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[kassiopeiadesu]

My Current Gameplay Guide

The main gameplay rotation is based on the Build a City Challenge, and I made a few rule modifications to fit my Wizarding World-themed neighborhood. All townies and playabales are created by me, and are based on the Harry Potter universe.

After some trial and error, this is the current addition of gameplay rules to the above BACC rules that I ended up with:

Each household is played 1 day at a time in rotation. (Used to be 7, but now that I'm multiple generations in, I need all children to age at the same time so they don't miss their Hogwarts start). Start with year 0 for when your first sim moves in, and play each family as they appear. Ages are kept track of using the "birth year" method, starting from 0 as the birth of the founder - highly recommended, makes it so much easier to keep track of age. Simply record the year (day) your sim is born, and calculate age using current day - birth year on a spreadsheet.

Aging in max days: baby 1, toddler 2, child 7, teen 8, adult 42, elder 15 College: If a sim goes to college, 1 semester in college = 1 year of their life. A sim who graduates on time ages 8 years (this is subtracted from their adult life upon graduation). Rotationally, 1 semester = 1 "day".

Being a witch is hereditary. This way squibs and muggles are possible. The muggles are the university dormies and NPCs so far.

Children in the wizarding families have the option of going to muggle school each day via school bus, or go to "Hogwarts" for children - this is a community lot with a teaching podium. I use visitor controller to make all visitors children. This lot has the teaching hall, and various skill objects (music room, library, gym, etc). Children go here to learn grade points, start learning witchcraft, and to socialize with other children. They are taken to this lot by an adult in the household.

Upon turning 10 and aging up to a teen, aspiration is assigned based on a calculator that takes into account a sim's personality and interests. This is great because sims' families can "share interests" to influence a child's aspiration and personality in the future. Parents can also encourage the personality of their child prior to age-up.

Interests + personality are important, since the day the sim turns 10, they will be sorted into their Hogwarts house when they arrive at Hogwarts. I use the teleporter shrub to move them in. The sorting process uses their interests and personality in a calculator to determine the Hogwarts house.

The proper Hogwarts lot for teens is a residential lot where a professor lives. It has common rooms separated by Inge's Keys for the different houses, as well as common areas, library, Great Hall, etc. There is one 3-hour class daily, which teens can autonomously attend if they choose to. Each day I decrease everyone's grade by a letter grade, so they have to keep up with class to maintain high grades. Teens stay at Hogwarts until they are ready to age up to adults - then they can decide with their want whether they would like to proceed to college, or to age up to an adult.

The neighborhood also has "common room" community lots for each Hogwarts house. Each person who has been to Hogwarts and gets sorted gets an appropriate Inge's Key, and I use visitor controller to limit the lots only to those who have the keys. That way each House has a lot where they can socialize and network.

College is custom and has a nice dorm where wizards first move in to, and also has muggle dormies (whom I made more unique and nice-looking too!). Greek houses for wizards are also found on campus. The Greek houses are maintained by fees from members joining: $1000 to become a member, then $500 each year that one lives in the Greek House.

Fights: are now dangerous duels! If two wizards or witches fight, and one of them has magic skill over 900, and at least one of them has evil alignment >700, then one of the sims will be killed in the duel. Basically, I see it as - if one one of them is evil enough, they aim to kill, and if the opponent OR the evil witch are magically powerful enough, the duel will result in death. Whoever loses the fight dies IRL.

Every 7 days, 10% tax is collected from each household to the neighborhood treasury. 10% tax includes value of the home lot and any owned lots. I also used to use "Bigger Bills" by Cyjon in addition to this tax for more challenge. If the tax is unpaid for the week, it gets interest for the next payment.

There is a social hierarchy and plutocracy system, based on wealth and connections. This gets a bit tricky and is based on original HP lore also, but the main thing is: the wealthiest family is the ruling "royal" family, and this is determined every 4 weeks. Their close associates are nobility, and so on.

The 10% tax is paid to the bank account of "monarch" sim - the head of the richest household. Payments are made via Monique's computer. This way the money gets interest and can be used for building community lots for the neighborhood.

Certain families have pride in their Hogwarts house association and would like their children to continue marrying sims they approve of. For those families, and inheritance system is in place for their children: if parents consent to the marriage and chosen spouse, the child will get the inheritance. If parents don't approve, they can lose the inheritance upon the unfavorable marriage. Likelihood of consent to marriage is calculated based on the relationship points between parents and future spouse, the spouse's wealth class, house, and +10% random chance.

When sims purchase clothes or through hacks, they must send money for the clothes to the sim who owns the clothing store shop.

Zodiac signs: assigned at birth based on the day of the season the sim is born, not their personality. This gives greater variety to attraction system and drama, in my opinion. Zodiac sign is determined based on when the sim is born in a season, from beginning to end: Summer: Gemini, Cancer, Leo Fall: Virgo, Libra, Scorpio Winter: Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius Spring: Pisces, Aries, Taurus

Sims continue to share interests and develop their personalities throughout their teenage and young adult years, and they get re-calculated for aspiration when in college or as an adult. That way the personality changes are accounted for, and I find it realistic.

To be updated as I change things or think of modifications :)

[kassiopeiadesu]

Wow, how is our neighborhood police officer a literal supermodel?? She must be just working here because the modeling (entertainment?) career is locked. Or she's very conscientious and wants to help keep the town safe <3 Thank you, Officer Goubert. ^_^

I think I need to get some default replacement police uniforms though, the Maxis one is so pixelated :O

[kassiopeiadesu]

Adorable want alert: my sim rolled a want to have a relative get joined. His grandson Henry recently became an adult, and he is gay, this must be about him. It's so nice to see grandparents show support of their family in this way through their wants <3

[kassiopeiadesu]

I like Charis and Euphemia so much that I even took them on a honeymoon, which I rarely do.

It was mostly quiet and romantic.

Uh, Euphemia, are you sure that's a good idea?

Mischief Managed :P

[kassiopeiadesu]

One of my favorite sims, Charis Black, son of Walburga and Orion Black, marrying my simself's granddaughter Euphemia Potter. Charis is one of my favorite sims because he is sooo wonderfully nice and sweet, with his 10 nice points, and he deserves the best <3

The wedding was a bit messy, but what sims' wedding isn't? I was testing out a new church venue, and it's kind of small. At least most people sat through it xD

A sim wedding is not complete without someone standing in the aisle the whole time, or without a mistress sitting next to someone's husband, and then drama ensuing.

Look how sweet Sev is, getting +8000 aspiration points for a relative getting married! <3

And Venus really should have left the spot next to Cygnus for his wife Druella...

...As well as not kissed him in front of the whole town, and for his wife to watch. :X

Fleamont Potter: Hey Cygnus, not sure if you saw, but your wife was also invited to the wedding, and she's right behind you, watching.

Cygnus: Noted. Let's get stuck in a large crowd in a tiny space, so her slap attempts will route-error, and then go straight to sleep when I get home to avoid confrontation.

Shockingly enough, it worked!

Lucius: Hey Sev, you're friends with Rodolphus, right? Have you heard, has he been asking about me? Severus: He's married to Barty Crouch dude, please, no more affair talk at my granddaughter's wedding.

At least when you have so many sims around, most aren't going to overhear the drama and all can enjoy the cake. Happy Wedding Day! <3

[kassiopeiadesu]

When a new girl arrives at school, and all the inappropriate conversation bubbles start to pop up. She doesn't want to hear about your giant rocket, Abraxas. Even the boys cringed and looked away xD

Speaking of inappropriate thought bubbles:

Barty Jr: Professor Malfoy, is it true you started teaching and moved to Hogwarts because you caught your husband having an affair with a man?

Really, man, are these the conversation topics to bring up at the breakfast table? Maybe it's a good thing I caught you playing chess this morning instead of going to breakfast, you need to work on your logic skill... before the D- turns into an F.

[kassiopeiadesu]

The Gryffindor common room is very lively at 5 am.

And Zach is a sore loser. :P

Meanwhile, the early morning couples' activities in the Slytherin common room... honing their logic and scheming skills :D

[kassiopeiadesu]

This will be a blog for my Sims 2 BACC: The Wizarding World! Or at least I hope it will work out.

I like to post photos and write stories of the sims' lives as they unfold. I am already well into the generations, but I want to tell my sims stories from the beginning.

The townies in the world were based on the characters in the Harry Potter series. Some made by me, and some downloaded off MTS2 :)

The above is the overview of the world, and here are the details of the various "neighborhoods" that exist in it. :) It's a growing world:

More details on the Wizard World - and who lives where:

This neighborhood is on top of an island mountain, accessible by a bridge. This is the area where many Slytherin-affiliated families reside. It is home to Malfoy Manor, the Black family mansion ("Grimmauld Place"), and so far the houses of the families of Crouch, Carrow, Lestrange, Yaxley.

This area is Godric's Hollow. Along the main street, it is home to families of Longbottom, Potter, Smith, Abbott, Potter (a second household), and Dumbledore. On the left, there is the Burrow, home of the Weasleys, and the tower of the Lovegoods. This neighborhood also has a church and a community bar.

This is the beach town area, which has my founder's family house on the beach (Snape), and a lot of my simself's family lives nearby. Next door on the beach is the house of Teddy Lupin, who is my married to my daughter Claudia. Nearby is the Prewett house, where my daughter Alexandra lives with her husband Fabian Prewett and their family. The two houses on the left are sadly unoccupied after the tragic demise of their residents. Cassiopeia Malfoy lived in one of the houses after her divorce from George Weasley. She gave birth to twins and died of pneumonia shortly after, so the twins have been adopted by their father. Next door used to live Romulus Lupin, son of Remus, and unfortunately he also passed away from disease. He was unmarried. The house on the right, Shell Cottage, is currently unoccupied.

The three houses toward the front are the Burke family, Carrow-Malfoy (house of Draco Malfoy and his wife Galatea Carrow), the Binns and Nott families, and the party house / home business of the Rosier family. The wooded area in the back is the original house of Remus Lupin and his many children, though now sadly many have either moved or passed away, and only Hope Lupin, his youngest daughter, lives there with two daughters of her own. The family business is next door, though it has been a bit abandoned lately. The Lupins originally moved to this remote area to avoid being discriminated against for Remus being a werewolf.

This is the only business district we have so far: The Hogsmeade Village. Only one family actually lives here: the Weasley twins and the two children of George Weasley that he adopted after their mother passed away. The rest of the lots are all businesses.