Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Inventor
#351 Old 16th Jul 2014 at 9:01 PM Last edited by Pizzatron-9000 : 16th Jul 2014 at 9:23 PM.
I'll second (or third, or fourth...) the notion that running your own business makes the game plenty interesting, especially with all the Perks that your Sims can rack up. Plus there's all the business about hiring the right employees, firing the wrong employees, putting the right employees on the right jobs, making friends out of employees and customers, and so on. Some of the businesses that my Sims have run so far:

• A robot shop, selling everything from Toy Robots to Servos. That business has done so well that, having recently discovered the SetHighestAllowedLevel cheat, I've built an eight-story MegaloTech Corporate Headquarters building to which my roboteers and their Servo workforce may be relocating their business soon....

• A toy shop (for those Sims who can't be bothered to build up their own Toy Making badges just so their house can have a Water Wiggler). I have DJ Verse and Sarah Love of the Tri-Fruhm Sorority owning and running this one.

• Two car sales lots; one is a used car lot (which sells nothing but restored Junk Cars), the other sells restored Junk Cars and regular cars (and may even be selling helicopters soon, since I had the foresight to add a helipad beforehand). The Show My Ride display (or several of them) is a must-have for selling cars, but you can also use the ChangeLotZoning cheat if you want to have a community lot with driveways and helipads on it.

• Two produce shops; one is a roadside produce stand, the other is run right out of a Sim family's farm (complete with a big red barn).

• A casino, complete with two bars, a restaurant, an Electrono-Ticket Machine, a small video game arcade and as many poker tables and mahjong tables as I can afford. It's in a Downtown subneighborhood, so Mrs. Crumplebottom and the Unsavory Charlatan are frequent guests at our poker tables here.

• A potion and magical goods shop, run by a family of seven witches (of course).

• A clothing shop which also sells handmade clothing, quilts, curtains and teddy bears.

• A gym, which includes a sauna, two massage tables, a small swimming pool, several exercise machines and a refrigerator (so the owner, a Fitness hobbyist, can get protein shakes out of the fridge and leave them sitting around for her customers). An Electrono-Ticket Machine is a must, of course. (Yes, I know, there's a similar gym in Bluewater Village, but I built my own because mine's better). :P

• A masseuse. The proprietor, Kiki Tsang, is a Far-East-styled Sim who has travelled to all three main vacation locales and thus knows every massage style known to man...eh, Sim.

• A combination art gallery/painting shop and flower shop. The owner's a vampire with max Creativity, max Arts & Crafts enthusiasm and, at present, a Silver Flower Arranging badge, and the shop looks like a mausoleum with biers, coffins and flower arrangements galore. Too bad I can't just buy tombstones. Unfortunately, due to the owner's nature, the shop is only open at night.

I'm sure I'll think of more shops to put together soon; I'm actually thinking of working on some Cosmetology badges so one of my families can open a hair salon/jewelry shop. I have a lot of fun with OfB.


I'm also a big fan of the weird stuff in TS2: alien hybrids, vampires, werewolves, witches, Servos, Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) and more. I have a Bigfoot working for the roadside produce stand, and that guy is a cash-making beast! If it wasn't for the sheer volume of customers, he could run the stand all by himself. Plus, the creatures in themselves are fun. My Charlatan-trouncing werewolf girl has since gone to college, joined the Tri-Fruhm sorority, Savaged Stella Terrano (along with Monica Bratford and a few of her childhood friends who also went to college), and at present, that werewolf pack's camping on Hoar Mountain (my own homemade Mountain vacation spot) with DJ Verse, Jessie Pilferson and Sarah Love. Unfortunately, DJ, Jessie and Sarah don't have the Knowledge aspiration, so they're having an awful vacation and they keep getting visits from the Therapist thanks to all the werewolf howling at night. And they're only halfway through a six-day vacation, too. I guess I didn't really think things through.

Plus, there's the sheer love of Simmy architecture and the things you can do with it. My farm with the red barn's cool, my skyscraper's cool (and would be even cooler if my camera would let me go above the eighth floor, because there's no way to build a thirty-story skyscraper otherwise)...I've built lots of cool buildings in TS2, if I say so myself. Two of my favorite Sims are vampires. One of them is a mad scientist vampire who lives in a creepy castle way up on a tall, black-earthed hill (with a crooked path and lots of connecting stairs leading up to it). The other lives in the crypt underneath a church, complete with a belltower and a choir loft. You know how you can use foundations to make basements for your Simmy houses? That's what my artist/flower arranger vampire's crypt is. It has plenty of coffins, of course, and I'm thinking of getting her to coax a few more vampires into moving in. Or maybe a living Sim who can run the shop during the daytime. Yeah, she could use her own Renfield. Why not?

So I too am convinced that there's no end of entertainment value in The Sims 2. People just have to be willing to try unusual things and find it.
Advertisement
Mad Poster
#352 Old 18th Aug 2014 at 11:04 AM
You can watch a Sims 4 video - that should get you hurrying back to Sims 2 like nothing else However, re businesses, I also like them. Flower businesses always work very well in my game, and it's quite fun to have just a house as a home business with a pool, a hot tub, a few billiard tables, etc. and people pay at the gate to enter and use your stuff. No sales, lots of visitors and if there are a couple of social Sims in the household, the money flows in.
Lab Assistant
#353 Old 26th Aug 2014 at 2:48 AM
If nothing else, it's refreshing to know I'm not alone being a control freak w. my Sims!
..Biggest problem I have - I conjure a lot with Sims living in poverty and having to work their way up, or on the land.. Next morning I create a family or Sim, but I just hate poverty, esp. with all the beautiful downloads and scrumptious furniture the community has created that's priced at $10.00 or free, and so many $1.00 items that roll to hundreds of dollars when the clock strikes 12.00!

One leap I have made lately- I have 2 Sim males (and one Sim female) that are as perfect as anyone could ask for, with great jobs, looks, attitudes, etc. So I am ' loaning them out' (via Sim Blender) and when a Sim has their offspring I name the offspring 'Robert' 1, 2, etc. So far it's been interesting!

In retaliation to Maxis creating the usual problems, this time concerning Sims using the pool (they get cold quickly, it starts raining, thundering, etc.,) I began building all my lots with indoor pools. Now my Sims enjoy swimming even when there's 10 ft of snow on the ground. Plus steam from the pool looks lovely indoors! Also, a quick way to raise your Sims' fun is by having him use the slide. So to all the builders out there, build some houses with indoor pools! Start with the next smallest lot available and work your way up from there. Plus, it pizzes Maxis off.
Instructor
#354 Old 26th Sep 2014 at 6:43 PM
Quote: Originally posted by sarah's jones
If nothing else, it's refreshing to know I'm not alone being a control freak w. my Sims!
..Biggest problem I have - I conjure a lot with Sims living in poverty and having to work their way up, or on the land.. Next morning I create a family or Sim, but I just hate poverty, esp. with all the beautiful downloads and scrumptious furniture the community has created that's priced at $10.00 or free, and so many $1.00 items that roll to hundreds of dollars when the clock strikes 12.00!

One leap I have made lately- I have 2 Sim males (and one Sim female) that are as perfect as anyone could ask for, with great jobs, looks, attitudes, etc. So I am ' loaning them out' (via Sim Blender) and when a Sim has their offspring I name the offspring 'Robert' 1, 2, etc. So far it's been interesting!

In retaliation to Maxis creating the usual problems, this time concerning Sims using the pool (they get cold quickly, it starts raining, thundering, etc.,) I began building all my lots with indoor pools. Now my Sims enjoy swimming even when there's 10 ft of snow on the ground. Plus steam from the pool looks lovely indoors! Also, a quick way to raise your Sims' fun is by having him use the slide. So to all the builders out there, build some houses with indoor pools! Start with the next smallest lot available and work your way up from there. Plus, it pizzes Maxis off.


It really does bug me how some creators tend to make their stuff uber cheap so that people can create wonderlands for their Sim on a dime because I am a realistic player. In reality the only places to get high end stuff for cheap is by scouring the internet and second-hand stores, and occasionally if you find a sale for something that is being discontinued for a reason other than that the product is not quality. I especially hate how nice flooring is often the cheapest on here, but I believe there is a way to alter the cost of things from outside the game. I just can't remember how.

I don't get why so many Simmers hate Marsha Bruenig. She actually grows up to be quite pretty if you allow her to.
Test Subject
#355 Old 12th Oct 2014 at 5:54 PM
I definitely tend to do the 'two Sims, romance, babies...aw crap now it's boring' thing, so lately I've been trying to make single Sims that are workaholics, struggling with bills, and tend to go a day or two without eating because they literally can't afford food. So good tips!
Mad Poster
#356 Old 26th Oct 2014 at 6:25 PM
Quote: Originally posted by punkrockgoth1988
It really does bug me how some creators tend to make their stuff uber cheap so that people can create wonderlands for their Sim on a dime because I am a realistic player. In reality the only places to get high end stuff for cheap is by scouring the internet and second-hand stores, and occasionally if you find a sale for something that is being discontinued for a reason other than that the product is not quality. I especially hate how nice flooring is often the cheapest on here, but I believe there is a way to alter the cost of things from outside the game. I just can't remember how.


It's really easy to do it in SimPE. I keep meaning to do it because that annoys me a lot too.

I use the sims as a psychology simulator...
Mad Poster
#357 Old 28th Oct 2014 at 12:44 PM
I've started to play the game as a soap opera edition-every single family has a history, and they all have issues. Usually I play it as "this family is going to do this in the next 24 hours, what next?"
Call it the "Days of our Sims" and approach it like that-the game becomes more engaging. Instead of skilling them up and grinding their gears, let them play out their little problems-sit back and watch the fireworks. Observe the others on the lot besides the family, and how they interact with one another. There's usually a hidden motive behind those random pixels dropping by the house-and why would they do that? Is there something they have to do with the owners? Have they met? Are they enemies, crushes, loves? Are they out for revenge, a fight or a love affair? Oh-and befriend the mail person. Sometimes you can even get a new playable character from them, and eventually use them in the neighborhood.
Instructor
#358 Old 16th Nov 2014 at 4:22 PM
One thing I always find handy is remembering not to fast forward through everything too much! I got into a really bad habit of having the game on the fastest mode just to get my sims to the next promotion, the next birthday, the next baby, etc.. and it got very boring very quickly which probably is no surprise! There are so many things you end up missing that way..now I try to only fast forward if all the sims are sleeping or out at work/school. I quite like the more relaxed pace of my game now, and find I am spotting lots of little details that really make the game interesting and enjoyable.

Bustin' Out!
Lab Assistant
#359 Old 16th Nov 2014 at 6:33 PM
The thing that helped me the most was seeing my Sims as sort of real people. It used to get boring all of the time because my Sims lacked character and originality. I wouldn't throw birthday parties because that's just too much of a hassle, I would barely go on dates because what's the point, I even barely went to community lots because that just takes up too much loading time and I could go on and on about things I really didn't care for because I had done them so many times and it simply got repetitive. All my Sims were the same.
When I - inspired by MTS2, I must say! - started to see my Sims as characters with real wishes and feelings, I started to appreciate the little things more. Now, my Sims don't get engaged on their first date (which I used to do a lot because I'm impatient), they go on multiple dates and hang out and have a general good time before they even start thinking about that. I throw a lot more birthday parties and parties in general for Sims that I think would enjoy it. I've gotten so much more excited about my Sims socializing and all those things. It all gets so much more fun if you start to view everything from a perspective of "what would my Sim like or hate?"
Now it barely gets repetitive anymore because I'm always viewing it from the eyes of a different character.
Instructor
#360 Old 17th Nov 2014 at 6:56 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Carooh
The thing that helped me the most was seeing my Sims as sort of real people. It used to get boring all of the time because my Sims lacked character and originality. I wouldn't throw birthday parties because that's just too much of a hassle, I would barely go on dates because what's the point, I even barely went to community lots because that just takes up too much loading time and I could go on and on about things I really didn't care for because I had done them so many times and it simply got repetitive. All my Sims were the same.
When I - inspired by MTS2, I must say! - started to see my Sims as characters with real wishes and feelings, I started to appreciate the little things more. Now, my Sims don't get engaged on their first date (which I used to do a lot because I'm impatient), they go on multiple dates and hang out and have a general good time before they even start thinking about that. I throw a lot more birthday parties and parties in general for Sims that I think would enjoy it. I've gotten so much more excited about my Sims socializing and all those things. It all gets so much more fun if you start to view everything from a perspective of "what would my Sim like or hate?"
Now it barely gets repetitive anymore because I'm always viewing it from the eyes of a different character.


I think this is really good advice..I can definitely relate to the engaged on the first date thing! I enjoy the game so much more when I don't rush through my sims lives

Bustin' Out!
Mad Poster
#361 Old 25th Nov 2014 at 2:24 PM
Playing rotation!
This is something I've never done before. I would play a family until I just get bored of them. Not anymore.

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 . :)
Lab Assistant
#362 Old 28th Dec 2014 at 5:07 PM
Quote: Originally posted by punkrockgoth1988
I especially hate how nice flooring is often the cheapest on here, but I believe there is a way to alter the cost of things from outside the game. I just can't remember how.


There is the Sims 2 Categorizer over at simwardrobe. I use it all the time to alter the cost of objects. It's super easy to use and really helpful as well. I don't think it works with walls and floors, though.
Forum Resident
#363 Old 29th Dec 2014 at 7:44 PM
One thing to do with Servos is to create a bunch of them, give them human appearances, and make them as armies to fight each other. You could simply have an arena where servos fight and the loser is killed with Rodney's Death Creator (or something of the sort). It may not be feasible as an owned business, but would be nice in a test hood just for relieving boredom.

In my neighborhood, I plan on using them as soldiers for opposing factions. In my megahood (as you've seen on my other threads), Buzz Grunt has taken over Simerica as an evil dictator, but a rebel society is forming. My plan is to max out the robotics skill of Loki Beaker (the Minister of Technology who pretends to be loyal when it benefits him and will likely betray Buzz later) with Sim Blender and have him "invent" the Servo. Then, the Beakers could open a sweatshop as an owned business for the production of military servos (I would just max out employees' robotics skills with Sim Blender and call it "military training". While the rebels have less money (and for challenge's sake would have to work for their gold robotics badges due to the lack of funds for military training), they could have a factory to make Servos too. When the rebels either win or are destroyed and the war is over, I could keep the servos turned off and locked in a warehouse, or "reprogram" them by giving them more friendly personalities and make them servants to richer families. I like this plan because it allows battles while reducing the casualties of sims I actually care about.

~Someday my prince will come... And he better not bring all his hood's character files with him.~
@)->----- Place this ASCII flower in your sig as a thank you to all of our amazing moderators at MTS!
TS3 vs. Your CPU: The Solution
Shameless plug for my fledgeling Simblr here
Field Researcher
#364 Old 9th Feb 2015 at 10:22 AM
For me, the best way to keep a game interesting is to play a Megahood, and try to play it through several generations and mix different families. I don't make any of my own Sims, as they tend to be too 'perfect' and I easily get bored of them; instead, I like to play premades and their kids, and I only let them marry/reproduce with other premades or townies. I don't mind if their personalities are a bit annoying or if they're a bit ugly, as it only makes it more realistic (except Gunnar Roque; i just hate this guy, looks- and personality-wise). I do give them makeovers to make the best ouf of them (as also in real life, people usually wear makeup and hair the way it looks good on them) but no plastic surgery, and I try to make all my Sims to have a distinct style/personality/lifestyle or something that distinguishes them from each other.

Another thing I've been doing lately is try to do stuff I didn't really do before - for example, have romance Sims who woohoo with a bunch of others (though it's really the hack that reduces jealousy to engaged/married Sims that makes this fun, otherwise, there's too much drama in my game), play businesses, vacations, pets, supernaturals (others than aliens, which I always adored)... I had all EPs since they initially came out but for some reason, neglected many features, so I'm trying to incorporate these more in my game. And I try to make every Sim as succesful in life as possible, but unlike my old play style, this doesn't neccesarily mean reaching top of their career - it really depends on their specific aspiration and I always make my Sims at least work toward that aspiration, even if it doesn't work out. I also play without cheats (except for fixing bugs and such) as it makes the game more fun and realistic - I just don't want all my Sims to be really rich or have a load of friends or something without having to work for it, hard.

I also found out a really fun thing was to, unlike before when my Sims usually married their first girlfriend/boyfriend and lived really boring family lives, to make my Sims have more ex's, more drama, more like real life.
Forum Resident
#365 Old 22nd Mar 2015 at 8:04 PM
Here's a fun one if you are the more safe-style/control freak player like me..

Make a blank, new neighborhood. Fill it with whatever deco and lots you like. Make as many Sims as you feel like, and looks + personality is all up to you BUT all of the Sims MUST have the Romance aspiration as their main aspiration (second aspiration can be whatever but fortune is my personal favorite for this mini-challenge!). Move all of the Sims into whatever types of houses you feel like. And free will MUST be on at all times. ACR is totally recommended. There must be at least one not married/single Sim at all times.

There will be love, romance, affairs, woohoo and nooboos. Tons of nooboos with all of that woohoo.

Points:
+1 for each affair
+1 for 5 loves at once (this point may only be earned once or else you'd be having points coming out of your ears)
+1 for each 10 loves at once (this one may be earned as many times as you like since this is a little harder!)
+5 for each 20 loves at once
+1 for each baby born
+5 baby born out of wedlock
+5 for breaking up 3 marriages

-1 enemy and or getting caught cheating (try and see how long you can hide your Sims' affairs!)
-1 for each family Sim as second aspiration
-3 for death by old age (get some fun in there, die some crazy death!)
Instructor
#366 Old 23rd Mar 2015 at 12:41 PM
I think one of the keys to keeping the game interesting lies in not having caricature sims. Sometimes it's too easy to get carried away with the basic aspirations and consider all family sims to want marriage and lots of children and not much else, or romance sims to just want woohoo with as many sims as possible without having any hobbies or interests in the supernatural. I think hobbies, interests, and complex wants and fears (e.g. having a want for a baby at the same time as having a fear of having a baby) really add depth to the character of sims. And if you have complex characters the game is naturally more appealing and less likely to be dull.

Bustin' Out!
Lab Assistant
#367 Old 31st Mar 2015 at 4:08 AM
I am going to put this out their i know many has already build the USA The White House but have anyone every thought of creating a neighborhood similar to of Washington D.C
That would be a tough job, but a;so a challenge for many. So many ideas can go into building a capitol City plus who is to say other world capitol city's can't be build. What are your thoughts?????
Link Ninja
#368 Old 2nd Apr 2015 at 8:00 PM
Quote: Originally posted by eyuri
I am going to put this out their i know many has already build the USA The White House but have anyone every thought of creating a neighborhood similar to of Washington D.C
That would be a tough job, but a;so a challenge for many. So many ideas can go into building a capitol City plus who is to say other world capitol city's can't be build. What are your thoughts?????


Interesting. So one aspect would be something like having sim elections? Also it would only be between sims in the highest political track? so only two mayor-level sims could run and whoever wins lives in the white house, and after 8 seasons another election takes place?, the old family moves out and the winning sim and their family moves in?

Uh oh! My social bar is low - that's why I posted today.

Lab Assistant
#369 Old 3rd Apr 2015 at 11:49 AM
Quote: Originally posted by Charmful
Interesting. So one aspect would be something like having sim elections? Also it would only be between sims in the highest political track? so only two mayor-level sims could run and whoever wins lives in the white house, and after 8 seasons another election takes place?, the old family moves out and the winning sim and their family moves in?


This is a very interesting idea, I may try this someday.
Forum Resident
#370 Old 5th Apr 2015 at 3:14 PM
Create a color world. Open businesses that only sell items that are a certain color, like green- and create houses that only use a certain color! Make the Sims that live in the houses be that color and make family feuds and loves (ex. red hates green but red loves blue)! Have the children go by the color wheel and start their own family color (like a red and a blue have 2 kids, one's pink and the other is purple)!
Test Subject
#372 Old 3rd May 2015 at 7:44 PM
I have two ideas. I'm playing both right now.

1. Make one sim. You are not allowed to make any other sims. Your sim must marry an existing sim. You can play existing sims if you wish and use any cheats you want to make it interesting. For example, I sent my one sim, Caleb Knight, off to college, where he met and eventually married a dormie named Ashlee Courderic. He joined a frat in the meantime so I ended up playing the three guys who lived there, too. They all graduated, got married, and started their own families. Matthew Hart married his college sweetheart, Sarah Love, and I used a cheat so they could have 20 kids. Mickey married, then divorced, Jan Tellerman and ended up raising their son on his own. And Guy married Francis Worthington III. They adopted three children. I'm now working on my third generation, though a couple of the Hart kids are still in college (one of their nephews is older than the youngest kid). For each offshoot family I've set a different challenge. For example, Annemarie married Aldric Davis and is doing my own farm challenge. Another daughter is trying to run a successful bakery. And so forth. I've also started using the Insiminator to send the townies off to college so I can get new ones (bye bye, Marsha). One of my sims just married Amy Jones, the paper girl. This town has managed to keep my interest for several months now.

2. Create a dorm complex. Set the dorm up carefully so your sims won't die. Once you've moved them in you may cheat to give them each a cell phone (Insiminator, or just send one sim to buy 26 phones). You may intervene to have one of them pay the bills. Or just get a no bills cheat. After that you may not interfere in any way. Your goal: have them all graduate (or get kicked out). Record what worked and what didn't. Build a new complex. Repeat. For added scientific interest, have an equal number of each aspiration plus two grilled cheese sims. Repeat the zodiac twice (grilled cheese sims may have random signs). I have two teams at a time competing for the fewest number of ghosts. Sims are stupid, as will quickly be illustrated by their frustrating choices. Think of ways to keep them alive as you watch them burn, starve, or otherwise die in pointless ways. You are the clockmaker god. Once they leave college, you may if you choose move the survivors into a new home, give them jobs, and start the experiment over. If they make it to old age their reward is a nice quiet home somewhere, where you may or may not visit. This could be a challenge: I just can't be bothered to come up with a point system. Feel free if you wish. Extra points for each sim that actually graduates (rather than gets kicked out). I have not managed that yet.

For stories inspired by sims, visit Wayward Ink today!
Lab Assistant
#373 Old 8th Jun 2015 at 6:56 AM
When I start a new neighborhood I always have it set in a previous era. Typically the 1930's or 40's. And each generation lives in accordance with that era's technology and lifestyle. And as each generation passes I add the technology that would be available during that time. It is rather fun to live through the evolution of modern society within your game and see how much things change. You have to use your imagination to some extent as sims will sometimes try to do things that are naturally programmed into the game from the modern era, but it is relatively effortless. It is neat when youre playing and youve forgotten all about the previous years and you stumble across a photo of your sims from lets say the 70's. haha
Forum Resident
#374 Old 7th Jul 2015 at 2:14 AM
I'm actually planning on making a custom neighborhood of the town I live in in real life. The layout map is in SC4 already but only big enough for the downtown part of town which will consist of the main neighborhood since I live there. I plan on putting real people that i know, past and present into the game as sims to simulate my virtual hometown. So the town is real and so are the people. I just hope I can replicate it all accurately. It's going to take a long time to build and populate so I look forward to see how it all turns out in the end.
Test Subject
#375 Old 11th Sep 2015 at 7:19 PM
I prefer to be rather.. sadistic to my sims. Find new ways to make their lives miserable, make a king and put the rest in a dungeon, etc.
... Its not unhealthy... right?
Page 15 of 17
Back to top