Thursday 19 December 2013

Aspirations

I'm almost finished playing the Walker's update and as i've been playing, i've been thinking that Tina doesn't strike me as a romance sim. She's always seemed a little too shy for that. I read a while ago about Sullivan Sims (yes yes, another thing i'm thinking about pinching!) criteria for certain aspirations, making it that the aspiration matches the sims personality. So despite the fact I should really be using this time to wrap the last few Christmas presents, i've taken a look at the personalities of all the sims in my game and matched them to the same criteria that Sullivan uses. This is what I came up with.

Jonny Mason: Would change from romance to fortune.
Daisy Byall: Would either change to knowledge or remain family.
Louisa Mason: Would change from popularity to fortune.
Elsa Saenz: Would change from pleasure to fortune or romance.
Georgina Saenz: Would change from romance to family.
Merida Saenz: Upon aging to teen would become either fortune or romance.
Marie Henshaw: Would change from popularity to knowledge or family.
Elise Lawson: Would change from popularity to fortune or romance.
Autumn Henshaw: Upon aging to teen would become either fortune or romance.
Dion Henshaw: Upon aging to teen would become either fortune or romance.
Josh Henshaw: Upon aging to teen would become either fortune or romance.
Xavier Henshaw: Upon aging to teen would become romance.
Lauren Henshaw: Didn't fit into any particular aspiration.
Donna Brockman: Didn't fit into any particular aspiration.
Sean Brockman: Would change from pleasure to either fortune, knowledge or family.
Max Walker: Would change from pleasure to either fortune or romance.
Tina Walker: Didn't fit into any particular aspiration.
Allie Mason: Didn't fit into any particular aspiration.
Ramona Brockman: Would change from knowledge to romance.
Gary Mason: Would change from romance to fortune.
Joanne Walker: Would change from fortune to pleasure.
Declan Saenz: Would remain knowledge or change to family.

I'm really not sure what to do about aspirations at the moment. Some of the new aspirations would really suit some sims (fortune for Max) but not others (romance for Ramona. Really?!). I'm tempted to change some but keep others as they are. We'll see!

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Autumn 2002- Mason

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Jonny is 44 and Louisa is 17.

Narrated by Louisa.

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I'm working hard to get into university. Allie and Gary both told me how great is was. I don't need a degree for the career I want but I don't want to miss out on college life.

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It's just me, dad and the dogs at home now so i'm trying to help him out as much as I can. One person can't run the house single handedly, especially with four big dogs around!

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I'm finding this last year of school reasonably easy. I'm keeping up with homework and maintaining my A grade. Dad says he's proud of me and hopes I can keep it up throughout uni.

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Speaking of dad, he's been best friends with Daisy for a few years. I knew he liked her as more than just a friend but it seemed weird for me to encourage him to make the first move. Maybe he was just worried that Allie, Gary and I would think he was trying to replace mum. Now that we're older, I think he's realized that he can concentrate on making himself happy now instead of worrying about us so he took Daisy on a date.

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From what I hear, the date went really well!

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Now that i'm 17, I thought I had avoided the teenage acne. Apparantly not!

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I'm still forcing time for my dancing. I even earnt a scholarship for it!

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With only dad and I, we were struggling to look after four dogs so we had to put Fudge and Luna up for adoption. Dad had always said that we couldn't keep them when they were puppies but I guess we all just got so attached to them that we couldn't give them up. Now though, we had no choice, they were going to end up neglected and it just wasn't fair to keep them. They'll be much happier with a new family whom have a lot more time for them. Sooty and Jess are older now, they're not as boisterous as they used to be.

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Hopefully, the pressure will be taken off us. Dad plucked up the courage to ask Daisy to move in with us. At first I was surprised that he asked her. It seemed so soon but I suppose they've known each other for years and I like Daisy.

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We'll have another two new occupants to the house next year. After Gary graduates university and moves back home, Georgina and Merida will be moving in with us. Well, I say us. I should hopefully be at uni! I'll miss spending time with my family but I need to move on and live my own life. There's always phone calls and the occasional visit.

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Daisy has fitted into our family perfectly. She quite often cooks dinner for us all before she heads out to work.

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I don't know if its a name thing or what but she does seem to have a weird obsession with flowers...

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I guess she has her hobby and I have mine. If i'm not dancing, i'm playing some sort of instrument. Daisy had some money saved up and she bought us some new instruments for the house!

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Her and dad work different hours. He's at work during the day and Daisy works evenings. They still manage to make time for each other, usually late at night when Daisy comes in from work. I'm glad to say i'm sound asleep by then!

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I don't get to see Sean very much. We're both busy getting through the final year of school. He comes round every so often when we both have some well earned spare time at weekends!

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We had been talking about taking our relationship a step further for a while and agreed that we were both ready. I've seen Georgina struggling to look after Merida and complete school work on time and I know that I don't want to go through the same thing! Maybe in the future, but not right now. It felt too weird to ask dad for advice to I spoke to Allie instead and she made sure I knew what precautions to take.

Notes: Louisa does really well in school. I was hoping her grade would go up to an A+ (I have a harder grades hack installed) but an A is still good! Yes, she is most definitely on birth control! As lovely as Merida is, I don't want another teen mum and Louisa just isn't the type to be as careless.

Daisy rolled up wants to get engaged to and marry Jonny whilst on their date. When I had Jonny ask her to move in though, they rolled away and haven't been seen since. She rolls wants to play all the instruments and get a bronze badge in flower arranging instead. I find that really weird for a family sim. I was hoping she'd roll the want to have a baby, I think it would be interesting to see how hers and Jonny's genetics mixed but no such luck so far. I may send them on another date and see if they roll back then!

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Autumn 2002- Uni Part 2

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Declan Saenz and Joanne Walker are both 20.

Narrated by Joanne.

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The university rewards small grants to students who maintain good grades. It's never much but Declan and I have saved ours for the past couple of years and have been able to buy a computer for our house. We're saving the rest for when we graduate. Neither of us knows where we are going to live yet. I like the idea of going back to the farm. My dad needs help and I loved farm life, I think that is where my life is. Declan has suggested we move in with his mum though. Georgina is probably going to be moving in with Gary's family so Elsa would be all alone. Then again, if Tina goes to university then my dad will be alone too and he needs help with the farm. I guess we still have time to decide.

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I've thought maybe Declan and I could even get our own place. It was a brief thought, but one that I do like the idea of. Declan is very easy to live with.

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And who wouldn't love someone bringing them breakfast in bed every morning?

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College life agrees with Declan. His studies are usually completed long before anyone elses. It does leave him a little bored before his final exams but he seems to find something new to learn whilst he waits.

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Such as fixing the bath!

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I'm not as lucky. I usually keep up with my studies but I find myself losing track of time if i'm hiking or hunting for bugs. I don't do as well as Declan but I manage to keep a decent grade.

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Declan and I try to spend a little bit of time together too. It's not always easy as we're studying different degrees and have different classes but we manage to make time for each other. When we first got together I was worried about how my sister would react. Declan broke up with her to be with me. She was really angry for a while but she seems to have calmed down now. I think she's decided that having a boyfriend isn't all that important at her age.

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I admit, part of me agrees with her. Its hard to fit a relationship around studying and just making some time for myself. I don't think i'm as strong as Tina though. If Declan left me, i'm not sure what I would do. Thinking about it makes me feel so guilty about what I did to Tina. Our bond isn't as strong as it once used to be but I hope that one day it'll be back to how it was when we were growing up.

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I would like to say i'll have more time with my sister when i'm finished uni but by that time, she could be here studying so we still won't get to see each other much. At the moment, she's busy finishing her final years in school whilst I cram in last minute assignments before rushing off to final exams!

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I didn't do as well as i'd hoped this year and phoned my dad to let him know my GPA had slipped a little. He told me not to worry. As long as I tried my best and was happy, he was happy. I guess if I worked on the farm then I wouldn't need qualifications but I quite like the idea of a career in medicine or architecture as well as helping on the farm so I need degrees for both of them.

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As for Declan, he still just breezes through his studies. Learning seems to come naturally for him.

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I told him my worries about failing. Like my dad, he told me not to worry. I don't need to be top of the class and completing work quickly. I just have to do well enough to pass my degree and that's all that really matters. There are students who do a lot worse than me. Senior year will be the real test but i'm sure if I get my head down and do my best, i'll pass without any problems.

Notes: Declan really does just breeze through uni! He gets an A+ every time and a 4.0 GPA without even really trying. Joanne has to put in a little more effort but she isn't a bad student. Declan seems to roll up a lot of wants to do assignments, write term papers, skill build etc but Joanne rolls them less frequently and I don't want to force her to do anything she doesn't have the want to. I think even if she did roll those wants as often as Declan, she would still have to put in more effort than he does to achieve the A+ and 4.0 GPA.

As pointed out in this update, i'm not sure where to put these two when they graduate. I hate empty nests and insist on having an 'heir' for each family to take over the family house and provide the next generation. Well, Declan is the Saenz heir. Joanne was supposed to be the Walker heir, particularly since Tina is more sporty and less nature oriented so is less interested in the farm and the triplets are technically Henshaw's with a few Walker genes thrown in so i'm not sure. I might have Declan and Joanne move in with each of their families but continue their relationship until one of them rolls the want to move out/get engaged/married to the other and then i'll take it from there.

Sunday 15 December 2013

Autumn 2002- Uni Part 1

Gary Mason is 20.

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I've been spending a lot of time on the phone to Georgina and Merida. Up until now I never thought I would want to settle down and have a family but now that Merida is here, I like the idea. She wasn't planned but I think that makes her all the more special. I hate not being there for her properly and I can't wait to finish uni. I'll be moving back with my dad but I hope Georgina and Merida will move in with us.

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I don't get to see them half as much as I want to but I love their visits.

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They've both made me realize how important it is for me to graduate so I can get a decent job to support them so i've been putting in a lot more extra effort.

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Life would be easier if the dorms were kept clean though. Some idiot keeps setting the sprinklers off and nobody bothers to mop up the puddles after. Now I understand why Declan and Joanne bailed the dorms!

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I think its still important to have a good time, at the same time as studying and doing well. I hope i'm setting a good example and that Merida will follow in my footsteps when she's older.

Notes: Gary has never rolled up the wants to skill build. That all changed when Georgina and Merida visited so i'll take that as him wanting to get his finger out!

After the last uni update, I thought it looked silly to have 2 different households squashed into 1 update so this time i've split it into 2 parts and Declan and Joanne's update is next. I've caught up with blogging now. I'm still aiming to update as often as possible so hopefully an update a day or atleast every 2-3 days, it is coming up to Christmas after all ;)

Saturday 14 December 2013

Summer 2002- Brockman

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Donna Brockman is 44 and Sean Brockman is 17.

Narrated by Sean.

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There's new regulations coming in that makes it more difficult to get into university. All students wishing to enroll will have to sit an exam and will earn points based on their performance during school and the results of the exam. I'll already be in uni by the time they come into action but I thought there wasn't anything wrong with getting a head start anyway. Ramona did well during university and mum is expecting me to do just as well, if not better.

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Most of my time is spent either at school, with my head in a book or at the telescope outside.

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I'm trying to make time for my girlfriend, Louisa but its been difficult recently. This is our final year in school and since we're both planning to go to college in 2003, we're concentrating on school. Usually we just manage to squeeze in a quick phone call before bed. Atleast we can see each other at school, even if its not the ideal place to spend quality time together.

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Mum is trying to work her way up the career ladder. She's never really been bothered about work, aslong as it paid the bills, she was happy. I think she hoped that Ramona would come back home after uni instead of getting her own place but now its clear that Ramona is happy where she is and with me preparing to head off to university, she needs something to keep herself occupied. I don't think i'm that bothered about getting any particular job, I just know that uni will open up a lot more options for me.

Notes: My updates are rarely long but this one is shorter than usual. Mainly because i've been reading Sullivan Sims updates and have pinched a few ideas from there, one being about admissions to university. I plan to update all gameplay posts (sim profiles included) tomorrow but long story short, sims need to earn a certain number of points, earnt through skills, hobby enthusiasm, grades ect, to get into uni. Sean was short by 10 points so I had him skilling like mad to try and get to the minimum requirement. He did it, infact he got a couple extra. Since playing though i've decided its too much pressure for my poor sims and leads to a pretty dull round (i'm trying to make blog posts a lot more interesting!) so I won't be forcing it on the sims due to go to uni in Autumn 2003.

Friday 13 December 2013

Spring 2001- Brockman 2

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Ramona Brockman is 25.

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It might sound weird but I see myself as a bit of a cat lady. I don't really care about settling down and starting a family at the moment. Maybe one day but at the moment i'm happy with working my way up the career ladder and spending my free time with Saoirse.

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Climbing the career ladder would be considerably easier if I didn't come home full of the cold. I guess as a substitute teacher i'm prone to catching stuff from the kids. I thought a hot bath would help but it just seemed to make it worse.

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I think the cough sounded worse than it was but I still worried about how I would get through the following day at work. I had already had some time off and couldn't really afford to take anymore time off.

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Luckily though I was feeling a little better before I expected!

Notes: I didn't expect Ramona to get sick. Guess it livened up the round a bit! I'm trying to stick to wants and so far she hasn't rolled up the want to go on a date or anything similar so for the time being, she stays single!