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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 11:22 AM
Default Playing Pleasantview for the first time
I have just opened Pleasantview for the first time. I suspect this may be a little unusual, as I got my game in November 2012, and joined MTS a couple of weeks later.

I haven't got past neighbourhood view yet. I've just looked at the families there, and I can't think where or how to start. Of course I've read a lot about the Pleasantview families, and I'm a bit in awe of them. Where should I start? The families that I think interest me most are the Brokes and the Pleasants. Should I start with one of them? Or should I create my own family in CAS, and use them as my way into Pleasantview? I am also very strongly tempted to bring in 2 or 3 of my favourite CAS families from my old Veronaville, having extracted and cloned them in readiness for my new Veronaville; I have a lot of faith in my original teen Sim Andrew Jones, and think he might be just the person to help poor Dustin turn his life around. If I have a mission in starting to play Pleasantview, it's to make Dustin and Angela happy together! Even though I haven't met them yet, I've heard a lot about them.

So, where would you recommend me to start with the legendary Pleasantview? I've got Tarlia's version, so the most famous Sim in the world, Bella Goth, will be there as a townie. What should I do with her?

I was going to put this in Stupid / Random Questions, but I reckon just about everyone here will have their own views about how to play Pleasantview, so I suspect I'll get more than enough replies to justify a new thread. Is there anyone else here, who got through their first year of playing The Sims 2 without touching Pleasantview?
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Lab Assistant
#2 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 11:29 AM
Try not to be TOO intimidated by "the legendary Pleasantview." It's a neighborhood just like any other. In my opinion the best thing for you to do is to pick a family that you like (the Brokes are also a favorite of mine) and then play the family to see how Sim Life goes for them. What I personally like to do is play the family for a few days (until the newest baby is born) and then see if I want to save the game. If I don't, I exit the household without saving and then return to it--VOILA!!! Sparkly new Brokes, with no new baby brother, all ready to be influenced and directed in other ways.

It's really up to you, though--moving your favorite Sims into the neighborhood is also another fun way to go, too...
Forum Resident
#3 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 11:55 AM
Personally, I like to make my own CAS Sims and work them into the story line in Pleasantview. But the very first time I played it, I played it with a friend and we played with Don Lothario's house.

Think back to when you first played Veronaville, what did you do first with that neighborhood?
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#4 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 12:35 PM
Quote: Originally posted by bnefriends
Think back to when you first played Veronaville, what did you do first with that neighborhood?

I don't know if I really want to repeat what I did there. I played my own (CAS) Sims and totally ignored the pre-mades. At best I treated them the same as the townies - as walk-bys and Sims you might run into on a community lot. It was only after one of my Sims, a gay Romance teen, seduced Puck Summerdream, that I began to play the pre-mades. I still feel guilty that I let my Sim trample all over Puck's own plans for his life! Puck has been confused about his sexuality ever since, despite my attempts to get him back together with Hermia!
Née whiterider
retired moderator
#5 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 1:20 PM
You've read lots about the Pleasantview premades, so that means you have lots of ideas of how their lives could go, which is great: you'll never be stuck for ideas. There's no 'right' way to play any of them, so just jump in and have them do what feels right to you - or if you're not sure, let them do their own thing. You're playing it for yourself, after all, the only thing you 'should' do is make sure you're enjoying whatever you're doing with them.

What I lack in decorum, I make up for with an absence of tact.
Mad Poster
#6 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 1:26 PM
I would play all the family's for at least 2 full days so you can get the full story of the start of Pleasantview, this way you will have all the knowledge of what is going on.

Then you can chose which family to go with.

After playing the family's that are in houses for the 2 days I add the Oldies to the Pleasant household and I put the Burb's in there own house so they can interact with all the other family's in the hood. (Or put the Oldies in there own house.)

All my Beginning Hoods here at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=7749491
All my Beginning Hoods as Shopping Districts plus Old Town. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=523417
MooVille, a tribute to Mootilda and her fabulous lots http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=534158
Mad Poster
#7 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 5:14 PM
I would personally not use the same playable in two hoods, because that'd feel wrong. I'd feel like I was cheating on the character, and also get confused. But that's a personal preference, and to someone else that might be great fun.

I'd just jump in wherever. Or make a CAS family and play that for a bit to observe the others when they pass by or at community lots. Then you can decide where you want to start first.
Mad Poster
#8 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 6:04 PM
Since I like playing whole neighborhoods, and moreover have a problem with playing three or even two days straight with the same household, I'd pick an arbitrary place to start - say, look at it like a clockface and start working my way around clockwise, starting with the household closest to noon, and play them in turn, one day at a time, exploring the family trees and biographies so I knew what priority and where to place those of the family bin sims I wanted to use. These would be the Burbs and Oldies, for sure, since they have connections to the existing families; and the generic family bin sims with children and teens, I know they'll be coming home with Alexander, Dustin, etc. The Pleasantview houses mostly (all? I've never played past one rotation there, and that was testing an installation and killing time till I got a new drive to load the DVD expansions) have scripted events for that first day, along with standard random events and EP-contingent ones; and I'd watch how those came together, respond and interpret events, and after that I'd know whether I wanted to bring in any CAS sims, add any more family bin sims, and how I wanted to proceed.

With your "benevolent god" approach to simming, Andrew, you'll find yourself fully occupied with cleaning up messes, and may well want to custom-make some handsome princes and princesses to rescue some of these distressed sims; but I think you need to play them before you know for sure. You may find that certain people play differently, in your game, than you've been led to expect and that they have some surprises in store for you, and either don't need the rescuer at all, or need a different kind of rescuer than other people's stories of them led you to anticipate.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#9 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 6:19 PM
When I started playing Sims 2 in 2010 I moved John and Jennifer Burb into a house and just played them, since I didn't want to "mess" up the story lines of the families that were already in houses. Over the years my play style has changed, and now I will move John and Jennifer into a house, but will also play the families in houses and try to clean up messes as Peni put it above.

What I do with the Brokes depends on my mood. I always move them into a bigger house since the trailer they live in is just too small. Sometimes I let Brandi give birth to the baby that she starts out pregnant with, and sometimes I use the SimBlender to terminate the pregnancy. I sometimes get her married or not depending on her LTW.

I never have been able to get Cassandra Goth successfully married to Don Lothario (the first time the Goth Lot is played, she's engaged to Don and there is a wedding arch), but that actually doesn't bother me since he's a Romance SIm and I really don't like Romance Sims. I usually get her married to Darren Dreamer since Family Sims and Knowledge Sims are a much better marriage match.
Mad Poster
#10 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 7:52 PM
To get the best effect and to follow the story lines in Pleasantview is to play the Goth's first then the Brokes 2nd then move on to Don Lothario after that move on to the Caliente sisters follow up with the Pleasant's and last but not least the Dreamers. This way you will hit all the story lines in the hood.

For the first 2 days of play in each house hold try to do the story line and only the story line before you move on, each house will have a pop-up of the story line and for best effect is to follow it.

All my Beginning Hoods here at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=7749491
All my Beginning Hoods as Shopping Districts plus Old Town. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=523417
MooVille, a tribute to Mootilda and her fabulous lots http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=534158
Mad Poster
#11 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 8:00 PM
One thing that might be interesting would be, to move in the family bin sims you like and play all of them for a day or two first before embarking on the original bunch, and see how events on community lots, during welcome wagons, and with sims coming home from school and work affect the prescripted events. One thing that significantly changed gameplay in my Pleasantview testing was, that Mary Sue Pleasant got the "first day after adding a new downtown" outing and went out with Cassandra - and Darren, and Don. Don ran into Nina during the outing and independently threw a different spin onto the "left at the alter" scenario in the Goth house; instead of wanting to kiss him, Cassandra wanted (and succeeded) in kicking his butt before breaking up with him and leaving Mortimer to shove him out the door while Alexander complimented her on her left hook.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Top Secret Researcher
#12 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 8:16 PM
I would probably recommend playing the Pleasants first. Their own silly story enlightens me every time I play them.

Generally, when people first get The Sims 2, I recommend they play Pleasantview first, especially if they've played The Sims 1 before. Returning players settle in faster because they're familiar with most of the Sims there already.
Mad Poster
#13 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 8:24 PM
Quote: Originally posted by Peni Griffin
One thing that might be interesting would be, to move in the family bin sims you like and play all of them for a day or two first before embarking on the original bunch, and see how events on community lots, during welcome wagons, and with sims coming home from school and work affect the prescripted events. One thing that significantly changed gameplay in my Pleasantview testing was, that Mary Sue Pleasant got the "first day after adding a new downtown" outing and went out with Cassandra - and Darren, and Don. Don ran into Nina during the outing and independently threw a different spin onto the "left at the alter" scenario in the Goth house; instead of wanting to kiss him, Cassandra wanted (and succeeded) in kicking his butt before breaking up with him and leaving Mortimer to shove him out the door while Alexander complimented her on her left hook.


For first time players of Pleasantview to get the full storyline as it is I don't recommend this for this can break some of the story lines.

I did this once and Mortimer time at the sisters house did not go well.

All my Beginning Hoods here at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=7749491
All my Beginning Hoods as Shopping Districts plus Old Town. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=523417
MooVille, a tribute to Mootilda and her fabulous lots http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=534158
Mad Poster
#14 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 10:29 PM
Well, the nice thing is you can always reset the hood and do things differently. So you can't play them wrong, as such.

If you want to play out the storylines, you won't get the Lothario story necessarily if you play the Goths first. You've got an expansion that allows attraction, right? So you could end up with Don and Cassandra rolling compatible attraction and him being willing to marry her based on the bolts.
I'd start with the Pleasants or the Brokes for that reason if I hadn't done the scripting before, but these days, like Peni, I usually start by moving the Pleasants' relatives from the bin into their houses.

Pics from my game: Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh
Scholar
#15 Old 21st Jan 2014 at 11:50 PM
Pleasantview was my first hood. My first sims were of my favourite characters from films, TV etc. But I've recently got quite interested in the premades. However I was quite disappointed when I played the Pleasant house, as
. I got Bella back together with Mortimer and her family, I think it was a nice ending for her. I think it would be interesting to play your Andrew in PV, I've often wondered about doing that myself.
Scholar
#16 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 12:13 AM
I always start with the Goths. As for Bella, I always remarry her to Mortimer right away; no gold-diggers are getting into that house. And I like your mission to make Dustin and Angela happy; Part of my own Pleasantview goals is to bring the Broke family out of their poor status and Dustin is the one I'm using to begin it.
Mad Poster
#17 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 1:14 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Sunbee
Well, the nice thing is you can always reset the hood and do things differently. So you can't play them wrong, as such.

Very true.
Quote: Originally posted by Sunbee
If you want to play out the storylines, you won't get the Lothario story necessarily if you play the Goths first. You've got an expansion that allows attraction, right? So you could end up with Don and Cassandra rolling compatible attraction and him being willing to marry her based on the bolts.
I'd start with the Pleasants or the Brokes for that reason if I hadn't done the scripting before, but these days, like Peni, I usually start by moving the Pleasants' relatives from the bin into their houses.


If you play Lothario first you have a good chance that Cassandra will walk by and catch Don with one of the 3 other women in his life and this will spoil the Goth story line.
Don story line is to hire the maid to clean up and then he will want to woohoo with her leading to him getting caught by one of the sister's.

If Cassy slaps Don at his house for cheating then there is no way to get the "left at the alter" memory that is in the Goth story line.

All my Beginning Hoods here at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=7749491
All my Beginning Hoods as Shopping Districts plus Old Town. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=523417
MooVille, a tribute to Mootilda and her fabulous lots http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=534158
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#18 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 2:35 AM
A little supplementary question: Are there any graves for me to worry about in Pleasantview?
Mad Poster
#19 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 2:52 AM
Micheal Bachelor's Urn is in the Caliente House, Darleen Dreamer's grave is in the backyard of the Dreamer house and there are 5 or 6 graves at the Goth house. Those are the only ones I know of.
Mad Poster
#20 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 6:01 AM
Eh, keep Don and whoever he's interacting with inside? Cassandra isn't outgoing enough to let herself in. My sims don't seem to notice they're being cheated on when they walk by unless the cheating happens outside. (Suppose it could be a hack.)
omglo, the clean Pleasantview as main hood retains the scripting. The business hood versions of the neighborhoods do not. There is, if I recall correctly, a technical programing-type reason for why this is so.

Pics from my game: Sunbee's Simblr Sunbee's Livejournal
"English is a marvelous edged weapon if you know how to wield it." C.J. Cherryh
Mad Poster
Original Poster
#21 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 10:26 AM
Many thanks for all your suggestions. With my configuration the only families in the family bin were the Burbs and the Oldies. I believe the Oldies are the parents of one of the Pleasants; I'm not sure about the Burbs. I think I'll move them into houses of their own and see how they fit into things. As for what family to play first, I think I'll do things in a similar way to what I did in Veronaville. I've created a fairly conventional family (the Spences: mum Jolie, dad David, teenage son Charlie, and child daughter Justine), and moved them into a new house in Main Street, next door to the Dreamers and opposite to the Calientes. The house is a made-over version of the Victorian Value house. I've actually paused and saved the game at 8:12 a.m. with the family still on the front path, but I think I'll play them first for one day or two. I'll send them to community lots and see who they run into, but they'll be under strict instructions to tread carefully lest they tread on another Sim's dreams. They won't be rushing in with size 12 (big!) takety boots on like David Cornton did in Veronaville. In particular I'll encourage their romance teenage son Charlie to make friends with boys and girls that he meets, but he's not to try seducing any of them, at least not yet.

Whom I play next will depend on how that goes, but I'm particularly interested in the Brokes and the Pleasants. My usual playstyle is loose rotations with aging off, and I think I'll continue that way so that no one dies of old age when I've hardly got to know them. I'll probably bring the Burbs and the Oldies in fairly early too, so that I have some unscripted families. I don't know how comfortable I'd be with everything scripted, and I suspect I'll soon be trying to nudge things in a direction I'd like them to go. On the other hand, I tend to take the attitude that what happens, happens. Only something really disastrous like a VBT, or a beloved Sim dying prematurely (I try to love them all!) would make me quit without saving. As for Don and Cassandra, even though I haven't met them yet, and although I've got nothing against Romance Sims per se, I really don't think Don is right for her, so, one way or another, I'd prefer her not to go through with the marriage. (Is Don perhaps after the Goths' fortune?)

As for bringing Andrew Jones to Pleasantview, I think I shall do it, but probably not immediately. Basically I feel I know and trust Andrew as someone who could help Dustin sort his life out. In Veronaville other teenage boys asked Andrew for advice. I've been thinking of a backstory for how I can get him to Pleasantview, and I think Andrew and his mum will go on a long extended holiday. Gloria will take her boyfriend Garry with her, and they'll ask Andrew's boyfriend Julian Moltke to come along too. They'll take a house in Pleasantview where they'll all stay together. Julian's family won't come -- presumably they're pursuing their police careers in Veronaville. That way Andrew will have the two Sims he depends on emotionally most, his mum and his boyfriend, with him. Eventually, when it's time for them to go home, I can move them out into the family bin in Pleasantview, and if they continue to show up occasionally, that can be them just coming back on short visits. As for the problem of the same Sims being in two 'hoods, if I get around to playing Strangetown, I'll have to face that problem, because Bella Goth is there too! Moving the Jones party into Pleasantview, with all their skills, interests, career levels, relationships with each other, etc. will give me a "dry run" on a small scale for doing the same thing on a big scale when I rebuild Veronaville.
Mad Poster
#22 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 1:39 PM
Moving Julian in without his parents will be a pain, I'm afraid, because even though teens can live independently CAS refuses to save them without a parent in the family. Also, can't make a CAS family with two last names. It can be done, but you'll need cheats and an editor.

What I had to do to get my warehouse full of teens was create them as three separate houses of adults, move them all in together, and age them down with the agesims cheat - at which point, everybody got an F, and I had to save quickly before the social worker showed up for the one I wanted to start as a child, and use my preferred editing tool to get Frieda a passing grade.

The Oldies are Mary Sue Pleasant's adoptive parents and Jennifer Burb is Daniel Pleasant's twin sister, so those households could potentially be important to the Pleasant-Broke storyline you're interested in.

Ugly is in the heart of the beholder.
(My simblr isSim Media Res . Widespot,Widespot RFD: The Subhood, and Land Grant University are all available here. In case you care.)
Mad Poster
#23 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 1:50 PM
Quote: Originally posted by AndrewGloria
I don't know how comfortable I'd be with everything scripted,


Its only the first day to day and a half that is scripted and that is why I said to play them for 2 days each this way you will get the whole story line that Maxis/EA put in there and will give you the feel of the hood.
After that you are free to do what ever you want to, so have fun and enjoy it for what it is.

The Bella Goth in Strangetown is a clone of the org. Bella that is still in Pleasantview. This was to keep the player base talking about it and it did for many years until most of us found out that she was a clone and not the original one.

All my Beginning Hoods here at MTS. http://www.modthesims.info/member.php?u=7749491
All my Beginning Hoods as Shopping Districts plus Old Town. http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=523417
MooVille, a tribute to Mootilda and her fabulous lots http://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=534158
Forum Resident
#24 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 2:00 PM
The first thing to realize is Maxis intended for you to play Pleasantview a particular way, the best way, and if you don't follow their script then all will go to ruin.


No, seriously, it's a sandbox. Don't worry about whether you're playing the right families or creating the 'right' story. The right story is the one you want to tell in your head, and if you ever decide you've gone down the wrong path then you can blaze another one, or even start over if you like.
Field Researcher
#25 Old 22nd Jan 2014 at 2:01 PM
I've always played Pleasantview ever since I got Sims 2 back in 2007, but I've only begun playing the Maxis families in the last year and a half or so. I used to just play my own custom Sims exclusively. Now I play my current Pleasantview in a rotation - I play each family for one season, to keep them all aging about the same. The Maxis families are so much fun to play and I find the stories to be very interesting. I started off playing the Caliente household and went from there. I say pick the household that looks most fun to you - you'll have a better chance of getting sucked in My favorite families to play in Pleasantview are the Goths, Caliente and the Pleasants. They're just so much fun and the Goths attract drama like crazy!
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