SteveB / Stories / The TSR Farm Shop
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Welcome to my first Seasons/Open for Business combination Lot!

I wanted to use the Seasons fruit, vegetable and fish production to set up a home business that could maintain itself without having to rely on wholesale buying/selling, to make it feel like a real 'home grown' success.
If you like what you see, details for downloading my Lot for use in your game can be found at the end of the Story.

Welcome to my first Seasons/Open for Business combination Lot!

I wanted to use the Seasons fruit, vegetable and fish production to set up a home business that could maintain itself without having to rely on wholesale buying/selling, to make it feel like a real 'home grown' success.
If you like what you see, details for downloading my Lot for use in your game can be found at the end of the Story. Meet the green fingered hero of the Story, Gail Force.
In my sometimes questionable imagination, Gail was left §180,000 from an insignificant member of her family who died recently. She decided to put the money into buying a home with a good plot of land where she could use her gardening skills to build up a business and live comfortably off the profit. This is the house that she bought. A quaint single storey, 2 bedroom home with a spacious back garden. On the land next to it she built this farm Shop so that she could sell her home grown produce. Here you can see them both together. This picture was taken in the dead of night, so there's not action in the street! Here you can see the enormous greenhouses that Gail had built, large enough at the back to house a small orchard, with comfortable space at the front to be able to sustain a good amount of fruit and vegetable plants to allow for a year 'round supply for the shop. More on those later... Moving into the house we can see Gail's bespoke kitchen. Cooking is something that she has always wanted to get more involved in, but that will have to wait until later, she has a business to establish first! Getting a good nights sleep in her country styles bedroom before she gets stuck in with building up the business. While we are in the house, check out the spare room. Its set up for kids when downloaded into the game, but can be stripped out to allow for any other family configuration if needed. The last thing to show you about the house is the little conservatory that Gail added to the house she bought. Somewhere to sit in the evenings when the weather has turned too cold to enjoy the outdoors! But now, its time for business! This is the Farm Shop, furnished and stocked up with Gail's first harvest of mouth-watering fruit and vegetables, and freshly caught fish from her own lake. You'll see these in more detail when she opens the shop. Before that, Gail got herself into the local Gardening Club which gave her a 25% discount on fertilizer and seeds. When you plan to make money from your produce this makes a significant saving on their production costs. Once a member, her Wishing Well was promptly delivered. It wasn't long before Gail took it for a spin, wishing for a little cash to help her business start-up. Low and behold, §1000 landed at her feet. So she was all set and ready to go! One last visit to the greenhouses to tend to the plants. As you can see here, this crop is almost ready to go? ...as are these fruits, so its time to make some money! Opening day for Gail's farm Shop. The shelves are stocked, the sample fish are mounted on the wall and the float is in the tills. You can see that each fruit tray displays two of each of the three tree fruits, while the other trays display one of each of the 6 different plant crops.

There are a couple of other country stock items on the shelves which, like the mouth-watering quality fruit & veg, are marked up at 15% retail price. The chillers display Gail's recently caught fish, the most valuable of which are the Golden Trout at §518 before the 15% mark-up (mounted the sell for even more, §691). It's not long until a few loyal customers raise the business score enough to get quite a bit of traffic to the shop. In fact, it got to the point where Gail needed some help. I have a confession to make here though. What I *should* have done was hired some staff or invited other Sims to join the household and help out, but I didn't want the hassle. I cheated (yes, cheated) and spawned a couple of Servo's to lighten the load on poor old Gail.
If you play a similar story, I'd urge you not to cheat and plan a bit more in advance, learning from my situation here ;-) In fact, it wasn't long before I needed to spawn a couple more Servo's. You see, because the bots were running the store, I left it open 24 hours and rotated them around in the daylight to charge them. They got so good at their jobs once their talent badges started kicking in that I bought them snazzy suits and gave them permanent position on the two tills they needed to keep the lines down, and the permanent job of restocking. In case you wonder, as long as Gail keeps harvesting and fishing, the bots that stock the shelves take the stock from Gail's inventory, so she doesn?t need to keep going in there and doing it herself.
As you can see, the place ended up being very busy indeed! Even the Greenman family were calling in to buy their stocks at Gail's farm Shop, the reputation of her quality produce was so great! Eventually, and I was quite shocked at this, the shop ran out of stocks and the reputation started falling because of all the "out of stock" signs on the shelves. At this point I decided to close the shop and use the Bots to help harvest a new crop, which Gail had already started doing. And it was a bumper crop too, as she was able to concentrate on the plants while the Bots managed her shop. The other Servo's were also used during this down-time to rake the leaves and create some compost ready for the next planting. This saves on even more production cost and is a worthy exercise. They even managed to do some 'extreme fishing' to build up the fish stocks too... ...before being allowed some free time before the shop needed restocking and opening up again. Should robots be playing with water like that??? With the harvest over and the bots managing the shop, Gail found some time for herself, and chose to build up on her other interest, cooking. She learned from books and TV shows before venturing of into the kitchen. Pulling one of her recently caught Jumbo Rainbow Trout from the shop, Gail wasted no time in stuffing and cooking it. Well impressed with her efforts, Gail didn't need the option to put the leftovers away, because she ate the lot in one sitting! The rest of the Summer passed in a flash as she enjoyed some time in the pool... Putting her new found cooking skills to test... And lazing around in the sun... ...sometimes for too long! That's it! I hoped you enjoyed seeing how my Sim, Gail Force, managed to create a home business using only the fresh produce she created on her own Lot.
Incidentally, with 9 fruit trees and 24 plants (oh, and fish) she was able to turn a profit of over §12,000 with her first 2 crops!

If you would like to download my Farm Shop Lot you can do so by searching the downloads for "TSR Farm Shop" or by visiting my profile page.
Happy Simming!

/Steve

The TSR Farm Shop

Jan 1, 2008 by SteveB
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    86 Comment(s) posted so far

    On Mar 3, 2007 josh1092 wrote:

    this story was so cool im getting it on wednesday.

    On Mar 3, 2007 slime wrote:

    very very good story i wish i could rate you 5 points but they wont make us anymorem i wonder why? \:D \:P \:\)

    On Mar 3, 2007 bandgeek12 wrote:

    loved it! i hope to get seasons sone.

    On Mar 3, 2007 monrae001 wrote:

    Great job, I have OFB, and I can't wait to make a produce store, but my computer's graphics card is busted, so I won't get to play for anotehr couple of weeks. I hope she does well in her business, and I know how you feel, once I cheated in a legacy and then I never published it because I felt so guilty.

    On Mar 3, 2007 KSkywalker wrote:

    Oooh! I like the Master Bedroom set! I'm hoping my computer will be able to handle this!

    Thanks for showing us the new features!

    On Mar 4, 2007 Raiderkap wrote:

    A fablous story, I cant wait for seasons to come to Mac. I quick question, what is the cheat to get servo's? \:wub\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 SteveB wrote:

    For Servos (and this is REALLY cheating), use the "boolProp TestingCheatsEnabled true" cheat. Shift click your Sim and choose Spawn>>Servo. Don't tell anyone, and you didn't get it from me \;\)

    On Mar 4, 2007 SimanthaRat wrote:

    How delightful, I was actually PLAYING (and what a cool expansion pack it is too) the game with that idea in mind. Now I have lots of actual advice. Thanks Steve\:rah\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 theheatmiserette wrote:

    Very cool! I don't have this EP yet, and reading this made me even more eager for it! \:rah\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 ricky-mouse wrote:

    great story Steve. I just got Seasons, can't wait to play it now!\:rah\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 priestmere wrote:

    Thanks I enjoyed getting a look at seasons.--Don't feel bad I would have cheated too.

    On Mar 4, 2007 Dead Rock wrote:


    VERY cool!

    I loved it!

    LOL, i wish i had Seasons!

    On Mar 4, 2007 ChYrel wrote:

    Very cool! I got Seasons yesterday, and although I havn't played much yet, I love it. I've not cheated with any challenge sims, but I do cheat when I first get an EP so I can buy all the cool new stuff and check it out!

    On Mar 4, 2007 Gelika wrote:

    I like the story. Very nice picture.\:rah\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 bec71 wrote:

    Great story Steve!\:D

    On Mar 4, 2007 bingochao1 wrote:

    \:D

    On Mar 4, 2007 kidnumber48 wrote:

    I'm going to continue to leave my tomato plant out in the snow and rain and start my own bland tomato shop. I haven't tried fishing yet. "Bland fish! Get your bland fish here!"\:D

    On Mar 4, 2007 caclark wrote:

    good story

    On Mar 4, 2007 lil-e wrote:

    cool\:D \:P \:D

    On Mar 4, 2007 Pippa22 wrote:

    That was a very good story. I can not wait to get seasons\:D

    On Mar 4, 2007 floydine wrote:

    Great story!\:rah\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 Palina wrote:

    Fantastic story!!! I love it!!!\:wub\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 ploynarakja wrote:

    \:D It's very cool ^____^

    On Mar 4, 2007 Nina79 wrote:

    Wow! Really great story! And I love the house and the Farm Shop! \:\)

    On Mar 4, 2007 CorneliaSrownal wrote:

    wow!! great!! I don't have the seasons ep yet - what I saw on those pictures really amazed me!!! \:rah\: so many beautiful objects! and you can make the pool round!! \:wub\: ahh ... great story!

    On Mar 4, 2007 trolzgirl wrote:

    I wish that i had seasons too but i am know in kuwait and i could not find it and that was a great story\:D

    On Mar 4, 2007 Simul8ing wrote:

    Great story. I've done a miniture home buisness with my fish and produce. I think I would go insane trying to keep that many plants going. Of course the servos was a great idea.

    On Mar 4, 2007 Swt_Pea92 wrote:

    Great story, I just ordered Seanons off Amazon! Can't wait to play it! I loved growing my own veg in Sims 1! Great idea with the servos, I'm gunna try that out next time I'm on the Sims!!

    On Mar 4, 2007 bethbrit wrote:

    Hey Steve :]
    Cool story, shame you had to cheat with the servos :P

    On Mar 4, 2007 daniele768 wrote:

    good story...\:rah\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 Jasmine206 wrote:

    Being only twelve, me and my mother would often go to the local Harvest Shop. They had all these organic foods and the store itself was made of huge sturdy wood. This story reminds me of that organic produce and the store itself.\:\)

    On Mar 4, 2007 Bnnybee wrote:

    Wow! That's a really good story! Good job!

    On Mar 4, 2007 Marylyn Linney wrote:

    Nice work... \:rah\:

    On Mar 4, 2007 SimplyDi wrote:

    I knew I shouldn't have read that- Now I am REALLY jealous that us Mac players don't have Seasons yet. It looks awesome! Gotta love those Servo's \;\)

    On Mar 4, 2007 xtessax34 wrote:

    Very cool, keep up the god work.

    On Mar 4, 2007 alliecat371 wrote:

    wow! what a great lot! i wish i had seasons \:\(

    On Mar 4, 2007 sarajmac wrote:

    i cant wait till seasons come out in australia

    On Mar 5, 2007 princess_simmie wrote:

    Sarajmac, seasons IS out in Australia! I'm from Australia and I got mine on the 26th of Feb!

    On Mar 5, 2007 pjcb wrote:

    Great story!

    On Mar 5, 2007 binky13 wrote:

    That's a really good idea to use both EP's like that. \;\)

    On Mar 5, 2007 bigpeaches wrote:

    I am so glad that you came out with something for the Seasons expansion pack. I was lost without the downloads. Great work!\:rah\:

    On Mar 5, 2007 twinkone wrote:

    I love it..informative and fun to read. Downloaded the lot and I just wish there was room for a driveway. Maybe I will make the store smaller and fit on in beside it.

    Twink

    On Mar 5, 2007 wrote:

    I really liked the Green House attached to the house. That was clever. \:wub\:

    On Mar 5, 2007 enchantmentsisters wrote:

    Great story. Loved getting to see what seasons looks like. Don't feel bad about cheating - I use cheats all the time to make it easier to get shots that I want for my stories. It's all a matter of how YOU want to play that game \:\)

    On Mar 5, 2007 Oprah Noodlemantra wrote:

    Great way to show new options of Seasons, thank you!

    On Mar 5, 2007 h1208es wrote:

    quite amazing, i'm just trying for my plants not to get sick!!!

    On Mar 5, 2007 sallyhails wrote:

    Thanks for the servo cheat, good story, lots of hints and tips, thanks v.much\:rah\:

    On Mar 5, 2007 Alyosha wrote:

    nice! I really liked seasons! \:rah\: \:rah\: \:rah\:

    On Mar 5, 2007 Simlover4eva wrote:

    Great Idea! MY question is did the racecar room come with seasons or did u have to download it?

    On Mar 5, 2007 cariadbach wrote:

    \:\) Congratulations you have had 1000 views, back to play on Seasons now\:D

    On Mar 5, 2007 Little Seer wrote:

    Very nice, thank you for sharing your insites on the shop. Excellent. Cheers,\:\)

    On Mar 5, 2007 Alexiel87 wrote:

    Very cool story. \:rah\:

    On Mar 5, 2007 wrote:

    Woo! Thank you for the preview and the hints. I appreciate it.

    On Mar 5, 2007 RIDance wrote:

    cool shop! thanks for sharing.

    On Mar 5, 2007 kkffoo wrote:

    Great photos Steve, thanks for sharing.

    On Mar 6, 2007 cajunbelle0731 wrote:

    This was great!!\:D I am hoping to do a "farming family" and open a shop to sell their fish and produce and you gave me great ideas!\:\) Excellent!!!!\:rah\:

    On Mar 10, 2007 wrote:

    \:\) great! unfortunately my sims 2 game broke when i used homecrafter plus, so its really good that people like you remind me what sims 2 is like!

    On Mar 10, 2007 mnemosyne27 wrote:

    great story! can't wait to explore seasons unfortunately my crappy computer won't allow it.. \:D

    On Mar 10, 2007 Simkitty wrote:

    I love your story. How do you come up with the names for your sims? Did you make them up yourself or is there a name generator in the game? I don't know because, though I have a copy of Sims2, my computer is waaaaaaay too inadequate to load or run it much less any EPs, and at this point I can only enjoy the game vicariously. (I bought the Sims2 game as incentive to get a better computer.) If the names are your own, I must say I am very impressed with your creativity and sense of humor. I looke forward to someday playing your characters and coming up with some of my own. I hope I do as well as you. =^..^=

    On Mar 10, 2007 Simkitty wrote:

    By the way, Gail should hook up with a Family sim if she can find the time so he can help out and raise kids. Maybe she can eventually add a restaurant serving food she prepares from her fish and produce. This is a great opportunity for a family business legacy kind of thing. =^..^=

    On Mar 11, 2007 darci321 wrote:

    Thank you for your great story and ideas for a home farm business.

    On Mar 11, 2007 Mestina wrote:

    Love the story! Thanks for all the gorgeous screen shots and the explanation to go with all of it. Now I'm just going to have to go and download and then try my hands at building my own business like that. Thanks! \:rah\: \:rah\: \:rah\:

    On Mar 12, 2007 artfulone wrote:

    Oh Steve! Your imagination and inventiveness are truly a "Sims Resource"! Especially for someone like me who needs trail-blazers such as yourself to lead the way into new territory! It would NEVER have occured to me to set up such an enterprise as your farm store! I have only had my "Seasons" for a couple of days and gardening is foreign ground to me as I don't garden in real life if there is any way of getting out of it! Yet I found myself wanting to nurture plants and was anxious to have my puny trees produce something!! Thanks so much for this delightful foray into the world of commercial farming! Hugs: Jill

    On Mar 26, 2007 shelby24 wrote:

    Very Cute! Thanks for the showcase!\:\)

    On Mar 29, 2007 Euterpe wrote:

    This was excellent and very helpful! Thanks! \:rah\:

    On Mar 31, 2007 wrote:

    Great Story.

    On Apr 11, 2007 wrote:

    Great Story!\:\) As soon as I got OFB I tried to make a bakery, but guess what? I can't sell the cakes! Still, I hope to get Seasons-it sounds like a great EP!

    On Apr 29, 2007 accentia wrote:

    Hi Steve. Do you know, I have had OFB installed since it came out and I have to admit to not taking to it at all. When I did, I found it really stressfull and so haven't bothered to revisit it since. The only use I have for it now is keeping all my day-time community lots in the Village - pet shops and the like - but that is it. \:o However, having just read your great story, I am going to DL that house and business and move a family in (ie no servos) and see if I can make a go of it too. You never know, by following your example, I may get better use out of this EP yet!!\:D

    On May 8, 2007 b-otje wrote:

    Wauwww, \:D: what a great story. End it thats a long time to play to. Amezing.
    But please can you explane us Sims player; how you make servo's ????\:o:
    Lovely greatings, b-otje.\:wub\:

    On Jun 16, 2007 marsali wrote:

    steve i looked throught the coments and thanks for the cheat i ve been wanting that cheat for sooooooooooooooooo long and that realy helps

    On Jun 16, 2007 marsali wrote:

    \:rah\: \:\) \:D

    On Dec 22, 2007 iskrapercinkova wrote:

    nice \:D \:rah\:

    On Mar 19, 2008 flower_night wrote:

    It's a great story. I have learned some ideas from reading this! You are such a creative person, Steve. \:D \:\)

    On Mar 27, 2008 aaaaaaac wrote:

    Good job!!! \:\)

    On Apr 1, 2008 wrote:

    Wooooooooooow\:rah\:

    On Jun 4, 2008 SilverMoonyLuna wrote:

    Oh this was an interesting story to read! In fact, I'm gonna download the package and play around... \;\) Great job! ^_~

    On Jun 21, 2008 spiderpig11 wrote:

    that is an amazing story very good buisness and no i dont think they should be playing with water like that did they not explode!?

    On Jun 24, 2008 joker52455 wrote:

    Nice story! You should make a sequel \:rah\:

    On Jun 28, 2008 mmanning27 wrote:

    great story! \:rah\:

    On Jul 3, 2008 DJ cicus wrote:

    Really Liked it. I liked the robots\:D

    On Apr 6, 2009 mpatton wrote:

    This is a very good story and I enjoyed it  I hope you do more stories in the future.

    On Apr 16, 2009 ashlee4291 wrote:

    I loved this story.  I have tried the whole at home business and never thought of the bots. great ideal, now i can use it. lol\:\)

    On Apr 23, 2009 MizLuv2005 wrote:

    Really nice story!  \:rah\:

    On Aug 2, 2009 damnanoir wrote:

    really nice story! this is why people love eating farm food XD

    On Aug 18, 2009 Jennifer_R wrote:

    Cute story! :P

    On Aug 25, 2009 anura32 wrote:

    Damn good story. I love it. Not only was the story great, you helped me in an idea for my own sim family and the game. I came to know a lot more features. Thank you so much. Is there a sequel to this already or in pipeline.

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