this is not a new sim story :\

Really, it's not a new Sim story, but I might be going a little bit crazy, lol! Or maybe it's because I had so much time off Simming, I somehow feel like I need to make up for it or something. But, as some of you might have heard me babbling about my "play neighborhood", I thought I'd tell you a little about it. Especially since I may like to share some little mini "non-stories" that happen there.

This is truly not a Sim story though. Unlike my other soon-to-be Sim-illustrated story, which despite my very best efforts, is turning out to be a full-on Sim story no matter how hard I try to stop it, lol! I'm hopeless, folks.

But this one, for real, is not a Sim story. This is going to be ridiculousness. I am going to blog about it a bit, but it won't be very story-like. I'm not sure how many "episodes" there will be. I have three in the works to start. There might be more to tell, or there might not. We'll see how long it holds my attention.

This is Petaluma, which is a lovely downloadable world by Docsprock. In relation to Lakeside Heights, this is going to be a real place, just like some of my characters come from other real places. Petaluma is in California wine country. In relation to LH time, my Petaluma is going to be kind of unspecified. They're going to age faster in Petaluma than they do in LH, but there will still be some crossing over. Kids who grow up in Petaluma may decide to move to LH in adulthood, or likewise, kids who grow up in LH may decide to move to Petaluma.

I suppose I'm sort of missing the ability to create subhoods, and extend the reach of my little pixel world. But because TS3 Sims can take their memories and skills and most things with them, and their family relationships are easy enough to recreate, this sort of works out. I've got my mods to help me out as well, and beyond that, there will be a lot of "faking it".

Petaluma Resident Database

* updated for session #2

okay, who has Natalie Portman's telephone number?

So, some mornings, I decide that it's absolutely pertinent that I decide which actress would play the part in the adaptation of my book... the book I should really be working on instead of browsing Google images of actresses to play a part in a story that's not finished yet. :\

Since I spent far more time on this than I should have, I figured I should at least share. 

I mean, really! You see it, right?

So I figure we'll just write up a petition or something? Send it to her manager or something? Is that how it works? lol!

I should probably finish and publish the book first too, you know, so they have something to write a script from. ;)

thinking about the LH books...

This is random, but I've had LH on the brain today - both the last few story updates for the blog and the eventual books too. I thought it would be SO complicated when I first started working these stories into book form, but I've managed to make sense of how they're all connected and the first four books are plotted and outlined now. I'm just not sure how the final book ends, exactly. I have a feeling for how it ends, but not the specifics.

Anyway, since I've got the whole cast figured out now, I thought I would share! I don't know if this might be interesting to you guys, but it might be, lol! 

CAW: work on Shadow Woods Metropark

I've finally started placing trees for my forest area. I've got a good amount down in my main Metropark area, but OMG, it's going to take me five years to place as many as I need. 

Picspam progress report:

Picnic area overlook. 

LH world progress report

I think, back in March when my computer blew up, I was too pissed off to post about all the work I'd done to my LH world. I'd done a LOT, which is why I was so mad, lol!

I didn't lose any of it though, but after a long break, I'm finally getting back to the world building again.

I know the lot lines are unsightly here, and it's zoomed so far out it's hard to see much detail at all, but I'm posting this one because I think it highlights the fact that I've planned a RIDICULOUS amount of lots for this world, lol! I'm still not sure I'll be able to fill them all and still play the world, but I'm hoping. I'm hoping the openness of the country and forest spaces will balance out the fullness of the city, and allow for some good playability still. That's the theory anyway.

life and death ROS

I don't know why I decided to do this, lol! Somehow I got it in my head to write up a health roll. Some of the other Simmers I follow have health rolls too, but I wanted mine to be more random, so that it would affect not only elders, but Sims of all ages. I've tried to make the list balanced between both positive and negative scenarios.

Sims will roll on their birthdays at specific ages, and then I'll have to work that scenario into their story at some point before their next roll is due. The standard ages are: birth, 20, 30, 40, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, and then every even-numbered birthday after 80. The idea is that over a lifetime of play, the Sim/character will have built up a health history that may be a good or a bad one - one that may lead to their death, or one that will have no impact until they ultimately die of "old age".

The rolls are pretty independent of character traits, though some will have exemptions. For example, a lucky character cannot die in a plane crash. Mostly, some traits will incur either more or less frequent rolls during their lifetime.

Trait specific frequencies: 
- Clumsy, Couch Potato, Daredevil, and Unlucky Sims will have to roll every 5 years, from birth through age 80, then every 2 years after that.
- Adventurous, Light-Sleeper, Loser, Party-Animal, Over-Emotional, and Slob will roll every 10 years, from birth through age 40, every five years from 40-80, and every 2 years after that.
- Athletic, Disciplined, Eco-Friendly, Green-Thumb, Heavy-Sleeper, Lucky, Neat, and Vegetarian Sims will roll at birth, age 20, 40, 60, and 80, then every five years after that.

If a Sim rolls something they are not eligible for, either by being too young or being the wrong gender, the effect is neutral for that roll year.

The list looks like this: