Moving Away

Just wanted to update everyone. I'm not uploading here any more. I have moved to Sailfin Sims where I am a Resident Designer.

I've enjoyed being a member of TSR but I don't really feel like I am a valued creator here. Thank you to TSR for giving me the inspiration to start creating in the first place!

Mod This House Contest!

I've started up a contest on Facebook for people to re-design a house. I thought I could just post the info here so that people can join if they want!! Even if you aren't on Facebook you can take part!! Just post your finished pictures somewhere and give me the link...I will post the link on the event on Facebook so that other people can see them!!

There may be a prize or prizes at the end!! If this goes well I will do more contests!!

The address of the event is http://www.tinyurl.com/modthishouse if you are on Facebook and want to see it!

From the Facebook Event:

How to join:
1. Download the House from the link below.
2. Place it in one of your towns.
3. Have some fun filling out the inside (rules below)
4. Post a photo on this event wall - if you upload to the exchange post a link with the photo!
5. Enjoy looking at what other people have made!!


Here is the house (Please Recommend ;)): http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=2443009
If you are having problems downloading it please let me know!!

The House is on a normal 30x20 lot, No Custom Content (I checked it in Custard) NO Evil Doll :D

I've modified this lot. It is Un-Furnished and Un-decorated internally. There are no internal walls or doors and no windows. I thought it would be interesting to see what people could make of it!

DO NOT: Change the shape of the building or add floors or basements

DO (if you want to): Place internal walls, decorate, change the garden, furnish it, put windows in, move a family in.

You CAN use custom content if you have any!! Please say when you post the picture so that people know :D

You can either just post a picture here when you are done or if you upload it to the exchange or another Sims 3 site post a picture and a link! If you do upload it, it would be great if you could put this link into the description so that more people can join!! http://www.tinyurl.com/modthishouse

If you want to post more than 3-4 photos please make and album on your profile or a photo hosing site or if you have a blog you could put them up there then INCLUDE A LINK somewhere so we can all come and look at them!!

Please Ask Questions if you need to know anything!!! There may be a prize or prizes at the end, I haven't decided yet!! This is running for 5 weeks (seems like enough time to let people have a go and for those who are still waiting for Ambitions to have it!!)

Have fun!!

Dawes Legacy Story

Just to let people know, I am posting my Dawes family legacy story on Facebook now...I might post it on TSR at a later date.

Take a look and add me as a friend if you want :D

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=4709&id=100001054481792&l=d1d8c2a502

My first story!

I'm currently working on my first proper story in Sims 3. It is about Ambrosia Dawes and her legacy. I will either post it on here or on my blog : http://duckeggpie.blogspot.com/

Here is a quick preview: 

Hi there! My name is Ambrosia Dawes (Yeah, I know, strange name). I’m 19 and I have just moved to Sunset Valley. I grew up in the big city. I was part of a large family, I had 4 sisters and 5 brothers. I loved them all.

New Blog...

 I have just set up a new blog on Blogger. http://duckeggpie.blogspot.com/

I am hoping to update it with bits and pieces about the families I am playing on Sims 3 at the moment (I would write stories but I always get far to into playing and forget to take the screen shots I need :) ) I will try to remember to take some screen shots to put up so it isn't all writing :)

Please take a look and follow it if you want :D

Tombs and Castles

I am currently working on some tombs (complete with hidden doors, switches, traps and treasure) I'm basing them on community and residential lots.

Also, thanks to the new castle exterior set EA have brought out I am hoping to be able to finish the castle which I started during the summer!! I might add a nectar cellar now that I have the basement tool.

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded my creations so far...I'm so glad everyone likes them :)

LOADS of World Adventures Info!!!

Here are all the answers I gave to the questions which were posted by people on Sim Operations plus a bit more info that I added. Sorry if some of it makes no sense.

1.       How does the new “opening stores” effect work? Are rabbit holes being opened?

The  original shops are still closed however it looks like you will be able to re-build your own version as it seems that the only object which makes it a shop is the Till/Cash Register.

2.       Are there new camera poses added in the game?

Yes. Your sim can ask another sim to pose. Once they have done that they can then ask them to do one of several different poses.

3.       Do foreign sims in destinations have their own home (or do they just wander)?

Foreign sims do have their own homes which you can visit. You can also merge sims you create with families at the destinations but I the version of the game I played didn’t let me play with the families who live in the destination.

4.       Can we get a vacation home in a destination?

It appears so. In the adventure journal there is a record of how many properties a sim owns in each location and I can’t think why else they would own a property!

5.       What new vehicles are added in the pack?

The only new vehicle I found was a Scooter. This seem s to be the sims default mode of transport in Egypt and can be brought in the shop there. (The default mode of transport in China seems to be a bike.)

6.       Can you name some new items from build and buy mode in the game?

I was rather disappointed with the number of new items in the game. A few which I noted and used were Egyptian style bed, toilet, windows and doors (sorry...didn’t make many notes on items!!)  Not sure that it is really an item but you can now re-colour fences and stairs!! Makes it so much easier to make houses match!!

7.       Do sims take their inventory with them when they visit destinations?

Yes, but I couldn’t access my family inventory while on holiday.

8.       Can you describe the base camp? What is it like?

Pretty basic! In Egypt there are some tents, a male and female shower room and toilet and a kitchen area without a stove. In China there is a hostel style building with bedrooms, shared shower rooms, a kitchen with cooker and a lounge style area with bookcases.

9.       What new hair options are available?

See notes on CAS at bottom.

10.   Can we edit the three destinations like the base neighbourhoods?

Yes. You need a cheat to be able to edit the tombs (unfortunately I didn’t know it)

11.   Can you share with us details of the three new traits from CAS?

See notes on CAS at bottom.

12.   Can you share with us more details on the three new skills from the skill journals? What skill challenges are there?

I only really got anywhere on photography. It takes a long time to build up the skill and seems to end up costing a lot or money. You seem to have to build it up by taking loads of photos. For the martial arts skill you can either train using equipment or read books on it. France wasn’t available so I have nothing about Nectar!

More on photography:

Photo collections: Architecture and Buildings, Everyday Moments, Home sweet home, Still Life, Around Town, Family and Friends.

Skill Challenges: Photog – 25 different object photos, Architectural eye 10 unique landmarks photographed, Human form expert – 50 unique sims photographed, Paparazzi, 60 unique strangers photographed, Shutter Nut – Complete 5 photo collections.

13.   Can we marry in these destinations as a type of honeymoon?

Didn’t get chance to try.

14.   Is there any new lifetime happiness rewards?

See notes on CAS at bottom.

15.   Can you expand on the new lifetime wishes?

See notes on CAS at bottom.

16.   Can a sim woohoo in tents?

Didn’t get chance to try.

17.   Are tents rabbit holes? Can we see inside?

You can’t see inside the tents.

18.   How many sims can sleep in one tent?

I managed to get 2 sims into a tent.

19.   What types of new deaths are added (apart from mummies curse)?

Didn’t get chance to look although my sim did nearly burn to death from a fire trap!! I did meet a mummy but it didn’t do anything to my sim except beat him up L

20.   What type of new cheats are there?

Didn’t see any interesting ones except: allowObjectsOnRoofs on/off which apparently lets you put things on your sim’s roofs. Didn’t get chance to try it though.

21.   Could you expand on the loading screens?

The main game loading screen was on a gradient of blue to orange...very pretty. Between the home neighbourhoods and the destinations there were loading screens and they took about a minute to load each time (the PCs were core i7s with at least 3GB RAM and I would guess they had a pretty decent graphics card...they were PCs designed for gaming)

22.   Can we buy nectar? Is it available in buy mode?

Not sure as France wasn’t available. It wasn’t there on the version I played but might be in the release version.

23.   Can a sim in one neighbourhood (a destination) call another sim in another neighbourhood (a base neighbourhood)?

Didn’t get chance to try.

24.   Are there new community objects? What about portable toilets?

Didn’t get chance to look.

25.   Can sims woohoo in the sarcophagus?

Didn’t get chance to try.

26.   Is there a cheat for getting visa points?

I couldn’t see one but I would guess that there would be.

27.   Can we add basements to existing lots?

Yes. You can also build multiple levels of basements (not sure how many floors down you can go and if it affects how far up you can build) I built a house which was totally underground...it was fantastic!

28.   Any new gardening seeds items? Can we find new seeds in the destinations and plant them back at home?

I found some of the base game seeds at the destinations. One of my sims got a quest to find pomegranates so I would assume you can take them home to plant. There are also some new metals, rocks and bugs to collect. I found: Copper, Turquoise, Rainbow Gem and Bamboo Straight Swift Butterfly.

29.   Can sims bring back souvenirs?

They can bring back relics which they have found either by exploring tombs or by finding remains to excavate outside. They can also collect ancient coins to buy special rewards.

30.   Can we quickly exit tombs (i.e. “run out”)?

Don’t appear to be able to.

      31. Can we send postcards?

Didn’t see an option to.

      32. Can we get visa points without cheating/adventuring?

Didn’t get chance to find out.

      33. Are new homeless items added for the sims in base camp? Like shower-in-a-can?

Yes, there is a shower-in-a-can. There are also tents which can be stored in inventories and you can buy dried food from the markets.

      34. What new visa levels are there?

Level 1 lets you go on holiday for 3 days, Level 2 for 5 and I think Level 3 will let you go for anything up to 12 days. There is also a ‘Prepared Traveller’ lifetime reward. If one of the sims in the party has it they can stay for 6 days on L1, 8 on L2 and up to 15 on L3.

      35. What is the price range  for going on vacation?

As far as I could work out the prices were like this (they seem to be the same on 3 and 5 day holidays which were what I had time to try, I have also only tested with adults, it may be less for children and teens):

Egypt: 1600 for the first sim plus 1000 for each extra sim

China: 1300 for the first sim plus 1000 for each extra sim

France: 1900 for the first sim plus 1000 for each extra sim

CAS Notes:

Traits:

Disciplined – Sims are better at martial arts.

Photographer’s Eye – Take better photos (similar to Artistic with painting skill I think)

Adventurous – Sims get a positive moodlet while adventuring on holiday.

Lifetime Wishes:

Visionary – Level 10 Painting and Photography Skill

Seasoned Traveller – Max Visa in all destinations

Physical Perfection – Level 10 Martial Arts and Athletic Skill

World Class Gallery – Have a collection of photos worth 25,000 plus at least 10 photos from each location.

Martial Arts Master – Level 10 martial arts skill and grand master status (similar to grand master in chess)

Great Explorer – Fully explore 6 tombs in each location.

Favourites:

Food: Crepes, Egg Rolls, Falafel, Frogs Legs, Shawarma, Stir Fry

Music: French, Chinese, Egyptian

Hair – Only had chance to look at Adult Male and Female – 18 new female, mostly hats and with accessories but 2 without. All new male hair was hats or with accessories. 6 new eyeliner styles.

Lifetime Rewards: Eye candy, jet setter, change of taste, no jealousy, stone hearted, no bills ever (!!!!), meditative trance sleep.

Extra Notes:

1.       You can save your game while on holiday.

2.       Travel restrictions: No pregnant sims, babies or toddlers can go on holiday.

3.       Your sims have to ‘Recover’ for at least 2 days before they can go on holiday again. (Boo)

4.       Your sims get a positive moodlet (+15) for 2 days after coming back from their holiday.

5.       Sims can learn songs from the locals while on holiday. If left doing nothing they will start singing to themselves.

Fireworks!
I found one lot inside a house and set them off. The game then told me to go to map view to look at them. They lasted about 10-15sec. Didn’t see where to buy them so I couldn’t test them more than that.
Couldn’t see them anywhere in buy mode but I might have missed them.

World Adventures Preview

Right. I'm not really allowed to say anything about the game yet. Will be posting about it on Friday which is when I'm allowed to talk!!!

What I will say is that it was TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!! Had a fantastic time, everyone was really nice and the game was fantastic.

Anyway...look at my blog here on Friday or on Sim Operations (who I am also giving info to) for more details!!!

World Adventures Preview Update...

Preview is tomorrow!!! Have had an update from EA to say that I will get about 5 hours to play. France won't be avaliable and China might not be either. Some people have posted questions for me to answer on Sim Operations so there should be some answers up there tomorrow.

If anyone has any questions they would like answered let me know and I'll do my best!!!

World Adventures

YAY!!! I won one of the places in the EA comp to go and play World Adventures next week!!!

How exciting :)