and the "that" is a bit clumsy ("that links"), but there's nothing wrong with the present perfect. The action was started in the past (with the Napster issue) but continues to have import today (being how precedents work and all).

I've no idea what would be considered 'most kind' in that post...

Present perfect pet peeve?
Alliteration is awesome.

I'm interested to see what the lawlyers do now. <waits impatiently for an update>

I've got a hack that gives college scholarships for the talent badges. One of jfade's here:
http://www.djssims.com/index.php?category=1&subcat=33

I was kinda shocked how much my business sim got that way. It's probably a bit much. Though admittedly she hasn't done much else - except max'd mechanical and some misc. Some of that happens automatically with the badges, so it does kind of double-up.

You have some very nice things, thanks. Don't know how I managed to miss this earlier.

I got a page not found error when I tried to download the green and white toybox.

I'd thought they just weren't there in the catalog, but maybe I didn't go through the whole thing with wholesale mode on *hates that yellow colored stuff*. I was going to claim broken computer, but I guess I'll have to plead stupid (broken computer, too dumb to fix) *and* lazy. *goes off to try again*. If not, I'll resort to inventory manipulations - I just actually have quite a few objects doing this. They must have either been created before OFB or cloned from objects not available on community lots.

Edit: Baa Marhis, thanks. Triply stupid as it turns out I already knew how to do this. I remembered when I read your edit taking all the buy and community flags off objects so they would just show up in collections and not clutter the buy mode. I was doing that with the Categorizer from SimsWardrobe, so downloaded that (it doesn't need .net and direct X9 so it works fine on my computer) added the community shop and miscellaneous flags, saved and tested. Worked beautifully. My artificer is happily making money building and selling clocks, watches, mechanical birds, mechanical bands, steampunk computers and steampunk harleys. Whee.

So it's different for every type of object? pfui. I don't suppose it's the same for all electronics objects or something? Almost all the ones I have that are broken are in electronics. I was hoping for something I could do all in one go, but searching out a new method for every object would probably be more than my husband would appreciate on his computer.

*shrug* because I thought I was asking for help on how one updates objects, but the red is lovely and large and the fire is warm thanks.

I have a young sim who is a natural artificer/inventor type. She's running a shop where she repairs and sells clocks and watches (among other things). I found her this lovely set of watches that can be placed on surfaces and work as alarm clocks here:
http://linna.modthesims2.com/download.php?t=230227

and I made a collection file with a bunch of other clocks and such. On a community lot, these watches are gray(ish) in the collection file and won't place and can't be found at all in the catalog. On a residential lot, they're under electronics and it's not like there's too many places to hide in there.

I think they need some sort of EP update? I can't use simPE on this computer right now, but I want them bad enough I might stick it on hubby's computer long enough to fix them if it's not too hard and someone can point me to a tutorial. Or if there's some way without simPE, I'd really appreciate the info.

I'd say Lord Darcy is more fantasy than SciFi. Sherlock Holmes and Travis McGee combined (not totally cerebral) with a forensic pathologist sidekick who is a sorcerer. For a ballistics test instead of analyzing the gunpowder, he'll cast a spell and the bullet that belongs with the gun will shoot back where it belongs. There's no magic in the actual cases and solving, although it always seems like there will be, but the means are magic (if that's at all clear). Lots of fun, really.

Uh, well... all the kids in my households sleep in their own beds. Usually a single bed or bunkbeds, but if they're well-to-do enough the little ones get double beds to themselves. The only time they share is really poor farm families with a million (only slight exaggeration - it feels like a million) children and then everyone sleeps in granny gowns as it's appropriate to the theme. They often sleep in shifts anyways. The farm is just as likely to get weeds at night as during the day.

And basketball. Probably soccer too, but I don't think I've have a 6 play soccer.

I have some underoos for the little ones that I think are cute, so I do like to use them (usually for a summer and winter pajamas outfit) but still townies? I can't think of an occasion when I'd see a townie child in undies. Even if they really slept over with your kid, wouldn't they automagically change to pjs?

Defluo Petasatus

In the firelight's gleam by the moon's pale light
How then shall a witch be clothed?
Hair wrong, hat missing, most terrible sight!

Return ye from afar, harken to my will.
Come chapeaus, dark shadows loathed.
Check silvered mirror, is the hat there still?

Affect: Returns a missing witch's hat.

I'm mostly just using regular Season's and OFB stuff for the farmers/food. But all my sims are using jfade's Seasoned Pantry as fridges:
http://www.djssims.com/index.php?category=1&subcat=1

It's empty to start with and you can't stock it with anything but fresh food or fish (even if you buy groceries at a regular store, they won't stock and you can't call for food delivery if you have that fridge on the lot.) So there's no cheating - either they bought the food at the store or they go hungry (unless they talk old Fishel Beiser - my fisherman - into letting them plunder his lake, but he's pretty particular about who he lets stop by.)

I'm also using the produce and fish packing stations from simswardrobe:
http://www.simwardrobe.com/ (under objects/business) cuz, uh, it's ridiculous to sell veggies one veggie at a time

I'll probably end up with JMs whole gardening set later on, but the farm is so small right now it doesn't really need it.

I probably will get both this and the enthusiasm mod. I intend to. But I'm trying to set up this whole complicated system for what is and isn't allowed (a sim can have a job in this career if they have this interest and that OTH and this much education and another sim is already such and so a level in another career) soooo... I don't want to add things I'm not quite sure how will work until I have it all worked out (at least what each thing will take) and can tell what effect the mod will have.

I don't know what the fresh foods are worth. I think they're the same as regular foods with a 'sparkly' bonus. But I have no idea what the bonus is

You mean don't have one with a keyword 'Riddikulus!' that meets a sim fear (wouldn't that fairly often be having an accident?) and causes every other sim in the immediate surrounding area to point and laugh?

Thank you!

How high is the gain for fresh food? In my current game nobody eats anything but fresh food or fish. The farmer's are supplying everyone (and it's kinda fun to be a bit worried if there's a bad harvest or some sim is too stupid to be willing to buy a crate of food and instead gets a bunch of beeswax candles at the general store) though nosim is starving or anything. BUT, back on point, sounds like my play style might take away everything this mod gives?

It would be good to add nodormierespawn to the list of needed hacks and mention that it's in the director's cut.

Is this different than pulling another copy of a Maxis hood and renaming it so you have 2 or would it be the same thing?

This has some similarities to Inge's AGS system:

http://www.simlogical.com/sl/Sims2Pages/Sims2_AGS.htm

I'm awaiting an update for that as I want to buy jumpropes and baseballs for the kids and fishing poles before they can fish and whatnot. Seems like some of those would fit very well in there. I have the sunbathe anywhere hack (from Inge also) which is fun, but I wouldn't mind if they couldn't do it unless they had a towel or suntan oil or whatever.

That sounds like a good start at a hack I definitely want

I also would love separate accounts for all sims, but I have to say I'm awfully glad the amount of insurance payoff my kids get if I die isn't based on the amount of money I actually have Yes I do tend to spend all my money as soon as I get it.

SimsWardrobe's checks (which are very similar to Pescado's money orders) have a "cash" action. The checks end up in the receiving sims inventory and they don't get the money until they choose to cash them. That's handy. You can receive more than one check and just cash them one at a time too.

I like the way the money orders are mailed and that they don't have to have a desk and chair to use one (or turn move objects on) and sometimes the less complicated amount menus, so I use both.

No.

I dunno. There are an awfully lot of variables so just standard observation isn't going to tell you that. I don't personally have any reason for a test that complicated. You can't compare the effect of personality on enthusiasm gain against the OTH enthusiasm gain rate in any reasonable fashion though because personality has an effect on the OTH. And although you can change interests after creation, you can't personality. So you're trying to compare things that build on each other.

Edit: I mean change in standard game play. You can use mods to change things, but then you're bypassing the code that determines the OTH and so far as I know it's never recalculated. I have no idea how much recalculation goes into the rest. I suspect the rates are not recalculated but set, and the rest of the game just looks for 'did you do this activity enough to have x points in it or lose points in it.

The hobby-guru is faster. But it's all so fast it doesn't really matter. And reading the paper and blogging are a waste when you can do things that give skills as well and get enthusiasm so quickly, the only reason to bother would be boredom with standard activities, or self-limits in skill-raising activities, or to fill a want or something.

Pescado mostly seemed uninterested but there's some brief discussion in the war room thread on skill gaining. Looking at the code for actual answers instead of trying to determine by empirical evidence might be more reasonable - certainly over my head to do.

I'm more peeved that they gain enthusiasm so quickly in things just by doing the regular things sims do there's little variety and less character deviation than there could be. What kind of mod are you thinking about?

Enthusiasm, in game terms, is how fast you go up on the little bars. The whole point of the One True Hobby is that you gain "enthusiasm" faster, i.e., your little bars go up faster in that one. Personality and interests (at least in part) determines the One True, so yes. Again, test it yourself. Look at their personality and interests and guess at the One True.


No. We already said it's way too easy and everyone gets everything in near no time.

Are you even playing Freetime?

You can't have an artist or a chessmaster at all. You can have a sim who will, after spending some time, go 'into the zone' when doing arts and crafts (a whole variety of kinds) or into the zone when playing games (again a bunch of games). It's not near that specific and any sim who spends any time doing those, regardless of personality/interests/One True or anything else will get there plenty quick enough.

What you get really is that all sims zone when doing anything unless you specifically don't let them do some stuff. And that means they can't cook or eat if you don't want them to gain cuisine enthusiasm :p (that one is particularly bad). They can't play *any* game if you only want one chessmaster (or just a few), etc.

You really aren't playing with Freetime, hm?

Not necessarily as evidenced by the outrageous number of pc-using folks in the sales dept. who keep having to ask us mac-using art dept critters how to add an attachment to an email. *sigh*

The problem isn't what's on the desk, it's between the desk and the chair.

That doesn't make any sense.

On the aging thing: I just use standard game aging. I don't usually age sims up the day early, but sometimes. About the only time I change ages is when a family comes from CAS (I roll for them) and has 2 in the same age group, I'll usually make one of them older as I don't feel like they should all be twins. Everyone still gains everything way too fast.

In general, I use tons of 'make it harder' hacks. I self-limit all over the place (this sim isn't allowed to do this or that for whatever reason) and they all still gain everything.

BTW Inge, I'd love AL updates to the autonomous skill learning in bookcases and to the system for buying a football before they can play football or whatever. (At last they weren't updated last time I was at simlogical, just a few days ago.) Those things help add limits. And add fun/reason for selling baseballs, footballs, jumpropes etc. in stores.