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126  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Rancho Reggikko by Hegelian on: 2007 June 27, 10:54:57
But have at it—you can do to it whatever you like.

Don't mind if I do...

This is actually what I was getting at about the front:


Not a big deal, just a little focus for the front entry.
127  TS2: Burnination / Oops! You Broke It! / Re: Can't change slope angle of Mansard roof? on: 2007 June 26, 04:06:12
The screen shot is definitely a mansard roof as you can see the low concrete wall fencing at the top. (I think the short wrought-iron would have been classier)  It is also a more traditional 'mansard' style as it exists in reality than the one mEAxis supplied us with, since the roof surface should normally be very steep like the picture shows.

It never really occurred to me to try this out but I may play with it soon and report my results if no one else supplies the answer before me.  Hook's description might be the right one, it sounds plausible.  I have a sudden urge to add some empire-style houses to my neighborhood.
128  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Reggikko enters the fray on: 2007 June 25, 16:33:43
You still end up funneling your sims through the gate(s) to get to the car

I am still not quite seeing the problem with the gates, although lot-design or game-play styles might be the issue.  Normally, assuming the family has enough funds, I will place a sidewalk along the most convenient route to the driveway/car, and if not, a terrain-paint dirt or rock path.  Where the path meets the fence, there is a very good place to put a gate.  If one takes care to place the sidewalk/gate along the shortest route to the driveway/car, there should be a negligible effect on the time it takes to get to the car or on normal routing. 
129  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Rancho Reggikko by Hegelian on: 2007 June 24, 23:53:47
For the plants try this by TwoJeffs

I see, an awesome mod that turns plants into plastic.  That would explain it and it sounds very tempting.  I will have to think about it, though, I like to keep my hacks very select and very few.

For the furniture placement it could be boolprop snapobjectstogrid false

Ah yes, a cheat I missed.  You are surely correct, if the name of the cheat is anything close to what it actually does.

Hegelian might also be using some of the invisible surface objects that you can DL from TSR or MTS2 and using them with the moveobjects on cheat.

Huh?
130  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Reggikko enters the fray on: 2007 June 24, 23:33:04
Except I didn't gate it at all as I had the fence run along the sidewalk, front path and driveway, and connected to the house itself to form a barrier. Putting in a no pets gate would make a difference? Methinks I need to go play with this.

They still appear on the lot but are restricted to areas outside of the fence and correctly-locked gate.  Pets and critters appear at the sidewalk, so any fence *should* keep them out.  I say *should*, because if the fence runs right along the sidewalk and there is too many sims standing at the portal, then the critter may possibly generate inside the fence if there is open ground there.  This happens to me occasionally when sims show up for a party and too many are generated at the same portal at the same time, and also sometimes when the werewolf summons the pack;  Some generate on the sidewalk, some appear inside the fence.  I would guess that if a critter like the skunk showed up at about the same time it could just as well appear inside the fence.  Fencing the entire lot will not fix this, though, only placing the fence back a few spaces from the sidewalk can correct this, as far as I know.

In fact, I would hazard to suggest that JMP add this criterion to his awesomespec, if it is not already there;  Perimeter fence should not be along the sidewalk at the edge of the lot by the portals to prevent unwanted spawning of unwelcome critters or sims inside the fence. 
131  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Reggikko enters the fray on: 2007 June 24, 22:18:27
A fence is useless for security as long as we can't gate the driveway. You could put the driveway outside the fence, but then you run into unacceptable aesthetic and gameplay issues (having to dick around with going through a gate to get to the car).  Cool

If you are using a fence to keep sims out then you are correct, but the gate locks with a 'disallow pets' option that keeps critters out but does not impede sims movement, requiring no 'dick around' negotiation at all.


By the way, Regg, I thought the house was very cool, and aside from the massive amounts of high-maintenance foliage and missing fence/garage, there is not much I will change here. 

Question about fences.

See above, click on gate, choose 'Disallow Pets".
132  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Rancho Reggikko by Hegelian on: 2007 June 24, 21:50:06
I like this, and while not technically awesomespec in any way that I can see, it would suit my playing style nicely, so I am taking it.

Critiques, if you care  (Or...some changes I will be making):

Basement?
Foundation just begs for a masonry treatment, instead of more stucco, in my humble opinion.  (Okay, I don't really have humble opinions)
Front doors and balcony doors are way too close together to not be lined up, and looking at the plans it seems like they easily could have been.
Also, a gabled portico roof accentuating the front entry would have been a very nice touch.
Daily Gardener?  How about 24-hour gardener!  Can you really keep that many flowers alive?
Ack!  Wrought-iron fence all around!  You don't get the 'black-laser-defense-system-of-doom' with this?  Your graphics adapter must be more awesome than mine.

Questions:

How do you get a 1x2 coffee table to sit in the center of a 2x3 rug?  Also, how it it that a 1x1 lamp can be at the center of a 1x2 table?  Is this a cheat I missed or were the objects modified?


Your first entry was better just at a glance, and secondly, you can't submit two entries, Reggikko, not even by puppeting Hegelian's corpse.

I have no idea what you are talking about, but I'm sure you already have a bunny with a pancake on it's head somewhere.
133  TS2: Burnination / The Podium / Re: Inexplicable Promotion on: 2007 June 24, 20:29:01
I had always considered the relationship score as key to the 'pulled-strings' promotion, like say in-love with near 100/100 relationship status, not necessarily a 'dream date'.  This could easily be wrong as I never did pay close attention to it.  I had one sim who not only had a lacking in one skill but even came home from work early after a 'chance-card' firing only to get a surprise promotion through the influence of a lover.  I don't have the hack you listed and I have never witnessed a 'tenured'-type promotion, just 'chance-card' and 'pulled-strings' outside of the usual.  Perhaps the 'No Friends for Any Career' hack stomps the 'pulled-strings' promotion info bubble somehow? 

That makes me rather nervous as to what his fate will be if he's promoted to a position like that without having the necessary skill.  Grin

Ach, so ist es eben im leben:

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php/topic,8450.0.html
134  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Flamingo Crams 9 Sims onto a 2x2 Lot on: 2007 June 24, 17:14:17
This house was built as closely to Awesomespec spec as possible with the size restrictions.

Interesting layout, but The One Desk could easily be downstairs in the hall, thereby closer to the school bus stop/garage, and therefore closer to awesomespec, I believe.

autoroofing without harming aesthetic quality

Is there really such a thing as this?


Questions:

Do sims prepare meals on the counter over the dishwasher in the dining room, then return to the kitchen to cook?

Does the cheat-placed garage function properly, meaning the garage door opens when it should, and car does not teleport?  If it does work, how was it done?



Nice job containing the cost.
135  TS2: Burnination / The Podium / Re: Creating a Custom Name List on: 2007 June 20, 05:05:27
There are some interesting names listed here.

Cholmondeley= 'chumly'   That one's a keeper!

. . . if you're going to use literary names, there are plenty of good ones.

Literary names are definitely fair game, like Moorcock, though often they are more ordinary than I care to use for sims.  If they are famous or renowned enough, and I like their work in general, they probably get a street named after them.

Hotchkiss had something to do with cannons.  Tongue

I snatched this one from the media over the past year, there was a former NHL player named Harley Hotchkiss who died recently.  The Hotchkiss you are thinking of was involved with machine guns, maybe?  There is of course the Hotchkiss military jeep:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Jeep_Man/hotchkis.htm

That name is one of my favorites, it just has it all.


Thanks for that link.  It could take lots of time to search through it, though, even starting from the bottom.
136  TS2: Burnination / The Podium / Re: Creating a Custom Name List on: 2007 June 19, 16:23:04
Okay, after considerable delay (pesky responsibilities and bothersome commitments and all, you know) here is an abridged list of some surnames I have found interesting/amusing/unusual.  It may not be obvious why some have been included here, but if any name does not seem to be particularly clever a Google search would probably turn up why it has been included.  I am mostly omitting names that are blatantly renowned as I don't typically use those for sim-families but rather for the names of streets, parks, and certain types of community lots (libraries, museums, and similar places). 

I have some general criteria how I determine which names get used in my game, though these conditions are not exclusive of other qualities.  Mainly, these criteria are as follows, in order of preference:

1.The name is a 'real' name, one that is used by someone, somewhere in the 'real' world now or was in the past.
2.The name has a relationship to the world of the paranormal/supernatural/unexplained, wacky philosophies, freaky fringe religions, controversial history, or sci-fi/fantasy literature.  (Special awesomeness if associated with a Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind!)
3.The name has suggestive qualities in English, typically but not limited to sexual innuendo, or it has multiple levels of meaning.  Also, the name might mean something in Old English or Middle English which has been generally lost to Modern English.
4.The name means something in a language other than English that might, if translated, be funusual, embarrassing, controversial, or scandalous, etc.
5.The name has an interesting or creative sound, appearance, or cadence, or it is just 'cool' in some way.


Here are some names, including the ones I mentioned in earlier posts, in no particular order except one after another:

Greatrakes 
Rosenkreutz
Lovecraft
Ravenscroft
Moorcock
Grimshawe
Witchell
Deatherage
Hotchkiss
Breedlove
Grafenberg
Maskelyne
Houchlei
Sacheverell
Lestrange
Cockburn
Waldegrave
Kilgore
Strangewayes
Maydestone
Outlawe
Sweetecok
Montrose
Cockayne
Schrivener
Warhover
Trollope
Rayphole
Cottingley
Killakee
Strahan
Bligh
Baird
Undine
Lipschitz
Killarney
Bork
McElhoney


(N.B.  All of these names exist somewhere, I believe, so please don't be offended if one of them happens to be yours!)

I hope someone out there finds this list useful, and I hope someone else finds it fun.  But mostly, I hope someone has a similar list with more great names I can use to further bloat my game with unplayed sim-families.  Surely (perhaps?) I am not the only one with a peculiar obsession with interesting or unusual surnames.
137  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Marhis House of Shame on: 2007 June 13, 19:55:58
That is great.  I presume one could do a similar procedure to make the drive go up to a house on a hill as well.  I will have to do some experiments with this now.
138  TS2: Burnination / The Podium / Re: Creating a Custom Name List on: 2007 June 12, 21:20:24
Subtly suggestive definitely works for me, and are even more desirable, though they are harder to come by and more tricky to identify when scanning large lists for new candidates.  I do have some scandalous foreign-translation surnames in play already, although some of these are made up names or just words used for names and therefore not as desirable.  Not every name need or can be as luridly descriptive as 'Rayphole' or 'Cockburn', and I can definitely appreciate a name if it just has an interesting sound or unique cadence.  A name can be just 'cool' like 'Ravenscroft', for instance, and that is good enough for me.

It is very often that the use of a great surname is, for myself, one of the main things that can determine if I actually play a family beyond moving them into a house.

Perhaps if I get some time later I will compose a more extensive list and post it here, since there seems to be at least a modicum of interest and, given the opportunity, Hegelian did not object.
139  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Khaki Submits on: 2007 June 12, 18:50:20
The 'custom paintings' the best of the Pets features, in my opinion.  You basically drop reasonable-sized .jpg images into a folder called 'Paintings' (it is in the same location as your 'Downloads' folder) and then any sim with enough creativity can paint the picture, or a part of it, on any easel.  Check the RTFM for Pets under the heading 'Custom Content' for more details.  It is great for residential lots.

Also, I like the way this house looks, very natural and realistic.
140  TS2: Burnination / The Podium / Re: Creating a Custom Name List on: 2007 June 12, 17:40:31
On a tangent, interested in sharing lists of outrageous, unique, or funusual surnames that exist in real life?  I have a peculiar fascination with this because I tend to build lots of houses and after doing all the work I normally feel compelled to fill the house with a family, often one that I have little interest in playing.  In effect, I am filling my 'hoods with custom townies that own houses.  (Not concerned with how this may or may not implode my game, my game is already hopelessly corrupt, and I have been doing this since the very beginning)  I love strange and suggestive surnames that exist in real life, and have collected quite a few, such as 'Strangewayes', 'Sweetecok', and 'Deatherage'.  I have quite a lot, but I am running out of names and I need more.  If you or anyone else is interested I could compile a list and share, but only if I thought others would be interested and would contribute.  If you would rather not clutter this thread with this, I could alternately start a new topic, but it seems to have some application here.
141  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Marhis House of Shame on: 2007 June 11, 16:25:10
Whoa...I had no idea you could do that with a driveway.  Considering that my main neighborhood has little flat land, I would love to know how it was done.  Do simcars actually drive down it or do they jump/teleport/slide down on their rear bumper?

Nice work, though.  It looks very appropriately residential and roomy without becoming a hummer-house.  I would make a few cosmetic changes, especially to the roof, but don't take that as an insult.  I don't typically download lots at all, since building is one of my favorite parts of the game, but I might just take this one.  Well done.
142  TS2: Burnination / The Podium / Re: Creating a Custom Name List on: 2007 June 11, 03:13:10
I think you ought to talk to Jordi about this because I believe he has done this.  I seem to recall a mod at MTS2 with his fingerprints on it that did this.  Maybe I am wrong...

Eh, just sat on my lazy butt and went to find it myself.  The thread is here:

http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=110889

Maybe it has the info you need there.  He also has a separate mod there for pet names as well.
143  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Khan of Wyrms is architectural school dropout on: 2007 June 10, 14:40:11
Never seen Go To Work show up automatically with an ownable car, always have to do it manually. Given that I have no hack of any kind that affects this, I'm not sure where you see this behavior.

I have noticed that it depends if the sim went to sleep by their own will (energy bar low) or if user directed. In the first case, they always wake up when it's time, even if the energy bar is not full, while in the second case they need to be manually woke up.
I always try to have sims go to bed spontaneously at the correct time, so they never miss the carpool if I'm distracted.

I think you may be right with regard to 'normal' sims, but I have never witnessed a sim vampire go to the coffin at daybreak of their own freewill.  I cannot ever recall having a sim vampire with a low energy motive at daybreak, although it is obviously possible.  So, in my experience, they always have to be directed to use the coffin at dawn, and they normally have energy bars full when it is time for work, and they always get up and go.

Do you play with free will on Khan?  I'm wondering if this is like the "go to class" interaction, in that it's only pushed into the queue if free will is on.

Indeed.  I have never even once turned off freewill.  I have been tempted...many times.
144  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Emma's Maty House V.2-All Pescados Suck! on: 2007 June 10, 13:59:30
No, I think they are on about the 'Mrs Gilscarbo' bit of my bribe Grin

Heh, I momentarily forgot that part, but 'Mrs. Gilscarbo+unbelievable design whoring=victory!"  That is, unless someone wants to offer large sums of cash, perhaps.  It will certainly be interesting to see if anyone can top it all.
145  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Khan of Wyrms is architectural school dropout on: 2007 June 10, 13:44:17
That nuisance factor is repaired in both No Eat Crap and the Restaurant and Bar Obsession Fix.

I almost took the latter mod, but then I failed.  I might look at it again, though.

Never seen Go To Work show up automatically with an ownable car, always have to do it manually. Given that I have no hack of any kind that affects this, I'm not sure where you see this behavior.

I am seeing it every time it is time to go to work. (Maybe only if 'energy' bar is full?)  The sim has to be made owner of the car and get the 'carpool will no longer show up' message, then when it is time for work, they get up and go.  Didn't you mention that you have a mod that pinned vampires in their coffins during daytime?

I haven't seen this behavior either. Perhaps the Sleep Clock prevents this, but it has no global attributes that would alter default behaviors. The constant snivelling might be eliminated in Less Whiny.

Less Whiny sounds like a mod that might do it.  It could be behavior that was fixed in Pets or Seasons, since I have been avoiding it for obvious reasons.
146  TS2: Burnination / Oops! You Broke It! / Re: Never-ending flower delivery and some other random crap on: 2007 June 10, 13:03:18
I had this bug since the very beginning (since Nightlife).  Once I had a vampire husband that ended a date right before leaving for work at 7.  He came home from work in the daytime and got stuck in that loop until he burnt to a crisp.  Since Pets I had not noticed it at all, so perhaps this is something that was fixed with Pets and then broken again with Seasons.
147  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Khan of Wyrms is architectural school dropout on: 2007 June 10, 12:26:30
<nannies/mods>

Thanks for the explanation.  This might reveal a lot about why I did not see it as important.  I used a nanny once, and one other time in an emergency.  I found nannies to be too annoyingly stupid to be useful, so I always find other ways.  Also, I'm not using any of those awesome mods so I am unfamiliar with their requirements.  See my reply to dizzy above, it should be simple to fix this if you want to use the lot.  For now, though, I will have to just take the penalty.


In addition to the garbage and waste produced, which is now actually reusable in Seasons as compost, the main problem is the fact that even touching those accursed "cookies" and "chips" imposes a severe penalty to a sim's fitness score independently of hunger value (which really makes no sense). While the garbage produced is merely a local problem, the attribute damage incurred requires that you then visit every single affected sim and fix all the damage done. Very unpleasant business. Anything which causes permanent negative attribute changes while not playing a family is a BAD, BAD THING.

This would be the part where you visit a family you haven't played in a while and find that, while you were away, sims have become fat?  I figured that was because sims at community-lot restaurants never stop eating.  I'm sure it is both, the annoyance has not irritated me enough to find a fix.

Quote
Helps to have "no watch out", although that'd be two orders: One to go to work, one to go back to sleep, assuming you aren't on Power Idle, which will automatically park your vampires during daylight for you. And perhaps I will look into the ownable cars not queuing go-to-work thing as well.

I don't have it, but I have noticed that, without it, if things are close enough to the car, or perhaps even certain items regardless of where they are, don't provoke 'watch out'.  In particular, I have not seen the sleep directive stomped by 'watch out' when using the coffins in this manner.  Also, the order to go to work is queued automatically at work time, so the vampire gets up and heads for the car on their own accord, requiring no direct command, and provided that the vampire in question is the owner of the car.  Perhaps there is a mod in place preventing the vampire from waking up automatically at work time? 

Quote
There is no particular reason why being fired would result in death or the need to stop being a vampire, provided you already have a functioning indoor garage rig. Even using the regular carpool is feasible if your sim isn't lazy and can run to the car rather than slow-plod 3 hours across the lot.

Perhaps a mod that prevents vampires from waking up for any reason other than direct order?  I apparently don't have this, which is not surprising.  I don't use a lot of hacks/mods, just a few select ones.  Without such a mod, if a vampire gets fired and returns home in the daytime, they constantly wake up to cry about their lost job, until they burn.

Quote
Vampires don't need coffins, being asleep sets their motive decays to Home Asleep, which is the same regardless of whether a sim is or is not a vampire, and since normal sims don't die from being asleep under normal conditions, neither wil your vampire.

I did not know this, and would not have dared try it.
 
148  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Emma's Maty House V.2-All Pescados Suck! on: 2007 June 10, 11:14:55
I think you might have miscalculated. Personally, I think that bribe is so awesome, you just might win.

I thought this also. (Actually, it was, "Yikes!")  I eliminated design whoring entirely from my bribe because there was no way I was going to top that.  Good luck!
149  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Khan of Wyrms is architectural school dropout on: 2007 June 10, 11:05:54
There is a very GOOD reason to seal the kitchen: Raiders. Anytime you hold a party of any kind, the visitors will promptly pillage your fridge. This would merely be mildly annoying, if this behavior didn't actually DAMAGE YOUR SIMS. Since this act not only depletes your food reserves and litters your house, but ALSO harms your other sims, it must be strictly prevented. Failure to do this results in a large score penalty, as this is not compliant with Awesomespec. At very minimum, the fridges themselves should be secured in a sort of pantry.

Eh?  I'm not terribly concerned with a large score penalty, since this is MATY and penalties seem to be the rule.  I fully expect that the winner will be the one with the least amount of large penalties.  I consider the disruption caused by sim party guests to be exceptionally minimal compared to the utter devastation caused by real life partygoers, so I never really gave it any concern.  Would you care to elaborate upon the specific 'damage' and 'harm' that would come from such fridge-raiding?

I thought the drive-in coffins were very classy.
I agree. For some reason I thought vamps on the ground floor would drop in morives, even in a coffin, so I've always ended up building elaborate (expensive) underground tombs. I like the little podules off the garage too.


If you haven't used them, then you will certainly appreciate the fact that your vampire sim can wake up and head off to work with no direction from you and minimal loss of motives, though be sure to give them ownership of the car first.  If it is still daylight when they return, simply wait for them to get out and then direct them to sleep.  Only one direct order to control the whole work cycle, especially nice if the are lazy and can't run, and I don't even recall ever having the sleep directive stomped by the 'watch out' driveway nonsense.  I am thinking you can queue the sleep order as soon as you see the car, but I don't remember for certain because it has been a while since I played a lot with a vampire.  Another tip, don't take 'wildcards' for working vampire sims unless you are certain they will not result in loss of job.  Getting fired means likely death for your vampire, or an emergency dose of vampirocillin.
Just a note, vampires can survive just as well in a coffin outside in the middle of the yard, at least prior to Seasons, which I am unable to comment on because I don't have it yet.  I once held suspicions similar to yours, witch, but 'necessity is the mother of invention', so they say.  Once, in an motive-crisis situation, I had dropped a coffin right on the front lawn and managed to get a dangerously depleted vampire into it just in time.  They were fine once inside, and ever since I put coffins anywhere I like.  Try a very small mausoleum right by the school bus stop for a teen-vampire and watch them go to school on their own accord, when they return stomp their homework routine, forcing them to drop the notebook at the nearest open square, then order them to sleep.  'I got an A+' can be tricky, though, as I recall.  I try to make sure this is either over with or doesn't happen.
150  TS2: Burnination / Building Contest of Awesomeness / Re: Khan of Wyrms is architectural school dropout on: 2007 June 09, 08:24:43
Sure it looks nice, but can you seal the kitchen with APO?

Seal the kitchen with Army Post Office?


Heh, no seriously, you can't.  I have never found any use for such a thing, though I could possibly see the benefit.  I don't very often restrict access to any areas of lots, except the cowplant and the yard, from strays.  To me it seems as if there is always activity in the kitchen and it is always the main focal point of activity in a house.  If you eliminate the stairs that drop to the front door from the kitchen and add a wall and a door it could be done very easily though, without much disruption of traffic, but it is not a feature I included.  I've just never seen the need.


regg and Emma:  *Fortunately, adamant scales and smoky brimstone breath hide Khan's blushing.*   Thanks!
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