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s ’ e r e WH ? t a wh 3 Just for Fun & Results Page ..................... 4 lgr_ Interview .......................................... 6 Granny Ruth ANSWERS .............................. 16 FANART: NICOLE .......................................... 18 dISSECTING aharris00britney ................. 20 trick or cheat! ......................................... 24 kATE EMERALD Interview ........................... 26 wHO IS HIP!HIP!RENEE................................... 32 Making a simmer: SIMS4 MISS WORLD........ 38 Introducing: FLAVAGAMER ....................... 42 Retro Corner: AUTUMN IN THE SIMS .......... 44 Show Us your Builds: PAUL PANCAKE ...... 50 Editors Letter ...........................................
Mods
Sims4 A MURKY ADVENTURE ......................
THE SIMS 2 VS THE SIMS 4 ................................
tHE SIMS GOES BEYOND THE PINK ................
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Sul Sul Simmers , Welcome to another edition of SimmedUp Magazine. This month we bring you ‘ The Lazy Gamer ‘ and introduce you to many more Simmers from our local community. Packed full of Sims facts and fun we hope this month’s edition is another you can add to your ‘I couldn’t put it down’ list. Next Month we look forward to bringing you our Christmas Special with an update on the Sims Skin Tones and the new pack Snowy Escape. As well as our Naughty Elf on a SimmedUp Shelf and much more. With huge thanks to all our contributors this month, we love sharing your stories and your Sims journeys with the community and look forward to doing this for many more issues to come. With sadness we say goodbye to Irimiel Moonlight, thank you for your contributions. We are always looking for more content contributors, so if you think this is you, send us an email at: simmedup@gmail.com and let us know what you wish to do or what you would like us to cover. My last words to you this month are these; Live, Love and be Happy and remember SimmedUp Magazine team are here for you.
Your Sincerely,
SimSimmerly & Team
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JustFun
? ? 1
For
You live in a one story house made entirely of redwood. What color would the stairs be?
A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him underwater for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?
All about the sims
¡4¡
2
?
3
?
?
David’ s father has three sons: Snap, Crackle, and _______ ?
Guess the CAS
PRACTICE SIMLISH Baby / Nooboo Milk / Lalo I’m Hungry! / Oh Feebee Lay!
Last Week answers:
Do Y ou K now the A nswer? 1. Be c a us e Appl e s k e e p t he doctor away! 2. A toothbrush! 3 . LOV E
G uess the CAS! S abrina S pellman ·5·
G N I
_ LGR
W E VI
R E T
IN
Game reviews these days have improved so much that it takes gamers into the heart of the game itself. Game reviewers take stock of what makes viewers tick, besides fully immersing themselves into the game they’re about to share. In the case of Clint Basinger, a.k.a. Lazy Game Reviews, he brings forth a refreshing mix of well-thought-out exposition, entertaining humour, and fair and fearless opinions. Alaeryn Emlu’rathian and Niz Shinoda-Jørgensen chat with the veteran game reviewer about how his life with The Sims franchise came to be.
SimmedUp Mag: Hi, Clint! How are you? How are you doing during the lockdown? Greetings! I’m doing well, all things considered. Took me a couple months to readjust and find my groove, but I think I’m there again, at least on a work level.
but the lockdown provided a great excuse to upgrade my listening area with more record storage, a better turntable cartridge, new speakers, and most recently a reel-to-reel tape deck from 1975. Almost none of this is practical but it sure is fun.
SU: Let’ s
talk about your first time:
you developed any new ho-
bbies since the lockdown started?
How has your order of business changed?
You have covered The Sims extensively. How did you get into The Sims? What was your first impression on the game?
Yes! I’ve dove deeper into my appreciation of music, both making it and listening to it. Right before the lockdown started I began setting up my own synthesizer workstation. Well, I call it a workstation but it’s mostly for my own amusement. I’ve always enjoyed creating and mixing music digitally using software, but the world of analog synths, drum machines, and modern MIDI hardware options has always appealed to me so I decided to jump in. And I’ve collected vinyl records for my entire adult life,
I got into The Sims because I worshipped at the altar of Will Wright, haha. Two of my first PC games as a kid were SimCity and SimAnt for Windows 3.1, and I’ve been a huge fan of his work ever since. So I’ve followed Maxis news religiously since the 90s, starting with their newsletters and catalogs through the mail and then the Maxis website around 1997. I remember being blown away by the early screenshots of SimCity 3000 with its 3D people walking
SU: Have
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around at street level and was pretty bummed that version of the game never came out. So when I saw the early screenshots of The Sims, before there was even a plumbob over their heads, I was floored. It looked like what I always wanted but somehow never *realized* that I wanted: a life simulator! I was also highly interested in architectural design and was a big fan of those house designer programs on PC back then, so I was more than excited to play Mr. Wright’s take on life. I couldn’t afford to buy it on launch, so the first time I got to play it was at my cousin’s house in 2001. House Party had just come out, but we only had the base game to play with, and man. That was still such a revelation. I didn’t even think of it as a dollhouse, it just felt like a window to a living virtual world. Like I was playing with the little house featured in SimAnt, I immediately loved it and truly couldn’t stop playing. To a potentially problematic level on retrospect, utterly ignoring family and friends to c us tomi ze my house, haha. I became attached to my sims in a way that I’d never experienced in any other game, it was just so much cooler than I expected -- and more risque! Woohoo, ah what a silly thing, and the mosaic cracked me up. The parents were less amused, haha. Still, I was able to take a copy home from my cousin’s and I pla-
yed the crap out of it every day. And night, I snuck onto the computer to play while everyone slept too. Not long after, Hot Date came out and I grabbed it from Wal-Mart immediately because, wow, sims could finally leave their home lot? Amazing. It’s been a pretty non-stop obsession ever since!
SU: Your Sims 4
review videos are
among the most honest, best-written reviews to date.
Can you tell us about the process behind each video? Your scripting process must be rigorous! The process for each Sims review begins with buying the game/pack and spending time just playing around with it. No note-taking, no capturing video, no looking stuff up online. Simply simming. My goal is to approach each piece of Sims content with a fresh perspective, avoiding online coverage and any kind of hype or community criticisms so I can form my own opinions. Once I’ve spent between one to four days with it, depending on the type of content, I then go online and look up some wikis or guides to see if I’ve missed anything. It’s at that point I start writing down notes of all the objective factual stuff and forming a loose outline for the review. Big headline features, new gameplay, new clothing, any careers or activities, special objects, new skills, number of chairs, that kinda thing. After I get the objective bits of the outline taken care of, I start writing a script using those facts and begin filling in the gaps between with more subjective
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stuff. How much I enjoyed it personally, any thoughts I have for how it could be improved, and of course peppering the script with puns, pop culture references, and snark. It’s just a free-flowing thing at that point, I usually spend a full work day writing the first draft and continually re-write and refine things over the course of the week. Once I have a first draft, I start capturing gameplay footage with intent. Sometimes I’ll capture a little gameplay beforehand, like if a particularly odd event starts happening while I’m playing, but most of the footage isn’t recorded until I know precisely what I want to record. The way this happens is by writing out another couple pages of notes based on my script, with each line corresponding to each scene in the review. Things like “sim crying into their cereal, head-on view” “adult female clothing montage,” “selecting career from the phone, 15 secs” “walking down the street, sunset in background,” “slow pan from left to front of house,” or “Duke dying from that stupid murphy bed again.” Once I’ve got a complete script and a good chunk of gameplay recorded, I’ll hop into my recording booth and do a couple of voiceovers. I’m never happy with my first run through, so I always record at least two and splice things together so I end up with a vocal delivery I’m happy with. Finally, I start editing it all together in Premiere Pro. I’ll usually build out a video project framework first, with the edited voiceover in place on the timeline and markers indicating where each scene goes, and then drop in all my individually captured scenes and start cutting them down to fit each sentence of my voiceover. It’s just a buncha grunt work after that, haha. Editing takes a ton of time since I capture so many purposely-constructed scenes for each sentence of voiceover, it’s
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all gotta line up perfectly. Once it’s all in place it’s time to render the first draft and watch it, which I do on a TV, a tablet, and a phone just to make sure it looks good on all of them. I don’t want text to be too small or stuff to get cut off by graphics on certain screens or anything. There’s always something wrong with the first draft, and I always think of more things to say or different ways to say it, so I re-edit and re-record until it ends up being version 3 or 4 of a video that goes public. Sims videos are basically a science for me at this point. Or a cake. Baking a big ol’ cake of content.
SU: You’ re not exactly the biggest fan of Sims 4 stuff packs; what about this model bothers you the most? I s there a different model that you would prefer? Yeah I’ve got a complicated history with stuff packs. When they were first introduced with The Sims 2, I was pretty thrilled to get more content at all. Since the game was already feature-rich and awesome, it was just more icing on the cake. It wasn’t DLC, the only way you could get them was in a box, in a store, and they were often chock full of useful goodies for my playstyle. Custom content was still my preferred way of adding stuff, but I was happy to grab the packs when I had some spare cash because the core game was excellent and worth adding onto. I slowly started disliking them with The Sims 3. Not immediately, I was pretty pleased with the first couple! And again, the game was already such an expansive open world thing that new objects being added to the game was only a bonus in my mind. But once Outdoor Living came along and it was like a veil was lifted. I saw how pointless many of the items were, and them ad-
ding customizable hot tubs outside of Late Night made me think “huh, are they just cutting objects out of expansions to put them in stuff packs?” And then releases like Sweet Treats really rubbed me the wrong way, it was such an obviously cynical (and typically EA) kind of move to release a pack advertising something and then have the gall to charge MORE for it. Keep in mind stuff packs were $20 then, so $30 for badly-made candy covered objects? Yeah no. After nine extraneous stuff packs, almost none of which I used in my normal gameplay, the concept had lost its appeal. Once The Sims 4 came along, I was utterly done with stuff packs. Sure they cost less, but the concepts for each pack bewildered me. Who out there was asking for a pack of luxury party items or patio furniture or kitchen counters? It felt like The Sims 3 online store rebranded, where you’d buy individual sets of objects for gardens or bakeries or whatever. And once Sims 4 stuff packs started adding legit useful new gameplay -- like hot tubs, bowling, laundry, fashion photography, and knitting? Well that’s a kick to the nuts. It just feels more than ever like nickel and diming to me, like they’re taking things out of expansion packs and placing them for individual sale packaged alongside a bunch of random items I’ll never use. Items that are only BARELY connected by a theme. In hindsight, I miss The Sims 3 store, because at least then if I wanted an ice
cream maker I could buy JUST an ice cream maker, and not have to pay for the pleasure of getting a dozen ugly jackets alongside it. And since the core Sims 4 game is still lacking in many respects compared to its predecessors, stuff packs feel like a doubly unfortunate waste of time and resources. The effort could be going into base game improvements instead, but nope. In terms of a different model I wish they’d use, I used to think Game Packs were the answer. They offered what I always wanted stuff packs to be: mini expansions, with a clear theme and a nice selection of new objects and gameplay. I used to wish they’d get rid of stuff packs altogether and only stick to EPs and GPs. But after Journey to Batuu, eh, I’m not so sure anymore. I just want a feature-complete Sims 4 game dang it, or move onto The Sims 5 already.
SU: One of your greatest loves is retro computers and retro gaming, especially simulators. What fascinates you the most gaming experiences of the past? I’m a firm believer in looking back in order to effectively look forward, and retro computers and games are a great way to do that. Each old machine and each classic game is a window into a specific point in time, and being able to revisit them nowadays is a fantastic way to gain a better understanding of where we are now, I think. It’s also just a lotta fun on a personal level, for the nostalgia factor and also
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for the pared-down simplicity of older games and hardware. Seeing what a 33MHz 486SX CPU can do is endlessly more amusing to me than seeing what a brand new i9 CPU can do, I dunno. Especially with old sim games, they were always pushing the limits of processing power back in the day. Nowadays, it almost seems natural that a computer can render an entire planet with minute detail and speed. But back in the day? Man, seeing anything resembling reality at all was pretty fantastic, knowing that your computer was being pushed to the absolute limit. I swear you can hear those things thinking, they try so very hard to do so very little, it’s the best.
SU: Do you use mods in your gameplay? I f yes, which mods do you use? What is your opinion about mods filling in for
The Sims 4 ( if you use mods)?
I actually don’t use mods in my normal gameplay for The Sims 4, other than a few custom clothing items for my sims and a mod to disable autonomous animations in Create-A-Sim. I was way more into the modding scene for The Sims 1 and 2, and eventually 3 to a degree. Even made a few little pieces of content myself. But to be honest, TS4 has lost my interest to such a degree that I haven’t done much with modding. Although I’ve tried several of the most spicier mods (ahem) and I do follow a few others just to watch their progress. Like the Sims Plus Open Worlds mod, that looks supremely ambitious, perhaps even enough to make a video on it once it’s complete. I’m also impressed by all the fan-made stuff packs, and seeing those really puts to shame the official paid packs in my opinion. Can’t beat the price of free. And for paid mods, I’m personally more wi-
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lling to support creators on Patreon than I am EA at this point.
SU: What has been your playing style in The Sims ever since the game came out? I n one of your videos ( if I can remember correctly) you mentioned that you’ re not into supernatural/fantasy gameplay. The way I play The Sims is very much a twist on real life, yeah. I’ve never been a big fan of supernatural and fantasy elements in The Sims, unless it’s a spin-off kinda thing like Medieval. I dig it in that context. But when it comes to simulating my own virtual lives, I prefer to stick to reality as close as possible, so long as it doesn’t get tedious. For example, I don’t care for doing laundry at all, but I’ll happily simulate hours of my sim doing nothing but painting or programming. I also enjoy role-playing by imposing my own constraints, as well as doing challenges. I have absolutely done the whole “woohoo every sim in the city” kinda challenges, haha. And I didn’t make it to a hundred babies but I got close once. And I genuinely enjoy playing a homeless sim, I’m not sure why. Just living outside, scrounging around for items, selling crystals and bugs. Still, all that was back in The Sims 3. I haven’t really had the same desire to do so with TS4
SU: You were offered the position of Game Changer for EA a while ago; it’ s clear why: your gold-standard reviews are a go-to for many Simmers. However, you turned the position down. Could you elaborate on why? All right yeah, so let’s clear this up as I think my position has been misconstrued in the past. Outside of a few surprise gifts over the years, I’ve always paid for Sims games and packs out of my own pocket. And I’m happy to do so, reviewing these things is my job after all. But for a very short amount of time in 2016, they sent me early access review codes for a couple of Sims 4 packs, which was a real shock to me. No one from EA had ever so much as tweeted at me before, much less single me out for early access. It seemed like a mistake, haha. There were zero strings attached, no stipulations on anything except what day I could publicly post the review. Typical stuff, I was happy to oblige! Sometime shortly after that though, I suddenly stopped getting review codes. Which I mean, fine, I never asked for them to begin with, it was fun while it lasted. But then I was approached by their social me-
dia manager person about joining the new Game Changers program. This was mid-2017 by the way. Apparently they were no longer sending out review codes unless you signed a contract with EA. Perhaps it’s changed since 2017, but when the contract was offered to me the official line from EA was: “Essentially this program allows for those in it to have more candid conversations with the developers in a safe space and to provide feedback very early on in the development process.” But in reality, it seemed to be more of a select group of influencers that EA deemed worthy to receive early access. The official description of a Game Changer, at least back when I was offered the role, was as follows: “Game Changer Program Activities consist of those activities and events that you are invited to participate in by an EA Authorized Representative that are not available to ordinary fans or consumers, such as online forums, events, conference calls, meetings and product demonstration sessions exclusive to select VIP fans.” Now you don’t HAVE to participate in things, but I didn’t want to be that involved or even ASSOCIATED with being that involved. All I wanted was the opportunity to get a head start on reviewing packs so a video would be out by launch day, but that couldn’t happen unless I signed on. Getting access a week ahead of time would be nice, but not if I have to sign onto their program and place their logos and ad copy in my videos. So that was the sticking point: becoming a Game Changer required entering an ongoing relationship with EA and there’s a 5-page legal agreement involved with a load of stipulations. Now, it’s nothing out of the ordinary for the games industry when it comes to programs like this, but it’s not
·11·
something I wanted to be a part of since it would conflict with my overall attempts at fair coverage. Aligning myself with the company that I so often criticize, even if they allowed me to say anything I wanted, I think would come across as a conflict of interest. That’s something I’d like to avoid when I can. Furthermore, Game Changers may also be provided tangible benefits in the form of paidfor travel and accommodations if EA decides you’re good enough for it, which feels weird to me. I’m not knocking people who accept the invitation, I mean, free food and free travel is rad as hell. But for me, if I’m reviewing something critically, I don’t want trips, hotels, and meals being offered to me by a company and slowly getting into my head. That’s why I pay for my own travel and hotels and meals whenever I attend conventions. This line from page 3 of the contract was also a no-go for me: “You grant EA all necessary rights to use, reproduce, perform, display and distribute, in perpetuity and throughout the universe, any and all images, recordings (both audio and visual) and statements taken of you or which you provide EA in connection with any Game Changer Program Activities, as well as your name, nickname, handle and the like, in marketing, advertising and promotional materials and content for any of EA’s products and services, in any and all media by which such materials and content may be distributed, without further approval or compensation of any kind.” So even if all the other points were true, I’d still rather not have my face, my name, or any of my review content used in EA advertising “throughout the universe.” Feels gross man.
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SU: Looking back at the history of The Sims franchise, what have you observed in terms of the evolution of the game? What could have been done better? Ahh, there are a thousand different answers to “what could have been done better.” Here we are four iterations into the series and over two decades after the original game and many Simmers are still asking for basic features to be added. I really thought we’d have like an ultimate Sims game by now, with all the best parts of all the older games combined into a new one that takes advantage of all the awesome graphics and processing technology currently available. It’s certainly what I dreamed of when I first played The Sims 2, that really felt like such a clear evolution. Same with The Sims 3 going open world with Create-A-Style and such. Sure, bad performance, yeah I know. But it’s not 2008 anymore, it’s 2020. They could make it happen. Instead, we’ve got a Frankenstein’s monster of a game that was apparently reworked from an online Sims MMO thing and made into a single player Sims game. And you can kinda tell the engine wasn’t meant to do all it’s trying to do now, with all its segmented lots and loading screens and lack of deep customization or even color wheels. Heck, the fact that new skin tones with sliders are taking THIS LONG to implement shows the limitations of the underlying game. The gameplay restrictions feel conspicuously arbitrary, which becomes even more apparent if you go back and spend time with TS2/TS3, or take a look around the custom content and modding scene. Heck, check out what Paralives is attempting to do in terms of cus-
tomization and build mode options alone, and that’s an independent project! There’s no reason that we shouldn’t have an ultimate Sims game by now, combining the charm of The Sims 1, the gameplay of The Sims 2, the open world and customization of The Sims 3, and the stylized, streamlined nature of The Sims 4. For all its awesome and welcome additions, The Sims 4 feels less like direct evolution, and more like... I dunno, a sidestep. A detour. The Sims 4 would’ve been an excellent spinoff game actually, like The Sims Medieval or The Urbz. Instead it began its lifespan a few steps behind where many of us though it would, and somehow it’s still going six years later. I’m sure some EA intern has made up all kinds of lovely charts, sales figures, and metrics to justify its continued existence to the higher-ups, but bleh. Reality is not what I’d dreamed it would be at this point in time and it’s slightly depressing.
SU: I n an interview with SimsVIP in 2013, you were asked about if you were looking forward to The Sims 4. You stated that “I’ m hoping that TS4 is a conti nuation of what The Sims was all about at its inception: freedom to do anything you want while simulating virtual human life.”
Has EA hit the nail on that for you on certain aspects, or not at all? Why or why not? In certain aspects, yes. The Sims 4 is a lovely little game. I like that it’s friendly and approachable to newcomers, I enjoy that it doesn’t run like garbage, I like how the sims themselves physically look, and I dig the lighting engine since they overhauled it some years back. It’s also fun to explore
the new active careers and player-driven gameplay options whenever they’re added. I still love making clubs and custom groups, heh. But I mean. The base game gave me what, a week or two of enjoyment when it first came out? I dropped it like a rock after that, there just wasn’t anything left to try or systems to exploit or things to customize. And each pack might give me a couple days of fun if I’m lucky. Sure the game’s gotten a LOT better in the past six years, but eh. It’s also been SIX years, jeez. That’s longer than any other Sims game has existed before a new one came along, and it’s showing no signs of moving on. Personally, I was done with the game a couple of years ago now, and I would’ve stopped playing entirely if it weren’t for making reviews. Now it’s more of an obligation and that makes me sad. I try my best not to have it show in my videos, but I know it does. So at this point I’m ready for them to restart and try again, hopefully with a crapload more content in the base Sims 5.
SU: Lately
there has been talk on
skintones and improving gameplay in
The
Sims. Where do you see yourself standing on these issues? Do you try to engage in discussions, or do you just air it out on your own on social media? I don’t really engage in any discussions at all outside of my videos. Or, interviews like this one I suppose. I did back in the day, but once it became my job I started putting all my energy into the videos and reacting to my own community instead of the Sims community at large. That being said, the fact that the Sims team currently seems to be actively lis-
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tening to community desires is fantastic. Kinda wonder was happening from 2014 to 2019, but y’know, I’m sure there are plenty of corporate reasonings and other such dismissive fiddle faddle. As a fan of the series I don’t really care, I just want the game to be as good as it can be and appeal to as many players as possible. Gimme all the skintones, all the clothing options, all the genders and orientations, all the chairs, all the social situations, all the woohoo, all the possible customization we can possibly desire. That’s the beauty of life sims: the more, the merrier, in every respect. Human life is vast and weird and diverse and awesome, and being able to simulate as much of it as possible is endlessly fascinating to me. I think life sims have only scratched the surface and I’m still psyched for the genre’s future.
SU: What
from enjoying what you do. And if you’re not so keen on the way things are going, hang in there! I truly think the best simming experiences still lie in the future, whether it’s from EA, from someone else, or through the community modding things into oblivion. Simmers are, in general, pretty darn skilled and passionate about this stuff, and the community isn’t going away anytime soon. And if you’ve seen any LGR videos, then thank you very much for watching! :) Visit LGR and binge-watch all his The Sims reviews, tech reviews, and tech lore!
YouT ube T witter
advice would you give so-
meone who wants to learn how to build a computer from the ground up?
Research! Do all the research before buying any parts, as there are a million and one guides and PC parts picking sites online to make it easy and foolproof. It really is simpler than it looks, too. If you can build a Lego kit, you can build a computer. And don’t feel that you have to build a NASA supercomputer to enjoy PC gaming! Overall, PC hardware is ridiculously powerful now, and even a middle-of-theroad system can be exceptional for most games.
SU: Any message to Simmers out there, old and new? If you’re having fun, keep having fun! Don’t let anyone else’s opinion stop you
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INiz( nonxplussed) IAl(Alaeryn)
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Granny Ruth ps for
Meet Grandma Ruth Pennington, SimmedUp Magazine’s very own Agony Grandma. Grandma Ruth was born and grew up in Sunset Valley and lived in Bridgeport as a young adult working as a late-night radio DJ where she would take calls from all kinds of Sims to give them advice about life.
ti
She managed to save enough money and move to Isla Paradiso to open a small beach bar where, again, she found herself listening to other Sims’ problems. Grandma Ruth then decided to travel the world for a few years visiting places like Al-Simhara before settling down in Veronaville working as a therapist. It is rumoured that Grandma Ruth had affairs with members form the Capp and Monty families but she has never confirmed (or denied) these allegations. Now an elder, Grandma Ruth decided it is time for a change. She moved yet again, this time to Brindleton Bay, to share her vast knowledge of life with SimmedUp readers. She enjoys knitting while listening to heavy metal and sipping on a simoleon sunrise; she makes a living by selling her knitted goods on Plopsy.*
w o d k c lo
Plan your day. As tempting as it might be to stay in pyjamas all day, regular routines are essential for our identity, self-confidence and purpose. (MentalHealth. org.uk)
Try to manage how you follow the outbreak in the media There is extensive news coverage about the outbreak. If you find that the news is causing you huge stress, it’s important to find a balance. (MentalHealth.org.uk)
Move more every day Being active reduces stress, increases energy levels, can make us more alert and help us sleep better. (MentalHealth.org.uk)
*Note from editor: We love Grandma Ruth but truth be told, the woman can’t knit. Nothing ever sells on Plopsy so we as the SimmedUp team secretly buy all her knitted goodies off Plopsy. The problem is, she never stops knitting, and we are up to our eyeballs in yarn. If
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you’d like to support Grandma Ruth, please donate to www.simmedup.co.uk and keep her knitting.
wn
Beating the winter blues
As we go into Winter for many, these top tips come from: www.nhsinform.scot
It’s thought the winter blues, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD), affects around 2 million people in the UK and more than 12 million people across northern Europe. It can affect people of any age, including children. According to Sue Pavlovich of the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association (SADA), these tips could help
Seek help If your symptoms are so bad that you can’t live a normal life or you have thoughts of harming yourself, see your GP for medical help. Samaritans: Whatever you’re going through, you can call us any time, from any phone for FREE.
Keep warm Being cold makes you more depressed. It’s also been shown that staying warm can reduce the winter blues by half.
Call 116 123 Welsh language services 08081640123 - Every day 7pm – 11pm GMT Write us an email Sometimes writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you understand them better.
See the light Some people find light therapy effective for seasonal depression. One way to get light therapy at home in winter is to sit in front of a light box for up to two hours a day.
jo@samaritans.org Response time: 24 hours Stay Safe and remember to Keep Apart, Wash Hands and Wear a Mask.
Send your questions via email to: Grandma Ruth c/o Simmedup@gmail.com and your questions could be posted in our next issue.
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As an obsessed CC collector, the majority of my mods folder is a variety of hairs – long, short, curly, wavy, braids – I have it all. But the one thing most of my hairs have in common, is that they are made by the same creator. aharris00britney, aka Austin Harris, started making CC in December of 2015 with a simple top recolor. It wasn’t until a year later in November 2016, that he started creating hairstyles. In 2018, he received the opportunity to join the EA Game Changers program. Today, Austin is well known for his lookbooks, CC hairstyles and collabs with @ayoshi. Austin also offers speed meshing videos of his hair making process on his YouTube. Creators-in-training can learn how to paint custom shadows, how to convert hairs and UV mapping. Check out the #aharris00britney tag on Tumblr to find conversions and recolors that other creators have made with Austin’s meshes!
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Outside of Sims and meshing, Austin enjoys playing a variety of games such as Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and Dead By Daylight. He is also pursuing his degree in education at Radford University and hopes to become a history teacher. When he’s not gaming or studying for school, he spends his spare time going on walks with his new puppy. Thank you to Austin, who agreed to answer some questions about his experience as a CC creator. How long have you been playing sims? Which version is your favorite? Do you have a favorite pack?
When you’re working on a new piece, what’s your process? Do you have a certain standard that you hold yourself to?
For most of my hairs that I create now, they are made on and off for a few months. I rarely I’ve been playing Sims for a short amount sit down and make and finish an entire hair of time compared to most players I think. I in a day or two unless it’s for a speed messtarted playing Sims Freeplay on my phone hing video. A lot of the time I’ll start a hair in in middle school, and then I got The Sims 4 in blender and name the file things such as: proNovember 2014. So to me, The Sims 4 would gress, with hat chops, test new, fix weights. be my favorite as that is the only one I have These are different steps that I go through played. My favorite pack for The Sims 4 is de- for testing the hair and a lot of the time if a finitely Seasons/Vampires/Backyard Stuff. hair isn’t winning a voting poll to release the next month, I won’t bother working on it til it How long have you been making CC and is winning. what inspired you to start? Why mostly hair - it seems the hardest!? What are your most and least favorite I started actually meshing in November 2016, and the meshes were bad. Like really bad. I have learned so much from then to now and I’m still learning things. I got inspired because I was interested in CC and I couldn’t find hairs that I wanted in my game. My first few hairs had headbands because City Living had just released and I wanted to use the headband mesh from one of the hairs on a few hairs. I definitely like working on hairs the best, and to me they are easier than clothes because the weight and UV_1 system are simpler.
parts of making CC?
I love seeing the CC in game, especially for the first time even if it is a bit broken. It always looks better in game on my Sims then on the Blender model and putting it on all of my hair models when I make something new is something I love to do.
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My least favorite part would honestly be making the posts. Especially for packs like AxA where they have item indexes. For example there were 95 items I think, so I had to make sure each item was linked properly in the item index and was set to public. Something like that can usually take me an hour alone which I hate. What CC piece or collection are you most proud of? Do you have one you’re not proud of? Anything not on my download page I’m not proud of tbh. Anything on the download page is updated and I’m happy with how it looks and I know it will work. My favorite CC piece changes all the time cause I’m always making new stuff. Like currently my favorite released CC piece would be Karina hair which comes out at the end of the month. So it’s always changing. AxA 2020 is definitely my favorite collection I’ve done. I use all the AxA packs in my game for townies and my Sims and I love that we made such a huge pack with so many items.
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When you work on a collab, what is that process like? How do you ensure both of your artistic styles come through? Can you talk a bit about your new collab with ayoshi and what that was like? I love doing collabs, especially with ayoshi. We’ve been insanely close friends since April 2017 and he is a staple in my life. When we work on CC together it is very literally a collab. I feel like most CC collabs are two people making their own content and throwing it together, but with Ayoshi we work together on literally everything. I do most of the meshing for the clothes, but he is the one that textures almost everything and sometimes I will make some adjustments. We both like very simple clothes, and a lot of our inspiration comes from stores like Forever21. We go back and forth on some items but usually we compromise with something. For example, I was against putting biker shorts in the AxA 2020 pack, so I asked him if he would make a patches version of the denim skirt and denim shorts and then I would finish the biker shorts and put them in. I’ve been talking about AxA 2020 throughout this question, but it was such a huge project and we’re both super proud of how it turned out. We started making CC for it in March this year when my Spring Break got extended due to COVID-19, and then the items just kept growing in numbers.
Any previews or sneak peeks of what you have coming up or what’s in your WIP folder? How many things do you have in your WIP folder? I have a lot in my WIP folder. I have 13 different hairs that I’m working on right now which is insane. One or two of these should release next month! Voting is still going on but one will definitely win.
So, how many of Austin’s hairs do you have in your game? You can find more about Austin on: Twitter Discord Patreon Tumblr
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k c i r T or ! EAT H C COW PLANT You’ve probably come across these plants before when browsing the internet, seeing as they’re pretty meme-worthy. If you want to grow your own you’ll need a Cow Berry. These can be found when fishing, digging, Exploring Space and Grafting. Grafting is available when your Sim is a high level at Gardening, and you can splice plants together. Firstly, Plant Snapdragon and Strawberry and take cuttings of each when they’re big enough. Graft one plant with the cutting from the other which will give you Dragonfruit.
PC, Xbox & PS4 Cheat Codes
Plant a Snapdragon and Dragonfruit, take cuttings of each and graft one to the other. You’ll end up with the Cowplant Berry. Plant it and voila! Your very own killer Cow Plant.
ENLARGE OBJECTS You can make yourself a giant bed, cooker, toys and you can even make the world’s biggest television thanks to this handy hack. While in Buy Mode hit the square bracket key (right) to stretch an item to any size, and use the square bracket key (left) to shrink it back down. Very handy if you want to make a movie theatre in your Sim household, without having to pay for the pack!
OBJECT FREE ROAM The Sims games have definitely come a long way when it comes to placing objects in your home, but you can make things a little more flexible by pressing and holding down the ALT key. This will bypass the placement squares in the game, meaning you don’t have to make sure your items are placed in line with the grid. While rotating an object you can also hold down ALT to give you 360 degrees of potential placement.
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GRILLED CHEESE ASPIRATION The iconic Grilled Cheese Aspiration makes a comeback in The Sims 4, but it’s something you’ll have to unlock. Eat three grilled cheeses in a row and it’ll unlock in the Food category. Although starting off fairly simple, the latter goals to achieve can be pretty tricky. You’ll need to “Eat a Grilled Cheese Sandwich in Space,” for example. Once you complete the milestone, you’ll be able to paint pictures of grilled cheese and summon up a grilled cheese on command, which is nice to have. Try summoning one when your Sim is in a bad mood, and it’ll be spoiled though, so watch out.
AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE A small aside here, but The Sims 4 is very well optimised for laptop users. So much so that The Sims 4 default camera is all about laptop users. However, The Sims 3 camera is best for placing – specifically, rotating – objects. And it’s also just better in general. It may take some getting used to if you’ve been playing with the default camera, but I’d recommend turning on The Sims 3 camera in your game settings.
THE MINI-DESK-AND-DISHWASHER TRICK
The first example is in kitchens, or bathrooms, or anywhere you may want to use a counter. You know in some houses there’s counters then a gap in the middle and maybe a laundry basket or storage? Not possible in the Sims. UNLESS you use this trick. Make sure you have moveobjects enabled for this though. Grab a dishwasher, and shrink it down super small – using the left square bracket key. Once it’s tiny, place it in the counter, chopping a square out of it, and it then becomes a blank space for you to place something else there. Like a laundry basket, or a box of towels, or cleaning products. Do try to use something here that you’re not going to want your Sims to use, as they won’t really be able to comprehend what’s going on here and will probably get confused. It adds such a nice touch to an otherwise boring object. The second example is desks. Say you want your laptop or computer to be on the slant on a desk rather than bang in the middle. What you need to do here is grab a small, one by one desk or table, and size it all the way down. Once sized down grab the piece of electronic equipment you want to place on a desk and put it on top of the mini desk. The laptop will stay the same size, but now wherever you move the mini-desk the laptop will follow. Hide it away in a normal sized desk, and there you have it! A laptop on the side of the desk, rather than smack bang in the middle.
This is a trick that blew my mind. Maybe you’ve always known how to do this in The Sims 4, but for me? Amazing. Brilliant. Unique. Never been done before. It’s all about making an object like a table or a counter super tiny, to be able to utilise space a little better.
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Kate Emerald:
Titan Architect There are few names in the Sims 4 building community that inspire as much awe as Kate Emerald. Known for her immensely palatial builds, her mastery of the T.O.O.L building mod, and her jaw-dropping base-game creations, Kate Emerald, German Game Changer, is a bastion of Sims 4 building prowess. Soft-spoken and gracious, humble and hard-working, Kate continues to astound the Sims 4 community time and time again with her stunning creations. I sat down for a revealing interview with Kate, and she unveiled not only her best building tips but also her personal journey of creative self-acceptance.
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Kate, it is such an immense pleasure to speak with you, a giant in the Sims 4 building community. Congratulations on smashing that 100,000 subscribers milestone! How does it feel? Thank you so much! It still feels unreal to surpass that milestone. I always like to say that YouTube isn’t about numbers, it’s about building your community and enjoying creating content, and that’s true, but some milestones just feel extra special. I think it’s important to celebrate and to allow yourself to be proud every now and then. I am so grateful for my community and the support, and I sometimes pinch myself to see if it’s all real. It’s a number I never thought I’d see! At the same time it still feels like two years ago when I just started out: I just create the content I love, build the houses I like, and do my best; sometimes I struggle. The only thing that has changed is that I feel much more confident and comfortable in what I do because I have this amazing community. Youtube and my community feel like home! I must commend you and get the inevitable question of inspiration out of the way. Your range is astounding! From rustic woodland cottages to palatial fantasy builds, you can do it all! What kind of build makes you feel the most at home, no pun intended? What inspires you? Modern homes definitely feel like home for me. It’s ironic because when I started my channel I completely avoided modern builds for some reason and focused on more rustic builds. Then at some point I found my love for modern builds in The Sims 4, and I have embraced them since. But I really enjoy other styles just as much, it’s the variety that makes it so fun. I find inspiration in lots of different
things including Pinterest, real-life houses or some super random things that have nothing to do with houses at all. Sometimes it’s a beautiful pattern, a combination of different wood tones or something else. I also mostly develop ideas while I work on a house so I mostly only have a rough idea for a garage for example and then I start to build and expand the house as I go. You just started a Discord! How is that treating you? It’s been such a fun and interesting journey! I’ve always been a TeamSpeak person, and when Discord came around the corner, I never really used it. After spending some time on other Discord servers, I got more and more familiar with Discord in general, and [I] started to enjoy it. I never thought so many Simmers would join my server, but now it’s such an active community and everyone is so friendly, and it’s a lot of fun. I couldn’t do it without my wonderful admin Sadiee who created different competitions, and there are even gem themed houses now (As in Harry Potter houses), and so much is happening! One thing I have always admired about you is your sheer dedication to positivity. How do you manage to remain positive despite some of the staunch negativity the Sims community sometimes offers? The Sims has been my favorite game for over two decades now. I’ve always enjoyed building, and I had the best time playing Sims 1, 2, 3 and 4. I feel like nothing can really take away the excitement I feel for this game, and because I am a builder, I am always excited for new content either way. I am a no CC builder [so] I solely rely on packs for new build/ buy objects, and my excitement is through
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the roof whenever a new pack [is] announced. This doesn’t mean that I don’t see any of the flaws some packs have, and I like to point them out. I am still happy about all the good things so I guess the glass is half full and not half empty. I have to admit though that it’s definitely much more fun when others are just as excited and I enjoy seeing the positive response the Snowy Escape trailer has received. It’s amazing that a pack so many Simmers are excited about is on its way! You not only help others become better builders through your tutorials, but you constantly, fervently support other builders in our community as well! Who is a builder who inspires you every time? There are so many amazing builders in this community that I look up to! Mr. Olkan has a big focus on mansions and luxurious homes just like I do, and I enjoy seeing his work everytime! SatiSim is one of the absolute best fantasy builders, and she creates things I can’t even imagine to build! When it comes to T.O.O.L. (A building mod by TwistedMexi that I like to use) Fantasims makes my jaw drop every time. MsGryphi is the queen of tiny builds, and I admire her work so much. The list could go on and on, you would never run out of amazing builders, and I am so happy to be able to call many of the builders in this community my friends! The holidays are around the corner! I know our readers are dying to know your best tips for creating cozy-looking homes. How do you make your builds feel comfortable and “lived-in?” I mostly create big mansions and to make them more cozy and lived-in I like to use lots
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of rugs to fill the open floor space, and I like to place fireplaces including armchairs and coffee tables in open empty areas. I think using the right colors can also help so wood, oranges, reds and such are always a good choice. Clutter is also a good way of making a home more lived in and also realistic. Empty walls look super cold, so a painting here and there definitely helps. When it comes to the holidays, placing Christmas trees and all the holiday decorations the game has to offer is a good way to make it look cozy and festive as well. There is a free holiday pack (Holiday Celebration Pack) that everyone should grab to make their holiday-themed homes more festive.
All of your work is an absolutely pristine display of precision; you make mathematical perfection an art form! Take us through your process. How do you plan your builds if at all? Is building a science, an art, or some combination of both for you? What is your best advice for Sims 4 builders who are just starting out? I mostly don’t really plan my builds at all. I have an idea about the general style and direction and then I start to build. For me, it’s about emotion: I look at the build and I see if it feels right. Does it look balanced, is something missing, does it look empty or is it too busy? When it feels boring or something seems to be off, I usually move on to the next
build and ditch it. I think this is how basically any viewer will approach [any] build because someone will take a quick look at it while scrolling by, and it’s a quick visceral response [about] whether or not a build looks interesting. So why not approach it this way as a builder? My advice for builders who are just starting out is always to forget the idea of a traditional house: don’t get hung up on the idea of what a house has to look like; explore how it could look like if you just followed your creativity. Just have some fun while building and create whatever you want to create. Your imagination will take you to amazing places. If you don’t know how to use build mode at all it
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could be a good idea to look at some tutorials and guides for beginners. The wonderful lilsimsie has some good tutorials which are perfect for beginners who don’t know anything about build mode at all yet! Given your immense talent for and dedication for Sims building, do you think you’ll continue building once Sims 5 hits shelves? What are your plans for the future? I’m absolutely planning to create content for The Sims 5 when it comes out and I am excited for it! I have no idea if I will continue to create Sims 4 content when Sims 5 is out at some point: Maybe I will create both, Sims 4 and Sims 5 content or maybe The Sims 4 content will slowly fade out. I only started to create Sims content with Sims 4 so I have never experienced the switch from Sims 3 to Sims 4 as other creators have so this will be new for me. I am also planning to build with Paralives once the game is ready, but I won’t stop with Sims 4 content in this case, so Paralives will just be an addition to the channel. Anything else you want our readers to know? Kate: I’d like to thank you for having me and for all your kind words, this interview was a lot of fun! And to any new creators and/or builders reading this: follow your dream and create what you love to create, that’s what it’s all about! YouTube Discord Twitter Facebook Instagram THE SIMS 4 GALLERY [ID: KateEmerald]
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WHO IS HIP!HIP! renee
Last month we got to see a little bit of HipHipRenee’s work in the “Show Us Your Builds” article. This month, we are getting to know HipHipRenee find out how all this started and where it is going. Who is HipHipRenee? As far as content creation goes, I’m a 34-year-old woman who’s just absolutely obsessed with The Sims. I’ve been playing since the game released, and I played most of the Maxis titles before they even came out with The Sims. I had been toying with the idea of creating a YouTube channel, though my original focus was meant to be makeup and beauty— I decided that as much as I liked the idea of creating, I liked the idea of not being in front of the camera more. So I flipped the switch and got started on a Sims 4 building channel. In my regular, dayto-day life, I’m recently married and I work multiple jobs. I went to college for Dance Pedagogy— because like my content creation, as much as I like dancing, I like the creative and learning side of dancing much more than the performing side. I became a dance teacher out of college and began
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teaching for various studios in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and modern. In addition to dance, I work as a residential counsellor for a children’s group home. The kids I work with have lived through so much trauma, and it’s my job to keep them safe and cared for at my work where they live around the clock. It’s demanding, but extremely rewarding.
How
The favou-
long have you been playing
Sims franchise rite?
and do you have a
I have been playing The Sims since it was released in 2000 when I was 12 years old. The first iteration of the game will always hold a special place in my heart, but— and I may be cancelled for this— my favourite version of the game is The Sims 4. Maybe it’s because I don’t do a lot of gameplay, but I absolutely adore everything Sims 4, especially build mode.
Your Friday Fright videos, as I like to call them, are clearly very well resear-
ched.
How
did the idea to do true crime
builds come about ?
I never in a million years thought I would end up mashing up true crime and The Sims, but here we are. The series started off as a one-shot video. The week prior to Island Living being released, I saw a lot of Gamechangers creating “sirens”. Being the pedantic person I am, I felt the need to put out a video discussing the huge differences between sirens of Greek mythology and mermaids. It was horribly researched, I spent maybe three hours on the entire video, and I expected it to get a usual handful of views. Boy, was I wrong. Within a day or so, the video had nearly 10k views— and I knew I had found something unique. The next video was a plane crash utilizing Sulani to discuss the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. It wasn’t until Halloween when I dove into true crime with The Amityville Horror. I realized while building that what was interesting about the house wasn’t the fabricated ghost story attached to it, but the real and raw sordid history of the house— so instead of discussing and giving more publicity to the Lutz family, I decided to look into the real history of the house to discuss during my build. I did a few more videos, and they all performed really well, but it wasn’t until February of 2020 that I decided my channel would be better served (and I would enjoy the content more!) if I focused more on true crime and made it a weekly series. The rest is (a brief) history!
The subject matter of your Friday builds is pretty dark . Do you enjoy the darker
side of things or are you as fun and upbeat as your name sounds?
I genuinely enjoy doing both types of content. I’ve always been very interested in why criminals, especially violent criminals, do what they do. And knowing how well shows like Forensic Files, Criminal Minds, or any other crime show do, I knew it was a fairly popular genre. At the same time, I’m a pretty bubbly and ridiculous person, so it’s nice to be able to balance the content on the channel for a wide variety of people to watch. The folks who enjoy my sarcastic list videos may not be the same folks who enjoy my true crime series— but I like being able to cater to and create for both audiences.
What future content can we look forward to? I’m going to make a HUGE confession here in that... I don’t plan out my content. I have a notebook of plans, ideas, and brainstorms, especially for A Brief History— but for my more normal content, I do my best work when I come up with a stupid idea at 5AM and the video is typically out later that day. I do have some plans regarding A Brief History for some highly requested, notorious serial killers that will be done in multiple parts. And of course, I have plans to continue my SimsTuber tutorial series as the ideas come to me. I think my favourite part of my channel is the spontaneity, so fun stuff is coming but it’s as much of a sur-
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prise to me as it is to you!
Are you planning on doing serial killer Sims for people to download? This is something I have toyed with on multiple occasions but have ultimately decided against. While I think it’s important that we tell the stories of these victims, and discuss what people have done and why— I think it would be in poor taste to recreate the already glorified committers of these heinous crimes. I have had this requested so many times, but true crime as a genre already toes the line of being respectful and being exploitative, so I think that creating killers in the game would tip me onto the wrong side of that line. What I am planning, however, is to get all of my Brief History builds into a save file, with the exception of a few that unfortunately were never saved to the gallery. The save file will be available likely as a Patreon exclusive for a while, but will be given public access at some point. In the meantime, I do try to upload all of my Brief History builds into the gallery, so they’re available for anyone who wants them in their game!
What has been your favourite build to do thus far? I think my favourite build so far has been the Villisca Axe Murder House. There are a lot of reference photos regarding that house, as well as photos that show what the furniture and decor looks like. I would say it’s one of the more accurate true crime builds on my
How would you describe your building style, and do you see yourself more as a builder, or a CAS player, or storyteller? I would say my build style is fairly eclectic, but I have a clear preference towards rundown, abandoned, and just gross buildings. There are a lot of great debug items that lend themselves well to creating a dirty, trash filled lot, and I think it’s fun to create something that’s not exactly meant to be pretty. I don’t do a lot of CAS, because I’m not particularly good at it and it doesn’t appeal to me quite as much as building does. But I do enjoy some gameplay on my own time— I typically like playing with my Simself or my legacy family.
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channel, and it was exciting and fun-stressful to try and get in all the details that really make the house feel as close to the original as possible. The house itself is also just a style of home that I enjoy creating.
You do a lot of things on your YT channel. From builds, to creating sims and even helping other Simmers create content. Which one of these do you enjoy most? I’m torn between my Brief History series, which is obviously very near and dear to my heart— and my recent list series with things
like Ten Types of Sims Builders or 10 Reasons Why Journey to Batuu is the Best Game Pack. Brief History satisfies my need to keep busy with research, documentaries, and podcasts to get the research right and the houses as accurate as possible. But in my list videos, my true sarcastic personality gets to come out to play which is something I greatly enjoy doing.
true crime videos. As far as Sims creators, I absolutely adore Plumbella. I feel that she’s really raw and honest with her audience; she has a wonderfully sarcastic and funny personality, and she consistently manages to put out amazing content. Plumbella’s History of Everything series was another inspiration for my true crime series.
How
busy is the live of a creator like
yourself, is it safe to assume there is a lot
of stress that goes along with creating content for your channel and how to manage it?
From time to time I definitely experience stress when creating for my channel. Typically, it comes in the form of having to change up a Brief History topic because some real-life homes, as many people know, don’t always translate well into The Sims. But I try to remain as stress free as possible with my channel. At the end of the day, creating content is a hobby for me and not a job. So, I’ve gotten to a point on my channel where I create content if I want to and if it’s good. I don’t push out content that I think is subpar or just meant to fill up a scheduling gap on my channel. I think a lot of creators push themselves too hard, especially when they’re smaller, and end up making content creation feel more like a chore than a way to have fun— so I make sure I Not everyone gets it all the time, but when always enjoy what I’m doing. they do it’s worth the laugh!
Who do you follow, fan-girl in you?
who brings out the
I follow a lot of creators, mainly smaller creators. But I fan girl over two specific people. Bailey Sarian is my true crime inspiration. Our videos are wildly different in their tone and the way we present our information, and I really enjoy Bailey’s take on true crime with her Murder, Mystery, and Makeup series. She’s a huge reason why I got into making
I n your own personal games, do you pre-
fer to play with lots of scrip mods and cc or do you enjoy a vanilla game?
In my personal games, and on my channel, I only play with MC Command Centre because I do enjoy the story progression it provides for unplaced households. It makes the worlds feel more alive and makes the Sims seem like they’re living lives outside of what I’m controlling.
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Bullying has always been a problem, but with easy access to the internet and the ability to hide behind usernames, it does feel like it ’ s been getting out of hand.
How
do you handle bullies, negative fee-
dback , or people just being mean?
What advice would you give the community?
The way I handle negativity depends on the way it’s been presented to me. Some folks aren’t great at giving constructive criticism without coming off like they’re attacking you— and others are just mean for the sake of being mean. If I see someone is attempting criticism, I’ll engage with them and see if I can get them to explain themselves more so I can understand why they felt the need to comment. If they’re just mean or trolls, I’ll be entirely honest in saying that I find it both funny and sad that someone has taken time out of their day to try and bring me down. These comments I usually show to my husband so we can laugh at them. My advice is to remember that these people aren’t being mean to you because of anything you’re doing. They’re being mean because they are likely sad, angry people who have nothing better to do than try and upset someone. Don’t let them. Delete their comments. Block their usernames. What is the one thing in The Sims 4 you Ignore them entirely. They’re not worth your would change that would massively impro- time, and if you’re happy with what you are ve the game for you? doing, then that’s all that truly matters. I would love some sort of post-apocalyptic pack just for distressed items like walls and flooring. But aside from that, my holy grail for The Sims 4 was Discover University and I can say I got everything I wanted out of that pack!
ISue (SueSimming
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Making a S i mm e r Exclusive interview with Creator Zita Hi Zita, Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us, we are very excited to be able to speak to you. Z: Thank you for inviting me!
3 years. I think they responded favourably, we had some well-known simmers participate and judge for the brand, so I think it was received really well and we are still going, and it will, as long as the fans and contestants are around.
SU. What
SU. Can you tell us a little bit about you, where you are from, how old you are and how long you have been playing The Sims for?
Proudly South African. Married and started playing Sims when Sims 3 came out. Lol a lady never gives her real age, Let’s just say I am a youngish mature age lol.
SU. When did you decide you wanted to create a Sims Miss World Competition and how did people in the community respond?
Basically when I discovered the Sims (3). But at the time I was so overwhelmed by it all. I did eventually create Sims 4 Miss World on Twitter in April 2017. I have hosted it now nonstop for over
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category’ s do you run for
your competitions and who can enter? Are there any specific entry requirements?
Well I don’t make that decision. I believe in having a transparent group of judges for each season. MW Brand has been blessed by amazing judges over the 22 seasons. Some well-known cc creators, sim personalities and The Sims resource also judged a few times. Some prefer no cc, It is them who ultimately will reach a decision (based on their scores) who the top 4 will be to advance to a season finale after around roughly 12 challenges. The top 4 will then do a head to head battle in one last challenge and this time the public gets to vote on the Twitter poll for their favourite and combined with the judges final score deliver the winner and runner up, etc,.
SU. I s using CC a must when creating a Miss World Sim? Or can a Sim without CC also enter? We welcome any contestant with a basic knowledge of editing. CC or no CC.
SU. Have you thought of creating a Mr World Competition? I have been approached a couple of times with that same question. The answer would be no.
SU. With
Star Wars Game Pack that came out on the 8th September, do you think you will be creating a Space inspired category now? the new
One thing I never do is base a season on a specific pack because not everyone has the same packs. But there has been challenges in previous seasons that were futuristic based like star wars. So I can’t say I will or won’t lol.
SU. Do the entrants have to be from the country that they enter their Sim for or can they be from any country and choose who they wish to represent?
Nope. I learned that lesson in an earlier season where we had over 64 entries and more than half of those were from the US, so naturally they wanted to claim their country which was not possible. The answer would be no then. If your country has been claimed then you can claim any other you want to represent. It is about the sim and not where the RL person is from.
SU. How can people follow the Miss World Competitions, are you just on twitter or do you have other social media?
We do have a YouTube account but that is mostly for results, crowning etc. The plan is later to start a proper web page for the brand. Only time will tell.
SU. Do you have any advice for Simmers who wish to partake in the Miss World Competitions? It’s not always about winning. Come have fun, show off your art and skills. Make new friends, learn something new or teach others some of your skills. It’s a community thing.
SU. A lot of people will be wondering if you will be running other gender competi tions, do you see yourself including these in the future
The answer would be no. Only because of time issues. I already have so much to do. RL (life happens), hosting Miss World, Building for the gallery and creating for The Sims Recourse. That is already a lot to deal with.
SU. Lastly again thank you so much for agreeing to do this interview, but we really want to know, out of all the entrants you have had over all your competitions, which one has carved itself into your memory from amongst the rest?
If
the-
re is anything else you think our readers should or would like to know?
You are welcome. Each contestant over the 22 seasons, hundreds of them, are and were special to me. They are all unique in their own way. I can’t single out just one so here are some through the seasons that really impressed me as an individual judge.
For now it is only Twitter
@Sims4MissWorld ·39·
And these are all the winners from season 1-21
People that know me will know that I am always proud to be an advocate for Jesus! I am not shy to say I live for Him and am a devoted Christian. Yes, Christians also play sims lol. I Just want give a shoutout to my bestie on social media @Al exia3angel We met over 3 years ago on Twitter and she is an amazing friend to me.
¡40¡
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Introducing fLAVAGAMER
H
i guys, it’s Flavagamer here! But you can call me Flava. I’m 32 years old and I love to build in the sims 4. I started playing the sims from day 1. But of course I was young and not really serious and creative back then. But as I became older and got my own style and creativity I started to explore the build mode more and so I discovered that it’s possible to build in the sims. And now it’s kind of an obsession of mine. I love the way you can build whatever you want with different colours, different shapes and stories behind each build. I mainly love to build Dollhouses. I think they are so cute and fun to do. But of course I like to build or renovate different builds every now and then. And to share my creativity I like to share them with my followers as well. You can follow me on Twitch, Instagram and Twitter and they all go by the name of Flavagamer.
I
really wanna take this moment to say thank you soooo much to the followers that I have now. It means so much to me. I’ve met some of the nicest people in this community. And that you SimmedUp Magazine for this opportunity. I really appreciate it. To give you guys an idea of how my Dollhouses look like here are some of my favorites.
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RETRO CORNER Autumn in The Sims In a community where many Simmers are familiar with the latest installment of The Sims franchise, we often forget or simply have no knowledge about the previous games which made the current ones possible. In the ‘Retro Corner’, Melissa takes a nostalgic trip down memory lane, rediscovering, playing, and writing about her favourite 1500s. Simmers can travel to these areas predecessors of The Sims via a hole in the ground or via a balloon airfranchise on console and ship piloted by a Lee Scoresby equivalent. PC. Both Coldwind Meadow and Clowntastic As we’re now slap-bang in the middle of November, what better way to rejoice than with an article centered around my favourite season. Unlike my previous article, this one is a more formal article providing an informative insight into the Autumnal/Fall Season within The Sims Franchise. Ranging from the beautiful aesthetics to some of the different variety of activities your sims can experience, your autumnal fix starts here. Unlike its three forerunners, The Sims does not have an expansion pack devoted to Seasons. However, autumnal elements are conveyed in The Sims Makin’ Magic through the sub-neighbourhood; “Magic Town”. These areas are situated in Calamity Forest, east of Magic Town. Surrounded by deciduous trees, Calamity Forest is a take on Medieval-styled Carnivals from the
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Land, north of Calamity Forest have muddier terrain, lack of green grass, and clusters of deciduous trees boasting deliciously warm autumnal colours. To the South is Forest Edge Camp and Serra Glen, which
have greener terrain, and centre on “showfolk [who] pitched their camp here amongst the autumnal foliage,” and selling the “delectable Harvests”. Reflecting the shorter daylight hours in Autumnal, all four lots become darker, much quicker. Makin’ Magic provides the player with a selection of trees and shrubbery in build mode to manually create a similar autumnal setting in Old Town. In addition, by opening
Shipped with The Sims 2 Seasons is Riverblossom Hills, a rural suburban neighbourhood whereby, “Many Sims have relocated to the quiet, comfortable countryside, in the hopes that life and family can firmly plant their roots in the middle of nowhere.” Clusters of trees within the neighbourhood will change to burnt orange or golden yellow. Whilst no new worlds are shipped with the latter two iterations of the game, trees turn shades of red in The Sims 3, and change to a range of autumnal shade in The Sims 4. However, in The Sims 4, the visuals in ‘Manage World’, do not change to reflect the season. This is such a shame as I imagine worlds such as Willow Creek, Newcrest and Brindleton Bay would look picturesque in autumnal In later iterations, Seasons and their corresponding climates are controllable via the options menu. Simmers can also select the temperature to display in Fahrenheit or Celsius. In The Sims 2, each season is 7 days long by de-
up the cheat console with ctrl + C, and activating, ‘move_objects on’, Simmers can layer up the outer edges of “The Ever-Autumn Grougler Tree” and “The Depressed Deciduous” to create the illusion of scattered leaves on the ground. However, despite activating the cheat, build mode is still selective on where Simmers can layer these objects. Unfortunately, it is just the case of trial and error. Furthermore, if the player has The Sims Hot Date installed, they can manually remove the grass around the shrubbery to enhance the desired effect, as shown below. This is one via the terrain tool in build mode.
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fault, but Simmers have the option to change the order of the seasons. It is even possible to set a permanent season per save file! However, in The Sims 3, seasons can be 3 days minimum, to 28 days maximum, whereas in The Sims 4 Seasons, Simmers have the option to set the season to either 7, 14 or 21 days. The world appearance and pre-programmed events will reflect these options too. Simmers can use a weather machine to control the climate and seasons. The “Weathernaught 57X” must be unlocked in The Sims 2 for 7,000 aspiration points, and the, “Climatron Control Unit” for 40,000 Lifetime Happiness points in The Sims 3. However, “Dr. June’s Weather Control Device” is freely available to purchase in buy mode in The Sims 4 to create complete mayhem. Typically, rain and fog are predominantly the climate for Autumn. Due to the technical restrictions, there is no active precipitation in The Sims. Arguably, despite having no impact on Sims, Pets, or objects, precipitation does occur in The Sims Makin’ Magic using charms. Casting the “Perfect Garden Charm” will summon rain clouds to water plants or extinguish fires only. If enabled in Game Options, lightning and thunderstorms can also occur and Sims can be struck by lightning if unfortunate. If Simmers have Ambitions or Into The Future installed, their Simbots will short-circuit in the rain. If Simmers have The Sims 4: Island Living installed, they can experience monsoons in Sulani. These are shorter and more intense than normal storms and will only occur during late summer to late Autumn. Simmers can experience windy conditions with leaves slowly piling up under-
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neath certain deciduous trees. Sims can then rake the fallen leaves, set fire to the pile, or throw leaves away. Sims can jump and play in the pile of leaves, while Toddlers can play with the leaves themselves. In both The Sims 3, and 4, if the pile is high enough, Sims can woohoo in it. In The Sims 3, Sims are more prone to colds and flu-types illnesses in the autumn and winter and will gain the “Feeling Germy” moodlet. If unwell. Sims can call in sick to school or work if necessary; Sims can also fake sick days too. School grades will not suffer as a result. Sims can also visit the medical centre for a flu jab and become vaccinated from seasonal allergies. Sims can also experience a cold in The Sims 4 but cannot go for a flu shot. Autumnal events are only really included in The Sims 3 and 4, as more of an extra feature, adding aspects of realism to gameplay. These events are based off of traditions commonly experienced in the Northern Hemisphere including Harvest Festival and Halloween. However, unlike its forerunners, Simmers in The Sims 1 and 2 will have to manually create their own themed events or parties during the autumnal season. To do this, Simmers can purchase the, “SimFarm Turkey Dinner” to celebrate Thanksgiving (or Christmas) for $102 if they have The Sims House Party installed. Sims can use the “Throw party” interaction on the phone and guests gather round to celebrate the carving of Turkey and eating afterwards. That’s it. However, Simmers can also purchase, “The Elegant Chef Buffet Table” for $194, should they wish to host a larger party. Another must-have is the, “Porta-Parody Costume Trunk”, allowing Simmers to choose the-
med outfits. Similarly, Simmers in The Sims 2 can throw a party, make a Turkey dinner and serve it for guests. They also include an
upgraded buffet table with a precooked Turkey and pudding. The game also includes a bonfire, allowing sims to gather around and roast marshmallows or tell stories. Gift giving is included with the expansion pack so Sims can exchange gifts during their gatherings. The game is extremely limited in themed events compared to future iterations. Unlike its predecessors, The Sims 3 introduces a new festival during Autumn known as, “Fall Festival.” Occurring on a sizeable lot, The Fall Festival begins on the second day of the season and lasts all season between the house of 8am to 9pm; it cannot be changed or moved. Events include a Pie Eating contest whereby the winners will be awarded an “excellent” platter of Key Lime Pie as first prize. Another traditional event is Bobbing for Apples in the water trough. Three Sims can challenge one another to see who can catch the (best) apple. Awards include a mood boost and festival tickets. Sims can harvest pumpkins from the Pumpkin Patch at the festival, as well as buy Pumpkins at the Grocers. Meanwhile, visiting the Haunted House Sims can experience 1 of 6 moodlets ranging from “Haunted” to “Cursed by a Mummy” and more. Sims
can also buy special autumnal dishes and decor at selected stalls. Most events are completely customisable in The Sims 4 with the introduc-
tion of a useable calendar. However, autumnal events such as Spooky Day and Harvestfest are automatically scheduled into the calendar and cannot be moved or cancelled. As an exclusive event to The Sims 4 Seasons, Harvestfest is based off Thanksgiving and occurs automatically towards the end of Autumn. All Sims are given a day off from work or school. All houses in the district or nearby areas will be garnished in appropriate décor. Simmers should also decorate their lot using the Attic Shack Decoration Box (found in buy mode) as this action counts towards the completion of Harvestfest traditions. Other traditions include eating a Grand Meal (like previous iterations) and engaging in Thankful Spirit. A new tradition added to The Sims 4 is “appeasing the Holiday Gnomes” with various gifts or edible treats. The gnomes will either display a halo above their head if accepted, or a red flame if backfired. Holiday Gnomes will disappear and reappear in different places on the lot such as in front of an active fireplace, the fridge, crops in the garden and more. Overall, the representation of Autumn in The Sims Franchise is a mixed bag. The Sims was arguably an experimental game
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with the addition of limitations regarding technology. Therefore, gaming developer’s implementation of objects to appear Autumnal such as the deciduous trees shipped with Makin’ Magic, is a better solution than to not include them altogether. While it may seem tedious, but Simmers use of objects shipped with various expansion packs to “pretend” to host traditional-like gatherings is also better than nothing. The Sims 2 builds on the aesthetics of giving neighbourhood an all rounded autumnal look. However, it focuses on the weather and temperature rather than the events themselves. The Sims 3 Seasons focuses on all major aspects of the season including weather, temperature, aesthetics, events and activities. It introduces a new festival with an array of different activities, not shown in The Sims 2. The addition of the calendar system renders extremely useful for family-oriented simmers who wish to organise as many family friendly events true to real life. However, the removal of “Fall Festival” is disappointing, as festivals were implemented in City Living, which was released prior to Seasons. Unless developers did not want to bombard Simmers with invitations to the festival, which can become a hindrance to gameplay. But considering some of the activities included with the “Fall Festival” such as apple bobbing, pumpkin picking and pie eating contests are not only exclusive to autumn, but are also part of a collection of sweet little details added to the game. The lack of such details is becoming an increasing problem in The Sims 4.
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IMel ( theflamingplumb)
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SHOW US your
BUILDS
h t i w Paul pancake
My name is Paul Pancake and I am a S ims 4 content creator from B erlin, Germany . I upload videos to Y ouT ube and stream on T witch and I’ m having so much fun doing it ! I love chatting with the community and exchanging ideas for builds or challenges. My favourite type of builds are family homes (mostly suburban) but I sometimes try to do something else like Fantasy builds (Star Wars, Harry Potter). I am so thankful to be part of this amazing community and I feel very honoured to be part of this issue! This is one of my recent homes I built and I tried to make it look very autumnal and cosy. I’m thinking of a gay couple living there with their son and one of the parents is super into exterior and interior design. While they wanted to keep the old weathered charm of the exterior, the inside is very modern and chic.
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Follow him on: Discord Youtube I nstagram Twitch
Here’s an room and other screen I am currI love the mid- shot of the li vi ce ently obs essed winttury vibe whicnhg h.
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A Adventure
MURKY
You wake up to the growling noises your stomach is making. You don’t know what or who was in that chili, but it’s the last time you agree to judge the Chili Cookoff. Maybe some trash fruit will settle your stomach. The heat is already dancing outside your window, and you desperately want get into some cool water, but in this place, water is limited and murky. You see a clown go by and for a moment you think the chili is causing you to see things, only to remember it’s the mayor. You heard loud bangs and Sims screaming with delight, your pretty sure it’s that bunch with the top hats and painted face. You haven’t been here long so you don’t know who is who yet, but by the looks of things, being confused is a natural state around here. You look down to see your neighbour’s cat staring at you. The lady seems nice but you’re sure her cats would eat your face if you dropped dead. This all sounds like madness, but it’s just another day in Murkland.
WHAT IS MURKLAND? Murkland is a post-apocalyptic makeover of Oasis Springs that can be played with the challenges or as a sandbox. But Murkland isn’t just a challenge you play. The Murklanders have become their own community within the Sims community, and once you join their Facebook group,
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you really do feel like you just drove into a small town. It’s almost like everyone that does this challenge is secretly playing together online, and even though Murkland is a post-apocalypse world, it’s residents are some of the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. I decided to go to the heart of Murkland and talk to the creator Brennachan Sims. 1. How did t he idea f or Mur k land come about ? I started watching TWD and I got really into it. I had not really explored dystopian/ post-apocalyptic movies or TV shows and thought, you know, I really want to explore that. So I started watching a lot of free movies -- cheap B movies that no one has heard of, and also some classics like Mad Max and Tank Girl. I asked on social media and loads of people gave me suggestions. Then I woke up one morning and thought, “ I want to make Oasis Springs a post-apocalyptic world.” And it occurred to me that there were trash plants, and I had my Sim eat them, grow them, and I was like “that is so perfect for this theme.” So I made a few builds and Sims, and I was playing in a new way; and a challenge (or really more of a play style) came out of it. Not many folks were paying any attention to it, but I shared the creations and the challenge on the Sim forums and in Sim Addicts Anonymous, and LisaBeeSims started writing simlit for it. And
then a bunch of other writers joined in. All of a sudden people were waiting for me to add more builds to the world. It was super exciting!
sims and builds are all there. You can also use a save file made by EQ. Here is how to install Murkland: Save file includes all the Murkland households updated for TS4Seasons by Brennachan with traits to help them survive. All lots and households placed and ready to play. Excess population has been deleted. Starter save file set up by EuphorialQueen #EQCreations **This will replace any existing saves** 1. Open The Sims 4 folder C:\Users\ Computer\Documents\Electronic Arts\ The Sims 4
2 . Can anyone join in and how do t hey get s t ar te d? Murkland is open to everyone! The forums are free and open to anyone (you don’t even have to have an account to look at the forum thread.) If someone wants more involvement, they can join the Facebook group. I also post stuff about [Murkland] on Twitter. So people start with the challenges and then later get more creative with it. Some write their own stories and never do the challenges. It’s really up to interpretation. I want Simmers to put their mark on it. And that is why I leave a lot of things up to the player -- like a “choose your own adventure.” I never answer directly what caused the apocalypse. I leave teasers but let the player decide. 3. Whe r e can you get t he buildings and Sims f eat ur e d in Mur k land? You can get everything you need from the forums page -- the links to the gallery
2. Move your current save folder to your desktop or other safe location. That will keep your current saved game safe. 3. Copy the save file file into a new empty save folder. Slot_00000002.save 4. Open game and choose Load Game {NOT new game} 5. Choose ‘Murkland for All Seasons 081318 - You will see Mad Mud as the last played Sim. 6. Place your Sim in the Murkland Starter and begin your Murky adventure. Post-Apocalyptic Murkland: The Starter Challenge Murkland Challenge 2: Paid The Bills Murkland Challenge 2: Did NOT Pay The Bills Murkland Zombie Challenge Murkland Lots and Households by Brennachan
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4. How can you add your own hous ehold or build to t he Mur k land unive r s e? There are lots of ways to make Murkland your own. I made all the builds and sims for Murkland Proper which was Oasis Springs. But, Nukecrest (formerly Newcrest) is all about player content. There are lots and builds and sims under the hashtag #Nukecrest. You can make your own to add to it or borrow what is already there. In addition to that, there are specialty worlds where I have made one or two builds for and have more specific themes. There’s Murkwood (the witches’ haven); there’s Death Mask Valley, the hardest hit of all all the worlds that has subterranean Sims called Terrainians and blood thirsty hordes called Plasmaniacs; there’s Murklani, which I am still working on; finally, there’s Banished Burg, which will be a post-apocalyptic medieval world. All of these worlds will have some player involvement, some more than others.
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5. What changes or addons to Mur k land can Simme r s look f or war d to? Challenge 3 will be released for the first time by the end of the year. I am also restructuring the older challenges to include more EP’s and more choices so that the challenges can be different each time you do through them. I am also redoing the lots and giving Murkland a bit of a makeover. 6. Wit h t he los s of E.Q, it s e e me d t he Mur k lande r s w he r e har des t hit in t he communit y. Would you s ay Mur k land is it s own litt le communit y w it hin t he mas s ive Sims communit y and how do you k e e p it s o tight ? We are a small FB group -- really have about 337 or so people in it. I have tried very hard to keep it a safe and supportive place. It’s very important to me that it also feel like a creative space. I would love more people to join, and Simmers are always welcome, but I also like that the group has remained
small so we could get to know each other. EQ was such a huge part of Murkland -- she was one of the first to play the challenges and she always tested out new challenges for me. She was my right-hand friend! I miss her every day.
“ Mur k land St ar te r Challe nge
Clear all the lots in Oasis Springs.
Place the Murkland Starter at Nookstone. Add other lots and households as they become available. For both lots in Acquisition Faction: your Sim must have a Level 7 in gardening and a Level 8 in Charisma to visit these two lots. They may become friends with either household if they meet these Sims around town, but they cannot visit those sims at their homes until the appropriate skills have been met. Overgrown Library Rules: the Murkland library is open 10am to 6pm. The computers are off limits to those playing Challenge 1 but are available in Challenge 2. Becoming best friends with the librarian allows your Sim the use of the librarian’s tent and the ability to spend the night, or visit when the library is closed. To improve the economy, the librarian insists that your
Sim pay for a barista each visit. Murkland Mercantile Co Rules: The Salamanders household owns the property and have marked the price up 100 percent. The clone drones run the business. Facilities are for paying customers only. Lock the kitchen for employees only. If you wish the store workers to look like clone drones, you will need to hire the employees. Have them open the store and wait for the employees to arrive. Create a uniform for the store that looks like a clone drone costume. When the employees arrive, assign the uniform to each worker. Oasis of Portals Rules: To keep this oasis pristine, the mayor requires visitors (except for children) to have mastered wellness. Teleportation is necessary to access the hidden cavern. Remains of the CDC Rules: Use of the computers and rocket is forbidden in the Murkland Starter Challenge but may be used in later challenges. To visit this lot, the mayor insists that you hire two food stall vendors, in order to keep the economy from crashing. Laundry Rules: Laundry Day(s) will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday only, but if you want to wash clothes [then] your household can only use hand-washing and the clothesline [to do so.] (no washers or dryers). AND, you and the household CANNOT take tarp showers if you decide to wash. You will have to choose between showers or clean clothes. You can still make and use deodorizing cream or go to the hot springs on laundry days. Add either Dusty Boots to the starter or your own post-apocalyptic Sim as a
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young adult (Simself as a young adult is preferred). If you decide not to use Dusty Boots, she will become your neighbour. If you are using your own Sim, remember that the Burner Faction of which you are a part is a colourful group who love to dance, have desert parties, and who want to be friends with the world even though times are tough. If you make your own Sim -- in order for your Sim to rummage for food, they will need the glutton trait. They can have any other traits except klepto or vegetarian. Their aspiration is, “Friend of the World.” Aging is turned off. You may not use any potions from the aspiration reward store. Use the Money X cheat to get your household [funds] down to zero. Your main task is to grow 16 trash plants from scratch using your own trash to start them. You must grow them all from scratch -- from piles of trash. You must then evolve all 16 trash plants to the perfect level. Collect, fish and rummage for food and items to sell. You may also sell trash fruit which you grow, but your Sim must eat trash fruit at least once a day since it is a Murkland staple. The fish of Murkland are not edible except for the bonefish. You may fish the waters and sell the fish you catch, but you can only eat the bonefish purchased from the Murkland Mercantile Company though the special fish bowl you have on your lot. You can grill or roast the bonefish. You can eat other kinds of fish when in Granite Falls only. You can collect any wild plant or
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plant from a garden and sell it or eat it, but you can only grow trash plants. You can grill anything on the outdoor grill (grilled fish must be bonefish), roast anything at the campfire (roasted fish must be bonefish), rummage for food in any trashcan, and you can eat anything from the coolers around town that are restocked by the Murkland Mercantile Company. If you decide not to pay your bills, the Murkland Mercantile Company will not restock your cooler at home (so please remove it from the lot). You can use deodorizing cream for your hygiene needs, and you’ve been given one bottle. Your Sim must travel to Granite Falls to learn the herbalism skill and to acquire the ingredients for the deodorizing cream. The only time your Sim can use the phone is when traveling to GF. Your Sim can collect any and all herbalism ingredients but may only make deodorizing cream and they cannot sell it. All homemade deodorizing cream is for self-use. When your Sim is in Granite Falls, they cannot bring anything with them. They must sleep on the log benches. They can grill, roast and use the coolers for food. Or they can rummage in trashcans. The Ranger Station is completely off limits. If they catch a tent, they may use it at the campgrounds. If they catch a shower, they may bring it home to take brisk showers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. When in Granite Falls, your Sim may use the public bathrooms but only use the shower option on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (your Sim may use the bathroom option at any time). Your Sim is not allowed to stay the night or use the facili-
ties at the hermit’s house. Your Sim may befriend the hermit and may stay in the deep woods anywhere outside. If your Sim catches a shower while fishing, they may use that shower at home on the designated shower days instead of going to the hot springs, but they can only use the brisk shower option. And, if they use the shower that day, they cannot go to the hot springs.
They may use the vendor’s table for selling items around town. They may visit any lot with anyone that they have already met but they are not allowed to use the cell phone to call or text. They can use the “travel together” option for Sims they already know to go to a particular lot together. They must grow relationships face to face. You can only use the cell phone to get to Granite Falls.
Your Sim may not travel to any other worlds except to Granite Falls. If you want to customize Murkland more, you can build out Newcrest (now called Nukecrest) as you like with households and builds. Please don’t use things like perfect plants in such builds to give you an advantage in the challenge. If you decide to build out Nukecrest, this is the only world besides GF that you can go to.
Use of facilities -- you may only use bushes around town. You may not use the bathrooms at individual residences because these are for the residents only with the exception of bushes. All bushes are ok to use.
When in Murkland, your Sim may wash up at the Murkland Hot Springs but due to limited fresh water sources they may only use the springs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Your Sim must live alone during Challenge 1. They may date other sims but they cannot move in with another Sim, have a Sim move in with them, or marry a Sim.
Your Sim may not use any potions in the Rewards Store AND they cannot buy the Carefree Trait. All other items are available to purchase at this time.
In addition to getting to a level two in herbalism (to make the deodorizing cream), your Sim must max out skills in dancing and gardening and complete the Friend of the World Aspiration. Please do not play other aspirations at the same time as they might be important for later challenges.
The only love children allowed at this time are ones made by alien abduction. If your Sim gets pregnant from such an abduction, you may purchase a bed or chair for them to sleep in, a potty, and one toy. Toddlers will eat trash fruit. Toddlers will get very dirty but this is Murkland after all. You can bathe them at certain lots around town.
Your Sim is allowed to eat at any restaurants or food stalls that may exist in Murkland.
Finally, your sim must save at least $15,000 from the above activities.
Your Sim may purchase anything for fun that does not require power so they may buy such things as the acoustic guitar or violin. They cannot make money on paintings or wood carvings.
When you have finished this challenge, the next challenge will depend on if you paid your bills every month or decided not to pay your bills at all.”
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Join the Facebook group The Murkland group is a busy one. New builds are popping up every day and there are tons of mini-challenges to participate in every month. You won’t ever get bored that’s for sure but above all it’s how a simple challenge grew into a community with so much soul and heart that really gets me. If ever there was a group that embodied what it is to be a Sims community, then it’s Murkland. Fun, friendly and very creative. You really are missing out if you don’t try this challenge at least once but be warned, once you start... you might never leave Murkland.
YOU MIG
MUR ·58·
GHT NEVER LEAVE
RKLAND ·59·
VS How far has
The Sims come? I’ve been dying to do a Sims vs Sims review, but in order to do one, you have to love both the games you are reviewing or you’ll just bash the one whilst deliberately turning a blind eye to the other one’s faults. In order for me to do this article, I had to fall in love with The Sims 4, and the first step was to realize that The Sims 4 can never be compared to The Sims 3. Not now, not ever. Then one day, while playing The Sims 4 and really trying to shake the hold The Sims 3 had on me, I noticed that some things in The Sims 4 seemed very familiar. Yes, it’s part of the franchise and has all the townies from previous games, but it wasn’t until I looked at The Sims 4’s Windenburg that it hit me: this is Vernoville. This is a Sims 2 remake!
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Now there is no way you can do a piece like this in detail without it turning into a research paper of a few hundred pages. You might think I’m joking, but I can write a couple of hundred pages while comparing The Sims 2 vs The Sims 4. However, this might give my poor editor a heart attack and finally drive the graphics department over the edge so to keep the peace, I’ll just touch on a few topics that have the community buzzing in forums and social media platforms. Worlds & Neighbourhoods: Let’s pick a hometown There are many neighbourhoods to choose from in The Sims 2, and each one has a unique story. Once you choose a neighbourhood, you can change its name and customize the world by adding buildings and décor to the world. You’ll also find that each neighbourhood has premade families that each have a story. and upon entering your neighbourhood, there will be a pop-up telling you about each of them. Now if being able to customize your neighbourhood didn’t flip your wig, hold onto your seats because you can actually build your own neighbourhood from scratch.
There are about 24 empty neighbourhoods to pick from, and a nice feature in The Sims 2 is that you don’t first have to put down lots. You can select a premade building from your gallery and plop it down wherever it turns green. In The Sims 4, there is only a short description of each neighbourhood, and what you see is what you get. You can change buildings on lots, but you cannot change the world itself. Another thing I notice in The Sims 4 was that thy neighbourhood doesn’t reflect the season your game is in. In The Sims 2, your neighbourhood changes with the season of the household you are playing.
But it’s not all doom and gloom for The Sims 4. Once you move into the neighbourhood, the surroundings are really pretty. A big complaint in the community is that The Sims 4 has taken a step backwards because it’s not an open world game but since realizing this is as The Sims 2 remake, you can’t help but notice how far The Sims 4 has come. In The Sims 2, you need to take a taxi or “walk” (aka loading screen) if you want to interact with anything outside of your lot and the house next door isn’t much to
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look at. In The Sims 4 you still get a loading screen when visiting your next door neighbour but within your neighbourhood you are free to explore. You can go fishing if you are next to the water or get coffee at the food stall, harvest wild produce growing in your area or have a BBQ with neighbours at one of the local picnic spots and for the kids there is usually a park with playground equipment for them to enjoy.
CAS: Time to create a better looking you If, like me, you go back to The Sims 2 after playing The Sims 4, then you’ll notice that the Sims are ugly. Yes, I said it, but keep in mind that The Sims 2 was released on 14 September 2004, and the Sims did match how gaming characters in other games looked that year. 2020 will forever be known as the “great battle of skin tones” year. Although The Sims has come a long way from only having three skin tones in The Sims 1, there is still a lot of room for improvement in The Sims 4. This year the community spoke up and got EA to listen and improve skin tones. Looking at CAS, a lot has improved. In The Sims 2, if you want to change the size of, say, your sims
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eyes, then you have to use a slider. Now in The Sims 4, you can edit the smallest details from the size of the eyes to the slant and even the iris can be resized. In The Sims 2, you had two choices for body types while in The Sims 4 you have nine, and you can edit your whole Sims body. Something else that the The Sims 4 has is the detail in which you can edit your Sims gender and what clothes they wear. Jack can be a big-bearded Sim with high heels and a skirt or Jill can have breasts and stand when using the toilet. All you do is select the feminine option when picking clothes for big old Jack or select whether Jill can get another pregnant or become pregnant. The Sims 4 really does try to represent all its players, and that wasn’t the case back in 2004. This is a big win for the franchise.
However, I do miss the Turn-Ons and Offs option. You can make your Sim more attracted to hard-working, bearded Sims and less attracted to robots in make-up. In The Sims 4 CAS, you can choose which occult your Sim is going to be-- something you can’t do in The Sims 2. Overall, the CAS system has really improved and is by far my favourite part of The Sims 4. I love creating Sims and sharing them with other players.
Gameplay: Let’s Play with life There is a lot to cover when it comes to game play, so I decided to just touch on a few topics. Before getting into the gameplay itself, let me just say that moving around in The Sims 4 is really easy and smooth. From changing camera angles to switching to first person view, The Sims 4 is superior when it comes to keeping an eye on your Sims and the neighbours. Going back to The Sims 2, I was pretty frustrated with the camera angle and how I needed to use the arrows on my keyboard to move the camera instead of just grabbing the screen with my mouse
and dragging it wherever I wanted. I really miss the cutscenes that play like a little movie whenever something important happens to your Sim in The Sims 2. From your Sim having her first kiss, to going to university, to having a baby, there is a cutscene for them all, and it is something I adore. The Sims 2 loading screen is also a lot more fun than almost blank The Sims 4 loading screen. If you look closely, you’ll see the little icons change depending on where you are going.
Cars: I hate that my Sims walk to the edge of the lot and disappear in The Sims 4. If your Sim wants to travel, a taxi swings by to pick them up. Time to go to work? A car will pick up your Sim, and as your Sim advances in their career, the car that picks them up improves. You know you really made it when the helicopter lands to pick your Sim up for work. When it’s time for school, a school bus will stop by to pick up the kids but be sure to listen for the honk. Sim children in bad moods will often miss the bus resulting in a bad grade.
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Babies: In The Sims 2 you need to use a changing table to clean a dirty diaper, walk to the fridge with the baby to get a bottle of milk, and if you play with the baby after feeding, the baby will throw up on your Sim. If you don’t use the changing table to change the baby’s diaper, your Sim will drop the dirty diaper on the floor. That’s gross but very real. Another thing that drives me a bit nuts about The Sims 2 is that the Sims will put babies on the floor and just forget about the babies. These Sims are not very good parents, let me tell you. In The Sims 4, the baby is confined to the crib, and Sim parents interact with their babies when the player clicks on the crib. I like that, in The Sims 4, you have more social interactions available and can gain parenting skills from interacting with the baby. Sure, you can’t carry little Don out to the pool to enjoy the sunshine, but you can breastfeed him, which for me, is a really heart-warming interaction added to The Sims 4. I’ll give it to The Sims 2; their babies are a lot cuter.
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University: First thing you need to know is that, in The Sims 2, if you don’t go to university, your teen Sim will age up straight into an adult. Sims skip the young adult phase if they don’t attend university. The Sims 2 has three universities you can pick from, and each one has a story and each premade household has a story. There is a lot of reading involved when playing The Sims 2. In The Sims 4, you have two universities to pick from that are rivals, and each one has their own unique mascot. I really like that, and I enjoy seeing the two mascots fight whenever they run into each other on one of the campuses. The Sims 4 University is by far the hardest university experience in the franchise. If you miss class, party too much or forget one assignment, then you can bet you won’t get a good grade. In fact, you might get kicked out of university altogether. It’s very realistic, and I like that you really have to put in the effort to graduate. What I don’t like about The Sims 4 University and really wish they could change is that dorms don’t have kitchens. In The Sims 2, Sims not only had a kitchen but also a cook that makes food for your sims and keeps the kitchen clean. Your Sim gets their own room and can lock the door so silly roommates don’t bother your Sims and once a roommate claims a room, that room becomes invisible like an apartment. This is a small detail that I like a lot.
General As I mentioned earlier, your Sims can have turn-ons and offs in The Sims 2. This is a feature that is part of the attraction system. The more attracted to a Sim is to another Sim, the more lightning bolts will appear in the relationship panel on their photo. The more lightning bolts, the faster the relationship grows and interactions like “charm” becomes available sooner in the conversation. When Sims get caught cheating their partner will slap them, the relationship loses points and it triggers “fury”. If your Sims tries to interact with the furious Sims, this will lead to brawl so best stay away until the partner has cooled down. In The Sims 4, there is no attraction system so your Sims will fall in love with any Sims they interact with enough and there doesn’t seem to be major consequences when a Sim is caught cheating. This makes the relationships in The Sims 4 feel flat and meaningless. In The Sims 2, your Sim can have hobbies. Anything from gardening to dancing. Once your sims have started showing an interest in a hobby they can subscribe to a weekly magazine, talk to other Sims about their hobby, and research it on the computer. After a while, you’ll receive a notification that, because of the interest your Sim has shown in a particular hobby, they have now unlocked a “hobby” lot. My favourite hobby is building my own car.
Speaking of gardening, I really do miss the little animation where your Sim uses a hoe to plant seeds in The Sims 2 and the little white bugs that you have to spray your plants for or by the ladybug house to keep bugs away. I don’t care much for the black bugs you find in The Sims 4 as they remind me more of flies and less of bugs you would find on plants. I also wish we could build a greenhouse in The Sims 4 like in The Sims 2. What I do hate about The Sims 2 gardening is that you have to first tile your outside terrain with garden soil before you can plant, and once you’ve harvested a plant, it’s gone for good. In The Sims 4, you can plant wherever you like, find wild produce growing all over your neighbourhood, and you can keep picking apples from the same tree for generations as long as you look after it.
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And probably the most important feature The Sims franchise has improved on from The Sims 2 to The Sims 4 is the story progression. The Sims 2 doesn’t have story progression for households you are not playing. Your active household will age but your neighbourhood NPC’s will be frozen in time. In The Sims 4 your neighbours have lives of their own. They age, they get married, they have children and sadly pass on, all without you ever having to switch from your current household. As I wrote this article, I realized that it was these small details I missed the most in The Sims 4. Things like: married Sims that will roll over onto their partners chests while sleeping parents can dance with their children by having the child stand on their feet hand holding their hands toddlers that sneak off and eat the dog’s food out of the bowel sims that get enraged with each other for (what I could see) no good reason having to go to the grocery store to buy food or have it delivered only having three jobs advertised daily in the newspaper so your sims sometimes have to wait days to find their dream job Burglars
to a certain season all year long to name but a few.
But The Sims 4 has come a long way for CAS stylists and builders. It’s a beautiful game, and the representation of the LGBTQ community and people of colour has created a space where all Simmers can find a piece of themselves. The Sims 4 is very easy to mod, and this has led to what I like to call “the big mod boom”. We now have some of the best and most creative mods I have ever seen in the franchise, and every day a new modder emerges with something even more creative. What a time to be a Simmer. Whether you love or hate The Sims 4, my advice to you would be play it anyway but install The Sims 2 as well so you can have the best of both worlds. A real Simmer will complain about the current Sims game and then buy it anyway, it’s who we are and that’s okay. If you need any help installing The Sims 2, feel free to join this amazing Sims group on Facebook. Friendly, helpful and no drama.
newspapers not being able to choose to be an occult sim in CAS but having to go look for them in your neighbourhood and asked to be turned impressing the headmaster so your child can get into private school pets having jobs being able to set your neighbourhood
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ISue (SueSimming)
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The Sims Goes Beyond the Pink: Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign
It is too easy for any breast cancer awareness campaign to descend into platitudes; each October, well-meaning people don pink ribbons, buy pink, and even walk pink to show support for the cause. Breast cancer is a cancer type firmly ubiquitous -- one in eight women will develop the disease in her lifetime, and someone dies of breast cancer every 14 minutes. Spreading awareness and, more importantly, raising research funds, is imperative, but the truth of breast cancer lies far beyond the pink. Here are the facts. No one dies of cancer that remains in the breast. It is when cancer spreads, or metastasizes, from breast tissue into the liver, the lungs, the brain, or other vital organs that it proves deadly. Despite this, only 2-5% of breast cancer funds are allocated to metastatic breast cancer. As Metavivor describes it, metastatic breast cancer is the proverbial “elephant in the room.” We do not know why cancer spreads. There is no cure. A person cannot out-exercise it. A person cannot healthily eat their way into better odds. Cancer affects the young. Cancer affects the old. Breast cancer alone claims 40,000 lives each year. Metavivor, an organization solely dedicated to raising awareness and funds for
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stage four breast cancer research, is determined to change this. Sims Nation, in conjunction with the Sims Mobile community as a whole, facilitated an October campaign that encouraged Simmers everywhere to dress their Sims in pink, teal, or lime (the metastatic breast cancer awareness colors) and to provide an important fact about breast cancer to encourage the community to go beyond the pink. The two winners of the breast cancer awareness challenge: Vinka and Judy, dug deeply into the available research to present robust images and facts to their audience. We bring you their entries alongside the entries of the other wonderful contenders below.
Vinka
Vinka researched the meaning of the three metastatic breast cancer colors. “Green represents spring and the triumph of life over death,” she explains, “pink indicates that cancer originated in the breast, teal represents healing and spirituality.”
Tsuying
“The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are being female and aging.”
Ali Randle
Judy
Ali emphasizes the importance of togetherness in the fight against breast cancer.
Judy explains the heart-breaking facts about breast cancer in a stunning graphic.
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Dani
Dani underscores breast cancer’s prevalence.
Stella
Stella explains that a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer increases with each menstrual cycle she experiences.
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Alphonse
Alphonse reminds us that men can develop breast cancer too.
Kelly
Kelly explains the physical signs of breast cancer.
Arsyn
Arsyn reminds us that October is breast cancer awareness month
Kimberly
Kimberly bravely shares her own heroic story, her struggle against breast cancer. She points out that cancer does not discriminate between the old and the young. Rather, it affects all people of all ages.
LaPrem
LaPrem muses on the many ways people can reduce their risk of cancer in a YouTube video.
It is deeply important to think “beyond pink” not only during October but also the entire year. Remember the lives of those affected by breast cancer, give to support metastatic breast cancer research, and live the dash.
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