#look i have real problems and stuff but ...............sims mods

[victorluvsalice]

They did indeed! Smiler broke out the old Charisma to close a few deals, and they and Victor rung up their various customers for six items in the end -- a rainbow egg, a zombie cake, a box of meat substitute jars, a happy-scent perfume, a crate of strawberry milk, and a raspberry pie -- for a total profit on the day of $2,502! :D Yeah, I know, not that much given how weird Sim economics is, but currently they're on one of the lowest mark-ups, and this is less a money-making venture and more of just a way to use up all the produce they grow on the farm. XD There was some worrying lag at times while they were ringing people up, and I got a Last Exception that makes me think some of Simsonian Library's stuff doesn't always play nice with Brazen Lotus's stuff, but it all worked out in the end!

Aaand Smiler managed to close the store before anyone could go into the bathroom and find Alice "marking her territory" on the floor. *facepalm* Alice. I know you're a werewolf, and Erratic to boot. But the stalls were RIGHT THERE! Like, seriously, RIGHT THERE! Fortunately, she cleaned up the puddles without any complaint, but yikes. *facepalm* Anyway, she and Smiler finished cleaning up the store while an exhausted Victor napped, and I bought the "First Simoleon" perk and hung it up behind the front counter, along with one of the best pictures from their earlier photo session. :) Though I may want to tweak the placement later...eh, we'll see what happens.

And with that, it was time for the gang to head home! Where, fortunately, there was no more Blizzard -- OR Clement Frost waiting to bug them. Victor Scruberooed himself and then Transportalated up to bed, while Alice let out a Somber Howl to lower her Fury and then sped up to bed. Smiler, meanwhile, flew up to their room to study the latest trends, then hyped and released their "Let's Play Sim Scuffle" video to take advantage of a burst of interest in video games. I hung up my other favorite picture of the trio in front of their store beside their room, then had them breed their frogs to make a new plasma pack --

And instead got a Leopard Frog, one Smiler didn't have yet! So I had them head up to the attic to put that in the collection. :) Now they just need a plain Heart frog, a plain Eggplant frog, and the Whirly variation on the Dirt frog to complete their collection! Nice!

And so this update ends with Smiler singing to themselves in the attic, Victor and Alice sound asleep in their bed, and everyone having had a successful TV Premiere and a pretty successful first opening of their store. Next time -- we have a PROPER grand opening, with a lot less bullshit. XD See you then!

[anamoon63]

Your TS3 gameplay really does inspire me to give that game another shot. Are there specific mods you use to make sure the game runs smoothly/is stable? What mods/cc are the best to use so the sims look good?

Hi, Marci! 😊

First of all, thank you very much for your ask. Knowing that my sims and/or my gameplay can inspire other simmers to play means a lot to me cause The Sims 3 is my favorite game in the whole Sims series. Plus, I love my sims, so this makes me twice as happy. 🤗💖

That said, it is my duty to warn you that The Sims 3 is not an easy game to maintain, it requires a lot of care and patience, even from the moment of its installation. You ask me what it takes to make it run smoothly and make it stable, well I'm no expert, but what helped me with that is all contained in this Steam post. I believe these tips you can follow even if you don't have your game on Steam. I followed all these steps when I reinstalled my game back in 2017-18, and I have never had a problem like lag or crashes since then.

It's thanks to the amazing person who wrote that post and to talented modders like @lazyduchess and Twallan (Nraas Mods), whose mods I consider indispensable, that I have been able to play The Sims 3 without problems for years now. I may have had a couple of crashes due to some wrong or corrupt cc, but that's on me because I download a lot of stuff. In those cases, it's a matter of locating the bad cc, taking it out, and that's it. The game runs great, even with a ton of mods installed. (I have a 9 GB mods folder, and I've had more than that at times, lol, but I try to keep in less than 10 GB always).

As for what mods and cc's to use to make the sims look good, well, that would depend on your taste, or as they say now, on the aesthetics of your game or your sims.

For what it's worth, I have always used Ephemera's E-WEAK skin as default. I also use some other Ephemera's like E-Skin Natural MIX, Asia and Fresh. I use some by Kurasoberina too.

I think Ephemera's site doesn't exist anymore, but the E-WEAK skins I use can be downloaded on MTS here. Kurasoberina TS3 skins you can find them here along with more of their fabulous content.

I'm sure there are other skins much newer, and super nice too, but these are the ones I use, cause they give my sims the look they are known for. 😊

Also I use Tifa N38 default eyes, as well as Buhudain's You Are Real body and face maps replacements to give some realism to my sims' skins/bodies. Neither Tifa's nor Buhudain's sites exist anymore, unfortunately, but you can still find Buhudain's archives on this SFS page. And those of Tifa in this other one in Mega. (I hope I am not doing wrong by sharing them, otherwise I will remove them).

There's also this stunning version of Buhudain's You are Real by @nectar-cellar named You are Hyperreal. :)

As for the rest, if I start listing all the other content I use such as hair, clothes and makeup I would never finish, I'd gladly share my whole mods folder, but I don't want to piss off the creators, or blow-up other players' computers, lol. I'm WCIF friendly, though, so feel free to ask for any specific content, of any type, CAS or Buy/Build, I got my custom content well documented, so I'll provide you with links to any of them.

For the time being, here is this link to my custom Content List on my Blogger. I have kept this list for many years, and I still use most of that content; it may be a little outdated of course, cause I have a lot of new stuff now, so my intention is to update the page soon when/if I have the time. Also, some of the links may not work anymore, if so just let me know and I'll fix them for you if I'm able.

I hope this answer has helped you. Sorry for taking so long to reply, but I wanted to make this post as detailed as possible. If you have any other questions about The Sims 3, I'll be here whenever you need me. Good luck and happy simming! 😉💗

[transhuman-priestess]

would you happen to have a flight sim recommendation? Ive seen you post about using them and wondered which one you thought would be best

Depends what you're looking for.

The two big players are Microsoft Flight Simulator and X-Plane.

MSFS is very pretty, it has some decent tutorials built-in, and there's a huge array of content for it, but, at least on my computer, it runs somewhat unstably. It's also very accessible, bordering on hand-holding, which can be good if you're new to flight sims but can also get very old very quickly once you know what you're doing. It's also designed for a gamepad primarily, and you can play it on Xbox. I think its a a little over-designed actually. There's a ton of aftermarket planes available, mostly thru the in-game browser. There might be freeware, i haven't really looked into it.

X-Plane is less pretty, the graphics are maybe a tiny bit more dated, you don't get the photorealistic scenery, but the flight dynamics are much, much more realistic. The difference is hard to explain succinctly but the long and short of it is that, on average, a well designed aircraft for X-Plane will feel "more real" than one in MSFS. X-Plane is also usable on Windows, Mac, and Linux. There's a lot of aftermarket content for it, but less than MSFS, although last i checked there's a larger portion of freeware. It's also a little more persnickty vis-a-vis installation and management. X-Plane also comes with a utility to help you make airplanes for it, though you have to provide the 3D modeling software (like blender) yourself.

Overally, it really boils down to what you want in your flight simulator

MSFS

Pros:

Photorealistic Scenery

Wide variety of assistance

Highly accessible tutorials

Lots of aftermarket content

Available on Windows and Xbox

Cons:

Less realistic flight dynamics

Pretty graphics means higher system requirements

Can be overbearing if you're experienced with flight sims

Designed for a gamepad first and foremost, feels somewhat awkward with the old fashioned joystick, mouse, and keyboard

X-Plane

Pros:

More realistic Flight Dynamics

Built-in plane maker utility

Runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac

Slightly more generous system requirements

Takes up waaaaaaaaaay less space (my install, which has a shitload of aftermarket content in it, takes up 30gb less than my vanilla MSFS install)

Great if you're familiar with flight sims or flying in general

Cons:

Finicky installation and content management compared to MSFS. If you're used to digging in folders and installing mods that way, you won't have any trouble with it, but if you're not experienced with that its got a bit of a learning curve (and you should learn that! it's a great skill!)

Scenery is more generic than MSFS, particularly outside of major cities

Requires a computer, not available on PS5 or Xbox (Imo this is a pro, not a con, but if you don't have a gaming computer its obviously a problem)

Less aftermarket content available

Requires a bit of manual configuration to get going right

Fewer tutorials

Now, I understand it sounds like MSFS is "better" but i really feel that X-Plane is the better choice if you're going to get seriously into this stuff. That being said, i have both, and I play both, but I play X-Plane a whole lot more. If you're brand-new at flight simming, i'd recommend getting MSFS, but don't splurge for the super-deluxe editions. If you've simmed before, i can't recommend X-Plane enough.

TL;DR: MSFS is good for beginners, X-Plane is better for anyone beyond beginner level.

[potential-fate]

Get to know you- Sims Style

I was tagged by @simbury

What’s your favorite Sims death? -- I find it incredibly entertaining that sims can spontaneously combust if they get too warm.

Alpha CC or Maxis Match? -- mix, but ig it leans towards realism nowadays.

Do you cheat your sims weight? -- not that I can think of. sometimes if I am shooting a specific scene and they weren't that shape at the time. but not during gameplay.

Do you move objects? -- absolutely. I'm incapable of decorating without moveobjects on honestly.

Favorite Mod? -- uhm... I guess the 3t2 traits project or ACR/Romantic Standards.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack? -- I have been playing ts2 since it literally came out, so my first ep was whichever one came out first. I think that was Uni? but in spirit of the question, for sims 4 I only bothered downloading the game when they came out with cottage living lol.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing? -- aLIVE. my brain always said essentially like a movie set "and we're live!" so.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? -- Evren Thorne (who you're more likely to see in @luverofralts or @nappe-plays-the-sims game than mine) because he's not story relevant yet, or (much to everyone's chagrin) Callum

Have you made a simself? -- at some point far in the past, yes. I do not have that sim anymore, and I probably wouldn't do it again, but yk. I was also 11 when I started playing this game, so of course I made a digital barbie of myself. (not to say it's childish to do in and of itself, but that it's definitely something that every child tends to do)

Which is your favorite EA hair color? -- since ts2 only has 4, I'm going to assume this was more ts4 centric. in which case I like the neutral blonde/light blonde colors (the two that are less yellow)

Favorite EA hair? -- eh. for ts2 I wouldn't use any of them. for ts4... the mullet thing from werewolves? ig.

Favorite life stage? -- teens or young adults. (I think I may be the only person I know how actively likes Uni for ts2 the most lmao)

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? -- oh. both. depends on my mood.

Are you a CC creator? -- yeeeup. recreationally though. (read: with no real consistency.)

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad? -- I feel like I do lmao. I at least hope they feel the same LOL.

Do you have any sims merch? -- I now have a gameplay guide for the original Sims game lol. but I think that's all I own.

Do you have a YouTube for sims? -- nope. I uh... don't like watching gameplay videos, and sims machinema is way too time consuming to make so I do not.

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing? -- oh gosh. I was one of those edgy emo kids so it was a lot of grunge and dyed hair and bright makeup. I've honestly been leaning a bit more towards that style again though so....

Who’s your favorite CC creator? -- depends on what I'm looking for. tbh a LOT of the CC I have now is older stuff that I just still like. but anyone who isn't exclusively making 4t2 stuff is probably someone I've downloaded from.

How long have you had Simblr? -- technically this blog since January 1st 2020. that being said, I moved from LJ to simblr in like.... idk, 2012? whenever that great migration happened.

How do you edit your pictures? -- a lot of photoshop. color correction, a slight film grain at the very least. most times I also do aesthetic edits to hide clipping, and add painted hair strands nowadays. if I can't get an emotion right for a screenshot, I edit those too.

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite? -- for ts2 I really don't think I could pick one. the problem is I use like 90% of them for SOMETHING gameplay wise, even if I don't use the main function. ie: I love the chemistry/attraction from nightlife, even though the whole downtown thing is frankly annoying sometimes (do YOU WANT TO GO DOWNTOWN? no, random townie I do not. ) But, seeing as I listed it earlier, I guess university.

Tagging uhm.... @rebouks, @pralinesims, @luverofralts, and @nappe-plays-the-sims

[the-daydream-archives]

Get to Know Me_Sims Edition

got tagged by @olya-occult-lover and @van-yangyin, thank you for the tags :D I have a tendency to ramble so this is gonna be a long text post so feel free to skip this if you don't feel like reading.

1. What’s your favorite sims death?

Ngl, I personally find death iffy when it comes to playing Sims since I get way too attached to my characters so much that I never get past Generation 2 while playing the game with the Aging off. xD The most bearable death in the game that's okay with me would have to be the Drowning Death Moodlet since it reminds me of the first Sims game. (tho even back then I'd rather take care of sims than kill them at all) Any time one of my sims gets a dying moodlet, I internally panic and make sure that they evade death by all means possible. (I ensured each of my played sims have death flowers in their inventories as well as those different items that make them immune to death)

2. Alpha or Maxis Match CC?

Both! I never understood the war between the two styles since they're both just CC to me. Basically, if I like something then I like it. Both have their unique characteristics and their flaws. No need to match it with the game since no matter what one does, your character will stick out anyway thanks to the custom content itself. That being said, I like both as long as they aren't unnecessarily high-poly.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

Back when I was a kid I used to, thanks to my own personal challenge with body dysmorphia so I never had a healthy relationship with weight. Now older, I don't have a problem with it at all with my sims since I now know it's just a normal part of life.

4. Do you use move objects?

Of course! I doubt anyone would ever build without using that cheat. It's basically essential at this point.

5. Favorite mod?

Any mods from Gauntlet101010 and @baniduhaine :D I fell in love with Gauntlet's work through their Grim Reaper mods very early back then since no one else at the time catered to occults. And now, I really like baniduhaine's work since they also cater to a lot of things that occults really lack in-game (their occult bloodlines mods and plantsim mods are just <3 ) If you're a big fan of occults, please check out their work! They're really neat!

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

I remember buying Cat and Dogs first if I remember correctly??? Not sure tbh at this point since it's been a long time. But at this point, I prefer other means asides from buying now. If you get it, you get it ;)

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

aLive. I would liken it to how a reporter would say, "We're now live." Though I am unaware if there is a correct way of saying it in the first place. But if there is, feel free to enlighten me :)

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

...this is a difficult question... it's like being asked which one's your favorite child. So how can I possibly choose? But since that is not at all the case, and hopefully my characters stay fictional it would be the rundown of the following in no particular order: Pancakes, Bacon, Hamburger, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Mixed Berry Milk, Ice Cream (Cone), Sugar Cookie, Cow's Milk, Bear Burger, Strawberry Shortcake, Goth Burger, and... *proceeds to list the rest of the Food Sims Series Cast*

9. Have you made a simself?

In recent years no. The last time I did was back when I used to play Sims 1. I was never fond of making real-life people. Characters, on the other hand...

10. What sim traits do you give yourself?

The main 3 traits I would give myself are the following: Creative, Perfectionist, and Geek. Extras that would be applicable are Dog-Lover, Family-Oriented, Socially-Awkward, and Foodie.

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Whatever you call this hair color?? Also, I got carried away with editing so uhh, enjoy? (Yes in the photos are Pancakes and Chocolate Chip Cookie testing out the in-game hairs...and yes they do look quite cursed as blondes so I rather imagine them testing out wigs for a play or something.)

12. Favorite EA hair?

Despite its flaws in texture, it would be this hair from Dine Out. (It also quite suits Pancakes methinks.)

13. Favorite life stage?

Typically Young Adult. I also don't mind Teen, or Adult. And when I do make Elders, I kinda make sure they don't die lmao. I was never that attached to the kids, infants, or toddlers life stages unless they're the love child of my Sims.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Despite its non-existence, I was originally there for the gameplay then I got into building. (But since I poured all my efforts into CAS these recent years, I've forgotten how to build now smh)

15. Are you a CC creator?

I am :) though I mainly specialize in headgear accessories. I find it a necessity nowadays to know how to create my own Custom Content as I'm never content with my sims unless I reach what I envision for them. Not to mention the lack of CC that caters to my personal tastes which makes it even harder to stay as a simmer that is only a gamer. I guess I could say that I became a creator solely out of necessity. Though that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the process of creating. On another note, maybe one of these days, I'll try learning how to make hair or clothing since there are still concepts there that I wish was available for Sims 4.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad?

Do my mutuals count??? There are a handful out there that I am very fond of although we never had a proper conversation. Then there are those that I did talk to and I apologize for the experience of talking with me since I am not very good at socializing asides from comments. I wish I could talk to my mutuals more but I become too nervous conversing in real time that I sometimes just nope out of the conversation. If this happened while we're speaking, it's not you, it's most definitely me lol

17. What’s your favorite game?

What Remains of Edith Finch, The Stanley Parable, The Beginner's Guide, The Sims, Cube Escape & Rusty Lake Series. (I mainly stick to narrative-oriented games or point-and-click adventures)

18. Do you have any sims merch?

Nope, EA doesn't need any more money.

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Nope. Though I do watch Sims Youtubers from time to time. (lxdice, Plumbella, itsqwertyluvs)

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing?

It changed a lot. I won't say that my style got better or anything like that as that would do past me a disservice. I think it's fairer to say that my style got more fantasy-oriented when I began to understand the available CC resources that I had. My Before Simstyle is probably around 2017-2020 while my current sim style is now 2021-present. Ngl, if I ever get back into actually playing Sims 4, I'd probably use less CC similar to my sim style previously.

One is not better than the other, it's just heavily dependent on what mood I feel like when I create sims.

21. What’s your Origin ID?

Nope, don't want to share.

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator?

@moo2shelly (thank her for my love of foodcore CC, just sad that she's deactivated ), @vampirepill (again deactivated, I seem to have a recurring theme), and sims 4 haku at Twitter (again deactivated :') )

As for favorites that are currently active it would be @saruin. @skaays, and @gigglecoffin. (Hope you guys have a good day :) )

23. How long have you had a simblr?

I joined the Sims Community around 2020 I believe? Though at the time, I only stuck to the Sims 4 Studio Website. I think I've had this account since November of 2021 though I only started posting in January 2022. This account was only supposed to be a way for me to keep track of CC creators... I didn't expect to turn into a CC creator myself.

24. How do you edit your pictures?

I take photos using Geforce Experience while simultaneously using Reshade and CAS Lighting to achieve the best results. Then I go edit the photos in Photoshop or Canva. I also recommend using Nvidia Inspector to help fix the Graphics in Sims 4 to make it look better.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far?

Probably Cottage Living <3

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next?

Fairies, Circus/Clowns/Jesters, Bands, and PlantSims. (Especially that last one, please make it into an official occult.)

Tagging @westernraspberry @bnt0 @lunarspellsims <3 <3 <3 (If you guys are busy, feel free to skip this!)

And holy heck, this was long but I hope to those that made it this far that you enjoyed reading this :'D

[ofmdee]

some sims questions!?!?!!

thank u for the tag @eulaliasims 💜 im gonna do these for ts4 unless it's specified

1. What’s your favourite sims death? Omg. Ummm, is it cheating to say old age? I like the satisfaction of knowing i got that sim thru LIFE. But cardiac explosion is also a good one.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? for ts4, def mostly maxis match, but i'm not like, super strict? something looks good i download it 😂 which is a problem.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? no??? i did take away sim ed's massive bulging muscles he got from too many autonomous workouts once, tho.

4. Do you use move objects? it is Always on

5. Favorite mod? probably MCCC. it does So Much.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? Livin' large!!!! 😂

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? LIVING for real i never even considered ALIVE was even an option until recently

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? well, i don't really make sims too often these days, i usually play sims born in game? i mean i obv favor my ofmd sims, but i didn't actually MAKE their bases, they're from the gallery, just heavily made over. from my ts2 days tho i rly liked val.

9. Have you made a simself? oh yeeeee, many times! my most recent one moved in w my gfs selfsim

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? Realistically: Cat lover, loner, socially awkward, erratic, and lazy 😅

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? ummmm i guess one of the pinks? idk it depends! never rly thought about it.

12. Favorite EA hair? bro idk

13. Favorite life stage? idk young adult i guess????

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? Both babeeeey. And story telling. And gif making. I use sims for a lot of stuff!

15. Are you a CC creator? I used to be (old ts2 content), but now i basically only make stuff for personal use for specific sims 😂

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? i think? def friends and friendly acquaintances, not rly a SQUAD so to speak, but i've made friends with a lot of ppl on simblr that i'm friendly with outside of simblr now.

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) 2, despite not having played it in years.

18. Do you have any sims merch? just the games 😂

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? nooo. i have a twitter 🔞, tho ;)

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? in ts2 it was very grunge/neon, and that's harder to find for ts4, imho, and i rly miss that! so i guess my ts4 style is less..... alternative? which is a bummer tbh.

21. What’s your Origin ID? i share jessy's, lol, and also i 🏴‍☠️ ts4 anymore so i don't even remember tbh

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? Buuuuuhhh i cannot choose just one! anyone who never paywalls their stuff, how about that? ;)

23. How long have you had a simblr? since like 2010 lol, this blog only for a few months, tho.

24. How do you edit your pictures? Photoshop! if they're for tumblr i crop them to 800x500, use this psd (that i've edited slightly by adding some vibrance) and then finish it with a super old sharpening action of pooklet's 😂 if i'm making gifs or graphics i switch up psds/etc but that's my go-to editing technique.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? i dont want ANY more fuckin sims 4 packs i am so sick of updating my game just let it DIE. tbh.

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? god idek, there are like 239483209483209 dlcs for ts4, it's hard to pick an overall fav. 🤣

if you wanna do this and haven't done it yet, here is your tag!

[bisluthq]

This might be the weirdest thing anyone’s ever told you but one of my thoughts when Taylor and Joe broke up was “we’ll never know what their kids would’ve looked like”.

Most of my sims are straight and never adopt (I think I have adopted 1 child in the 9 years I’ve been playing sims 4) because one of my favorite parts of the game is seeing how the kids turn out. Another problematic thing I do is that if my sims have two kids and one is ugly I keep the pretty one. Sometimes I have a nose that looks good on women but looks weird on the male version so I have to try to get rid of it by having girls (I don’t want them to be ugly) and then keep the kid that’s born without that nose.

Obviously I’m against doing that in real life, but I also don’t trap people in pools or poison them with pufferfish.

All this to say, I’m always interested to see the outcome of mixing 2 sets of DNA together and I would’ve liked to see what a Joe and Taylor baby would’ve looked like, assuming we would’ve ever seen them as adults. The problem in real life is that you have to wait 20+ years to see the outcome

lmaoooo ok so when my sims have ugly kids I change their looks because I play with mods. I briefly played on my brother’s PlayStation but that really wasn’t fulfilling to me because I discovered I ultimately need WW (have u met me???) to be invested in Sims. So like I just fix the ugly children. Everyone is always beautiful in my Sim worlds but they do have messy lives because otherwise it’d be like the PlayStation version which I kept trying to make messy and my brother kept being like “no just make her a super spy” and I was like “fuck meeee that’s boring.”

Hottest Sim I ever made was on the PS tho but like because I had fuck all else to do with it so I just focused entirely on aesthetics and shit and I guess like making them excel in careers but fuck me it was boring. My brother likes building stuff. I really can’t give a fuck about that. I like mess.

[sg2tiger]

I'm a weird person who likes archiving things. Making lists. Etc. My friends bully me for it all the time but it's simply who I am 😔 I always liked doing these little end-of-year gaming wrap ups but they never really felt right on twitter (and I had to post my rambling thoughts at an external link anyway). I thought about just coming back with 2022 and ignoring the two years I didn't post them here but the gap would bother me too much, so here's a repost of my 2020 gaming recap.

Unless otherwise noted, all text was written in December 2020. For a couple games that I’ve played more in the time since I might add some additional thoughts, but I’ll make a note of it being 2022-me talking if so.

The Sims 4

I feel like I have to preface this with the fact that I was never into the Sims franchise, and never played any of the previous games in the series. Yes, yes. I know that they were better than the Sims 4 in every way. But since this is my only Sims game and thus the only metric by which I can judge a Sims game for myself, I can still say that I’ve gotten a lot of fun and enjoyment out of it since obtaining it earlier this year.

It started because some friends of mine were playing, and I became intrigued by the building system (and the death traps one friend was constructing with said building system). I don’t think life simulator games as a whole really appeal to me, which is why I never got into the Sims before now, but I do love me a good building system. And I do think the Sims 4 has a good building system. I just love zoning out and making and decorating houses, even if I’m not exactly GOOD at it. 

Still, despite all the things I hear about how inferior Sims 4 is to its predecessors, I’ve enjoyed the gameplay too. Since I play on PC I of course have access to mods to improve some of the areas where it’s lacking, but even so, ON ITS OWN without having anything to compare it to I think it can be a lot of fun if you know how you want to play it. Like, the only real ‘playthrough’ I have done so far that wasn’t just me testing mods and CC and stuff involved me trapping a full household of 8 sims inside a house and forcing them to live together reality show style. Except the house was also cursed AND haunted, and I had a mod that made fires spread faster and kill quicker. The goal was, any sim that could survive until they reached Elder on the fastest aging game speed would be set free from the house and be granted eternal youth and immortality. I had a lot of mini goals pop up as I played this save, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel �� “reach elder without dying” — and that helped guide my gameplay enough that I didn’t feel completely aimless, which can be a problem for me if a game is too open-ended sometimes.

I can’t say I’d recommend spending more than $800 for the game and all its packs, but if you were to acquire it through some other means (that I absolutely definitely wouldn’t and am NOT advocating, of course) I think you could theoretically get plenty of enjoyment out of it, especially with the plethora of mods and CC out there. While there are certainly a lot of areas that have room for improvement and I have hopes for with the eventual Sims 5, I don’t think the Sims 4 is a BAD game. At least for a newcomer to the franchise like me who can’t really be disappointed because I have nothing to compare it with. To me, it’s a fun sandbox where I can zone out and enjoy building, or just throw some hapless sims into a horrible situation and play god. And sometimes it’s nice to have a game like that where you can just turn your brain off and do whatever.

Undertale

Yeah, I know. Undertale in 2020, extremely late to the party, etc. Thing is, when I first heard about Undertale, it sounded like a cute and fun game that I would probably enjoy. And then the overzealous fandom blew up and no one would shut the fuck up about it, casual spoilers were literally all over the place, and people looked at you like you had two heads if you said you hadn’t played it or didn’t want to play it. I got SO SICK of seeing people not SHUT THE FUCK UP about FUCKING UNDERTALE that I developed hype aversion and came to actively hate a game I’d never played, a game I probably WOULD LIKE if I played it, because everyone was so goddamn obsessed with it. I was actively avoiding it for years for this reason.

Anyway, after many years of consciously avoiding anything to do with Undertale as a result of the hype aversion, I ended up deciding to play it after all at the behest of good friends whose opinions I trust and who knew about my hype aversion going in. We sat down and talked it through and decided that I’d stream it to them on Discord while playing. They wouldn’t influence my gameplay or talk out of turn and spoil things for me, or give me hints I didn’t ask for, or tell me how to play the game. We’d meet once a week for a few hours for ‘Undertuesday’ and they’d just watch me play and experience things for myself (even if I sometimes very definitely annoyed them with my gameplay). And I appreciated that, so thank you guys again for being patient with me.

Now…I think I had a lot of thoughts and feelings about this game when I finally finished it, but it was back in April, and I don’t seem to have put them in writing because we were talking in voice chat. Unfortunately I can no longer remember any of the specific commentary I must have had for the game when it was fresh. But I think my general take was…I wasn’t able to enjoy it as much as I think I could have, had I TRULY been able to go in blind. But I simply had too much meta awareness of what the game was expecting of me due to how much it blew up. My awareness of things like the mere EXISTENCE of ‘pacifist’ and ‘genocide’ routes ensured that I tried to do the right thing throughout and never kill any monsters, because I knew the game didn’t ‘want’ me to. I had foreknowledge that actively changed the way I may have played had I not known. I also knew that the player character and the original lost human were not one in the same. Perhaps my feelings about the story may have changed had I been properly fooled into believing they were. And in general I had a hard time letting myself like Papyrus and Sans because of how popular they had become, and how sick I was of seeing their faces plastered all over the internet at the height of Undertale’s popularity.

Lots of things like that, mostly little things, but those little things added up to an experience that felt inherently tainted compared to being able to go in without that foreknowledge. I felt like I was just acting the way the game ‘wanted’ me to, but didn’t always expect me to, because a part of me knew that I was supposed to act that way if I wanted the best ending. Because I knew I’d be guilted and punished if I acted differently. Because I went into a game that acts as a deconstruction of the genre knowing that it was a deconstruction. I don’t know how else to put it, but I feel like I wasn’t really able to play it genuinely, and it affected my perception of the game and its themes. Perhaps also being aware that my friends, to whom this game means a great deal, were watching me with expectations and hopes of their own that I would come away loving it as much as they did, and wanted me to. And I feel like I probably let them down because that just didn’t happen for me.

Undertale is a good game. It’s cute, it’s got some cheeky little amusing moments, and you can tell a great deal of love was put into it. I understand why it’s as beloved as it is. But I think it’s also a good lesson about fandom hype and how NOT to try and get your friends to play a game you like (or watch a show, or whatever). I know that when you’re very interested in something you want more than anything to get your friends to become interested in it too — believe me, I’ve been there, and I was definitely the annoying type about it (especially about Umineko). But I think it’s also very important not to let your excitement for a thing override the experience of others, especially if you want them to love it as much as you do. Undertale feels like the kind of game that really works best when you can go in blind and not have your experienced guided — directly or indirectly — by spoilers and meta knowledge. I feel like I definitely would have been able to appreciate it more had I been able to have a natural experience with it, anyway.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

A lot of my thoughts on Odyssey are basically repeats of my thoughts on Origins from last year, so I won't rehash those here. The TL;DR of it is, I can enjoy both games on their own merits as vaguely historical open world action games, but not as what I consider to be Assassin’s Creed games. What I consider to be Assassin’s Creed has essentially ended with Syndicate, and it appears that we won’t be going back, now that Valhalla continues to follow in Odyssey’s footsteps in turning the franchise into (the very loose definition of) an RPG.

What’s NEW here from Origins is the addition of dialogue options and “choices” in how quests can complete. Except your choices aren’t real choices at all, and the player never truly has any agency in the parts of the story that actually matter in the end. (spoilers for this next part so skip to the end if you don’t want ‘em)

Phoebe always dies, for example. No matter what you do. No matter how fast you are. No matter what choices you made before this point in the story. Her character, regardless of what you do or don’t do, is destined to die. To me this would have been an IDEAL point in the story to have some actual cause and effect…like, maybe my actions earlier with her friend and the plague business could influence this, and if I choose poorly, I would have to live with the fact that I’d doomed her. Or something DURING the quest itself, as you pursue her. Maybe you could have acted in a way to get to her in time. I know they really wanted Aspasia’s reveal as the big bad to be a surprising end game affair, but it was pretty heavily foreshadowed at this point in the story (I didn’t think she was The Ghost yet but I certainly was suspicious of her being a cultist). Maybe if my character could have had the opportunity to not trust her, I could have advised Phoebe to not work for her at all, and not end up endangered as a result. There are any number of ways they could have given me the agency to either save or or TRULY end up responsible for her death by my actions. They did not. She is scripted to die no matter what you do. And this is just one example of many points in the game just like it where places that I feel like I SHOULD be able to influence the outcome with my decisions don’t do jack shit because it’s scripted. By contrast, most times that my decision CAN influence the outcome of a quest, the change is so minor (slightly different dialogue or the opportunity to pursue a bland out of the blue fade-to-black sex scene I don’t want) that it doesn’t feel worthwhile at all.

At the end of the day I’m left wondering why this even needed to be a feature at all. Just to give the illusion that this is an RPG now, and broaden the customer base? Because that’s what it feels like. The game could have played out almost exactly the same had they gone with a FULLY scripted story like all the previous games, especially since Alexios/Kassandra clearly already have a pre-written personality that comes across through the things they say and the way they say them regardless of which dialogue options you actually choose. The choices are basically tacked on for appearance’s sake, choices in name only. I felt nothing meaningful from a single one of my choices in all of my 207 hours so far (I’m still trying for 100% completion but I have finished the main questline with both Deimos and unveiling all the cult members). And that’s my biggest complaint about this game — the “choices” didn’t even need to exist because their absence wouldn’t have actually changed the game at all.

And that’s not even getting into the whole forced DLC marriage and child debacle (I don’t own it and plenty of other people have already gone on at length elsewhere on the internet about it, but I think it speaks to the exact same issue of the game promising and giving the illusion of player choice but ultimately still having a scripted story to tell and a protagonist whose personality is already set in stone regardless of your ingame decisions).

At this point I had a whole txt file with more specific examples of Quests That Did Not Actually Give Me A Choice but you get the picture, so I’m not gonna go on endlessly about each one…

Anyway. I feel like Ubisoft would be better off just making a new IP if they want to explore the RPG market so badly. Assassin’s Creed never fit this format and I don’t feel it ever will. RPGs with significant choices work best with silent protagonists (though I feel like KC:D did a serviceable job without one), not fully fleshed out characters who already have literally existed in a historical context by way of the game’s entire premise. By actively taking place in the past you are inherently limiting the things my character can do to influence the story, because that story has already concluded, and the results of it can be seen in the present day story. But they keep being so wishy-washy with the present day story that it’s like a relic at this point anyway that they’re just afraid to drop entirely to piss off the minority who still cares (me, I’m the minority). But when it clearly doesn’t MATTER anymore, why not just bite the bullet and do it already? You could always resolve the loose ends in a comic tie-in lololol

Honestly though, while I’m probably the .0001% who actually enjoys reading all of the stuff on Layla’s PC that gives more context on the lore of the modern day assassins vs. templars conflict and the overarching story that’s been running through this franchise since day 1, I think we’re at a point where they may as well just let it go. They’ve been doing it so dirty since Black Flag as it is, I’d rather just see it go than get further tarnished by being forcefully tacked on because it’s an artifact of the series. After the complete disregard for modern day that we saw in Unity and Syndicate I was genuinely excited when we got Layla, because I thought she’d step into the role of The New Desmond and have adventures that actually made the modern day story relevant again…but she’s actually LESS relevant than the nameless faceless Black Flag modern day protagonist, and that’s just sad. Just pull the plug already, Ubisoft. You’ve made it abundantly clear that you want this series to become a loosely historical sandbox RPG and the intricate and complex lore of the modern day storyline is only dragging you down. You don’t care about it anymore, so what’s it matter to people like me who DO care if you’re not giving it proper attention either way? Just let it die before it can be disgraced any more.

I’m getting off track though…honestly, it’s a fun game. Like I said, 207 hours and I’m still not done shooting for 100% completion by exploring every island and doing every sidequest that I missed my first go around. If I wasn’t having fun at all I wouldn’t still be here. I AM having fun. I think less fun than I had with Origins, if I’m being honest, but it’s definitely not a bad game. I’ll just never be happy with the idea of the series going in this direction in the first place, so I’m always gonna be here nitpicking about little things the majority of people won’t care at all about. Like the fact that haystacks and hidespots no longer exist despite being a literal staple of the franchise. Or the fact that you can’t die from fall damage anymore. Lack of true poison/berserk darts mechanic or any real ability to sow chaos in an enemy camp without breaking stealth because the game really really REALLY wants to force you into open dynamic combat because it looks cooler in the promo trailers. Feel like I had to fight the game to give my gear all the mechanics that boost Predator Shot and passive adrenaline regeneration so I can pull off multiple headshot kills without being spotted, y’know, like I want to actively do in a game where I expect to play like a proper assassin. Oil barrels also seem way weaker than they were in Origins where setting fire to camps was a risky (because it’s not exactly stealthy and quiet in the traditional sense) but very fun way of making quick work of enemies in the dead of night and then slipping away in the chaos before they could see you. The game just really wants me to be a Spartan Warrior Demigod and I’ve gotta work so hard to NOT be that and it annoys me. Can’t even blow up a grain silo from absolute and complete cover with no one around to witness SHIT and not get a mysterious bounty on my head. Are the horses and goats reporting my crimes again, like in Skyrim?

I could keep going with nitpick after nitpick but I won’t. I’m just cranky because I actually really liked both Unity (gameplay-wise, the story was a trainwreck) and Syndicate (slightly less of a trainwreck which is funny considering the presence of actual trains) and thought they did a lot to really refine that tried and true core Assassin’s Creed gameplay…and I know it’s never coming back. But Odyssey is fun I guess. If you aren’t an experienced AC fan you’ll probably enjoy it. And I guess that’s exactly how Ubisoft likes it.

Sonic Adventure 2

One day I was babysitting my 3-year old nephew and he told me he wanted to play a ‘blue game’. I didn’t know what that meant (I have since learned that this is how he refers to his parents’ Switch, which is light blue) so I looked in my Steam library for something blue. I landed on this, which I forgot I even had on PC. And that’s how I got my nephew obsessed with Sonic and also how I spent the next 2 months reliving one of my favorite games of the GameCube era.

I don’t really have a lot to say here. It’s Sonic Adventure 2. I got big into the Chao Garden, as one does, and trying to A-rank all those stages that used to give me the hardest time. I’m actually really proud to have A-ranked Crazy Gadget on all stage types, and Eternal Engine on all types except Hard (couldn’t manage more than a B). Also got all A ranks on Route 101, but I did that in the olden days too (after a great deal of frustration and one broken GameCube controller). Can’t manage to pull it off for Hard Mode Pyramid Cave though…and I know I DID finally get that one last time I replayed this game, like, 8 years ago, so I know I’m capable, but I just can't manage to pull it off.

Mostly I focus on the Hero stages though. Growing up, me and my brother used to share our save files on most games instead of having separate ones, and when he played I’d watch and vice-versa. For SA2 I always played the Hero story and he played Dark, so I’m always less familiar and more rusty when I try to do the Dark stages. I did get all A ranks on Radical Highway after many many hours of trying (fuck you, time attack)…but that’s about my sole Dark stage claim to fame. Rouge's stages in particular are exceptionally difficult for me.

I was still working on raising some Chao before I inevitably got distracted away by other games…but the good thing about having it on Steam is that my save data will be there next time I get the urge to play, whether it’s a year from now or 5+. No more hunting for old memory cards that probably got lost or thrown out when we moved houses, taking all those hard-earned A ranks and carefully-raised Chao with them. And I think it'll be satisfying to boot it back up after a long time and remind myself that I got all A ranks in Crazy Gadget (the finest achievement I'll ever attain in this lifetime and what should be engraved on my tombstone).

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town

The original Friends of Mineral Town (back when it was still Harvest Moon) for GBA was probably my favorite Harvest Moon game, so I was excited to play the updated remake. It’s not PERFECT, and I did kinda end my playthrough on a sour note which I will explain in a moment, but looking back on it now several months later I’d say it’s a very comfy and largely casual farming sim that’s hard not to like. Fans of Stardew Valley or more modern farming sims might find it too shallow, but for people who played either the original FoMT, HM64 or Back to Nature, it’s a fun and nostalgic little game.

Of course, as with all remakes, there’s always those things you wish they didn’t change. Some of the character redesigns don’t sit as well with me as the originals, but most of them grew on me as I played (except Karen…). The removal of rival marriages is also a heavy blow, simply because a certain Japanese market didn’t like the idea that their waifus might get “stolen” if they didn’t act fast enough (and iirc you had like, 2 whole years before they WOULD in the original so like…)…I’d like to say the inclusion of same-sex marriage makes up for it, but I wish we could have had both. I always end up wooing everyone in town before I actually get married in these games, just so I can see all the events, and then I feel bad for leading everyone else on, so I like the idea that they’ll find happiness together too! I think that if the game were ever able to be hacked for mod support this would be the first thing modders would put back in.

But while these things are the main offenders you’ll hear people talk about, they’re not the worst. A lot of this is probably on the nitpick level that most players won’t care about so feel free to stop reading here. Granted that a lot of the game’s issues stem from being a little TOO faithful to the original and some of its more frustrating gimmicks (who honestly thought a 50 year wedding anniversary gift was a good idea in a game where no one will ever age?!), but there are a lot of things that were CHANGED from the original and made needlessly more difficult for some baffling reason…and then tied to achievements, to boot.

So, most of the achievements are pretty easy to get as long as you play normally and get past 3 years. Others require you to go a bit out of your way to achievement hunt for them specifically, but are absolutely doable if you set your mind to doing them. But then there are the ones that basically require you to plan your entire save file around getting them, and making no mistakes in the process unless you just really really REALLY love waiting around for entire ingame seasons before you get another chance. The main offenders here are all related to breeding farm animals, and how they needlessly changed the breeding mechanics in this game for seemingly no reason than to make things more tedious and difficult.

See, the remake introduced a convoluted friendship/happiness system to all your animals. I think the original had some hidden friendship requirements too, but the main thing in the remake is that animals you purchase have a friendship CAP, after which they cannot continue to gain more friendship, even if you’ve had them and cared for them every day lovingly for years. The only way to raise that cap is to breed your animals, and each time you breed a successive generation that heart cap goes up by one. Purchased animals cap out at 5 out of a maximum of 8 hearts. If you breed your 5 heart cow you bought, it’ll have 6 hearts. Breed that one and it’ll raise to 7. And so on down the line until you have a cow with 8 hearts…which is basically a requirement if you want to get several achievements, and if you aren’t aware of this and start doing it IN YOUR FIRST YEAR you’re going to have a very bad time.

See, you need your animals to have max hearts if you want them to produce the highest-quality animal products (milk, eggs, wool). And you need those animal products in order to cook some dishes, which you need for the achievement to cook all dishes in the game. And you need them at max hearts to win the seasonal animal festivals, which also have achievements. And the thing about those festivals is that they come once a year, and if you don’t have your maxed out adult animal by the time they roll around you have to wait a whole year to do it again. This is much worse than it sounds when you consider the aforementioned fact that the heart cap only raises by one with each successive time you breed…and it takes a full season (30 days) for a pregnant animal to give birth, and about another 20 for that baby animal to become fully grown. And then you have to actually GET that animal’s friendship maxed out up to its cap before you can breed them and pass that cap on to its baby (I think? I was playing in August so I’m a bit fuzzy but I’m pretty sure this was part of what made it so obnoxious because you couldn’t just breed the baby as soon as it hit adult stage if you wanted to do it right).

Now remember, the animal festivals come only once a year. You can’t submit a pregnant or baby animal, but you need an animal with 8 hearts or more (10 is actually the maximum but you only need 8 for everything that matters) to win the festivals. So if you time your breeding poorly, you might not have an animal that’s ready for the festival in time…there’s also holidays and the occasional typhoon/blizzard (which you can sort of cheat your way around in most cases if you’re vigilant about watching the weather channel) that can interfere in your ability to feed and brush the animals, which loses you precious days of raising that friendship.

Now let’s say you didn’t even find out about this cap system, or the 8 heart requirement for winning festivals, until well into your third year, after you’ve gotten most of the other achievements and basically done almost all you wanted to do in this game. Well too bad, because you’re basically going to need another 2 years minimum before you’ll actually have a prize-winning animal ready for the next festival! And if you’ve already befriended all the townsfolk, gotten all the romances, married, fully upgraded your farm, learned all the cooking recipes, fully explored both mines, and basically everything ELSE in the game besides these achievements…you’re going to have a lot of extremely BORING grind ahead of you where you basically just wake up, care for the animals, go back to bed and repeat. For season. After season. After season.

I was basically working like crazy to try and pull this off and I DID actually just barely not make it in time for the sheep festival one year which kinda threw me over the edge in my anger about this mechanic. And if you want to get all the products for your shipping log (thank GOD not required for an achievement, but something I was actively trying to complete before the breeding madness made me just say fuck it, achievements and then I’m done with this game) you have to do this for each type of cow as well…or at least have the sense not to buy any other type of cow besides normal until you’ve already gotten an 8-heart cow through breeding. Because whenever you buy a new animal of the same type after raising the cap, those animals will have the increased heart cap too…so if you had bred yourself a cow with 6 hearts, and bought a new cow, it’d have a 6 maximum instead of 5, and the different cow flavors all run on the same cap system as the normal cow (but only the normal cow’s milk is needed for the cooking achievement so the flavored cows are…well, frankly useless outside of the shipping log).

If this were the only frustrating system in the game I could probably suck it up and deal. It’s very obnoxious since, despite all the tutorial books in the library, I don’t think any of them mention this mechanic at all and basically require you to read about it in an online guide to know (and sucks to be you if you don’t do so early into your save so you can get started on it ASAP), and because it takes so much time to do it that it’ll take you a couple years for certain…but I’d probably sigh, complain a bit, and move past it. But the game decided that this was simply not ENOUGH of a punishingly specific seasonally timed game mechanic to tie to an achievement. No…instead they had to throw in that achievement for owning all 4 of the possible animal pets.

In the original FoMT you just started the game with a dog and you could take it to the fetch festival on the beach in summer. That was about it. The remake introduced different breeds of dog as well as cats, penguins and capybara you can get during different seasons from a special pet merchant. That merchant only shows up on the 15th of the month, and only if it’s sunny, and only if you’ve done some other stuff I forget exactly in order for him to start coming to town. And THEN, the pet he sells changes per season — cats in spring, penguins in summer, dogs in fall and capybara in winter. He won’t sell you a second pet until you’ve raised — you guessed it — your friendship hearts with your first pet, and it also has to be an adult…and you also guessed it, this takes a lot of time and daily dedication to level. And you have to do this until you’ve obtained all 4 pets from him, which you have to do EXACTLY on a sunny 15th day of each season, and only when all of your other pets are adults with maxed friendship.

Getting the idea yet? Another achievement basically tailor made to make you waste your time living through more ingame years than the game has engaging content to complete, and another element that you basically have to read about online to know exactly how it works. I wanted to get a cat. Cats are sold in spring, but it’s impossible for the merchant to come to town before the SUMMER of first year, so the earliest you can get a cat is year 2. It’s also not possible to get two pets in a row — your pet does not grow from baby to adult in time. I tried. So you CAN’T get a cat in spring of year 2, and then a penguin in summer of year 2…you have to skip over summer that year and you’ll be able to get a dog in autumn year 2. But then your dog won’t be an adult by winter of year 2, so you can’t get a capybara. But you can get a cat in year 3 spring! Oh wait, you have a cat already? Bummer. You effectively shot yourself in the foot and wasted time by not buying your pets with the maximum efficiency required to get this achievement.

I was in year 6 by the time I finally got all of the achievements. I had actually reached a point where I basically abandoned my actual save and made a second save file just to do this, neglecting my friends, family, livestock and farm for the sole purpose of waking up, playing fetch with my pet, going to bed and repeating until the time came that I could buy my next pet. The amount of time I wasted, both in real life and in the game, was just unbelievable. The unbelievably restricted mechanics in this game that can’t even be blamed on it being a remake of something so old, because they were actively INTRODUCED in the remake…by the time that last achievement finally popped I was just 1000% fucking done. I came away from a fun and jaunty little remake of a beloved game from my yesteryear feeling angry and soured on the whole experience. And I know that’s stupid, and I know you don’t have to get all achievements and I know achievements should be for things that you really SHOULD work to ACHIEVE and not be handed out like candy. But there’s a difference between achievements that make me feel like I worked hard to achieve them, and achievements that are gated behind ridiculously convoluted time-gated events that require you to actively stop playing the game normally and dedicate yourself solely to…waiting. To grinding your real actual time WAITING day after ingame day until the right time appears, and praying to God you didn’t fuck up and miss even one day in your routine. It’s bullshit, plain and simple.

And it’s not enough for me to not recommend this game, because I still had a lot of nostalgia and fun with it and this isn’t something that’s going to affect the vast, vast majority of players. I just…it’s remarkable how this game is both cutesy and casual and also so sadistic in its torments that it would make Satan himself blush. And it just kinda left a bad taste in my mouth by the time I’d finished and made me want to rant about it. And I put it in my notes, ‘rant about this thing when you write up the end of year post because I’m too angry to do it now’, and I didn’t wanna let my past self down. They put a lot of wasted time into getting those achievements, dammit, they deserve a little 10-paragraph rant as a treat.

But hey — at least I’m in the less-than-1% of (Steam) players who made it.

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright

Been playing this on and off at a very slow pace for a while now…I’m not finished yet so I don’t really have a whole lot to say. It’s…alright. It’s like Awakening: More Differenter Edition, except it lacks a lot of the charm that game had and copypastes some of its mechanics over seemingly just for the sake of it despite it not REALLY making sense to do so (I’m looking at you, dimension babies). The characters are less charming and memorable IMO, and while I kinda like the story plot itself more than Awakening’s, I’m not a big fan of the Pokemon-style version split between the two stories. I’m basically never going to buy or play Conquest, so I’m effectively missing out entirely on the characters and perspective of that side…a perfect scheme to engineer people into buying two copies of the same game, of course (at least with Pokemon the idea is that you’re socializing with other people to get what you don’t have…that logic doesn’t really work when it’s an entire story that you’re splitting between two games that effectively must be played by the same one person to get the full experience).

I was enjoying it well enough though, even if not loving it, until the other day when I finally got to that mission. Suffice to say I didn’t have the requisite A-rank with a certain someone, who was then Doomed To Die By Cutscene In The Stupidest Most Convoluted Way Possible, despite that person being one of my best and most-used units gameplay-wise…so I was basically punished for not having them stand next to my PC character, specifically. But I’m not going to go on another 10-paragraph rant about why I hate game mechanics that come out of the blue and give you no way of knowing about them without seeking knowledge from outside the game. Suffice to say I just sucked it up and reloaded my save, grinded out the last level of support on one of the bonus maps (we were at a B support already…just not A 🙄), and then replayed what had been one of the hardest maps to get through in the game so far the first time (it was easier the second time since I knew about the reinforcements spawning nigh endlessly from the towers if you don’t block em off). The character’s life was spared and life goes on.

Still one of the stupidest things I’ve encountered in a game though, since no other Fire Emblem has had something like that locked to a support, to my knowledge (unless the old pre-GBA ones that I never played did), and there’s really NOTHING in the game’s story to that point that suggests this character’s relationship with the protagonist is important enough to doom them to Death By Cutscene if you don’t support them to A before that point. I was angry. But I managed to overcome it so I’ve moved on.

2022 Addendum: I finished this game the following year, before moving on to play Three Houses. My final verdict was ultimately one of disappointment, hence the updated ‘Meh’ review on the page image. The writing was just plain bad (and I’ve heard that it’s arguably worse on the other two routes), and the characters were just not that memorable or likeable to me with maybe two exceptions. What I did like about it was the gameplay - and at this point I can’t even remember the specifics, but I do remember that there were a few times playing Three Houses where I kept thinking ‘man I really miss being able to do [x] like in Fates’, so I guess there’s that. I know Birthright is also the Baby Easy Mode of the Fates trilogy, but I think Conquest would probably be hard enough to piss me off (I put up with that shit in the GBA era but I don’t know if 2022 Tiger is patient enough for that anymore). 

But mostly, the reason I don’t ever particularly care to play Conquest or Revelation is simply because Birthright wasn’t satisfying enough in the writing department for me to WANT to. Ideally you’d want one of your 3-part game series to hook the player into wanting to see how things go down on the other routes, right? Like, no one plays a visual novel, gets one ending, and says ‘okay that’s enough’ (r-right?). If the writing were GOOD it should make me want to see things from the other side. If the characters were compelling enough I should want to see them through another viewpoint. And if the overarching plot (which I spoiled myself on once I decided I didn’t want to ever play the other two games) actually had more hints to its presence IN Birthright’s story, enough to nag at my mind and say ‘there’s something unfinished here and I want to know what it is’...but well, it didn’t. Birthright didn’t manage to make me care about any of those things, certainly not enough to spend more money to buy both a second entire full-priced game and THEN a paid DLC on top of that. 

Some people play these games entirely for the strategy gameplay, and that’s the crowd I hear praising Conquest. But other than that I get the strong sense that I’m not alone in finding Fates a pretty weak entry in the series overall. Thankfully I feel that Three Houses more than made up for all of Fates’ shortcomings, at least in the writing and character department, but I’ll talk about that more in my 2021 Three Houses review. UNthankfully...well, I’m not too excited for what I’ve seen about Engage so far, so I guess time will tell as to whether Fates redeems itself in my eyes in the future.

Skyrim Modlist: Elder Souls

I think it’s becoming a meme at this point that Skyrim, in some form, will be on these lists at the end of every year. But I can’t help it…something about it calls to me every year around the same time (late August to September) and it always manages to pull me back in 😔

Anyway, last year I gave Ultimate Skyrim a try because the last time I modded my own game I broke things in hilarious ways by trying to make my own mod compatibility patches (turns out I’m not that good at it). I thought having someone else curate the modlist experience for me would alleviate my problems. And I loved that part of it, and how integrated Ultimate Skyrim’s systems felt compared to me just slapping together whatever I liked with no thought to how those systems would interact. Unfortunately I wasn’t as big a fan of Requiem, the entire system Ultimate Skyrim is based upon…

But in the intervening year between playthroughs, Automaton (the tool used to install Ultimate Skyrim) gave way to a new tool called Wabbajack, and an entire new world of curated modlist installers opened up before me. I decided to peruse the various Wabbajack lists and see if I could find one that’d suit me a little better than Requiem…and I actually really liked the sound of Elder Souls.

As the name implies, Elder Souls is basically The Dark Souls Of Skyrim. The world is harsher, bleaker, and filled with a huge variety of new enemies and dungeons chemically balanced specifically to kick your ass. The skill and leveling system is completely overhauled — aside from the crafting skills (smithing, alchemy and enchanting), you don’t gain exp and level up by doing anymore. You gain gold with each kill, and when you sleep you spend an increasing amount of gold to raise your level in the skill of your choice. Eventually you’ll earn enough exp to level up and gain perk points to invest. As you level, the amount of gold it takes to progress increases higher and higher, from the hundreds to the several thousands…but as you grow in power, you’ll be able to kill more enemies to earn more gold to put towards leveling up further. It’s actually a really cohesive and fun gameplay loop that works surprisingly well in Skyrim, and I came to enjoy it a lot.

Of course you can also earn gold in the usual ways…loot, selling loot, crafting things and selling those…everything you do in the game basically makes you think about how much gold you have and how you want to invest it. In the early game especially, when it’s so hard to kill and loot enemies, that expensive weapon at the blacksmith can be really tempting…but that means you’ll be spending the gold you need to level up, so it’s a judgment call. It also makes you really focus your character build because your skillups are restricted to when you can sleep and afford them, and your perk points become harder and harder to earn as each level up starts to feel so far away (though you can find perk points by exploring and finding waystones in the world as well, for a little extra help). Do you want to invest that perk in alchemy or enchanting? Or is it more practical to boost your damage or defense by taking a combat perk instead? It really makes you think about how you level.

In the early game, you’re a fragile little baby. When you die, you leave behind a gravestone and all your gold with it (you don’t lose your gear) and respawn in the last inn you slept in. If you can get back to your body before dying again, you can recover your gold…but if you die on the way, it’s gone forever. It may be practical to bring a follower along for better survival, but they’re expensive to hire and share in a portion of the gold you earn…is it worth the tradeoff for the survivability? I managed to get lucky and beat Uthgerd the Unbroken in a fistfight by using the architecture of the Bannered Mare to my advantage, ducking and weaving, so I earned a ‘free’ follower to carry my burdens and tank for me in my early hours. She also came at level 11 when I was like, level 3. I had to make her essential, though, because she kept jumping in front of my arrows when I tried to shoot the enemy and I killed her/reloaded about 5 times before I’d had enough of that 😔

By the middle to the end of the game, though, if you’ve been diligent in exploring, killing and building your perks well, you come to feel like an invincible god. You can take anything alone, and followers just get in the way. I was playing an Orc warrior, with two-handed/heavy armor/archery/smithing. Orcs in Elder Souls have passive health regeneration. With the Wintersun religion mod I followed Malacath, of course, and his boon allowed me to regain health for the amount of overkill damage I dealt with each enemy kill based on my favor with him. My favor with him was constantly high because I pleased him by constantly slaying great and powerful foes. With the addition of crafting equippable Runes I furthered my health regeneration per kill and buffs to my armor rating. For completing Meridia’s daedric quest I got a spell that…well I forget what it did exactly but it buffed me even more. Using Ocato’s Recital I had it autocast whenever I entered combat. As a werewolf, I also had further buffs to my health and stamina, even outside of my beast form. By the endgame I was further buffed by Black Books and the reforged Gauldur Amulet (which in Elder Souls has the extremely OP power of letting you revive once on death with a 15 minute cooldown — but considering the Gauldur brothers are extremely formidable, it’s a reward worthy of defeating them). And with the Cleave ability in the two-handed perk tree allowing me to deal AoE damage with each attack, I became a literally unkillable, unstoppable machine of death.

I’m not even a min-maxer. Optimizing builds and gear isn’t something I find fun, so I don’t really do it. This just was mostly a case of multiple factors all aligning in just the right ways to make me feel like a literal actual god. To further illustrated exactly how broken my character became by the endgame, there’s an enemy in the Vigilant mod designed to be unkillable — as in, you’re supposed to just RUN from her if she sees you. I’m kind of a weenie about horror in games in general so I was very scared and I did run and panic when I got to that part of the dungeon but then I got cornered in a room and in my panic flailed about attacking and…killed her. And then her equally scary friend who showed up shortly thereafter. Just killed them both. They’re either meant to have stupidly high health or defense or maybe both, I read about them online and they are definitely not meant to be killable because this section of the mod is more or less supposed to be a survival horror. You can’t kill the monsters chasing you, you can only run. Unless you’re me, the most broken Skyrim character who ever lived.

Anyway. To further drive home how much I ENJOYED Elder Souls, this is the first time I actually, legitimately finished Skyrim. In all my 2,193 hours of OG Skyrim on Steam, in only 228 hours of Elder Souls (this was my first time playing Special Edition so I did have the exact hours on hand) I did what I thought I could never do because I was always so distracted adding and removing mods and generally being too busy breaking my load orders to actually play the game. I beat Alduin. Then I did the Dawnguard DLC for the first time. Then I did Dragonborn for the first time. And then I did vicn’s trilogy of GLENMORIL (I was actually doing this concurrent with Dawnguard), VIGILANT and UNSLAAD. And there were even more quest mods I’d never played included in Elder Souls…but after being able to solo VIGILANT basically effortlessly it felt like nothing in this game could be a proper challenge anymore and I officially decided to call it quits. At level 49, Ushnak the Orc retired, too powerful for Tamriel to contain.

I was still in the mood for Skyrim after that, though, so I grabbed a new modlist and started a new file. But it just…didn’t click. It was a fun enough modlist in its own right (Equanimity) but it just…didn’t feel the same, after getting used to Elder Souls. The world felt so much more empty without all the enemy variety…sure, they had QUANTITY with bandit camps absolutely overflowing with difficult foes, but it wasn’t the same feeling as wandering through the desolate mountains and stumbling upon a minotaur, armed to the teeth and blocking your path. My gold no longer felt like it had value when I couldn’t spend it on skill ups, which had kept loot meaningful throughout the entire game. I feel like Elder Souls just kinda ruined a more traditional Skyrim experience for me…it was so DIFFERENT, and definitely took some getting used to at first, but when I stopped playing I finally realized just how much I’d warmed up to it.

I do wonder how much more punishing it’d be on a different build, though. I was focusing on archery more in the early game but then focused mostly on two-handed by the end, but how would the traditional Skyrim Sneak Archer survive in Elder Souls? What about a mage? I never play mages, but still. A squishier class, a race and religion without inherent health regen abilities…it might be fun to try next year when the Skyrim urge strikes me again. Or maybe I’ll venture out and try another new modlist again. I think I just couldn’t jump RIGHT from the Elder Souls experience into something that was a little closer to normal Skyrim, but a year off might ‘reset’ that a bit. Still though, I’d like to play Elder Souls again sometime. And I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants to play Skyrim for the 100th time, but also like, doesn’t want to play Skyrim for the 100th time.

2022 Addendum: Sadly Elder Souls has been discontinued, so my ‘Recommended’ rating feels a little weird now, but there’s other Soulsy inspired lists out there that can hopefully scratch a similar itch (last one I was playing before I got distracted was Ruvaak which was pretty fun). In general I still cannot recommend Wabbajack modlists enough, and since the time of this review I have not played Skyrim without it being a Wabbajack modlist (with the semi exception of me taking someone else’s Skyrim Together modlist and then kind of hacking it to pieces to fit me and my friends’ needs, but that’s a story for the 2022 game reviews).

Genshin Impact

Some friends were playing Genshin so I decided to give it a try. Especially since it was constantly being called a BoTW clone, and I figured I’d never get a switch or be able to play BoTW, so hey, why not?

I feel like I don’t have a lot to say about it. It’s cute and fun and while the gacha elements are, well, gacha elements, I think the game is still very playable and enjoyable without suffering under the greedy fist of Big Gacha. The elemental interactions are really fun — I love games that take elemental play in more exciting directions than simple “water beats fire” style (one of the reasons I like Divinity a lot). Exploration is also a lot of fun, and it’s always really rewarding to solve a puzzle and see a chest pop up. I was also pleasantly surprised by how much worldbuilding and story there actually is, since I kinda figured it was gonna go more sandbox-style and just throw me out with a vague premise and have me explore the world in hopes of finding my sister.

I’ve enjoyed it a lot so far, I just haven’t played it a ton yet because I’ve also had my hands full with other things. But what’s there so far is pretty fun and I think it’s worth checking out at the very least.

World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth/Shadowlands

A friend of mine usually buys me a couple months of WoW sub for every new expansion (I started playing when Pandaria was current). For reasons I no longer remember but are probably ARK-related, I didn’t end up getting a sub during the BFA period (my last sub came around the end of Legion). So about a month before Shadowlands dropped she got me a new sub, and I had to play catch-up on all the BFA stuff I’d missed out on…and THEN jump into Shadowlands.

Since I didn’t play BFA when it was current content, I think my opinions of it are pretty skewed. From what I hear, Azerite gear was wildly unpopular, but I kinda thought it was fun (granted I’m not into the endgame high tier raiding stuff where it’d really be an issue). I also liked how the Alliance and Horde stories were COMPLETELY different, and not just slightly different takes on doing the same content in the same zones. Both islands have a lot of personality and I thought the stories for both were interesting, and neither really required me to have a PHD in World Of Warcraft Lore Studies to understand them (which Legion sometimes felt like it did). I’m not SUPER thrilled with some of the changes they made to Outlaw Rogue since I was away, but I’ve gotten used to it…mostly.

Then Shadowlands came out JUST after I finished up my rep grind to get flying in BFA, where I now no longer had any reason to be and to fly (okay that’s not true, because it came in very handy when I leveled my horde main through BFA later, but it’s how I felt at the time). I kinda liked the more railroaded leveling experience for a change because of the way the story elements were able to be tied together and flow into each other, and I appreciate the fact that once you’ve gone through it that way once you don’t have to do it again on your future characters. Usually when I’m leveling I end up wandering off and picking up !s wherever I see them, getting vastly off-track from where the game actually wants me to go (I basically wandered away from like, the third story quest you get in Kul Tiras and ended up doing Every Sidequest in Tiragarde Sound before wandering back to continue the ‘main’ story there and realizing some of the places it would have taken me were places I had already gone to). For Shadowlands, since it wanted to guide me into focusing on the storyline, I decided not to do that — Bastion still had a bunch of the map unexplored by the time I finished the story there, but instead of wandering off to see it all I just headed right to Maldraxxus so I could do the story while it was all fresh in my mind. Then after finishing that, I went back to the other zones to wrap up the extra sidequests and stuff I had missed the first time around. It was a different kind of experience from how I usually play but I liked it for a change. Not sure if I’d like to see it as the new style for every expansion going forward, but I thought it worked well for Shadowlands in particular and the story it wanted to tell.

I’ve now got both my mains set up in covenants and am working on developing those. Another friend who hadn’t played WoW since WoTLK also recently came back and we have been working on leveling new characters together. As someone who’s mostly only ever played one Main Character, with a Secondary Character to occasionally experience stuff on the opposite faction, it feels weird to suddenly have all these ideas for new alts I wanna make, and having to find time to do all the things I wanna do. Thankfully my friend extended my sub as a Christmas gift, so I feel less pressured to have to do EVERYTHING I want to do by the end of the month now that I’ve got more time.

Overall I’ve been having fun though, after having been away from the game for a while. I’m kind of a casual WoW player in general, preferring the questing experience to doing stuff like Dungeons and Raids with groups of strangers that are gonna be putting pressure on me and my gear and my performance, so MY enjoyable WoW experience is not going to be EVERYONE’S enjoyable WoW experience. I get the sense that BFA was not terribly popular, but I thought it was better than Legion (and I liked Legion when it was current content). I’m also not as concerned with choosing the optimal covenant for Maximum Performance, but more based on aesthetics and style and how they fit my characters, and I’d like to see how all their little stories play out on alt characters at some point (right now my rogue is Venthyr and my hunter is Kyrian). Plus there’s still leveling my lowbie druid with my friends, and other alts I wanna make at some point…and working on stuff like pet battling and archaeology on the side. Lots of stuff to do, but hopefully now I’ve got enough time to do it in, and can relax a bit.

2022 Addendum: This was all before the whole big Blizzard scandals came about. At the time me and my friends were having a blast playing Shadowlands content together almost every night. Then basically all at once we all kind of stopped playing. For one friend, it was entirely due to the controversy. For the other I think it was a combination of conflicted feelings and general burnout. I kept going for another month or two until my sub ran out, but I was hitting the burnout around that time as well, and not having them to play with made me lose my zeal to work on my alts and other things to hold my interest, so I just let it lapse. I’m not really sure what the future holds as far as playing WoW together again, now...maybe someday. I don’t think there’s even been a new expansion since Shadowlands yet, anyway (I don’t really keep up with WoW news at all when I’m not actively playing). It’s kind of crazy how much can change in such a short amount of time. I’ll still look back at that time we were playing together and having fun, though, even if our WoW playing days might potentially be over.

Grounded

My friends came to me and basically said, “we’re obsessed with a new survival crafting game, do you wanna play”, and I said “why yes, I do love a good survival crafting game”, and the next thing I knew I had become a little ant…

Grounded hits on all the usual trappings of the genre. You have a vague premise (in this case you’ve been shrunken down to insect size and forced to brave the dangers of the backyard, Honey I Shrunk The Kids style) but otherwise are on your own to fend for yourself against things that want to kill you, while managing your own hunger, thirst, and other needs, building increasingly more advanced shelters and braving deeper into the world to get higher-level crafting materials and march ever toward advancement.

What makes it fresh is the way the ‘theme’ of being shrunk in the backyard feels really well integrated into the world. Things like finding a discarded juice box or soda can with a little (large, to you) droplet of liquid you can drink or fill your canteen with to replenish your thirst, which you can absolutely imagine finding in a backyard where children play. The giant bird who sometimes flies by and perches on a nearby bit of distant scenery, massive enough to blot out the sun from your tiny view below. The koi pond essentially acting as the ‘ocean’ biome, filled with hostile aquatic creatures and the ever-present threat of drowning. The vaguely 1980’s aesthetic of it all. It just all feels really cohesive and helps you immerse yourself in the world.

The mechanics are also a bit more…dare I say, casual? More forgiving? Than some of these games tend to be. Your only needs are really hunger and thirst, and while you CAN sleep, you don’t have to…you can just keep working through the night every night if you want to, without rest. Buildings can clip into the terrain by default, so where you build is a bit more forgiving (some games could stand to learn a thing or two from this…looking at you, ARK). When you die, your corpse basically stays there forever, so there’s not a ton of pressure to race back to where you died to recover your stuff. For that matter, anything you drop seems to stay on the ground forever. These things might change if the game gets persistent servers down the line for performance reasons, but it can be kinda nice in a multiplayer game with friends.

I think my favorite thing is how the building system is LEGITIMATELY cooperative. In games like ARK or Conan Exiles, it’s like, you basically designate one person in your tribe to be The Builder, with everyone else just being your resource gathering monkeys. One person has the plans, the ideas, the visions for how to build the base…and it can be hard to communicate that without wires getting crossed, and that can be costly when these games usually don’t return all your resources spent when you demolish a structure. But the way Grounded does it, you’re basically not placing down structures in the world right away, but blueprints for them. Everyone can see them, even as you’re trying to position them. Then anyone can get the resources and actually turn that blueprint into a structure. And if you decide you don’t like it, or change your plan, you can just destroy the blueprint without sacrificing the resources on it. It feels a lot more like I’m working with a team when I see blueprints that my tribemate made, and I can just go get the resources to build it when I’m able. Really working together, just like real ants…for queen and colony…

Another thing I love and think needs to be default in ALL these games, ASAP, is the ability to color code and add a floating icon to all your chests and containers as an easy way of saying ‘this is what we store in this box’, without requiring signs or mods or just you having to memorize/check every chest every time. Seriously, survival games? Please take note.

All that said, it’s still early access, and there’s some bugs (heh) sometimes. We’ve had some semi-frequent random disconnections kicking us back to the main menu and forcing the host to re-invite us back. There are also not yet actual servers, so the multiplayer game saves just live on the host’s computer. Latency can be an issue if their internet is better or worse than yours, and lagspikes and rubber banding is a bit more frequent than I tend to feel it in games with dedicated servers. Some hitboxes are a little wonky sometimes, for both enemies and resources. And lots of other little stuff I’ve already forgotten, but nothing I’d consider really gamebreaking.

Overall pretty fun if you don’t mind some bugs, both literal and technical (though there IS an arachnophobia slider that can make the spiders into basically cartoony blobs, which I think is a pretty cool consideration in a game like this). It seems like the devs have a lot of big plans on the roadmap as well, and a friend who was playing around in God Mode stumbled upon a few areas labeled as UNDER CONSTRUCTION, so the map might be getting some extensions at some point too. If you ever felt like you just wanna zone out and go about some farming tasks like a diligent little ant…Grounded is your game.

2022 Addendum: Grounded’s officially out of Early Access at this point and there have been a lot of changes to the game in the time since I wrote this review, and updates have continued coming out pretty regularly even post-release, which is always good to see. I think the funniest thing about my review in hindsight is that I don’t know if I’d consider it ‘casual’ as much anymore because combat has become a bit more deep and challenging...we even had to bump our difficulty down in an ongoing save at one point because we were having a rough time. I think more or less all the changes have improved the game, though, which isn’t something you see every day in a game like this (at least in the two I’m most familiar with, ARK and Conan Exiles, where every update tends to be met with a choir of angry players (usually PVP people, I don’t go there) about how the devs broke everything and suck and should issue refunds and also die). But yeah idk, go check it out, it’s pretty fun to be a little ant sometimes.

[pudding-parade]

upon seeing your pink fairy dude posts i *had* to try out the transmogrifier. what are some of your favorite uses of the mod, i'm curious to know, thank you :)

Well, small-object-as-jetpack is probably my favorite Transmogrifier use. :) But, I do a few other things regularly with it, and I've put a list behind the cut.

Change the function of rabbitholes. Like, if I want to use a building that's only a city hall because it fits the look I want, but I want it to have the function of a combo one, I'll use the Transmogrifier to turn the single-function building into a combo one. Or sometimes I want a smaller building. Most of the schools, for instance, are large, so I'll sometimes turn, say, a mausoleum building into a school.

Make purely deco objects functional. I do this often with decorative wine racks and wine fridges to make them actual wine storage. I've turned decorative jewelry boxes into mirrors so that Sims can use them to change their appearance or use the "gussy up" function. (It looks sort of weird when they use the jewelry box for practicing speechifying, but…eh.) I've turned houseplants into magic jelly bean bushes, though for the life of me I can't remember now if it worked properly. LOL I've turned CC candles that don't function into functional candles that give off light. That sort of thing. It doesn't always work, most often because some scripts require interactions with slots that the transmogrified object doesn't have, but it's fun to experiment with to see what works.

Make deco objects into functional objects that they shouldn't be. Since I tend to play older/more rustic scenarios, this can be useful if I want, say, my primitives to be able to dance at some celebration or another. I'll temporarily turn a rock on the lot into a radio so that they can do so.

Moar storage! I've turned lots of objects, both CC and EA, that in real life would be used to store stuff into general storage boxes for the game's purposes, which I then use to store different things in to get stuff out of inventories or out of the fridge. Upper kitchen cabinets, storage trunks, sacks of grain, baskets of fruits/vegetables, things like that. I like to turn this CC coffee grinder I have into storage for coffee beans. That sort of thing. The only problem is that you have to remember where you put what, so I don't go too crazy with this, but you could if you wanted to, since pretty much anything can be turned into a storage box.

Turn a cheap fridge/stove/TV/bicycle/witch broom/car/boat/etc. into an expensive one. (Or vice versa.) Generally, I don't like the look of, for instance, the expensive EA fridges because they usually don't fit my Aesthetic(TM), but I also want their longer food storage time. So, I just transmogrify a cheap fridge into an expensive one. Or, sometimes a fancy-looking, expensive CC fridge was originally cloned from a cheap one, so it has the shorter food storage time. I fix that with the Transmogrifier. Similarly with the vehicles, I sometimes want the speed of an expensive one but the look of a cheap one, or I want a slow expensive vehicle. Or I want the vintage-looking TV but with all the channels of an expensive one. Stuff like that.

Limited-life cut flower arrangements. If you have the new flower arranging mod, you can use the Transmogrifier to turn any EA or CC flower arrangement into one that will die eventually. No more immortal vases of cut flowers!

Laundry Hampers I turn any laundry hamper I put into a house into Nona's "Super Hamper" so that all laundry on a lot gets collected into one hamper and no piles of clothes are left littering the floor.

Alarms and alarm clocks. I don't use these things often in general, but you can change just about any small object or deco clock into such things. Turn a painting into a burglar or smoke alarm. Turn a non-functional CC alarm clock into a functional one. Turn a CC surveillance camera into a burglar alarm. Etc.

And I'm sure there's other stuff that I do that I'm just not thinking of. And anyone who reads this should feel free to add their own ideas, too.

[shinysimoleon]

my opinion on early access (u don’t have to read, just ranting) ✨

i never really thought anything about early access before. i just assumed, oh yeah well that’s nice they can make some money for what they are doing.

until a couple days ago did i really see a glimpse into the minds of these early access creators we all know and love.

first of all, as soon as they realized they couldn’t make anymore money, they whined, pitched a fit, and blamed US. yes us, the very ones that have been giving them money this whole time, lol.

then they acted confused… like they couldn’t understand what ea’s new tou meant. (before it was changed again.) i mean it clearly stated the only way modders could make money was through donations, everything has to be 100% free. and nothing behind a paywall… which technically does include early access since at one point their cc is in fact behind a paywall. So many words were being twisted and excuses were being made just so these people could prove that they deserve to have their stuff paid for.

the sob stories were not it. with the exception of the creators who truly cannot work due to their disabilities, (you are so deeply loved and we would’ve all helped you out as much as we can if it ended up that early access was no longer available, via donations 💌)

the complaining about being homeless, not being able to pay your bills, can’t pay for your school etc… i’m sorry but aren’t we… all struggling? at least at some point? you know what helps with that though, and i hate to say it, but getting a real job. and by real I mean anything that will offer you and reliable and stable income. not some monthly tier that anyone can cancel at anytime. early access allowed or not please, PLEASE if you are a cc creator, don’t depend on this kind of stuff for all or most of your income. that is setting yourself up for complete failure.

many also shared it was just a side hustle. they work so hard everyday at their own, real, jobs, then come home and spend all their free time making cc. staying up all night, no sleep, no eating, no hanging out with their friends. listen, if you are passionate about the sims and making your own creations, i’m all for wanting to spend your free time doing that, i’m sure it’s lots of fun when you’re good at it! but the problem is that you’re complaining about it. don’t complain about how much hard work it takes because of all the time you’re spending doing it, you’re choosing to do that yourself. no one is holding a g*n to your head forcing to you to do it. maybe if you didn’t have early access set up and you actually just loved creating in your free time, you wound be able to get full nights of sleep, develop better eating habits, hangout with your friends, etc. cause you won’t feel the pressure of having perfect content released in a certain amount of time for the people paying you.

another reason i’ve never thought much about early access is because until a couple days ago, i had no idea other gaming communities had not 1 cent involved in releasing mods to their community. i guess it’s cause these people know how to balance real life and also having a passion for something. why can’t we be like them? why can’t our community love and share everything with each other like others do? why is there such a limited amount of creators that don’t want your money because they actually love and want to make this community a better place for all of us. it’s because paying for cc and mods has just became the norm, that’s why even calling out early access creators feels weird to me, but it really is true. why do you have to have money involved?

respect to those creators that stopped doing early access posts once they thought ea was banning it. it showed us you weren’t in it for the money, even though you did appreciate it. it showed us you care about your community and you respect the people you are profiting off of.

to those who pretended to be confused, i bet you think we all look dumb now, that’s fine. at the time, it didn’t look good for early access and everyone knew that, but you were too stubborn to accept it. some of you guys showed your true colors and what you see this community as.

I know early access is eventually released and it is not about that. it’s about the fact they even feel the need to ask for money in the first place. i cant believe ea let’s you guys profit off of them considering no company really allows that but that’s their decision and i will respect that. just giving my 2 cents cause this drama has completely taken up my tl

[twdeadfanfic]

Hello, i am the anonymous from yesterday!

first of all thanks for liking and sharing my ideas.

Before I say what I've added to my Sims game, I'd like to express my opinions:

While thinking about the storyline that i would follow, it felt great. Like i pictured our cute house, Dog, Daryl carving wood, Daryl's arms, my sim with him and all...

But it didn't feel as i imagined it, i think the biggest reason why is because when i think of Daryl, he is a man full with emotions. Sometimes he just can't communicate with people, he feels out of the ordinary. The Sims 4 is not an enough game for his character.

For example let's look to the logic of the sims 4:

You greet people

You ask about their day

You discuss about your sim's interest(s)

You become friends

You flirt

You get flirty

You kiss

...

This is not Daryl at all

Again im not trying to say sims is bad just for a character like Daryl, it is one of the weird problems of sims 4 which doesn't relate to real world

Today i saw that i hate sims, i explained why, but there is another reason why i figured that out today. I will explain it while i tell what happened today:

I created myself and added myself to the household as a housmate.

Because i had this storyline in my head i tried to follow it by doing stuff according to Daryl's character.

I thought something like, Daryl suddenly decides to rent the spare room in the house because he needs the money (you cant earn much from woodwork)

I move in 😏

I become friends with the dog first.

I locked my rooms door of course and because of it for the first 2 days daryl didn't see me.

And one morning he was leaving his room and my sim was going to shower they came across in the hallway. Daryl waved first and then my sim did. Daryl went to prepare breakfast and my sim joined, basically they had breakfast and met officially.

They flirted once in a while, because it is impossible in sims to make someone fall for someone without mod i had to make them flirt, so we are going to accept it as they started to fall in love 😍

On a day where neither of them was working they decided to take a vacation in granite falls

They clodgazed together and then watched tv on the couch, while they were watching tv, my sim confest attraction. Daryl decided to make a move and then they got their first kiss.

Just a kiss is not enough,this isn't about the Sims game, when I think of Daryl and his love life, I always think he would keep his attraction in and after some point it would come to an explosion.

So

You expect me to say that they had Wohoo?

They tried for a baby in the shower ✌🏻

And then in a bed again ✌🏻

SO THIS IS THE REASON WHY

WHY CAN'T WE GET TO MANAGE THE WAY THEY HAVE IT?! IT RUINS MY PLOT

I stopped playing after that, cause i got angry

What will happen after that huh? Sim will be pregnant but we wont be able to get to see the way Daryl is happy and devoted to his wife. He wil look to her belly, won't say anything and then he will go to pee because it is Sims.

We won't see him having his crisis inside, thinking he is not enough, thinking what if he becomes like his father, what if he can't be a good father and a husband

...

After some time, when the baby is born and is a toddler, i will make their wedding. Just themselves the kid and a few close friends.

This is it for today, don't know when will be the next time

Bye ❤️

-someone who loved hot cocoa

PS: I'm thinking about downloading whicked sims mod but the thing is the computer i use is our family computer. I wont want my family to see what ive been up to 👀

Aaaw so you Sim is with Daryl now! And they jumped straight ahead to try for baby hahaha.

Yes, we won't see Daryl struggling, but then there are the interactions of "touch belly" and they get a happy mood let, and some Sims when their partner is delivering began to panic with a "prenatal panicking" mood let hahaha.

This is adorable.

I found a way of having Sims doing romantic interaction by themselves if you leave them alone. You have to put the Sims you want in a club, and then add the interactions that you want as club activities (friensly, hug, romantic, kiss, anything) start a club meeting and sometimes they'll go ahead and perform does actions.

I hope it helps. Sometimes I used it to have Sims gardening and cleaning my Sim's house haha.

[murfeelee]

Simblr Asks Pt1 - TS3

I saw these questions here, and I’m in a procrastinating mood. [EDIT] Joke’s on me, I already answered these questions a few months ago and forgot all about it, JFC.

1. how big is your mods folder? I have to update my mods folder--I haven’t simmed in so frikkin long. U_U

2. how would you describe your style? Derivative. Vanilla pudding-esque. Sporadic.

3. what is your favorite challenge? I don’t do challenges.

4. do you make cc? if so, what kind? I prefer to do Decor CC, since it’s easy. When I have time, I try dabbling in functional items, but I still have a long way to go, and there’s a steep learning curve to figuring out how to do more than decorative clutter. A for CAS CC, I effing hate it, it’s so dang hard.

5. what type of cc do you hoard?  I used to only DL fanciful CC, but it’s slim pickings in these streets, so now I grab almost everything, and hope I can make it work.

6. what default eyes and skin do you use? I don’t use default skins, just the You Are Real mod. As for eyes, I use Moonskin’s.

7. how many urls have you had, and what are the meanings behind them? Only ever had one, my first name, cuz I’m creative like that.

8. who is your favorite gameplay blog? I can’t pick one.

9. who is your favorite storytelling blog? Omfg, I can’t.

10. who is your favorite cc creator? Luna! There! Leave me alooooone~!!

11. how do you edit your photos? I up the Brightness and Contrast, cuz lighting is a hot mess in The Sims, but I’m too scared to use Reshade on my busted PC.

12. what is the last screenshot you took? Top secret information, sorry.

13. what do you do when you are unmotivated? Not sim. It’s a hobby, not a job. I only play when I’m motivated to do so--the second I feel forced to play a game, that’s a problem--the whole point of games is for them to be fun.

14. who is your current favorite sim? Chile, I haven’t been able to play The Sims in months; I don’t even know which gameplay I’m gonna do once Winter Break starts. I want to continue playing with WangXian in my Untamed Gameplay, but I really need to return to Adoribull in my Dragon Age gameplay, too. And I’ve been lowkey missing Malec from my Shadowhunters gameplay. BAH!

15. who is your current favorite sim that is not by you? @solori​​’s Vidarr. Total DILF.

16. recreate someone else’s sim in your style. I did a Picrew tag like that here. [EDIT] Here’s where I realized I’d wasted an hour of my life answering a questionnaire I already frikkin did.

17. do you talk about sims with people in real life? Rarely. I knew a few TS3 & Sims City simmers IRL, but there are way too many johnny-come-lately TS4 simmers out there who think EA’s the second effing coming of Maxis when it ain’t. I can’t with them.

18. how many of the packs do you own? Very few for TS1, all of TS2 & TS3′s, and more than I expected for TS4.

19. how many posts do you have on your blog currently? THOUSANDS, jfc.

20. how many drafts do you have on your blog currently? HUNDREDS, it’s effing shameful, send help.

21. how many posts are in your queue currently? That’s a secret.

22. have you ever moved blogs? Never. I was trying to backup my stuff on Wordpress, but now that I'm back in school it’s just too much work I don’t have time for.

23. are you in any sims related discord servers? No, though I’m pretty sure there’s CC discords out there I’m probably seriously missing out on. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

24. what are your thoughts on the most recent pack? (paranormal) For a Stuff Pack, I thought it was cool! Though Bonehilda needs a effing facelift, jfc, why does her skull even look like that?

25. how many hours have you played sims?  I don’t even know. I got TS3 at launch, and play it almost religiously. Then in 2017 I got a new pc and had to migrate to Origin in order to reinstall all my stuff, and EA started tryna keep track of my play time, so I started playing only in Offline Mode. MYOFB, EA.

26. if you play gameplay, do you play with mods? All day every day.

27. what’s the farthest you’ve gotten in a challenge? I don’t do challenges; I cheat too much.

______________________________________________

Thanks for reading (again)!

[criquette-was-here]

Long Due Replies

Hi everyone! It’s been some crazy few months for me. Real life has taken over completely so I didn’t have a chance to pay attention to my inbox. There are lot of asks on troubleshooting and I apologise for not being able to help on time. I hope everyone who needed help has got it somehow >.< There’s a crazy amount of messages, so I’m going to hide it under the cut.

@shutupshirley said:

Hi Criquette, I’m sorry because this is dumb, but I don’t understand how to install your neighbourhood lighting mod on an installation of Ultimate Collection... do I change out every lighting.txt file I can find across all the expansion and stuff packs? :/

Thank you!!!!

Hi @shutupshirley! I’m not a big specialist on windows version of TS2 and UC but I believe there are two folders you have to look at and they are ‘Fun with Pets’ and ‘Open for Business’

Anonymous said:

What do you imagine residents of Feverfew are called? I keep doing Peruvian but like Ferfewian or some

Oh, yes, I was thinking about this matter at some point! Feverfewian is what I came up with. I even found a wiki article about different names for different town inhabitants to sort of made it up a bit, but I haven’t write down the result I had and now I’ve lost it. I think feverfewians sounds best, it can even have some silly derivatives like ‘fewies’

@3sushiroll said:

Hi Criquette, I'm getting into SC4 and have been getting the hang of it while using the sims 2 hood planner. I've been starting to use bridges and have been using yours. When I put in the tile measurement into the hood planner (ex: 15 tile = 8 in SC4), it doesn't exactly line up in game. Does this usually happen for you and you put in a piece of fake road in the middle or am I just doing it wrong and it should line up super nicely? Thank you for all your wonderful creations!

Hi @3sushiroll! Yes, TS2 parses SC4 roads this way. I always put some decorative road in the gap or I make the shores narrower so that the bride would overlap the road. But to make slopes where the road ends equal, you have to use TS2 terraforming tool to make this flat empty piece of terrain right after the road end into slope so that it would look like the opposite.

Anonymous said:

Hi there, hope you're doing well! I downloaded your simple walkways set and noticed that they float. They don't sit on the ground properly. Is there anything I can do on my end to make them sit closer to the ground? Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

Hey anon! Thank you! Yes, this old set of walkways was made this way. Maxis made neighborhood mode roads float, so I had to do the same with road related decorations. But now you can use these Cobblestone paths or side walks from the Rural Charm, they’re as close to the ground as possible.

Anonymous said:

hey! would it ever be possible for you to create recolors of the cobblestone sidewalks in red brick/cobblestone?

Hi anon! I don’t think so :| I can’t even find the time to fix some Ferverfew related issues >.<

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette. I liked Feverfew very much. I would like to make some of the houses multi-unit, keeping your doors in place. Is it possible to add the function of apartments to these doors? :)

Hi nonne! As far as I’m aware, you can only default replace those apartment doors which is quite useless. What you can do, is to put an apartment door right behind the front door. This, obviously, would eat up the space but could work as a solution.

Anonymous said:

Hello! I just downloaded Feverview and it's gorgeous! I can't believe all the little details you added, the effort and love you put into this project is incredible. I just had a small question: a few residential lots are fake apartments, I was wondering if you know how to turn them into functional apartments 

Hi anon! I’m glad you liked Feverfew! ^__^ In theory, you can use SimPE or Lot Editor to change lot type from residential to apartment and then implement apartment doors somehow, but since I don’t have AL in my Super Collection, I have zero experience in that.

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette! :) I just realized recently that if I delete objects in game, I have to delete first the recolors of it. I've already deleted a bunch of objects without knowing about this, so now my downloads folders has houndreds of recolors without meshes. Do you know about anything I can do to find and delete these orphans? (Delphys download organizer just can't make difference)

Hi anon! I’m definitely not a helper on the matter of keeping Downloads folder organised, sorry ^^’‘ I would thing about finding sets of files with similar names keeping eye on the absence of the word ‘mesh’ in the names, and looking at the file size at the same time. And that would take ages, obviously. 

@ardyyy4 said:

Hello Criquette. I love Feverfew so much. But I have a problem. The grass and NHood objects are flickering together and it looks bad. How can i fix it? Thanks.

Hello Arda! That’s because of the neighborhood camera you’re using. I’d recommend you to install this particular camera just to get rid of flickering.

Anonymous said:

Hello! First of great content! Always been a fan! I was wondering if you could give a bit of advice with hood deco, I have downloaded an Ocean floor from Gwenke, and in lot view it only shows up at the very far edges, around my lot it is missing (it does show when render is set to small though). And it shows on beach lots too, I was wondering if you know of way to make it so that it is seen no matter what the view distance is etc? (I have the relevant cheats on btw) Thank you in advance!

Hey nonnie! Thanks :) Have you ticked off object hiding in the settings? Other than that, it could be camera issues.

Anonymous said:

is there a way to stop neighborhood decor from fading? I know there is the „boolprop dontmergenhflora“ cheat, but I still get some fading. for excample when I look at the lot from the street the NH decor by the street fades

That’s definitely sounds like object hiding option from the game settings :}

Anonymous said:

Hey how are you ? I hope all is well. I was wondering how is it that ts2 has no ski deco but in ts1 we had ski slope and skate lake !?? I was wondering can you and the sim community make deco or interactive items such as a ski slope or even snow shoes or just something that goes with seasons n BV pack ?

Hello anon! I hope you’re well too! Ski slope and winter sports related decos is something I wanted to make since 2016, but never had enough time to do so. Sometimes I even think about available TS2 technologies to make an animated ski lift and umm.. may be in the next ten years? ^^’‘

Anonymous said:

hello!! i'm sorry if u already answered something like this (i searched but found nothing) but the better nightlife isn't working for me :(( i put the better nightlife+voielle water on download fold and the decorations still flashing in pink light, i did something wrong? (i use win10) sorry for the inconveniente

Hey anon! Sometimes you have to do these weird steps in order to make it work:

remove Better Nightlife + water mod from your downloads folder,

load the game, load the neighborhood, make some changes, exit game

put Better Nightlife with water back. Toggle day/night with ‘L’ key to see if it works. If it’s not, than the problem is somewhere else. Pink flashing also could be unrelated to Better Nightlife, so I’d recommend to check TS2 graphics setting for Win10 manuals available.

Anonymous said:

Hello there, I'm having a problem with the rural charm, on lot view the roads have yellowish boards (idk how to explain exactly). I saw that was because of CuriousB terrain, but I don't have it downloaded anymore so I'm kinda confused. What should it be? Sorry for bothering,,,

Hello, anon! What’s current season you’re having in your game? It can be the season lighting differences that make roadside and terrain grass colors different. If it’s not, I’d check the Downloads folder to see if there’s still some terrain DRs I’ve forgot about.

@pinkflamingosims said:

Hi criquette! I was wondering if you have any idea why some hood deco cc crashes on mac, like palm 1 to 4 from the tropical 4t2 set by leoz94. Leoz94 says the only difference is the high polycount, but I don't think that's it, it looks a bit high to me but not insanely so, I have  other stuff in that range with no problem... Have a nice - evening?

Hey @pinkflamingosims! I hope you’re doing well! Yes, some hood decos are really make the game crash and frankly speaking, I think that’s jsut package related issues like broken references in the resource tree. The best way to fix this type of hood decos is to make a clean and stable new clone and replace mesh/textures again.

Anonymous said:

Hello and thank you for amazing Feverfew map! I have a problem... ground is flashing red and I cannot fix it, do you have solution for this problem? It's been soooo long when I last played Sims 2 so apparently I did something wrong when installed CC. :(

Hello anon! Thank you! Oh, red flashing could be the result of lighting mod not being installed correctly. I’d start with getting rid of any lighting mods to see if it helps.

@marv61​ said:

Hi Criquette. I just downloaded your terrain of Forkshire, it looks great! I know it has been since 2009 that you uploaded the terrain but I was wondering if you have a completed Neighborhood with houses, trees and all for download? I would love to play your version. Thanks.

Hi Patchman! Oh, goodness no! :D That was 12 years ago, those TS2 files are long gone since then.

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette, first things first, I love your work thank you so much, you inspire me! Now the question: I have been using the dirt roads from your Rural Lanes set and found that sometimes it is difficult if not impossible to fit them to the slopes of steep terrain. Would it be possible to instead create road pieces as a texture like your Neighborhood Decals? That way they would "stick" onto the terrain regardless of shape. Wondering what you think? Love!

Hello and thank you, anon! The problem with the decals – we can’t see it in lot mode yet. And it must be a DR only so we’d have to ditch one of the Maxis’ decals for dirt road, which isn’t great too.

Anonymous said:

Hi Criquette! Will Betternightlife mod ever be updated to work with lighting mods with dawn and dusk? Is there any that already works with it? I really want to use the light up hood decos!

Hey anon! You can use it with lighting mods that add dusk and dawn to the game. For instance, there’s one here by @dreadpirate​.

Anonymous said:

Hey Criquette! I recently used your template to make lit-up hood deco buildings using the Better Nightlife mod. The day text was great! However, the night texture was being clipped by the day texture. That is, some parts of the day texture was showing through the night texture. Is there a fix for this?

Hello nonnie! I’d recommend to check the meshes to see if day/night parts clip through each other and if they aren’t I’d check if all the day/night TXMT data is correct.

@criquette​ said:

I've installed Fewerfew following all your istructions. Apparently it works but the night lamps are flashing pink even ig I've installed the mod better night light. It seems that this mod does not work properly. Any recommendation?

Being Criquette, you should know the solution to that issue yourself :P Just kidding, sorry, couldn’t resist! If it flashes pink only by night than you have to check your ‘Downloads’ folder for conflicts. If it’s flashing constantly day and night, than I’d better check graphics setting using some windows related guides available across the Internet.

Anonymous said:

Hello, I love Feverfew and it's amazing. I have a problem where Linden Tree 1A isn't showing up in my game even though it's in my downloads folder. Also the railroad tracks are flashing blue, and those are in my folder too. Thanks in advance!  :)

Hello anon! What type of the trees you’re using? Stand alone or default ones? If you’re using defaults, you can find the trees under Maxi’s oaks accordingly. As for the flashing blue railway tracks, check if you have this set in your ‘Downloads’ folder :)

Anonymous said:

Hello Criquette, before asking for help, I came to say that the Brazilian community loves your creations. But, to get to the point, anyway, I have been thinking about creating a Hood (inspired by Rio de Janeiro), so I would like to know how to create Deco Hoods for my game (the statue of Christ), I can't find that anywhere, Would you help me?

Hi there! Ah, most kind, thank you ^^ Well, there’s no big deal in creating hood decos. You have to switch your SimPE to advanced mode and after that neighborhood decoration will be visible in the catalogue to be cloned. I assume you already know how to make lot mode objects and know how to create, edit or convert meshes/textures though.

@hideshio​ said:

Hello! I found your train set (and it's AMAZING) on mts and was wondering if you had a railroad crossing sign? With the lights, X, and the red/white hand that goes down. Or the lights that go across a pole above the railroads. Thank you!  =D

Hello @hideshio​! Well, there is a railway crossing sign with lights and red/white hand included in this set :D it’s not animated though. But still!

Anonymous said:

Hi criquette, I’m a huge admirer of you work and I was wondering if you had any advice regarding road placement. Specifically the difficulty of road pieces that are deco only being able to be placed underneath the actually roads leaving it looking a little off.. if there a way to raise them higher before placing them or some kind of work around? 

Hey anon, thank you! Unfortunately, there’s no way to make decorative road pieces work for lot mode and neighborhood mode at the same time. If you lift them so they look okay in hood mode, they will float in the air in lot mode. Since my latest creations are lot mode oriented, I’ve decided to save my efforts on making road pieces even with neigborhood mode roads.

Anonymous said:

Hey Criquette. I noticed that in my Feverfew none of the buildings across the street of Feverfew Sports Hall show up. I know those are supposed to be hood deco and look like duplex buildings, but I can't figure out what I'm missing. I deleted and redownloaded everything and couldn't fix it. Also the river ends at the first bridge in front of the cathedral, so the boats next to it appear to be flying. What is going on?

Hey anon! There’s definitely some files missing. If you’ve checked and redownloaded all the files, try to replace the Feverfew neighborhood folder with initial one. The game never restores disappeared hood decos by itself. Even if they were placed in the folder after their absence is discovered.

@simping-simmer​ said:

Hi Criquette, am I remembering correctly that there is a trick you can do with SimPE to change the height of individual pieces of hood deco? I’m struggling with putting ships in my dock because if I change a CC ship’s placeability to be able to be on both land and sea, it just sinks, but if I only keep it on sea, it can’t get close enough to the shore to place it in my docks. Does this make sense at all? Lol

Hello @simping-simmer​, you’re absolutely right. You can change the height of placed hood decos via SimPE. Things you need to do are described here and here

Anonymous said:

Hello! I love all your work.  I was wondering if you had ever thought of making some desert roads along the lines of the Terrain Mod: Dusty Roads for Desert Neighbourhoods by Stev84? I love the way this looks in my desert, but unfortunately, this mod makes the road in live mode a floor, which then makes you unable to place driveways.

Hey anon! Thanks ^^ Frankly, I don’t have any plans on creating any desert related CC at all :|

Anonymous said:

Hello Criquette. I would like to thank you for all the amazing work you have done creating content for sims 2. Thanks to you all my projects are possible. My question is: Chainlink fences for neighborhood deco... Do they exist? Searching the web these past day only found for build mode. Do you know of someone who already make some for deco hood? Or kindly will you be able to make some if its not much work? My sports fields and Industrial zones will be pleased for sure! Once again, thank you! :)

Hey anon and thank you! I don’t think hood deco chainlink fences were created by someone yet, but they definitely would be a great addition to the game. I was going to create some while working on Feverfew, but never had enough time to do that. May be i’ll make one at some point in the future!

Anonymous said:

Hello, Criquette. Do you know of any way to place lots without the area around it moving? I downloaded Ousmeo's remake of your Dullsfielde and read his og post using the waytime machine. When viewing that post, Tumblr recommended similar posts, one of which seemed to be a tip to prevent good deco from moving when placing lots nearby, but that post wasn't archived, so I can't visualise it. My guess is that if anyone else knows about this, it must be the best hood decorator that ever was ;-)

Hello anon! Ugh, this TS2 ‘feature’ is driving me mad quite often too! Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to get rid of it. The only way to fix the consequences is to backup initial hood folder and when you finish placing lots, replace spoiled terrain with the initial one with SimPE or HoodReplace.

[mack3030]

i feel like you're a c0mmie /lh

First of all, there is a reason that assume is spelled the way it is, but I'll answer this seriously because I'm in the mood to. First of all, hating how commercialism and monetization has taken over what should be an open-source community does not mean I am a communist. It means that I just think that there are some places and communities that don't need everything to be transactionary. I'm all for people making money with their own labor, talent and tools but the truth is, when you're making works for the Sims 4, the labor and talent is not all you. And I personally don't think it's fair for people to monetize what is essentially a derivitive work, especially when they use that as an excuse to act like asshats to the community on top of it. First of all, you are using EA's platform/game which they worked hard on as a display for your work. To get your CC, poses, or mods to work in the game, you have to use their tuning files, and/or clone their objects in Sims 4 Studio or another similar program. Which, ironically...let's think about it...oh wait...Sims 4 Studio is a FREE program that someone else made. And they FREELY update it and add important patch-fixes to the community for zero cost. Again. Not your work. In addition, there are a LARGE number of very WELL known sims 4 creators {especially in the alpha side of things} who are converting from 3D models they didn't make in the first place, and doing it unethically without talking to the original owners of the models. So that compounds the "not your work" argument further. If people want to sell 3D stuff they made on a 3D modeling site, or on a site that has terms that allow it like secondlife, they can go wild. But this community, when it originally started, hated and villified paywallers, because the community was open and focused on sharing and being creative. Sadly, we've strayed from how things used to be, and have slowly let in drips and drips of monetization until we basically expect that everything we try to download is going to lead to an ad or a patreon-locked page. And that f'ing sucks.

Also, let's turn to the dictionary and look up COMMUNISM, shall we? {Because I'm the daughter of a history teacher, and I like talking about history and stuff like this.}

If I were a communist, here are some statements I'd probably make: - We all own all CC that is made, and can freely share it regardless of who made it in the first place. [Oh wait, I've talked before about how you should talk to people who own rights to the original 3D models, and how we shouldn't share early access content. Darn.] - Each person who is the community must work for the betterment of the community. Nobody can freeload, or else they will not get any cc or spoils at all. [But wait, I've never said anything about how everyone has to work on something to receive CC. Because obviously I currently don't have the talent yet to make custom content by myself. Darn it again.]

- People should be paid based on their cc making abilities. So people who mesh their own stuff like Bill L and Syb should be paid more than people who convert! [Wait, I've not said that either. I have said that people need to be ethical and give credit when converting, but I haven't said that people who hand mesh deserve to be paid more...shucks.] Also, let me be real....communism is one of those things that is often FORCED upon people. The main people who choose to be communist, are usually people high up in the ponzi-scheme that is that political system, because they want to gain power, wealth, or other resources off the backs of their people. Many people who are in communist countries don't choose to be communist, they just...are...because the people in power are and make them be that way. It's a system that benefits few, and hurts many. And that's not what I'm about. The fact that you're so ignorant about how this system causes people to suffer while those in power grow rich and fat just shows your immaturity {and your lack of capitalization doesn't help either}. I'm an artist. I believe artistic spaces should be about sharing and creating, not profit. Especially when the PLATFORM and the TOOLS we are given to make that art are not our own. I feel making a profit off a community that already has been fleeced so much by EA is just ethically yucky. One last thing, here's a couple documentaries about Communism and Facism, should you decide you want to educate yourself on how those political systems actually work, and why they should be avoided: How to Become a Tyrant - Documentary Series, Netflix Evolution of Evil - Documentary Series, Amazon Prime Video I would highly recommend both as they dive very deeply into what makes someone a dictator, and you will find that communism/facism are both primary tools used by evil people suffering from delusions of grandeur to achieve such power over their people. I'd also recommend reading books on the subject, but you don't seem like the type who'd enjoy that. I hope you've learned a little something. If you don't like my answer, here's where you can go to solve that problem!

[tank-grunt]

anyone know things and stuff who can help me since i cant find nothing about this on the sims wiki's game guide and all the search results are turning up sims 4 and not sims 2 but like. working on a 4t2 recreation of the strangerville trailer park as an apartmentbase for personal usage/my elaborate strangetown expansion project - i took out my mods and cc, built the whole thing as a residential, gave the trailers some basic furniture and uhh... turned it into an apartmentbase...

then i realize i made a mistake and need to fix something so i turn it back into a residential to fix it, fixed the problem, save and left, decided to get some sleep before i turned it back into an apartmentbase so i could look over it again with eyes that are awake but like. when i go back into the residential the irl next day to make sure everything looks good before i turn it back into an apartmentbase i notice uhhhh all the furniture is gone except like, in one bedroom?

but the real weird part is the fact that... uh... the game seems to still think the furniture is there? except i can't delete the invisible not-fucking-there furniture, either?

putting my mods back in (but not any other cc) brings back the fridges and tubs back, at least, but nothing else and i have noooo idea what could be causing this. i have a feeling i'll probably have to rebuild the whole thing again which is fine but also i wanna know if its something that can be fixed or how to prevent this from happening again cuz its annoyingggg

(also for some reason the furniture comes back fully when a townie moved into one of the apartments while i was testing in a throwaway hood and had a playable visit, but not if a playable moves in???)

[an0nymousghost]

my answers to simblr asks v1 because i don’t think i did a mass post like this. 

1. how big is your mods folder? 15 gb, i don’t have my giant hair folder in rn

2. how would you describe your style? maxis-match, reshade/cartoony/dof aesthetic

3. what is your favorite challenge? 100bc obviously. and those completionist ones that take 400 years to finish

4. do you make cc? if so, what kind? age conversions of hair and recolors. and once in a blue moon i convert earrings or something

5. what type of cc do you hoard? hair, always and forever. my hair folder is sooo organized but i dont keep it in my game because it is very hard to find anything; there’s literally over 1000 items in the catalogue. also this is just female hair, for kids/toddler i use my own stuff and there’s really not enough male hair for me to mass hoard

6. what default eyes and skin do you use? intoxicated v2 - i’ll use this for the rest of my life emerald eyes by forgottengrotto

7. how many urls have you had, and what are the meanings behind them?

i have had 4:

celeschul - a play on “celestial” because that’s how you pronounce it an0nymousghost - the 8th level of the criminal: oracle career stardze - relating to astrology (star daze) teauke - sounds cool i guess; also i really wanted a short name

i don’t think i’ll change my url anytime in the future because it would be very annoying with all the broken links. i personally hate it when blogs have broken links so i don’t want to add to the problem. also, an0nymousghost is such a nice simblr url, it’s actually got a connection to the actual game. it is already confusing enough with the an0nymousghost/celeschul thing, but that’s mainly just because an0nymousghost is a long url and doesn’t really fit on package titles or thumbnails

8. who is your favorite gameplay blog? i have a personal blog and on there i only follow my faves: @leafykii, solarlemonade, ratboysims, @simprising​, myshunos, @aridridge, @whimsyblue. 

9. who is your favorite storytelling blog? idk i dont follow stories

10. who is your favorite cc creator? im not super involved in cc rn but aharris00britney and clumsyalienn who does those beautiful hair strands. oh yes and myself of course 

11. how do you edit your photos? reshade + action + psd. it’s complicated but the reshade takes 0 effort and ive struggled with editing forEVER im happy with this one

12. what is the last screenshot you took? idk im on my macbook 

this is the last screenshot on my mac LUL. rip to this hair which has been a wip for 10 million years. 

13. what do you do when you are unmotivated? nothing; right now is a good example. i have a queue so you probably can’t tell, but i’m super unmotivated to do anything. like i could make cc or play ts4 but i really just don’t want to (that’s why im writing this). idk why, but either it’ll pass or my blog will be dead forever. xo

14. who is your current favorite sim? i said the fae sisters for my other post but i really like noelle’s husband claye! i think my female sims are always wayyy more attractive than my male sims, but claye might pull in front of noelle tbh. he looks much better with the emerald eyes (the cartoony ones) 

also i consider all my sims to be good people, and claye’s kindness comes from him always taking care of leila and israel because noelle is off at work and such. oh and noelle’s way more...experienced than him when it comes to relationships

15. who is your current favorite sim that is not by you? no one really comes to mind, i haven’t been focused on like one specific sim lately

16. recreate someone else’s sim in your style. nah

17. do you talk about sims with people in real life? yeah. i don’t want to keep secrets from my friends (i used to have a secret ig account and it was a cause of major stress) so i just mention it in passing. honestly if they’re not cool with me having a sims blog, we can’t be friends. none of my irl friends play sims tho :( 

18. how many of the packs do you own? 23/38 or something along those lines

19. how many posts do you have on your blog currently? 1665. i have more followers than posts, something that i never achieved ever on my old blog because i had like 4 gazillion posts

20. how many drafts do you have on your blog currently? 7, they’re all just shitposts or asks 

21. how many posts are in your queue currently? 17

22. have you ever moved blogs? 2 times. celeschul -> stardze -> an0nymousghost. also i moved my multifandom sideblog once but that url has changed soo many times

23. are you in any sims related discord servers? yeah. though, i cant stand discord for a totally-unrelated-to-sims reason

24. what are your thoughts on the most recent pack? (paranormal) this is an outdated question but i still do not care about this pack. lol

25. how many hours have you played sims? 1039 hours

26. if you play gameplay, do you play with mods? yes, a lot

27. what’s the farthest you’ve gotten in a challenge? 100bc, i got to like 56/100 kids in my first attempt. this is TECHNICALLY farther than random nightmares, which i feel like i completed more of but i only did 50% of that challenge. i wrote on my blog that i completed random nightmares but in my heart, it’s not complete until 10 generations. so i just said that to make myself feel better. i’ll do a season 2 sometime...sometime