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Mad Poster
#26 Old 16th Sep 2017 at 9:05 PM
Fridges don't immediately depreciate to their minimum value overnight. So it'd be cheaper to toss it and replace it for the free groceries.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
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Theorist
#27 Old 16th Sep 2017 at 10:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Charity
I always mean to buy groceries! But then I get the empty fridge message and I just wanted to feed them now and f--k it, have a new fridge. XD

@Charity
Do you know about TJ's low food warning mod? http://www.simbology.com/smf/index.php?topic=8.0
I switched to an empty fridge with my new hood since I don't want DH's mod.
Fresh food only is allowed and come from my farming families and PBK's fruit trees.
Mad Poster
#28 Old 16th Sep 2017 at 10:38 PM
Quote: Originally posted by fe2o3
isn't as fun as trying to make the right actions/decisions based on the information you are given, or simply said, playing logically


For you. That is not an universal truth. The idea of there being a right decision is absurd to me. Same thing for playing "logically". What is logical to you is not logical to someone else. There's no one correct way to play, no one correct response to a given situation. If you see it that way then okay, have fun, but I couldn't play that way. Life is messy, so for me, Sims should be too.

Creations can be found on my on tumblr.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#29 Old 16th Sep 2017 at 11:11 PM Last edited by fe2o3 : 16th Sep 2017 at 11:24 PM.
Quote: Originally posted by Phantomknight
And for the skill limiting, yeah, it sucks a bit that you manually have to do it (game limitations, I guess), but there are some out there that place limits via object--i.e., sims using the easel can only gain x amount of skills. The problem with that though, is that you'd have to do that with every custom version of an object that you place in your game. The sim blender is probably the easiest way, and I think the way a lot of people use it is making sure that sims don't earn too many skills early in life. Because even if you mostly ignore your toddlers and kids, if you have the right objects in your house, they can very well max some skills without any direction from you.


I think I was hoping to find a mod that would make skill points act like enthusiasm points, you can earn them, you have 'levels' too, but eventually, if you don't practice (do the right activities), they decay and you lose points. Enthusiasm was the most appropriately difficult mechanic I had to deal with, I think my first sim unlocked one secret community lot maybe, and everything else was like 0 haha.

That's why I'm kinda keen to play with the harder relationships mod, even tho no one really mentioned it, it should encourage building up enthusiasm points to 'unlock' a variety of interests for your sim to talk about when discussing/chatting with other sims and possibly making friends. I assume the lower the enthusiasm points for everything, the more difficult it will be to maintain good relationships.

Back to skill points, I was reading some modders talk about it, and how it was coded differently from mood and needs ('a bar that goes up and down' vs 'levels you unlock') and clearly enthusiasm seems to be doing both, but I don't remember all the details of that discussion, could be wrong.

Quote: Originally posted by gummilutt
For you. That is not an universal truth. The idea of there being a right decision is absurd to me. Same thing for playing "logically". What is logical to you is not logical to someone else. There's no one correct way to play, no one correct response to a given situation. If you see it that way then okay, have fun, but I couldn't play that way. Life is messy, so for me, Sims should be too.


Sure, we can argue like that, but I'm pretty confident the vast majority of the ppl who buy the sims would rather try to make their sims successful, earn money, have a big house, have a family, run a successful business etc which is a product of playing the game well to some extent, rather than idk running some death game simulation and having your sims sit between 4 walls and watching them die of thirst over and over. And that's clearly also what the developers want for their game, otherwise we wouldn't have all those cool options and systems and stuff to care about, only 4 walls and broken gas cooker hah.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#30 Old 16th Sep 2017 at 11:41 PM
Quote:
Well yeah, you can always restart the game over and over with a new generation etc, but your playthrough for the sim you are playing essentially ends when he dies, and to some extent, when he achieved his lifetime want/aspiration etc.


@fe2o3
Not necessarily, generational players do not see the end of one sims life as some kind of end as their children and grandchildren continue on, nor does everyone play to lifetime wants. I am what is known as an integrated or self sufficient hood player. In this form of play the goal is more about the hood, running it as a whole connected community. The goal here is to create a town/city with all services and needs taken care of by playable sims as much as possible. With this form of play a person may decide the end is when every service and form of building and every sim job is filled. A sim dying may be more about who is going to fill his shoes at work now rather than an end to anything. Actually it may be seen as a beginning to the cemetery, which is another lot that any decent size town will have. Filling one with every death type could well be another goal. It certainly is for me as after 2 years mine is still empty.

There are also people who just play challenges. Perhaps you are not aware of these.
A good proportion here play to see what happens in social drama and to make stories.
Some do just play for wealth but most people move past that form of play after a few years.
Some only build.
Some play in a combination of ways.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Theorist
#31 Old 16th Sep 2017 at 11:50 PM
Quote:
Sure, we can argue like that, but I'm pretty confident the vast majority of the ppl who buy the sims would rather try to make their sims successful, earn money, have a big house, have a family, run a successful business etc which is a product of playing the game well to some extent,

I have to disagree here as I'm not part of the vast majority and rather play integrated which is much more interesting for me.
I think the play style you described is getting old very fast.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#32 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 12:04 AM
Back on the exchange I would have said yes, but this is MTS and most of us have played this game for well over 10 years and are way past playing for a big house and wealth. If that were the case I doubt your thread would have received all the replies that it has. Not to say some don't or even us poverty lovers might do that on occasion but I doubt it's many people focus around here. Pretty sure the story players are the majority here.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Test Subject
Original Poster
#33 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 12:30 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Essa
I have to disagree here as I'm not part of the vast majority and rather play integrated which is much more interesting for me.
I think the play style you described is getting old very fast.


If you aren't part of the vast majority, then you agree with me...

my comment literally means, "player A does x" and "player B does y", and you answer, no, "player B does y".

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
snip


I'm sure you do, you are very passionate about the game, I actually saw comments from you when looking up all those mods from years ago! and you are still around, that's awesome.

But realistically, out of the millions of sims 2 copies sold, you gotta agree all those millions players probably aren't as dedicated as you, and probably don't care very much about all those mods and challenges and stuff, and just play the game the way it is suggested it should be played: make a bunch of sims and try not to let them die hah.
Mad Poster
#34 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 5:29 AM
Quote: Originally posted by ihatemandatoryregister
You might like dizzy's stuff-face-hack (in my signature, latest version is in magic-al10c.zip) - it replaces the "stuff face" on the fridge with "go shopping" and they'll go off the lot for a few minutes and return with groceries (which cost money). It's pretty convenient.


Mine would be always shopping lol.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#35 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 5:39 AM
Quote: Originally posted by fe2o3
But realistically, out of the millions of sims 2 copies sold, you gotta agree all those millions players probably aren't as dedicated as you, and probably don't care very much about all those mods and challenges and stuff, and just play the game the way it is suggested it should be played: make a bunch of sims and try not to let them die hah.


Ah well, I'm not talking about faceless casual players, I am talking about the community here at MTS, we are all mostly hard core sims 2 players with games modded to within an inch of it's life.

Still around... Yeah, I'm a stubborn old thing. Started on the Exchange, moved to the Old Boolprop forums, Live Journal and here. (plus a few other places) Which site did you know me from, or just here? There are people from old sites that I haven't heard from in years.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Mad Poster
#36 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 12:46 PM
Quote: Originally posted by fe2o3
But realistically, out of the millions of sims 2 copies sold, you gotta agree all those millions players probably aren't as dedicated as you, and probably don't care very much about all those mods and challenges and stuff, and just play the game the way it is suggested it should be played: make a bunch of sims and try not to let them die hah.


Make a bunch of sims and try not to let them die is the very basics lol (and I'm not talking about those people who remove ladders from swimming pools etc. You know who you are :P).

It can obviously be interpreted in many different ways, but tbh the people I've seen mostly don't play Sims 2 like a game with an end goal that wins you the game. That's why sims has lasted so long, because you can't beat the game and then get bored of it. I don't even aim for Lifetime Wants usually and I play with aging off unless I want someone to age up. I just play them to see what they'll do and who they'll do it with. Apart from making sure that they don't starve to death I tend to just mess around a lot lol.
Mad Poster
#37 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 4:44 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Charity
Make a bunch of sims and try not to let them die is the very basics lol (and I'm not talking about those people who remove ladders from swimming pools etc. You know who you are :P).


I remember when I first picked up the Sims 2 at a yard sale in 2007. Installed it, loaded up Pleasantview. Made a Sim of myself. Moved her into one of the little trailer houses near Brandi Broke's and accidentally set fire trying to make a toaster pastry. Then I spent the rest of the money on a swimming pool and removed the ladder.

Didn't try the game again until 2013. That time I got hooked on it. No regrets.

I'm secretly a Bulbasaur. | Formerly known as ihatemandatoryregister

Looking for SimWardrobe's mods? | Or Dizzy's? | Faiuwle/rufio's too! | smorbie1's Chris Hatch archives
Mad Poster
#38 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 4:50 PM
Quote: Originally posted by fe2o3
I'm pretty confident the vast majority of the ppl who buy the sims would rather try to make their sims successful, earn money, have a big house, have a family, run a successful business etc which is a product of playing the game well to some extent, rather than idk running some death game simulation and having your sims sit between 4 walls and watching them die of thirst over and over. And that's clearly also what the developers want for their game, otherwise we wouldn't have all those cool options and systems and stuff to care about, only 4 walls and broken gas cooker hah.
fe2o3. Ferric oxide? But my chemistry's a bit rusty!

I've known gummilutt almost since I joined MTS, and that's just not fair: I'm sure that's not how she plays. Like most of us here, I'm sure her gameplay style is complex and many-faceted. I sometimes think there must be as many ways to play TS2 as there are TS2 Simmers. Even the little Maxis booklet that came with my game told me that it was up to me how I played. In describing how you play, there's no need to ridicule how other people play, or how you imagine they might play.

For myself, I'm not that far away from the vanilla style that you suggest, but I play rather to make my Sims happy rather than to make them successful. And I tend to assume that things that would make me happy, will make them happy too -- I find it easy to empathise with Sims. But, because I empathise with them, I'd feel very uncomfortable making the game harder for myself, because that would mean making life harder for them. For me it may be a game, but for them it's their lives. I'm happiest enjoying my game alongside Sims who are enjoying it too. It says volumes for how well Maxis did characterisation of TS2 Sims, that, when playing, I almost find myself treating them as real.

Since I joined MTS, we've always had a spirit of live and let live in this forum, and I'm sure most of us would like to keep it this way.

On the subject of "let live", there's no way I'll ever put in a mod that endangers my Sims lives, to try to make things more interesting (or challenging) for myself. As far as I am concerned, their right to life is paramount.

fe2o3, I see you're new to MTS, and, despite anything else I may have said, I'd like to heartily welcome you to the TS2 forum. I hope you have a long and happy time Simming, and joining in our forum discussions!

All Sims are beautiful -- even the ugly ones.
My Simblr ~~ My LJ
Sims' lives matter!
The Veronaville kids are alright.
Mad Poster
#39 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 5:55 PM
Ouf..Ok so this thread has become an argument about how one should play their game? Not a shifting I would have expected.
Anyway, thank you @Essa that warning mod about low fridge is great. And i guess the fresh food only is your own way to play?..this is not included with the mod..
This is a good idea. With all my sims growing gardens, why would they use grocery food.

Je mange des girafes et je parle aussi français !...surtout :0)

Find all my old MTS Uploads, on my SFS, And all new uploads Here . :)
Theorist
#40 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 6:26 PM
There is no right or wrong way to play the game. You play how you play, and it should not matter how someone else plays their game. The beauty of TS2 is ability to customize it to suit your playing style. Some people like to make things harder for their sims and not have them live on easy street for all their days (me), while others are all about the fairy-tale lifestyle, and...that's OK too.

On topic:
A large portion of the mods I use have already been mentioned, but for those of you who don't like your sims getting freebies, I highly recommend simNopke's noMoreGenieLampFromGypsy mod, found in their unpublished mods folder here http://simnopke.tumblr.com/unpublished. It always irked me that even though I have the Gypsy banned (Visitor Controller) from every lot, my sims would still magically receive the genie lamp (it would just show up on the edge of their lot with the notification). So, this eliminates yet another ridiculous perk.


“Seize the time... Live now! Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.” ― Jean-Luc Picard
Theorist
#41 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 7:03 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Rosebine
Ouf..Ok so this thread has become an argument about how one should play their game? Not a shifting I would have expected.
Anyway, thank you @Essa that warning mod about low fridge is great. And i guess the fresh food only is your own way to play?..this is not included with the mod..
This is a good idea. With all my sims growing gardens, why would they use grocery food.

@Rosebine
Yes, the fresh food only is my own way to play. ;-) Nosim dies of hunger yet so my farming and my fishing families are good at providing food.

Since I had to start a new hood, I had to try new things and improve the ones I'm used too.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#42 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 7:54 PM
Heh, I was simply explaining why the very first mod suggested, hiding needs, probably wasn't that great of an idea in the long run, it waters down the gameplay.

Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
Still around... Yeah, I'm a stubborn old thing. Started on the Exchange, moved to the Old Boolprop forums, Live Journal and here. (plus a few other places) Which site did you know me from, or just here? There are people from old sites that I haven't heard from in years.


I remember seeing your picture, so probably here unless you used it elsewhere.
Forum Resident
#43 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 8:18 PM
Quote: Originally posted by fe2o3
Lots of good posts, I won't be adding everything suggested to the first post just yet I don't think, we will see. Also some mods I can't really judge of their usefulness (ex: slower LTA gain.. seems useful if you play a lot of toddlers and teenagers I guess?), some other mods seem good but really minor (ex: No free food with refrigerator, that's smart, but you save what, 200$ over a lifetime? haha), some mods I had previously checked but wasn't convinced by the way they implemented said changes, and finally some suggested mods without link I wasn't able to find (ex: More difficult OFB business levels, maybe ah_cd_business_levels?)


The No Free Food, in my estimation, is not minor. In previous games, I'd buy a cheap fridge. The Sim saves some money, runs out of food, and I'd sell the old fridge and buy a better one (fully stocked), and I'd upgrade again when they run out of food. It's a super cheap way to upgrade the refrigerator and keep it stocked. Looking back, that was pretty cheaty. I was so excited to learn about the No Free Food mod for my current game. My Sims are living off the land. It is odd that they build a cellar and, voila, it is suddenly packed with food they've not yet hunt or harvested. Not only that, but imagine a new family just starting out. Having to buy groceries to go in that first fridge is not going to be easy. Chances are, they won't even fill it all the way. They'll run to the store, spend $50 or $100 and try to get by until they are working.

Also, making a mod list from member suggestions, but picking and choosing only those that you personally think should be added to the list, kind of defeats the purpose for others who might come by later looking for information. Instead of seeing it all laid out nice and neat, they'll be forced to read through a bunch of stuff--some not quite on topic--in order to find some of the jewels that you've designated as chaff.

Anyway, that's just my two-cents, which is actually worth less than half a penny!

So many things to learn; so few brain cells to process the info needed to learn things!
Shipwreck Island
Test Subject
Original Poster
#44 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 8:28 PM
Quote: Originally posted by SIMelissa
Also, making a mod list from member suggestions, but picking and choosing only those that you personally think should be added to the list, kind of defeats the purpose for others who might come by later looking for information. Instead of seeing it all laid out nice and neat, they'll be forced to read through a bunch of stuff--some not quite on topic--in order to find some of the jewels that you've designated as chaff.

Anyway, that's just my two-cents, which is actually worth less than half a penny!


Yeah, I thought about that, but with hundreds, thousands of different mods for everything, the post is going to be super fat and cluttered super quickly + it's bit of a hassle to edit it all hah, I went for a minimal approach instead, quality over quantity. I prefaced the discussion saying it was more personal anyway, not some meta list with everything in it, I would have named my post differently otherwise, something like "Tutorial, how to make your game more difficult with mods, exhaustive list of all the mods available ever". Hell I only planned to add one mod for each category, we are already way overboard haha.

I also haven't played the sims in 2 weeks, some mods I need to play with and kind of test to have a better opinion of it + other aspects of the game (like harder business, harder jobs) that again I need more experience with before deciding if it needs its own list. (probably)

Also, I said it before, but the point of the list isn't to make the game impossible, adding too many mods can make the game deceptively a lot harder than expected, since each mod within the same category multiply the difficulty several times over, if you cut your income by half, and double the bills, you don't make the game 1+1+1=3 times as hard, but 1X2X2=4 times as hard.
Mad Poster
#45 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 9:26 PM
Quote: Originally posted by fe2o3
Sure, we can argue like that, but I'm pretty confident the vast majority of the ppl who buy the sims would rather try to make their sims successful, earn money, have a big house, have a family, run a successful business etc which is a product of playing the game well to some extent, rather than idk running some death game simulation and having your sims sit between 4 walls and watching them die of thirst over and over. And that's clearly also what the developers want for their game, otherwise we wouldn't have all those cool options and systems and stuff to care about, only 4 walls and broken gas cooker hah.


Says the person that's been on MTS for two hot seconds Stick around, read threads, and I think you'll realize that what you are describing is classic "new player"-syndrome. The kind of player that gets burned out and stops playing the game for long periods of time because they repeat the same happy go lucky pattern over and over and end up bored. Some people do enjoy it long-time, but majority of people around here will eventually realize it's no longer fun and start exploring outside of the same old perfect life pattern. Not playing the game with that goal in mind doesn't automatically mean torturing Sims.

I mean no offense. You should play however is most fun for you It just bugs me when people act like their way is the only right way, because the whole point of TS2 is that you can do whatever you want and only you know what constitutes the right way for you.

Creations can be found on my on tumblr.
Theorist
#46 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 10:01 PM
@gummilutt
Well said.
Test Subject
Original Poster
#47 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 10:07 PM
Quote: Originally posted by gummilutt
Says the person that's been on MTS for two hot seconds Stick around, read threads, and I think you'll realize that what you are describing is classic "new player"-syndrome. The kind of player that gets burned out and stops playing the game for long periods of time because they repeat the same happy go lucky pattern over and over and end up bored. Some people do enjoy it long-time, but majority of people around here will eventually realize it's no longer fun and start exploring outside of the same old perfect life pattern. Not playing the game with that goal in mind doesn't automatically mean torturing Sims.

I mean no offense. You should play however is most fun for you It just bugs me when people act like their way is the only right way, because the whole point of TS2 is that you can do whatever you want and only you know what constitutes the right way for you.


This is going to be my last post about that, since it's off topic and you are all making a big fuss out of something trivial ignoring the reasoning behind it.

Yes you can play however you want, just like in real life, you can walk on all fours, you can walk on your hands, you can roll around all day if you wish, still 99.99% of the population walk on their feet, because it's faster/easier/makes the most sense. Games are no different, they come with rules, systems and mechanics and other stuff, and 99.99% of the players will follow those rules systems and mechanics to play the game. You can play a card game by eating the damn cards if you want, but 99.99% of the other ppl will play the card game following the rules it comes with. And it's the same with the sims, it comes with fundamentals, from moving your sim around clicking the ground, to buying furnitures, to clicking those furnitures to fulfil needs etc and 99.99% of the players will probably want to do that too. And trying to argue, that hiding or removing those rules/mechanics/systems from the game somehow makes the game better or more interesting or whatever under the assumption it's different is a bit ridiculous. No it doesn't, it's different yes, and good for a laugh or a challenge, but it objectively makes the game worse and less interesting.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#48 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 10:23 PM
It doesn't really matter what other players that we don't know do, point is you are here on MTS and that isn't how 99% of people here play. That is like going to a vegetarian restaurant and complaining that most people eat meat, pointless. Instead accept that the enviroment is different and enjoy it for what it is. We hope you stay and chat without assuming things about us.

I find the no stock fridge a great mod, especially for my medieval game. No food in the house and no grocery delivery. Last two sims I made were so bad at fishing they had to eat boot the first two days just to survive.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Test Subject
Original Poster
#49 Old 17th Sep 2017 at 10:33 PM
Quote: Originally posted by joandsarah77
It doesn't really matter what other players that we don't know do, point is you are here on MTS and that isn't how 99% of people here play. That is like going to a vegetarian restaurant and complaining that most people eat meat, pointless. Instead accept that the enviroment is different and enjoy it for what it is. We hope you stay and chat without assuming things about us.

I find the no stock fridge a great mod, especially for my medieval game. No food in the house and no grocery delivery. Last two sims I made were so bad at fishing they had to eat boot the first two days just to survive.


I'm not assuming anything, I'm making a list following the criterias in the first post, and hiding needs isn't one of those criterias yet (maybe that'll change idk), and I'm explaining why. I'm happy discussing mods and stuff but if you aren't happy with that, well that's too bad, you can make your own list/discussion really.
Theorist
#50 Old 18th Sep 2017 at 2:38 AM
Quote: Originally posted by fe2o3
I'm not assuming anything, I'm making a list following the criterias in the first post, and hiding needs isn't one of those criterias yet (maybe that'll change idk), and I'm explaining why. I'm happy discussing mods and stuff but if you aren't happy with that, well that's too bad, you can make your own list/discussion really.


Well, it does seem as if you started a thread to discuss ways to make the game more challenging, but when presented with tips and/or various mod suggestions, you became dismissive about the effectiveness of attempting to alter the game to such a degree.

So, guess it sort of strikes me as weird that you wanted to hear what other players do to make things more challenging, and yet seem to disagree that major gameplay changes can really be achieved through modding.


“Seize the time... Live now! Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.” ― Jean-Luc Picard
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