Greetings!  I am currently working on a Sims 3 project, which ironically consists entirely of "clutter."  Ironic because it is CLUTTERING my desktop and CLUTTERING my Buy Mode Catalog, etc.  [Note: My use of ironic here is actually incorrect.  Deal.]  Of course, there was a new patch, so this project got pushed back while I underwent the foreboding task of updating my mods.  Patches are such a hassle.

Once I clear out all clutter that is causing my game to freeze like a deer in the headlights, I will embark on another project, which features this blog.  I have been playing the Sims since the original game in approx. 2000 when it was released.  However, I did not enter the custom content scene until Sims 2 was released, when I began modding with my base game.  I've been a die-hard downloader ever since.  It is now nearing what I bet will be the last year or two of the Sims 3, and I believe I shall start creating.

I don't have a whole lot of skill with the tools and practices of the Sims, but I have already started tweaking the XML for my own purposes, mostly to customize other users mods or make them compatible for my own personal game and use.  There is a lot of content for the Sims 2 that I miss terribly, and I think converting might be my first step.

Therefore, this blog will eventually come to feature my creations, starting with my own cast of characters, loosely swiped from Anubis360's use of standard models.  I hope to get pictures of these simmies up soon, along with one or two of my best homes.  Wish me the best of luck in attempting to create!

como siempre,
Paz,
Elan

I'm kind of that pervert in that I like realism in my Sims 3 game.  I have always like a Teen Woohoo mod, with pregnancy/marriage.  Maybe it's because I'm from a state in the US that has a high teen pregnancy rate.  Who knows.  Therefore, I went looking for one, and came across Twallan's mods.

Oh. My. God.

There are so many mods with so many options!

I <3 modders!

I went on MTS today to check the latest downloads for TS3, and found CmarNYC's new "hairinator."  I'm fucking thrilled.  As soon as I saw body hair in-game, I was fucking thrilled!  Not only is EA reducing our need to have a shitton of custom skins and sliders in order to successfully create diverse characters, but some of these new features since base game are incredibly useful for things other than what they were originally created.  Tattoos, breast sliders, and now body hair?  They're all things that the community wanted and were then implemented into the game.  EA's probably thinking "well shit, why didn't we think of that?"  They did.  They thought of all of these things long ago, but in order to keep the interest of every simmer, they are releasing them over time.  Ambitions, Late Night, Generations--they all included a new element that was a huge deal to simmers and creators.  EA's not stupid.  They know how to sell a game to every audience.  They include new building features (basements, elevators, spiral staircases, curved pools, laundry, hot tubs...) for the "architects", new CAS features for the "modelers", and new gameplay for those who just want to have fun.  Win-win situation--we get new features, they get more money.

But EA also knows that we don't just use what they give us and that it literally.  They know that we will always go above and beyond.  Body hair is a great new tool that, similarly to tattoos, can be exploited to add more personalization.  Body freckles no longer need to be accessories applied to every outfit.  Fantasy players can add spots, stripes, and all sorts of other things that aren't size-based like tattoos.  And, for robokitty's old accessory tattoos, they can be added without disappearing when your sims go skinny dipping.

EA has gotten to the point where they don't give us a whole bunch of new items.  They know we can make clothes, tats, makeup, etc., by ourselves.  What they concentrate on are relatively simple things to add to the game that would be difficult for just modders--but things that we still get very excited over.

Those tricksy EAxians.

I am a college student, and have some homework for an art course I'm taking (despite being a biochemistry major), but instead I am messing with my Sims game.  I often find that for every hour I play, I spend two more out-of-game messing with my files.  Sigh.

Working on my hacks right now.  Generations has been out less than a week, but I already have it and am attempting to work out the bugs.  I have an ungodly amount of hacks, usually surrounding simple things that annoy me.  And, per the usual, I am about to back up my HAXXX folder and go through MTS for the latest versions of all the mods I "need."  I do not use AM as of now, but I will probably go over to MATY and look at what Pescado's got going on for Generations.  (I hear it's already updated in beta.  Damn that guy is a beast.)

Below is a list of Hacks and Mods I find incredibly useful (no links--JFGI)

• Queue Fits 20 Interactions
• No Autonomous (insert every goddamn annoying thing ever)
• Mummy/Ghost/Simbot Reaction Remover
• Wire House w/Speakers - Sims Sleep
• Tiny Texture Replacers (MTS creator HystericalParoxysm)
• Reduced Curfew (MTS creator whiterider)
• Power Study/Athletic Environment x3
• No Pregnancy Chime (MTS creator jonha)
• No Gender Bias/Multiples Bias
• More Money for CAS Famblies
• Vampire Overhaul (MTS creator sHoNi)
• Free Your Klepto

+ many more.  Not all my mods make the game easier.  Some raise the price of the repairman, put closing hours on the bookstore, make book club more expensive, etc.

I have decided to start a Sims 3 Blog, which will hopefully be an ongoing endeavor.  I am not a creator at this point, but only because I lacked the software, free time, and motivation.  Now, I am connected to a large university and have received a bunch of software free for non-commercial use.  Since I am completely against paysites anyway, this won't be an issue.  The free time and motivation might still be an issue...  Still, I have begun simple XML tuning and I used to make recolors for the Sims 2... small accomplishments next to the genius creators out there.

I've long been a lurker in the Sims community, starting with the Sims 2.  I owned next-to-every EP for the original Sims, but I wasn't involved in the creation and modification aspect until Sims 2 came out.  I have accounts on more Sims websites than I would be happy to admit, including many sites which have come and gone in my time as a Simmer.  My favorite websites and creators will be featured in my Links section.

My philosophy with the Sims is that it's my favorite game.  It's not perfect, and it breaks, but it has come a long way since the original game!  My jaw drops when I see screenshots from the older games compared to the advances we have now.  I am almost 20 years old.  I grew up with this game!  I played it in elementary school, and I am still playing it in college.  There are things I hate and things I love.  There is drama.  But it has clearly endured as my favorite PC game.  I support all endeavors by creators and EA, as everyone uses the game for their own enjoyment--just as it was intended.  However, I disapprove of paysites with the idea that Maxis and subsequently EA invented this brainchild, and no other person should profit by riding on its coattails.  Especially when there are so many amazing creators out there who never ask for a penny for their work.  Paysites aren't illegal--they're just evil.

And thus starts my blog!  I shall be posting anything and everything Sims 3 related (as I have retired from Sims 2 playing with fond memories).  Maybe even a few unrelated things.  Thanks for joining me in this process!

Paz,
Elan