#why is ts4 trending right now

[softpine]

shows up extremely late to the @tricoufamily cas challenge with a half baked mafia concept like just hear me out guys hear me out....

dynamic: mentor/mentee genre: crime

sim 1: DONNA trait: boisterous hair color: platinum blonde hair length: medium extra: glasses

sim 2: CHIARRA trait: jealous hair color: dark brown hair length: extra long extra: freckles

i don't know a single goddamn thing about the mob, i've never even watched the sopranos ❗❗ now that we've gotten that out of the way

it's the late 80s, and chiarra (brunette) is fresh out of cosmetology school and looking for a job as a hair stylist. she ends up renting a booth at a salon on one condition: the property owner, a man with major ties to the mob, wants to take her on a date first. she's charmed by his charisma and loves how close he is with his family, something chiarra never had much of. within a year, the two are married and chiarra has ingratiated herself in the community, however she's quite unpopular with the other ladies. she's seen as a gold digger and an outsider because she didn't grow up in this life. but her job as a hair stylist is secured permanently thanks to her husband.

this is how she meets donna (blonde). donna is kind of a big fucking deal from what chiarra has heard through the grapevine, so she gets nervous and ends up badlyyy messing up her hair the first time she comes in to the salon. she's surprised to find that donna thinks it's hilarious – but she warns her that not everyone would've taken it so lightly, especially because chiarra's husband is not an incredibly influential person to begin with, unlike donna's husband who's like. the boss. but donna takes a liking to her, something the other wives find equal parts annoying and frightening.

through the early years of chiarra's marriage, donna acts as a mentor figure and a listening ear because she's been through it many years ago. but there comes a point where chiarra discovers her husband has been cheating on her, and she's shocked when donna waves it off as something that just sort of happens to all of them. chiarra becomes furious and refuses to accept this when she's been nothing but loyal to him. but instead of confronting her husband, possibly losing her marriage and the new family she's gained, she makes the decision to follow in his footsteps. she carries out secret affairs for a while; just one night stands and brief flings, so her husband won't get suspicious. donna finds it entertaining and turns it into a game, often covering for her. she's always been a gossip, so it's easy for her to keep an ear out for what people are saying about chiarra and deflect suspicion if she needs to.

one night, while their husbands are away, the wine starts flowing and the two of them just go for it. it's quick and they don't even particularly enjoy it because the guilt creeps in almost immediately. in decades of marriage, donna has never betrayed her husband no matter how many times he's done the same. and though chiarra is no stranger to stepping out of her marriage, she hasn't had romantic feelings for anyone but him since they've been together, let alone feelings for another woman.

donna and chiarra try to put some space between themselves, but they both know it's too little too late – and considering they've been inseparable since they met, their distance draws more suspicion than their closeness ever had. without donna there to protect her, chiarra is forced to realize just how disliked she is in her community, and how much donna had been doing to bolster her image. but she doesn't just want everything to go back to normal, she wants more than that. she's determined to make sure donna knows what she's missing out on, taking every opportunity to make her jealous and push her buttons.

this push and pull between them continues until donna learns that her husband has been arrested for racketeering and other crimes -- and it seems that the charges are actually going to stick this time. worst of all, the latest gossip is that chiarra had something to do with it. but is this just chiarra's bad reputation preceding her? would she really do something so dangerous and hurtful just to get donna back? and if it's true, what is donna going to do in retaliation?

thanks for reading my wattpad story :3 r&r plz xDD

#one of my favorite dynamics is ''we had bad forgettable sex 1 time and now we can never be normal again :///'' #many such cases #ts4 #why is ts4 trending right now

[ophernelia]

Hi. Do you have any tips on how to grow your sims platforms? I keep tryig and posting and I hardly get any interactions or followers. Idk what to do. I wish bigger creators would help out smaller ones more by reposting the content so it gets more views. Its so hard starting out

Hey! Yeah, I have a few tips I can share! This is gonna be long so beware!

I keep seeing this sentiment reiterated about larger creators. I get it, but I think everyone's missing one thing in regards to it: you already have access to the same audience they have. Just like you they grew their platform. Maybe it was a stroke of luck from a viral post or something, but they still had to start somewhere. What it takes is getting your content to hit the algorithm. That's all! So even if a larger creator never looks your way, you can still grow and curate an audience without their help. Small accounts are what make up big accounts after all.

You NEED good SEO. I'll talk about TikTok specifically. If you want a boost in visibility then get on Tik Tok. Properly tagging your content is the key to working the algorithm in your favor. I think people believe the more tags the better. No. The more accurately tagged, the better. The hashtags "TS4", "The Sims", and "The Sims 4" are always trending. You should always use those tags. The rest depends on the kind of content you're posting. I'll use my most viral video as an example. My Stormveil Chateau post on Tik Tok got 141.6K views, 22.3K likes. Since it was for a maxis match build I used the following tags: #thesims4 #sims4 #ts4 #simstok #ts4cc #fyp #sim #sims4tok #sims4maxismatch #sims4build #sims4builds #ts4build #ts4gameplay. Most of the tags are related to TS4 and TS4 builds. I wouldn't include anything about CAS, mods, etc. It wouldn't fit the post. Don't flood other tags in hopes of getting more views. It'll just bury your post under a bunch of random content. People have to be able to find your content.

Visually appealing content performs better, period. Y'all give the aesthetic girls hell but they know a thing or two about working the algorithm. I'll give them that! People like things that look nice. Now, that's not to say you need to purge all the color or character from your game. You don't have to follow a certain style trend. Curate your own personal style. Do what you do to the best of your ability. Whatever you post, just make sure it's good quality. Focus on sharpness, clarity, etc. If you wanna curate a particular look then go for it! But most importantly, having clear clean images or videos is the main thing you need. And you don't need a beast of a PC to do it. Sharpen your images and videos before you upload them using Capcut or something. Make sure the lighting is nice. Make sure it's a good resolution for the platform you're posting on. A quick tip: Adding dof to lower quality images makes it look better! See how the left photo looks more clear than the right? A little bit of depth of field helps so the pictures don't fall flat.

Pick a primary social to promote your secondary ones. Usually your primary social may be the one where you have your largest audience. For me, it was Tik Tok. On there I'd promote my Patreon, YouTube, and Tumblr. You just released some cc? Post something about it on Tik Tok, let your audience know they can find it on your Tumblr. Use one to promote the others.

Slow organic growth is STILL growth. Growing your audience is one beast, but maintaining it is a whole other thing. As someone who has gotten shout outs from larger creators, that initial boost ALWAYS dies down. And socials like YouTube will not hesitate to tell you "Hey boo, your shit's failing now. You kinda suck." Been there, felt that. Boosts from other creators and giveaways don't have much longevity. Most times that audience will leave. On occasion you may get a few who stick around, but most won't. That's why it's important to build your audience organically. Yes, it may take longer but they won't just dip out after a few weeks. Things take time to grow. Things take time to curate. Understand you are BUILDING something. It takes time!

And lastly- if you just really want the numbers and it doesn't matter what content you post, then here's what you do: Sell. Still use good SEO, still try to have high quality photos, but give people something to consume. People like to see what they can get. Post some builds, cc, whatever. If you're not a cc creator, then do cc finds, mod reviews, tutorials, build recommendations, lookbooks. People love a good cc haul. They wanna see what they can get. And that's not to say people that make this sort of content don't care about their content. I know they do and it's a lot of work! It still takes time and effort to curate. It's just HOT right now! Especially maxis match content. It ruffles less feathers because a wide array of the Sims community has a vicious vendetta against alpha cc. (Yeah ion know. They will "uncanny valley" and "just play IMVU' you to death. If I say what I think it is.. My people know.) But if you really just want thousands of followers, then there's a way to do it.

With all that said, I know how annoying it is to constantly hear to not focus on numbers but don't. CREATE FOR CREATION'S SAKE. Do it only because you enjoy it. Growth for me has come as a byproduct of me doing whatever the hell I wanted. I make Lykaia because I want to make Lykaia. I love that people love it but it is for me. Not to be an influencer, or to inspire, or to receive praise and accolades. I love everything about the process. Hell, I love the stress that comes with it! I have four scenes to film and I'm still not done editing the ones I have filmed. The episode is supposed to air on MONDAY. I fucking love working down to wire. It's stressful as hell but it feels good! If it's out there, the audience will soon follow. Always. Take your time. Be grateful for where you're at every step of the way. Enjoy the process! And remember that all it takes is one post to take off.

#text post #asks #and take this time to hone your skills! #i am a much better writer and director than i was when lykaia first began

[nocturnalazure]

heyy i think studying the trend of ts4 stories editing style will really help you improve your visuals. I know that picking an aesthetic is a choice & i honestly think you should stick to what you like instead of following the mainstream but popular stories are popular for a reason & you might engage more readers by following their storytelling formats (ex: using captions instead of text bubble, using different reshade/gshade based on the mood of the scene, show your sims moodlets, etc.) but ofc popularity isn’t everything and you have loyal readers already so i’m just gonna root for you & wish u good luck❤️

Hi anon, and thank you for your message and recommendation!

I hear you and you're surely right about what is popular, but I see how most TS4 players do their storytelling, and I personally find those visuals rather standard and uninspiring. I believe the word that you used is key: it is a trend. Which means, for one, that it can be a temporary thing, but above all, that it isn't necessarily an improvement.

Typically, captions. There is a reason why speech bubbles or their equivalents are widely used in comics and graphic novels: they are easy to understand at a glance for the reader, and versatile enough for the author to convey the proper tone. Captions hamper creativity and readability, imho.

I do like the effect of Reshade or Gshade or other -shades. I tried installing it, wasted a whole day, failed, was disappointed, uninstalled it and never touched it again. And then I thought: I spend a lot of time selecting my decor and background. I want them to be visible, not blurred. I want the details to be seen in their entirety. It's true that blurry backgrounds and dreamy filters make for pretty, atmospheric pictures. But do I want my story to be atmospheric? No, that's not my purpose. I want my story to be emotional, gripping, interesting. I'd like the reader to focus on the dialogues, the characters' face, the actual content of the story, not the feel of it. To me, visuals enhance a story when they explain by themselves who the character is and what they think. They don't need to be sophisticated to do that.

(Not to mention that Reshade is capable of putting a strain on my computer and I don't want it to overheat. The game already crashes enough as it is.)

I know it's just an idea among others, but showing moodlets is not something I will ever do because I don't do gameplay. I just tell a story using the Sims 3 as a medium. Many of those popular trends do not apply to my style, in fact.

If anything, I'd like my story to be read like a manga, not watched like a Netflix series. My stubborn use of speech bubbles and detailed backgrounds is what makes me different, and maybe that doesn't coincide with popular.

Because in the end, "popular" is just that: defined by prevalence but bearing no guarantee as to quality or innovation.

I thank you for rooting for me and thank you again for taking the time to send me a message, because somehow my head is clearer now about what I want and do not want for my story. I have no idea whether or not my visuals are globally appealing to other people, but *I* like them as they are. I'm willing improve technically, if I believe it will bring something essential to my work as a whole, something I'm missing for it to make sense. I get that my aesthetic may seem outdated to some, and it is unfortunate that so few people are ready to give my story a chance, but just like you said, I have a bunch of loyal readers and that is priceless!

#replies

[wildlyminiaturesandwich]

The Sims 4 Island Living - Early Access CAS Review

Huge thank you to the EA Game Changer Program for providing me with the opportunity to play Island Living early!

I’ve been hemming and hawing all day about whether or not to post this because obviously everyone has access to the game now but I figured I put a lot of work into it, so why not! I know it’s like way late but I had a lot going on during the very short time frame we were given for early access (less than 24 hours) and these reviews won’t be too in depth because I still haven’t really had a chance to explore the new pack fully, but here’s what I have anyway 😊

It’s all under the cut because I apparently had more to say that I first thought lol Seriously, next time a new pack comes out I might just stream. It’d be a lot less hassle for everyone involved and I could just waffle to my heart’s content!

See a preview of all the new CAS items here

From what I’ve seen so far of this pack, the Sims Team put so much time and effort into making everything look amazing, especially the CAS items, which might have meant less time went into making sure everything actually worked properly, but I’ll get into what that means for CAS items in a bit. For now, let’s just start from the top!

🌴 The Hairs

I think my absolute favourite thing about this pack by far has to be the hairs. It’s obvious the team have been working super hard since Seasons to give us better quality hair types and styles, and with all the new hairs in Island Living I think it’s pretty clear that they’re absolutely nailing it so far. They still have a long ways to go when it comes to inclusivity, but I think they’re on the right track and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for the future!

I mean all you have to do is look back at Base Game hairs to see how far they’ve come. Back then they had yet to figure out how to make not only simple wavy hair and textured up-dos look good, but more importantly they really struggled with natural hairs (I think we all know I’m referring to the infamous cauliflower hair fiasco).

But look at a few of these GORGEOUS Island Living hairs! I honestly would have paid full price for this expansion, even if I hated everything else in the pack, just to get my hands on those hairs!

I only have a couple minor issues with the hairs. The first being the curly side ponytail that was featured on the female sim in all the trailers. It looks amazing but it clips through literally everything the sim wears. I know there’s probably nothing they could have done about it though and it’s a beautiful hair, so I’m glad they included it.

The second issue I have is that yet again, there is a hair who’s texture overlaps an area it shouldn’t. We seem to get one of them in every single pack these days and this time it’s the big curly bun. The texture overlaps the back right section of the top and bottom teeth:

🌴 The Clothes

The clothes looks amazing as well, in general, but I do have a few issues with the clothes. Not major issues, just generally things could have been done a little differently I guess.

First of all, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Once again teen-elder males, children, and toddlers got very little in this pack. This has become a trend with all new packs now and honestly, it’s never really worried me before because I have pretty much always played female sims, but now that I plan on playing Island Living with Luca I’ve realised just how annoying anyone who plays exclusively male sims must find it! I’m also just realising now as I type this that none of the clothes would suit elder sims either which is kind of sad.

I wish I could say I was exaggerating when I tell you I spent the better part of five hours in CAS trying to give Luca an Island Living make over the other day, but I can’t. I legitimately spent almost five hours in there. The new CAS items for males fall into roughly three categories; traditional islander, cheesy Hawaiian tourist, and swimwear. With an added smaller category of what I like to call “Was I in a shipwreck or did I drop my clothes in wood chipper?”; a handful of clothes that are all torn and ripped for some reason. So, though all the new clothes do look really nice, none of them really suit the style that I wanted Luca to have, and because there is such a limited amount of adult male CAS items in general, it took me forever to find stuff I liked on him and I’m still not entirely sure I like most of what he’s wearing, but I just couldn’t spend any more time in CAS lol

I was also quite disappointed that there were only two hairs for children and none at all for toddlers. Toddlers only got eight things in this pack. Adult females got 67! And as far as I’ve seen toddlers can’t really use any of the new gameplay items either. So pretty much all they can do with this pack is play in the sand and splash in the shallows. What we need is just a whole pack full of stuff for every age and gender EXCEPT young adult females.

This is also one of the areas I think suffered from too much focus being on making them look pretty instead of making sure they actually work properly. If you look at the image below you can see by the top three that some of the clothes have very visible seams and quite bad clipping, especially with muscular/heavier sims.

As for the three images on the bottom... Listen, I love the concept of the bikini bottom with the transparent wrap, and the one piece with the tied top but the textures on all three of these pieces are just... not great. It looks like whoever made the green swimsuit and the pink shorts went absolutely bonkers with the normal maps and highlighting; they look like they’re made of rubber.

The swimsuit is also supposed to be tied at the top but the knot is just a flat texture, there’s no dimension to it at all. The same goes for the bikini bottom and wrap, it’s not only a very low quality looking texture but the bikini bottom is just painted straight onto the outside of the wrap, which bothers me probably more than it should lol I think most people probably wouldn’t even notice or be bothered by these things but this is supposed to be my honest opinion of the pack and I honestly feel like a few of the CAS pieces (like the three above) don’t fit with the rest of the art style of the game.

Side note that has nothing to do with Island Living: I also wanted to add that I’m not happy at all that the pride content we got with the patch did not include a Simlish version of the “It Gets Better” tee. Like MANY other people, I don’t like having English in my game, so I won’t be using that particular swatch I guess.

Overall, I really do like the Island Living clothes a lot. I just feel like I probably won’t use many of them outside of Sulani, and also that more effort could and probably should have been put into making sure they didn’t just look good but also that they worked properly on sims of all sizes and didn’t clip or have holes in them, and that they all fit in with the art style of the game.

🌴 The Mermaids

If I’m being completely honest, I’ve never really cared much about having mermaids in my game. I played with them for a few weeks when The Sims 3 Island Paradise came out and then didn’t touch them again. I haven’t had much of a chance to play with them in Island Living yet, but I can already tell you that I do like them more than TS3 mermaids. However, I’m probably going to stop playing with them in TS4 after a short time as well just because they don’t really have a lot of replay value for me.

They look amazing though! It’s clear a lot of effort was put into making their animations look very natural and organic while they’re in the water. The added animations like their tales hanging over the edge of the tub when they have a bath and the funny little dolphin squeak thing they do randomly were really fun to see happen in game and made me giggle, and I really like the addition of them having a hydration bar instead of hygiene. I’m very happy that they can swim in pools as well! Ooooh and that mermaid kiss 😏

I do wish some things about them were different though. For starters, I wish there was more customisation options for them. Four tales and two “scaled” tops for females, only one top for males that doesn’t have scales on it, and with the exception of different colour options, none of them can be customised any further than they are already are. I really wanted options to add little fin pieces and spikes off the sides of the tales or some barnacles for the elderly mermaids. Maybe some tail scars and missing pieces, and definitely some more facial features like gills, fin-shaped ears, even more scars. You know, basically just anything other than typical Disney style mermaid appearances. I think I might have been far more interested in them if I could have made a mysterious, dangerous-looking siren.

But mostly I just wish they had been made more... I guess MORE of an occult life state? As they are now they’re very similar to the way aliens were made and I’ve always thought EA did aliens hella dirty with the way they were kind of just added as an afterthought in Get to Work and make no real contribution to gameplay. The only occult state that I feel hasn’t been done poorly was vampires and I was REALLY hoping mermaids would be more like that. Instead mermaids have powers that don’t really do a lot, a hydration bar that doesn’t kill them if it drops too low, they can drown human sims but not other mermaids, and when a human sim eats mermadic kelp and becomes a mermaid... nothing happens. They just have a tail when they next go into water; it’s very underwhelming.

I wanted them to be able to earn points to spend on leveling up their powers like vampires but with maybe an added bonus of... something like reputation. So depending on how they use their powers and what traits they have, they could earn a reputation as either a good, wholesome mermaid who just wants to live among the humans and be happy. Or, they could turn to the dark side and become an evil, scheming siren who spends their time plotting how to torture any poor humans unlucky enough to be lured in by their songs.

But that’s obviously not how they ended up being made, and I’m probably just gonna end up playing with them for just long enough to see everything they have to offer and then moving on to more interesting things. I knew that would probably be the case going in to this knew pack though,  so I don’t really consider that a deal breaker when it comes to the pack as a whole.

🌴 The Verdict

Overall I really like the CAS items in this pack. I have some issues with them, but as I said, none of those issues were deal breakers. In fact, every single piece of clothing could have been broken in some way and mermaids could have been absolutely awful to play with, but as long as those hairs were exactly as they are; I’d buy the pack just for them 😍

All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. I am not paid by EA to “hype” their games; I am given the opportunity to review their games early in exchange for an honest review.

#The Sims 4 #Sims 4 #TS4 #Island Living #EA Game Changers

[mkzmerryfriend]

This is a Sims 4 rant, beware

I have. So many feelings.

First of all, anger. Second, sadness. Third, hope???

So, with Eco Lifestyle being announced, it’s sort of drudged up some feelings I have about the state of the game right now... Mostly about how fundamentally broken it is. The Sims Team’s focus seems to be on popular real-life trends (not saying living sustainably is bad in real life). I think that this focus on “popular” trends (tiny homes, sustainable living, a focus on “cleaning up the town/island”) is what leads to people calling ts4 a millennial simulator. That’s always bothered me, because it isn’t supposed to be. The Sims 4 comes from a long line of games that often focused on family first, then wacky fun things to do with those families, and stories to tell with them. Sims 4 feels more like a real life barbie doll house than a life simulator, where you actually have to pretend things are happening and that their stories exist at all. Why the Sims has gone away from the game impacting your sims, I don’t know, but it makes me sad to realize this.

Okay, I’m going to try to make some specific points since I’m being very general rn. 

Kids

I think we can all agree, playing as kids is unappealing because there’s nothing to do as them. The wording there is important, too, because there are technically things to do WITH them, but not AS them. Parenthood is a great pack, one of the best, but it’s focus is not on the family. The focus is explicitly on the parents. At no point is this more apparent than when your well-behaved, responsible child randomly begins to make a mess. This happens so that the parent can do two main things: raise the child’s responsibility value, and raise their own parenting skill. It happens autonomously, and often, which makes no sense if my child is well-behaved and responsible. Plus, “Ask For Advice” happens at random, and will continue to queue up if you cancel it. This happens for the same two reasons for the parent: raise a child’s value, gain parenting skill. I’d be fine with this if I could, playing as a child, CHOOSE to ask for advice and be able to do it actively.

Along with that, there’s something that’s bothered me more than anything else lately, and that’s a comment from a Sim Guru a while ago (I don’t remember which Sim Guru, pls tell me if you remember) where they basically said “there’s nothing to do as children because no one plays as children.” Which, first of all, is not true, and second of all, doesn’t matter. If the majority of players don’t play as children, that is an excuse to be lazy and not allow for gameplay as children. Same for teens and elders. This is a life simulator, which means I want to be able to play as one sim throughout their entire life (toddler to elder), and experience everything each life state should be able to! This includes things like middle school dances and scout trips, high school prom and homecoming and teen drama, and hobby groups and unique interactions as elders with family. None of this is in the game right now, which makes me think they just never got around to it. And if that’s true, that’s extremely disappointing. 

Play Styles

When I think about all this, I get angry. Because, if you’re right and no one plays as children, teens, and elders, then just take them out of the fucking game. Take them out and see how much of your userbase is lost, see how many people play with families. See how much money you lose. In fact, take out ever life state except for young adult if you want it to be a millennial simulator that bad. See how long that lasts. Because it’s not about “well a small amount of people play as them,” you should be catering to everyone’s play style! These things should’ve been in the game on launch! We didn’t even have pools on launch! The Sims 4 got off to a bad start instantly, and I don’t think it’s ever gotten better.

That’s not to say that, if you like to just play as young adults and feel plenty happy just playing with each new pack as a young adult and you never play with families, that you’re not a valid player. You are. You’re who they’re paying most of their attention to, honestly. Long-time Sims players (of which I am not) are feeling ignored and like their concerns aren’t being addressed. I’ve only been playing the Sims since ts4, and I used to be totally fine with the game as it was. But then I played the Sims 3 for about a week straight, and realized what the Sims 4 was missing; all the little things, the way caring for babies and toddlers feels, the ways children can interact with one another, the tiny gestures certain sims make when they have specific traits- the damn amount of traits in the Sims 3 makes the Sims 4 feel like a laughable attempt. There are so many small animations that aren’t there anymore, so many ways to play that are gone, so many options we just don’t have anymore. Ts3 had so many ways to create someone’s personality on launch. There were five trait slots, zodiac signs, favorite colors, favorite foods, and favorite music. Ts4 has three trait slots. That’s it. That’s unacceptable. 

Not only that, but the Sims 3 had all kinds of little things in the base game, like firefighters and police. I’m not sure if it came with Generations (I have Generations, University, and Seasons) but teens who broke curfew would be escorted home in a police car! In the Sims 4 (with parenthood, not even base game), CHILDREN can stay out ALL NIGHT and all they get is a call from their parents as a warning. There’s just no realism anywhere, and it kind of hurts to realize after loving this game for so long.

I don’t know. I think this post is mostly to share that there are still so many things wrong, fundamentally, with the Sims 4 base game. Plumbella said once that it’s like a house with a broken foundation. Anything piled on top is unstable, and will eventually collapse without addressing the root of the issue. 

But I have hope for it all! I said it earlier that I felt hopeful (somehow) about the game getting better. I’m not sure if it’ll happen this year, but I think the Sims Team is starting to come to terms with the fact that the base game needs refurbishing. The last two surveys put out by SG Frost made me hopeful for the possibilities of the base game getting better. I’m sure whatever changes come from them won’t be exactly what I want to happen, but any improvement on the base game is an improvement nonetheless. I hope and hope and hope that these things, this lack of personality, lack of relationship depth, lack of diverse play styles- I hope it gets addressed directly someday. 

Also, kind of hoping this Eco Lifestyle pack will end up being at least something I would buy on sale... Because... I have very low interest right now, and I know a lot of people feel the same.

Eek this was long and hardly well put together, but I just finished all but one of my finals so that means it’s sims time. Let me know your thoughts, sims fam, I’m curious to know if people agree with me or if I’m getting too upset about this.

-MKZ

#ts4 #ts3 #the sims 4 #rant #long post #the sims 3 #current state of the sims??? #shit kinda sucks right now ngl #I hope the game gets better because things are not good rn

[nikatyler]

Short replies today just because I feel like writing them down. 

I’m playing with Realm of Magic now and I’m unsure about when to post it. Probably expect my RoM gameplay when the whole RoM excitement is gone and everyone is playing University or something. But hey, in a way, it’ll be a breath of fresh air, right? Right? I mean, I’ve never really cared about following simblr trends, I’m just doing my own stuff. But in case anyone was wondering when I’m going to post this Josie & Lucian gameplay I’ve talked so much about: I will. Later. Oh my god, Josian...I’m having so many feelings about them. I might post some screenshots without context, just like I did for the yellow gen. I love them so much.

As for i’m-about-to-enter-uni updates...is it just me, or are uni freshmen really just a bunch of confused kids released into the world of adults with no clear instructions? Because I feel like that’s exactly what me and my new friends are. A bunch of confused kids. This is going to be fun. In a way. Fun with a lot of freaking out on the side.

Alright, onto those replies. Also click if you want to see more of Josie. 👀

autistichatkid replied to your photo “Oooh boy. Why do I feel like I should go straight to the replies, or...”

WHOA WHOA WHOA jsyk you ABSOLUTELY dont have to redo settings for mccc... as long as you dont delete the mc_settings.cfg you never have to redo those

Wait so you’re telling me that this youtuber I watched years ago lied to me?? Because I remember her saying something along the lines “I hate redoing the settings after each update, I never know where it is”

My life has been changed now, thank you very much.

ayusims3 replied to your photoset “Roxanne: “What are you doing here? It’s 3 am.” Vanessa: “I was hungry....”

Lol I love this

Algebra, and maths in general...is definitely not missed here. I don’t know how I was able to get through it, all I remember is that I forgot everything right after finishing the test.

elisabettasims replied to your photoset “In case you were wondering what I’ve been thinking about since the...”

I was just saying on another post, Morgyn is so cute. I gave them some skin details but otherwise left them alone.

Yes! They’re one of the miracle townies who are perfect already and editing them is mainly just making them fit my style a little more.

desira-sims replied to your post “��for Ross and Caleb and then ��for your favorite.”

These two make me so happy. ��

Me too, me too...♥

1o8percent replied to your photoset “Waffle faces pt. 1”

Waffle faces are always so cute!

Yup. If I ever make my sim prepare waffles and don’t take a picture of them, just assume I’ve been abducted and a clone of me is playing the game.

1o8percent replied to your post “W-what? I didn't have my sim graphic settings on the highest option?...”

Was it for ts3 or ts4 because for some reason my graphics settings keeping getting reset after every update in ts4. ��

It was ts4...interesting, I don’t think that has ever happened to me. I had all my settings the way I remember them, only the sim settings were on high or medium, and not on the “very high” (or whatever the setting is called in English).

I’m a little bitter about it because I’ve only noticed it now and looking at my NSB screenshots, it’s been like this for months. I’m not sure if anyone else will notice it though or if it’s just me because I’m so used to my sims’ faces.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your photoset “~ stay beautiful”

She's so cuuute!

She is ;-; I randomly created her one summer night and fell absolutely in love. Actually, here are some more screenshots of her, just because.

She’s my cutest sim at the moment, there’s no doubt about it. ♥

plumbobhart replied to your photoset “In case you were wondering what I’ve been thinking about since the...”

I KNEW IT

I’m predictable haha. But looking at the notes, I feel like this has been on many people’s minds :D They do make a cute couple for sure.

tiny-tany-thaanos replied to your post “9, 18, 28”

I'd love anyone called Nebula *coughing*Favorite Avengers character*coughing*

I’ve never seen any Avengers movies *runs and hides*

Buuut, throwback to my middle school Winx Club obsession, there was a fairy named Nebula in my favourite season, season 4 (the last season, nothing after that is truly Winx, fight me - okay that was off topic but I feel strongly about this 😂). She was a bit of a bitch, but I loved her character. My Nebula is totally different though. I mean...I guess. She’s still a child, anything might happen. Ross was a sweet child and then he was an insufferable brat in high school, sooo...

myopiccc replied to your photoset “Lantana: Vanilla sims…my favourite snack!”

oh...urhhhhh... OK! XD

Did I mention that my sims are weird sometimes? Like really weird? :D

#replies #autistichatkid #ayusims3 #elisabettasims #desira-sims #1o8percent #tiny-tany-thaanos #plumbobhart #myopiccc

[pcd-status]

How about I review something else for a change

I did a double feature tonight: Toy Story 4 and Child's Play (2019). Two wildly different movies, out on the same day, united by the idea of toys coming to life. How were they?

I'll be honest. I was a bit skeptical going into TS4. I thought 3 ended PERFECTLY and I didn't think they could go anywhere good with the story. The trailers didn't give me a great idea either. But here I am on the other side of it and.... damn. As much as I think this was probably brought about through Disney wanting to keep the IP fresh in people's minds since they've sunk a lot of money into Toy Story rides at their various theme parks, Pixar still brought their A-game. They took the story in the best possible direction, along with all the emotional baggage you could want. Woody's journey throughout the last film and this one comes to its logical conclusion, and there's a whole host of new and returning characters to support and challenge him on the way. The voice acting is on point, as always. I don't always agree with the trend that Disney started of using name value actors in animated films as a marketing tool, but after two and a half decades of hearing this cast, it's hard to imagine anybody else being able to bring the same amount of emotional depth, nuance, and even chemistry that they do (that said, I'm aware Slinky Dog got recast for 3 after Jim Varney passed away, so it can be done). Also, the animation quality has gotten incredible. The different textures on display are wonderful. Bo Peep really looks like shiny porcelain in contrast to the plastic or fabric of the other toys and I love it. So, as always, come for a colorful cast of characters going through a fun and heartfelt journey, stay for some great life lessons and feels.

Now, Child's Play. I've never seen the original, or any of the Chucky movies for that matter. I saw the CinemaSins takes on them a few years back (I am not fans of them anymore, I know they're shitty, don't @ me) but that's my only real exposure to the franchise. So I'm more or less coming into this with a clean slate. I really liked the idea of a smart doll going rogue, the connectivity that they played up in the marketing has so much potential but I don't think they made as much use of it as they could have. His origin also stretches the imagination a bit, similar to the recent Black Mirror episode "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too" that also featured a ludicrously smart AI held back only by inhibitors in its programming. The characters are a bit flat, especially the adults. They all have a single personality trait that forms their whole character. The kids are a bit better although they turn around a bit fast. I really like the idea that, by the time we pick up the story, the Buddi doll is yesterday's news and there's a new model coming out, so the protagonist isn't getting the latest and greatest technology, and I think they made good use of this premise. It's never made clear if Chucky is fully aware that he's evil or if he's just following rogue programming, influenced by the messed up lives and interests of the people he interacts with, and I almost wonder if they're setting up for a sequel where they might explore this concept more. The acting is fine, and Mark Hamill delivers a wonderful voice that's just the right amount of creepy at the right times, which aids the ambiguity about Chucky's nature. My biggest issue might be how implausible a lot of the scenarios are. I know that's a weird complaint for a horror movie but the setups for some of the kills are just so specific, like why would someone be in this place at this time. Speaking of the kills, this movie is less gory than I expected. Like yeah, Chucky kills people, but it's not a lot of people, and while there's blood spatter, it's hilariously overdone. A small cat scratch drips blood like a leaky faucet, a stab wound spouts a gusher of blood that sprays 10 feet in front of someone. I've seen this described as a dark comedy and I can agree with that categorization. Do I recommend it? Maybe if you can see it cheap, like I did. It's fine, nothing to write home about but fine. 

(this won't become a regular thing, although I do like to share my thoughts on movies that I see, but I'll make a separate blog if I really want to do more of this. PCD134 and 135 are coming soon I promise)