SimmedUp Magazine Issue 19 - March 2022

Get Your Sims ‘Spring’ Fix Delivered

March Issue 19 2022

MAKING A SIMMER WITH TANICSIMS2 SIMSPIRATION ‘PUT A LID ON IT’ WITH K8 SIMSLEY

Simlish Days of Yore With MinicartTSR

FEATURING CrazyMarq

CC, TS2, TS3 TS4, News, Just For Fun, Introducing, Interviews and more inside!

Editors Let SulSul Simmers, Welcome to another exciting edition of SimmedUp Magazine. This month we bring you more fun, mods, and more interviews.

We would also like to announce the Winner of The Sims 4 Challenges Group competition “Sims Spaces” the Winner was Rebecca.

Congratulations to Rebecca, and you can see Rebeccas winning entry on the following pages.

Small Announcement: Over the past few months I have been suffering from a mental health episode that left me unable to create magazines, use social media, even do daily things, so I want to take this opportunity to thank the whole team who supported me, to the magazine contributors and interviewees that showed kindness and support when we weren’t able to include their articles, or things were missed because of this, it just goes to show what an amazing and supportive community we have become a part of.

I would like to say a massive 'thank you' to BunnyBananaSims not only was she thrown into the deep end, given half-empty folders and pleading eyes to help me, she managed to pull another amazing edition out of her graphic design bag with a limited amount of time and information, not only did she dedicate the only spare time she had, she has also taken the time to help me create this issue so I do not feel overwhelmed as I recover, for that I needed to say a huge public thank you because everyone should know just how amazing the people in our team, and the community are.

Inside this issue we get to chat with the amazing CrazyMarq, TanicSims2 chats in Making a Simmer. KawaiiFoxita shows us her skills in the CC Spotlight aand we also got to chat with Game Changer CinderelliMouse. We bring retro back with style as MiniCartTSR delves into Simlish Days of Lore and so much more!

Get your Sims Fix Delivered in this brilliant issue created by amazing simmers Thank you

SimSimmerly 2

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Win

The Sims 4 Challenges group hosted a “Sims and idea was to create both the Sims and the spaces in had a variety of themes from “A Cosy Night In” to the overall winne

“Hi. My name is Rebecca Nichols and my gamertag started playing the Sims in 2000 when it first starte part of several Sims groups on Facebook and participa my creative side. The Winterfest challenge was tons Sims 4 Cha

You can find out more about the group over on 63176616

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nner

d Spaces” elimination event this Wintertime. The n which they were photographed. The contestants o “Squid Games”. The event lasted for 10 weeks and er was Rebecca!

is SexxyBecky. I am 52 and a stay-at-home mom. I ed. I play every day but mostly build and create. I am ate in many challenges. The Sims allows me to explore s of fun and I look forward to more challenges in the allenges.”

n facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ 60710366

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SimmedUp Mag Issue 19

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Non Bob News All the latest Gossip

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MachiniMax Steph meets Zeya Val

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Introducing Builds By Lewis

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Off Topic - StarDew Valley: The Board game

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Tips & Tricks ‘Say Cheese’ in game Photography Tips

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AlphaIsTimz Survivors Journal

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Simlish Days of Yore With MiniCartTSR

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MalixaTV - Chats with Melissa

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Simspiration - Put a Lid on it with K8Simsley

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Making A Simmer with TanicSims2

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Meet the GC’s with CinderelliMouse

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42 50 52

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CC Garden Party with KawaiiFoxita CrazyMarq gets in-depth with TS2/3 with Ivana LittlBowBub Tea Party Treats Your Sims from the Gallery Titan Architects Gallery Features

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The Rose Chronicles

By StassiJSims4

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Just For Fun & Guess The CAS

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Simscopes What Do Yours Hold In Store For You?

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Whats Up? Community News & Competitions

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Contributors Meet This Months Team

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So it’s March. We had a rocky time last month in terms of Sims news, with the latest Game Pack’s release not going so well, and little hope for it to be fixed any time soon.

Welcome to the land of Tartosa!

That’s what The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories should have been called, as it is by far the biggest selling point of the new pack. The news today will focus mostly on this, so I’m going to break it down into sections. Here goes…

On 8th February, we got our first official look at My Wedding Stories.

The trailer looked great, the world seemed so romantic and the gameplay aspects described in the blog were exciting.

On 11th Feb, we were all tuning into The Sims’ live stream where we were going to get a look at all the things to come in the new Game Pack.

Unfortunately, this stream was slow, the Gurus seemed disinterested, and already the game looked so buggy. We were all hopeful that this would be improved upon release.

The release date was initially going to be 17th Feb, although The Sims have updated the announcement on the website so you’d think nothing ever happened.

The latest update is in - make sure to check out www.EA.com for the full information.

PC: 1.84.171.1030 / Mac: 1.84.171.1230 Console: Version 1.52

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Plans Change On the 16th Feb, a day before the pack was supposed to come out, The Sims team made another announcement.

The Sims team had announced on 9th Feb that Russian fans would be unable to purchase the pack. They took to their website to explain why: “We are committed to the freedom to be who you are, to love who you love and tell the stories y o u want to tell…our

storytelling would be subject to changes because of federal laws.”

Even the Game Changers said in videos that this would unlikely be the case, as The Sims is rated 18 in Russia, therefore these rules would not apply to ban the game unless it is changed.

With the news of this pack being unavailable to Russian players, the Game Changers announced that they would not be releasing any content of the pack unless EA resolved the issue.

“At the time, we believed that our team could not freely share the storytelling of same-sex couple Cam and Dom in Russia and decided the best way to uphold our commitment to sharing their story was to not release this pack there…With this in

mind, we’ve reassessed our options and realised we can do more than we initially believed and we will now release The Sims 4 “My Wedding Stories” Game Pack to our community in Russia, unaltered and unchanged.”

In short, the pack was to be released on 23rd Feb to everyone, including Russia. With this news, the Game Changers announced they were pleased everyone can play the pack, and videos were going to start releasing on their early access.

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When the Game Changers’ videos started coming out from their early access gameplay, starting from 17th Feb, everyone seemed particularly disappointed with the huge amount of bugs the pack had.

The ‘not final software’ disclaimer

This is not good news when the entire pack is focused on Weddings.

All in all, the entire release of this latest pack has been very poorly handled, perhaps because it was rushed. I can only hope that this is the case, because The Sims team have done very well with recent packs and huge updates lately.

Here’s hoping that the bugs get fixed soon, because I’m desperate to get my hands on it and experience mine and millions of other dream weddings within the game.

was attached to all early access content, which as Lilsimsie had said in a video, is usually meant for Expansion Packs. This meant that a day one update was expected to be released as the pack was.

Many Simmers had held off on not recommending the pack to players during early access, as they had hoped the game-breaking bugs would be fixed upon release.

Unfortunately, I have yet to experience it for myself, but I can say that Game Changers have said that they cannot recommend the pack in its current state. The claim is that currently, the Wedding aspect of the game is completely broken and that the BuildBuy, CAS and the World are the only selling points.

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Each month we introduce to you our readers, a new simmer we have discovered in the community.

connections with some really great people from all over the world who I chat to most days.

Do you know a Sims player that everyone should know about but for some strange reason they don’t? Then send your recommendations to us via our website supinmedia.com.

My build style varies and I usually have a few projects on the go at the same time, which stops me from getting bored as I usually build large homes that take hours and hours and this way I can go between them.

This month our very own SulziSim came across Builds By Lewis, and you can get to know all about him below.

H

i everyone, I’m Lewis and wow I’m totally honored to be featured in SimmedUp magazine. I’m 30 years old and I live in Scotland with my boyfriend.

I’ve been playing the sims since the original when I was back in Primary school and I’ve played every installment along the way. I’ve explored all aspects of the game over the years and it's great to see how it has developed over time but I can comfortably say I am now a Sims builder through and through.

Playing The Sims allows me to express my creative side, I’ve always been interested in arts, etc. I always excelled most in creative subjects at school before going on to study photography and film at university. Over the years I’ve moved away from creative work and into a corporate-based office job and therefore the Sims has become my creative outlet.

I’ve always enjoyed architecture, if I’m not looking at architecture books I’m usually watching house tours on YouTube for ideas. I absolutely love being able to create beautiful houses from scratch in the Sims that I can then share online. I only recently started my Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Patreon pages but what a brilliant community we have in the Sims.

I’ve gained so much knowledge from fellow simmers and also been able to help others which is great. Above all that though, I’ve made

I’ve always played with CC but now I mostly only build using CC, for all the great content the Sims has, it lacks the quality and availability that CC offers. I only use Maxis Match CC and support the same creators through Patreon where I can but there is so much talent in the community it amazes me, my builds would not be possible without them.

As I get older I seem to have less time for playing and unfortunately, the extra time of creating CC lists and sharing, etc takes its toll but it will never be enough to deter me, I fully believe I’ll still be simming in retirement...

In my spare time, I’m usually with my friends, at the gym, watching TV or drinking coffee. I’m excited for the future of the Sims and looking forward to seeing what they create next. Until then, I’m going to keep building and try to work on creating a few speed build videos for YouTube so listen out for this Scottish accent coming your way soon...ha.

See more builds by Lewis on the following pages.

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NSFW Did you know you can share your NSFW content on our website?

We have created a safe space for The Sims NSFW content to be shared without fear of getting your carefully created content ‘reported, removed’ or worse, the loss of your social media account.

Join us and other NSFW fans in a space that cares about you and your content.

Join Us today and make sure your NSFW content is seen.

SUPinmedia.com

Tips & Tricks Top Tips For Taking Photos in The Sims 4 Those who enjoy generational gameplay know the importance of getting good family photos in The Sims 4. Since The game lacks a memory system, photos help your Sims remember those special life moments. Taking pictures of your Sims graduations, the first day of school, a birthday, the family pet, and, soon, wedding ceremonies are a great way to create fond memories and decorate your Sims houses. Taking the perfect picture in The Sims requires some talent and takes practice, but there are a few tips that will help you capture all the beautiful moments with ease.

Taking Photos in The Sims.

The greatest thing about taking photos in The Sims 4 is that you do not need any mods to do it. While mods can help you create beautiful images, you can easily capture noteworthy moments in an almost vanilla game.

Here are some tips for capturing those moments you want to remember in The Sims.

Get the Right Equipment: Your Sims are armed with a cellphone, which can be used to take pictures. However, if you want to create share-worthy images, you can upgrade your photography equipment. There are a few options in the game for taking photos. Let's have a look at each of these cameras.

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The Cellphone – Free Your Sims and constantly glued to their phones, much like you are in real life. The cellphone they c a r r y everywhere can capture those memorable moments and is always within arms reach (even when you do not want it to be).

To take a picture using your cellphone, you can choose the option under the entertainment tab – the icon looks like a stereo speaker and is found at the bottom far-right of the phone menu. With the phone, you are given the option to take a photo, take a selfie. Take a photo of, or take a photo with another Sim. The cellphone camera also offers portrait or landscape image options and various filters to add creative flair to your pictures.

Barley Better Digital Camera - $85 There is not much difference between the various cameras purchased in build/buy other than price. The Barely Better Digital Camera will cost you $85 Simoleans and does precisely the same thing as the other cameras. The only real difference will be the quality of the pictures, which increases with your Sims photography skill.

The Appreciably Average Digital Camera - $670 The Appreciably Average Digital Camera is a great starter camera for any Sim. This camera is affordable and offers a few more options when taking photos. IF you own the Moschino Stuff Pack, for example, you can choose from a variety of different poses, and the Sims in the picture will strike a pose of your choosing.

There are many poses to choose from, making this one of our favorite features of the stuff pack.

Crystal Clear Digital Camera Lacking any n o t i c e a b l e difference in layout or function, the main benefit of this expensive piece of equipment is the picture quality it produces. The other cameras may create blurry images that cannot be seen, but the Crystal Clear Digital Camera is more likely to capture great photos. This camera is only worth the investment if your Sim is passionate about photography and wants to make a career out of taking pictures.

How to Take the Perfect Picture: No matter which camera you choose to use, your Sims can capture the perfect shot in any situation. A few things can help you get the perfect photo in The Sims 4, beginning in the camera settings. Familiarizing yourself with the settings in your camera will help you produce pictures that your Sims will be proud to display in their homes.

Filters: Filters in the game work much in the same way

they do on Instagram. There are several different filters to choose from, and each changes the color and saturation of your photo. If you forget to add filters when taking your picture, these can be added later when you develop a higher photography skill.

Poses: Your camera will include a pose option when selecting 'take photo of' if you own the Moschino Stuff pack. There are numerous poses to choose from that closely co-relate with different Sims emotions. Try out a few and see if you like them.

Image Size: Your Sims will have a few image size options.

From small to large, the various photo sizes can be found on the screen of your camera while taking pictures.

The size selection increases the better the camera you are using, with the cellphone h a v i n g only small sizes and the more expensive cameras offering a range of i m a g e sizes.

I m a g e Orientation: Along with various image sizes, your Sims can select the orientation of the picture they are taking. There is a circular arrow shape at the bottom-center of the camera that allows you to switch between landscape and portrait modes.

Flash: Next to the camera icon, there is an option to turn the flash on or off. The flash option can come in handy if you are taking photos outside or somewhere dark.

Pan/Tilt: There are directional arrows located at the

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bottom-right corner of your camera that allow you to tilt the camera and change the angle. Alternatively, you can simply click on the camera screen and move it around with your mouse.

Zoom: The cameras in The Sims 4 come with the ability to zoom in on your subject, although this feature is limited. While the cellphone does not have this feature, the cameras you purchase from build/buy do and the control can be found on the right side of the camera screen.

Photos taken with cameras in The Sims 4 are added to the Sims inventory and can be displayed in the game or placed in photo frames purchased in the build/buy catalog. Taking photos of friends and family is a fun way to decorate your home or remember those special moments in your Sims life.

Shortcuts: Like many things in The Sims 4, there are keyboard shortcuts for the camera functions. � Q + E Keys: Tilt the camera up or down. � A + D Keys: Pan the camera left and right. � Mouse Scroll Wheel or Z + X Keys: Zoom in and out. � Left Click + Drag: Freely move the camera in any direction. � C Key: Snap Picture Proudly Display Your Photos: Once you have captured your memories with a camera, you have a few options for displaying them to the world. You can drag photos to the wall and add various options to create a lovely photo display to enjoy. � A d d / Remove Frame: Add a frame to photos by clicking on them and selecting this option.

There are a variety of colors

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to choose from, and they can be changed later. � Update Frame: To change the color of a photo frame, select this option and choose a new color. � Rotate Photo: You can switch between landscape and portrait after taking a photo, but the result is usually pretty bad. � Create Copy: You can create a copy of your picture if you want to sell it or give it to a friend. Great if you and your bestie want to display the same image at both your homes. � List on Plopsy: Added with Nifty Knitting, Plopsy allows your sims to sell almost anything online… This includes that picture you snuck of your neighbor stuck in the garbage can. � Upload to Simstagram: This is a great option, especially if you have a Sim that you are trying to get famous. When you click a photo, you can upload it to Simstagram. This will give your Sims fame and eventually recognition.

� Sell to Publication: If you are lucky enough to get a picture of Thorne Bailey or another celebrity in the game, you can sell these images to a publication for a sufficient fee.

Even pictures of regular joes can be sold. However, they do not yield the same reward.

� View: Of course, there is also the option to view a photo once displayed.

Viewing your photos does not do much, although it can give your Sim a positive moodlet.

Moschino Make a Difference: We do not usually push packs but this stuff pack is really great for photography. It offers players many new options that are otherwise unavailable in the game.

Pro Photo Tips: Now that you understand the settings of your Sims camera, it is time to get out there and take some pictures. Before you do, however, there are a few tips that will help you succeed.

Without Moschino stuff pack, photography is limited. You will not be able to tilt the camera the same way you would with this pack, you do not have poses, and all pictures will be taken from the photographer's height. While this is frustrating, using a child as your photographer can help with this problem.

Lighting Is King: Good lighting can make or break a photo.

Be sure the area you are taking the picture is well lit, and if it is not, utilize the flash feature on your camera. There is nothing worse than a photo where you cannot see the subject's face.

Think About The Backdrop: Another fantastic feature of the Moschino Stuff pack was the backdrops that came with it. Even if you do not have this pack and do not want to purchase it, the background of any photo should be considered. Think about the area behind your subject and choose a location that is free of other Sims or unattractive items.

Making the Most of Mods: There are a plethora of mods available that can enhance your photography skills in The Sims. Among the most popular are Andrew's Pose Player mod, which allows you to use custom poses to capture pictures of your Sims. This mod is a musthave for any player taking images or screenshots. There is also the Sim Teleporter. This object allows you to teleport any sim to a specific location so that you can pose them as you please. It works great to prevent Sims from running off in all directions while capturing a group shot.

There are so many popular mods out there that can help you make the most of ingame photography. Browse online and find the ones that work best for you. I suggest Ravasheen's Photographic Memory 2.0. It comes with many new photo objects, as well as options for in-game captures.

We would love to see your Sims photography skills in action. Share your images online and tag them with #SUPhoto Until Next Time, Say Cheese!

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It’s no use goingBy back to yesterday, because I was a KawaiiFoxita different person then.

- Alice This month we are celebrating the quirky, whimsical world of Alice in Wonderland, so I have created two magical builds with some of the prettiest custom content for you to enjoy.

Regina Bed Cowbuild @ patreon .com/cowbuild

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Fairytale Kid’s Room Mushroom Neinahpets @ thesimsresource.com

My Garden - Mushrooms Soloriya @ thesimsresource.com

Regina Nightstand Cowbuild @ patreon .com/cowbuilld

KICHEN Bay Tree House of Harlix @ houseofharlix.com

Alice Paintings SimPlistic @ simplisticsims4.com

Classic Duvet Bedding Pillow AggressiveKitty @ patreon.com/aggressivekitty

Modern Clock Hel Studio

Embroidery Work AggressiveKitty @ patreon.com/aggressivekitty

Regina Bed Bench Cowbuild @ patreon .com/cowbuilld

Natural Euphoria Wall Mural Hel Studio

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Birthday Table & Table Cloth Syboulette @ thesimsresource

Sweet Macaroon Cake Kerrigan House Designs @ patreon.com/keriganhousedesigns

Victorian Porcelain Teapot AggressiveKitty @ patreon.com/aggressivekitty

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Fortune Reader Teacup AggressiveKitty @ patreon.com/aggressivekitty

Gardenia Dining Chair Kerrigan House Designs @ patreon.com/keriganhousedesigns

Colonial Foot Stool Felixandre @ felixandresims.tumblr.com

Sweet Memories Cake Slice Maruska-Geo @ thesimsresource.com

Serenity Tulips in a vase Severinka @ thesimsresource.com Stacked 6 Books Padre @ thesimsresource.com

Gadolinium Rug Wondymoon @ thesimsresource.com

Solstice Dining Chair Kerrigan House Designs @ patreon.com/keriganhousedesigns

To find out more about KawaiiFoxita visit kawaiifoxita.com

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Chats with SimmedUp on content creation and wacky sims details

By Ivana

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ascinated with various details from The Sims? Then, you’ve probably seen CrazyMarq on YouTube, who already made lots of videos showcasing the normal, the deep, the wacky and the obscure details present in the original The Sims up to The Sims 3 (with his own fun twists). And he would not stop anytime soon. That’s how much detailed this game franchise really is.

Get to know more about this retro simmer, and go on a deep dive to his content, content creation process, and his story in this interview.

Tell us something about yourself.

Hi, I'm Marq and I'm a 22-year-old university student from Slovenia. In my free time, I play football, dabble in guitar and make YouTube videos. I enjoy all sorts of music and would like to release a song one day.

How did you start playing The Sims?

The first game in the series that I tried was The Sims 2 – this was way back in 2008. I was looking for a new hobby and gaming piqued my interest, since that's what some of my friends were getting into and it seemed fun.

One day my parents took me to a store to buy me a game of my choice, with some limitations, of course. Sims 2 grabbed my attention almost immediately – mainly because the box looked interesting – so they bought it for me. When we got home, I turned on the family computer, opened the

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box – and to my horror, the disk was tiny and didn't fit at all. That's when I realized we had actually bought the PSP version of The Sims 2. Rookie mistake. Like I said, I was totally new to gaming and didn't understand the difference between various platforms.

Because I didn't own a console, the game was essentially unplayable, so we returned it and got the PC version of The Sims 2 – the Double Deluxe edition, as well as the Bon Voyage expansion pack. Of course, I also didn't get the concept of expansions back then, so I tried to install Bon Voyage first, but after some trial and error, I finally managed to get the game up and running and the rest is history. Once I launched the game, it was basically love at first sight – the game completely captivated me, more than I had expected.

You're known in the community for showcasing Sims 2 & 3 details. What fascinates you most about these details?

To me, the most fascinating thing about these details is just how well thought out they are and you can tell a lot of love and hard work went into them. Some details are also quite obscure and you wouldn't even expect to experience them. The developers could've simply decided not to work on such rarely seen details, but they still decided to include them, which is awesome.

What inspired you to finally get into content creation around this topic?

Interestingly enough, when I started my channel, my plan was to make chaotic Sims gameplay videos with commentary, similar to what Call Me Kevin does. Initially, I stuck to the plan and released a bunch of videos in that style, but to be honest, I just never felt completely comfortable making them.

That's why I decided to switch the way I produce my content. This is where my inspiration for detail videos, onlyabidoang, comes into play. I saw a couple of his detail showcases and thought it would be fun to post something similar, but with my own spin on the topic. Showcasing interesting facts about Sims games, accompanied by subtitles, instead of spoken commentary seemed like a better option for me, so I decided to make some episodes and haven't looked back since. I had always suspected I'd prefer making content this way, but I didn't think I'd enjoy it THAT much.

For me personally, there are so many benefits of approaching content creation the way I do. For one, making commentary

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videos means having to essentially speak to yourself, which is a bit awkward when you think about it. I also found it awkward to record when, let's say, my family members or friends were nearby, which restricted me to only recording during a specific time of day – and that's not really viable when you have other hobbies and obligations going on.

Having to record my voice also meant I had to pay attention to my surroundings. My room had to be quiet at all times, which wasn't ideal either, as I prefer to listen to music while I'm recording. All things considered, I'd say the inspiration behind my detail showcase videos is onlyabidoang, while the thing that finally pushed me towards making those videos was the fact I didn't enjoy doing commentary and was looking to switch things up.

You mentioned before that you're also going to university. How do you manage & balance between Sims content creation and your studies?

Oh, it can definitely be hard at times and I'm surprised I managed to do this so well last year. I think I'm lucky because my memory is good so I don't need a whole lot of revising.

What also helps is recording in bulk. When I have a lot of spare time, I record as much as I can because you never know when such an opportunity will come by again. Lastly, I'd say my content isn't particularly difficult to

and was beneficial for my growth, but I draw the line at comments that showcase the commenter was either intentionally malicious or extremely ignorant. I tend not to respond to those because I think at one point you just have to accept that no matter what you'll do, some people will find something to tear into.

Your content focuses exclusively on the older Sims games. Do you have plans to feature The Sims 4 in the future? Why or why not?

Even though I prefer old Sims games, I’m open to posting some Sims 4 content in the future. Initially, I wasn't too keen on the idea of making Sims 4 videos because I didn't like the game that much, but I've given it another chance recently and I think I can certainly see myself uploading a quick Sims 4 video here and there. However, I believe the focus of my channel will always remain on old titles.

What's the most mind-blowing detail you've discovered in The Sims games? produce and one video per week had been reasonably doable, although I've recently started to spice up my videos, which means they take longer to make and I can't upload as regularly anymore.

What were your expectations when you first started your channel and uploaded your content? How did the community react and receive them?

Going into this, all I wanted was to build a small community of people who like old Sims games. Frankly, I didn't even know there was a market for my type of content, especially considering I mostly focus on older Sims games, but I've been proven wrong. Initially, my videos didn't get much traction, but they slowly and surely started getting picked up by the algorithm, especially the detail videos, and things just snowballed from there. I started getting more and more positive comments as the community began taking notice of my channel. Honestly, I’d say even at this point, I’ve already exceeded all my expectations as far as growth goes.

How do you handle negative feedback and criticisms on your content?

To be fair, I get very little negative feedback – I think I'm quite lucky in this regard. I do believe constructive criticism has its place

This is a tough one! It's so difficult to pick a winner, but I think my favorite detail is related to the garden gnome in Sims 2. If someone steals a garden gnome from your Sims lot, there's a chance that one of the Sims in the active household will disappear off the lot during the night and take the gnome back. Even children can do this. I love how random this detail is. It's not a “traditional” detail you'd expect to see in a life simulator, but it works so well and goes to show how much work went into this game.

The developers didn't just settle with the standard, realistic details – they also added some more hilarious and obscure ones.

I feel like I also have to mention freeing the burglar in Sims 2. This is one of the rarest interactions in the entire series and there's hardly any info about it online. After the police officer handcuffs the burglar and puts them into the car, there's a small-time frame while the officer is inspecting the house, during which you can click the police car and free the burglar. The active Sim will open the rear door and let the burglar out.

Afterwards, the officer will angrily stomp towards the Sim and lecture them. Doing this increases your Sims relationship with the burglar, but their relationship with the police officer will take a hit. This is great for storyline purposes. While it's possible to do something similar in The Sims 3, the interaction is much more common than in its

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predecessor, so I don't find it as interesting.

In The Sims 2, it often just doesn’t want to appear for some reason and I’m still not sure what enables it.

Last, but not least, I just can't leave out this Sims 1 gem. If Bonehilda sees the Grim Reaper, she'll wave at him and might even ask him for an autograph. As you can see, I'm a huge fan of the more bizarre, obscure details – perhaps they're not as useful for normal gameplay, but they add a special layer to the game and show just how much attention to detail went into this series on all levels.

What challenges do you face when it comes to content creation? How do you manage or address them?

The biggest challenge is definitely obtaining footage of certain details. Some are only available under highly specific circumstances and it's not super unusual for me to spend over an hour just to record one segment for a video.

And the worst thing is when I'm waiting for a rare event to happen and when it finally does, I can't capture it from a good angle. But patience goes a long way and I'd say I generally don't face many problems when creating content.

to tailor their content to match a specific formula. This doesn't mean they have to be devoid of any originality or personality – there are plenty of popular authentic creators, but it's still easier to grow if you follow a certain formula.

The key components to success are good ideas, a solid execution of said ideas, and tailoring the content to the algorithm. Make sure your ideas are somewhat original and have “viral” potential at the same time – after all, not everything that's original is also destined to grow. After you've come up with an idea you think has potential, present it well – the viewer needs to understand the message you're trying to get across and the video should have some sort of structure.

When it comes to the algorithm, longer videos are preferred, but only if they can maintain high viewer retention. Clickthrough rate is also important and can be boosted with a clear, inviting thumbnail and a captivating title. Taking inspiration from established content creators and adding your own spin on their ideas is also a good way to grow. At the end of the day, most popular things – regardless of the medium – are derived from somewhere else.

Just make sure to provide credit. But the most important thing of all is not to obsess over stats. It's hard not to let the stats dictate how you feel about your content, but try to detach your emotions from the numbers.

The key components to success are good ideas, a solid execution of said ideas, and tailoring the content to the algorithm.

What are your favorite and least favorite things in the Sims community?

I think the Sims community is one of the kindest and most welcoming communities out there. Gaming communities can get toxic really quickly, but the Sims community is perfect for the most part and it feels good to be a part of it. Of course, just like in any given group, there are some bad apples here and there, but I think the best way to deal with those is to simply ignore them, as they're mostly just craving for attention.

What advice can you give to people who want to start content creation?

If they just want to do it for fun, the best advice I can give is to just release content they're happy with and have fun along the way. But if their goal is to grow a lot and possibly even earn money, they'll likely have

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What's your most favorite Sims game?

Even though I primarily upload Sims 2 content, my favorite Sims game is actually The Sims 3. My favorite thing about it is, of course, the open world, but the game has a lot of strong points, such as well-crafted environments, story progression, fun expansions, and a great balance between realism and “wacky” gameplay. It also has a calming effect on me, perhaps because it's a bit slower-paced than for example, Sims 2 and 1. Although I have to point out Sims 2 is running a close second and I get a very similar level of enjoyment out of both games.

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What's in store for CrazyMarq in the near future? What can we expect from your channels soon and look forward to?

I’ve already experimented a bit with this, but my next videos will include more fast-paced and fun edits, as well as simple skits, which will hopefully strike a good balance between informative and entertaining. I'll also try to feature Sims 1 on the channel a bit more frequently and will most likely post some Sims 4 content too. I feel like I'm starting to become a bit more expressive and hopefully, my videos will become more unique in the upcoming months.

Where can others find you online?

I primarily post on YouTube, where I go by the username CrazyMarq. I also have an Instagram account @crazy.marq and a Twitter account @CrazyMarq where I share behind the scenes stuff, post real life updates, channel news, and gameplay pictures that don't fit my channel.

On that note, we have come to the end of this interview. If you haven’t followed him yet, now’s the time for you to check out his showcase videos, updates, and many more on his social media channels. It would surely inspire you to try out The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 more!

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Then why not send us your sims pictures, along with a bio About you, and they could appear in a future issue of SimmedUp or SupStyle Magazine.

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Cooking Sims Style

With AsGraceCreates & Granny.R

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Tea Party Treats Cherry Bakewells Recipe from Taste.com Australia

INGREDIENTS 12 Pampas small (individual) frozen pastry tart shells 50g strawberry jam 50g unsalted butter, softened 50g caster sugar 1 egg 25g almond meal 25g self-raising flour 1/2 tsp almond essence 2/3 cup (100g) icing sugar 6 glace cherries, halved INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 200°C. Place the tart shells on a baking tray and fill each pastry shell with a little jam. Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg until combined. Add the almond meal, flour and almond essence, and stir until well combined. Spoon into the pastry shells, bake for 12-15 minutes, and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, then combine with about 1 tablespoon of water and stir until smooth. Spoon the icing over the cooled tarts and top with a cherry half.

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Fondant Fancies Recipe from Lakeland Blog

INGREDIENTS 225g self-raising flour 225g butter, softened 225g caster sugar grated rind of 1 lemon 4 eggs 250g unsalted butter, softened 200g icing sugar 200g marzipan 3 tbsp apricot jam, heated & sieved 1kg white fondant icing, cubed 150ml water food colouring, as desired flavouring, as desired 100g white chocolate INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F. Grease and line a 28cm square cake tin.

Beat flour, butter, sugar, lemon rind and eggs together until smooth then place in the cake tin and tap lightly to level out.

Bake for about 40 minutes and test by inserting a metal skewer into the middle ─ if the cake is cooked, it will come out clean. Allow to stand in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Place in the fridge to chill.

Beat the unsalted butter and icing sugar together until pale and smooth. Place 100g in a piping bag and put in the fridge to firm up. Reserve the remaining buttercream for the cake sides.

Roll the marzipan out thinly, brush the top of the cake with the jam and cover with the marzipan.

Return the cake to the fridge to chill.

Cut the cake into 25 equal squares making sure all the edges are straight and neat.

Coat the sides of each square with buttercream then, using the piping bag, pipe a blob of buttercream on the top of each in the center. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Using a food processor or hand mixer, blend the icing until it stars to break down, adding a splash of water if necessary. Very gradually add the water until the icing becomes smooth and more liquid. Add flavouring and food colouring to taste.

Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of simmering water. Do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the water. Once melted, place the chocolate in piping bag and set aside.

Take the cakes out of the fridge and place one onto a fork at an angle. Dip into the icing and carefully set onto a cooling rack, taking care to avoid getting fingerprints on it. Repeat with each cake then leave on the rack to set.

Drizzle the chocolate in a zig-zag pattern over the top of the fancies and leave to set.

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Jam & Cream Scones Recipe from Woolworths

INGREDIENTS 2 1/2 cup self-raising flour 2 and 1 half cup self-raising flour 300ml thickened cream, whipped 300 milliliters thickened cream, whipped 1/2 cup milk 1 half cup milk 1 tbs icing sugar 1 tablespoon icing sugar 50g cold butter, chopped 50 grams cold butter, chopped

1/2 cup strawberry jam (for serving) 1 half cup strawberry jam (for serving) 1 pinch sea salt ground (to taste) 1 pinch sea salt ground (to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Sift flour, icing sugar and salt into a large bowl. Add butter and rub in using your fingertips. The mixture will be like breadcrumbs.

Combine milk and water. Pour in almost all of the liquid and mix together with a flat knife, adding the remainder if needed. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and gently press the dough together. Pat until 2cm thick.

Cut out rounds using a 4cm plain or fluted cutter. Arrange onto baking tray, leaving 1cm between each. Press remaining dough back together (be careful not to overwork the dough) and cut out more scones. Brush tops with a little extra milk and bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden.

To serve, split scones in half and spread with cream and jam. Tips: If you don't have a cutter use the rim of a drinking glass to cut out scone shapes. be sure to flour the glass so that it won't stick to the dough.

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what’s a tea party without scones Sul Sul! I'm Jess! aka. littlbowbub.

I make custom food for the sims 4 @Littlbowbub on Tumblr

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Gallery Creation ‘Alice in Wonde

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Gallery Creation ‘Alice in Wonde

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Jessman12 53

Zeya Val

By Ghostface2018xx aka Steph

Zeya Val enjoys making custom animations for her Machinimas.

Today I’m chatting with her about which Sims game is her favourite and what she likes to do outside of gaming. It is a pleasure for me to give her February’s Animator of the Month.

Steph: Hey Zeya! Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me. Let’s get right to it! How long have you been playing The Sims and is there anything in particular that got you started?

ZV: The Sims 4 is the best because it has the best graphics compared to the others.

Steph: The Sims 4 is definitely the best in terms of graphics in the series. What happens when you burn out with The Sims? Do you have a go-to game? Is there something else you do?

ZV: I don’t play other games. I mostly go on social media. My current fave is tiktok.

Steph: Wow that’s the first time we’ve gotten that answer! It’s cool to know you have other things to do when you’re bored though. What inspired you to start making animations and how long have you been doing it?

ZV: I played the original sims when I was young but then I stopped. And then I got back to Sims 4 when my boyfriend built me a new computer that makes gaming way better.

Steph: Thank goodness you have a PC that can handle the game. Otherwise you’d never be able to play with a bunch of packs at once. Which Sims game is your favourite and why?

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ZV: I started making machinima videos first and then I was looking at other peoples machinima videos with custom animations. I

got interested in making custom animations in order to express my own creativity. I’ve been doing it for a year now.

someone thinking about animations themselves?

making

ZV: Practice makes perfect.

Steph: Nice and simple. That’s the best tip for anything. Aside from the animations and Machinimas, do you create anything else in The Sims?

ZV: Nope, just the animations.

Steph: That’s good too! So, when it comes to The Sims, are you a builder, storyteller or CAS player at heart, or maybe a combination?

Steph: So you’ve been doing it for a while and I hope you continue for a long time!

When making your animations, what’s the biggest challenge you come across?

ZV: The learning curve is the biggest challenge.

Steph: I agree with that, it’s always difficult at first until you get the hang of it. Is there a certain part of making the animations that you enjoy the most?

ZV: CAS player for sure. I like creating sims.

ZV: I enjoy the finished product. The filming is the best part with all the cc I chose for my characters.

Steph: Oh my goodness, don’t start talking about CC. My mods folder is full of custom content to the point where I get lost finding things. What’s the best tip you can give to

Steph: Making the sims takes me hours when I get into it, so I know what you mean.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

ZV: A male model walk and a giving birth animation.

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Steph: And is there anything else about you that you would like us to know that I didn’t ask?

ZV: No I believe everything’s been covered.

Steph: Thank you, Zeya Val, you’ve been an absolute delight to talk to and I can’t wait to see what amazing creations you have for us in the future!

If you’d like to support Zeya Val and check out her animations and Machinima, you can find her socials here:

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YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/ ZeyaVal/videos

INSTAGRAM: @zeya.val

TIKTOK: @zeyaval

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/ zeyaval

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Who doesn’t know “Stardew Valley”? The oh-sopopular farming game won the heart of many farm simulation fans, but it didn’t manage to win mine.

However, I never knew that Eric Barone released a one to four player cooperative board game adaptation of the successful game in early March 2020 and I quickly fell in love with it.

Stardew Valley: The Board Game takes place in Pelican Town and the goal of the game is to defeat Joja Corporation by finishing four of grandpa’s goals and restore all six rooms in the community center, all of which are randomly drawn from the deck while the latter starts hidden. You play as one of grandpa’s grandchildren, but unlike the video game, you can’t side with Joja as the corporation is the antagonist in the board game.

The game starts in spring and you start with 3 gold coins regardless how many players you have. Each player then chooses a profession they want to play as: miner, angler, farmer, or forager, each with their own advantages, then each player can choose a farming tool to use: pickaxe, fishing rod, watering can, or hoe. You can decide who takes the pet token which represents the first player and then the game starts as soon as the first spring season card is drawn.

You can then start by resolving the weekly event from rain, quality crop, gift, random event, fish move, festival, or even unfortunate events like Joja and crows. After that, all of you can discuss which actions they take within the day. Each turn, every player can do two actions in the map: same actions within the same place or an action in two adjacent places, connected with a road. The latter is apparently good since the said player can take a random wild item or wood of their choice along the way. Everyone then resolves their actions, some of which can have random results.

As the title has suggested, making friends is very important in the board game. On top of getting gifts when it’s available in the weekly event, making friends yields heart tokens which are needed to reveal the community center’s bundles, one of the goals in the game, from left to right. After that, someone needs to submit the specified items requested on the cards in any order as long as they have been revealed. Please remember that more players equals harder goals as every Grandpa’s goal and community bundle is multiplied by the number of players!

Overall, Stardew Valley: The Board Game is an outstanding game. It can easily satisfy farm simulation fans, especially those who prefer to play shorter games which last up to three hours. When it

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comes to uniqueness, it easily stands out from the rest of any similar games. The randomness from the Stardew dice, animal dice, grandpa’s goals, community bundles, weekly event, profession cards, even the random mine rooms, villagers, and foraged goods can make every single game different as you probably need different sets of items for the community bundles. However, if I have to pick an aspect I don’t like, it’s the animal care since they require quite some resources and actions to do: build barn or coop, buy the animals, and in order to get yield from the animals, the animal dies need to be rolled yet again; the animals still require hearts to produce quality products on top of the hassle. The buildings and animals aren’t cheap either and some games don’t even require them, or just need to be bought and ignored. This is the most underwhelming part of the game.

Now it comes to my pro tips. I’m a quite experienced player of the game and after finishing more than ten games, I discovered some tricks to make the game easier: First of all, make a lot of money early in the game by planting, watering, and selling crops. Remember that everyone can do it regardless of tools and profession, but the one with upgraded watering can is able to do it better.

Secondly, upgrade the fishing rod if someone uses it.

Re-rolling is very useful if you want to catch certain types of fish on the board and legendary fish which are expensive and are always able to be submitted to the fish tank, the third community bundle.

Thirdly, try to make friends and reveal the community bundles as soon as possible using the hearts. Making friends is always an option for anyone who has at least three different item types.

That way, they can have a better chance to give something the townies love or at least avoid everything they hate. The townies won’t take anything they hate, but they grant an extra heart for something they love and another heart if it’s their birthday season. After you have enough hearts to at least open the first two bundles, send someone there to do it. Please remember that it is allowed to reveal and submit things as much as possible with an action.

Next, hoarding spring crops and foraged goods equal to the number of players is good as the first two bundles have a high chance to be season-locked and once the season is over, there is no turning back; you have to re-roll for the room using the same cost you unlock it. Of course the said bundles are completely random, so if you don’t need the spring goods, you can sell or give them away!

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Other than that, if you feel that the bundle(s) is impossible or too hard to finish, re-rolling is always an option and the sooner it is done, the sooner you will know what the new required items are. If anyone happens to befriend Lewis, his ability to reveal a bundle can also be used to replace an existing one.

you have all of the money from crops in autumn, but crops won’t wither when the season changes, so use it to your advantage. Winter also has a higher chance to grant gifts than any other seasons, so gather all of your friends to see their abilities. They may save the day!

Another thing to consider is to upgrade your tools as soon as possible even if it isn’t one of Grandpa's goals. Upgraded tools are always great to make the game easier. The fishing rod requires money while the other tools require ores which require you to descend the mine.

In conclusion, Stardew Valley: The Board Game represents farm simulation games very well and it is family-friendly. The physical copies are only printed from time to time, a hundred per batch, but the digital copies are always available to play via mod in Tabletop Simulator and Tabletopia. Ask your family and friends to play together as the planning phase is more fun that way.

Last but not least, you can’t plant anything in winter, so make sure that

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Survivors’ Camp Chapter 2

The Survivors Journal 68

Created by AlphaIsTimZ

As the youngsters woke up on the next day, they kept in mind that they needed to survive the wilderness and it wouldn’t be easy. Vincent tried his best to fish at the nearby lake, but he got unlucky.

Patricia started the day by jogging into the woods, chopping wood which is very crucial for their survival. The brothers never thought that the first person they saw in the morning was no other than their zombified dad.

“So he has turned too. Sorry, dad, we have no choice”, implied Billy who was assigned to guard the camp that day.

The children felt bad that their older friends had to take care of them, but they had to stay behind until they were ready.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry”, Vincent’s words would be remembered forever by the four of them.

They had no plan to give up, so they started learning their children’s skills. Now the chess table, monkey bars, and activity table are their best friends.

“Ehm… I need to take a shower. Too bad that there’s no waterfall nearby”, Patricia mumbled.

“Be patient, Pat. I know that a shower will be nice to have for us. We can’t stay stinky forever, so I think that’s the first thing I’m going to build”, implied Vincent.

“Well, well…

Showering in the middle of a jungle like this?

That sounds awkward, but I guess we have no choice, bro”, said Billy.

As the trio retired for the day, they were s at i s f i e d because the children did their duty seriously, but as all of them ate some crops they brought from home, some of them had a stomachache and they learnt their lesson not to eat anything raw, but they had no choice for a while.

“Huh? I thought there were more trees around here yesterday. Weird!”

Chelsea woke up in surprise and she felt that the area

outside the camp was a bit more spacious.

“You’re right. This can be bad as we need trees to build”, said Terrence, “But we’re going to run out of trees to chop at one point anyway, so we need to replant.”

As they thought that the zombies were rarely seen in the morning, Billy helped Patricia to chop wood while Vincent decided to try his luck on foraging.

“Hmm… I think this is a better source of food until I get better at fishing, but the stomachache… I can’t bear it.

Maybe we should try grilling them. I’ll ask Billy to do that later.

Patricia planted some of those crops yesterday”, mumbled Vincent.

The day ended the same way as before, and nature surprised them the next day as some trees went missing without a trace once again.

“See? I told you! This place is creepy!” said Emily.

“Ah… are you scared, Emily?” teased Chelsea.

“N-No! I… I mean…

Fine, you win!”

“Alright, don’t argue,

you two. We still have a lot of things to do. You know… three sims can only get so far so we need to help them soon”, advised Jefferson.

“A-hem, unfortunate stuffs can happen in the future, everyone.

Keep your spirit up! We must survive together!” cheered Terrence.

“I really missed my parents’ farmhouse. Probably, it can work well for us here. Let’s discuss this with Vincent later”, suggested Chelsea.

Later that day, the teens returned home with good news.

“Alright, we have enough wood for a shower now. I’ll make it tomorrow and place it outside the gate. I know that this sounds awkward, but do we have any choice?” said Vincent.

That midnight, Patricia was awoken by the zombies’ growl.

“Oh, no! It’s overrun outside! This is bad!”

Billy was awoken too and he tried to calm her down.

“I know that this is terrible, Pat, but we had to do things differently today as it’s too dangerous to leave. Please take a rest for now.”

The sun rose and it was another day for them to survive. Although no one could leave the camp for the rest of

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the day, they still needed to keep their spirit high.

“I think I’m ready to leave now. I can help you gather food”, said Terrence.

“Ah, that’s great, Terrence. Probably you can start with foraging as you’re great at it. I think I can cook something better starting from tomorrow”, implied Billy.

“Don’t give up, everyone! If I can do it, you can do it too!” cheered Terrence.

With the excessive time they spent together in the camp that day, the children made a lot of progress.

“Guys, I’m so sorry that I failed to make a shower for us today. I know that we need it so badly now.”

Vincent apologised to everyone, but no one seemed to jeer him for that.

“We can understand, Vincent.

No one’s gonna blame you here.

We aren’t always successful either. At least you can try again tomorrow” said Jefferson.

“No, that isn’t my concern.

We never know when this woodworking table stops working. I’d rather use my entire chances well.”

“You’ve got a point. Well, cheer up for now. There’s nothing we can do about it for now”, said Billy, “Now we need to take a rest.

Aren’t you excited to eat something better tomorrow?”

“Yes! Rest well, everyone!” closed Vincent.

Another new day, another problem

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arose. This time, nothing in the camp seemed to work.

Everyone was sad t h a t Vincent couldn’t b u i l d anything for the whole day, especially the shower that they had been waiting for.

“Fine, I’ll go fishing today. Are you coming with me, Terrence?” asked Vincent.

“Sure! I’m sure that we can do it better together.”

“Alright, Pat and I are chopping wood as usual.

Stay safe y’all!” implied Billy.

“The three of us should be ready tomorrow. Just see!” said Emily.

With a bit more hard work, Jefferson, Emily, and Chelsea are ready to help their older friends, something that everyone had been waiting for. Now that they had got plenty of food, Billy finally cooked something better from that day. At least good food can get them in a better mood to push on.

“They blocked our access again!? Ugh! I started getting sick of these rotten zombies!” exclaimed Chelsea.

A new day started with zombies’ infestation outside the camp and it was too dangerous for anyone to leave for the day. However, Terrence and Emily helped Vincent building the shower and they successfully did it.

“There we go! Finally we have a shower now. Hey, are you even listening?

Please take turns!” informed Vincent.

The survivors took their turns to shower and it was all they needed to stay motivated.

“Ugh… I can’t imagine if someone leaves the camp when I take a shower! Could you do anything about it, Vincent?” asked Patricia.

“I think so. I expanded the camp a little bit around the toilet bush. I think the spot over there is perfect for a bathroom!

We need to get more lumber and effort to make it happen.”

“It sounds like a plan to me. I can help you with woodcutting tomorrow. No worries!” said Jefferson.

“Hmm? Look at the sky! There’s a falling star! Let’s wish that our life becomes easier and safer…” said Emily.

“Dinner’s ready, everyone. Eat up! We

need to preserve our energy now. Please rest well”, told Billy.

“Not again! Why does the camp stop working when we need it the most!?”

Their seventh day on the camp started with Vincent’s complaints against the unfortunate conditions. “I guess I’m stuck on fishing again today.”

“Terrence and I will accompany you today, don’t worry. We can do well together”, said Emily.

“Chelsea, I think you’re the most suitable sim who can handle the guard duty for now. I don’t think we can do any kind of animal-raising for a while since we need to build their barns and coops. Here, I entrust you with the gun”, said Billy.

“Then I’ll gather wood from now on.

We need a ton of those, right?” asked Jefferson.

“Yes, please do. We need to build a proper house and I aim to do that.

Maybe more woodworking tables also help”, closed Vincent.

They had a plan. Life taught them more than school could ever do.

To be continued…

My stream for the challenge: www.youtube.com/ playlist?list=PL2wSDMSGcotjaS5irL9bBZff lC34yYq-g Link to rules: https:// docs.google.com/document/d/ 1rBRE2kWbvBRV7slblCOawaGV2EvngqrLLhM7JMvmK0 Search for [TS4//4]

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Simlish Days of Yore Written by MiniCartTSR

The Sims 1 I have been playing The Sims for over 20 years and it all started with The Sims 1. I was intrigued with the new objects that shipped with each expansion pack and which gave new animations to The Sims for exciting new gameplay.

Apart from basic objects such as beds, chairs, TVs, computers etc, there have been many items that have come and gone from the Sims with each new incarnation of the game.

In this article I will be talking about items and objects that we did have in either or both of the first two Sims games but which didn't make it into

The Sims 4. Probably most of these items you may have forgotten about or if you never played the original The Sims or The Sims 2, didn't even know existed!

The reason I am not talking about Sims 3 objects in this article is because quite a few things were released in The Sims 3 Store, such as the Cow Plant, Crystal Ball and Toy Making Bench but were not put in the actual game, so it doesn't seem fair to include these.

games. We do however have underwater snorkelling in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 but not through an object such as this. There were no skill points gained with this item and only adults could use it but it gave a fun factor of 10 and really pushed your Sims fun need up to the max!

The Beziques Folly Card Game (charisma skill) was also something we had in the original The Sims which was never

Objects in The Sims Objects such as the Aquatic Playhouse which allowed your Sim to snorkel underwater in a big square water-filled glass box was never seen again in future The Sims 75

seen again, along with the Checker Set Too, (logic skill), Craft a G a rg o y l e , (mechanical skill), Volleyball, (group activity) P r i c k - M e - Not Spinning Wheel, (mechanical skill), the Old Fashioned Butter Churn (cooking skill) and the Energize Oxygen Bar (group activity) where Sims would wear a mask and breathe in oxygen!

The Fancy Feet Cake Treat large cake item was great for parties and your Sim had the option to hire either a male or f e m a l e entertainer who would pop out of the top of the cake and dance, quite suggestively, I might add!

A n o t h e r party item entitled The Spazmatronic Plasmatronic Go-Go Cage allowed Sims to go inside and, as the name suggests, “go-go” dance!

Galileos Free for All was another item which was not added in any of the future Sims games and enabled your Sim to enter the object and sky-dive!

Although we can make jams and preserves in The Sims 4, the Boggs Home Canning Centre was never seen again after The Sims 1, enabling your Sim to make, of course, jam!

“A Sims Guide to Cooking” was a cookery book on a small stand for the kitchen (or anywhere else you may wish to place it), whereby Sims could learn the cookery skill. This item is now in The Sims 4 but just as a decorative item.

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A nectar maker, namely “A Pressing Feeling”, made its first appearance in The Sims 1 and again in The Sims 3 with the World Adventures expansion pack.

As with both nectar makers, your Sim needed ingredients to place inside to squish the fruit into nectar.

The Pool Table has been a fun addition to the game in all first three The Sims games and never disappoints!

Available in green or red, the red one being the most expensive and the most fun, allowing adults to either play alone or with others. The Sims 4 still does not have this item, which is rather strange!

Also available was The Concoctonation Station, a home chemistry lab for adults only and allowed your Sim to gain the logic skill. This item made a return in The Sims 3 also for adults only and although a children's version was added to The Sims 4, we don't yet have one for adults.

The Funinator Deluxe was a climbing frame together with a built-in slide that children only could play on. This built the motor skill but no particular skill points were gained with this item. However, it was fun for the kids! We did get a treehouse with a separate slide in The Sims 2 but not an all-in-one like this.

For children and adults there was the Urchineer Train Set and a more expensive v e r s i o n entitled the OCD Systems Sim Railroad which gave Sims lots of fun. This item was seen again in The Sims 2 as a hobby item, released with the “Free Time!” expansion pack.

One of the items shipped with the “Superstar” expansion pack was The Whisper Steam Personal Steamer and could be purchased for home use. This item was also seen on community lots and would give comfort and hygiene.

Again, this item was never seen again in future Sims games.

The Taro Tech Mechanical Bull first made its appearance in The Sims earning Sims the body skill and was also shipped with “Showtime” in The Sims 3 as the Buck and Chuck Bronco.

The Sims 1 was quite a way ahead of its time in more ways than one. It also featured a Virtual Reality Headset which adults and children could play with. This item was never seen again in future Sims r e l e a s e s unfortunately, just the standard gaming consoles, which The Sims 1 also had!

Makin' Magic With the last expansion pack entitled “Makin' Magic”, there were of course a lot of magical objects, some of which we do have for The Sims 4, such as Bonehilda (albeit without her coffin) and a crystal ball, to name just a couple. But, there was also the Everafter Crafter.

This enabled your Sim to craft “trinkets, charms and gizmo's to beguile, enchant, bewitch...” There was also the MagiCo Magical Starter Kit which included “A Hole in the Ground”, “Spellbound Wand Charger” and “The Start Here Spell-book 2.0” to enable a Sim to learn magic and of course visit

Magic Town via the hole in the ground to garner items for magical purposes. This hole in the ground also enabled children to venture out on their own for the first time in The Sims, apart from going to school. These items were delivered for free to your home as a gift, left in a cardboard box on your doorstep by the Mystery Man. Children were also included in the art of learning magic. The “MagiCo Neo Magical Newt” that only children could use allowed kids to create charms and charge their wands with spells.

The Alacazam Stand was an object that allowed your Sim to learn magic tricks which you could then perform on stage at a community lot in Magic Town.

The Popcorn Stand was also shipped with Makin' Magic and could be purchased through buy mode for the Sims' home as well as for community lots such as seen in Calamity Forest, which was a venue in Magic Town.

Another venue in Magic Town featured a roller coaster and a very scary one at that! Roller coasters only made a come-back in The Sims 3 via the store by purchasing Roaring Heights.

The Sims 2 When The Sims 2 was released in 2004, ageing came into play with the added life stages of toddlers and teens. Sims grew from a baby to toddler, to child and teenager then to adult and elder and then a natural death. This is something we didn't have in the original The Sims and gave the game more substance.

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The first expansion pack of University gave a new life stage of Young Adult but only for Sims who entered Uni.

Lifetime Aspiration Rewards Wants and fears were also added to the game together with memories.

When Sims achieved their desires, they earned lifetime aspiration points which they could “spend” on the new addition of Lifetime Aspiration Rewards, “purchased” from a separate inventory. Sims could achieve Gold and Platinum aspiration by achieving many of their wants and it is only at this stage that Sims could use the Aspiration Rewards, else the objects wouldn't work properly.

A few of the rewards eventually made it into The Sims 4 such as a pet bowl that never empties, namely the Kibble of Life, the Love Tub which was a hot tub, Money Tree and Weather Machine.

Rewards that were never seen again in either The Sims 3 or 4 were the Cool Shades which when worn would give a positive affect on social interactions and the Genuine Bucks Famous Counterfeiting Machine which, yes you guessed it, counterfeited simoleons!

However, this object could overheat when used for a long period of time so a fire alarm is a good idea to install nearby.

Also, if the police caught you, your Sim would get a hefty fine!

The Elixir of Life was a green liquid which the Sim would drink and with each cup, would gain 3 days of extra life. If used when the Sim was not in gold or platinum aspiration, each cup of this substance would take off 3 days of life, making the Sim get older!

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The Noodle Soother boosted a Sims mood but unfortunately their needs would decay faster than usual. The ReNu-Yu Senso Orb allowed the player to change a particular Sims lifetime want and aspiration and the Sim Vac which when one Sim uses this on another, will transfer one skill point or many aspiration points to the Sim using the item but has a negative effect on the relationship between the two Sims.

Smart Milk was an item that teens and up could use to make smart milk for toddlers.

Once consumed, the toddler was able to learn skills at a faster rate for a limited time.

The Eclectic and Enigmatic Energizer gave all needs a boost and the Thinking Cap, when worn, allowed the Sim to learn skills more quickly.

Career Rewards Career Rewards first became available in The Sims 2 and were not seen again until The Sims 4, although The Sims 3 Culinary Career did give a free Fridge/ Freezer at level 10 which kept food fresh indefinitely. In The Sims 2 these rewards were also given for free once the Sim had reached a certain level in their career and was available from the Sims Career Reward inventory.

Although there were Career Reward items in The Sims 2 that we had in TS3 and TS4 such as the Star Struck Star and the Laganaphyllis Simnovorii (aka the Cow Plant), there were many that were not seen again.

I would also like to point out here as a side note that the Cow Plant was very deadly in The Sims 2 and didn't spit out the Sim as in TS3 and 4. Instead, it spat out a gravestone straight away, killing the Sim instantly.

There were no less than 25 Career Reward items placed in TS2 and these are listed below along with the career that they came from and the skill/function: Better Barre Ballet Barre

Dance Career

Body

SIM Series Drafting Table

Architecture

Creativity

Starstruck Personal Fame Stars Entertainment

Social

Carefree Koi Pond

Oceanography

Audio Augmenter

Intelligence Career

Increases nature enthusiasm Receive hidden cash or get caught spying No skill but this cow plant is deadly in as much as that it doesn't spit out Sims at any point but consumes them.

It will then spit out a gravestone and give milk (the life essence of the dead Sim) which the living Sim can then consume for extra days of life.

No skill points but can change a Sims appearance.

Telephone the Grim Reaper and bring a dead Sim back to life for a fee. However, if you don't pay enough Simoleons, the Sim could come back as a Zombie.

Gives fun at a factor of 10!

Laganaphyllis Simnovorii (aka the Natural Scientist Career Cow Plant)

Dr Vu's Automatic Cosmetic Surgeon

Show Business

The Resurrect-O-Nomitron

Paranormal Career

Tribal Flame a la Coconut Pinball Gamer I Object Litigator Podium The Gootentaugun Award for Excellence in Journalism

The Rock Hammer (electric guitar) Books First for Learning

Law Career

Charisma

Journalism

Gives a small boost to motives of Sims who are in the same room

Music Career

Creativity

Education Career

Golden Skull of Jumbok IV

Adventurer Career

Senso Twitch Lie Finder

Criminal Career

Learn any skill including body Gives boost to needs/motives to Sims in the same room Creativity

Exerto Punching Bag

Athletic Career

Body Skill

Execuputter Trauma Time Incision Precision Surgical Training Station Enterprise Office Concepts Bushmaster Tele-Prompter Simsanto Inc Biotech Station Schokolade 890 Chocolate Manufacturing Facility Prints Charming Fingerprinting Scanner Aqua Green Hydroponic Garden

Business Career

Charisma

Medicine Career

Mechanical

Politics

Charisma

Science Career

Logic

Culinary Career

Cooking Skill

Law Enforcement

Cleaning Skill

Slacker Career

Creativity

Exerto Selfflog Obstacle Course Military Career

Body Skill

Luminous Pro Antique Camera

Arts and crafts enthusiasm

Artist Career

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Buy Mode Objects A few of the buy mode objects in TS2 made their way into future The Sims games such as the Downbeat Kit Drum set, Goal of Paul Football, Floral Workstation and Super Tower for kids.

Similarly, the Robot Crafting Station was added to The Sims 4 University Life.

There were however a few items in The Sims 2 which we could purchase in buy mode that we didn't have again in future The Sims games.

The Pick-Up Card Table was a game for up to four Sims in TS2 and was basically a poker game with playing cards and “chips”.

The AxeO l u t e l y Throwing Station and Deluxe Log Rolling items w e r e shipped with Bon Voyage, the vacation pack for The Sims 2 and Sims gained a lot of fun using these items. MahJong also came with this EP and again allowed up to four Sims to play together, building the social need and making friends.

There were other items such as the Crazy Fun Toy Bench, One Man's Junk Car, Pottery Wheel and Mechanical Stitching

Machine. The Train Set also made a come-back from TS1 which was purchased as a table with a small train and which the Sim could build up by adding a mountain, houses, water and objects, unlike The Sims 1 object which was already built. This enabled Sims to raise their tinkering hobby skill and was a lot of fun to build and play with.

Myshuno was a game rather like “Bingo” that Sims could play together in a group, with one Sim being the “caller”. This had a fun rating of 10 and really pushed your Sims fun needs up!

The Electro Dance Sphere w a s something else that Sims would gain fun from and body skill too!

Additionally, if Free Time was installed then this item would b u i l d enthusiasm for fitness. Sims often feel dizzy after using this however and some may even throw up!

The Exercise Bike is something else that was never seen again after The Sims 2. As with all exercise equipment, this item builds your Sims body skill and also allows them to lose weight.

The Centrifun Roundabout was a toy for children along with the remote control helicopter and cars. Unfortunately, as the above items, these were not seen again in future The Sims games.

As you can see, there were many items included in the original The Sims and The Sims 2 which we didn't have again in future games. This, I feel, is a pity as the

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objects that we did have in those games gave a lot of fun, not just for our Sims but for us too!

I hope that this article has brought back a lot of good memories for you and, if you never played the first two Sims games, that maybe, just maybe, you have found this little bit of history of The Sims enjoyable!

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ MinicartTSR TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/ @minicarttsr Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/ MinicartTSR/ Instagram - https:// www.instagram.com/minicarttsr/

MinicartTSR (Jules)

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ minicart.tsr/

A Simmer for over 20 years, you can find me on the following websites:

Blogger - https:// minicarttsr.blogspot.com/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/ MinicartTSR

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MalixaTV

An interview by TheFlamingPlumbob

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In January we featured the amazing Sims created by Malixa in our ‘Your Sims’ section of our magazine. We we’re so impressed with the patience, kindness and amazing Sims we saw from Malixa and continue to see, we decided to investigate a little further. Malixa recently celebrated a huge milestone on her YT channel as well as being a big part of the simming community, we just had to let our readers get to know her much better by holding a full interview.

TheFlamingPlumbob aka Melissa asks the questions we all want to know the answer to.

Welcome to SimmedUp Magazine!

We’re delighted to have you here with us today. Tell us more about who Malixa is. Who are you outside of the Sims?

Well, I'm Malixa! I am a 24 year old content creator who lives in California.

I am currently a content creator for The Sims franchise. I am happily married and currently raising a super cute cat named Ivory. Haha.

I would like to say I'm a part of the Sims Community. My favorite part of being in this community is seeing how other people play their game. Since The Sims is mainly a single player game, I love looking at what other people do because they give me inspiration to keep playing. Other people inspire me to keep playing and inspire me to spice up my gameplays. I just love being able to share what I do in the game with others because it feels like I'm playing with a group of friends.

When and how did you create your content?

I started creating content back in 2018! I started off as a Twitch streamer because a real life friend of mine got a mic for Christmas, and she randomly started streaming.

I thought it looked fun so I tried it out. I actually started off streaming another game called Overwatch, but I only ever played with friends. There were times where I wanted to stream by myself so I thought why not stream The Sims? Ever since I started

Tell us about your Sims journey!

When, how and why did you start playing The Sims?

I started playing The Sims when I was really young. I think I was about 8 years old when I started playing! I started playing this game because I was on YouTube, and I would watch a ton of Sims 2 music videos/machinimas. It looked SO fun so I had to beg my mom to get me the game, and the rest was history.

Are you part of The Sims Community? If so, what is your favourite thing about being part of it?

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their bachelor/bachelorette parties and what's going to happen in that episode. If I want my sim to meet a particular sim, I have that planned out.

But I also let the game naturally take its course. For example, in one of my most recent videos, I planned a dinner party for my sim, but one of her best friends ended up dying unexpectedly and I just continued the episode based on that unexpected event.

What is it like to be a Twitch Streamer and YouTuber? Which do you prefer and why?

streaming The Sims, I fell in love with the whole streaming universe and growing a community who share similar values with me. Even though I did create my YouTube channel around 2018, I feel like I started getting more serious with YouTube content in 2020.

That's when I started uploading regularly! I wanted another outlet where I can be more creative on my own time, and I wanted to develop more stories with my sims because when I stream, I focus more on my community rather than the game itself.

What is your favourite type of content to create?

My favorite type of content I love creating would be Create A Sim videos.

It's my favorite type of content because creating sims is my favorite thing to do in the game.

What is the creative process behind your LPs? Do you plan them or allow events to unfold naturally in-game?

So when I film a let's play, I usually think about what's going to happen in that particular episode. For example, if my sims are about to get married, I plan

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I love being a Twitch streamer and a YouTuber for both different reasons.

With being a streamer, I love it because I get to interact with my community. I get to talk to them live and I feel like hanging out with them. With being a YouTuber, I love it because it's my main creative outlet. I love being able to create fun stories with my sims. I love creating videos people find entertaining and can watch in their spare times. So I wouldn't say I prefer one over the other because I love both for their own reasons.

What or who inspires your content?

People from Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, Tumblr, Discord, and basically anywhere that you can think of where people share their sim creations inspire me. I just love seeing how diverse the community is and seeing how other people play their game inspires me a lot.

Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to hint at?

Besides this exciting interview, nothing really too big! For future videos, I'm planning on sharing my current household family whenever I play on my own time, and I'm excited to share that with my viewers. And I'm excited to put out new merch. :)

Do you play any other games apart from The Sims 4? If so, what is your favourite?

I do! Lately, I really love playing Dead By Daylight and Lost Ark, which I know aren't similar to the Sims franchise at all. Hahaha. But I also adore Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley.

How do you relax and unwind after creating content?

After creating content, I like to turn on a stream for whatever game I'm interested in watching and watch other people play. Or I play games with my friends!

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. Where can our readers find you on social media?

Thank you so much for having me! You can find me at:

YouTube Twitch Twitter

Are you a Sims creator?

Contact us today as we Want to interview you.

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Mod Overview The goal of this mod pack is to rework the Health system of the Sims 4.

Exploring the ability to take care of your Sim's Health all under the same roof if you wish.

(Version 2.2.3.2 01/30/2022) COMPATIBLE WITH Patch 02/23/2022 PC: 1.84.197.1030 / Mac: 1.84.197.1230 -Base Game and Get to Work Pack Required!

Cats and Dogs Pack Optional BUT recommended utilize this mod to its full potential.

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PUT A LID ON IT: ROOFING IN SIMS 4 Roofing is one of the most dreaded aspects of build mode in The Sims 4. There is no auto roof option, although many have requested one. In defense of this, can you imagine the glitches? Roofing is difficult, but it does not have to be. With some patience and practice, you too can be a roofing queen in The Sims 4, but you need to learn the basics first…

Roof Types: In the Sims 4 there are 4 basic types of roofs that players can access. Each of these types also has a diagonal option.

Hipped Roof: A hipped roof has four sections. Perfect for square shaped buildings where the point meets in the center, the hipped roof is another choice often found in the real world.

Gabled Roof: The gable roof is one of the most common roof types. A triangular roof, the gabled roof is commonly found in real world projects and easy to apply to any house.

Half Gable Roof: The half-gabled roof is exactly what it sounds like, half of a gabled roof. This roof type is great for small, attached rooms that connect with other roof types.

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Half Hipped Roof: The half-hipped roof type is also a great option when attaching rooms to a structure or for filling in areas that are uncovered.

Half of a hipped roof, this roof type is versatile and can be used in a variety of situations.

Flat Roof: The recently added flat roof is an amazing addition to the game. Perfect for those modern builds, this style was once achieved by placing a room above another and

deleting the walls that surround it.

Today, we have a flat roof option that can be added to any structure to p r o v i d e protection from the elements.

Sims, you will notice that small ball-like shapes appear along the roof. These small circles can be used to manipulate the shape of the bow and help you create various shapes or styles.

How To Create The Perfect Roof:

Along with the height and the bow, you can also adjust the eaves of the roof. Eaves are the edges of the roof that hang over the structure. In The Sims 4, eaves are accompanied by small arrows that allow you to pull them in close to the structure or out away from it. You can adjust both eaves at once or hold Shift and adjust them one at a time.

Take a quick look at any of your neighbor’s houses and you will realize that roofing is rarely a perfect square or rectangle, nor is the house. It is these odd shapes that scare people where it comes to roofing in The Sims 4, but luckily there are options.

In the game you can combine the various roof types to create a cover and protect your Sims. Gabled roofs can be combined with hipped roofing, and diagonal pieces can be used to cover corners or other shapes.

If you press Shift + C while the roof is selected more circles appear that allow you even more freedom for adjustments.

Roof Trim: Adding trim to a roof creates a more finished look. Trim will also help to hide any imperfections in the roofing where it meets the wall of the structure. The Sims 4 provide a few trim options in the game, allowing you to create thick or thin trim on your structure depending on your preference.

Popular Roof Styles: Domed Roof: The various roof piece and adjustments allow players to create a variety of roof styles in

Adjustments: In The Sims, roofing can be adjusted in several ways. The height can be adjusted by pulling the small upward pointing arrow that appears over the top of the roof. You can raise the roof high or pull it very low depending on your desired effect.

The bow of a roof can also be adjusted.

When you place a roof on a structure in The

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the game. Among these options is the domed roof. A domed roof is created using a hipped roof section and pulling the bow upwards with the small sphere shapes that appear along it.

P a g o d a Roof: The pagoda roof can give your build an Asian flare and make it m o r e unique. You can create this roof style by pulling in the bow on either side of the roof and sinking it into the raised center.

Awning Roof: Awning roofs are great over porches, providing protection from the elements. One issue with awning roofs is the edges, which can stick out like a sore thumb when attaching to other roof piece in the game.

This can be fixed or prevented using a halfgabled roof pulled low and set to overlap the awning piece.

easy. Simple grab and gabled roof and make it nice and tall. Once you have achieved the desired height, take a hold of the small spheres and adjust the bow of the roof until it resembles a barn shape. You can also adjust the eaves as described earlier in this article to form your desired roofing look.

Dutch Gable Roof: The Dutch gable roof can be found on most of the houses in Willow Creek. A very easy style to create, you simply use a gabled roof and a half-hipped roof to achieve this look.

Adding a gabled roof, pull it low then place a half-hipped roof at the front of it, stretching it across the span of the structure. Pull the half hipped roof low as well until only a small section of the gabled roof is peaking through the top. . All eaves should be pulled in on the roofs to create a flush, seamless design.

Mansard Roof: Probably one of the more difficult roofing looks for beginners, the mansard roof is a popular choice in real life and in the game.

Tower Roof: Much like the profile of a castle, the tower roof is meant to stand tall and proud. The tower roof is created by raising the center of the roof to create a high peak. Look at the Goth house for an example of this roof in the game.

Barn Roof: With the addition of the Cottage Living expansion pack building a barn to house animals became all the rage.

Lucky for you, creating a barn roof is super

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This roof type is best placed on square or rectangle buildings without odd shapes or bump outs. You can create a mansard roof by adding a room to the center of the roof and lining it with roofing. You will want to use the half gabled and half hipped roof types here to create a seamless look that provides

protection. You may need to fiddle with this room to get it the way you like and to hide the walls underneath it.

Create a Covered Porch: Those big farmhouses with the large, covered porch are a dream. You can create this look in The Sims as well. Simply create the house you want and add a l a r g e , wrapa ro u n d porch. From there you will use half-hipped roofing to create a roof over the porch and connect it to the house. Again, this is another roof type that will require some fiddling but once you get it the way you like it will look stunning.

The Best Roofing Tip: The best tip that can be given to any new builder when it comes to roofing is to

practice as much as you can. There is no better road to success than through practice. Roofing any build can be frustrating, and it becomes even more so the more complex your structures get. But with practice and patience you can become a roofing God! Set aside plenty of time to practice roofing varioius shapes and I promise, you will be a pro in no time!

Have a Simtacular Day, K8 Simsley

Join me on Social Media and share your top tips and tricks for roofing in The Sims 4.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/K8Simsley Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ k8simsley Facebook Page: https:// www.facebook.com/K8Simsley TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/ @k8simsley?lang=en Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/k8simsley

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Ikari Sims

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Ikari Sims

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Making A Simmer

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featuring

By Ivana

ne of the rising stars of The Sims community, SimmedUp is delighted to chat with Tanic Sims 2, or Tanny, a young and tech savvy content creator from United Kingdom. If you’re one of the simmers who’s into researching Sims 2 corruption, then you’ve probably encountered this gem of a creator on YouTube. Get to know the creator behind the famous Sims 2 corruption chronicles below.

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household in hopes of summoning the ghosts and, among my fear, I just remember being in awe. Everything was in 3D! There was an elder sim, AND a teenager. And they were related! It captivated me. That was the moment I realised I was smitten. I went home and begged my parents to get The Sims 2.

Now I'm here, still playing it and very much still involved in the community, almost two decades later!

Tell us something about yourself.

You're known mostly in TS2 community for your corruption chronicles videos. What got you interested in this topic in the first place? What fascinated you about TS2 corruption?

I'm Tanic Sims 2 (also known as Tanny) and I'm an autistic 24-year-old content creator who believes corruption was the secret ingredient to creating the greatest PC game of all time!

How did you start playing The Sims?

The Sims has always been the most persistent constant in my life; I don't really remember a time where I wasn't playing in some way. It must have been around 2003 or 2004 when I was introduced to this world, because I remember playing The Sims (1) and The Urbz on my brother's PlayStation before playing The Sims on PC. I had a collection called Triple Deluxe which was released in 2004 apparently and, if I were to describe my experience with The Sims as a kid, I would use the word 'enchanted'. It appealed to my creative side, especially since I was a storyteller who loved writing from a young age. Then, one day in 2005, my best friend showed me a cool new game she had on her computer. It was The Sims, but it was so different to the one I had at home. She showed me the Specter

Like most players of The Sims 2 back in the day, I dabbled in all the wrong things. I added the Grim Reaper to households, tried to kill Mrs. Crumplebottom, and moved Bella Goth from Strangetown to Pleasantview in hopes of 'reuniting' her with the Goth family.

After I got University, one of the first things I did was head to a neighbourhood that I knew was full of graves - Veronaville - and played with the new Resurrect-O-Nomitron.

Though not exactly corruption per se, I remember resurrecting Olivia Monty and discovering her fake pregnancy. That was my sort of first foray into ancestral sims' oddities.

Somehow, I managed to never see the consequences of my actions, probably because I never played hoods or families long enough to see symptoms manifest. So, I have only experienced the horror stories vicariously. I frequented the BBS often as a kid and remember being fascinated by

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threads about glitches, especially pre-patch ones that completely brought the community to its knees, such as the Crittur or Ottomas pregnancies. I would spend hours reading threads, trying to understand why these bugs happened.

It wasn't really until 2014 when I learnt the word 'corruption' in this context, however. It must have been around the time The Ultimate Collection was released, though I can't remember exactly what led me down the Sims Wiki rabbit hole. It may have even been because I started playing The Sims 3 in 2014, and became obsessed with save errors and bad CC. The article about Avoiding Corruption was probably the first I read, and it fascinated me. Aside from

knowing universal NPCs should not be added to households at that point, I was not aware there were two types of corruption, let alone that hood corruption existed at all.

Then, somewhere down the line, I found Knut Futa's article. It was so... bizarre, so horrifying, almost. Since he doesn't have a grave, I'd never encountered him in game, and I didn't start using SimPe until I was in my 20s. I thought it was so creepy how this sim was so... borked. And I started growing frustrated, because I desperately needed to know why his data were so messed up. At the time, I was also very interested in computer glitches, especially ones caused by viruses, and I had started learning about debugging and fixing them. I think I saw a

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parallel between computer viruses and corruption in The Sims 2, and so it was a perfect mingling of two of my interests computer bugs, and The Sims 2. So, I think that's what fascinated me at first.

What inspired you to finally get into content creation around Sims 2 corruption and LPs? In my last few months of university, I started watching channels like Marticore and PleasantSims, who inspired me to play The Sims 2 in a new way; they revitalised my love for the game. Before finding them, I would only play my own custom hoods, and I micromanaged everything; I manufactured storylines and drama, and never played with

Free Will on. It was the way I had played for years - over a decade, even. Their videos (PleasantSims' videos especially) encouraged me to play the premade hoods and sims, particularly Pleasantview, with Free Will on and mods that... rely on autonomy, shall we say.

March 2020 rolled around and, well - we all know what happened then. On top of the entire world flipping upside down, I was dealing with some demons. Playing The Sims 2 was how I escaped. I graduated from university without a ceremony, and I found myself just... stuck. Instead of opening doors (like I thought graduating would), it was like they were all being slammed in my face. The

only job for which I was qualified and had any experience in became redundant due to the pandemic. I felt so hopeless, directionless, purposeless. It was like I was just existing from day to day and not progressing with my life.

Throughout 2020, I toyed with the idea of starting my own YouTube channel, but ultimately brushed it off because I believed I was far too shy. I dismissed the thought as a desperate measure to prove I belonged in this world - like at the very least I was doing something. Too many apprehensive thoughts clouded my mind. I thought I wouldn't be funny enough, or that my personality wasn't captivating enough, and ultimately questioned why would - or really, should - anyone watch me? There are so many talented and incredible creators in the community far more deserving than I what can I offer that they aren't already doing? Around that same time, channels like Calipers and Tongs and MONI were blowing up, as were wider discussions about corruption. What had once been a niche pocket of The Sims 2 community was pushing its way to the forefront.

I don't know what exactly was the catalyst for finally making the Tanic Sims 2 channel. I thought I had left the 'what ifs' in 2020. But the thoughts persisted, and started overriding any fears I had. My brain refused to give up on the idea. So, in April, I made the channel, thinking just signing up would be enough to appease my brain. Or, more

accurately, I hoped it would put the thought to rest, because I worried that I would be unable to cope with making content for anyone to view and judge. I still have moments where I worry about not being good enough; I often feel like I'm not sure I deserve any success I've had. But never for a second have I regretted humouring my brain back in April 2021.

At first, I tried a playthrough for The Sims 2 PSP game, but I was so nervous. I was trembling the entire time and messing up the gameplay. I also struggled to tell jokes and form coherent sentences. I almost gave up entirely. Then one day, I decided to try making corruption content, because it was one of my favourite subjects. I wanted to make the content that I wanted to watch, and I realised so much information about the hoods shipping pre-corrupted (and corruption in general) was scattered across forum posts. I thought it would be helpful to both myself and others if I tried compiling all this information into one place. I was also becoming interested in clean templates, as they were completely new to me when I started playing Pleasantview in 2020. I am the type of person who needs to know why something is the way it is, in as much detail as possible; reading 'this hood ships pre-corrupted' never satisfied me. I needed to know how exactly they were corrupted, why, and what to do about it.

And so, the How Corrupt is...

Anyway? series (and the Corruption Chronicles as a whole) was born.

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As for the LPs, I never would have had the courage to share my Pleasantview if it weren't for the wonderful people who expressed interest when I started teasing the idea! So, my inspiration for sharing my hood (and possibly more hoods/ playthroughs in the future!) is this beautiful, supportive community!

What were your expectations when you released your corruption chronicles & LP videos? How did the community react to them?

Honestly, I did not for a second expect more than maybe a handful of people to find me.

My knowledge and experience of video editing was limited to some Club Penguin videos I made in the late 2000s, and I have a type of hearing loss that means my hearing depends on whether my ears are obstructed or not. It can be fine one day then disappear for weeks. At the time of starting my channel, my hearing was probably the most limited it's ever been. I knew my videos wouldn't be perfect, but I wanted to give it a go because I wanted to feel useful again. I thought my videos would be so poorly made that the community would shun me. Still, I tried my best with the tools I had at the time - a free editing software and mic I got for free at the start of university - and honestly, I mostly just made my first video, How Corrupt is Pleasantview Anyway?, for fun, and for my own reference. It gave me something to do,

something to focus on. I sent it to my friend from university mostly like, 'Hey, I've been working on this thing for the past few weeks.

You wanna see?' He told me it was interesting, and that compliment meant a lot.

Then, out of nowhere, I guess the algorithm picked me up because all of a sudden, the video's views started climbing and I was receiving comments, plus people were subscribing to me! It was a huge shock - as if I had blinked and suddenly, I had over a hundred subscribers before I even released a third video. Then two hundred. Three hundred. Six months to the day I released my first video, I reached the 1k subscribers milestone. I am still trying to process that. It was - and still is - so difficult for me to understand why so many people wanted to watch me.

I am truly just so thankful for and blown away by this community's interest in my videos. It still feels like I am standing in a corner watching someone else succeeding.

Every now and then I see threads on places like Reddit where people ask for YouTube recommendations, and sometimes I see /my/ channel name brought up and it's so dizzying. Everything that's happened is beyond anything I ever expected. I had hoped maybe a few people would watch my videos and think, 'Oh, that wasn't a total waste of time.' That would have made me feel like I had accomplished so much, but I

“I am mostly involved in the Sims 2 subset of the community, but I would like to think that the Sims community as a whole also embodies the spirit of The Sims - that anyone can play, everyone is welcome here, and we all deserve to see ourselves represented in this game.” never imagined I would get to where I am right now, doing an interview. It's incredible.

What's the most mind-blowing info you discovered while looking through the game files or while playing the game?

There are very few discoveries I can take credit for. This game is going to be old enough to vote this September, after all! But the recent theories of Viola (possibly 'Monty') and original versions of Pascal and Lazlo Curious being deleted sometime in development have probably been my most favourite things to research so far. I've also been digging into the objects.package file a lot lately because I've been studying SimAntics and working on a video about scrapped BHAVs that still exist in the base game code, as well as researching for another video about buggy memories.

There are some pretty hilarious (if not mildly concerning...) BHAV names in there, like 'woot crash baby crash' or 'Skunk - Wander Like An Idiot'. I can't remember the exact file, but there's a package file under the Wants folder in the installation files containing what I assume are scripts related to wants for premade sims, as they are titled things like 'IAmCuriousVidcund'. There are also some referencing characters Basil and Sybil Fawlty from the British 70s sitcom Fawlty Towers. I'd like to do more investigating there to determine what exactly this file is used for. Remnants of development still left in the code will probably always be the most mindblowing finds for me.

What is your top favorite neighborhood in The Sims 2, and why?

Oh, gosh... this is the hardest question. I love the three base game hoods the most, but in

different ways; it would be impossible to choose a top favourite. I enjoy playing Pleasantview because the drama and storylines remind me of soap operas, which is another special interest of mine. With Strangetown, I love the aesthetic, lore, and sims, as well as the fact that the architecture perfectly represents each family - the Specters in a Gothic mausoleum, Curious in a laboratory/observatory, Smiths in a 'perfect' suburban American home with the green lawn and white picket fence, Beakers with their evil scientist castle, and the Grunts in the barracks... just from seeing each family's houses, I can understand who they are and their stories. It's masterful storytelling. Veronaville has a special place in my heart because it introduced me to my biggest writing inspiration, Shakespeare, and I have fond memories of playing it all the time as a kid. If I really have to pick, I would probably have to choose Pleasantview, if only because it is the hood I have been playing consistently for two years now.

What other Sims games do you play?

Other than The Sims 2, I do also play The Sims 3! Though I haven't really played it much lately because I've been so focused on The Sims 2. I only have a few EPs and one Stuff Pack so I feel I haven't really had the full Sims 3 experience yet. I also really enjoy playing the PSP version of The Sims 2 and hope to do a playthrough someday!

What are your favorite and least favorite things about the Sims community?

There are so many things I love about this community. I love how supportive and encouraging everyone is, especially towards

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new and smaller creators. Probably my most favourite thing though would be the fact that there has been a surge in Sims 2 players, and it fascinates me because so many new members are younger than the game itself! This game is truly timeless, and somehow, we've managed to create new ways to play after all these years. In my own personal experience, I've definitely felt very accepted and welcomed here, and the community has shown me so much kindness and compassion that it is an absolute honour to be giving back in some way. I am mostly involved in the Sims 2 subset of the community, but I would like to think that the Sims community as a whole also embodies the spirit of The Sims - that anyone can play, everyone is welcome here, and we all deserve to see ourselves represented in this game.

As for least favourite... I really have to reach for something! This isn't exactly exclusive to the Sims community, but I think there can be a tendency to forget that this is a sandbox game sometimes, leading to frequent arguments about how people choose to play the game. As long as no one is doing anything actively harmful, there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to play. I think it's mostly increased now because the current playstyle for The Sims 2 in particular is very focused on playing the premades rotationally, so we are all given the same sims yet play their lives out so differently from one another. That's the beauty of this game. I get it, we can be very defensive when it comes to our pixel people! I know I am. But I think it's important to step back and remember all our playstyles, headcanons, and general opinions are valid.

We don't have to fight so much.

All in all, though, I owe a lot to this community. The vibe is definitely different now to how it was in the 2000s, but overall, it's a very comfortable place that I personally consider a safe space for me.

What are your other hobbies and interests besides The Sims?

I'm a writer! I'm also a longtime K-pop fan. The Sims will always be my ultimate special interest, but I'm also into soap operas - namely the three main ones here in the UK - and computer viruses, as well as cartoons and TV history/TV pres. Right now, I'm also into The X-Files!

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Thank you so much for your time with us.

Where can others find you on social media?

Thank you so much for having me! It was an honour and I had a lot of fun answering. You can find me on Twitter and Ko-fi (both under the handle tanicsims2) or my blog, where I mostly post updates for my Pleasantview series!

On that note, we have come to the end of the interview. If you haven’t yet, follow Tanny on YouTube and Twitter for more updates and if you’re into Sims 2, especially its corruption and oddities!

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Meet the EA Creator

Cinderelli

By The Simming Spoonie

T

his month, we meet Cinderellimouse from the EA Creator Network. Not only are they an amazing simmer who’s always positively interacting with the community, but willing to support those who need it whilst creating amazing builds and Let’s Play videos. Get to know her more in this interview.

How did you become a Game-Changer?

I have a terrible memory, so it's hard to remember the details. I think it was a “right place, right time” situation. I know I would have been super excited!

Who inspired you to apply for the GameChanger programme?

There are so many inspiring simmers out there, and I'm lucky to have met so many supportive people in the community. I think the surprising thing is always how friendly and approachable people can be.

What are your favourite and least favourite parts of the Game-Changer programme?

I love being able to connect with other passionate players, not just in The Sims but across different games and platforms. I'm always a little shocked when some cool GC from another brand jumps forward to offer me advice! Almost all the players I've

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interacted with in the GC program are genuinely nice people! I love how nurturing and supportive the staff at EA are as well.

Least favourite... hmm... I think as a smaller creator, I can sometimes feel a bit overlooked. However, I think that's more about my own FOMO and I know the right opportunities will never pass me by. The Community team at EA are very good at addressing any concerns I have when I reach out.

How does being a Game-Changer fit into your everyday life?

It's funny trying to explain what I do to people... they usually don't understand what I'm talking about! Then, they complain about some bug in FIFA or something.

Sometimes, it can be a little tricky finding the time to create content or record, which I think a lot of GCs tend to stress themselves out over. The Community team is always very understanding and they really stress the importance of prioritising our mental health.

If you could choose just one pack to keep, which one would it be and why?

DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN MY BABIES!!! It's like Sophie's Choice!

One feature I use almost every time I play is

imouse

the Club System. I use it for all sorts of weird and wonderful shenanigans, so I guess I'd have to say Get Together... which is probably an unpopular choice.

with Create A World in The Sims 3. I think there are a lot of different approaches to enjoying The Sims and it's really just down to player creativity.

If you had to get rid of just one pack, which one would it be and why?

Where do you find the inspiration for your creations?

Hmm... Probably My First Pet Stuff. I just don't play with pets very often unless they're intrinsic to the story line. So, it's probably the pack I use the least. Please send my condolences to my fellow rodents!

Oh, everywhere! My degree subject was Humanities and I've always been interested in what people create and the story behind that creation. Human history and culture is so rich and vibrant, and I love that the game increasingly reflects that!

Do you prefer building, CAS creation or gameplay? Or something else entirely?

Gameplay! But I'm a bit of a 'SQUIRREL!' player, meaning I jump around from one thing to another a lot. I really enjoy all aspects of the game, depending on my mood.

I've always been a bit of a storyteller; before I started YT, I was a blogger. So, when I was choosing a category for Spark'd, I went for Storyteller (even though I had NO video editing experience). I'm really pleased I pushed myself out of my comfort zone with that and took the opportunity to learn some new skills.

I also used to do a lot of modding and even spent about a year where I was obsessed

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What is your favourite social media platform for all things Sims and why?

Twitter! I'm talkative, so I love interacting with other players and seeing what they create. Youtube is great, but you don't get the same kind of discussion there like you do on Twitter.

Who is your favourite SimGuru and why?

I'm a Libra, I don't do favourites! *sits on the fence* All the Gurus are wonderful in their own ways. I have so much love for them all.

Please don't tell them though, I'm trying to keep them on their toes!

“I've always been interested in what people create and the story behind that creation. Human history and culture is so rich and vibrant, and I love that the game increasingly reflects that!”

Where can readers find and follow you?

The best place to contact me is on Twitter because I'll see it quickly, but my socials are: Twitter: Cinderellimouse Twitch: Cinderellimouse Youtube: Cinderelli Plays Games Gallery ID: Cinderellimouse Instagram: Cinderellimouse Website (rarely updated): Sims In The Woods

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Created By StassiJSims4

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To be continued…

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Guess The CAS This months Guess the CAS was created by SimSimmerly

Nurfver/Big, gigantic Harva sol labaga along with hava so lawnumg/Hey! Party at my house

Jowlenin/Interesting Ah, gwanda blitz/Hey, Great idea 116

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SimScopes Sep 23 -Oct 22 Everything is happening at once as you head into March. Make sure to take time for yourself in between the hectic moments otherwise you will burn yourself out.

Love can be shown in many ways, flowers are heading your way.

Oct 23 - Nov 22 In an instant everything can change, make sure you are prepared to move your own goal posts. Being fluid is a better way to evolve than staying completely rigid. Loosen up this March and get ready to go with the flow rather than allow yourself to break!

Nov 23 - Dec 21 Sagittarius you have so much fun heading your way as you run full steam into March. You have an adventure that is being planned within the family, make sure to make time and join in when asked.

Amazing things do happen if you believe in dreams coming true.

Dec 22 - Jan 20 Never say never Capricorn, even though the past has held you back from things you wish you had now done and you honestly thought you would never get the chance again, well get ready for it. This time make sure to grab everything offered with both hands and do not let go.

Jan 21 - Feb 18 Imagine a world without your favourite colour, or your favourite animal, imagine a world without smiles, imagine a world without you… sometimes when you are thinking the worst you need to take time to think of the things that make everything worth while. You are worthwhile. Your time is on its way, and in time you will look back to now and know the right thing was to hold on.

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Feb 19 - Mar 20 Sometimes helping people can mean more than winning the lottery. This month make sure to help those in need around you, without making too much sacrifice for yourself. Make sure to balance all that you do for those around you with time for yourself and your family too. Sometimes help is needed closer to home than you thought.

Mar 21 - Apr 20 Nothing is impossible Aries when it comes to you setting your mind on a target, be it job, friendship or even love.. For some reason you seem to be doubting your abilities to continue at the pace you are going and wonder if adding more to your load will cause disruption you don’t need. Be strong you have got this. Trust in yourself and everything will be just fine.

Apr 21 - May 20 Every time you think you meet the right person, something always tends to get in the way of it ever becoming more than just a ‘friendship’ sick and tired of being friend zoned? Then time to step up and take a leap of faith, if you really think this time, you have met ‘the one’ don’t be afraid to let your feelings be known, you can do it.

May 21 - June 20 For some time now you have been thinking of yourself being a little bit better than those around you. This is a dangerous way of thinking, you may be better at ‘some’ things but there will always be someone better than you at something else. Being kinder to those around you will in turn make them kinder towards you. Perfection comes in many forms, open your eyes.

Jun 22 - Jul 22 You are very ‘in-tune’ this month Cancer, as you go about your daily life you will find yourself ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’ things that will help you to understand this amazing gift you are growing into. Don’t be afraid to sit and listen, but also ask questions of your own. The answers may come in strange ways, but you already know deep down, what those answers will be.

Jul 23 - Aug 22 Leo you are magnificent, you are an earth angel and you should be celebrated upon high. It’s a shame others seem to be neglecting to say ‘thank you’ for all that you do. Don’t worry Leo some of them are about to get a sharp shock, and the ‘thank yous’ will be pouring in when you come to their rescue yet again.

Aug 23 - Sep 22 Once upon a time there was a Virgo who dreamed a dream and worked hard to make it possible, then one day a black cloud appeared and the dream seemed to be lost… well only for a while. Remember Virgo dreams can be a fantastic goal to work towards, but don’t set unrealistic targets, that will just cause more upset rather than achievement and movement forward.

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Whats up Community News

#ShellChallenge

As a reward from our charity, KingDingAhLingg made our new shell, theme, and rules for #chzp1zzashell15 He will be choosing the top 3 for our Chzy Awards live on twitch!

Upload by March 11th (extended) - HAPPY BUILDING! 122

#CC Pierisim The WINTER GARDEN part 2 is now available for everyone You can get it here : Patreon

#Inspiration

Did you know that LaurenTheAdult on Twitter takes amazing screenshots of the Sims3 worlds?

Head on over to Twitter and make sure to give LaurenTheAdult a follow for inspirational daily pictures.

Do you have news you would like to share?

Contact us with all the information, graphics and links and you could see it right here on our pages for everyone to see.

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Contributors SimSimmerly CEO, Editor, Writer, Graphic Design, Website Design, Social Media Manager,

SueSimming Director, Administration, Writer, Customer Service & Manager

Sulzisim Director, Graphic Design, Writer and Editor of SupStyleMagazine

BunnyBananaSims Director, Graphic Design, Editor and Writer

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Ghostface2018xx Writer

AsGraceCreates Events Manager, Proofreading, Writer, Graphic Design

K8Simsley Writer, Graphic Design, Social Media Admin

KawaiiFoxita Writer & Social Media Admin

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Contributors TheSimmingSpoonie Director, Writer & Facebook Social Media Manager

AlphalsTimz Writer, Game Designer

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Could this be you? Contact us today

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Supgamersunite.com

StassiJSims4 Writer of The Rose Chronicles, Creator of the Simmer Spotlight Podcast

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