The Sims 2

[Katsuya]

Hmmm...the last Sims I got was, I believe, Pets (or OFB, whichever was first). Do I go for Seasons or Bon Voyage, people?

[TheArsenal]

I just spent an hour re-designing Woodland Park to incorporate a decent sized cemetary, since I really don't like gravestones littered around the neighbourhood. I ended up filling in the lake, and then rebuilding the pagoda-style thing in the middle, then built a raised platform towards the flowery entrance, and out the other side towards the back. Then I built a new, larger lake in around the pagoda, moved the BBQ and seating to where the old pagoda used to be (near the front) and moved the swings slightly. Then I fenced off a big area where the BBQ used to be (and down towards the toilets) and put in some big black scary looking gates with a dead tree either side. It looks pretty awesome.

Might be able to start playing my families again soon.

[TheArsenal]

Hmmm...the last Sims I got was, I believe, Pets (or OFB, whichever was first). Do I go for Seasons or Bon Voyage, people?

Edited January 13, 2008 by TheArsenal

[TheArsenal]

The lack of discussion in this thread makes me sad....

A quick couple of questions.... How do I make a party successful? Is there some kind of formula? Also, is there anyway to change family names without getting people married? So if two people get divorced, can I change one of the names back? And how do I go about resurrecting people?

Time to update you on my last couple of houses....

ANDREWS

Jimmy Andrews (adult) has moved into the neighbourhood with his father (elderly) George Andrews. Jimmy has been quick to make a name for himself, starting a successful career in law enforcement and striking up a relationship with Brandi Broke. The couple have got engaged and marriage looks to be in the very near future. Scarily, Carol Oldie has also taken a strange liking to Jimmy. Can he reject her advances and keep her at arms length? Meanwhile, George is slowly making friends with the older members of the neighbourhood and eagerly awaiting the marriage of his son and the birth of numerous grandchildren.

BROKE

Brandi remains unemployed, which has given her time to develop her relationship with Jimmy Andrews, but also look after her children. Dustin has managed to keep his job going and got the credit for potty training and teaching Beau to talk. Beau has grown up well and has managed to keep on top of his homework to get high grades. A successful evening with a headteacher managed to get both boys into private school. During the tour of the house, Brandi stopped to give birth in front of the Headteacher, which seemed to impress him a lot. THe new baby boy, named Robert (after Brandi's father) is coming along well, but what does the future hold for this family?

...onwards to summertime!

Edited January 15, 2008 by TheArsenal

[Boogey131]

Dwayne Dudely is now in University and just finished his mid-term final exam in his sophomore year. I find it completely easy to get through university so far, right now he's engaged, A+ student and has made the Deans list every final exam.

I'm thinking of having him join a frat house, but before i do I have to ask...what exactly does this entail?

Edited January 15, 2008 by Boogey131

[Clawson]

Well for the first time ever I actually managed to play a family past the adult stage and now have an elder for the first time with I'm sure a first death soon too.

[Fanku Kaibutsu]

If they have a permanent platinum aspiration bar, it's a long, long time before death.

[Benji]

If they have a permanent platinum aspiration bar, it's a long, long time before death.

They get about 25 days don't they? Average elders get about 10-20.

[Fanku Kaibutsu]

I'm not entirely sure... Their total days alive is always 70. so it's 70 minus however many days there are in the rest of their life. I think non-permanent platinum oldies last a more-or-less random amount of days.

[Benji]

It's 2 as a Newborn, 3 as a toddler, 10 as a child, 10 as a teen, 24 at College, 30 as and adult, I know that much.

[PkmnTrainerJ]

Lothario

Played as him briefly and he woohooed with everyone he was in love with, will set him up with a few more people before he becomes an elder.

Caliente

Nina has had Don's baby, I think I called it Christopher. Then she started chatting with her maid Lucy Hanby, and they moved in together and recently woohooed. Lucy will eventually have a baby via Don Lothario also.

Broke/Robertson

Simply aged them a few days. Joseph's relationship with Bubo (the werewolf dog) is at about 75 now, so I should get him bitten soon.

Pleasants

Okay, so crazy shit has been happening in my Pleasant story. Mary-Sue was resurrected via Mortimer Goth and she is living with them. I plan to set Mary-Sue up with Daniel again (even though he is with Kaylynn) and then when Daniel dies the two women will turn to each other in a moment of sadness, both pregnant with Daniel's children.

Goth

Alex went to university, Dina is currently ballooned at giving birth soon. Mortimer is mastering his creativity skill.

[Boogey131]

Dwayne Dudely got out of college and has now moved back into his dads house, I had his dad move out, invited Dwayne's fiance over and proposed that she move in, she did, then I proposed marriage and that was that, I am now having them try for a baby while sprucing up the place, luckily I have quite a small home and a medium-large sized lot so I can always expand on it. Also hoping to get Dwayne a music career before the baby comes to bring in some cash, as for his wife (I have no idea what her name is) I'm going to have her study cooking/cleaning and have her live the rest of her days as a housewive, maybe gettign her creativity up and selling her paintisgs to bring in some dough.

There's so much stuff in the expansion packs I haven't explored so hopefully with a new generation of Dudely's I'll be able to take a different approach to things and see other features. An example being, I didn't realise there was a campus you could go to in university until the day Dwayne graduated. And I never did join that greek house.

[Benji]

I have discovered the joy that is Riverblossom hill, but only through one family, the Roth's. Morty wants to make money, his wife Stella, their eldest child daughter Sandra and younger brother Xander. Sound familiar? That's because they're the bizzaro world version of the Goths, even their house is opposite in direction, it's fucking brilliance.

[IAceI]

Diah and Savana grew up into toddlers, so it's a bit easier to control them since I know what they want all the time. 2 days and they'll be children, but I have more houses to play first.

Half way through my Caliente/Landgraab IV stint at the minute. Finley grew into a child and is currently enrolled at Private School, they have money flowing out of their ears. I can't be bothered doing Malcolm's businesses here so I'm checking in and taking like 100-300 each day, which is pathetic. How can a Rank 10 business only get that, surely I should be getting more?

So Malcolm, Dina and Nina are all staying at the house bringing up Finley to a degree, and now Kenwyne and Gemma are on the go. However I'd quite like Dina to give birth to a song from Malcolm (unfortunately I can't seem to find a way to change the name to Landgraab V to keep tradition going.) Then Nina has struck up a relationship with Kacper Landchild via. Match Making Blind Date (he's a teen, but I'll probably age him). as well as having a relationship with Don Lothario (like Dina does still), and also a created sim (who is Kenwyne's dad). So I may make her pregnant with Don/Created Sims/Kacper/Alien? child.

However female sims aren't able to get alien pregnant via the actual game, so I'm not sure if i should make her or a male alien pregnant. Plus Dina may give birth to Malcolm/Don... but I don't think a beautiful girl like her whose a gold digger - in the stereotypical sense - wants to be popping out kid after kid and would just prefer the money.

It's a bit of a fucked up family. I'm considering moving out Nina and Kenwyne, and leaving Malcolm, Dina, Finley and Gemma to it since it's a bit fucking mad in that house at times.

Fun Fun Fun. I love The Sims

[TheArsenal]

Here's a little trick for you if you have University....

If you go to the Neighbourhood screen and click on the "Send Sims to College" button, it brings up a list of teenage Sims who you can send off to University. Most of these are Non-Playable Characters (ie. not part of your households, more likely friends that get brought home from school). If you send them to college, they become playable. Then either have them graduate, or drop out, and they return to the "Sims Bin" in the Neighbourhood, ready for you to move into a house as a playable character in the main game.

It's a cool way to get more adult Sims with friendships in from the start of their adulthood.

[Benji]

How's that a trick? It's on the main neighbourhood menu >_>

[TheArsenal]

I don't mean trick as in a cheat. I just mean it's a little aspect of the game that a lot of people might not be aware of, because when you play as a family you normally send the kids off to college from the house, not the neighbourhood screen.

[Cadet Ember McLain]

Well, as everyone's posting their games...

McNeil

A created household, obviously, from Pleasantview. There's Kathleen (Katie) McNeil, lesbian at large. Chef by trade, business genius, and lonely bachelorette. Surviving on a generous payoff from her now-defunct wrestling promotion, she lives alone. Until one Amanda Moore moves in down the street. The two immediately hit it off one day in the park. It is revealed that while Amanda is bisexual, she is intensely loyal, and after a few dates and a whirlwind romance, they decide to move in together. Life continues as normal, when out of the blue, Katie proposes. Amanda accepts gleefully. Soon after the wedding/commitment ceremony, Amanda's biological clock ticks over into mother mode. Several long-winded nights of pillow talk later, the couple agree that they want to adopt a baby. Surprisingly quick for a government agent, the adoption agency passes the McNeil application form, and delivers within 30 minutes or less. Enter Joanne McNeil. Happy little toddler with an auspicious future ahead.

The game is now a couple days after Joanne's birthday. She's off to school, and sitting on a B average report card. Both Katie and Amanda have retired; Katie to her painting, and Amanda to her writing. If they're not being creative, or eating/sleeping/etc, they're on death-watch for a hapless NPC who wandered into the house, and decided a pool without a ladder was a perfect place to swim. I have no desire whatsoever to save him.

[IAceI]

So like I was browsing the net and saw one of those videos where a designer for an expansion pack takes you through some neat features of a game.

Now it may be my way of playing but I honestly don't ever have time to have the mam and daughter watering plants together, while the father picks apples and the son jumps in puddles. Everyone spending time outside messing around like that. I have like the mam in bed at 9pm, the dad making dinner to cure his hunger and the children doing homework or playing SSX3. Who actually has time to do that?

As if I'm ever going to find a time where the whole family can get toasted by the poolside while some kids go down a slide into the pool and have a good time.

Does anyone else actually play the game like them lot or is everyone like me, constantly upping needs and getting skill points etc.?

[TheArsenal]

Where did you find those videos? They'd be pretty cool to watch.

I do play a bit like you. If I see that a couple of people need another skill point to get a promotion, I normally work on that straight away even if I'm not that bothered about actually getting them promoted. I hardly ever use the community lots, but it's something I've been thinking about doing. I think I read somewhere online that when you take Sims to a community lot, although the clock carries on, when they get home it resets back to the time that they left, as if they hadn't been away. I tested this yet but I will probably give that a go tonight.

If it doesn't work like that then I think it's a disadvantage of Sims 2. Now that Sims grow old and die, to get them promoted you need to work on skill points quicker, leaving less time for outings, etc. In Sims 1, unlimited life span mean you had more time to mess about and do other things.