Here are some quick updates from my favorite game!
New Stuff Pack Coming!– There’s a new stuff pack coming out this week. Movie Hangout Stuff- There’s a new film projector with 10 movies for Sims to enjoy plus popcorn, new furniture/decor, and new outfits.
Martin Bowling– As I write this, I’m currently working on episode 5 of my story about a Sim named Martin Bowling. He may turn into a Legacy (where I attempt to carry his line through 10 generations).
My work table at my house is in my living room, and is where I keep my laptop as well as other things that I’m currently using. It shows nicely what I’m focusing my spare time on.
What’s on my work table today:
My penpal folder- need to catch up on responding to my penpal letters. If you want to give penpalling a shot, you should go to IGGPPC.
If you read this blog, you are likely familiar with the Sims 4, or at least my love of it. If you’ve thought about getting it yourself but don’t know if it’ll run on your computer or aren’t sure you’ll enjoy it…you can now try it FREE for 48 hours through Origins “Game Time”. I haven’t used Game Time before, but it looks similar to the game trials on Steam that happen on the weekends. So, you should check it out and tell me what you think!!
I’ve been looking forward to this morning for weeks. The Sims announced the next expansion pack at Gamescom in Germany at 4am (my time).
I’ve loved all the content the Sims 4 team has created thus far. Sure, I’m missing particular features (I was in The Sims 3 as well), but they’ve made an effort to put out a lot of wonderful content since the release. I was looking forward to hearing whatever new idea they had next.
This morning they announced “The Sims: Get Together”.
My initial thoughts upon seeing this title…togetherness…thank goodness, it must be a family-related pack…and I was very excited. But that’s not what it is…
Actually, I’m not really sure what the defining feature of this expansion is…it seems like a mishmash of several ideas centered around a theme of…socialization? maybe?
I feel like I don’t have enough information to be excited yet. It’s all very vague. I’m hoping that as more information gets released, it’ll seem like more of a cohesive pack.
The key features include:
Exploring a New World- Okay, the world is pretty, and seems interesting…but we got a new world in Outdoor Retreat. We get new worlds all the time in Sims games. This isn’t anything new.
Meet New Sims/Make New Friends- We already do this in the game? How are these mechanics different? There is mention of “clubs”- cliques of friends with similar interests. I think that could be the defining feature, but available information is very vague at the moment.
Rule the Dance Floor- DJing and Dancing skills….Yay for new skills, but I can’t say I find these hugely interesting. It’s party-style dancing, not like Ballet or something. So…meh. Not useful for my nerdy Sims.
Party Anywhere- Also a vague point…are we getting new kinds of parties? more party interactions?
Closets- You can now try on clothes in a closet…okay, that could be the main feature of a STUFF pack. That’s essentially just a fancy object.
And that’s it…the key may be in the details. There are cafes with baristas, for instance. And synchronized dancing. And possibly swimming in a lake. There will need to be a lot of these details to make up for the lack of a core feature, though.
Hopefully new information continues to trickle out. I *want* to be excited, but you haven’t given me enough information, EA.
Next week, however, the Kitchen Stuff pack comes out…new kitchen appliances and ICE CREAM…now THAT is exciting (when you do a cost benefit analysis).
I’ve managed to sneak in a wee bit of simming with five minute breaks here and there while we are packing. Anytime I was tired/sore/etc…and needed to sit I got in a few minutes. I didn’t know how much time I’d be able to get in, so I played with Rebecca.
Here is the 4th update for Rebecca Brown, our pet sim that you, dear readers, helped me to create. You can read more about her creation and see her past life updates here. You voted for Rebecca to: focus on her career, complete 1 to 1 whims per day, and save up to turn her guest room into a studio. You also decided that she isn’t the marrying kind.
Rebecca has to wear a specific uniform for work, so if you see her in some odd outfits, that is why. Every night, Rebecca works on her painting- different styles, sizes and subjects. She’s all over the place right now.
Rebecca is outgoing, but she doesn’t have much time to socialize. This leads her to be sad, bored and tired often. Also, she enjoys eating cereal on the couch in her underwear. It happens a lot.
Dancing to her stereo is one of her main sources of entertainment since she can’t afford a television. Unfortunately, her stereo keeps breaking. She’s getting better at fixing it though.
She doesn’t appear to be getting better at dancing though.
When she’s too tired to dance, she reads on the couch.
She’s been trying out some gourmet recipes lately, including butternut gnocchi.
Reading also often happens without pants.
On Saturday, Rebecca received a promotion. On the one hand, yay promotion! On the other, she was supposed to have Sunday and Monday off, now she has to work on Monday and won’t get another day off until Thursday.
On her day off, Rebecca was feeling lonely and wanted to socialize. She decided the gym would be a good place to meet some folks.
She found someone to be her trainer.
But they spent a lot of time gabbing about other stuff.
Some actual progress was made on the treadmill.
But, not for long, because our goal was to socialize. Remember?
Rebecca took a fondness to this cutie.
I can’t remember his name. Only that he was an unemployed perfectionist with horrible fashion sense.
Rebecca brought him home and made him dinner. Desperate or adventurous? You decide.
Dinner and conversation was good, but he left shortly after. Perhaps we will see him again. Perhaps not.
Here’s an update on Rebecca Brown, our pet sim that you helped me to create. You can read more about her here. You voted to focus on Rebecca’s career, and that she should try to complete 1 to 2 whims per day. She is also saving money to turn her guest room into a studio.
Rebecca finally had a couple of days off. Since she’s a fairly sociable gal, she decided to go introduce herself to her neighbor across the street. A nice older gentleman who appeared to live alone. They discussed the neighborhood, the weather, and automated cupcake machines that also vacuum your home.
Rebecca’s aspiration of being a renaissance sim has been inspiring her to explore cooking.
So, for lunch, she made a gourmet garlic noodle dish.
And then some dessert. Why not? It was the weekend!
Rebecca’s aspiration also inspires her to improve her mind through logic.
Since she didn’t possess the necessary items for developing logic at her home, and she needs social interaction, I sent her to the park to play chess.
The above photos are for the readers of my Opi’s Sims blog. The Bachelor and his new wife were seen in the park playing chess together! It looked like Tanya was getting a bit frustrated. I think Tanner was winning!
Just wanted to give a quick update art tour of Rebecca’s home. She’s still trying to find her style.
The next day, since she had that off too, she went back to the park.
This time she played against Tanner.
When she came home, her stereo was broken. She decided to figure out how to fix it herself.
And then she curled up with a book to end her weekend.
Here’s an update on Rebecca Brown, our pet sim that you helped me to create. You can read more about her here. You voted to focus on Rebecca’s career, and that she should try to complete 1 to 2 whims per day.
Rebecca works long hours, and then comes home and paints. When she feels the need for entertainment, she reads- as she doesn’t own a television set. But lately, that hasn’t seemed like enough and her mood has been suffering.
So, we purchased a stereo. And now when she is bored or feeling uninspired, she dances to electronica music. I’ve discovered this makes her very happy.
Some days she doesn’t have the time, or willpower, to clean off her dining table so she eats on the couch. You can see in the photo that her table is covered with dirty dishes and books.
She seems to prefer to cook her own meals, and her cooking score has been rising quickly.
Sometimes her colleagues at work don’t provide enough social interaction, so she has a couple of friends- Summer Holiday and Don Lothario- whom she chats with on the phone. Her busy work schedule has prevented her from hanging out with anyone.
The end of the couch seems to be her favorite reading spot.
She hasn’t sold any of her work, she just hangs it up around the house.
She likes to try different styles of painting, the current piece she is working on is an abstract piece.
Her toilet broke the other day, and without money for repairs, she had to handle it herself. Very distressing when you actually need to use the darn thing for its intended purpose, and you only have one restroom in your home. But, she’s a trooper.
All her hard work has recently paid off, she got a promotion to “Hungry Artist” (I think that means she earns more money than “Starving Artists”). She’s been thinking about turning her guest room into an art studio.
Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on the Sim you all helped me create, Rebecca Brown.
As some of you know from reading my Sims blog, Opi’s Sims, I was experiencing technical difficulties with the Sims 4. Specifically, a hanging load screen (the game wouldn’t load be on a specific point). After trying many different fixes, I was unable to get the game to work WITH my previous save file. This means all my play with both Rebecca and Marina were gone. This is the first major bug I have ever experience with a Sims game, so it is a bit disappointing it occurred so early into my time with the Sims 4. I’m crossing my fingers this is not a repeat problem.
Fortunately, the original copies of the Sims are kept in a different folder, so were safe. I began playing Rebecca again last night, hopefully there will be a post on her sometime toward the end of this week. As we voted on previously, I will be focusing on her career as an artist, first.
In this series of posts, we will be following a Sim that was community created here on my blog using polling and the Sims 4 CAS (Create-A-Sim) demo. I uploaded that Sim into the Sims for the evening after it was released (September 2nd). This series will serve as a sort-of review of the Sims 4, as well as being the story of our created Sim, Rebecca Brown.
First Impressions
I adore the game. Sure, there are aspects from the Sims 3 (such as toddlers, weather, universities, pets, and pools) that I miss, but we’ve traded those for a smooth and fast game. Starting up, loading, transitioning between screens is SO much smoother in the Sims 4. My game has been glitch-free thus far. It’s adorable looking. The new emotion system is very fun to manage. The options for goal-oriented players are abundant (so it’s less critical we make challenges). The multi-tasking makes things fun and more realistic. It appears to be easily expandable, and I can’t wait until the announcement of the first expansion!
Rebecca’s First Home
Oasis Springs struck me as a bit more edgy and artistic than Willow Creek. Also, I thought Marina (Community Sim #2) was more suited to the lush world of Willow Creek. And so I placed Rebecca Brown in Oasis Springs…
While we decided as a community, that we wanted Rebecca’s home to be artistic, edgy, clean and modern….I have to make do with the starting amount. So, right now it’s pretty basic but we’ll be continuing to develop her style as she makes some more money.
Rebecca Makes New Friends
Since Rebecca is outgoing, it wasn’t very long before she was outside meeting the neighbors.
She playfully flirted with this guy, Jagger, but it didn’t amount to anything since he’s married…and Rebecca wasn’t really looking anyway, just having a bit of fun.
Then she met Ashley who is family-oriented, outgoing, and well….a bit mean. Despite Ashley’s mean streak, they connected and have since become very good friends.
I’m not sure who the pasty guy is…we didn’t really chat with him too much.
Socializing
Socializing is a lot of fun in the Sims 4. The options you have to choose from are constantly changing based on emotions, personality, and skills. The conversations have a story to them and socializing has become one of my favorite aspects of the game.
It’s Pancake Bob!
Those of you who have followed any of the Sims 4 preview material will know of Pancake Bob (also known as Bob Pancakes). As it turns out, he lives not too far away from Rebecca, as she met him in the park near her house. He turned out to be quite a likable guy.
At the park she got a bit hungry, so she grilled some veggie burgers.
Skills
Rebecca has taken the time to develop her cooking skill. She got tired of microwaved meals with a cold center. She’s already achieved level 3.
Given her job is to be a professional artist, she has also been focused on painting. She is a level 4 painter, now.
In addition to those skills, she has also focused on charisma (level 3) and comedy (level 2) mainly for her own interests she likes talking to people. After getting a computer, she has also earned a level in video games.
Friends
Ashley comes over quite a bit. They enjoy chatting and dancing.
Bob has also become a good friend. The three of them enjoying watching TV together or sharing funny joke and stories.
House Upgrades
Rebecca has been decorating her house solely for the cost of art supplies…as she paints them, she displays them.
We’ve upgraded the kitchen a bit…we’ve replaced the fridge and stove with more modern, added a microwave and a coffee maker.
The Sims 4 comes out tomorrow! I’m pre-loading it as I type this. Therefore, this will be the final Create-a-Sim post on this blog. Remaining Sims posts will be dedicated to my play of Rebecca’s life through the Sims 4. For more Community Sim challenges go to my sim blog, OpiSims. We will be wrapping up Community Sim #2 there, and starting #3 shortly.
Name: Rebecca
Walk Style: Feminine
Voice: Lilted and somewhat deep
Personality: Quick Learner, Outgoing, Self-assured, Art Lover
Aspiration: Knowledge: Renaissance Sim
Job: Artist
I took our one suggestion for a last name, and add 4 more from the CAS random name generator.
Crazy Cat Nerd 