#i will still try to interact with all the challenges my sims are in

[seyvia]

Hoi!

I'll be doing some cleanup among other things on my blog, like officially moving all reblog to my reblog account @powersocial and deleting old stuff.

I'm officially announcing this as my hiatus.

(until my new pc gets here and is all set up🤞)

Take care, everyone❤️

[invisiblequeen]

Didn't even know this existed until one of my faves posted...

@pamsimmerstories : I've been obsessed with their landgraab gen 2 story since i stumbled upon it a couple of months ago. I'm constantly checking for updates and the one day I don't is when they upload a whole handful of posts! But I've been with them since this one couple I won't name was in teenager mode, and now that couple has three darn kids and one of them is already in child mode. I'm not ready to see time move on! I'm not ready to see their parents meet the grim reaper! I've gotten too attached!

@samssims : Yes, my contestant for the Mildred BC didn't stay long, but I love the concept of a Challenge like this for an elder sim who used to be a star back in the day looking for love after two divorces. I'm eager to see who wins!

@lindyloosims : Let's just say I'm lovestruck over luka, his personality, his rosy cheeks, his quirks and his interactions with the contestants here to win his heart. Lindyloo is great with the dialogue and narration--it keeps me engaged as hell. Also her simself is the host of the BC and I just love that detail!

@saruin : One of the first cc creators I found when i discovered cc at all. Her creativity knows no bounds, and the presets she's created have helped expand my own creativity when it comes to making sims. More often than not you'll find at least one thing of hers in any post I make. Hell, she made a set of teeth with color swatches for the TONGUE. How can I not "stan?"

@cinamun : Things Fall Apart, but not my commitment to this woman's story. I wasn't there when it first started all those years ago, but dammit, i'm here now (since dira's graduation arc) and i'm not going anywhere. From the dialogue, to the characters, to the style of shots themselves, she literally has me in a chokehold. And she's the one who was wheezing and screaming over Kendrick performing Not Like Us fifty times on Juneteenth! If that doesn't cement her as an icon IDK what does! (ironic that hers was the first tumblr faves post I saw that led to my own lol)

@cawthorntales : You all know I live for BC challenges. This man right here never, ever, EVER stops delivering on those. EVER. He always has an established storyline for the character he provides us to make a sim for, as well as a funny dialogue between said sim and the "cameraman" to start it off. I need for more people to know who he is so we can get MORE contestant for his challenges so I can witness MORE of my sims in his gameplay!!!

@akitasimblr : Found her during the Dreadful BC Challenge and haven't looked back since. She is VERY serious about this gameplay BC Challenge business. She gives you CLIPS formatted as live streams with "chat" on the side reacting to what they see. She has a leaderboard with a system to rank all contestants on friendship and romance and etc. And she's currently doing a crossover of the bachelor and SURVIVOR! go check it out!

@novapark : This one right here is a COZY Bachelor Challenge gameplay. Their shots are so deliciously saturated and warmly lit that it makes me wanna get a cup of tea and a snuggie to watch it. I like the style of a narrator popping in to watch all the ways Izan (the bachelor) wins and fails with his contestants (sims are so weird when it comes to their mood switch-ups i swear). And yours truly has a sim in there, too, so that's an added benefit for me, but just off the way they shot this challenge I'd still be checking it out regardless!

@jayveesim : You. YOUUUUUUUUUU. You have ruined me. You have ensared me. You have cost me my former life before I knew of your gameplay. You and that DAMNED BLAKE PARSONS! You've snatched my wig. You've dragged me across the floor by my eyelashes. You've scorched my edges! I have rarely been so fired up and passionate about a pixel baby the way I have been about YOURS and their DECISIONS! I won't even try to explain it to y'all, you gotta go check it out yourselves, and then we can scream about it together in this evil genius's comment section! LMFAO

This is a great chance for us all to big up fellow simblrs, so I hope to see more of these posts!

[changingplumbob]

I've seen several great responses to this but am going to do my best to go over the points I think are important.

Follow people. This may be obvious but you can't join the community if you don't find the community. There are many different simblrs around, you're bound to find ones you enjoy. You'll be inspired by their work and likely find other people to follow through what they reblog.

Interact. I too fall in the trap of simply liking posts when I'm tired but giving someone a reblog or a comment can make their day (it makes mine). Sometimes you'll find simblrs that don't appreciate conversation but they are few and far between, most of us love talking about our characters and creations.

If your story isn't sparking joy for you, it's okay to abandon it, or put it to the side. It's also fine to play around with your editing or writing. Your posts are allowed to evolve, likewise they're allowed to stay the same. If you have a process that works for you and you love, it's fine to stick with it.

Participate, it's a great way to met people. See who is doing bachelor/bachelorette challenges and make a sim to join the fun. Check out some CAS challenges, build challenges or legacy challenges. The creators love to see others participate.

Cite your sources when it makes sense. We are not going to judge you as a lesser simmer because you got that amazing house off the gallery or you got your beautiful sim from a sims dump. Give credit to the creators and have fun! Also DON'T use the cc tags if you don't link to actual cc because it drives people who have very little time to browse up the wall.

Be kind. It's easy to think fast and type stuff you really shouldn't. Remember that behind each profile is a person. Have adult discussions when there is a problem rather than just terrorizing the anon ask boxes. The block button is there for a reason.

Protect your mental health. If you have subjects that trigger you consider putting them in blocked tags. You can still choose to view the post if you wish but you'll have a heads up about the subject matter. If you followed someone that you are not enjoying anymore, you can unfollow them. I've had people unfollow me and my world hasn't ended.

Look out for others. Is that an okay font for low vision readers? Is the text on your pictures legible rather than simply in style? Do you have a transcript of character conversations somewhere if it isn't? Most importantly please tag your triggers! Some of us can handle when death or miscarriages come out of nowhere and for some of us it is upsetting to see it on the dash with no warning and can ruin our day. Consider also adding tags for other topics such as addiction, abuse or violence. Your story doesn't become "less cool" just because you think of others before posting, I promise.

Finally, be yourself. Don't try to imitate the works of blogs with larger followings just because it appears trendy. By all means grow your skills but post what you want to post, things that you've enjoyed creating. Remember it will likely take time for you to find your people on here, but there really is something for everyone on simblr.

[lilbabydilljr]

Bee[more]hyped!

Hi! Okay! So I’ve hidden details below, but if you just want the download link here you go.

Download (SFS)

Requires: UC, Easy Inventory Check

Alright, so a while back I found this lovely beehive conversion from Foresty, which was based on Untidyfan’s 3to2 conversion, which is in turn based on Gwenke’s functional beehive. What a way we’ve come! Believe (bee-lieve) it or not this is actually the object that got me interested in modding.

What I didn’t like about the original object was that it used 2 different objects as the honey, and the overload of effects. Lots of lag. So I’ve made a few tweaks!

The first 2 are cosmetic, I’ve moved the hive from the gardening section to Hobbies.../Misc, and the default texture is yellow, but the original green is still available. Bees are yellow, duh.

Sims now harvest honey directly into their inventory, which they can drink or stock the fridge with. This is a 4to2 conversion of the honey, which I thought was neat.

The hive now only displays the bee effects when open, or when a sim angers the bees. It produces a jar of honey every 18 hours, and Gatherer sims have a 50% chance of harvesting an extra jar each harvest. Lucky sims have about a 5% chance, and these can stack. A Lucky + Gatherer sim can harvest 2 extra jars, potentially.

Sims will autonomously harvest honey and occasionally inspect the beehive, please let me know if these values seem off to you I wasn’t super sure on them. Cowards will never harvest honey. Too many stingers!

The hive now builds nature enthusiasm when it’s used, and sims can harvest multiple jars at once. I’m not sure if there’s a limit to how much honey the hive can hold? I guess just keep an eye on it.

There’s two 2 new memories included as well. If you’re not comfortable with custom memories in your game please leave them out of your downloads folder, the hive seems to work just fine.

Caveats

Bee-cause of course there are. I might work some of these things out, but right now I’m done with this project.

My beehive and Foresty’s share the same GUID, and my jar of honey does as well. I’m not sure if that’s shared across all these hives or not. But you can’t have both in the game.

Children can not harvest honey, I didn’t feel like working on the animations.

Sims can’t drink the honey straight from their inventory, it must be placed first.

The animations and tool used to grab the honey are a bit off, but not enough that it actually bothers me right now.

Finally, the jar of honey itself.

As you can see the textures aren’t great? But I don’t know enough about objects to get it right. I’ll put this out there, if someone wants to help me fix this I’d be forever grateful.

I also wanted to edit the anger bees interaction, but I couldn’t get the chased by bees interaction to work? So I gave up. I do think there should be more ways for sims to die by flies anyway, but it’s not my ideal interaction.

Lastly, I wanted to convert the Honey Cake from 4, but food again proved challenging, and when I got to trying to do the coding so it requires a Honey in the fridge, it looked like a LUA script to me? So I backed off. Maybe one day. Not today.

You might be able to get away with not having the UC for this, but I think at the very least you’ll need BV. I can’t support any installations other than the UC though.

Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I am! It’s just a fun silly little thing, but our sims need bees right???

Credits/Thanks: Foresty, Untidyfan, Gwenke. Your original objects and coding are amazing, I hope I’m not stepping on any toes here! I did DM Foresty, but I figured since Gwenke’s code has been reused a couple times now I thought I’d be fine.

Edit: 04/30/23: Moved honey jar out of the catalogue. Whoops. Had it in there for testing.

Edit 05/08/23: Bees no longer accumulate inaccesible honey in the winter.

[olomaya]

Honestly, I'm relieved. This game was still looking so rough and I'd feel much more comfortable with a June release than this coming out in 6 weeks.

I was watching a video from SatchoSims* and he talked about how LBY is more just a compilation of gameplay features without any gameplay and he definitely pinpointed my main issue with the game despite my excitement for it. I just don't know what I'm going to DO or what I will want to do because they haven't really done a good job of explaining the rules and structures and goals of the game (aka what the game is about).

I'm still excited for it and will definitely play it in June and am eager to check out the modding tools but yeah, what are we doing?

The Sims was a time management game. You had to figure your shit out and meet your basic needs all while juggling other mini challenges and responsibilities and TRY to become successful which would then unlock cool shit to buy or do that you would have the time to do because the money and rewards and perks you grinded for allowed you to do it.

And then TS2 improved on that by focusing on interpersonal relationships and making that more complex so that Sims felt more unique but also had to focus more on mental health and well-being and the drama that comes with interacting with other people.

Then TS3 took that even farther by basically unleashing chaos all around you with an open world so you have less control over what is going on so while you are grinding away to create a dream house for the Sim you want to marry and grow old with, you head over to the park and see your future spouse making out with some asshole in zebra print pants! And then on top of that, they deepened skills and hobbies so Sims have soooo much to do so that life goals are so much more diverse (though I will admit this came at the expense of interpersonal relationships). People often say that they wish TS3 had TS2's hobby system but in my opinion, it not only does but it's infinitely much better than TS2's. I would argue that TS3 at its core is a game about hobbies and interests.

I love that LBY seems to be wanting to improve on TS3 (because TS4 definitely didn't) and give us a true life simulator but I still don't understand what the game is about. They show off how many traits they have and how we can mod in our own traits but what do the traits means? If a character has a Difficult Childhood trait, how is that going to affect their ability to form relationships, fall in love, be a good parent? They said we could have truly homeless characters to play Rags to Riches challenges. That's awesome! Can we see that? How does the economic system work? Could it be integrated, for example, where household taxes and bills actually go towards community development? Like THIS is gameplay. I don't want to see another treasure trove video or someone doing work tasks. Those are features, not core gameplay and if it is then I'm afraid Rod Humble is making TS4 competitor, not TS3 which would be a shame.

*I don't know if I like him or not, but he has good viewpoints compared to the other high-profile Sims 4 YouTubers who at this point are practically on the Maxis payroll desperately trying to pretend that game is interesting because it literally pays their bills 😭😭

[authorspirit]

🐾🐾 Boop! Boop! 🐾🐾

I'd love to know what simmer has got you hooked right now! Please share what you're binge-reading on Simblr!

Share this with other simmers to get some recommendations on who to follow! Let's keep spreading some love! 💚

This list is going to be long. :') SORRY BUT NOT SORRY. And I'm sure I'll be missing people here.

There are a lot of stories I have started reading in the middle of it and intend to catch up the beginning of them. But I can instantly get hooked on so many stories, as long as someone puts "previous | next" buttons, I'm in danger of falling into a story's universe. (I also have the hardest time to follow everyone but I try to.)

@matchalovertrait (OF COURSE YOU) I still need to catch up before I met sassy toddler Dulce. I can't believe she's a preteen now. I do enjoy following people's legacy challenges and I like how I forget that it's one with how you really create your own storylines around the base requirements.

@ice-creamforbreakfast I'm not going to lie, I came for the CC, I stayed for the BACC challenge and I am now following the Romano legacy.

@gooretrait I really do love following legacy challenges. Also, console player?? It's also a good reminder of all the fun you can get without cc and mods, just very inspiring imagination-wise.

@eurosimmer breaks the fourth wall in her captions and it's hilarious to me. It's also a legacy challenge, but oh boy I forget it everytime.

@pleasanttaleswithkaityb completely changed my way of playing! (and also of sharing content on tumblr) I also have a soft spot for taking townies as a base, because we kind of all know the backstories for them a bit. (I say that and I never played Sims 2, just binge-watched Sims lore videos.) I love how people change their stories.

@ruthplaysthesims Talking about appropriating Sims townies and make them evolve, I LOVE Kaori's story. In TS4 we all know the lore is meh (with it being on supposedly another timeline etc). The Mt. Komorebi storyline is SO interesting, I really have to play in that world someday without ruining them all. And somehow, Ruth made it even more interesting! Like I already wanted to know more about them, now I'm looking for any little bit of detail referencing their childhood or something. Anyway I highly recommend, I love all the new stories she put out as well (Raina 💖)

@kamiiri Back to other Sims lore game, I LOVE Strange! I watched a LP of Sims 2 on PS very recently and somehow found Strange at the same time... The setting, the weaving of all the storylines together, continuing all of them together... I love it. It's also very cinematic I'd say? There's something in those screenshots, I love it.

@holocene-sims One day I saw a notification of them and next thing you know I was trying to read everything about Grant from the start on mobile (but it's hard to read on mobile so I have A LOT to catch up). So now I'm catching up the recent story posts! But as I'm writing this post, I know I have a lot to catch up already.

@cinamun Add it to the list of "I should really read the beginning of it but for now I'll just keep on trying to catch any post they make", Things Fall Apart's universe has really sucked me in and I really like how cinamun interacts with everyone! (I admit I am a lurker but I want to try this lemon pepper wings recipe someday and share them with all the readers.) Reading TFA really gives me the vibes of watching a daily evening TV show with my family: we did not necessarily watch since the beginning, we just one day started watching all together, and now we're eating dinner in front of it every night. (And of course sharing our reactions)

@havenroyals If you like some spice and love messy stuffs, you'll be served. I also really like the Gossip queen edits it's just such an interesting way to add variation to tell stories.

@theroyalsims In the same vein of the Gossip Queen edits, I really like how we follow the story of the royal families with articles about them and not from their direct point of view. (I'm also currently trying to guess who is getting married soon because I know there is a royal wedding soon among those sims.)

OK small pause because we've entered the royal simblrs that I follow. There are a lot, it's how I found the simblr community in the first place. One thing I have to say is that I love all the collabs people do, the way so many stories are interconnected through everyone's sim and I genuinely think it's a lovely community (even if I'm not part of it myself as I'm just a reader).

@sosa-royals is the first royal simblr I came across and read everything. The drama? I LOVED it.

@officalroyalsofpierreland After meeting child Maria Aisha I had to learn more about her family. I was not disappointed.

@funkyllama this inevitably led me to want to learn more about the Ionian Union and I really like the world building in general? Also those last edits? I love it.

@empiredesimparte of course there is the complete Europeansim on my list. I particularly enjoy reading in French sometimes when my mind just wants to rest from reading in English. I also love Hortense and everytime I see a big event in the story I would be like: "oh J'AI LA REF ! It really looks like in real life." (you are very talented at building). And in general, I really recommend the worldbuilding tag? Because I love it?

@anachrosims' @prydainroyals Talking about someone talented at building? Yeah, I still have to catch up from the beginning. But this one should be feasible as it is more recent? (I don't know, you're also a good writer, PLEASE tell me what you can't do.)

@nexility-sims Among stories that are easy to start digging in someone's universe, I would recommend reading 1992. Eventually I'll read the story it's a spin-off of and @/armoricaroyalty's story, but yeah. My list of stories to catch up is already long for now.

@trentonsimblr and @ardeney-sims I'm putting both of them in the same bullet point because I've been wanting to enjoy their stories for a while and only decided to fully commit when Between A Rock and A Hard Place started. Similarly to 1992, it can be enjoyed without having the whole back story but yeah. I'll definitely enjoy reading the back stories of main characters and "side" characters (which you see glimpses of in BRHP).

@thegrimalldis Very similarly to the previous bullet points, I started reading with a "spinoff", the prequel "Maximilian" rather than the main story after seeing the username a lot of times. I have since caught up the main story I believe, but I may have to reread to be sure. I also have to read the story of succession (because it's complete and I like complete stories).

@theroyalthornoliachronicles and if we have to go back in time, I would highly suggest Ali's story! Though I can't wait to see modern Thornolian generations? 👀 Also, I'm a reader from after Ali lost her blog and I would say now is the best time to start reading if you're like me and have a massive TBR pile, since we're at chapter one!

OK I think I had most of my currently followed stories. I'm 100% missing people but I will try to reblog more of people's stories so you all can see what I'm reading at the moment!

Did this post take me two hours because I'm catching up on reading WHILE answering? Yes.

[simspaghetti]

Thank you so much for sharing your posts! You've totally inspired me, and I'm about to try my hand at a Lepacy. How many pictures do you take (and not use)? I'm not sure if I'm just don't know when to take pictures or if I'm taking a good amount to weed through...

thank you!! i’m glad i’ve inspired you to try a lepacy out 🥹🧡 you’re gonna love it it’s such a fun challenge

to answer your question, i take screenshots of just about everything my sims do lol - there’s so much content that doesn’t get posted here because i weed through hundreds of screenshots i've taken to cherry-pick the best looking ones - any time a sim gets a skill achievement, relationship milestone, significant life event etc i take a screenshot of what they’re doing, but i also pay attention to the environment / surroundings / sim interactions and take pictures whenever something just looks aesthetically pleasing - getting an instinct for what is gonna make a good post is definitely something that you develop over time and with a lot of practice, so don't be too hard on yourself if you're just starting out!

i also find it really hard to weed out the screenshots which i don't feel are 'good' enough to post, but i try and keep the phrase 'murder your darlings' in mind to try and figure out what is actually worth putting on everyone's timeline lol

in terms of framing / staging your screenshots & sims, i still haven’t really figured that one out 😋 i take a lot of inspiration from other gameplay blogs, and try to emulate a style if i like it, from that point you can kind of branch off into your own thing and gradually get your own style of sims which is unique to your blog but also a combination of a bunch of other simblr styles!

sorry if that's not very helpful i feel like i'm just rambling, i don't really have a very good answer for this question as i feel like it's just something that you develop a knack for over time - but i'd say it's important not to stress yourself out over posting things that are 'perfect' anyway, it's just simblr, after all! as long as you're enjoying yourself that's all that matters, and it will shine through in your posts if you love what you're doing <3

[boozles]

Battle of the Favourites

Challenge: Make a poll with five of your all time favorite characters, and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favorite.

Thank you to @lilithfatale for the tag! I'm also gonna do my list a little different...

I'm tagging @poonmitpakdee @firstkanaphans @pharawee and anyone else who wants to take part!

Here's my reasonings for these five being my favourite good boys!

Karan, Cherry Magic (Thai) Karan is the ultimate green flag. He's so madly in love with his co-worker but for several years barely interacts with him because he doesn't want to make him uncomfortable. He does lots of little things every day to try and make Atchi's day go a little better, and never expects anything in return. He helps out his coworkers and never expects credit (much like Atchi does, too). And even when he does begin a friendship with Atchi, he still tries to ensure he isn't overstepping. When he admits his feelings, he removes himself from the situations so as to not make Atchi uncomfortable. Then, when he finally enters into a relationship with his love, he is the most doting, protective, and supportive partner ever. He is the goodest boy that ever lived (on my screen) and I miss him terribly.

Shin Ki Tae, Our Dating Sim This boy is the sweetest. His heart was broken for years because his high school friend never gave him the chance to respond to his feelings, and though he couldn't find him, he secretly supported him anonymously by reading his comics and encouraging him to become an illustrator. He did everything to try and make sure Lee Wan succeeded, but didn't expect anything in return. When he finally 'got' Lee Wan, he was so scared of losing him again, but not in a red flag way, and he showed his vulnerable side.

Gavreel, Gameboys Oh, this cheeky little rascal is my son and I love him so much. Okay, he's a wee bit of a pain in the butt when it comes to him pursuing Cai, but he isn't 'creepy' about it. Like, he literally saw Cai streaming games during covid and fell in love at first sight! He was a friend when Cai needed one, he was supportive and attentive. He helped Cai through his father's death, and gave him the strength to come out to his family. He was a good friend to Pearl, Achilles, and Terrence (even though Ter didn't deserve it), and he even took in Wes when he had no where to go (despite Wes literally trying to steal his boyfriend). He literally went broke because he felt guilty forcing poor tenants to pay their rent to him, and he did food runs during Covid for those who couldn't leave the house/hospital. He is just such a good boy and just LOOK at those curls.

Longtae, A Tale of 1000 Stars Everyone's favourite boy! He works hard in university so he can better his home village, he's friendly and accepting, and he has no problem helping out around the village whenever he's needed. He takes Tian under his wing and becomes such a good friend to him. When he learns Tian's secret about Torfun's death he doesn't out him, despite being hurt and mourning. When the whole village and Phupha turn against Tian, Longtae is the only one who actually gives Tian a chance to explain the situation. He gives it his all with the tea bag creations, and he just wants to make the world a better place.

Cher, A Boss and A Babe Cher is a gosh darn treasure and I will forever be confused at anyone who didn't like this series. Cher tries his hardest to live life to the full, and despite his whole village believing rumours and turning their backs on him, he still tried to be happy and would still try to help. He basically started to raise his deceased friend's little brother and did everything he possibly could to help him, even though he wasn't obligated to. He had his heart broken but stayed positive. When he found people being homophobic about his boss, he stood up to them. He pushed himself to work as hard as possible so he could be seen as worthy enough to date Gun (he was always worthy, but he wanted to prove himself to Gun's stupid mum). He supports his friends, treats them like family and would do anything for them.

[aheathen-conceivably]

how do you go about planning your storyline? :) especially for your decades challenge

Hello there dearest! I’m sorry this took me a while. It’s a bit of a difficult one and I wanted to take some time to sort out the chaotic process in my brain before I tried to type it out 😅

This is just a rough outline of what works for me specifically in writing a historical story on simblr. I can’t speak to writing advice in general because it’s not something I have experience with; nor do I think this will be helpful for everyone. So please feel free to pick and choose whatever suits your fancy or ignore it all completely.

Of course, it’s time to take this below the cut, since you know it’s going to get a bit long 😉

1. Find Inspiration (Nonfiction books, Blogs, TV shows, YouTube videos, Period Pieces, etc etc…)

For a decades challenge/history based story I think this is really the starting point for me. Whether it be styles of architecture, clothing trends, a historical fact, or an individual’s story, there’s so much real life inspiration to be found for this type of story. It can often seem small, but sometimes pinpointing what you know you want to include and working it in there can be the crux of so much of a story.

I’ve said this before but one of the very first things I knew I wanted to include was the Titanic, since it was the first historical event I ever became interested in. Other examples are New Orleans as a setting, the inclusion of Storyville, and even something as small as the axe man that I included in this post.

When I find these moments of inspiration, I try to immediately transform them into tangible scenes or plot points rather than simply jot them down as a note or like a “maybe for later”. This keeps me from getting mired in too many ideas or overwhelmed with things I like, but that don’t necessarily have a place in the story.

However, sometimes it also means I will need to tweak ideas as the plot develops, such as changing the original storyline of Rosella and Lord Harrington to Rosella and Georgiana; but even with these edits, this process still creates a sort of scaffolding structure for the story as a whole. It gives me plot points or small, specific scenes that I am working and writing toward. I’m then able to allude to the eventual outcome beforehand as well as weave a larger narrative around it while still having clear points of guidance for where I want to go. 2. Connect the Dots

The “dots” here are the aforementioned scenes and/or plot points that I have written well in advance. I have dozens and dozens of these, and I’m basically constantly adding to the document where I keep my writing. This is all kept in chronological order so I can see the progression as well as where I need more narrative to fill out a decade. I generally look at this structure and ask myself: how do I realistically reach that point?

To use the example of the Titanic again: this meant somehow getting the oldest daughter of a relatively poor and close knit family aboard a ship bound for America. It meant not only putting her in contact with someone who would have access to these tickets, but also giving her a reason to leave the people she loved. Then once those larger dots are connected, I continue to focus on smaller and smaller threads, like the details of Georgiana herself or Rosella’s relationship to Zelda, until the storyline feels fully fleshed out and a character’s motivations are coming through. 3. Character Consistency

That last bit is very important to me, and I always try and think about how the characters are functioning within the framework of what I’ve written and the historical landscape. Sometimes this comes into play before connecting the dots, but often it is actually what finally puts the puzzle pieces in place. Something sim-specific here is that I really do use sims traits as guidance on who the characters are, how they interact with the world, and how the world has affected them. So often when I am referencing a prewritten plot point or scene I will ask myself, how would that character get to this point? What may have happened that would lead them here? How does their personality interact with this historical event or point of inspiration?

Many scenes have often come from more outward facing questions, like, is this trait clear to everyone reading as well as me? Has this visibly impacted their life and done so in a sensible way? This is in part responsible for many extra scenes we saw at the end of the 1920s when a few of my best simblr babes pointed out to me that Antoine’s motivations weren’t very clear. It also helps me to fill in and round out that base storyline structure with more small, real-life scenes that showcase and develop certain traits as characters grow and interact with the world around them.

—

With all that said, this is often a very long process that involves reading or watching historical content, going over my own writing again and again, and just waiting for the day when my brain suddenly writes 5-6 scenes unprompted. Other times I’m flying by the tip of my boots, watching y’all feedback and incorporating it or reading through scenes with friends for their help.

So the process has looked very different at various points in the narrative and through the many months I’ve been writing this story. But overall, having those points to write toward as well as tangible character traits have guided the process throughout.

[vintagesimstress]

Guess who's back (...kind of...?)

Hello everyone!

It's been 1,5 years. Wow, how the time flies!

You might have seen me lurking around on other simmers' tumblrs, writing a comment or two every now and then, but only now I feel like the time has come for me to return to my own space.

Here's a couple of announcements to get things re-started. I bet you're all busy, so I'll try to keep it short!

Private matters: A massive thank you to everyone who wrote me while I was gone ❤ There was quite a lot of you and I'm afraid I can't reply to each of those messages individually, but just so that you know: I've read them, they made me smile and I'm very grateful for all your kind words. I'm doing perfectly fine, and so is my little daughter. She's a beautiful and fascinating creature, learning new things all the time, and so unexpectedly that it really feels like if she was a sim levelling up and unblocking new interactions ^^

My CC: I still have very little free time and zero chance of going back to my old cc-making habits. That being said, in the past weeks/months I made a couple of teeny tiny things which I'd like to share with you, and also when I'm done with them I might make something new once in a while. Please keep your expectations low though! None of those things are Victorian; the majority (I guess?) aren't even clothes but mod add-ons, bug fixes, bb recolours - stuff like that. Still, someone might find them useful, so why not share?

For some more context, in case you care: my Victorian save got to the point of being quite paralysing (i.e. I wouldn't proceed unless everyone was dressed perfectly, living in perfect surroundings, reflecting not only their times, but also status and personality - and that perfect point turned out to be rather unattainable. Surprise surprise), and I really wanted to have some TS4 fun, so I started the Great British Sim Challenge. From the very beginning. Iron Age. At first I was determined not to make any cc for it and just roll with whatever I'd find, like any normal player, but you know how it goes XD So that's what pretty much everything I'm making is related to those days. Iron Age. Especially campfire. Why does everything I make have to do with the darned campfire...? The challenge is super fun, btw. I mean, for me. My poor sims would probably disagree.

Curseforge: I know many creators have by now moved to that new, EA-curated cc platform, and I've been thinking about doing it myself - even created an account - but in the end, for a number of reasons, decided against it. One of the main ones is that learning to use that platform and uploading there all my creations, old and new, would require quite a lot of time, which I simply don't have. If I have the choice between actually playing the game and having some fun, creating new cc I could share and uploading old stuff on yet another site... well, I guess it's clear which point has the lowest priority. So: nothing will change. Just as before, I'll be posting new things on my Patreon and simblr (linking to the Patreon page); everything will be free ofc, no early access either; and I'll keep constantly updating my downloads page, so that you could easily get an overview of everything I've ever made.

That's all folks! Have a nice day/evening and talk to you soon 😊

[dopaminestarvedsim]

Thanks for the tag, @ethicaltreatmentofcowplants!

What's your Resolution for your Simblr?

First of all, to be very honest, I just want to keep doing this! I've had so many lil side hobbies end up in the ADHD hobby hopping graveyard, but this has been so fun for me and I've already seen my building get better. Something about having some community (hi, mutuals! thanks for interacting! you give me motivation!) to share my creations with keeps me excited about trying to get better at building - which would be my other resolution, I think. Building and exploring challenges & rotational gameplay.

What do you want from the Sims Franchise?

[Confession: The Sims 4 is the first Sims game I've ever played. I actually never played video games as an adult (beyond the random testris/solitaire on my phone) until the pandemic hit when I got a switch to play ACNH and my brother-in-law told me if I liked that I needed to play The Sims. And it's been ridiculous since then, to the point that I have all the freaking DLC and everything. 🤦🏼‍♀️ With that being said, I feel so new to the Sims community, that I've never been very critical about the game. Most of the time, I find the glitches hilarious (see my last post with the infant spider arms from hell) and I don't have anything to compare the gameplay to that would make me feel disappointed. I can DEFINITELY see the criticisms and agree with them, but I guess I'm more easily able to take the game for what it is and mod the shit out of it to play how I want to be able to play. And since I didn't play the older games, I don't spend much time pining for other elements that are missing in the Sims 4. I just don't know what I'm missing. There's also still SO MUCH I haven't even played with in the DLC I've already bought.]

I do think fairies would be fucking cool though. 🧚🏼‍♀️

And it would be even cooler if my sims didn't get burnt out on their second days of work. Especially when they're in a career that matches their skills and interests. Like tf? We need some realistic tuning to some of these gameplay mechanics, for sure.

Oh, oh, and I really hope they continue to collaborate with Simmers. I think that's really cool, because they know what the average Sims player wants more than anybody.

Any other New Years Resolutions?

First and foremost, my focus is to keep my nervous system better regulated. But I also want to get outside in the sunshine and move my body more. I've been so sick the past few years that I've become very deconditioned, so the goal is to very carefully start to build my strength back up. 🥲

I also want to get to the point where I'm able to save money again. Specifically, I would like to get to the point where I can afford to start a separate savings "pocket" in my business account to save for EMDR training!

TAGGING: feel free to play along if ya wanna, @acidheaddd, @d4isywhims, @simstrashkingdom

[yooniesim]

any suggestions for becoming a sims based blog? I used to do it back in the hayday of sims 3 but it's been YEARS and I still absolutely love making sims, but I'm too shy and nervous to interact with the community ;;;

hi nonny! this is a complicated question that I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask lol but let me try it out. I think I'm gonna separate it into two parts for ease of reading. And sorry if it's a bit more cynical than you probably expected. I've just learned a lot i wish I had done from the start, lol. So here we go.

Sims content

Post whatever tf you feel like. If you love making sims, post the hell outta them and don't worry about what anyone thinks. There's no one perfect type of content to appeal to everyone; the community is made up of a million smaller niche ones. Editors, sim makers, gameplayers, storytellers, cc makers, etc. If you're passionate about it, you'll find people that love your posts. So don't worry too much.

Don't get too hung up on editing, if you want your pics to look "better" then use gshade/reshade and/or simple psd actions to your liking. Don't let it get stressful cos it ain't worth it. If you don't enjoy editing, don't do it at all. (I wrote more about how I edit & make it easier in this post)

Try your very best not to worry about notes. I know it's hard. Everyone wants their stuff to be seen, but when it comes to engagement on here, you're aiming for quality over quantity. A few awesome mutuals commenting on your stuff is way better than 600 silent likes. Also, having more attention sucks bc it brings the vile swamp rats out of their holes to see what shit they can stir up. The brief serotonins aint worth it. Just aim to find a few cool ppl to talk about your sims with cos thats all that matters.

If you want, find bachelor/ette or similar challenges ppl are doing and submit sims for them. And once you get some mutuals/followers, open sim requests so you can make sims for people. It's super fun and awesome to see your sims in other people's games! And you don't have to talk too much if you don't feel like it, but it's an easy way to get involved with others.

Social stuff & safety

Comment on peoples posts often if you like them. Engage with ppl. Reblog posts you see you like but don't really have any reblogs. I know you said you're shy but, this is most of the way to actual have mutuals that enjoy talking to you and comment on your stuff as well. You can just not talk if you want but it'll make it harder to have any engagement unless you're really good at edits or cc making.

Don't get involved with drama/discourse, it means nothing and amounts to nothing. If you're going to boost someone else's post, look into it first and look for evidence that it's even true before you reblog. If people hate on you in your inbox, block the anon and don't respond even to laugh at them. Block anyone that gives you bad vibes. They look at you funny, breathe wrong, use a color you don't like. Block. If anyone tries to start shit with you, block & completely ignore them & don't comment on it. It hurts, but there's nothing you can do about it, and people will move on if you ignore them.

Don't reveal any personal info about yourself on here or to anyone in DMs. Don't use your real name. Don't have anything connected to your other socials. Don't trust anyone on here with your vulnerable emotions, past trauma, etc. And don't say anything in DM you wouldn't feel comfortable with everyone else on the internet potentially seeing.

If you pledge to people on patreon, be aware that your email will show up on their end when you do. Dont use your real name as your patreon username.

If simblr is causing you stress, you feel like your mental health is suffering, take breaks. Log off or delete the app for a while.

And... I think that's all I can think of for now. If there's anything else detailed you wanna ask about feel free. But these are just my general thoughts. Good luck, nonny :)

[pisstintedglasses]

Enhypen as School Publication Events!

--if you don't know what these are, basically, they're the journalists. Anyway, they're the ones making news, broadcasting it, or drawing it. They have annual contests for each journalism sector called Schools Press Conference (PressCon). Usually, they get 15-30 students from each school to compete in another province. There's a division, regional, and national level. Idk if press conference contests are common in other countries, but they are here in the Philippines.--

Lee Heeseung (이희승)

Heeseung's kinda introverted, so I get the feeling he'll be in an individual event. I noticed people in individual events keep to themselves most the time.

Something like Newswriting. Not an event where you'd have to socialize, but the people in the event are sociable too. It's a pretty chill event. I relate him to my team's old newswriter. He was pretty chill, joking around with those he knew.

He'd definitely be the type to start conversations if the room felt too quiet. Especially just during training.

He'd be the best seatmate during the entire trip to whichever city is hosting the contest. Attentive, but not nosy. Not yappy, but not awkwars either.

Park Jongseong—Jay (박종성)

His mbti being xxTx makes me think he's going to be in an individual event, but he has confidence.

I know he's gonna be put in the broadcasting team, probably as a reporter. I don't think his voice is deep enough for anchoring.

Although, we know he has a habit kf eating sweets whenever he's stressed, and his coach always scolds him about that. Broadcasters aren't really allowed to eat anythjng sweet or cold that could impair their voice.

Overall, he's a really good team mate that wouldn't hesitate to speak his mind about something, but also be really caring towards you.

He's the one that members constantly cling to. I just know when your sleeping bags are all laid put on the floor, one of his members is flinging an arm or a leg over him just to annoy him.

Sim Jaeyun—Jake (심재윤)

A copy reader. I mean bro likes correcting grammar so much, it just fits. Copy reading is basically proofreading and correcting any errors from an article. Bro's made for it.

Either that, or Science and Technology Writing. I know he's got a wide range of information and knowledge stocked up.

Whenever yall's coach allow you to go around the host city to let you explore, he's the one his friends force to order for them.

When yall lay out your sleeping bags, he's gonna whip out a spider man designed one and everyone's gonna laugh at it but you just find it adorable.

He kept trying to defend himself and say that his mom must have packed hin the wrong thing chz he apparently just bought a new plain navy blue one.

You prefer the spiderman one better.

Park Sunghoon (박성훈)

-quick interruption,, THIS LOOK OMFG I WANNA EAT HIM UP-

Ahem anyways. There's a lot of things he could be but broadcasting is NOT one of them. He's got the voice for it, but not the social battery.

He'd be in an event where there's not much interaction going on. Editorial writing would suit him best.

Based from the editorial writers I knew on my team, they are all so quiet. Like not one of them would strike up a conversation unless it was absolutely required. And even then, they'd be usually just closed off.

He definitely enjoys being in the team with his friends, though. Going through the social challenges that happens in PressCons feels a bet more tolerable because he has his friends with him.

Kim Seonwoo (김선우)

Gossip buddy for the whole trip ⚜️. Sunoo's pretty extroverted so I'd say he can survive in Broadcasting. Still, I think photojournalism suits him best.

[littlegreenplumbob]

welcome to littlegreenplumbob's saved games :

as you're about to see, my saved games vary few and far between. i used to start a new game every single time i wanted to play the sims - but now i have a good amount of key saves that i like to go back and visit and update every now and then :) you'll also see i am extremely picky with which games i play more than others oops

DISCOVERY SAVE:

as the name suggests, this is my save file put in place in order for me to have full creative exploration of any dlc. i've mainly used this to play test things like the interactive careers and most recently, making rental residentials. i'm also currently exploring the idea of a BIG family, with 7 sims and 2 pets.

NSB:

you've heard of it, you know it, you love it - the not so berry challenge is my most frequently visited save file. i've got some updates incoming for the berri-behrs, is this save file photo a sneak peak? it most definatly is bc with my work ethic you won't get an update post until next year.

POSTCARD LEGACY:

another legacy challenge! i've barely even touched this in comparison to nsb, mainly as my ultimate sims goal is to complete the nsb challenge so my postcard legacy has i think maybe 3 sims days played? anyways, once im done w nsb i think i'll switch over to a postcard legacy. this save is more of a exploring one to familiarise myself with the rules and such.

CHEFFIN':

when home chef hustle came out i was obsessed with the idea of a home cook and thats exactly what this save file is. my sim is a home chef, trying to increase her skill, while learning gardening and caring after her 2 puppies, burger and barbie (que). at the same time, she also attends university. this is just a little cute save, dare i say quite relaxing at times?

SAVE FILE:

i've always wanted to make a completely revamped save file of all townies and all lots, and this is my attempt! it's something of a mammoth challenge to me and one that i can get extremely mind numb of in minutes but im still desperate to do it. it's another one of my major sims goals that i've had since i started playing a decade ago.

100 BABY WITH TOWNIES:

just like the name suggests. i've never shown loads of interest in the 100 baby challenge through the years, it's definitely something my younger self would do. (although i do stalk simstas and simblrs of it because you lot amaze me that you can stick to it) despite that it is pretty cool and some little part of me at least wants to give it a go, hence why just the one baby for now (bob pancakes' offspring may i add)

LEGACY CHALLENGE:

awww my little cute legacy challenge! which i haven't playing in a whopping 8 months mostly completely due to the fact that with a lot of the sims in that save have that glitched acne thing as adults and my eyelashes are glitchy. and idk, that just puts me off playing. but who knows, maybe in 4 months i'll open it back up again?

[igotsnothing]

sims get to know me tag!

I was tagged by @aurorangen, who has one of the sweetest Postcard Legacy Challenges going on. I'm always struck by how pretty her game looks, how vibrant her screenies are--and Robbie's little angry face wins the internet. Thanks for the tag, friend!❤️

1. What’s your favourite sims death? Dying of laughter. I did not expect it at all and when it happened I was struck by the irony. One moment of hilarity=tragedy. This damn game!

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? I like Maxis mix. If I love the cc, it doesn't matter.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? Nah. If the sim is active and enjoys exercise, it might happen naturally.

4. Do you use move objects? I don't think I could play without it.

5. Favorite mod? MCCC, WonderfulWhims, Pose Player + teleporter, Stand Still in CAS so I don't lose my mind with the occults hissing and spellcasting and howling.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? This will surprise NO ONE: VAMPIIIIIRES!

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? Like aLIVE because in my head it's like, "We are going LIVE!"

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Oh, that's a tough one. I don't think I have a fave. I love Lou Howell, Morgyn + Caleb, Hester and Frederick, my starcrossed lovers, even poor little neglected Finn...But recently I've been having a lot of fun with Lawrence and Julian.

9. Have you made a simself? No. That would freak me out a little. I'm weirdly and irrationally superstitious (I know, I know...).

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? Bookworm, creative... goofball

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? It depends on the sim and the hairstyle, but I do like dark brown.

12. Favorite EA hair? Again, it depends on the sim. I do find the loose side braid very flattering on most sims, though.

13. Favorite life stage? YA because more gameplay options become available and you feel like you have time to start things properly.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? It depends on my mood, but I do like coming up with scenarios complete with sims and elaborate locations. I guess I'm in it for the storytelling?

15. Are you a CC creator? I made two band t-shirts in simlish. I'd like to make more but I got lazy haven't had time lately.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? I have this fear of bothering other people that is quite ridonkulous because this is social media and it's all about community. So far, everyone has been so nice, though! And there are several simblrs who have been especially kind, supportive, and fun/interesting to interact with!

17. What’s your favorite game? In the Sims franchise? Sims 4. (Otherwise, my other obsessions are Geralt of Rivia and Corvo Attano...and kicking Solas' arse someday)

18. Do you have any sims merch? Nope

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? No

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Until earlier this year, I played The Sims off and on. I always found decorating relaxing. But then I tried out Pose Player, which led to wanting to share my screenshots, which led to creating a simblr, and then discovering Reshade, and Blender, and editing in PhotoShop...It's been so much fun learning about all these things...All because I wanted to try something different in my gameplay!

21. What’s your Origin ID? It's not worth checking out.

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? OOOF! Have you met my Mods folder? It's organized chaos. I love ALL the creators because they make this game so much more beautiful and fun! I'd have to say that the creators I have the MOST cc from are Felixandre and Natalia Auditore (like, Natalia is my shepherd and I shall not want...)

23. How long have you had a simblr? I started this simblr at the end of March. It's fairly new-ish.

24. How do you edit your pictures? Sometimes just Reshade, sometimes a little Photoshop action, sometimes a bit of both.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? Other than the obvious, I really like Paranormal and Cottage Living.

26. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? I don't know, but I'm on board with the people who said they'd rather see improvements and fixes to what already exists. I mean, watching my sims walk past the kitchen sink to wash dishes in the bathroom is painful.

Who is gonna get tagged? Here are some folks I haven't seen as much on my dash (Tumblr algorithm wreaking havoc) and have been missing: @smok3inm1rrors, @silentsundown, @mlady-mimsy, @agena87, @magicofsimplestories, @m0n0lithical and anyone else who might be up for this❤️

[zoeythebee]

MY NEXT GAME

Hi, so I'm postponing my previous platformer because I'm tired of thinking about physics.

So I want to make a farming game.

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, I dont like Stardew Valley. It's not a bad game, but when it comes to farming games, it's not my cup of tea.

I feel like what most people are looking for in their farming games is more of a life sim type game, which to be fair Harvest Moon has been since the start.

But my favorite farming sim game is Harvest Moon for the Gameboy Color. I played it via the virtual console on the 3ds and I loved it.

First off the limited hardware meant they had to cut a lot of stuff. They managed to still include marriage and children, but I never worked out how to interact with those mechanics. And I didnt need to because I was too busy FARMIIIIING.

Harvest Moon for the GBC was the fundamental farming mechanics distilled down, and it's all you did.

Also in this harvest moon game, the shipping guy who buys your stuff showes up at 5pm. About 3/4ths the way through the day.

Meaning when your crops were done growing you had to HUSTLE to get them put into the shipping box inorder to maximize your profit, and the ammount of crops you can grow the next day.

And that rush of getting your crops put away was incredible fun. Fast paced action to cap off a long stretch of repetitive, yet satisfying, gameplay

So many farming games try to make the planting and growing process easier, by making you able to walk on plants or with sprinklers and stuff. But I want the opposite. I want my game to be all about space and time management.

First off I am thinking of having the delivery guy pickup crops twice or maybe once a week. Forcing you to plan ahead, or store them somewhere.

I also want everything to be done one at a time. Harvesting, watering, etc. In HM GBC you could only hold one item at a time, causing you to run back and forth between your crops and the shipping box. I kinda liked this because it meant you had to layout your farm in such a way that allowed you to move through it efficiently.

Something I want to introduce is CRATES which can hold 8 items of the same type. And they have to be pushed around, kinda like sokoban boxes. I might toy with this a little, maybe allow you to pull them as well. This will make it so you have to be clever with your farm and storage layouts. And to minimize you running back and forward between the farm and the shipping box.

And instead of a shipping box I want an area you can place down crates. And possibly stack them? Again I want to force the player to be clever with how they store their goods. My biggest issue with this is I dont want to limit the ammount of produce you can sell. If you get your shit to the delivery spot in time you get your money.

On top of that I have ideas for crops that require certain configurations inorder to grow. Special soil types that promote the growth of certain crops and harms others. Machines that process crops into higher value products, but take up a lot of space. Maybe special orders to challenge you to grow a certain amount of crops in a period of time.

I gots ideas basically. Right now I've got a video in the works breaking down my progress so far. Super early technical stuff. Expect it soon!

All in all I'm excited to dive into this project. And we'll see what happens, if things go well I may finish it. If not I'll postpone it and work on ThreeEye again.

And as for the tech I'm using, I'm working in C again. Currently I'm using SDL but I may swap the graphics out with Sokol or BGFX in the future.