SimmedUp Magazine - Issue 9 by SUPinmedia

Issue 4 - Dec 2020

Editors Letter SulSul Simmers, Welcome to issue 9 of SimmedUp Magazine. As we move into May we are almost at the halfway mark for 2021. Scary how time flies but the things we have achieved not only as a community but in life away from the Sims too is a huge feat in itself. This month we wanted to dedicate our magazine to every single frontline worker out there, that have not only put their own lives at risk to help the most vulnerable in our society but to also thank those of you who still served our coffee, delivered our shopping, or checked on a neighbor, each and everyone one of you deserve so much more than just thanks. News in the Sims, we all love a bit of news and The Sims have just announced we have a game pack being announced soon as well as the kit. What are you hoping for? I personally would like more plant clutter, my Sims green thumb is better than my human one. More news, The community is alive with support, and as always we like to see what is happening within our community, and not only are there currently shell challenges galore, there are new Simmed Saves and competitions, to find these visit our What’s Up Section. Talking about saves, we have created the #HeroesVsVillansSave A simmedUp special save with a Prize for the best Build/Sim and more will be announced as we move through the amazing creations we know you can all create. Visit our website for full rules and links to join our discord chat room. And with that we want to send huge thanks to all our contributors in this month's issue, you all are amazing community members and we are honored to hold you amongst our pages and call you friends of SupMag. Benzi chibna looble bazebni gweb

SimSimmerly

Join JoinOur Our DISCORD DISCORD COMMUNITY COMMUNITY WeWe created created a safe a safe space space for our forReaders our Readers and and F ollowers F ollowers to get to get together together and and chat chat about about all all t hings t hings Sims, Sims, but but to also to also havehave that that space space wherewhere y ouy ou cancan go and go and talktalk about about anything anything including including y our y our mental mental health health and and well-being. well-being. T heT he team team herehere at Simmedup at Simmedup wantwant to make to make sure sure t hatt you hat you know, know, . Y OUY ARE OU ARE NOTNOT ALONE ALONE

WeWe alsoalso have have competitions competitions EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE to ourto our d iscord d iscord server, server, Sneak Sneak peaks peaks and challenges. and challenges. WeWe alsoalso have have EXCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVE CONTENT CONTENT that you that you would would need need to join to join to discover. to discover.

SimmedUp SimmedUp Magazine Magazine YY our our Sims Sims FixFix Delivered Delivered V isit V isit ourour website website to join to join today today

CONT MAY 2021

WHATS HOT! 6 TIPS & TRICKS

46 CC TOP PICKS

92 BUILD A BETTER LIFE

48 CC HOW TO

96 ASK THE MOM CAVE

56 TITAN ARCHITECTS

99 SUP SHOP

64 FANART

100 SIMSPIRATION

70 RETRO CORNER

106 SIMTOGRAPHY

80 RD.PTRA

110 MAKING A SIMMER

88 YOUR SIMS

122 FACEBOOK SHOWCASE

12 #MACHINIMALIFE

24 INTRODUCING

30 COOKING SIMS STYLE

37 COMIC INTERVIEW

38 RGR GAMING

TENTS 128 Private Practice

u o y k n a Th

134 SIMSCOPES

136 JUST FOR FUN

140 WHAT’S UP

144 MEET THE TEAM

THiS iSSUE iS DEDiCATED To all our health workers around the world. Thank you for all your hard work.

Tips & Tricks

s Need help with your game? Sims feeling down or frothing at the mouth? Need some tips on smelling fresh? Need an Itch Scratched? Then everything you need is in our T&T Sims Medical Centre Disclaimer: This is not a real Sims Medical Centre. Please visit a real Sims medical centre for Sim related health queries

Twisted Mexis T.O.O.L Mod Written By A.Muller

Part

Build off lot in the Sims 4: T.O.O.L mod quick tutorial You can make some dramatic changes to worlds in The Sims 4 by using the popular TOOL mod. Here’s how. Sims 4 Tool Mod Tutorial Basic Version

Take note: The T.O.O.L mod was updated after the release of the Sims 4 Snowy Expansion update and you should make sure you are running the latest version to avoid interface issues and other potential conflicts. If you feel like the worlds in The Sims 4 lack personality or if you just want to liven things up a little, there is a way to build off lots. Yep, you guessed it, it’s thanks to a mod. TwistedMexi’s T.O.O.L (Take Objects Off Lot) mod is a player favourite and it is super simple to use. We’ll just call it the Tool mod from here. While there is much more to this mod than what we’ll feature here, this tutorial will be helpful for Sims 4 players who are new to mods or who only want to make some very basic changes to worlds in The Sims 4.

First, you have to download it, obviously. You can do so on TwistedMexi’s Patreon page. Once you have downloaded and installed the Tool mod, it’s time to have some fun. You have to enable cheats to get this cheat working properly (open the cheat dialogue box and testingcheats true then hit enter). Depending on where you want to make enhancements to worlds in The Sims 4, you might also find the freebuild cheat and the moveobjects cheats useful. The showhiddenobjects and the debugobjects cheats are always very helpful for adding some personality to your builds, too. With these cheats enabled, head into build mode and find the item or items you want to place off the lot.

Toggle back to live mode (it is okay to keep the game paused) and shift-click the object you want to move. You should see the Tool menu pop up. We are only going to look at the quickest and easiest way to move objects off lot in The Sims 4 in this tutorial. More complicated builds and use of the mod will require another comprehensive tutorial. Select “Toggle Active Object” from the Tool menu. It should turn green if you have done it correctly.

That should be that. There are some really clever ways to use this mod to enhance worlds in The Sims 4 or to set up special photos for your Sim’s family. Just remember that you use mods at your own risk – always make a backup of your game before using mods or custom content, especially if you are new to them. Also remember to keep your mods and custom content up to date whenever there is a new Sims patch or whenever you add new DLC.

Move to where you want to place the object in the world and click. You will see the object appear in green. Shift click and select “Toggle Active Object” again.

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Healing Through Creating and Tips For Creating a VO Machinima: 021 01.03.2

A Conversation With April May is mental health awareness month. When I thought about who I wanted to interview, my mind immediately went to the amazing April Dark. April is a machinmator who has been creating stunning stories in The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 since 2013, and is best known for her series Loaded Gun and Memories of a Siren. April has been open about her own mental health, healing, and through her stories has shared her journey to mental and emotional wholeness.

Dark

In addition to her contributions to creating openness in The Sims Community about the topic of mental health, she creates VO (voice-over) machinimas, which are machinimas utilizing voice actors. When she first watched my series, she provided me with a wonderful wealth of feedback, which I’ve already started implementing in my own productions. I currently have my first VO machinima in production. So, I’m quite excited to hear more about tips, tricks, and hacks when creating this type of machinima. TMC: What made you start making machinimas in The Sims? AD: So to start with, I’ve been outlining and writing stories since I remember. I remember having that one old notebook and later tablet where I could write down all my ideas. But, with every year I felt that this wasn’t enough for me. One day I came across a Sims 3 series created by Showtime - Polish a machinima creator. Sadly, she hasn’t been active for a couple of years, but I learned quite a bit from her. She was my biggest inspiration to start my own works.

TMC: How has making machinimas been an outlet for you in your mental health journey? AD: I think that mainly creating machinimas was a form of expressing myself and my feelings, which was very important to me during my blackest days. A few years ago I was mostly surrounded by toxic people in school who were making fun of me for being “different.” What I mean by that is, I was a super-sensitive, artsy person. I didn’t smoke and drink in primary and pre-high school. I experienced big mental health problems, which is still a big taboo topic in my country. This has changed some in bigger cities, but when I was younger there were no school psychologists at all. If you told someone you were attending psychotherapy, they thought you were eating glass or that you were dangerous to others. That’s why I had to pretend to be perfectly okay, not only in school but also at home. I wasn’t allowed to talk about anything that was not super positive. What’s even worse is that I wasn’t allowed to cry. My parents would scream at me for doing that.

As I got older, I had to really rethink all those bad patterns I learned throughout my life. The sims community helped me a lot with that. I met many awesome people, not only machinima creators but Simmers in general. Moreover, by creating machinimas I was able to finally express myself. I stopped feeling afraid about what others may think about me. Joining the Sims machinima community those few years ago was the best decision I could ever make.

TMC: What’s the best thing about being a creator on YouTube? What is the hardest thing? AD: To start with, I think that being a creator on the YouTube platform is a very challenging thing. You can’t predict when algorithms change and what consequences they will bring. I feel like I tend to publish the most important videos of mine while the traffic on the YouTube platform is being sent elsewhere. I realize that this isn’t something we can change or have an influence on. My greatest challenge is creating memorable characters and stories. It has always been a goal of mine to write something that evokes strong emotions in other people. I’m not going to lie, this is a hard thing to do. On Twitter, I often see other people talking about other machinima series, being excited with them, discussing in comments about the plot and the storyline. My goal is to have this for my stories as well. I do feel like I’ve made big progress and grown in storytelling. However, the amount of effort it takes to then make everything look good is unbelievable, and I think that every machinima creator can relate to this.

The best thing about creating things on the YouTube platform itself is that it is free and is easy to use, once you learn how to use it. In terms of creating machinima itself, I just enjoy that feeling I have while creating anything. I love writing scripts, finding music, working with other machinima creators or voice actors, and editing.

TMC: What helps you when you start to feel discouraged or burned out? AD: I haven’t actually felt that in a while. When I experienced that in the past, I think it was because I didn’t have that much energy as today, and I easily got tired. So, I would stop recording until I felt like doing that again. When I feel like I run out of inspiration, I listen to Grimes or another alternative/electronic artists or search more on Pinterest. This helps me feel inspired to create again.

TMC: What is your favorite Sims game, and why? AD: My favorite Sims game is The Sims 3 because I can play it for a few hours nonstop and it never gets boring. I also find recording machinimas using it much easier than using Sims 2 or 4. TMC: Tell us about your series Loaded Gun. What do you want people to know about it?

AD: Loaded Gun is about a group of people with superpowers. The story is about fighting for power, influence over dimensions; about lots of complicated relationships and intrigues. I was inspired by all those legends about Slavic vampires, but they are not vampires. In this whole universe, there are normal humans like us. Normal “Precursors,” who are badass and have superpowers. They can only be killed by being stabbed in the heart, and even by a simple human. There are “Precursor’s gods”, May, Arthyen, Connor, and Aoife. They rule the Earth, which is only one of many dimensions. Those gods can be killed only by each other or their natural enemies, called Mavi, which is another race living in a separated dimension. The background of these characters is important to know while watching the first episode.

TMC: What have been the biggest challenges of working with voice actors, and how have you overcome those challenges. AD: I’ve found the experience of working with voice actors to be quite positive. I think that one of the most challenging things that can happen when creating a VO series is not being able to find any voice actors willing to work with you.

You create a casting call and see zero auditions. In my opinion, this often isn’t your fault. Your casting call may simply not be that popular on the Casting Call Club site. If this happens, I recommend you look for voice actors on your own by reaching out on other platforms, such as Discord, or reaching out directly on Casting Call Club.

TMC: What are your top mods that you would be lost without? AD: Nraas Mods - Help with story progression and game bugs [https:// www.nraas.net/community/Mods-List] TS3 Pose Player -[ https:// modthesims.info/d/438706/poseplayer-updated-8-22-13.html] TS3 Animation Player - [https://t.co/ VccDqDOBJQ?amp=1]

TMC: I’m just now starting my first VO production, Poseidon. It feels a little intimidating at times, being all of my other productions have been scripted. What are the top suggestions you would give to anyone who wants to make their first VO production or series? AD: The first thing I would suggest is to look at your project’s audio volume. I’ve seen some machinimas where the volume of dialogues wasn’t consistent. Some characters were incredibly loud and some of them were super silent. I recommend looking at the audio mixer in your editing software. While editing your machinima keep your dialogues between -9db to -6db. I do up to 3db because I like to add multiple layers of audio like environmental sounds and subtle music. I like to keep environmental sounds or music close to -18db while characters are speaking. For me, I find this to be a good level. I always make sure to listen to auditions with my headphones before casting anyone. Some auditions can have an echo or noises you didn’t notice while listening to through computer speakers. Some of those issues may be problematic while editing the whole machinima later.

Andrew’s Pose Player [https:// sims4studio.com/thread/2617/ andrews-studio] TS3 - OMSP (One More Slot Please) Mods [modthesims.info/d/428179/one-moreslot-please-with-vertical-shiftingupdate-2-nov-2011.html] TS3 - Time/Weather Change Mod [modthesims.info/d/481816/timeweather-change-mod-new-seasonsversion.html]

TMC: What plans do you have for your channel in the future? AD: I just would like to publish three to four episodes of Loaded Gun per year and publish some CAS or LP videos, where I talk about my machinimas and random topics. I would also like to publish more collaborations in the future. A Huge Thank You to April for taking the time out to share her experience. Be sure to head over and connect with her: YouTube: AprilDark Twitter: xAprilDarkx And while you’re at it, why don’t you buy her a coffee? https://t.co/7qo2msBTzJ?amp=1

DIRECTOR of Pixels

Simplistic Studios - Rock My World Sims 4 Gay Story Rising to the top in the music industry is no walk in the park. Chris Fujiwara's dream is to become the #1 band in Japan, but he can't do that without a band! But what will happen when he and his unrequited love team up together? Will sparks fly between the two or will it burn him and his dream to the ground. A story of hardships, moving on, and accepting reality that will slowly, but surely rock your world! Check out Episode 1 on YouTube by Vsiting https://youtu.be/-_hQ2XNrcEQ

Help is availab If your countr help, Please

Australia Emergency Numbers 13 11 14 Lifeline Australia 1800 55 1800 Kids Helpline 13 52 47 Samaritans Emergency Services: 000 Canada Emergency Numbers Crisis Services Canada 1-833-456-4566 toll free (In QC: 1-866-277-3553) Mental Health Mobile Crisis Telephone Line 902-429-8167 Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention Association Candienne Pour la Prevention Du Suicide 819-339-3356 – Many links to province specific organisations USA Emergency Numbers Mental Health America 1-800-273-TALK (8255) HopeLine Emergency Services: 911

UK and RoI Emergency Numbers UK 116 123 Samaritans 0800 068 4141 HopeLine UK HelpLines Partnership ROI 116 123 Samaritans 0808 808 8000 Lifeline South Africa Emergency Numbers 0861 322 322 Lifeline Southern Africa Emergency Services: 10 177

able, please find contact details below. ry is not listed, and you need immediate Call your local emergency services. Europe Emergency Numbers European Emergency Number: 112 France (English Speaking) 0033 145 39 4000 Suicide Ecoute 01 46 21 46 46 SOS Help Germany Telefonseelsorge Deutschland (National) German speaking: 0800 -111 0 222 English speaking: 030-44 01 06 07 Crisis support line 6pm to 12am daily Italy 800 86 00 22 Samaritans

New Zealand Emergency Numbers 09 5222 999 (Auckland) 0800 543 354 (Rest of NZ) Lifeline New Zealand PHILIPPINES Helpline: Mobile phone: 0917 - 854 - 9191 Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (632) 804HOPE (4673) and 0917-558-HOPE (4673)

Image Credit to Simoleonerita

f City of Angels Known Locations oelsTS4 Twitter: CityOfAng ngels YouTube: City of A

11.11 : o N se Ca

SHRIMP COCKTAIL PREP TIME: 15 MINS TOTAL TIME: 40 MINS 6 - 8 SERVINGS

DIRECTIONS Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and add water to cover; set aside. Cut one lemon into wedges and set aside.

INGREDIENTS

In large pot combine 6 cups water, salt,

FOR THE SHRIMP 2 lb. Ice 6 c. water 2 tbsp. kosher salt 2 tbsp. granulated sugar 1/2 small onion, peeled and halved 1 tbsp. small bunch parsley, divided 2 lemons, divided 2 lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined FOR THE COCKTAIL SAUCE 1/2 c. mild chili sauce, such as Heinz 1/2 c. ketchup 1 tsp. lemon zest 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 tbsp. horseradish 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 2 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco 1/4 tsp. celery salt

sugar, onion, and 5 sprigs parsley. Halve and juice remaining lemon and add to pot. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and add shrimp to pot. Let sit until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove shrimp from the pot with a slotted spoon or spider into the bowl of ice. Make the cocktail sauce: Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until fully combined. Serve shrimp with lemon wedges, cocktail sauce, and garnish with parsley.

MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL PREP TIME 20 mins COOK TIME 15 mins TOTAL TIME 35 mins SERVINGS 4 to 6 servings If it's tomato season, use freshly chopped tomatoes with their juices, instead of the canned tomatoes.

Ingredients 1-pound medium shrimp, raw or cooked Salt 1 cup chopped red onion 1 cup peeled, diced cucumber 1/2 cup chopped celery 1 jalapeno, minced 1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped OR 1 1/2 cups of freshly chopped tomatoes with their juices 1/2 cup ketchup 1/4 cup chopped cilantro Juice of a lime, about 2 Tbsp Hot sauce (like Crystal or Tabasco) to taste (about 1 Tbsp to 1/4 cup of Crystal) 1 avocado, cut into chunks

Method Peel, devein, and cook raw shrimp (if using): If you have pre-cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp you can skip to the next step. If you are working with raw shrimp, peel and devein them. If you have a little extra time and want your shrimp to be extra good, put the shells in 6 cups of cool salted water, bring to a boil, then strain the shell stock into a separate pot and cook the shrimp in that liquid. If you want to skip that step, just bring a medium pot salted water to a boil (a Tbsp salt for 2 quarts of water), add the shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until just cooked through. Reserve a cup of the cooking water and chill it. Cut half of the cooked shrimp into chunks: Cut half of the shrimp into large chunks, leaving the other half whole (for a more attractive presentation). Toss with other ingredients, chill: Put the chopped shrimp in a bowl with the chopped onions, cucumber, celery, jalapeño, tomatoes, ketchup, cilantro, lime juice and hot sauce. Gently stir to combine, and chill.

Add some cooled shrimp cooking water: Once the cooking water has cooled at least to room temperature, add a little at a time to the shrimp cocktail, until the shrimp cocktail is the consistency you want (use clam stock or lightly salted water—a third of a teaspoon of salt dissolved into a cup of water—if you are starting with already cooked and peeled shrimp). Stir in salt, hot sauce, avocado: To serve, add salt and more hot sauce to taste and gently mix in the chopped avocados. Dip the whole shrimp in the cocktail and arrange them on top. Serve in parfait glasses or in small bowls with tortilla chips on the side.

Now just add some sand, margaritas and a palm tree to your house and you are ready to enjoy your stay-at-home beach vacation. Until next month, happy cooking Simmers and try not to set the kitchen on fire. Granny R.

Comissions Available @BLACKDAISIES on Twitter

If you are part of the Sims community, you have undoubtedly heard of RGR Gaming. His amazing community lots are innovative and always functional. RGR Gaming aims to enhance your gameplay in ways you never imagined, and he succeeds in his goal. From detailed prisons to operational hair salons, RGR Gaming's creative ideas will have you questioning how you have been playing the Sims this whole time. Outside of his incredible creative talent, RGR Gaming provides some muchneeded positivity that is always refreshing. I sat down with RGR Gaming to discuss his astonishing builds and his always optimistic attitude.

K8: How long have you been playing the Sims? And which version is your favorite if you have played more than one? RGR: Well, I am only at the age of 28, but that question takes me back in time. The first time I played one of the Sims games was way back when I was 11 or 12 (something like that) at a friend's house. We were playing Sims 2, and I was hooked by the building options in that game. For its time, it was just mind-blowing - the possibilities! If I need to pick my favorite version, it will be Sims 3, the open world, the cars (I am a car enthusiast, hehe), and many more other things that are just soooo much better than even Sims 4 in its current stage.

By K8Simsley K8: What inspired you to start sharing your builds on YouTube? RGR: Interesting question! Well, not many know this, but I learned interior design. However, after graduating, I still could not say that this was the thing I wanted to do in life, FOR life. Now, as a long-time "GAMER" (as you can call it) with that LOVE of playing many games, I was wondering, maybe I should share my real passion with others. So, I started a general gaming channel. Sims 4 builds was only one thing I shared in that channel. With time I noticed that many people really really loved those builds. I decided to remake the channel for only Sims content and try and inspire others to build in the game. I wanted to show what you can do in the game without CC, to show that anything is possible with a bit of imagination!

So actually, in the end, the inspiration for the channel was to combined 2 things that I LOVE to do, creating designs and gaming, into a Sims building channel as a way to inspire others. K8: You are known for many things. Your positive attitude is one of those things, your great personality, and your creative builds. I have two questions here, what keeps you so positive, and where do you find your inspiration? RGR:- First of all, thank you so much and Well, I was always a positive person, if you see a glass of wine that is half empty, I will always look at the half-full part and not the empty one. Maybe it's because of my childhood, but I learned the hard way that it can always be worse. Be happy with the things you do have and not the things you don't, but I don't want to bum out all the readers

here right now, hehe Now, in terms of inspiration for my builds? It can be from the most simple things, like a nice car (its shapes, curves) or even a sweet pastry (a croissant, for example, I made a cafe shaped like one, haha). Of course, yes, I do not have shame in saying that even someone else's build can inspire me to build something. Oh, and you can always go for a stroll in Pinterest, I doubt you will leave it empty-handed ;-)

K8: You recently created a prison build in a YouTube video, and it was spectacular. How do you find the time to create such large, detailed builds, and how long do they usually take to complete? RGR: Well, because I decided to give youtube a chance as a "Job" and not a "hobby," I invest most of my days creating, editing, filming... So, I have a lot of time to spend on the building process. Each build takes something like 1-2 full days of building (not counting editing and recording voice-overs); it can be even more on big scaled projects like the mall I made, it is draining, but the end results are totally worth it!

K8: You build community lots quite often. Do you prefer to create these types of lots compared to building houses? RGR: Oh, totally! I looove retail shops, and even more, I enjoy trying to come with new methods of playing the game without adding mods or CC (kinda my trademark) So, I make many community lots that the player can enjoy and feel like the game is a whole new game each time! From taking the player to Paris or Rome up to giving them the feeling, they are

flying to the moon in a NASA Shuttle :P Don't get me wrong. Building houses is fun! But I decided that I want to bring something else to the community. Plus, there are many more other builders more talented than me in house building, so I leave them that job, hehe

K8: We all love Sims 4, but some minor details are missing that would make it an amazing game. What do you feel is lacking in the game that your wish it had? RGR - I don't believe we have enough space on the page for the full answer hehe. So, I will try to keep it simple with the things I believe are the most needed in the game. First, OPEN WORLD. Fully open! Just like we had in Sims 3, the fact that you could see the Sims walking from the top of the hill in sunset valley to the beach and see the day passing by was sooo amazing! Now, of course, CARS! You can't call a game a "Life simulation game" and keep things like that out of the game.

builds from real life like the Eiffel Tower, or maybe create a steamboat? The possibilities are endless! So, I just love that this game can bring the best out of the players!

K8: Imagine that you had to get rid of all your packs but could keep one of each type, what would you choose? (e.g., expansion, game pack, stuff pack, kit) RGR: Wow, this is a tough one, but if I had to choose, I would go with these - Expansion pack - Get to work. I just can't build retails without this pack, haha, and the active police career is one of my favorite packs!

As a car enthusiast, I was so disappointed to see they left them out in Sims 4 after the amazing time I had with them in sims 3, especially with the Fast lane pack we had! Now, more related to the building aspects, I believe we are missing all "rounded" related objects, from spiral staircases to rounded tables, chairs, and more advanced - windows and walls.

Game pack - Now, this might surprise people, but the "Journey To Batuu" pack. Yes, yes, I know, many people are not big fans of this pack but believe me, the building items in this pack are MIND-BLOWING! In every build I make, you are gonna find small, realistic details that come from this pack, and those are the things that make the builds look amazing! Stuff Pack - Tiny Living. Nothing can beat that pack. I love the overall style of this pack, and the murphy beds are just the best for small space-saving builds!

Kits - Well, this is tricky. I love the idea I would love to see more ceiling decor of the "Bust the dust" kit, I even made options, like painting them, dropped a "Vacum Commercial" with that kit, ceiling, maybe? Really, the list is sooo hehe, but the "country kitchen" is so long, haha, so I think I will stop here. cool! So many building options in that

K8: What is your favorite thing about the Sims? RGR: I know it might sound like a cliche, but I love that this game gives all the players the way to express themselves the best way they can, from creativity to endless imagination. As a builder, I can go crazy in the building mode. Building

kit. I have to go with the Country Kitchen Kit then.

K8: What advice would you give new builders? RGR: DON'T BE AFRAID TO TRY - as simple as it sounds! Many people are afraid to try and build something in the game. They are afraid that they can build "only a box," but if you never try, you will never know, and who knows, maybe after this try, your gonna build something amazing! Don't be afraid to try!

K8: That is excellent advice. What would you say to someone just starting out on YouTube? RGR: DON'T give up fast. Many people start YouTube, expecting to become the next big thing in 1 - 2 weeks. They believe that if they got only a few views in one week, they are not good enough, or maybe what they do isn't good enough. I am not gonna lie; YouTube isn't for everyone. It's hard. It's demanding. But what job isn't? If you give up fast, who knows, you might just give up on the greatest job of your life! Remember, even the best YouTubers out there now, started somewhere. It took them years to become what they are today.

YouTube is a marathon, not a sprint! K8: With all the talk about Sims 5, I have to ask… Are you excited about a new game, or will you miss Sims 4? RGR: Well, I am so craving for a new Sims 5, that I want it YESTERDAY! not tomorrow, hehe. I think that Sims 4 had a good run, but

I want to see if the Sims team learned from the mistakes they made in Sims 4, (and we all know they did). I want to see if they change those things in Sims 5... So ya, I am super excited for Sims 5, and

RGR: That's true. I am using the Tool mod by "Twistedmexi" a lot! Until the moment I installed it, I used to have the red shelf mod also, but now I don't need it anymore. Now I do have the "BuildCam" mod, and it allows me to move in camera mode while building. It is super handy! This was also created by the legendary "Twistedmexi."

K8: Do you have any exciting projects coming up that viewers should watch for? RGR: I do have on my wall a board with many building ideas that I am planning to bring into the game soon. A few things I think people need to look forward to being - Golf Club, Beauty Salon, Casino, and many more things! and I won't be missing Sims 4. K8: You have been using TOOL a lot in recent builds. Do you have any other mods in your game?

K8: If the government contacted you because they were sending a time capsule into space and asked you to create a build that they could put inside, what would you build and why? RGR: Probably a Gas Station. First of all, to remind us that Sims 4 did not have cars in the game, haha, and second, the way I see it, in a few years from now, none of us will go to gas stations to fill the car with fuel, so that build will be a reminder of what we used to do :P

K8: Lastly, How can our readers follow you and stay up to date on your happenings? RGR: The easiest way is by following me on my YouTube channel RGR_Gaming www.youtube.com/channel/ UC8VjCCo9njRJuJwZTXqJvXQ And for a more personal feeling and extra Sims 4 shares, I am very reachable on Twitter - @RGR_Gaming

Hospital Staff Outfits Creator: ZitaRossouw sims4updates.net

Scary Doctor Pictures Creator: TitusLinde tituslinde.tumblr.com/

CC Top First Aid Cabinet Mirror Creator: K-omu ID: 1327129- TSR

Medical Set Creator: Kardofe sims4downloads.net

TextBook Set A Creator: Wtrshpdwn wtrshpdwn.tumblr.com /

Hazmat Suit

p Picks

Creator: Secret London sims4studio.com/

Pain Pose Pack Creator: Akuiyumi akuiyumi.tumblr.com/

Health & Medical Administration Mod Creator: Lucidoll sims4downloads.net/ tag/lucidoll

HOW TO C�ea�� CC A Beginners Guide.

Written By MaddyCatts

Part II: Your First Recolor! Sul Sul Simmers! Maddycatts here and welcome to Part II of our Absolutely Beginner series. Today your preparation pays off and I will walk you through your first object recolor! I’m excited! So. I hope you all got a chance to review the first part of the series - if not or if you’re new you can grab the tutorial here. Let’s get started shall we? Make sure you have completely closed out The Sims 4 and open Sims 4 Studio (S4S). Once the program loads the first thing you want to do is give yourself a creator name. Type this name in the empty box in the lower right corner. This will be the name S4S assigns to all of your creations. Cool huh? Note: You can change this ID anytime and as many times as you need to. Our t-shirt, of course, is a CAS clothing item so locate the heading labeled CAS. We only want to change the appearance of the shirt therefore we will select: CAS Standalone Recolor. There is no “ok” or “select” button so after you click Standalone just click the CAS heading again to tell the program ok.

S4S will now load every CAS item in the game so don’t be alarmed if it takes a few seconds to load. When it does you will see all of the items neatly displayed you’re now officially a game insider!! After you bask in the warm glow of superiority notice the variety of selection drop downs to narrow down your choices. You can sort by game pack, gender, body part etc. So quickly look through the categories and become familiar with them while I go grab a coffee. (Soothing instrumental music)

Okay I’m back and I bet you already suspect S4S is going to be a game changer don’t you? Well you’re right and you’re going to love it! So. We want to select the following parameters: Species: Human Gender: Male Age: Adult Part Type: Clothing Top Game Pack: Base Game Content: Game Search: t-shirt All of the shirts that match our criteria are now displayed. Pick a solid, plain solid tshirt to keep things simple. The color doesn’t matter because we’re going to change it anyway but I do suggest choosing a dark one since the work background in our graphics program will be a light color. Once you’ve chosen your shirt click Next at the bottom right corner. A screen will open prompting you to name and save a new file. Why? Because S4S knows that The Sims 4 uses package files and understands that’s what we want to end up with. S4S is simply creating your package file upfront and asking you to name it. See. S4S already totally has confidence in you! So. Let’s make sure we are telling S4S to place this package file in the right location on our computer. You will use the folders we set up in the first tutorial: Desktop\S4S Projects Now click in the file name field and type: My Custom T-shirt Click Save. Note: Don’t use the following symbols in your filenames because it takes longer for the game to figure out what they are: &, *, [ and ]. I mean honestly do we really need more lag time in the game?

The next screen that opens will be the S4S Studio screen. There’s tons here lol but for now we’ll just focus on the task at hand. So locate the tabs labeled Texture, Meshes and Categories and make sure you’re in the texture tab.

There is our lovely, bald Sim just waiting to try on his cool new custom t-shirt. Practice rolling the mouse wheel and holding the right mouse down to tilt and rotate the 3D model. This will give you the flexibility you will need in the future to see your creations from all angles. PNG Files All digital images have file extensions such as jpeg, psd, tiff, gif, png etc that lend themselves to different, specific functions. The Sims 4 uses png files for textures so that is what we are interested in. We want S4S to rummage around in that tshirt package file, find the Sims 4 png file assigned to it and politely let us have it so we can recolor it. This is how we tell S4S to do just that: look to the right of our bald Sim and locate the panel labeled Texture. At the bottom of this panel you will see a button labeled Export. Click Export Why? Because we need an outside program to handle the custom recolor we want to create. We need a graphics editor such as Photoshop, Gimp, Paint.net etc. as you know we will be using Paint.net. Clicking Export tells S4S to hand over the png file so we can take it with us temporarily, or “export” it. Now that you’ve clicked Export there’s another pop-up prompt. This one is similar in nature to our first one. S4S is granting our request to have the t-shirt png files it just wants to know where to drop them off. Instruct it to use this directory path: Desktop\S4S Projects

Now you will give the png file a name. This name is not very important and we’ll name it red.png. If for some reason I’m working on multiple projects I will name my files 111, 222, 333 etc so I don’t get confused. I get confused realllly easily you guys. Any hoo name your file and click Save. Minimize S4S and let’s play with some color!!! Open Paint.net and navigate to File\Open\Desktop\S4S Projects\red.png Double-click the red.png file you just created. Two things will happen. One, the t-shirt texture file will open in Paint.net and two, you will say that’s not a t-shirt holy cow what went wrong??! One, yay! Two, it is a t-shirt it’s just in 2D render. Everything is okay. You’re okay. We got this! Now I’m not going to lie, sometimes it is super complicated to make sense of some thing that we are used to seeing in 3-D laid out like it was just dropped from a plane. But over time it becomes second nature and some items are super easy to deal with when we work on recolors. Marching Ants In Paint.net selected areas, or areas ready to receive effects/actions are outlined by animated dashes. For as long as I can remember people have referred to these in Paint as marching ants and now I can’t unsee it so...yeah. You will eventually be glad they are animated because it’s a strong visual cue to let you know what items you are about to alter. To stop or turn off this effect simply hit the Esc (Escape) key in the upper left corner of your keyboard. You can go ahead and turn off the ants now. So. What we want to do is highlight the areas of our flattened shirt that we want to change. In this case we actually want to change the entire shirt so we have to use

the proper tool to select the area. There is a small tools icon bar on the left side of the screen and you will eventually use it constantly but since this is your first time let’s use the actual tool menu. In the top menu bar select Tools>Magic Wand.

“Two, it is a t-shirt it’s just in 2D render. Everything is okay. You’re okay. We got this!”

The magic wand is a very powerful selection tool that lets you fine-tune how little or how much of an object you want to work with. It can pick up subtle shades of difference in color and toned so we have to have a way to tell it to increase or decrease its sensitivity. This sensitivity is called tolerance. If you look at the options bar at the top of the screen you will see the Tolerance panel. It uses percentages and they can be raised or lowered with a few easy clicks. We want the tolerance level for this shirt to be around 50% or so so that’s what we will set it to now. That means it will grab all of the color in the shirt. Once you have said this number to 50% now go down and click inside the first box. Here come the marching ants lol. Go ahead and hit Esc to turn off the ants. Adding Color This is actually the easiest part because Paint has a built in color palette as well as lots of options for custom color inputs. We are going to use a custom color for our shirt, a lovely cheerful red that I’m really into at the moment. The hex code assigned to this color is: 9a0200. Locate the Colors panel in the lower left part of your Paint.net screen. Click the More tab.

In the Hex field enter: 9a0200 Now. Take your magic wand and click inside the t-shirt texture box again. Make sure you click on the shirt and not the checkerboard background. Hit the backspace key. Oooh! Nice right? One awesome thing about this program is you can use the magic wand to select multiple areas by holding down the Ctrl (Control) key and then selecting your desired areas. Select all areas of the t-shirt. Once the ants are marching around them all release the control key and hit the backspace key. All the areas have now been recolored! Now select File>Save to save your work. A pop-up box will appear but nothing in it is relevant to this project so hit OK and minimize Paint. Bring up (maximize) the S4S window. The plain old black shirt is still there looking bored but we know we have some cherry red goodness to explore so let’s tell the program that we want to import our cool new graphics. Just below the Export button we used earlier you will see a button labeled Import. Click Import. Why? S4S is ready to take our new, red.png t-shirt file and add it to our package but it needs to know where to go find it. Direct it to: Desktop\S4S Projects\red.png and double-click red.png. Note: After the first project S4S will remember where you save things. So now S4S is off and running. It is opening the package file, tossing the png file for the black t-shirt in the trash, replacing it with our new red.png file and telling the 3D model to try it on so we can see how it looks.

Use the mouse on the model to turn, rotate etc to see the shirt from all views. This is where you will see if you made any mistakes such as accidentally adding color outside of the t-shirt mesh in Paint. This will result in red color ending up on your Sims skin or hair in CAS. Not cool. If something doesn’t suit your fancy or you want to make changes simply minimize S4S and go back into Paint. Make your changes, SAVE them and go back into S4S and click Import to see those changes. You can do this as many times as you need to. When you feel that everything is perfect and you are ready to retrieve your package simply click Save at the bottom right. S4S will now finalize your My T-shirt package file with new red png file safely tucked away inside. You will see a pop-up notification telling you that your package has been successfully saved. Click OK. Now you can safely close S4S and Paint. Navigate to your new package folder: Desktop\S4S Projects\My Custom Tshirt.package Grab your new package file and head over to your Mods folder. Open the folder we created last month:

Follow me on Twitter @maddy_catts A huge thank you to all Our Front-line workers, not

over to your Mods folder. Open the folder Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\Mods\Test CC Paste your new package file there. Run your game, head to CAS and try your new t-shirt out on your Sim. It looks amazing right? Of course it does and YOU did it!! Making your own content for a game you love playing is the best feeling in the world and the best part is there is so much more to explore. Next we will cover how to add our own graphics and images to a clothing item. Yes! We are totally going to make a custom logo hoodie! So I will see all of you guys back here next month for another installment of the Absolutely Beginner series here at SimmedUp Magazine! In the meantime practice making some gorgeous clothing items in every color of the rainbow and I would absolutely love to see what you come up with so feel free to share and show off by tagging us #SupCCHowTo.

only has your dedication saved many lives, it has meant a comfort to those in a time of need

This month we bring you LaarStudio on Instagram for our Titan Architects. Maria joined our team this year and has amazing talent not only in website design but also her Sims builds and her community spirit is off the charts. With May’s magazine being dedicated to our brave health workers out there Maria brings us a space that will take you away from all the stresses and strains and let you and your Sims sit back and relax in this awesome and relaxing meditation and massage therapy space. Hi Maria, it is so great to chat with you today about your builds and of course yourself. Even though you are part of our team sometimes I don’t think we get enough time to just sit back, relax and have a good old chin wag, so I thought why not take that time right now and we can share a few insights with our readers at the same time. Can you tell everyone where you are from? When you first started playing Sims and can you remember what your first build was? Hi Sami, it is a pleasure being featured this month in the magazine, thank you for the opportunity to have a taste of what it's like to be on the other side. I am from Ukraine, I was born in Hungary but family returned to Ukraine when I was 1, so I don't remember much of Hungary. Most of my life I would travel between the UK and Ukraine (and other countries in between) so I have stayed in the UK for some years now. I started playing Sims in the Sims 2 era, not long after that Sims 3 came out so I am predominantly Sims 3/4 girl. I don't

remember exactly what my first build was but it must have been just a box with a door in the Sims 2, because funnily enough back then I was so fascinated with gameplay that I didn't pay much attention to building, until recently. So does that mean you speak more than one language? I know you are multitalented with an MSC in “Computational and Data Journalism" and its UI/UX Design or Web Design, and Web Development, but your also a bit of a graphic designer as well as writing for our magazine, how did you get started in website management? It does indeed! I was lucky to be brought up with two languages - Ukrainian and Russian, since I've been to around 12 schools in the UK I have picked up English along the way. I also love the sound of French so I took that up during university. My transition from Data Analysis to Web Design and Development was definitely not planned, I wanted to carry on Data

Analysis in my masters after my bachelors and Computational and Data Journalism sounded very cool haha little did I know I will need to design and build my own website pages to publish my investigative journalism articles on... I just fell in love, I enjoy it so much that I started freelancing in UI/UX to build up my experience alongside my other job, this is where I started to get a bit of a taste for graphic design too as a lot of my clients needed some tweaks to graphics or just enhancing images to add to their sites, which is where I am today. These skills made me somewhat useful to SimmedUp also, so I enjoy what I do more, every day. You said that Sims 2 was when you first started playing the Sims, what would you say that EA has improved on the most since you first started playing, and what would you say EA should have included but did not in Sims 4. I would say the biggest improvement of EA is definitely the graphics, the build mode looks almost real with just a little

Filter so that is definitely much more enjoyable. I miss the pattern and colour choices the Sims 3 had where the same pattern can be applied to anything and everything, imagine an all tiger pattern living room. If that was in the Sims 4, the designs would be out of this world! There has been a lot of controversy around the Sims with Skin Tone updates, as well as requests for things like Disabilities added into Sims Play and More Gender choices which has the community split. EA did bring us the new skin tone update enabling simmers to portray their true simselves do you think disabilities and gender choices should be added to the Sims? What did you think about the skin tone update and if you could chose to create a pack for the Sims what would it be and why? I believe every person in the world deserves to be represented especially in a game which tries to mimic the world. I would say I don't have much place to say anything about these things because I have not come from a disadvantaged background or an

underrepresented community, so I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for them. In general, I do believe the Sims just need more of everything. More varied Sims, disabilities, more hair colours and hair types... From a UX Design perspective they have failed in one very important aspect and that is allowing the user to customise their game as they wish. They do not need to choose what to add and what not to add, or even try and think from another groups perspective - just allow people to customise the skin, the hair, anything, the way they want. A colour wheel would solve a lot of their problems in this regard, in my opinion. They did it before, how can they say they can't? In the digital world there is no such thing as "can't" but there is a "won't". And that is something the Sims community should stand up against. If I had the option to create anything for the Sims it would not be a pack, I think EA is extremely good at just throwing out packs at Simmers to patch up discontent. I would work on efficiency of the game, fixing all the bugs, adding features to the game that allows players more freedom of customisation. Yes they need to invest quite a bit and it will not bring them millions but in the long run everyone would want to play, which is when, their effort in making new packs would pay off hundreds of times more than now. I do agree that EA need to work on the ‘bugs’ of the game, I hadn’t really experienced them until this year! So where I was more ‘give me game packs’ now I am in the ‘fix the game’ corner. Talking about customisation in game, we are always thankful for our MOD and CC creators who do indeed fill the gap that EA has missed. Do you use Mods in your gameplay? If so which ones and why? What CC do you use if any and who would you recommend as your 'go to' CC Creator at the moment? I don't use much of gameplay mods, I just think they are a little tricky to handle and I am used to the way my game looks so anything that may alter some way I expect

“ I think EA is extremely good at just throwing out packs at Simmers to patch up discontent”

“For those experiencing negativity towards them, all I can say is don't dwell on it, the problem is not with your work or your mind-set but with the other persons behaviour”

something to work just annoys me hehe I did however download the "slice of life" mod by KawaiiStacie and it adds quite a lot to the game without changing much of the original aspects. Of course the Tool Mod and Red Shelf are a staple at this time I even forget they are mods sometimes! My go to CC creators would be the Peacemaker and Ravasheen, I predominantly download Build&Buy CC as I just love decorating homes and I also want my game to look like Sims, so maxis match with just more detail and flair is what those creators are very good at! There is a lot of mental health discussion amongst the Sims community at the moment, knowing that others out there are going through the same thing as us and especially in a time such as a world-wide pandemic a lot of people’s mental health has suffered. How have you kept yourself upbeat throughout and do you have any wise words or inspiration you can share with our readers who may be having a hard time or even just need a little boost? Yes this has definitely become a growing issue recently, I have seen a lot of content creators taking a break from their content and leaving social media for a while and I always asked myself why now, since the job itself has not really changed so why do Simmers feel so much pressure now? And I have noticed why when I created a twitter account and I saw how many demands and opinions some people in the community are aggressively putting out there, while insulting people who have a contradictory point of view to them. I don't see it as much on Instagram

as I do on twitter and for me I just decided to not engage in conversations... Yes it is a sad solution that to avoid negativity and stress I have to not participate but that is what I had to do since even for a harmless comment or idea people get so much hate. Also I had kept myself very busy juggling 3 jobs so I did not really have much time to dwell on negative comments etc. but I can imagine what it's like for the Simmers who have this as a full time job and to constantly see insults and hate towards their ideas or work even if they try very hard. So my advice to everyone is, I understand you may be bored and the Sims is the only thing to do, but pressurising content creators and becoming increasingly demanding and aggressive is not going to do anyone any good, or speed up the process of you getting your wanted CC item or whatever else. For those experiencing negativity towards them, all I can say is don't dwell on it, the problem is not with your work or your mind-set but with the other persons behaviour so my advice would be to ignore or if you just can't then respond in the nicest way possible sometimes people realise they are just embarrassing themselves. So if you could choose only one social media outlet to use for the rest of your Sims creating life, would you choose Instagram? What is the community and response to your creations on Instagram like? Yes I would choose Instagram, it is more focused on showcasing creations and less on debating which in general creates a different atmosphere I believe. The community on Instagram is lovely, of course there are some instances but they don't last long and are quickly forgotten. I personally haven't experienced any negativity towards my work but I did witness others, yet the community is very supportive if only the algorithm worked in favour of organic

growth it would be perfect. So tell us what are the next steps for yourself and your Sims, I know you recently run a Shell challenge, do you have any more coming up in the future? And can you tell our readers how they can find you. I am a little occupied right now with many jobs at the same time until I actually find a job in UI UX, a lot of interviews a lot of rejections a lot of tests at the moment so I don't have a schedule and I never had a schedule I post where and when I feel creativity or have some cool idea for a build or challenge which is my advice to everyone too, to not try and force posts just to post everyday it really is not very good for mental health and your creative flow.

Very last question and I thought why not add a little fun to the interview. Aliens have invaded the planet, they heard about the Sims and decided they want to turn all humans into a real life simulation game where they control us. You have to decide which townie you are going to be and you get one Mod and One piece of CC to use. Tell us who and what you would choose and why. Ohhh dear that is very scary to be controlled for the rest of my life haha I would like to be Nancy Landgraab I think, not many problems in her life, income is sorted, great family and loving husband, life in a sunny world... Seems good to me hehe I would like the Tool mod for sure so I can decorate my house, in which I will be stuck forever, anyway I want! And as CC I'd choose to have eyelashes!! Because... well, to look slightly human...

This month we feature Amelettes, not only a fantastic artist but a community member we are proud to be able to showcase and introduce to our readers.

yeah sure I'm not making videos, but I'm able to tell a story with my lovely little pixel dolls to the world and I just think that's awesome (:

Izzy: Hi Amelette, thank you for agreeing to do this interview, can you take a moment to introduce yourself to everyone.

Izzy: When did you editing/your simblr?

Amelie: Hi there, first off I'm already going to excuse myself because I'm utterly horrendous when it comes to having to speak about myself. Now that that's out of the way, I'm Amélie (Amelettes on tumblr). I'm 27 and stem from Germany. I have loved the Sims from an early age, it has always helped me to express my imagination and with being an only child for a long time it helped with boredom too. Recently though it has revealed itself as a new outlet for a passion I've always had and that's photography. I've been playing since I was 10 but it wasn't until last year that I started taking in-game shots and working with the cinematic mode, but boy do I love it now! I remember sitting in my room when I was 13/14, surfing YouTube, and watching all the videos that simmers would make with the Sims 3. I would think to myself how much I wish I could do cool stuff and now looking back at all that I sort of feel like I have arrived there?

start

Amelie: I started my simblr in the summer of 2020!

Izzy: How did you get into editing? Amelie: I got into editing because I was inspired by the work coming out of the community and wanted to give my own shot at it, that's why I created a simblr too!

Izzy: What has been your favorite piece so far and why? Amelie: My favorite piece so far was the two-day event I held for my Throuple's union/wedding ceremony! I had so much fun putting everything together and especially the question game I did where I had everyone send things in for them. A lot of hard, hard work went into all of that. Honestly, as I was posting it, I was having mini panic attacks because they meant so much to me and I just wanted everyone to like them . Izzy: What inspiration?

your

main

Amelie: My main inspiration.. hmm.. life? Haha. I mean I primarily am a casual gameplay/story blog and so everything that I put into my story is things that either someone close to me or I myself have experienced in one way or another.I don't try to fancy things up in my story - I try to make everything as damn realistic as I can given my limitations within the Sims.

Izzy: Do you have a favorite sim? Either your own or that's already in game? Amelie: Yuli, who I chose for my edit, will forever be my favorite Sim. Before I made her and her brother Jun, I would just blaze through generations so quickly and get burnt out. But I have somehow managed to play only one

Amelie: I honestly just use reshade. Um... sometimes I crop stuff? Hahaha

Sim for almost 6 months and that's never happened before.

Izzy: What is your favorite Sims game? Amelie: SimCity! Closely followed by Sims Medieval!

Izzy: Do you use CC? And if so what's your favorite kind? Amelie: I use SOOO much CC, haaaa. But my favorite would definitely have to be hair, though.

Find Amelie on Tumblr Amelettes.tumblr.com

Hi I am Izzy, thanks for reading my first article for SimmedUp Magazine.

Covering Your Old School Favourites From The Sims Franchise. Generations have been inspired by the Sims Franchise since it was first released in the year 2000. Since then we have gone from the original version through 2/3 and now in 2021, we are currently playing the Sims 4. With May celebrating International Nurses Day, here we decided to celebrate by going back to Strangetown Sims 2 with Mel on PC and Sims 2 on the PSP with SarcasticBrit.

Medicine has only really developed into a more hands-on career in the latter Sims games; The Sims 3 Ambitions saw the branch of the medical career include activities that the player could participate in, whereas The Sims 4 Get to Work had a separate Doctor career path dedicated to performing emergency surgery, making house calls, delivering babies, and ultimately saving lives. Interestingly, The Sims 2 introduced rewards for reaching certain levels in careers such as the TraumaTime "Incision Precision" Surgical Training Station, which is unlocked at Level 4 of the Medicine Career.

I’ve always stuck with Pleasantview and later, Belladonna Cove. Stangetown and Veronaville were two neighbourhoods that never really appealed to ten-year-old me. However, only recently through the release of Strangerville and reading hopes and

Furthermore, the game introduced a town investigating alien abduction, a spacecraft accident, cross-species, and medical experimentation. For someone who claims to have so much experience in the retro area of The Sims franchise, I can honestly say that I never really delved deep into the mysteries of Stangetown in The Sims 2.

Strangetown in all its mysterious planetary glory

dreams that this Game Pack would in some way relate to Strangetown did I begin to really appreciate and explore the depth and lore behind the original neighbourhood, and particularly the mysteries surrounding the Beaker Family.

Contextually, Beakers are commonly used within laboratories to measure and/or hold liquids. The Beaker Family includes Circe and Loki Beaker, and their adopted son, Nervous Subject. They reside in 1 Tesla Court,

Spaceship Crash

As forementioned in my first article of SimmedUp! Magazine, reviewing The Sims Bustin’ Out, the developers do enjoy adding humour to the franchise, whether that be a play-on-word with Sim names, or place names – there is always something somewhere, and Strangetown is no exception. After all, it wouldn’t be a “strange town” if there weren't some elements of farcical dark humour implemented now, would it?

The Beaker Family

Ironically,

this

scientifically

eccentric

household are named the Beaker Family.

1 Tesla Court

*a Victorian, red-bricked factory combined with a slightly medieval take with a castle turret placed on the exterior. Perhaps this is to reflect the different styles of torture Circe inflicts on Nervous? Originally, I thought 1 Tesla Court was a reference to the car and clean energy company, Tesla. However, it is more likely that this refers to Nikolas Tesla, a SerbianAmerican inventor, electrical and mechanical engineer, commonly recognised for his work on alternatingcurrents (AC) using his invention, the Tesla Coil. This medieval– also includes a laboratory, *cough* torture chamber *cough* featuring numerous unlockable career rewards such as the SimSanto Inc. Biotech Station, the SensoTwitch Lie Finder, and TraumaTime "Incision Precision" Surgical Training Station.

Surely if Nervous wanted to reach out for assistance to his rescue he could do so easily? There is no door to the basement either, which is also strange as if Nervous was Circe‘s subject (pun intended), then shouldn’t he be kept in this basement like a rat in a cage? Unless of course, this is just a room for respite for when Circe is exhausted from her experimental work, but I’ll let you be the judge of that one. The Beaker Laboratory

According to her bio, “Circe knows 238 different ways to make someone scream, and none of them are nice,” hinting that some of these different ways were discovered torturing Nervous Subject with those different career rewards. Below is a basement, presumably Nervous Subject’s bedroom, with one bogstandard bed, plants, bookshelf, and lights. However, the alarm clock is positioned on an end-table further away from the bed. Perhaps this is to force Nervous to physically get out of bed and Nervous Subject

Nervous’ Room?

But this could have also been used as a cruel game curated by Loki and Circe. Bizarrely, his room also includes a computer

The dark irony of this character is laced throughout his life, starting with his adoptive name, Nervous Subject. Obviously, this is a pun made by the developers, but to be adopted by two mad scientists and to be subjected (pun not intended) to constant experimentation growing up would make anyone nervous. Mysteriously, we will never know what Nervous Subject’s birth name was, or when this changed, presumably when he was adopted. However, as we search deeper into his character, we find that Nervous Subject is in fact

13 is an unlucky number, and combined with the pun, “Dead End Lane” further adds to the theory that Nervous could be the Grim Reaper’s child, and live an unfortunate, unlucky life.

A different Nervous?

the son of Olive Spectre. Therefore, this makes him the cousin of Ophelia Nigmos who, at the beginning of the game, doesn’t know of his existence. However, Olive has a memory of giving birth to a different Nervous Subject, as their portraits do not match in-game. This suggests to me that his features were either severely disfigured by Loki and Circe through experimentation prerelease, or similarly to Bella Goth, the real Nervous Subject is “missing” and replaced with a slightly altered clone instead. It is suggested that his personality is also modified as his, “hobbies include twitching and blinking a lot.” According to his family tree, Nervous Subject has no father. However, as onomastics (the study of history behind and the use of place names, given names, and surnames) is a pretty big thing in the game, it would be no surprise to me if Nervous Subject was related to the Grim Reaper as “Spectre” is a synonym for Ghost, Apparition or Spirit, and Olive resides in a mass graveyard known as 13 Dead End Lane. Most of us know that

Through his appearance, it is obvious that Nervous has not inherited any of his mother’s features and upon further investigation through SimPE, he appears to be a clone of the Grim Reaper. As 13 Dead End Lane is full of tombstones, the Grim Reaper visited quite a few times, thus forming a relationship with Olive Spectre, so this theory is not unusual. In addition, Nervous doesn’t have a father on his family tree, and Olive has memories of only woohooing with the Grim Reaper, making him the likely father of Nervous Subject. What is strange, is that Olive was an elder when she gave birth to Nervous, and this cannot be done under normal gameplay. Ultimately, Nervous Subject’s backstory remains a mystery, allowing us to form our own opinions and judgements on just what happened to him earlier in life. I do enjoy analysing different Sims and their backstories in The Sims 2 as so much thought and effort has clearly gone into them. The authenticity and originality of these backstories must be praised highly. I just wish the current Sims team would put this amount of effort into the backstories of Sims in The Sims 4. If you would like me to explore another family in The Sims 2, please let me know! Until next time, Happy Simming! Melissa

13 Dead End Lane

Grimmy

SARCASTIC BRIT a huge welcome to Sarcastic Brit who has joined our team. We look forward to more Snippets from the Sims2 on PSP as they take you on a trip down memory lane. The Sims has been a long standing title within the gaming community now since its conception in the year 2000, and has since then grown through numerous titles, expansions, concepts and directions. For those of you who have recently joined the family of Simmers you may not remember the strange and now retro games of The Sims past. When it comes to abnormality within the series, few stand out to me as much as some of the console and handheld-console games. In 2004 I would learn this the hard way with the addition of the PlayStation portable version of The Sims 2, a game unlike what we see now with later additions like The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 that are more about the creation and simulation of virtual lives and a virtual neighborhood. How might one ask? The Sims 2 on PlayStation Portable was focused upon a single character that you as the player would control in third-person, rather opposed to the usual gameplay of being able to control multiple Sims within a household from a free camera.

This style of gameplay and storytelling is not the only unique game within The Sims series, and can be found within; The Urbz, The Sims Bustin Out, The Sims 2 on DS, and The Sims 2 Castaway. The latter being a personal favorite. But the focus of this article will be upon the introduction of the world, gameplay and storytelling ability of The Sims 2 on the PlayStation Portable through briefly looking at the games manual, so without further introduction let’s head right in and begin the adventure together. As some will remember, there was a time when people read the manuals that came with the case and game, it had been a while since I have personally played something without a digital download so checking out the manual was a

must for that true nostalgic feeling, not only was it informative, but it also held that novelty of the past. Sprawled upon the very last page are a couple of phone numbers that someone may call for “Hints and Cheats” the number for the “Official EA hintline!” even came

with

Alternatively

its

own

someone

serial

code.

could

online using another code on the back for the following benefits: Exclusive access to a free hint or cheat for your game, News on your favorite EA games, and finally Full

Only one more entry about saving and loading follows before you’re met with what I remembered to be one of the biggest parts of this game. Uncovering the secrets of Strangetown, that is of course where this game is based, but the system of gathering secrets around the world of The Sims and the inhabitants of Strangetown does not come without its difficulties. Gathering secrets can be done through world exploration and collectibles found in hidden areas, or through socializing with other Sims.

technical support.

Personality,

Aspirations,

Mood,

and

Character Creation within

The

Sims

2(PSP)

seems

read just as you’d imagine they were going to play, one warning

that

contained

insight into just the kind

game

you’re in for came as; Exercise caution around

ravenous

robots, come up for

air

the

s e n s o r y deprivation and keep

sure

your

hunger sated.

tank to Sims

Socializing with another Sim on different levels can reveal to you some of their deepest secrets, by becoming a friend with someone they may feel comfortable enough to disclose a secret about themselves, alternatively you can intimidate other Sims into telling you one of their secrets. But, what are these secrets for? Keeping secrets for Sims can be a valuable way to show trust and build a relationship, and apparently to the manual there are rewards for the collection of a full set of secrets. What if you don’t want to keep a secret though? In this version of The Sims 2 one way to make those Simoleons you’ll need, you can sell all or some of the secrets that you find to certain Sims who have different interests. Selling secrets comes with a warning of course, that once a secret has been sold, it’s out and it’s everywhere, so don’t bother trying to sell it to someone else.

Now, one of the things I do remember from around this era of The Sims, was some of the more let’s just say interesting mechanics for a life simulator, mini-games. Not only are your ways of making money listed in the manual limited to selling items and secrets, but also by playing mini-games. Social interaction is also a mini-game if you want to do one of the three following; Chat, Flirt, Intimidate. The mini-game for your social interactions in the game consist of the Sim you are interacting with displaying a symbol when they speak, and then you press the button on your handheld that matches one of three pictures on display for you to select. There is both a timer for this interaction, and only a set amount of turns for you to fill a progress bar to advance your relationship in the desired direction. I’ve never personally been opposed to games that involve button mashing, The Urbz being another game that did something similar with their gameplay was another personal favorite. However, in a portable game on a handheld console, the game sometimes stutters loading the next turn which causes you to miss that all important sweet spot for maximum social gain, which can be frustrating enough to get myself sent to Strangetown for a ‘holiday’. Before I put the manual down there was one last attraction to read, one that I had no recollection of as a feature because it was one I simply never used. That being the multiplayer that this game had to offer, limited to two ways of conducting interactivity between players. The first is the ability to trade and swap perks, secrets or rare items between players. Though the second is something named Cloning, with the

brief introduction of this function being the following; “Has someone else’s Sim caught your eye? You can import that sim and replace one of your dateable NPC’s.” “Your friend’s Sim is now in your game, with exactly their looks, personality and clothing.” With such a feature I can only begin to imagine both the good and the heinous ability that EA had given to their players. Join me next time for when we truly begin to delve back into this classic, exploring the secrets of Strangetown and the joy of a retro game from the past, minigames, story, gameplay and even some of the more comical writing I have experienced from The Sims. Until then, keep on Simming.

I WILL NOT POST ON A SCHEDULE I WILL NO LONGER APOLOGIZE FOR TIME OFF MY REACH, LIKES AND FOLLOWERS DO NOT DEFINE MY WORK I WILL CREATE AND SHARE ON WITH THANKS TO JANAILLUSTRATIONS ON INSTAGRAM FOR SHARING THIS QUOTE WITH US

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ent Could Be Here mmedUp Magazine

R D P T R A

Interview By Maria - LaarStud

udio

Hi Ardi, thank you again for agreeing to this interview and allowing us, our readers and your fans to get to know you a little more as a person behind the simstagram, that is @rd.ptra. It is a pleasure having you with us today! You are known in the Sims community as a creator, who takes the Sims game and does something with it – that just blows everyone’s mind. We are extremely eager to find out what goes on in that mind of yours that turns the game upside down and thinks outside of the box. Your pop-up build change which we had pleasure featuring in our past issue and your portal challenge are just some of the awesome examples of your creativity. Your more realistic creations also give another meaning to the game for many people, for example the Opticians Shop or the All-day Buffet restaurant. So, without keeping everyone waiting any longer, let us know a little about yourself. What do you do when you are not playing the sims? What inspires you on a daily basis? Hello, my name is Ardi and I’m from Indonesia. I’m a freelance illustrator and voice dubber. What inspires me? Movies, TV shows, music videos and memes. Back when I was younger I didn’t really go out a lot because of my disability, so, I have a significant knowledge about pop cultures, and that’s what inspires me most of the times.

In this May issue we are highlighting the front-line workers that risk their lives every day to keep us safe, therefore, I’d like to ask you what inspired you to create the Opticians Shop? I can only imagine how much attention to detail and work went into that piece. Before I answer this question, I’d like to thank the cc maker for this build: Simscredible! And Righthearted without their glasses CC, I wouldn’t be able to make this build.

Haha! It’s actually a simple story, I recently broke my prescription glasses and I just got a new pair from the optic. And if you are a glasses user, you know how exciting it is to go to optic stores and get new glasses.

How have you coped during the pandemic? Did you fully throw yourself into the Sims or are there any other hobbies you are focusing on? Yeah! That’s exactly it! I’m fully throwing myself in the Sims, I’m on the bottom of Sims sea! And I’m 100% happy about it! I didn’t do much for the past eight months other than playing the Sims and eating snacks. I bloated like hot balloon, I can’t even see my neck anymore, so I’m starting to exercise nowadays, ooh and I started to play other game too. Why did you decide to create a simstagram account for your work? What are some of the big goals you would love to achieve using the skills you have? I have a commitments issues and I want to fix this. So, I challenge myself to build a whole new build for a year.

I used to send the builds to my friends, and they encouraged me to open a Sims account just so that I can document my progress, I did and now I’m few weeks away from that one year challenge.

Can you tell us a little how you came about to play the Sims and what you love about the game most? What was the first Sims game that you played, which is the favorite? My dad is an architect, so I grew up with blue prints, and house mock-ups. So since a young age, I’m really fascinated with house building and at the same time, I’m not a skillful gamer due to my only one good arm, so I was looking for a game that doesn’t require me to play the game with two hands. And then my friend introduced me to the first Sims game, the Sims Hot Date to be exact! And I fell in love with the ability to build our own house feature. My favorite Game from the series would be the Sims 2 open for business. It’s just so much fun.

Do you have any Sims creators that have inspired you so far and from which you have learned when you started? Do you have any advice for the sims creators who are just starting out? I used to watch James Turner’s videos back in 2016-2017. And I was fascinated by his builds! Especially his tiny house builds. And then, my education distracted me from playing game until last year. My advice would be, don’t be lazy to scroll through debug objects. There are many random things you can find there.

The Optic Shop - C

Created by RD.PTRA

If you were hired by EA tomorrow and assigned as the lead designer and developer

completely

new

expansion pack for the game what would you create? A pack where disabled sims exist. And any music or concert pack. I did a simschella stage last year, and it’ll be amazing to see if the Sims can actually hold a concert and the crowds.

If you could change one thing about the Sims 4 game, what would it be? The ceilings. Why are they so plain? It looks so plain; it makes my mineral water looks more tasteful. And round walls, more world to play in, And Vlad.. can he just go somewhere?

Ardi is known to be a very positive person, from our perspective, how do you keep the mojo up? Do you encounter negativity online and if so how does that impact your work? Thank you! Ah, I just received a mean comment this week (I only received some DM’s that compared me with other builders before), it was amazing to receive my very first mean comment! I mean, there’s no way we can satisfy everyone, everyone entitled to their opinion, and we should be respectful even to mean comments. I think some negativity can help me to be an even better builder. I mean, just be grateful.

Do you have any other social media accounts except Instagram? I do actually! I just turned my personal twitter account to Sims account, I’m so sorry for selfpromoting, but it’s @rdptra1 and Patreon for anyone who wants to support my works. I’ll start to upload speed build videos after my one-year build challenge end too.

Is there anything else you would like to tell your fans? Any big dark secrets? A lot of my builds are not functional. I’m so sorry. Ooh and I’d like to thank to everyone who has been supporting me in my journey, and all

friends

(SimpleTierra,

that

Simmnice,

befriended Arialsims,

Coki.Creative, Booledsim, Plumbobkingdom, howtoliiv, Jenbuilding24,

thesimsweekendbuilder, Palakoslip,

Plummysims,

Yasmin.gmt.sims, Simslinea, and many more) within this community, and thanks to Maria and everyone from SimmedUp for the opportunity to tell my story.

What do you think of the new update, its features, bunk beds? Did it meet your expectations, if not what would you have liked to see? Well.. I personally am not a bunk bed believer, so I don’t have any expectations at all, but I’m glad that it’s here! The platform update is the best one in years! I wish it would be more flexible though

Find Ardi on Twitter/Instagram & Patreon @RDPTRA

ELDER

"I've been playing the Si

them in SimCity. Started pla

later. I love to create both b

love to share

YouTube Instagram: Twitter: e

JYMM

ims since '89 when I first saw

aying The Sims a few years

builds and characters. AND I

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e: Jymm elderjymm elderjymm

Jesi D. Admin Sims4 Challenges. FB Group This one is an emotional subject for me, because my sister is a doctor who had just started her residency program when the pandemic started. She has been working in one of the hardest hit areas to fight Covid 19, for well over a year now. Recently, she and I were talking about the vaccine and what that might mean for people. She explained that because of it, she has been able to hold dying patients hands, where their own families have not been able to be in the room with them. I don't intend to start any discussions about the vaccine or supply issues, because I know there are problems world wide with it, but just more to explain why I created what I did. In typical Sims fashion, my Sims did not want to do what I wanted them to do, so I did the best I could there. I have made my sister as a doctor, a patient and his family. The photos here are her in CAS mode (my sister) and the patient's family in the waiting room, and the patient and doctor talking on his bed.

I am so Proud of you Emily Every single day x Jesi x

Never Give Up!

You CAN d o

this

BUILD A BETTER LIFE Creator Burnout and The Importance of Getting Help: With Special Guest Viking Sims Here at SimmedUp, we decided it was important to dedicate this edition to all of the wonderful front-line healthcare workers. As we stretch into the second year of a global pandemic, the importance of these unsung heroes becomes more apparent. In this issue, I would like to call special attention to mental health professionals. One of the things I’ve found important for my mental health is to find that small group of people with whom I can confide. These are people with whom I share a common interest and can have fun with. This is the inner circle of support. These are the people I can reach out to and say, “I feel like hot garbage with my mental health today,” and they will sit with me while I work through it. No judgment, just presence. One of those people for me is Viking Sims. She and I laugh a lot, joke a lot, and also talk a lot about mental health. We took some time on a recent Zoom call to talk about burnout and our experiences in reaching out for help. Here are some excerpts:

The Mom Cave: Thank you for coming and being willing to be interviewed. May is the month we will be celebrating healthcare professionals. I wanted to talk today about you and how The Sims has been an outlet for your own mental health journey and healing, and how being a creator has created some challenges. I was hoping that we also would be able to talk about how therapy has contributed to your healing. One of the things I hear a lot from clients is the stigma around seeking professional help when we’re struggling. But, before I get started I have to ask, how long have you been playing The Sims? Viking Sims: I started playing The Sims when I was about eight or nine. I have a friend who I played the Sims with for hours and hours. I have been playing it for a good chunk of my life. I’m having a good time and I can’t believe this is my life.

The Mom Cave: That’s how it goes once you start making content, especially machinima. You’ve

talked

your

other

podcasts about how you started your channel. What I would like to know a little bit more about is, how has having your channel contributed to being an outlet for your mental health? Viking Sims: It’s one of those things that feels weird to talk about in a sense because not a lot of people talk about it. In the beginning, I didn’t know that it would be significant enough where people would come back, even if it’s just a few. My mental health has

been

affected

times

because I do get that impostor syndrome where I feel like people shouldn’t be liking my content. But then you come back and tell me that you do. I’ve fallen into these various “pits” where I start to get into a deep depression, thinking that, “My channel isn't growing. Nobody is watching my content. What’s the point?” This caused a battle in my brain where I would say, “Well, if no one is enjoying it, I’ll just do it for myself.” It was a back-and-forth struggle. Then I connect with people like Lilith and Faith, and we’re crying together and thinking, “We’re all depressed here.”

The Mom Cave: Or, maybe you’re feeling validated for the first time because you’ve found someone who feels the same way, is experiencing similar emotions and you can now be real and release what you’ve held back for so long. I think what’s important for the community to understand is that we can build these deep connections. These connections are built by being real with each other about how we’re feeling. These relationships are built by being involved in each others lives like you and I have done. At the same time that we are joking and being wild with content, like The Quarantine Games, we also are talking with each other offline about the really hard things. We are building trust through sharing real-life experiences.

What can happen when we open up our true selves for the first time is it can feel very emotional. Because, for many of us, we may have been pushing that down for fear or because of shame. When we take on this internet presence, even if for a few people, we can feel like we have to be a certain persona all the time. But, when we realize we can be real, a lot of emotion can be felt and released. Viking Sims: With that impostor syndrome, and getting support, it can feel way bigger when you start building your community and your viewers. It’s almost like going through grief because you can get to this point where you lose yourself. You can start to feel like you don’t know who you are anymore. You start to question, “Am I Geena or am I Viking Sims?” Am I the fun, happy, into talking about mental health Viking Sims? Or, am I Geena who is just there and on the back burner. The Geena who feels like she is looking from the outside in. It’s almost like I don’t know how to get back to her. It’s sometimes like I don’t know which of those are truly me. With Viking Sims blooming and becoming this whole person, it kind of leaves Geena feeling out here just on my own in the dark. I don’t know how to grab my own hand, and pull myself up and figure myself out.

The Mom Cave: If you were to sit thoughtfully about disconnect between Viking Sims and Geena, what would you say is the biggest barrier to embracing the “Viking Sims,” or that authentic self? Viking Sims: The first thing that comes to mind is mostly fear. With Viking Sims, it’s almost in the sense where this character is almost fearless. She’s more lighthearted and fun, and spunky. But then there’s Geena, walking through a store. There is no Viking Sims there. There’s just Geena, who is quieter, learning new things about herself and learning and growing as her own being. It’s like she’s trying to be like Viking Sims. But, when she looks at Viking Sims, she gets that little bit of fear, because she’s not known to be that spunky outgoing person.

The Mom Cave: Let’s talk about therapy. What has your therapy journey been like, and why has it been important? Viking Sims: I have been in therapy since I was 13. For me, my therapy journey has been about learning about emotions, how to process them, and to figure them out. I started to feel better, and that I was “just fine.”

But then, this pandemic hit and I realized that I was starting to have a full-blown panic attack. It was at that time that I reconnected with my therapist and said, “I need help.” When I got into my first session this second time, it was a lot.

The Mom Cave: Thank you for sharing that Geena, and normalizing that even when we have gone through therapy, it doesn’t mean we won’t need or benefit from therapy again. It’s not a process where you get healed and are healed forever. Life doesn’t always work that way. This is especially true when we have an experience early in life, we grow and develop more and then have a new loss or experience that re-opens the parts of that “wound” that had not healed yet.

I am so incredibly thankful and appreciative that a group of people has taken the initiative to sit down and listen to others. Without them, without my own therapist, without you, people would not be getting the help they need and the help they deserve.

Thank you Viking Sims for taking the time to talk about your journey. You can listen to the full Skeleton Podcast on her YouTube channel [VikingSims] on May 5, 2021.

I want to extend my heartfelt thank you to all of my fellow healthcare workers, and especially those in mental health. You’re doing special work as you hold space for the I’d like to close with a final question. hurting. If you were standing in a room full of Be Well mental health professionals, anyone in the healthcare field specifically TO FIND OUT MORE focused on mental health, and you VISIT MOM CAVE ON: were able to tell them one thing as TWITTER far as your gratitude towards them, YOUTUBE what would you say? TWITCH Viking Sims: I would say that I commend them for their work and all that they do. It is one of the toughest jobs because some are managing their own mental health experiences while listening to others day in and day out.

AND INSTAGRAM YOU CAN ALSO FIND THE MOM CAVE ON OUR WEBSITE WWW.SIMMEDUP.CO.UK

ASK

Ask The Mom Cave: TW/Sensitive Content - Grooming, Sexual Harassment, Bullying, Sex

Q: Hi Mom Cave I am a little worried but excited at the same time, that I might finally get an answer to my problem. I have a crush, it is getting really serious and they responded back to me many times. Do you think online love can work? I am so tired of being alone and you can never tell who is real anymore. What if I jump in and they are not who they say they are? Am I overthinking it?

THE MOM CAVE

that remains online poses significant challenges. Most important in any relationship is to assess how you feel in the relationship. How authentic can you be with your partner? How authentic are they with you? How much mutual intimacy is felt between the two of you? How free and safe do you feel communicating with each other about difficult topics? How satisfied are you being in a digital relationship? I would encourage you to talk these questions through with a trusted friend or counselor. I wish you all of the love you deserve.

Thank you A: These are all excellent questions. The first thing that comes to mind is safety. So, before addressing the other questions, it is important to remember that it takes time to really get to know someone. This can create several challenges when we talk about relationships that start online. A few things you can do to keep yourself safe are: •

•

Never give out your personal information, address or phone number. Use Discord or another voice app. Meet via video first before meeting in person. And even after you’ve done this, it’s best if you take safety precautions before meeting them. For example, letting someone know the location you’re going and when. Even better, take them with you. You can find some other great safety tips on sites like https://www.safety.com/10-onlinedating-safety-tips/

That being said, my short answer is that I truly believe relationships can work if we take time to make them work. I would imagine a relationship

Q: I am worried about what to do. There is a [person] in the community that has been messaging me sexual messages. I asked them to stop and they said if I tell anyone they would cancel me. Do you think they could cancel me? Nobody believes me even though I have proof, they just get their friends to DM me and post comments on my timeline. A: I want to thank you for having the courage to reach out. I can only imagine how terrifying this must be for you. Most important is for you to know that this is not appropriate behavior on their end. It is especially important to understand that, if you are under the age of 18, this is not only inappropriate it is also a crime. If this is true for you, it would be important for you to talk to a trusted adult right away and tell them what has been happening. No one is allowed to make sexual advances towards you without your consent, whether it be in person or online. In fact, even as an

adult, this can be considered a stalking crime in some regions. The fact that they are threatening you with mental and emotional manipulation is abusive. The other thing that I hope to convey is that any group that “cancels” someone for doing the right thing is not a community. It is instead more likely a group of people engaging in very toxic behaviors. As difficult as it can feel to get out of a group where you once felt like you belonged, staying in the situation can be even more emotionally damaging. Here are a few resources that I would encourage you to look into:

you are feeling fulfilled in your relationship with him. If not, it doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t any hope. If your boyfriend and you are able to talk honestly about how you’re both feeling and why, this would be a great first step to building greater intimacy between you. You mentioned this is your first serious relationship with another guy, and so having a point of reference for yourself, and for what you need may feel difficult. And, that is ok!

CCOHS Tip Sheet on Internet Harassment: https:// www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/ cyberbullying.html

•

Harvard Business Review on Combating Online Harassment: https://hbr.org/2020/06/youre-not-powerless-inthe-face-of-online-harassment

•

Twitter’s Policies About Unwanted Sexual Behavior: https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/ abusive-behavior I hope you take the time to protect yourself, take your power back and report those who are harassing you. You deserve better. You deserve safety.

Q: Is it normal for your boyfriend to masturbate every day? I know he is watching porn when I am at work. I just feel unloved and when I bring it up, he tells me it’s not about me, but if it’s not about me why does he not spend that time with me instead? This is my first serious relationship with another guy, but my other boyfriends didn’t do it every day, even I don’t do it every day. A: Thank you for taking the time to ask these really painful questions. Feeling unloved is one of the most awful feelings we can experience, especially when we are invested in a relationship. In terms of the sexual relationship between you and your boyfriend, it would be quite beneficial and important to consider seeking licensed help, such as individual and/or couples counseling and/or sex therapy. What I can address as a behavioral health coach, however, are some of the feelings you’re having towards your relationship. I wonder if the important first question for you to ask yourself is whether or not

An exercise that might help you would be this:

•

Get something to write on, or to take notes on. Find a quiet place where you can really sit with your thoughts without being interrupted. Now, close your eyes and imagine someone in your life who you love and who you want the best for. Even better if you feel protective of them. Can you see them in your mind? Now, make a list of all the attributes that you would expect in a partner for them. Who would be “good enough” for them and why? Read the list back to yourself and answer this question, “What is it that makes me not worthy of these things too?” Hint: You are worthy of them.

The point of this exercise is this: You likely wrote down what you value most in a partner. Even better when your boyfriend takes some time to do the same and you can compare notes. Finding what you both value together, and what you value as individuals can be a great first step in building a solid relationship. Most important would be for you to have an honest conversation about values, both individual and shared. You both deserve love and you both deserve happiness.

All questions posed to The Mom Cave are kept in the strictest confidence. Even if you do not wish to share your email or name, we have you covered. Visit our website and click on THE MOM CAVE Here you will find a link to the question form, which can be kept completely anonymous. simmedup.co.uk/the-mom-cave

simmedup.co.uk

>Simspiration< Enhance Family Game Play With Memories and Sentiments.

Report By K8Simsley

How to Improve Your Sims Mental Health! It is no secret that the Sims is like a wild roller-coaster of emotions. Sims can go from laughing to crying in the blink of an eye, and these quick shifts in emotion can even kill them if you are not careful! While many have complained about the unrealistic emotions in The Sims 4, it seems that these bipolar shifts are here to stay. Still, you can help your Sims stay level with some helpful tips and tricks…

Pick Traits Wisely:

Get Those Emotion Out:

The traits that you assign your

The Sims 4 offers plenty of options for dealing with negative moodlets. For example, you can Ask for advice, Complain about problems. Or Cry under the covers. If your Sims are feeling negative emotions seek out interactions that help them release any pentup feelings.

Sims can have an impact on the way they behave. While some people have complained that the trait system is lacking, having a hotheaded sim is sure to inspire anger on a regular basis. Choose traits wisely if you want to create a calm, cool, and collected sim.

Get Some Mods: There are a plethora of mods out there that will improve and enhance your Sims emotional stability. Some of my favorites include: ● Have Some Personality Please – PolarBearSims ● Meaningful Stories – roBurky ● Slice of Life – Kawaiistacie A google search of “Mods to improve Sims moods” is sure to yield an endless list to choose from.

Pamper Your Sims at The Spa: If you own the Spa Day expansion, this can be an excellent tool for improving mental health and promoting positivity in your Sims.

Work Off Some Steam: Working out, (just like in real life) is a great way to improve your Sims mood. When Sims workout

they

tend

get

energized and their angry or upset mood will quickly shift. Get to the gym and run on the treadmill or lift some weights to lift your Sims spirits.

(Serenity Spa is Available on the gallery - #K8Simsley) Try joining in on a Yoga Class to stretch away your stress,

Run Away: Going for a jog is another way to help your Sims feel better if Explore Meditation and clear your cluttered mind,

they are down. Luckily, in the Sims, this is easy to do. Simply click

your

target

and

choose ‘go for a jog.’ The Sims will automatically change into their athletic clothing and away they will go. Much like the gym, this action often leaves them Or Get a Massage to help your Sims forget their fears

energized and all their worries will temporarily wash away.

Be Active in your Sims Lives: Sims sometimes need to know that someone is out there, so be active in helping them get through the hard times as they arise. If your Sims has lost their job or ended their relationship, let them know that you are there for them by setting up an existing outing that they can enjoy. While they may still end up being sad again later, it is sure to help in the moment.

If All Else Fails: If your Sim is still miserable, try to entice them with some Woo-Hoo… After all, no one can be unhappy after a good roll in the hay, right?

Send us your Sims. Each month we love to showcase your Sims in our magazine in our dedicated ‘YOUR SIMS’ section. If you would like to see your Sims Have a Simtacular Day! K8Simsley

featured. Send your images, Small Bio and Links to social media to: Simmedup@gmail.com

The Skeleton Closet Podcast Welcome to a video series/podcast dedicated to talking about taboo topics, deep thoughts, and everything in between. It's going to get messy, it's going to get sad, it's going to get real, and it's going to get vulnerable.. but it's also going to be a fun time to just get honest and have a conversation. So please join me and let know what you think in the comments on my YouTube Channel. Also, please be nice and add to the conversation. Constructive criticism is welcome. Hateful commentary is not. Thank you in advance and I can't wait to see what y'all have to say. Twitter: VikingSims @glm_creative YouTube: https://youtu.be/ OEZBEDAHGmI

https://extratime.media/

With Minraed

Hi, I am Linday, your nurse and hostess for today’s lesson. It has been a wildly emotional roller coaster for those of us In health care this past year so for this lesson we are going to focus on some tips for capturing emotions in your pics without the use of mods or poses.

Sim by iamlinday - Nurse

Sim by DahliaSims4 - Senior Dental Nurse

The multitude of in-game animations provides an almost endless range of opportunies for capturing still shot pics of facial expressions that can be used to create specific emotions in your stories. The key is to be patient with the process, to be prepared to take a lot of images, and to slow down and really see what each frame of the animation has to offer. By using pause/play to slowly click through each frame of the animation you are capturing you will discover so many different expressions.

A commonly used technique in film is known as a “dirty single”; where the camera looks over the shoulder of one character while capturing the action of the other character in the scene. While this works well in stories, sometimes you don’t want the distraction of the sim who’s back is facing you, but they are in the way of capturing the sim you really want to focus on. This is where you can use the often annoying gameproduced effect of “fade objects” to your advantage.

What you see in the image above left is in live mode where the closer sim is visible in the shot. In the image above right, as you slowly move in with the camera the sim closest to you fades and you are left with only the far sim visible. At this point, when the distracting sim has faded you can hit TAB for cinematic camera mode (which would almost always be recommended for taking photos), and freely move the camera around without that closer sim coming back into view. Now you have your money shot.

Sim by DahliaSims4

With just a few new tricks up your sleeve I hope you will be inspired to seek out new possibilities for your story images. Here are a number of examples during my gameplay. Each of these used a combination of stop and start to go frame by frame through the animations and/or using the fade objects trick to get rid of the computers, sims and other obstacles that were getting in the way.

Above - aprehension “Um, where are you sticking that swab exactly?” Examine patient animation.

Above - dismay “I just can’t...” Give fake bad news animation

Above - exasperated “When is this going to end!” Randomly generated while talking. ----Left - hesitant “Back off, it is lunchtime.” Closing the fridge after getting food.

Left - helping hands “Come with me, let’s talk. It will be ok.” Receiving a gift animation. ---Below - exhaused “One more coffee and I’ll be good to go.” Walking while very tired.

Left - infuriated “I can’t keep up with this caseload.” Arguing with another sim. Sim by Minraed - Diabetes Educator Dietitian Thank you to all of the healthcare workers in our Sims community and on the Simmed Up Mag staff. Thank you to the community for being here for us and for giving us a place to unwind and escape. Share your emotions photos with us. Tag #SUPsimtography and #simmedupmag You can find me on Instagram as @minraed and on Twitter as @minraedarzhel where I will be sharing more from this series of photos. Hospital Central Universitario by casmar at The Sims Resource

Mix together carefully One Heart One Brain Plenty Of Guts

Add A Dash Of Creativity Patience Spirit

Must Include Sarcasm Thick Skin Opposable Thumbs

Photo Credit: Barewalls

WRITTEN BY SULZISIM For this month’s Making a Simmer, we sat down with Miss Unfortunate to find out how she made it to where she is now. Tell us more about yourself and how you came upon deciding on your name, Miss Unfortunate. My name is Starlynn, but I go by Star! I chose the nickname Miss Unfortunate mostly because I use this name as almost all of my gamer handles! I play a lot of different games like League of Legends, Vailhem, Pokémon, Ark Survival, Elder Scrolls, Fall Out, the list goes on! The name Miss Unfortunate is

a play on words, the name derived from a champion in the League of Legends universe. That champion's name is Miss Fortune, so I took her name and changed it to Miss Unfortunate, as it would seem a lot of unfortunate things tend to happen to me, but I embrace it as it is. I started my game obsession long ago when my step mom introduced the NES to me. Next was the N64, Then finally the first ever PlayStation, to which we played Sims on for the first time! I was addicted!

It eventually evolved into PC gaming when World of Warcraft finally came out and I have been a pc gamer ever since! I do own a switch and some consoles, but PC is where it’s at for me! Now I reside in the small town of Lubbock, Texas with my family. I have been in my current relationship for over 7 years! Myself, Mom, and sister run a business together here and I do YouTube and Twitch streaming on the side! Life has never been better! What is your favorite kind of thing to do in the Sims? Gameplay, CAS or Building? I would have to say building, but gameplay is right up there with it! I love opening up a blank lot and getting to work on a new concept! I look at a blank lot like an artist would a blank canvas! Gameplay is very very fun as well but it can get boring after a few hours, I do love some drama in my Sims life! What kind of building style do you prefer to build in the Sims 4? I love building anything that I consider unique. It is nice to build a normal family home from time to time but I like builds that stand out and you really gotta ask yourself if it is from the sims game or not! With that being said, I love building medieval style, sometimes a cute and cozy build or something out of this world! I have been a tad obsessed with modern lately as well! This month we are highlighting people in the medical field. Do you know anyone in your life in the medical field and how does it affect your life? My grandfather was a doctor, a radiologist. He actually helped start up the first ever radiologist clinic in Austin,

Texas which is huge! He was a very kind man and was willing to help his family anytime we had questions about a random thing that might be wrong with us. He also saved lives and changed them while he did it! He is no longer with us anymore, sadly.. But I hope wherever he is, he is resting! How did you get started with Youtube and Twitch? I procrastinated for almost a year! Maybe even more! Every time I brought up the concept to my boyfriend, he would shoot it down and remind me how busy I am already with my family business. I never felt like he was not supporting me, just being realistic. Well one day after we moved to our new house in Lubbock, Texas, I decided to just go for it! It was such a relief! I had wanted to do it for so long and finally doing it made me feel so much better and more confident! Twitch was hard to start because I have some major anxiety issues, but I am currently working on myself and trying to find inner peace and in doing so I have calmed my anxiety down a bit. This allows me to stream better and more confidently. I wanted to do Twitch, though, because I feel like it is the best way to connect with your audience! What is your favorite part of the Sims community? I owe it to everyone in this community for my skills that I have gained over the past few months since starting Youtube! I was a very simple builder and once I got to see everyone else’s creations, I started to be more explorative and open minded! Soon I was able to use the terrain tool that I was so afraid of before and debug items, the list goes on! I owe my talent to the community's talent! Thank you all

for being so amazing and uplifting! Do you have any advice for an up and coming Sims player that wants to expand their Youtube channel? I have a TON of advice! But the most important one is to always take time for yourself and try to have fun with what you are doing! The moment YouTube starts to feel like a job is the moment you need to take a step back and regroup because I can assure you that you did not start this journey just for the paycheck! Because Youtube is no “get rich fast” scheme, it is one of the most difficult careers to be successful in and one MUST understand that it takes a lot of hard work and patience. NEVER compare yourself to another Youtuber/streamer either. It will DRIVE you mad! You have no idea what that person is doing to get the results that they are getting. For example I literally made a lot of selfish sacrifices to get to where I am today. I have ignored old friends, skipped out on dates with my partner, and stopped hanging out with my brother. I started to slack in my business duties, thank goodness my mother understands my passion and was willing to take over a lot of my work and STILL pay me for it! I had a lot of sleepless nights editing, and worked on YouTube ALL day, only stopping to eat, use the bathroom, and sleep. This was my life the first few months all the way up until the first of January. Then I knew something had to change. I have since then recovered all of these aspects and I am learning how to balance them. I resumed my business work, playing games with my brother and dates with my boyfriend. It is hard to do all of these things while running a channel BUT because I ran myself so hard those few months, I can now edit and build very very fast! I do not recommend it though.

One of the most important things to remember/know is that you HAVE to put in the work to gain visibility. One cannot simply post videos to YouTube and hope for the best, no way! How is anyone going to find you in the sea of other content creators? You might as well be a billboard in outer space! You MUST start up social media,

share your creations on Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and TikTok. Everyone has an audience that wants to watch you out there, but you have to help them find you! I hope this helped! It was an honor to speak here today, so thank you all!

M I S S U N F O R T U N A T E

PHOTOBOMB

RULES: CREATE A HERO BASE OR HERO SIM/S EVIL LAIR OR VILLAIN SIM/S LOTS WILL BE ALLOCATED TO BEST BUILDS WORLDS ARE BASED ON REAL COMIC WORLDS, BUT PLEASE USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO CREATE YOUR OWN. CC CANNOT BE USED FOR THE SAVE, BUT FEEL FREE TO SHARE PICTURES OF CC SIMS IN OUR DISCORD. CONTACT US ON Twitter, Instagram, FB or our website to get lot allocated or join our Discord chat room where you can also chat with others participating. USE HASHTAG #HerosVSVillainsSave when uploading to the gallery.and #simmedupmag if you are happy to share your build/Sims in the magazine or our website.

www.simmedup.co.uk

ACEBOOK The Simming Spoonie I am a 40 something gamer, who lives in the UK, I have been playing The Sims since the very first game in the series. I am a builder at heart and part of the DNA Request team on the forums. DNA consists of a group of Simmers who take on requests for both builds and Sims, which is how this build came into being. I also help to admin The Sims 4 Challenges on Facebook, where we create a whole host of challenges from creating Sims to builds and rooms, alongside some game-play challenges. I am a proud furbaby mum of three adorable cats, each of whom has me wrapped around their tiny paws.

Indigo Manor

SHOWCASE

Simming_Spoonie aka Faith of Kaela Twitter:twitter.com/Simming_Spoonie Facebook: thesimmingspoonie Gallery ID: Simming_Spoonie

Page Number 128

Mod Reviews Test Subject 032

Written By SueSimming

Picture Credit: katemangostar

This mod for The Sims 4 brings a lot more to the game than you could think. I tested the free website version and it’s been a blast. I’ve had a lot of fun building my own clinic and I really enjoyed the more realistic mood effects. simrealist.com/private-practice 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 Sims Health all under the same roof if you wish.

Remember to plop down a clinic in one of the worlds for your Sims to visit. You can build your own or use one created for this mod. Here is a list of things this mod can do. A small reminder that this is only for the free website version. There is also a Patreon version with infections, allergies, and more. • Health Checkups for all Sims that have access to a phone. • Health Vital Points that allow users to measure their Sims' health like weight and blood Pressure

If you’ve installed the mod correctly this message will appear as soon as you start your game.

• Blood Pressure Hidden Factors: Now your Sims can be susceptible to High/Low Blood Pressure in varying degrees • Blood Pressure Reward Traits for the ultimate Health Story Customization • Health Sciences Careers • Nies' Cooler Sickness Mod Scripted • Get to Work Illnesses with new, visible moodlets with strong mood effects. • Longer lasting Illnesses that don't disappear with travel. • Ability to call out of work when sick with these moodlets. • Off-screen progression

NPC

illness

• Basic Exercise Tracking for BP Affects. • Fame perks and biology degrees now give their benefits to the health sciences career • Private Practice Lot Trait - enables all objects for this mod. • Non-rabbithole Appointment

Health

Check

• Appointment Scheduling System with auto-days off • New Private Practice phone app called MyHealthApp • Custom Clinic Objects like this medicine dispenser. You can travel to the clinic to get medicine rather than just ordering it off the computer which adds to the realism. This mod is brought to you by SimRealist after all.

Yes, you read that right. Your Sim has to pee in a cup. I laughed when this popped up as it wasn’t something I expected but fits perfectly with the quirkiness of The Sims. U P D AT E D H E A L T H RESULTS: You can see your Sims Diagnosis after an appointment in t h e i r MyHealthPortal App. • DEBUG INTERACTIONS: There are several debug interactions. You can access them by Shift Click -> Private Practice.

• Medical Billing • Blood Pressure Medication • SICK VISIT APPOINTMENT: If the illness is something that is pushed by this mod, your Sim can get a diagnosis of what ails them as well as get medication to cure it.

I haven’t found any bugs as yet with this mod. It runs smooth and I enjoy the many features it adds to the game. I would highly recommend checking out the other mods on SimRealist’s website. And since we are busy overhauling the health system, I’ve found a few career mods on Mod The Sims to change things up.

• MULTIPLE SICK VISIT SUPPORT: You can also send multiple Sims to the Clinic to see if they are sick.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Career by QuietPriestess modthesims.info/d/651948/ obstetrics-and-gynecology-career.html

• AUTONOMOUS EVENT GOALS: Your Sim will autonomously go about their event goals except for the Check-In, Pee in a Cup, and Check-Out goals. If the Sim should ever deviate from their directions, you can still self-direct them through each goal.

Health & Medical Administration Career by lucid0ll modthesims.info/d/646371/healthamp-medical-administration-career.html Doctor Career Job Titles Replacement by d_unit modthesims.info/d/617900/doctorcareer-job-titles-replacement.html

Aquarius - What goes in must come out, or so the saying goes.

Lock-down doesn't mean that you cannot spend time outside, you really need to get a new perspective on things before it’s too late. Sometimes just going with the flow, isn’t enough.

Aries -

It’s a hard life for you right now, not knowing where to turn or who to talk to. But that isn’t the truth is it, it is not that there is no one to talk to, it’s the fact, YOU don’t wish to talk just yet. Be honest and seek the help you need, asking for help isn’t a weakness.

G e m i ni -

We can’t judge everyone by their past mistakes, and right ow someone is incorrectly judging you for your past and not your hard work to get you where you are today. You do not need people like that in your life. Time to put your foot down.

Leo -

Hip Hip Hurrah, Time for celebrations is at hand, something you have been waiting for is just about to land on your doorstep, but be quick because opportunities like this don’t hang around for too long. No matter what anyone say’s, it is not ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ this is your time to shine, believe it!

L i b ra -

Don’t take everything to heart, and not everything people says is so serious, time to find the humor in situations you never thought about before, sometimes laughter is the best medicine, if your just willing to try to. Start your day with a smile, it genuinely helps.

Sagittarius - You are gorgeous, no matter how much you

try to pick faults with yourself, the truth of the matter is and always will be, that you are unique, there is only one of you, and that makes you precious to the universe. Be proud of who you are, the universe is proud of you.

Pisces -

May is going to be one hell of a month for you. Time to let go of 2020 and breath in the fresh air of 2021 yes you have been holding that breath for far too long and time to refresh and rejuvenate yourself. Get ready for a huge change and it is for your benefit, remember that.

Taurus - You are a deep thinker and stubborn as an ox,

sometimes the two are not productive or a benefit to your own mental health. Bite the bullet and emerge from your mental cave, do something spur of the moment (and safe of course), stop thinking about it and have some real fun for a change.

Cancer - Times like this we often sit back and wonder

why we ended up where we are today and look at the results negatively. The past has made you who you are today, wiser and stronger and that should be celebrated not dismissed.

Virgo -

Innocence can be considered in a variety of ways, and just because something may ‘seem’ innocent, a little bit of investigation never hurt anyone. Make sure to read everything before you sign this month, as not everything is at it seems.

Scorpio - It’s not always about acting the way people

expect you to, you can be yourself too and people will love you anyway. Take off that mask you have been wearing and show people the real you. Those who stay were meant to be and those who leave, do not cry over them, they were never worthy of you anyway.

Capricorn -

Let the good times roll. Everything is making sense to you this month and for those things that eluded you, now you can see everything for what it is. Just make sure you understand what you are getting into before you do, adventures and fun awaits, if you dare.

A MOTHER HAS 6 GIRLS AND EACH OF THEM HAS A BROTHER. HOW MANY CHILDREN ARE THERE?

JIMMY’S MOTHER HAD FOUR CHILDREN. SHE NAMED THE FIRST MONDAY. SHE NAMED THE SECOND TUESDAY, AND SHE NAMED THE THIRD WEDNESDAY. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE FOURTH CHILD?

WHO IS BIGGER: MR. BIGGER, MRS. BIGGER, OR THEIR BABY?

Cardiologists Surgeon Ambulance Counsellor Paramedic Dentist Doctor Xray Psychologist Health Carer Midwives Pathologist Nurse Hospital

PRACTICE SIMLISH Benzi chibna looble bazebni gweb/ Nothing is impossible if you believe

Turkey nurbler?/ Does that feel better? Fleny Fleny/ Get out, I really gotta tinkle!

GUESS THE CAS

Created By PixelsInMyViens

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MEET THE TEAM

Extra Time Media

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imming In The 6/Faith

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With thanks to our team for making this issue possible, for all the support from our readers and to you who made it to the last page. THANK YOU

SimmedUp Magazine - Issue 9

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