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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:
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A moment of joy
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/f1.../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: |
Woo hoo!! Foster's Valley and Everywhere Else has been saved by Cassini! :D
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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:
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WOOHOO!
In your face, SecuROM! (I can't beleive I said that >_>) |
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.
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Fiddlesticks. :( Well, best of luck with that. I applaud you for your dedication.
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Ugh, I understand the frustration and worry all too well. Here's wishing you the best of luck on that, Cass. :up:
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I must pray for the best.
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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. :) |
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. ;)
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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: |
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.
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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. |
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.
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I think Castaways is part of the Sims Life Stories series but I could be mistaken. Not something I'm interested in, either.
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Long post ahead
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/f1...ni90125/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 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. :) |
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. |
One time when I had a Wilt sim, I maxed out the niceness bar. XDDD
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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! :) |
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. |
"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. :) |
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
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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. ;) |
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. :) |
Me personally? Berry should have a crime or cooking career, and either the Romance or Family aspiration.
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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 :)
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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.
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Foul Larry? XDDD
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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 |
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. :(
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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
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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/f1...i90125/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-) |
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A picture is worth a thousand words
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...125/FHFIF2.jpg
Foster's Valley: Season Two. Coming soon. :frankiesmile: |
Coco's new hair FTW!
Any thoughts on adding Drama Girl? |
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 |
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. |
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