strangetomato: (Default)
Strange Tomato ([personal profile] strangetomato) wrote2008-02-25 07:09 pm

Prosperity Challenge: James Fisher is awesome.

I've been playing with the prosperity neighbourhood a little bit, and I just had to share one of my new favourite sims with you.





James Fisher is a nerd, and he's awesomely awesome!






Don't you just love him to bits? I certainly do! I like that he randomly transitioned into that sharp blue plaid shirt too. It really goes with his whole look. He's a family sim.

Any thoughts on Maxis lineage? Hint: he is the product of three different Maxis sims (his mother is the product of two, and the family is a direct clone), but he looks mostly like just one of them.



I still have to reply to everyone's comments on the last couple of Strangetown chapters, so my apologies about the delay. It's been pretty busy and I also just haven't been up to it. I've been picking away at them, and I will do more after work.




[identity profile] madame-ugly.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
Ahh, all the guessing has me confused. So I'm not even going to bother (since it's only a Strangetown female that's still out there).

Wait. Erin Singles/Beaker? That would help maintain the blonde hair. . .eh, what the hell do I know except. . .

He's cute as hell and I can see the Mortimer in him. Mortimer is a fine specimen. I've always wondered what kind of alien child he'd make.

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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 01:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, your throwaway guess is... CORRECT! When you're good, you're good. It is Erin, though I did change the hair colour and things. I think she ended up staying blond, though.

I agree. Mortimer is the man. I love his look. Maybe I will work on getting his alter ego abducted in this challenge. I'd like to see a number of them get abducted, but I have to do it the hard way. I assume that those hacked telescopes are out of the question for something like this challenge.

[identity profile] madame-ugly.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 03:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Ooh, I was right. Hee hee, even a blind pig gets a truffle every now and then.

As for the hacked telescope, I really can't see it as cheating. It would be no different than adoption, really. Yes, you might get some aspiration points from it, but there are no "impossible wants" associated with abduction ("impossible wants" being stuff like "30 best friends"--those wants that go over and above even a lifetime want).

The only way I could see the hacked telescope as a cheat is if you deliberately use it to get an elder abducted right before they die, so you can get the platinum grave point. But just to get an alien baby, I don't see any unfair advantage there.
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Okay, well that's good. I have so few knowledge sims in that 'hood anyway, I can't see that as being a problem.

Honestly, I'd rather have fun with it that get too caught up in the rules. I'm going to play by them, and for points, but it's mostly for fun.

[identity profile] madame-ugly.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 05:48 pm (UTC)(link)
That's what I'm finding so fun about it, actually playing the game as a game.

Before this challenge, I never cared about things like BMOC. Now I'm thinking about it while the sim is a teen! (that's what helped Sylvester Gattus get his BMOC before he even passed his freshman year--major accomplishment for me).

College is going to be a great point haul for me. I've already netted five points from only six students. I have the potential for six more easy points (grades and BMOC) with the four students not yet graduated.

And I'm closing in on two more points for the two popularity sims with "20 friends" LTW's (they both have BMOC so that really helps). All other students have pretty much all the skills they need for their job based LTWs, too.

And I still found time for drama (lord knows college gives you all the freaking time you need).
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)
It is fun to just play the game as a game. I started with downloaded starter homes, and it left very little money at the start, so some of the households were very challenging to play.

I'm also enjoying the "make it up as you go" approach to the story for this 'hood. It's fun when things just happen.

I have to do a search for a list of all of those impossible wants.

[identity profile] madame-ugly.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 09:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm still having money problems in a few of my households. I like that Ginny Gattus has to make flower arrangements and counterfeit simoleons to make ends meet.

I did do one money cheat, so I could adopt a baby into one house. The same house where I'm using dates as a money making tool. Dream date with a townie = nice gift (sold for cold hard simoleons, baby)
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Flower arranging and counterfeiting simoleons. There's a beautiful poetry in it.

I love the desperate measures and how they bring out weird character and plot ideas.

I've trying to pull the same date scam with Dick Cole, but he has been striking out a bit too much (well, those alien toddlers do suck up your time and energy), and the sims that he does well with are just cheap. Poor old Dick. But his teenaged alien daughter is working on her painting skills in an effort to save the family.

[identity profile] madame-ugly.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 10:16 pm (UTC)(link)
*snort* "poor old Dick"

(I can't wait to see your hood)
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 10:42 pm (UTC)(link)
I have a lot of fun playing with my dear old Dick. *snicker* (This name will amuse me forever. I'm so childish.)

I'm exited to show it off too. I finally came up with a name for "the cove" too. In the tradition of ridiculous place names in Newfoundland, and with a wink and nod to Maxis, I dub it Llama Spit Cove.

[identity profile] madame-ugly.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 10:45 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice.

I should have given my Prosperity a real name but it's too late now. I should have called it Fox Piss Hollow (though I call the seasons hood that, so it might be confusing).
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-27 12:28 am (UTC)(link)
Fox Piss Hollow is a sweet name. I remember seeing you post that and I nearly snorted myself to death.

You could always have one of your characters name the town. Maybe the school is doing a contest for the kids to pick a new name for the town. They did that for my school when I was a kid.

[identity profile] madame-ugly.livejournal.com 2008-02-27 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm, interesting idea.

Or it could be named after a prominent (read breederific) family.

Zmuda has a nice ring to it.

[identity profile] xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 07:34 pm (UTC)(link)
I've been a lurker around your journal for quite a while, and I just want to say that I'm trying out the prosperity challenge also. I have this adult guy that lives with his mom that I'm really trying to get abducted by aliens so playing with that family would be a little more fun. But oh my god is it hard to do without any codes! So, I have the expensive telescope, and every unsuccessful day I am raising the telescope up on a platform. It's hilarious because I've been playing them for like four days now and still no luck.
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, hi! Nice to hear from a lurker.

I usually just use the hacked telescope or boolprop the abduction. Especially for Strangetown, I create abductions at will. I have only ever seen one natural abduction while playing with my sims, and it was a female, so it was disappointing in the lack of an alien baby.

What is raising the telescope all about? Does that increase the chances of abduction (I'm never heard about that), or is it just something that you're doing for fun?

[identity profile] xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 10:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Hi there! :) I have no idea... It's just an experiment really. I always thought that since the Curious brothers and the Goth family have a telescope so high up in the air that it might increase the chances since it is so easy for Vidcund to get abducted, and Bella was supposedly abducted and of course Pascal was abducted as well. It could just have been how Maxis wanted their homes to look, but it wouldnt hurt to try it out.
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 10:07 pm (UTC)(link)
That is a rather interesting theory. I've never heard any mention of it before, but they usually are placed somewhere very high in Maxis lots. The Grunts also have one on the top of that wooden tower in their back yard.

If you make any interesting discoveries, let me know! :)

Are you posting your prosperity challenge anywhere?

[identity profile] xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com 2008-02-26 11:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I never played the Grunts on my computer so I didnt know that! (heh, well actually the three maxis made towns were mysteriously deleted due to some bug and I was devastated- especially since reading your story I've been really wanting to play them) Anyway, if I have any progress I will let you know.

I've never posted anything about the sims in my journal before, but since I have this ancient livejournal account that I havent used in about four years, and I am in love with the results that the prosperity challenge randomizer that you used gave me, I will try and post it in there. I've already have some interesting ideas for a story about them.
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[identity profile] strange-tomato.livejournal.com 2008-02-27 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
I think that there is a way to restore the original neighourhoods. I couldn't explain it off the top of my head, but you might be able to find it if you go searching. You can also download a combined neighbourhood somewhere.

Oh, you should post about it! I'm all about that. Put it out there.

That randomizer is so great. I just kept rolling it and saw so many great potential families.

[identity profile] xel-squirgle-ox.livejournal.com 2008-02-27 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
I'll get to an introduction later today. Right now my brother is using the computer that the Sims is on... I'm really excited to upload this thing.

Besides the prosperity challenge, I've decided that the sims would be a great way to illustrate a story I've had in my head for ages, so I might have that in my journal some time in the future also.