Culling Downloads

I've been on a mission to cut down on custom content as much as possible. Why?

1. I happen to like maxis style items.
2. I need my load times to be quick so I can get more play into my busy schedule.
3. I tend to declutter in RL as well, so of course it's going to happen to my game as well.

So how am I cutting down on custom content?

1. Download ban for two-three months during the process. I can still download, but the downloads may not enter the game.
2. Mercilessly delete duplicate recolors, I don't need 7 shades of white.
3. Mercilessly delete poorly made recolors, I tend not to use it anyway, so why let it take up space.
4. Mercilessly delete recolors that I don't use frequently.
5. If I like a texture, but don't want to use the custom mesh, then I will move the texture to a maxis mesh. This is mostly for paintings and rugs and the occasional seating item.

I do have a plan for deleting object items.

• I'm deleting duplicates of recolors, poorly made recolors and recolors that I don't use frequently item by item. Yes, that means going through the catalog and shifting through each and every item and deleting recolors.
• This obviously can quickly becoming tedious, boring and overwhelming, so I of course broke it down into smaller tasks.
• For the initial pass I will go through the following subcategories within six months: Comfort, Surfaces, Decorative, Plumbing, Appliances, Electronics, Lighting, Hobbies, Miscellaneous, Community Lot-Only.
• For maintance, I will go through the catergories once a month just to make sure I am not shifting through a ton of unnecessary custom content.

My plan for deleting body shop items is very much the same.

• I'm deleting duplicates of recolors, poorly made recolors and recolors that I don't use frequently item by item. Yes, that means going through the catalog and shifting through each and every item and deleting recolors.
• For hairs, I will only allow two shades of the same color family for each mesh. Ie, a nouk curly mesh can only have two red recolors,
• This obviously can quickly becoming tedious, boring and overwhelming, so I of course broke it down into smaller tasks.
• For the initial pass I will go through the following subcategories within six months: Hair, Adult Clothing, Elder Clothing, Children Clothing, Teen Clothing, Toddler Clothing
• For maintance, I will go through the catergories once a month just to make sure I am not shifting through a ton of unnecessary custom content.

Wish me luck!

Design Preferences

I've been trying to expand a bit when it comes to decorating my sims houses. Design preferences have come and gone and have come back again to Apple Valley. Originally based on Simmerville's system, it has been modified for Apple Valley residents.

I now use a combination of my sims' favorite color and their two design styles randomly (or not randomly) chosen from ten options.

The design styles that I use in my hood are: Coastal, Contemporary, Cottage, Country, Eclectic, Exotic, Modern, Rustic, Traditional and Vintage.

Each design style has a few different key words to help me visualize a sim's preference.

Deeper MAXIS Hobbies, Part 2

As I have been playing for quite some time with my personality and trait system, I decided to update you on the changes I made in game. As always, feel free to borrow/steal/use them in your game and tweak them to suit you. Ask any questions, concerns or comments as well.

Deeper MAXIS Hobbies, Reduex


Based on a sim's one true hobby, I decided that they would have a corresponding skill strength. This means that they will learn that chosen skill faster (mostly through the Thinking Cap from the aspiration rewards and skill bonuses from SimBlender). Some hobbies will also have a boost in talent badges, meaning that they will start with a bronze badge (of thier chosing if multiple badges are available) even without studying.

Assigning Money Management Styles Based on Simology

I've been wondering how to add a bit more dimension to my sims, especially when it comes to debt and spending habits. Thankfully I came across an article about money management styles and I wondered if I could apply that to my sims.

Basically each money management style is seperated by traits, actually thier serious score and thier money interest score, so there's nothing new for me to randomly roll, I just look at my simmies' stats. Also, the nature of their money management style is pretty fluid as well. Here's a brief overview of the money management styles.

Traits, Part 2

As I have been playing for quite some time with my personality and trait system, I decided to update you on the changes I made in game. As always, feel free to borrow/steal/use them in your game and tweak them to suit you. Ask any questions, concerns or comments as well.

Traits
I have a list of 54 traits-most taken from TS3 list, others from personality profiles and myself. Things like grouchy and sweet were removed since the ingame personality/zodiac signs takes care of that. Also, I added things like witchy/vampire/etc to indicate if the sim would like to become a creature. I also added fertility, sexual preference and body type.

Apple Valley Academy

The newly renovated Apple Valley Academy is complete and ready for it's close-up. The school sits on the largest allowed piece of property (3x3) in the county and has a third level that is currently storage, but can be expanded if the need arises.

The first level features the principal's office, art classroom, music classroom, auditorium, library and cafeteria. Outside there is plenty of space on the playground, basketball court and school garden to relax and enjoy the crisp days of fall.

Antonio Herendez volunteers once a week to teach students the basics of art appreciation,

while Nicole Humphrey works part-time teaching music, or torturing her ears, depending on the student.

The cafeteria is stocked with healthy eating options such as mac and cheese, vending machines and the addictive coffee.

The library has a bank of computers as well as an ever growing book collection for student research.

Benjamin Endeavor leads an outdoor physical education class part-time whenever the weather is nice, otherwise the class is moved indoors,

much to the dispair of the secondary students who hoped to see Benjamin without his shirt once more. Students also enjoy the outdoor garden and fish pond.

The second level contains the dance room (and indoor physical education room), technical arts room, secondary classroom (6-12); lower primary classroom (K-2) and upper primary classroom (3-5).

Ilila Peterson manages to keep her students seated and focused as they compare their reading materials. Her classroom contains most of her travel momentos,

classroom fish tank (that the secondary students love) and bright, cheerful paintings.

Jasmine Frankson perfers a more laid back teaching style for her students as she allows them to explore the delights of thier surroundings. The students are surrounded with a classroom wombat, plant station, activity table, large table for reading and writing and plenty of floor space for fun and games.

Jesse Kent is just glad that he doesn't have to deal with taunts of "booger face" though he now has to try to teach his students the strange world of algebra. When students are not glued to their seats wishing for lunchtime, they can be found exploring the bookcase full of magazines and university information in the back.

Susie MacAstral doesn't have that problem with her dance class

her students are usually very dedicated,

nor do the students complain when it's their turn in the techincal arts room. Harriet and Henry work hard on their respective crafts while ignoring each other as siblings often do.
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Download the 3x3 lot!

Deeper MAXIS Aspirations, Part 2

As I have been playing for quite some time with my personality and trait system, I decided to update you on the changes I made in game. As always, feel free to borrow/steal/use them in your game and tweak them to suit you. Ask any questions, concerns or comments as well.

Aspirations, Reduex

At first I chose aspirations based on the family members. For example, if the parents were family and fortune then the children would be one or the other. Now aspirations are chosen based on thier personality, wants as a child, interests, traits and OTH-if known. Aspirations can change as the sim ages or based on a ROS, so they're more dynamic.

I assign aspirations as follows.

Fortune:
-personality= mostly serious, not lazy or shy sims
-interests = Money, Work, Crime
-OTH= n/a

Knowledge
-personality= mostly serious, shy and neat sims.
-interests = Environment, Paranormal, Weather, Sci-Fi, Health
-OTH= Science, Nature, Tinkering

Family
-personality=mostly nice sims, not lazy sims
-interests= School, Toys
-OTH: Culinary

Popularity:
-personality= mostly outgoing and playful sims.
-interests = Culture, Entertainment, Fashion, Politics, Sports
-OTH: Sports, Music & Dance

Pleasure:
-personality= mostly playful, lazy sims.
-interests = School, Toys, Travel,
-OTH: Games, Sports

Romance:
-personality= mostly outgoing, playful and nice sims.
-interests = Culture,
-OTH= n/a

Grilled Cheese (secondary aspiration only):
-personality= mostly lazy sims.
-interests = food
-OTH: Culinary

Behind the Aspirations
Aspirations mean slightly different things to me. They give me the why behind some of the wants that my sims roll up. They can also be described using some of the TS3 traits.
 
Fortune: This sim is very ambitious, disciplined, and at their worst is a workaholic. They can be a bit neurotic and snobbish at times, however they love art and the finer things in life to bolster their reputation.
 
Knowledge: This sim can be described as a bookworm, always reading and can be a bit clumsy. They can also be a whiz with technology, eccentric and often are geniuses.
 
Family: This sim often likes children and animals and are very family oriented. Decisions are made based on the family.
 
Romance: There are two versions of this aspiration in my game
-Romance-Commitment Issues: This sim often dislikes children, can be very flirty and is a great kisser and woohooer.
-Romance-Hopeless Romantic: This sim loves romance novels and stories of true love. This is how I try to reconcile those family/romance sims.
 
Pleasure: This sim can tend to be a bit childish and a couch potato. They are often easily impressed with just about everything and are often heavy sleepers. They are heavy party animals
 
Popularity: This sim is very charismatic and a natural sales sim. They can be dramatic at times and a party animal.
 
Grilled Cheese: This sim is a food addict with a narrow obsession with cheese.