#the way i make sims now (and build/decorate also) is different than i did 2 years ago and its kinda cool to see that | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

oversimplify-it · 4 years ago

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Story Process Tag by @herpixels

I was tagged by @dynastiasimss - Thank you so much for tagging me!! 😊💖💗 This will most definitely get a bit wordy because I’m terrible at explaining things concisely! 😂 Also, I’ll mostly be talking about my process for 2.B.A Grandmaster but I’ll touch on my process for Erin in San Myshuno too!

I’m also going to get tags out of the way up here so that no one has to scroll all the way through this ... absolute novel that is under the cut LMAO so I tag: @cyansimblr @x-simss @matchacake and any other simblrs who wanna do this!! and feel free to skip if you want!

1. Your writing process My writing process is very, very chaotic, and changes with the wind... Erin in San Myshuno doesn’t really have a process, I just play the game and then put in some dialogue based on the events. None of it is guided by my hand at all though! 2.B.A Grandmaster on the other hand is written in part based on what happens in game and in part by my own creative vision. Most of the time, I let stuff happen, and then fill in the blanks in between events. I go in game, play Sims as I normally would (skill build, take care of needs, go out to venues, etc.) and then watch what weird and interesting things happen. For example, Augusta’s meeting with Xavier in the beginning was completely the game’s doing! He was the only one to show up for the Welcome Wagon event, so I rolled with that. Scenes like Kaitlin’s meeting with Maverick and those sort of things are planned by me, as they’re necessary to create a more full narrative! It’s like collaborative storytelling, but my “partner” is a game that is weird and random and crazy. 😂 After stuff happens in game and I get screenshots, I then actually write for it. I chose to write novel style for the series because - as some of my long-term followers may remember - I had another story that was just screenshots with dialogue on them? And it was very hard, LOL, it didn’t suit my workflow very well and I ended up dropping it after a month or so. I wanted 2.B.A Grandmaster to be something I could post consistently, and so I opted for a style that I was more familiar and experienced with!

2. Scene building For the most part, I just work with what sims gives me, but as I mentioned above, some scenes I actually go to the trouble of setting up. For those, I still use the sims animations mostly (I’ve used poses about 3 times in 2.B.A Grandmaster so far) but I do usher my sims around the "set” as I see fit. I build a lot of my own lots and locations for 2.B.A GM because I tend to get a vision in my mind of what I want and refuse to settle for less. 😂 One such case is the scene where Maverick meets up with Octavia--

I made the alleyway we see here - it’s two entirely empty buildings sandwiched side by side on an otherwise empty lot in Oasis Springs. The only part I bothered to decorate was the alley itself because I knew I wasn’t going to use the rest of the area, but maybe we’ll revisit it sometime and I’ll finish the two buildings! I actually loved making this set and like how it turned out, LOL~

Then I just have whatever sims are involved in a scene interact with each other for ages until I feel like I have enough screenshots to make a scene. I usually have a vague idea of what’s going to be said in any given scene - especially the ones I actually planned out beforehand - but I get some excess screenshots to be safe. I try lots of different interactions and pause like every few frames to get interesting expressions and stuff, LOL. Lots of “Complain about Cold Weather” and “Give fake bad news” ...

3. CC/Pose making I don’t actually make my own CC for 2.B.A GM specifically (I’ve made a couple eyeshadows but I don’t use them super frequently) but there is a scene coming up in the future that I plan to make poses for. I have a very clear image in my mind that includes a lot of subtle expressions and very specific things that I doubt I could find poses for, so I’m gonna have to brave the terrifying landscape of blender in order to make it a reality. 😧

4. Getting in the zone I don’t have any sort of “ok, show time” ritual like some people do but I wish I did, because my motivation waxes and wanes so unpredictably. Some days I just don’t feel like doing anything, and other days I edit and write for 5 posts in a row! I am always listening to something though, usually music, every once in a blue moon a video with lots of talking. 5. Screenshot folder

UGH...

6. Captions I don’t do captions on 2.B.A GM posts, but for my city living gameplay I do! I keep them simple, because I don’t want to make it too much work for myself. Erin in San Myshuno’s style of editing is 100% based around ease, because I wanted something to post often that didn’t put too much of a strain on me. Verdana in white, typically 35-40 px, with a gradient border. Each sim we encounter has a different gradient color, usually based on their outfit or just the ~vibe~ I get from them. Erin’s gradient is Hot pink to ... gee, what would you call it. Sonic the Hedgehog Blue LMAO-- I chose that gradient because that’s the color of the overlay, which I’ll talk more about in the next section!

7. Editing My two ‘series’ - and I use that term loosely LMAO - have different editing processes, so I’ll try to summarize them both. Basically, for 2.B.A Grandmaster, I touch up the saturation and brightness depending on the scene. If it’s evening in the shots, I usually won’t touch brightness, and if it’s night, I might even lower it a bit for more accurate lighting! Once that’s done, I blur everything but relevant elements of a scene, usually the character we’re following or who is speaking. I have to select the character from the background manually which takes a bit, but other than that it’s very minimal.

My shots aren’t super glamorous, but I prefer simple screenshots and actually being able to keep up with a story schedule as opposed to what happened with my last story. 😬 As for Erin in San Myshuno, barring captions which I only do when I feel it’s necessary, it’s literally just an overlay on otherwise untouched screenshots. 😭 I would do more, but again, it’s supposed to be an easy downtime sort of series for me so~

This goes over top all screenshots on the “Add” setting at 20% opacity. It brightens things up and softens them, as well as making the colors slightly more harmonious! If anyone wants me to go more in depth on editing, or maybe captions, please let me know! I’m happy to talk about it if it’ll help anyone, and I know that a lot of tutorials cover how to do stuff in Photoshop, whereas I use FireAlpaca (which is 100% free btw! It’s more of an art program, but not bad for editing) 8. Throwback!

Oh boy, so this is one of my first posts on simblr. For starters, I didn’t know about camera mode at the time, so that’s the first thing I would change obviously LOL. 😬 The framing I did at the time was ... cute, but it makes the pictures feel kind of cramped and small in my opinion, so I did away with that for all of my later stories. Also, Amy and Gemma aren’t very well centered in this picture! Other than that, this isn’t actually terrible I don’t think, so aside from maybe blurring the background as I do on 2.B.A GM now, I wouldn’t change too much! Thankfully, I had observed other people’s stories before making my own on here for a little bit, so I wasn’t starting with absolutely no idea what to do, but I still think I’ve improved since I made these. 😊

This was a ton of fun!! If anyone has questions or wants more info on anything I covered in here, absolutely feel free to ask, and thank you so much if you actually read through all of this - I know I rambled for quite a while!! 🙏

#tag #extras: 2.B.A Grandmaster

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danjaley · 4 years ago

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Story Process Challenge

Tagged by @nocturnalazure in the text, but I hope this counts :)

1. Your writing process - show us a part of your script or explain how you write your scenes. Do you write in screenplay format or novel format? Etc, etc.

Sims-stories I write in digital format almost exclusively and usually in dialogue form. Here’s the first page of “Wild Hunt”. It all started out with Lavinia’s character description and stayed there a very long time. Then it also has a stock of Gothic names, which is copied from another document, hence the German headline. Being me, I sometimes leave some silliness, like the extra-characters. (The thing about the blacksmith was that when these ‘barbarians’ caught an artisan, they sometimes crippled them so they couldn’t run away, but had to work for them. Unfortunately I couldn’t fit such a character into the story. He’s still there from brainstorming days)

This is the market scene from Chevalry, along with a lot of cut scenes. I always quote this as an example why some of the best scenes aren’t even there in my writing. The text is green because I used this to mark it as the story-in-the-story. (The expression ‘shock-blanket’ is a reference to an episode of Sherlock. Some expressions (”slain” “daughter to”) are also borrowed from Shakespeare-plays)

2. Scene building - show us you in the middle of scene building through pictures, gifs, or a video. Explain what is the best thing about scene building and what is the worst!

I rarely take pictures of half-built sets. Wherever possible, I prefer using places built by experienced builders. I have zero sense of architecture. A square small place is the most I can be trusted to do myself. Generally I prefer to work with decor and plants. This travelling cart was a different kind of challenge. I built it on a 10x10 lot and it had to be placed first, before I constructed a new set around it. On the second picture you also see the cleverly camouflaged mailbox :)

3. CC/Pose Making - do you make your own cc/poses for your scene? If so, what is your process like to create? Do you just go off the top of your head? Do you use reference photos?

I think it’s safe to say that I’m a pose-maker. Although I make a lot less poses than I used to. Partly because of time, partly because I don’t like the washed-out Blender under Windows 10 :/ In the heyday of Chevalry, I would quit the game and pose the scene myself, if I wasn’t 100% satisfied. Though the only scene I ever posed start-to finish was the haircutting-kiss. Nowadays, I rather try to work with existing poses. Back when I took requests, I sometimes worked with reference pictures, and they do give the scene some extra depth. The scene modelled after a still from “Anastasia” really taught me how much detail the artists had put into their characters’ expressions, and this translated back to the resulting poses.

4. Getting in the zone - What do you do to get in the zone to work on a scene? Examples include: show us your playlist you use when working on a scene, what’s your go-to scene snack/drink, etc.

I kinda miss living on my own, when I could dedicate a whole day to shooting a battle-scene for Chevalry. But in fact I decided to tell this story then and there because I knew it was the perfect time of my life for doing so. I’m super shy with music, and I have a limited music-library (by modern standards), which I listen to over and over again. Many of these songs have influenced characters, but can’t even bring myself to hunt them up on the internet.

5. Screenshot folder - give us a look into your screenshot folder to show us just how much goes into ONE scene for your story. (Scrapped pictures encouraged!!!)

Here is Of Chevalry, end of Chapter 6. The green ones are reference shots for depth of field blur (I don’t use Reshade). The ones with Sarmanna in a bath-suit are for editing her hands back into the picture, when they clipped through the dress.

MCarric Scenes, most recent: You’ll notice there’s a lot less greenscreen blur nowadays. I usually draw it with the blur-tool now. I still need to find a good occasion for this lovely rainbow I captured...

6. Captions - are you a caption on the picture kind of storyteller or captions in text box type of storyteller? Why? Do you do both?

Although I am more of a visual storyteller, I very much prefer the text in the post. I’m very given to typos and spelling errors and I’d hate having them baked into my pictures. Also I find the text easier to read in the post.

7. Editing!!!!! - explain and show us your process editing a scene through a video, gif, or picture. A Before and after will suffice if you aren’t in the middle of editing a scene as you answer this.

I like editing my pictures in a way that makes them look like they had been like this in game all along. Here’s Sarmanna in a bath-suit again. In cases like this one, you can even bring out the feeling a bit more. I could have dug her left arm out of the skirt. But as she’s feeling very shy and vulnerable in the scene, I made it look like her arm was close to her body. I also have a photoshop action which gives this slightly desaturated old-painting look to the images.

8. Throwback- show us an ANCIENT story scene you did in the past and explain how you would do the scene differently today!

In 2014 I tried to tell the backstory of Anja Tilney, a Maplethorpe Island inhabitant. It was the first time I tried messing around with poses, and I remember I included this shot because Simmagmeg had just released these poses which meant much to her. This scene I still think turned out cute, but on the whole I wasn’t feeling the story any more, after a while. It was rather simply constructed, but still I felt I couldn’t do it justice with my skills back then.

I just reread it for the first time since (here...), and it isn’t quite as bad as I remembered, but back then I scrapped the project and decided to stay well away from Sims storytelling in the future...

tagging @arielovessims, @thethingshesaidthesims3, @windermeresimblr, @unsimspirational

#tagged

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chibi-chaos · 4 years ago

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The Problem with the Sims 4 Packs

As once more EA proceeds to let us all down, I decided to pitch in my thoughts having now for about two years having played the sims and seen no point in buying all the packs, and feeling cheated with the packs I do have.

1. There is a noticeable difference between older and newer packs

Some of the older packs feel less filled when compared to say some of the newer packs. Which I suppose is to be expected when a game evolves. But did it really evolve much?

2. Despite it’s ‘evolution’ there are still newer packs that REALLY could have been executed or at the lest presented better.

Realm of Magic for one. LUXURY PARTY. With weird builds, an absence of items, or smaller amount of things.

3. Repeated failure to listen to the community

The fact that is too so bloody long for them to address the need for better skin tones is infuriating and should not be happening in a time where the need for P.O.C representation has been highlighted

Babies, cars, more elements of toddlers/elders. Literally it’s been time and time again CC (custom content players who have come to the floor)

4. There are packs which should have been put together, it very clear from theme and purpose.

Cats and Dogs - My First Pet Stuff (so a DLC for a DLC), Parenthood - Toddler - Kids room (even if Toddler and kids were combined it would feel a little less of a money grab especially with how neglected toddler/kids outfits are with EA), Perfect Porch - Backyard - Romantic Garden (three stuff packs for the outside some might say I am stretching this but why was three stuff packs for the exterior needed?), Bowling Night - Movie Hangout (the theme of friends hanging out and having fun inspired by retro looks). One could even Seasons with Backyard.

5. THE Money Grab. Whenever EA has made a ‘deal’ with another company to ‘collaborate’ it has resulted in something subpar. Mac. Moschino (which feels like it’s an extension of Get Famous). And lastly the most infamous one STAR WARS Journey to Batuu. Cause it wouldn’t be Disney if they weren’t putting their foot into everything.

A person who likes to play star wars games would not play it on the Sims4 - and a person who likes Sims4 potentially would not play something involving Star Wars.

The way I put it when I saw it coming out “Star Wars is action, fights (in space and on planet), rebellion and space travel. A fan who wants to play Star Wars would buy something like Fallen Order, it covers all these aspects and has both a wider range of skills and a story line which is a lot better than whatever story they go for this. A sims4 game story mode isn't as diverse or in-depth as a game entirely made for a story. missions become a chore list, and a struggle to find things”.

And surprise surprise the game-play was far from impressive.All in all the pack only served as an advertisement for Disney’s Galaxy Edge, and contributed nothing to the wider Sims4 game or it’s community. Also of note is that the lightsaber skill potentially is just the sword fighting skill of Get Famous rehashed

6. The brewing potential cash grab in the works. Kits.

Not only is it weird to be getting a new type of pack after so long, but we’re getting THREE at the same time. Is this foreshadowing to the frequency? The argument is the role of the kit will be to allow people to ENHANCE how an individual wants their gameplay to be - but when these seem to come in small forms comparable to those ‘celebration gifts’ we get for special days or even like with updates - it makes you wonder why we have to pay an unclear amount for these. Especially when you consider:

Kit 1: Sims4 Throwback Fit kit - this kit is about retro-inspired athleisure looks.

Aesthetic? Looks like Snowy Escape but also has the retro vibe/aim of Bowling Night and Movie Hangout.

Gameplay contribution? Seemingly Fitness Stuff but expanded.

Kit 2: Sims4 Bust the Dust kit - cleaning your house (something you’d think you wouldn’t have to pay for, for a LIFE SIMULATOR.)

Aesthetic? Yet to be determined

Gameplay contributions: it can be noted there seems to be dust bunnies that give a vibe of Paranomal’s Spectrals, Then there’s the obvious Laundry Day. Mixed with Eco-Lifestyle where some of the vacuums designed look to be VERY similar to the device you make in Eco-Lifestyle to clean the atmosphere.

Kit 3: Sims4 Country Kitchen Set - vintage style appliances and decorative pieces for the kitchen.

Aesthetic? Besides farming pack people have asked for without the farming. it feels to be 1. the missing kitchen part of Paranormal, 2. the missing kitchen part of Cats and Dogs.

Gameplay Contribution? Yet to be determined. Potentially served the same purpose as cool kitchen.

Overall it’s hard to be confident that these were not items rejected for previous packs making the cycle back. Or that these will be like prevalent micro-transactions. The argument could be made that many of these are older pack they are similar to but EA could have ensure consistent quality but adding to the older packs.

And even more so regardless of the cost EA has been be REAL careful cause some stuff packs may end up looking like kit pack and more expensive, and any person with common sense would not be happy with that.

7. The COST, with 10 Expansion Packs, 9 Game Packs, 18 stuff packs the price is HEAVY. In AUD

Expansion Packs - 49.99. On sale 50% off = 24.99. There are 10 of these

Game packs - 29.99. On sale 25% off = 22.49. There are 9 of these.

Stuff packs - 14.99. On sale between 15%-20% off. = 11.24 - 12.74. There are 18 of these.

Bundles come out as 59.99. On sale at 10% off = 53.99 There’s a maximum of nine as of February, 2021)

This means the complete the full pack you pay one of these ways:

Everything pull price:

(49.99*10)+(29.99*9)+(14.99*18) = $1039.68

Bundles and Full prices:

(59.99*9)+(49.99)+(14.99+9) = $724.81

Pure Sales:

(24.99*10)+(22.49*9)+(12.74*18) = $681.63

Cheapest occasional Sales of Stuff Packs:

(24.99*10)+(22.49*9)+(11.24*18) = $654.63

Sales Bundles and Prices:

(53.99*9)+(24.99)+(12.74*9) = $625.56

Sales Bundles and Prices with the cheapest sale for stuff packs:

(53.99*9)+(24.99)+(11.24*9) = $612.06

Is the Sims4 worth $612.06 to 1039.68? I’d dare say the answer would be an easy NO.

#Sims4 #Sims4 a rant #I apologise to my mutuals #but i needed to write it

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peacemaker-ic · 5 years ago

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On to the main part of this pack, the build and buy mode along with the new lot type. I admit, I really dislike building small. I find it tedious and full of compromise so when I say I really enjoyed this challenge (and that is what it is, a challenge for the builders), I mean I really did enjoy it. I think the fact that the new lot type adds a challenge, much like my fixer upper series or any sort of legacy challenge, is a jumping off point for creativity. Sometimes boundaries in a sandbox game can make it more freeing, as opposed to restrictive.

New Lot Type: Tiny Home Residential

This is the main item added to this pack. It is much more than just adding a new community lot type which we have gotten in the past. Being a residential type with 3 tiers, this adds a challenge (yes i am going to overuse this word) to building. With each tier you get increasing rewards with include longer lasting buffs, cheaper bills, more comfy items and so forth. The smaller the house, the more buffs you get. The tiers for tiny homes and number of buffs are:

3. 65 - 100 tiles MAX - Small home (2 buffs)

2. 33 - 64 tiles - Tiny Home (4 buffs)

1. 0 - 32 tiles - Micro Home (6 buffs)

You cannot go over 100 tiles for a tiny home lot. If you are over it will be much like an uncompleted community lot. It is a very comfortable number though, and dare I say easy. Not a builder? Best to start at this level. When counting tiles, we are talking foundation tiles here, so when you go up a level you can apply a ceiling to that room. This does mean there is wiggle room to skirt those rules like just using floor tiles outside or on a lean-to, but strictly speaking the count is just foundation tiles. There is 2 counters; one on a blue bar at the top of the screen, and the other on the left in the same location as community lot requirements would be located. So there is no messing up. You can’t lock in the size you want to build though, so you will just need to be aware of the counters if you want to make a specific-sized house.

Buildmode:

Not really a buildmode pack to be honest. A single door was added in an MCM style. Would work with other items from base game or other packs, so not useless. Would have been nice to have some matching items, or swap it out for more build mode items. Feels a bit lost in the pack to be honest.

Buymode:

There are 33 unique items added to this SP (35 in the catalogue not including the single door above) which is a decent number and all in a unified style. They range from comfort items to lighting and lots in between. The main theme of this pack is multi-use and smaller living space so we have combo items and smaller items of previously large scale objects.

Now this is where it gets interesting. Murphy beds are back. I really do not get the argument that murphy beds should have been in Discover Uni. Have you actually seen a murphy bed in a real dorm? Have you ever seen a murphy bed outside of a guest room come study? I don’t associate them with Uni but they make sense here as a space saver. Much like the booths from Dine Out which are packaged items together but also available separately, we have a standard murphy bed, one with an inbuilt sofa, and a matching cabinet. This cabinet can be snapped to either side of the murphy bed which adds storage and just carries over the design of the main item. It also acts as a bookshelf as well.

This, like all the other items in the pack, fall into a contemporary take on MCM style. The items look very polished and not oversized compared to a lot of previously released Maxis content. This style is so versatile is really is a welcome addition. Personal favourite is the small 1 tile coffee table that i never thought I needed. This is going to compliment the Bowling Night SP and the MCM items from Get Famous nicely. Don’t have those packs? There is still enough items to work on their own and mixed with other packs for more eclectic style. MCM is just so versatile.

When it comes to other combo objects we have TVs which are combined with stereos and bookcases so that saves a lot of room. There are 2 versions; a small wall-mounted TV, and one is a 2 tile cabinet that feels very 90′s but not cringey like you might think. Having 3 objects in one really is a blessing when building small.

I really love the new vanity and toilet that were added as well. Simple designs which are nice and neutral so easier to combine in designs. The addition of another 1 tile desk design is also very welcome, especially after the release of University. Sometimes you just can’t fit a 2 tile desk in a room. That brings me to the book decor and the patch. The fact this was considered, implemented, and patched in for pre-existing items is just wonderful. Now you don’t need a huge ass bookshelf (despite all the combo items) to read a book. The decor sized items are perfect for clutter, and I love functional clutter.

So overall, I do feel this is one of the best Stuff Packs for the way I play. And that is because it is more focused on the building aspect of a pack. How often can we say that about other packs we have gotten? Sure, there are plenty of build and buy items, but this is actually gameplay for builders. I really have enjoyed these unexpected packs like this and Strangerville that aren’t the usual stuff simmers expect. Sometimes it’s good to step out of the box that is made of all those preconceived ideas on what should be in a Sims game, and just make something that is good. Will everyone like this? No. But But the same can be said got Moschino, Vintage Glamour, or even Dine Out. But this definitely offers something to a different demographic of players then is the norm for most releases. It may also inspire the players to try out building for themselves. If there is one thing I know about the community, it’s that they love a challenge (and how to bend the rules).

If you want an item preview of the objects and colour choices that come in this pack, I highly recommend checking here.

#Tinyliving #Tiny Living #TS4Tinyliving #TinyLIvingPreview #EAGameChangers #EA Game Changers

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windermeresimblr · 4 years ago

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Story Process Challenge

I was tagged by @danjaley and @treason-and-plot (in alphabetical order, not tagging order). Thank you both so much!

Summary: My process makes sense to myself alone and it’s very much a work in progress! Also, I’m very boring and don’t do gifs or videos, so you’ll just have to look at my screenshots. Sorry!

This is behind the jump for length.

1. Your writing process - show us a part of your script or explain how you write your scenes. Do you write in screenplay format or novel format? Etc, etc.

I write in novel format if it’s a wholly-posed story, mostly because that’s easier for me than a script. I feel like it really helps build the ~aesthetic~ of a scene that way. For my attempts at partially-posed/gameplay stories, I’ve gone for screenplay format, but it’s very new to me and I feel much more comfortable with the novel format. I usually write in Google Docs, since that can go with me everywhere and I can write on my lunch hour/waiting for my mom to get out of the pharmacy/etc, but sometimes I will write in Notepad.

(Yes, this IS a flashback to Alasdair and Ma. Yolanda meeting; they were perfect teenage hellions causing chaos at a society party, don’t worry.)

2. Scene building - show us you in the middle of scene building through pictures, gifs, or a video. Explain what is the best thing about scene building and what is the worst!

I’m still learning how to make a very good scene build; this is where being a historical player kind of hurts. It’s hard to get a good sense of what a 1810s Spanish drawing room or a 1600s merchant’s house in Amsterdam really looked like without abusing my library privileges! (Images from Wikipedia and historical sites only go so far.) The best thing about scene-building is when the vision of the room in my head matches the room that’s in-game, which is pretty difficult. The worst thing about scene building is that I’m very perfectionistic and a control freak, which does not help, and frequently I do get lost in the details and can’t see the forest for the trees.

(This isn’t a scene, it’s that Iron Age Roundhouse, but it’s a good example of how I do things--all the lights on, everything bright white paint or the $0 floor until I am happy with the shape and placement, and then I decorate.)

3. CC/Pose Making - do you make your own cc/poses for your scene? If so, what is your process like to create? Do you just go off the top of your head? Do you use reference photos?

I’d love to be able to make my own CC and poses specifically for scenes! I’m still very new at CC-making--see my hats collection--and again, I’m very much a control freak. I use a lot of reference photos, especially historical costuming sites and books, because it gives me a lot of pride to have the clothing and accessories look just right.

The creation process is usually: gosh, I need a crispinette/gable hood/palla/whatever for this character, let me see if there’s a mesh from TS2 or TS4 that I can wrangle into submission if I can’t repurpose an existing mesh, and then a prolonged period of fighting with Milkshape and TSRW and other programs until it looks serviceable and works. I’m not very technically skilled yet.

I don’t make my own poses--I’d love to, I have a hand-spinning poseset idea living rent-free in my mind at all times, complete with a drop spindle accessory, but I’m not very confident with Blender or hand accessories, etc. When I pose my Sims, I do use reference photos if I haven’t already planned out how they’re moving around in the scene. (Well, reference paintings, usually, although sometimes I’m lucky enough to find reenactment photos!)

4. Getting in the zone - What do you do to get in the zone to work on a scene? Examples include: show us your playlist you use when working on a scene, what’s your go-to scene snack/drink, etc.

I don’t know if I get into a zone as much as I just carve out time to work on things as I can. I don’t have playlists for my characters. (Not a Deaf thing; I just haven’t really...had the urge to do that. I’m worried I’m a neglectful Simmer now, ha ha.) I don’t have a go-to writing snack or drink. I just...try to relax a bit, usually, and sometimes I will look at my past chapters to see what we were doing last time.

5. Screenshot folder - give us a look into your screenshot folder to show us just how much goes into ONE scene for your story. (Scrapped pictures encouraged!!!)

Do you REALLY want to see this? Really? I’m an AWFUL packrat. I try to organize it and I can’t. (Sorry. I’m very messy.)

6. Captions - are you a caption on the picture kind of storyteller or captions in text box type of storyteller? Why? Do you do both?

Captions and text go in the text box.

I’d love to be able to put dialogue in speech bubbles, because it seems cool, but I talk too much! (This is the same reason why I kind of go back and forth with Netflix-style captions. I don’t know when to shut up.) I also worry that the captions wouldn’t be visible in scenes with low lighting or overly-bright lighting.

Philomena, before...

Philomena, after. (This is one of those images where I just threw up my hands at the hair editing. I wish TS3 had hat chops like TS4 did.)

I’m really not confident with editing--I want to have my pictures look aesthetically pleasing, consistent with the other images in the chapter, and “nice” in general. It doesn’t help that while I’m 95% Maxis-match, my aesthetic inspiration for scenes changes with the wind. I use pooklet’s lighting actions, and then from there I tend to use the Holy Colors, Batman actions. But I’m trying to find my own way of doing things--reliant on others’ actions, yes, but more consistently done and somehow conveying that it’s “of my workshop.”

8. Throwback- show us an ANCIENT story scene you did in the past and explain how you would do the scene differently today!

First: I think I’d choose a different pose for Vicar Max here. (It doesn’t quite fit; why would he be staring at Alasdair like that? It’s more of a mid-conversation pose.) I liked how it looked like Alasdair was genuflecting as he sat in the pew, but again, the pose needs to be changed. I might just go for neutral sitting-and-talking-looking-straight-ahead poses.

This was one of those pictures taken when I was trying to understand Reshade, so I’d obviously skip that. I’d also add Pooklet’s lighting actions, of course.

It’s definitely not lit well in the back--I’m not sure how I’d change that. I didn’t want to lose the “quiet chapel” feel, but there has to be a balance, not letting the characters look like they’re spotlit.

The angle also looks weird, but I’m horrible at angles; I have a lot to learn still. I’d either close-up on the faces or I’d zoom out more. (I think I was having issues with Alasdair on the OMSP, for some reason.)

I tag whoever would like to do this!

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lacquerware · 4 years ago

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2020 Recap - My Year in Gaming

2020. What a year for video games. I had big plans for last year, but in the end I did very little besides play video games, and I don’t think I’m alone there since we were all stuck at home looking for a way out of reality. I wanted to do a year-end recap as I’ve done sporadically in past years, but this one will be different than the typical “Games of the Year” format because despite all the games I played in 2020, almost none of them came out in 2020, and some of the things that defined my year in gaming weren't even games.

Resident Evil 3 Remake (PS4)

RE3 was one of the only games I played in 2020 that didn’t coincide with the deadly pandemic's spread across the US. RE3 is, of course, a game about the spread of a deadly virus in Anytown, USA. It was an appetizer, I guess.

When the Resident Evil 2 remake dropped in 2019, there were some things I loved about it, and a few things that felt like steps back from the original. I feel much the same about RE3. I had also theorized that a Resident Evil 3 remake would be better off as RE2 DLC than as a separate full-length game, and considering how short RE3 turned out, with some of the best sections of hte original cut entirely (namely, the clock tower), I stand by my theory.

Oh well, at least Jill gets this rad gun, which for the time being is the closest thing to a new Lost Planet we can hope for anytime soon.

Sekiro (PS4)

Sekiro is the first video game I ever Platinumed. This is partly because conquering the base game was such a spartan exercise that going the extra mile to get the Platinum didn’t seem so bad, but it’s also surely a result of the pandemic. I needed a project and a big win. Who didn't?

I wrote at length about why I like Sekiro more than every other modern FromSoft game, and also about the game’s cherry-on-top moment that reminded me of blowing up Hitler’s face in Bionic Commando. Please read them!

Death Stranding (PS4)

Release date notwithstanding, this was obviously the Game of 2020. I wrote about it here, here, and here. This game bears the distinction of being the second one I ever Platinumed. It took 150 hours. Only then did I learn I had a hoverboard.

Streets of Rage 4 (PS4)

This is the only 2020 game I played for more than a few hours. In fact, I cleared the entire game at least five times. I still don’t think it captures the gritty aesthetic of the prior Streets of Rages (nor even tries to), but this is probably the best-feeling bup I've played. Huge bonus points for finally bringing back Adam, but in the end I found it hard not to pick Blaze every time.

Blaster Master Zero 2 (Switch)

What impressed me about this sequel from Inti Creates was that it wasn’t just more of the same, even though that would've been fine. BMZ2 builds on its already excellent predecessor with a catchy new format where players can freely cruise the cosmos and stages take the varied form of planets—some big and sprawling, others short and sweet. Hopping at will from planet to planet without ever knowing what experiences and treasure each one held felt like system jumping in No Man’s Sky and island hopping in The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, both of which felt like opening presents.

Dragon Force (Saturn)

Charming, satisfying, and addictive as a bag of chips. Unlike a bag of chips, when it’s over, you can do it all again. And again. And it’ll be different each time! This might be the first strategy game I've truly loved. Better late than never.

The PC Engine Mini

The PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 Mini seems a particularly justifiable mini-console for people outside Japan because so many missed these consoles entirely, the games are hard to obtain, and the lineup includes titles spanning the entire convoluted Turbo/PC Engine ecosystem—the TurboGrafx-CD/CD-ROM², Super CD-ROM², Arcade CD-ROM² and SuperGrafx, in addition to plain, old standard HuCard games. I myself didn’t know the first thing about these systems before. It’s like reliving the nineties again for the first time.

Most of the titles included are simple action games that don't require a command of Japanese, but make no mistake: being able to understand Snatcher and TokiMemo does make me feel like an elite special person worth more than many of you.

(Side note: From a gender representation perspective, the difference between Snatcher and Death Stranding is stark. Virtually every interaction with every woman or girl in Snatcher is decorated with ways to sexually harass her. Guess someone finally had a conversation with our favorite auteur.)

A Gaming PC

I’d threatened to transition to PC gaming for years after beholding the framerate difference between the console and PC versions of DmC in 2012, and last July I finally took the leap, buying an ASUS “Republic of Gamers” (ugh) laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q GPU. It seems like consoles are getting more PC-like all the time, especially with all these half-step iterations that splinter performance and sometimes even the feature set (à la the New 3DS and Switch Lite), so with the impending new generation seemed like a fine time to change course.

In the half-year since, I’ve barely played a single PC game more recent than 2013, but just replaying PS3-era games at high settings has been like rediscovering them for the first time.

I also finally experienced keyboard-and-mouse shooting and understand now why PC gamers think they're better than everyone else. Max Payne is a completely different game with a mouse. Are all shooters like this??

The USPS

Early in the year, I rediscovered my childhood game shop, Starland, which is now an online hub known as eStarland.com with a brick-and-mortar showroom. To my delight, it has become one of the best and most modestly priced sources for import Saturn games in the country, and I scored Shining Force III’s second and third episodes, long missing from my collection, for a mere ten bucks each!

In June, I treated myself to a trio of Saturn imports from eStarland: the tactics-meets-dating-sim mashup Sakura Taisen 2, the nicely presented RTS space opera Quo Vadis 2, and beloved gothic dungeon crawler Baroque. Miraculously, this haul amounted to just around thirty dollars total. Less miraculously, they never arrived. This was the second time I’d had something lost in the mail in my entire life, and also the second time that month. Something was wrong with the USPS, and it wasn’t just COVID pains. We would soon learn Trump had been actively working to sabotage one of the nation’s oldest and most reliable institutions in a plot to compromise the upcoming presidential election.

Frankly it’s a miracle there’s still such a thing as “delivery” at all, and a few missing video games is the last of my worries considering what caused it, but nevertheless this was an experience in my gaming life that could not have happened any other year. I won’t forget it.

*By the way, USPS reimbursed me for the insured value of the missing order, which was fifty bucks. So I actually profited a little off the experience.

Mega Everdrive Pro

I love collecting for the Genesis and Mega Drive, but I will not pay hundreds of dollars for a video game that retailed for about sixty. The publishers never asked for that, and the developers won’t see a (ragna)cent of the money. I'm also far less inclined to start collecting for Sega CD, since the hardware is notoriously breakable, the cases are huge and also breakable, and the library just isn't that good.

Still, I'd been increasingly curious about the add-on as an interesting piece of Sega history, so when I learned Ukranian mad scientist KRIKzz had released a new Mega Everdrive that doubled as a Sega CD FPGA, I finally took the plunge into the world of flash carts. This has proven a great way to play some of the Mega Drive’s big-ticket rarities I will never buy—namely shmups like Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer and Eliminate Down—as well as try out prospective additions to the collection. I never would have discovered the phenomenal marvel of engineering and synth composition that is Star Cruiser without this thing, but now that I have, it’s high on the shopping list.

The Mega Everdrive Pro is functionally nearly identical to TerraOnion’s “Mega SD” cartridge, but slightly less expensive, comes in a “normal” cartridge shell instead of the larger Virtua Racing-style one, and supports a single hardworking dude in Ukraine rather than a company with reportedly iffy customer service.

Twitch

Getting a PC also resolved issues that had long prevented me from achieving a real streaming setup, and much of my gaming life in 2020 was about ramping up my streaming efforts. I even made Affiliate in about a month. Streaming has been a great creative outlet and distraction, as well as a way to connect with other people during the COVID depression and structure my gaming time. Find me every Monday through Thursday 8-11pm Eastern at twitch.tv/lacquerware.

Metroid: Other M (Dolphin)

PC ownership also gave me access to the versatile Dolphin emulator, liberating a handful of great Wii exclusives from their disposable battery-powered prison.

One of the Wii games I fired up on Dolphin was Metroid: Other M, a game I’d always wanted to try but had been dissuaded by years of bad publicity and the fact that I never had any goddamn batteries. I know I should temper what I’m about to say by acknowledging that I was playing at 1080p/60fps on a PS4 controller so my experience was automatically a vast improvement over that of all Wii players, but I’m increasingly confident Metroid: Other M was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a Metroid game. I haven’t decided yet if I’m willing to die on this hill, but I will just say that if you like the Metroidvania genre in general and aren’t particularly attached to the Metroid series’ story or its habit of making you wander aimlessly for hours, there’s a very high chance you will enjoy Other M—especially if you play it on Dolphin.

Don't Starve Together (PC)

Don't Starve is the only game my friend Jason plays, so last year I tried to get into it with him. I respect this game's singular devotion to the concept of survival, but make no mistake: every session of Don't Starve ends with you starving to death. Or freezing. Or getting stomped by a giant deity of the forest. The entire game is staving off death until it inevitably comes. Even when death comes, you can revive infinitely (in whatever mode we were playing), which means even death is not an end goal. There is no end goal. You don't even have the leeway to "play" and create your own meaning as you do in similarly zen games like Dead Rising.

Don't Starve is a game for people for whom hard work is the ultimate reward in and of itself. Don't Starve told me something about Jason.

G-Darius (PS1)

In the early fall, Sony announced they were dropping PS3, PSP, and Vita support from the browser and mobile versions of their PSN Store, and since the PS3 version of the store app runs like a solar-powered parking meter in Seattle, I decided this was my last chance to stock up on Japanese PSN gems.

Among my final haul, the PS1 port of G-Darius proved an instant favorite. Take down the usual cast of mechanized fish in a vibrant, chunky, low-poly style that perfectly inhabits the constraints of the original PlayStation hardware. I believe this is the first Darius game that lets you get into giant beam duels with the bosses, which is quite definitely one of the coolest things a video game has ever let you do. The PS1 port is also surprisingly feature-rich, including some easier difficulty levels that present an actually surmountable challenge for non-savants.

This one’s coming to the upcoming Darius Cozmic Revelation collection on Switch alongside DARIUSBURST, a good-ass romp in its own right.

Red Entertainment

In my effort to shine a tiny spotlight on some of the unsung Interesting Games of gaming, I found myself drawn again and again to the work of Red Entertainment. First there were cavechild headbutt simulator Bonk’s Adventure and twin shmups Gates of Thunder and Lords of Thunder on the PC Engine Mini. Then I streamed full playthroughs of the PS2’s best samurai-era, off-brand 3D Castlevania, Blood Will Tell and the Trigun-adjacent stand-‘n-gun, Gungrave: Overdose. Then I was dazzled by Bonk’s Adventure’s futuristic spin-off cute-‘em-up, Air Zonk, which was also sneakily tucked away on my PC Engine Mini in the “TurboGrafx-16” section. It turned out all these games were made by the same miracle developer responsible for Bujingai, the stylish PS2 wushu game starring Gackt and a household name here at the Lacquerware estate. How prolific can one team be???

Month of Cyberpunk

In November, I started toying with the idea of themed months on my Twitch channel with “Cyberpunk month.” It was supposed to be a build-up to Cyberpunk 2077’s highly anticipated November release, but holy shit that didn’t happen, did it? Still, I always find myself gravitating toward this genre in November, I guess because I associate November with gloom (even though this year it was sunny almost every day). A month is a long time to adhere to a single theme, but cyberpunk is such a well-served niche in gaming that I could easily start an all-cyberpunk Twitch channel. The fact that we’re so spoiled with choice makes Cyberpunk 2077’s terrible launch all the more embarrassing. Here are just some of the games I played (and streamed!) in November:

Ghostrunner Shadowrun (Genesis) RUINER Remember Me Transistor Rise of the Dragon (Sega CD) Shadowrun (Mega CD) Cyber Doll (Saturn) Binary Domain Shadowrun Returns Blade Runner (PC) Deus Ex: Human Revolution Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Observer

Shadowrun on the Genesis gets my top pick, but the two most recent Deus Ex games are great alternatives for those looking for something in the vein of 2077 that isn’t infested with termites.

Lost Planet 2

Every year. I played through it twice in 2020.

Dead Rising 4

I slept on this one too long. While it's a far cry from the original game, it's easily the most fun I've had with a Christmas game since Christmas NiGHTS. This is the game a lot of people thought they were getting when they bought the original Dead Rising with their new Xbox 360--goofy, indulgent, and pressure-free.

Devil May Cry 5: Vergil (PS4)

Vergil dropped for last-gen consoles in December and breathed a whole lot of life into a game that was already at the head of its class.

Nioh 2

I’ve only played a few hours of Nioh 2 because I promised my friend I’d co-op it with him and wouldn’t play ahead. But he’s a grad student with two small children. Nevertheless, Nioh 2 is my Game of 2020.

And that's it! Guess I'll spend 2021 playing games that came out last year, and maybe eventually getting vaccinated? Please?

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findingbxlance · 5 years ago

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I love The Sims.

Which is why I will never stop being disappointed in TS4.

Lets do some math, and I’m going to keep this mainly between TS3 & TS4. While I did play TS2, there isn’t a lot of information readily available on what the games themselves cost at the time of release. I have some information on that, but I’m not sure if it’s 100% accurate as I was baby when they came out and my mom had to buy them for me. I’ll release it later if anyone is curious.

TS3 launched with a base game priced at $49.99, and throughout it’s lifetime accrued nine stuff packs at $19.99 each, and eleven expansion packs priced at $39.99 a pop. This comes to a total of $669.79.

TS4 launched with a base game price of $59.99 (that price soon dropped to $49.99 because the backlash was immediate), and introduced the new game pack. In total (as of 4/15/2020), TS4 has sixteen stuff packs at $9.99 each, eight expansion packs at $39.99, and eight game packs at $19.99. That comes to a total of $699.67.

That’s not a huge price difference. All in all, it’s about $30 if you want to get the whole, complete collection, so why do I dislike TS4 so vehemently?

Quality.

Let’s compare a few expansion packs just to get a feel for what the difference is.

TS3 launched the “Late Night” expansion at $39.99, and it included:

A new world (Bridgeport) with 82 lots

Fame & reputation systems

Bars & night clubs

Apartments with penthouse suites

Subways

Elevators

Breast & muscle sliders in CAS*

Zodiac signs

A fountain tool*

Height adjustment for wall objects

Groups & bands

Butlers

Vampires!

The mixology skill

2 new traits (shy & star quality)

TS4 launched the “Get Famous” expansion at $39.99, and it included:

A new world (Del Sol Valley) with 11 lots

Fame & reputation systems

Active acting career

Multiple ways to become famous

Music, video station, etc.

And that’s about it.

Now I’ll be the first person to admit that TS3 wasn’t perfect. Although it was a very full game, it struggled in areas of performance. With such large, open worlds, and detailed customization systems, it was pretty buggy for a lot of people, but we’ll talk on that more later.

But what I want to focus on is the disparity between these two packs, as they’re supposed to be mirrors of one another. “Get Famous” is the TS4 version of “Late Night”, so where did all the stuff go?

Well, EA broke it into 3 packs.

To get the full experience of “Late Night” in TS4, or at least something similar, you would need to purchase, “Get Famous”, “City Living”, and “Vampires”. That’s 2 expansion packs, and 1 game pack. So, to replicate the experience of “Late Night” you would need to spend $99.97.

That’s almost $100.

So, for an experience we paid $39.99 previously in the last installment, we’re now being asked to pay $100 for.

Is that fair?

Lets do another expansion pack comparison:

TS3 launched “Ambitions” at $39.99, and it included:

A new world (Twinbrook) with 82 lots

5 new active jobs that take you all around the world your sims inhabit

Firefighter, investigator, ghost hunter, stylist, and architectural designer

Self-employment

Sculptors, inventors, painters, writers, gardeners, and so on can all profit from at home work

Laundry

Tattooing career

New traits (eco-friendly, good observer, weirdo, etc.)

Consignment stores

Inventing

Sculpting

TS4 launched “Get to Work” at $39.99, and it included:

A new world (Magnolia Promenade) with 4 lots

3 new active jobs that take place in one location

Detective, doctor, scientist

Baking & photography skills

Retail lots

Illnesses for sims

Aliens

There’s definitely more crossover here, but “Get to Work” still falls short. $39.99 for a full game and all we get is a world with 4 lots? Even in TS2 “Open for Business” we had more to do.

And, that isn’t to mention the fact that “Get to Work” launched separately from the TS4 “Laundry Day Stuff” pack. So, to get a similar experience to TS3′s “Ambitions” you would need to purchase both “Get to Work” and “Laundry Day Stuff” at a total of $49.98.

One more comparison for good measure.

TS3 launched “Island Paradise” at $39.99, and it included:

A new world (Isla Paradiso) with 118 lots, the most of ANY TS3 expansion

Houseboats that can move anywhere around the island

Resorts that you can either visit, or own, manage & edit

New transportation modes

Boating, skiing, and windsurfing

3 new careers

Lifeguard, resort manager, scuba diver

Diving into fully realized underwater scenes

Sims could also catch fish, explore underwater caves & find sunken treasure

Shark & kraken attacks

Mermaids!

Missions to discover and unlock new islands

Blueprint templates*

TS4 launched “Island Living” at $39.99, and it included:

A new world (Sulani) with 11 lots

Docks & new foundation types

4 new careers

Conservationist, diving, fishing, and lifeguard

Mermaids!

Boats

Missions to clean up the island

2 new traits

In the case of “Island Paradise” vs. “Island Living” there are a quite a few similarities, but the disparity remains. Thankfully, this time around EA didn’t break “Island Living” into multiple packs, but imagine if in a few months we get a resort style pack? Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past EA.

In these pack comparisons, I hope I’ve highlighted some of the issues between what should have been pretty similar packs.

And, to clarify, I’m not saying that EA should have just copy pasted TS3 packs into the TS4 style, but for the amount of money they’re asking, the quality should remain the same. There should be a similar amount of features between each pack, but there isn’t.

With each expansion, it feels like EA is spending less and less time working on the unique gameplay features, and pouring more time into the general aesthetics of the packs. So, while TS4 is the prettiest of all The Sims titles, it’s also the emptiest.

Despite the shiny veneer of a good game with solid graphics, TS4 ultimately lacks depth. It doesn’t feel like a game, but rather a character creator. I spend more time building sims and their homes than I do actually playing out their lives.

All in all, I find that the “life simulation” part of TS4 is severely lacking. It mostly comes down to the little things, which is exemplified whenever I go back and replay TS2. Sims would cuddle their partner in their sleep, burglars were a real and present danger, raccoons would topple your trash can at any given chance, and friends would call all the time to ask if you wanted to go downtown.

It’s been 6 years since TS4 came out, and, from what the dev’s have said, they aren’t planning on pushing out TS5 anytime soon, but let’s dream a little bit about what could be.

In my perfect game, TS5 would include aspects of TS3 and TS2. The open worlds were great, but not many people’s computers were beefy enough to run them. The one thing I will applaud about TS4, is that its made with everyone in mind. We can’t all afford big, gaming computers, a lot of simmers play on their laptops, and we should all be able to play regardless of what type of machine we’re working with.

So, instead of fully open works with 90+ lots, I would like to see open neighborhoods. If we take the open concept of TS3, and combine it with the neighborhood style of TS4, we’d get an open world of about 15-20 lots. That’s nowhere near as big as TS3, but would allow for more fun neighbor interactions, and remove the constant load screens.

I’d also like to see a return of the color wheel. This is also a point of contention, where I understand that excessive customization really dragged down TS3 and made it unplayable for a lot of people. So instead of full customization, relegate it to just colors (instead of different materials like fabric, metal, wood, etc.,) and just CAS.

I think a lot of what gummed up TS4 was the fact that you could customize everything. Hair color, eye color, makeup, clothes, accessories, wallpaper, paint, tiles, flooring, chairs, sofas, decorations, and on and on. Restricting it just to CAS, and in a simple color wheel would give us so much more freedom.

A color wheel in CAS would also solve EA’s issue of diversity. While they’ve given us the ability to create trans and nonbinary sims (which is fantastic!), they’ve been really slow on any progress when it comes to skin tones. A color wheel would allow us to create sims of all colors, and give power to the players to create more realistic and diverse representations of their lives as sims.

The last thing I would really love to see is a return to the little details. Give us more randomness. Genies, walking skeletons, ruins we can explore that aren’t just rabbit holes, more active careers, more opportunities. Don’t be afraid to give us the weird things, we love the weird things! But don’t forget about the little things. Sims sitting in the grass together and chatting, sims leaving flowers at your door after a really great date, sims scooting together to cuddle while watching a movie together on the couch.

Overall, TS5 should just include more more, if that makes sense.

Leave your comments & thoughts below! I’d love to talk to ya’ll about this, its really been brewing for awhile.

*Features included in TS4 base game.

#the sims #ts4 #sims #sims 4 #simblr

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kazynsims · 5 years ago

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20 Years of The Sims - A Reflection

What better way to kick off this blog, than to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of The Sims. To date there have been 4 Base Games, 34 Expansions, 34 Stuff Packs and 8 Game Packs. The game has been on 14 different consoles, spawned several mobile versions and console spin offs, such as The Urbz.

In addition to the console spin offs, PC players were given four stand alone games, The Sims Stories series and The Sims Medieval, which had it’s own expansion in the form of Pirates and Nobles.

There must also be a mention of the console exclusive My Sims, a stand alone series of six games, with a very different look and game play, but retaining Maxis’ humour and bringing The Sims to a younger audience.

So we begin with the original game, The Sims. As a fan of Maxis (I’d played SimAnt, SimCity and SimIsle), I was very excited with the news of this groundbreaking game. It did not disappoint. It basically gave the teenage me a legitimate way to play with doll houses. I spent hours and hours building and decorating houses for my sims. At one point I bought a programme to import actual faces into the game using photographs and created my boyfriend (now husband) and myself. The expansions were a revelation to me. I had no idea that it was even possible to expand an existing game and make it better. I naturally bought every one.

Then came the announcement of The Sims 2 and fully 3D graphics. Oh how I loved that game! The game felt the same as the original, it had the same vibe, but was so much better. My sims could age up, kids would no longer be destined to childhood for life, as fun as that sounds. They also now had a personality in wants and fears, and the memories system. I could control my sims, but they had their own desires, which was great for keeping story telling dynamic and interesting. With The Sims 2 came the emergence of the online community, a gallery of builds and a forum; The Sims 2 BBS, for players to talk about their games, share screenshots and videos. I spent almost as much time on the BBS as I did the game.

The Sims 3 followed five years later, with the huge addition of open worlds. This excited me so much. My sims could own cars and travel anywhere they liked without my hanging about waiting for loading screens. My absolute favourite feature of this version came in CAS and Build/Buy: Create a Style! The ability to change the colour of items to any colour I wanted, not to mention the texture. It opened up so many design possibilities and is responsible for my love of building in the game. One feature that I didn’t really use, was the new online store, accessed through the game. I wasn’t a fan of the premise of buying individual items in game, and to be honest I’m still not a fan of in-app purchasing at all, but plenty of others seemed to like it and the community was still as I knew and loved.

Now The Sims 4. I was skeptical about it’s release. It had been well publicised that the open worlds and story progression would not feature, but I was not prepared for the emptiness that the game shipped with. It wasn’t just the lack of additional packs, we had been through the slow process of building the previous games up, starting from scratch each time. No, it was the absolute lack of game play. I was so disappointed and to be quite honest shocked when the first map I opened was completely grey scaled. I thought I had a glitch. I didn’t read a lot of the information before hand, a toddler and new baby put paid to that, so I was completely unprepared for the fact that toddlers didn’t feature in the game at all. No building my own family then! With the subsequent packs and patches the features missing were added and today I have grown to love it, so much so that I think that it’s my favourite incantation to date and the community has gone from strength to strength.

So, on this, the 20th Anniversary of my favourite game, I wan’t to say Thank you Maxis, for being such a huge part of the last 20 years of my life. Here’s to another 20!

#thesims4

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thewickedwitchofwindenburg · 6 years ago

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The Hallmark Legacy

So here it is, the first ever 10 generation legacy I’ve written. It’s still a work in progress and as I play through it I may change things, but I’m ready to share.

Just a little introduction and context:

I’m a sucker for a happy ending and the Hallmark Channel. If you’ve ever watched more than one Hallmark movie in a row (which I do, often) you start to notice certain tropes and plots repeated. It’s always amazed me how you can take the same basic plot and add a new twist to get a whole new movie. So I’ve written a legacy based on some of my favorites and hope to see some amazing stories come out of it.

I tried to make this part gameplay and part story, I don’t know how well I’ve succeeded. But if you’re interested, check it out under the cut.

Set-Up:

Create a family (or use one you already had made up).You can choose to play through founder`s childhood & teen years or start them out as a young adult.

Move family into which ever world feels most small town to you. Lot should have room for your farm. Feel free to use cheats to build/decorate/buy your farm.

Gen One- Living the Simple Life

You've lived in the same small town your whole life. You dated the same Sim all through high school, but right when you were about to propose, they told you of their plans to go to college in the big city. Without you. You stayed on the family farm and have focused on keeping it going. Years later, your high school sweetheart comes back into your life and changes everything. You both discover you still have feelings for each other. Now you're both faced with hard decisions.

About the founder:

Aspiration: Freelance Botanist

Required trait: loves outdoors

Career: Gardening or just stay at home and earn off your farm

Goals and storytelling points:

Max gardening skill

Get together with (and eventually marry) a sim in the business career

Choose a conflict that brought sim back into your life

Choose between living on the farm or moving to the city. Find some compromises to make your relationship work.

Complete aspiration

Gen Two- The Wedding Planner

You've always found your parents` story so romantic. You started thinking about weddings as a child and what do you know it's led to a great career. Until the day you fell in love with one of your clients. Sometimes fate happens at the worst time.

About the heir:

Aspiration: Successful lineage

Required trait: Romantic

Career: this one is up for interpretation. Could be running a wedding themed retail store or a social media career revolving around weddings. However you want to depict the wedding planner career.

Goals and storytelling points:

Throw 5 gold medal events (one should be your wedding)

Go on at least 3 dates, with 3 different Sims

Meet someone at “work”

Breakup a wedding

Have 2+ children

Complete aspiration

Gen Three- Meddling Family

Your parents are sickeningly in love, and they want all their kids to be happy like they are. So they keep setting you up on dates. You decided a long time ago that you would find your own partner. But this one might not be so bad.

About the heir:

Aspiration: Soulmate

Required trait: family oriented

Career: Detective or Doctor

Goals and storytelling points:

Meet potential partners through parents (specifically the Gen 2 heir)

Go on 5 dates but don't medal in 4 of them

Max friendship bar with chosen partner

Complete aspiration

Have at least 2 kids (multiples would be a bonus)

Gen Four- In Love with My Sibling`s Partner

You've always been shy and a little awkward. Your sibling is incredibly charismatic and you might be a bit jealous. But what you really envy is their partner. You've always been in love with them, but your sibling had guts where you did not. And now you've got to live with it, right?

About the heir :

Aspiration: Nerd Brain

Required trait: loner

Career: Tech Guru

Goals and storytelling points:

Have a romantic relationship bar with one sim that a sibling also has a romantic relationship with (theirs should be higher at first)

Have only 2 friends (that are not family)

Get to the top of your career

Max your friendship bar with the chosen partner before “stealing” them from your sibling

Gen 5- Hidden Writer

Your family is full of amazing love stories and you've always wanted to write a love story of your own. Somehow your research about relationships landed you in the middle of the perfect relationship. But none of it is real.

About the heir:

Aspiration: Writer

Required trait: creative

Career: writer or write books from home and live off of royalties

Goals and storytelling points:

Meet partner at a park or bar or other public lot

Lie about your career to partner (for as long as possible)

Max writing skill

Complete aspiration

Have the truth come out and try to make it work

Gen 6- Love On Vacation (requires jungle adventure or outdoor retreat)

Your parents are going on a second honeymoon and dragging the whole family along. You meet the most amazing sim while there, but they're from the area and how can it work when you leave?

About the heir:

Aspiration: Choose one that goes with the vacation world you choose

Required trait: outgoing

Career: painter

Goals and storytelling points:

Go on vacation with your family to Granite Falls or Selvadora

Meet a sim while there and Max the romantic relationship bar

Complete aspiration

Find some way to make the relationship work after your sim returns from vacation

Gen 7- Rival Chefs

You've always been interested in foods around the world. You travel and learn about foods to become the best chef. It seems every time you turn around you keep running into your rival. Could the tension between you be something other than professional rivalry?

About the heir:

Aspiration: Master Chef

Required trait: foodie

Career: culinary

Goals and storytelling points:

Max cooking skill

Max gourmet cooking skill (bonus)

Complete aspiration

Reach the top in your career

Marry a sim also in culinary career

Live in at least 3 different worlds

Gen 8- Puppies (or kitties) being us together

You decided young that you wanted to be a vet. Now you run your own clinic. You relate better to the animals than Sims, so you haven't dated much. One of your clients asks you out, what can go wrong?

About the heir:

Aspiration: friend of the animals

Required trait: loves dogs OR loves cats

Career: own a vet clinic

Goals and storytelling points:

Meet future spouse at work

Adopt 2 dogs and/or cats

Complete aspiration

Have 2+ children (it should be a full house)

Have a Max star vet clinic

Gen 9- The Bad Bet

Two Sims made a bet that one of them couldn't get a certain sweetheart to fall in love with them. You've heard this story before, right? Well, it wasn't supposed to turn out like this.

About the heir:

Aspiration: Friend of the World

Required trait: cheerful

Career: entertainer

Goals and storytelling points:

Have a best friend

Make the bad bet

Subject should have the loner trait

(Bonus give them a drab to fab makeover)

Complete aspiration

Max career

Fall in love with subject of bet

Get married

Gen 10- Hidden Royalty

Your family line has come full circle. You just inherited (or returned to or rebought) the old family farm. But it's too much for just you, so you take on a roommate for a while to help out. They left out one important detail of who they are though.

About the heir:

Aspiration: Mansion Baron or Renaissance Sim

Required trait: materialistic

Career: pick any one you want

Goals and storytelling points:

Move a roommate in with you

Find out that they're royalty of some sort

Complete aspiration

Have a Royal Wedding (big, flashy and gold medal)

They ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after (aka end of the legacy!)

If you want to do this legacy but don't have packs required for some of the gens or you want to keep going after you hit 10, come chat with me! I had ideas for a couple other storylines that didn't make the final cut.

If you decide to take this on, tag me so I can follow it!

Edit (3/2/19): I actually had someone ask for a Substitute Generation~So here is one additional Gen with official rules, I guess.

Gen Substitute- So Opposite It hurts

You’ve always been pretty set in your ways. Knowing who you are as a person isn’t a bad thing. When your new neighbor moves in, you constantly butt heads. They’re quiet and serious, you’re loud and outspoken. But somehow, you fall in love.

About the heir:

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief

Required trait: outgoing

Career: Entertainer

Goals and storytelling points:

Live next door to a Sim with the Nerd Brain or Musical Genius aspiration

Perform 10 Mischief interactions with the neighbor

“Fighting” turns to flirtations

Complete aspiration

Marry Sim next door

(Bonus: Complete spouses aspiration)

#the hallmark legacy #10 gen legacy #new legacy #i wrote this #im pretty amazed i actually finished something

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sims4simming · 6 years ago

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Creating your own Floorplan

Ever been stuck for inspiration on how you want to build your sims house? Really, really stuck?

Sure, there's all kinds of cool floorplan databases that are out and about that you can find with a bit of google-fu, but maybe that doesn't quite cut it. Maybe you're in a mood where the absolute last thing you want to do is try to replicate someone else's design. You just wanna create.

Here's my handy dandy shortcut to a cool house with a ton of creativity. This works great for starters, for warm-ups, for whatever you want to do with that house when you're finished.

You can do this on paper or on a computer paint program, it really doesn't matter. Me, I prefer paper.

So you're gonna need:

Something to draw on

Something to draw with

Before we begin, a quick sidenote about my own design bias:

Personally I don't do big luxury bathrooms, one part from a lack of patience and one part because they just aren't my thing. My sim doesn’t care ??? But -- you do you!

I always build a house with a sim in mind. Adventurer, inventor, family-oriented, etc.

I don't worry about house aesthetic until I start actually building it in the game

I try to always include some cool concept, like a kitchen garden, or an entertainment deck, a science lab, etc.

The point is to break out of whatever it is that's stopping you from building - it's boring, it's too hard, you always build the same thing. This means it works excellently as a warm-up for that more elaborate project you're working on.

This can make roofing tricky, so watch out how many gaps and corners you give yourself

SO. Here's what we do.

1. Get the thing you are going to draw on.

2. Get the thing you are going to draw with.

Sketch a square. Overlap it with 3 to 4 other squares, different sizes and different amounts of overlap.

Go around the outside and thicken up the exterior lines. The sketched lines on the inside will help you inform the shape of the house interior.

Play with the orientation. In this one, I looked at it from all angles and decided to rotate it about 180 degrees.

Mark where you want your front door to be. This is a good opportunity to visualise decking, landscaping, etc.

Now fill in the interior rooms. This is where you can play around a bit with where you want your kitchen to go, your bedrooms. Think about vistas and how you would order things. Not many homes have a bedroom right off the front door. But, a lot of homes give the bedroom a door to a private balcony.

Think too about the climate and the lifestyle of where the house is going to be and who is going to live in it. This is why I always build with a sim in mind. A single sim who is active has no real use for much more than a small starter home.

Now we take that floor plan and throw it into the sims.

I used ts3, just because at this point I’m more proficient in it than ts4 - this particular layout did make roofing a bit of a challenge, but that’s good! Challenge yourself. When you really, really just can’t get it to go, trim something off. It’s just a shell after all.

Remember that the sketch you’ve done is just a guideline, your proportions will turn out differently once you build, and you’ll get a feel for what needs to be tweaked.

I only did a little bit of decorating, just to illustrate how the rooms would be used and what kind of layout that creates. I also used a smaller, starter-sized lot, so the house takes up most of it. You could do the same thing on a huge lot and maximise the use of that outdoor space.

At the end of the day you can make it as complex or as simple as you like. This is also a good way to create interesting starter homes that aren’t “just a box” - instead of 3 or 4 squares, use 2 or 3.

And there you go - a quick little how-to for making something a little different.

Happy simming!

#the sims #the sims 3 #the sims 4 #build mode #floorplan

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thesims4blogger · 7 years ago

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The Sims 4 Seasons: Twitter (Q&A Part 9)

SimGurus post to Twitter give more info on The Sims 4 Seasons. Info includes: Trick or Treating, Season Lengths, Screens/Video

It doesn't default to anything, and it shouldn't break clothes more than any other pack can potentially break CC. We created the system to accommodate CC.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 6, 2018

We did not release bunk beds in Seasons. Also, I looked into your Mac question - we will need to do some work on our renderer long term, which we're investigating now. Unfortunately we ALSO just found out.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 7, 2018

No.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 7, 2018

@SimGuruGrant Just a fun question, how long has seasons been in development for?

— SpotSims ❤ (@SpotSims) June 7, 2018

This is the type of question we don't like to answer because no matter what we say it gets turned into a negative topic. Plus it's tough to say b/c often with packs like Seasons and Cats & Dogs we have small pre-production teams that start way early. https://t.co/ScUIOYIlCG

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 7, 2018

No.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 7, 2018

I think Holidays are VERY cool. one of our pillars for the pack is that Sims anticipate the future, that there is a sense of time passing. The calendar lets you celebrate key moments, tell stories, and create a "year" for your Sims. https://t.co/KyeF7weGMg

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 7, 2018

No.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 7, 2018

They are an object, but also more than that.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 8, 2018

All the info will be shared with folks regardless of where they are. We aren't giving attendees anything exclusive...

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 8, 2018

The default is 7 days.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 8, 2018

Most worlds have a place where they appear, yes.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 8, 2018

Most of our focus was on the seasonal content. Ice skating, building snow pals, decorations, and the bigger holidays. Not saying it couldn't have worked, just that we focused elsewhere. https://t.co/f0GBu6pfiO

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 8, 2018

Why didn't you add igloos to the Sims 4 Seasons?

— SimmerPTMiguel (@SimmerPTMike) June 8, 2018

We thought about it. Ultimately, they aren't a typical thing most people expect. If it comes down to, say, a snow pal and snow angel versus igloo, we'll choose the former. https://t.co/T6gnfhJ4Ys

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 8, 2018

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 9, 2018

Alright, you guys have earned this for bearing with me for so long. Here's the Calendar in all it's glory! Big thanks to everyone who worked on it. I'm looking forward to the stories you'll tell. For those of you going to #EAPlay, see you in LA! #CalendarHype pic.twitter.com/e1oGEyygJL

— Emory (@SimGuruEmory) June 8, 2018

You want cute! You can't handle this much cute!#EAPlay2018 starts June 9th at 11am. Make sure to check in an see what all the other SimGurus are showing off. #TheSims4Seasons and #TheSimsMobile pic.twitter.com/Ivfe6r1Pl7

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 8, 2018

Some of the decorations you've seen in the trailers. But this is one of my favorite lots to build on. pic.twitter.com/yqVlkdkNMe

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

Kids can come to your door trick or treating.

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

This. You create your own spooky day. We give you the tools. And in classic Sims design mantra, make no judgements when you combine trick or treating with streaking.

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

No death by candy.

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

Holidays appear for all sims in the world across your entire save. You can run multiple saves with different custom holidays.

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

Yep. Kids stop by your house. If you have the candy bowl from spooky stuff they can take candy from there. If you dont have spooky stuff they knock on your door and you have to trick or treat them.

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

No. That is so untrue. You can only change it to 1, 2 and '4' week increments. ;)

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

This is a default basegame house. You can always move into it.

— George Pigula (@SimGuruGeorge) June 9, 2018

Booth tour. pic.twitter.com/2VubrwtlV1

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 10, 2018

It’s snowing at EA Play! Standing here playing #TS4Seasons and it’s AAAMAAAAAAZING!!! If you’re coming to EA Play, come by @TheSims booth to get HANDS ON Seasons!! pic.twitter.com/LYABmWHDiH

— RoryPlays (@RoryPlays_) June 9, 2018

So hot I wanna be pic.twitter.com/DmQ25GMRf8

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 10, 2018

There are three new walls, but yes, not a bunch here.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 10, 2018

Yes

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 10, 2018

They are quite big. All the demo machines are in use or I would check.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 10, 2018

They are quite big. All the demo machines are in use or I would check.

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 10, 2018

I call this Sim Beesus. @SimGuruTrev pic.twitter.com/XP7BP0BL8g

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 10, 2018

The Sims ❤️ pic.twitter.com/riIdubyAe4

— Grant Rodiek (@SimGuruGrant) June 9, 2018

Sims will autoage up within 24 hours after the birthday on the calendar. We wanted to give players the full day to plan and celebrate

— Emory (@SimGuruEmory) June 10, 2018

#news #the sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 #expansion pack #seasons pack

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katatty · 7 years ago

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I got tagged by @catnip-sims for one of those little meme/survey things and hey, I’m not doing much right now so why not :)

When did you start playing Sims?

Gee, I barely remember! I used to play Sims 1 and 2 it at friends houses a lot as a kid, but for a long time I was stuck with the console versions since we didn’t really have a game-friendly computer... I remember eventually I got the Sims 2003 PS2 game and would spend most of my time playing this group of kids who lived alone with no parents and trying to get them abducted by aliens all the time. I played Bustin’ Out & Sims 2 on PS2 when they came out too, plus that Nintendo DS Sims 2 hotel game set in Strangetown, hahaha...

I didn’t actually get a copy of Sims 2 until I think around 2010 when I finally got my own laptop? So I’m actually a newer player than some people! At the time I was like 17 & was going to be at university in a few years,really excited about it, got really into the university expansion pack which is still my favourite, hahaha

This is going more in-depth than I expected so I’ll throw the rest under a cut

Have you been playing consistently or do you have breaks inbetween?

There was big break for a bit... once I got a good enough computer I barely played for a few years and started playing TS3 instead, but I think I got back into the sims 2 “for good” around 2013 and have been playing it pretty consistently since then... crazy to think about! Like, there’ll be a few months where I don’t play here and there if I get busy, but it’s never really stopped being a hobby

Do your family & friends know that you play The Sims?

Hahaha, yes, I’m not at all secretive about it & most people know it’s my hobby. It’s not like I talk about it 24/7 but if people know me long enough eventually it comes up since it’s a weirdly big part of my life

Do you spend more time in build or live mode? Why?

Probably about 50/50? I enjoy both aspect of it a lot and they both scratch different creative itches. Plus, I play a lot of families so there’s almost always decorating to be done!

Do you play with supernatural creatures (like Vampires, Werewolves etc.)? Why not?

I used to never really play when them much (aside from vampires... I was a big vampire teen, haha) but got really into them when I started Hollyhead, my supernatual BACC! I’ve been trying to incorporate them more in my other neighbourhoods now, especially Veronaville.

Do you have one specific family you play with all the time (like a legacy of some sort) or do you rotate between a couple of households?

I get bored pretty quickly just playing a single family - I like to play complete neighbourhoods and rotate between households! Honestly though my uberhood isn’t my ideal, it’s a little bit too big! The best for me is a hood with about 10 households, probably.

Do you like to create your own neighborhoods or do you play with the existing families? Tell us about your progress :)

Both! I’m mostly into the premades and have a long-running megahood I’ve been playing since... gee... summer 2015? It’s been going for long enough now that I’m very invested in and attached to the sims and the storylines, it’s like my own personal soap opera! Before that I played a Strangetown I was also very devoted to, which sadly died due to corruption but that’s life :P

I like making my own neighbourhoods too, though. I get really inspired by real places, TV, books, etc and wish I had time to make more! At the moment the 2 notable ones would be Europa (a small, rural Italian town I made for download that people can play) & Hollyhead (the supernatural BACC I mentioned earlier!)

Do you create custom content? If so, what keeps you motivated? (If not, would you like to? What stops you from learning it? For players that don’t use mods, why do you stay away from CC?)

If you count buildings and Europa, then yes! Honestly, I’m motivated to make things because they are things I want for my own game... I like playing the Maxis neighbourhoods but hate the buildings, so making my own versions of them was a must! They’re CC-free because I do huge clean-outs of my downloads every so often and didn’t want to have to go back and re-decorate all the time.

Also, building and decorating is fun for me! I’d like to learn other stuff like making clothing and retextures, there’s loads of stuff like that I’d love to have in my game... the main thing that keeps me from learning it is that the process of making stuff seems so tedious and a pain to learn! I don’t really have enough free time for it to feel worth it :(

If there was one piece of CC or (if you play without mods) one piece you wish the developers implemented, what would it be?

Hmmm... in terms of a game feature I’d really love that isn’t available as a mod or anything?? I WISH there was a way to make have playable sims show up as NPCs... like if you have a sim on the law enforcement career, they show up instead of the police NPC? This would just be really nice for build a city challenges and such, I have trouble implementing NPCs into gameplay because they’re so limited - I like everyone in the town to feel connected and once you make them playable they can’t go back to their NPC role... I’d settle for even just being able to make a playable into an NPC the way you can make sims into townies... that’s my dream mod, haha!

What other expansion and/or accessoires pack do you wish the developers would have come out with?

I wish there were more modes of transportation than cars & helicopters! It’d be so cool if sims could ride bikes or skateboards...

I tag @moocha-muses @dreadpirate @trotylka @didilysims & @holleyberry <3 (You don’t need to do this if you’re not feeling it, though!)

#ask meme

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ask-the-phan-site · 4 years ago

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A Neo Yokio New Year

>Neo Yokio just after New Year (which explains why some of the Christmas decorations are still up for the time being). The city was slightly nerved by the announcement from the True Cross Order. Some are regarding it as a prank, others are taking it as a threat. Either way, Neo Yokio was not at peace... And not just by the threat from demons.

>We came to this city to investigate and see what can be done.

So this is Neo Yokio? Doesn’t look that much different from New York.

Other than the fact that 14th Street is underwater and people live in it. Not to mention that this city is under constant threat from demons...

Actually, you’re right, it’s not all that different.

I know I like shopping, but even this department store is too much. I wonder what’s up with it.

>Curious, Panther decides to take a look inside. The department store was a gaudy inside as it was out. In fact, not too long after she went inside, a salesclerk in a green suit jumps in front of her.

Welcome home, shopper. I will be your salesclerk and personal shopper. The Holidays may be over and we are in danger of being shut down, but rest assured, Bergdorf Goodman Department Store will always be here for those with a shopping need for all things beautiful and luxurious. So, how can I help you today, young madam?

I’m... not looking for anything today. I’m just looking. Sorry.

Salesclerk: Well that’s a shame. Maybe next time.

Don’t worry. I’m sure if we need anything, we’ll let you know... (Like a last minute gift for Akane.)

Salesclerk: Excellent! If you need anything from here, just ask for me. My name is Herbert Sims. Or just Herbert. Happy Late New Years!

>With that, Herbert leaves to tend to other customers.

Well, it’s good to see him so devoted to his work. It makes him happy.

Too bad that happiness will be taken away if we don’t do something.

And we will. Haru, are sure our contact is suppose to meet us here?

Yes, she said she would be meeting us at the church not far from this store. It’s actually a True Cross Order safe house.

I can hardly imagine a church being in a city like this, even if it is like New York. Sophia, are there any churches near here?

I’ll do a search. (searches the net) Odd. The Internet in this city is different.

Wolf: Well, Neo Yokio exists on a different version of Earth, much like San Fransokyo and Sternbild City. So it might be a little difficult to look up things.

Sophie: But I did found the church. It’s just a couple blocks away.

Then we better move on.

>With that, we leave the department store.

>A little later, we finally arrive at the church.

Sophie: This should be it. It doesn’t look like it’s not used much. No doubt because people usually rely on Magistocrats* to deal with many things.

*It turns out it was misspelled. There are only two As and an O.

How could that? I may not know much about the importance of religion other than what I’ve learned from when me and Ren went to the church back home to help me out of my slump, but I can tell this was once a beautiful building. Such symmetry and craftmanship. I can’t believe they let this place fall from glory.

??????: You might be right. But I guess that’s to be expected.

>We were surprised to see a girl come out of the church.

Noir: (happy) Shiemi chan! It’s good to see you again.

It’s good to see you again, too, Haru chan.

Oracle: I guess this is our contact.

Noir: That’s right. I met Shiemi chan during an exhibition by the Gardening Club at Todai last year.

Shiemi: It’s nice to meet you all. My name is Shiemi Moriyama, I’m an Exwire Exorcist from the True Cross.

Queen: A pleasure to meet you, Shiemi chan.

Shiemi: Thank you.

Sophie: Are you really an Exorcist?

Shiemi: I am. Are you really an AI?

>Suddenly, something in Shiemi’s pocket started shaking.

Shiemi: I think we should head inside.

>With that, we follow Shiemi inside the church. The first thing we noticed was many men in clack coat uniforms. At the end of the aisle were the alter is, there was a huge banner hanging.

(This was forgotten on the announcement.)

>Then, the Exorcists notice us. They were a little confused an alarmed to see strangers here.

Shiemi: It’s alright, they’re with me. They’re my friends. They’re from out world.

Exorcist 1: That seems a little vague.

Exorcist 2: Yeah, how do we know we can trust them?

Exorcist 3: Hold on, aren’t you Goro Akechi, the Detective Prince?

Crow: I take it you watch the news.

Exorcist 1: We do. But then again, a lot of people do. How do we now it’s really you?

Crow: I was abandoned by my father to preserve his image.

Exorcist 2: Everyone knows that. Actually, the blonde over there does look familiar.

????: He is familiar. Believe me, you can trust these guys.

????????: He’s right. Better let them pass.

>We were surprised to see who was also here.

Gecko Neck san!? You’re here, too?

Hey, guys, it’s been awhile.

Joker: Iwai, why are you here?

Exorcist 1: And I thought I heard Sir Pheles. But I don’t see him.

Exorcist 2: He probably called from the office. Well, if they say their alright, fine. Just make sure they behave themselves. We already have to deal with those morons that run this godless city.

Shiemi: Don’t worry, I’ll take responsibility.

Iwai: And so will I.

Exorcist 3: Okay. Anyway, back to work.

>With that they go back to whatever they were doing.

Joker: Still, why are you here?

Iwai: You’re going to find this hard to believe, but just after that announcement about this city was released, this dog showed up in my place.

...

Wolf: (confused) Okay?

Shiemi: (giggling) You’d be surprised.

Iwai: Anyway, it had this note saying that the True Cross Order needed my help to check their guns. I’m not sure why. I deal with model guns. And these aren’t even ordinary guns. But they do look similar. Besides, they said they would compensate me and my son if I agreed to it. Though I gotta say, I don’t feel right about seeing guns or any kind of weapons in a church.

Shiemi: I can assure you that the Grigori themselves approved of it. But if you wish to do your inspecting and other business elsewhere, they’ll allow it. But you’ll have to find a place yourself.

Iwai: I’m a stranger in this city, I have no idea where to go.

White dog: (snickering)

Iwai: What’s up, pooch? You know somewhere?

>The dog nodded its head as if to agree. Then, it walks away.

Iwai: I’m not sure why I should follow it, but I’ll bit. So, I’ll see you guys later?

Joker: Okay.

>With that, Iwai follows the dog out of the church.

Panther: You think he’ll be alright?

?????: Ever since we made that announcement, no demonic threats have occurred. Guess we kind of scared them.

>A young woman with purple hair that was tied in twintails comes up to us.

Shiemi: Izumo, are you ready to go?

Yeah, I had to prepare myself for the meeting. I’ve heard this Exorcist is really difficult to talk to.

Noir: Hello, Izumo chan.

Izumo: Haru? You’re here? I know Shiemi said you might be coming, I didn’t think you would be bring your friends.

Shiemi: Everyone, this another friend of ours.

Izumo: Hello. I’m Izumo Kamiki.

Joker: Hello.

Queen: You said you were going somewhere. I guess you’re referring to whom the Order considers that most corrupted Exorcist in Neo Yokio.

Izumo: Pretty much. I just hope that aunt of his isn’t there. I hear she’s a real terror.

Joker: His aunt? Wait, you don’t mean...

Izumo: Yes. They deemed him the most corrupted... because he’s Neo Yokio’s Second Most Eligible Bachelor... Kaz Kaan.

>We were shocked.

Izumo: You know him?

Skull: He performed at Dream FES two years ago.

Izumo: Yeah, I think I’ve heard about that.

Joker: Actually, we’d like to ask you something.

Izumo: What that?

We would like to come with you to see him.

Izumo: I don’t know. I might get in trouble if I bring you with me.

Wolf: I’m a police officer, I’m sure they won’t mine and I would take responsibility.

Skull: And he might recognize us from Dream FES. It would make it easy if he was with familiar faces.

Izumo: Well, alright. But just you, the Idol, the officer, the detective, the hacker, and the model.

Panther: (a bit surprised) Me, too?

Izumo: We sense Fairy Magic on you and the Order and Fairies aren’t exactly buddy buddy.

Panther: I see.

Oracle: And me?

Izumo: I don’t know. Something off, I guess...

Like something out of The Dunwich Horror?

Izumo: ... Let’s just go.

Shieme: I’d come, too, but...

>Shieme’s pocket starts moving again. She reaches inside and something pops out.

Nee~!

Oh, what a cutie!

Izumo: (a bit surprised) Wait, you guys can... Actually, never mind. We’re wasting time.

Crow: Well, see you all later.

>With that, we leave the church.

>A little later, we were now going inside a penthouse. It was light-colored and very gaudy. I think my eyes are hurting. We saw Kaz Kaan with his mecha butler Charles and Kaz’s friends, Lexy and Gottlieb. It looked like Lexy and Gottlieb were frantic.

Lexy: Yo, Kaz, we can’t let this happen!

Gottlieb: Yeah, man, the Caprese Bar means a lot to us. It maybe small, but we invested a lot in it.

I know, I know. What do you want me to do? There’s just one of me and they’re like a whole army. Plus, they had years of learning to use their Exorcist powers and I’m described to only know the flashy stuff.

Your Exorcist powers have always been fabulously flashy, sir.

Kaz: (a bit sarcastic) Thanks, Charles.

>Izumo clears her throat to make the other aware of her presence.

Charles: It appears we have guests, sir.

Izumo: Kaz Kaan I presume.

Kaz: Yes, that’s me.

Izumo: Izumo Kamiki, I’m from the True Cross Order. And these are my associates. They’re not from the Order, but I’ve invited them to come with me today.

Kaz: (a bit surprised) Wait, I know you guys. You were in Dream FES.

Joker: Hello. I’m Ren Amamiya.

Skull: Yo, I’m Ryuji Sakamoto.

Panther: Ann Takamaki.

Oracle: Futaba Sakura. Nice to meetcha.

Crow: Detective Goro Akechi. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Wolf: I wasn’t in that Dream Festival, but I’m still a friend. Officer Zenkichi Hasegawa.

Lexy: Nice to meet ya all.

Izumo: Now, I trust you know why I’m here.

Kaz: Because you think I’m the most corrupted because I’m second on the Bachelor Board.

Izumo: Pretty much. From this moment on until the 31, I’ll be monitoring everything about you. Every action you take, every move you make, every gathering you attend, and every exorcism you perform, I’m to report it all back to the Order. They also told me that if do anything that may not seem fitting by their standards, I have permission to intervene or alert the other Exorcists. Do you understand?

Kaz: (sounding a bit depressed) What’s the point? My life already tends to be very bleak.

Izumo: Yeah, I hear you tend to be melancholy. After getting being dumped twice already. Don’t tell me you’re still up on that? Your last girlfriend was like almost four years ago. Get over it already.

Kaz: Pains like that run deep. They take longer than four years to heal. Surly you’ve felt the familiar sting.

Wolf: Actually, I can. After what happened, I don’t think I’ll ever find another like Aoi. She was like my everything. But she lives on in my heart. And I see her everyday in our daughter.

Kaz: A kid, huh? Neither me, Cathy, or Helena never had anything like that.

Gottlieb: (a bit shocked) Seriously, Kaz!?

Kaz: No, it’s not like that. It’s just, none of us actually did anything that was us. Maybe if we did, at least one of them would have stayed. Now the only thing I have left of Helena is a giant Toblerone... which has pretty much melted by now.

Lexy: You not eating a Toblerone when it’s given to you? Now we know you’ve really hit low, dude.

Skull: (shocked) For real? A giant Toblerone?

Panther: It’s real alright. Mika got one from one of her admirers. She even took a picture and posted it on her Kingstagram. Look.

FOR REAL!? HOLY SHIT!

Izumo: Your friend here sure curses a lot.

Panther: He’s just surprised to see that much chocolate in his life.

Izumo: I see. But, back to the point. You know that if Neo Yokio doesn’t repent for its ways, you will have to conform to the new laws that will be put into effect by the inquisition.

Kaz: Will they really take all of our stuff if we’re forced to join?

Izumo: Pretty much. They may not be approved by the Order and may be considered a distraction.

Kaz: Does... Does that include Charles.

>Izumo was silent for a moment, looking at Charles who stared back at her.

Izumo: Actually, I think they’ll let you keep Charles. How often do you come across a Tamer with a mecha familiar?

Crow: I take it, none.

Charles: I think it would an honor that Kaz will have someone familiar as a familiar.

Kaz: I don’t know if that’s a joke or not, but thanks, Charles. (whispers) And I’ll be sure to thank Sadie later.

Izumo: Still, I think you would understand.

Kaz: I do understand. I know I was the one who said, “Consumerism forever”, but after what happened at that race here four years ago, I’m starting to think that Neo Yokio’s not the the greatest city in our world.

Oracle: That’s a utopia for you. There’s always a catch.

Kaz: Don’t I know it. Makes me wish I could go back to simpler times when it was all about the just helping people and seeing the smiles on their faces when the work is done.

??????: But smiles does not pay the rent. Money does.

>Suddenly, a woman with light pink hair, shades, and a dress under a trench coat comes in.

Izumo: (sighing in disappointment) And here I thought this was going to be a quiet visit.

Well, let me remind you, girlie, that this is my house, too.

Kaz: You don’t need to be rude, Aunt Agatha. They’re guests. Oh, everyone this is my aunt.

Agatha: Agatha Kaan.

Charles: Shall I prepare some coffee?

Agatha: (sounding ungrateful) Very well.

Izumo: I was just explaining to your nephew about the situation you, him, and every other Magistocrat are in.

Agatha: I know. And I think you’re just being a bunch of idiots. I don’t know how things in your world works, but in this one, we have to work to support our wretched lifestyles.

Izumo: (unimpressed) Wretched lifestyles?

Wolf: (with a smirk) As Makoto’s sister would say, “I rest my case.”

Agatha: If you really think that we’re going to stand and let a bunch of self-righteous boys and old men in ugly black coats change things, you have another thing coming.

Oracle: Stubborn, are we?

Agatha: You bet.

Kaz: (trying to calm the situation) Now let’s not get too upped up. Charles will be here with the coffee soon.

Agatha: (getting impatient) Not now, Kaz. We’re talking.

Kaz: Sorry.

Wolf: Ms. Kaan, you don’t need to talk to him that way. He’s only a kid.

Agatha: He’s 22. Soon to be 23 this year.

Wolf: Umm... Congratulations?

Kaz: (thinking) Don’t encourage her.

Agatha: I heard that, Kaz. What did I just say?

Kaz: Sorry, Aunt Agatha.

Skull: (whisper) Yeesh, what a hag.

Agatha: (not happy) So, I’m a hag, am I?

How the hell do you keep hearing us?

Agatha: When you get as old as I am, you learn a few things. Now, as I was saying, doing things for the greater good isn’t going to keep belly’s full. Even you Exorcist in your world need to eat.

Izumo: True. But we eat whatever we can. Trying to eat anything too fancy is just so unnecessary.

Agatha: I don’t see what wrong with fancy. It proves that Exorcists have individuality.

Izumo: We know they do. But you Magistocrats are taking it the wrong way. All you do is is endlessly indulging yourselves in wealth and charge people for something that can be hard not just for the victim, but for their loved ones as well.

Agatha: Don’t you think we know that? But we see no reason not to be rewarded for it. But not with something as ridiculous as a smile.

>I suddenly notice Kaz looking down.

Kaz: (whisper) Helena...

Joker: Helena? That’s your last girlfriend, right?

Kaz: (out loud) Helena St. Tessero, yes. She used to be a fashion blogger, but then she got possessed though a Chanel suit. (Coco Chanel, my her memory be blessed.) I exorcised it and her whole view on the world changed. Then, the old Bachelor Board got destroyed and everyone thought she did it to prove that Neo Yokio is not as great as it seemed. She ran away and now no one knows where she is.

Agatha: And her parents are worried and they blame you. They said your exorcism messed her up. I’m surprised you’re still at number two on the new board.

Kaz: I’m wondering that myself.

Agatha: The point is, we are not joining this Order unless we’re getting something out of it.

Izumo: We’re offering you sanctuary. That’s reward enough. We’re a non-profit organization. If we need to collect, it’s for a good cause and not us. What we do isn’t a job. It’s a duty.

Agatha: Well sorry, but that’s just how it is in this city. And just what are you going to do about it? About all of us?

Izumo: (starting to get a little impatient) Understand, Ms. Kaan, unlike you Magistocrats who have been at this job since those old days, but the True Cross Order has been doing this since the Middle Ages. That makes us more experienced and more powerful than all of you combined. You could do way better than what you are doing now if you just listen.

Agatha: Listen to what? The ramblings of a bunch of fools? I don’t think so. I don’t listen to the words of anyone. Especially children like you.

Crow: Now that’s just offensive. Some of us are already in college. Please, Ms. Kaan, I know this is upsetting you, but I think you’re going a little too far. We must ask you to watch what you say.

Agatha: (now losing her own patience) Then I invite you to make me, pretty boy. Must be a distant relative of the Corellis. Especially-

Kaz: Aunt Agatha, please!

>Kaz tries to calm her down, but she just knock his hand away with her hand which was pulsing with energy just as Charles comes in with the coffee.

Charles: The coffee is ready.

>Kaz suddenly starts glowing with energy which made blasts the trey Charles was carrying away.

Lexy: This could be bad.

>I quickly stand up and get between Kaz and Agatha.

Kaz... Please, man...

>Seeing me unafraid (thanks to my current level of Guts), Kaz calms down.

Charles: (unfazed) I suppose I should start on another brew.

>Just then, the sound of a phone ringing comes. Agatha takes out a phone.

Agatha: Kaan Residence... Yes... Very well, I’ll see to it he still does his job... Thank you. (hangs up) Well, looks like we’re still back in business. Kaz, they want you to investigate a restaurant near Time Square for possible demonic activity. They are offering a lot, so you must go.

Izumo: That won’t be necessary. In case demonic activity were to happen before the appointed date, the Order is allowed to take care of it.

Agatha: True. But until that appointed date actually does come, Kaz is still obligated to work. Isn’t that right?

>Izumo was silent, but knew Agatha was right.

Agatha: Good. Now, Kaz, off you go.

Kaz: ...

Agatha: Or would you rather try again?

Kaz: ... I will go and investigate the demonic activity, Aunt Agatha. Let’s go, Charles.

Charles: I will help you on the way, sir.

Kaz: Thanks, Charles.

>With that, Kaz and Charles leave. Not wanting to upset Agatha any more than she already was, Lexy and Gottlieb also leave. I suddenly sense that out of all of us... Panther was just about run out of patients.

Wolf: Ms. Kaan, I know you’re stressed, but-

Agatha: Can you not, please. I swear, that boy. He just never learns. I’m just glad his parents-

SLAM!

>We were startled by the noise. Panther had slammed her fist on the table that some of the things on it fell off.

What the hell is your problem, lady!? So Kaz has some trouble dealing with stuff. What he needs is support. But all you do is criticize him!

Agatha: I’m only doing what’s best for him. Making sure that doesn’t get too soft because in this world, Rat Catchers like us need to survive. They would never accept us.

Panther: And you think that’s all that matters? What others think of you isn’t important. It’s what you think of yourself. And how do you even know what his parents would think of their son? In my opinion, they would be proud to see just how hard their son is working just to make others happy and not just you.

Agatha: (scoffing) Please, I know his parents. Especially my stupid, obnoxiously happy brother, Kaz’s father. He’s becoming too much like him and that could be bad for us and business.

Panther: Yeah, right. It’s just the business you care about. I know you don’t really care about Kaz or your family.

Agatha: Why should I? I learned a long time ago that the only person you can truly count on is yourself. But I still need to make sure Kaz doesn’t wuss out when duty calls.

Panther: (in utter disbelief) “Doesn’t wuss out?” He’s your nephew, not a bird! And you’re suppose to be his aunt. His family. And this is how you treat him? He’s does everything for everyone and it’s clear to us that you’re ungrateful. It’s like he’s not even your family, just your slave. Or that you’re not his family. Because frankly speaking...

I can’t believe for a second that Kaz would be related to some wrinkled-face, money-grubbing, bitch-ass, HARPY!

>We (except for Panther) suddenly feel dread as Agatha gets up and takes off her sunglasses. Looking at her eyes, she definitely had the dangerous look of a harpy.

You know in all my years, only one person has ever had the balls to say “harpy” to my face. The only reason I can’t put her six feet under where she belongs is because our powers are equally matched. But what you you, girl? I sense magic in you, but what are you exactly? A fairy? A witch? You have neither in your blood, yet you have powers. So what does that make you? Some say you are special. But to me... You’re just a freak of nature. So I am asking you now... Are you challenging me, girl? Are you threatening me?

>Agatha was now giving an aura of energy.

Panther: (forming fire in her hands) And what if I am?

Izumo: Okay, that’s enough.

>We saw that Izumo had summoned her familiars.

>Panther and Agatha both back off from each other.

Agatha: I need to drink this off. You better leave.

Izumo: You know I’ll be back tomorrow, right?

Agatha: ... Better make it a big one.

>Later on, we were outside back on the streets headed back to the church. We could tell that Panther was still angry.

Panther: That awful bitch! How could she treat her own nephew like this? I’m surprised he’s putting up with him. Does he even have any other family?

Izumo: According to Kaz’s file, he does. His uncle and cousin in the Hamptons and his aunt who is constantly traveling. Actually Ann, the aunt who is traveling, an Angelique Kaan, Agatha’s fraternal twin sister, that’s who called her a harpy.

Panther: Really? She did?

Izumo: Yes. Unlike Agatha, Angelique is what Kaz would call “The nice aunt”.

Oracle: I’m starting to see why.

Wolf: I agree with Ann, Agatha’s no good. She definitely needs... (quickly stops after remembering Izumo is with us) to be taught a lesson.

Izumo: The whole city does... Like a change of heart.

Wolf: (a bit scared) Like the kind the Phantom Thieves do? What makes you think that?

Izumo: Well... I’m a closet fan of the Phantom Thieves.

Wolf: (a bit relieved) I see. Actually, my daughter’s a fan of them, too. But why be in the closet? Does the Order not like the Phantom Thieves?

Izumo: Actually, we’re still trying to figure out where we stand with them. Though, the Grigori praise what they did with that God of Control. How dare he besmirch the reputation of the Lord. The Order actually almost lost most of its members because of what happened. Thank goodness they changed their minds. Though, the Phantom Thieves had to use a Demon Lord to save us. And Satanael at that. So we’re kind of at a crossroads with them. Are the Phantom Thieves our allies or our enemies? We’re still trying to decide... I’m hoping they are our allies.

I’m sure they are.

>Later on, we made it back to church where an Exorcist was keeping guard. Guess he heard about the possible demonic activity.

Crow: Excuse us, did our friends come back?

Exorcist: Not yet. They’ve been gone awhile. I hope they didn’t get lost. This city maybe like New York, but there are a lot of differences. It would be fearful if they ended up in the Walled City. I know we’re trying to help them, but there are some scary characters there.

>Suddenly, I noticed something across the street.

Or, they could be closer than we think. Look.

Exorcist: (surprised) Where did that come from? It wasn’t here this morning.

Joker: It’s where ever it needs to be. Don’t think about it. Just go with it.

Izumo: If you’re thinking of going in, count me out. I have to report in and tell the Order what I’ve learned at the Kaans’. I’ll see you guys later.

Panther: Right, see you.

>With that, Izumo and the Exorcist go back inside the church and we go into the Stray Sheep.

>Inside the bar, we find Mona, Skull, Fox, Queen, Noir, and Violet talking with Roderick Lockhart.

Seriously, man, I’m proud that you and your Unit finally made your first album debut. Just wish my song was included.

Skull: I know. I heard your song it was awesome. Maybe next time. Don’t worry.

Roderick: I hope.

Joker: Hey, we’re here.

Fox: Ren, we were just talking about how we might change the city’s cognition.

Joker: How so?

Mona: Well, it would be a waste of time just going after one individual at a time, so we’re going to do to Neo Yokio... the same thing we did to all of Tokyo that fateful Christmas Eve.

Joker: You mean...

Mementos... Neo Yokio’s Mementos.

Crow: Can we really do that? We had to do some minor requests before entering a lower level of Mementos to get to the depths.

Queen: I don’t think we have to worry about that. Since no one in this city has hardly heard of the Phantom Thieves, there’s a good chance that there are no Shadow versions of people guarding the entrance of a level.

Violet: That’ll making getting to the depths a breeze.

Wolf: That should be good. We’re already on a tight deadline.

Joker: That’s right, the deadline is the end of this month, January 31. So we need to get to the depths and send the calling card no later than two days prior, the 29. This city needs to end its selfish ways before it becomes what our city almost became... For Kaz.

Mona: So we’re in agreement? That is a unanimous decision.

>We were all in agreement.

Joker: By the way, where’s Iwai?

>I was directed to where Aunt Rin usually has her piano, but it was replaced.

>This booth was now occupying the space with model weapons. Some of them are familiar and some of them seem to be new. In the booth, Iwai was finishing up some stuff. I was also a bit surprised to see Lavenza with him.

Iwai: That should be it, right?

Almost. We still need to do one final check. Also, the one who brought you here has something to add to your arms... With my assistance, of course.

Iwai: You mean the dog? He has something to add to my guns? Well, it has been weird for me for the past few days. So why not? The dog went into the bathroom. Not sure why, though. Wouldn’t a fire hydrant be suited?

???????: After seeing this poorly maintained bathroom, would have preferred that.

>We turned to the bathroom to find that someone had come out.

Iwai: (confused) Who the heck are you?

Now that’s a shame. And you used to call me pooch.

Iwai: Pooch? Wait...

No freaking way! You’re that dog!?

Flamboyant Demon: Yes. You are not the first to be overwhelmed by my true appearance. But where are my manners? Allow me to formally introduce myself. Sir Mephisto Pheles, Honorary Exorcist for the Order of the True Cross and Principal of True Cross Academy (known there as Johann Faust V), at your service. And I do mean “at your service” for you see, for the time being, I will also be working along side you... As your familiar.

Iwai: Umm... Hi?

Lavenza: Mephisto and I are inspecting your contractor’s equipment for any demonic energies or entities as per Neo Yoiko’s customs law.

Mephisto: Unfortunately, I fear that Mr. Iwai’s merchandise may not be approved by the city’s customs check because of what they are. So, we have to check them ourselves, just like we did with the Order’s equipment. Plus, me and Lady Lavenza have something special for you all.

Queen: Like what?

Lavenza: As you know, some of your weapons have certain effects on Shadows.

Panther: Oh yeah, like how my whip can sometime Burn them.

Mona: Or how my slingshot can put them to Sleep.

Lavenza: Well, these weapons that me, Mephisto, and the dealer are working on will have a certain effect on your Personas.

Joker: Really? How so?

Lavenza: Like the Skill Cards, this equipment will allow your Personas to use Skills they are normally unable to do.

Skull: So our Personas get an upgrade? That rocks!

Mephisto: But for now, the only Skills your Personas will get from them are Bless and Curse. The rest will take sometime and a lot of materials to do so.

Lavenza: Perhaps the Tricks and his comrades can help gather the materials. Especially when traversing the other world.

Joker: I think we can do that.

Mephisto: Wonderful. We will hope for such.

Violet: How does the weapons give our Personas those Skills? I don’t think it would be as simple as using a Skill Card.

Mephisto: You have the Order to thank for that. Take a look at them. They are modeled after the weapons used by our Exorcists. Mainly our Knights (Melee) and Dragoons (Ranged).

Fox: I guess that makes sense. They look pretty holy or powerful to me.

Sophie: I will also remember it.

Tutorial

The new weapons developed by Lavenza, Mephisto, and Iwai will grant your Personas and your friends’ Personas abilities and Skills.

For now, the only Skills provided for are Bless and Curse Skills. However, other weapons that can provide other Skills can be made from materials you find in the Metaverse after defeating Shadows.

Joker: I’m surprised Boss, the other Boss, agreed to this.

Roderick: It wasn’t easy trying to convince him. Good thing Mephisto and this fine young lady in blue backed me up. Of course, when he heard about where we were going, he said...

??????: I can try their Caprese Martini. That’s how it went.

Roderick: Boss, you’re awake.

Well, I was enjoying a pleasant nap when I was awoken by your chattering... And the smell of wet dog.

Mephisto: (a bit shocked) Now I’m just offended, Lord Dumu-

Mutton: Ah tut tut! What is my name in this form?

Mephisto: (with a small bow) Oh, do forgive me, Thomas Mutton.

Mutton: Good.

Queen: So you’re the Boss of the Stray Sheep.

Mutton: I am. How is the Boss of Leblanch doing?

Oracle: He’s fine. I think.

Mutton: How so?

Joker: Well, I got this book for my birthday awhile back. Sojiro’s actually taken a liking to it and barrows it frequently... A little too frequently, if you ask me.

Oracle: Yeah, he even sleeps with it.

Mutton: Really?

Joker: I’m glad that he’s reading more. Especially the classics. But, I don’t know...

I just have this funny feeling.

Mutton: Have you told anyone about this?

Joker: I thought about talking about it to Chihaya, but due to the possibility of another surge, I can’t go to Shinjuku. And I’m not sure how to explain it over the phone or even in text. I can’t even video chat her because her computer is broken and it’ll take a while before it’s fixed. Why do you ask?

Roderick: I think we had a similar situation. Not that anyone was acting funny or anything... But there was that one guy...

Joker: What guy?

Mephisto: Boss and Roderick are not the only ones who arrived here with the bar. A certain reporter that you know came with them.

Joker: Ohya? She’s here, too?

Mutton: Yes... Along with her new intern.

Joker: She has an intern now?

Mutton: Well, something like that. He came from Luna, that’s a city on our moon just next door to Attilan. He worked as a reporter for a small newspaper in Paris some years back, but he moved to Luna for personal reasons. But now he’s transferring to the newspaper Miss Ohya works for as her intern. Mainly, he’ll just be taking pictures.

Mephisto: The Order has asked them to come and cover our stay here in Neo Yokio. They thought it would be the perfect chance to help him get reacquainted with the job. It has been many years.

Lavenza: They were just here in the bar before your friends arrived. We were doing a customs check. The reason why they did not arrive with the rest of the Order is because they needed Mephisto and Mr. Iwai to check their weapons and equipment and do not have the time to check the reporters’ things.

Joker: I see. Where are they now?

Mutton: I believe they’ve gone to the one they call “Neo Yokio’s Number One Most Eligible Bachelor”.

Queen: I believe it was Arcangelo Corelli. We also know him from the Dream Festival.

Oracle: Why would they be there. From what I’ve heard, he’s not a Magistocrat. He’s just from an old money family.

Mephisto: My dear Phantom Thieves, you forget, it’s not just the Magistocracy who is corrupt in this city.

Wolf: (surprised) You know we’re the Phantom Thieves?

Noir: Zenkichi, Mephisto Pheles is also the Demon King of Time. He knows many things. Or so Shiemi tells me.

Mephisto: Ah, you wound me, Madame. Anyway, just as we have Ms. Kamiki observing Kaz Kaan, we have a non-exorcist observing whom we have deemed the most corrupted person in the city.

Noir: A non-exorcist? Who?

Mephisto: Let’s just say... Woodcrest will have a break from his constant conspiracy theories, ineffective protests, and lousy lectures.

Y- You don’t mean...

Mephisto: (smiling) Looks like Mr. Corelli is going to have his hands full.

>Meanwhile in Arcangelo Corelli’s penthouse...

I trust the guest room’s to your liking. The sheets are real Italian silk. And the pillows are stuffed with the finest goose feathers.

... The Wunclers’ guest rooms are more fancy than this.

Arcangelo: Oh please, those guys have no class.

Huey Freeman: Look, I’m not here for a social visit. I’m here because the True Cross Order asked me to watch the most corrupted person in Neo Yokio other than Kaz Kaan. I don’t like being here, but someone has to do this job... And Grandad was paid in advanced to make me do this. Anything you do that doesn’t seem right, I have to report back to the Order. So don’t start any of your shit with me right now.

Arcangelo: (unfazed) Oh, so scary.

>Huey Freeman’s stare gets more scarier than it already is.

Arcangelo: ... If anyone needs me, I’ll be hosting my podcast.

FLASH!

>Arcangelo is surprised by the flashing of a camera.

Arcangelo: Did you just take my picture now? ... Did you get my good side?

Huey Freeman: ... I’m not even going to. I need to report back, anyway.

>Huey Freeman goes to the guest room.

He’s a ball of sunshine, isn’t he?

Arcangelo: I can tell he’s going to be a handful. Guess I’ll have to put up with it and hope for the best.

Ohya: Looks like it. Well, good luck with your podcast.

>Arcangelo gave a short nod and left.

Ohya: And as for you, intern, I think you took a really good shot. I think you’ll fit right in with us.

Well technically speaking, I am a veteran in this sort of thing.

>To be continued...

#phantom thieves cam

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