Blog Updates

So, I know I haven't been updating my blog very regularly, and I wanna apologize for that. I took a break from building because of heating issues I was having with my computer, which would cause the game to freeze fairly often, which was making it nearly impossible to get anything built. I finally got around to installing some case fans in my computer and I booted up the game last night and played for a couple hours without much issue at all, so hopefully the problem is fixed for good now.

About this blog, I feel I need to revamp it a little. Originally it was going to be centered around different custom content I could find fitting into themes, but to be perfectly honest, I've grown bored of the tedium of updating the blog with these things. I'd much rather focus on building and possibly original custom content, if I can ever learn to make it :P  So I'm doing away with themes, and I'm also doing away with the "cool items". I wanna make this site more about original content, info about new EP's, funny screenshots, and so forth.

I will be getting rid of the Themes category on the right, but the posts can still be found through the search box or by just just browsing back to older posts.

So! I will be going back to building ASAP, and hopefully there'll be some new downloads soon :)

Cool Item of the Week

I've been so caught up with the excitement of the upcoming Generations EP, I've been neglecting the regular stuff for my blog. I think I forgot to post a cool item last week, oops!

This week's cool item is a collection of wonderful masquerade clothes and masks from Meronin at TheSimsResource:

The Daylight Glare Dress
Tutu
The Crow Mask
Daylight Glare Mask
Nightshadow Mask

All items are free to download, but you do need to register. Many thanks to Meronin for this absolutely lovely collection! :)

Generations - Official Trailer & Announcement!

Well, today we actually got an official trailer from EA, as well as quite a bit of info. Below is the new trailer:



There is an article at Gamespot, a new interview from CVG, and a new interview at GamePlanet

Some of the features included are:

Imaginary friends (quite likely the new "occult" creature)
Pranks
Lots of new playground equipment (spring animals, treehouse, hopscotch, sandbox, see-saw)
Useable strollers (Sims can push their toddlers around in them)
New Parties (Teen parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties with cake dancers, improved weddings, prom, graduation)
Costumes for kids with accompanying actions (ie the Godzilla type costume lets Sim kids smash blocks like they're city buildings)
Midlife Crises for adults (still not a whole lot about this)
Home Movies with new video camera object (possibly a new skill with this too, unconfirmed)
Gift Giving and Flower Giving
Memories
Scrapbooks
Teens can be grounded for misbehaving
Elders can now have canes
Improved Rumor/Gossip (sounds like you can even take incriminating pics and blackmail other Sims)
Dance Class
More Romantic Interactions (sitting on the ground gazing at the stars makes a comeback; looks like chemistry/attraction might be returning too, but it's unconfirmed; and something called "Romantic Reputations")
Daycare Profession

So yeah, looks like a pretty good pack as far as filling in some of the holes between Sims 2 and Sims 3. I'm hoping there's even more interactions and more family stuff, but I'm pretty pleased so far. Just hoping there's more toddler stuff added :)

The pack is slated to be released in June 2011.

The Sims 3 Generations - A Little Info

SimsPrograms has released a bit more information regarding the next expansion pack "Generations": Click Here

That's the Swedish cover art. A few notable things mentioned are:

The return of Memories (hopefully vastly improved over Sims 2), new parties, more drama with an improved gossip/rumor system, getting in trouble for bad grades, chemistry sets, home movies, treehouses, pranks, and the ability to share major Sim moments on your Facebook page or Sims My Page.

Also a few new screenies from SimsSlovenija:

Chemistry Set

Costumes and "Make Believe" for kids

Improved weddings!!

Pranks (also the possible return of private schools with uniforms???)

 
Definitely intrigued by this EP, but hoping there'll be much more to come. It's sounding a tad bare at the moment to me, but the concept sounds so promising I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more improvements as far as family interactions go.

Cool Item of the Week

Sorry for the delay in posting the cool item this week. My sister's getting married tomorrow so I've been pretty preoccupied.

This week's cool item comes from ModTheSims, and it's a functional clothes rack that acts as a dresser! I build lots of closets in my houses, and always wished the clothes rack in game was functional, so this object is perfect for me! :)

Thanks to jen&tonic for making this! :)

The Sims Medieval - Releases on 3/22

So, I figured I'd just give a few thoughts on The Sims Medieval, which will be released this Tuesday (in the US). I'm not a Sims player who gets much into the medieval kingdoms, and I don't think I've ever downloaded the custom content folks have made for it (even though it is well made and lovely!). I personally just like the modern world when I play Sims.

Despite this, the first videos I saw of The Sims Medieval actually looked pretty cool. I'm not a huge fan of RPG's, but it looked like a pretty happy mix between Sims and RPG's. I liked all the Simmy quirks they added, and the comical aspects. I actually started getting a little excited, as there seemed to be a lot of fun gameplay, and hey it was still the Sims right?

Well, not exactly. What killed my interest in the game is that, despite looking like Sims and acting like Sims, the gameplay IS in fact more like an RPG. For example, children don't grow up, nor are they playable. If you've played Fable 2, children were just this...little AI annoyances that followed your character around...or not...whatever. They didn't have any sort of depth. I wanted to have medieval legacy families, dammit! I wanted the king to perhaps have his princess daughter grow up to fall in love with a peasant. I wanted DRAMA! After all, that is why I play the Sims. I love telling stories, even if it's just in my own head. So babies grow up to children and then...nothing? The idea of keeping a game fresh only by hopping from one character to another is not appealing to me. So you play a king...then a knight...then a wizard...*yawn*.

Also...no horses? Really, EA? I don't even know what to say about that.

The only possible good thing that I'm hoping for from the Sims Medieval is if the wonderful modders figure out some way to clone items from that for Sims 3. It'll probably be impossible though.

Originally I had planned on buying TSM on its release, so I could give it a proper review here, but sorry, I'm not paying $50 for it. I might pick up when it has a HUGE price cut, but until then, I'll just twiddle my thumbs waiting for the release of the fourth Sims 3 expansion pack: Generations.

Cool Item of the Week

This week's cool item comes from Around The Sims 3 and it's a set of board games! Many different varieties, all cloned from the chessboard. I haven't had a chance to try these out yet, but they look awesome, and can be used with regular tables!

Many thanks to Sandy for making this! :)

Cool Item of the Week!

This week's item comes from ModTheSims and it's a collection of large televisions, great for movie theaters and drive-ins!

Thanks to CharlieSteal for making this! :)

Poolside Villa (LollySims)

Here is a new house for your Sims inspired by a villa I lived in when I was a kid. It features 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a small laundry nook, ample closet space, a cozy kitchen with pantry, 2 parking spaces, enclosed back patio, and a beautiful pool to lounge by. It is 1 story, no foundation, so it's a great house for Sims with toddlers!

Front View

Floor Plan

Back of the house

Master Bedroom

Walk-in Closet and Master Bathroom

Little Girl's Bedroom

Walk-In Closet in Girl's Bedroom

Second Bathroom (In Hallway)

Third Bedroom - Teenage Boy's Room

Closet in 3rd Bedroom

Kitchen

Kitchen (across from fridge and stove)

Kitchen Pantry

Dining Room (There is space for a larger table if you need it)

Laundry Nook (off of Dining Room)

Living Room

Pool with Lounge Chairs

Unfurnished: 52,628
Furnished:  81,500

I used no custom content on this lot!

**Requires: World Adventures, Ambitions, and Late Night**

DOWNLOAD LINK

If you have any questions or run into any problems, please leave a comment.

Trailers for Generations AND Expansion Pack 5: Unleashed!!

Oh my god! I'm sooo excited right now. Two trailers were leaked today, one for the fourth EP Generations, as well as the supposed 5th EP called Unleashed that introduces animals. It seems like EA has been quick to pull the trailers from youtube but for now you can watch them here:

Generations:


Unleashed:



If these vids get pulled, head over to SimsPrograms.com: Generations Unleashed


These games both seriously look amazing! I think this will be enough to renew my faith in Sim 3.

I know some folks will be disappointed in the lack of weather and I am too a little, but I like that they're taking a couple EP's to sort of improve home life/family life. Then they can go back to improving the neighborhood more with weather and what not. Just my humble opinion :)

Cool Item of the Week

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I'm working on stuff, it's just been slow-going. I'm hoping to get a couple of lots uploaded this week :)

Anywho, this week's cool item comes from BlackPearlSims and it is a decorative billiards table!

I have no idea why EA didn't give us a billiards table for our bars in Late Night, but at least now we have a decorative one! Thanks to Tinkle for making this! :)

Cool Item of the Week

I can't believe I only now discovered this object! It's called Dexter the Bear, from ModTheSims and it allows for your Sims to kill other Sims by stabbing with a knife, hitting with a poker, or hitting with a hammer. What is so awesome about this mod though are the extras, such as new moodlets and Sims can actually be arrested when they murder another Sim! I just love mods that add realism to the game!

Thanks to ani_ for making this!

Fourth Expansion Pack - Sims 3: Generations

So I found out last night that the fourth expansion pack has been leaked, but not officially announced. It's called Sims 3: Generations.

TheSims3.com shows the title, but the link isn't functional yet.

SnootySims posted this blurb, but they didn't post their source:

"With Generations, Sims of every age can enjoy new activities! Kids can hang out with friends in tree houses. Teens can pull hilarious pranks. Adults can suffer midlife crises. And so much more!"

I'm intrigued by the idea of an expansion pack focusing on family life, but I think all of the community, myself included, are a bit shellshocked by this. All I've been hearing about is pets and/or weather, and I was hoping for that as well, and EAxis has thrown us a curveball.

There's supposed to be an official announcement soon, and hopefully that will come with much more information and maybe some screenshots will start popping up soon. I'll keep you all posted!

Quaint Starter Home (LollySims)

I find starter homes to be challenging to build, because it's so tempting to go extravagant and blow the budget. The downside to that is that every new Sim has to live in a starter home, unless you use cheats, so I thought I'd take a stab at making a nice starter home.

This Quaint Starter Home features 2 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, 1 car garage, an unfinished basement, and an open concept living, dining, and kitchen area.

Front View

Floor Plan

Kitchen

Living Room

Hallway -

Point of view from the front door; living area on the left, bedrooms on the right.

Master Bedroom

Four Piece Bathroom - 

Doors from both bedrooms and from the hall

Second Bedroom

Garage

Powder Room/Half Bathroom -

located off the kitchen and behind the garage

Unfinished Basement

Unfurnished - 17,296
Furnished - 19,093

I used no custom content on this lot!

**Requires: Ambitions**

DOWNLOAD LINK

If you have any questions or run into any problems, please leave a comment.

Cool Item of the Week

*Quick note about "cool items": since I've changed them from daily to weekly, I am changing the category name to simply "Cool Items", so as not to clutter things up unnecessarily.

This week's cool item comes from Sugichaco: working Bunkbeds!

The style is very realistic, which I love. Many thanks to Sugilog for making these!

Hatter Hat

Almost forgot to post this. I finally found that awesome Hatter hat accessory I mentioned before. I don't know why EA didn't make hats an accessory to begin with, but modders always seem to come through where EA lacks :)

Hatter's Hat Collection (3 different styles; available for male and female!)

Thanks to "Twilight" for making this!

Meshing is a nightmare...

The title says it all. I've been attempting to learn how to mesh and it is just not going well. Actually, it's not so much the meshing as the UV mapping and texturing. No matter what I do, it doesn't seem to turn out right. *sigh* I think I've read and watched every possible tutorial on the subject and follow them exactly, and somehow my objects and clothes just end up an epic fail. This sums it up nicely:

I'm not sure where to go from here. I feel like I'm wasting a lot of time on something I might just never be capable of doing :( So for now, I'm going to go back to working on lots. I'm actually in the process of making a lot which is becoming a much bigger project than I was expecting, and since it's taking more time than I thought, I might put it on the backburner, so I can get more content added to this blog. Time just hasn't been on my side lately I'm afraid.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I've been rather discouraged lately.

Link Exchange

If anyone would like to exchange links, please post a comment below with a link to your site. The only thing I ask is that your site contains some sort of Sims 3 content.

Please link back to: http://lolly-sims.blogspot.com

I don't know if/when I'll be setting up a section for banners, but if you prefer to use banners on your website, you can save mine below:

Azalea Park (LollySims)

I started making this park awhile back, inspired by a park that I used to live by when I was a kid, and I abandoned it because of the in-game limitations. Now with the new EP's, I found I could make the park very close to how I always wanted to make it :)

Overhead View

Baseball Diamond - 

Buy your Sims a baseball and put it in their inventory, and they should be able to play catch on the baseball field!

Baseball Dugout

(hard to tell but this is slightly below ground level)

Bleachers

(the bleachers themselves are just stairs, but your Sims can sit on the top level)

Old Wood Playground -

I discovered that Sims can actually climb up the firefighter pole (with some effort), so I made a platform with a telescope they can climb to, a bridge across to the other platform where the playground object is, and then another pole to slide down from there.

Picnic Area

Swings and Restroom - 

I also added a couple butterfly spawners here.

I used no custom content on this lot!

**Requires: World Adventures, Ambitions, and Late Night**

DOWNLOAD LINK

If you have any questions or run into any problems, please leave a comment.