#the sims modding community is the absolute worst for this

[skiitter]

I fucking hate the instagram filter face that’s so prevalent in fandom creations.

[kassandras-one-braincell]

I'm no longer gonna be able to comfortably play my special interest, which fucking sucks. Rant under cut. It's about League of Legends and Riot's anti-cheat software, Vanguard, if you're interested.

Riot Vanguard (vgk) is a kernel-level software that scans all of a system's processes to detect cheat engines, which itself is fine - industry standard - except it boasts a particular effectiveness due to how it's run. Vgk runs on start-up so that it's running before a user has the chance to launch a cheat engine, and it can ID hardware so that if a player is caught cheating, they won't be able to play again on the same device. Unless it is disabled manually, it will run 24/7, whereas other AC software will start and stop in line with the game's execution.

It's more effective than other AC software, but it absolutely bricked some PCs back upon its initial release when Valorant dropped in 2020. This was a new game, fresh code, but the anti-cheat borders on a fucking rootkit - a term I'm using liberally, because vgk isn't malware, but it works in the same way on a systemic level. Equally as invasive, and can potentially be equally as destructive; one of those is intended, and the other is an unfortunate by-product of invasive software being developed by a video game company.

League of Legends is a 15 year old game with some pretty tragic code. If vgk caused people to bluescreen after exiting Valorant, then even more people are going to encounter issues with the shitshow that is LoL's code base.

Three weeks ago, an attempt to fix a bug regarding an in-client feature fucked over a far more significant API in several major servers. Every time a particular game-mode called "Clash" launches (every other month or so), it bricks the servers. This is currently a running gag in the community: that whenever the client acts up (embarrassingly often for such a well-funded game) Riot must be dropping Clash early. But when you introduce a bloody rootkit into the mix that runs in tandem with spaghetti code and beyond the closing of the game app, this is going to undoubtedly fuck some computers up.

I'm not someone who cheats at games, but I care about my system too much to risk this. Something that relies on the BIOS, that is known to have caused permanent damage to systems while running alongside a much better programmed game, that continuously scans your system while it's active (and always activates upon start-up until disabled) is obscenely risky. With a 24/7 invasive software, it can disable drivers regardless of what you're playing and when; the worst cases - plural - I've read about anecdotally were people's cooling systems being disabled erroneously by vgk, causing gpu melting. You bet any antivirus software you have installed is going to scan without pause because of it, which will cause more system-wide performance issues, too.

There's also the (albeit minor) risk of other scripts triggering the uh-oh alarm and leading to unfair account bans, and I've poured almost 7 years into this game. I mod some of my single-player games and write scripts. No thanks.

And while I'm lucky enough to have a decent system, the TPM 2.0 and secure boot requirement for Windows 11 users means that vgk will effectively - while the phrase is crude, I haven't seen a concise alternative - "class-ban" League players. Similar to the release of OW2, where a unique SIM was required for every account, including existing ones until that got changed after enough backlash - except buying a phone number is far cheaper than buying a laptop or PC. Even with the requirements, the performance issues will tank low-end systems, which would already be at higher risk of hardware fuckery from increased and extended cpu usage. And the game is currently designed to be comfortably playable on low-end rigs, so it will force-out a good number of players.

If you play League and intend to continue playing after vgk is made mandatory in Jan/Feb 2024, give it a few months after it goes live before you play. That's enough time for any catastrophic issues to unfold, because if the testing period was anything like it is for game features, it won't be sufficient, and the number of cases of system damage will be worse than it was for Valorant upon release.

This rant does read like I'm trying to dissuade people from playing post-vgk, and I'm not, but I am urging people to be cautious and informed on the legitimate controversies surrounding Vanguard, especially anything hardware related. Familiarise yourself with how the program works and assess whether your system will likely be affected, and how permanent any damage could be to your hardware. Read forums (that aren't moderated by Riot employees where possible) and verify the information you're reading. Including this. It's 3:30am and I'm writing this angrily, so my limited explanations of the software could stand to be more thorough.

I'm hoping that there will be enough of a reduction in League's ~200m monthly player-base to spark a reversal in the decision to implement vgk. Not out of consideration for people who don't want to install a rootkit for a video game, but because Riot would lose money and shit their corporate britches.

Having to say goodbye to my favourite game, a universe I love and one of the more significant outlets to socialisation in my life absolutely sucks, though. The actual season changes looked super cool too, and I was stoked about Ambessa coming to the game. I'll enjoy the game while I can, but yeah this feels like a bitter breakup lmao.

[keyblade-master-vicky]

whats absolutely wild to me about so many people paywalling Sims mods and so many people defending it as though their lives depend on it is, like, how many other communities can you think of where you have to pay for mods? not to say that the Sims community is the only one with creators like that, not at all. but from what i've seen the Sims modding community is by far the worst when it comes to having a greed competition with EA. as much i hate EA as a company i'm very glad they're taking a stance on paywalled content, i just hope they'll actually act on it. for now they can take the rare W

[brandinotbroke]

sims 2 ask game ✨ 6, 14 & 19 (/ ^-^)/

6. what is the worst/unluckiest thing to ever happen to your sims in game?

So I have the more dangerous fire mod in my game and while I was playing the Aspir family, somehow Luis' model train caught fire (I wasn't paying attention and I didn't even know that thing COULD catch fire??). I let Luis call the fire department but that man was USELESS and the fire spread so fast I didn't know what to do. Long story short, THE ENTIRE FAMILY burnt to death and little Pauline was picked up by the social worker :( 14. what mods could you absolutely not live without, if you had to run a minimal cc game? (except from the essentials, like no sim loaded/no unlink on delete/ACR)

Well, compared to some people in the community I do have a pretty "minimal" CC collection - right now I'm at ~3GB. My top 3 would be: Chris Hatch's Visit Other Sims Mod, LazyDuchess' Random Marriage/Proposal Rejection and the Visitor Controller of which I can't find the link right now :D

19. do you meticiously control everything in your game or let things play out autonomously? do you pick spouses for your sims or let them choose for themselves?

I used to control EVERYTHING and leave without saving if something happened without my planning, but last year I started to be a bit more relaxed about it and it's much more fun. I usually make them flirt with Sims who I think would be a good match, but ultimately they decide for themselves. I take attractions bolts into account.

[sunflower-petals]

Ok, mushy post incoming! If you aren’t into that, it’s fine!

tl;dr: Thank y’all so much for 800 followers!!! 

Ok so I don’t even know where to start; this is honestly 100% perfect timing because I was planning on making an end of the year thank you post and here we are lol. A lot of you know how mushy and sentimental I can be, and yeah it’s a lot. 

I’ve been on simblr for a little over a year now and my gosh what a rollercoaster ride; I see now a lot of people dog on it because of all of the issues and drama we’ve had recently. But omg it’s so much more than that! I’ve been in love with the sims my entire life (since I was 8 and the first game came out) and it never dawned on me to join a forum or to find other people who loved it too. I live in a very rural part of WV; people here have either never heard of it or don’t count it as a real game so, yeah. Finding simblr has been absolutely awesome! The sheer amount of creativity that has come from a game I’ve just messed around with for most of my life has blown my mind! I’ve literally learned completely new skills (3d modelling, digital art, coding) because of simblr. Those things wouldn’t have even crossed my mind before. And the things y’all can do! Omg it’s amazing!!! 

I’m kind of getting off track but I could talk about this for literally hours. I’m an artist (not professional, yet lol) offline and the most amazing thing to me with art is seeing a completely blank piece of paper, and taking it to what I see in my mind.  That’s what all y’all do; whether it’s cc making, edits, mods, or stories. Literally all y’all are making absolutely amazing things from the bottom up, and teaching each other, then sharing it! What a beautiful thing. 

I know I’m gushing and being overly dramatic (trust me I know; it’s definitely a part of my personality lol) but simblr has also helped keep me sane. So many of you are so kind! I have gotten messages from people just letting me know they were there for me when I was going through a rough time. None of that has gone unnoticed. This year, I know, has been miserable for everyone; it’s probably been the second worst year of my life. I won’t go into details, but I’ve lost a lot of people I loved. Having this place to go has been a wonderful distraction, and the kind people I’ve had the honor of meeting have helped to get me through. :)

Seeing you guys like, reblog, or just say you like what I make has been an absolute joy also! To create something for a game I love so much, then see people loving what I’m creating in the game I love is beyond cool! And for there to be 800 of you....shit I can’t imagine that amount of people lol. 

Sorry I wrote a novel. I literally appreciate this community, this game, and all of y’all so much. :) Thank you! 

[shrimppebbles]

Through the Generations

there’s probably another challenge named this, but I am not good at names, so I’m keeping it

*this challenge is currently unfinished as I am play testing it and fell into a rut, but feel free to start from this point*

this challenge is a free forming challenge meant for me to hopefully enjoy the sims more and have structured legacy that I like without anything that seems to hard. this legacy can be bended however you want and the gens played in whatever order you want (each gen however has a backstory and will not work if you switch them around, so create your own backstory if you switch generations around) there are a lot of pack requirements I didn’t intend to make, but you can skip those or modify them to your will.

Also, feel free to play with siblings and such to make fun family trees, just make sure to have “auto-age current household only” on!

we’ll get into all the rules below the cut to make it neat, but incase I ever delete my tumblr or it gets deactivated, HERE is a google doc of the rules too 

@sims4challenges​ @ts4-challengenet​

Some Basics before we get into the Generations

Heirs are whoever you choose unless specified 

You can give the next generation however much of the family funds of the current generation as you choose

Piggy-backing off of that, unless specified you can use however many funds you want to build/buy new lots

You can create sims to be your spouse and add them into the world unless specified

Any lifespan length is fine, although regular is recommended

Start each gen at young adult unless specified 

You can have pets in any generation unless otherwise specified

You can have same-sex or hetero couples per each generation (your choice). In same-sex couples, you may adopt or use a mod that will allow try for baby and pregnancy between them

and lastly...have fun and please tag me if you play or use the tag #ThrGen, I’d love to see it!

Generation one: A Big Happy Family 

family oriented, [your choice], [your choice]

any family aspiration

You grew into young adulthood with absolutely no-one, no siblings or parents, it’s not something you would wish onto your worst enemies, let alone your own family. You vow to make a large, happy family for your own children and never want to lead a boring life for your kids

Marry one of the first sims your spouse meets

Have 10 children (you can use mods if you wish, but just replacing them as they move out is fine)

You can live in whichever world you want, just pick the biggest lot of that respective world

Paint, write, or any other work from home job (your spouse may hold a part-time job or do the same)

Max the parenting, cooking, and charisma skills

Grow a nice little veggie garden

Have good relationship with all children

Most of your children should have the happy toddler trait and at least one positive character trait

Generation two: Work, Work, Work

 [your choice], [your choice], [your choice]

fabulously wealthy aspiration

You didn’t hate growing up in a full, loud house, but you saw how much your parents sacrificed of their own freedom and ambitions for you and you never want your family to come in between your dreams and you like that. So you move to the city to build up a career for yourself completely kid free.

Move to San Myshuno, working from a small apartment up to a penthouse

Reach level ten in either the Business or Politician careers (you can pick which branch)

Take any career opportunities the game offers you

Only after you reach the top of your career can you look for a serious relationship (you can have one night hook ups here and there if you wish, just nothing serious)

The only way you can intentionally boost fun is by listening to the radio or watching the television

Have a child with your spouse once you complete your aspiration (this should be into adulthood, the older you are the better)

Only have one child building a strong relationship with them and spoiling them rotten

If you or your spouse dies of old age, the respective partner should also die in some manner shortly after (to set up for the next gen)

Generation three: All on my Own?

snobby, [your choice] , [your choice]

start with whatever aspiration you think fits, but change it to and complete the Friend of The Animals aspiration

With the sudden passing of both your parents, you have no idea what do with yourself and how to live on your own. In a rash decision, you sell the penthouse and all it’s belongings. You blow through all this money quite quickly on drinks and gambling until you have barely enough money to move out to a small house on the coast (you will probably need to cheat this, just cheat it down to 20,000). There you try to find yourself and make a life for your new normal. After job after job, you notice the amount of strays in the area, which inspires you to open a small family clinic

Do as the description above says, only starting once both of your parents are dead

Move to Brindleton Bay

“Try” (you can just work at them for a couple days) three different jobs before deciding to open a small vet clinic

adopt at least five animals over the course of your life

You can meet your spouse wherever (perhaps the clinic) and have 2 children with them

Take your children on trips to different parks, museums, etc., every week

Max the pet training and veterinary skills

Generation four: The Nuclear Family

athletic, paranoid, [your choice]

strangerville mystery aspiration and successful lineage aspiration 

Your parents always encouraged you to pursue what you wanted, but also encouraged economic conscious and independence. Not sure what you want to do, you enlist in the army and move to StrangerVille, trying to figure out what you want, but as your there, you get enveloped into what’s going on

As a teen, have a part time job

move into the trailer park in StrangerVille

Enlist in the Military

Complete the StrangerVille Mystery aspiration

After finally taking down The Mother, you are finally able to decipher what you wanted, a Writer. You leave your position in the military and pick up a job at the local paper (the writer career), where you tell your stories of your adventures and other strange happenings in Strangerville. At the paper, you meet your spouse and settle down to have a few children with them. But still feeling unsatisfied, you find solace in a stranger at a bar and do things very questionable as a married sim.

Move to the Suburbs of StrangerVille

Become a writer and choose the Journalism path

Meet your spouse at work

Have 3 children (preferably at least one boy and one girl)

Cheat on your spouse with someone you meet at the bar (this can be a one time thing or a continuous theme)

Complete the Successful Lineage Aspiration

Max the Writing Skill

Generation five:  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

green fiend, perfectionist, [your choice]

Eco Innovator Aspiration 

Sensing something was always off in your parents marriage, you wanted everything else in life to be perfectly in your control to balance it out. One of the biggest problems that seemed to be out of your control however, was the environment and the negative impacts of it, until you learned about a little town on the coast, Evergreen Harbor. There people of your similar mind lived and coexisted, working on creating a community of a better environment. So, soon after your eighteenth birthday, you pack your bags and move. 

Move to Evergreen Harbor

Always live in a tiny home, the smaller, the better

Grow a garden of at least ten different plants

Go into the Civil Designer Career, specifically the Green Technician Branch (you can also choose the conservationist career, just cheat the aspiration go

Concerned about their environmental impacts, have only one child, you can either by adopt or a have a one night stand resulting in a child ( you can be in contact and be in a relationship with the child’s parent, but they should not live with you) 

Have at least fifteen renewable energy sources

Make your neighborhood (and maybe others!) the cleanest it can be

Generation six:  Paintings of Cityscapes

creative, loves the outdoors, [your choice]

 pick painter extraordinaire aspiration, but also complete “friend of the world” along the way

Growing up with a single parent, your life was a little interesting, but never dim or unloved. Growing up in Evergreen Harbor gave you access to many interesting and cool people who shaped your view of the world and it’s beauty (Rory and Lorelai Gilmore type vibe ig?). Interested in broadening your world view, you move yourself all the way to the big city to pursue a career in arts. There you meet all sorts of people 

Move to San Myshuno, try moving into the smallest apartment possible, make it into a studio/loft and live there for as long as possible

Meet all your friends at art galleries and karaoke bars

go to as many festivals as possible, trying to paint and photograph them as much as possible

Max the Charisma and Painting skills

Never to boggled to settle down, have at least two children to at least two different people, preferably “casual” friends

Never live in an apartment bigger than what you need in the name of being unique (basically no mega big apartments and penthouses)

Marry as a elder to your highest romantic partner

Take your kids on trips to art galleries and such every week

You should have an extra stock pile of money, don’t spend it on stuff you don’t need

Generation seven:  A Higher Degree

genius, [your choice], [your choice]

Academic aspiration and then whichever aspiration you think fits

Living with your eccentric parent in a tiny apartment with your siblings, at times, felt quite odd and claustrophobic, but your parent always introduced you to new people and new places that widened the lens of what you could do in your life. With the help of your parent, who put away any extra dollar they could so that you and your siblings could to go to college and pursue your passion, you apply for university and move into the dorms. 

Go to University and get a degree in Psychology, History, or Literature and Language

Join at least one student organization

Meet your spouse while in university (they can be attending or you just meet them somewhere on campus)

Have a big graduation party with all your friends and classmates

Marry your partner soon after graduation

Pursue a career related to your major

Max your Logic and Research & Debate skills

I will add  more to this as I get here 

[katatty]

meet the simmer - TS2 Edition

I was tagged to do this by @mrslandgraab - thank you!

Your name: Kat!

Languages you speak: Just English, and extremely low-level GCSE French :(

Are you a mermaid?: Sure! I live in a coastal town & was a huge mermaid & dolphin girl as a kid, even had an underwater/dolphin themed bedroom. These days my vibe is more witch-y than mermaid-y, but I’m down with being any kinda cool fantasy lady, haha

Your play style: It’s a mix, yeah! I tend to play with a lot of structure (rounds, challenges, etc.) but keep the rules pretty loose & optimise more for storytelling than anything. It varies a lot between saves and sometimes even between families, haha.

Your Simself picture: Gosh, I haven’t played with a simself in forever... here’s one from 2015, lmao:

She doesn’t really look anything like me since I wasn’t the best at faces in those days, and my style has definitely changed in the last 5 years (although the hair isn’t all that different) so maybe I’ll make a new one, just for fun?

Stories or gameplay, builds, look books, edits or CC: Gameplay & builds, mostly!

Your favorite age state: Young Adults, university is my favourite! :D

Your favorite season: Spring or Autumn - I like that nice in-between weather and the feeling of the world chaning...

Your favorite holiday: Christmas, definitely! It can be kind of a stressful holiday but it gives me such a strong feeling of community and love, with family, friends, hell even on simblr! It’s the only time of year I really get together with my extended family. I also love the food, the decorations, the lights, Christmas pantos, classic films on TV, ghost stories... it’s got it all, imo!

How was your day?: So far so good! It’s been a weekend of having absolutely no plans (courtesy of corvid-19, heh) and just kinda relaxing. It’s a worrying time in a way but it’s also been nice to not have to worry about cramming as much as possible into the weekend & just being, yknow?

Your favorite career: I like running a OFB career the best but other than that... maybe crime, haha?

Your favorite aspiration: Knowledge & Pleasure!

Your favorite EP, GP and SP: Probably Mansion & Garden, I can’t live without all that gorgeous garden decoration & the cool archetectural details! For EP, hmmm, maybe university? University is my favourite part of the game, I think :)

How old is your simblr?: Apparently it dates back to August 2014 so, gosh, about 6 years??????????

Have you WooHooed?: Haha, serious question? Yeah

Your favorite skill: Creativity, probably! Although really its the hidden skills linked to it that I like, painting& music proficiancy, etc.

The size of your mods folder: 28GB >.< no comments on this please lmao, I know how bad it is & I hate it

Your 3 favorite mods: Going to cheat and say all the occult stuff by @midgethetree, the simological school/prison mods, & @hexagonal-bipyramid‘s traits project!

Your interests (other than Sims): Writing, D&D (I’m a newbie DM currently running Curse of Strahd for my IRL friends), anime, reading, drawing, tarot, fashion (I like ‘alternative’ style but lean more into witchy/granny/mori stuff than the ‘edgy’ look), witchcraft/occult stuff in general, knitting, embroidery... the last 2 are very new hobbies I’m still getting the hang of! 

Your favorite Sim (picture if possible): Chosing one is always basically impossible for me so I’m gonna go ahead and post a few favorites...

Which Sims games have you played (including mobile games)?:Definitely TS2 is the one I’ve played the most of, but I’ve also played all the other mainline games... TS1 was only at friend’s houses, never got into TS4, but I have played a lot of TS3.

We never had a PC as a kid so I’ve played looooooads of the console ones. On the PS2 The Sims, Bustin’ Out, Sims 2, The Urbz (the best one.) Also the Sims 2 DS game & PSP games. Those are both pretty great. I also played the Sims 3 Wii game which was fucking terrible, haha.

Propose a crazy scheme: Bring back round robin legacies where a different simmer plays each generation

Best part of simblr: The community spirit is great, everyone is always eager to help each other and the level of creativity is just wow

Worst part of simblr:Sometimes I miss how much people commented in the old LJ days - without “threads” in comments it’s much harder to build friendships on Tumblr without going out of your way to message people, which is always a bit intimidating! 

What other games you play?: I don’t play that many other games because I like the Sims 2 so much, but me and my boyfriend generally play through a couple of games together each year... mostly the Zelda and Final Fantasy series. I also play 00s era Sonic games weekly with one of my friends, haha. They are kind of crappy in a lot of ways but hold so much charm for me, I just love them... in general I like visual novels, mysteries, puzzles, adventures & anything with a good story. Not so big on anything very large and open-world, or first-person.

Other favourites include Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Harvest Moon (had to quit this one cold turkey lmao), TWEWY, the 999 games & Phoenix Wright.

Other websites or accounts (Origin, Twitter, etc.): I’m on discord! katatty #9742

Are you single?: Nope, been in a relationship for the last 5 years & we’re very happy. We moved in together last summer!

Tagging @strangetomato, @moocha-muses, @nostalgiasimmer & @simhealing​ - if you’re up for it!

[klodas]

get to know me tag - simblr edition

i was tagged by no one 🤡🤡

your name: Jordan but call me j or else

languages you speak: English, and i took Spanish for 4 years and learnt absolute nothing

are you a mermaid: i wish

your playstyle: who plays the game

your simself picture: it wont let me put a picture so oh well 

stories or gameplay, builds, lookbooks, edits or cc: edits and sometimes cc :))

your favorite age state: y/a

your favorite season: winter 

your favorite holiday: christmas because im a greedy bastard

how was your day: pretty good i did nothing but make edits and chat with people

your favorite career: none they all suck

your favorite aspiration: none

your favorite EP, SP or GP: seasons,and city living

how old is your simblr: barely a year old... baby

have you woohooed: ....

your favorite skill: the painting skill

the size of your mods folder: honestly i do not want to comment

your 3 favorite mods: who plays the game honestly??

your interests (other than sims): i love to draw, and take photos

your favorite sim (picture if possible): i use the same sim in all my edits if you didn't know just different skin color and eye colors and maybe changing the jaw line a little lmao 

which sims games you have played (including mobile games):all except sims 1

propose a crazy scheme: me making edits once a week

best part of simblr: uhm the community is pretty nice and i like all my mutuals :D and @virtygo

worst part of simblr: 👀👀

what other games do you play: overwatch,lis,minecraft,planet zoo,

i tag everyone who has not done it yet :))

[donaeis]

simmer - get to know

by @cupcakegnome​

i was tagged by the amazing @whyhellosims​ and couldn’t pass up on this awesome opportunity to allow yall to get to know me a bit better! 💖

your name: I went on discord a few years ago for some sims help and just named my account Figaro after my favorite horse without really thinking about it... then I actually got hooked on discord and my friends started calling me Fig, so... fig it is! here’s the real fig, though, for those who are interested:

hes more amazing than i could ever dream to be.

languages you speak: dutch, english, german (i'm gonna go as far as to say dutch and german are mutually intelligible, and tho this gives a bit less of an incentive to actually learn german when germans will understand ur dutch just fine, it also makes learning german significantly easier). I tried to learn greek but even after years and years i just couldnt get past the alphabet LOL. the only greek I know are the bits and pieces I learned from my time spent there, but id have 0 idea how to actually spell that stuff out.

are you a mermaid: if only!! i do feel a very strong connection to water, though—my dad built his own sailing boat and traveled the world with it, and during his travels me and my sis been visiting a lot, living on his boat with him while we did

your play style: so, so story-driven... even when I tell myself I just wanna play the game without a story for once I end up with one by the end of my play session anyway.

your selfsim picture:

stories or gameplay, builds, lookbooks, edits or cc: I do stories most of all, but also like regular gameplay, my stories will for a very large part be game-driven, and from time to time ill post some builds. ive done a lookbook too. basically the only thing that wont have too much of a focus on my blog, despite my using it, is cc

your favorite age state: YA

your favorite season: winter

your favorite holiday: talk like a pirate day!

how was your day: actually absolutely terrible LOL. hungover, lost my temper on both a customer as well as a coworker... at least i got through it. 😂

your favorite career: admittedly, I rarely actually play careers cause my sims are way too busy or too dumb to actually be able to go there. if I had to choose any, though... I might actually go with the military

your favorite aspiration: the one that the most of my sims have completed is Friend of the World, cause I like for my sims to be sociable so it doesnt take too much effort to complete it anyway, and the reward of relationships never decaying is great

your favorite EP, SP or GP: vampires will always hold a special place in my heart, but I also absolutely love strangerville! if I had to choose any one favorite, id go with that one.

how old is your simblr: I posted some stuff in march last year but havent been active since, like, november? december? something like that

have you woohooed: yes

your favorite skill: charisma, cause theyll develop it automatically as I play

the size of your mods folder: 2.77 GB

your 3 favorite mods: mc command center, npc control, and personality please (links) are the three mods i absolutely couldn’t play without

your interests (other than sims): writing, dancing, creating (i love things like character creation), horse riding & anything involving animals, really.

your favorite sim (picture if possible): this is actually incredibly difficult for me cause im not sure i have 1 favorite. a lot of sims of mine will always hold a special place in my heart. my favorite sim to play fluctuates a lot... but god, if i had to choose any favorite sim whom i really completely made through sims and who was not a non-sims character already precious to me turned into a sims character.... itd probably be tika. hes an asshole but man, do i just love him and especially his story.

which Sims games you have played (including mobile games): the sims 1, 2 and 4

propose a crazy scheme: the sims community actually coming up with some GOOD sims 4 qualities for once 

best part of simblr: the amazing people I got to meet on here!

worst part of simblr: hmm... though i feel its much much less toxic than places like youtube or even the official forums, there is still some negativity here sometimes

what other games you play: im kind of a noob with other games, honestly. I used to play a whooole bunch of horse-related games (am a total horse girl), and I played the battle for middle earth (also looove me some LOTR). used to go to my childhood best friend's house to steal her brother's xbox and play gta iv on it, and I bought gta v for myself but sadly, I suck too bad at games to actually progress any with it

other websites or accounts (origin, twitter etc..): im on wordpress (here). i also mod a sims-based, lgbtq+ discord server called simsclub 

are you single: very happily so, yes.

im tagging @wesunnysimmer​, @nyteroseshadowthorn​, @amuhav​, @chaosxsims​, @silverspringsimmer​, @polishsimmersblog​ and well, uh... basically anyone that wants to do this! feel absolutely free to ignore this if you dont want to. 

[glitch-sim]

Simmer || Get to Know

Tagged: by @dettea <3, created by @cupcakegnome​

Your name: greta

Languages you speak: german and english (and a teeny weeny bit french)

Are you a mermaid: the doctor said no!

Your play style: literally everything besides actual gameplay

Your Selfsim picture:

Stories or gameplay, builds, lookbooks, edits or cc: lookbooks and edits

Your favorite age state: young adult

Your favorite season: spring (and not just in game)

Your favorite holiday: winterfest because it’s the only tolerable one, i don’t like the holiday system in the sims, sorry

How was your day: pretty good so far!

Your favorite career: gardening and spy

Your favorite aspiration: probably the cooking one

Your favorite EP, SP or GP: Get together and StrangerVille because of the beautiful, beautiful worlds they added!

How old is your simblr: actually active since november but i am around since may i think

Have you woohooed: honestly, i just know techtelmechtel* ;)

Your favorite skill: any musical skill and gardening

The size of your Mods folder: 2.07 GB

Your 3 favorite mods: CAS overhaul by luumia, andrew pose player... (other than that i dont really use mods because i am not really playing the game)

Your interests (other than sims): crime shows (u know like criminal minds) and podcasts

Your favorite sim (picture if possible): tally!

Which Sims games you have played (including mobile games) : sims 1,2 and 4, MySims, sims mobile and sims 3 on the wii (and i was waaay to young when i started playing sims)

Propose a crazy scheme: maybe i should burn my bridges and live in a little cottage by the sea!

Best part of simblr: the community and being able to share what you did!

Worst part of simblr: these weird gossip blogs/sites (i think one is called simsecret or something like that)

What other games you play: not a big gamer, so just me and the sims

Other websites or accounts (origin, twitter etc..): just my @ccfinds-by-glitch​ tbh

I tag: @forgottengrottoes​

*i realized nobody will get this ~oh so funny~ reference of mine...this is the german translation for woohoo in game and an absolutely horrendous word.

[violetopals]

Get to know the simmer ❤️

So everyone and their mother has done this and I’m very excited about having 7 followers (yay!) so I thought this would be fun although no one tagged me *sniffle* Ok, here goes :D Your name: Violet Languages you speak: English, German and French. Currently learning Swedish. Are you a mermaid? I’d rather be a witch, but in summer the pool is my second home so I’m gonna say yes :D Your play style: Largely maxis match, historical, royal and I’m a big fan of all Occult simmies. Your Simself picture: Is my profile picture! :3 Stories or gameplay, builds, lookbooks, edits or CC: EVERYTHING ♥ Your favourite age state: YA definitely, but I’m a big fan of tots and kids they’re so cute and adorable ♥_♥ Your favourite season: In game? Summer. IRL? Also summer. Your favourite holiday: Winterfest, ironically. Hate winter, but love Christmas :D How was your day? It’s early in the morning, I’m clinging to a cup of caffeine and trying to get awake xD Your favourite career: In TS4, teacher. IRL also teacher, because that’s what I am :D Your favourite aspiration: Big Happy Family 100% Your favourite EP, GP and SP: OOF. Uhm. Solid tie between Seasons and Island Living. 100% Realm of Magic. Maybe laundry day? (Yay for realism!) How old is your simblr? NOT old! I’ve been lurking and following for ages (been a fan since Sims 1) but I only decided making my own simblr and share in the fun like two months ago. Have you WooHooed? In general or IG? :D Your favourite skill: Anything creative. Painting, music, singing ... The size of your mods folder: 27.2 GB. *ahem* What can I say, I’m an enthusiast and there’s so much cool stuff out there! Your 3 favourite mods: Oh, a few. Mainly to shut off annoying autonomous behaviour, like the nightmare that is the toddler high chair, littering the house with cups or autonomous clay molding (I mean seriously, what the hell?) Your interests (other than Sims): Reading, gaming, history and archaeology. Your favourite Sim (picture if possible): Love all my pixel babies ♥ Which Sims games have you played (including mobile games)? All of them for PC, except the mobile game, it kept crashing my phone. Also I hated Sims 3 with a passion. Propose a crazy scheme: EA, nobody wants TS5. We want more stuff for TS4! Best part of simblr: The creativity, the kindness, the community ♥ and the inclusiveness and intersectionality Worst part of simblr: PAYWALLS. We’re sharing a HOBBY, this isn’t a job. And adfly pages that want to give your computer cancer and won’t let you get to the downloads without agreeing to it. Also, people stealing other people‘s creations - NOT cool. What other games do you play? Oh boy. Elder Scrolls, Assassin’s Creed, Warcraft 3, Banished, Wiggles, Unreal Tournament 2004, Guild Wars ... a lot :D But Sims is one of my absolute favourites Other websites or accounts (Origin, Twitter, etc.): I have Origin, Facebook, Instagram, Steam, Youtube

Are you single? Nope :P And that’s it, folks! I’m tagging my lovely followers because I’m soooo thankful and I would love to get to know these wonderful people! ♥ @zer0-mods @honeysgarden @smallsstore @monstermoms @boredtrait @moonchildlovesthenight

[i-mi]

Replies again (some very overdue)

I wish I could get xkit working on my chromebook. It would make this so much easier! Sorry for the delay in replying to a lot of these again...

@nuttydazesublime @kayleigh-83 @simsterlyrock @halousims @grilledcheese-aspiration @snapdragoned @allisas @deedee-sims @simtzu @nimitwinklesims @simper-fi

WCIF replies:

nuttydazesublime said: Thank you so much!! I`ve been hunting for it like ages! :D

No problem! I’m happy to help :)

Prudence Hemming the Witch replies:

kayleigh-83 said: I think there are mods available out there that will stop the witches from spawning on community lots? I’m sure I’ve seen something like that around! Probably on MATY or something.

Oh yeah, there definitely is! But I don’t personally want to stop them from spawning. On any other day, I’d be quite happy to see a witch, but I was just being extra cautious as this was such an important event in the legacy. And like I said, I don’t trust this game not to crash at the worst possible moment heheh. That’s despite the fact my game is actually running the best it ever has! No crashes yet or anything! And that’s on windows 10 which I thought was meant to be a nightmare (I’m probably jinxing it oooops...)

Elijah the secret rich sim replies:

kayleigh-83 said: True story - I once moved six Sims I created into an existing household so I could townify them, and realized after they added the $20K each to the household moneys. The household funds cheat didn’t work because I had three households with that same last name, so I bought six helicopters and put them in my Sim’s inventory, and gifted them all to the next townie who walked past. She seemed fairly unimpressed considering the windfall she just got!

It’s so frustrating that the household funds cheat doesn’t work when you have multiple households with the same name! But that was a good workaround haha. Townie should definitely be more grateful!

Hurried Engagement replies:

kayleigh-83 said: Oops hit enter by mistake haha.. I want to dilly dally through their lives so slowly, but with others I want to speed parts up if I’m bored. Luckily the elixir lets me do both depending on when they drink it! kayleigh-83 said: lol this is why I love the elixir of life so much. With some Sims I want I dill

I’ve never actually used the elixir of life! But then it’s such a long time since I’ve attempted to play a family for a full generation or longer. I’m just such a slow simmer and take so long to play a single day haha. I prefer it that way though, dilly dallying as you call it.

The Space Explorer Nightclub replies:

simsterlyrock said: They’re so cute!!

halousims said: This lot just looks amazing *-*

grilledcheese-aspiration reblogged this from i-mi and added: so fucking cool

grilledcheese-aspiration reblogged this from i-mi and added: ok bye i love this

darkestdawn said: Love this lot so much!! ^.^

snapdragoned said: this is so cool!

simsterlyrock said: This is such a cute lot! I can’t wait to see your sims visiting it in game. :)

allisas said: I love this bar! :D

deedee-sims said: Wow, it looks cool!

Wow, thanks for the lovely comments, guys! ^^ This was a very fun lot both to build and play.

Leila Root replies:

simtzu said: she’s even cuter than i thought !

simsterlyrock said: Leila is so cute! This might sound weird, but I love her nose. XD

Thank you both! ^^

Furnishings discount pop-up replies:

kayleigh-83 said: You know I’ve seen it before, but I never really thought about it or noticed if there was some kind of discount on anything in the buy catalogue? Now I’m gonna have to look it up…..

So I’m pretty sure it does give you a discount! It seems if a buy an item and then sell it, I actually make a (small) profit. It feels like cheating hahaha. I don’t know if there’s any way to disable this though? I’d imagine it be a bit annoying if you were doing a poverty challenge or something.

Beesby Woodland Park replies:

nimitwinklesims said: Oh my! Wow! *heart eyes*

simper-fi said: This lot is absolutely stunning :D

Thank you! You two are both huge inspirations of mine so I really appreciate it :)

[awesimz]

Episode 1: New Beginnings and Bitter Disapointments

Welcome to my brand new Sims 3 Challenge: The Amazon Challenge. Some of you might recognize my username or maybe just my style of legacy storytelling from the Iridescence Legacy, which unfortunately now has so many damn problems (corrupt save file, deleted photos from both online and off) that there’s really no salvaging it anymore. And on my last generation too - I was so convinced I was going to finally finish one, but alas, lol. Anyway, I decided to move from LJ to here because of the BS anti-LGBT TOS they’re implementing, but it was probably a good idea anyway as tumblr seems a bit more popular with the simming community nowadays :)

Anyway, let’s dive right in, shall we? 

Meet our Founder, Xena. Yes, I know Xena was not an Amazon but listen, I am obsessed anyway and besides, she was fucking tall enough to be one, lol. Regardless, our tribe leader Xena has a much different personality anyway, and is a brave and flirty diva who is both a perfectionist and athletic. Her LTW is Perfect Mind, Perfect Body.

Oh yes, and she is also a werewolf, and the tattoo on her back is representative of her royal bloodline and position as the head of the pack tribe. As such, a heiress must also be a werewolf that has the most ‘approved’ traits listed on the challenge. That means someone who might become heiress can also be knocked from their rank by a younger sibling that is more worthy than the previous. 

But moving on, no tribe would be complete without at least one male slave to do all of the dirty work so our Warrior Princess Queen never has to lift a finger to do literally anything, lol.

Xena: Hello, I am interested in speaking to your owner. Is she around?

Thornton: I’m sorry... my what? Xena: Oh, nevermind. I don’t know why I bother to speak to the help anyway, you all end up having a lower IQ than a bloody moth.

Xena: Hello, I am interested in procuring your male servant for the purposes of furthering the betterment of my Amazonian Tribe.  Morgana: You... mean my husband? Xena: If that’s what you kids call slaves now a days, sure.

Morgana: Wait, so you mean to tell me that you would take my annoying husband off my hands and leave me with his immense fortune? Yeah, yeah... I can picture that happening.

Morgana: Yup, actually that sounds absolutely perfect. Have at it, and tell him to not bother saying goodbye because he was nothing more than a sugar daddy anyway. Xena: Lovely. Pleasure doing business with you.

Xena: Alright, Daor, now that I’ve shaved those awful sideburns off your face and put you in an outfit more fit for a slave, I now require you to build me an abode. Get to it! Daor: Wait, what? Daor? My name is-- Xena: I’m sorry, did I stutter? I’ll call you whatever I damn well please, now do what I say before I decide you’re not worth my effort and procure a different slave!

Don’t get too attached to this shit - I end up moving them to a different town eventually since originally I wanted them in isla paradiso but my game was acting weird. I eventually fixed the issue though, but we’ll get to that later.

Since I don’t allow my Tribe Leader to work because honestly, a Queen should never have to work a day in their lives lmao, and since slaves can’t work either, they’re pretty effing poor and I make Daor collect shit on the regular just so they can make a little bit of money, haha.

He seems to enjoy it though. Ah, the simple pleasures in life.

Xena found a friend as well! I decided he is now the tribe’s mascot and named him Guapo, lol.

Daor is working on his gardening skills as well because, again, they are poor as fucking dirt.

He also fishes, but he kinda sucks at it. I mean honestly, how is that tiny thing supposed to feed anyone? Ugh. Men.

Anyway, an Amazonian Tribe isn’t complete without more women, so I sent Xena out to scour the town for their first recruit, who ended up being easily impressed, a natural cook, ambitious, and a daredevil who had commitment issues.

Xena: Hello there, you look utterly helpless and in need of a direction in life. May I interest you in joining my Amazonian tribe? Lesbianism is not required but heavily encouraged - just not with me because let’s face it, I’m way out of your league right now it’s not even funny.

Random Woman: Oh wow, I’m super flattered; I’ve never been a lesbian before! By the way, my name is– Xena: Why do people keep trying to tell me their names? No, I don’t care. Your name is Euryleia now. Learn to love it, because I don’t have time to listen to incessant whining over tribal names.

Xena: By the way, you’re going to have fix... all of that if you ever plan to move up in rank. We are vain by nature, or maybe I’m just a superficial bitch by nature, but either way. You’re going to have to go get yourself a job though, because we can’t afford your damn gym membership right now.

Euryleia: I will go get a job right away then, Mistress! Xena: Good. I like people who can take direction. Also people who call me mistress. That will be allowed to continue, by the way.

So Euryleia went out and got herself a part time job, as that is all that is allowed at her rank. The money is still shit, but at least it’s better than nothing.

He is literally the worst slave ever, lol.

As punishment for burning the food, I made a starving Daor stand way in the back and watch everyone else eat the food that he finally managed to make halfway decent. 

Xena: You know what would be better than this place? An island.  Euryleia: I agr-- Xena: I’m sorry, did I say I was asking for opinions? I’m just musing right now, so eat your food and stay silent.

I took pity on Daor and let him eat a mushroom, even though he looks like he’s trying to smoke it, haha.

The next day the two Amazons hit the gym so Xena could work on her LTW and  Euryleia could attempt to lose a little bit of weight so she could move up in rank at some point.

Xena: Oh stop whining, it’s not that difficult! Euryleia: But Mistress, my legs are not cooperating!

Who the fuck just leaves their newborn baby on the floor of the gym?

Xena: Actually, that’s not a bad id--

No, that is not how you’re going to get rid of your male children. Hush.

GUYS GUYS IT LOOKS LIKE ARGO! (people who have never seen xena are probably like wtf are you on about but trust me this is awesome, lol)

Xena: So I’ve been thinking about moving somewhere with some sun 24/7. Thoughts?

Euryleia: Oh yes, Mistress, I adore sun!

Xena: Good, cause honestly the thought of having to buy you all outerwear so you can survive the winter didn’t sound like a fun idea to me. We leave in the morning.

Yeah, I put a lot more effort into this lot. I won’t show you the insides of the houses though, as I totally prioritized the outside over the inside right now, lol. Everything is pretty bare and minimal.

Guapo finally got a cage though!

And Daor gets... a tent. Lmao.

Xena: I have to say, Euryleia, I commend you on your progress. You have lost a significant amount of weight and as I am a vain asshole, this is something I care greatly about because I only give a shit about people’s appearances and not who they are on the inside.

Euryleia: Oh thank you, Mistress, I am flattered! Does that mean you might consider me as a potential mate or, better yet, an occasional fuck buddy because commitment is for old people and religious folk? Xena: ...Don’t push it. 

DAOR HOW ARE YOU THIS FUCKING USELESS JFC

At least Xena’s brave enough to put it out.

Xena: That’s right, I’m just your everyday hero. With fantastic guns.

Xena: I am so sick of you! One more misstep and I will drown you in the sacrificial well! Daor: But... we don’t have a sacrificial well. Xena: I. Will. Build. One. Daor: *gulps*

If we could ever afford it, anyway.

Moving on though, another thing that a tribe needs is heirs, and for that we need a disposable piece of man meat.

Xena: You look like you have decent enough genes, how would you feel about a one night stand to get me pregnant with a female heiress for my Amazon tribe that you would have zero commitment in raising?

Harley: No strings attached sex? I’m in!

Xena: Good, I like men that are compliant. Meet me at your house in an hour.

Lol this house screams dude bro.

After their rough and tumble in bed, I sent Xena off to hunt as a werewolf because honestly, they’re still poor as hell and need stuff to sell, lol.

She didn’t find anything though, so I decided maybe the scuba skill might help. However somethings weird with my game and I realized that even with a high enough skill she can’t go actual scuba diving as all my community lots just say ‘community lots’ without names for some reason? If anyone knows how to fix it, help would be appreciated. Also some of the unoccupied houses say community lots too. Idk wtf is up but I’m sure its some kind of mod conflict *sigh*

...Appetizing. On the plus side though, a baby is on the horizon!

Euryleia: Oh Mistress, our first tribe daughter, I’m so excited! I’ll start preparing right away for her birth!

Euryleia desperately needs to move up in rank, so I sent her to the library to learn some skills so she could end up being a Provider instead.

Euryleia: Mistress! Since you and I are now friendly and I have enough skills and the personality to become a Provider for this noble tribe, I was wondering if you could promote me? If you do, I’ll be sure to get a career ASAP so we can start making some real money in preparation for the baby!

Xena: ‘Money’ is the magic word, Euryleia. You have my permission.

So Euryleia went downtown and got herself a job in the Culinary Career, since Daor sucks at making food anyway so it’d be good they got someone else to do that chore, lmao.

Xena: Good lord, it feels like my insides are being torn to shreds!

Xena: Wtf? This isn’t what I ordered!

How disappointing, lol. This is Aeolus though, and his traits are easily impressed and excitable. Don’t get too attached.

Xena: Harley? Get the fuck down here, we have a problem. Also bring some tools; I’m going to need you to help my slave build a sacrificial well. 

Euryleia: Mistress, I know you aren’t fond of boys, but maybe we shouldn’t... you know, kill it? It’s still a baby, after all. And Harley still has decent genes, so maybe you should give him another chance? You could still get a beautiful girl out of him and if you don’t...

Xena: If I don’t, then I kill them! Euryleia: I meant maybe you could just banish all of them from the tribe, but I of course will not argue with your judgement, oh divine one.

Xena: That’s right, I am your God. Worship me.

Xena: Alright look, you fucked up. You fucked up royally. BUT you still have decent genes, so I’m going to give you another chance to give me a baby girl.

Xena: Because if you do not, I will drown you in the sacrificial well I will soon have built and all your sons go into slavery. Understood?

Harley: But... what happened to no strings attached? Xena: That was if you managed to give me a girl, which you did not. Now, you are in charge of that disgusting thing inside and will live here as a slave until I bear my next child. If it’s a girl, you and your son go free. If not... well, I already covered that.

Xena: Now, get the fuck inside and impregnate me the proper way before my patience runs out.

Will their next child be a girl, or will Harley’s lifespan be shorter than expected? Stay tuned to find out!

[jeebie-sims]

Super Late “Welcome” Post

Hi all! Here’s a little get to know you type post, since I totally forgot to make on two months ago when I started this blog. oops. 

General Stuff:

My name is [REDACTED], but on here I go by Doomy or Jeebie.

I’m 18 and from Chicago, Illinois. 

My hobbies outside of The Sims include writing, band, and cooking. 

I know how to play three instruments; flute, tuba, and piano. 

Currently reading: Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

My favorite band is Thank You Scientist

My favorite food is frutti de mare. 

PS: Please reblog this if you’re a sims 2 simblr too! I need more people on my dash.

(Under the cut: Sims stuff.)

Simblr related stuff

Do you use cheats?

I almost spend more time cheating than actually playing the game. The Sim Manipulator and the Sim Blender have saved my game from death on far too many occasions. 

Do you kill sims on purpose?

Yeah, but mostly for story progression.

Do you make male sims more than female sims (Vise Versa)

I make more male sims than female sims but I’m trying to work on that!

What was your first sim’s name?

My very very first sim was named Sparkle Shine . I made her on The Sims 2 on Playstation 2. 

My first sim on PC was a face 1 male sim named Carter Brooks. I might post him again one day, who knows. 

What was your first expansion pack you bought?

None of them. I got them all through the Ultimate Collection sale. 

For sims 3 though, High End Loft Stuff. 

How many sims games do you own?

All of them except for TS2 PSP.

Have you tried making a celebrity sim?

No.

Have you made CC before? Or atleast try to?

One day I do plan to make CC. I absolutely ADORE Minsooky’s makeup looks and I’d love to convert a few of them to my Sims game1

 How many GB/MB C do you have?

As of right now, 24 March 2020, 3.7GB. It’s a long time since I checked and I’m happy to say that it’s not nearly as big as I thought. 

Does your game crash often?

Surprisingly never!

Worst mistake that has ever happened in your game?

I incorrectly deleted a Multi PT set and I had to reinstall. I learned how to backup my CC and my game after that. ._.

 What 🌍 do you play the most?

Right now, it’s my Belladonna Cove & Pleasantview Uberhood I’ve been posting.

Your most favorite cc/mod creators?

I have far too many! Here’s just a couple. 

lillith-sims peppermint-ginger enayla deedee-sims berrynooboos pooklet midgethetree

Is your mods 📂 organized?

Just barely. 

Your sim inspiration?

My sims inspo mostly comes from books, movies, tv, music, and other blogs on here of course.

emperorofthedark sims2nights 

Do you get attached to your sims?

YES very much so. Not so attatched that I won’t kill them, but definitely attached enough to spoil them and play them often. 

I play favorites with my sims. But all of my sims can be my favorite. 

When did you last play?

Last night.

What kind of simblr are you?

An uberhood-legacy general simming one. I’m trying to develop some sort of aesthetic, and it’s coming along reeeally sloooowly. 

Do you play with townies? Who is your favorite?

I play townies more often than I play CAS sims. My favorites are Ajay Loner, John Burb, Tara DeBateau, Kimberly Cordial, Lola Curious, and Mary-Sue Pleasant. 

I’ve also come to enjoy playing Don Lothario, too. I know he’s horrible with the cheating and general douchebaggery but I just love to play him. 

Your favorite/Least favorite 🌍?

I love Belladonna Cove, and Pleasantview. Strangetown is a close third, only because I LOVE the Curious, Singles, Grunt, and Loner families, but I can’t stand playing the Beakers, Smiths, and Specters. 

My least favorite neighborhoods are Riverblossom Hills, Desiderata Valley, and Veronaville. The first two are boring in my opinion, but I’m definitely going to give Veronaville a second try. 

Your favorite/Least favorite sub-🌍?

My favorite subhood has to be Downtown of course! It reminds me of Chicago. 

My least favorite subhood has to be Bluewater Village. I lowkey hate the Open for Business gameplay. 

Least favorite expansion/Most favorite expansion?

My favorite expansion is tied between Apartment Life and Nightlife. 

My least favorite is Freetime, and also University. Maybe I was playing it wrong, but the University gameplay was really boring to me! if anyone has some ideas or pointers, my ask box is always open. 

Do you listen to 🎶 when you play? If so, what songs?

I don’t listen to music when I play because i enjoy listening to the ambiance and sounds from the game itself. 

Have you played any other Sims games besides 2 & 3?  

I’ve played Sims 1, The Sims Life Stories, Castaway Stories, The Urbs, Sims Medieval, and the console titles.

Have you ever make a sim-self?

I made a sim-self one time, and it was for a project I had in my French class. 

Who is the sim in your icon? 

That’s my CAS sim and current favorite, Juan Quixote. More info about him later. 

It’s a pleasure to be back on Tumblr (I haven’t been here since 2016), and I’m looking forward to being a part of the simming community on here. 

[entergamingxp]

FIFA 20 is a Wasteland of Bad Gameplay, Questionable “Fixes,” and Predatory Monetization

January 20, 2020 11:00 AM EST

In just four months, FIFA 20 has quickly become the worst version of itself – an EA cash-grab with no respect for its player base.

When developer Electronic Arts planned out their yearly launch of FIFA 20, it should have looked like the easiest slam dunk in the business. Ultimate Team makes more money than just about any other property in gaming. I’m not saying game development is easy, but if anything it should be a sure thing; it should be FIFA. There’s simply too much money coming in (almost regardless of what EA does) to not result in what should be, at worst, a good game. This makes it all the more alarming at how badly EA has handled FIFA 20 since its late September release.

Before we dig in too deep, I should note that, for the most part, this editorial is concerned with Ultimate Team. As a heavy career mode player in the past, I would love to talk about it. However, the simple truth is that EA doesn’t care about that mode and hasn’t for a long time. It was completely borked on release. The only way to fix it is if you play on PC and use some of the many excellent mods. Since EA can’t manage to lift a finger to fix literally anything, it doesn’t make sense to bring it up here. I’ll instead just point you to some of the great mods that make a formerly awesome mode worth playing.

Most FIFA fans can agree that, at this point, the main reason to stick with FIFA over the more realistic PES is Ultimate Team. Konami’s soccer sim may play near perfectly, but everything off the field leaves a lot to be desired. If there’s one thing FIFA always does well, it’s slick menus that place user-friendliness as the top priority. Unfortunately, in FIFA 20, that’s about the only user-friendly thing that EA is doing.

“When developer Electronic Arts planned out their yearly launch of FIFA 20, it should have looked like the easiest slam dunk in the business.”

If you haven’t played much FIFA over the years, Ultimate Team lets players build a team of their favorite soccer stars and compete in both single-player and online matches. The whole appeal of the mode is to build the best team possible to give you a better chance of winning games. Obviously, better players can compete with a worse team, but, in general, you want to have the best team possible.

There are several ways to improve your team, however, only one of them gives EA more money: buying player packs with FIFA points. Over the years, more and more tactics have been employed to drive players toward spending money, but FIFA 20 takes EA’s greed to a completely different level.

See, while buying packs is arguably the “easiest” path to a great team, there are other avenues that can get you there if you’re willing to put in the time. Arguably the best way to make heaps of in-game coins and get the players you want is by playing the transfer market.

Basically, the transfer market works like an in-game stock market. Any player can be listed on the transfer market for in-game coins. At different times, a player’s price can rise or fall, which means smart investors are able to make money by buying up certain players when they’re at a low point and then selling them later when they rise in price. Like the stock market, there is some luck involved, but if you study the trends, you can make good money relatively easily.

Or, at least, that used to be the case. Trading is still viable in FIFA 20, but EA has been doing everything in their power to control the market. In many cases, this results in investors being left with players that just won’t sell as EA is constantly dropping player prices on the market through lightning rounds (LRs). Put simply, LRs are when EA puts a limited number of the best player packs on the in-game store. People who buy those packs then list the players on the cheap and drive the total market down.

“Arguably the best way to make heaps of in-game coins and get the players you want is by playing the transfer market.”

In some ways, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially for casual FIFA players. Look at a meta player card like Marcus Rashford. When the game launched, you were paying up 90,000 coins for the young striker from Manchester. However, because he is a lower-rated card at an 83 overall, he’s going to be packed way more than someone like Lionel Messi at 94. So today, his card only runs you around 8,000 coins. On the surface, that sounds great. You’re not getting the absolute best player, but at least he’s usable.

However, if you want to continue to compete as the FIFA year goes on, you’re going to need better players. And, while the overall market continues to fall off a cliff, the top tier cards will never fall at the same rate. You absolutely can trade your way to better players, but it’s going to require a time investment that most players won’t want to make.

So, what can you do if you don’t want to spend hours trading every week or buy packs with FIFA points? The only other option is to play the game, which should probably be the main reason for owning FIFA 20. Unfortunately, EA seemingly has done everything in its power to make that the worst experience possible.

You might assume a game that makes the kind of money that FIFA does year in-and-out would be able to afford quality servers for their gigantic player base to play on. EA sees things differently and would prefer instead to just keep that money, knowing you’ll play anyway. The result is one of the most horrendous online experiences in 2020.

Soccer is a fast-paced game that requires excellent timing and skillful play to find success. Because of the sorry excuses that EA has for servers this can, at times, feel impossible. The button delay you find in nearly every online match makes doing even the most basic passes an exercise in futility. And even when the game does work as intended, it almost never feels like real soccer. Seriously, just watch this recent clip from the r/FIFA subreddit to understand what I’m talking about. Can you imagine how frustrating that would be if it happened at the end of a game that mattered for your placement in FIFA’s competitive weekend league? It’s almost like EA is playing a prank on the game’s fans to see how much garbage they’ll put up with.

“It’s almost like EA is playing a prank on the game’s fans to see how much garbage they’ll put up with.”

And even if the game was fun to play, EA has gone out of its way to make online games the worst they’ve ever been. When you log in to play, you have a few options. There are the single-player squad battles and online “Rivals” matches. Other than the more competitive weekend league, those are two main modes for you to “enjoy.” And if you thought you’d have fun playing games online, well, you haven’t been paying attention.

Rivals works on a matchmaking system that, in theory, puts you up against equally skilled players. However, EA has put into the game “Milestone players” that can only be unlocked through playing (and usually winning) Rivals matches. If you were really good at FIFA and wanted to quickly win games to unlock the new players, what’s the easiest way to do so? If your answer was to “drop down the ranks and demolish less-skilled casual players,” then you’ve been paying attention.

This results in neither player having a good time. The more skilled player is bored at having to endure a silly grind to get a good player and the less skilled player is frustrated at constantly being dominated by good players. It’s effectively ruined what should be the daily mode for most players.

So, EA has killed the market and killed Rivals. All you’re left with is single-player squad battles that most players find boring and weekend league. Would you like to know what happened recently with player’s weekend league rewards? It’s not good.

Depending on how many of your 30 weekend league games you win, you’ll be rewarded with high tier packs and a choice between players from the latest Team of the Week. The better you finish, the better your rewards. At least in theory.

“The more skilled player is bored at having to endure a silly grind to get a good player and the less skilled player is frustrated at constantly being dominated by good players.”

For example, a few weeks ago EA screwed up something with the TOTW pick and players were given a choice between normal tier players instead of the leveled up TOTW players. They eventually fixed this and were even kind enough to give players a bump in rewards. Or, well, some players got the bump.

Reward tiers go from Bronze-Silver-Gold-Elite. If you finished at Gold 2 or below, you were bumped up one tier level. If you spent the time and effort to get to Gold 1 and above, you didn’t get the bump, which means the most dedicated players get screwed the most. I assume the math works out for EA, but it sure isn’t a good look.

And this is far from the only screw-up the FIFA team has had in the four months that the game has been live. Heck, in the first month or so of the game’s release, it got so bad that all of the game’s community managers were essentially harassed off of Twitter. Hopefully, it goes without saying that I don’t condone the harassment of anyone; however, you would think that the team would try to do what they can to mitigate some of that vitriol. Instead, all they’ve done is make a single Twitter account for “communication” and proceeded to barely communicate anything.

I’m no community management specialist, but this seems like the exact way to not make your player base happy. Every chance that EA has had to zig, they’ve zagged. As a fan of the series, it’s been incredibly frustrating to watch. And it’s not going to change any time soon.

See, everything I’ve just laid out is terrible mismanagement of what should be an easy layup of a video game. But none of that matters. FIFA 20 is a dumpster fire in terms of content and gameplay, but EA is still making stupid amounts of money. In a single lightning round over Black Friday weekend, they made roughly $20 million. And it was not the only lightning round they’ve done this year. It almost doesn’t matter how bad the player experience is, people will still pay for packs. Whether it’s content creators spending beaucoups of money or casual players deciding to drop a bit of change on a few packs, EA is going to continue to make money and it doesn’t feel like anything will stop them.

What makes it even harder to swallow is how good something like Madden’s Ultimate Team is in comparison. Go look at all the content that Madden 20 has on offer right now. It puts FIFA to shame and it really isn’t close, which is crazy given the relative audience size of those two games. Sure, Madden is huge in the US, but FIFA is the king of the rest of the world. And yet, the Madden community has so much more to do than FIFA. It just doesn’t make any sense.

“EA has basically gotten nothing right and demolished the Ultimate Team experience.”

In September, I reviewed FIFA 20 and gave it a 7.5. I also said that PES 2020 was a slightly better game, but conceded that, if you’re only playing Ultimate Team, FIFA was the way to go. We’re now four months away from that review. If I could re-review FIFA in its current state, that score would drop off a cliff. This is the problem with live games; something that looked promising at the outset can quickly turn out to be an absolute dud.

I mean, I’ve spent 2,000 words detailing some of the many problems that FIFA has had this year and I feel like I’ve barely mentioned half of them. We didn’t even get into how EA leaked personal info of players in October. Or the bait-and-switch they pulled by previewing great season and milestone objectives and then just making them as boring as possible. Or how they made SBC packs un-tradable during the Team of the Year promo to make sure you couldn’t trade up to better players. It just feels like a massive level of either not caring or being incompetent.

And the latter is what FIFA 20 feels like in its current state; a dud of a game that had so much potential when it launched. Since then, EA has basically gotten nothing right and demolished the Ultimate Team experience. Usually, at the end of articles, we say what platform the game is available on and maybe put an affiliate link, but honestly, don’t buy FIFA. Don’t give EA your money. Play PES instead. Or heck, go play Judgment. That game rules and kicking people is just as fun as kicking soccer balls.

January 20, 2020 11:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/01/fifa-20-is-a-wasteland-of-bad-gameplay-questionable-fixes-and-predatory-monetization/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fifa-20-is-a-wasteland-of-bad-gameplay-questionable-fixes-and-predatory-monetization

[mayramoss-blog1]

Game review: The Sims 4 moves in on PS4 and Xbox One

The Sims 4 (PS4) – no laughing matter

The long-awaited console versions of EA’s life sim look surprising close to the original, but how do they play?

It’s difficult to feel sad for a giant, faceless corporation like EA. But their Christmas line-up has been such a disaster that at the very least you have to feel sorry for those who were not responsible for the worst decisions, and yet will inevitably be affected by the various calamities.

Star Wars: Battlefront II’s rejection could well end up as a turning point for the generation, while Need For Speed Payback’s failure is bound to have grave consequences for the franchise. It’s harder to say what will happen as a result of The Sims 4, because it didn’t do that bad in the sales charts. But that’s a fact it should feel very lucky about…

EA seems to go through phases when it comes to bringing The Sims to consoles. It’s produced multiple console exclusive spin-offs in the past, but it’s also frequently left the franchise as a PC-only title for several years at a time. That’s been the situation for the last three years, and for whatever reason it’s only now that The Sims 4 has been brought to consoles.

The frustrating thing is that in many ways this is an impressive port, having been carried out by Blind Squirrel Games – the same studios behind the various console versions of XCOM. The game looks surprisingly indistinguishable from the PC original, and has almost all of its features intact. But that’s where one of the biggest problems lay, because nobody thought to change the interface or controls so that they actually work on a console.

The traditional way to describe The Sims is as a virtual dollhouse, which is perfectly reasonable as that’s exactly what it was always designed to be. Traditionally there is no specific goal, and although there have always been some simple mission style scenarios most people play it like a mix between Animal Crossing and Lego – where you build your dream home and populate it with computer-controlled characters that, depending on your mood, you either nurture or purposefully irritate.

In that sense The Sims 4 is the same as ever, although the original PC version was purposefully more similar to The Sims 2 rather than the online-obsessed The Sims 3. Even now that seems like a surprising decision, but it’s one we’ve always supported as we never liked the open world approach of the third game. The Sims fan community was divided on the issue though, only coming together to criticise the game for stripping out so many features that had previously seemed to be a standard part of the game.

That’s a problem the console version manages to neatly sidestep, because it contains all the updates so far released. Which means that things like toddlers and swimming pools are in the game from the start. The only thing that’s missing at all is mods and the ability to share sims online.

This is in addition to the sequel’s major new features, such as the ability of sims to multitask and the ‘moodlet’ system. The latter allows their moods to carry over to whatever their current task is (so they can garden angrily, for example) and opens up specific dialogue and action choices depending on the how they feel. This stops the game feeling like you’re nannying a small child and more like you’re overseeing real, artificially intelligent people. Unless you actually are nannying a small child, in which case… well, you get the idea.

The Sims 4 (PS4) – building this is not as easy as it looks

The Sims 4 was never a great departure for the series, not even from the third game, but with the problem of missing content now resolved this should have been the definitive console version of the concept. And it is, right up until the point where you pick up the controller. The PC version is, of course, mouse controlled, but rather than work out some sleek XCOM-esque control system The Sims 4 on consoles just has you moving a cursor around with the left stick.

It’s horribly over-sensitive and a nightmare to use even if it didn’t expect you to be clicking on fiddly little icons that were clearly never designed to be used on a console. Build mode is particularly awful, and creating a nice little two-up two-down for your sims takes an eternity – and more swearing and cursing than should ever be associated with a 12-rated game.

More

The controls aren’t the only problem though, as the game also has a serious problem with bugs and glitches. Menus and info bars of all types regularly end up stuck to the screen, with the ability to save a worryingly difficult thing to guarantee. This is all in addition to lots of random graphical and audio bugs, and very long load times.

The Sims 4 on consoles is a mess, but it’s more frustrating simply because of how much it does get right. The bugs are presumably a result of being rushed for Christmas but we don’t know how anyone could’ve thought the control scheme made sense. But it doesn’t, and although this avoids the main problem with the PC original it lands face first in others of its own making.

The Sims 4

In Short: It’s got toddlers, swimming pools, and all the recent updates, but what this otherwise promising console port lacks is a sensible control scheme.

Pros: Multitasking, moodlets, and the revamped career systems are all great. In terms of features and content this is far more complete than the original PC version ever was.

Cons: The control system is absolutely horrible and makes the game a complete chore to play. Lots of bugs and glitches in almost every area.

Score: 5/10

Formats: PlayStation 4 (reviewed) and Xbox One Price: £44.99 Publisher: EA Developer: Blind Squirrel Games, Maxis, and The Sims Studio Release Date: 17th November 2017 Age Rating: 12

Email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk, leave a comment below, and follow us on Twitter

Source link

http://www.manutdnews.online/?p=10732