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Undead Molten Llama
#26 Old 22nd Sep 2018 at 10:00 PM
I originally bought the game to build -- not play -- neighborhoods. Pretty much all my life I've had a hobby of designing houses. I've been sketching exteriors freehand for as long as I can remember. I have no idea why. Then when I was about 12 I learned how to use drafting tools to manually draft floor plans and elevation drawings and such. I wanted to be an architect when I grew up, but the fact that my brain and math are not on speaking terms defeated my goal once I got to college age. Buuuut, eventually I taught myself architectural CAD drafting (Hence my Sims-community "handle" of iCad), basically just so I could make fancy renders of the houses I designed. Then my daughter started playing TS2, and it appealed to me because I could A) Design entire neighborhoods (although given lot imposters and stuff, that's actually better done in TS3...except that it's far less flexible than 2 in that regard, so I still use 2) and B) Build the houses I designed in-game and then kind of see how practical they'd be for theoretical human inhabitants. Never thought I'd actually want to play out the lives of those theoretical human inhabitants, but it turns out that I did.

But I'd say that my "specialty" is still building stuff. I got into creating stuff as an adjunct to building, in order to make stuff for my own building endeavors. I wanted stuff with cohesive, matching colors and all that, and I've gotten increasingly better at making crap over the years. It was relatively easy for me because I've also had a hobby of dinking around in Photoshop since...Well, as long as Photoshop has existed, so almost 30 years now. Because of my odd lifelong architecture hobby, I'm good at designing/building residential houses on the fly in-game OR reproducing houses from floor plans and architectural drawings, either ones I've drawn myself or ones found online if I'm being lazy. I can do really complex building, with lots of CFE if I want to, but generally speaking I keep lots small(ish) and simple because those are better for actual playing. Building lots that are good for playing, not just looking good, is important to me.

I suppose I'm good at playing, too. A household of 20 Sims without using any motive cheats? Not a problem. A family with 5 toddlers at the same time, which happens often in age-modded neighborhoods where my goal is large families? Easy-peasy, with a few judicious mods. This is just a result of playing for a decade, though, and preferring large households, as well as extensively modding my game; it's not like it's a "special talent" or anything.

Things I'm not good at: Interior decorating. Mostly, I just don't have the patience; I'm all about how lots look on the outside. So for interiors I do a lot of the same things over and over. I'd really like to do an ongoing collaboration with someone where I'd build the houses and someone who's into and good at interior decorating could then do all the stuff I find tedious. I'm also clueless about anything having to do with making or editing meshes. And most modding, too. I can do a few simple things, like making objects neighborhood-visible or adjusting an object interaction's autonomy/advertising, but anything involving BHAVs is beyond my pay grade, at the moment.

I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
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Instructor
#27 Old 22nd Sep 2018 at 11:49 PM
I certainly have mastered managing Sims' needs, which was one of the reasons I found TS4 somewhat boring - I was so used to managing TS2-style needs that when I started playing TS4, taking care of needs was just too easy. Finances as well, usually a new household will have either a substantial bank account or a nicely decorated house by the time their offspring reach adulthood, if I don't actively play in a way to make them poor. Avoiding the social worker comes as a logical consequence of that, I think. Again, playing normally, all of my children and teens will have A+.

Running businesses, I'd say I'm average. Retail business are a piece of cake, but I have yet to successfully run harder businesses like nightclubs and restaurants. Parties, on the other hand, are something which I still have room for improvement. I defnitely have been getting better recently, though, especially with Birthday parties. I haven't yet tried a New Year's Bash.

As far as building goes, I like to think I'm a good architect. I'm definitely way less talented than some builders around here on MTS, but I think I do a decent job at building. Years ago I would say I build better than I decorate, but I feel that has changed recently. I now think I'm a better decorater than builder. setquartertileplacement changes a person

Regarding CC, I would say I'm good at opening dozens of tabs for downloading stuff and end up not downloading anything because I figure I don't really need what I'm looking at. Making my own CC? Not a chance. Maybe a year from now, after one year's worth of Computer Applications at school I'll be able to mod something.

Nice Rachel we're having.
My C:Simblr!
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#28 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 1:11 AM
You know iCad, I have similar inspirations though what I like is maps and creating places - locales, milieu, environments, situations. I don't know. Places you might actually go. It's important to me what's on the outside of buildings as well - they have to look convincing (to me anyway - and I'm a gardener too, so I have a lot of plants about 50% of which are slowly being made seasonal). As a consequence, I've always been a builder but I like making up stories too because one of the most common thoughts in my head, as I walk about in RL, is 'I wonder what it's like to be in that building...' So making sims is important too. I've fiddled with game files though since right at the start of TS1 and I like making sims do stuff or changing the appearance of things. I also have a stubborn determination to make stuff work. My own game is stuffed - absolutely stuffed - with things I've made. Far, far less stuff that the stuff I've actually uploaded anywhere. And most of it is stuff I would never upload because it's made for me and Little Carping and nowhere else. I have a habit of making quick and dirty recolours for specific situations - nobody else would ever want them!

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
Mad Poster
#29 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 1:24 AM
I think I am alright at making mods.

Gameplay-wise, I think I have noticeably improved at taking care of multiple toddlers at once while having working adults, and I'm pretty good at running businesses. @Yvelotic2001, I think it might be impossible to make a profit off of restaurants (unless you add a bandatron), or maybe I just have't tried hard enough.
Mad Poster
#30 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 3:45 AM
I've made profits off restaurants, but I cheat ... I sell cakes and other baked goods as well. The ones you don't to make preferred, though for some reason, Sims LOVE the peanut butter cookie here. Many restaurants and diners in real life do have goodies available for customers to take home ... that was my inspiration.

As a straight restaurant, I would think it difficult.

Thanks to ALL free-site creators, admins and mods.

RIP Sunni ... truly a ray of light.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#31 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 4:25 AM
My restaurant does have issues being profitable. Because it's rank 9 and busy the prices are set to expensive. The owner is host, his wife is a server, they hire one other server and one chef. If I didn't have her write restaurant guides now and then I don't think they could live off what the restaurant makes.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Undead Molten Llama
#32 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 2:08 PM
I think the main problem with player-owned restaurants is that they require a lot of staff: Host, at least one server (though you'll need more than that for higher-ranked lots), a chef, and a bartender if the restaurant also has a bar. There isn't much markup on the food (and if you make the markup too high, you won't have a lot of customers who choose to eat), so if you're paying all those people, it'll eat all your profits. The only time I've had a (marginally) profitable restaurant was when it had no employees, either because it was small and low-ranked so that one person could do all the jobs, or because household members held all the "jobs" so no one had to be paid.

I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#33 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 2:19 PM
I might put out a ticket machine or maybe use a pay door for some extra profit because it does have free karaoke.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Undead Molten Llama
#34 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 2:30 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
I might put out a ticket machine or maybe use a pay door for some extra profit because it does have free karaoke.


A pay door might be your best bet. I've found that if you make Sims pay to get into the lot AND have a restaurant, they won't choose to eat that much: I guess they see it as double-dipping.

I find that having a bar is a saving grace. Beyond the cost of the bar, the drinks are pure profit, no cost like with food. If your bartender is a household member rather than an employee, having a bar will offset some of the measly profits you get off of food. I find that too many other distractions means Sims won't sit to eat, even though they're programmed to arrive on community lots somewhat hungry. And if they don't sit down to eat and you have restaurant employees, then you're paying those people for doing nothing. Might as well just have the karaoke and a ticket machine. Then it's pure profit.

I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
Test Subject
#35 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 8:12 PM
In terms of skill, I'd say 1) managing large families and 2) throwing parties. I don't have a mod that extends the household size beyond 8 Sims, but I've had several 8-Sim households--usually 2 parents and 6 kids--that I've been able to manage pretty well without motives cheats or anything like that. They take much longer to play than other households do, but it's nice to spend so much time with them.

I also consider myself skilled at throwing parties. I've only had one failed party in the past couple years (that I can remember!), and it was because everyone left early for some reason. I throw a party for every household at least once every rotation if the household members are outgoing Sims. There's always at least one Sim with a "Throw a Party" want in each household because I throw so many of them, haha.

In terms of a more specific specialty, I would say making up stories for my Sims. I rarely feel directionless or uninspired when it comes to thinking about where I'd like a Sim's story to go. Sometimes I struggle to come up with their character at first, but as I play them I quickly gain insight into who they are and what they want out of life (if they want anything out of life, of course--some Sims are content to just float along).
Turquoise Dragon
retired moderator
#36 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 8:14 PM
I mainly mod. Object mods are my favorite, as are toddlers I do play occasionally, and have created hoods, sims, lots, etc. I prefer to create my own generally. I also like to download I am a fairly beginning mesher, I can recolor okay, (I say okay ) but really I like to add stuff that adds gameplay to my most favorite game in the world.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#37 Old 23rd Sep 2018 at 10:53 PM
Quote: Originally posted by iCad
A pay door might be your best bet. I've found that if you make Sims pay to get into the lot AND have a restaurant, they won't choose to eat that much: I guess they see it as double-dipping.

I find that having a bar is a saving grace. Beyond the cost of the bar, the drinks are pure profit, no cost like with food. If your bartender is a household member rather than an employee, having a bar will offset some of the measly profits you get off of food. I find that too many other distractions means Sims won't sit to eat, even though they're programmed to arrive on community lots somewhat hungry. And if they don't sit down to eat and you have restaurant employees, then you're paying those people for doing nothing. Might as well just have the karaoke and a ticket machine. Then it's pure profit.


Shh, they don't need to hear that.

A bar would be nice but it's only the two of them, one child decided to become a doctor and the other an archaeologist. Parents are very proud of course, but they are certainly no help. Hiring yet another sim will probably bankrupt them.


Quote: Originally posted by gdayars
I mainly mod. Object mods are my favorite, as are toddlers I do play occasionally, and have created hoods, sims, lots, etc. I prefer to create my own generally. I also like to download I am a fairly beginning mesher, I can recolor okay, (I say okay ) but really I like to add stuff that adds gameplay to my most favorite game in the world.


Gina is making..., oh and!... Also... Darn I'm not allowed to beath a word, but I'm excited!

*itches to add some 'u's to that quote* >twitch<

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#38 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 3:48 AM
Quote: Originally posted by iCad
... even though they're programmed to arrive on community lots somewhat hungry.

If you want to guarantee that they arrive hungry, use Pescado's Customer Selector. Tell it what type of business you're running and it will optimize the customers for you. Restaurant patrons will always arrive with low Hunger. Customers at an entertainment venue will arrive with low Fun. There's even a setting for those sadists who want to run a pay toilet business.

Works best with Business Runs You, but as far as I know neither hack actually requires the other to work properly.

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/f...r=al%2Fhacks%2F
Mad Poster
#39 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 4:31 AM
Hey, pay toilets are standard in some parts of the world. Usually it costs the equivalent of a few cents, but you have to remember to keep change in your pocket.
Undead Molten Llama
#40 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 12:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by RoxEllen1965
If you want to guarantee that they arrive hungry, use Pescado's Customer Selector. Tell it what type of business you're running and it will optimize the customers for you. Restaurant patrons will always arrive with low Hunger. Customers at an entertainment venue will arrive with low Fun. There's even a setting for those sadists who want to run a pay toilet business.


Good advice, but for me...Well, I want to make running businesses harder, not easier, and keying customer motive levels to the business in question would make it easier. 99.9% of businesses are easy to run, once you know how to run businesses in general, and they make scads of money, especially if you do things like put snapdragons on the lot and let the business run for days at a time and don't use Community Time so the time spent running the business doesn't "count" and you can run the business for 72 hours in a single "day." I don't want that at all, so I put many limits on player-owned businesses and also pile on financial burdens like business loans that charge interest.

Basically, restaurants are the only businesses that AREN'T way too easy. (That I've tried, at least, and I've done...Well, just about everything, up to and including brothels and a lot that was, indeed, just a big public restroom with showering facilities -- meant mainly for the use of a neighborhood's homeless Sims, who live in tents on otherwise-vacant lots.) For that reason, since I like harder, you'd think I'd like running them....but I don't. I find them tedious and kind of boring, so I generally avoid player-owned restaurants. Bars of various types are fun, but restaurants? Meh. 98% of the restaurants in my neighborhoods are unowned community lots.

I'm mostly found on (and mostly upload to) Tumblr these days because, alas, there are only 24 hours in a day.
Muh Simblr! | An index of my downloads on Tumblr.
Forum Resident
#41 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 12:32 PM
I always wanted to be an author when I was growing up - I'm still gonna try my darndest, but I know it's a pipe dream, I'm actually in college hoping to be a teacher.
Leading off from that, I suppose my speciality is making a story feel alive. I can relate to all of my sims, and even if their story is far-fetched, I can feel it. None of my sims live overly happy lives, but none of them suffer for their entire lives either, much like reality.

You can call me Diddy (or Eve, if you want to go by my real name) :)
My Simblr is simping-simmer. Come and join me there for a chat!
You can also find me on the MTS or PBK Discord servers under the name 'Evenfall'.
Want to know the latest news in Carregffynon? Click here!
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#42 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 12:55 PM
The restaurant itself runs just fine, it simply doesn't make enough cash to feed a cat. Pay loo's hmm? Maybe a few things like a pay door and a pay loo might sneak in cash without those simmies knowing it.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Theorist
#43 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 4:31 PM
Doing without too much DLC to keep the loading times low?
Causing Drama for my Sims?
Making huge and long and intertwined neighbourhood family trees?

Personally i wouldn't put stuff like "Avoiding the Social Worker" as a specialty, because Sims 2's game-play is ridiculously non-challenging 95% of the time and it's always extremely easy to avoid negative outcomes.

Avatar by MasterRed
Taking an extended break from Sims stuff. Might be around, might not.
Link Ninja
Original Poster
#44 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 4:43 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Orphalesion
Doing without too much DLC to keep the loading times low?
Causing Drama for my Sims?
Making huge and long and intertwined neighbourhood family trees?

Personally i wouldn't put stuff like "Avoiding the Social Worker" as a specialty, because Sims 2's game-play is ridiculously non-challenging 95% of the time and it's always extremely easy to avoid negative outcomes.


I did, because I remember at one point it seemed everyone was complaining about their kids getting nabbed by the social worker. Personally I find it easy to keep kids and schedules in order so that doesn't occur either but my haunted memories of other's experiences made me add that.

Uh oh! My social bar is low - that's why I posted today.

Scholar
#45 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 5:08 PM
Playing large families. More than 8 sims for sure. I have systems in place and I am pretty good at taking care of their needs, mostly. My best skill however, is starting new hoods, setting them all up and then abandoning them. I am fantabulously good at that.

Paladins/SimWardrobes downloads: https://simfileshare.net/folder/87849/
Forum Resident
#46 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 6:11 PM
I defiantly get by the headmaster about 9/10 times
Just serve macaroni and cheese and show him your house
If not enough talk to him
He is still very fond of macaroni and cheese though

Else I think building modern houses and countryside houses and beginner houses is what I do best.
After that
Might be sims
At least that’s what people download most from me beside my houses

I build small houses *^*
Mad Poster
#47 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 8:32 PM
Quote: Originally posted by iCad
Good advice, but for me...Well, I want to make running businesses harder, not easier, and keying customer motive levels to the business in question would make it easier.

For me, it's Business Runs You that makes them way too easy by automating almost the whole process. I use it anyway because without it businesses are a PITA - there doesn't seem to be any middle ground for me with sim-owned businesses.

For the Customer Selector, I agree with Pescado's reasoning. Why would a sim go to a restaurant if they're not hungry? Or to a game arcade if they're not low on fun? If you want the Maxis mood/need settings, there's a "generic business" option or something like that.

For the rest of the customer settings/filters, it works a lot like a Visitor Controller for owned businesses - you can set up a gay bar exclusively for teen vampires, for example, and this feature is just too useful for me to get rid of the mod.
Mad Poster
#48 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 8:34 PM
The headmaster in my game likes spaghetti
Mad Poster
#49 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 8:48 PM
Functionally (managing Sims) everything is now easy for me. But I get bored with businesses and challenges, so never get far.
Creatively: I'm good at creating aliens that are extreme but still uniquely good looking. I like to start new hoods, with my own "interesting" stories; but after a few generation I get bored and delete the hood.
I have the greatest admiration for REAL creators. Yea yea, I could learn, but that's like, you know, WORK!
I am also good at collecting CC, great at "losing" meshes, and the BEST in the ability to sit here for so many hours my hand is frozen, certain parts are numb, and I'm falling sleep. What day is it?

Stand up, speak out. Just not to me..
Forum Resident
#50 Old 24th Sep 2018 at 10:28 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Orphalesion
Personally i wouldn't put stuff like "Avoiding the Social Worker" as a specialty, because Sims 2's game-play is ridiculously non-challenging 95% of the time and it's always extremely easy to avoid negative outcomes.


Not the way I play! I'm always so curious about how others manage to get every sim child to have an A+, and max all the toddler skills for all the toddlers - the way I play, it's very much up to the individual sim, so sometimes they're fabulously stupid lol. I love it when they surprise me though! I have twins in my test-hood turned favourite Oakley-Teston, and one of them is very studious and always rolls wants to do her homework (while their mother is one of nature's hapless fools: loveable, yet utterly useless at everything. She doesn't clean, can't cook without setting the kitchen afire, barely looks at the twins (she had just had another baby though) and constantly napped or slept when she wasn't woohooing her deadbeat baby daddy). The brother however, seemed to have trouble with his work, and subsequently never really rolled the want to do it. They both started with a C, and his sister made an A while he was still struggling with a C.

I play very wants based, so unless they roll the want for the promotion, or the skill point they need to get onto the dean's list, they don't get those things. If they don't roll the homework want, they don't do homework. Playing uni this way is AWESOME. Every student is at a different level (just like in real life) and you never know who is going to end up on academic probation. It's pretty exciting - but it does mean you never end up with perfect sims who get to the top of their career ladders, get all As at school or end up in perma plat. I've only had one sim in perma plat ever and I figured he'd earned it!
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