SIM
unity Magazine Sims News & Comm
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Issue 22 - June 2022
On Life & Modding |1
Editors Letters
SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Non-Bob News 06
The latest sims news & gossip
Tips & Tricks
12
Did you know?
Introducing 16
Coachella Events
Guest Spotlight 26
Sati Sims Fathers Day Tribute
Members Only 32 Lady MP
CC Spotlight 40 Simmireen Poses
TwistedMexi 54
Revolutionising The Sims
Your Sims
68
Caroll Design
MachiniMax 78
BeniXProductions
Titan Architects
86
SimspirationBuilds
Off Topic
100
BrookChaos
AlphaIsTimZ
108
Challenge
Retro Corner
116
Will Wright and The Sims 2
4 | Contents
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
124 Men Who Inspire Us Recreated in The Sims 4
132 SimMattically Creativity in The Sims
144 Simspiration
Mods and CC for Male Sims
152 Pack & Kit Reviews
Modern menswear kit review
156 Making a Simmer Silly Simmuz
168 Art & Blender The Sims Fan Art
176 The Rose Chronicles The final 2 episodes
182 Mods & Modders
A Tribute to Arnie Sims Plus
192 Just for Fun
Test your Sims Skills
198 SimScopes
Your monthly predictions
202 Whats Up Community News
206 And the winner is SupShell Challenge Winner
208 Meet the Team Get to know us
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Non Bob News With Ikea UPDATES UPDATE 5/24/2022 Customizable Pronouns are Now Available in English PC: 1.88.213.1030 / Mac: 1.88.213.1230 Console: Version 1.59 Bug Fixes Base Game Get Together This patch includes only a couple of bug fixes, as its focus is on the Pronoun Feature! Read More HERE UPDATE 5/24/2022 Update to resolve crash issue PC: 1.88.228.1020 / Mac: 1.88.228.1220 Bug Fixes Base Game This patch solved “an issue that caused some players to experience crashes”!
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Welcome to Non Bob News, the direct news gossip source for Your Sims gaming gossip. Sul Sul! When I wrote my first draft of the Non Bob News for this issue, I had the gall of saying “Compared to last month, very little happened during May!”, oh how wrong I was, my friends! Turns out the Sims team was just wanting to surprise us with unexpected announcements and drops left and right! So, strap in, we have a lot to go through! The Road Map and Werewolves??? On May 3rd, 2022, all simmers over on Twitter started freaking out. The Sims’ account updated its profile picture and header to something most considered to be a “Night Theme” or “Dark Theme.” Simmers started speculating on the nature of those changes, wondering what kind of changes would come to the game; maybe we’d get a “Dark Mode” to the UI of the game? Maybe we’d get an announcement of a “Late Night” expansion pack à la Sims 3… With that aesthetic update on Twitter, the official The Sims account released a small teaser clip featuring the new neon plumbob look as well as the words “See you tomorrow.” and, as promised, the next day, the Road Map trailer for the next
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
months was released, announcing 2 kits and 1 game pack. The 14-second video of the roadmap featured a sim watching TV, skipping through different channels which featured what seemed to be a family backyard hangout, a dating show, and two horror/thriller movies with howls in the distance and a city scene. Simmers immediately took to theorizing about what they think the kits and pack will feature, especially after analyzing the pack and kit descriptions on the website. Regarding the kits, it was speculated that we were getting one CAS kit and one Build kit, and, as it turns out, these speculations were indeed right - the kits dropped on May 26th, and seemed to get a lot of praise by simmers! The CAS kit is named “Moonlight Chic” and features clothes fit for an evening date, in-
spired by Parisian fashion. The Build kit, which seems to be a favorite among simmers, is named “Little Campers” and features build items for kids to have a Cozy Night in their backyard roasting marshmallows on a campfire, a blanket fort to play in, and a projector to watch movies with! But what the simmers seem to be most excited about is the new game pack, which is assumed to feature the long-awaited (and slightly controversial) werewolves. This speculation is only further exacerbated by the information available in other languages on the Sims website: the English version mentions “running wild”, the Danish version mentions “growing fangs”, in German the name hint says “Unleash the beast”, and in Swedish “Go Completely Wild”. Adding to it is the picture of the “Little Campers” kit, posted on Twitter on May 26th, which features some yellow eyes in the bushes. It seems quite obvious Werewolves are coming to the game!
More Surprises!! On May 18th, 2022, the Sims announced they were partnering up with Alice Longyu Gao, a Chinese Singer-songwriter, DJ, artist & Simmer as part of their You Make The Sims™ series! Alice recorded her hit single “DTM” in Simlish for an SDX Drop – this song’s musical genre is described as “Hy-
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
perpop”! You can read the You Make The Sims interview with Alice Longyu Gao on The Sims website! With the SDX Drop of May 25th, Alice’s song has been officially added to the game, but it didn’t come alone! That Sims Delivery Express brought us 3 new Build Items – a table, a chair and a lamp - and 2 new Scenarios! And, because this seems to be the month for surprising things, this month’s SDX featured something long-awaited: the Goth family’s makeover! The idea of giving Premade Sims makeovers was first mentioned on November 23rd, 2021, during an “Inside Maxis” live stream by The Sims on Twitch, where the developers showed some concept art! Besides long-awaited – these appearance
8 | Non Bob News
changes were also extremely necessary as most simmers complained about Bella and Cassandra Goth’s skin tones having been lightened (or whitewashed) when compared with their The Sims 2 counterparts! Above, you can see the changes!
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Pronoun Update! And, on an even brighter note, considering the upcoming month of June, which is Pride Month, The Sims has finally released the long-awaited Pronoun Update! This update came as a bit of a surprise since there had been no announcements or warnings in the previous weeks. The Pronoun Update was expected, however, as it had been in development for a while, first being mentioned on January 18th, during an “Inside Maxis” live stream by The Sims on Twitch, where the developers showed some mock-ups of the UI software.
rated before) and GLAAD! So far, the update is only available in English but the Sims team is working with linguists, localisators and translators to allow simmers all around the globe to feel represented and seen!! You can learn more
about this update and the research that went into it on the EA website. I’m sure I speak for all of us, here at SimmedUp Mag (and SUPINMEDIA as a whole) when I say that it’s amazing to see all this love and support and the developers attempts at making the game more diverse by giving us the tools to show ourselves – our true selves - in the game! This Update is a step in the right direction and I’m so glad I was able to witness it!
As of May 24th, 2022, the ability to set pronouns is now part of the Base Game and therefore available for everyone! It is completely customizable, allowing simmers to set pre-existing pronouns (she/ her, he/him, they/them) and to create or customize their own! This was made possible with the help of the It Gets Better Project (with whom The Sims has collabo-
So, what do you all think? Do you really think we could be getting werewolves? Had you ever heard of the Hyperpop genre? And what did you think of the Goth makeover? Happy Simming, everyone! And Happy Pride Month to all who celebrate it! Ikea (she/her)
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Tips & Tricks In The Sims 4 1) Our First tip is you need to enable cheat mode: To do this press CTRL - ALT and C at the same time to bring up the cheat box in the top left hand corner of your screen. Then type in bb.testingcheats on and press enter The next cheat code you will need is bb.moveobjects onand press enter. 2) Re-Sizing objects in game: select the object you want to re-size by left-clicking on said object with your mouse and then press the [ (for shrinking) or ] (for making items larger). By doing this you can create some awesome tiny builds or some massive creations.
5) Half floor tiles: This is great for those of you that like to create patterns on their flooring, simply press ALT and F together and there you go, half floor tile ready to lay. 6) Need simoleons? Then this cheat code is perfect. Simply open the cheat box and type in MOTHERLODE this will give you 50.000 simoleons just like that. This cheat code can also be used as many times as you need it. KACHING! 7) Infinite consumables: Did you know if you use this code bb.objects.consumables_infinite_toggle all items such as Potions and Food become infinite.
3) Lift objects up or bring them down again: Ever wanted to raise an object up in game? Then all you need to do is press the number 9 key to raise or the number 0 key to lower again (pleasenote you cannot lower an item that hasn‘t been raised)
8) Reset object: If any of the objects in your game are showing glitchy, you can press SHIFT and click on the object with your mouse, bringing up the reset object option, how easy is that.
4) Move objects freely in your game: This is fantastic if you wish to place objects in places you ordinarily cannot. By pressing and holding the ALT key, whilst using you mouse to move and place objects.
9) Unlock all objects in game: Ever need an object but haven’t had the chance to unlock through your gameplay yet? Then this simple cheat will free those up for you. Open the cheat console box and type in bb.showhiddenobjects and another one to open all challenge items is bb.ignoregameplayunlocksentitlement
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
INTRODUCING THE COLLECTIVE By SimSimmerly
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his issue, we introduce to you The Collective, a team of talented individuals who use their Blender skills and community spirit to bring you their events that all Sims lovers can enter. This month, they have created the Coachella event, and we cannot wait to see what they have in store. Find out more in this feature as we get to know the team behind The Collective.
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Apolo Falzon Apolo Falzon, 34, entrepreneur. A fourth-generation winemaker by trade, but also a man who is driven by a passion for photography and design. Apolo was born and raised in the province of Siena, Italy, where his family has cultivated a vineyard, producing some of the most exquisite wines since 1939. He graduated from the University of Siena with a dual degree in Economics and Management. This is where Apolo’s interest in design started and since then, with his keen eye for innovation and his attention to detail, Apolo has single-handedly re-branded Falzon™ into much more than a beautifully crafted wine. It is expected that their Pinot Grigio, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot will be considered for the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) in the upcoming season. Upon meeting Dahlia – the love of his life – he moved to Phoenix, Arizona and the couple just recently welcomed their new baby girl, Aurora. During his time away from the vineyard and The Collective, Apolo spends his time with his family, taking countless photos with his Canon AT1 or sneaking away to his personal darkroom to develop film from his Hasselblad 500C. When it comes to The Collective, Apolo’s business background, avidity for graphic design and love for photography has been a valuable asset to The Collective’s branding and marketing initiatives.
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BOBBI RYCROFT
Barbara “Bobbi” Summer Rycroft is an American model, entrepreneur and film director. She is one of the highest-paid models in the world and earned the top spot on Forbes Top Earning Models List in 2022. Rycroft began modeling in the fashion industry when she was 14 after being discovered shopping with her mother at a California flea market. Since then, she has appeared on the cover of countless fashion magazines and modeled for numerous designers. In 2019, she started dating musician Joel Rycroft of the band Dresden Fall. The couple married in August 2020 and are the proud parents of a one-year-old German Shepherd named Bones. In 2022, Rycroft and fellow model Kailani Nariko founded The Collective, a talented group of individuals with a passion for creativity and having a good time. The team consists of Ember Barrow-Dover, Jade Reynoso, Rhett Mason, Bowie Custard and Apolo Falzon.
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Ember barrow -dover Ember Barrow-Dover is a mother, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and businesswoman. She has a degree in Communications from the University of California. Ember got her start in event planning and she was a wedding planner for 5 years. She has always had an interest in promoting events and making things beautiful. She owned a wedding planning business called Wedding Belles before she decided to change career paths and help with her father-in-law's business Dover Wealth Management, which is a major financial institution in the UK and in America. She has been the Chief Marketing Officer there for 6 years. During those 6 years, she has managed to promote diversity in her workplace and has a staff of mostly women of colour, a first for the company. Currently, she is a mother of 7, which keeps her quite busy as she has children ranging in age from 2 years old to 17 years old. She is the co-chair of the Elian Dover Foundation, an organization created to financially assist families and loved ones affected by a devastating plane crash that included her husband in 2013. Every year, the foundation hosts events to help fund scholarships, grants, and trips for the children of the families. They also host clothing and food drives year-round. hen Ember was invited to join The Collective Sims by Bobbi Rycroft, she jumped at the chance to become more involved in the community. She felt that her values aligned with those of The Collective and she is excited to bring creativity and positivity to the team.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Jade Reynoso
Jade Reynoso, dubbed as the “Female Version” of the skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, is a Filipina professional skateboarder. With accolades such as 3x XGames Skateboarding Champion, 2021 ESPYS Best Female Action Sports Athlete Nominee, 2020 ESPYS Best Female Athlete, and currently nominated in the 2022 ESPYS Best Comeback Athlete Category when she decided to come out of retirement from skateboarding competition. She’s also the ONLY active female sports personality in the community. Aside from her skateboarding career, she jumped into the world of modeling. She’s been a former model of Star Modeling Agency and currently serving as model for both EliteSims and SATW. During her brief retirement from skateboarding competitions, she pursues her education and had nursing as a profession, and worked as an emergency room nurse. As of today, she’s also been active in the creative scene. She's now a part of another venture together with model Kailani Nariko and business partner and longtime friend Bobbi Rycroft, who both founded a creative group called The Collective, whose members also include Ember Barrow-Dover, Rhett Mason, and Apolo Falzon.
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Kailani Nariko
Kailani Nariko is an American model, socialite, businesswoman, and Kiina scenes ambassador. After completing a BBA in Strategic Design and Management at Parsons in Paris, she returned to New York, NY where was scouted by Ryan McHugh Agency. She subsequently signed with the modelling agency, and was featured in numerous campaigns and a runway show in Rio. Since then, she has also signed with Storm Model Management and more recently, Millennials Model Management. Wanting to pursue other ventures, Nariko and business partner Bobbi Rycroft founded a creative group known as The Collective, whose members include Ember Barrow-Dover, Bowie, Apolo, Jade Reynoso, and Rhett Mason. In her spare time, Kailani enjoys creating custom fashion pieces, Blender scenes, and spending time with her partner and photographer David Westbrook. She currently resides in LA with her close friend, Stevie Jones.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 How did you all meet? What inspires the team's Sims creations? Bobbi: We have all been members of the community for a while, but it wasn’t until we started a group chat that we got to know each other and discovered that we shared a passion for creativity. A definite bonus in our friendship, for sure! Ember: What inspires us is making events that are inclusive of all members of the community, and putting forth the precedent that everyone in the community has something to contribute and that we should be uplifting and highlighting people in the community that often get overlooked. Jade: We all came from different backgrounds. I was in this community for quite some time, until I meet this group who shares the same idea as I am. I just happen to be tagged along, especially Bobbi whom I know ever since joining the community. Who are your favourite CC creators?
Bobbi: Sliders and a lot of skin details. For the longest time, I relied on overlays, but since switching to skins, I find that my renders look more realistic. How long does it take the team to create Sims? Bobbi: I’d say hours. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I spend a lot of time in CAS, tweaking and getting certain details right. Do you think being able to use Blender has taken Sims CAS creations up another level? Do you also think that The Sims 5 Sims should be more life-like rather than cartoon style? Ember: I feel that Blender has helped people to be creative without the constraints of The Sims 4. Creating scenes and building and meshing has really improved the way people can set up scenes or ideas. I think that they will combine both cartoon and life-like elements. Every iteration of The Sims has brought forth a new character style, so it's hard to speculate.
Bobbi: Oh, this is hard. We all like so many! Jade: If we're talking about clothes, there are too many to mention. What mods do you use if any? Bobbi: I use a lot of sliders by creators such as Obscurus, Northern Siberian Winds, etc. It’s nice to be able to customize our avatars in a way that makes them unique to us. Jade: We could add Wicked Whims and Basemental mods to the mix as well. Bobbi: Those are fun too, and I’ve been having a blast with Basemental. I forgot to mention I also use MC Command Center. How do you get your creations to look so life-like?
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How did you decide on creating this event? What is the event about? Ember: It’s about bringing the in-game Sims community, Simstagram and Simblr community together to enjoy an event. Oftentimes, many events only have Blender scenes now, and we wanted to create something everyone can be a part of, while giving artists exposure and an opportunity to shine. How can people join in? Ember: The casting call for artists is closed, but to participate, individuals can download the scenes that The Collective has made, which will be posted closer to the event. It will include in-game lots and Blender scenes created by The Collective and other sponsors.
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“We wanted to create something everyone can be a part of, while giving artists exposure and an opportunity to shine.”
Do entrants have to use Blender or can they enter without using CC and Blender? Ember: This event will be in-game and in Blender, so if you prefer to take pics in either medium, you can participate. We want everyone to have a chance to be included. What hashtags does everyone use for this event? #CollectiveCoachella2022
Do you all have plans for more events in the future? Bobbi: We have a few ideas in the works, so make sure to check us out at The Collective. Head now to The Collective’s Instagram page, follow them and check out their awesome photos and upcoming event!
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Guest Spot
SatiSim 26 | Guest Spot
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Hey there lovelies! My name is Sati and I've been invited by the amazing SimmedUp Team, Thank You so very much for that! I will take this opportunity to take you down my memory road and tell you about how I fell in love with gaming and art and found a way to combine both with my passion for building in The Sims! When I was little, I loved barbies and drawing just as much as I loved pokemon and playing Yu Gi Oh with no rules at all. My Dad was super into gaming himself so I either watched him play games I probably shouldn't have watched as a kid (lol) or I helped him solve riddles which I'm sure he could've solved himself. He lead me to believe I did something he couldn't and it made me SO PROUD! I played on the N64 myself and I think the first game my Dad got specifically for me was Grandia on the PS1, a jrpg similar to final fantasy. And when I tell you I was obsessed. When we weren't playing games, my dad and I would draw. He was a tattoo artist before I was born so when he drew something for me, I just thought he was the biggest artist of all time. Drawing and video games were my favourite thing to do back then already, I didn't get into PC gaming until I was an adult really, besides the time I went to my grandpa and played on his pc, learning how to play chess and playing point n click adventures. But I'm sure you want to hear a bit about how I got into playing sims, and without further ado, let's get into that! My Sims journey began when my cousin and I were waiting for the presents to be set up on Christmas eve. We either played an interactive board game with a talking sword, or we built these insanely big shoeboxes in The Sims. Shoeboxes that were
then filled with billiard tables and other activities spread around in that one single room. Dreamhouse potential we thought! I still remember it either burning down or us bulldozing it again for the next shoebox. Oh how much I wish I could lay my eyes on our masterpieces from back then :D I didn't really get back into The Sims until around 2017 when I bought The Sims 4 Base Game. Pretty quickly discovered that gameplay is not exactly my thing but I loved to build! Not very pretty houses, but I just built them! I tried to recreate stuff I saw on the web until one day I thought I should try out something more fantasy styled and HECK that was fun! Thus began a slight obsession with recreating Locations from World of Warcraft and started posting them to Twitter, Youtube and other platforms and first got in contact with this absolutely amazing community. Supporting and uplifting from day one really, I met so many amazing people. We stayed up creating CC together all night, and made build collabs which allowed me to get in touch with even more creative Simmers and get to know each and every single one of their talents! I didn't host a group collab in a while, but I miss it! Being able to connect with all of you creative, driven and talented people is honestly a blessing and I am happy to be part of this community every single day. Probably wouldn't be if my dad didn't teach me to express myself creatively, nor if my cousin and I had never played the sims on Christmas eve. I have to thank them as well as each and every single one of you for making this journey great! Happy fathers day to everyone and Thank You so very much for inviting me again!
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Sati & Her Dad
You Inspired Me Happy Fathers Day 28 | Guest Spot
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MEMBERs O FEATURE FEAT. LADY
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Only Y MP By The Simming Spoonie
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his month, we get to focus on yet another member of our ever growing website – Lady MP, a relative newcomer, has been dazzling us with her building prowess! The first build we’re looking at is a tiny, yet packed, 10x15 home called Abstract & Concrete. This little pad covers pretty much every base with an open plan living, dining and kitchen, stunning airy bedroom, and a gloriously relaxing bathroom.
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The living area also has three humongous skylights to help create that open space. And did you see that little nook with the laundry area and pet feeding stations? What a fabulous idea that is! That kitchen looks like a dream to work in, everything in its place and within easy reach. And that clutter up on the shelves really helps this place feel lived in rather than just that empty showroom feel. The use of wall panels really stands out and helps distinguish between the different areas.
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Doesn't this bedroom just have that ultimate sanctuary feeling? The dreamy drapes on the bed, that lovely bright rug on the floor and awesome use of space to combine a vanity with a small office space. The built-in wardrobes fit this space perfectly, as do the prints on the walls. And don’t you just want to jump on one of those loungers with a trashy mag and while away an afternoon, taking a break now and then to take a dip in the pool and finish it off with a glorious barbecue?
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Moving on, we have a renovation of Magnolia Blossom Park. I think this place is perfect for game play, it has every thing you could possibly need in a park for the whole family. As you can see, it’s sectioned into quarters, but it still feels like one space. There is line of sight from every corner, so you can keep an eye on the little ones in the play area or watch people training their dogs while taking in a yoga session.
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Lady MP has also uploaded a couple of very cute rooms. Her Family Farmhouse Kitchen is incredibly cute with some intricate detailing, and that little study area/ nook is just adorable. Modern Cosy Bathroom is gorgeous as well – the use of that Spa Day tile helps this room feel lush and modern, and again, that clutter on the sink area is on point!
You can find all of Lady MP’s fabulous builds on the gallery, just search for her Gallery ID: LadyXMP. – Remember, all you have to do to have a chance of being showcased in our magazine is to share your wonderful creations with us on our website!
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
CCSpotlight presents
THE REMARKABLE POSE MAKER
Simmireen By SimSimmerly
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ith our issue being dedicated to inspiration, what better way than to introduce you to the pose maker that is Simmireen. One of the highlights this issue is her beautifullyconstructed Baby Bubbles pose pack, which shows two loving fathers with their beautiful baby, having family time in the hot tub. With the stigma dual fathers have faced over the years, it’s fantastic to see someone in the community concentrating on showing that anyone can be a father or a mother and both should be celebrated regardless of gender, because after all, it is the love that we give as parents that counts the most. Get to know Simmireen more below. Tell us how you became a Simmer. Where you are from? What are your hobbies besides The Sims? What is your favourite style of music? And if you were to choose your own Sims traits, what would they be and why? Hey, I’m Irene! I’m a 33-year-old girl from the Netherlands with the traits of creative,
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romantic (hopeless?), clumsy and definitely a dog-lover. My hobby besides Simming is digital drawing and photography, though because of COVID, it’s sadly a little quiet around that last hobby. I’m also a plant mom, and of course, dog momma. My favourite style of music is so different! I listen to so many genres, but Latin/Salsa makes me happy always, but I can also really appreciate a good singer/songwriter song. I play The Sims since, I think, 2002. Sims 1, basically. I am a Simmer half of my life, but I guess the real Simmer in me came around 3 years ago when I had stress/burnout problems and Sims became a good distraction. At that time, I was following a story on Instagram (@foxxsimmer) and discovered the whole online community around Sims. I never really used CC, for example. Well, it opened my eyes! After following a few stories for a few months in the community, I decided to use the gameplay I played in those months to tell my story. Now, we are almost 3 years further and I’m surprised I’m still doing this!
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l i h P
Irene
Akira
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First couple pose pack
sitting next to you, they are never sitting that straight. I know how hard it is at the beginning, but if you care about details, your poses are going to get so much better! But also, don’t overdo it. If you want to keep it realistic, keep the facial expressions small. The big SimmerBerlin has some very good tutorials that explain what I mean. It will take time to improve and you have to allow yourself that time. You will see your poses get better and better. What is your favourite pose style to create and why?
How did you decide to create poses? What was the first pose you tried to create? Was this a success or a failure? Oh, I remember! I wanted to have a pose where my two main sims were showing off their couple’s tattoo, but I couldn’t find any pose I could use for it. I mostly could find poses and be creative with them, but for this, I really couldn’t find anything. So, I decided to create it myself. It was such a struggle, but I managed to learn the basics with the Kijiko pose helper rig. These pose helper rigs are a good beginning point to learn pose making, if you think the ‘normal rigs’ are very hard to work with. The pose was a success for the screenshot I had in mind. But, is it totally perfect? No, not at all ;) Do you have any advice for Simmers who wish to create their own poses for The Sims? PRACTICE, PRACTICE and MORE PRACTICE... and look to references or how your own body moves. You get stiff poses very quickly at the beginning. For example, like a sitting Sim with a back that’s perfectly straight up. If you look closely at someone
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There is only one genre of pose I do and LOVE to do: Romance! Romance and cute (and sometimes a little spicy) poses. Give me flirty, give me cute, give me desire. I try to catch it in my couple poses. I think I can make anything to be honest, but I enjoy making couple poses because love is my fuel. What issues have you come across in pose creation? How do you stay motivated when things go wrong? I myself use Shibuisims’s Sunflower rigs to make poses, and before as mentioned earlier, used Kijiko’s post helpers. These pose helpers help you don’t get “wonky” fingers or create “unrealistic” movements. The rigs which come with Sims4Studio are freer in movement, but sometimes it turns out more unrealistic and is very based on the side you look at in Blender. I find these “normal rigs” very hard to make poses with, so I stay with my pose helpers to create poses. If anything goes wrong, for example, something went wrong with the Baby Bubbles pose pack with the resized toddler rig. But then, I take a break and try to find out what is happening. Blender can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but sometimes, you just have to try again.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine There is a pose-making Discord channel “Pose Makers Guild,” where we try to help people when something goes wrong. The biggest mistake that is made is that people tend to move the “orange dot” when making poses. We have a hashtag + emoji there even... #nevermovetheorangedot Is there any music you listen to when creating your stories or Sims poses that inspires you? There is no specific music I listen to, just what I like at that moment. But yes, music is needed when being creative! Is there anyone in the community that has inspired your creations? Or anyone you would like to collaborate with in the future? I think every storyteller that uses poses knows SimmerBerlin. She is the one with big storytelling pose packs that you see daily in the community. I always love when I recognize one of her poses. She is definitely my big inspiration when it comes to poses. I think I’m a bit new with collaborations pose-wise because I’m only mostly doing romance poses. But, I’m open to collaborations or anything else! You have two Sims that have your heart, Phil and Akira. Their story is amazing and your screenshots of them are totally endearing. You captured their emotions so well, and your Instagram has some very beautiful and emotionally-charged shots. How long have they been your favourite Sim creations? How did their story start? Do they have any juicy storylines for them and poses coming up that you will be sharing? Thank you! I love Love. Love is my fuel. You know that feeling when you get warm fuzzy feelings all over you? That’s my love for them. I love their romance. Mostly when
Phil and Akira
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Magazine 1stSIM photo edit entry for| Sismtagram Face Off (2nd place)
June Issue 22
I play The Sims, I end up doing the basics finding love, living together, getting married story, etc. When I created Phil three years ago, I played that basic storyline with Phil and his neighbour Penny Pizzazz. But that relationship never really clicked in-game. Until Akira went by. They kinda became flirty very quickly. So, I went with that and from that, came my whole story. As I mentioned earlier, it inspired me to tell their story. I found out how lovable and glued they were in-game, even now, when I let them “loose” for a little while, they are always getting flirty with each other. Of course, after three years, I am far away from the “falling in love, move in together, get married” phase, so my story is basically a slice of life story. Not much drama, just cuteness and fluff moments. There are no big story plots going on right now, but I hope soon we will get to know more of Phil in his late teenage time when he just got to San Myshuno. So maybe that’s a little sneak? You have won 2 edit contests on Instagram. Can you tell us more about
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Winning entry for In It To Sim It
what these involved, and what were your winning entries? Almost two years ago, someone I followed made an editing contest “Simstagram’s FACE OFF.” He himself loved editing pictures of Sims and loved the idea of showing creativity around Simstagram in the form of a contest. At first, I didn’t feel the need to compete, but someone dropped last minute and there was an announcement if someone wanted to join. I still was hesitant, but I sent that message and got in. You basically have to choose one Sim you use over the whole contest and you will be given themes through different judges, where you have to makeover & edit that Sim into the theme. Of course, I chose Phil. I have to say, I never edited ONE single picture of my Sims at that time, but I have some graphic design/Photoshop/drawing knowledge, so in the end, this first season, I learned so much! I loved this kind of editing because I finally found something I really loved doing - creating artworks of my Sim in several themes, like anime, zodiac signs,
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
“Connection” - Sim photo edit
Greek mythology, serial killers, etc. And in the end, became second out of 20 contestants. I decided to join the second season too, in which I became the winner. My winning entry was a portrait of Phil in Yin and Yang. Because the owner of the contest decided to leave Simstagram, I took over Simstagram’s FACE OFF account and did another two seasons as a host. For now, the contest part is over because it involves a lot of management that I don’t really have the time and energy for, but I’m planning to open “free edit season” soon, I hope. It’s where everyone can send in an edit to a theme. Most contestants become very insecure about their art when a few people give a ranking to it. So, we decided to scratch that part and just praise editing in any way. I also competed in the other “big” editing contest on Instagram: In It To Sim It, while hosting SFO. I think I learned most about editing in this competition because the
themes were a lot more “free,” like “Simple Life,” Kawaii or Castaway or recreating a music video, for example. Even though my final edit was, maybe not my edit I was most proud of, but an edit which also was a good final edit, because with that edit, I also decided it was going to be my last contest edit. After one and a half-year of doing an edit every week, it became very exhausting. It was a portrait of every makeover “Phil” I used in the 16 other edits that I’ve done for In It To Sim It. I don’t think there are edit contests around Simstagram right now, but for now, I stick to just editing random screenshots I take. As our issue is dedicated to “Men Who Inspire Us,” are there any male/s that have helped influence or inspire you? What would you like to say to them? It’s not Sims-related, but someone I look up to is a Dutch comedian I followed since 2008. He played in the musical “Les Miserables” and at that time, I always went to go for pictures with the players after
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
“I love Love. Love is my fuel. You know that feeling when you get warm fuzzy feelings all over you? That’s my love for them.”
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
the show. When we met, we instantly had a click. I’m not sure what it was, but I still go to his shows to this day, he knows who I am and we always meet after a show. The funny thing is, we both found our husbands on the same website at the same time, and we still talk about that. I think their relationship is also a good inspiration for the love of Phil and Akira.
follow her social media channels for more pose packs and lovely Sims stories, and flip the pages to see more of her CC pose packs and Sims edits!
Lastly, let our readers know how they can find you. My Instagram @simmireen is my main page, where I post my story almost daily. I have my spam page @simmireenspam for pose packs, and random edits and you can find all my contest edits there, too. I also have a Patreon (always free) and Tumblr page where you can find my pose packs also under the name ‘simmireen’. And also under the same name, I have had a Twitter account for a few months. This now ends the interview with Simmireen. Make sure to check out and
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Phil & Akira
FOLLOW SIMMIREEN FOR MORE AMAZING SIMS POSES & STORIES!
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Collage of Sims photo edits
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
REVOLUTIONIZING THE SIMS 4, one mod at a time. By The Simming Spoonie
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
T
wistedMexi, or TM, is one of The Sims community’s most renowned and talented modders. The creations people come up with using his famous TOOL mod are mind-blowing. He has also created a mod to unlock all those pesky time limited scenarios, as well as the Clean UI mod that takes your load screen back to the time before Maxis bombarded us with all those pesky adverts and news stories. One of my favourite mods and the one that I always have to wait for it to be updated post patch is his Better Build/Buy mod, which organises the debug section of Build/Buy, and includes much more useful filters and allows you to search that black hole we know all know and love and/or hate as Live Edit. He is currently hard at work on CAW, previously only known by code name Project Raven, which, if you don’t know, will act as a Create-A-World mod that allows you to literally create your own worlds in The Sims.
Hi TwistedMexi, and thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. I have been such a huge fan of yours ever since I discovered your TOOL mod, and if you ask those Simmers nearest and dearest to me, you will find that I more often than not refer to you as my own personal god So, it feels like such a huge privilege to ask you all those questions that have been rolling around my brain for the last, who knows, how many years. Firstly, I know myself and probably a lot of our readers would like to know a little more about you. What do you do when you are not hard at work modding The Sims? And taking a leaf out of The Sims - do you have any other hobbies? What are your favourite foods, colour, aesthetics / styles and music genre? Sure, well, first off is I have a day job, which is also programming-oriented. It offers downtime regularly and I'm fortunate enough to work somewhere that
allows me to overlap that with TS4 modding. Development is also a hobby of mine, so I'm afraid there's not a lot variety there. Other hobbies would be gaming, woodworking, trying unique foods and drinks, and of course playing with my 3 doggos. I think sushi is probably my go-to food. My favourite colour is red when paired with black. I heavily prefer a modern aesthetic with clean lines, but I also find live edge woodwork really appealing when it's done well. My music genres tend to bounce around a lot, so I just have a playlist for every year that I add songs I like to, that way I can go back and see what I liked 5 years ago. As far as what band I keep on repeat, it'd have to be Glass Animals by far. Next is a question my CEO Sami wanted to know, how do you mix your home life with the time it must take to create and support your mods? I try to keep heavy development set aside for certain days, while generally being available on Twitter, Patreon, and Discord
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Better Build / Buy mod
for support questions. I really can't recommend our Discord server enough, I think players will find I'm unusually accessible for help with my mods there. When and how did you start modding? I've always been a big fan of The Sims franchise, ever since the first game. I struggled to get it installed on my parent's ‘98 machine, and I credit it in part for why I got into IT in general. I got TS4 on release day. It was severely lacking and felt like a shallow copy of the games I knew and loved. I grew bored of it pretty quick, but I still wanted to enjoy the game, so I looked into the modding documents for it. I, by far, get more enjoyment out of modding the game and making it do things it wasn't supposed to, than I do by playing it. For me, it's more enjoyable to give other players tools that let them do more with the game. We’d love to know what your first mod was, and if you deemed it a success or a failure.
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I'm not sure if I remember, but based on my old ModTheSims profile, it looks like it was a cheat mod that allowed you to unlock all of the game play-locked objects. This was before the official cheat was added. I had released it 12 days after the game released. It's unnecessary now, but I would call it a success at the time. Have you always been interested in modding games, and is The Sims the only game you create for? Sure, the first thing I ever modded was Halo: Custom Edition, where Gearbox Software had basically released a lite version of their development tools. It was the wild west back then, nothing really had to make sense - you just made the game do what you wanted. A vehicle that lays down grenades as you drive it, or a machine gun that fires rockets? You want it, you've got it. I wish game companies were still as open about their development tools, it would go a long way in keeping games relevant vs the live service model many are trying to tap into these days. Currently, TS4 is the only game I mod for. I
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Create-A-World mod
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 would love to mod for more if there were more games I enjoy that supported it. What's the most difficult thing you have had to overcome in creating your mods? Create-A-World is basically off the charts on difficulty - it regularly involves a lot of out-of-the-box thinking and reverseengineering of game files that EA isn't willing to disclose freely. Most recently, I had to dismantle the Lot Architecture files in order to reliably create a version of Sulani with default empty coastal lots. I'm currently working through a lighting system for it as well, which has been more challenging than I had anticipated. How long, on average, does it take to create a mod? For example, your Clean UI mod vs. TOOL vs. CAS FullEditMode Always ON? My earlier mods were all cheat mods or what I call the "always" mods, which just turn on a cheat for you automatically. These days, you can do that as a part of MCCC, but I leave my lightweight mods out there for those who might not use it. Those mods are fairly simple, almost never break, and were developed within a day or two. Sometimes I get questions, asking if they still work because the file date is from 2018, to which I say yep, still good. The opposite of that would be UI Mods. These are fickle in nature and tend to break over even the smallest of changes to the game, if EA adds a new icon, or changes a method shared by any of the UI mod's files. Clean UI is a UI mod, and TOOL didn't start out as one, but eventually, I had to make it one in order to enable camera movement while using the TOOL dialogs. How would you say that the community has changed from when you first started modding to now? Honestly, I wouldn't say it's changed much. I'll say most of the community is
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unwavering inviting and friendly, but there's a few subcultures of TS4 players out there that tend to get really toxic really fast. That was true on day one, and I would say it's still true today. To comment on the game itself, I think it's come a long way from release - but also that it shouldn't have started in the state it was in to begin with. Is there anyone in the community that inspires you to create your mods? I wouldn't say anyone inspires me to create my mods, that comes from just wanting to make the game better. However, people certainly inspire me to keep improving them. Builders that utilise TOOL are mostly using it in a way I never even intended. TOOL stands for Takes Objects Off Lot, but builders ended up mostly using it for more creativity on the lot. Builders like Kate Emerald, Sati, Ardiputra, and PlumbobKingdom are constantly pushing the envelope on what TOOL can do. I’d love to know how you get the ideas for your mods. Basic answer, but the truth is I just go to do something, and find out you can't. So, I make it happen. Sometimes, I'll see the community collectively complaining about something, and I'll have an idea on how to improve it. The Neighborhood Stories viewer, for example, having to click the mailbox for each story seemed exhausting, so I created a notification wall style viewer instead. What gives you the inspiration for your mods? Just the idea of making the game do something it wasn't meant to, especially in build mode. Has the amount of support you have received via Patreon surprised you? How has this support helped you in the creation and support of your mods?
SatiSims’s veggie stand, made with TOOL mod.
Yes. For the longest time, I didn't even make a Patreon because I thought "who would want to pledge to me?" But, I was encouraged by friends to go ahead. The first year was a humble beginning, at the time most of my mods were useful, but relatively simple. Support really started to surprise me when I released TOOL and again when I released BuildCam, Expandable Catalogue, and finally Better Build/Buy. I really didn't mean to, but it seems I built a niche in build mode mods. If The Sims team asked you to create a mod for them for TS4, what would it be and why? Hah, I think the obvious answer is CreateA-World, but I don't think EA would ever approach me for that. If we're talking about what I think EA would ask for, maybe some of Better Build/Buy's features to be implemented natively. Is there anything that frustrates you about the code that The Sims development team releases? Currently? Nothing really worth noting. I think for an AAA studio, they could afford a little more content and a fair amount of more quality assurance testing, especially after the My Wedding Stories release
state. That's probably not on the development team, it's more of a comment on the resources not just EA but most AAA game studios are providing for games these days. Hint: You need more. In general, I'm just upset at what TS4 could have been if it hadn't been designed as an online game when EA was on the onlineonly kick with SimCity. I'm hoping whatever the multiplayer implementation they're putting in TS5 is done tastefully, optionally, and still allows for modding. Otherwise, if they prioritise live service first, playability second, I believe it will be dead on arrival. Who would you say your biggest TOOL fan is? We know both Sati and Fantasims are amazing at using TOOL mod. Sorry, I think they're all pretty big fans. Oh yes, definitely, and I count myself in there too! Is there anyone in the community you have seen using your mods that have amazed you with what they can do with them? It changes from one day to the next, but as far as who I think is really going off with
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
“Willpower - you have to want it first, and then learn how to do it second. Find something you really want to do, and go from there.” it at the moment? Has to be Ardiputra, just because I can't count how many times I've gone "What object did they use for THAT?" It seems like every other day there's an entirely new creation that leaves me confused, and amazed. Were you surprised when people started using TOOL to create the amazing builds we now see, as you created the mod to literally be able to take objects off lots? Yes, I was surprised then and I'm still surprised today, every day, sometimes by entirely new players who just picked up TOOL. I just saw yesterday someone used it to smash a meteor into the Pancakes' household. Do you have any advice for someone who wants to start creating mods? What’s the best place to start? Do you have any mod creation videos, etc.? Willpower - you have to want it first, and then learn how to do it second. Find something you really want to do, and go from there. You need to know Python for script mods, and XML for tuning mods. I don't have any mod tutorials, but there are plenty of resources out there. I would say the number 1 rule is know what a LastException file is, and if your mod is currently causing one to happen, do NOT release it. It's not done. You're not done until your mod plays without any
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exceptions. You're only as good as your reputation. What skills are needed for creating mods? And what programs do you use? Really just Python and XML. I use PyCharm, Sims 4 Studio, Notepad++, and custom tools I've designed when nothing else is available - especially for Create-A-World development. For tuning mods, you'll want to grab the TDESC files from The Sims 4 Forums, as they explain what the tuning files do. Do you think it’s possible to work as a modder and earn a living? I think it's the same as being a YouTuber, streamer, or any other content creator. I'm not going to embellish it and say "anyone can do it!" because the truth is, it's about 80% effort, 20% luck, and without both, no, you probably can't make it a living. If you really want to go down that road, I encourage everyone to have a backup plan, and also to keep an ear to the ground on what your audience wants. It's great to develop things you enjoy, and if that happens to overlap with what players enjoy, even better! But sometimes, you might have to put that dream project down and work on what's in demand if the goal is to replace your income.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine What made you decide to start creating Project Raven (CAW)? I've always been a builder primarily, so I kind of gravitated to that part of the game. It's worth mentioning that was also the part most lacking a launch. Create-A-World was always the goal, if I could make it happen. Naturally, I had to start with smaller goals and get a grasp of what was and wasn't possible in this game engine. Years later, I was still breaking notions of what I thought was impossible. Even when I started Project Raven, I wasn't sure if I would be able to do a true CreateA-World tool with terrain and lot manipulation, hence the code name. I only officially announced it as Create-A-World once I had working proof of concept for both of those. There will be other hurdles, but nothing that can stop CAW from becoming CAW. What have the hardest challenges been around this? Initially, learning how to add and even create entirely new UI elements. Create-AWorld involves a lot of UI editing, probably 30+ UI files at this point, and as I mentioned earlier, that's a risky type of mod to implement. It needs to be designed in a way that I can quickly fix a lot of UI files if a patch comes and breaks it all. More recently, it's been when I
stumble across a file that I need to fully reverse-engineer in order to read, modify, and save properly. Have you been surprised by the level of interest in CAW in the community? Honestly, no. A little let down if I'm being honest. When you've spent years developing something, I think it's difficult to not over hype it in your head. Those who actually want to use CAW, are very interested in it. However, a lot of players who had been vocal about the lack of a world tool, haven't seemed to give it much thought. I think the lack of interest there is from a few things. 1. It's a mod, and that's an instant negative for a good portion of the player base, understandably so for console players. 2. It's not done yet. CAW is massive. Like, think of the absolute biggest mod you can for TS4, and CAW is probably 10x that size in complexity and moving parts. It puts me in a difficult position where eventually I have to start letting players try it, so I can move forward on certain features and reassess what is and isn't working. I'm hopeful that once CAW's creation cycle is complete, and the CAW exchange is online with players sharing their worlds, that will be the turning point where CAW stops being a buzzword in their minds and becomes the true, definitive Create-A-World tool I already know it is and will be.
Shroom God’s base in CAW
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Shroom God’s finished worlds, made with CAW
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine Can you shine the spotlight on any Simmers out there who you feel have been creating some amazing worlds using CAW? I think the three most fleshed out worlds I've seen have been from Shroom God, A Winged Llama, and Kuttoe. Have you got any new mods coming out? Can you tell us about them? Just Create-A-World, which is still in alpha, and of course, I'll be making periodic improvements to my other mods. Most of the mods and features I've put out were actually spin-offs of ideas I had for Create-A-World. Organised Debug, TOOL's point and click features, BuildCam, expandable catalogue, all of those were originally made for CAW's world builder implementation. Is there anything else that you'd like to share that we haven’t asked you? I think you've covered most of it! I guess I'd like to just emphasise that Create-A-World is not like any other mod players are used to. It's going to take a massive amount of time to bring to completion, and it's currently under heavy development. Any of my patrons have access to the CAW progress feed on discord, which details features as I get them working, so all patrons can know what's coming in the next version and decide whether they want to become an alpha tester that month or not. And once more, on the topic of Discord, it's by far the best way to get support for my mods. Don't spend hours taking shots in the dark if one of my mods aren't working for you. Come there, and we can usually have you ready to play within minutes. We ask you to go to Discord because it allows you to easily share troubleshooting info with us. It's really all we ask to offer you completely free support, as it's a nightmare to troubleshoot via Patreon and YouTube comments. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us, we and I’m sure our readers really appreciate your time! We have come to the end of this interview. Huge thanks to TwistedMexi for accepting our invitation. If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to follow him on all his social channels and Discord server below for more updates! Click here for all of TwistedMexi’s social channels!
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A Winged Llama’s world, made with CAW
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Tool Creations by ArdiPutra
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With T.O.O.L Mod you can create Anything
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
YOUR SIMS presents
Caroll Design By SimSimmerly & Ivana
I
n this month’s Your Sims feature, we’re highlighting one of the talented artists and custom content creators in the community, Caroll Design. Known for creating beautiful Sim portraits and makeup custom content, it’s no wonder that she was considered a featured artist by The Sims Resource a couple of times! Get to know her more in this interview, and don’t forget to look through her amazing Sims portraits!
cool enough to come from Transylvania, but I was born in Poland and moved to the UK in 2015. Apart from Simming, I am a live music photographer, Twitch and YouTube live stream mod, love to paint my nails and sing. Having been through several lockdowns over the past few years due to COVID-19, did this have any impact on your creativity? Did you find this helpful for you to focus, or did it squash it?
We want to get to know you more. Tell us a little bit about who CarollDesign is behind The Sims creator. Can you tell us 5 things about yourself? Like how old are you, where are you from? Do you have any hobbies? What star sign are you? etc. Who am I / who is behind CarollDesign? That’s a great question I can’t never tell because I suck at describing myself haha! Let’s try it anyway: my real-life name is Karolina, I’m certified vampire (*give me all the darkness*) who has been walking on this planet for 30 years (shout out to all the Libras out there 1). I wish I could be
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I will probably sound very weird, but I wasn’t really impacted by negative sides of COVID-19. Behind the scenes, I am a pretty introverted person. I thrive working alone and this is the best set up for me to be creative. If anything, this whole pandemic made me well established to work from home and have a happy job that can do good for others, too. When did you decide to be a CC maker of The Sims 4? CC making was always a silent dream of mine, but I never knew where to start or find resources to learn. When I had a moment of life crisis and couldn’t find any
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine job around 2019, I decided to go out on a limb with it and found Sims 4 Studio forums. It was a kick starter for me to ditch lot building (I used to build residential and commercial lots) and make my first walls, and then in mid-2020, my first makeup. How was your first experience in CC making? Was it easy, intermediate or difficult? When it comes to walls and floors, my first steps were a little bit rocky, but overall, I learned it fairly quickly to make them well enough. I highly recommend starting with them because they train your abilities to use 2D graphic programs fantastically when you are a beginner CC maker. Makeup though… I think I haven’t reached a level that I am fully satisfied how my work looks like and beginnings were very rough. Making good looking makeup for the Sims 4 takes a lot of time and financial resources. I had to invest into a graphic tablet, 4K monitor and few more extras for my laptop so it can be somewhat looking “OK” in my eyes. I reckon that it is still easier to do makeup in Sims 4 than 3D meshing, but it definitely takes time to do it right. Can you give us a brief background story of your journey in CC making? How were you able to achieve being an artist in The Sims Resource? I started firstly as a lot builder in late 2016 and built until early 2017. Then, I started building again in early 2019. In the same year, around 3 months later, I figured out how to make walls and the rest is a history. I was offered being a Select Artist shortly before COVID-19 pandemic started in January 2020. To achieve this level of artistry, it was just enough to post often and give a good quality content. I’ve been recently offered a Featured Artist role as well – I’m incredibly grateful to TSR team for this opportunity, as getting this level of artistry is much harder to reach and definitely requires more skills, time, and energy than on Select Artist tier. I highly
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 recommend everyone to share your creations with TSR – the level of support and care we get as artists is incredible, and I totally love being a part of this community. What inspired you to create custom content (CC)? I wanted to have something different in game as well as make others happy by creating and making their games more fun. I enjoy giving people joy 12. What else do you do while creating CCs, like, do you listen to music? Depends on my day and how hard work I do. I mostly listen to videos on YouTube,
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lots of various music from pop to metal genres (currently digging “In Stasis” album by Monuments – my husband’s band) and podcasts. Sometimes, I work in silence and enjoy nature sounds (my office is located next to a forest). How do you keep yourself motivated or inspired? It helps to me be consistent and have same working hours and days. I usually work Tuesday-Friday/Saturday and try my best to have some time off around Sunday and Monday. For the inspiration, I often look up Instagram and Google photos. Sometimes, I come up with my own ideas.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine What or who inspired you to do CC making? My husband, who is my incredible support and believed in me from my very beginnings. Where do you get inspiration for every custom content you create? Google photos and Instagram, and some other creators’ Patreon and TSR accounts. Rarely Pinterest or makeup companies’ websites. I totally recommend checking out R.E.M. Beauty website for Ariana Grande’s makeup – she and her makeup artist have banging ideas! What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a CC maker, if any? The only downside are long hours of creating and editing my previews. Anything else is a big advantage because you are your own boss and you decide when you work and how much. What advice can you give to aspiring custom content creators? I want to give a small piece of advice to beginner S4 makeup artists – lots of patience, practice, and research easy real-life looks! Trying to make something difficult at first might be discouraging, but Rome wasn’t built immediately – small steps and you’ll nail it. My first makeups, walls and floors were pretty sad quality-wise, but I also didn’t know a lot when it comes to creating. Read and watch tutorials and never be scared to ask for help! A lot of creators are happy to help when you start and will give you a helping hand. What can we expect from you in the coming months as a CC maker? Lots of new makeup and genetics, maybe some clothing (I’m learning Blender since
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“Trying to make something difficult at first might be discouraging, but Rome wasn’t built immediately – small steps and you’ll nail it.”
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the beginning of this year and I am still making baby steps haha)… Well, we will all see soon. I hope I will be able to deliver you cool content you will enjoy in your games. On that note, we now have come to the end of this lovely chat with Karolina. Make sure to follow her social media pages below for more beautiful Sims and custom content!
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BeniX Productions Machinima has been around for a long time. You can find many variations from Music Machinima to feature-length movies and are created from your favourite gaming genres. To add more inspiration from the talented males in our community, we spoke to BeniX Productions: creator of The Age of Darkness. We chat about life, travel and everything in between. Get to know the man behind the screen and let him take you on a journey of Machinima insight.
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Hi Beni and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule of filming to speak with us. We have a lot of questions to ask you about your Machinima but first, we would like to get to know more about the person behind BeniXProductions. First of all, thank you so much for including me in this issue! I can’t wait to see how it will turn out! The fact that I am doing an actual interview is very exciting! So who is Beni, where are you from? “Who is Beni”, well, let’s just say I am working hard to figure that out! I’ll let you know when I do! Jokes aside, I’m a regular guy from Eastern Hungary with, a very sharp tongue but a heart of gold(ish?).
What is your favourite childhood memory? Ooh, that’s a very good question! I love talking about my childhood because it was as perfect as it can get. But I’ll try to keep my rambling short! Honestly, my whole childhood, between the age of 6 and 15 was an incredible time in my life and I could not just pick a favourite moment. Whenever my cousins, my sister and I got together (which was at least once every week), all the bad things have gone away. It was magic. Like, actual magic. I will forever be grateful for my family that I got to have the amazing childhood everyone should have. Do you have a favourite food? My grandma’s chicken soup, hands down!!!
What do you do in between filming?
And What is your favourite movie or TV show?
When I’m not filming, you mostly find me playing with my dog, hanging out with friends and/or family or just casually watching a TV show/reading a book. I know, pretty boring!
Tough question!! I just recently binged a show called Yellowjackets, so I’d say that’s my favourite right now, but I also love Abbott Elementary, The 100, Game of Thrones, and How to Get Away with Murder.
What do you do for a living?
This summer you are travelling to both Greece and the UK. Are you travelling alone? What made you choose these countries and are there any specific places within these countries you are just dying to visit and why?
I was working as a customer service agent until I quit back in March. At the moment, I’m taking some time for myself before starting university in September. I hope that the media production major will finally be good for me because my previous one was a disaster. Are you a morning or a night person? Night person all the way! No matter what I do, or how much I sleep, I’m useless in the morning. My brain only starts to fully function after 5 pm.
I am travelling alone to the UK, but I’m actually visiting my cousin who’s been living there for a couple of years now. And then I’m going to Greece with a different cousin! Cousins all the way!! I don’t really have any places in mind I’m dying to visit. For me, a holiday is more about just making new memories with my companion than sightseeing. But I’ll definitely check out some museums and historical buildings. Also, the
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beach in Corfu!!! Can’t wait to sip cocktails there!! You also had to have an operation in April, which took you offline for a couple of weeks. You don’t have to go into details if you don’t want to, but are you ok now? And did this affect your Machinima creating schedule? It’s very nice of you to ask, I’m doing great now thank you! I don’t really have a filming schedule, I just film whenever I have time and motivation. Thankfully I’ve been pretty motivated lately, but I don’t want to jinx it! Your first Machinima on your YouTube channel is Age of Darkness “Firewitches”. How did you decide on your storyline? How long did it take you to create this series? That’s a great question! I’m always coming up with new story ideas, which I then write down roughly, but this one was different. I felt like I had to write it in full detail. This was at the end of 2019/the beginning of 2020 and when quarantine hit, that was the final push I needed to actually write scripts. The first episode was released in August of that year, so I’d say it took me about 9-10 months to actually finish the very first episode. What was the hardest part of creating this series? What did you learn filmwise from creating this series and were there any issues with timescale and getting people together to do the VA for you? The hardest part for me was filming, especially at the beginning. I had a very
old PC that barely ran the Sims 4 with low graphics. Luckily, I got my PC updated between episodes 3 and 4 and filming became a lot easier. The most important thing I learned film-wise so far is that fast camera movements don’t make the shots more interesting to look at, on the contrary, it can make viewers feel dizzy. Thankfully, finding voice actors was a great experience for me and they are the most amazing, brilliant, and talented bunch I could’ve asked for!
I would say if you are a fan of the supernatural/ fantasy genre and/or appreciate a good twist or two, de�nitely give Age of Darkness a chance! Your first series has an amazing soundtrack. How did you decide on the music to use, whilst i was watching your machinima, this not only gave me goosebumps at times, it really helped to get emotions running high when needed and perfectly chosen when you needed to bring your audience back down again? I usually listen to the specific song/ soundtrack I want to use on repeat, whilst writing the scene. I feel like this method is very beneficial because this way I am writing in the mindset the music puts me in and when the viewers see
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the final product, they see how well the music and the actual scene go together. Without revealing too much information, tell our readers why they should go and check out your first series of Age of Darkness. This is another tough one! I would say if you are a fan of the supernatural/fantasy genre and/or appreciate a good twist or two, definitely give Age of Darkness a chance! The first episodes are not top-tier machinimas – not even close – but looking back at season 1 as a whole, I’m very proud of how it turned out. So now for your second series, which is a continuation of Age of Darkness. I can honestly say your trailers are amazing! Again the music, the clips used which are actual gameplay and the way you put it all together, had not only me but many others on the edge of their seats and crying out for more. Tell us a little about your second series,
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what we can expect coming up that we shouldn’t miss, and when can we expect to see this on our screens (please tell me its soon). Aww, thank you so much! I despise editing trailers so it’s always nice to see people’s reactions and that all the hard work is worth it. Season 2 will begin after a 2-month time jump and things go awry pretty quickly. The power dynamics between s1 and s2 have changed drastically in Eastbourn, which is the fictional town the show is set in and many new faces will join the race for power. Season 2 also gives me a chance to do things I didn’t like during season 1 much better. For instance, I feel like some of the characters, even some of the main ones are rather onedimensional, so I can’t wait to give them more complexity. The new season will also feature more politics (not IRL issues/subjects but ones set within the borders of this fictional world) and I’m also very excited to explore character dynamics I missed out on during season 1. At the moment, I’m planning to release the first episode sometime during
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Autumn. Tell us a little about the Voice Actors that are a part of your series. The Voice Actors are the real heroes of the series! The way they breathe life into these characters always makes me super emotional. I tend to be pretty distant on the internet, but I hope they know that I love them, and I am eternally grateful for all of them! I know some of them from way back, like 2016-2017, when I attempted making machinimas for the first time, then in the Sims 3, and they were right there when I approached them 3 years later to join this series. I didn’t even think they’d remember me, but I was so wrong! Bless them all! Do you have any plans for more series other than the Age of Darkness? At the moment, no. But, never say never! Initially, Age of Darkness would have ended after season 1 and all the scripts and all the VA’s lines have been sitting
on my computer since December 2020. Everyone thought it was going to be the end. But then I had an epiphany last September, and I came up with a plot for s2. And once again, the voice actors were all there, ready to get back in character! And if you could collaborate with any Machinima creator out there, who would it be and why? Hmm, that’s an interesting question. This might be controversial, but I feel like machinima making is such a personal form of art that I wouldn’t feel comfortable collaborating. Or at least not with a big project like Age of Darkness. I like being in control of all aspects of it, writing the way I want, directing the way I want, edit the way I want. Our machinimas are like our babies, and I want to raise my baby my way. I hope that makes sense! Is there anything we didn’t ask you that you would like to tell our readers? Do you have any messages for
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I had an epiphany last September, and I came up with a plot for s2. And once again, the voice actors were all there, ready to get back in character! your supporters? And how can our readers find and follow you? To anyone who watches AoD, thank you so much for taking the time to watch this silly show that means the world to me! Your support, comments, and retweets literally fuel my creativity. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!!! Lastly, as you know this issue is all about Men who have inspired us within the community and across the world. Is there anyone you would like to mention, who may have influenced you growing up, or now?
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My grandfather, my dad, and my best friend! And more and more frequently, me. I learned that sometimes we can be our own biggest inspiration and I think more people need to do that. Thank you for being an absolute star today and chatting with us, and we cannot wait to see what comes next for The Age of Darkness and your own personal adventures. Good luck on your travels.
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Titan Architects presents
By SimSimmerly
T
his month, we are proud to feature one of the talented builders we recently discovered within The Sims community, Simspiration Builds. Simspiration Builds, also known as Marina, is a CC creator who inspires Simmers with gorgeous builds - from luscious Italian streets with everything you need: restaurants, flower shops, grocery stores and more; to tropical paradise builds, where your Sims can sit and relax with an intimate dinner before heading off to a beach bar in the Maldives. Whatever you are looking for, whether it’s a resort in Mount Komorebi or a beautiful bathroom, Simspiration Builds has everything you need and truly deserves the title of Titan Architect. Get to know Marina more in this feature, and flip the pages to see her beautiful work. Check out all her socials below to see more of her builds and CC!
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“
My name is Marina and I live in Sydney, Australia. I am a Sims 4 alpha builder and alpha custom content creator. While my real-life job has nothing to do with architecture or interior design, I loved watching renovation and property make-over shows for as long as I can remember. The Sims franchise enabled me to express my creativity in a new way and, perhaps, let my inner interior designer come to the surface. Other than building and creating for Sims, I am interested in landscape photography, traveling and cooking. I love sci-fi and fantasy movies and am hoping to create a beautiful Sci-Fi world for Sims someday.
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When did you discover the Sims? I started playing Sims back in school when the very first one came out. It was love at first sight. I remember begging my mum to buy every new expansion that was coming out – so you can guess what most of my holiday gifts looked like. By the time I went to Uni, I stopped playing due to lack of time and fading interest, so I missed the era of Sims 3 almost in its entirety. At the end of 2019, I bumped into an old friend who told me she plays Sims 4 and how good it is. And I thought to myself that I wouldn’t mind going back to the game to at least try it out. And I did. At the same time, I decided to start an Instagram account as well to showcase my builds – and that was life-changing. For me personally, Maxis' content was less than satisfying, and I found myself bored very quickly. I was ready to quit by about December 2020 when I discovered the world of CC through Instagram. CC saved the game for me, and now I find myself building or making CC almost every weeknight as I find it deeply satisfying. Where do you get your ideas for your builds? I guess I am very lucky to say that I am a creative person. I never had issues coming up with new ideas or concepts for any of my projects – photography, digital art, essays, and now – Sims. Many ideas are based on places I’ve visited, would like to visit, or wish they’d exist in the real world. Most of the time I do not use any specific reference images and
just start building and see where it goes. Of course, sometimes I do see very beautiful interiors or architecture online and I take a screenshot of them with the idea of recreating them in Sims. Though, I haven’t recreated a single one yet *laughs*. What is your favourite build to date? The Japanese Village! It was the most complex personal project as it was a cascading build built on several levels and involved a lot of landscaping. It also reflected everything that I love as I am a big fan of Japanese culture, its history and the modern art industry. This was also the first time I decided to include Sims characters in photos which were created by my talented friend @artifical_images specifically for this project. Using poses was so hard so I found a new respect for RP players! What build would you say was the hardest for you? The Italian Street build. While it was an incredibly fun project, I also found myself struggling as it was way out of my usual style. Those who have followed me for a while would have noticed that I like contemporary style, wabi-sabi, earthy colours and a lot of natural textures and décor elements. For the Italian Street, not only I have to work in a style completely foreign to me, but I also had to work with BRIGHT COLOURS. Switching your brain off and learning to see the beauty of green, red and yellow was a challenge. Making it look good together
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was a challenge. Delivering interiors that could pass for being Italian was a challenge. But I was worth it - I loved how the lot turned out and I have received a lot of positive feedback from my followers, including my Italian friends (guys, if you said it just to make me happy, I still appreciate it very much and I AM happy)! If you could build something for the Sims 4 as a permanent fixture, what would it be and why?
there, nor does it look very alien or sci-fi to me. I would love to be able to build more levels – and without the camera going crazy fast the higher you go. I have tweaked my camera settings already and have a mod, but they are still not enough to cope with the camera’s sporadic movement past level 3. I would love to be able to design my own map. I am honestly so tired of having some random objects ruining my screenshots.
Maybe a castle? We don’t have any and I built one not long ago and had a lot of fun with it! But I would need a new map for it.
Do you use T.O.O.L mod or cc for your builds, and if so, who is your favourite cc creator?
Do you have anyone in the community that inspires you the most?
Yes! As I have mentioned earlier, CC is what keeps me playing the game and I wouldn’t be here without it. I do not like the cartoonish style of Maxis original or MM content, so 99% of the CC I use in builds is alpha. I have several favourite cc creators, including Hel Studio (retired), Sundays, Eniosta (retired), Pinkbox Anye, Milja Maison, and Modern and Kerrigan House Designs. Of course, there are many more incredible creators out there that I admire and whose content I love, but it would be impossible to mention them all and would defeat the purpose of this question *chuckles*.
Over the last 2 years, I have met some incredible people in the community, whom I am fortunate to now call my friends. Hel Studio and Sundays have probably influenced me the most. Seeing their beautiful work made me want to finally get off my lazy ass and learn how to make better cc as well. And their kind words of encouragement made sure I do not give up. And Pinkbox Anye and Kerrigan House Designs create phenomenal cc that always gives me inspiration for my builds! I applaud their talent. What would you like to see brought into building in the Sims that we currently do not have? There are three things that come to mind: I would like to see a proper sci-fi map (good quality alien world or even postapocalyptic earth). Sure, one could say we have Batoo, but you can’t even build
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Where can our awesome builds?
readers
find
your
While my older builds are not available for download, I started early access Patreon in November 2021. So, all builds since then are available for download, along with mod folders and cc lists where appropriate. My builds are released to the public 3 weeks after posting.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Dune House Welcome to this modern desert dream home! 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, private office, over-sized kitchen and dining, and ample of living space! Have I mentioned a huge pool, outdoor dining and a fire pit? All yours to explore and enjoy :) Located in Oasis Springs on 17 Arid Ridge lot.
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CASTLE HEL This is a special project to honor my dear friend, Hel Studio, who will be releasing an amazing plant pack in the next day or so! This pack is unlike anything else I have seen before and truly transformed the landscaping game for me! It enabled me to create a castle just the way I wanted - north European, somewhat Harry Potterinspired, with luscious yet subtle greenery all around! As it is a special project in addition to my standard Patreon inclusions, I decided to utilise exclusive Patreon content on this occasion (after all, it is nice to be actually able to use things I am paying for :)). So, to get the exact look, you will need several items from Hel Studio (included in the CC list), including the upcoming plant's pack + AggressiveKitty's medieval set! The lot itself is sized 64x64, situated in Windenburg, on the island lot called Von Windenburg Estate.
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PARK DE FLEUR This build, located on Rifugio Dei Pirati lot in Tartosa, is all about beautiful landscaping, which creates a perfect backdrop to propose to your best friend <3 It is equally stunning day or night. However, you will find that the night hour brings out the true magic of this place with millions of stars, fireflies and fairy lights.
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MyCupofcc
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By SimSimmerly
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F
or this month’s Off-Topic feature, we’re highlighting Brook Chaos, a variety streamer who shares other community members content, takes part in collaborations, and loves cats and anime. Find out more about Brook Below. Hey BrookChaos, thank you for allowing us to interview you for our issue dedicated to men who inspire us. We have many questions, and our readers will be excited to learn more about You. First, why not tell us a little bit about you, like where are you from, what is your star sign, and do you have any hobbies outside of gaming? What are your preferred pronouns? Of course. my name is BrookChaos, but my real name is Jeremy Brooks. BrookChaos is based on my real name and the energy I give, which is positive and energizing as life can get crazy when we least expect it. I am from the US, primarily in Connecticut, born and raised. I am an Autistic gamer, what they call higher-functioning. I never let my disabilities stop me from fulfilling my goals or dreams. I am very determined to succeed in life & not let anything stop me. I intend to make a difference in this world, and no matter how many times I fall down, I will still pick myself up and keep trying. As for my Star Sign, I am a Virgo. I have a ton of hobbies and still adding more every day. Outside of my usual gaming activities, I enjoy cooking, I love Chinese food and a good Steak, plus I do a ton of art and watch anime and other TV shows. As for the pronouns part, honestly, you can refer to me as Brook or BrookChaos. When I first joined Twitter, you were one
of the few people that re-tweeted my god awful Sims builds (they were boxes and not that good). This showed me what a fab community Twitter can provide. What inspired you to join Twitter, and how did you decide to be a promotional page and support others in the gaming community? Honestly, I try not to judge content which means I happily share any I may see in my own community, not just in one part of it but across all of it. When I am free, I take all of my time and spend it with my community, just trying to be the genuine self that people are sometimes gravitated toward. I am not pretending to be something or someone that I am not, which is why I think that is what my community enjoys the most. I like being real with people, and if others dislike that about me, then that is okay too. You play a wide variety of games, so what is your favourite game to play overall? Mass Effect, the whole series, hands down, one of my all-time favourite games. It is not just the action of the story for the game that I love. Mass Effect teaches you that every action you take has repercussions, and whatever action you take has what you call the Butterfly Effect. In terms of the story and actions you make and everywhere you go and the NPCs (Non-Playable Characters). To explain the Butterfly Effect, it is a way to show what happens after each action you take, following the path that you choose to take and no matter what you do, there will always be consequences for every action. You can be bad in the game: that means being a Renegade, or be good, that being a Paragon, that is the path I always choose. I think it’s the path that reflects me as a person. Recently I received a Paragon T-Shirt from one of my friends who I help with editing his videos as a reward & I love it! It’s something that I have earned, so this makes it even better.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 There are tons of games that I do love and play as much as the Mass Effect series, but regardless, Mass Effect will always have a special place in my heart. I also read somewhere you do a bit of modding. Which games do you mod, and do you find modding easy? Do you have any tips for those gamers that would like to start? My first couple of words of advice when it comes to Modding your own video games;
the creators of the Mods I use in my games. It is sometimes very tempting to get them and use them to change your game constantly to where you are satisfied, but there are a lot of risks involving Modding. This is why I encourage people to play their games as standard and complete them BEFORE they choose to go ahead and start modding them. Not to mention the system that you mod them on, can and will, eventually break if it is overloaded. My advice to everyone is to enjoy your games, mod-free, before making this final decision.
1) Don’t do it unless you know what you are doing, and you’re absolutely sure about Modding your games, as a lot of problems can happen.
Being a community supporting person, you share other people's content from Games, to streams and more.
2) Make sure you back up your files BEFORE you mod your game, just in case something does go horribly wrong on your end.
How do you keep yourself motivated, and do you find others are as willing to share your content as much as you share theirs? Do you ever find yourself wanting to share certain content more than others?
3) If you are definitely sure about modding your games, please read ALL of the instructions and descriptions, follow them step-by-step to avoid a whole mess of problems and also save yourselves the headaches and the frustration. 4) Keep in mind, that you don’t need to mod your games to have a blast playing. Now… even after saying that, I will say that I love all the hard work and dedication of
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Well, I keep myself motivated through the people who I can count on, my family, my friends, my mentor and my community, all of them have all done so much for me, and each time that they are there for me, it reminds me how thankful I am for them all every day. I have to keep myself motivated, that is also extremely important, even for life in general, because who better to know how to motivate you other than yourself? Make sure that you keep yourself grounded,
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine reminding yourselves by asking: Do you remember why you love what you do & why it inspires you to do what you do. I try to do all I can for others whenever I can, and if I can do it, so can all of you. I have spent 4 to 5 years doing what I love to get where I am today and I am proud of myself for the man I have become as I have had to overcome many obstacles and prejudice, but that is another story. You also have a Twitch account. What games do you stream here, how often do you stream, and what is your favourite game to play while streaming? There was also a time when people on Twitch were getting raided by negative people, did you ever get raided by them? How did you deal with that and if not, do you think Twitch responded quickly enough to stop the negative accounts? Is there any part of Twitch you think could be better to help promote streamers like yourself? You know, now that you mention this, people seem to believe that I do live streams on Twitch, which is an honest mistake. Here I support streamers on their own Twitch channels, I am much more active on my YouTube channel, this is where all of my content is placed. As for Twitch and its actions of dealing with these negative people on their platform, there are a lot of improvements that still need to be made, how they handled all of these hate raids on their platform, is no better than YouTube’s lack of accountability for people who abuse their platform by allowing people to slander others. That is why I think changes still need to be made for everyone on these platforms, especially for those who have been affected by all of this destructive and chaotic negativity over the years, there comes a point where enough is enough. You also have an Instagram account, again here you support so many community members, we see a lot of anime content on your Instagram, what is your favourite anime and why?
I do have a lot of anime shows that I love, I have been watching anime since I was a kid, probably when I was in Elementary School, maybe middle school. I have watched Dragon Ball-Z and Naruto, both the 1st and 2nd shows, Naruto and Naruto Shippuden all the way through. Another anime show is called Bleach, and the main characters are amazing. I am still looking for new anime shows I can watch, and I recently started up a brand new to watch list. Why do I love them: The action, the comedy, the romance, the funny bits and pieces of drama here and there, their stories are always so well written, and they relate to you in so many ways. I highly recommend them to anyone new to anime to give them a try, as you will definitely love them! You have a Twitch, Twitter and Instagram account, but you also have over 2k subscribers on YouTube. How long did it take you to reach your 2k goal, what can our readers watch you streaming here, and do you also collaborate with other gaming fans? which has been your favourite YouTube collaboration to date? and what content do you have planned to share over the next few months? From my own experience, I can tell you that it was difficult to reach over 2k subscribers on my YouTube channel. People think that getting to where I am on YouTube is easy, but it really isn’t as you have to be consistent, dedicated, and work hard every day on making the content that you are passionate about. As for my journey I have been on YouTube for 4 to 5 years, it has been an absolute challenge but I love my channel. The people who I inspire and motivate, the community I have built, I am proud of all of the accomplishments I have achieved, and the love & support from everyone who has been there for me.
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Now, as for collaborating with other creators. I do love a lot of the collaborations I’ve done already with my friends and the community. The ones that I am the proudest of are those I have collaborated on with my best friend, and mentor, MikuCoolMix, who is currently over 700k subscribers on YouTube, it was my first time ever working with a creator and her fans and friends are sweet and have been so kind to me, I am still grateful to this today. As for the future content that I will be making, I will say that I will be creating more content this month. Anyone that knows me, knows I am not the biggest fan of Discord (please don’t hate me) You also have your own Discord channel, if you were to promote your channel to people like me, why should we join your Discord, what will we find there, and what kind of community is your Discord based upon? Is it just gaming, does it include anime? Is everyone welcome? Honestly, I am perfectly okay that people may not be fans of certain social platforms as it is their own preference. Everyone has different tastes and opinions, as no one has to like the same
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things you do. My Discord is private, and it is reserved for people in my community and those who are true friends and fans of mine it is very chill, and we would all rather not deal with toxic people, so I made it private and made it secure enough to keep these types of people out. It is for adults only, and for those who are mature and respectful, we do not allow anyone underage on the server, and everyone else is very welcome. We play video games and hold other events and we are going to add a movie night, game nights and anime. I do have moderators on my server to help keep everything peaceful, so they can inform me of any issues that need to be resolved straight away. Having a safe space that we can all enjoy is very important for us all, and this is our safe space. You are also a cat lover, and we can see this from the many funny and super cute pictures you post across your social media.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine This question may get tricky, but I am sure we are all dying to know if you could only have one pet for the rest of your life, would you choose cats or dogs, and why? That is a good question, I am not gonna lie, but the best and most honest answer that I can give is that even though I love dogs very much, both cats and dogs can be too much, depending on their antics. I have had traumatic experiences from having dogs as pets, one being when I was 10-years-old when I had a dog as a pet which clamped its jaws on my head and dragged me down a hillside. She was super hyperactive and after that, we had to give her to someone else & switched to having cats. I must say they do scratch our furniture many times and climb up our walls in our house, they are crazy, but they were a lot easier to manage. After several years of having cats in our household, we have been cat lovers ever since, so I have to say the only pets I would get now are cats. As we are coming to the end of this interview, is there anything else you would like to tell us about that we may have missed? What is on your streaming agenda coming up, and if anyone wanted to do a collaboration with you, how would they contact you to arrange this? Honestly, all they have to do is ask me on any of my pages on social media, as long as they love what I do and who are true supporters, not just in my work but who see me as a person, not just another face on a screen, we can definitely see what my schedule is, see what is the perfect time and day for me to collab & see how it goes from there. I do have to mention my greatest mentor that I am so honoured to be working with, MikuCoolMix again, who has taken me in and helped me out so much with my channel on YouTube. You should definitely go and show her a ton of love, she deserves it, and so many others who have been there for me, deserve it too if I was to mention them all, I would be here all day.
“How they handled all of these hate raids on their platform is no better than YouTube’s lack of accountability for people who abuse their platform by allowing people to slander others.”
Everyone has been super awesome towards me and has supported me through my ups and downs and I couldn’t be any happier and grateful for everyone in my life Again, thank you for being such a gem in the gaming community and for being such a welcoming and encouraging person. We will look forward to seeing more from you in the future.
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Survivors ’ journal By AlphaIsTimZ
Chapter 5 | Survivors’ Camp
S
now started falling from the sky and the temperature dropped so much more. As they woke up, it was already very cold; they needed to burn more wood than usual. The crops also went dormant for the rest of the season and the lake surface had frozen, meaning that they couldn’t get steady food sources like before. “What’s that sound? Don’t say that we can’t scout…” Billy wondered as he prepared everyone’s breakfast. “Alright, it seems that we need to avoid visiting other lots for today. Remember that as your leader, it’s my responsibility to make sure that everyone’s safe. Let’s do our routine today,” said Vincent as they started their day. “Vincent, I think it’s a good time to start shovelling the snow after we’re done, before it piles up too much. We need to make sure that the gate is still functional”, suggested Emily. “That’s a good idea. Alright, the three of us stay here, right? Let’s prepare the tools after we’re done.” That day, although the weather was very
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cold, they still needed to make sure that their camp was running well. “Finally! My body has heated up. I can’t wait to take a warm shower after this!” implied Jefferson. “That sounds nice, but we still have some shoveling to do after this,” said Patricia. As everyone arrived home, they started the elbow work and the sky got darker, making it harder to see anything in the dim winter night. At midnight, there was a loud crash in the camp. It seems that something has broken their woodworking tables. However, they never lost their hopes and returned to their tents. “Now we need a plan. The woodworking tables are mysteriously broken overnight and gathering food isn’t an option. I’m still grateful that we’ve stocked before winter,” said Terrence. “True, but I’m not sure what to do now…” said Emily. “We can help gather wood. I know that we can’t do as well as them, but it’s better than slacking off. We have to survive!” said Vincent.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
The seven of them left the camp with high hopes in their eyes to find the valuable lumber they always need.
after our job’s done. Let’s still be grateful that nothing bad happens on this special day,” added Billy.
“This is more tiring than how I thought it should be…” complained Terrence.
Although they couldn’t get anything fancy like turkey or ham dinner, they still tried to enjoy their time together and be merry. At least they didn’t starve.
“You know, we’re just so good at building, but they can’t build as well as we always do. Slacking off may mean suicide now”, said Vincent. “Hey, how long do you plan to stand here? Dinner’s ready!” said Patricia. Nothing was better than a warm meal in that kind of chilly weather. It seemed that it wouldn’t get any warmer for a while. As the sun rose again the next day, everyone was getting ready for more unfortunate matters, but nothing bad seemed to happen. “Guys, it’s Winterfest today and we probably have to miss it. This is also the first time we celebrate it together. Sorry, we don’t have much now, but it isn’t the end of the world. Hopefully we can celebrate it next year,” said Vincent. “Yes, but let’s try to enjoy it anyway…
As they slept in that peaceful night, a blizzard greeted the area and the temperature dropped so much. It meant that gathering wood would be much, much harder than usual. They still needed to do it if no one wanted to freeze that night. The cold weather managed to kill five plants in the meantime and replanting is impossible until spring. There was nothing meaningful to be done until the endless snow faded. “Snow, snow, and even more snow. Does it have any sign of slowing down?” Chelsea started the day with a rather unpleasant complaint. “I can’t say a thing about that, but isn’t it amazing that none of us have fallen?” asked Terrence. “I second that. I’ve never thought that all
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 of us would survive this long, but hey, it happens,” said Patricia. “True, uhm… Pat? I think we should discuss our family’s future…” implied Vincent. “Oh, you mean… sure, procreation is very important for us and we must make sure that the next generation continues to survive.” “We… plan to get married soon,” said Billy. “Yeah, we do too. We need to plan about this accordingly,” said Terrence. Although winter hadn’t ended, they kept working as hard as usual. As more and more unfortunate events happened, they needed to change their plans from time to time. “Oh… It’s broken,” Chelsea saw her trusty animal trap broken the next day. “Do we even have coops or barns to keep the animals? No hard feelings, I guess. Let’s just keep going, won’t we??” cheered Vincent. “I wonder how cold it is to sleep outside the tent in this cold weather,” asked Billy.
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“Not as terrible as it sounds. We are starting to get used to it, but there are other things to make too,” answered Patricia. “Yes, it’s my special day too. Things will get better,” said Terrence. They had to survive the harsh, harsh winter which was about to end. The wind and weather was still cold, but it was more bearable than before. Some new buds were also visible around the camp. “It’s time. Let’s do it now,” said Billy and Terrence. “We’re about to try for babies now…” said Vincent. “You’ve got to be kidding!” said Chelsea. Vincent and Patricia just crashed two different wedding vows just because of their intimate time. Things would be awkward for quite a while… The last sunrise of the year was visible in the east and the sky seemed to be brighter than before. Everyone celebrated the girls’ birthday, marking their young adulthood and pregnancies for a better
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 future. They had to start the day with a useless camp and everyone had to gather wood. Once they finish another double bed, they plan to start building a shelter, something they’d been waiting for a long, long time. “It’s the last day of the year. Let’s still do our best anyway. Our journey is still long,” said Vincent to start the day, “We have to keep pushing as we still have no idea if there are any other groups out there. Stay strong!” “Just remember that it isn’t easy to trust even fellow humans in these dark times, but extra Simpower is highly appreciated,” added Billy. “Talking about humanity, I think some zombies just went savage after a Sim somewhere close. It does sound bloody,” said Emily, “Let’s be careful.” The grown-up Sims were ready to start their chores. All of them were exhausted and scared, but they never intended to give up. That night, they still tried to be merry and did the countdown without a TV. They thought that living without technology would be hard, but they somehow managed to do it. It was a new year! The day started with a sweet, floral smell. The snow continued to
melt and buds started to grow on the ground. The crops even started flowering all over again, meaning that they can harvest from their field again. Fishing also became available again as the temperature continued to rise; not to mention, it was Jefferson’s birthday! Everyone woke up early to celebrate his birthday but they still had nothing fancy for him. As there was nothing unfortunate that day, they did their usual routine, but it was too hard and dangerous for the ladies to leave the camp with their pregnancies. “Terrence… You do know that I never like children, right? Now I’m pregnant. Do you think I’ll still be a good mother?” asked Chelsea. “You have to try, babe. I think we need to put our personal desire as far as possible as our children are the future of this world,” answered Terrence. As the ladies were expecting their babies, they had to rest a lot as they never knew if life would be a little bit more forgiving on them. They also needed to start crafting the cribs, toddler beds, and toys for the little ones. They’d do anything for the future of sims as they may be the last hope… To be continued…
AlphaIsTimZ Hi! I’m Timmy, or better known as AlphaIsTimZ in the gaming community. I’m a RPG fan and developer from Indonesia. Lost in the Woods with Zombies Challenge Rules (TS4//4)
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Stream for the challenge
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Retro Corner presents
Will Wright Father of The Sims By Jules / MinicartTSR
W
ill Wright needs no introduction in The Sims community; he is wellknown as the creator of Sim City, Spore, and The Sims. The Beginning Born in 1960, Will's interest in game design started when he was a child. While at university, his interests included architecture and mechanical engineering, to name just two, and he also had a love for robotics. While living in New York, he purchased an Apple 11+ and taught himself Applesoft Basic, Pascal and assembly language. As other game designers were already producing games for Apple, in 1984, Will decided to create a game for the Commodore 64 entitled “Raid on Bungeling Bay.” This helicopter action game allowed the player to fly over islands and drop bombs. However, Will found that he had more fun creating the islands than destroying them. Forming Maxis Fast forward to 1986, Will met Jeff Braun, who was an investor interested in entering the computer game industry. They formed
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a company called Maxis and released Sim City in 1989, which had been 4 years in development. Will went on to create other simulator games such as Sim Earth and Sim Ant, which were not as popular as Sim City, but gave Will a reputation as a designer of "software toys" - games that had no end, but could be played indefinitely. A Virtual Dollhouse In 1991, Will suffered the devastating loss of his home during the Oakland firestorm, and needing to rebuild his life, came up with the idea of creating another simulation game, a virtual dollhouse. This game would consist of little people who he called "Sims." The player would need to build the Sims' home, and furnish and decorate it to enable the Sim to live in comfort. Sims would have to go to work to earn money to pay the bills and buy whatever items were needed to make their lives happy, such as a TV and computer. Sims could fall in love, get married and have children. The children would need to go to school where a school bus would come and pick them up every morning. Skills, such as mechanical, logic and
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Upper left:: Will Wright’s “Simself” from The Sims 2
Upper right: Will Wright’s photo from TIME Magazine
Left: Will Wright in studio, from A List Daily
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FUN FACT: As a side note, I had heard during the time of Will creating The Sims, that it all started with a toilet! What can you do with a toilet? You can sit down to use it or stand up, you can flush the toilet, you can put the seat up or put the seat down. The toilet can break, so it will need to be mended and you can clean the toilet. It's quite interesting the number of interactions one can do with a toilet if you think about it! Another interesting thing that I heard was that Will and his team would be up all through the night until 6:00 am working on The Sims. This led Will to name his company "Maxis," which is six AM spelt backwards. The word "Sixam" is now in The Sims 4 as the name of the alien planet. Maybe a little nod to Will Wright?
Rendered version of Will Wright from Blender, by Sami Turner
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Old photo of SimCity from PC Gamer
cooking to name just a few, could be learned by these Sims. The Sims would also have needs such as hunger, comfort, hygiene and energy which the player would need to make sure were taken care of. Will even included fires in the game, which were extremely difficult for the player to extinguish! Releasing “The Sims” Electronic Arts bought Maxis in 1997 and when Will took his idea of The Sims to the board of directors, they were uninterested! The directors at Maxis thought Will was out of his mind and didn't understand the concept of the game. However, Electronic Arts were more enthusiastic, especially considering Will's previous success with Sim City. So, in February of 2000, EA published The Sims for PC and it was an immediate success. Within 5 years, the game had sold 16 million copies worldwide. The Sims website was also available for fans of The Sims, which contained articles
and stories, links to fan sites and downloads of fan-made items and a forum where Sims players could talk about everything Sims! Although the website is no longer up and running, you can still see some of what was available back then on The Wayback Machine. On the home page, it states that "in Sim City, Will Wright give you the power to build and control cities... With The Sims, you'll create and control people!". Will loved the fact that people were modding the game and I remember reading that some modders had made things possible that even Will Wright couldn't figure out! The Sims 2 In September of 2004, EA released The Sims 2, a sequel to the original The Sims. However, The Sims 2 was significantly different in as much as the Sims were created in a 3D environment and could age and die. The customisation for The
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 Sims was also a lot more involved, where the player could change hairstyles and hair colours, have aspirations, likes and dislikes and even change facial features. The Sims 2 was far more advanced than the original The Sims, and I remember being completely overwhelmed by what the player could do when I purchased the game at release. It is said that Will Wright didn't have any involvement with the production of The Sims 2, but allowed his name on the box as it was his original idea. However, you can see Will playing the pre-release demo version of The Sims 2 at E3 in 2004, which has been posted online. The Sims 2 website was also available, and again, this contained lots of information about the game, a forum known as the BBS and a Sims 2 Store where extra items could be purchased for your game. As with The Sims 1, this website is no longer available unfortunately, but you can still see some of it on The Wayback Machine.
Awards In 2001, Will was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards and in 2007, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awarded him a Fellowship, which was the first ever given to a game designer. In 2005, Will was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by PC Magazine. Later that year, he was given the Ivan Allen Jr. Award for Progress and Service by the Georgia Institute of Technology. Reaching Out With Will Wright's latest game "Proxy", he has reached out to players, modders and custom content creators of The Sims to test out this new game, which just goes to show that The Sims is still something that he holds dear. Will has done a lot for the gaming industry, creating games that have changed people's lives and, with his genius, Will Wright is certainly the Father of The Sims. SimCity photo from The Verge
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Will Wright photo from Icon
References: Brown, F. (2018, December 21). SimCity creator Will Wright is teaching a game design course. PC Gamer. URL.
MinicartTSR (Jules)
Raftery, B. (2009). The 2009 TIME 100 finalists. TIME . URL.
A Simmer for over 20 years, you can find me on the following websites:
Robertson, A. (2013, May 8). Original ‘SimCity’ creator Will Wright calls EA’s botched game launch ‘inexcusable’. The Verge. URL. Wiles, W. (2008, May 13). Will Wright interview. ICON. URL. Will Wright (2022, March 25). In Wikipedia. URL. Workman, R. (2013, May 8). Will Wright looking to mobile for gaming innovation. A List Daily. URL.
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Gallium Studios
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Men Who Inspire Us William Shakespeare (bapt. 26 April 1564 – 23 April was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children. He began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. At age 49 he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. Information from Wikipedia.com
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Men Who Inspire Us Nelson Mandela was given birth to in the year 1918 18th July and died in the year 2013 5th December into the family of “Thembu” royal family. He is a graduate of the law faculty from the university of FortHare and Witwatersrand. Nelson Mandela lived in Johannesburg and was involved with anticolonial politics and joined the ANC where he became a recognised founding member of its youth league. Nelson was an anti-apartheid revolutionary, philanthropist and politician in South Africa. He later became the president of South Africa in the year 1994 and served till the year 1999. Nelson Mandela became the first ever democratic president and black chief executive in the history of the South African government. His regime was one that was centered on eradicating apartheid with the means eliminating institutional racism and administering racial equality. Nelson became the president of the ANC (African National Congress) in the year 1991 and served until the year 1997. His personality was well interpreted as someone who on democratic level is a socialist and while on politically level he is more of an African Nationalist. He served as the Sec. General of NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) for one year (1998-1999). Information from seriable.com
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Men Who Inspire Us Dr Imtiaz Sooliman was born in Potchefstroom, in the North West. He started his schooling in Potchefstroom, but moved to Sastri College in Durban in 1978. He qualified as a medical doctor at the then University of Natal Medical School in 1984. Sooliman gave up his career as a medical doctor to pursue the field of humanitarian aid, which for him transcends the boundaries of race, religion, culture, class and geography. Alongside his studies and his medical work and throughout his life, Sooliman has been involved in several associations, religious organisations and school-governing bodies progressively as a student, medical doctor and an active member of civil society. In 1992, he founded the Gift of the Givers Foundation, and has since then delivered more than R160 million in a 13-year period to 22 countries, including South Africa. The organisation is impartial and apolitical, and aims to serve with compassion, kindness and mercy. In 2003, his organisation became the first in South African history to receive R60 million from the South African Government for humanitarian aid in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. Information from thepresidency.gov.za
Men Who Inspire Us Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was raised by his mother and her parents. He was the first president born there and the first to be born after the country had 50 states. A Democrat, Obama became the first African American to run for president on a major political party’s ticket. He then went on to become the first African American to be elected president of the United States. (His white mother was from Kansas; his black father from Kenya, a country in Africa.) He took office during the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression during the 1930s, when one-fourth of all workers were unemployed and people travelled the country looking for food and work. Many called the new crisis the Great Recession.
Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. With help from the Democrat-controlled Congress, Obama worked to improve the economy and ultimately added jobs for 75 straight months, the longest streak in American history. Information from NationalGeographic.com
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Men Who Inspire Us Elon Reeve Musk was born in June 28, 1971 to White South African parents in Pretoria, where he grew up. He briefly attended the University of Pretoria before moving to Canada at age 17, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. He matriculated at Queen's University and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania two years later, where he received a bachelor's degree in Economics and Physics. He moved to California in 1995 to attend Stanford University but decided instead to pursue a business career, cofounding the web software company Zip2 with his brother Kimbal. The startup was acquired by Compaq for $307 million in 1999. The same year, Musk co-founded online bank X.com, which merged with Confinity in 2000 to form PayPal. The company was bought by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. In 2002, Musk founded SpaceX, an aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company, of which he serves as CEO and Chief Engineer. In 2004, he joined electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (now Tesla, Inc.) as chairman and product architect, eventually assuming the position of CEO in 2008. In 2006, he helped create SolarCity, a solar energy company that was later acquired by Tesla and became Tesla Energy. Information from Wikipedia.org
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TALKS ABOUT CREATIVITY IN THE SIMS, HELPING THE SIMS COMMUNITY, AND MORE. By SimSimmerly
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S
imMattically has been a part of our community for quite some time, bringing gorgeous Sims images to life with his Live Pictures that have amazed the Simming world, as well as his concept art, memes and pictures. You can always find something to inspire you when looking through his social media, or even googling SimMattically will bring so much for you to see. Now, he’s a big part of the Sims Twitter community since 2019, and with over 11,000 followers who delight in his posts and thoughts daily and always waiting eagerly for the next Simpiration that he brings. For men who inspire us, SimMattically will certainly do that, and we’re surely getting to know him better in this interview, which will ensure the community knows just what a true inspiration he really is. Tell us, when did you first start playing The Sims and what drew you to it? What edition of The Sims is your favourite and why? I discovered The Sims 2 back in 2007. I bought the Bon Voyage EP first, and then I found out it won’t work without the base game, so I rushed to the store again and got what I needed. I fell in love with the game in a couple hours of playing – it was my first sandbox that let me play the “normal life”’ gameplay that I was always looking for in
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 other games! After all those years, The Sims 3 is definitely my favorite Sims game. It mixes the soul of Sims with RPG-like themes, and that is a really fun combination. People always talk about what they would change in The Sims, if they could. What we want to know is, what do you not want to change in The Sims and why? A lot has changed in The Sims games already. But if I could keep something from the past, it would be the attachment to the details from The Sims 2 and the huge scope of possibilities from The Sims 3. These things are important to me because The Sims is a unique game without much competition (actually none - at this point), so I always wanted The Sims to be the best version of itself.
Train carriage scene
You have created some amazing videos involving The Sims. I think one of our favourites is your “Whats Your Destination” video clip of a Sim sitting in a train carriage, with scenery whizzing past in the background. How did you come up with this idea? How long did it take you to create this? What was the response to this video? I honestly don’t remember what exactly my inspiration was in this one! But, I can tell you that the “Live Pictures” series I created was generally inspired by everyday situations from my life and images coming to my mind at random times. Here’s an example: I remember visiting my friend in the countryside. He lives next to train rails. He also has a dog. I saw the dog resting on the ground while a train was passing by, and that just gave me an idea of a cozy scene that reflects this scenery. But, “What’s Your Destination” that you mentioned was my first creation I shared from Live Pictures, and I think it’s the audience’s favorite one! It took me around 6-7 hours to make – most of the work happened outside of the game, in the editing software. I think people really
Countryside scene
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine loved it, it’s how it all started for me as SimMattically!
learning. There’s always something to discover. Make yourself proud!
You also create gorgeous Blender scenes in The Sims, as well as Sims. When did you first learn to use Blender? What advice can you give to those Simmers out there that would like to start creating their own Blender scenes or “blend” their Sims?
For anyone that wants to follow you, they will find lots of tips and information on The Sims games. What can you tell us about The Sims that some of our readers may not know? Huh! I think @onlyabidoang and @CrazyMarq covered SO MANY secrets and details from The Sims games that I might have a big problem to answer this one! But what comes to my mind is “try to hold CTRL or SHIFT or even both at the same time when clicking on or dragging something in The Sims." You might discover a new trick that will blow your mind!
I always want to try something new! I wanted to learn basic Blender to improve my skills, but at some point, I just got tired of modeling everything myself, so I decided to have some fun, import assets from The Sims 4, create a cozy scene, and test out the lighting inside Blender. The result of that was a student’s room during night with homey lights. It looked so much better than the original game! But, it also took many, many minutes to render. ;)
You also share some amazing scenery shots in The Sims. How do you capture such good images? Do you “tweak” any of them to make them look so good?
When it comes to advice I can give to someone – the Internet is FULL of free tutorials everywhere, especially YouTube. Almost everything I know about these things comes from YouTube. If there’s anything you would like to learn to do in that matter, just watch those tutorials and see where it leads you! And never stop
Most of my scenes are tweaked in “postproduction”! They are basically a bunch of different takes and images put together. I always capture many different takes of the same scene where I focus on just one particular detail. Then, I chose the best ones and I put them together to create
Detail from the Night Room scene
“Never stop learning. There’s always something to discover. Make yourself proud!”
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Night Room scene from Blender
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the “ultimate” shot. I think that’s the secret to trick the audience that what I present is something new, fresh, and never seen before in The Sims! Back in April, you shared that you had caught COVID-19 again. How many times have you had this? And for those in the community who have been lucky enough to stay COVID-free, tell us what it really feels like to catch a virus that was completely new to the whole world. Did this have any lasting effects on you that you are still dealing with? I had COVID twice. The first time was 2 years ago when the vaccines weren’t yet available, and the virus was the most serious. I lost my smell for over 6 months! I’m good now, but this year, I got the Omicron variant. Fortunately, it was much, much easier on me. I believe the pandemic is heading towards the end and COVID will become a common disease. And that’s very good, because hopefully, the society will get immune to it at a technically lower cost. There are many people who don’t understand this whole COVID deal. They’re not afraid of it because they don’t understand that even if COVID doesn’t make them dangerously sick, it can be a key to open a gate for other struggles that won’t go away so easily – like other viruses that were asleep in their bodies for the last decade and now were able to activate due to your weakened immune system!
SimMattically’s MySim avatar
mind if she created my avatar. What a question! I was delighted to see my little guy come to life. We agreed that he will stay in her workshop, but I requested a CowPlant company for him, so he’s not alone! I LOVE HER LITTLE COWPLANTS FIGURES!! One of the best things I’ve seen in The Sims community! You have also created The Sims Help Center, which can be found in the Twitter communities area, and where anyone needing help or can help can join. Your help centre states “Get help resolving your issues with The Sims games. This group is run by the Simmers community for the Simmers community, and it isn't official support.”
Many of us have heard of and seen the gorgeous Sims creations from Cottonee Socks. This year, she made a super cute version of you. How did this make you feel? What is your favourite Cottonee Socks creation to date (other than yourself)?
How have you found the response to this has been within the community? Have there been any The Sims issues you haven’t come across before? Have there been any you thought were already fixed, but are still showing? And what kind of issues can Simmers get help with here?
It made me feel very special! At some point in the last 3 years, my MySim became my avatar and I started to associate it with my brand. Recently, Cottonee Socks created her first MySim figure and I loved it. She reached out to me and asked if I
The thing is, not everybody has a broad reach on Twitter. It’s quite hard to make others see your tweets. I wanted to give Simmers without that reach a place to ask for help. And I think it’s working. But, it’s a
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The Sims 4 - Main Menu concept
very small community. Twitter is not meant for things like that. When it comes to the actual problems – I guess in some cases we, The Sims players, can only rely on each other. Many people report issues that are well-known for months, if not years. Unfortunately, they haven’t been fixed. And sometimes, they were supposed to be fixed in the previous patches, but players still come across them. Back in March, I discovered on the official forum that there's a whole list of reported issues for The Sims 4, and there were 417 cases open! Sometimes, there is no fix, not even a fan-made one, so in my community, players can at least inform each other about that and save some time. Let's go off topic a little again, and talk about Paralives. There are so many different opinions on both The Sims and Paralives - style, building, CAS, and the overall looks. What do you hope Paralives can bring to the “simulation table”? Do you think The Sims should be worried that there is a new game on the
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block, with creators that are actually listening to what the community want, and delivering in their beta design? What hopes do you have for the finished game? And if you could give any advice to EA or Paralives, what would it be and why? I’ve been following the Paralives development since the very beginning and it looks very promising, although due to the scope and a small team of people, the development takes a very long time and I think Paralives Studio is starting to struggle with the slowly dying hype. I hope they can live up to those expectations. But, what I hope this game will provide is a new quality to the genre, where developers/publisher respect the players. And also, it’s always good to have some competition – The Sims franchise desperately needs that. You are currently in the middle of your short story, The Taste of Coffee (Sims gay story). I, for one, really want to know what happens in the end. How was the response to this video, which you
The Sims 4 - Shopping Madness concept
have been sharing on Twitter in mini clips? And, will you be creating more mini videos like this coming up? The Taste of Coffee was an experiment. For a very long time, I’d been planning different Sims series and with this one, I wanted to test the reception. After publishing three short episodes, I came to the realization that my previous success lies in short, visually pleasing creations, and not in telling a specific story. The times changed and due to the TikTok-like social media, most people don’t have long attention span anymore. They want to watch something extremely short and then move on, they don’t want to engage in anything continuous. Of course, that’s a huge generalization, there are many people who aren’t like that – but that’s what I observed in the biggest mainstream social media. So, I will continue to create short clips, but probably without the story part, as I want to focus on the visuals. I’m better at that! You have also created Katy Perry album covers for Little Dica’s “Sweet Treats”
CC pack for The Sims 4. How did this come about? And as we all know, you are a big fan of Katy Perry. How did it feel being included in this? And if you meet Katy Perry tomorrow, what would be the first thing you’d say to her? Little Dica knew I’m a huge KatyCat, and showed me pictures from the early development of his Sweet Treats pack. We started talking more about Katy, The Sims and other stuff, and at some point, I suggested I can send him my Katy fan art I made a couple of years ago. He turned them into this cute little object that is a stack of Katy’s CD albums. I am very proud of this small addition to the pack. It’s one of the most versatile objects in there – you may not like extremely sweet, overthe-top candy objects, but that CD stack fits almost every room. Make sure to check out Dica’s creations, he’s an amazing CC creator! I had an opportunity to meet Katy in 2018. If I could meet her again after all those changes she experienced in her life and career, I would tell her not to be afraid of
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 experimenting again. Sometimes you will succeed, sometimes you will fail – but at least you tried! As we are coming to the end of this interview, I wanted to thank you for being a part of this special edition of our magazine, which we have dedicated to inspiring men across the community and the world. Has there been anyone positive and inspiring male influence in your life? If so, who is it? And if you could give them any message, what would it be?
On that note, we now have come to the end of the interview. If you haven’t followed him yet, check out all his social media channels below and follow SimMattically now. Who knows, you might find your next Sims inspiration from his tons of amazing content and tips!
Thank you so much for inviting me! I feel honored to be part of this special edition. Since this is a Sims magazine, I would like to give a little shout-out to my favorite Sims creators that inspire me! Firstly, I just must mention my friend @LuddySimmer, with whom I always discuss and plan things behind the scenes. He’s an extremely skilled artist. I love when we work together. He is also one of the first people who I became good friends with after starting my Twitter account, and he always supported me in that journey. For my creations, I take big inspiration from Rémi Marocelli (@lReMi07l) and Keanu, a.k.a. @Luumia. In my opinion, they are the best Sims machinima creators out there! The Sims community wouldn’t be the same without them. Finally, how can our readers find and follow you? If you don’t want to miss out on anything, follow me on my Twitter account @SimMattically. Everything I create is there. You can also find me on Instagram, Reddit, YouTube, Tumblr, and TikTok – just look for the @SimMattically nickname with the MySim avatar! The Sims 4 - Castaway Stories concept
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The Sims 3 vertical wallpapers, featuring Bridgeport and Monte Vista. Find more wallpapers on SimMattically’s Tumblr and Twitter pages.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
SIMSPIRATION
Mods & CC to Celebrate Men in The Sims 4 By K8 Simsley
L
et’s be honest; The Sims 4 seriously lacks male CAS items and male-led gameplay. Even with the addition of kits and the release of the Modern Menswear Kit, there are still very few items in the game that can help you create a unique style for the male Sims in your perfect make-believe life, and even less ways to involve them in family gameplay. For this reason, many people look to custom content (CC) and mods to fill the gap. Luckily, content creators always step up with amazing content to fit anything you can conjure up.
While there is far too much custom content and too many amazing mods to list, I want to share some content to celebrate the men of The Sims community. Quite fitting since many players in the community are getting ready to celebrate Father’s Day. In this article, I will share some must-have mods to enhance family gameplay and show off some of my favorite male CC items as well. I’m confident that you will want to add these to your game so you can start celebrating all the amazing and talented men in The Sims 4 community. Men created with CC just look so much better. Perhaps it is just habit or personal preference. Still, I find the added detail and definition that CC provides so satisfying. Each and every time I load up The Sims 4, I am faced with copious amounts of CC. Although it can be daunting having to update the various assets each time the game updates, creating Sims, especially male Sims, is just not the same without CC. From skin overlays and custom eyes to highly detailed hair and stylish clothing, the use of CC can take The Sims 4 to a whole new level, and I promise, once you try, you will never turn back!
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Mods You NEED To Enhance Family & Fatherhood GamePlay Memorable Events Create lasting memories with the Memorable Events Mod created by KawaiiStacie. This fantastic mod adds more than 40 new events types, and these new events provide some much-needed realism. The wide-variety of additional events this mod adds can help you create a more fulfilling sense of fatherhood for you Sims. There are so many potential fatherinvolved activities and events included in this mod that you are sure to find a few for your male Sims and families.
This mod features everything, from beach parties and camping to family gatherings and game nights. There are so many new and exciting events to choose from in the Memorable Events mod, and each has unique, customization options. I highly recommend adding the Memorable Events Mod to your game just for its additional options.
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Advanced Fishing
Advanced Birth Certificate
For many, the term ‘fishing’ is synonymous with dads. and the game is a bit lackluster in this area.
Thanks to the amazingly talented Little Ms. Sam, your Sims can get an Advanced Birth Certificate. This new certificate is much more visually appealing and realistic, they are also different for Vampire, Alien, or Witch babies. While this does little for men or father’s in The Sims 4, it does so much for realism and storytelling.
Once again, KawaiiStacie has created a mod that takes a basic Sims 4 skill to a whole new level. The Advanced Fishing Mod allows your Sims to sell fish on the marketplace, trade fish, or turn fish into a fantastic family meal. It truly is every father’s dream come true.
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In fact, Little Ms. Sam has so many mods that can impact fathers. For example, the Miscarriage Chance & Abortion Mod and the Ultrasound Scans mod can play a huge role in family gameplay and storytelling and are sure to impact dad’s emotions, get his attention, or at least cause some interesting family drama.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Foster Family Another one of Little Ms Sam's amazing mods is The Foster Family Mod. This adorable mod has your Sims use the LMS Foster Family Network to foster children or pets who are in need of care. Your Sims will raise and provide needy children or pets with love and a safe environment until they can be placed with adoptive parents in a forever home. Your Sims begin their Foster Family journey by contacting LMS Foster Family Services on their cellphone to register as a foster family. Once registered, you will be contacted when a child or pet needs a home. In the LMS App, you are also able to select the type of children or pets you are willing to foster and adjust the settings of the mod here. You can search for foster children and pets as well, and you will receive weekly payments if you are chosen as a foster family. This amazing mod has so many unique and interesting interactions available within it that it is impossible to list them all here, but it is definitely worth downloading if you enjoy family gameplay. Read about all the things The Foster Family Mod can do (and all the other outstanding mods) at Little Ms. Sam’s Tumblr.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Slow Dance With Your Sim
Slice of Life
This simple, but much-needed mod by Sacrificial adds the ability for your Sims to slow dance with one another, which is great for weddings or romantic dates.
No list would be complete with out mentioning The Slice of Life mod by KawaiiStacie.
While the concept is pretty simple, this mod can do amazing things for gameplay and storytelling and could potentially create the perfect opportunity for a father-daughter dance.
Slice of Life can change every aspect of your game. If you are a Simmer who enjoys realistic, immersive gameplay, and likes to control and customize your Sims’ personality and environment, then this is the mod for you.
Release Bladder Anywhere
There are so many layers to this mod, I do not even know where to begin describing them all.
There is nothing that makes you think of men quite like relieving yourself in a public place. Well, with this great mod by Sacrificial, your Sims can do just that!
The Slice of Life Mod will impact all aspects of your save in some way, and may even change your Sims life path. With numerous new interaction options and many customization's this mod is every players dream.
This base game-only mod allows sims to use the bathroom literally anywhere, and it is honestly hilarious. It is a must-have just for entertainment.
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Slice of Life also features better and more realistic life-stage events such as loosing teeth and starting menstruation, as well as a plethora of other events, emotions, and options. While this mod was not created for fathers or male Sims, it is sure to impact their lives.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
MUST- have Male CC
Sims House Available on The Sims Resource, the Sims House creates some of my favorite custom content for men. Their ripped jeans and studded leather jacket are must-haves for my male Sims!
Darte77 This amazing creator has so many male cc items you are sure to find something that you love. Some of my favorites include their Converse All-Star shoes, open suit jacket with undone bow tie, and layered tee.
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McLayneSims If you are looking to dress your male Sims in style, then you need to check out McLayneSims selections. With a wide variety of items, from fitness clothing to formal wear and facial hair, McLayneSims has some fantastic items to enhance the men in your game. My favorite items are the Zack denim shorts, large Fubu tees, and the Era caps.
CC Hair When it comes to hair for men in The Sims, CC is a must. I like to use Anto Hair, SClub, Cazy, and Stealthic, to name only a few. There are so many amazing creators and items out there, you will find something that you love in no time.
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The Sims 4 Modern Menswear Kit by SueSimming
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R
evolutionize the classics with The Sims™ 4 Modern Menswear Kit*, featuring a thought-provoking, accessible collection designed by Stefan Cooke. Reimagined shapes redefine traditionally masculine fashions, while textiles and patterns elevate each unique piece for today’s style”. On December 2nd 2021 a new kit was released that The Sims community was pretty excited about and the hype around it was big.
Mostly because the kit gave us skirts for men. I personally was just happy our male Sims got any sort of love since The Sims is notorious for skimping when it comes to male Sims. I wish I could tell you that we finally got something nice for our male Sims but I’m honestly not sure what to make of this kit. I enjoyed the hype around this kit more than I do the kit its self. I don’t hate it but it’s not as “wow” as I expected. First off, the skirts look
weird. Is it a short skirt or a long T-shirt and do we really need a doily as a collar? I do love the textures but some of the sweaters look like the dog got at them. Reviewing this kit, all I kept thinking was…what were they thinking when creating this? Maybe I just don’t understand high fashion but the kit isn’t a total loss. Most of these pieces work pretty well in a post-apocalypse or futuristic world. Although I’m not crazy about this kit I’m happy I spent the money to get it. It has a goofy feel to it, tongue-cheek fashion although I’m sure that wasn’t the idea behind it but I do think that it adds elements that you can use to tell certain stories. I’d give this kit a 6/10 and a 10/10 to The Sims marketing team for the hype created around this kit because I honestly think this kit wouldn’t have done very well without it.
Photo credit Stefan Cooke & EA
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Making A Simmer presents
Silly By SimSimmerly
W
hen setting our theme as “Men Who Inspire Us” for our Father’s Day issue this month, there were so many Simmers who had inspired our team. But, one such Simmer stood out because this inspiring male has not only supported me, but also supported so many of our team and the community since we all joined Sims Twitter. That Simmer is the one and only Silly Simmuz, creator of The Sims Federation and Simmers Awards, as well as an all-around good guy, who you can find interacting with the community on a daily basis from his home in one of the most romantic countries in the world, Italy. Getting the chance to know that little bit more about this amazing Simmer was an opportunity we just couldn’t miss, so without further ado, our Making a Simmer of the month, Silly Simmuz.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 I am so excited to interview you for this issue, if there are any inspiring male community members, you are at the top of my list. Not only have you inspired me since I joined Twitter, but you also inspire thousands of Simmers across the world on a daily basis, and that deserves recognition.
read as much as I can. I also love music, I always try to keep up with new artists and new trends in pop music and I love collecting CDs and vinyls, too.
Thank you so much for the opportunity! And thank you for the lovely compliments, it's very rewarding to hear that I've been of inspiration to anyone at all, it's my biggest goal about content creation and my online presence. It has always been a dream of mine to be interviewed and I'm excited to read this new issue!
Music is definitely very important to me, I spend a lot of my free time listening to artists that I love, finding new music and new songs, curating my playlists. I'm definitely into pop music, but I try to keep my interests varied and I listen to a lot of rock, R&B, rap, indie, country... It's also my favourite way to relax! I love going for a walk, especially in nature when I can, and listen to my playlists.
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Do you have any bad habits? What do you do in your spare time? Do you own any pets? What is your favourite music genre? How do you like to relax? If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be and why? I'm an Italian Simmer that was born and raised, and still lives, in Italy. That might explain the accent and all the mistakes I make when talking. I just turned 25 a few weeks ago, and I've been playing The Sims games since 2005. Overall, I think I'm a pretty funny, easygoing person, but I can definitely be very stubborn. I like to think my stubbornness stems from my strong passion and wanting to defend my ideas, but I'm sure not everyone agrees. My worst habit is definitely using too much Twitter. Some might say I'm borderline obsessed... But, I love engaging on that platform, and I kinda love the fights and drama that comes from it. Maybe low-key loving drama is another bad habit I have. I'm a full-time university student. I'm taking my master's degree in Forensic Psychology, and most of my spare time is spent playing video games, recording videos, streaming and editing. But I also love reading, I'm a book fiend and I try to
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I don't have a pet, unfortunately. I used to have a hamster a few years ago. Someday, I'd love to get a dog though!
I have 3 destinations right now that have always been goals of mine, and with restrictions easing off, I'm hoping I'll be able to fulfill these travel dreams soon: Tokyo, Sydney and New York. Japan is definitely at the top of my list right now. I've always wanted to visit since I was in middle school. I love the culture and I've even learned some basic Japanese through the years to prepare! You are also the creator of The Sims Federation, where you support Simmers by re-tweeting, quote tweeting and promoting their builds, Sims, machinima and more. When did you decide to create The Sims Federation and why? How do you find the community responds to your support? How have you seen the community grow since you started this supportive community Twitter page? The Sims Federation page came about in October 2019. I was slowly starting to post videos more consistently during this time, and starting to get a lot more engagement on Twitter. I had a few reasons why I wanted to start a support page myself: mainly, I knew what it felt like posting your content on Twitter, hoping to get more shares and getting no results. It can be
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Scream House
Church on the Rocks
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Cake Hall SIMParty Magazine
| June Issue 22
very frustrating, especially if you're a small creator or if you just started to use Twitter. But, having a page that you know would like and re-tweet your content was something I found motivating and I really felt like doing the same to help other creators that were in the same position I was in. I was definitely inspired by other communities on Twitter that do the same thing and wanted to join in and spread some love, especially for smaller creators. And my biggest goal was to re-tweet everyone I could, every time I could. The Sims Federation slowly grew through the years. Its 3rd birthday is gonna be this year, and I'm very proud of how consistent I've been so far. It's also slowly creeping towards 3000 followers. I completely run it by myself, so going through all the notifications to re-tweet takes some work and a big chunk of time every day. But the responses from the community have really motivated me to continue re-tweeting and keeping up with the page. It's very rewarding when I get tagged in a thank you post or I get nice
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DMs to thank me for the re-tweet. And even if sometimes people are upset that I haven't re-tweeted something and complain, it doesn't take away from all the love that I feel from the majority of Simmers. I feel like the more I post, re-tweet and promote, the more Simmers join the “tradition” of tagging my page in every post they want to promote. I'm not sure how much I contributed to actually growing the online community, but I definitely feel like what I do helps Simmers feeling acknowledged by the rest of the Sims community and more confident in posting their creations and sharing their creativity. I think the biggest change I've seen is the growth in numbers of accounts that are made to share and promote others, which is honestly just amazing to see! The network of support in the online community is unique and truly special. Not many people may know that you are also the creator of the Simmers Awards, which we have happily promoted two years in a row. You have
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine had so many wonderful people enter and win awards. We also entered, but withdrew because we wanted to be impartial in the process, which was supported by yourself. Yes. I'd say the Simmers Awards are more popular than the Sims Federation page, but also definitely less appreciated by many, hahaha! I want to thank you again for the support in promoting the project, which is definitely one near and dear to my heart. We also know that running these kinds of events can be very tricky. You had some negative feedback because people were nominating so many big personalities in the community, who already had a large following. But of course, who people nominate is beyond your control. In the second year of the Simmers Awards, you tried even harder to be fully inclusive of all Simmers, and created many more categories to support this. But again, a few people became negative towards this, as they didn't get nominated themselves! CAS Dress Inspiration
I'd say it's more than tricky. It's a very long and taxing process, and I invested a lot of
CAS Lookbook
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 time into making sure the whole thing worked - checking votes, taking executive decisions, modifying things on the go. I guess what these 2 years have taught me is that the amount of work you put in a project doesn't exactly translate to the amount of love that it'll receive. How do you cope with the negative feedback, which we feel was thoroughly undeserved, especially as you are such a supportive community member? Did this impact your own mental health? And what advice would you have for anyone who may be thinking of starting their own awards, or something similar? I'll admit, it was hard at first. As I said, I put a lot of effort and time into the project, that was again completely managed by myself alone and seeing all the negativity that stemmed from it was pretty devastating. The Awards were definitely not impeccable, that's a fact, and some of the negative feedback really helped me in the long run to perfect them slowly more and more. But, some of it was very hard to digest, especially when big creators with platforms thousand times bigger than mine would comment on the situation, indirectly sending their fans to harass me. Both times, I had to step back from Twitter for a few days because I really couldn't say anything without people scrutinizing and criticizing everything I posted. It was very hard mentally. But, I understood the criticism and I tried both times to explain myself and to better myself. My advice to anyone wanting to do their own awards is to do a lot of research and thinking before starting, and to be ready to face a lot of challenges. And to have thick skin and be prepared for any eventual responses. Are the Awards coming back? If so, when? As of right now, the 2022 Awards are still up in the air. I did post a video recently talking about my plans and ideas for the
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next version of this project; my plan is to change a few things, maybe get a team of creators involved, and try and better the Awards even more, taking everything that happened as feedback. I'm not giving out specific dates or promising they're going to happen at all, but if everything goes according to plan, I'd say keep an eye out in December of this year. You are also a moderator for The Sims Streamers and YouTubers. Tell us more about this and the people behind the scenes (what you can reveal of course), and how did you become involved in this fabulous community page too. The Sims Streamers and YouTubers is another amazing online community to support Sims creators and help them grown and learn how to do so online. It's basically another support page, that is specifically catering to helping small creators to better themselves at online promotion! I was asked by my friend Renée if I wanted to help out by moderating, and I jumped to the occasion! The main platform for this community is definitely the Facebook group, but we are present
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine having direct feedback through chat. On there, we play a lot of The Sims 4 and a few other games. We chat, chill, and have fun. I have a 100 Baby Challenge happening right now, and we also started to create a save file! Lots and lots of content on there... If anything that I just said peaked your interest even a little bit, then you're more than welcome to subscribe and join the fun! You are not only a fantastic community member, but you’re also a truly supportive person and have made many friends within The Sims community. I know there are a few people, I am sure, you would like to give a shout out to. So tell us, who has inspired you within your own community, and why should our readers follow them too?
on almost every platform that Simmers love! We're also planning a revamp for the entire social media presence and the whole community soon, so keep an eye out! You are, of course, a huge The Sims fan, and our readers can find you on YouTube and Twitch. Tell us the kind of videos and streams you do. What is your community following like, and why should our readers come to watch, join or subscribe? Well, my YouTube channel is definitely my main platform! I love posting crazy Sims challenges, speed builds, CAS creations, and much more! I'm also trying out more commentary stuff, talking about the Sims community, packs and info, what happens online in The Sims world. And of course, occasionally, I also upload what I think are hilarious videos of weird ideas I get at 3 A.M. and probably only I find as funny. But they're still very good, if I do say so myself. Twitch, on the other hand, is very new to me! I started streaming in April and I've been honestly enjoying it a lot, it's great
I'm definitely lucky and I found so many incredible creators online that are not only supportive, but also amazingly talented and I'm proud of having the privilege of calling so many of them my friends. I'll try to keep this short, but I really can't. I wanna start by shouting out UPIXELD, a.k.a Pedro, who is one of my Twitch mods and also an amazingly talented builder and super funny person that deserves so much recognition for his work. I also wanna shout out my Italian Simmers and friends: Simmer Boi, who's not only a truly caring person that listened to me complain more times than I want to admit, but also, in my honest opinion, the most talented director ever and a beacon in the machinima community; GiuliaBuilds, who is the sweetest human on this planet and an amazing builder that I admire; CamiSimming, who is the most endearing person in the world and also posted some of my favourite videos ever.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 I want to shoutout Simmer Erin, not only for her amazing work on the news side of The Sims community, but also for her constant support for me and my content since basically day one. Talking about news, I also wanna shout out Star Shuz, another friend of mine who always knows what to say and is always caring and supportive. I also want to quickly say thanks to the amazing Ærin Moriarty, even if fae isn't part of the Sims community anymore, fae was one of the first people to support me and is still one of my closest friends online. Finally, I could never not give a shout out to HipHipRenee. As much as we pretend we hate each other online, and all the play fights and fake drama, she's the best person I've met through The Sims community. She's always caring and supportive, and I know I can count on her every time I need to. And she's also absolutely hilarious and talented. I'll stop with the shout outs saying I wanna thank everyone else I haven't mentioned in here that has ever watched or supported me in any way. I truly love you all.
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If you could influence EA to make any changes to The Sims, what would they be and why? Well, there's a lot of things I could help EA with. I think the biggest change I would implement is more transparency. It's definitely what has been missing from the team the most, and I think it would solve a lot of issues. Of course, I don't expect them to reveal everything to the public, but more information about things they talk about would be nice to have. Other than that, my biggest peeve with the game is definitely the wood swatches not matching, so I'll force a swatch overhaul. Let's jump to the future: The Sims have announced The Sims 5. What would you like to see when you log into the game for the first time? What would you like to see added into the game that hasn’t been done so far? A single-player option! Since all the rumors about The Sims 5 are talking about multiplayer, I'd like to see an option to opt out and play regularly as well. I'm not a big fan of multiplayer, but I wouldn't be against it if they also give the option to play the game offline by ourselves. I just
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
“My most inspiring male figure is definitely my dad. He's a great father, and I learned my work ethic from him. He's also one of the reasons I'm into video games.” want the ability to choose between the two. Other than that, I wish for a game that is a good successor for the franchise. I don't want to see the team take a step back and add less features or have a less rounded game. I'd love to see The Sims team take some risks and add some unexpected features, to keep the new game and the whole franchise fresh! Finally, as this issue is dedicated to Inspiring Males, who has been the most inspiring male influence in your life, and what message would you like to give them? The first few people that come to mind are the ones that inspired me to create content and to start a YouTube channel. Mainly, James Turner - he's definitely my biggest inspiration. I found his channel in late 2016, and he's the reason why my channel is all about the Sims games as well! Another great inspiration on YouTube is Markiplier. I've been watching his content online since I was 15 and his channel introduced me to the online gaming community, and I'll forever be thankful for that. Not only that, he's also a great person, altruistic and real, and who definitely inspires me to be a better person myself.
father, and I learned my work ethic from him. He's also one of the reasons I'm into video games. I remember when I was 4 or 5 years old, my parents bought me a portable Sonic the Hedgehog game, which was my first step in the gaming world, and my parents have always supported my hobby. It's very important to me to say that these people not only inspired my hobby and my YouTube journey, but they also all are strong personalities, with a great sense of humor and most importantly, who strive to better themselves as people. And that is crucial to me: learning how to become a better person, learning from mistakes and unlearning what is stereotypical masculine and toxic masculinity are all things that shaped my life growing up. I'd say that my main influences come from the women in my life, but through the years, I realised how much some of the male figures in my life also impacted me and shaped me. And I think the only thing I can say is, thank you. We now have come to the end of this lovely interview with Sillly Simmuz. Make sure to follow all his social media pages for more amazing Sims content and updates!
In my everyday life, my most inspiring male figure is definitely my dad. He's a great
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SIMSFa By SimSimmerly & Ivana
Wanna see Sims in their cartoon and anime forms? Or are you looking for your next inspiration? Then, we got you covered for this month’s feature of Sims Fan Art! This time, we explored The Sims community within the Reddit and Deviant Art platforms, and discovered these 4 amazing Simmers with their beautiful art:
Art_of_Goddess BrineGirl43 ItsMyFace June-B Flip the pages to see their gorgeous Sims art, and don’t forget to follow and support these talented Simmers for more Sims art content and inspiration!
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Follow them now!
Art_of_Goddess
BrineGirl43
ItsMyFace
June-B
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
an Art Bella and Mortimer Goth - The Sims 4 by ItsMyFace
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22 …Then how you dare by June-B
Caleb Vatore: The Hopeless Materialist by June-B
Caleb (Snow series version) by June-B
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Caleb: The Guilty Drinker by June-B
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Kiss Her by BrineGirl43
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Strangerville Quick Fan Art by Art_of_Goddess
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June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Sadly we have come to the end of this series, with thanks to StassiJSims4 the writer. To follow Alexas story join StassiJsims4 on Instagram.
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s r e d Mod
& s o d t o e t M u b i A tr
e i n r A
The Sims has inspired so many Sims gamers to become Modders which brings us additional gameplay that we cannot find currently in the game. One such modder started out by playing The Sims on his friends' computer and then finding a copy of a Sims 2 disc at a flea market, and his love for the game grew exponentially. That's when Arnie SimPlus was born. After many years of just playing The Sims, Arnie was inspired to become a modder by the legend Twisted Mexi. Arnie started out with creating 'small' mods and then creating mods many of us know today, such as Farmland, Plumfruit, World Edit and more. In May 2022, Arnie hinted at an announcement, and speculation was rife. Simmers from all over thought Arnie had been hired by EA to work on The Sims, and why not? After all, his mods are
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amazing, creative and completely unique. Sadly this announcement was not what everyone was expecting when Arnie finally revealed he was leaving The Sims community and modding to create his own games under his new digital arts studio: Arnies Workshop. This month, we wanted to congratulate Arnie on his achievements and show all wannabe modders what can be created when you work hard and believe in yourself. Good luck Arnie, from the team.
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PLUMFRUIT 2 & SIMSTAGRAM Plumfruit 2 & Simstagram Mod Pack is now available to download You can learn everything you need to know about this mod pack on my website PLUMFRUIT COLOR LAMP One of you requested on Patreon (thank you Victoria) a colorful Plumfruit Logo Lamp! I thought it was a wonderful idea, and it's now available for everyone to download as a freebie! Put some colors and rainbows in your sims' homes thanks to this gorgeous wall lamp! PLUMFRUIT PARK AVAILABLE ON THE GALLERY You might have noticed the giant Plumfruit building in San Myshuno, during the trailer! Well it's now available for everyone on the Gallery!!! You need Plumfruit Part 2 & Simstagram in order for it to load properly.
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In order to celebrate the holiday season, I have created a Mod Kit (Base game compatible)
The Ligoo collection includes: •
Here are all the 12 items, in this kit called "Magical Winterfest" •
•
•
•
A new Christmas Tree, where you can slot the decorations yourself! Turn it on and it will illuminate your house New Tree Decorations, that you can slot in the tree, sparkling star and balls, in three swatches! When you go in Live Mode, they sparkle like magic New Animated Train Put it around your tree and click on "turn on" to make it travel in circles! Also comes with a Snowy Rug, to put at the foot of the tree, for a christmasy look LIGOO BLOCKS, Inspired by the world famous Lego Blocks, you can create builds yourself, and the kids can play with them in the game! Great present to offer them for Winterfest.
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• • • •
•
1x1 Ligoo block, in many colorful swatches, and some special Minecraft Edition Swatches (because I'm a huge Minecraft fan myself!) 2x1 Ligoo Block 1x1 Flat Ligoo Block Three new Ligoo Dolls (Playable Toys) Ligoo Themed Toy Box! Bonus, when you click on it, you can purchase individual Ligoo Blocks that you need for your builds Two Ligoo Plaques (Small and Large), they act like a dollhouse in the game, so your kids can play with the build you created on these plaques
To find all these items in the Build/Buy Mode, search for "Winterfest" or "Ligoo" and they will show up.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Lux Lights (Mod Kit): enlighten your indoors (and outdoors!) in the game. This mod kit allows you to create different lighting scenes, play with colours, sizes, shapes, and create the perfect environment for your Sims You can even slot the LED tiles together (Square or Hexagon shaped, you choose) This Kit also features floating moon light. Lux Lights has its own Help Cente all the information gathered in one single place.
STAND ALONE DARK MODE Dark Mode is a simple mod that just turns the main Ui elements in your game dark, for the ease of your eyes
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
188 | Mods and Modders
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
With this Mod, you'll be able to open a Bakery on your residential lots! So you can live upstairs and have your Boulangerie Boutique downstairs, that's a way of having a multipurpose lot, and it's base game compatible (no need for get to work to sell items!!) It includes many new items, let's have a look: NEW Build/Buy Items: New Boulangerie Vitrine Window New Vitrine Arch Entrance (necessary for your customers to enter your shop!!!) New BAKERY MACHINE Boulangerie Wall Sign Baguette Wall Decor (it has an inventory where you can stock the bread you baked) Pain Boule (round bread) Wall Decor (Inventory as well) And finally, the Boulangerie Sales Table: this item is the most important, it will allow you to sell the items you baked directly on your lot! Just drag and drop baked items on the table, and choose the "Tend Table"
interaction. Then, you'll be able to choose the "Open Boulangerie" interaction, that will make customers come to your lot and purchase your wonderful recipes! NEW Food Recipes: Use the Bakery Machine to bake these new recipes to sell (or eat)! It's the first time I'm working with so many custom content foods and I'm really happy with the result! Baguettes (Classic, Brown & Cereals) Pain Boule (Classic, Brown & Cereals) Macarons - La Dorée (All flavors, Three Chocolates, and Pure Gold) Croissants Gourmet Pain au Chocolat-ine Revamped Cupcakes (now presented in a Basket) In order to find all these new items, just go to Build/Buy mode and search for "bakery" or "boulangerie"! (the food items are not in the catalog, you have to bake them using the new bakery machine) I hope that you will enjoy all these new items and gameplay as much as I do!
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
190 | Mods and Modders
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Just for fun
Guess The CAS This months CAS was created by Kanelos7221 Find them on the gallery.
192 | Just For Fun
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
Learn Simlish Ahhh Molombia/This one I don't know Balinda Macoy/Hello, cutie/Nice chick Veena Fredishay/Let's play Burbin Nerbs/Broken glass Cuh Teekaloo/Hey there, hows it going? Xor/Be Ooh Be Gah/Very good Balinda Macoy/Hello, cutie/Nice chick Awasa Poa/I'm bored Depwa Spanewash Depla Blah, Depla Blah!/You! yes you! Go away
Ahhh Molombia/This one I don't know Dis Womof Es Fredwsche/This food is delicious Find a list of Simlish/English words on our website Just For Fun | 193
SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
194 | Just For Fun
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
1 2 e u s s May I s r e w s n A
Did you find all ten last month?
Did you guess the CAS ?
Answer: DIANA ROSS EA ID:RAINBOWQUEEN95
Just For Fun | 195
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Gemini Celebs
May 21–June 20 June has been a long awaited month for you, but now it is here, what do you intend to do with it?
Colin Farrel Born May 31, 1976
Morgan Freeman Born June 01, 1937
198 | SimScopes
This month try not to beat yourself up about the things you cannot change and concentrate on the things you can. Opportunities are coming your way, be patient and make sure when that big decision comes, its a yes from you, otherwise, you could miss out on the opportunity of a life time.
LOVE In love we may sometimes see
things around us in rose tinted glasses, meaning even when others may pint out what is happening, we choose to blindly ignore them. Listen with an open heart this June, and remember your friends only have your best interests at heart. Dealing with issues that may arise now, means a happier you in the long run.
LUCK Your lucky numbers for June are 13. 10. 26. 38, 52 and 1. Use them wisely and listen to what the Angels around you are telling you. Their advice is always from the heart.
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
June 21 - July 22 Nothing happens without your say so this month. Make sure you are speaking up to get your point across, you may not realise but no-one can read minds so now is the time to let those thought be known. Otherwise nothing will progress and you will be where you were last month. Tell your truth.
July 23 - August 22 Guessing isn’t a game you are overly fond of, and like to know whats happening at all times. To stay informed this month and get ahead of the game, make sure to ask the right questions to the right people. After all ask a silly question and you will get a silly answer, so don’t ask silly people questions.
August 23 - September 22 You have finally reached the target you have set yourself, you do deserve that pat on the back, so don’t let people bring you down and try to take away from your achievements. The right people will praise your drive and determination. The wrong people don’t deserve to be around you, simples!
September 23 - October 22 You always underestimate yourself, why? You have the ability to do wonderful things, so stop allowing others to invade your mindful spaces. Take a deep breath and release slowly. Be brave and be proud, and most of all know there are people behind you. Everything is waiting just around the corner.
October 23 - November 21 June is going to be a fantastic month for you. Make sure to get outside and get back to being one with nature. You deserve to have time to yourself and yes a moments peace at times. Keep an eye out for a name beginning with S it is important to recognise this person is here to help you not hinder.
November 22 - December 21 You have always been able to make yourself the centre of attention, even without meaning to. This month make sure to include those around you in the important things coming up. Doing things with others together rather than around you will make June that much more fun than doing it yourself.
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
December 22 - January 19 Sometimes it is ok to admit when your are wrong. You do not have to smash your way through life and make others feel inept to make yourself feel right. This month take a few moments to step outside of your own box and you will realise that some people are really there to support you not take things away.
January 20 - February 18 When we think of Aquarius we think of ebb and flow, but June your flow is blocked by a dam of your own making. Time to let those walls burst open and let others flow with you along a path to gratitude and things will get easier rather than stemming the flow. Get your chi back by opening up even if just a little
March 21 - April 19 You are wonderful, you are always looking out for your friends and help to lift them up instead of putting them down. You do this with ease and you should be proud of who you are. June is the month to let out that secret you have been holding in, its ok, your riends have your back just how you have had theirs.
April 20 - May 20 Stubborn, who me? We hear you ask, yes you Taurus. Being stubborn has helped you to achieve a lot, but June shouts out for compromise and thinking about others. Once you do this June will be as easy as counting 123, but be warned, ignore our advice and June could be an extremely hard month
February 19 - March 20 You have always been able to capture peoples attention when you need to, but make sure in June you are not capturing the wrong attention. Make sure to make yourposition on things clear so there can be no confusion or backlash because trust us when we say, by not making things clear, trouble could be on its way.
Sandie Woolford We are pleased to announce Rev Sandie Woolford will be joining us from our July edition. With many years experience in the spiritual world, she will be bringing your monthly predictions each month right here in our EXCLUSIVE
SimScopes. Welcome to the team Sandie.
200 | SimScopes
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
What’s Up Community News Find the latest and greatest in community news right here, from shell challenges to CC finds and more. SimmedUp Magazine, the true community magazine created for you!
s e g n e l l a h C l l e Sh I have a new shell challenge in The Sims 4 to celebrate 2 years of streaming on Twitch! Due date is: June 16th. All info can be found in the gallery description. Origin ID: franticfreya #franticstreamiversary
202 | What's Up Community News
@Simooligan Shell Challenge, #SimooliShell06, has been released! Battle with yourself over Restoration, Preservation, and Reimagination! Save or Destroy! Keep or Yeet! DUE JUNE 17th | DOWNLOAD: http://bit.ly/simoolishell06 | ENJOY!
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine Daisyshell Basegame Rules: Don't touch my walls - Don't forget the basement Only use basegame objects (free holiday pack ok) No lot, budget, or wall height restrictions No CC Include your twitch ID and #daisyshellbasegame in the description for tours. Tours start June 16
I have a new challenge for you! Use Base Game & the Base Game required items to decorate this Shell! Due June 10th. #JaneenShell10 - Gallery Link HERE
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
204 | What's Up Community News
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
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SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
And the winner
Congratulatio with the Large Congratulations to Spectreswife whose Modern Family Home build was not only stunning, but kept to all our rules for the SUPShell234 challenge. Spectreswife is the second winner to achieve a spot on our leaderboard which you can find on our website along with the winning entries details. All leaderboard winners have the chance to win a cash prize at the end of the year. The next SUPShell challenge is
#SUPShellJune22 Now open for all to enter and closes on the 25th June. GoodLuck
206 | And The Winner Is
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
r is…
ons to Spectreswife e modern family home
And The Winner Is | 207
SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
Meet ou Sami Simsimmerly
Ivana BunnyBananaSims
Sulzisim
The Simming Spoonie
Suesimming
asGracecreates
208 | Meet Our Team
June Issue 22 | SIM Magazine
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Did you know you could become one of our Team members too? Contact us via our website Today. Supinmedia.com Meet Our Team | 209
SIM Magazine | June Issue 22
210 | Meet Our Team