#plumbobgothica

[mercury101]

My top 24 screenshots from 2024

Thank you for the tag! @waaneco

I'm bound to say all the worlds i've posted are beautiful. Anyway these are my favorite 24 pics after selecting from thousands of screenshots. Thanks everyone for supporting my blog throughout the year❤️❤️❤️

I'm tagging: @solori @frostedshore @greenplumbboblover @tau1tvec @kevinvoncrastenburg @sims3alexsa @miss-may-i @laurademelza @tsims @nessysims @teekapoa @plumbobgothica

[treason-and-plot]

My top 24 screenshots from 2024

Thank you so much for the tag @zosa95!

January: (Anita falling down drunk in the hydrangeas would be my second favourite screenshot from this year!)

February:

March:

April:

May:

June:

July: (Cookie throwing herself into the water and pretending Mia pushed her is my favourite screenshot of the year!)

August:

September:

October:

November:

December:

I would like to tag @plumbobgothica @lifeofsims3 @coreene-simblr @justanothersimsblog @wannabecatwriter @expirisims @windermeresimblr @sommeliersims @sircesimblr and @keoni-chan. No pressure as always and apologies if you've already done this!

[eizthetics0226]

24 Favorite Screenshots of 2024

Thank you @cocodotgreen for tagging me ❤️

I chose these pictures to sum-up the early 'chapters' of my Pleasantview save for the benefit of those who may have missed my posts earlier this year. I started posting screenshots of my Pleasantview save around December of 2023 but I became more active this year. I'm playing a crude version of rotational gameplay that's why you will notice that the pace of my story is quite slow (plus I only got to play The Sims 3 during weekends because of work). Still, I would like to thank each and everyone of you, my Tumblr friends and fellow simmers for appreciating and supporting my posts/page. I love how our community connects us by sharing our joys of playing the game that we love through these amazing photos. Let's continue and advocate for each other!

Tagging my fellow simmers @kevinvoncrastenburg, @silverspringsimmer, @leplumbobvert, @mercury101, @plumbobgothica, @dreamy-roses, @desiree-uk, @nessysims, @miss-may-i to share their 24 favorite screenshots too!

[dreamy-roses]

24 Favorite Screenshots of 2024

Thank you @eizthetics0226 for tagging me 😄

I wanted to show you several screenshots from my gameplay and my sims I made to sum everything up! I actively started to post about my gameplay/sims in July of 2024 I think. I'm really enjoying the sims community here and would like to thank everyone for the kind comments and support on my posts/pictures! Let's continue this in 2025! I wish everyone of you a happy new year and a wonderful 2025! 🎉 Tagging the simmers @kevinvoncrastenburg, @plumbobgothica and @judetuude if they want to share their 24 favorite screenshots too!

Gameplay - Store World Legacy Challenge

Gameplay - Becca & Matt (if you follow me you know them - I just love them - I also have a sneak peak for y'all 👀)

Gameplay - Hazel & Nicholas (haven't shared them yet hehe)

Sims - Olivia Coleman

Sims - Roxy Harrington

Sims - Stella Maynes

Sims - Atropos, Lachesis and Clotho (The Moires)

Sims - Holly Christmas

[toadifylackoffantasy]

Thank you for tagging me @silverspringsimmer!

My resolution would be - continue writing & being creative & making whatever I want for my game at my own pace. I plan to go back to school come february (for who isn't aware, I've been home most of the time for a while when jobsearching with the degree I had and figuring things out, so I had A LOT of time lol, hence me often being the first comment cus I have time to see things appear in real time), studying information management, so "at my own pace" will get lots slower xD

I tag @geminipixels @mookymilksims @danjaley @plumbobgothica @bartoszsims3 @justanothersimsblog @deniisu-sims @lalasimmer @simlicious @tidaldiariessimblr @bellakenobi and generally free tags :)

hey y'all, happy holidays!

new years is coming up and i had an idea (ik it's probably been done before but yk) and wanted to share.

if you're tagged, share a sims or simblr related resolution and tag others to join in! 💖

my simblr resolution is to get better at building and gameplay!

i'm tagging @neishroom @claudtrait @acuar-io @birdietrait @coyotesim 🤞🏽

hope y'all enjoy your winter and your holidays <3

[plumbobgothica]

Chapter 4: Playing with Fire (part 1/3)

General Content Warning: While this particular post is PG, Flavors of Midnight is intended for mature audiences and may contain adult themes at times. Posts with such content will be clearly labeled. With that said, I do not plan to include explicit or gratuitous imagery in this story.

<previous // next>

<<<beginning of story

Transcript

[Frida Goth's Residence - Sunset Valley] Frida Goth: Hey, Pauline! What’s up? I’m just about to head out. Pauline Wan: Hey, lady! Just calling to wish you luck on your first day. It’s going to be fine, don’t worry! Frida: I hope you’re right. When I said I wanted to become a chef, working in a diner wasn’t exactly what I pictured. Pauline: I know it's not fine dining or anything, but at least you’ll be in the kitchen, right? I’m sure you’ll learn a lot about cooking in a professional setting, just like you wanted. Frida: Ugh, I really need this to work. I’ll never forgive myself if I have to crawl back to my brother, tail between my legs, asking for family money. Pauline: I’ve heard Jared’s a bit of a stickler. Don’t let him push you around, girl. Frida: Don't worry, I know how to handle men like Jared Frio. [Reggie's Diner - Sunset Valley] Jared: Late on your very first day, Goth? Not a good look. Frida: Late? It’s not even— Jared: Early is on time. On time is late. Jared: That’s the one useful thing I learned from my dad. He was an asshole, but he was a punctual asshole. Come on, let’s get started.

[plumbobgothica]

Season 1, Episode 4: Playing with Fire (part 2/3)

General Content Warning: While this particular post is PG, Flavors of Midnight is intended for mature audiences and may occasionally include adult themes (though nothing explicit or gratuitous). 😊 Any posts with such content will be clearly labeled!

<previous // next>

<<beginning of chapter

<<<beginning of story

View all Flavors of Midnight posts

Transcript & notes/thoughts below the cut.

Script:

[Reggie's Diner - Sunset Valley] Jared: Rule number 1: No excuses. I don’t care if there was traffic. I don’t care if your dog died.  You show up on time, and you do your job. Frida: Okay… Jared: Rule number 2: If you have time to lean, you have time to clean. Every minute you waste standing around, you’ll make up for by staying extra after your shift. Emma: Hey Frida! Nice to have you here! Jared: That’s Emma. She’ll be showing you the ropes. Emma: Don’t mind Jared. He just likes picking on the newbies. He’s not so bad once he warms up to you. Jared: *smirks* Jared: Rule Number 3: You’re a lowly kitchen scullion. You don’t go near the cooking until you’ve earned it. Jared: If I ask you to unclog the toilet, you do it. If I ask you to scrub grease, you do it. If I ask you to jump, you ask how high. Frida: You’re joking, right?  A ‘kitchen scullion’? I thought this was an actual culinary position! Frida: I’m sorry, but this isn’t what I signed up for at all. Jared: No special treatment, remember? Or maybe you just think you’re too good for this job. Jared: Look, I wish I had a rich brother on speed dial as a safety net too, but some of us have to work for a living. This is honest work.

Notes/thoughts

Please let me know if you have any issues with readability. Thanks! 🖤 I’ll also be adding image descriptions over the next couple weeks or so to improve accessibility, and will try to do that going forward.

[plumbobgothica]

Season 1, Episode 4: Playing with Fire (part 3/3)

General Content Warning: While this particular post is PG, Flavors of Midnight is intended for mature audiences and may occasionally include adult themes (though nothing explicit or gratuitous). 😊 Any posts with such content will be clearly labeled!

<previous // next chapter >> (coming soon)

<<beginning of chapter

<<<beginning of story

View all Flavors of Midnight posts

Transcript and notes below the cut

Transcript

Frida: Fine. I’ll do your dishes. I’ll unclog your damn toilets. But if you tell me to jump, I’ll—I’ll— Frida: I'll slap you! Jared: Hey, don’t threaten me with a good time. Emma: Ignore him. He just likes to rile people up. A word of advice that’s actually useful, though? Don’t get on the boss’s bad side. Frida: Maybe Jared should think twice about getting on *my* bad side— Emma: I’m not talking about Jared. I’m talking about Nick Alto. Frida: Who? Emma: Rich Italian guy, big mansion on Summer Hill? He owns this place. If you get on *his* bad side, you’ll have much bigger problems to worry about than Jared Frio. Frida: What the hell have I gotten myself into with this job?

Notes/thoughts

The diner I'm using for this story is an edited version of "Reggie's Diner," built by Flora2 over at MTS! I always find an excuse to place one of their builds into my world (my sims tend to spend a lot of time at diners no matter what save file I'm playing. 😅)

This brings Episode 4 to an end! Please feel free to comment or send an ask if you have any feedback, questions, or thoughts. :)

[satellite-sims]

Oh thanks, @falllforfiction <3 Glad to see you on tumblr again btw!

@martassimsbookcc @rollo-rolls @kevinvoncrastenburg @mercury101 @smallsimmer @pleaseputnamehere @melbens @bellakenobi @nectar-cellar @elvgreen @obscurus-noctem @plumbobgothica @nessysims @qertyv ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Starting a simblr love train 💚

With the holidays here and the year ending, I think its rather appropriate to start a love train! Tag your favorite people so show your love and appreciation to them 💚

[cocodotgreen]

I've been looking for a list like this for a while now and was almost resigned to doing my own research regarding polycount suitable for gameplay. But @plumbobgothica has spared all of us the trouble!

I never used to worry about polycount (didn't even know about it, actually) until rather recently. Over the years I had accumulated insane amounts of cc furniture, a lot of it pretty high poly. Since I removed most of it from my game it has been running much more smoothly!

If you do a lot of gameplay, considering polycount is very important!

I still keep a few high poly hairs or items in my game that I really like, because my graphics unit can take it up until a certain point. But I've become way more picky about what gets to go into my game! This list will make these decisions much more easy now!

Hope this info will help someone else, too!!

Average Polycount of EA Items in TS3: A Reference Sheet

I initially started this list as a personal “cheat sheet” that I could reference to ensure the custom content I'm downloading is appropriate for gameplay when it comes to polycount (and because I intend(ed) to learn how to make my own cc). I decided to share in case others find it useful.

I’m not a Maxis Match purist or anything like that, but purging high-poly CAS items from my cc folder eliminated in-game stuttering for me entirely. For some reason, this is rarely mentioned in discussions about gameplay optimization. Polycount does matter.

There’s a lot of absolutely gorgeous but incredibly high-poly cc out there that is simply not gameplay friendly for the average player. As we see an influx of first-time or rusty players migrating over from TS4, I think it’s important people are aware of this (both players and creators alike).

This might be a nonissue for those whose focus is on CAS and pretty screenshots, or maybe for those who have beastly gaming pcs/graphics cards etc.

But for players whose focus is on actual gameplay, high-poly cc can be detrimental.

With that said, below the cut you can find a list of average polycounts for some EA clothing/objects to use as a reference.

My method

I recorded the polycount of 10 items from each category below so that I could get a decent representation from each one to calculate the average. Since there is a wide range in some of the categories, I’ve opted to also include the minimum, median, and maximum for a clearer picture.

This list is not exhaustive; I feel like after a while, you kind of get the point. Also, this has been sitting on my computer for ages, and I don’t know if/when I will continue collecting data for it, so I figured I would just share what I have for now.

CAS

Tops:

Average polycount: 3538.4

Minimum polycount: 2868

Median polycount: 3443

Maximum polycount: 4872

Outfits:

Average polycount: 4281.8

Minimum polycount: 3865

Median polycount: 4205.5

Maximum polycount: 4932

Bottoms:

Average polycount: 1094.2

Minimum polycount: 770

Median polycount: 1016

Maximum polycount: 1768

Hair:

Average polycount: 4343.2

Minimum polycount: 2298

Median polycount: 4691

Maximum polycount: 6840

Shoes:

Average polycount: 621.6

Minimum polycount: 456

Median polycount: 594

Maximum polycount: 968

Accessories

Average polycount: 520.8

Minimum polycount: 118

Median polycount: 433

Maximum polycount: 1098

Objects

Dining Chairs

Average polycount: 806.3

Minimum polycount: 362

Median polycount: 799

Maximum polycount: 1054

Sofas and Loveseats

Average polycount: 1699.4

Minimum polycount: 958

Median polycount: 1414

Maximum polycount: 2920

Livingroom Chairs

Average polycount: 791.0

Minimum polycount: 290

Median polycount: 920

Maximum polycount: 1006

Beds

Average polycount: 3529.4

Minimum polycount: 1974

Median polycount: 3316

Maximum polycount: 5668

Plants

Average polycount: 746.3

Minimum polycount: 104

Median polycount: 801

Maximum polycount: 1998

Sculptures

Average polycount: 1659.3

Min polycount: 440

Median polycount: 1417.5

Max polycount: 5263

Misc

Average polycount: 914.4

Min polycount: 380

Median polycount: 988

Max polycount: 1926

Curtains

Average polycount: 762.4

Min polycount: 262

Median polycount: 802

Max polycount: 1438

Wall Art

Average polycount: 524.1

Min polycount: 62

Median polycount: 171

Max polycount: 2403

Dining Tables

Average polycount: 754.8

Min polycount: 468

Median polycount: 685

Max: 1262

(To be continued, maybe? If anyone wants to help me add more categories, feel free to get in touch, happy to credit you for any data you send over).

Further reading from people who are way smarter than me:

Polygon counts and Sims CC by @simlicious, plus their tutorial on how to check polycounts using TSRW.

Let’s Talk Polygons by @mispoodle1, plus their tutorial on how to use S3pe to check polycounts.

A warning about high polycount custom content - for downloaders and creators by @tommeraas-cc (this post is for TS4 but still relevant for TS3 as well).

Maybe no one cares about cc polycounts anymore, but I sure do. 😅

Happy simming! I'm on a bit of a break from TS3 right now but I always come back. 🖤

[rstarsims3]

🥰

Frio brothers!

There are so many awesome Sunset Valley makeovers out there already, and I've used a lot of them in the past. This time I've decided to try my hand at re-doing some of the premades myself!

Thank you so much to all the cc creators, links under cut. 🖤

Connor (left):

Hair from @agnelid

Sweater and jeans from @nectar-cellar

Jared (right)

Hair (TSR) by @adedarma

Jacket by @rstarsims3

Shoes by @pixicat

Jeans also by nectar-cellar

(think I got this right but let me know if I made any mistakes)

[greenplumbboblover]

If anyone is interested in reading more premade stories, here you go!

I was hoping to make a “reader list” for ts3 stories soon! I think it would be fun for others to learn about other people’s stories :)

A Taste of Midnight, Chapter 1: The Prodigal Daughter Returns (Part 1)

Next

Transcript & Notes⬇️

Transcript:

Frida Goth: Thanks for helping me move in, Gunther. You didn’t have to come.

Gunther Goth: You’re my little sister. Of course I’m going to help you move. But, Frida, you know you could have just stayed with us at Goth Manor, right?

Frida: Is that a joke? Your wife hates me. Plus I haven’t set foot in that house in . . . a long time.

Gunther: *Sigh* You could at least let me pay for you to stay somewhere a bit more . . . suitable for someone of your pedigree. You’re a Goth, whether you like it or not.

Frida: You sound like Dad when you talk like that.

Notes:

This is my first time trying something like this, so it’s a bit of an experiment!

This is an actual gameplay save file, so while I do have a general story arc in mind (plus planned character development for several different beloved Sunset Valley townies), I plan to let the gameplay naturally guide the direction of the story, too. The plot will evolve based on events that occur during my playthrough, unless I decide to veto something. 😉

I also want to mention that I was very much inspired by @greenplumbboblover and her fantastic Life is Sunniest in Sunset Valley story, which I highly recommend! (Also, super grateful for your pose player add-on!)

[toadifylackoffantasy]

Yey! New story on this site. I am already loving it :) Let's continue playing moviedirector with our pixelpeople!

Season 1, Episode 4: Playing with Fire (part 2/3)

General Content Warning: While this particular post is PG, Flavors of Midnight is intended for mature audiences and may occasionally include adult themes (though nothing explicit or gratuitous). 😊 Any posts with such content will be clearly labeled!

<previous // next> (coming soon)

<<beginning of chapter

<<<beginning of story

View all Flavors of Midnight posts

Transcript & notes/thoughts below the cut.

Script:

[Reggie's Diner - Sunset Valley] Jared: Rule number 1: No excuses. I don’t care if there was traffic. I don’t care if your dog died.  You show up on time, and you do your job. Frida: Okay… Jared: Rule number 2: If you have time to lean, you have time to clean. Every minute you waste standing around, you’ll make up for by staying extra after your shift. Emma: Hey Frida! Nice to have you here! Jared: That’s Emma. She’ll be showing you the ropes. Emma: Don’t mind Jared. He just likes picking on the newbies. He’s not so bad once he warms up to you. Jared: *smirks* Jared: Rule Number 3: You’re a lowly kitchen scullion. You don’t go near the cooking until you’ve earned it. Jared: If I ask you to unclog the toilet, you do it. If I ask you to scrub grease, you do it. If I ask you to jump, you ask how high. Frida: You’re joking, right?  A ‘kitchen scullion’? I thought this was an actual culinary position! Frida: I’m sorry, but this isn’t what I signed up for at all. Jared: No special treatment, remember? Or maybe you just think you’re too good for this job. Jared: Look, I wish I had a rich brother on speed dial as a safety net too, but some of us have to work for a living. This is honest work.

Notes/thoughts

Please let me know if you have any issues with readability. Thanks! 🖤 I’ll also be adding image descriptions over the next couple weeks or so to improve accessibility, and will try to do that going forward.

[dhalsims]

Thanks to @plumbobgothica for compiling this list. Building on her work, I calculated the average polycounts for vehicles, including those from packs and the store.

Vehicles are large, detailed objects, which is why they tend to have high polycounts. For example, the vehicle with the highest polycount is the fire engine from Ambitions at 9.6k. It's a massive object with a footprint of 30 tiles. In comparison, a small object that only covers part of a tile should have a much lower polycount. However, it's not uncommon for small CC objects to also have thousands of polygons.

Many custom car creators use models from racing games, but be aware that the polycounts can often reach tens of thousands.

Vehicles

Bicycles:

Average polycount: 1436

Minimum polycount: 1272

Median polycount: 1422

Maximum polycount: 1566

Boats:

Average polycount: 3990

Minimum polycount: 2152

Median polycount: 2997

Maximum polycount: 8821

Cars (Base game only):

Average polycount: 4646

Minimum polycount: 3717

Median polycount: 4783

Maximum polycount: 5392

Cars (All):

Average polycount: 5418

Minimum polycount: 3691

Median polycount: 5032

Maximum polycount: 9622

Hover cars:

Average polycount: 5020

Minimum polycount: 3438

Median polycount: 5150

Maximum polycount: 6254

Motorcycles:

Average polycount: 2605

Minimum polycount: 2080

Median polycount: 2856

Maximum polycount: 2878

Scooters:

Average polycount: 2087

Minimum polycount: 1308

Median polycount: 1713

Maximum polycount: 3614

Average Polycount of EA Items in TS3: A Reference Sheet

I initially started this list as a personal “cheat sheet” that I could reference to ensure the custom content I'm downloading is appropriate for gameplay when it comes to polycount (and because I intend(ed) to learn how to make my own cc). I decided to share in case others find it useful.

I’m not a Maxis Match purist or anything like that, but purging high-poly CAS items from my cc folder eliminated in-game stuttering for me entirely. For some reason, this is rarely mentioned in discussions about gameplay optimization. Polycount does matter.

There’s a lot of absolutely gorgeous but incredibly high-poly cc out there that is simply not gameplay friendly for the average player. As we see an influx of first-time or rusty players migrating over from TS4, I think it’s important people are aware of this (both players and creators alike).

This might be a nonissue for those whose focus is on CAS and pretty screenshots, or maybe for those who have beastly gaming pcs/graphics cards etc.

But for players whose focus is on actual gameplay, high-poly cc can be detrimental.

With that said, below the cut you can find a list of average polycounts for some EA clothing/objects to use as a reference.

My method

I recorded the polycount of 10 items from each category below so that I could get a decent representation from each one to calculate the average. Since there is a wide range in some of the categories, I’ve opted to also include the minimum, median, and maximum for a clearer picture.

This list is not exhaustive; I feel like after a while, you kind of get the point. Also, this has been sitting on my computer for ages, and I don’t know if/when I will continue collecting data for it, so I figured I would just share what I have for now.

CAS

Tops:

Average polycount: 3538.4

Minimum polycount: 2868

Median polycount: 3443

Maximum polycount: 4872

Outfits:

Average polycount: 4281.8

Minimum polycount: 3865

Median polycount: 4205.5

Maximum polycount: 4932

Bottoms:

Average polycount: 1094.2

Minimum polycount: 770

Median polycount: 1016

Maximum polycount: 1768

Hair:

Average polycount: 4343.2

Minimum polycount: 2298

Median polycount: 4691

Maximum polycount: 6840

Shoes:

Average polycount: 621.6

Minimum polycount: 456

Median polycount: 594

Maximum polycount: 968

Accessories

Average polycount: 520.8

Minimum polycount: 118

Median polycount: 433

Maximum polycount: 1098

Objects

Dining Chairs

Average polycount: 806.3

Minimum polycount: 362

Median polycount: 799

Maximum polycount: 1054

Sofas and Loveseats

Average polycount: 1699.4

Minimum polycount: 958

Median polycount: 1414

Maximum polycount: 2920

Livingroom Chairs

Average polycount: 791.0

Minimum polycount: 290

Median polycount: 920

Maximum polycount: 1006

Beds

Average polycount: 3529.4

Minimum polycount: 1974

Median polycount: 3316

Maximum polycount: 5668

Plants

Average polycount: 746.3

Minimum polycount: 104

Median polycount: 801

Maximum polycount: 1998

Sculptures

Average polycount: 1659.3

Min polycount: 440

Median polycount: 1417.5

Max polycount: 5263

Misc

Average polycount: 914.4

Min polycount: 380

Median polycount: 988

Max polycount: 1926

Curtains

Average polycount: 762.4

Min polycount: 262

Median polycount: 802

Max polycount: 1438

Wall Art

Average polycount: 524.1

Min polycount: 62

Median polycount: 171

Max polycount: 2403

Dining Tables

Average polycount: 754.8

Min polycount: 468

Median polycount: 685

Max: 1262

(To be continued, maybe? If anyone wants to help me add more categories, feel free to get in touch, happy to credit you for any data you send over).

Further reading from people who are way smarter than me:

Polygon counts and Sims CC by @simlicious, plus their tutorial on how to check polycounts using TSRW. Edited to add: check out their newest essay about polycount vs vertices!

Let’s Talk Polygons by @mispoodle1, plus their tutorial on how to use S3pe to check polycounts.

A warning about high polycount custom content - for downloaders and creators by @tommeraas-cc (this post is for TS4 but still relevant for TS3 as well).

Maybe no one cares about cc polycounts anymore, but I sure do. 😅

Happy simming! I'm on a bit of a break from TS3 right now but I always come back. 🖤