#ts2 mod feedback

[gummilutt]

What do you think?

I was on @teaaddictyt stream yesterday and she used a window by Shakeshaft, that I have a unreleased edit of, doing the same thing as I did with the AL window where you can open or close the shutters :) I hadn't planned to release it as it seemed a bit niche, but I guess people still like em, so I will try to get those posted eventually.

But, Tea also mentioned she loves auto open/close stuff, which is such a great idea that I just hadn't thought of yet. So now I'm planning to also implement an auto open/close feature on both AL, and the Bourbon set by Shakeshaft that has shutters.

For my own game, I'm thinking I just want shutters to close at night, and open in the morning. No seasonal changes, and add a pie menu toggle to turn off auto open/close. Possibly limited to open version, as if you picked closed you probably want it to be closed and having manual control in pie menu is enough. For AL window, I'm a little less decided. I'm thinking maybe edit only the open variety, and have it set to close in winter, and maybe if I can get fancy have it check temp in spring to be open or closed depending on temperature, and always open in summer. That way people can use the closed version when they don't want auto-open/closing, and if they have previously placed open ones in apartments those will close in winter at least.

If anyone has thoughts/opinion I'd love to hear under which circumstances you would want a window to open or close, and shutters open or close. I can't promise I will do it, but I'd love to get a feel for what people actually want so I can try to somewhat match that :)

[greenplumbboblover]

WIP #1 - Stories Be Told

A mod that has arisen from playing TS2 and loving Stardew Valley! (and always wanting to get to know the townies a bit better :))

I know I haven't really replied too much on the post about the mod idea, but I had to figure out personally what to pick and how to even attempt this from a technical perspective.

I went through 5 adaptations, to eventually get to this result! :) So while most of it is definite, I'm still fine-tuning a lot (and writing the stories).

How does it work?

The mod comes with two ways to get to know your fellow townie! With townie, you have to understand that EA townies will have them. Newly generated townies will NOT have any stories.

🕵️‍♀️Secrets (aka, facts!)

Depending on your sim's Lifetime points (that red/green bar), and relationship status (friends, enemies, etc), you'll get to know more about them! Of course, if you're in the red, you might get some nasty comments!

The idea is that the better you get to know them, the more they open up. Just like real people! They all have their unique dialogue as well!

❤️ Heart Events ❤️

Inspired heavily by Stardew Valley's approach, as using the TS2's scripted events wasn't working technically speaking,

A heart event will trigger by itself with a Text message, just like getting an invitation for a party.

Let's have a look at one with Morgana's Heart events!

Morgana has sent a text message asking Christopher to come along to have dinner at her house. We could ignore it without any consequences... or go ahead and go anyway!

Your sim will automatically make their way to the place they are invited to go to! And Christopher just made it as well :)

(Not getting too much into spoilers here hehe) but eventually Thornton and Morgana end up in a fight.

What's cool is that certain heart events will want your input! Such as this one:

I'm still working on fixing the dialogue btw :p

Some of these will have pretty unpredictable outcomes, so be aware of that if you want your town to stay the same without any progression into a family's dilemma!

... and what's even better is that this all happened automatically!

Just like a scripted event, they ended up arguing where it made sense in the dialogue, moved to the kitchen to excuse themselves, and eventually asked the player to leave (of which the player did automatically!)

🛠 Info for World builders and Developers

What's even better is that you can make your stories yourself! While heart events will require you C#, the secrets will only require you the existing sim's Sim Id and some XML knowledge! :)

I'll make tutorials of course on how to make each, but I figured it would be good to add that this is all super flexible on making your own stories.

That's it! The mod is technically done from a technical perspective, but I still have loads of stories to write (I only finished Morgana's so far 😬), So any feedback at this point would be really appreciated so I can implement it before release! :)

I'll release it first with Stories for Sunset Valley first, then move on to twin brook, Bridgeport, etc.

[aisquaredchoco]

Get to know you - Sims Style

Thank you @bioniczombie, @puffkins2000, and @bast-sims for tagging me! also @twinsimming for mentioning me as one of your favorites! 😍😭

What’s your favorite Sims death?

I like the old age death in TS2 the most, especially with the dancing hulas alongside the grim reaper

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

I'm mostly MM, but wouldn't completely disregard alpha as long as they aren't ridiculously that high poly

Do you cheat your sims weight?

not really, but I also don't make them overeat so they don't gain much weight

Do you move objects?

OF COURSE I DO! I won't live without this cheat..😅

Favorite Mod?

I have a lot on my mind, but I'll mention this one game changing mod I couldn't play without (well besides the NRaas ones that are the staple TS3 mods everyone should have), which is the Set the table/call to meal mod by icarus_allsorts.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

uhh..Livin' Large I guess? I couldn't recall if it was from a deluxe edition or something..

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

the second one, for sure. I always thought the first one was more associated with tv and news, at least here on where I live..

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

Quistis Trepe, no one else. She holds a place in my heart because of the metamorphosis she went through while making her. I swear my initial version of her was total crap (I just couldn't show since I already deleted the MTS Creator Feedback post) but here she is now..

Have you made a simself?

um, yeah. I wasn't going to, but I already made a sim version of my cat so I think I need to make his servant hooman a sim as well..

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

ehh...I know this is a thing in 2 and 4. But I play 3 so nothing specific..color wheel for the win! 😆

Favorite EA hair?

I always like Jennifer Burb's hair from TS2 a lot, I wish TS3 implemented curly hairs like that..

Favorite life stage?

I like playing with teens. more drama happening in the household 😜

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

I think I'm more inclined with building and creating cc, but I still find time playing whenever I feel like it..

Are you a CC creator?

yes I am!...and still learning as I make more stuff.

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

as an introvert, I seldomly (and find it extra hard to) interact with people but I try to be as friendly as I can be and I think I already made friends with some simblrs. but I don't know if I consider myself a member of a sim squad..

Do you have any sims merch?

nope

Do you have a Youtube for sims?

nopenope

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

*breathes nervously* 😨😩 I've been avoiding this question because I have many to mention, and if I do I might leave someone out. and personally I don't like the feeling of being left out so I don't want to make someone feel like that as well. so sorry if I have to skip this question..😔

How long have you had Simblr?

I had this account for like 8 years but only became an active simblr on 2020 starting with sharing lots for download until today, where I'm also posting 2to3/4to3 conversions and EA object edits along with some random screenshots from my game..

How do you edit your pictures?

most of the time I post my pictures unedited, except for adding some text using Photoshop. I only did edit a picture once using some filters from Win10's picture editor and that's about it.

What expansion/gamepack is your favorite?

TS2's Bon Voyage wins for me. I like the travelling aspect of it, and beach lots of course! I still remember how excited I was when watching my sims actually swim on the beach. Up to now I still wish World Adventures was as exciting as that..

Since I did this already late, most of you might've been tagged already. But if you're not yet tagged and saw this, consider yourself tagged!

[hydralisk98]

Imagination-driven manifestation Workflow#1?

Noting down a FreeCiv+Civ5 to SC4 to TS2 content pipeline

I was simply brainstorming ideas alone and I could not help myself but tell you all for feedback and longevity. Did some quick testing for the SimCity 4 -> The Sims 2 workflow here and succeeded in some ways. (Had yet to fully figure the TS2 quality importation part but yk, much progress still!)

So I am looking to convert a handful of hexagonal grid maps (upsized to 288x144 for FreeCiv, with Sid Meier's Civilization 5 CE generation processes and community map scripts for the tilemaps chosen for my very own reasons...) and I devise that each of these regional grand strategy-scaled tiles cover ~10 small red tiles of both width and height. That way I can interconnect the games' height & biomes calculation some more... (The exact "region sectors" may depend from each tile with mid-sized green and large blue tiles for a few larger bitmap exports or something, I haven't chosen yet...)

After using Azgaar Map Gen's tools (submap & export previews will come very handy), QGIS (full model) & OSM (tileserver and geofiction additions), I will then smooth out some SC4 Mapper rough edges towards importing the relevant data as maps into SimCity 4 proper. Ideally I would then go onto towards construction of the TS2 neighbourhoods for my conworlds and get some such custom campaigns going.

Custom content packagings & libre documentation all across!

Control freak-ing my way with LibreOffice Calc (pages of filtered spreadsheets and Monte Carlo utilities) / Writer (stories, logs & playthrough fictions) / Draw (vector family diagrams & neighbourhood relationships + mental local maps) / Impress (short demos and video slideshows) / Base (Historical log timestamping, SimPE, CustomContent mod tracking & parallel play lore connections) with LibreOffice BASIC scripts & macros for fullest manifestation toybox shenanigans. With raw file archives and prints hopefully...

Ideally migrating those too towards nerdier software too like Vim, Emacs and overall customizing the full content generation workflow my very own way. But I can wait some for such. But yeah, I do desire to to tinker alot with everything in TS2, or at least the supernatural and the alien segments as far as integrating those nuanced divine agents into the neighbourhood more with my lore and custom content fluff. (Think 'Helluva Boss', 'Stellaris' and 'Star Trek' and you are in the right bull park thematically speaking)

A few more dedicated realms like some hellscapes, some heavens, some other foreign plane realms (including alien colonial worlds) would be great! Amongst much gameplay tweaks / fixes, customization (especially for my massive array of cultures/ancestries I add in like Shoshones, Inuits, Mayans, Samoans... you get it indigenous peoples) additions and other Quality-of-Life lore improvements.

This planetary scoped realm (world, named Angora, part of my wider 16^12 continuum) is pretty much the testing ground for that manifestation thesis.

By the way, any suggestions are welcome for this constructed world addventure-ing on-video... thing. Especially mod-making tutorials and existing CC mods to enrich the shared playthroughs.

[tricousims]

hi all! im avery, 23, they/them please. ive been a fan of the sims since the sims 2 and enjoy ts2 the most probably, but i still regularly play ts3 and ts4! ive been getting really into playing ts2 rotationally lately, and will be posting about my custom neighborhood's progression.

i also will be posting a lot about the cc/mods i create, the process of creating it, asking for feedback, etc. im quite new to modding but have some experience with 3d modelling and coding.

looking forward to being more active in the community!! see yall around !

[corvigae]

WANTS AND FEARS COMING TO THE SIMS 4

WANTS AND FEARS COMING TO THE SIMS 4

WANTS AND FEARS COMING TO THE SIMS 4

[markoplayssims]

Road to Nowhere: Intros - Crystal Vu’s Orphanage

The Strangetown Orphanage has recently re-opened its doors to children in need, and just in time for a new generation of orphans - a pair of siblings, Erwin and Jessie, and a set of ex-adoptees with G names, the Newsons.

When she isn’t at the local science lab, Crystal Vu is stepping up to be the one to look after these rowdy kids. Although looking after so many children can test her patience from time to time, Crystal maintains a great degree of compassion for them all.

With so many kids under one roof, things are often chaotic and stressful. Will the orphans manage to grow up well under Crystal’s care, or will this cramped environment do more harm to them than good?

= Crystal Vu = A brilliant inventor with a big heart, Crystal enjoys creating wondrous machines for the betterment of society and looking after those in need. That’s what the newspapers say, at least.

Crystal is a woman of simple pleasures. She loves tinkering, money, baby animals, and the company of others.

She tries to be the role model that she believes the orphans need in their lives. Not all of them seem to like her, unfortunately, but she’s doing her best. Maybe they’ll come around? That’s what she hopes for, at least.

Aside from her community service, she wants to work on her home inventions, but the children demand quite a lot of her attention, and she often struggles to balance her work with her passion.

A nice man, fellow scientist Lazlo Curious, has been making offers to help her out with her latest inventions, but she hasn’t taken him up on any such offers just yet. They’re secret projects, and you can’t be too careful who you share your ideas with.

= The Newsons = After their mother’s unresolved disappearance, the adopted Newson clan is faced with the reality of separation. With no parents to guide or protect them, the Newsons have to take refuge under the roof of the Strangetown Orphanage and hope that they can stick together.

Adopted siblings Ginger, Gavin, Gabriella, Gallagher, Georgia, and Garrett never thought that they’d have to return to a group home after Gloria graciously brought them all under her wing, most recently bringing a pair of toddler twins into the family, before she vanished without a trace.

The story goes that famed astronaut Gloria Newson was a kind and charitable woman who managed to balance having a large family with defending the nation from interstellar threats. She cared deeply for children, despite the inability to have any of her own, and this led her to adopt the six Newson kids. After she disappeared, the kids couldn’t live by themselves, and they had nowhere to go... except for here.

Troubled teen Ginger now has to step up to keep a close eye on the rest of her siblings and the other orphans, despite the stress it causes her. Gavin is working towards becoming a man, working hard to the point of exhaustion, balancing it out by watching movies about space cowboys and hoping he’ll live that dream one day.

Gabriella and Gallagher put their focus on keeping up on their homework, while hopefully waiting for the call that their mother has come back so that they can return home. She’s coming back, right? She’s got to come back.

Lastly, Crystal is trying to teach Georgia and Garrett their toddler skills, but the time she has until their birthdays is rapidly running out.

= Erwin Pries = Erwin’s crackpot conspiracy theories net him weird looks, but for him, it’s the only thing keeping his head above water. Maybe one of these days, he’ll turn out to be right.

Erwin strongly believes that the alien invasion never ended, that the zombie apocalypse is coming, and that he ought to prepare special headgear to protect against mind-controlling plants from another dimension. Of course, everyone just thinks he’s ‘crazy’ and ‘weird’ and a total nerd who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but it doesn’t matter to him what other people think.

He knows what’s true, and he knows that when one or all of those scenarios he’s preparing for come to pass, everyone who has ever doubted him will be sorry.  They’ll want in on his apocalypse shelter, and... he will graciously let them in, because he’s not that petty. But he’ll definitely say “I told you so” a few times.

He’s always been interested in this stuff, but after his parents died, the conspiracy theories became less of a hobby and more of a coping mechanism. After all, why face the darkness of daily life when you can imagine the darker possibilities of ‘what’s really going on’ beyond yourself?

Erwin insists that his surname is pronounced like ‘breeze,’ but considering the overly-inquisitive, nosy person he is, it’s not surprising that everyone gets it wrong.

= Jessie Pries = Jessie’s favorite pastimes include playing dolls and annoying her older brother. She misses her parents and her home, but she’s happy to have so many kids to play with... or she would be, if any of these kids knew what ‘fun’ even was.

Jessie’s young life was turned upside down after her parents died. Ever since, her smile has lost some of its’ luster, but she hasn’t lost her mischievous spirit. She’s definitely one of the more rambunctious kids in the orphanage, usually to the dismay of... just about everyone, it seems.

Her pranks and jokes are all in good fun, even though she keeps getting told off for them. But what else is she supposed to do? It’s so boring around here. There’s only so many games of Don’t Wake The Llama you can stand before it starts to lose its’ spark. It seems like the only game the other kids want to play.

As for Crystal, she’s... nice, but she’s not very fun to play with. It’s always just “do your chores” and “do your homework” and “help me look after the babies” with her. She’s so clinical about it, far from a real mother figure. And let’s not get started on Ginger ‘Killjoy’ Newson, who seems determined to rain on her parade.

Worst of all, Erwin, her own brother, doesn’t seem to want to do anything with her anymore. It’s like he’s living in his own little world. Jessie misses when she was the center of attention...

[sims-influence]

Hello, you posted a mod /post/159035678214/two-hacks-for-vampires that you said was compatible with creaturefixes, but it actually isn't. If your mod loads after creaturefixes the part of creaturefixes that stops grand vampires from biting Crumplebottom is broken, and if creaturefixes loads after your mod the part of your mod that enforces str requirements is broken. I just thought you should know so you can edit your post accordingly. Have a nice day!

Hello!

It’s very weird because I use both of my mods along with creaturefixes and all said functions are working properly. Shaklin’s original (with new interaction but no relationship check) worked too. If it will help I keep all mods (including these) in zzzHacks subfolder. Both creaturefixes and my edit of Shaklin’s mod are in this folder, not in subfolders, and none of them is renamed. Maybe you should try this too and/or take away another hacks for vampires?

Does anyone else have this problem too?

UPD: And, @midgethetree, what do you mean saying “the part of creaturefixes that stops grand vampires from biting Crumplebottom is broken“? Does grand vampire autonomously bite NPC or just random playables? If just playables it’s not a bug but Pescado mod’s feature, I believe.

[jawusa]

Welcome to Aileen Landing! (Final Version)

A custom sci-fi alien neighborhood with scripted events! ^^

Aileen LaFontaine's discovery of this moon has raised hope for people from all over the world. Sims from Pleasantview, Strangetown or Veronaville have left their homes for a better future on this moon!

But the environment seems rather intimidating than welcoming! Bizarre gravity. Swirly gas giant hovering over the ominous misty sky. Two pulsating suns?

Is the "New, Better" world really a better world?

You will find out as you play in the neighborhood! ;)

Neighborhood Information:

* Fully BG Compatible and No CC/EPs Required to play in this neighborhood! However, you may want to check out the optional sky mod I made specifically for this neighborhood.

* No camera mod needed to view the whole neighborhood.

* 59 lots (14 community / 45 residential) … with a few “ready-to-upgrade” lots for EPs, such as Nightlife, Open For Business, Apartment Life, etc.

* 15 families with scripted events/scenarios like in the TS2 base game neighborhoods (see attached screenshots below!)

* Includes customized alien townies/NPCs to reflect the neighborhood's overall theme! Most of the sims are named after actual celestial bodies... i.e. there is a sim named after the star Pollux!

* Speaking of which, there are lots of other astronomical references/easter eggs in the neighborhood (well I guess, that's what happens if you let a physics student design a neighborhood, lol!)

Main Download:

*Aileen Landing Main Hood (with Sims) - BG Compatible

*Aileen Landing Main Hood (with Sims) - OFB Required

*Aileen Landing Subhood (with Sims) - OFB Required

- to install, put the folder AL01 into your Documents/EA Games/The Sims 2 (Ultimate Collection)/Neighborhoods folder and you’re good to go. If you can’t see the neighborhood, try deleting the NeighborhoodManager.package file.

- for the subhood version, put the folder BAL1 into your C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Open For Business\TSData\Res\NeighborhoodTemplate folder -- OR -- C:\Program Files\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Best of Business\EP3\TSData\Res\NeighborhoodTemplate folder if you have TS2 UC.

Optional Downloads:

*Alien Skybox NEW! (Recolor of lowedeus’s skyboxes) - doesn’t affect other neighborhoods unlike the default replacement sky mod, plus a few more details in the sky! See screenshots here! To install, just place it into your Downloads as usual.

*Alternative Alien Sky Mod (DEFAULT REPLACEMENT) - default sky mod as seen in early screens of Aileen Landing, suitable for those with EPs lower than Pets and/or cannot use the skyboxes! To install, just place it into your Downloads as usual.

*Mannequin Babies Can Be Born - mod to fix crashing that may occur when sims with the mannequin skintone have babies. You’ll need it since there are a few sims with the mannequin skintone in this neighborhood. Thank you @crumplebot for reminding me of this mod. :)

Custom Scripted Events!

I really don't want to spoil too much on this already and just let you guys explore the neighborhood first, lol! But I've included an optional mod that introduces you the sims and their storylines a litte.

Simply remove it from the neighorhood folder once you've finished your first round (I recommend playing each family for one day to complete the scripted events). If you don't want to use this mod, you can also remove it from the neighborhood folder.

The recommended play order is exactly the way the families are presented in the neighborhood story. But you can play as you like, the scripted events are independent from each other and won't break if you choose a different play order.

I guess, that's it for now. Phew! Thanks for reading! ^^

Let me know what you think! Any feedback/comment/critism is greatly appreciated!

Have fun and let me know what you did in Aileen Landing! <3

Credits:

Big credit goes to Chris Hatch for the custom scripting mod and @simstate, @lazyduchess, cutupuss at MTS for further information and for the blueprint I’ve used for this mod. Thank you guys for making this possible! <3

And also to everyone who helped me during neighborhood development, thank you guys for all the nice compliments!

[vegan-kaktus]

I love @episims' turn on/off mod (you should grab it if you don't use it already! :-D) but unfortunately ts2 doesn't have the appropriate icons for many of the new turn ons/offs, hence epi using the ts4 ones, which I think are nice! But I do miss the ts2 icons. I talked to epi and they gave me some encouragement so I started poking around in SimPE for various icons to edit/re-use, and this is how it's looking so far! :-D

Also made a version for the people not using clean ui:

from left to right: life skills, poor, fatness, fitness, animal lover, good dancer, rich, vampire, beard, glasses, makeup, talented, good reputation and bad reputation.

Please excuse the awkward and uneven space between the icons, I'll fix that + remove the shadow on the icon for "talented".

Anyhow! My questions/thoughts:

1. does my choice of icon for "life skills" make sense? is it fitting?

2. should I use my re-creation of ts3's icon or EA's dog+cat icon for "animal lover"?

3. should I use the "good dancer" icon seen above or this one?

4. should I use the reputation icons above or this?

For the other turn ons/offs I swapped them back to EA's original (the alien icon is new though!)

Thanks in advance for any feedback! \(★ㅂ★)/

[murfeelee]

Ranking ALL the Sims 3 Expansion Packs - tonitalks

WOW, Tonitalks and I have a lot of similar ideas about the TS3 EPs! ❤️

It’s like, on one hand, every TS3 EP is amazing (especially when compared to the pittance being sold in TS4′s EPs). But on the other hand, EA really dropped the ball in areas where it should have really gone further to expand core gameplay. Even the best EPs had glaring flaws, and tend to fall short of things TS1/TS2 did better. But on the whole, what we got was just enough to keep the TS3 fandom alive even 11 years later. Bless.

MY THOUGHTS (under the cut):

(Unless Tumblr’s flagged it, I could’ve sworn I made an updated Best/Worst post ranking all the TS3 EPs. But the only one still on my blog is my old one I made before I bought all the EPs, though it mostly still aligns with how I feel.)

Toni S A B C D F ranking system is mostly based on which packs have the most content and varied things things to do. Toni’s S A B ranks are her must-owns, while the C D F ranks are her most disappointing games.

S: Generations, Supernatural

Toni’s only complaint about GEN is the Imaginary Friends lifestate, which: same. Frikkin creepy. But the rest of GEN is a MUST-OWN for kids & elders.

And finally! A reviewer giving Supernatural the respect it DESERVES! ^0^ SN was stuffed to the brim; SO much content! Granted, it’s no Makin Magic, and I personally was underwhelmed by Moonlit Falls, as I like Midnight Hollow and Dragon Valley WAY more, but SN is still my favorite TS3 EP, regardless. Anyone who loves the “weird, wonderful and magic“ side of The Sims NEEDS SN. 💯💯💯 (Just make sure to mod the Zombies out or adjust your lifestate settings; whatever works to get rid of them.)

A: Seasons, University

Seasons is an excellent pack--Toni wanted a new world, which: same, but there’s just an ungodly amount of new content in SSNS, it’s the best and most well-made TS3 EP, period. 

To this day I’ve NEVER sent my sims to UNI. I hate school IRL, so unless my sims are going to effing Hogwarts I have no desire to ever bother with the school crap. Toni doesn’t like the 3 social groups, but I actually LOVE them. Almost all of my sims are either Rebels or Nerds. Crazy enough, I love the amount of new content UNI added, I just never use it for my sims’ schooling. I love the radio station, weather machine, whiteboard, skeleton set, etc etc.

B: World Adventures, Pets

For Toni, the main complaint for WA is basically the repetitiveness of the tombs, and their lack of replayability. Yes, technically this is true, as WA veers dangerously close to where TS4 went wrong with all the storyline GPs, as if they’re Castaways or The Sims Medieval. The main difference though is that we can create/download as many new tombs as we want, which 100% keeps WA fresh and interesting for me. But yes, It’s an excellent pack, which is crazy considering it’s the first one for TS3.

Toni's biggest criticism for Pets is how high maintenance horses are, which YES. Unless your sims are rich and own a lot of property, horses are almost impossible to own...but that’s how horses are IRL anyway, so IMO I don’t see that as a negative. The only problem is when you want horses in CC worlds that are too small, where you can't fit in enough 64x64 lots. (So it’s no surprise TS4 didn’t even bother. 🙄 )

C: Ambitions

Toni felt that more could’ve been done with the professions & careers, which, YES! Too many rabbithole careers, and not enough interactions. I freaking love that they added professions with playable firehouses and private investigators, but I too wish that every career could just be opened up; I hate rabbitholes. And she thought Twinbrook was meh, but I think Twinbrook’s one of the better EP worlds. (The Store worlds are where it’s at, though -- eff most of the EP worlds, tbh.) Overall I really really like AMB; it was headed in the right direction, though I can see where it could’ve easily let people down who were expecting a lot more from the professions/careers. (EA obviously learned NOTHING from AMB’s feedback, considering what Get to Work did....)

D: Showtime, Island Paradise, Into the Future

Showtime: Toni said “what was this game?“ 😂The Genies were a poor fit, the professions should’ve given us WAY more, there’s no acting career in “Hollywood,“ etc. Exactly. Not to mention the dumpster fire that was Simport. But I have a love/hate relationship with SHT. I actually treat SHT the way I do UNI & IP -- I really like the side content it added; I just never bother with the core game mechanic: superstardom, schools, and underwater. That makes 50% of the game useless for me, which is why I always get EPs on sale. ^_^

I agree with Toni that Island Paradise should’ve been like World Adventures, with different vacation locations. It could’ve been more like Castaways, with Tiki/Polynesian/Melanesian islands, Asian islands, Caribbean islands, Mediterranean Islands, etc. Plus, both of us didn’t like the mermaid system. Making them requires too much effort for them to not do all that much underwater. But to be fair, IP added A LOT Of new content. For what it did add, there is an impressive amount. Island Living sure can't say the same! 🤣

Into the Future however.... I understand why Toni was so hard with this pack. Trust: I ran the main thread at the officials that asked for a Time Travel expansion, so ITF holds a very special place in my heart, cuz EA for the most part kinda listened? ITF is awesome. It added some super cool content that I use religiously; ITF’s one of my top 3 EPs. But yeah, choices were made that had me like WTF?? Toni wanted ITF to be more hi-tech, which SAME! I wanted more of a Star Wars Blade Runner cyberpunk neon metropolis, and a steampunk/dieselpunk industrial dystopia. I have no idea where TF that “utopian” Willy Wonka zany Hunger Games nonsense came from. It was kinda retro-futuristic Jetsons Star Trek TOS in a way, which I like, but...? Choices. EA definitely could’ve done more with ITF, for sure. IMO itr needed to be more like WA, too. U_U

F: Late Night - I hollered! 😭

Y’all know I effing hate Late Night. Only reason I keep it installed is for the musical instruments & highrises. It’s certainly no Apartment Life, and it’s definitely no Night Life, but it’ll do in a pinch. The obnoxious Celebrities/Paparazzi, Twilight vampires, cramped Bridgeport...no thanks. Especially with Boroughsburg out here just SHAMING EA. SHAME! I wish someone would remake Bridgeport as a cyberpunk world, that would be awesome. Otherwise most of LN is useless to me. :\

_________________________________________________________

TL;DR

So basically, if I were to follow Toni’s S A B C D F ranking system, and classify TS3′s EPs based on its content quantity, and EA’s dedication to thematic cohesion, my list would be as follows:

S: Generations, Seasons, Supernatural

All radically overhaul the core mechanics of the game/world itself: age states, weather, and lifestates/occults.

A: World Adventures, Pets

World Adventures added 3 new worlds and cultures; and Pets added animals. It’s just arguable whether EA should’ve done more with them all or not.

B: University, Island Paradise, Into the Future

Chock-full of new activities & skills, but your mileage may vary.

C: Ambitions (AMB didn’t really come with as much as it should have)

D: Showtime (SHT included a lot, but not much of it made thematic sense)

F: Late Night (LN needed to commit to what makes a celebrity--music/movie/fashion/etc CAREERS--rather than the hollow lifestyle of a celeb)

[greenplumbboblover]

Great minds wanted! (Part 1, Interests)

It’s been a while since I posted my first post on the ‘Interests & Hobbies’ mod! But I did do some stuff behind the scenes and currently am working on interactions :) Thus! Was wondering if anyone had some amazing ideas, feedback, etc for it. 

This is what I have so far (warning, this is SUPER long :p):

Interests: 

Environment:

Can install solar panels

Debate climate change

Consider veganism

Read up on environment

Collect rainwater (Unlocks a new object)

Worry about environment (Is a social interaction)

Donate to good causes

Can consider becoming part of a different energy company

Takes bike over car

IF FASHION INTEREST: Buy vintage clothes/second owned

Chooses to use the recycle bin more

Can plant trees on several locations

Can start own local market (Might require the money interest)

Compost trash (Although the lovely @anitmb made one already :))

Grown own garden gives boost

Refill cup for beverages/travelers mugs (So refillable bottle :))

Walk to lot interaction (Which nraas also covers actually)

Talk about renewable energy

Chooses public transport

Food:

Gets buff after visiting restaurant

“Visit random restaurants” interaction

Gets discount for restaurants after visiting then a few times

IF INTERESTS ANIMALS: train dog to find truffles (People apparently do this! :p)

Order fresh ingredient/ this being like these ‘weekly’ food boxes

Tour restaurant’s kitchen, gain recipe from that

Create signature dish

IF ENVIRONMENT: Start herb garden. This is like a small little plant box that you can keep indoors :)

Quicker in learning how to cook

Brewing skill (?)

Nectar tasting becoming a short skill? This resulting in increasing quality?

Write cookbook!

Practise latte art? (idk :p)

Food contest getting a come back!

Keep a ‘food’ aquarium like done in TS2 on console (Sounds awful I know :p But I can also see how it can be useful :))

IF I can do that, recreate ts2′s console cooking UI 

Buy from local market

Breadbaking skill? Or Baking rather ;) Because sourdough bread needs some love too!

Actual make it that the counters can Open. But that might be too much for this mod.

Weather:

Logging the weather (on a notepad or computer, phone. So basically figuring out the weather patterns)

IF SCIENCE: research weather machine

watching clouds

Discuss weather changes

Browse about clouds

Thats all I had :p...

Culture:

Gets buff when traveling

gets buff when talking to tourism

Gets buff on learning songs

Gets buff for any tourism things

Making/viewing photo album

Viewing art is a thing they love to do

Painting gives them a boost

Browse art/craft on phone/computer

Talking about art/culture

Read about art in newspaper

Research culture/art

Edit photos/add filter

Listening to music

IF FASHION: alter clothing (no idea how :p)

Discuss difference between cultures

Fashion:

For the mean simsies: Will nag about your clothing choice

Introduce ACTUAL clothing buying? But by basically unlocking outfits after you bought them (So other EA clothing you can still get when changing a sim’s outfit through the dresser and what not)

IF ENVIRONMENT INTEREST: Buy vintage clothes/second owned

Start a fashion blog

Design your own outfits? (So you pick a top/bottom/body and design an outfit out of that that you can suggest to other sims?)

Catwalks!

Research fashion

Start your own clothing brand 

Start your own clothing webshop?

Money: 

Check the stocks

Donates to government and such

Starting local market

Start partnership

Owning business/property will boost this

IF owning a business: Promote business

IF owning a business: Try to gain partners for the business

IF owning a business: Get more owners

Politics:

That’s where I got a bit stuck... but here are some thoughts:

Get people to be involved for protests

Do protests

Talk about politics

Start campaign

IF that campaign gets big, then have debates at the City hall

Paranormal:

Find mediums online

Feels a need to meet all occults

Feels super good to be around other occults

Does Ouija boards, spawning ghosts

Trying to find whether they’re ‘spiritually gifted’ or not

Gems will give them boosts and might give them interactions to heal sims with particular gems?

Hunt for UFO’s

Trying to feel the room for ‘paranormal energy’.

Health:

Goes into check ups regularly

Will want to go do fitness regularly 

Aaand that’s that really :p... Might merge this with ‘sports’

Travel: 

Honestly was thinking of merging this with Culture.

Crime:

Steal all the things!...

Or return all the stolen things from other sim!

Wants to talk to the police whether everything is going well

Wants to talk to criminals to figure out how ‘the business is going’

Help the criminals to dig a hole? :p

I honestly don’t know

Sports:

Host sports watching parties!

Wants to visit the games/watch the games on tv

Going to the gym is the best thing ever for them

Show off muscles to sims

Motivate people to participate in sports

Read sports news

playing sports with VR goggles

Train at random places

Buying a smart watch (like a fitbit) and will see the stats of a sim’s fitness routine in a nice UI Screen :)

Honestly, more ‘at home’ gym related workouts.

Entertainment:

Will want a subscription to be able to watch movies at home (because c’mon EA :p)

Loving to go to the theater! :)

Might want to take drama classes?

Will love to browse the internet about their favourite characters/movies

Animals:

Wants to show cute videos of animals

Might want to consider veganism?

Enjoys doing pet related activities

Bird watching

Penguin ts2 comeback :p

Feed the pigeons

In-home dog/cat trainer? Or where you’re like a ‘cat/dog’ whisperer :)

Work:

Nooo idea

School:

Also nooo idea :p

Toys: 

Same for that one 

Sci-Fi:

Research rockets

Research robots/AIs

Try summoning UFO’s (maybe even a UFO party where everyone is trying this?)

Can put on aluminum hats 

Meeting an alien is the best thing ever for them

Interactions for all:

Talk about interest...

Read section in newspaper...

[isatistinctoriasims]

Haussmann Apartments Set | minimal CC | 9 apt lots

Are your Sims obsessed with Champs Les Sims? Do they long to live in the SimCity of Lights? Now you can make their dreams a reality (kinda), with this set of "Old World"-inspired buildings!

This is a set of 9 lots, modeled on the classic Haussmannian buildings of Paris, but adapted to our Sims with fewer floors and units, and dimensions for livable apartments. They're designed to fit together like rowhouses, and come in various sizes and shapes so you can fill entire hood blocks or just line one street. Each building has either a blue roof, doors and window frames, or a grey roof combined with sage doors and window frames; the two colour schemes are close enough that they blend together when placed side-by-side, but still provide a little visual interest. Unfortunately, the sun orientation for the original build is retained, no matter how you rotate the lots. I don't know how to fix this, short of making an additional set with alternative orientations, but if you play with shadows off then it shouldn't be too noticeable.

Details and downloads under the cut!

The Haussmannian building is typically composed of a high-ceilinged ground floor (for shops), a smaller mezzanine for storerooms, a high-ceilinged first floor with long balconies, where the richest residents were, medium-ceilinged second and third floors with window balconies, for the middle class, and service rooms on the attic level, many of which were later converted into studio apartments. For TS2, I've simplified it into a ground floor + two stories + a mansard roof level. The first floor apartments are generally spacious, with one to two bedrooms and space for entertaining, as well as large balconies. The second floor apartments are mostly one-bedrooms, suitable for a single sim or a couple but with not much of a dining area. The third floor is the attic level, behind the mansard roof, and contains studios that are just big enough for a murphy bed, kitchenette (I recommend using a mini fridge and toaster oven/Boblishman's countertop hob), bathroom, closet and maybe a bookcase or skilling object (you can make space for a desk by using a single bed instead of double or one of these). The ground floor has communal space for the weekly block party, including a small courtyard, and space to add more units if you like. I've used predominantly AL and OFB elements (mostly the Bohemian collection, with some Socialite and European) to build and furnish these lots, so they have a consistent style. However, there's a fair bit of variation; the number of units and their distribution varies, some of the studio apartments aren't teeny tiny, some units have fireplaces, some have usable balconies, etc. Rent ranges from as little as $541 for some of the studios to as much as $3882 for the larger first-floor apartments. I've tried to keep the buildings on the smaller side, so there would be a moderate number of apartments per building (to avoid overloading systems) while keeping rent prices reasonable.

Because of the attic apartments and the diagonal parts, I wasn't able to make these completely CC-free. However, I've only used minimal and necessary CC.

CC List: julsfels's additional diagonal elements for AL roofs Bienchen83's AL-match roof windows Guardgian's roof-match flooring and walls

The set is composed of: 3 middle lots: 1x2, 2x2 and 3x2 tiles 2 corner lots: 2x2 and 2x3 tiles 4 end lots: 2x2 tiles right and left ends, 1x2 left, 3x2 right.

These lots have been shrunk using Mootilda's Lot Adjuster. I've built them in a clean test hood, and playtested copies of them; no Sims have ever lived on these lots--all the same, please use the Clean Installer to install them. These were built in the Ultimate Collection and therefore require all EPs and most SPs.

Each lot comes in two versions: 1) residential-zoned, unfurnished (build mode only, no landscaping, but with apartment doors): if you want to make structural changes, add ground-level shops using MogHughson's apartments and shopping mod, and/or you just want to furnish them yourself (fair warning: the entire set contains 65 apartments!), 2) apartment-zoned, furnished: if you just want to plop these buildings down in your neighbourhood and start playing.

DOWNLOAD: unfurnished [residential] | furnished [apartmentbase]

More photos and floorplans here.

Credits and thanks The late Mootilda for her incredibly useful utilities, especially the Lot Adjuster Feenwald/julsfels, Bienchen83 and Guardgian for their additions to the AL roof system Everyone in the TS2 community who's put up Store items for download Baron Haussmann for his project of modernisation of Paris that I both hate and begrudgingly admire, and that led to the dispossession and loss of livelihood of countless artisans and small bourgeoisie and the obscene enrichment of the political class in the 19th CenturyAhem

If you're interested in my reference photos, you can see my Haussmann-inspired Pinterest board here.

I'm very open to feedback and constructive criticism, so please let me know if you find any issues or see something that could be improved!

Enjoy!

[anachronisims]

TS3 vs TS4 question/ramble time

My copy of Sims 2 is old, and is not UC (although it is complete), and has never touched Origin, and has always used cracked .exes to avoid Securom as well.  

Shortly after its first expansion came out, I installed Sims 4 (on this very same computer) and obviously, with it came Origin.  I am probably just paranoid, but it felt like my Sims 2 game started crashing more often, like Origin was actively looking for and interfering with my cracked M&G .exe.  When I uninstalled TS4 I eventually ended up restoring my whole computer to factory settings and reinstalling TS2... and then just playing that for three years.

I’ve finally reached what I think is a stable Sims 2 mod build and graphics rules combo (watch that jinx it, but whatever, it’s definitely not purple flashing anymore and it’s AMAZING), and I’m just getting back into the swing of playing my dearly beloved Meraki.

BUT.  As I’ve said before, I also sometimes avoid playing it because I’m scared of the “wrong” things happening or “irreparably” changing the trajectory of the hood’s story, or, whatever nonsense.  I’m thinking it would be nice to have a totally different Sims game to retreat to.  So I’m thinking of either installing  Sims 3 (which I would have to purchase a lot, if not all, of) or reinstalling Sims 4 (which I would have to purchase slightly less of at presumably higher prices, but there is a nice big sale on for the rest of the month).

My question is in two parts:

1) Am I being thoroughly ridiculous about thinking installing either game via Origin is going to break my Sims 2 game? Yes, right?  This is a fine and normal thing that lots of people do?

2) If you were going to invest in either Sims 3 (base game and loads of expansions) or Sims 4 (at least some expansions/game packs but not base game + early expansions because you already own them but obviously didn’t love them enough to play them for over 3 years), and your max budget was about US$150... which would you do?  I’m leaning ever so slightly towards Sims 3 because I never got to play World Adventures and it looks sooo beautiful, plus the fully open world, plus there’s less CC community drama/paywalls... but I already own more of Sims 4 and people say it’s very relaxing gameplay compared to TS2 and that’s what I’m ultimately looking for in my alternative go-to, I think?  And I do think the sims themselves look a lot better in TS4...

Any feedback any of you have will be much appreciated!

[simfan96cc]

TS2 CC - Super Paper Mario Mimi Plush Doll

UPDATED: I updated the EP version to correctly work with setquartertileplacement, so please redownload or download from this post. Thank you!

After my previous CC creations, I decided to mix it up a little bit by making a plush of the shape-shifting girl mischief-maker herself, Mimi from Super Paper Mario!

This doll is perfect for those who love Super Paper Mario or even those who want to buy an extra toy for their sim kids!

I want to give a big thank you to Snoopy from KC-MM for creating this 3D model for a Mimi Smash Bros. Brawl mod, so all credit goes to them for their hard work creating this mesh! All credit goes to them for the textures and model!

Installation:

Depending on your game setup, I set up two different downloads for those who have only the Base Game and those who have all of the Expansion Packs. (It may work on users who have at least some Expansion packs without issues but I cannot confirm this) ONLY INSTALL ONE VERSION AT ONCE

Place the files in a designated area in your The Sims 2 download folder, which is usually listed in the directory:  C:\Users\<Insert username here>\Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads.

Ensure that the spm_mimiplush-BG.package/spm_mimiplush-EP.package (depending on which version you downloaded) is in your Downloads folder or in a folder within your Downloads folder. Make sure you only have one version install to avoid the files from conflicting.

File Explaination:

The only file that is included includes all of the data for the doll in one package, depending on which version you downloaded would appear as spm_mimiplush-BG.package or spm_mimiplush-EP.package. No extra files this time!

Using In-Game:

When you install the files successfully, the files will appear in the Miscellaneous/Children section in Buy Mode. The plush should look just like it does in the picture above and screenshots below and is labeled “Super Paper Mario - Mimi Plush” and costs the same as a normal teddy bear.

These toys would act just like as the game’s original teddy bear. Children and Toddlers can both play with the toy, and teens-elders can talk through to other sims with the doll.

Credit is appreciated if included in any other form of TS2 content such as lots, feel free to include these in your own lots.

Feel free to give feedback as well or let me know if there’s any bugs or issues with the object.

Have fun!

Download links:

Expansion Pack Compatible: http://www.simfileshare.net/download/1561883/

Base Game Only Compatible: http://www.simfileshare.net/download/1559645/

Screenshots:

[dreadpirate]

MAXIS MATCH LIGHTING MOD

At last, I finally finished this thing! These are:

the seasonal tweaks I made in RLS 2.5 adapted to @spookymuffinsims‘s lighting mod.

EAxian lighting fixes by Plasticbox and CircusWolf over at MTS

Fixes (or at least minimizes) issues with shifting down paintings.

Various tweaks to the indoor lighting, as well as the option to change overall lighting direction.

Meant to work with my blue snow fixes.

Compatibility with The Scriptorium

More info and installation instructions under the cut:

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

These steps assume that you have already extracted the files to an accessible location and (if desired) have installed The Scriptorium with the Maxis lights option.

STEP 0. If you plan on installing the Scriptorium, install that first (with the Maxis lights option) because the Scriptorium installer will overwrite your lighting files. AND if you use any version of the Radiance Lighting System, delete the contents of your BASE GAME Lights folder first. 

STEP 1. If you are a UC user, copy ALL THE CONTENTS of folder 1.0 to your game installation folder (usually found in Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection) and skip to STEP 4

STEP 2. If you installed TS2 from disk, your next step depends on what folder your base game is stored (usually found in Program Files [or Program Files (x86)]\EA Games) :

IF the Base Game, Nightlife, and Celebrations! Stuff are in separate folders, copy the CONTENTS of the folder labeled 2.1 to your game installation folder

ELSE IF you have a folder named "The Sims 2 Deluxe", copy the CONTENTS of the folder labeled 2.2 instead

ELSE IF you have a folder named "The Sims 2 Double Deluxe", copy the CONTENTS of the folder labeled 2.3 instead

STEP 3. Copy the CONTENTS of the folder labeled 3.0 to your game installation folder (usually found in Program Files [or Program Files (x86)]\EA Games)

STEP 4. Get the snow fixes from this link and follow the instructions given on that post

STEP 5. Copy the lines inside the userStartup.cheat file provided to your userStartup.cheat if you have the file, otherwise copy the userStartup.cheat provided to your Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Config folder, if you don't.

These cheats change the overall direction of the lighting:

slc - change lighting direction to come from the front (default) slb - change lighting direction to come from the back sll - change lighting direction to come from left slr - change lighting direction to come from right

STEP 6. Copy the contents of the folder labeled 4.0 to your downloads folder. These contain the fixed Store lights.

STEP 7. Download CuriousB's roof replacements to fix the roofs

OPTIONAL STEPS:

Turn off dusk/dawn lighting

Go to your BASE GAME Lighting.txt and look for the following line: “setb morningEvening true“

Change true to false.

HOW TO UNINSTALL:

Copy back the original lighting file.

CREDITS: @spookymuffinsims​, for your lighting mod that served as a base @nightracer for the base of the Seasonal Lighting Tweaks @criquette-was-here, for the different shader and hood lighting tweaks @bugjartimedecayoff for the base for night, dusk and dawn lighting @simnopke for the SkyFix, and the valuable feedback for my previous RLS edits, which I applied in this mod Gunmod, Ddefender for the work on the Raidance Lighting System Plasticbox and CircusWolf/@thebottomhoodofsteel for the object lighting fixes Hook, for the lighting direction tweaks