Trying out Body Shop

On "vacation" leave for a week. I didn't feel like playing Sims2 and I've given up trying to get past the "Cash Flow" level of Outpost Kaloki. Being the lazy person that I am, instead of cleaning my room I decided to tinker with the Sims2 Body Shop.

I've tried doing something with it before but never got around to finishing anything ... as making a house in the game is easier than customizing a sim. I challenged myself to creating an approximation of the gown that the Encantadia character Danaya wears in the promo picture on the website.

Ergo, I spent most of yesterday in front of my PC going back and forth between layering in Adobe Photoshop, looking at the downloaded picture of Danaya, and refreshing the Sims2 Bodyshop viewpane.

I liked what I did and tried making Danaya's warrior outfit too ... final product wasn't bad ... although to begin with I can't find a mesh that's near enough... and nope, I don't like to hazard making my game crash by downloading a customized mesh.

Just realized my BBS ranking is "Stammering Sim". Wonder when that happened? Guess I've earned enough creds though I don't hang out at the forum as often as I wish (can only access it at home as it's one of the sites blocked by the office server).

Disappointing Packaging

Bought Pets last Thursday (26-Oct) installed it only this afternoon.

I have been hooked on some Yahoo games lately and the Prime Suspect game (from Big Fish) that I haven't been playing Sims2.

When I did decide to play OFB again, I realized I did some uninstalling before but I don't remember exactly what I did ... so I ended up uninstalling and reinstalling the main game and every expansion pack.

Then I re-installed the objects I downloaded from the sims2 exchange.

I thought, might as well do some driver updating ... when I was done with that, I realized to my horror the updated audio driver doesn't work and i can't roll back to the previous driver. I had to look for my old installer cds to find the one for the audio ... and the last time I used that was when I bought my PC (2002).

When I was about to register Pets on EA... I couldn't connect to the site... really irritating. Well, I'm on line now.

It's evening so maybe I'll start playing with Pets tomorrow. It won't be enough time to get a hang of the game though. Good thing Nov. 1 is a holiday ... I could spend that day getting familiar with this EP.

I still have to figure out where the teaser for the next EP is ... and I don't know if that comes with the Asian version of Pets (the CDs available here are made in Singapore).

...just checked the boards ... there is no trailer ... just a piece of paper in the CD package ... which I think isn't available with the packs manufactured in Singapore... wow, another disappointment.

Website bug fixed

Finally, the maxis guys fixed the error with the Stuff Pack icon on the MySim Pages.

A few entries back I noted that although I don't have the Family Fun Stuff Pack, an icon on my Simpage says I do.

Now, there is actually a "hole" in that space - correctly stating that I don't have the SP1. Ofcourse, if my brother got my birthday wish right, he would have bought me the SP1 and I'd have that "hole" plugged.

He he he!

Simlish Origins

Call me stupid for not knowing this earlier ... but I just found out that Simlish is actually based on a combination of fractured Ukrainian and Tagalog. And all the while I thought it was mere coincidence that some sounds I was hearing from the game is just a bit close to Filipino. Ha! I was hearing shades of Filipino all along. Dang!

Pets EP

I'm supposed to be in the office by 8:30am... but heavy traffic meant I would get there after 9am... so I decided to just go in "half-day" this afternoon instead of being extremely late. Really irritating as I left the house earlier than usual thinking I would arrive just after 8am!

I stopped by McDonald's for breakfast and since the area's near a university, I dropped by this internet cafe - where I am now, and where I'll spend what's left of my morning I guess.

After rumors of a pets expansion pack circulating ... the Sims2 site finally announces that the next EP is really entitled "Pets" - so simple, so unoriginal - when the Sims 1 was named "Unleashed".

I could imagine the dancing of simmers who have been begging for pets ever since the game was launched. Hopefully, the pets here aren't as irritating as the pets in Sims 1 - where you get a lot of strays coming in and out of your lot as they wish - and knocking down the garbage bin when you're sleeping. I would enjoy pets, NOT STRAYS.

Looking up other SimPages

Didn't feel like playing OFB earlier today so I decided to hang around the site.

First looked up the MySim pages of the Maxoids ... then moved on to pages of simmers from countries beginning with A (with the exception of Australia which has almost 2,000 members).

Didn't find a good MySim page with the latter group. Odd thing though ... most of them registered just this July 2006 and some don't even have icons on what Sims2 product they bought (the family fun stuff icon must have the no "2" in it). Hmmn ...

The Glamour life stuff pack

Just looked up the screenshots and "catalogue" for the Glamour life stuff pack. This is one sims2 "stuff pack" I may actually consider buying. Still considering though. I may just ask my older brother to give it to me as present ... if he gets it right. I asked him for the family fun stuff pack and he ends up giving me the university and open for business expansion packs - which I already have. Now I have to find someone who wants to buy them as I don't think he can still return them.

One comment on the glamour furniture and fixtures I've seen ... I find them too boxy. Really emphasizing on the stiffness and rigidity of the upper crust, huh? He he he!

Latest cull victim

My 20002 Romaire Boulevard lot has been culled. But my uploaded story on it was not ... so now I'm wondering whether to keep the story in my uploads or not.

Maybe it will be culled next time the site does some "spring cleaning".

SimPage glitch?

There's an icon on my sim page saying I own the family fun stuff pack.

That's odd because I don't even have the intention of buying it.

Wonder if this is a glitch on the site?

Loving OFB

Wow, can't believe Open For Business has got me playing a family for more than a month ... which is a record for me as playing a family usually bores me after a week. I haven't even returned to making houses ... till this weekend.

This being Easter Break, I spent Friday and today going back to building. All lots I've uploaded today are from Volume 19/20 (Millenium edition) of Home Ideas ... which was probably published year 2000. Most of the houses are by Glen R. Luces ... whoever he is :-)

Next time I'd probably upload houses from the Home Planners books.

Got OFB

I bought my copy of OFB last night. I would've bought it the other night if the mall wasn't closed by the time I got there. I was supposed to wait till April before buying it, then I read on the net about the new architectural features and so I wanted to have OFB ASAP. Sims2 junkie ... that's what I am.

The OFB Page Theme

One reason I like Open for Business is that the packaging's in orange. The theme kinda fits my page too. He He He! Hopefully I find running a sim's business more interesting than playing a sim family.

Culling Victim

Awww, my small lot, Honeysuckle, finally succumbed to the purge ... it's been a surprise watching it last this long - being the small lot it is and not as fancy at all as the most downloaded lots on the exchange.

Now that they've pared my uploads to just 4 from something over 10 ... I take it as a sign to start uploading my other lots. Whee! He he he!

On to other things ... there's a gaping slot beside the "Games I own" category begging to be filled. That means the next time I go malling I'd probably end up in Datablitz again looking for the Open for Business EP this time. Seriously, with the pace EA is releasing its EPs and my propensity to buy them within a month or two after release from the SAME store, Datablitz should start giving me a discount or something.

Depeche Mode in Sims2 ... I was saying "wow" when I saw that news, then giggling. Got me wondering if those guys are fans of the game and play it ... or if the game is just popular with a certain age group/clique they're reaching out to.

The Rockstar Mansion

Finally decided to upload my version of the Canfield-Moreno Mansion - that famous house you might have seen in films like Godfather, H2O and for about 4 months it was the home of lead singer wannabes in the Rockstar:INXS show. It's a big lot. I downloaded loads of pictures on the net just to have a 360 degrees view of the place.




I intended to put some ghosts in it as the real mansion had the reputation to be haunted ... but I couldn't kill the characters I placed in it so now I'm uploading the empty lot.

(This lot was re-uploaded on November 2, 2006. As of 15-Jun-2007, it is still in the Sims 2 Exchange, rated as 4.54 out 5 with 466 downloads)

Another one gets hooked on the game

Sam came by the house last Jan. 29 and had her first experience at playing Sims 2. She came by the house after lunch today to once more play the game.

I got her hooked!