The Sims 2 Presents: Foster's Valley!

[Cassini90125]

They're Back!!!

They are indeed, and just in time for lunch:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/02-034Lunch.jpg

Burgers were on the menu today, courtesy of Frankie, who is rapidly turning into quite a cook. She gets a lot of practice, what with feeding this house three times every day. Not everyone showed up for lunch, however; Coco was in bed, exhausted after a morning trip to the mall, Bendy was full from a snack, and I have no idea where Wilt was. While the rest of the house ate, Bendy explored the depths of the toy box:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/02-032Bendyexploresthetoybox.jpg

This Bendy is better behaved than the original version on the show, although he screams at me when I make him clean up after himself. He and Berry get along extremely well, much to the relief of the rest of the house. I created them as brother and sister because I didn't want them to have kids together when they become adults. Bendy's and Berry's kid... I shudder at the thought.

After lunch, Mr. Herriman began work on his autobiography:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/02-033Writinghisboigraphy.jpg

Writing can bring in a big chunk of money for Sims, and Foster's Home is going to need it. Taxes are paid twice a week in Foster's Valley, and the taxes due on than enormous house are well over three times what any other family pays in any of my six neighborhoods. I almost choked on my tea when I saw the figure. Write well, Mr. Herriman, write well.

After lunch, Eduardo, feeling the need to get out and meet new people, called a cab and went to the mall, where he met someone we all know:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/02-035EduardomeetsSofiaWestlane.jpg

Eduardo knows her as Sofia Westlane, but to us she's Our Miss Fomalhaut. The two of them hit it off very nicely, parting with each other in their thought balloons. Sorry Ed, she's already got someone, and I've got other plans for you, big plans, and fortunately they do not include this woman:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/02-037EduardomeetsBarbaraCravet.jpg

You all remember Barbara Cravet, Cheese's mom. She was far less impressed with Eduardo than Fomalhaut was. Then again, Barbara lives with Cheese, and probably has her fill of Imaginary Friends within 20 minutes after getting out of bed. Small wonder that she spends her free time at the mall.

Back at Foster's, Bendy and Berry are in the TV room:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/02-041BendyBerry.jpg

Berry has just awakened from a short nap, roused by Bendy screaming at the TV. He's watching one of the bloodier remakes of "Dracula". I don't speak Sim, but I could swear that he's calling the Count a "wuss". I worry about that kid.

And finally, here's a shot of my beloved Frankie:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/02-038Cleaningthe1stfloortoilet.jpg

The main reason I'm posting this shot is so you all can see that I'm trying to run this house as much like the original as I can; I don't have Frankie lounging around while everyone else caters to her every need. She cooks, does the cleaning (except when Mr. Herriman beats her to it), takes out the garbage, helps everyone with their homework, and is quite tired by the end of the day. She's quite a lady. The house is very demanding to play, due to it's size and the number of residents, and of course I have to make screencaps of every moment which slows things down, but believe me, it's worth every moment, because it's almost like being part of the show. What a way to send an afternoon! :) :D ;D

[Fomalhaut]

Great new pics!

I will post mine, "Fantasy Fields", in a new thread - thought it's waaay less sophisticated than Cassini's, I hope you will like it!

[lucyrocks73]

Goo and Mac are still all over each other. Imagine my surprise when I had Frankie do the dishes and Goo SHOVES Mac on the table and starts making out with him.

As much as I support the pairing, I think they need to lay it off a little bit.

Bloo has fun laughing at them, and then Mac gets irritated and gives Bloo a noogie.

Frankie just stood there for the longest time, and then started screaming because Bloo was standing in front of the dishwasher.

And why don't I have screencaps for these???

Because my computer is idiotic and won't take them for some reason.

-Marty 8-)

[Fomalhaut]

Help with screencaps: just take usual photos in The Sims 2, then open the EA GAMES ->Sims 2 ->Storytelling folder on your computer, where you'll find them, ready to upload!

[lucyrocks73]

THANK YOU!!! Pictures will be coming soon.

-Marty 8-)

[Kzinistzerg]

Wow. Um, wow. LOL! hehe.... Mac and goo... hehe... Stroke of luck, I guess. We need pictures!

[Nyo]

Wow, those are good. I love The Sims.

[Cassini90125]

What the well-dressed fangirl is wearing this season:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Fangirlwear.jpg

The shirt was created with MSPaint. More to come. :D

[lucyrocks73]

The Wilt fangirls will go crazy...

[Thornwhistle]

I asked you in the old thread if you could create a sim of Trish,and you told me that you would. I'm still waiting to see Trish. please

[Cassini90125]

I asked you in the old thread if you could create a sim of Trish,and you told me that you would. I'm still waiting to see Trish. please

I believe Fomalhaut said she'd handle Eurotrish:

http://nffostershome.proboards52.com/index.cgi?board=fosters&action=display&thread=1134677122&page=18

Chapter 12 - Bloo Behaving Badly

At least I think this is part of Chapter 12; I lost track some time ago.

Rhonda Cassiman on the treadmill again:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/AMBTB1.jpg

Rhonda doesn't work out for pleasure; she works out to stay in shape for the next game. A good idea if one wants to get into the baseball Hall of Fame. This was different, though. That's not the smile of someone looking forward to the next win; that's the smile of someone trying not to lose her mind. She's exercising to blow off steam, to try to calm down, to forget about losing over a thousand bucks. It all started when Terrence brought home a friend from school:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/AMBTB2.jpg

Her name is Carmel Delicious. Don't blame me, she came with the name when I downloaded her. As you can see, she's quite the charmer, and has the boy's complete attention. She also swears like a sailor, which no doubt appealed to two of them. Also present at the time was our own Wendywild13, Bloo's girlfriend, who was eating in front of the TV in the next room. Bloo gives up his seat for no one. He did feel bad about it later:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/AMBTB3.jpg

Here he's apologizing about it, and trying desperately to explain that really, Carmel means nothing to him. Wendy accepted that but looked a little sullen when she left the house later that evening. Bloo, for his part, realized that he was in trouble, and decided that he needed to make some kind of grand gesture. So he went online to find an idea:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/AMBTB4.jpg

About an hour later he hit upon the idea of having huge neon lights installed on the east side side of the Foster's Valley Micro Mall, lights shaped like letters, lights that would spell out "Bloo Loves Wendy" for all the world to see. Expensive, sure, but he was sure Rhonda would understand. So he raided the family budget for around $1100 and up went the lights. Unfortunately, well, Bloo has an ego the size of the moon, and in the end he just had to alter his message of love. It was still a message of love, true, but it wasn't about Wendy anymore:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/AMBTB5.jpg

Wendy, fortunately, thought it was funny, in an exasperating sort of way, and forgave him. Rhonda was not amused in the slightest; she grounded Bloo until he goes to college. Terrence, feeling guilty about bringing home another girl, later confessed to Our Miss Fomalhaut, who forgave him after whacking him with a frying pan. Mac, the smart one, read a cookbook and went to bed.

:) :bloocross:

[Sparky]

:o

That...was the best story yet. 8D

[antgirl1]

HAHAHAHA!!! This blonde girl's eyes are real pretty. In fact, in the dark it makes it look like alien eyes. :D

[Emma]

That was the greatest thing ever. XD

[lucyrocks73]

Oh my god... that ROCKS!!! ALL MUST BOW TO BLOOREGARD!!!

Fantastic story...

-Marty 8-)

[Nyo]

"ALL MUST BOW TO BLOOREGARD" was great.

[Cassini90125]

I was pretty happy with the story, too. My thanks to all. :)

[Imaginary Light]

That story rocked:D "All must bow down to Blooregard". XD!

[kageri]

I love you.

That is all.

(I assume that "until he goes to college" really means "forever".)

[antgirl1]

Exuse me, let me describe again...the blonde girl's face looks like a gelfling (if you've watched The Dark Crystal you'll get my meaning) for some reason.

[Cassini90125]

Exuse me, let me describe again...the blonde girl's face looks like a gelfling (if you've watched The Dark Crystal you'll get my meaning) for some reason.

She does, a little, now that you've mentioned it. I haven't thought about that movie in ages. :)

One for the fangirls:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Wilt_redone.jpg

The uniform, now his everyday outfit, was downloaded from TSR; I added the "1" with MSPaint. Not bad if I do say so myself. :D

Hmm... Wilt and Carmel...? :o

[Kzinistzerg]

Oh, that's a great wilt...

At least he's wearing pants!

[Fomalhaut]

WOW!

Hm, did I really hit Terrence with a frying pan...? (Maybe PM me a pic...?)

[antgirl1]

What about caramel?

[Cassini90125]

What about caramel?

Uh, can you be more specific?

[Nyo]

I think she meant, "What about Carmel Delicious?".

[CG]

Aw, it's great seeing these things again. Brings a smile to my face and yes I am BACK FROM ZE DEAD. About time huh?

[antgirl1]

Uh, can you be more specific?

Hmm... Wilt and Carmel...?

What about caramel?? (caramel candy) XD

[Cassini90125]

I think she meant, "What about Carmel Delicious?".

Carmel went home, had a quick snack, and went to work (at the time, she was a parking lot attendant). She has since enrolled at Sim State University where she is majoring in psychology in preparation for a future career in law enforcement. :)

You ever wonder how Blake Superior passes the time while Richie is at school? Here's the answer:

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/?action=view&current=Juggling.flv

I killed the sound on this to produce a smoother video, not that there was much to hear to begin with. Richie brought his new pal Goo home from school later that day, and his father got a promotion. A good day all around at the Wildebrat house. ;)

[Nyo]

OMG! That's cool.

[CG]

-poke to Casini- Any word on that family I heard tale of? =P

[Cassini90125]

-poke to Casini- Any word on that family I heard tale of? =P

They are resting comfortably after dealing with the day-long horror known as the Welcome Wagon. ;)

A few new shots from the Valley

Terrence discovers his inner dork:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/15-077Stargazing.jpg

Normally you wouldn't think he'd have any use for a telescope, or even know which end to look through. All he's really doing here is killing time while waiting for a ride downtown. Unfortunately his mom caught him at it and exclaimed, "Terrence! Oh, I just knew were smart like Mac!" Terrence protested, saying "I ain't not smart!", or something similar, but it was too late; mom enrolled him in private school the next day... the same school that Cheese goes to. Here's young Mr. Cassiman in his new dork outfit:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/15-078_Dork.jpg

I do not think he's too happy about it.

Later that same day, Bloo went to hang out at the Family Fun Center, where a long awaited meeting finally took place:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/14-073BloomeetsCheese.jpg

Bloo is drinking coffee; I don't know what's in Cheese's cup. He found it on the ground near the bench. Here they're having a heated discussion about geography, specifically the location of Singapore. Neither one really knows where it is. Probably near Topeka is my guess. Bloo eventually got tired of Cheese and went home where, much to the astonishment of his mom and her guest Jason Westlane, he started studying:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/17-080Bloostudyingcleaning.jpg

Even more amazing is the subject matter: Cleaning Techniques. I'm surprised Rhonda didn't faint right then and there.

What can I say about Frankie that I haven't already said? Plenty, but that's for another time. Beautiful, fun to hang out with, and so dang sweet... well, usually, anyway. Sometimes she gets an attitude:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/03-059Doesntwanttohearit.jpg

Boglarka (I think the name is Greek) is not a sports fan; Frankie is, and doesn't want to hear her team getting dissed. I think the two will become friends over time, but they certainly didn't get off to a good start. Frankie had a very busy day that day, what with all the cleaning, the cooking, Wilt being down with food poisoning (from another house), and the dang Welcome Wagon showing up for a second time. Didn't see that coming, I'll tell you, and they ran everybody at Foster's ragged. Mr. Herriman and Madam Foster escaped out back to play on the swings around 9:00 pm:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/03-073a.jpg

I love this shot. How many times must similar scenes have happened with these two, I wonder, before our favorite cartoon began? It's really nice to see them still playing together even after 80 years or so. Eventually Madam Foster, exhausted after the day's events, took an evening nap:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/03-076Nappinginthegazebo.jpg

This shot was taken by the gazebo in the backyard. It's not the most comfortable place to lie down, but at the time it was certainly the quietest.

That about covers things, at least for now. I'll probably play again tonight sometime, so there's more to come in the near future. Stay tuned. :)

[lucyrocks73]

Aww... The Mr. H/Madame Foster thing was cute. As was the mention of Cheese randomly picking a cup fom the ground and drinking from it.

Actually, the latter was just plain weird, but surprisingly in-character.

I really have not had time to play Sims lately because of the play...

But I STILL for the life of me CANNOT figure out why the computer won't let me take screencaps.

There are the itty-bity snapshots, but it won't get bigger without the pixels getting wacko.

Help, anyone?

And great job Cassini!!!

-Marty 8-)

[Fomalhaut]

Cassini my dear (:D), Boglarka is a 100% HUNGARIAN NAME!!! :) It means "buttercup". (Not the Powerpuff Girl, the flower, obviously!)

Love Terrence's new outfit. Dad looks cool, and what about me, Gabe, Wendy and the others?

[Kzinistzerg]

I ant not smart, so terrency.

[Cassini90125]

I ant not smart, so terrency.

You gotta give him credit, though; unlike Bloo, Terrence hasn't been banned from the mall. All must bow to Blooregard... I have no idea how I came up with that one. 8-)

Cassini my dear (:D), Boglarka is a 100% HUNGARIAN NAME!!! :) It means "buttercup". (Not the Powerpuff Girl, the flower, obviously!)

Love Terrence's new outfit. Dad looks cool, and what about me, Gabe, Wendy and the others?

Your various Sims were standing outside the SimCity Univerisity dorms last time I checked, waiting for the last two members of the "Class of 2007" to show up. I'm doing this in a piecemeal fashion to squeeze a few extra Aspiration Points out of the process. "Boglarka" is Hungarian? Huh. At this point I have so many of your countrymen in my game that I should probably think about renaming the town! :D

The latest shots from New Budapest Foster's Valley:

Blake Superior has no taste:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/No_taste.jpg

Blake, along with Frankie and Goo's dad Prescott, were summoned by the game to serve as the Welcome Wagon for a new Sim who arrived in Foster's Valley last week. It seems that he does not find the lovely miss Foster even the slightest bit attractive; quite the opposite, in fact. I've seldom seen that level of repulsion in the game. Then again, what can you expect from the guy who came in second in a burping contest? No class, Blake, no class at all.

No swooning, ladies:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Wilt.jpg

Here's Wilt in his track suit. A few minutes ago he finished a good brisk workout on the treadmill, and now he's heading for the shower. I'll give him credit, he falls off the treadmill less often than most Sims with the same skill level that he has. After cleaning up, he joined Coco and Eduardo for breakfast:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/WCE.jpg

He was starving after that workout and wolfed down another bowl of cereal right after this one. He usually has much better table manners than this, but in truth none of the Imaginary Friends are ever going to win any etiquette prizes. You should see Eduardo in action sometimes; it's like watching a vacuum. The food is there, then suddenly it isn't. Mealtimes at Foster's can get pretty wild.

A fateful encounter at Van Dyke Park:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Meeting.jpg

Sweetums, the bratty little girl from House Of Bloo's, meets Richie Wildebrat, and they like each other a lot. Morover, they're both just two days away from becoming teenagers. Didn't one of those Omen movies start out like this? There's a demonspawn in the making here, I just know it. Well, at least that'll give Bendy someone to play with.

There was a wedding in Foster's Valley recently, and Frankie was on the guest list:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Beautiful.jpg

Not exactly the little black dress from Frankie My Dear, but it still looks pretty dang good on her. Here she is on the swings yet again. Adult Sims adore swing sets for some odd reason, and Frankie seems to like them more than most. Teens and children often ignore them. Weird, but not as weird as Blake Superior thinking that this is unattractive. That's not bad taste, that's brain damage.

And finally, a shot that left me speechless:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Two_Moons.jpg

I was experimenting with camera angles in the game when I made this discovery. There are two moons in the night sky over Foster's Valley. I've never read about anything like this on any of the Sims sites, anywhere. Maybe it's just a computer glitch but if it is, it's a unique one, unique and beautiful. Just like the Valley and all it's residents.

That's all for now. Hope y'all enjoy the shots as much as I do. :)

[Voxxyn]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Beautiful.jpg

Do I have to say it? :frankiesmile:

Shame on Blake, BTW.

[CG]

Tee-hee! Eduardo just seems to be watching Wilt with a 'woah' look while he's scarfing down the food like that.

Horay for little black dresses! :3

[Fomalhaut]

Frankie looks wonderful, and oooh, Wilt!
Minesa are sooo much worse :(

[lucyrocks73]

Blake is evil. Who wouldn't fall in love with Frankie?

The Cheese in my world is pining for her, much to my dismay. Fortunately, she wants nothing to do with him.

Ha.

If only I could figure out how to take NOT TINY screencaps... My computer stinks.

-Marty :goo:

[Invader Bloo]

Blake is stupid. :P
The 2 moons thing was cool!

[Nyo]

Frankie looked cool.

[Kzinistzerg]

That is so awesome. I agree, blake has NO taste.

Hehe, richie and sweetums. I fher name is sweetums, what would you call her as a pet name? Actualy, don't answer that one.

[Sparky]

Despite being ill, I managed to drag myself out of the apartment today to pick up the Pets expansion pack. I think I am going to give Terrence a dog. ;)

[kageri]

On the subject of Frankie, I suppose sticking one's fingers in one's mouth and whistling very loudly would be inappropriate here. Which is okay because I, sadly, don't know how to do that.

......but how do you fall off a treadmill? It has handles, even! Sims never cease to baffle me.

[kaytea]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Beautiful.jpg

whoa frankie looks very beautifull and hot in this picture
^o^

[BlooCheese]

......but how do you fall off a treadmill? It has handles, even! Sims never cease to baffle me.

I fell off before...but that was because I jumped on while it was moving.
It hurt.

[Kzinistzerg]

I just use stairs; they dont move when you walk. The good kind, anwyay.

[Cassini90125]

I have no idea how they fall off the treadmill. They do get better at it over time, but in the beginning they get bruised a lot.

I picked up the Pets expansion recently, so there may be some four-legged Sims coming up here soon.

So many comments on Frankie's little black dress! She did look great, yeah, in that outfit and a few others I've tried out on her. I'm willing to take requests, by the way, if y'all want to see her or any of the others in a particular outfit, although I don't want to turn this into a "Foster's Fashions" thread. Don't be afraid to ask, though.

New random shots from the Valley

This is the last ever shot of Sweetums Bratman and her Imaginary Friend Tiffany as children:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/1-ST-a.jpg

A few minutes after this shot was taken, the two of them reached their age transition and turned into teenagers:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/2-ST-b.jpg

I don't much care for the outfit that the game chose for Sweetums but I haven't done anything to change it yet. I'll probably pick out something similar to what she wore as a child. With the transition to teens comes the time to choose an Aspiration, too; for Sweetums I chose Pleasure. Fortune might have been a good one for her, but I think it's usually more appropriate for Sims that don't have a lot of money and want to earn a lot more. The Bratmans are already wealthy. Tiffany I gave the Family aspiration, mostly because it just seemed the best fit out of all six choices. Besides, somebody in that house has to be the sensible one.

Oh, that Blake. He juggles, bounces on the furniture like an overgrown cat, and now plays the piano:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/3-Pianoman.jpg

Please note that I did not say that he plays it well. He doesn't. In fact, he's just plain bad. He'll improve in time, I suppose, but until he does I'm keeping the volume down.

Mr Herriman finds someone new to annoy:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/4-Irritated.jpg

Some of you may remember Gabe the Valley Pest from the old Forum; this is his father Gregor. I don't know who started this or what it was about; I was playing Mac, seen here meeting Sweetums, at the time. The double negatives appeared over their heads, so I swung the camera around to get the shot. Mac and Sweetums got along fine, much better than in House Of Bloo's, but these two ended up slapping each other. I don't know why Mr. Herriman annoys so many of the other Sims; he almost seems to enjoy it.

Of course, no photo set would be complete without a shot of my favorite Sim:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/5-FF189.jpg

You can almost hear her saying something like, "Uh, Cass? You know, you don't have to photograph everything I do." Oh, yes I do, Frankie, yes I do, and in both Bitmap and JPEG formats. This was a random shot; I was playing the house behind her and the game opted to use her as the next walkby. Thank you, game.

And finally, another classic Bloo moment:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/6-BBB.jpg

Here he's discovered the joy of spying on the neighbors, specifically Checo Ramirez. Whenever any of my Sims spy on the neighbors, they always spy on poor Checo. I don't know what he's doing that they find so interesting; I'm not sure I want to know. Shortly after this photo was taken, Checo ran into the house and screamed at Bloo. Bloo screamed back; they shoved each other. Checo then turned and left, waving at Mac as he left. Bloo went to the kitchen and made a sandwich.

The Valley is a very strange place, but I love it. Hope you enjoy these! :D

[CG]

Bloo's face in the last one is CLASSIC.

[Voxxyn]

I'm willing to take requests, by the way, if y'all want to see her or any of the others in a particular outfit, although I don't want to turn this into a "Foster's Fashions" thread. Don't be afraid to ask, though.

Well, I'd love to see your Sim Frankie in the nightgown from "Squeakerboxxx" and the blue bikini from "Squeeze the Day"... but I recall you saying on the Frankie thread that you're not willing to show those.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Well, I'd love to see your Sim Frankie in the nightgown from "Squeakerboxxx" and the blue bikini from "Squeeze the Day"... but I recall you saying on the Frankie thread that you're not willing to show those.

That's odd, because the Frankie sim with those cut off jean shorts were pretty revealing if you ask me.

Not that I'm complaining ;D. Btw Cass, that comment you wrote on how Frankie would say "You know you don't have to photograph everything I do".

I would totally see that....and I would probably respond the same way you did to that. Heh.

[Fomalhaut]

I like them! Gregor annoyed... when will someone annoy his eldest son? For he deserves it...

[Invader Bloo]

I really want Sims now. :D

[Cassini90125]

Well, I'd love to see your Sim Frankie in the nightgown from "Squeakerboxxx" and the blue bikini from "Squeeze the Day"... but I recall you saying on the Frankie thread that you're not willing to show those.

I'm just not sure they're appropriate for a G-rated board. If I find out otherwise, I'll think about it.

That's odd, because the Frankie sim with those cut off jean shorts were pretty revealing if you ask me.

Not that I'm complaining ;D. Btw Cass, that comment you wrote on how Frankie would say "You know you don't have to photograph everything I do".

I would totally see that....and I would probably respond the same way you did to that. Heh.

Not as revealing as that nightgown. ;) The choice when I created her boiled down to either the cutoffs with sneakers or a skirt like the one on the show with heels; I went with the former because sneakers are a more logical choice for someone who's on her feet all day. Footwear is not a separate item in the game; beats me why. Lazy game designers is my guess. Maybe they'll change that when the Sims 3 comes out in 2009.

The bitmap photos of her are 2 megabytes in size; large, but worth every pixel. :frankiesmile:

[Sparky]

I love your Mr Herriman. :D

And the Sim of my brother loves to spy on Professor Membrane across the street. One day the Professor is going to come over and kick his butt.

[Invader Bloo]

It's always intresting to see someone experiment on little hamster/gopher things. ;)

[Voxxyn]

Cass, it's OK if you don't want to show those. I didn't ask to see her in those outfits solely because I'm some shallow-minded pervert who only admires the "surface" attributes of the female. You know that my love of Frankie is way more sincere and genuine than that. I apologize if I struck you or anybody the wrong way with that request.

[Mr. Marshmallow]

I wasn't offended.

While I am by no means myself a pervert, I cannot help but admit a very deep curiosity to see those images.

Despite the fact that I myself have more deep seeded feelings for Frankie then just her looks like Vox said. But I don't think your perverse for wanting to see them Vox. Nor do I think anyone else should.

Because as the Matrix so brilliantly stated it:

"To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human".

But if you really do feel the need to not show the pics due to the supposed graphic nature of them, that's understandable too.

[Cassini90125]

Guys, I am not in the least bit offended, and I don't think you or anyone else here is a pervert. What I am saying very specifically is that I am uncertain as to whether or not the shots are appropriate for the Forum (they're not graphic, by the way), and I'm erring on the side of caution, just to be safe.

New family in the Valley!

Earlier this afternoon I was running the game to see if some new goodies I downloaded for my Sims had properly installed. When that was done, I decided to mess around with the Create-A-Sim program, not for any particular reason, just to see what it could do and to kill a little time. Here, stars help us all, is the end result:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Nixon.jpg

Yep, it's the original five Sailor Scouts, along with their new parents, Richard and Solana, complete with personalities, Aspirations, and angst. Life in Foster's Valley just got a whole lot more complicated...

:D

[Mr. Marshmallow]

I have just 4 words for that pic:

:wiltshock:

Holy hell.....that's awesome!!!

[kageri]

Bloo's expression in that last picture = LOVE.

Now I have that horrible theme song from the English dub of Sailor Moon in my head. SHE IS THE ONE NAMED SAILOR MOON!

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Now I have that horrible theme song from the English dub of Sailor Moon in my head. SHE IS THE ONE NAMED SAILOR MOON!

Hey I LOVED that horrible theme song, and I STILL love Sailor Moon. I'm a guy and a fan of Sailor Moon and proud of it.

[Cassini90125]

Uh, does anyone know where I could download that song? :-[

[Mr. Marshmallow]

I download all my music off of Limewire.

I actually have a Sailor Moon music CD that has some of the songs from the show, including a Japanese version of the Sailor moon opening theme.

I suggest getting Limewire or Morpehus or some other music sharing program, I doubt it would be very hard to find Cass.

[kageri]

Hey I LOVED that horrible theme song, and I STILL love Sailor Moon. I'm a guy and a fan of Sailor Moon and proud of it.

I used to watch it, but looking back on it (and having heard the Japanese theme) the English theme song is pretty durn funny. :'D

[Howard]

Cassini90125, I just finally got the time to go through your Sims series - me likey! Especially Frankie - she looks hawt!:frankiesmile:

[Fomalhaut]

I want to be friends with Sailor Mercury and Jupiter!!! Especially the first one, she was my fave in the series!!! (Yes, used to be a fan when I was 8-9. Now I'm nearly 19) :D

[Cassini90125]

I have just 4 words for that pic:

:wiltshock:

Holy hell.....that's awesome!!!

You should see them moving around on the screen; it's nothing like the original cartoon. Seeing Sailor Moon in three dimensions, watching those huge anime eyes blink... it was astonishing, completely mesmerizing.

By the way, guys, they're all unattached. :D

Bloo's expression in that last picture = LOVE.

I'm planning to have some fun with the Blooregard in the not-too-distant future. Fun for him, anyway; the other Sims may not be so happy about it when he starts dumping detergent into fountains. 8D

Cassini90125, I just finally got the time to go through your Sims series - me likey! Especially Frankie - she looks hawt!:frankiesmile:

You ain't seen nothing yet. ;)

I want to be friends with Sailor Mercury and Jupiter!!! Especially the first one, she was my fave in the series!!! (Yes, used to be a fan when I was 8-9. Now I'm nearly 19) :D

One is never too old for Sailor Moon. ;D

Six more random shots from Foster's Valley:

Cheese meets the real Big Cheese:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Cheese_Kyle.jpg

This is a random encounter between Cheese and Kyle Harrison, local con man and Cheese's mentor in the criminal arts. The two first met about two months ago and for some reason Kyle took a liking to him. Beats me why. Nice outfit there, Kyle.

Oooooooo, bluuuuuue...:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Blue_Angel.jpg

The outfit is by Sunair, one of the most talented artists over at the Sims Resource site (link available on request). I've always thought Frankie would look great in blue; guess I was right. Here she's getting a jump on lunch; the IF's won't be home from school for another half an hour, but why wait? Chef salad is on the menu today, and after lunch was over there wasn't so much as a crouton left. In the background is a birdcage; more on that shortly.

Genius (sort of) at work:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/RabbitArt.jpg

Mr. Herriman hasn't left this thing alone since I installed it. He even ignores hunger and bathroom needs to paint. He gets out of bed in the morning, heads straight for the easel, and gets right to work. He does seem to be having an awfully good time with it, and his finished paintings do bring in some cash, so I usually just let him be. It's one less Sim I have to keep track of.

Boy meets bird:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Wilt_Parrot.jpg

Bendy and Berry both wanted a bird, yet Wilt is the one who likes playing with it. Moments after this shot was taken, the bird bit him. Stupid parrot has bitten everyone that tries to play with it and it eats as much as Eduardo. If anyone reading this plays the game and has the Pets expansion, don't buy the birdcage! Oh, and yes, I named it Larry. :D

Awwwwwww...:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Blake_Shane.jpg

Richie Wildebrat has a new baby brother, Shane Wildebrat. One evening the newborn woke up and started crying for his bottle. I clicked on his mom to feed him, but Blake Superior, of his own volition, took care of the matter before she got downstairs. Take a good long look at this photo, folks; I'll bet you'll never watch "Hiccy Burp" quite the same way again.

And finally, every so often the game gives me a dream shot:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/The_2_Best.jpg

Two of my favorite cartoon characters, having a quiet conversation, nothing more. Or is it? Take a look at the speech balloon over Sailor Jupiter's head. From the game's standpoint, she's expressing an interest in science fiction, but from where I'm sitting, she's clearly telling Frankie the tragic story of Sailor Saturn. I could hardly believe I was seeing this.

Dang game really gets to me sometimes. :frankiesmile:

[Mr. Marshmallow]

Two of my favorite cartoon characters, having a quiet conversation, nothing more. Or is it? Take a look at the speech balloon over Sailor Jupiter's head.Dang game really gets to me sometimes. :frankiesmile:

That is SO cool, I am a die hardcore Jupiter fan, I always felt she was the most under appreciated Sailor Scout. Seeing her with Frankie there, that's just a dam sweet scene if you don't mind me saying.

Also, Frankie's position makes her look a bit "revealed" honestly. Not to sound pervertish but that's a REALLY nice shot for her.

[Wendi]

Aww! :] The picture of Blake Superior feeding the baby brother is soo cute!! :D

["C" the Dragon]

Your Sailor Moon charaters are SWEET!!!:D I loved that show! Too bad it's cancled...

[Cassini90125]

The Sailor Sims are fascinating to watch; Sailor Moon in particular is very much like I remember her from the original cartoon. For the record, in the game they're all known as the Nixon family. Don't plan on seeing them too much, though; after all, this is a Foster's Forum. :)

Since today is Koosie's birthday, and he's got Bendy listed as a favorite character, here's a video titled "Bendy behaving badly":

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/?action=view&current=BBB.flv

The monster has awakened... :o

[Sparky]

*rolls* I knew Sims could do that but I'd never seen it. Alas, I don't have time to play it anymore. :'(

[CG]

Jebus H Crispies! What set that off? Tsk tsk, what a naughty boy! He should get spanked for that. If anyone dares. :p

[Cassini90125]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/SG01.jpg

[One Radical Dude]

Well done, Cassini. :)

[CG]

Could you make Frankie's neck dip any lower? Is that a bizzare homage to my picture? :p Either way, Merry Christmas to ye too Cassini. Much love and best wishes.

[Cassini90125]

The solo pic of her I took afterward was unbelievable. Either way, that was about the tamest outfit I could find for her on any of the Sims sites.

[Howard]

Sweet Cass! The gang's all here!:frankiesmile:

[Cassini90125]

They are indeed (glad somebody noticed), and they weren't particularly cooperative about it. Most of them wanted to leave and go play on the swing set, except for Mr. Herriman, who wanted to clean the downstairs shower.

Talk nice to me, maybe I'll let y'all see the full-length solo pic of Frankie's Christmas outfit. ;D

In the meantime, have some Cheese...

A brief encounter in Foster's Valley

Hello, doggie:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Uh-oh.jpg

There's no point in me trying to write anything cute here; you know exactly what happened:

http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/?action=view&current=CS.flv

He was in the shower for quite some time afterwards.

:cheesegrin: :cheesegrin: :cheesegrin:

[Nyo]

LMAO! A skunk?

BWT, is Shane grown-up?

[Cassini90125]

Shane is still a baby as of this writing, and Blake Superior has the flu. I haven't played the Wildebrat house, or any of the other lots in Foster's Valley, very much lately, as I've been working with the residents of my other neighborhoods. For those who are curious, I have eight neighborhoods with one or possibly two more on the way. Any wonder the game takes so long to load. :bloocross:

Foster's Valley - A Promise Fulfilled

A great evil has come to Foster's Valley:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E01.jpg

And my attorney is telling me to behave myself. Regardless, it is in this place and no other that everything has been set and the conditions are right, and tonight at Wal-Mart an ancient promise will be fulfilled. Ah, here comes our hero now:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E02.jpg

Eduardo is not crossing the parking lot because he wants to; he's there because I teleported him into the middle of it. For some inexplicable reason, Sims refuse to walk on the parking lot. They get out of the taxi, walk all the way to the north side of the lot, then east and finally south to get to the front door. Don't ask me why; I stopped trying to figure out the weird things they do a long time ago. Anyway, once inside, Eduardo found something that looked familiar:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E03.jpg

Unfortunately, it wasn't pink, so he looked up at the screen and complained about it:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E04.jpg

Sorry, Eduardo, I don't do recolors unless it's clothing or wallpaper. Wait until I figure out how to work the Package Editor program, okay? Well, after that, he wandered around the store for a bit, seeking something that would fulfill the promise made long ago. This wasn't it, but at least it was pink:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E05.jpg

And comfy, too. Yes, he bought it, and no, he didn't have a coupon. I haven't attempted to recreate Bus The Two Of Us or any other Foster's episodes as of yet, although I do have an idea for a sequel to a certain infamous episode. We'll see.

At the other side of Wal-Mart, Eduardo ran into Cheese. The two chatted amiably for some time before both spotted one of our own Forum members:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E07.jpg

You can't see her in the picture, but Our Miss Fomalhaut was also at Wal-Mart on this day, browsing in the clothing section. Eduardo turned back to Cheese and said that he knew her, she's the woman that Terrence guy hangs around with:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E08.jpg

I don't know what he said to Cheese after that, but Cheese reacted rather badly:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E09.jpg

I've never seen an expression quite like that on a Sim before. Again, I don't know what Eduardo said to Cheese, and I've decided that I'm better off that way. (Yes, I did ask Fomalhaut for her OK before posting these.)

After Cheese wandered away in shock, Eduardo stopped to say hello to miss Meadow Thayer:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E10.jpg

Meadow isn't one of mine, she came with the game. She and Eduardo have been friends for some time. Meadow is very nice, kind of innocent, and used to get picked on by some of the Valley's nastier residents. But she's had her revenge; when I needed one more Sim to fill one of the dorms at Sim State University, I picked her and left the rude ones at home. She's currently in her sophmore year, majoring in art, and dating a future doctor.

Back to Eduardo. After chatting with Meadow for a bit, he made another purchase, then I figured as long as he's here, why not buy some groceries and save Frankie a trip? So he did:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E11.jpg

And then he turned to the screen again, and you could almost hear him saying, "Thanks, dude. Can I go back to Foster's now?":

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E12.jpg

And he did.

"Waitaminute, Cassini," I can hear you saying, "what about the promise? I didn't see Eduardo fulfill any promise!" That's true, you didn't. Eduardo didn't fulfill any promises, nor did he ever make one. But I did. Nearly two years ago when I first saw the show, I was hooked immediately. Yeah, by Frankie, but Eduardo was there, too, and I took an instant liking to him as well. The episode I saw was Who Let The Dogs In?, and I promised him that if I ever found a way to do it, I'd get him a dog, and after talking to Meadow and before buying the groceries, that promise was finally fulfilled:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/E13.jpg

My thanks to EA Games for the Pets Expansion Pack. I love a happy ending. :)

[Sparky]

*applause* I have no time to play anymore :sadbendy: (that's why I haven't picked up the Seasons pack). I have no idea how you put signs on the stores...But I might be able to make Baby Paco pink if you want. It's been a while since I've done a recolor but I've done many. What's the dog's name?

[Cassini90125]

The dog is named, uh, Woof. It was 4:30 in the morning. I was tired. :bloocross:

Woof, incidentally, is a hyperactive doofus. As soon as he was he inside Foster's he started chewing up the furniture, and a new icon appeared in Mr. Herriman's Wants panel; he can gain 250 Aspiration points for scolding Woof. :herriman:

[CG]

Aw yay! Eduardo got the big adorable St. Bernard that graced us with his presence. Congratulations on the addition to the Fosters house. ^_^

[antgirl1]

I wonder why Herriman didn't get afraid of Woof. XD

[Invader Bloo]

Infamous episodes.... I wonder what ones... especally with Cass. :frankiesmile:

[Nyo]

Woof's adorable!

[Bloonan]

ROFL! These pics are so funny! Love that look on Cheese's face.

[Cassini90125]

Infamous episodes.... I wonder what ones... especally with Cass. :frankiesmile:

Heh, heh, heh... :bendy:

ROFL! These pics are so funny! Love that look on Cheese's face.

That was my favorite, too. He kept that expression as he left Wal-Mart and headed home. I haven't played his house since that time; I hope it isn't frozen on his face. :cheesegrin:

Foster's Valley: Rhymes with rich

Down the hill from Foster's there is a house:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess0.jpg

At first glance it looks like any other ordinary house. In fact, it's the same design being used by the Cassimans and the Westlanes, albeit a little larger. But there's something wrong here. If you listen closely, you hear only silence. There are no birds chirping on this lot, no skittering sounds of squirrels or chipmunks. Even the insects are strangely quiet. There are no children playing on this street, no signs of anyone nearby. As we watch, a car full of teens drives slowly by and pauses in front of the house, the passengers each daring the others to ring the bell. A glimmer of movement appears in the tower window; the car full of teens speeds away. The legends say that there is evil here, an ancient horror that would rule us all. What is this unspeakable evil? What could it be? As we watch, the front door to the house opens and a lone figure appears:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess1.jpg

Hello. Duchess. >:(

OH MY STARS. This has got to be one of the crankiest Sims I have ever dealt with. She argues with everyone, steals the other Sims newspapers, and generally make life more difficult for everyone she meets. But unlike the way things were in the Pacific Northwest, here in the Valley the other Sims won't put up with her crap. Henri Vsolhr doesn't want to hear it:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess2.jpg

The lady vampire who haunts the downtown area doesn't want to hear it:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess3.jpg

Even Fomalhaut's dad doesn't want to hear it:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess4.jpg

I'll give him credit, he was more polite about it than anyone else.

Frustrated by the Valley's residents inability to appreciate her for the work of art that she is (yeah, Duchess, whatever you say ::) ), Duchess wandered off to Van Dyke Park, where she did finally meet someone who can put up with her:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess5.jpg

Huh, Duchess and Mac's mom, having lunch together in the park. Bet we never see that on the show. After lunch, Duchess went home and decided to amuse herself with a little mean-spirited spying:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess6.jpg

Yep, that's Checo Ramirez she's spying on. Again! Everybody in the Valley who has a telescope watches this guy! The New Guy does it; so does Bloo. Even Mac did it once. Guys, I've looked in Checo's house; it's not that interesting! Give him a break! (sighs) Well, anyway, Duchess watched him for awhile then went to the back tower of her house to indulge in a little painting; the Work of Art creating a work of art. This is when she discovered that spying on the neighbors has consequenses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK3fQDlISsI

I believe the icon over Checo's head at the end means he's threatening legal action. Of course, Duchess isn't going to tolerate a commoner making threats or entering her house uninvited; the fact that she provoked it is, of course, an unimportant detail. So she's off to Checo's house later that day, intent on seeking revenge in the classic Sim tradition, which is to kick over Checo's garbage can. She succeeded, but again there were consequenses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnmrqSifTig

Infuriated, she left Checo's house and went downtown to the Crypt-O-Night Club where, much to her exaspiration, she was informed that the Club was out of vermouth:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess7.jpg

"I don't want to hear it, pion! Find me a glass of vermouth! Do it now! Do it now!" Eventually, she got her vermouth. Finally, after that, there was a quick stop in the park again to unwind, to plot, to plan, and to let the day's events fester in her mind:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Duchess8.jpg

"I hate this town", says Duchess. At least she doesn't have ringworm. >:( :cheesegrin:

[Nyo]

LMAO.

Classic. Just...classic. I cracked up so hard at the second video.

[Bloonan]

Oh, no! Something eviler then Wal-Mart!

[WiltFan]

That second video....xD LOL, this made my day.8D Funny pics too. :D

[CG]

I'll watch the videos at home, but my God. Duchess! That is one evil lady. But I love the fact she's laid out on a park bench like some commoner. XD

[LaBlooGirl]

This whole thing is magnificent, nice work you did on the Sims! I have no idea how to play that game but someday I hope to own it and try it out. ^^
It looks like so much fun!

[Cutelilteen]

Well I must say, this Duchess is much easier on the eyes 8D

Great job!

[kageri]

This whole thing is magnificent, nice work you did on the Sims! I have no idea how to play that game but someday I hope to own it and try it out. ^^
It looks like so much fun!

I have it and I'm still completely incompetent at maintaining more than two at a time. They can't do anything on their own. No one helps me eat or buy furniture or get the newspaper!

I love how sulky and petulant Duchess looks in that last shot. And also how the guy in the background looks like he's pointing and laughing at her.

[One Radical Dude]

8D Good stuff there, dude.

[BluebottleFlyer]

Man, you've really pushed the boat out with this. These shots are just classic, priceless, especially the Duchess pics:D

[♥ Berry ♥]

Nice! Can you make :berry:?

I know who the blue boy is, but who's the blue GIRL?

[Cassini90125]

My thanks to all who commented. Always nice to know that one's work is appreciated. :)

Foster's Valley: Sunday Afternoon, Part One

Here's a scene I'll bet we never see in the show:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS01.jpg

Mr. Herriman in the backyard, playing fetch with Woof. Who'd've thought it possible? After what happened in Who Let The Dogs In? you'd think he'd rather spend time having tea with Duchess, but apparently Woof won him over. It's not too surprising, really; Woof is a very friendly, eager-to-please dog who loves spending time with people. He is also a very messy animal that rolls around in whatever filth he can find, fouls every room he enters, and hides at the merest mention of the word "bath". Fine for Mr. Herriman, who enjoys cleaning; for the lady who does most of the housework, not so good. :frankiemad:

Coco and Wilt in the living room:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS02.jpg

Here Wilt is telling Coco a dirty joke of some sort. Not exactly in character for him, but then again the game can only replicate their personalities to a certain extent. Coco enjoyed it, by the way. The two of them get along surprisingly well, considering how little they seem to have in common. They certainly get along better than Eduardo and Bendy:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS03.jpg

I'm not exactly sure what happened here. Within the game system, it's a failed social interaction; I'm taking it to mean that Eduardo reminded Bendy that important company was dropping by that evening so he ought to pitch in and make the house look respectable, and Bendy responded with an obscene gesture and said "Respect this, dorkface!", or something equally rude. They parted in a huff, Eduardo going upstairs to call some girl with blue hair he's very fond of, while Bendy went outside and did something with the bushes that he'd seen Woof do. In the meantime, Madam Foster read Little Red Riding Hood to Berry:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS04.jpg

At this point in the story, Berry turned to Mr. Herriman and said, "I don't think wolves really eat children, otherwise Bendy'd be in real trouble right now!" Confused, Mr. Herriman looked out the back window, and this is what he saw:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS05.jpg

Yep, that's a wolf, staring at Bendy as he splashes in a puddle of his own making. The wolf circled around, astonished by this behaviour, and was soon joined by a second wolf:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS06.jpg

Both wolves looked at each other, and you could almost hear them saying, "What's wrong with this kid?" They shook their heads and wandered around to the front yard. According to the game book, wolves are filthy beasts, and naturally Mr. Herriman won't stand for them being on the property, particularly not on a day when important company is dropping by later, so he confronts them:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS07.jpg

And he manages to find a new form of life to irritate. Berry finds all this excitement to be tiring, so she opts for an afternoon nap:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS08.jpg

And this is where I have to pause, because vBulletin limits the number of images and the amount of text that I can put in one post. More to come shortly...

[Sparky]

Oh, how much more disturbing that image would have been if you had the yellow pee puddle hack I use... :P

[Nyo]

The wolves are cooliosis!

[CG]

I loved the timing of your captions, especially with Bendy and the wolves. You're right, you can almost hear them muttering about this weird kid to each other.

Great work as usual, Cassini. :)

[Cassini90125]

Oh, how much more disturbing that image would have been if you had the yellow pee puddle hack I use...

Believe me, there are far worse things in the Valley than Bendy's puddle. Once I work out all the details (sometime next year at the rate I'm going), you'll be getting a PM titled, "Uh, can I do this?" 8D

Foster's Valley: Sunday Afternoon, Part Two

As some of you know, the new Seasons Expansion Pack has caused me no end of headaches. Fortunately, it now seems to be running fine. My Sims, however, are probably wishing I'd get rid of it, as it now rains in the Valley quite frequently, as Frankie finds out as she looks out the window:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS09.jpg

Not just rain really; it's a thunderstorm, and it's the worst I've seen since installing Seasons. I got Bendy and Mr. Herriman back in the house the moment it started; I've seen what lightning can do to a Sim, and it isn't pretty. Storm or no storm, however, a very important guest is arriving momentarily, so Frankie has to get dinner ready, and tonight it's going to be a turkey:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS10.jpg

The important guest is a man known as the Headmaster. If they can impress him enough, Wilt, Bendy, and all the other IF's in the house can put the horrors of the public school system behind them and go to private school... where they'll face the same dang horrors, actually, but they'll get spiffy uniforms to wear. Impressing the Headmaster involves three things, all equally important:

He must be well fed.
He must be given a tour of the house.
He must be schmoozed.

Frankie is handling the first part. So far, so good:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS11.jpg

I'll bet that smells pretty good. When late autumn hits the Valley, maybe I'll try to dream up a Thanksgiving story. In the meantime, the concern I have is with the schmoozing part. As you know, Mr. Herriman has a habit of fracking off everyone he meets, and he's the one doing the schmoozing. If he annoys the Headmaster, then the entire scenario will depend on Frankie's cooking skill and the cleanliness of the house. It is very difficult to win the Headmaster Scenario without points in all three. At that point the turkey was done:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS12.jpg

I knew she could do it. In the background you can see Mr. Herriman schmoozing the Headmaster, trying desperately to make a good impression for a change. At this point, and I wish I had pics or a video of it, a bolt of lightning slammed into one of the trees in the backyard, setting it on fire. Madam Foster was out of bed in an instant, on the phone and calling the fire department, but fortunately the rain was hard enough to extinguish the blaze without them needing to come by. It was a very bad storm, the worst I've seen since installing Seasons, and it picked the worst lot and worst possible time to occur. I don't have pics because I was distracted by another event entirely; by the stars, it was a busy night at the house. Anyway, dinner was served:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS13.jpg

The Headmaster is the gentleman sitting across from Wilt. Dinner was the final event of the evening. Frankie and Mr. Herriman have to score at least 90 points total to win the Headmaster Scenario. They've done everything they can to get a better education for the Imaginary Friends. Did they succeed? Was the Headmaster sufficiently impressed with the house, with Frankie's cooking, with Mr. Herriman's schmoozing?

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS14.jpg

They got the highest scores I've ever seen in all three areas. Frankie looks pretty happy as she cleans up:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS15.jpg

As well she should, for tonight all her cooking and cleaning have secured the future for the people she takes care of. And in playing the Headmaster Scenario, Mr. Herriman finally found someone who genuinely likes him, in the form of the cranky old Headmaster of the Foster's Valley Private school. Looks like a win for everybody to me.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/HS16.jpg

"There, you see, Miss Francis? We can work together when we need to."
"Your fly's undone."

:)

[CG]

Many congratulations to the new private school bound imaginaries. Don't fall into the wrong crowds now!

And much sniggering at the last comment.

But I must say I like the red aligator-like skin skirt Frankie has on. Fetching!

[Cassini90125]

I rather liked that outfit, too. The Sims can't tell the difference between that and a barrel, but for the story I thought something a little fancier than her usual classic outfit would be appropriate. There's more stuff from her closet in the Frankie thread, too, in case you haven't seen it yet. :frankiesmile:

Congratulations on the promotion and Happy Birthday, by the way. :) ;)

[Sparky]

I'm glad you got Seasons working. I can't extoll the virtues of a well-placed lightning rod on the roof enough, by the way. Also you should put a smoke alarm on the *outside* of the house, it doesn't matter where, to catch those fires that the rain doesn't extinguish.

I've never done the private school thing. Since my Sims don't age, it isn't that vital. But I may try it with Dib and Gaz, Professor Membrane is a great chef. :terrsmile:

[CG]

Congratulations on the promotion and Happy Birthday, by the way. :) ;)

Aw, thank you Cass. That means a lot.

[Cassini90125]

I'm glad you got Seasons working. I can't extoll the virtues of a well-placed lightning rod on the roof enough, by the way. Also you should put a smoke alarm on the *outside* of the house, it doesn't matter where, to catch those fires that the rain doesn't extinguish.

I've never done the private school thing. Since my Sims don't age, it isn't that vital. But I may try it with Dib and Gaz, Professor Membrane is a great chef. :terrsmile:

I'll do lightning rods at some point, I suppose, but it'll be quite a chore; we're talking about around 300 lots in nine neighborhoods. :P

Private school has several advantages; aside from possible skill points, teens can start new careers at level 2 instead of level 1, and their needs aren't as depleted when they get back from class. Getting in is often worth a lot of Aspiration points, too, though that wasn't the case at Foster's for some reason; probably because none of them have the Knowledge Aspiration.

Aw, thank you Cass. That means a lot.

My pleasure. :)

(I'll be sending you a list of names and a large check.) 8D

[kageri]

The Sims can't tell the difference between that and a barrel, but for the story I thought something a little fancier than her usual classic outfit would be appropriate.

I wish they'd at least make them react appropriately to people walking around in their underwear or something. Sims clearly don't have the tact necessary to politely ignore people in their underwear, so it can't be that.

As always, awesome shots and story, even if Bendy playing in his own excrement is incredibly disturbing and Lord of the Flies-ish. Even the wolves (which are really cute) are freaked out. Something tells me he won't be happy about his new uniform.

[Cassini90125]

I wish they'd at least make them react appropriately to people walking around in their underwear or something. Sims clearly don't have the tact necessary to politely ignore people in their underwear, so it can't be that.

Some of them react to nudity, but I've never seen one say anything about underwear or swimwear, although I know that hag Mrs. Crumplebottom surely would. 8D

As always, awesome shots and story, even if Bendy playing in his own excrement is incredibly disturbing and Lord of the Flies-ish. Even the wolves (which are really cute) are freaked out. Something tells me he won't be happy about his new uniform.

He didn't. There may be a story in there somewhere; I'll see what happens.

In the meantime, everyone take a deep breath and prepare to say "Awwwwwww!!!":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ag8fNK7TBw

;D ;D ;D

[Nyo]

Porkrind=love

Who's he belong to?

[Cassini90125]

Porkrind belongs to the four residents of Dorm #4 at Sim State University, the school that Mac is now attending. None of the residents of that dorm are part of the show, although one of them is a member here.

Porkrind is a womrat, which the book describes as being part guinea pig, part hamster. He eats an astounding amount of food every day, and unlike Larry the parrot at Foster's he's never bitten anyone.

[Bloo2daMacs]

Yay for Porkrind!

Oh yeah, and I just looked through all the chapters of Foster's Valley, and I gotta admit, I WANNA PLAY SIMS MORE THAN EVER! :D

[Cassini90125]

The base game runs around $40.00 or so, as I recall. Best $40.00 I ever spent. Of course, I had to have all the expansions, stuff packs, and game guides, too; you don't want to know the total cost thus far. My accountant thinks I've lost my mind. He's probably right.

For those interested, the next Expansion Pack will be titled Bon Voyage, and it will allow Sims to take a vacation and get away from the daily grind of life for a few days. The vacation destinations include a camping trip, so at some point in the future there may be pics of Mr. Herriman annoying a bear. 8D

Speaking of Mr. Herriman...

Foster's Valley: Genius At Work

Mr. Herriman continues work on his autobiography:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M1.jpg

He finished the book about an hour later, titled it I Work For Carrots, and sold it for a rather nice sum. Note the gold star floating over his head; when that appears in the game, it means the Sim has reached level 10 in whatever skill he happens to be using at the time, and in Mr. Herriman's case the skill was Creativity. He was immensely pleased with himself about that, and with the fact that his book was selling very well, and at lunch he made sure that everybody knew about it:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M2.jpg

Lunch was chili, courtesy of Frankie, who is approaching level 10 in Cooking skill. That's Sailor Mars sitting across from Frankie; she came home with Eduardo from school that day. He's taken quite a liking to her, which is kind of weird, as Eduardo is shy and very nice, while Sailor Mars is a major... well, she's not shy. Anyway, Mr. Herriman informed everyone that since he had conquered the literary world, he would now turn his attention to his easel and paints and produce a masterpiece on canvas as well. The general consensus at the table was, "Yeah, Mr. Herriman, whatever you say." Undaunted, while Eduardo and Sailor Mars played pool, Mr. Herriman set out to paint a masterpiece:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M3.jpg

And, as the rest of the photos show, he succeeded:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M4.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M5.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M6.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M7.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/M8.jpg

The finished painting now hangs on the wall of the upstairs living room.

A special thanks to Kageri, who created the original classic, viewable elsewhere on the Forum and at DeviantART. :)

[Bloo2daMacs]

Oh my god!

Mr. Herriman's got good taste in his art! 8D

[CG]

Brought her home ey? Eduardo's a playa...

And El Oh El at the picture. Very... strange of Mr. Herriman to draw her in such a way. Mmm~!

[Nyo]

WTF? Herriman's good at painting. :)

[kageri]

D'awwwwww. You're making me blush. :'}

I'm not surprised he got an impressive sum for his book. Well, actually, I am a little, but I'd certainly read it. I'm not sure how interested I'd be in why Shout is better than Resolve for getting out stains, but hey! Memoirs by Mr. H! Maybe we'd get juicy details on life with all the crazies at Foster's!

[Ub3rD4n]

Man, I thought it was freakin' hilarious when I saw what Mr H was painting. As for his memoirs, I bet the thing is like, two feet thick. Good luck reading through that!

[Cassini90125]

I've got a bright idea in my head to have Mr. Herriman copy all the pics of themselves that various members have conveniently left lying around the Forum and build the "Never Forgotten Hall Of Fame & Gift Shop". Might be a nice change of pace to have my Sims staring at pics of us instead of the other way around. 8D

[Nyo]

*le gasp* Oh em gee, let's try it!

[Fomalhaut]

How did you import kageri's pic in the game?

[Cassini90125]

How did you import kageri's pic in the game?

There is a subfolder titled "Paintings" in the Sims 2 folder. I copy what I want Mr. Herriman to paint to that folder. The copy needs to be in JPEG format, I think; at least, everything that was already in there was a JPEG file. It also requires the Pets expansion pack to work.

[Medikor]

I always enjoy the Sims stuff you bring us, Cass. It's always so creative and fun. Nice stuff!:D

[Cassini90125]

My thanks, as always. :)

In addition to being an author and a painter, it seems that when nobody's looking, Mr. Herriman likes to play dress-up. Naturally, I decided to indulge him. Here he is in his "Southern Gentleman" ensemble:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/mrh07.jpg

One that's perfect for Independence Day:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/mrh08.jpg

And let us not forget Easter:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/mrh09.jpg

"Cassini!!! Get me out of this infernal outfit immediately!!! What if somebody sees me in this get-up!?!?" Fine, Mr. Herriman, calm down, I'll have you out of it in no time... uh-oh:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/mrh10.jpg

Oops.

8D8D8D

[CG]

Hah! Frankie's expression is dead spot on.

Though showing how round and firm Herriman's butt is, is kinda disturbing. o_O

[Medikor]

Now that cute! Great stuff, Cass!:D

[Bloo2daMacs]

Oh my gosh! Ell Oh Ell!

Or, however the hip youngsters are spelling it these days. No matter, Aweomse!

Did you have to download that bunny suit from one of the Sims sites I hear of, or was it one already available for your Sims that came with the game.

[Nyo]

I fell on the floor when I saw Herriman in a bunny suit.

[antgirl1]

Well, I don't think it's THAT funny, considering the fact he IS a rabbit. :D

[Cassini90125]

Well, I don't think it's THAT funny, considering the fact he IS a rabbit.

I can always put Wilt in the rabbit suit, if you'd prefer. :bendy:

Though showing how round and firm Herriman's butt is, is kinda disturbing. o_O

Uh... Moving right along...

Awwww:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w01.jpg

Who doesn't love a big, friendly dog? Madam Foster loves having Woof around:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w02.jpg

So does Eduardo, of course:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w03.jpg

Frankie likes him, too:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w04.jpg

As does Sailor Moon, who played "Razzle" with him at the House last night:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w05.jpg

Even the stray cats in the park enjoy playing with him:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w06.jpg

He's been fun to train, too; here, Eduardo is teaching him to sit up:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w07.jpg

Woof learned the command it a single evening, and loves to show off:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w08.jpg

Dog needs to go on a diet He's added a lot of joy to the lives of the House's residents. Here, he settles in for a nap:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w09.jpg

And that's Woof, more or less; a big, friendly dog who makes life at Foster's just a little more pleasant for everyone.

Most of the time, anyway.

Okay, somebody comment on the pics so I can put up the shots of Woof's bad habits without posting back-to-back. I hate posting back-to-back.

[Nyo]

OK, fine. This is my post so you don't have to post back-to-back. I ahte it too. Woof's adorable!

[kageri]

Awwwww! Isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen?! :'DDDD

What does Bloo think of Woof, I wonder? He was a jerk to the puppies in WLTDO, but he might behave differently around a dog that could probably eat him for breakfast if he was so inclined.

[Cassini90125]

They've never met. Might be interesting, though. I don't see Woof wandering around town on his own very often but it could happen, and Bloo does need to go to the mall... :bloogrin:

Woof, as I've mentioned is very friendly and playful. He's also hyperactive, a complete slob, and has the brains of a three-day-old tuna sandwich. Just moments after Eduardo brought him home the big doofus ran through the front door, shot up the stairs, and started chewing on one of the beds:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w10.jpg

Naturally, he picked Frankie's bed. Bet he would've done that on the show, too. Oh, there's more, of course. This big slobbering canine eats like a pig:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w11.jpg

Howls at the TV at least once per day:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w12.jpg

Has torn up parts of the back yard:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w13.jpg

And happily wallows in every puddle that he finds:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w14.jpg

No doubt that's where Bendy got the idea. This dog... well, here's a video of Woof in action one early Sunday morning, and I'll warn you, it's not for those with weak stomachs. Herein we see Woof defiling the bushes (and missing the target), using the result as a beverage, and enjoying a good roll thereafter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHY5HPqrQXc

A few minutes later, he's in the dining room:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/w15.jpg

So, I ask you now, which of the three do you think is making Frankie say "Phew!!!"?

The man who said that pets can be theraputic never met Woof.

8D

[kageri]

Wow. That's just... That's charming. I love how the puddle ends up nowhere near his target. Woof is smrt. At least Eduardo finally gets his dog.

[Nyo]

...Ewww...

[Fomalhaut]

Those were amazingly cute! I like Woof (our Kobak is worse, especially that now, at 14, he's nearly blind, deaf, and getting senile... poor thing...), and Herriman's dresses, too. I'll send pics of my Foster's when I have time to play with them between exams.

[Bloo2daMacs]

I love the way Herriman's looking at Woof in that last picture. Priceless! 8D

Oh yeah, that video made me twitch. Gah, so grody.

[Cassini90125]

Oh yeah, that video made me twitch. Gah, so grody.

Today the big slob threw up. No need to show you what happened afterwards.

Foster's Valley: The Visitors, Part One

The day before I shot the last of Woof's pictures, this little darling appeared on the edge of the Foster's lot:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V01.jpg

You can almost hear the Sailor Moon Theme playing in the background. Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars had been over to the House, invited by Wilt and Coco after school, so I guess she was walking by to check the place out and see what they were talking about. I thought it would be fun to have one of the IF's greet her and say "Welcome to the Valley", so I checked to see who was nearest to the front door, and it turned out to be Wilt. So out the door he went to greet Sailor Moon:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V02.jpg

And she thinks he's boring:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V03.jpg

So much for the "universal appeal" theory. Anyway, she went home and Wilt went back inside for a workout and a snack, after which Eduardo indulged in some good-natured teasing about the meeting:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V04.jpg

"Heh, she thinks you're dull," said Eduardo.
"Jupiter thinks I'm cool," Wilt protested. "And what's the story with you and Mars?"
"Is no story, me amigo; just good friends," Eduardo replied. The two of them spent the next hour or so locked in a take-no-prisoners pillow fight. They do that a lot; they're the best of friends, as close here as they are on the show. I should make a video of them playing sometime. The next day, Wilt got it into his head that since the Sailor Scouts and their parents were still new in the Valley, it would be a really nice gesture to have the family over for lunch. He mentioned the idea to Madam Foster, who was all for it. So was Mr. Herriman, but of course if company is coming he wants the House cleaned, and you know who got stuck with that job. The bushes had to be trimmed:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V05.jpg

Every inch of the bathroom floors had to be scrubbed:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V06.jpg

And finally, an enormous lunch had to be made:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V07.jpg

Finally a worn-out Frankie informed Wilt that everything was set, call 'em up and let's have some fun. Wilt smiled and thanked her, and then he got on the phone and called Sailor Jupiter:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V08.jpg

"Hey, Lita? It's me, Wilt! Listen, we thought it'd be great if you and your family dropped by for luch and hung out with us for the day. Is that okay?" It was with her, her parents liked the idea, and within a half an hour the girls arrived:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V09.jpg

Get ready, Foster's; here they come... ;)

(To be continued)...

[kageri]

I love how much taller Wilt is than Eduardo. And I haaaate those stupid bushes. The Sailor Scouts kind of look like those cosplayers who wear anime masks.

[Little Baby IceCream]

Nice job Cassini! You made me want to play the Sims so badly!!
BTW: The video with Woof's bad habits was hilarious!

~Little Baby IceCream~

[antgirl1]

Hoo boy - Sailor Scouts, Wilt, Eduardo, and Frankie...LOL, that's all that were mentioned!

Can't wait to see more. :D

[Nyo]

SHE'S THE ONE CALLED SAILOR MOON~

Continue.

[Cassini90125]

SHE'S THE ONE CALLED SAILOR MOON~

Continue.

As you wish...

In order to save myself the effort of typing "Sailor Insertnameofplanet" repeatedly, from here on out I'll be calling the Sailor Scouts by the names they're known by in the game:

Sailor Moon = Luna
Sailor Mercury = Ami
Sailor Venus = Mina
Sailor Mars = Rei
Sailor Jupiter = Lita

The family name is Nixon. For the record, Sailor Moon is not named Serena because I already have a Sim named Serena (Frankie's best friend, actually), and calling her Usagi simply didn't occur to me at the time. Luna fits her well, I think.

Foster's Valley: The Visitors, Part Two

Eduardo gazes out of the window of his room way up on the third floor:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V10.jpg

It's supposed to snow in the Valley for the first time ever later in the day; he doesn't want to miss it. He would if he had to shovel it. Of course, while looking for snow he spots the Sailor Scouts coming up the path so he hurries down the stairs. First through the front door is Ami:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V11.jpg

Who meets Coco and takes an immediate dislike to her:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V12.jpg

Who knows why. The topic is politics; plenty of room for disagreement there, I suppose. "Knock it off, Ami," says Rei, "You're embarassing yourself." It didn't help. Ami and Rei don't get along too well at home, either. In the meantime, Eduardo made it downstairs and joined Wilt out front, where he met Mina:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V13.jpg

They hit it off rather nicely, while nearby Wilt isn't getting along quite so well with Lita. Again, who knows why. Eh, good friends will disagree from time to time, they'll get over it. A few minutes later the four of them came inside and moved on. Coco and Ami, however, had not:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V14.jpg

"You bore me, anime girl," says Coco. Things were not looking good here. Wilt saw that but wisely decided not to get involved. He joined Rei on the couch:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V15.jpg

Here he's inadvertently annoying the hell out of her by asking the age-old question, "Why is there no Sailor Earth?" Rei explained, for what must be the 35,000th time, that there is, it's a guy named Tuxedo Mask. Berry, engrossed in a book, ignored them both. She continued to ignore everyone as Wilt left to find Lita and new people entered the room:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V16.jpg

Madam Foster chatted amiably with the girl's mom, Sailor Sun, a/k/a Solanna Nixon, and Luna, when Ami entered the room. Coco was right behind her, and Rei stood there and smiled because she knew what was about to happen:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V17.jpg

NOOGIE!!! "Give it to her good, Coco," says Rei, and Coco was only too happy to oblige. I wish I'd made a video of this. It was over a minute later:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V18.jpg

Coco thought it was hilarious. So did Rei. Ami was not amused. 8D

More to come...

[Little Baby IceCream]

Hee hee! This was a funny one and good like always! I can't wait to see more!

~Little Baby IceCream~

[antgirl1]

Yeah...so much for universal love. XDDD

[kageri]

I love Ami's ":O!" face after the noogie (and the gang's outerwear). Coco is certainly an eccentric young lady.

Also, looking outside with the "WHAT IS THIS SNOW YOU SPEAK OF" face is so totally Eduardo.

[Sparky]

Lol at Wilt's speech bubble = "Why is there no Sailor Earth?" 8D

[Cassini90125]

Here we go again!

Foster's Valley: The Visitors, Part Three

After getting thoroughly noogied by Coco, Ami left the living room in a huff and sat in the dining room to await lunch. Rei followed her, telling her "It's just a noogie! Lighten up!", or something along those lines. Ami's mom, Solanna Nixon, spoke to Coco about the incident:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V19.jpg

Coco turned on the charm and made her see the lighter side of it. Coco can be very charming when she wants to be; she currently has more friends than most of the other residents of the House. Nearby, Madam Foster awaits the arrival of the first snow, while Bendy wanders by on his way to the kitchen for a snack, muttering, "Amature. Wait until you see what I"M planning!" Sounds like he's up to something... but that's another story. Rei headed upstairs to use the bathroom and ran into Mr. Herriman:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V20.jpg

Who managed to annoy yet another person. I have a very low batting average in finding people who can put up with him. It occurred to me that he hadn't yet met the girls' father, a man named Richard, maybe Richard could put up with him. So outside goes Mr. Herriman, and this is what I saw:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V21.jpg

Yep, there it is, Mr. Herriman being irritated by Richard Nixon. I couldn't make this up if I tried. After I stopped laughing it was finally time for lunch:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V22.jpg

On the menu is chili, which is the most filling lunch available for Sims. Eduardo is having spaghetti because "Eat Spaghetti" was in his Wants panel, and in doing so he picked up 500 Aspiration points. The table only seats eight, so the rest of the residents and guests found other things to do while awaiting their turn at the table. After the meal, everyone went to find something fun to do, and Mina started glowing like a supernova:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V23.jpg

Let's just say that Frankie makes very good chili. Or Bendy put something in it. Yeah, that's what it is. (Giggles to self.) The second shift began soon thereafter, and this time around it was salmon:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V24.jpg

The girl on the far left is Christina Vsolhr, another guest, who showed up without warning. Sixteen Sims, a large dog, a three-story house on a huge lot loaded with furniture, toys, and weather, and my system handled it perfectly. I was very happy (and relieved). After dinner everyone went back to playing, socializing, and generally having a good time. Frankie and Lita, who are rapidly becoming good friends, retreated to the second floor for a game of pool:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V25.jpg

Wilt, Mina, and Christina played with the imported bubble blower:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V26.jpg

And Mr. Herriman and Richard, well... :

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V27.jpg

At least they're not hitting each other.

The final set is coming next. ;)

[antgirl1]

And you say Wilt has better table manners. XDD

I love how Herriman glares at people. It's always cracking me up.

[kageri]

I can't stop laughing at Wilt's face in that second to last picture. He really likes that bubble bong.

[Sparky]

I had given one of those bubble things to my self-sim and my brother-sim and I had to take it away because they refused to go bathe or eat, all they wanted to do was blow bubbles. The thing is creepy. 8D

[Little Baby IceCream]

Good one! I can't wait to see the last set!

~Little Baby IceCream~

[Bloo2daMacs]

Augh!! Bendy put something nuclear in the food!

...or so it would seem...

I can't believe how bright Mina is in that fifth picture! It hurts my eyes!!

[Cassini90125]

Augh!! Bendy put something nuclear in the food!

...or so it would seem...

I can't believe how bright Mina is in that fifth picture! It hurts my eyes!!

Or so it would seem, indeed. (Laughs maliciously to self at private joke...)

Foster's Valley: The Visitors, Part Four

At this point there isn't really too much left to tell you about. Around 10:00 pm Luna entered the living room:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V28.jpg

And started talking about baseball. Solanna, knowing what a klutz Luna can be, left the room and took Berry with her as Luna demonstrated her batting stance:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V29.jpg

Happily, nothing bad happened this time, but it seems that my enchanting Sailor Moon Sim is as uncoordinated as the original anime character. For the record, while I refer to her as "mine", she and the rest of the Sailor Scouts were created by people far more talented than I am. All are available for download at the MTS2 site. After showing off her batting talents (or complete lack thereof), she and Coco indulged in a little malicious gossip:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V30.jpg

The person they're gossiping about is Gabe the Valley Pest; the subject is the fight that occurred last year (a week ago to them), where Gabe got beaten up by former Forum member Wendywild13 after he ventrilofarted her. Sounds like he was asking for it. Both are currently at Sim State University, in the same dorm; they're getting along much better now. While the gossip was going on, Rei was standing idle on the third floor:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V31.jpg

Sims do this a lot; just stand around and try to decide what to do next. Eduardo wanted to talk to her but Madam Foster got to her first:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V32.jpg

As I recall, the topic was the weather. Rei gets along very well with most of the other Sims (except, as usual, Mr. Herriman); this surprises me, as she is often just as cranky as the original. Regardless, there was a lot of conversation going on as the evening wound down, including one that tested my dear Frankie's patience:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V33.jpg

Frankie Foster, meet Richard Nixon. Yet another shot we'll likely never see on the show. Probably just as well. Frankie listened patiently while Richard spoke at length about why he should be the next Mayor of Foster's Valley. Luna, who had also been in the room, got up and looked out the window:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V34.jpg

"Hey, everybody!" she yelled. "It's snowing!" And so it was. For the first time in the history of the Valley, there was snow falling from the sky:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V35.jpg

Which of course was the perfect time for Eduardo and Richard to play on the swings:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V36.jpg

Sims are so weird. Anyway, by then it was after 2:00 am. The two paused to take stock of each other:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/V37.jpg

They said their goodbyes, and the Sailor Scouts went home. It had been a good day for everyone, more or less, including the Simmaster.

....................

And now, we need to have a chat.

As you all know, Sims age. That includes everyone at Foster's too. Each Sim spends a certain fixed amount of time in each age group, then at around 6:00 pm on the appointed day they spin, there's a flash of multicolored light, and presto! Children become teens, teens become either young adults or full adults, etc. Now it so happens that at Foster's we have a unique situation, which is that with the exception of Frankie, everybody is going to hit their age transition in just under three hours game time. Bendy and Berry will become teens. More importantly, Wilt, Coco, and Eduardo will either become adults and stay in the House and, like Frankie, function as adults in every way, or they can go into the young adult stage and leave the House for awhile to attend college. It would be like a spin-off, in a way; after college they would continue on to become full adults and could either return to the House or move on to new lives of their own. While in college, new IF's could take their place at Foster's for awhile, either characters from the show or new, never before seen characters. Many new social interactions will become available to them all, and I'm willing to roll the dice and let them do what they want. Or I can fire up the InSIMenator and stop some or all them from aging any further. There's a lot to consider. So... what's your opinion?

[antgirl1]

Wait a minute...they were teens?

Man, it's VERY hard to tell the difference between a teen and an adult in this game.

Sure, you can let them grow up, but stop them from becoming seniors! XDD

[lucyrocks73]

I think you should let them go to college and then come back as adults... It sounds like a good idea.

-Marty :goo:

[Nyo]

I say let 'em learn at college.

[ptps]

I'm not sure if you guys have seen this, but there's an actual Bloo skin thing for download. There's a video on YouTube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5WZaI16je10

I don't play the sims nor have I ever touched the game before, but I've seen demos and screencaps and hopefully you guys can enjoy this more than me ^^;

[kageri]

I'm all for sending them to Uni provided you chronicle their experiences there. How would some of the meaner friends get along with the scary guys with 'hawks, I wonder?

[Lynnie]

I just wanted to say that the Sims here are awesome! I even went to the old forum and read the "story" from the beginning. The pictures are so much fun, even though they're not really the Foster's gang, it's almost as if seeing real pictures of them, as if they're real. Sorry, does that make me a geek? Oh well... It's just so cool, I love it. :D

Look forward to the next updates! :goo:

[Owennoreen]

lOL this is so funny nice job xD!

[Cassini90125]

Guys, there's a problem with the game, which is why I haven't posted anything new here for awhile. Specifically, the game won't go any farther than the loading screen before crashing. The disks work fine on my laptop. The problem is that Autorun.exe has become corrupt; how it did that while I was in San Diego is beyond me but it did, so the Foster's Valley saga is on hiatus. Nothing I've tried has made any difference. This is killing me. Can anybody help? :(

[A mysterious girl]

I have the same problem, I just bought and installed The Sims2 University, but it doesn't work.
And talking about The Sims2, I also created the Foster's characters on my computer... too bad everything suddenly erased from it.

[lucyrocks73]

Hmm... that's interesting. I've had a similar problem since I installed the H&M stuff pack.

I'm not sure what to do; I think I might have had a corrupt download or something.

If anyone has a suggestion, can you please post it?

-Marty :goo:

[Sparky]

Huys, there's a problem with the game, which is why I haven't posted anything new here for awhile. Specifically, the game won't go any farther than the loading screen before crashing. The disks work fine on my laptop. The problem is that Autorun.exe has become corrupt; how it did that while I was in San Diego is beyond me but it did, so the Foster's Valley saga is on hiatus. Nothing I've tried has made any difference. This is killing me. Can anybody help? :(

I hope you've asked this on a Sims 2 forum and not just here. ;)

So you've tried backing up the game, and reinstalling the discs, and restoring the saved game?

[A mysterious girl]

I hope you've asked this on a Sims 2 forum and not just here. ;)

So you've tried backing up the game, and reinstalling the discs, and restoring the saved game?

I already said I have the same problem and after trying to reinstall the discs, it keeps doing the same. :(
About asking this on a Sims 2 forum, it was hard enough to enter on this site to try to enter another (with nobody looking at me). What I mean is I don't want to suscribe to another forum, especially when I know I'm not going to visit it.

[Sparky]

I already said I have the same problem and after trying to reinstall the discs, it keeps doing the same. :(
About asking this on a Sims 2 forum, it was hard enough to enter on this site to try to enter another (with nobody looking at me). What I mean is I don't want to suscribe to another forum, especially when I know I'm not going to visit it.

Well I was talking to Cassini. I know he belongs to at least one Sims 2 forum.

[A mysterious girl]

Well I was talking to Cassini. I know he belongs to at least one Sims 2 forum.

Oh! I know that!... I think I shouldn't have posted that. Sorry.
But since I have the same problem, I tried to ask that in a Sims 2 forum and I had to register before asking something, so, I decided not to do so.

[Cassini90125]

I hope you've asked this on a Sims 2 forum and not just here. ;)

So you've tried backing up the game, and reinstalling the discs, and restoring the saved game?

I've asked here and there but have not yet found a solution that works. I'm hoping to avoid yet another four-hour reinstall ordeal; in any case, if the problem is Autorun.exe I'm not sure that a reinstall would work.

[Cassini90125]

I hate posting back-to-back. Anyway, I'll be making yet another attempt to get the game running again in the next day or so; in the meantime, I dug up some old pics that I thought y'all might find borderline amusing.

Cheese goes to Wal-Mart:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Bx01.jpg

You can almost hear him saying, "I like wax". Not much I can add to that. It wasn't a very exciting trip; he went in, bought groceries and a new outfit, had a cup of coffee, and went home. Not everything in the game is high adventure, although I'll give him credit, his house has more graphics glitches than any other in the Valley, except for Foster's.

The incredible sinking dog:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Bx02.jpg

It happens everytime I install a new Expansion Pack or a new game patch. Every pet in the game sinks into the floor. I have no idea why this happens, but it's harmless; I unpause the game, they pop right out. This pic was taken in the third floor rec room, which didn't get too much use until I put the bubble blower in there. Coco now spends a lot of free time in this room.

The incredible shrinking Madam:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Bx03.jpg

Nope, it's not a glitch, it's the same trick I use to make Wilt taller, only in reverse. Way in reverse. Watching her walk while shrunk like this was very weird. After she managed to climb into a chair I stretched her back to her normal size and this was the result:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Bx04.jpg

It's either another glitch or maybe Bendy added helium to the chili. Dishes, too, have been known to float upon occasion:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Bx05.jpg

I can imagine Eduardo saying "I no am seeing this, I no am seeing this" to himself as he cleaned up the lunch dishes. If he saw this on the show he'd scream, "Aaaaagh! The dishes! They is haunted!" and dive out the nearest window. 8D

Bendy in the park:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Bx06.jpg

The puddle is not of his own making, but that didn't stop him. When he started splashing around in it, it covered one square; now it covers seven. It was at nine or ten when he finally got bored with it and wandered off.

Last, but not least, a pic of my anime girl, Florah Gustafsen:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/Bx07.jpg

Prior to leaving home for college, Florah had taken up the practice of yoga. Being something of an exhibitionist, she had no qualms about getting into weird yoga postions out in the yard where the neighbors could see her. Shown here on the right is her father Bjorn, who has just returned from work with a promotion and a raise and is now having a WTF? moment. 8D

That's all for now. More to come soon, hopefully. :D

[Lynnie]

Haha, love the Madame F. caps, and the mention of Bendy putting helium in the chili. LOL!! Aren't glitches fun? When they're not making our life miserable, that is. Hope you're able to get the game up and running again soon! :bloosmirk:

[antgirl1]

LOL Short Madame Foster. XDD

I'm scared at just imagining how tall Wilt is now...XD

BTW, what is this trick that you used? Like, is there a code or something?

[lucyrocks73]

I LOVE the Madame Foster pic. Sounds like something I'd have to do for my self Sim...

[A mysterious girl]

LOL Short Madame Foster. XDD

I'm scared at just imagining how tall Wilt is now...XD

BTW, what is this trick that you used? Like, is there a code or something?


Well, I have the Sims 2 and yes, you have to enter a code.
Here it is (I just put the spoiler if someone wouldn't like to see it, however the cheat codes are on the Sims 2 web page).

I don't remember it very well, because I haven't played for a while, but if someone knows it and mime is incorrect, you should post the right one. First, you enter, whenever you want to, Ctrl (or maybe it was shift) + C, when a box on the top of the screen appears, you write "stretchskeleton" + a number highter than 1 if you want to make someone taller or .X number if you want to make someone shorter. Finally, you press enter and there you have, a very tall or very short Sim.

And by the way, I really like those pictures, Cassini90125. Actually, I like all the ones you have posted so far.

[Sparky]

It's supposed to be better to alter Sim heights directly in SimPE. I haven't messed with heights yet but I plan to eventually.

[Cassini90125]

I've never tried it with SimPE, partially out of fear of disfiguring them. The cheat code works well enough; I have to redo it everytime I enter the lot but the effects are immediate, and I can fiddle with it until I get a decent result. Hopefully there will be a "Set height and weight" feature in both CAS and Body Shop when Sims 3 is released.

[Sparky]

Yes, that would be awesome! I'm tired of everyone being the same height and weight type.

[antgirl1]

Thanks Mysterious Girl - now I can make myself taller! XD

[CG]

I can imagine Eduardo saying "I no am seeing this, I no am seeing this" to himself as he cleaned up the lunch dishes. If he saw this on the show he'd scream, "Aaaaagh! The dishes! They is haunted!" and dive out the nearest window. 8D

lol Or something about flying saucers. [rimshot]

Get it, GET IT? Hahahaa I r hilarious.

[A mysterious girl]

Thanks Mysterious Girl - now I can make myself taller! XD

So didn't I forget the code?
And you are welcome.

[Cassini90125]

Sims 2 players: If you have the Bon Voyage Expansion Pack installed on your computer, you need to read this immediately; the game has a very serious glitch:

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?threadID=59ad767497d6736de845324d3ec2 fc74&directoryID=189&startRow=1&openItemID=item.189,root.1,item.43,item.104,item.4 1,item.127,item.23

I'm actually thankful that my game isn't working; I've had no reason to install the expansion.

Shame on you, EA Games. :nono:

[Nyo]

Woah! That's one glitch! :O

(Did the article say it happened in University as well? Dang.)

[Cassini90125]

It did, but there's a patch available for University at the Sims 2 site. I never had the problem because I installed Nightlife before University. No patch exists for Bon Voyage at present, so if you want to use it then you should download the hack mentioned in the link above. I have used many of J. M. Pescado's hacks and mods without any problems whatsoever; the man definitely knows what he's doing (which is more than I can say for Maxis right now) so you can use it without worry. Just remember to remove it before installing the "official" patch.

[Sparky]

I wasn't going to buy this one for a while (I'd rather get a new video card for my desktop and move the game off of my laptop first). But geez. :P Thanks for the heads-up, I glanced at the Insim forum once looking for news of any major glitches but I guess this one hadn't been found yet.

[Cassini90125]

I installed it on my laptop but I've done nothing with it, fortunately, so no harm done. JMP's hack goes in next. In the meantime, Bon Voyage is staying off my main system and my old system. What is it with this game? Doesn't EA think it might be better to delay a release for a few months and get it right? Are timetables that important? Stars help us all when Sims 3 comes out.

[Cassini90125]

Okay, I've changed my mind about Bon Voyage. This game apparently has more problems than I have posts, and while the MATY hack works fine, it only fixes one issue. If you have the game, don't install it; if you've already installed it, don't play it. Wait for the patch, and wait to hear if it works. This game is a disaster, and I will have nothing to do with it until it's fixed, and fixed right.

[Sparky]

Okay. I still haven't bought it so I'm good.

[Wendi]

D:


Ive already started playing it... :[

[Cassini90125]

I'd leave it alone until the patch comes out; it's not worth losing your game.

As things stand with me, I have the game on three different computers and the only one that it's working on is the ancient Gateway Profile 4. My main system keeps giving me the Blue Screen Of Death and the laptop is a sad joke. The fact that my old system runs it at all is very surprising; the graphics aren't pretty but the game does work, even though it shouldn't. I got it into my head to see what would happen if I added a second RAM card to the unit; it had been operating with 512 MB. So off I went to Best Buy, where I shelled out too much money to bring my RAM up to a full gigabyte. Oh my stars what a difference! The game doesn't run or load noticeably faster, but the improvement in the graphics was almost like the difference between regular TV and High-Definition. It looks almost as good as it did on my other two systems. I think it might help my laptop game considerably. I am not convinced that additional RAM will make any difference on my main computer, as I still don't know what's causing the crashes, but I suppose it's worth a shot. Time to call my accountant again. :)

[Cassini90125]

I've just learned today that the game includes a program called SecuROM on every copy of Bon Voyage and H&M Stuff. More details are available here:

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?threadID=793510715f895f022132b3dc31a1 2eee&directoryID=189

and here:

http://bbs.thesims2.ea.com/community/bbs/messages.php?threadID=69960bae11a92e8a8ab154040bb4 6fbd&directoryID=189

and elsewhere on the main Sims 2 site. This program is apparently classified as malware; it can leave your system open to hackers and render everything you have vulnerable to attack. The only way to be rid of it is to reformat your system and not reinstall either Bon Voyage or H&M Stuff. As I have the latter installed on my system, at this point I no longer know if Foster's Valley can be saved. I will try everything I can but right now the prospects are not good.

[antgirl1]

As I have the latter installed on my system, at this point I no longer know if Foster's Valley can be saved.

This sentence makes me afraid of what might happen.

[Bloo2daMacs]

:(

'Nuff said.

[Nyo]

:(

'Nuff said.

Took the words right out of my mouth. >:(

[Sparky]

I just got an email from EA asking me to participate in a focus group/game testing of a new Sims game this Saturday. It's only about 2 hours from here and I'm going to respond to the message saying I'm interested.

[Cassini90125]

I'd love to hear more about it. Sims 3 possibly? :)

If you meet the exec who OK'd adding SecuROM to the game, shoot him.

[Sparky]

I'd love to hear more about it. Sims 3 possibly? :)

If you meet the exec who OK'd adding SecuROM to the game, shoot him.

I'll bring my bow, lol.

The email says:

Thank you for your interest in The Sims!

How would you like to visit Electronic Arts headquarters in Redwood City and check out a new Sims game that is still in development?

Electronic Arts will be conducting focus groups at our offices in Redwood Shores on Saturday, October 13th, to discuss a new Sims game. We'd like to invite you to participate!

The session will last approximately two hours, and you will get to play a new, unreleased Sims title. You will also receive a free EA game just for coming!

If you qualify, we will get back to you with additional instructions.

I sent them my info, now to wait and see if I'm "qualified"...

[Cassini90125]

I'm curious as to how you came to their attention. Do you subscribe to one of their newsletters?

[Sparky]

I am registered at both eagames.com and thesims2.com, and I probably entered my zip code there so they knew I was close enough to attend. I also always register all my games so they know I have several Sims 2 titles.

[Cassini90125]

I'd be more than willing to hop on a plane to attend something like that... probably not a good idea right now, though. I've been backing up files today in preparation for reformatting my system sometime tomorrow. I'm not happy about this, not at all. :(

A patch is out for Bon Voyage, by the way, not that I'll ever need it as I have no intention of ever installing the damn expansion pack and it's vicious spyware.

[antgirl1]

So maybe, just maybe, they will return.

By they I mean the Foster's Valley Sims.

[Cassini90125]

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. I won't bore anyone with the technicalities, but I can't run the Valley or any of my other neighborhoods without reinstalling the H&M Stuff pack, which also contains the SecuROM program. I'm not installing or reinstalling anything that's going to force that program down my throat. I have all the data saved, so I may be able to retrieve it at a later date, presumably sometime after Quaxi updates the SimPE program, but unless EA sees the error of their ways and releases a version of H&M Stuff that does not include SecuROM, Foster's Valley and everything else I've done is effectively shut down. I'll rebuild, of course, but I will never forgive them for this. :frankiemad:

Everyone reading this post is encouraged to boycott all EA Games products until such time as the company relents and agrees to never use SecuROM or any similar programs on their products again. I was prepared to spend an enormous amount of money on their upcoming Sims 3 game, as were a lot of other people; they will get nothing from me until I am convinced that their products are glitch-free and safe. :frankiemad:

[Sparky]

Oh by the way, I never did hear back from EA. Guess they didn't want women, or people who didn't have Bon Voyage, didn't own a Wii or something. If they're looking for something specific it'd have been cool of them to say "are you blah blah, then email us" rather than asking for your name/age, what Sims titles you own, and what consoles you play...whatever. :jk:

[Cassini90125]

In the mind of the Simmaster, earlier today...

I wish I could figure this out. Why won't it load? Okay, next attempt. Dorispepsi recolors deleted, defrag completed, net unplugged so that vicious little spybot can't do anything... what else can I do? Maybe if I jettison my custom neighborhoods, it might help... (drags custom neighborhood files to desktop) ...Foster's Valley, Downshire, Aridia, Crescent Bay, Autumn Coast, all removed to desktop. Eh, I'll leave Aridia in, there's only a few Sims there and they've never been played; if the game loads I might be able to package them and get 'em out of there, maybe resettle them on my old system. Okay, in goes the disk, now we wait. And wait. And wait. Up to two loading bars now. That's as far as it ever gets before it stalls. Time to go make a sandwich... (departs room; prepares and eats a turkey on whole wheat sandwich; returns) ...Let's see - hello! Five loading bars! C'mon, just one to go... there it is! Now, do I see - yes, there it is, the "Custom Content Enabled" screen. Click, it goes away, and well look at that. The "Neighborhood Browser" window. There they are; Riverblossom Hills, Pleasantview, Strangetown, Veronaville, and Aridia. Now, can I actually enter any of them? Guess I'll start with Aridia. Or should I try one of the others? Maybe Pleasantview? (mind starts to race.) Sarah's in Pleasantview. (heart starts to race.) I could get Sarah out. "OH MY STARS I COULD GET SARAH OUT! HANG ON HONEY, I'M COMING!!!" (clicks Pleasantview) I don't believe I just yelled that. Idiots upstairs must think I'm crazy. I don't care, they're a bunch of as- why is this taking so long!?!? Load, dammit, load! (fidgets). C'mon, lo- there it is! I can see Pleasantview! The Tomlinsons, the Hamlins, The Chamberlyns, Wayne Goulet, Bianca Modron, - there. Sarah Sussman. (clicks to activate the packaging program). Oh, please, this has to work, it's got to work... it's taking so long. She was my first Sim, her file must be huge by now. This has got to work. How can a single woman living in a small house take so long to package? Please, this has to work. If I can only save one, please, let me save Sarah. Please. She was my first...

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/gotherout.jpg

The scream of pure joy was heard throughout the Simmaster's building. Sarah's file, all 150+ megabytes, had been packaged and saved.

Over the next two and a half hours, all the Sims in five neighborhoods were packaged and moved to the safety of the F: drive. Whether or not their neighborhoods, or the remaining four neighborhoods and their inhabitants, can also be saved remains an unanswered question. But for at least some, there will be another chance. :frankiesmile:

[antgirl1]

Woo hoo!! Foster's Valley and Everywhere Else has been saved by Cassini! :D

[jekylljuice]

That's good to hear. It would be a shame if the Foster's Valley Sims were to completely disappear. I don't think I ever took the opportunity to comment upon them while I had the chance, but I always got a real kick out of reading every new update on the Foster's characters' Sim counterparts. Here's to hoping we'll be seeing more from them soon. :frankiesmile:

[Nyo]

WOOHOO!

In your face, SecuROM! (I can't beleive I said that >_>)

[Cassini90125]

Uh, guys? Maybe you'd better reread my last post. Foster's Valley was dragged onto my desktop; it wasn't one of the neighborhoods that was loaded. It may load when I drag it back to the Sims 2 folder, but it may not. The neighborhood has some additional issues which aren't connected to SecuROM. As an experiment I copied it to my old system and installed it there, where it did load after a long time. The fact that my old system could handle it at all is astonishing, but it didn't handle it too well. I was unable to see the neighborhood itself, but I was able to click on the various houses when the mouse pointer passed over where they would be, and eventually I was able to locate and enter Foster's. The residents and the interior of the house do not look the same as in the pics you've seen, because the downloads folders on each system don't have the same content; Wilt's skin, for example, isn't red on my old system, and his hair is different, too. I can't run the house or the Valley there because they're just too large for the old system to handle. However, the fact that it loaded there at all is encouraging. What I've been doing today is cleaning out the downloads folder on my main system, getting rid of duplicate items and other stuff I'll never use, in order to lighten the load the system has to deal with and hopefully shorten the loading time (which is currently around 10-15 minutes). When I'm done with that, I'll drag the Valley back to it's proper folder, activate the game, and hope for the best. Hopefully it'll run; when I left for San Diego I left a number of Sims in sort of cliffhanger situations, including Wilt, and I'd kind of like to resolve some of this stuff.

[jekylljuice]

Fiddlesticks. :( Well, best of luck with that. I applaud you for your dedication.

[Lynnie]

Ugh, I understand the frustration and worry all too well. Here's wishing you the best of luck on that, Cass. :up:

[antgirl1]

I must pray for the best.

[Cassini90125]

The Valley successfully loaded earlier this week. I have spent the past few days using the packaging subprogram to get everybody out; I expect to finish sometime later today. Getting everyone into a new neighborhood without bringing along the problems that afflicted the old one is another story entirely, as doing so will require the use of a third-party program ("SimPE") that manipulates the game data in ways that the designers never meant it to be manipulated. However, I've successfully used the program for this purpose before (albeit not on this scale), so there's a fairly good chance that I can pull this off.

If anyone who's familiar with the empty neighborhood templates in the "Create Custom Neighborhood" window wants to make a recommendation or two, now would be the time to do it. :)

[Sparky]

I got another "do you want to playtest a new game" email from EA, responded, and this time I got in. Coincidentally the place is like 15 minutes away from a vintage computer fair GM and I were going to hit this weekend anyways so driving 2 hours for this thing is trivial. I do have to sign a non-disclosure agreement saying I won't blab about their projects though. ;)

[Cassini90125]

I'll do the honorable thing and not ask you about it, then. Dang, I wish I was going...

Everybody's out, by the way. No one was lost or left behind. The next step is figuring out where to put them. The game includes a bunch of custom neighborhoods but frankly I have no reason to pick one over another. :terrconf:

[Sparky]

I just reread the reply email I got and it says that its for playtesting SimCity. Isn't that an existing game? If so then this must be a new installment of it or something.

[Cassini90125]

There is a new installment, SimCity Societies, which is being released on the 13th:

http://simcity.ea.com/about.php?languageCode=1

Obviously I won't be buying it but it does look intriguing. I have a copy of SimCity 4 but I've never used it.

[Sparky]

I don't know what game it is now, the email said SimCity and then the non-disclosure agreement thing said it was that Sims Castaway thing (isn't that already out)? But I'm not interested in either of those so I decided not to go; it'll be better to go to that vintage computer thing on Saturday anyways.

[Cassini90125]

I think Castaways is part of the Sims Life Stories series but I could be mistaken. Not something I'm interested in, either.

[Cassini90125]

I hate posting back-to-back. :P

Okay, here's what's been going on. I picked out a new neighborhood template and installed it; it runs smoothly, and it's roomy enough for everyone plus some additions. Everybody is in the process of being relocated. It's the same Sims that you're familiar with; the only difference is memory loss and their ages have been reset to Day One, so it's pretty much like starting over. I don't consider this much of a price to pay. While processing one of the non-Foster's characters and reestablishing his personality, it occurred to me that if I wanted to make any changes to him, now would be the time to do it. And that's where you guys come in.

The personalities of the Foster's characters have been the subject of - how shall I say it? - lively debate and strong opinion here on the Never Forgotten Forum. We each know our favorite characters best, or at least we think we do. Take Wilt for example. I think we can all agree that he's a pretty nice guy, but how nice is he? For that matter, where does he stand on the scale between Outgoing and Shy? What are his turn-ons and turn-offs? What's his level of interest in, say, Politics or Fashion? Can such things be quantified, for him and the other characters as well? Sure they can. Take a look at this:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/RD.jpg

This is from the game's User Interface. It's fairly self-explanatory, I think, at least parts of it. The statistics shown are for a Sim named Ronald Delmastro, who lives in the Valley and has met some of the Foster's characters but is not otherwise connected to the show. He's a little on the Neat side, slightly Shy, pretty Active, pretty Serious, and dead center between Grouchy and Nice. He's in good physical shape and his Zodiac sign is Cancer. Ron is straight (not shown on the display), is attracted to blondes and women who wear glasses, and turned off by being overweight. He has zero interest in work and a great deal of interest in crime and travel. Ron has the Family Aspiration; every Sim has one of six Aspirations, chosen when he/she becomes a teen, which I discussed briefly here (http://nffostershome.proboards52.com/index.cgi?board=fosters&action=display&thread=1147242623&page=1) on the old forum.

Some further info on all this:

Personality traits influence how fast a Sim learns various skills; Neat Sims, for example, learn Cleaning faster than Sloppy Sims, and the really Neat ones enjoy tidying up. Personality traits also have an effect on a Sims needs, such as hunger, energy, and the need for some company. The more closely two Sims personalities match, the better they're likely to get along or be attracted to each other.

Zodiac signs also influence relationships, both for friendship and love. Some signs attract, some repel, some are neutral. All signs are neutral to themselves.

Turn-ons and turn-offs include:

Black hair
Blonde hair
Brown hair
Red Hair
Custom Hair
Grey Hair
Fitness
Fatness
Cologne
Stink
Formalwear
Swimwear
Underwear
Facial Hair
Glasses
Vampirism
Make-up
Full-face Make-up

I think that's all of them.

Interests, like Personality, has an influence on how well two Sims will get along. The higher the level of interest in a given topic, the more likely that Sim is to bring it up in conversation.

Aspirations, like everything else it seems, also add to attraction for friendship and love. Additionally, Aspirations determine what a Sim wants and what he can do to score Aspiration Points, which can be traded in for useful goodies of various sorts.

Whew, that's a lot to digest (and a lot of typing). Anyway, I would love to get as much feedback on this as I can before I start returning our favorite characters to the game, so if you can take the time to think about all this for a bit and post something about it, I'd appreciate it. If anything I wrote here needs further explanation or clarification, by all means feel free to ask. :)

[Ub3rD4n]

Well, I think that Wilt should be about as outgoing as you can get! I mean, he may have a phobia of public speaking, but I don't think that has much to do with how outgoing you are. Bloo and Cheese would be pretty outgoing too. I can see them getting in some people's faces. I always saw Mac as shy, so, I dunno...

Of course, Bloo should have crazy amounts of playful, and laziness. He'd be pretty grouchy, though. And Wilt would be as nice as possible.

That's all I can think of for now.

[antgirl1]

One time when I had a Wilt sim, I maxed out the niceness bar. XDDD

[Lynnie]

What exactly does "crime" mean? Level of interesting in studying it (like working in the law force), or level of interest in being involved in it? I'm thinking it's the prior, but I want to be sure. :P

Wilt is definitely very high in niceness. I personally would also say he's neat, very outgoing, very active, and mid way between playful/serious. I think he has a high interest in the environment, a high interest in entertainment, a semi high interest in health, a high interest in animals, and a very high interest in sports.

Bloo would be very sloppy, very outgoing, mostly lazy, very playful, and moody (halfway between grouchy and nice). I think he has high interest in crime (either definition), high interest in money, no interest in the environment, high interest in entertainment, semi low interest in sports, mid-range interest in animals, no interest in either work or school, and very high interest in sci-fi, food and toys.

Ed would be very neat, very shy, somewhat active, midway between playful and serious, and mostly nice. I think he has high interest in animals, toys and entertainment, semi high interest in food, low interest in sports, and no interest in the paranormal or sci fi.

Coco would be mostly neat, semi shy, very active, semi serious and mostly nice. Knowing her background, I think she has high interest in the environment, semi high interest in entertainment, high interest in animals, high interest in food, and semi high interest in health.

Herriman would be very neat, mostly outgoing, very lazy, very serious, and mostly grouchy. He would have a high interest in politics, money, culture, and work, a semi low interest in health and the environment, and no interest in animals or toys.

Cheese would be very sloppy, very outgoing, very active, mostly playful, and mostly nice (I'm guessing there's another section to the game where you determine their intelligence, he also has a very teeny tiny brain, if any at all :rolleyes:). I think he would have little to no interest in pretty much all the interests except food and toys.

Bendy would be very sloppy, semi outgoing, semi lazy, very playful, and mostly grouchy. I think he would have a high interest in both food and entertainment, but I can't decide on the others.

Berry would be semi neat, very outgoing, semi active, mid range between playful and serious, and mostly grouchy. I think she would have a high interest in food, a semi high interest in the environment, an semi high interest in fashion, no interest in animals, and a semi high interest in sci fi.

Mac would be semi neat, mostly shy, semi active, semi serious, and mostly nice. At the age of 8, he has no interest in politics or fashion, little interest in money, health, and school, semi high interest in sports, food and animals, and very high interest in toys and sci fi.

Madame F. would be mostly neat, very outgoing, very active, very playful, and mostly nice. I think she would have very high interest in animals, food, sports and culture, semi high interest in entertainment and money, and little interest in fashion and politics.

Terrence would be very sloppy, semi outgoing, mostly active, very playful, and mostly grumpy. I think he'd have low interest in pretty much everything except food, crime and sci fi.

And as for the other human, well, I'm sure you'll make her perfect in every way, so no need for my input. :frankiesmile:

These are just my opinions of course. Have fun! :)

[jekylljuice]

If "Crime" refers to a character's inclination to be involved in criminal activities, then it should go without saying that it should be close to the top on Bendy and Berry's lists of interests. :bendy: :scaryberry:

Coco presumably has a low interest in travel, given her reluctance to fly in "Foster's Goes to Europe", a reasonably high interest in health (she's fairly conscious about her daily fibre intake, as demonstrated in "Dinner is Swerved"), and, given her mysterious origins and tendency to be on a significantly different wavelength to the other characters, I'd personally find it fitting for her to have some kind of interest in the paranormal. Culture's a tough one to pin down - Mr. Herriman initially had a hard time persuading her to take an interest in etiquette in "My So-Called Wife", but she displayed all the necessary behaviours quite suddenly, and there has been evidence elsewhere to suggest that she's quite the cultivated bird-plant-airplane being (her polished artistry in "Drawing Bored" is all I can think of right now, though there's probably more). I think she'd lean significantly toward the right-hand traits in the personality options - Coco does have a grouchy side, but she only really shows it if you get on the wrong side of her.

Well, that's my feedback on ;) covered. I'll give the other characters some more thought for you.

[Cassini90125]

"Crime" is more or less a generalized term in the game; how you interpret it depends on your perception of the character. If Wilt had a high interest in Crime then I might consider getting him into a career in Law Enforcement at some point, while if Bendy had the same level of interest I'd think about involving him in a criminal career.

Interests are normally generated randomly by the game when a Sim is created and are difficult to change; however, I use a game hack to set them myself at the start of play so what the game chooses is irrelevant. The same hack allows me to tamper with other traits that define the characters as well. That's pretty much the point of my post the other day; I have the ability to alter all sorts of stuff in the game, and so I'd like to try to make my Foster's Sims, and the Sailor Scouts for that matter, as much like the originals as possible, and I believe that the best way to do that is to tap into the fanbase for information, opinion, and critique. Everything is open to review at this point, including the character's ages, who ought to be in the House, Aspirations, which other characters to include in the Valley, all of it, which is why I'd like to hear from as many people as possible, including those who don't normally post in this thread or even read it very often (I'd love to get Craig and Lauren's views on this but I assume they're a little busy). I listen to everyone; it's what I do. Feel free to say something, and let others know that I could use their opinions. :)

[Sparky]

Just as a point of interest, if you make someone very very playful, they basically come off as insane, lol. It works for Bloo and like, the Ghostly Trio, but I had to bring the playfulness down a tad on my Self-Sim because I am NOT that crazy in public in real life... 8D

[jekylljuice]

You mean we get a say in which minor imaginary friends appear in the house? Awesome! In that case, I cast my vote for Crackers, Red and Gary.

The only potential problem I can foresee with creating a Crackers Sim is that no one can quite agree upon the issue of “his” gender - I’ve always seen him as a male myself, but that’s just my own intuition. Perhaps if they include him in a future Gallery of Friends it’ll put an end to that debate once and for all. Until then, I’m assuming it’s not possible to make a Sim who’s completely and utterly androgynous? Or that you can alter their gender at a later point?

Either way, I see Crackers and Red as being reasonably outgoing and active, as opposed to Gary, who strikes me as being pretty timid and lethargic, and I think all that three of them would have very friendly temperaments. Gary would be mostly serious - his two cameo appearences in the series suggest that he's a pretty downcast kitty overall who's nonetheless able to put on a happy face at the drop of a hat. Crackers is also highly sensitive, but I think that he'd be largely playful when he hasn't had to face rejection. Red would be mid-way between serious and playful - he has a light-hearted attitude toward life but still takes it seriously enough to be distressed by the actions of others. He of course, should have a strong interest in animals and the environment. ;D

Erm, well, those are just some suggestions, and probably not very useful. However you decide to play things, I wish you luck and look forward to seeing the end results. ;)

[Cassini90125]

Every opinion helps. I just wish I could get some more feedback here; there's an awful lot of people that I'd like to hear from who haven't said a word. :(

For the record, there is an upper limit of ten Sims per house; up to eight can be human and up to six can be pets. There's a hack available that allows more but I'm reluctant to use it because it's likely to slow the game down. I did add some additional RAM recently, however, so I may give it a try sometime... although it may mean moving everyone into a bigger house. :)

[Nyo]

Me personally? Berry should have a crime or cooking career, and either the Romance or Family aspiration.

[Fomalhaut]

As for me, my Wilt has a very high "Nice" rating, while Ed is quite shy, but pretty active (as far as I remember). I like the turn-ons and offs... when I get NIghtlife, I will probably have those ones too :)

[jekylljuice]

For the record, there is an upper limit of ten Sims per house; up to eight can be human and up to six can be pets.

Pets, you say? Any chances that Bloo can have a fluffy white cat called Chuck? It gets my vote, if so. :bloosmirk:

[Cassini90125]

At this point all of the supporting cast (mostly people you've never heard of and a couple of Forum members) have been resettled. Over the weekend I'll be taking care of the Foster's characters, starting with the minor ones and finishing with the stars. I doubt you'll notice any changes other than the landscape. If there are any more suggestions, it's now or never.

[antgirl1]

Foul Larry? XDDD

[BabyCharmander]

Foul Larry would be spiffy. :bloocross:

Eheh, just came outta' nowhere in this topic. But I read through all these posts here and those Sims adventures were great. And quite funny, too. %D I was LOL-ing several times. XD

[Cassini90125]

I may add additional characters; Larry would be one I'd consider. Right now I'm concentrating on getting the main characters personalities right. I was hoping to hear from a lot more people on the subject but apparently that's not to be. :(

[Sparky]

I hope you weren't hoping to hear from *me*, I don't fuss about getting personalities exact in my own game...I really don't play any more anyways. :P

[Cassini90125]

I can't say I really had anybody in particular in mind other than people who don't generally pay much attention to this thread. I'm particularly concerned about getting Wilt as accurate as I can, although I certainly want everybody else to be as close to the original characters as possible, too. Heck, I even considered going into the chatroom to ask for input, so you know I'm serious about doing this right.

In the meantime, look who I found wandering around the CAS waiting room:

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/BQC.jpg

I don't recall who made the outfit or which site I downloaded it from (either Insim or MTS2) but it works quite well. 8-)

[kageri]

I can't say I really had anybody in particular in mind other than people who don't generally pay much attention to this thread. I'm particularly concerned about getting Wilt as accurate as I can, although I certainly want everybody else to be as close to the original characters as possible, too. Heck, I even considered going into the chatroom to ask for input, so you know I'm serious about doing this right.

In the meantime, look who I found wandering around the CAS waiting room:

[o hay it's Bloo!]

I don't recall who made the outfit or which site I downloaded it from (either Insim or MTS2) but it works quite well. 8-)

An outfit, huh? So what does he look like without it on? A regular Sim, like the University mascots?

[Cassini90125]

An outfit, huh? So what does he look like without it on? A regular Sim, like the University mascots?

Underneath the Bloo suit is the same Bloo Sim you remember, but with light blue skin and light blue hair. Same attitude, though. :blooevil:

[Cassini90125]

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f184/Cassini90125/FHFIF2.jpg

Foster's Valley: Season Two. Coming soon. :frankiesmile:

[Nyo]

Coco's new hair FTW!

Any thoughts on adding Drama Girl?

[antgirl1]

LMAO Herriman still looks as stern as ever. I kinda feel sorry for Wilt, having to stand next to him. 8D

I can't wait for the outcomes. :D

[Diamond Duchess]

This is going to be great! Foster's Valley is a facinating cross-section of what this show would be like if it were real. Neat project.

As for additonal characters, I'd suggest Fluffer Nutter and Jackie Khones (if they already aren't there) because they're interesting side characters, and darned if I didn't want to see them all lovey-dovey as Sims characters. (Come oooon, they're adorable together)

And as for Coco, seems she flat-ironed her hair. I like it this way; looks nice on her.

[Cassini90125]

I was never happy with Coco's original hair but it was the best green hair available at the time. The process of getting everyone out of the old neighborhood and into the new area involved a quick trip through the Create-A-Sim program; just a formality, really, since everyone was already created. They're the same Sims, same characters as before the SecuROM fiasco, not recreations. But I figured that as long as they're passing through the CAS program anyway, is there anything I want to alter? Just Coco's hair and Berry's skin and outfit; no other changes were made. There was another green hairpiece that I considered using which looked very nice but somehow the hair ribbon with the skulls on it seemed pretty out of character. ;)

Fluffer Nutter and Jackie Khones are not currently in the game but could certainly be added later. They're under consideration, as are a number of other characters. Woof is not present at this time for game-related reasons but will be back before long.

Now, one last detail, which takes us back to the Create-A-Sim program. Obviously it can be used to recreate the Foster's cast, and it did a marvelous job on the Sailor Scouts, too, as well as every other Sim you've ever seen in this thread. That includes real people, too, so I will reiterate the offer I made way back on the old forum when this all started; if anyone wants, send me your name, a photo or two to work from, and the information noted back in post #222 (http://www.fosters-home.com/forum/showthread.php?p=62719#post62719), I'll make a Sim of you and add you to the Valley's residents. This offer is open to everyone; I do not practice the politics of exclusion. If you're interested, either post a request here or send me a PM and I'll send you further details. I doubt I'll get many takers here; last time out I got a total of four. But it's fun, and it's a pretty good way to meet the Foster's characters, the Sailor Scouts, and each other. :frankiesmile:

[Imaginary Light]

Now, one last detail, which takes us back to the Create-A-Sim program. Obviously it can be used to recreate the Foster's cast, and it did a marvelous job on the Sailor Scouts, too, as well as every other Sim you've ever seen in this thread. That includes real people, too, so I will reiterate the offer I made way back on the old forum when this all started; if anyone wants, send me your name, a photo or two to work from, and the information noted back in post #222 (http://www.fosters-home.com/forum/showthread.php?p=62719#post62719), I'll make a Sim of you and add you to the Valley's residents. This offer is open to everyone; I do not practice the politics of exclusion. If you're interested, either post a request here or send me a PM and I'll send you further details. I doubt I'll get many takers here; last time out I got a total of four. But it's fun, and it's a pretty good way to meet the Foster's characters, the Sailor Scouts, and each other. :frankiesmile:

Woohoo! I'm in the process of sending you a PM for this:bloogrin:

[antgirl1]

Me too :D

[Bloonan]

Well, well. It's still on top of the threads. :P
Honestly, I'm glad of the return. Refresh my memory, though, is the yellow one in the middle Cheese or Bendy? :cheese: :bendy:

[Sparky]

I'll do it this time, Cass; I don't get to play with my self-Sim anymore anyways. You have photos of me, right? Here are what my new glasses look like (http://neithersparky.deviantart.com/art/New-Glasses-69743430). I don't care how you do my hair though, I'm in the process of growing it back out and should have it back in a ponytail in a month or so.