They're missing in my game, too.

"Sucks eggs big time." ~ Alpha Goopy Quarterly ~

Yays! A possible mini-Alpha Goop on the way.    And thank heavens for my sanity that the site finally managed to let you upload the story. My impatience, let me show you it.

Argh! Just when I thought things were going my way, another aggravating bug pops up! It appears that the appearance of the gypsy that bears the genie lamp is indeed random, but then every single time you call and invite the matchmaker over thereafter, she just sneaks onto the lot and brings another lamp before sneaking away again.    There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

I must hunt down that link to report bugs to EA.

Good point. I do not disqualify Carla Niven, but you can't nominate the entire site. Each person may nominate one model from that site if they wish, but only one.

To give an example, here is my initial entry:



Christ oh mighty! It looks like his face is melting off! The hair (which is the CC in question) may be not entirely godawful, but the model...I can't get past that!

Have you ever been searching for a piece of CC to complement your ever-growing collection only to stumble upon a creator who used a model so wretchedly ugly or awful that you couldn't get past it to actually consider the CC you were looking for? I know I certainly have. This month's challenge is to submit pictures of horrifically fugly models. Not Sims themselves, but models used to promote other forms of CC (clothing, hair, makeup, etc.).

Rules are as usual, but for the record:

1). Submissions can only have been posted before this contest began.
2). Bonus points if they're from pay sites.
3a). Remember: no submitting actual Sims, since they're not technically models. I'm looking for the worst example of Sims used to actually try to promote user-created content.
3b). The exception to that rule is if the Sim itself is used to distribute custom content that isn't available elsewhere.

Good luck!

Kabuto, nice job on the clothes you've done thus far! Are you planning on ripping any of the other native clothes?

I like Pescado Goopy.    I will predict that he shall be the inevitable victor in this game of Emma and Torture.

In reality, you'd think that the longer you held onto it, the more valuable it'd be, what with the constant sinking of ships and the loss of other pieces of eight. *shrug*




It's from my favorite manga.

P.S. Sorry about altering your quote, but that was driving me nuts.

I was wondering: would it be difficult (or, more importantly, game breaking) to alter the treasure chest from Bon Voyage to make it increase in value over time rather than decrease? It's always struck me as weird that the longer you hold onto the gold, the less valuable it becomes.

Also, I was wondering if it would be difficult (or again, game breaking) to replace the default pirate flag on the pirate ship to have a different logo on it.

You've stumbled upon the crux of my dilemma, Jess Maree. I don't want to purchase a Vista-laden computer. The Dell.com site has the option of installing XP, but Dell.ca does not. And you're correct; I don't need any security programs or Word, and I also do not need a monitor.

I appreciate your help very much. I'm going to do some investigating to see if purchasing the parts on their own would be a better bet than just buying a new computer outright since I'll likely be buying it after February 15th.

$800 including shipping. I may be able to go as high as $850, but that must include everything. Thanks, Jess Maree.

Those computers look so nice, Sleepycat.    Sadly, they seem to be all out of my price range, as none of them can be downgraded and the cheapest one I see is $1,200.

Yes, but I've yet to stumble upon any computer that offers XP instead of Vista.


Did not know of this. I am intrigued and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Ahh, Invisigoth, you know I love you. That site would be perfect, save for one little snafu...I don't see an option to ship to Canada.    Other than that, it would be groin-grabbingly perfect.

I hope not; otherwise, mine is completely out of the running.

Good point. I'll add a 'No permaplat Sims may move back into the household from Uni' rule.


Another excellent point. Adding the 'Must randomize Aspirations at the beginning' rule.


Yes.


No, adults may not teach children with Career rewards items.

Really? How does that happen?

I would, but I don't want to risk "ruining" your lovely site by my mere presence.

I suppose I could add a rule like:

- If any of the starting Sims die before the completion of the challenge, you have failed. You earn 0 points and win only a thorough P&Ling from everyone around you.

Thus, the challenge would not be infinite or non-terminating, as any attempt to prevent aging (or death by old age) is already disallowed by the rules. The end is quite firmly declared to be upon the death of one of the starting Sims, and the maximum length of time would be 29 days (the adult life span) plus whatever the elder stage gave them. I don't imagine the average player would be willing (or able) to play a Sim long enough to obtain 4 or more LTWs. However, just in case, maybe a 'No changing Aspirations' rule would be a benefit.

Hmmm, here's one that I've recently started test playing on my own. I suspect you'll find it much too easy though, Pes. I have yet to thoroughly playtest it, though, so it may be subject to tweaking in case it's too hard/easy.

The Optimize Your Earning Potential Challenge
aka Being Able to Retire in Financial Security

This will require the use of Inge's $10,000 mortgage shrubs on Simlogical. If you can't (or won't) use it, you can still play this, but you'll have to remember when to deduct funds, how much to remove and to do it precisely at the correct time.

• Start this challenge with as many Sims as you want. You may even use pre-existing Sims if you like, but you would be required to use whatever means possible to randomize their skill levels, and none must start any higher than 3. Also, they cannot be Uni graduates. No two Sims may have the same aspiration, and they must be randomly chosen. The only exception is if you're starting with more than 6 Sims, but then no more than 2 may share the same one. If you start with 3 Sims and both Sim 1 and 3 roll romance, you must roll again to change Sim 3's aspiration until it's something other than a duplicate.
• Each Sim is required to have four $10,000 mortgage shrub on the lot. 1 Sim = 4 shrubs, 4 Sims = 16 shrubs, etc. This will deduct 400 simoleans from the household per day per Sim.
• Any additional Sim that moves in adds 4 shrubs to the household, regardless of how many shrubs each other Sim has left. Hence, the time of day they're moved in will be relevant. Only spouses may be moved in from the townie pool (one spouse per Sim), and no teens that achieve permaplat status in Uni may be moved back in.
• You may start in a pre-made lot, but once you begin, the funds on hand  must be set to 0. Funds permitting, you may remove one shrub per Sim every 7 days (if you have 4 Sims, you remove 4 shrubs on Monday at 8 am). If you can only afford to remove a few (example: if you have 4 Sims but you only have 35,000 simoleans on hand at 8 am on the 7th day), you may remove none and have to wait for the next week where you can still only remove 1 shrub per Sim. If you can afford to remove the required number of shrubs, you must do so, no matter how broke it makes you.
• If there are children born into the household, you must add the requisite 4 shrubs to the lot the next time 8 am comes around after they become teens. They are subject to the same rules as stated earlier. However, if said teen(s) leave(s) for Uni before 8 am the next day, the additional shrubs are not added.
• The goal is to have every Sim on the lot (from teen and up) achieve their LTW before all the shrubs are removed.
• You must select an option for every chance card.
• No fancy tricks in achieving LTWs. Examples include (but are not limited to):
  - Sims may not consume eggplant juice or use the aspiration reward that sucks skills from other Sims to Max SKills; all skill points must be earned. Smart Milk usage is not allowed.
  - Sims with the Woohoo 20 Different Sims LTW may not be permitted to Woohoo 10 Sims in one area and then Woohoo with them all in a public place to earn an unjust achievement; they have to woohoo 20 different Sims.
  - Sims may not achieve the Earn 100,000 Simoleans want by buying/reselling community lots, etc.
  - Sims may not achieve the Have 5 Top-Level Businesses LTW by bringing one up to 10 and then sabotaging it to 9 just to bring ti back to 10 again.
• You may not reroll the LTWs your Sims start out with, with the following exceptions: you're using a previously created Sim (and you may only reroll once), or you rolled an LTW that you'd sooner bite your own leg off than have to try to achieve (I'm looking at you, Have 20 Pet Best Friends).
• No use of the Elixir of Life or anything that extends life span.
• Any skill-building object with a fun value of 8 or more is not permitted. Career Reward Objects are usable only by the Sims that earned them.
  

• No two Sims may have the same job at the same time.
• No part-time jobs or earning money by any means other than jobs, chance cards, paintings, novels, or moving in Sims.
  
• None of the starting Sims nor anyone that still has active shrubs on the lot may move out before the end of the challenge.
• No selling items in the household just to get the minimum amount of funds when shrub pruning is due. The only reason you may sell items is when you're upgrading (or downgrading) or when you've received them as a date gift. Of course, you may also sell paintings.
  
• If any of the starting Sims dies before the completion of this challenge, you have failed. You achieved 0 points and have earned opnly a thorough P&Ling from all of those around you.
  
  • You may not change aspirations once the challenge has started, but you may choose the aspirations of any children that transition in the household.
  
  Once the final shrubs are removed, tally up your score.
  +0.5 for every Sim over 1 that you began the challenge with.
  +1 if all Sims achieved their LTWs (children and under excepted, of course). If only 3/4 achieved it, score 3/4 of a point, etc.
  +1 for each starting Sim that is not an elder when the challenge ends.
  +5 if none of the starting Sims are elders.
  +2 for each second LTW any Sim on the lot managed to achieve, +3 for each 3rd LTW they achieved, etc. These points are stackable.
  -1 for each death before the end of the challenge.
  -1 every time the household funds dip below 0 (I'm not sure if this is possible with the shrubs, but I assume it is).
  -1 for every Sim that retires before the end of the challenge without having achieved an LTW.
  
  Addendums:
  
  - Pets in the household (either starting or added later) require you to add 1 shrub and one shrub only per pet. This shrub can be removed at the specified day of the week when shrub removal is done. Any pets born into the family add 1 shrub each when they become adults.
  - I suppose you don't have to use these shrubs to play this challenge, but I find it would be immensely easier.
  - If you want to be complicated, I suppose you could simply say that no two Sims can have the same job at the same level at the same time (i.e. you can have an intern and a doctor in the household, but not 2 doctors). This Sim 'hood ain't big enough for two of the same position.

I downloaded all of your houses, Witch. I thought I might squeeze all of my appreciation for them into one message, so here it goes:

Thanks for these; they're great. I desperately need small houses for my game since I seem to suck so badly at making houses that are both affordable, functional and aesthetically pleasing. You've done a fantastic job, and I appreciate having lots like these available for download.

Theo, you are now my new God.