school visits.
I will also do the same with Mcgonagall, Snape, Professor Sprout, Flitwick, and perhaps Lupin. (Need werewolves)
Dumbledore could call a gathering and then disband and let them wander the school as they please.
Hmm... students will need to take care of plants, and stock ingredients.
Or... since Dumbledore is Headmaster, I could have him visit and rotated in teachers weekly.
That way I can involve them all deeper. Snape should be fun.
I'm working this out as I am writing this.
Right now I am feeling like Filch.
"There is a student out of bed."
Maybe detention is cleaning and fixing toilets and other broken things.
Oo... cats! I can have Mrs. Norris as a permanent resident. I could add Crookshanks too and let them have the run of Hogwarts.
Now to set up the next group of students to try this out.
The Real Deal.
I downloaded a temporary set of Potter characters, but I could not help tweaking them.
These may serve as the ones I use with more tweaking. Where is Ron?
It Figures.
He has the Foodie trait. Nice call by the creator. I hope it doesn't make him overweight.
I may have to install a gym.
Oh this is too perfect.
Hermione makes a bee-line to Ron and is the first to speak to him.
Luna and the Slytherins seem to be giving Ron a hard time about his food obsession.
What is Harry doing?
Taking over seasoning the meat?
Oh, leave Ron alone.
Wow, Hermione is really gushing and getting flirty over Ron.
I can't wait to rotate them in.
Is this what normally happens with a Foodie sim? Ron is the first Foodie I've played.
And that's where I am.
I will send this group to Hogwarts to meet other members of their house and then I will form House clubs.
I will also try to get a feel for their course pacing. They are supposed to learn 6 spells and 3 potions over the Fall, Winter, and Spring Seasons and reach the Neophyte level of magic by the end of the year. If they fail to do that they will have to do it over the summer. I doubt that will happen and I will use the summer to leave Hogwarts and rotate among other households.
[An Update from the Future!]
November 15th, 2023
The Expansion pack, The Sims 4: For Rent will dramatically change what I can do with the following, making things I thought were impossible, possible.
I sent my sim on a trip to sell vegetables in Henford and had them explore the land later.
There is a 64x64 property and I was wondering what I should put there. It then crossed my mind that it would be a perfect location for Hogwarts.
But Hogwarts was the problem. As much as I like to build, Hogwarts would probably take a lot of my time.
Fortunately other simmers don't have that problem, so I went to the gallery. Wow, this is convincing enough to draw me in.
But being a builder myself, I immediately began changing things. First deleting details I felt were unnecessary. This build has wonderful details, but too much. I need the place to be playable, so I removed enough stuff to make it still feel nicely detailed. Then I added some portals to blend in Realm of Magic game play. Never mind that "no one can apparate into Hogwarts" rule.
Ooh, and I can play with the new pond items.
And this is where my trip down the Hogwarts Rabbit hole begins. I want to play this--play it in a big way.
"I do like the swans.
They are a nice touch."
?
Albus Dumbledore.
You can't have Hogwarts without Albus.
Thanks to the gallery, you can have both .
Albus and Hogwarts Students.
You can't have Albus without students, and you can't have students without teachers.
How am I going to play this without it feeling really lackluster? Albus Dumbledore, 7 students, no teachers.
But this office... so nice...
Approving the list for those Hogwarts' letters?
BlickBlock, of course.
Oh, I want to play this.
I want to fill all the magical-leaning worlds with Potter characters, and I want the students. I want the teachers. I want the families, but how is this going to work?
I have to run a trial.
Yep, snatch up all the available teens in a save-as version of my current game.
"What? No sorting hat?"
Yeah... the luster is lacking. I did see mods for a sorting hat, House traits, and buffs. I may check them out later.
I may go without and just play a non-canon version of Hogwarts using existing game play.
All the students are currently squibbs.
Dumbledore gives them the Rite of Ascension to unlock their magic.
There will also be no Patronuses.
But there will be familiars, according to associated houses.
Gryffindor!
Ravenclaw!
Slytherin!
Yeah, it's not a snake, but a reptile all the same.
That skull was a no-go, just because they are Slytherin, doesn't make them Death Eaters.
There are more Slytherins here.
Houses are going to be tiny, mixes of 4, 3,2 1, or no members. There are mods to increase household size, but one I saw said that it will be bumped down to 8 if you go into CAS. But I am also worried about lag, with a lot this large and detailed. Hugo? What are you doing here? Where is Max? How did I make that mistake? Well, you are going back. Send your brother.
Gamma has to go too.
She's an alien and has no magic to unlock.
So I brought in Max, and Monique as replacements.
Monique is sweet, and the lone Hufflepuff.
More Hogwarts Tweaking.
This build is really wonderful, but as I played, I found myself wanting to change things and add things. (rabbit hole descent)
First off, one of my changes needed to go.
This convenient portal is great at getting my sims deep into the building quickly, but also anyone else who happens along.
I put it inside to keep out trespassers.
I added a new green house, as the original was really modern, and was built only with windows (no walls) with MoveObjects on.
So the windows couldn't be hidden and I wasn't sure if it was functional. I wanted something more ornate anyway, like the movie.
This is different, but interesting, I may use it on my other sim's lots.
I felt the need for Hogwarts themed CC. Perhaps too much...
But something else began to bother me. These bricks. I know we have some more like the movie, so I set about replacing interior bricks. I left the exterior alone. And wasn't there some wood paneling in the dining hall?
So I added this. Nothing like the movie, but oh well.
And I added a fireplace because all I had was a huge hood flue.
Perhaps the fireplace got bumped out because of the MoveObjects construction. I ended up building this monstrosity to hide the gaps I created in the ceiling. Probably should have left it alone.
Gryffindor Common room.
I added a few CC items to complete it.
Ravenclaw Common room.
I'm not sure if this was supposed to be Ravenclaw's common room, because it seemed unfinished. I added their color theme, a staircase and the bedroom on the upper floor, toilets, and showers.
Slytherin Common Room.
It's in the basement where the common room love was given. The Slytherins are living very well here.
A wall seems to be missing wallpaper. I will have to fix that.
And Hufflepuff somehow brought the sun to the basement.
It feels so sunny here despite being in the basement. I love all the plants.
And do we have our first Uniform? Yes.
This Slytherin is visiting the Ravenclaw bedroom for some reason. Which brings to mind, should I not allow visitations?
The population is so light, I might want the traffic. Do I use computers, because I can set who can use them and thus influence where sims are?
Lots of questions.
Gameplay
It is really strange to have a school of magic where the majority of student time is spent in Muggle Studies.
I guess I could pretend they are off to class with Hagrid, or out in the fields and forest with Professor Sprout. Yeah, that will do.
And being the only educator, what does Dumbledore do?
What I am having him do, the moment the students come in, is gather them in a group and have them come to this classroom.
I order them to do their homework together. Instant class room activity. I then have Dumbledore help any student that has the lowest grade or progress level. Once everyone is at A and B grade average, I will have them alternate between doing homework and practicing magic and potions.
I am working on an approach for the entire education process involving rotating 24 students, or more, through Hogwarts.
The goal is to play many characters and have them interact with as many students as possible despite not being able to attend all at once.
When they leave Hogwarts, they should all be at the Adept Level of magic at least. I want to leave room to reach the Master and Virtuoso levels outside of Hogwarts.
That is what this trial run is all about, Figuring it all out before I commit to doing the real work.
I need to bring in another group of students that will be on another lot.
I will form them into House Clubs and I can invite the clubs to Hogwarts to help the school feel more populated. Other students will come to Hogwarts on their own because of friendships, being given a key, and after school visits.
I will also do the same with Mcgonagall, Snape, Professor Sprout, Flitwick, and perhaps Lupin. (Need werewolves)
Dumbledore could call a gathering and then disband and let them wander the school as they please.
Hmm... students will need to take care of plants, and stock ingredients.
Or... since Dumbledore is Headmaster, I could have him visit and rotated in teachers weekly.
That way I can involve them all deeper. Snape should be fun.
I'm working this out as I am writing this.
Right now I am feeling like Filch.
"There is a student out of bed."
Maybe detention is cleaning and fixing toilets and other broken things.
Oo... cats! I can have Mrs. Norris as a permanent resident. I could add Crookshanks too and let them have the run of Hogwarts.
Now to set up the next group of students to try this out.
The Real Deal.
I downloaded a temporary set of Potter characters, but I could not help tweaking them.
These may serve as the ones I use with more tweaking. Where is Ron?
It Figures.
He has the Foodie trait. Nice call by the creator. I hope it doesn't make him overweight.
I may have to install a gym.
Oh this is too perfect.
Hermione makes a bee-line to Ron and is the first to speak to him.
Luna and the Slytherins seem to be giving Ron a hard time about his food obsession.
What is Harry doing?
Taking over seasoning the meat?
Oh, leave Ron alone.
Wow, Hermione is really gushing and getting flirty over Ron.
I can't wait to rotate them in.
Is this what normally happens with a Foodie sim? Ron is the first Foodie I've played.
And that's where I am.
I will send this group to Hogwarts to meet other members of their house and then I will form House clubs.
I will also try to get a feel for their course pacing. They are supposed to learn 6 spells and 3 potions over the Fall, Winter, and Spring Seasons and reach the Neophyte level of magic by the end of the year. If they fail to do that they will have to do it over the summer. I doubt that will happen and I will use the summer to leave Hogwarts and rotate among other households.
[An Update from the Future!]
November 15th, 2023
The Expansion pack, The Sims 4: For Rent will dramatically change what I can do with the following, making things I thought were impossible, possible.
Post edited by CK213 on
48
Comments
Because I can't; I keep all sigs turned off.
> Join me in my descent to a place I did not expect to go this year. :)
>
> I sent my sim on a trip to sell vegetables in Henford and had them explore the land later.
> There is a 64x64 property and I was wondering what I should put there. It then crossed my mind that it would be a perfect location for Hogwarts.
>
>
>
> But Hogwarts was the problem. As much as I like to build, Hogwarts would probably take a lot of my time.
> Fortunately other simmers don't have that problem, so I went to the gallery. Wow, this is convincing enough to draw me in.
>
> But being a builder myself, I immediately began changing things. First deleting details I felt were unnecessary. This build has wonderful details, but too much. I need the place to be playable, so I removed enough stuff to make it still feel nicely detailed. Then I added some portals to blend in Realm of Magic game play. Never mind that no one can apparate into Hogwarts rule.
>
> Albus and Hogwarts Students.
> You can't have Albus without students, and you can't have students without teachers.
> How am I going to play this without it feeling really lackluster? Albus Dumbledore, 7 students, no teachers.
>
>
> But this office... so nice...
>
> More Hogwarts Tweaking.
> This build is really wonderful, but as I played, I found myself wanting to change things and add things. (rabbit hole descent)
>
> First off, one of my changes needed to go.
> This convenient portal is great at getting my sims deep into the building quickly, but also anyone else who happens along.
> I put it inside to keep out trespassers.
>
> Gameplay
> It is really strange to have a school of magic where the majority of student time is spent in Muggle Studies.
> I guess I could pretend they are off to class with Hagrid, or out in the fields and forest with Professor Sprout. Yeah, that will do.
>
> And being the only educator, what does Dumbledore do?
>
> The Real Deal.
> I downloaded a temporary set of Potter characters, but I could not help tweaking them.
> These may serve as the ones I use with more tweaking. Where is Ron?
>
> It Figures.
> He has the Foodie trait. Nice call by the creator. I hope it doesn't make him overweight.
> I may have to install a gym.
If you have Get Together, you could create clubs for each class and each House plus for studying etc (with less students in each Hoyse since clubs have a member limit). If you want them to live there, you could make the teens move out from their parents home if you created them along with their families in CAS and play with them as if it was an endless club meeting. Not sure if there are mods out there to increase the number of sims in a club but if your desktop/laptop can handle it, it could be an option to emulate Hogwarts.
> Join me in my descent to a place I did not expect to go this year. :)
>
> I sent my sim on a trip to sell vegetables in Henford and had them explore the land later.
> There is a 64x64 property and I was wondering what I should put there. It then crossed my mind that it would be a perfect location for Hogwarts.
>
>
>
> But Hogwarts was the problem. As much as I like to build, Hogwarts would probably take a lot of my time.
> Fortunately other simmers don't have that problem, so I went to the gallery. Wow, this is convincing enough to draw me in.
>
> But being a builder myself, I immediately began changing things. First deleting details I felt were unnecessary. This build has wonderful details, but too much. I need the place to be playable, so I removed enough stuff to make it still feel nicely detailed. Then I added some portals to blend in Realm of Magic game play. Never mind that no one can apparate into Hogwarts rule.
>
> Albus and Hogwarts Students.
> You can't have Albus without students, and you can't have students without teachers.
> How am I going to play this without it feeling really lackluster? Albus Dumbledore, 7 students, no teachers.
>
>
> But this office... so nice...
>
> More Hogwarts Tweaking.
> This build is really wonderful, but as I played, I found myself wanting to change things and add things. (rabbit hole descent)
>
> First off, one of my changes needed to go.
> This convenient portal is great at getting my sims deep into the building quickly, but also anyone else who happens along.
> I put it inside to keep out trespassers.
>
> Gameplay
> It is really strange to have a school of magic where the majority of student time is spent in Muggle Studies.
> I guess I could pretend they are off to class with Hagrid, or out in the fields and forest with Professor Sprout. Yeah, that will do.
>
> And being the only educator, what does Dumbledore do?
>
> The Real Deal.
> I downloaded a temporary set of Potter characters, but I could not help tweaking them.
> These may serve as the ones I use with more tweaking. Where is Ron?
>
> It Figures.
> He has the Foodie trait. Nice call by the creator. I hope it doesn't make him overweight.
> I may have to install a gym.
Btw, why not locking the doors after they get out of the portal and set them as "only for club members" so no one else can get in unless you unlock the door? That could be a fix!
- My Sims 4 Gallery
- My Sims 3 Page
Like @Khazthe I also thought of the club system to add more students and teachers. You have Hugo and Max and the ghost paintings (nice touch with the ghost paintings btw) so clearly you have Get Together. Why not make clubs that hangout at Hogwarts? Club size is limited but you can have I think 11 clubs in the game. With 1-2 teacher clubs and 9-10 student clubs you should have enough to make the place feel well populated, and you can choose which 1-8 sims you actually want playable to have in the household.
Oh! You could give each house a couple of student clubs, and that would give you some choices as to house-specific clothing and behavior. "Be friendly to" members of one's own house as a club rule would lead to the students having, in general, stronger friendships within houses than between houses.
Um, if you have "the gang" you have to have Tom Riddle aka Voldemort. I am looking forward to your next installment!
I have spent quite a bit of the day going over how I am going to get over a few problems here.
1. THERE ARE TOO MANY CHARACTERS IN HARRY POTTER!
2. There are too many Gryffindors in Harry Potter. I was surprised to find that there are about as many Gryffindors as there are Slytherins, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws combined. So things are really unbalanced when you want to represent 4 houses.
3. I only have seven slots for students and one for a teacher.
I have planned to use clubs from the beginning, to help make the place feel like there are more than 8 sims living there.
There will be a club for each house. Two for Dumbledore: Teachers (Snape, McGonagall, Trelawney, Flitwick, Sprout, Binns, Flitwick), Support Staff (Filch, Irma Prince, Poppy Promfrey, Hooch, Guest Teacher(Lupin, Moody, Slughorn)
Teachers will rotate each week. Dumbledore will teach the first week of each year. Then he will appear randomly with a key, or when a staff gathering occurs. Filch will have a key too.
I have decided to use a focus approach and will be playing the last 3 years of Harry Potter.
I will focus on one house. It will have 4 students. The other houses will have one student each and they will be leaders of their clubs.
Keys will be given to several members of each club so they can appear randomly. The keys will rotate each season.
I always add typos.
So I will start with a focus on Fred and George, along with Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson. They will be playing through Fall, Winter, and Spring with a summer break. Their goal is to have reached the end goals by Spring (14 Spells, 9 potions, Adept Level magic status) and they are done officially. They will be hanging around to help with immersion. The Leaders of the other 3 houses will do the same.
The next year will belong to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Draco, Cho Chang, and Cederic Diggery in the Fall. Ginny Weasley will star in the final year. Oh, and there is no Voldemort in my Potterverse. He died when he tried to kill Harry. Things are complicated enough trying to organize this. I can always bring him in on a replay when I have the game play perfected.
I did more thinking than playing today, but I did manage to continue my trial run.
I fixed the portal problem by simply making that open arch a doorway and making it the front door. I put the portal here.
No one can simply walk through it now. Cederic Diggery is visiting Monique in Hufflepuff. The portal is linked to another by the entrance to the basement.
I sent the Hogwarts students to meet the true potter characters at the farm.
They needed to meet so I can start forming clubs.
It is a Saturday and they finally have some time to actually practice magic. Their Muggle school grades will soon be in A/B territory and they can start alternating between magic and muggle studies. They have no wands because they have to earn them mastering their first spell.
Nanami learned Repario first.
Dumbledore bought a few wands before the term started.
She's a Slytherin with an eye for wands.
That's the most expensive one.
Marielle learned her spell next.
Nanami wouldn't touch such a muggle looking wand, but Marielle thinks it's cute.
They are done. Training ends at 3:00.
These open areas are making for nice practice areas.
I had a couple of cauldrons here, but I put them away because I was tired of the students making Mac and Cheese all the time.
With practice over, I had them invite their other house members over.
Monique headed off with purpose. I was curious.
She was going to repair something. I didn't know she had learned a spell. Being Hufflepuff and helpful, fixing things is part of their group activities.
She is heading towards the Ravenclaw common room.
A broken tea pot.
I am going to like Hufflepuffs.
You have earned your wand.
I am going to have to fix that door so it opens towards the wall and sims don't walk though it.
It is the man himself.
And looking quite dapper, I must say.
And now it was time to test these common rooms as a group setting.
I had already figured I would need some attractors to this room. As you can see, they are already heading off for other things to do. I was looking to add the needed coffee maker and a music player, but the creator of this build had already thought of that. I just needed to make the coffee and turn on the music. And add sinks because there is about to be a lot of dirty dishes.
This is starting to turn around already.
Splendid!
I might consider adding a cooler for quick meals because it's a long way to the dinning hall.
This is working and it is easy to imagine a busy Hogwarts when you are focused here.
They need a gaming table----I just fit one in. I hope they can get around. Space is tight.
I am going to allow computer. These don't feel so distracting.
Computers will help me direct where they should be and where other sims can find them.
The Gryffindors will be the only ones with access to this one.
You aren't Gryffindor.
Oh, it's the Hufflepuff. She's harmless. Come on in.
It's the Slytherins that they have locked out.
Why is she letting off a spell?
Oh no!
She must have been trying to fix it and the spell backfired.
"No, no! It's okay! I've got this!"
Yeah, you saved the, day, sorta. after putting it in peril.
Aren't you supposed to be with Diggery? Why don't you go meditate or something.
Speaking of fire, that looks like something that might catch.
I'd better remove it.
Ya know, I think I really am going to like Hufflepuffs.
They're so different.
"Ohmmmmm..."
The evening is winding down and everyone is hungry.
It's a good time to open the buffet.
Good.
Thank goodness they aren't going in ten different directions to eat elsewhere.
Dumbledore?
Oh, someone has a question.
Well I have a question. Where are the Slytherins?
Our here.
Max and Malfoy, double the trouble.
@Rouensims
And it is a process.
This trial run is really helpful. I am coming up with new ideas as I play.
Just doing some research on the characters is generating some ideas. I knew Malfoy married after Hogwarts, but now I know more about Astoria Greengrass. I am adding her in the last year of play to make that connection.
@wylmite1986
I find myself grinning a lot and this is just a trial run. I am having fun with it, but I might not be if I was trying to replay the movie. And relying on the gallery is helping a lot. This is less work and more fun. I feel like I am blending the Sims and Harry Potter. Things like smart phones isn't ruining it for me. I am just rolling with it, as it is The Sims 4 first in a Potter wrapper.
I am sure there is an icon of an owl on that phone.
Another report is coming up.
It had me grinning ear to ear.
I have to house them on yet another lot, but Imagine my surprise that two of them were not on the lot, but had traveled over to Hogwarts.
Of course they are here!
It's good to be back, Professors.
I had Hagrid and Sybil Trelawney come over too, because they need to see Dumbledore.
A little-more-than-brief loading screen and they are on their way.
There are great finds on the gallery and I am more than pleased with these. Although I might try to tweak Snape some more.
Nanami Ito is always in Dumbledore's chair and on his computer whenever I load up.
"That's odd..."
"I could have sworn I heard movement in here as we approached the door."
Nanami has ninja skills, professor.
There is something else they don't know.
That's a secret door and there is a student in that secret chamber.
"Well, it seems he's not 'ere. There's nothin' fer it.
Why don't we all go over to the dinning hall and have somethin' ta eat?"
Hagrid leads the way.
Okay, I can't accept a cheerful Snape.
But I am sure he will have his dour moments.
Hagrid is almost perfect.
As for Dumbledore, I have no idea where he is. I couldn't find him, and since none of them know him yet, I could not lock on to him.
So I sent them on their way.
I loved Hagrid's exit.
I did not know he had a broom.
They are actually walking all the way back to the lot they are residing.
I could have had them just load up the lot, but there is no way I am missing this view.
I am a bit in awe of it.
I loaded up Hogwarts.
Sure enough, Michelle had trapped herself in the secret chamber.
And Dumbledore is here, now.
Fine, I will send Dumbledore to them.
I just need for them to meet, so I can create their social club.
Alright, I will admit that this Trelawney is not accurate.
But I don't care. The more I look at her, the cuter she gets.
I did enlarge her eyes a bit to make those glasses have a strong prescription. I also gave her wrinkles across her forehead, but the head scarf thingy hides them.
Hmm... the torrid love affair between Severus Snape and Sybil Trelawney. The spectacle no fan ever imagined or wanted.
The ship that never sailed. I don't know... It might happen here with this Trelawney. Sebil. Syverus. πΈπΈπΈπΈ. S. T. (Their initials)
So many possibilities.
And there is a problem introducing himself to Minerva McGonagall. It turns out she's a two-star celebrity. Much to important to be bothered with Albus Dumbledore.
Alright then.
So now I will have to get rid of her celebrity status.
A nice and polite introduction with Hagrid and we are done here.
I know Hagrid will have his hut in this location.
It's perfect. And all the critters TS4 can pull togehter. Sadly, no hippogriffs.
Anyway, back to Hogwarts to set up a staff meeting.
I want to see how these will work.
Staff Meeting
Two were not enough, so I added more chairs.
Ah, ever loyal Hagrid, the first to answer the call.
The students need something to do, so they will be practicing their spells.
A couple never learned their first spell.
Welcome, Minerva, have a seat.
The whole point of this is to get their relationship levels up enough to give them a key to Hogwarts.
Nanami learned her second spell already.
We may have a talented student here.
They are practicing in the rain, but everyone should be able to cast spells in all weather conditions.
We have Sybil. All we need now is Severus.
This staff club has only one activity, be friendly.
The Wizarding World embraces technology.
Without Voldemort, Arthur Weasley had a large influence on the use of Muggle artifacts.
Michelle learned her first spell.
Alright, go pick your wand.
What are you doing here, Miss Bloom?
Cleaning?
How nice.
Five points to Gryffindor.
A key has finally been given.
So kismet that it's Minerva.
Where is Snape?
Oh good-grief, get up here.
What is that?
Some kind of cattle prod, or taser. It would seem cruel, but with the kind of creatures that Hagrid likes, that would just tickle them.
Well, well, Snape is actually late.
Better not let the Students find out. He would never live it down.
10 points from Slytherin.
Finally.
This should feel like a staff meeting now.
I was getting such nostalgic feelings from this.
I am in Dumbledore's office witnessing a meeting with the staff. Thank you, Get Together.
While they were chatting, I took time out to add to student wardrobes.
A little more causal look, they will need clothes for after hours and the weekend.
This is going slower than I initially thought it would.
Perhaps a cash gift might speed things up.
"Uh, Professor Dumbledore, would this be a good time to bring up raises for this year?
The cost of living is going up you know?"
I don't think anymore keys are going to be given out today.
Dumbledore needs a break and he is hungry.
That is the Trelawny that I expect.
I guess it was just an episode.
Hey, where is Hagrid?
"Now that there is an experience to 'ave.
Speedin' down the slope, wind in yer hair, snow in yer beard.
Woosh... whoosh... whoosh."
That does it.
I will be sending Hagrid on a vacation to Komorebi, just from this little episode.
The school has nothing but skill books in it. Whenever anyone grabs a book, they are building skills.
The House Cup and More Keys
I was thinking about the house cup and how I would do it.
The game tracks stats, and I could pull data from that to award or takeaway house points.
If a student won a fight, they would obviously be fighting and get points demoted. I wouldn have to track everything in there, just a few key good and bad behaviors.
I could also have a dueling competition at the end of the year.
And I could also have a contest for best potions as I believe they have quality levels, and also there is a potential for students that can get bigger yields from their potions.
The house that wins get their colors flown in the dinning hall.
I gave that a whirl to see what it would look like.
Slytherin being the winner, would have their colors up all year until the next competition where a house can replace them with their own.
But I think I can go one better on this.
It's very, in your face.
If I were a Gryffindor, I would want that removed.
I even put in a podium so Dumbledore can give his year's end speech.
He loses his central seat, but I doubt I would get him and all the teachers to eat there anyway.
And if you are going to have a house cup competition, you are going to need a house cup.
Which is currently proudly displayed in the Slytherin common room.
They use it to serve butterbeer. Victory never tasted so good.
And while I was decorating, I embellished Hufflepuff with a few Kit plants.
It is the following day and the students are away at classes.
"Professor Snape, will you please stop by my office so we can continue our conversation?"
"You want a photo of me for your wall, sir?
Alright."
"Thank you for this responsibility, Headmaster."
"Professor Trelawney, will you come by my office, please?"
It feels like cheating to use photographs to get such a large increase in friendship levels, but I need to move things along.
One can only assume that in the world of The Sims, someone asking you for your photograph is a very, very flattering thing.
"Hm...? Oh!"
I believe Sybil is having a Lady Godiva moment, because she is totally naked.
"Professor, while I am sure that feels liberating, it might be better to put on more clothing so our conversation will have less... distractions."
"My apologies, Headmaster. One gifted in the divine arts may succumb to past life regression when the planets are aligned so."
The students are back and visit requests for the House members outside Hogwarts are coming.
Draco Malfoy shows up.
And McGonagall also drops by for a visit.
"A photo of me? Of course."
"Your Key."
"Thank you, sir. I look forward to this year."
Smexy Trelawney.
Totally unexpected. I suspect there will be less snorts and giggles in her class and more "Yes, professor." and "Very Interesting, professor."
Thanks.
I am beginning to fear I am having more fun planning and creating than the actual playing of it will be.
So many ideas are coming up.
Sybil Trelawney was an unexpected find. I never played sims with the erratic trait before.
She takes showers in the rain. It gave me the idea to have her have some past life personalities still attached to her.
Lady Godiva being one. I am trying to think of others that the erratic trait may explain. She can talk to objects. She can turn mean all of a sudden. I guess my overall explanation for her oddness is slipping back into those past lives.
She also has me thinking about Divination and its relation to the Paranormal stuff pack.
I have found a space in the castle that should approximate her classroom from the books and movie.
I am about to put some seance tables up there now and that will be her classroom when she rotates in.
I am going to put a room in the basement for potions and Snape.
Ooh... ideas are forming even now for layouts that will allow them to switch between regular homework and using those big cauldrons. I can set it up like they are observing the student using the cauldron.
Off for some pictures of Snape's classroom.
I can understand about Voldemort, there are many characters in HP. Plus, you've got enough stress with the ones you have, lol.
I can't wait to read the next installment!
I have 2 weeks of vacation time.
So sim now, because I won't have much time afterwards.
Right now I am doing more building and finding and tweaking characters than I am playing.
All I have are some shots of what I have been doing.
I am so looking forward to playing Snape.
I decided to add his potions classroom in the basement.
He's the only one that can make advanced potions now and I would like to fill the room with useful potions,
I think I will also have students sneak out at night to steal potions that will let them stay up all night and pursue their whims.
Sybil Trelawney's Divination classroom.
Just like the book, you have to climb up a ladder to reach it.
It doesn't look like the movie, but this is the space that I have to work with.
No...
Let's change that.
Sybil Trelawney's bedroom/female teacher's bedroom.
Dumbledore's bedroom/male teacher's bedroom.
I am playing out the Support Staff club meeting of right now.
Rolanda Hooch (Flying instructor, Quidditch referee, and coach), Irma Pince (School Librarian), and Argus Filch (Caretaker)
Mrs. Norris (Filch's cat)
Wow, I like how you have Dumbledore teaching the students. His office is fab. I look forward to reading more ππΈπ.
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/star-trek-original-series-fan-fiction-trilogy/
@SirSim @Karendrae
I don't know the other's forum IDs
Thanks to the creators for their wonderful content.
I wouldn't even try this if it were not for their work.
Lot /Hogwarts Castle /By Laurens2910 /Sims 4 Gallery
Characters
Sage Albus Dumbledore /By SirSIM /Sims 4 Gallery
Minerva McGonagall / By Lasanie4 /Sims 4 Gallery
Severus Snape /By Katnissette /Sims 4 Gallery
Sybil Trelawney /By mildizza /Sims 4 Gallery
Hagrid /By Dargor-Lord-1994 /Sims 4 Gallery
Rolanda Hooch /By Simsplayer0077 /Sims 4 Gallery
Pince /By Karendrae /Sims 4 Gallery
β Filch & Mrs. Norris β /By simsperation84 /Sims 4 Gallery
Ron Weasly (harry potter) /By lyvilee87 /Sims 4 Gallery
Hogwarts Themed CC
Hogwarts Wall Decorations by JH /By huso1995 /Mod the Sims
https://modthesims.info/d/625434/hogwarts-wall-decorations-by-jh.html
Hogwarts Faculties Shields /By Ineliz /The Sims Resource
https://www.thesimsresource.com/downloads/details/category/sims4-objectrecolors-furnishing-decor-miscellaneous/title/hogwarts-faculties-shields/id/1302267/
Hogwarts Uniform Tops /By kamiiri /Tumbler
https://kamiiri.tumblr.com/post/635929249797242880/i-finally-finished-my-hogwarts-uniforms-ive
Just know we will all be waiting for your next installment...no pressure.
That is a concern of mine.
I do enjoy creating things and figuring out how to make things work.
but after that, you get bored with it.
I'm still working out the game play.
Going up the magic levels seem pretty easy, and that could be a good thing.
Once my students reach their goals for the season, I could switch up and play some of the background students and just have them visit Hogwarts and work on their magic.
I am avoiding spell books because they make advancement really easy.
But Dumdbledore will have a complete library. I may use the spell books for all these other sims that I actually won't be playing through Hogwarts and get them some spell and potions abilities quickly. They can sleep at Hogwarts in the houses they belong too because there are extra beds available. It should be fun focusing on one or two sims to change up the pace. And I can play out some stories and be less focused on the other goals.
I think that might keep me interested if I have all these open possibilities and the primary game play isn't a grind.
I totally get that. For me it's an identical feeling to when I was a kid digging out road systems in the back yard. I loved doing that, but my mom certainly didn't.
Because I can't; I keep all sigs turned off.
Origin ID: simaddict1990
HoB is perfect for a Harry Potter world of magic... I love all the changes you've made thus far! Oh man, this is sooooo tempting to do the same thing in my supernatural save file. But do I dare go down that rabbit hole too? *sigh*
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." ~ Mark Twain