More Awesome Than You!

I have recently started using the SimVac on obnoxious townies, but I am somewhat confused by it.  The only Sims who can use it are those with Gold or Platinum aspiration, who in aspiration terms are doing OK thanks very much.  The ones who NEED aspiration points and would actually gain something by sucking them out of the obnoxious townies can't use it!  Is there any way the rule can be altered for this object so that Sims on green (or worse) can use this object to get themselves back into a more acceptable position?  I would have thought that was the whole point of using it in the first place (apart from watching the obnoxious townies suffer, of course).

Only Gold or above Sims can use it because--follow me here--it is an Aspiration Reward object. 

As for its function, I think it is supposed to suck skill points from other Sims, who then become pissed off and kick your gnome or something  (not a euphemism).

It seems to be intended more as a user prop/torture device than as an item with an actual use. A purpose at which it succeeds quite remarkably, if properly implemented. Although nothing can beat buyable fire.

Yes, I know it's an Aspiration Reward object, but does that mean the code can't be altered so it can serve a better purpose?  All that happens to the 'vacced' Sim is that they run off the lot, leaving someone platinum instead of gold, or platinum instead of platinum.  I would rather see a Sim who was previously red turn green or gold, or a green one turn gold or platinum.  It seems totally wasted otherwise, because when you've seen one Sim run off, you've seen 'em all.

I use it to lower sim relationships... but that's just me. (Continuing the torture theme here Oddysey)

I don't get the Sim Vac at all. (So I don't use it... I find that way I don't mess up my game ;) )

Ok, say my Sim has 4 cooking points and he sucks the skills out of a Sim with 2 cooking points. Does that mean he now will have 6 cooking points, or does the fact that he already has more than 2 cooking points negate the effect and leave his skill total the same?

 ???

I use it to suck the skill points from my old people before they kick off.  It doesn't take all their skill points, but adds some to the Sim using the vac.  I've never seen a difference in it working if the Sim has less skill then the suckee.  (is that a word?)

The worst thing is if your sim goes from gold into green while using it!  They then lose their own skill points and if they're a Knowledge sim they end up having a breakdown and the shrink has to come and sort them out!  It's far worse than them drinking elixir when they've slipped back into green!

Uni+Sim Vac+Irritating Coach=A good thing. Uni is the only time I really use the Sim Vac. When the coach comes to yell at your Sim, you have the prime opportunity for lots of free skill points if your Sim is not maxed. I only use it in Platinum. Last night my Sim maxed out her charisma, cleaning, and gained several cooking points from the coach. I also topped off her Platinum at the end. The thing about the coach is that he won't leave after being vacced. He'll just run to another part of the dorm so you can repeat the procedure many times. I emptied two Sim Vacs on him. I did have to take a short break during the shrink visit.

You get one skill point per use of the Vac, which is good for 5 uses, and it's random. It does not matter if your Sim already has more points than the suckee. My next victim will likely be one of the irritating drama professors that visit at random. If you show up uninvited, you're fair game. Besides, it's fun. ;)

You'd think they'd be able to max out their Body Skill Points from the coach!  Obviously, they aren't actually any good at their jobs, which is why sims who give in to their yelling and start working out don't actually get any fitter!

She already had maxed body thanks to the Obstacle Course. Come to think of it, though, I don't think I've ever gotten a body point from a coach. Interesting.

Well, I just ban them from the lots now!

That's a great idea, why didn't I think of that? I never used the SimVac because..., well, because it just didn't seem right to steal someone else's skills (yeah, yeah, I know, I'm a wuss :)). However, I will use it on the coach and those idiotic professors with pleasure. Not only do they bother my sims, they bother me, I find them simply obnoxious. I can now play Uni again, it sounds like this is fun (I haven't played it in a while, it bores me to tears).

How is it going down there Reg? You must be positively baking; stay cool, have an Ice Tea (sweetened ofcourse), and pour some enhancers in it.

G.

Warning: SimVaccing for points neither satisfies the "Maximize All Skills" LTW nor creates the relevant maximized-skill memories.

There is, however, other value in strategic simvaccing: If your target has much lower skill than you, the SimVac consider points to be equivalent, even though the cost of a level 8 or 9 point is considerably higher than a level 1 point. So you could intentionally have a no-skill sim repeatedly gain the L1 skillpoint so you can borrow it to increase your high-value points. This is not, however, a really effective way of trying to break the speed record for maximize all skills, since the current speed record is in Childhood and children cannot use the SimVac. :P

I can only play Uni with Pescado's clock. Otherwise I feel like I am somewhere in the depths of hell. I had that guilt feeling with the Sim Vac, too. I don't ever use it on playable Sims. It just doesn't feel right. I'm a wuss, too. :)


It's hot as blazes, but that's nothing new. Fortunately, everything down here is air-conditioned and it's a comfy 72 degrees in my house. But I'll take heat over snow any day. When I can go outside in short sleeves in February you'll all be jealous.  ;)

I'll use the SimVac on playable sims, but it's generally a very calculated move that doesn't really involve "guilt" at all, like sucking ASP off a permanently platinum sim (who's effectively immune) to top off another sim before going to work, or doing the low-high skill transfer trick, or other shenanigans like that.

Pssh. Snow is good. In a few years when global warming causes everything down south to BURST INTO FLAMES from the sheer heat, up here it'll still be quite tolerable. THEN who's going to be laughing, hrm?!? Besides, what's the value in going out in short sleeves? You can be just as comfy going out in FULL BODY ARMOR, when it's cold, and be better protected, too. You should ALWAYS wear body armor!

Well, if I'm burninated I won't be around to be jealous, now will I?  ;) And we laugh in the face of global warming down here. If global warming is accompanied by lower humidity it's bound to be an improvement.

Well, you should try the UK then, before you say that Global Warming is accompanied by lower humidity!  That certainly isn't the case here, where it's got hotter and definitely wetter and muggier!  (Oh, and our summers are worse!)

Which will finally eradicate the kudzu. And, quite possible, George Bush.

Did anyone in the US actually really and truly vote for him?

Yes, but apparently these people are underrepresented on the Internet.

my parents did. still puzzling that one out. ???

Hmm, does the vac nuke relationship with the victim, or with everyone?

I thought it nukes the user's relationship with everyone, which was the reason I never used it  But if the relationship affected is only with the victim, I might actually consider it now...

The relations hit actually is fairly minor, only -10/-10. Easily corrected with a quick autosocialize run.

To the UKadians:
Please understand that we USians are well aware that slightly over half of voting Americans are braindamaged, thus our current "leader".  Interesting enough, about 51% of active voters are in the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons).  It supports my theory that if we could just bury people after they retire, we'd have a much happier and smarter country, and no more uncomfortable and boring visits to grandma's.

If you buried people after they retired, you wouldn't have any all these nice TS2 hacks. Then again, I suppose I already am sort of buried....but this does not stop me from voting! Still, your ageism is appalling. Foolish, ignorant child.

Well, I swear this started off as a harmless, innocent little thread ... all we need now is sex and we've probably covered everything.

Oh, whatever, JM...we're all well aware that you currently perform this practice, anyway! ::)


Edit:  Whoops, sorry, Ancient Sim, I almost forgot:  SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX....there we go!

If bunker /= buried, then I don't know what does. And obviously, SJActress means that we should bury *boring* people. You know, the ones who actually don't do anything after they retire.

I have several relatives and other acquaintances who are convinced that Bush manipulated both elections. I tend to attract paranoid conspiracy theorists, for some reason.

Oh, and age discrimination cuts both ways. Be under 18 in this country, and you are screwed. Not allowed to vote, a variety of jobs you can't work in, you must sit in a large, prisonlike building under the pretense of education all day, not allowed to make any legal decisions for yourself, etc. And speaking of sex, a large portion of the country thinks that you know nothing about it, and should be kept this way. These people are now regularly featured on the new and improved Daily Idiot, or will be in the near future.

Well, I'm retired, and I didn't vote for Blair!  Didn't vote for anyone else either, we have no real choice in this country - Tory Tory or Labour Tory, what's the difference?

Somebody has a knack for stating the obvious. Of course Bush manipulated both elections. How do you think you *WIN* elections, anyway? You think this just magically happens? You just sit there and people magically will all vote for you? It doesn't work that way.

I didn't vote for Blair either.  If I had, it wouldn't have made any difference as I am unfortunate enough to live in a staunch Labour area.  I have to admit that his reaction to the London bombings did impress me, but it wouldn't cause me to vote Labour.  I have never forgiven them for abolishing grammar schools and I never will.  Biggest mistake they ever made - biggest mistake the country ever made.  I'm one of the proportional representation crowd, not that it's ever likely to come about.  I don't understand the voting system anyway and politics bore me to distraction.

Now, about that SimVac ...

i get you oddysey. i wouldn't go back to being 18 (or under) for anything. not even if offered a million dolla....you know I really could do a lot with a million dollars! Nah....Well?....No. Absolutely not. That's my final answer.

But if

These people mean in illegal ways. You know, secret operatives changing the outcome of the computer systems, buying off (or otherwise pressuring) Supreme Court justices. That sort of thing. I honestly think these people are rather silly. Bush won, whatever, if he did anything untoward I don't have any particular interest in it, because politics in this country just gets on my nerves. They need to learn how to conduct their arguments properly, from the scientific community. There they will learn about the proper implementation of both humour and bile.

Oh, and I envy you UK people for having a leader who actual speaks English. Americans don't appreciate the fine art of oratory.

The first election, it was quite obvious he cheated and connived his way into office.
The second was more subtle, but no less disastrous for the citizens of this country.
And speaking of stupid elections (and what election with Bush in it could be anything else), when are we going to rid ourselves of the incredibly superfluous and outdated electoral college system?

Isn't that how things normally work? "Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything." In Soviet Russia, votes count YOU!

Well, I dunno, Bush did give us several nice ones. My personal favorites include "strategery" and "misunderestimate".

I think Kennedy was quite an orator - he certainly had the charisma to get people's attention,  and Clinto wasn't too bad either.  Perhaps it's just your Republicans who  don't understand the art!

Yes, but Kennedy was assassinated, and Clinton was character assassinated. Generally, the ones who get attacked are the ones who actually have some idea what they're doing. Britain might have the same problem; I don't know quite enough about the history of the UK to be sure.

Well, our Prime Ministers aren't quite the same as Presidents - we vote for a particular party, and we just get the leader the party chose as part of the deal - but of course, if the leader of a party is very unappealing they tend to lose elections fast!  (And the Tories haven't managed to find a leader with mass appeal since they got rid of Maggie!)

I wish I could sarcastically ridicule Bush in a manner that would make it likely to be viewed by him. Then I could nominate this in the DI.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushdumbquotes.htm

"For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it."

That goes in my signature. It's just priceless. Even tops the magnet I have. "I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed with success, as opposed to failure."

Damn straight it's unacceptable. People need to learn to have better aim. I mean, what do we need, here, a contrast photo? Good Shooting vs. Shitty Shooting?

Perhaps he was trying to drum up support for looser gun control. Handgun vs. machine gun.

Gun control is using both hands.

Honestly I think he's probably against that too.

Well, hey, you know the saying. Anything fun is either illegal, immoral, or fattening.

I would have said as an outsider looking in that Bush's idea of guncontrol is "One law for me and my buddies, another for everyone who didn't vote for me!"

That is probably the most compelling reason I've heard so far to vote for him.

 ;DCan't be many other reasons to do so, then!

Yeah, bring back Maggie.  I really liked Maggie.  Can't stand her daughter, though.  Something really irritating about that woman.  I particularly liked Maggie in this game I had for the Spectrum (wow, come a long way since those days!).  I think it was called Denis, or Something Denis, or maybe even Denis Something.

Now, ABOUT THAT SIM VAC ...

Alright Ancient, I'll try and help. About the SimVac...

So I guess if the loss of relationship between robber and victim is only slight, there is no reason not to use it to ...ahem... 'borrow' a skill-point or two if a promotion hinges on it and there is simply no time to build the skill the regular way?

Can a sim use it on any other sim? I mean, can an adult use it on a teenager? I know, it sounds mean, but the teenies don't need the skill-points quite that urgently, unless its for scholarship reasons and the age-transiton is too close for them to re-build the skill.

My only worries were in the relationship department. I did not want to ruin a parent/child relationship, nor a explode a marriage, unless I feel like doing that on purpose. That's the reason I have so many silly questions, I have never used it before, you see. It never occured to me to use it on townies and NPC's; told you I need a vacation :D

G.

Zephyr, that's pretty much how it works here, as well. The major parties nominate a candidate and no one besides those two people has a chance to win. I have "protest" voted in the last couple of elections.

And speaking of Bush, I read a quote by Clarence Darrow recently that seems very fitting.
"When I was a boy, I was taught that anyone could become President. I am beginning to believe that is true." It's an embarassment that that buffoon is our "leader".

You'd think it would have been a case of once bitten twice shy!  After all, his father wasn't exactly Brain of America!  But I suppose, unless you have more than 50% of your voters with IQs above 100, you are going to get the lowest common denominator of President since there are more voters in that category! 

The problem with out present administration is they seem to be mostly made up of lawyers, and they all want to rewrite the statute book to make more work for their lawyer friends!  One example of this is that sevreal very effective lanti-terror laws were introduced during the IRA campaign, but now with the Al Qaida threat, we somehow seem to need a whole set of new ones!  Presumably to provide employment for numerous lawyers in drafting them!

I don't think I care much any longer what the government does, as long as it doesn't affect me personally - and that's a terrible admission for me to make!

Well, that's just how politicians work. Like the saying goes, "If pro- is the opposite con-, what is the opposite of progress?"

That sounds essentially reasonable to me. It's not like you, personally, can affect the outcome. That's pretty much what I do. I cast my token vote for the third party candidate of my choice, and lose, thus reaffirming the futility of the system, then go back to my hermit-hole and wait for the Revolution, Armageddon, or what-have-you.

I know,, it's the only sensible thing to do, but I still feel cheated!  It's the empty promises at election time that really get to me!

Meh. Our form of democracy doesn't really do what it's supposed to. Country is generally too large of a level of social organization to do anything really useful except get on people's nerves. Decentralization actually works surprisingly well. Just ask ants. They've taken over the world without anything resembling a leader. Even the queen is much more like the germ cells of a single organism than any sort of administrator.

They get to you only if you believe them. It's the same deal with EA hypemongering. I don't believe a word of that shit, so it doesn't bother me when they don't deliver. I just go, "Meh, they always lie anyway."

I vote, though it doesn't make a difference. American politics are fubar. I vote for candidates I know can't win. And also know that even if voting main party, my vote doesn't really count. The elector votes. He is Supposed to vote in the interest of his constituency, but is not Required to. In this digital age why can't we have a true democracy? Or, at the Very least, aim for something closer to the republic that we claim we are.


Bush is an idiot. I would be very amused at the ridiculous things he says and does, if he were anyone other than the president. I am ashamed to belong to a country that would elect him, not once but twice.

 "I want it to be said that the Bush administration was a results-oriented administration, because I believe the results of focusing our attention and energy on teaching children to read and having an education system that's responsive to the child and to the parents, as opposed to mired in a system that refuses to change, will make America what we want it to be - a more literate country and a hopefuller country." -George W. Bush, Jan. 2001

How can I not be proud of this guy?

The whole thing makes me worry....

Pssh. Snow is good. In a few years when global warming causes everything down south to BURST INTO FLAMES from the sheer heat, up here it'll still be quite tolerable. THEN who's going to be laughing, hrm?!? Besides, what's the value in going out in short sleeves? You can be just as comfy going out in FULL BODY ARMOR, when it's cold, and be better protected, too. You should ALWAYS wear body armor!

That sounds like something my son would say....

And if you're a girl, body armor is sexy when paired with a gun and a lead pipe that goes KRONG!   ;)  Even girls should ALWAYS WEAR BODY ARMOR.

Chris

As I heard quoted somewhere "there is only one way a woman should meet the public --armed--"

G.

Crowbar, not lead pipe. Better for getting a purchase.

But the lead pipe makes such a satisfying noise when it bounces off skulls or shins....  ;)

I'll just stick to my katana. Blades are cool.

Well, then take your lead pipe, break the end off so it's nice and sharp, and bent it. Toolmaking.