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leog4u · 1 month

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Game Design and Porn Pt. 1

or, How To Fuck Up The Best Intrinsic Reward Ever

Hi, I'm Leo G, veteran pervert. One time while chatting in a server exclusively made of porn artists, I brought up the game design of a porn game I enjoyed. One of them laughed, saying "Who cares, it's just a porn game?" Being unwell, I never let this go. Since then, I have played many adult games and took each one as serious products made by professionals. Fast forward to today, and the demo for my porn game, Joker's Trip, is nearing completion. I also have some sci-fi erotica you should check out.

So you wanna make a porn game. You heard they make money, and hey what’s more fun than making a video game AND porn? But you don’t know where to begin! Well don’t worry, Leo’s got you covered. We’re gonna walk through the line of thinking you should have when designing your porn game. There's gonna be at least three parts to this, with part 1 focusing on how to reward your player.

Define "porn game" for me, Leo.

There are porn games, and then games with porn in them. A porn game is a game where you won’t last 5 minutes, where everything exists solely to meet and, subsequently, fuck. A game with porn in it is a game where everything exists for the purpose of the game, and also, you fuck. Fate Stay Night, for example, is a VN with a story that just so happens to have some CGs where the protagonist rails Saber, but is mainly about Shirou and the Holy Grail War. Much like how I would call Castlevania a game with horror in it, but not a horror game.

Porn games are a lot like horror games. They both get a bad rap for being cheap to make, appealing to base instincts, and generally being low quality. They're also both not actual genres of games, but genres of content. Think about it, if I asked you what a horror game is, you'd say a game that's scary. But what's the actual game part? The unfortunate answer would most likely be "walking sim," but there are a lot of examples that are FPSes, puzzles, driving sims, platformers, deck builders, the list goes on.

The most common genres of game I see for porn games these days are by far RPG Maker RPGs and VNs. I won’t be talking about VNs because they’re closer to writing than game design, which isn’t a flaw but a feature. What used to be everywhere, in days of old, were breakout games, where the more bricks and levels were cleared, the more of the sexy image would be revealed in the background. Other arcadey type deals like shoot ‘em ups and mahjong were also around, and had a similar “strip ‘em down until you have sex” gameplay loop.

Okay, so what’s an intrinsic reward?

There’s intrinsic rewards, and there're extrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards, generally, are the number go up rewards. Things that make your character stronger, or give you more resources to buy new gear or whatever. Intrinsic rewards in games can cover a large swathe of things. It can be the feeling of satisfaction of completing a puzzle, a piece of lore or world building, or a new dialogue option with a character you want to fuck.

I like fucking characters, are we talking about porn now?

Yes! I’m of the opinion that you literally can’t make a better intrinsic reward than pornography. On top of setting the tone for the entirety of the game., at its best it can add to a story, add to someone’s character development, or be a beautiful piece of art to look at. AND you can jack off to it! Unfortunately, that’s at its best. Let’s talk about how porn is delivered in a theoretical RPG porn game. (As a head’s up, there will be talk of “bad end” scenes, but this is under the assumption that the player is the one consenting.)

So you’re playing an RPG and get into a fight. Maybe you were underleveled or too cumbrained to remember to buy healing potions. Then your HP goes to zero, and instead of going back to the title screen, you’re getting fucked by orcs. That’s right, let’s talk about Game Over CGs.

You get to watch porn when you lose?

To someone making a porn game with a battle system, this delivery method makes sense. The characters in this world are driven primarily by lust, this is just the obvious conclusion. And it doesn’t even have to be non-consensual! Games like Future Fragments show that it can be presented as a sexy inconvenience rather than anything uncomfortable for the player or our hero. Game Over CGs even have the benefit of softening the blow of defeat, by giving the player a chance to reflect on their defeat and jerk off. Even better if losing a fight isn’t lost progress, but rather a bump in the road. However, there’s a problem here. The player is a dog, and we’re rewarding bad behavior.

The porn is an intrinsic reward, so why are we giving it to the player for losing? Incentivizing losing on purpose isn’t just bad game design, but a waste of time. And to that end, a lot of porn games try to give solutions to this. One being a kill button on the keyboard or a skill that instantly KOs our hero to get to the lose screen faster. What might seem like a convenience is really just expediting failure.

What it says is that the gameplay doesn’t actually matter. You’re just here for the porn, right? In that case there’s plenty of places I can go to see a chick with huge knockers get railed by an orc, with the added bonus of not having to play forgettable and mid turn based combat!

Another solution I’ve seen is the game outright telling you, “hey don’t bother killing yourself to see the porn. Once you beat the game all of the scenes you missed will be unlocked!” At first this seems like a reasonable way to go about it, but it comes with another problem: your game better be fucking good to make me play through the entire thing before getting to see cock. Like I said earlier, porn at its best can reveal things about the world and drive character development. I uh. Just beat the game. I don’t care anymore. Showing me a scene that’s taken out of context by a factor of 5 hours or more isn’t what I’d call great game design or story telling. It’s also too little, too late.

What if we made the porn actual rewards?

Now we’re getting somewhere! Let’s make the reward…a reward! What if, every time the player beats a level, we get some porn? If we tie the CG to beating the boss, we’ll be tying the reward to game progression. That’s good right? So now, on top of the extrinsic rewards you’d normally get for beating a boss (a lot of EXP, better gear, opened areas) we also get that sweet dopamine rush of pornography! So we’re good, right?

There’s 1142 words left in this post, so I’m assuming no.

Well. It’s a start. It has the problem of predictability. If not handled properly, it comes off as lazy. As a game designer, one of your goals is to not constantly remind your player that they’re playing a video game. Get through the level, get porn. It feels a little too “mouse in a maze looking for cheese” for my taste. And much like the game over method, if the actual game itself is mid, the player will start to question if the reward is worth it, and might be afflicted with the worst condition a player could receive: boredom.

Of course there are exceptions. In puzzle or arcade type games where you don’t get extrinsic rewards, giving the player porn as another form of reward per level or whatever is perfectly reasonable (though it does have the issue of being predictable.) This is a perfectly good way of doing it if your game is short, or if the game is, y’know, good and fun to play. Bad Color’s game, Heroine Conquest, is a level based puzzle game with porn as the reward, but only when you do good. Combining the actual challenge of mastering the game, with a genuinely unique game loop makes for a feeling of accomplishment when beating a level. Pair that up with a sex cutscene, and the dopamine rush will hit.

So! Let’s combine giving the player a power trip, with a less rigid structure for giving the player porn. Instead of tying the porn to purely progression gates, let’s tie it to the progression.

Plot milestones

In Third Crisis, sex scenes are peppered throughout the regular game’s plot, starting with some lesbian bondage before introducing the protagonist, who goes through a tutorial before having their own horny encounters. It’s not just given when you win or lose, but is a natural part of the game. Beating bosses, losing to enemies, and exploring dialogue options in sidequests all lead to unlocking new CGs.

Now what’s nice about that, is that the sex isn’t placed somewhere extremely predictable. It isn’t just a reward for beating The Boss Of Forest Zone, Now Go To Ice Zone And Beat The Ice Boss For More Cock. Because that’s the biggest issue of predictable rewards, you know you’re not getting anything until that checkpoint, which will make the player weigh whether or not it’s even worth continuing. This is fine, again, for an arcade type game, not an RPG or adventure game. By sprinkling sex throughout the plot itself, the player will not only want to progress, but their curiosity will have them wondering “what else is out there?”

Rewarding exploration

By putting sex scenes behind optional side quests or encounters, the dog that is the player will scour every single corner of the map, and leave no pixel unturned. Personally, that’s more exciting to me than what you’ll get in the main progression route. In Future Fragments the player can find their rival Faye in sexual situations if they explore the map enough. These are completely optional, and don’t give any direct rewards like more HP or an item, but they’re by far what motivates me to explore the maps as thoroughly as possible, more so than the plot macguffins the game is named after!

So now the player is excited. Sex can happen anywhere. Maybe that daunting off road path with stronger monsters isn’t just hiding a secret, but a sexy secret! They’ll be more likely to venture down those optional paths you painstakingly made.

If we’re using sex in game overs, boss fights, and just randos, why not put it everywhere?

So now I want to talk about the concept of a “sex stat”. It’s not a bad idea! Say, the higher the player’s sex stat is, the more opportunities you unlock for fucking. It could even be tied to the player character’s personality, and affect the story! Instead of using a sword and shield, they’ll end any conflict with sass and sex. They open their eyes to the horny world around them and stop being a hero, and instead become a succubus, and the ending is a massive cum filled orgy.

That sounds excessive

Yeah, it does, doesn’t it.

I’m not a fan of “corruption” systems in porn games. Corruption as a kink is totally fine, and having it be a part of the story lets you incorporate more sexuality into the plot. But as I alluded to, it snowballs pretty fast (and I’m not talking about spitting in someone’s mouth). It ends up being like a cheat code, where you’re bypassing parts of the game for no cost. It stops being a reward, it stops being unexpected, and it stops it from being sexy.

Wait, what? Stops being sexy? What’s not sexy about a succubus orgy?

Alright, listen, we gotta rein it in for a minute. This isn’t so much about game design as it is about writing erotica, but if you have a world where everyone’s fucking and sucking 24/7, there’s no contrast to make what would normally be a hot taboo a hot taboo. If everybody’s naked, nobody’s naked. The aforementioned snowball effect of a corruption system can be seen if you play literally any game that has one. It won’t take long to not have to engage with any combat or adventuring system if you can just press the “Submit to the big dick warlock” button and watch porn to progress.

Which, now that I said that, is exactly the problem. Imagine any other rpg you’ve ever played. Now imagine if every encounter and dialogue option had an option to just watch a short cutscene to skip the encounter. That would suck ass, right? Literally no difference here.

It would. Hey, I’m sort of lost now.

Don’t worry, we’re wrapping this up.

So what did we learn? We learned game over CGs have a critical design flaw that shouldn’t be relied on. We learned that predictable rewards can lead to boredom. We learned to keep sex as a reward and not devalue it.

To summarize, here’s a neat trick to know where to put your porn scenes.

”Would I put an Xbox Live achievement here?”

It’s that easy. “Lose to Goblins for the first time,” that’s an achievement. “Beat orc commander,” that’s an achievement. “Find Hubert the Magical Dickhead,” that’s an achievement. Using that as a guideline is foolproof. Almost.

This sounds like it’d take a lot of resources

It sure does! But don’t worry. I’ll cover that in the next post talking all about how to deal with the resource management of a porn game.

(Shoutout to Taylor, my guy for editing!)

#Leo Gab #game design #game dev

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chrissieyt · 1 year

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Chrissie’s Corner Save File V1.0

Welcome to version 1.0 of my new Sims 4 save file that’s been in the works for 4+ years now where I’m rebuilding/renovating every single lot & world in the game, as well as adding hundreds of new Sims & giving makeovers to all of the EA townies as well!

So why is this Version 1.0?

Basically, this save has been in the works for over 4 years, since before I even had my YouTube channel! Because of that, I’ve decided to split releases up into “versions” because I keep having to go back & update old Sims, homes & lots as we get new packs. I also tend to “hop around” a lot between worlds & as a result of that, there are a couple of lots/households done in each world already - & with each new version, I’ll update it with 1-2 new worlds that are completely done! With Version 1.0 however, I’ve decided to focus on Willow Creek & Oasis Springs!

What does Version 1.0 include exactly?

Other than a bunch of “random” builds/households done in other worlds, Version 1.0 has Willow Creek & Oasis Springs completely done! That means all new community lots, new/renovated houses for EA townies & a bunch of new Sims that I’ve created & built homes for! There are literally hundreds of NEW Sims throughout the whole save file, & you can see a more detailed breakdown of what’s included in Willow Creek & Oasis Springs down below, as well as some more pictures of each world! I’ve also done a OVERVIEW VIDEO you can watch if you’d like!

How to download & install saves:

Once you’ve downloaded the “Corner Save File” from the link below, follow these steps, or check out this great VIDEO (starting at 15:03) that OshinSims made with instructions!

Make a backup of your Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves folder

Download the file, unzip, and place files in Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves.

I’ve tried to make sure the save file slot name is pretty high, but if it says you already have a file of that name, change the slot number. You should probably choose something higher. Just make sure you don’t have that slot number already. (Example: change Slot_00000055.save to Slot_00000099.save)

Open your game and enter the save. It's named “Corner Save 1.0”. You’ll see it pop up with my SimSelf as the preview family.

Once you’ve got the save opened, make sure you “save as” and create a new file for your own gameplay. This way you can use the save again without having to redownload.

Now you can play with the Sims I’ve created, or add your own & have fun!

Disclaimers + Optional Mods:

I built this save with the intention of integrating all of the different packs we have, & since I own all of the packs, I’ve used them all. So if you don’t own all of them, you might find that you’re missing some things & I don’t know how well it would work in that case.

I’ve also used a couple of mods! Now these aren’t “necessary” but I would highly recommend them to add a bit more customization & useful gameplay. They’re really small mods too!

Mods I’ve used:

More Selectable Icons mod by @zerbu (To add the custom icons that I’ve used for the clubs I created as well as a couple of the holidays I added. These icons can also be used for SimTuber Avatars & Lifestyle Brand logos too!

Venue Changes mod by @zerbu (This mod unlocks a lot of the “specialty lots” that came with packs - like the Chalet, Myshuno Gardens, etc - but I used it to allow students to have club gatherings on the High School lot! So a couple of the teen clubs have the High School as their club hangout.)

Another mod I’d HIGHLY recommend is MC Command Center by deaderpool & I used it a lot to do the setup for my save - but it’s not necessary to have it if you want to play with the save!

Download HERE!

SimFileShare download, no adfly!

Alternate DOWNLOAD (Google Drive)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Included in Version 1.0:

Willow Creek - 17 Brand New Lots (residential & commercial) + 4 Renovated Residential Lots

Willow Creek has 5 Community Lots: A park; Lounge; Library & Café; Gym & Spa; Museum/Wedding Venue/Art Center/Café

11 NEW households, as well as a couple of new Sims/pets added to some of the EA households.

Oasis Springs - 14 Brand New Lots (residential & commercial) + 7 Renovated Residential Lots

Oasis Springs has 5 Community Lots: A park; Retail Bakery & Café; Nightclub & Lounge; Gym & Spa; Restaurant

10 NEW households, as well as a couple of new Sims/pets added to some of the EA households.

#simssave #sims save file #sims 4 save file #sims 4 save #sims4savefile #sims4save #sims4willowcreek #sims 4 willow creek #sims 4 oasis springs #sims4oasissprings

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pickles4nickles · 23 days

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So I’ve been watching playthroughs of Yakuza games for a while now, but when I saw that the newest game takes place in Hawai’i, the place where I was born, raised, and have lived in for nearly 30 years now, I knew that this was something I had to have first-hand experience with and not let some guy tell me how to feel about it, to put it bluntly.

I went on a month and a half long journey to finish this game, so I sat around for a bit like

Jesus Christ I should write a review on it.

So if you’d like to read about 5k words on what I thought about The Video Game™, here you go.

Overall, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a really really good game. However, as Hawai’i local it was kind of hard for me to turn my brain off to some of the cultural inaccuracies and as someone who tends to play smaller indie games, I clocked in about 110 hours on this and I burned out a little towards the end.

GAMEPLAY

Let’s get into Gameplay first because I think I have the most positive thoughts about it. If you haven’t heard my thoughts about Pokemon lately, it mostly boils down to “It’s the only RPG I’ve really been playing in recent years and the gameplay has been very watered down and I yearn for a decent PvE experience.” This game definitely scratched that itch in more ways than one.

Infinite Wealth’s turn-based combat system revolves around positioning. Some moves have an AoE of either a straight line or a circle. Positioning a character next to an ally will proc a combo move with them and positioning them near items will proc an item attack where you can beat a guy to death with a traffic cone or something.

The job system is robust. Every character starts off with a default class- Ichiban’s is Hero, an all-rounder that can pretty much do anything; characters like Nanba and Eric (I know the game calls him Tomi or Tomizawa, but I’m not the game and “Fuckin’ Eric” sounds way better than “Fuckin’ Tomi”) are magic-oriented, so they’re basically wizards by default. You can change their class to other jobs (Desperado is my favorite because it’s basically gun mage), which unlocks new skills as you level them up. You can also change jobs as much as you want and skills carry over between them, so there’s a bit of moveset mixing and matching that makes my brain feel good.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, (the Yakuza devs, which we’re just gonna abbreviate to RGG from here on out) have always been REALLY good at asset reuse (again, I cast a dirty look to Game Freak). They’ll make a whole-ass map of a region and reuse that same map for several games down the line. Not only do you spend a significant time in Ijincho again and not only do you go to Kamurocho for little bit… AGAIN, but there are two… what I can only call “macro” games that have the best asset reuse I’ve seen in, like, maybe anything ever.

DONDOKO ISLAND

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth comes with a whole-ass Animal Crossing clone that’s also kind of The Sims called Dondoko Island. In this, you rehab an island that’s being used as a dump for some trash pirates (no, seriously, they’re actually pirates, yar har and everything) back into a five star resort. There’s a whole-ass crafting system where you go around the island, harvesting resources, to build furniture and facilities, which include whole-ass buildings which have appeared in past Yakuza games. The crafting system is GREATLY improved over Animal Crossing: New Horizon in that you can skip the goddamn animation and craft multiple of the same items at once. You don’t even have to have all the materials in your inventory, it’ll take it from your storage. Placing items in the world is also in an overhead view and the only grievance I have with the system is that placing paths is really weird and you can only place a limited number of them. But overall, Nintendo, was it really that hard to put into the video game. Why did you make AC:NH disrespect my time in that way?

Once the island has been cleaned up enough, you can start inviting guests over, which all have their own set of preferences for the vibe of your island (rustic, pop, sleazy, etc), their lodging quality, and how much of the island’s flora and fauna (and minerals, I guess??) you’ve discovered.

I really really liked Dondoko Island because who am I to say no to a management mini/macro game with decoration elements. I mostly really appreciate that it doesn’t waste your time. I wanna say I finished it in like less than 20 hours… which is not short for a game within a game (actually, that’s insane for a game within a game), but for a game of this genre, it’s pretty short.

There’s also an entire separate mini-island that further helps you with efficiently running your island by passively collecting resources over time and just being a general stockpile of bugs and fish to catch. But I can’t talk about this part without talking about…

SUJIMON

A returning character voiced by Keith Silverstein in the English dub – yes, that Keith Silverstein, who voices Masayoshi Shido of Persona 5 and Zhongli of The Genshin Impact™ is a professor who documents the behavior of weird and often hostile middle aged men, called Sujimon. When Ichiban goes to Hawai’i, he asks him to also document the native Sujimon there as there’s a prominent Sujimon scene there. Mans wasn’t kidding as there is an underground, more or less ilicit Sujimon fight club called The Sujimon League with its own Elite Four called The Discrete Four.

In the previous game, Sujimon was just your bestiary (literally called the Sujidex), but now it’s a whole-ass game, which I can mostly only describe as simplified Yokai Watch, but a glorified card game. Just so we’re not here for forever talking about middle-aged men cockfights… because I can talk about the mechanics and inner workings of middle-aged men cockfights for a hot minute, Sujimon League basically operates on a 3v3, with an additional bench of 3, rock-paper-scissors kind of system. You’ll need strong Sujimon to get through this macro game and you’ll recruit new guys through four ways- through random fights on the map, through literal Pokemon GO raids, through a gacha system, and through combining Sujimon of the same type into stronger Sujimon (don’t think too hard about that one). I had a LOT of fun with this and, again, it scratched an itch I’ve had for a while. Almost all of the Sujimon are just guys you’ll fight in-game, so, again, an excellent use of asset reuse.

Sujimon smoothly integrates into Dondoko Island in a way that makes Palworld look even more balls-less than it already is. You know that little island I was talking about a few paragraphs back? That’s Dondoko Farm. You can put your Sujimon to work on it! As you’re running around on Dondoko Island, letting it consume your life, your Sujimon will grow crops, scrounge around for resources, and earn some cash for you. The island also has some resources to help with Sujimon League by leveling them up with a small investment of some dondoko bucks and your time, but also a Pokemon-Amie type mini-mini game that helps strengthen the friendship of your current Sujimon team.

Yes.

This game lets you pet-

The sweaty, weirdo middle-aged men.

Don’t think about it too hard.

Especially don’t think about it too hard when you have a Sujimon on your team that uses Xander Mobus’ voice clips.

Anyway, there’s also another minigame called Sicko Snap, which is basically Pokemon Snap with Sujimon. It’s a good one, too.

STORY

I guess… the best way I’d explain my feelings on Infinite Wealth’s story is

Objectively, this is an okay story. Like, it’s par for the course for a Yakuza game. I have a lot of personal grievances with this plot which I’ll fully unsheathe my blade for in the next section, but for now I’ll just say… this game is basically Hawaii Five-O crammed into a Yakuza game and that was an emotional rollercoaster ride that I’m not sure I enjoyed.

Like a Dragon’s main theme is “Even if you hit rock bottom, it’s never too late to get back up again” and that’s something I hold near and dear to my heart.

They have used this theme to my benefit and to my dismay as this also apparently means it’s never too late for ~*Romance*~ which, sure, yeah, okay, true, but did it have to be Ichiban and Saeko?

I’m trying to give the game the benefit of the doubt because… to me, it’s mostly one-sided (as in, like, Saeko’s willing to give him a chance, but isn’t as crazy for Ichiban as he is for her) and, like, dude is allowed to have a crush. But from what I have seen… because I never got around to finishing her Drink Link (I was gonna but I’m like really burned out on the game), they kinda strap C4 to the Bechdel Test and raze a village to the ground with it when it comes to Saeko’s character arc because most of her dialogue and interactions are about The Incident with Ichiban, which sucks because she had more character than just a romance interest for the protagonist in the previous game. If you’re also REALLY not into this plot point like I am, the story DOES NOT let you forget that this indeed happened as it seems to be a plot thread that might continue into the next game as well.

Needless to say, I don’t ship it, and I don’t get to block tags and just walk away from this one.

The game also kinda keeps nudging at, “Hehe, Chitose’s pretty cute too, right?” to which I say

Yes I understand she’s of legal age but she’s only like 21 AT MOST and Ichiban’s like 40-something you stop with that.

It doesn’t feel like Ichiban really had a character arc in this… unless you count “proposing on the first date” to “saying I love you on a redo and then being weird about it again” as character growth. He went to Hawai’i, had some shenanigans, found mom, got backstabbed again, fought the cult (which I’ll be really salty about in the next section), went back home to help Eiji’s character arc. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just… Ichiban went on another adventure. And it was ok. I think maybe the game was sizing him up to, again, take Kiryu’s place and be The Hero, but… we already did that already? And I’m not even sure if the game was able to complete that message by the end of the game.

Kiryu probably got the most character development out of this game and talking this over with my friend Andrew, he brought up that it kinda wasn’t fair that this is supposed to be Ichiban’s game, but he had to share half of it with Kiryu. And I agree. His sections were also really hard to get into if you haven’t been a longtime fan. Again, I have a decent amount of Yakuza knowledge, but with Kiryu’s memories, a LOT of it went over my head. It seems like RGG’s been trying to retire him as a protagonist for like three games now and MAYBE this time they’ll actually do it after this victory lap they’ve given him. But he did learn that “my friends are my power” and “never ever give up, you still have time to do better.” And you know what, that’s rad.

As far as the villains go, just, I dunno, they’re fine? Ebina and Eiji are very “okay bitch, stay mad, then,” and it’s. Fine? My only complaint is that Ebina’s arc felt like it was under-seasoned before they put it in the oven to cook and they could’ve peppered it on a little earlier in the game or something. Bryce’s entire deal I may have taken a little too personally, but that’s for later. Dwight was literally just Danny Trejo doing a villain role and I have absolutely no qualms with it. He was fun to watch.

The supporting cast was fun as always. Eric I hated at first, but he grew on me in the same way that, like, I’d bully a friend. Chitose I also kinda hated at first, was very sus of, but then she had a character arc that was pretty good. The Yokohama gang didn’t really have character arcs to them, but they were still fun to hang out with nonetheless. We got to learn a little bit more about Seonhee and she’s really fun. Both her and Zhao, who is my favorite for several reasons, are really really fun characters as they are both crime bosses (former, in Zhao’s case) who are BIG FUCKING WEIRDOS and I love them for it.

Joongi Han becomes a party member WAY too late in my opinion that, in a way, he’s technically an optional party member, or at least like getting a Dratini right before the Pokemon League in Gold/Silver/Crystal. He had some fun character moments, but felt kinda like an afterthought.

But also, ain’t no way he got his Hawai’i clothes at Hilo Hattie. There’s no way.

To wrap up my thoughts on the main story, I’d just like to say: the plot point that they sailed to Japan on a little tugboat in a handful of hours as opposed to WEEKS is peak Hawaii Five-O vibes and it infuriates me, but everyone kept telling me “it’s okay, the coast guard picked them up, like, halfway” and I will sit down and not start a fistfight over it. And just. That was the vibe of the game for me. Just… alternating between a J-Drama and Hawaii Five-O.

I don’t really have much to say about the substories except that they’re either almost Oscar-worthy material or they’re a snoozefest that I just tabbed through. I can really only think of three substories off the top of my head that were EXCELLENT, though - Nancy and Olivia, the artificial snow quest (THIS ONE IS EMOTIONAL WHIPLASH), and the traveling aquarium one. The rest I mostly just tabbed through because they were just……. Eh. But I think I’m okay with that since we have Sujimon and Dondoko to make up for it.

THE CULTURAL GRIEVANCES

So as I type this section out, I run my hands over my face to remind myself and say

This is a game that takes place in Hawai’i from a Japanese perspective, written primarily for a Japanese audience and I assume that certain things may come from a place of ignorance, but not maliciousness.

Hey Tumblr.

I want you to read that first bolded sentence again.

Because I know how you guys are with reading comprehension.

But that being said, as a Hawai’i-born Chinese person, there’s quite a lot about the Hawai’i cultural aspects of this game that I have problems with. If you wanna see me roast this game, you can stick around, but if not… Here is your chance to bail.

I’ve tried my best to write this in a way where I look at the thing that pissed me off and ask myself, “Am I taking this too seriously or do I actually have a problem with it?” and write more or less objectively, but some of it might still come off as overly caustic. Just. I tried.

And after a deep breath,

Ho brah,

We go.

WHAT IS HAWAIIAN CULTURE, ANYWAY?

To start off, I’m not sure if RGG knows the difference between being a Hawai’i local and actually being of Hawaiian blood…? The game mentions at the very beginning that Akane is half-Japanese… and half-Hawaiian, which makes Ichiban one-fourth Hawaiian, which makes ME kinda… squint. Like, we’d need to know more about Akane’s backstory, but if you know anything about indigenous cultures, finding someone who’s half native is HARD nowadays. Akane also looks pretty light skinned for someone who’s allegedly half-Japanese, half-Hawaiian but that’s just my tiny nitpick?

I’m also… not sure what kinda research RGG did on Hawaiian last names because some of the ones I see on random enemies are kinda…

Who is that

What is that

I have never seen anyone named that in my entire life

Sure, my worldview is a little shut in, but, no, what IS that?

Mililani is not a last name, that’s a neighborhood, why’s she Lani Mililani?

WHAT IS THAT?

The pidgin in the game is also there, but… small kine hit or miss. For those of you who don’t know, pidgin is Hawai’i’s creole, which came from a bunch of cultures who don’t speak the same language eventually falling into a kitbashed language system that works for everyone. Looking at the VA listing in the credits, they did hire some local people (they have Hawaiian names) and some of the VO performances work really well like Obispo in the restaurant side story and the cab driver dialogue that ONLY comes up in the Japanese audio version of the game for some reason. Others… are… hm (I don’t know what’s going on with Jeff the taco truck guy). I feel like the voice director got the intonation on the line reads down pretty well, but on the localization side, the syntax and grammar are a little off. Pidgin tends to come off as “broken english,” but it’s technically not since it’s its own language system with its own rules. So you have a lot of line reads that are in the right inflection, but the way it’s written is wrong for pidgin dialogue.

And it just doesn’t sound 100% right to me.

There’s also some… small pronunciation nitpicks that I have. Ukulele is pronounced the white way - it’s not Yooka-Laylee like the Chameleon and Bat, it’s ook-oo-leh-leh like Tapu Lele, the Pokemon. Some characters pronounce Hawai’i as huh-why and not ha-wuh-ee, which is more right (it’s SUPPOSED to be ha-vai-ee but I’m not native Hawaiian and this is kind of an axolotl situation so, y’know).

But shout-outs to the “Whatchu lookin’ at?” line guy.

Because that one is just, no notes, perfect.

NOTHING CAN BE NORMAL, I GUESS

Something that rubbed me the wrong way in this game is the mystification of a culture that’s foreign to you, that is, taking a culture that’s not yours and describing or representing it in such a way that it sounds so deviant and hard to comprehend compared to the one you’re used to. Think of that one tweet where someone describes hamburgers like a white person would describe asian fruit.

There's the lei substory where the girl needs to make a lei with blue plumerias (which does not exist by the way) because there’s an urban legend that if you give a blue plumeria lei to someone, it’s a way of confessing your true love. Lei are just… things you give as, like, a “congrats!” kind of a thing. Or if you wanna be touristy about it, a “welcome!” kind of gift. There’s nothing mystical about it, most grocery stores stock a few that you can just pick up, grab and go style.

The entire game mechanic of “shaka to make friends” was so?? Like maybe after 8 hours into the Hawai’i map, I was like, okay, I’ll just… fine. I’ll accept it. But my god did I not appreciate it when Kson came up to me and was like “what’s a motherfucker gotta do around here to make some friends” and told me how FRIENDLY the Hawaiian people were and how you can just throw a shaka to make friends; while me, probably the saltiest, introverted Hawai’i local that throws stink-eye at tourists who can’t watch where they’re going, playing the video game on that day was like, “We don’t fucking do that, hello??” I don’t even know why we shaka?? Most people you ask that question will just be like “idk it’s the local thing, they do it at the end of the 5pm news on KHON2.”

There’s a substory in this game with a character named Nathan, but we were all calling him racist Alpharad because he kinda looks like him (ALPHARAD HIMSELF IS NOT RACIST OR IN THIS GAME I WANNA CLARIFY THAT) and he’s basically, like… a weeb. He’s recording what seems like a PBS special on Japanese tourists in Hawai’i, but he’s kind of a shitter about it. He makes Ichiban choose between local foods and cold-ass rice and becomes upset when he chooses kalua pork over the rice since it wasn’t The Japanese Option. It escalates to making Ichiban play darts with shuriken and when he loses, he tells him to “live up to his dishonor,” slides him a knife and board, and asks him if he wants to take a finger or hara-kiri. To which Ichiban goes “dude, I get you like Japanese culture, but you can’t treat people this way”

To which I look back at the game like

You clearly understand how this feels, so why are you doing this to Hawaiian culture?

Again, I understand that a lot of this game was written with maybe just ignorance, and not malice, and this isn’t really a call-out post to RGG or anything, but BOY…

Okay.

Now we get to my biggest gripe with this game.

PALEKANA CAN SUCK MY NUTS

I’m kinda disappointed in their choice to use a Hawaiian cult as a plot point. It’s not quite a native savages kind of a vibe, but… In the year of our lord 2024, I thought we would know better than to portray an indigenous religion as a bloodthirsty cult? I also don’t like how they’re conflating the Hawaiian religion with what’s more like a Christian/Catholic cult in this.

Palekana is portrayed as “cultists who worship a goddess who lives in a mystical land, forbidden only to her chosen and maybe one day we’ll be worthy of her blessings.” Hawaiian religion is… not… like that at all? They did get the part about “giving back to the community” correct as a part of Hawaiian culture is mālama ‘aina, meaning, you need to care for the land you live on, which is… reasonable? I guess the other basic idea of Hawaiian religion is that certain places, things, and times that are important, and you shouldn’t touch it unless you wanna fuck around and find out. But the game just kinda wildly overboils this.

Like, I don’t claim to be an expert, I’ve only scraped the basics from what I learned in school (a year’s worth of Hawaiiana lessons in middle school, a semester’s worth in college; went to a private Catholic school, took two world religion classes in college), but Palekana has a very Catholic European religion kind vibe instead of a Hawaiian one. And I really, really don’t like that the game conflates the two. The Palekana cultists wear hoods, which is a distinctly European thing (it’s too hot for hoods here!). The beaded necklaces also seem more like rosaries, which, again, very Catholic. The idea that a god-figure will save you is also a VERY Catholic idea. I’m also assuming the goddess Nele that they use in the game is an expy for Pele, which… okay, like, you can do that with locations. Ala Moana Shopping Center represented as Anaconda Mall in the game hurts me a lot, but… to change up the name of the most prominent deity in Hawaiian religion is like

Dude, I’m not Hawaiian, but I know better than to shit on Pele?

Maybe I’m taking this a little too seriously, but it comes off as a little(??) disrespectful.

To give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe RGG wrote this plot point in this way to be like, well, they’re the villains, so we’ll write them so hyperbolically evil and wrong so people won’t mistake that for the actual culture? But my gut reaction is that they’re only writing from what they’ve seen in the movies and they wanted to make a story like that.

This was my least favorite part of the plot because not only does the cult aspect feel like it’s in bad taste, but it’s SO MUCH of the story and you REALLY can’t get away from it.

Alright. So now that I’ve aired that out of my system, I’m finally capping off this section with the part of the game that hit the closest to me and that is

CHINESE IN HAWAI’I

Listen. Again.

This is a story about Hawai’i, written by a Japanese team, for a Japanese audience.

Yakuza is a series that often talks about the racial conflict between the Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans. And I don’t expect them to portray any of these groups in anything more than a neutral light in this game about Gang Crime.

But ohhhhh my gooooood did they get the Chinatown section so wroooooooong.

Right off the bat, the big glaring problem I have with this game is. All the guys speak Mandarin. I think they might just be reusing voice clips from Yakuza 7, which, sure, fine, I understand that video games are hard to make and expensive.

In Hawai’i, like, real-world Hawai’i, not the bizzaro Hawai’i this game takes place in, we’re definitely starting to see more Mandarin-speaking immigrants show up, but most of the town speaks Cantonese.

Most of the people here a generation or two above me come from Guangdong or Hong Kong, which are Cantonese-speaking areas. It’s an entirely different dialect that’s really only been represented in small bits in media I’m familiar with, like in Jackie Chan Adventures (the uncle’s chant is basically “no more ghosts, get out of here” in Cantonese) and Digimon Tamers (“Moumentai” is “it’s okay/don’t worry about it” in Cantonese), and it seems really hard to get VAs that speak it, so I’m not… really that mad about it.

BUT. Then there’s Wong Tou.

Wong is the Cantonese pronunciation of 黄 , Huang or Hwang in Mandarin.

So like… clearly they knew?? But?? Decided not to go all in on it??

(And then Daniel Dae Kim is his face model and I just??? Bro’s Korean, hello?????)

And then there’s the name of Wong Tou’s gang. The Ganzhe.

Which is a stupid name.

The Chinese dictionary gives me 甘蔗 which translates to sugarcane, which. I get it. The plantation times. The Chinese and the Japanese and the Filipinos and the Portuguese and whatever all used to work on the cane plantations.

…But you’re out here calling your BIG KNIFE GANG “Sugarcane??”

My guy, you could start a reggae band with that name instead.

SPEAKING OF REGGAE-

No one knows how to pronounce Ganzhe properly besides Eric’s VA apparently? All the other VAs pronounce the gan closer to “van” when it’s supposed to be more like a “gone.”

Yes. That’s right.

Ganzhe is pronounced more like ganja.

You know.

The Marajuanas™

I’m a Hawai’i-born Chinese, first-generation local on my mom’s side and third-gen local on my dad’s. I grew up in Chinatown, so this was a section of the game that was near and dear to my heart. So I THINK and HOPE you’d understand my frustration to see that work needed to be done on the representation of my culture in this game. It was definitely a little fun to see my hometown modeled in this game- they got Maunakea Marketplace and Keikaulike Mall down pretty accurately and some of the motifs on the buildings made me do a double take because they were so familiar to me. BUT, man, this cultural aspect of the game needed A LOT of work.

SO TO FINALLY CLOSE THIS OUT

Japanese people love Hawai'i a lot.

I think Japanese people love Hawai'i more than Hawai'i locals do.

But as for portraying it accurately, I understand that no one can do it as well as a local islander can. Did I personally think they did the best they could?

………………ehh

Like, if you turn your brain off, it's fine??

If you turn your brain off and not let Palekana get to you, this game is fine.

It can be a little campy.

It can be a little Hollywood.

It can be a little Disneyland.

And despite my four pages of bitching about it, at the end of the day. It is fine.

So with that, I’ve hit like ten full pages on this Google Doc. Despite half of this review being me complaining about what they got wrong about Hawai’i culture in this game, I liked it a lot! When the game didn't have me strapped down for an episode of a J-drama or Hawaii Five-O, I liked running around town, fighting guys, making other guys fight other guys, and managing a resort island. If anything, this game actually motivated me a little to make more local-themed stuff, because as I notice people getting older, there’s less and less people to correctly preserve highly specific culture stuff like this. So a lot of that responsibility falls on me, y’know?

Thank you for making it to the end of this review! I know it was a lot. I don’t know what happened. I do recommend this game, but I ask that you do NOT finish the game with the takeaway that you have learned everything there is to know about Hawai’i.

I’ll fight you with a lawn chair (in Minecraft, for the FBI agent reading this) if you do that.

Other than that, I think you’ll have a lot of fun but also take your time because this game is, like, a 100 hour commitment. Not Persona 5 Royal long, but a commitment nonetheless.

#like a dragon #like a dragon infinite wealth #pickle art #sure uhh I guess I will put this in the tag #IF YOU FOUND THIS VIA THE TAG AND YOU REALLY LIKE THIS GAME #HI HELLO I DO TOO I JUST HAVE SOME STRONG OPINIONS ABOUT THE CULTURAL ACCURACY OF MY HOMETOWN #PLEASE DON'T YELL AT ME YOU CAN STILL ENJOY IT #anyway I've had this sitting around for like... most if not all of march #and I finally got the spoons to put the finishing touches on it #and come to terms that I'm probably not opening the game back up anytime soon

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intramoon · 10 months

Note

Hellooo 🥺 I wanted to know if you have followed a tutorial to make the last gifs? Or would you show how to make them? Than you so much 💕

I didn't follow any specific tutorial, I've just made a quick little process after researching how other people on Tumblr make gifs. I can tell you how I do but I would definitely recommend following a tutorial of someone more qualified! lol

Aj's Guide To Sims Gifs

I am going to show you how I made this gif of Wednesday:

You'll need:

A screen recording program; Streamlabs, OBS Studio

Adobe Photoshop (FYI I am using the newest version).

The full tutorial is below the cut.

I promise it is easy, this tutorial is just long because I want to cover all bases, so if you have no idea what any of what I am saying means you can still follow along easily!

Lets get started!

1. Installing Your Recording Programs

You'll need to be able to record your game. Any streaming or screen recording program with work perfectly! I use Streamlabs because that's what I use for Twitch, but OBS Studio will work too! I've used them all, I recommend Streamlabs because it's more user-friendly.

2. Setting Up Your Recording Programs

You'll need to set up a scene in your streaming program that records your display or your game. In Streamlabs you go to the plus bottom beside sources and add either a Display Capture or a Game Capture, select your display or game. Is there a difference? Using game capture will remove any of your miscellaneous desktop UI and you won't have to crop it out later down the line. Despite that being pretty handy, I do display capture because I am difficult. lol If you have questions about this step feel free to send a ask, but I am going to skip over this to be able to go into more detail about the gif-making process.

3. Recording Your Scenes

Now you'll need to record your scenes in-game! I recommend doing this with ReShade or gshade. I use ReShade. Just make sure your lighting is how you like, the time of day is how you like, and have fun! Tip #1: Save your game before you start recording any scenes. Especially if you are recording gameplay, this will allow you to go back if you miss an animation or interaction. You'll be able to reload your game where you were and you can try to capture the moment again. Tip #2: Only record for 10-20 seconds at a time. Yes, you'll have a bunch of small recordings and that is what you want. You'll have to import those clips to Photoshop and if they are over 30 seconds they are going to strain your computer and be difficult to work with. Record animations just one time through, and re-record from different angles. This will let you pick from a variety of clips to get the gif you want. For 5-7 gifs I have 15-ish recordings that are about 10 seconds each, for reference. Tip #3: If you are alpha like me and are plagued by alpha hair vs. MXAO, just be intentional with the hair choices you make because you cannot edit the MXAO out later (I mean you can but it is a lot of fucking work). I have found updos are better at not having crazy MXAO spots. Or opt for using sims with darker hair.

4. Loading and Shortening Your Clip

Now, pick the first clip you'd like to convert to a gif. Go to File > Import > Import Videos To Frames and then select the video file for the clip. A window will appear that looks like this:

From here you are going to select the exact moment in your clip that you want to use. The two half-sliders underneath the timeline are your start and stop points. You want to move them to just encompass the moment you want to use. Try to cut it down as much as possible to just the moment you need, the longer the clip the more frames, the longer it will take to render and the harder it will be on your computer. You will know if your clip is too long with this pop-up:

Avoid this!

My cut-down clip looks like this:

5. Loading In Your Layers & Workspace

Your workspace should look like this!

You should see 100-200ish layers on the right side and a timeline on the bottom. If you do not see the layers on the right side go to Window > Layers, you should be able to see them after doing this. If you do not see a timeline on the bottom, go to Window > Timeline, you should be able to see it after doing this. If your timeline does not look like mine and rather like this:

Don't worry! That's totally fine! If you do want to change it click the three squares on the bottom left and it will show each individual frame.

6. Cropping and Resizing

You want to work with the smallest file possible so you can use the littlest amount of resources and have the smallest file size. This is, one, to reduce strain on your computer but also because Tumblr only allows gifs that are 10MB. We want to keep the gif as small as possible.

First, we are going to crop our gif! In my example, I need to crop out my computer UI. I think long gifs and square gifs look the best, so I am going to crop my long ways.

We also want to resize our gif to 540px. I know people get on me for resizing my screenshots to 540px but this is a MUST for gifs. If not they will be blurry. They are not like screenshots and portraits. In my crop settings, you'll see I have my set to 540px.

That makes the cropping resizing process quicker by killing two birds with one stone. Alternatively, you can crop as normal, and then resize to 540px afterward. I've done both and both get the same result! If your post will have two gifs side by side you'll want to crop your gifs to 268px.

If it takes Photoshop a little bit of time to crop the image, that is normal! Just requires some patience. The same goes for resizing. I've found sometimes resizing takes the longest.

My resized gif looks like this!

7. Editing Your Gif

Technically your gif is done! If you don't intend on editing it you can export it and you're done! I like to do a little editing on my gifs.

To edit gifs you'll need to use non-destructive editing methods, ie. adjustment layers or smart objects but most likely adjustment layers. If you, for example, edit by going to Image > and then adjusting your image, you'd have to do that to all your layers. That's not viable. Instead, you'll want to make a group at the top of all your layers and place your adjustment layers in the group. You can make a group by clicking the folder icon at the bottom of your layers panel. You can create adjustment layers by clicking the half-shaded circle on the bottom of your layers panel.

BE CAREFUL! Make sure you are doing edits on layer 1, if you edit other random layers the edit will only apply to those layers. I've made this mistake a few too many times.

As for sharpening, this is when you'd use your sharpening action or sharpen it yourself. I am going to be using this sharpening action by insomniacgifs. I've used a handful but this is the one I like the most because it converts my layers into a smart object that lets me do more edits later (which I will show you).

All sharpening actions are different so make sure to read their instructions before you use them. Some sharpening actions have a layer limit so they will not work on longer gifs.

To start using insomniacgifs action I have to convert my layers to frames. They have an action for this. I select "Layer 1" and run their "Frames to Timeline" action.

Now my layers are in a smart object!

Smart objects are a non-destructive way to edit and something I recommend using with gifs and your edits. Smart objects also preserve the quality of your images despite you resizing and editing your image.

In regards to gifs, this allows me to use Camera Raw Filter and more heavily edit my gif! All I am going to do is open Camera Raw Filter and edit away! It will apply my edits to a layer attached to this smart object.

After I've done my edits, I will pick which level of sharpening I want to use from insomniacgifs action. I usually pick soft. I am going to press play on the "Soft" action. This does sometimes take a while to load. You may get a progress bar. Just be patient. This may take a few minutes.

Now that the Soft actions have finished, my gif is sharpened! I am extra and want to tweak my gif a little more. After finishing the Soft action all my layers will be in a "gif" folder. Remember how I mentioned before that to edit gifs you want to place a group above your layers and place your adjustment layers inside? I am going to do that now! It looks something like this:

8. Saving Your Gif

Now, finally, we can save! This is the easiest part! Go to File > Export > Export for The Web (Legacy). I window will open that looks like this:

In the top right, make sure the file type is set to GIF. Here you can play your gif and see it in action! Now, this is what I normally notice if I do not like the speed of the gif. It defaults to 0.06 seconds per frame. Sometimes I like this slow pace to get a dreamier gif but with this gif, it's too slow. I will show you how to fix it. Close this window and go to your timeline. Shift + Left-Click the first and last layers on the timeline. Right-click on the frame duration.

Now click other and change it to your desired duration. For me, that will be 0.03 seconds.

Now let's try to save again! This is the end result!

If you have questions please do not hesitate to ask! I will update this tutorial as people ask questions and clarification is needed! You can always hit me up if you need help!

#Tutorial #Asks #anonymous #Oof this #was a lot of work but I hope it helps you #if you want to learn now to make gifs!

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madsims4finds · 3 months

Text

Sooo Paralives and the Brainwashing EA has done

It's funny. Paralives launched a gameplay video that looks really good, along with some announcements. One of them being that they won't be offering paid DLC. I was watching Satch on Sims and him, plus a few other people, seem to think this is a bad move.

No shade, but it's easy to tell people who don't really game and all they play is the Sims. Like EA got yall so brainwashed that you actually think you're SUPPOSED to be getting charged for base game features.

His concern was wanting a different world to play in or different aethitics. Who said we can't get that for free? We may not know what all features Paralives are going to offer, but what rule says that they can't give us another world to play in for free? I mean literally, there are so many games that do free updates and only offer DLC if it's a niche theme that not everyone would be into, or if they're adding ADDITIONAL gameplay that has no resemblance to what's already in the game.

Only EA removes base game features just to sell them back to you later. Or expect you to buy a multitude of different DLCs that have the exact same theme or niche. Now don't mind me while I gripe on this point a little.

Growing Together and Parenthood should have been one generations themed pack.

Discover University and High School Years should have been one pack focused on education.

All of the occults (vamps, wolves, witches, ghosts, aliens, mermaids, plant people) all should have been in ONE paranormal pack.

Features from Dine Out should have been included in Get to Work. There was no need for that to be seperate DLC when they both relate to active careers.

For Rent and City Living should have been one pack.

Simple features that should not be locked behind a pay wall, and I'm not even talking weather. Like why do I have to buy DLC just for my sims to have access to a hot tub (Perfect Patio), an ice cream maker (Cool Kitchen), a popcorn maker (movie night), for them to have the ability to carve a pumpkin or have different holloween costumes, when Holloween is a holiday that comes in the base game with base game ability to trick or treat, etc. (Spooky Stuff), I have to buy Vintage Glamour just to have a butler (if anything the butler should have been in get famous along with everything in the luxury stuff pack. These are all things that should just be base game that they force you to buy DLC to have access to.

And speaking of weather, I do feel like packs like seasons, pets, laundry day, bust the dust, and my wedding stories should all be base game features. Yeah I don't care if we're used to paying for stuff like seasons and pets, things can and should change. These are all life basics, why am I paying extra?

Now I'm not all negative. There are packs that actually make sense. Get Famous makes sense. So does Island Living, Strangervile, all the vacation packs (jungle, outdoor, snowy). Hell, even Journey to Batuu made sense. Yeah, hear me out. These are all OPTIONAL packs. Stuff that not everyone is going to play with but they each bring something different to the game. Now whether any of these packs are filled to the brim with playable content, thats another story. But at least the concept makes sense.

Okay, off my soapbox and moving on.

I will forever and always use No Man's Sky as an example of a development team that chose integrity over money. That team has been releasing update after update for YEARS. Significant updates too. Updates that completely change the gameplay mechanics, adds brand new features to the game, or updates/changes the look of the game. All for free. Yes, it's normal. Not normal in the sense that these companies should be releasing broken games or not delivering on promises to begin with, but at least they weren't money-hungry assholes about it. The amount of updates that game has, quite a few could have been paid DLC and they didn't do that. Now if they started releasing DLC with specialty ships or different cosmetic features, I would have no problem paying for that cause it's optional.

Paralives knows what they're doing. As long as they are focused on making the base game everything it's supposed to be, I don't see why they couldn't sell the type of optional DLC that makes sense in the future. But I'm certainly not going to say that they're making a mistake by not having paid DLC right now.

I can definitely see them adding things like weather, a new life stage, or new clothes/build objects for free and that's dope. I'm excited about Paralives more so than Life By You. But either way, I'm just glad EA has competition in the life simulation genre now that isn't just about farming management.

#life sims #paralives #sims 4

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dreamstatesims · 9 months

Note

hey girlie, hope you're doing well; having a good day/night:

i wanted to ask if you could give any advice with building and landscaping? i've always been a huge fan of your sim style, and i'm currently looking to get into building myself.

was there any videos you watched or accounts that were able to help you jump wholeheartedly into the wonderful world of build/buy mode?

thank you soooo much in advance <3

hi! i could go on and on about this topic so thanks for asking. last year i wrote about building here, if you recall. since that one was more about "vibe" maybe this one should be a little more technical? idk, i'm a dreamy creative so i'm sure this'll get emotional anyway lol.

i suggest picking a world or architectural style and let one inform the other. then research that style, look at floor plans and dive into pinterest for a while before you start building. if you don't already have one, get one and go collecting inspiration that you can reference later. here's mine, if you wanna check it out.

when landscaping i think about two key things: what style of gardening goes with this build (manicured, overgrown, minimal, etc) and i consider the trees and/or flowers i see in the world around my lot. i'll incorporate some to blend on and off-lot gardening. and i can't emphasize enough how important terrain painting is! in my opinion it really anchors everything down. for example, i paint all around and under landscaped areas, trees, the entire perimeter of the house/buildings, and anything else like pools, decks, driveways. it creates depth and makes it look like these things are really sprouting out of the ground. also paths! even if you don't have stones laid down, think about the routes sims will take to get from one place to another, like from the back porch to the pool, the marks little sneakers leave under the swing set when simmies play, from the mudroom to the trash bins by the garage. grass thins out and you'll see some dirt showing through regularly trodden routes, so paint those on to make the area look lived in.

the simpler the floor plan, the better. even if you pick a floor plan that's complicated, simplify it. you don't need a garage? remove it or convert it into something else. too many little rooms and hallways? open up those spaces or take them out entirely and push the necessary rooms you want to keep into that area. you'll find your builds will be much easier to play in this way and it won't take sims hours to get to the kitchen or up the stairs.

i have general dimensions for rooms that really work for me: kitchen 5x6, 6x6, 6x7 dining 4x5, 5x5, 5x6 living 5x6, 6x6, 6x7 half bath 2x2, 2x3 full bath 3x4, 4x4 owner's suite 5x6, 6x6 bedrooms 4x5, 5x5 hallways 2 spaces wide

maybe a bit tricky, but think about adding rooms in the roof. a play room, guest room, second living room, or office space. hell, even just an attic you can convert later as your family grows. when building attics, i'll lay out the roof design first and then see where i can build rooms inside. for easier gameplay you'll want to then break down the roof into sections so when you lower the walls you can see inside and the camera won't bounce around.

twistedmexi's TOOL mod is an absolute gamechanger and i highly recommend using it to expand your lot outside the lines. EA has decorated the world outside of your lot with fences and other features that suggest you can absolutely push things further. i'll setup whatever i want outside the lot inside my grid first and then move it all out together. i do this for play areas, picnic tables and umbrellas, firepits and seating. i'll put cars parallel parked on the road or in the driveway EA has provided. and don't forget about debug items like electrical poles, post boxes, bus stops, fire hydrants and other stuff you'd see around a neighborhood.

i'm subscribed to a handful builders on youtube that i'll watch from time to time. it's great to see what other folks are doing because this community is so creative and you'd be surprised the little tricks you'll pick up. these are some of my favorite builders: simproved, simsphony, plumbob kingdom, simcubeez, bojana sims.

if you have any more questions on specifics or want an actual tutorial on something, don't hesitate to ask! and that goes for anyone reading this very long-winded post. kudos if you made it this far!

#asked and answered #ts4 tutorial #tutorial

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platinumaspiration · 11 months

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well, @brandinotbroke just gave my ego the hugest boost with this tag game! I really shouldn't play this while in a bad mood tho :p

What’s your favourite sims death? I would have to say...probably flies. Never had it happen in my game (naturally), tho

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? 4t2 maxis match conversions, because it's gross and ugly :p No, but for real, I like all cc. People put a lot of time and love into what they create/convert/retexture/recolor. I think that should be recognized.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? No...who does that?

4. Do you use move objects? Yes, kind of have to sometimes!

5. Favorite mod? I had to go into my main save for this one haha. I'd say...all the anti-corruption mods. And to piggy back off of brandinotbroke, ACR! The rest I could probably live without if I could ever sort my folder. Oh, also, one mod I'd really like to give a try is Story Progression by LazyDuchess.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got? First purchased was Christmas 2005. My parents gifted me Sims 2 and then my birthday a month later I got University, I believe. I should show you all the video of me opening it and running off to play haha. First played was, I wanna say Urbz! and Bustin' Out. We would rent those from the video store.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? Alive. I recently found out my IRL BFF pronounces it as Living. I've known her almost 20 years and feel like I don't know her anymore 😅

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? Rhiannon, one of my model sims, but all 4 of my models are my favorite. I really should put Rhiannon as a townie in my uberhood. She deserves a life outside of posing.

9. Have you made a simself? Yes, like 18 years ago lol. Ended up corrupting the hood trying to move me with my 10 same face kids to a new neighborhood. I've really enjoyed the premade sims ever since.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? of sims 3 traits: absent-minded, light sleeper, brooding, over-emotional, nurturing, workaholic, frugal

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? TS4's #13 - Honey Blond

12. Favorite EA hair? probably aflongsimple or affuzzylongep

13. Favorite life stage? oh gosh... probably adult in any game lol

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? gameplay, I'll let @plumbtales and @kestrelteens do the building and inspo!

15. Are you a CC creator? I don't think I've created anything myself. I've converted a ton of stuff tho! I'd love to create something, but textures are so difficult for my brain to understand. I commend those who retexture!

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? Yeah! Baby Gang! lol, not like we do anything other than play online pvp games and share cc wips

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) 2 is my ultimate, though I'd love to dive back into Sims 3

18. Do you have any sims merch? Maybe someday @microscotch and I can make something palpable

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? Not gameplay (yet).

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? Well, I had dial up internet until about 2010 so... figure that one out haha. But yeah, I was a semi-realistic kind of girl up until about... 2020? 2021? when i made the switch to 4t2. Still working on becoming completely 4t2.

21. What’s your Origin ID? n/a lmao

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? Oh gosh, there's too many. All my mutuals, I love ya and your cc! Even some people who are not mutuals with me are my absolute favorite. I could never choose haha.

23. How long have you had a simblr? I think I just had my 2 year anniversary.

24. How do you edit your pictures? I recently commissioned the Queen of Renders ™ @microscotch to take preview pics for me while i was out of town lol. She also made me a photoshop template as well. (Go get a commission, she's having a sale right now 😉) For gameplay, I let reshade do the work for me and crop/size it to 700x934

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? Brandinotbroke gave the best answer haha. I honestly don't know what kit EA can come up with next

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? For Sims 2, probably Nightlife. The first 3 EPs, honestly. Sims 3 has to be Ambitions and Generations. Idk about Sims 4 as most I've played is about 2 hours in Strangerville as the Beakers.

Gonna tag baby gang, feel free to ignore! @microscotch @tvickiesims @lordcrumps @simsisit

thank you again to brandinotbroke for making my day, my week, my month and maybe even my year.

#tag game

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ecofinisher · 6 months

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Funny Sims meme I made - Part 2

This can happen in other cases too. I think this was actually a mod.... (Ah yes, River is dreaming of something)

Talking about River, during the years I don't remember seeing River in many gameplays of other Simmers. I know Holly and Lisa were common. Bebe sometimes too.

I found the eyes funny 🤩

I'm probably capable of remembering half of my classmates' names. With pictures it's probably easier for me to identify them from professional school back to 3/4th grade maybe? All Sunset Valians of the base game I can list them down without needing pictures.

The images look hideous the ore I look at it. (Gotta love seeing Lisa with those firecracker things inside the house. It's totally canon 😆)

Most of the drama I do contains random "vanishing" Sims or ruining Sims' love lives.

Why is there even a cheerleader outfit?

If she wasn't eating, I could sell this as Mermaidman's invisible car.

Who needs to carry a stool anyway? (Eco, you idiot they have a backpack capable of fitting 30 cars, 20 drumsets, 10 books and a Italy. It's the equivalent of a boy's pocket)

This is literally the truth, most of the jeans for women/girls have decor pockets, because.....they're useless I guess.

Nah I wasn't over yet. I just realized, I should have left this in the previous post, but it's alright. (Bonus question: Can you recognize the SIms behind the costume? 😎It's probably too obvious 😐)

Well, I heard this from comments on Youtube under the Simlished Song "Na Na Na" I would do the same, if I were able to sing.

So beautiful 😍 But my heart belongs to Xander Clavell with Ayesha Ansari 🤠🥺

OH, I read this theory on the Sims WIkia and actually......it would make sense, eventually? Or not eventually? My head also hurts and I think I wrote nonsense here, but there is a theory of TS2 Kaylynn being the daughter of Parker Langerak.

VIDEO CAPTION: Me picking a teenage girl to play with.

Alternate titles:

Me looking for a love interest

Me looking for a main superheroine protag

Me looking for someone to piss off

Me looking for someone to give the life she deserves

Me looking for a cameo to use in fanfics

Ok actually that was meant to be the last meme, but as this clip of Greg's diary is going around Instagram, etc. I have my outtake 😂 This was me after returning to Sims 3 after the pandemic started.

EDIT: I forgot these two pictures 🤣

That moment reminded me of specific scenes from iconic movies.

#ecofinisher #the sims #the sims 3 #tumblr memes #funny memes #memes #river mcirish #parker langerak #kaylynn langerak #mortimer goth #xander clavell

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thelazykiwi · 2 years

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Better Magnolia Promenade

Hello Everyone! I’m The Lazy Kiwi! This is my first ever time releasing a save file, I decided to make Magnolia Promenade better because, let’s be real, it’s honestly useless.

So before we get into this I would like to clear a few things up, I had a VERY tough time trying to get this out, so you will notice that Willow Creek and Oasis Spring have no houses.

This is because I was building in a save file I’m busy with and when the time came, I could not put these builds in a new save file! So Instead I’ll explain how you could do it below!

But first, Let me show you the builds:

This is a “drive-through” restaurant, heavily inspired by McDonalds, I’ve never built anything like it before so I had a fun time making it, it also has a menu with standard foods like burgers and hotdogs!

You could bring your sims here if you want a small outing with family, or if you want to be alone and get a quick, cheap meal!

Speed-build video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx73BpeXg2s

This world also includes a second restaurant that is A LOT fancier than the one mentioned above, this is a seafood restaurant!

I also loved building this lot and did some things that I’ve never done before! This is the type of place where you come for a date or where you bring family to celebrate a 50th birthday or a big promotion!

Speed-build video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXKF05io050&t=1s

The third build for this safe is a nightclub! Now I know it might look very small on the outside, but it’s kind of like a tardis effect where it looks small on the outside but is very large inside!

This club had 3 different levels, the ground floor, and 2 basements.

Also ignore the get famous door, you don’t have to be a celebrity to enter (there is a back door) I just liked how it looked.

Speed-build video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-xAdM4kltA&t=4s

And last but certainly not least we have a mall! I’ve never built one before and I had so much fun making this one, it is also a very large building with 2 stories and a basement where you can go bowling!

Here is the video of me touring this save: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_qhTxPGGls&t=561s

So here’s what to do if you’ve downloaded this file:

Make a backup of your Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves folder.

Download the file, and place it in Electronic Arts/The Sims 4/Saves.

If it says you already have a file of that name, change the slot number. You should probably choose something higher. As long as you don’t have that slot number already!

Open your game and enter the save.

Save the four lots to you gallery and place them in a brand new save to make sure you have the lots for Willow Creek & Oasis springs (optional).

Make sure you “save as” and create a new file for your own gameplay. So that you don’t have to download it again.

Enjoy!

Please do not claim any of the builds as your own, thank you!

This save does not include any CC.

Download here: http://simfil.es/3148630/

#the sims 4 #sims 4 #sims #the sims #sims build #sims save #save file #sims 4 save file #magnolia promenade #ts4 #ts4 download

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ejsuperstar · 12 days

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SOULBREAKER DIGEST: MARCH 2024

Welcome to the second Soulbreaker Digest! An unofficial log of Soulbreaker related updates! This one is a little smaller this time. Formatting has changed a little bit since the last Digest too, as I'm still getting the hang of this.

[<- Prev] [No next post]

Since the Digest is an unofficial source, for the best information, go watch the Update video itself! Though if you prefer reading, stick around!

youtube

Welcome to the main post! Time for the meat and potatoes!

MISC:

Fool's Gold will be at GENCON! They're working on getting their panel but it seems like it will be a Fool's Gold: Sands live play! (That's awesome and I'm so sad I can't be there)

GAME UPDATES:

There's less updates this time round because the Cryodon crew all got sick! Felix has also been traveling. Understandably this means they all have had less time/ability to work on the game. Still though, some work has been done and that's awesome! Good work Cryodon team! Keep it up!

Revised Dash:

The dash animation has been revised to feel better, add some spice, and include more effects (like particles!). Its to Felix that the game feels rock solid and responsive, so he's been taking inspiration from Mario 64's movement, and making sure that every movement option feel's the best it can, even something as simple as a dash.

The dash is also upgradable! So far we've heard about chain dashes, aka: Being able to dash multiple times in a row, flying across the screen and cutting enemies down.

New Enemies:

Quinn-ora's cultists! The animations look amazing (loving that slash!). These are going to be Quinn-ora's main grunt enemies, who are there to mess you up. There's a handful of variants, some more focused on melee, and some on ranged. They're still in the balancing phase, as of right now they're far too strong, but they're going to be fun, to fight and to interact with‽

"You'll see what I mean about that some other time" FELIX WHAT DOES THIS MEAN‽‽

Boss Fights:

There's a Quinn-ora boss fight in the works! As the first boss fight implemented being implemented into the game, her fight is helping the team figure out a bunch of details. Like how boss fights should flow with dialogue (because you might be able to romance (and probably just talk) to bosses), so whens the handover between kicking ass and romance?

Apparently the boss fight has been really fun so far though! Mel's animations are also apparently really good (I bet! Mel has been doing amazing work on the game so far!), and Quinn-ora has been really menacing, and a really fun fight (I'm excited!). She's also been kicking Felix's ass.

Q&A:

Q: "One thing I've been curious about since seeing the trailer is if the character customization is still going to be a thing or not? I recall it being spoken about a little back when it was still just a dating sim, but now we actually have a face for the protagonist I'm wondering if that's still going to be the case?" A: "Not really, because after we redesigned the protagonist, you know they now have their own unique look, if we were going to make them customizable it would actually take a lot of time to implement that, which would take away from my time to you know, add new enemies and new designs and gameplay into the game. So character customization has just been kind of shoved to the back, however we are still tinkering with NPC customization, so you might be able to, for example, gift a hat to a certain NPC and you'll actually be able to see them wear it around the game. So that's something I'm still tinkering with, this is not an official confirmation that it's going to be in the game, this is very much in the camp of 'I'm playing around with this it might be in the game'. "

Q: "Will this game have a skill tree?" A: "Not exactly a skill tree but, permanent upgrades yes. As I've mentioned that it's a roguelite, you are able to actually carry over some of the stuff that you get in your runs, and... Kind of similar to games like Hades, you know you'll be able to, for example upgrade your dash permanently, and little upgrades like that, so it's not exactly a 'skill tree' but there are upgrades available for your character, which will carry over into all of the other runs."

Ending Regards

Thanks for reading this Soulbreaker Digest! The Digest has been my first experience writing anything like this, so if there's any errors or inconsistencies my bad! And please remember this is an unofficial source, done due to my love of the game! I'd love to be picked up as the official writer for Cryodon's devlogs on their blog (which they haven't updated really lol) but I'm happy to support the community and the game any way I can!

Soulbreaker means a whole lot to me, it's precursor, Dice Death and Dating, is the whole reason I've made some of my best friends, so I want to support the game the best I can, I'll definitely be donating to the kickstarter once it's out!

-EJ out!

#long post #text post #fools gold dnd #fools gold #fool's gold dnd #fool's gold #fools gold Soulbreaker #fool's gold Soulbreaker #soulbreaker #soulbreaker news #soulbreaker digest #rougelike #roguelite #roguelike news

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viantorno · 8 months

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Deserted Island Videogame Marathon

For my first blog post assignment, I was brainstorming about what type of content I should write about. This came to me after organizing my bookshelves and stumbling across some classic video games!

Picture this: You just crashed your yacht onto a deserted island. While looking through the wreckage, you find a Playstation 2 console, a TV, and a box with every PS2 video game from my personal collection (you were borrowing them); all of these things are still in working condition.

For the sake of this post, food and shelter were not an issue as the yacht was in good condition, and there was miraculously some form of electricity. So, moving on...

These are the games that I believe would keep you most entertained until help arrives. I derived these choices based on hours of gameplay, replay value, plot, customization, and more!

Tony Hawk's Underground: No matter if you're into the skateboarding scene or not, this game has something for every gamer. It has an option for those who like story-driven games to dive into a rags-to-riches plot filled with twists, turns, and kickflips, or if you want to freely skate and try out new tricks with some of your favorite real-life pro skaters, you can do that as well. Not only that, if you want to put your creative skills to work, it lets you create not only a skater to play with but also your own skateboard, skatepark, and even some skate tricks!

2. The Sims 2: If you liked the creative customization of Tony Hawk's Underground, you're going to love this game! It is a life simulation series with the idea of leading a sim or multiple sims throughout their lives, careers, relationships, and more. Don't worry; If you're not into the gameplay aspect of the Sims, you can channel your inner architect and create different types of homes and buildings, or use the Create-A-Sim tool to let you channel your inner stylist instead!

3. Lego Star Wars II: Lego Star Wars II is the retelling of the original Star Wars trilogy, episodes IV, V, and VI, but all the objects, environments, and characters are Lego pieces! Play through chapters of each movie with the ability to play as 68 different characters from the beloved franchise! You even have the option to create two characters with parts you unlock! Whether you're a sci-fi film buff or an avid Lego builder, this is the game for you!

4. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy: Set in a fictional fantasy world, Jak and Daxter follows the journey of Jak helping his friend Daxter transform back into his original self after being transformed into an ottsel (otter and weasel hybrid) by the game's main villains: Gol and Maia Acheron. This classic offers a variety of platforming gameplay, puzzles, and battling set in an open world. To advance, there is a wide range of collectibles you need to get. If you are feeling ambitious and have some time on your hands (which, in this situation, you do), you can go for 100% completion and collect everything within the story!

5. Sega Classics Collection: This game is a little different in that it is a compilation of multiple games into one! This collection contains the remaking of several Sega arcade games spanning over 20 years! You can jump into whatever kind of game you're interested in, from combat, racing, platforming, and more!

Hopefully, these will make the time go by! Obviously, I would recommend playing these if you simply wanted to try some new video games as they all are really fun. Do y'all have any other games you would add to this list?

Thanks for reading!

(All game covers can be found on Google Images)

#deserted island #video games #ps2 games #ps2 nostalgia #tony hawk's underground #tony hawk pro skater #the sims 2 #star wars #lego star wars #jak and daxter #sega

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theyellowjacketlibrary · 11 months

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Where am I

It's been over a month since I've posted. If there are any followers out there, I apologize for the lack of posts. I have been gaming and enjoying the games I've played since then, which is very good news. Why no posts? It was that fun playing and time just slipped away.

I last left off with Neverwinter. I reached level 20 and I am happy to say, even though not regularly, I plan to keep playing this game. It is so beautifully done and every aspect of it, from dungeons, gears, vanity, mounts, pets, quests, lore and art has me lost for words. It's an A rated game and a must play for any mmorpg fan.

Where have I been? I played a little "Offworld Trading Company" -- which was fun!! The bulk of my time lost from posting was playing The Sims 4. I looove character creation! I played the first Sims game when I was a kid and haven't revisited it since. I was very impressed at what it's become. One great thing is it's free! The amount of selections available in the free game was well worth my time and I had a lot of fun. I made 11 families!!!!! and eleven homes! I had so much making them. After this post, I'll post some quick screenshots of the games I've played since my last post. However, one day I'll post a more complete post of the families I've made and maybe some videos.

I purchased a full price game on steam, which I probably should not do and I couldn't have picked the worst game to buy. Worst meaning me being the worst (player). I purchased V Rising. A vampire MMORPG base building game. The gameplay is unique and I was so excited to play it. Once in, it was great! However, not far into the game I entered the first boss, Alpha Wolf. It left me frustrated and discouraged to go back. Leveling up is based on gear, not character and the gear is based on level progression. It's like Everquest, if you die, then you lose your bag items. The base (castle) that you can build deteriorates over time if you don't put blood (in-game item) into it and then other players can destroy it. Mine was destroyed in less than 24 hours. I gave up. I asked for help in game and on forums, but no help. I'll revisit it when I more patience. It's too bad, the game is well worth the time to play. I'll keep it in my favorites.

Most recently, last weekend I found some good deals on Steam. Tom Clancy's The Division 2 was on sale for only $5+ bucks!! I bought the Warlord edition for $9.39. It was a great deal and I couldn't resist. I played Division 1 and it was a great game. An interesting storyline, short and fun quests with the right amount of challenge to keep me engaged.

During last weekend's steam sales, I found a gem - A free game!! Metro 2033. It was only on sale for free for a limited time. I downloaded it right away. It's a story driven 1st person shooter game based in post-apocalyptic Moscow. I played a little and plan to keep playing. It has a very sad storyline. The gameplay is fun and exciting and not difficult. There are some difficult scenes, but I didn't give up and so far, I was able to complete the missions.

That was all that happened in the last month and last weekend. This weekend? I played some more Metro 2033 and built my 11th family/house on The Sims 4. Today is now Sunday, I thought I'd visit Neverwinter? It's a "clean house day" - so just a few quick quests then I can get to my chores. Happy Sunday, everyone!

^^Enjoy some screenshots of my time lost. Funny though, I forgot to take screenshots of V Rising. Maybe next time.

=^_^=

#games #gaming #neverwinter #the sims 4 #v rising #metro 2033 #Tom Clancy's The Division 2 #The Division 2

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renyc9 · 1 year

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littlefoxsimmer · 2 years

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Life’s Stories Challenge

“Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.” — Celine Dion

Life is an imperfect story composed of unexpected hurdles, amazing opportunities, bittersweet goodbyes, wholesome moments, and... less than wholesome moments. The challenge combines the unpredictable roads in life with the gameplay elements in the sims that I either love, want to explore, or would never do in my own family save and never had the reason to try. It explores these features through storytelling and, yes, sometimes even flawed sims. Are you ready to live through life’s stories?

GENERATION ONE: FAUX PHILANTHROPISTS

As a child, you grew up in a wealthy, well-known, and highly respected family. Your mother is a famous musician and your father a well-off businessman. Your family went to every charity event, every gala, and you grew up admiring your parents' Philanthropist lifestyle. You looked up to them so much you even started teaching guitar to the local kids. However, after taking up an internship at your father’s organization, you discover things aren’t as they seem, and your family has been profiting from some super shady activity within the family's charity organization! When you get home, you confront your parents, who tell you to brush it under the rug; when you resist, they throw you out, leaving you with nothing but the clothes on your back, your memories, and your guitar. Will you be able to survive on your own?

SET UP:

Traits: Self-Assured, Music Lover, & Freegan

Aspiration: Musical Genius

Career: None (Write songs at home)

Create the parents of your founder sim (Must have a bad relationship with your parents).

You may also create siblings for your founder, but this is not required.

Start on an empty lot, a guitar and zero simoleons to your name.

You may decorate the lot with free debug items but nothing that can help with needs or skills, only decorative items .

If you have the pack, you may also grab a fire pit (as the sim has fond memories of going camping with his family).

RULES:

You can only make money via your guitar or singing (writing/publishing songs, singing for tips, etc.).

You must max the guitar and singing skills.

You must complete the musical genius aspiration.

You can not have any sim move in before you reach the following requirements:

Reach level 10 of the guitar skill.

Have at least 7,000 in the bank.

Have a house of at least 32 tiles with every basic necessity (toilet, bed, kitchen).

Reach aged Adult (NOT YOUNG ADULT!).

Once you have 10,000 in the bank, you must start giving money to charity at least once a week. If you get a call to donate and you have enough money, YOU MUST DONATE in addition to your usual weekly donation!

GENERATION TWO: LIFE OF THE PARTY

Ugh, your parents always emphasized grinding and regularly working, but that just sounds… exhausting? Why do you need to do that kind of work when you can just… not? Wouldn’t it be nice to live in the lap of luxury and not have to work at all? You can just spend your days making friends, going out, playing video games, or, you know, whatever you want to do! Surely someone would pay to watch you just go about your life.

SET UP:

Traits: Lazy, Outgoing, & High Maintenance

Aspiration: Mansion Baron

Career: None

Live with the previous generation until marriage. Moving out requires a job and let’s face it… ew.

RULES:

Complete the Mansion Baron Aspiration.

Marry for money, aka a rich sim and have a mediocre relationship with them. Their friendship & romance bars should not exceed 50% fullness for any length of time, especially after marriage.

If you have any attraction mods installed, you MUST marry a sim your sim finds unattractive.

Never get a job and replace every broken item, do not repair or hire a service.

Must go to every event, accept every invitation.

LIVESTREAM and INSTA EVERYTHING.

You may also use Kawaii Stacie’s Reality Show Mod or Switch Streaming Mod if you wish to use that in addition to regular streaming.

Max the media production skill.

Must have and maintain at least seven friends, and three of them must be close friends.

Regularly go for a spa day with the besties.

Have three enemies.

When you have children, you must use a nanny/butler.

You cannot discipline any bad behavior nor encourage any good behavior.

GENERATION THREE: STRUGGLING STAR

You’ve always been your parents’ favorite child, well you think so, you didn’t hear otherwise… Well, you didn’t hear much at all actually. Your parents were very hands-off, leaving you with a butler/nanny who, let’s face it after a few generations, looks rather weird. This motivates you to get the attention you deserve. You’re the heir of a legacy challenge, darn it, and now everyone is going to see why! People will notice you when you walk by and whisper your name. Are you ready to take center stage?

SET UP:

Traits: Erratic, Snob, & Self-Absorbed

Aspiration: Master Actor/Actress

Career: Acting Career

Move into a house in Del Sol Valley.

RULES:

Have at least four spouses throughout the entirety of their life

Go to every Starlight Accolade event.

Complete the master actor/actress aspiration.

Must name any kid they have after an award (For example: Tony, Oscar, Emmy, etc.)

Own some kind of exotic animal when they become a four-star celebrity (Can grab off the Gallery).

Once they reach the middle of adulthood, they must start having BOTCHED plastic surgeries at least three throughout the remainder of their life (cas.fulleditmode in CAS).

If you see any sims you think may be related to Judith Ward, you must fight them (if nothing else than for laughs).

GENERATION FOUR: TAKING BACK CONTROL

Growing up under the roof of an Erratic and Self-Absorbed snob is a little challenging, especially when they are generally controlling of your life. Being in the spotlight because of your parents left you feeling you had to act a certain way, dress a certain way, and with everyone shouting at you about how you should exist, it left you feeling like nothing was really in your control. Should you take this job? You don’t know. Should you date this person? You don’t know! Should you get married? YOU. DON’T. KNOW. It’s going to take a while to realize that at the end of the day, you do know what is best for you!

SET UP:

Traits: Randomized (Up to 5 tries but you can't go back to a trait you skipped).

Aspiration: Renaissance Sim

Career: You’ll end up in at least three randomized careers (If you use a random number generator and it has one you already did, try again).

Use a generator like James Turner’s to choose a pack that has a world and move there. If there are multiple worlds (aka base game is chosen), you’ll need to find another way to randomize to choose.

RULES:

Complete the renaissance sim aspiration.

You must have had at least three careers throughout your lifetime.

Must quit and change your job once you’ve reached level 5 until you're an adult (NOT YOUNG ADULT).

When you’re an adult, reach the top of whatever career you end up with when the randomization ends.

Must use some randomizer for every decision (phone calls, jobs, pop-ups, etc.) until adulthood (NOT YOUNG ADULT).

Marry a slob or non-committal sim.

Have at least three children so that the oldest will become the heir.

GENERATION FIVE: PERFECT LITTLE FAMILY

You’re the oldest of your siblings and even though you love your parents, they can be ditzy when it comes to parenting, so it means you’ve had to pick up the slack. Doing homework with them, helping them with school projects, playing with them, but all this time helping to parent your siblings, you realized that you adore these moments. From the stomping of little feet to the late-night homework runs, raising your siblings has been so rewarding and you can’t wait to have kids of your own someday. You just can’t help but imagine all the fantastic memories you’ll have together.

SET UP:

Traits: Good, Foodie, & Family Oriented

Aspiration: Super Parent

Career: Can be Freelance, Stay-At-Home jobs, owning a restaurant or business

It's up to you to decide where this generation starts/where you want to move, but eventually, you’ll move to Evergreen Harbor.

RULES:

Marry a childhood friend.

Max your romance and friendship with them.

Move to Evergreen Harbor at some point before the next generation.

Go volunteering every Sunday.

Max out the parenting skill.

Have one sit-down dinner daily.

Must have at least one set of twins.

Have every child complete at least one childhood skill, one childhood aspiration, and achieve an A in school.

Be close with your grandchildren.

GENERATION SIX: LEGALLY GREEN

There’s smog everywhere! People are coughing and getting sick. Someone has to step in and stop these factories from polluting. It’s not only destroying this planet, it’s also harming this community! With the support of your parents and determination, you apply and get accepted to law school—time to put your nose to the books and get everything you can out of college. If you want to become an Eco-warrior, you’ll need to know how to hit these companies where it hurts.

SET UP:

Traits: Ambitious, Green Fiend, & Perfectionist

Aspiration: Academic

Career: Law

Should dorm at the university of their choosing but then return to somewhere in Evergreen Harbor when they are done with their degree with a lot that has off the grid and simple living traits.

RULES:

Go to university.

Complete the academic aspiration.

Max the research and debate/charisma skills.

Have a home garden where you can grow your food and eco upgrades so your house is self-sufficient.

Reach the top of the law career.

Your neighborhood must have a green footprint by the end of this generation.

Must be “married to your job.” Don’t marry or be in a relationship.

Must have only one child (can adopt).

Kawaii Stacie’s Explore Mod also has an artificial insemination option.

GENERATION SEVEN: BROKEN DREAMS

While your parent was off fighting large corporations, you stayed at your grandparents' house doing homework. Every time you looked at them you saw a happy couple, a loving family and you couldn’t help but wonder “Why can’t I have that? Why shouldn't I have that?” So like your grandparents, you married your childhood best friend, only to discover you felt absolutely nothing for them. You were gutted. You kept thinking, “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I be happy? Why can’t I have the white picket house life like my grandparents?”. You tried shoving yourself into work, but your eyes eventually started to wander…

SET UP:

Traits: Gloomy, Materialistic, & Romantic

Aspiration: Serial Romantic

Career: Education

Can live in any non-beachy location.

RULES:

Be close with your grandparents.

Marry your childhood best friend even though you don’t love them.

Have every type of woohoo available in YOUR game. (If you don’t have certain packs, do not stress, those will be exempt).

This can be with any of your romances & does not have to be with the same romantic interest.

Complete the serial romantic aspiration.

Max the charisma skill.

Reach the top of the education career.

Have a child as a result of an affair.

Be caught and divorce your spouse when the next heir is a teen.

GENERATION EIGHT: LESSONS LEARNED

“I won’t fall in love!” you scream. When you were a child, you were oblivious, pretending to be a mermaid at the local pool and drawing starfish. But when everything fell apart, you couldn’t look away. Seeing what your parent had to go through, dealing with the fall out and hurt of being cheated on was terrible, but seeing how it affected the family was even worse. No, for you, love is for the stupid. You're going to grind through life and find happiness elsewhere. Though, all these long, tiring shifts at the hospital can’t help but make you wonder if things were different if you would be on the beach making sandcastles.

SET UP:

Traits: Noncommittal, Child of the Ocean, & Loves the Outdoors

Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy

Career: Doctor

Can live in any non-beachy location but eventually you’ll move to Sulani.

RULES:

Complete the fabulously wealthy aspiration.

Reach the top of the doctor's career.

Create a doctor friend group of at least two other doctors.

Max the logic and handiness skills.

Become BFFs with a mermaid sim and (once you reach adulthood, NOT YOUNG ADULT) eventually realize you’ve fallen in love and marry them.

Once married, move to Sulani with your spouse.

GENERATION NINE: THALASSOPHILE

Being brought up in Sulani, you’ve grown to admire the landscape, beautiful waters, culture, and animals. You’ve developed quite a few friends here and the ocean seems to have been calling you from a young age, even inspiring you to take up a lifeguard job in the early part of your life. But as much as you enjoyed lifeguarding, you always felt there was more you could do. While monitoring the beaches you kept watching as apathetic, ill-mannered tourists dropped litter on the beautiful beaches. Every time it stung terribly, but that’s when you realized your true purpose… to bring Sulani back to its fullest potential and restore its beauty.

SET UP:

Traits: Animal Enthusiast, Child of the Islands, & Cheerful

Aspiration: Angling Ace

Career: LifeGuard (as a teen), Conservationist

Live in Sulani

RULES:

Clean up Sulani.

Become good friends with at least eight other sims.

Become friends with a dolphin.

Complete the angling ace aspiration.

Max the fishing, fitness, and wellness skills.

Have two pets at all times (dogs, cats, rodents, etc.)

Marry a bro sim.

Have at least three kids and have a beach day each week at one of the public beaches.

Have your spouse die (preferably from a shark attack while swimming in Sulani).

GENERATION TEN: HEALING WORDS

Since the untimely death of your parent, you’ve been left a little shaken. You’ve always had your nose in your book, even when you were supposed to be enjoying quality time on beach days. Now that they’re really gone, it feels like so much time was wasted. So many things needed to be said but it never will and every time you look at the ocean, you get a feeling of dread thinking about what happened. So you pack up your books and head off for greener pastures (literally), buying out an old farm and despite the dire state it’s in, it inspires you. The stories this place must hold! For the first time in a while, the loss doesn’t sting as much. You open up your laptop and begin to write…

SET UP:

Traits: Clumsy, Loner, & Bookworm

Aspiration: Bestselling Author

Career: None (Write books at home)

Move to a run down farm/vineyard/orchard style lot on Henford on Bagley

RULES:

Complete the best-selling author aspiration.

Achieve level 10 gardening and writing skills.

Run a farm, orchard, or vineyard.

Meet someone at the Finchwick Fair & eventually marry them.

Name your children after books, book characters, or anything literature.

Cook and farm with your whole family regularly.

Become friends with birds and rabbits.

Adopt a “fox” and a basset hound.

ARE YOU PLAYING THIS CHALLENGE?

Hey there! If you attempt this challenge, I would love to follow along! Even if you are just creating sims or lots inspired by this challenge, I would still love to see it. Please tag me on twitter/tumblr ( @littlefoxsimmer ), or use the hashtag #lifesstorieslegacy!

Acknowledgements & credits

I just wanted to give a brief thank you to @livingdeadgal128 for her support and feedback on this challenge! She is one of the most supportive individuals in the community, and I am very thankful for all of her support.

I also want to appreciate and acknowledge the creativity of the simming community as a whole, especially the Twitter simming community, whose kindness & creativity gave me the confidence to post it publicly. I’m constantly inspired & in awe by every single one of you. Thank you all so much!!!

Finally, I want to acknowledge the specific inspiration and give credit to the creators of pre-existing challenges I was inspired by, such as the ten generation legacy style gameplay format originally created by Pinstar and used in beloved challenges such as the Not So Berry Challenge originally created by lilsimsie and alwaysimming, the rags to riches style gameplay present in generation one inspired by the Rags to Riches challenge originally created by SimishGamer.

Continue to the next section for optional resources that may enhance your play-through of the challenge. –>

Awesome Resources *Not Required*:

Information

Woohoo Location Guide by The Sims Community

Creators

Unique animals that your sims can adopt by Pugowned

Mods

Attraction system (Wonderful Whims) by Turbodriver

MCC Command Center by Deaderpool

Reality Show Mod by Kawaii Stacie

Switch Streaming by Kawaii Stacie

Explore Mod by Kawaii Stacie

Shorter University Degrees by Peridot

Live in business mod by littlemssam

Generators

Random pack generator by James Turner

Google random number generator

I plan to make some lots for this challenge in the future as well, but feel free to check out my gallery. I already have a decorated Rags to Riches lot that you can use for the first generation of this challenge. You can find it here!

#ts4 #the sims #challenge #legacy challenge #the sims 4 #the sims 4 challenge #thesims #legacychallenge #thesims4 #thesims4challenge #lifesstorieschallenge #littlefoxsimmerchallenges #lifesstorieslegacy

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talkfantasytome · 3 years

Text

Frozen and Burned

Nessian Week Prompt: Fire & Ice

Short drabble of Nesta and Cassian playing a video game together.

Warnings: None | Word Count: 1,351 | Read on AO3

a/n: I literally had NO idea what to do for this one. LOL. So, this is what my brain spit out. We're just going to say it works and not look too deeply into it. It's just soft and fluffy, and that's all we really need, right?

"Nesta, it happened again," Cassian whined from his desk, not taking his eyes off of his computer.

They were sitting in their shared office, each at their own, large L-shaped desk. The two desks were situated in the two front corners of the room, the edges just brushing each other. A perfect fit.

It worked well, since both were currently in roles where they could work from home. Their computer monitors were set up in the corner of their desks, their general areas a reflection of the other's. They had the same small, under-desk filing cabinets that sat beneath where the two desks met, and their laptops were docked just above those. The rest of that area generally remained clear so as not to encroach on the other's desk, and then each used the side of the desk against the opposing walls for their clutter or work materials. Nesta's was covered in scattered books and papers, Cassian's neatly held his drawing tablet and a sketchpad. She always envied how neat and organized he kept his space.

Sighing, Nesta pushed away from her desk, her rolling office chair sliding out a bit before she paused it and stood up, walking over to him and looking over his shoulder at his screen.

Once again, Cassian's little sim was lit on fire, slowly burning to death while his Nesta sim just panicked in a corner. It had already happened once today, and about four times the weekend before. His sim really attracted fire.

"Thanks for trying to save me," he teased once he heard her breathe out a small laugh at the sight, pausing his game.

"You should be glad I stuck around to watch," she shot back. "Clearly, you didn't design her very well. Pretty sure I'd actually be reading in the other room during these events."

"You wound me." His voice was light and amused, but she could see in the way his jaw tightened that he was getting frustrated with the game.

Nesta had only taught him how to play the weekend before. She'd been a regular player for years - had spent more money than she cared to admit on the game - but he'd never been interested. It was an easy thing to avoid for him. Like most sim players, Nesta had on-times - typically lasting a couple of weeks - and then would go months and months without playing. However, after a new expansion pack and an update, Nesta and her friends had all gotten back into the game, and unlike her typical on-times, it was filling Nesta's mind more ardently. She'd even found herself playing at night after work instead of her typical weekend-only play.

So Cassian decided it was time for him to try it out. They'd bought him his own game, so they could play at the same time, and Nesta had spent a solid portion of the previous Saturday going over all the different ins and outs of the gameplay, helping him through a few sim days, and then helping him decide which expansions he might want to add in. Which led to another tutoring session on Sunday on what to do with the new content. Nesta had limited him to one expansion, two game packs, and three stuff packs - it's not that they couldn't afford more, she just felt that it was best to build it up a bit slower, so he could actually learn the details of each before adding in more features. She knew he'd eventually end up with all of the packs - as an architect, she had a feeling that, once he got the gameplay down, he would get really into the building and would make her most impressive builds look like they were done by a five-year-old. So he'd need all the items.

She brushed a hand through his hair, ignoring the heat that built as he purred softly at the gesture, and focused on his game.

"I've already told you, sims will constantly light fires in the fireplaces if you put one on your lot," she sighed, noticing the fireplace just in front of where his sim currently stood, completely lit on fire. "And sometimes the fire bursts out and will do this. It can happen with cooking too, or grilling, but that's usually also based on skill and a bit more on quality of stove. Even the nicest fireplace can do this. I'd suggest either always leaving it lit or not having a fireplace on the lot. While it sometimes happens, typically the main danger of fireplaces is in lighting the fire, not once the fire is already lit. You can also try upgrading the fireplace, I think one of the upgrades makes this less likely. Still, my go-to solve is just to not use fireplaces."

He groaned, leaning his head against her stomach. "It just looks so nice there!"

"I know," she breathed, continuing to pet his head. "But, if you cancel out little Nesta's freak out, and then, as her, click on little Cassian, she should have an extinguish option. So she can do that, or plead with the reaper when he comes. And, if she fails, just exit to main menu without saving."

"It's an hour's worth of gameplay I'll lose."

"Better than two," she offered with a wry smile. "I once lost a full four hours because the game crashed on me."

Cassian gave a low whistle to that, but it also seemed to brighten his mood a bit.

"It helps that you paused it. You can cancel and give little Nesta her action before clicking play, so she has no time to start panicking again. And if she does, just pause, cancel, and extinguish again, until she figures it out," Nesta explained. "Sims aren't very bright, but they will get it eventually."

He nodded, looking up at her, his hazel eyes sparkling, full of love and amusement. "Wouldn't want little Nes to live life without little Cass."

She smiled and leaned down, kissing him gently. "No, we wouldn't."

He returned her smile with one of his own, and Nesta thought her heart might explode from it. It was moments like these that really reminded her how lucky she was, and how right she and Cassian were together. Yes, he was someone she could bare her soul to, and she loved the feeling of making up after a bad fight, and, of course, the sex was out of this world. But it was these little things that told her he was truly it. The small instances of love and affection when they were just sitting together reading or cleaning their little house or, in this case, managing to play a single-player game 'together'. And she knew Cassian felt the same.

She knew he heard the promise in her words, the one they'd be making in front of their friends and family in sixth months.

With one last run of her fingers through his silky, onyx hair, Nesta pivoted and went back to her desk, to her own paused game.

No, not paused.

"Shit!"

She paused it quickly, assessing the damage of leaving the game on play without supervision. It wasn't great.

"What happened?" Cassian asked, concern lacing his tone as he looked over at her.

"I left the game on play and my girl decided to go swimming in the middle of winter. She just froze to death!"

Cassian burst out laughing at that, using his legs to slide closer to her while also reaching and pulling her chair toward him.

They met in the middle, Nesta pouting, a glower in her eyes. "I'm glad you're entertained," she said flatly.

He pulled her onto his lap, Nesta's arms instinctively going around his neck as his tightly wrapped around her waist while he placed a kiss to her neck. "I think maybe it's sign we should take a break. Exit without saving, and then go…woohoo."

Nesta couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of her as she sat there, Cassian's lips spreading into a wide smile at the sound before he leaned in and kissed her deeply.

@live-the-fangirl-life @generalnesta @secretlovelybeauty @nestaisgod @julemmaes @boredserpent @autumnbabylon @moodymelanist @nessianweek

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